Wildwood commissioners Monday honored three Police Department members and boosted the officer annual starting salary.
Community Outreach Specialist Roni Wood was named employee of the year and IT Specialist Eric Church was named officer of the quarter for the last three months of 2024. Elliot Van Slyke is the latest recipient of the Anthony A.J. Johnson scholarship for police training.
They also were honored by American Legion Tri-City Post 18.
The officer starting salary was raised to $60,000 from $56,870. Last May, the starting salary was increased to $55,000 from $51,000.
Police Chief Randy Parmer said the increases are necessary to compete for job applicants. The department currently has a dozen vacancies and two more were filled on Monday.
A salary survey in November found Wildwood’s starting salary ranked ninth among 13 area departments, behind Leesburg, Lady Lake and Orlando.
Commissioner Joe Elliott said the state also recently raised law enforcement salaries.
“We can see the handwriting on the wall and we’re going to fall behind,” he said.
Parmer praised the work ethic of Officer Roni Wood, who he said insisted on coming to work even after she broke her ankle.
“If we could harness (her work ethic), we would all be millionaires,” he said.
Since joining the department over two years ago, Parmer said Wood has organized Halloween and Memorial Day events, secured donations of $4,000 for veterans and more than 100 bicycles for kids and got a $50,000 grant from SECO Energy.
Parmer said Church’s computer expertise saved data in Wildwood when the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office suffered a serious hack last year.
Van Slyke won a scholarship named for Anthony A.J. Johnson, an officer who died tragically in December 2021.