INSET BELOW: Robert Rizzotto
By Dan Moffett
South Palm Beach Councilwoman Bonnie Fischer knew the town police department had made a good hire in Robert Rizzotto when she caught him pulling extra duty at the Town Hall earlier this year.
“Shortly after he arrived here, he came on a weekend, on his time off, to wash some of the vehicles,” Fischer said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”
Police Chief Carl Webb agrees. At the town council’s meeting on June 24, he announced that he was promoting Rizzotto to lieutenant and charging him with keeping the town’s road patrols rolling.
Rizzotto, 43, came to South Palm Beach after serving two years as an officer with the Juno Beach Police Department. Before that, he was a member of the New York City Police Department and was working in its street crimes division during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“Your background will really be most helpful to this town,” said Councilman Robert Gottlieb. “You can move us forward in new directions.”
Rizzotto’s promotion completes an overhaul of the department that began when Chief Roger Crane retired last year and Lt. Nick Alvaro followed suit in February.
Webb and Vice Mayor Joseph Flagello cited Rizzotto’s communication skills as an attribute that makes him right for South Palm Beach.
“Lieutenant Rizzotto has a wonderful personality, a great sense of humor, and he’s compassionate,” Flagello said. “He’s got a personality that will fit the town. Not only is he qualified, he’s just a well-rounded human being.”
Rizzotto gave the town council some advice on buying new vehicles and recommended a switch to an SUV.
Council members approved spending $38,000 to buy a Ford Explorer to replace a 7-year-old Crown Victoria, agreeing with police that switching to the higher profile vehicle makes sense in case flooding becomes an issue. After one recent severe storm, an officer had to volunteer his own pickup truck to help the department navigate high waters in the town.
Rizzotto also advised against buying another Dodge Charger sedan with an oversized hemi engine. He said the extra weight of the motor has kept the vehicle in the repair shop with front-end problems. He recommended buying vehicles with smaller engines for patrolling the town’s five-eighths-mile circuit.
Rizzotto said using big-engine cars to patrol South Palm Beach with its short roadway and many turns into condo driveways is “like putting a thoroughbred racehorse in a petting zoo.”
In other business:
• Town council members unanimously approved sending $1,500 to Lantana to help defray the town’s cost for the July Fourth fireworks celebration. “We enjoy them as much as they do,” said Mayor Donald Clayman. “We’re glad to help with the expense.”
• Council members unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance that changes the quorum requirement of the 25-member Community Affairs Advisory Board to nine members.
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