Dunnellon debates future of police department

File photo: Former Dunnellon Police Chief Mike McQuaig [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2021.

The city of Dunnellon continues to debate the fate of the Dunnellon Police Department after the resignation of its police chief and is considering relinquishing its law enforcement to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.

In December, former Chief Chris Scaglione resigned in good standing from the force, after being placed on paid administrative leave by the Dunnellon City Council in November. Scaglione was placed on leave after a council member brought forward several issues of concern with Scaglione’s performance and the performance of the department.

Scaglione was appointed as chief of police in June of 2023 after the resignation of former Chief Mike McQuaid. Since Scaglione’s resignation, Capt. Ron Bray has been in charge of leading the department.

At its Jan. 6 meeting, the city council debated several options for the department’s future, including advertising the police chief job to applicants or instead allowing the MCSO to absorb DPD.

Scaglione was unanimously appointed police chief in June 2023 after former Chief Mike McQuaig resigned in April.

Dunnellon Mayor Walter Green and other council members have been in communication with Sheriff Billy Woods, who is working to advise the city on its possible options for law enforcement.

“(Woods) has requested one thing in our conversation, which I thought was important, if we decide to advertise the chief of police job we do it over an extended period of time to allow access to as many applicants as possible that may have been interested to apply for that position,” Green said.

Councilmember Valerie Hanchar agreed with the mayor, saying that if they were to hire a new police chief the city should accept all applications rather than exclusively hiring internally, in the interest of transparency.

Councilmember Tim Inskeep brought up the option of contracting Dunnellon’s law enforcement to the sheriff’s office, as he has met with officials from both Inverness and Crystal River, both municipalities that turned over their law enforcement to the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office.

Inskeep presented data, provided by the sheriff’s office, that outlines a program in which Dunnellon could make a similar move.

“The sheriff is proposing for six deputies that would give us around-the-clock coverage, seven days a week, 24 hours a day,” Inskeep said.

Each deputy would cost Dunnellon $128,000 per year, at a total of about $675,000. This would save the city over $620,000 per year in comparison to its current costs, Inskeep said.

“I believe it’s time to seriously consider if contracting done all in law enforcement to Marion County Sheriff’s Office is the appropriate thing to do,” Inskeep said.

Green expanded on this, reminding the council that city of Dunnellon’s fire department was previously absorbed into Marion County Fire Rescue to serve within the city’s limits, so a move to absorb the police department would not be unprecedented.

“We have been through a similar situation with the fire department, and we were in a dire situation then, and it has worked out,” Green said. “It has worked out to the advantage to our community. That was one example of working with the county-wide system.”

Some council members and citizens share the desire, however, to see the police department remain within the city’s control, given that is has historical importance.

“The nostalgia is it’s something that belonged to our city. For many years, it was very difficult to talk about getting rid of it or making a change, but there were serious negotiations with the county and with emergency response emergency management, and we were able to determine a better solution for Dunnellon,” Green said.

Green said that the council will continue to research both options, as well as any potential others, and provide many opportunities for the public to weigh in on how law enforcement is conducted.

“We’re here to serve the citizens, that’s our job, and to make decisions in the best interest of our community and our businesses and our citizens,” Greene said.