New reserve program adds volunteers to police force

The town has a new police officer who will work at least 16 hours a month. Like any police officer, he can make traffic stops or arrests and assist in emergencies.

The cost to the town: about $1,600 annually for insurance.

Ed Kolodzieski is the first officer who’s part of the Longboat Key Reserve Officer Program, a new volunteer program that Police Chief Pete Cumming established after studying similar programs in communities throughout Florida.

Reserve officers don’t receive a salary or benefits package and must meet the same requirements as paid police officers, including completion of the same training and practical and written exams.

“We’re at least as selective as we would be for a paid police officer in that we look for a certain level of experience and don’t take them right out of the academy and look for certain character and personality attributes,” said Cumming, who believes the program will attract both retired officers seeking to serve and officers who are seeking to maintain their certifications.

Reserve officers agree to work at least 16 hours a month. Duties will include routine patrol, answering calls for service, writing reports and enforcing laws.

Reserve officers are especially valuable in their role of what Cumming describes as a “force multiplier,” especially when police need help during a hurricane and other natural disasters or during special events.

“It enhances the service we already provide,” said Deputy Police Chief Frank Rubino.
Cumming said the program will remain small, with as few as two reserve officers and a maximum of four.

In a news release, Cumming wrote that police reserve units have been used nationally as “an efficient approach to increase professional law enforcement and provide added levels of service without the budgetary repercussions associated with hiring full-time police officers.”

A full-time police officer receives a starting salary of $46,000, but with benefits and insurance, the cost to the town exceeds $70,000.

Cumming cautions against comparing the work of paid officers to what reserve officers will do. While reserve officers work at least 16 hours per month at little cost to the town, they get to choose when they work those hours and aren’t substitutes for paid officers.

Still, Cumming and Rubino stress the value to the town that reserve officers will provide.

“It’s a drop in the bucket, as far as money is concerned,” Cumming said.

New reserve officer
Ed Kolodzieski is the first Longboat Key police reserve officer.

Kolodzieski has 30 years’ police experience in Florida and Arkansas. He spent the past 13 years as a marine enforcement supervisor with the Bentonville County Sheriff’s Office in Bentonville, Ark.

Kolodzieski is a Key resident who is currently building a home in Bayou Hammock.

Contact Robin Hartill at [email protected]