Nov. 18 was a big day for the Bradenton Beach Police Department.
Chief John Cosby has been restructuring the department since taking charge Oct.11.
The changes so far include promoting former-Sgt. Lenard Diaz to lieutenant, interviewing for a clerk to help manage the front desk at the department headquarters and an ongoing search for a new officer.
Now, Cosby can add a new compensation plan, new service weapons and new GPS systems for eight vehicles to the list of updates.
The city commission approved the compensation program in three formats:
- A police department contribution plan;
- A non-officer employee plan;
- A third additional retirement fund that functions as an alternative to a Roth IRA or IRA, allowing employees to contribute a portion of their income toward retirement.
Approval was unanimous.
“I think it’s great,” said Vice Mayor Ralph Cole. “We should’ve done it a long time ago.”
Next on the list was the commission’s approval to purchase 12 Smith & Wesson M&P 9 mm M2.0 handguns for $5,251.80 from Pro Force Law Enforcement Supply. BBPD will now have 9 mm ammunition as the standard for the newly issued firearms, allowing them to buy in bulk.
“This gun is top of the line,” said BBPD officer Steve Masi, the department’s range instructor. “The lifetime of a gun is five years or within the five years you can change out the inner parts, which is obviously cheaper. These guns are very easy to work on and we can just buy new parts and this gun can continue its life on for another 10 or 15 years if needed.”
An additional $5,419.37 was approved for 11 AIM ACRO sites, also from Pro Force Supply.
Funds for the weapons and sites will come from the police budget, a federal $1,000 Justice Assistance Grant and a $4,000 donation from the Moose Lodge No. 2188 in Bradenton Beach.
Finally, the commission approved a 36-month contract with WEX fleet services for eight GPS units.
“As we hire new people and some of our people retire and move out, this is a tool we can use to monitor patrols, make sure patrol requests are being done, monitor speed and the travel route of our cars,” Cosby said. “As long as I’m here, I’d like to plan on having this in place. It’s just another tool to protect the citizens.”
The contract cost is estimated at $1,987.20.
Also, on Nov. 18, city commissioners:
- Approved the Anna Maria Island Privateers Christmas Parade permit for Dec. 11 to traverse from Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach to Anna Maria.
- Agreed to seek recertification for Tree City USA, a title bestowed on municipalities making reforestation and tree planting efforts.
- Established a traffic safety team to review signage and present recommendations to the commission.
The next city commission meeting will be at 6 p.m. Thursday, Dec 2, at city hall, 107 Gulf Drive N.