Sarasota police chief to retire in October

Interim City Manager Terry Lewis announced at Monday’s Sarasota City Commission regular meeting Monday that Sarasota Police Chief Mikel Hollaway will retire in October. Hollaway, hired to replace former police chief Peter Abbott, has served two years as police chief and has 30 years of service with the department.

Hollaway, 52, makes approximately $132,000 a year and is already a member of the Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP). Hollaway’s pending retirement is not a surprise at City Hall because the DROP program mandates that an employee receives additional pension dollars for five years before they must retire.

Lewis said he will get started with city staff on advertising for a new police chief, although the city’s future city manager will make the final decision. Lewis called the selection of a new police chief a No. 1 priority for the city manager that’s selected by the commission later this year.

Lewis also said the city is about six to eight weeks away from selecting a new city manager. A list of top candidates is expected to be presented to commissioners in July that the commission will review.