Volusia County to lobby Florida Legislature to oppose beach takeover by sheriff

The Volusia County Council voted unanimously on Tuesday night to try and stop lawmakers from passing proposed legislation that could drastically change the law enforcement presence on county beaches.

Senate Bill 1588 and other legislation would put control of law enforcement on the beaches under the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, though details on what that would look like are still unclear.

Volusia County's Beach Safety and Ocean Rescue law enforcement officers not only patrol beaches but are also certified as lifeguards and emergency medical technicians.

Officials voiced fears that the proposed legislation could drastically reduce both law enforcement coverage on the beach and make beaches more dangerous ― the sheriff said in a TV interview that he plans to take 35 of 58 beach patrol officers and train them for the sheriff's office, not guaranteeing they would go back to the beach. It's not clear what would happen with other employees, though they could possibly remain as lifeguards.

County chair concerned

"(Beach patrol officers) are critical for our tourist season (and) for the safety of our own residents, and so this really concerns me … I have no idea how that might be laid out," Council Chair Jeff Brower said.

More beach news: County Council looks at Ormond-by-the-Sea as possible dog-beach test site

Beach parking: Volusia County Council says no to beach toll changes, votes to explore new parking charges

The Council voted to send a letter to its lobbyists and lawmakers to try and get a change to the proposed legislation to exclude Volusia County, and if that effort fails to give the county more time to adjust to whatever changes may come.

Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood in a Tuesday Facebook post said:

"The reality is this isn’t a Volusia Sheriff's Office idea or a Sheriff Chitwood idea. It’s a state law that’s coming whether the union likes it or not. This will make Volusia County safer and more efficient. Lifeguards can focus on saving lives. Deputies can focus on enforcing the law."

Beach Safety Director Andy Ethridge said he has 10 dual-certified lifeguards in addition to his beach patrol staff who are triple-certified as law enforcement, lifeguards and EMTs. He said the change would put public safety at risk by reducing staff.

An 'extremely tenuous situation'

"I'll have 33 professional lifeguards to try and protect 47 miles of beach that sees special-event-level crowds over 200 days a year, so it's the equivalent of the Daytona 500 emptying out on the beach every weekend day and most weekdays during the summer," he said. "So it's an extremely tenuous situation to be in right now,"

He said it's difficult to recruit lifeguards now.

Ethridge said many people don't know the importance of what his office does and the skills the officers have. Sheriff's department officials in Florida send teams to train with Beach Safety to learn what they do because they say "they're tired of standing on the beach and watching people drown in front of them," Ethridge said.

Ethridge said he plans to go to the next committee hearing on the proposed legislation in Tallahassee to speak about his concerns.

The Council also directed staff to invite Chitwood to share his vision for the change in case it goes through.

Council member Matt Reinhart said he has questions about the level of services the sheriff would provide and how accessible the beach would be.

Timing a concern

County Manager George Recktenwald said the timing of the proposal is a concern, and it's possible it could take effect July 1 in the middle of summer beach season. Recktenwald said the beach patrol officers are the core of the Beach Safety operation.

Senate Bill 1588 and House Bill 1595 say that "A police department or other policing entity may not be maintained or established by the county’s board of county commissioners, or any other county legislative body, to provide any policing in the unincorporated areas of any county."

Ethridge said he respects the sheriff's office and has a lot of friends there, and Beach Safety and the sheriff's office have a good working relationship. The proposed legislation has "pitted" the offices against each other, he said.

"It's not a good situation," he said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Council votes to fight sheriff takeover of beaches