message board home
Next
10/20/2023 2:04:13 PM
 
Reply
or ReplyNewSubject
Section 4: General Subject: Tarr Trashes Everyone Msg# 1193978
|
||||||
|
The current roster has 16 authorized officers and there are 7 officers on staff, according to OPA. Before Tarr quit it would have been 16 and 8, I assume. These officer shortages have been noted in GM reports for a long time.
A 50% vacancy rate give or take. Is it pay? Is it pension? Very likely but your recent exchange with Rick Farr suggests that the Board has no interest in asking either Senator Carozza or Delegate Hartman to introduce legislation for an exception to allow the OPA Police Department to participate in Maryland's Law Enforcement Officers' Pension System. OPA has tens of thousands of dollars tied up in police department assets and we have it staffed at 50%. What a waste. If you are going to run a state certified police department then figure out what it takes to fully staff it and do it. Otherwise, surrender the certification and let the county police cover Ocean Pines and save OP homeowners $2 million a year. If we are unwilling to pay what it takes to fully staff the department but dismantling it is not feasible then pare it down to a size that can be staffed and sell off or repurpose the commensurate excess assets. I question our priorities when there is expressed interest in a dedicated Board room at a $500,000 expense and yet we can't recruit and retain police officers. I figure this post will generate some interesting discussion but hey, that's the purpose of the Forum. Besides, we need something else to debate besides Orioles baseball and religion. |
||||||
|
|
||||||
|
For reference, the above message is a reply to a message where: "said to be down 11 officers " out 17 authorized. does that mean there are only 6 officers in the department? The current roster has 16 authorized officers and there are 7 officers on staff, according to OPA. Before Tarr quit it would have been 16 and 8, I assume. That said, the ability to maintain a full complement of officers has been a problem for some time, even prior to Ehrisman becoming chief. I can recall board debates from decades ago about police staffing. There have been a number of unstaffed positions for years, as far as I know, and well prior to this latest shed/gun issue. To blame staffing shortages on this recent issue does not seem appropriate. These officer shortages have been noted in GM reports for a long time. Let's look at another item. Tarr said the following: "I ended up just signing the insurance paperwork on the hood of my truck in front of everybody around lunchtime when everybody was coming out of the building and I went on my merry way so that just at that point I was like I need to get out of Ocean Pines I’m obviously not thought of very highly. It doesn’t matter how many years I put into this place so that was that was definitely a huge sign for me." A reliable source tells me Tarr was invited to go into the Admin building to sign the insurance documents but said he would sign the document on his vehicle hood - after he apparently started to go into the police area. |
| Calendar |
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
5/24/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhpuse
6/28/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |
|
OPA Board Meeting - Golf Clubhouse
7/26/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |
|
Annual Meeting - Assateague Room
8/9/2025 - 9:00 A.M. |