Tampa's police chief claims to live in the city — and also 40 minutes away - Tampa Bay Times

TAMPA — It’s successful the City Charter: Anyone who ranks arsenic a department head or supra has to unrecorded wrong metropolis limits.

Police main is explicitly mentioned arsenic idiosyncratic required to unrecorded successful Tampa.

Yet successful a video from assemblage cam footage released Thursday, Chief Mary O’Connor was wide astir wherever she lived erstwhile a Pinellas County sheriff’s lawman stopped her and hubby Keith past month. The lawman said helium stopped them because they were driving an untagged play cart connected the roadworthy successful East Lake Woodlands, a Pinellas County gated assemblage that’s 40 minutes from Tampa.

“We unrecorded successful East Lake Woodlands,” Mary O’Connor told the deputy. The mates told him that they usually didn’t thrust connected roadways and mentioned a determination to drawback immoderate nutrient from a adjacent Greek restaurant.

It’s unclear how, oregon if, the mates qualified for the fewer exemptions that the metropolis provides section heads.

City spokesperson Lauren Rozyla said Friday that Mary O’Connor met the city’s residency requirements due to the fact that she leases a condo successful Tampa.

“Her hubby and young girl unrecorded chiefly astatine the Pinellas County residence owed to schooling. She resides astatine some the Tampa and Pinellas locations,” Rozyla emailed. Asked however galore days connected mean Mary O’Connor spends astatine her Tampa home, Rozyla and Adam Smith, the city’s communications director, didn’t respond Friday afternoon.

Yet the charter outlines nary peculiar exemption for officials who lease a spot successful Tampa portion surviving elsewhere.

Four high-ranking Tampa officials bash person a impermanent waiver granting them the close to unrecorded elsewhere. Getting specified permission, however, requires support from astatine slightest 5 Council members.

Adam Smith, Solid Waste and Environmental Program Director Larry Washington, Deputy Administrator for Development and Economic Opportunity Alis Drumgo and David Ingram, the newly-hired enforcement manager of the Tampa Convention Center, are the lone officials with existent waivers, according to Rozyla.

Mary O’Connor, who was enactment connected paid administrative permission connected Friday by Mayor Jane Castor, doesn’t person that waiver, according to Rozyla and metropolis records requested by the Tampa Bay Times.

It’s besides unclear if her husband, Keith, needs a residency exception. He’s listed arsenic a section caput connected the city’s website — manager of the Neighborhood Enhancement Division. That designation arsenic section caput would necessitate him, conscionable similar his wife, to unrecorded successful Tampa. He doesn’t person the impermanent waiver either. But the website is incorrect and volition beryllium corrected, said Castor spokesperson Smith aft a Times newsman pointed retired the website’s rubric for Keith O’Connor.

Council subordinate Luis Viera said helium thinks officials should respect “the spirit” arsenic good arsenic the missive of the law.

The mayor, assembly members, administrators and section heads similar the constabulary main are vested with “power and authority,” Viera said, making it incumbent connected them to unrecorded successful Tampa.

Stay connected apical of what’s happening successful Tampa

Subscribe to our escaped Tampa Times newsletter

You’ll get a roundup of the biggest Tampa assemblage quality doubly a week.

You’re each signed up!

Want much of our free, play newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore each your options

“You person to woody with it. You person to abide by it,” Viera said, adding that the existent strategy has flexibility, with waivers to accommodate household concerns and different relocation issues.

Chief of Staff John Bennett precocious moved into Tampa aft moving for the metropolis for astir 2 years. He had antecedently lived successful Hillsborough County. Bennett was unavailable for remark Friday, Rozyla said.

Former City Attorney Gina Grimes near her occupation alternatively than comply with residency requirements successful August.

The residency request has been an contented for years. Sonya Little, the city’s main fiscal serviceman nether erstwhile Mayor Bob Buckhorn, came nether occurrence for not surviving successful the city, eventually starring to litigation successful 2018.

Orlando Gudes, who improperly claimed a homestead exemption connected a spot helium owns, said helium has small patience for highly-paid, high-ranking officials who flout the rules.

Gudes said helium doesn’t attraction if section heads reside successful Tampa, but administrators and the constabulary and occurrence chiefs should.

“That’s conscionable what I believe,” Gudes, a retired Tampa constabulary officer, said. “I unrecorded wherever I work.”

Poor schools oregon deficiency of capable lodging are conscionable excuses, helium said.

“That’s bullsh--t. I don’t judge successful that,” helium said.

Council subordinate Lynn Hurtak said she utilized to deliberation similarly, but her presumption has evolved, successful portion due to the fact that it’s gotten truthful costly to unrecorded successful the city. She said she’s unfastened to considering changing the policy. Guido Maniscalco said he’s besides unfastened to a discussion.

Thursday evening, assembly subordinate Bill Carlson asked metropolis unit to study backmost aboriginal successful February astir the residency requirement. Carlson said helium wants a database of elder managers that aren’t successful compliance. He said the O’Connors aren’t abiding by the tone of the charter. Carlson pointed to the assemblage cam video and Mary O’Connor’s assertion that they unrecorded successful East Lake Woodlands.

“It’s thing we request to resolve,” helium said, adding that helium supports a strict adherence to the existing charter requirement.

Castor was astatine Harvard University connected Friday connected a sheet astir mayors and policing. She was unavailable for comment, Rozyla said.