GROVELAND, Fla. — Channel 9 learned that for more than two years, the Groveland police chief has been commuting 200 miles a day to work in a city vehicle.
It’s costing taxpayers thousands of dollars a year, according to documents from the city.
Police Chief Melvin Tennyson said he wants to clear up any confusion.
Tennyson took the top cop job in Groveland in 2013. He didn’t move from his home in St. Augustine.
He commutes in a city-owned vehicle about 100 miles each way.
Over the past 15 months, it has cost the city nearly $8,000 and 50,000 miles.
Tennyson reimbursed the city by nearly 60 percent and still does at $300 a month.
“We’re looking at less than $3,000 a year that the city puts out for my vehicle, and we have patrol officers and other city vehicles that cost more than that,” Tennyson.
Law enforcement experts Chuck Drago said there may be concerns of crisis availability and community involvement.
“Very difficult, if not impossible, to do from that distance,” he said.
Tennyson said he will be there in an emergency crisis.
“There’s obviously two sides to being too far away. If I was the savior of Groveland, I could be too far away,” he said.
He mentioned a sinkhole crisis that happened on a weekend in August.
“Had I lived across the street, the response would have still been the same,” he said. “We are fortunate as a city to have some very capable staff that work here at the (police department).”
The chief said he’s been looking to a rent a place closer to the city and often stays with friends to cut costs, or as needed in a quick turnaround.