Baker County gets new sheriff -Temporarily
Baker County gets new sheriff -Temporarily
MACCLENNY, Fla./December 2, 2008 - State regulations have forced a local sheriff to resign from office in order to secure his benefits in the Florida DROP retirement system. Baker County Sheriff Joey Dobson resigned from his post effective at midnight on Monday morning.
The sheriff will take advantage of a provision in the state system regulations to return to office after a 30 day period. Once he completes the mandated time out period, Sheriff Dobson will resume his duties when he is sworn in on January 6, 2009.
The 59-year-old, Dobson joined the state retirement program years ago and was required to select an ending service date for his retirement to take effect when he first enrolled. He had chosen the end of his third term as that date and was thus required to resign in order to qualify for his pension benefits, after 34 years of public service.
The forced retirement comes despite the fact that residents of the county overwhelmingly voted for the incumbent sheriff during last month’s elections. Dobson carried more than 80% of the electorate, in the three man race, to secure a fourth term as the top law enforcement official in the mostly rural county.
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| Chief Gerald Gonzalez will act as the interim sheriff for a term of thirty days. |
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County Judge Joey Williams issued a court order appointing Baker County Sheriff’s Office, Chief Gerald Gonzalez as the interim sheriff of the county for a term of thirty days.
Gonzalez has been with the BCSO since Dobson took office, starting out as a lieutenant and then being named chief during an administration reshuffling.
The interim sheriff has no plans to change the status quo within the department. "Nothing changes. This situation is just like when Sheriff Dobson took some time off to deal with a medical situation a few years ago. I am just holding down the fort for him," said Gonzalez.
"We will continue to follow the sheriff’s established philosophy and keep doing business like we have been doing under his leadership."
Dobson will be eligible to collect his full retirement benefits, in addition to his salary as sheriff once he returns to office next month, according to Chief Gonzalez.
