By Linda Dean Cooper

Is Levy County Sheriff’s Department actively seeking an Ag Deputy? The truth is, not really.  It’s all empty words. But the Sheriff’s Department is not doing anything differently than many other of our local government agencies. 

In September 2022 I made a public records request for the job description of an Ag Investigator. The response was “The position of Ag Investigator falls under the general responsibilities of a deputy sheriff since no full-time Ag Investigator position is budgeted. Would I like a copy of the deputy sheriff’s job description?”  I said yes. Also, included in my response was that Levy County deserved better, there is no excuse for the lack of a qualified Ag Investigator in this county, and so on.

On February 13, 2024, I requested a copy of the Ag Deputy job description and received an updated version that had a development date of 11/2022, two months after my first public records request.  This updated job description is more geared toward an Ag Deputy, but the problem is according to an internal memo dated October 11, 2022, “that due to the exhaustion of the candidates on the Master Transfer List for the Agricultural Deputy position, we are now accepting new Letters of Interest.”  If there were no internal transfers then why not advertise the position outside, to the public?  Without a dedicated Ag Investigator, a deputy or detective will be pulled from their regular duties to handle any high-profile cases of abuse/hoarding to document them for the court system to process.

The lack of a dedicated Ag deputy came up again on February 6, 2024, during a regular BoCC meeting discussing the full-time vet salary and job description by Diane Marchand which prompted my new public records request for the Ag Deputy job description.  The lack of a full-time Ag Deputy comes up regularly during land use ordinance discussions and hearings.

A dedicated agricultural deputy could concentrate on investigating as needed, which frees up deputies to concentrate on the job they were hired to do. We have a Levy County Ag Watch Program.  The question is, who is overseeing that program?

The BoCC agreed to adjust the veterinarian salary to a range of $80,000 to $95,000, with two years of experience preferred, but not required.  This is important because many county Ag Deputies work with the county veterinarian in the animal control department to assist in some cases.

Animals in the shelter cannot be adopted until they are spayed/neutered, chipped, and given a full health assessment.  Animals in the shelter cannot get adopted if the hours of operation are 8-4, M-F.  Spay and neuter programs cannot run at full service without a full-time veterinarian.  Where is the accountability to the taxpayers for the lack of a veterinarian or dedicated Ag Deputy?  

This is an election year, perhaps the taxpayers will get more positive action and fewer empty words in the next few months.  Study the record of elected officials and do your homework before putting the same old tired politicians back in office.  It’s our money, not theirs, hold them accountable!

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Posted February 19, 2024