There’s a new sheriff in town on the Nature Coast: Citrus County Sheriff David Vincent. He took office in January, having been elected in the county's August primary.
But thanks to a state law that’s been on the books for over 20 years, he wasn’t allowed to choose his own direct reports or command staff.
The existing statute, passed in 2001, says a new Citrus County Sheriff is not allowed to drop a commander or captain by more than one rank or their pay by more than 6% in the first six months of the new sheriff’s term. The law only applies to Citrus County.
Vincent reached out to state Rep. J.J. Grow, R-Inverness, who was also elected in 2024 and sponsored a bill this legislative session that would repeal the 2001 statute.
“ I realized that it really limited me as a new sheriff of what I could do as far as my command staff and executive team,” Vincent said. “ As a new sheriff coming in, I think it's imperative for the success of that new sheriff to be able to pick those people, and be able to put them into place, and if it's necessary to remove someone from a position, that they should have the ability to do that as an elected official.”
According to David DeCarlo, CCSO’s director of community engagement and transparency, Vincent’s predecessor Mike Prendergast promoted a number of officers to command positions after he lost the election, leaving Vincent very few options for restructuring.
Despite this, DeCarlo said Vincent was able to “work within the confines of the law” and change certain roles and responsibilities. He added two new positions to the command structure, including DeCarlo’s role.
“He believes law enforcement should take care of law enforcement and civilians should take care of support services,” DeCarlo said. “People were moved and put in positions that best suited their training, their experience.”
Grow said he agrees the old law is outdated.
“ The governor has said bills that are on the books that don't make sense, let's go ahead and get them off to clean things up. So that's really why we're repealing this bill,” he said.
New state laws passed in the last two decades have put protections in place for sheriff’s office staff in the event of a change of leadership, Grow said, rendering the old law unnecessary.
The repeal of the 2001 law would only allow the sheriff to fire their direct reports. Grow said this repeal would bring Citrus County into accord with other counties in Florida, who do allow this change in staff after an election.
“ We're just trying to fix something and streamline the process in the state of Florida,” Grow said. “The next person coming in won't have this issue to deal with that he’s had to deal with.”
Vincent said due to the length of time it takes to pass a bill into law, this new statute would not affect his administration.
“ I plan on having a long tenure here, however long the citizens will keep reelecting me every four years,” Vincent said. “Whenever that time is, I want the next person who takes this office to have a transition and be able to do the things that they want to do within their own command staff.”
The bill is currently making its way through its first subcommittee.