The Villages Sumter County Public Safety Center near Pinellas Plaza now is the Sheriff William “Bill” Farmer Public Safety Center after action Tuesday night by county commissioners to rename it.
Honoring Farmer was an initiative by Commissioner Andrew Bilardello.
During a career in law enforcement, Bilardello said he encountered many county sheriffs and that Farmer was the best of all of them.
“I wanted to recognize Sheriff Farmer while he is still with us,” Bilardello said. “He dedicated 50 year of his life to Sumter County.”
Now serving his sixth term, Farmer first was elected sheriff in 1996.
He served 46 years with the sheriff’s office after working for the FBI, Florida Division of Corrections and as a patrolman for the Webster and Wildwood police departments.
He has been a member of many boards and dedicated to youth-related organizations. He is a past chairman and longtime board member of the Florida Sheriff’s Youth Ranches and past president of the Sumter Gideon Camp.
He is a U.S. Army veteran, serving from 1966 to 1968.
Farmer attended Sumter County public schools and earned an associate degree in criminal justice from Lake Sumter Community College. He received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from St. Leo University and did graduate work at the National Sheriff’s Institute, Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute and the FBI National Academy.
Renaming the public safety center came after commissioners established a county policy at their April 11 meeting for naming parks and buildings.
The policy states that the naming of a county facility after an individual, living or deceased, “is reserved for exceptional circumstances as approved by a majority vote” of commissioners.