The Potomac Highlands Dispatch
Phone: 301-264-3147
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P.O. Box 651
Mount Savage, MD 21545
Sheriff Robertson outlines plan to reunite two police agencies
Transition should occur 'as soon as possible'
* Bureau of Police to be dissolved by June 30
* Officers' time BOP will not count towards seniority
By Kevin Spradlin
PhDispatch.com
From MOUNT SAVAGE via live webcast, April 28 - Allegany County Sheriff Craig Robertson presented his plan to reunite his agency and the Bureau of Police under a single shield at today's public meeting with the county commissioners.
Robertson said his plan is "basically" following the recommendation of a sheriff-appointed five-member advisory panel, which met regularly from early January through March.
The county commissioners have tentatively scheduled a full public meeting to allow for feedback from their constituency on May 5. The three-member board could take action on the matter as soon as May 12, as the issue is up for discussion during the scheduled work session that day.
In his four-minute speech prior to that, Robertson said the dissolution of the Bureau of Police and transfer of all BOP officers under the Sheriff's Office should be completed "as soon as possible."
Between now and June 30 - the end of the current fiscal year - Robertson said no changes would be made other than to have everyone work under the office of the sheriff immediately. As of July 1, all BOP officers would wear the traditional brown-and-tan uniform of the county deputy.
A master seniority list will be compiled, Robertson said. While former deputies who now servce as Bureau of Police officers will be credited for time worked as a deputy, their time with the BOP will not be considered.
While the lowest-ranked member on such a list will be a current deputy, officers' time with the BOP - including those hired after the county's aborption of the Westernport Police Department - will not be counted.
Current deputies will remain in the judicial division with a focus on circuit court security, extraditions, evictions and the service of civil papers. Current BOP officers will make up the sheriff's office patrol division.
While Robertson said, once reunited, the deputies will remain in their respective divisions, each division will support another in an effort to alleviate the financial strain of overtime.
In the public comment period of the meeting, Cumberland resident Mary Miltenberger, of the Allegany County Conservative Tea Party Caucaus, said there shouldn't be such an apparent rush to change back.
"The people, especially the people in the outlying areas where the Bureau of Police has helped them so much with their issues in the small towns, are very happy with the Bureau of Police," she said. "I think it's unwise to change that position at this time. But if you are so intent upon changing it, at least give us the opportunity for a referendum."
"before you took office," Miltenberger continued, "there was a lot of talk about a referendum. Now, all of a sudden, when you're going to axe out what the former commissioners did - and they had good reason for doing what they did - there is no talk of a referendum. Our group is asking you, we want a referendum."
McKay responds to Robertson's plan
Reunification 'not an easy task'
By Kevin Spradlin
PhDispatch.com
CUMBERLAND, April 28 -- Allegany County Commission President Mike McKay responded to Sheriff Craig Robertson's plan to reunite the Sheriff's Office and the Bureau of Police under one shield.
The plan could be partially in effect as soon as May 12 and fully implemented as of July 1, the start of the county's fiscal year.
Robertson's presentation was not new for McKay, as the latter was present for Robertson's briefing of deputies and BOP officers on April 20 at the Allegany County Detention Center.
"I think it's important to remember that this process is to heal a community that has been torn apart," McKay said. "we need to remember that there are families involved with this. It's not just about dollars and cents. It's not just about policies. And it's not just about politicians. Every decision we make going forward needs to consider the children, the wives and the husbands that are all affected by this. It's not an easy task."
McKay said he took advice from an unnamed individual who indicated Allegany County residents - at least those not directly related to officers, deputies or other county employees - didn't really care about the issue so long as they have access to a responsive police force.
"Regardless if it's run by Sheriff Robertson or (BOP Chief J. Robert) Dick, or run by whoever, as long as they are instilling fiscal responsibility, openness to the public (and are) professional."
"I have a full commitment that this board, and Sheriff Robertson, are committed to these items," McKay said.
He called the decision "a new beginning for Allegany County."
Though the issue is expected to be discussed over the next two weeks before the commissioners take formal action, it sounded as if a decision had been made. And McKay - after three others spoke on the issue - wasn't about to open the floor up for debate on the issue on Thursday.
After approximately 86 minutes into the meeting, there were two individuals who had not signed up to speak - as is custom at commission meetings. However, each indicated a desire to speak.
"It's been a long night," McKay said, holding them off. "Can it wait?"
Afterward, McKay gave his opinion on the controversy, a longstanding one that came to a head in July 2008 when then commissioners Jim Stakem, Bob Hutcheson and Dale Lewis expanded the BOP from simply overseeing the Great Allegheny Passage to being responsible for road patrol duties as well.
Public comment might not be all that crucial in this process, as the issue already seems to be decided. In fact, at least one person close to the issue said the additional badges already had been ordered and that the transition begins May 12.