Lane County Sheriff Tom Turner has been chosen as the new Chief of Police in Florence. Contract negotiations are still underway but Turner is expected to start his new job May 1st.
Sheriff Turner was instrumental in convincing voters to approve a funding levy for the Lane County Jail in 2013. Erin Reynolds is Florence City Manager. She says Turner has established good relationships in the region and will be an asset to the city.
Reynolds: "I'm excited to work with him as City Manager along with our finance staff on being creative for funding solutions because we, like many jurisdictions, also have funding constraints for our public safety. And I know that Tom has some really good ideas there and I’m really excited to work with him on that."
Tom Turner has been Lane County Sheriff since 2011, when he was appointed to replace Russ Berger. Turner was elected to the position in 2012. Florence has been operating under interim Police Chief Lynn Lamm since Ray Gutierrez retired at the end of 2013.