Suburban police not thrilled with possibility of consolidation
by: SUSAN HYLTON World Staff Writer
Friday, March 19, 2010
Police officers in Bixby, Jenks and Glenpool aren’t happy with the idea of consolidating their cities’ law enforcement under the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office.
Ron Bartmier, president of the Oklahoma State Fraternal Order of Police and a spokesman for the Bixy, Jenks and Glenpool FOP groups, said: “The officers are very surprised about this and very unhappy that the city managers are putting their careers in their hands. Who decided that Tulsa County has the ability to handle law enforcement in these three communities?”
Tulsa County Undersheriff Brian Edwards said Thursday that discussions with the cities are preliminary.
The proposal is not to replace the municipal officers with deputies but to look at efficient ways to work together, Bixby City Manager Blu Hulsey and Glenpool City Manager Ed Tinker said.
Officers are concerned about response times and the impact on the residents, Bartmier said.
“All three cities are used to having their local police departments and officers they know and respect,” he said.
Bartmier said the three cities’ officers want to remain municipal police officers.
“Now all the sudden they’re told they may be a deputy,” he said.
Although the officers could be assigned to work in a city, Bartmier said there’s no guarantee of that. Some could be assigned to another Tulsa County law enforcement function, such as working in the jail or civil process serving.
“If these guys take over, we’ll be forcing the sheriff into labor negotiations, which he does not presently do,” Bartmier said.
Jenks City Councilor Greg Bowman said he hadn’t been informed of the idea and that it was too early to comment.
“It’s just an idea floated out there between city managers,” he said.
Bixby City Councilor John Easton said it is too early to tell whether some form of consolidation would be a viable option.
“I have to take into heart our Police Department,” he said. “They’ve been loyal to the city, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to jeopardize their standing. It would need to work for everybody before I would be for it.”
Bixby City Councilor Stephen Sutton said he is open to the concept but is concerned about response-time impact.
Glenpool City Councilor Keith Robinson said he hadn’t been provided any details yet.
“We’ve got some good policemen, and I can’t see us making a change,” he said. “But at the same time, I need to at least look at it. I’m told it could be bigger, better and cheaper.”
Source:
http://www.tulsaworld.com/site/articlepath.aspx?pg=news&articleid=20100319_11_0_Police235169&subjectid=11