News

By Joe Capozzi

Police Chief Richard Jones was finally given a contract Jan. 9, more than 16 months after he took charge of the Ocean Ridge public safety department.
Jones, who makes $115,763 a year, said he requested a contract when he replaced retiring chief Hal Hutchins in August 2022. But he said he was told at the time by then-Town Manager Tracey Stevens that the commission did not want to issue him a contract.
That apparently was not true, an issue commissioners didn’t become aware of until Stevens announced her resignation last July.
At the time, some commissioners asked Jones if he would consider serving as interim town manager. But the chief declined because, among other reasons, he said he was never given a contract when he took over for Hutchins. A contract, he said, would have offered protections.  
Hutchins was given a contract when he became chief in 2015 after the forced resignation of Chris Yannuzzi, who also had a contract. 
On Jan. 9, commissioners voted to give Jones a three-year contract that provides 16 weeks of severance pay if he is terminated without cause.
If the chief resigns, he must give the commission 90 days notice.
Vice Mayor Kristine de Haseth suggested changing town rules to require a supermajority of four votes, instead of the current three, to fire the chief, an idea other commissioners did not support. 
Jones has received praise from commissioners and residents since taking over as chief, not only for his public-safety work but for his assistance on information technology issues. 

In other action:
• Commissioners on Feb. 6 will consider ways to regulate the placement of “No Trespassing” signs on the beach, which have generated controversy and heated debate off and on over the years. 
Commissioners agreed to put the issue on the agenda after more than a dozen residents complained during public comments at the Jan. 6 meeting about signs outside the Turtle Beach condominium on Old Ocean Boulevard.   
• Each of the town’s five commissioners will get town-issued cellphones dedicated to town business. Each phone will cost $55 a month. 
Commissioner Martin Wiescholek suggested the idea after attending annual ethics training for local elected leaders. Town-issued phones will allow commissioners to, among other things, avoid using their personal phones for town business, which will expedite public records requests by reducing the time needed to separate personal calls from town calls. 
“Everything town related is on there and we don’t need to use our personal phones for anything town related,’’ he said. “Once a commissioner leaves, that phone is handed to the next commissioner.’’