Volusia County, FL - Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood and County Manager Jim Dinneen are in opposition over the sheriff's responsibilities when it comes to budgeting and personnel, and things have gotten so heated that Chitwood has called for Dinneen to be terminated from his position.
At the March 2 Volusia County Council Meeting the Council voted to oppose a Florida Senate bill that would change a Volusia County charter, giving the sheriff more flexibility with budget decisions and personnel moves. If passed, the bill would remove the county manager from the process, giving Chitwood more freedom.
"The bill is to ensure that sheriffs stay elected by the people and they answer to the people," said Chitwood in an interview with Al Smith on Daytona's Morning News on March 13. "The bill in Volusia County would give me the latitude to run my organization."
Chitwood questions why Jim Dinneen has to sign off on decisions and states that Dinneen has "built a powerhouse. It's not the charter. It's Jim Dinneen's power."
Chitwood made mention of a grassroots organization to get the 17,000 plus signatures needed to put the issue before the people and give voters the opportunity to vote on an amendment to the charter.
Until then, Chitwood says, "I'm going to do my job. I'm going to fight hard to fight crime and to reduce crime. And every time he [Dinneen] stonewalls me we're going to be on the front page of the newspaper."
Copyright Southern Stone Communications 2017.
