INDIAN RIVER SHORES — Town Manager Robbie Stabe Thursday announced to the Town Council that the new Indian River Shores Public Safety Director, Richard Rosell, will start work on March 20.
Rosell, who Stabe said has “good interpersonal skills and will be an asset to the Town,” comes to the Shores with 27 years on the job with the New Jersey State Police, plus experience managing two municipal public safety departments in Springfield, New Jersey where he managed a 90-plus member force of police, fire and paramedic personnel and a $7 million budget.
Roughly 70 percent of the Town’s annual expenditures, or $3.8 of the Town’s $5.3 million operating budget goes to fund the Public Safety Department, which provides police, fire and paramedic service with mostly triple-certified full-time officers, plus some per diem personnel.
The new director’s salary will be $97,900 per year, plus $2,000 to cover relocation expenses. Rosell has made a five-year commitment to the Town, which is stated in his application cover letter was no problem. However, he will serve at-will and does not have a contract with the Town.
The continuity in this key leadership role would be something the Town has not had recently. Shores Public Safety Department has had four leaders in the past three years, beginning with the retirement of Chief Bill Schaumann as part of a retirement buyout program in mid-2012.
Stabe took over the top spot, but then moved over to replace Town Manager Richard Jefferson in early 2013. Lt. Mike Jacobs then assumed the interim post, but then retired last fall. Lt. Tony Dudley then took over as interim public safety director.
Rosell will be leaving his post as Director of Public Safety in Dover, New Jersey, where he has 30 police and 70 firefighters and firemedics in his charge. He was hired on there in 2012 for $90,000 per year to replace an ousted director.
Expected to bring “a fresh perspective and new ideas” to the Town, Rosell holds two master’s degrees, one in homeland defense and security from the Naval Postgraduate School and another in human resources training and development from Seton Hall University.
Rosell is a graduate of the Federal Bureau of Investigations National Academy, a Certified Advanced Army Antiterrorism Officer and a Certified Police Officer in Florida, as well as being a former U.S. Marine Corps reservist.
Councilman Dick Haverland said, “Congratulations to Robbie, this guy sounds like a terrific hire,” adding that the search was conducted in a very cost-efficient and expeditious manner.
Stabe thanked Dudley for stepping up to keep the department running smoothly after the retirement of Mike Jacobs last fall.
Among the achievements during Dudley’s tenure as interim director, Stabe said, was that the Shores Public Safety Department just received its second re-accreditation by the State of Florida. Stabe said the Town is one of only 181 law enforcement agencies in Florida to be accredited, out of more than 500 agencies.
“We were completely re-accredited, with no issues,” Stabe said.
