Bradenton and Sarasota’s law enforcement leaders say these 2 issues are top concerns
The lack of affordable housing in Manatee and Sarasota counties is a major obstacle for policing agencies trying to lure new hires to Southwest Florida, law enforcement leaders said Thursday.
At a law enforcement roundtable hosted by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, sheriffs and police chiefs bemoaned the housing market’s negative impact on the recruiting process.
The median single-family home price in the Bradenton area have increased about 30% to $480,000 over the last year alone, according to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee. And median rent for a single-bedroom apartment in the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton area is up about 45%, to $1646, according to a report from online apartment marketplace Apartment List.
“How does anybody absorb that?” Buchanan said of rent increases. “It’s just shocking to me.”
At the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, vital civilian jobs including forensics technicians and communication dispatchers are going unfilled, according to Col. Brian Woodring. And he says the housing crisis is to blame.
“There is no affordable housing in Sarasota County,” Woodring said. “A young adult coming into the workforce at a young age just cant afford to live here.”
Woodring said the agency is considering expanding its take-home vehicle policy to attract more recruits.
“Manatee and Sarasota’s housing problem is my problem,” Longboat Key interim Police Chief George Turner said.
Turner said that all of his officers live off of the island and face long commute times. Now with affordable housing shortages, some new recruits are opting to live even farther away from the job. Turner noted an employee living as far away as Dade City because of housing affordability.
Bradenton Police Chief Melanie Bevan said the housing-related staff shortages could impact public safety. Bevan suggested that leaders and developers explore creating affordable housing designated specifically for first responders.
Woodring said existing residents can be resistant to affordable housing moving into an area. But he said developers could help undo the stigma by advertising that first responders, teachers and other community members that “raise quality of life standards” live there.
Several bipartisan efforts currently moving through Congress could help alleviate some of the financial pressure on law enforcement, first responders and educators. The “HELPER Act,” would provide mortgage financing assistance for all of those professions. And a bill in the House, HJR 1, would create a new homestead property tax exemption for several groups, including first responders, teachers and active military.
Buchanan said he would pursue talks with developers about how to bring more affordable housing to the area.
Law enforcement share concerns
An increase in illegally possessed guns is another major safety concern in the Bradenton-Sarasota area, local law enforcement chiefs said on Thursday. They said the issue is largely a result of an uptick in gun sales during the pandemic and people leaving weapons unsecured in their homes and unlocked cars.
Other issues discussed at Thursday’s roundtable included the persistence of fentanyl-related crimes in the region and increases in violence against law enforcement officers over the last year.
The “Thin Blue Line Act,” which has been introduced by Buchanan in the House and Sen. Pat Toomey in the Senate every year since 2017, would make the death penalty more likely for those who attempt to injure or kill police, firefighters and first responders on or off the job. Buchanan introduced the bill again this year, and law enforcement leaders gathered at Thursday’s talk showed support for the measure.
