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Highlands Today

Candidate Debate

Exchange Heats Up Between Sheriff Hopefuls

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By Gary Pinnell | Highlands Today

Published: July 16, 2008

SEBRING - The six candidates for county commissioner kept it civil during their hour Tuesday at the candidate forum, but Ron Grimming and Mike Rowan were sharply critical of incumbent Sheriff Susan Benton.

Responding to questions from Richard Hensley, editor of Highlands Today, Rowan said the current sheriff's office has too many administrators.

"They need to downsize and increase the patrol division," said Avon Park Police Commander Rowan.

Grimming agreed, noting that Benton's budget increased 50 percent after she became sheriff four years ago.

Both Rowan and Grimming wanted to study the proposed $11 million -$13 million law enforcement building, to be constructed next year on George Boulevard.

The economy is in a crunch, Rowan said. "Are there other buildings we can occupy?"

Grimming said there is no money to pay for the building, so it will have to be bonded and paid out at $1.4 to $1.8 million per year.

Benton said she didn't ask for the building, and gave an extensive explanation about how the planning evolved from studies, asked for by then-County Administrator Carl Cool.

"He came to me and asked me to put the public defender in the mix," Benton said. The public defender's office is housed in temporary trailers behind the County Government Center.

Grimming and Benton challenged each other three times during the hour-long exchange. Grimming, former director of the Florida Highway Patrol, asserted the law enforcement building would be larger than the county government building.

Not true, Benton said. The County Government Building is 68,000 square feet. The new sheriff's headquarters would be 48,000 square feet, which is 12,000 square feet smaller than originally intended.

When the candidates were asked about the evidence inventory, conducted by Benton's staff, Rowan said he would demand an inventory of 100 percent of the evidence in the sheriff's custody.

"There has been a meltdown," he declared.

Grimming said Benton didn't tell him the truth when he came to her office with a public records request. He wanted a copy of the evidence inventory, in which Benton's staff discovered 33 pieces of evidence missing.

Grimming received a five-page report, and requested a 13 page report. He said she told him there was no 13-page report, but Benton did refer to 13-page report at the forum which had information which she said couldn't be released to the public.

The evidence inventory is now the subject of a continuing internal investigation, which means that by law, she is forbidden to talk about it, she said to the crowd of 130 people.

However, she conceded, "Mr. Grimming is right. We did learn our lesson the hard way about green marijuana."

Grimming said anyone knows that green marijuana cannot be sealed in plastic. The evidence inventory determined that the marijuana, seized in more than 60 grow house busts, began to mold and decay, and eventually became a biohazard. Benton said the marijuana is now dried in a truck trailer before it's sealed in evidence bags.

At the end of the forum, Grimming again corrected Benton. If she had applied for two grants, he said, the county could have been reimbursed for the grow house busts. Benton replied that she applied for both; she got only $9,000 from one, and was turned down for the violent crimes grant.

No, Grimming asserted. He checked with the state, and there was no application from Highlands County on violent crimes grant.

When Grimming and Rowan attacked her on the budget, Benton was ready. After she was elected, she met with citizens and asked what they wanted from their new sheriff. Their issues were substance abuse, traffic, more deputies on the road, and a tip line.

Benton said she instituted every change the public asked for, and that's where the money went. There are now twice as many deputies on the road, and they're writing 8,000 tickets a year. She also brought the department into the 21st century with better radios and laptop computers in every patrol vehicle.

"You folks asked for it, you got it," the sheriff asserted.

County Commission Candidates

The Highlands County commissioners, asserted candidate Zane Thomas, need new blood. "We need a change here."

There were lots of ideas floating around the Agri-Civic Center at the candidate forum, some by the old blood. Incumbent Guy Maxcy, for instance, said if he is re-elected, he wants to look at public transportation and a one-stop center where senior citizens can get the answers to all their needs.

Bruce Borkosky, a psychologist who described himself as the best educated person in the room because he's taken post-doctoral classes, said Highlands County needs senior-friendly walking about biking paths.

Also, he said, "We need to do something about Sun'N Lake, where the developers own the whole government."

Thomas is opposing Maxcy in District 5; Borkosky, former commissioner Jeri Canale, and former Sebring councilor Jeff Carlson are seeking the District 3 seat held by Andrew Jackson.

Asked about impact fees, only Maxcy and Canale were against them. Canale, a real estate agent, said the county has enough money without impact fees.

Maxcy reminded the crowd that the state mandated impact fees four years ago, but the commissioners implemented fees at 25 percent of the entire amount. "I will always fight impact fees," he said, agreeing that impact fees during a recessionary economy are bad timing and retard growth.

Maxcy was for the renewal of a 6-cent gasoline tax though. "There's got to be a pot of money to take care of the roads."

Thomas and Jackson agreed that if the county doesn't collect impact fees today, a time will come when money is needed for schools, law enforcement, transportation and other areas. "We're digging ourselves a pretty good hole," Jackson warned.

There are areas in Highlands County where it takes an hour for an ambulance to arrive, Borkosky said, and when it does, it's an hour away from other calls.

"Impact fees aren't assessed against you," he reminded the audience. "They're assessed against people who are moving here."

The county has 1,200 miles of roads, Jackson said. The plan is to resurface 60 miles of roads every year, but the county is only doing 30 miles a year.

"That's going to come back to bite us," he predicted.

Even so, said Canale, she is for lower taxes.

What should the commissioners have done about Lake Denton, the candidates were asked.

Lake Denton is the best in the county for divers, said Thomas. It's small, so more boats aren't needed, he suggested.

The county took an action it needed to take, Carlson said, but the county ought not get into regulating specific actions on specific lakes. Jackson agreed.

Maxcy was more concerned about citizen complaints, like children hanging off boats while they were driven into the water, beer bottle litter, and drug deals.

Gary Pinnell can be reached at gpinnell@highlandstoday.com or 863 386-5828

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