On the governance front, Starke has been navigating significant changes. In January 2025, Starke City Commissioners proposed a referendum to make the city clerk position appointed rather than elected, aiming to modernize and streamline city operations. City Clerk Jimmy Crosby resigned on March 5, 2024, just days after an FDLE raid, citing concerns over his qualification for office and a desire to avoid distraction from city operations. This resignation, combined with the police department’s dissolution, marked a period of instability in Starke’s municipal administration.

Following the disbandment of the Starke Police Department in 2024, law enforcement was taken over by the Bradford County Sheriff’s Office after a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation revealed issues with missing evidence due to insufficient training. This decision, driven by budget constraints, aimed to save the city approximately $475,000 annually, as the sheriff’s office contract cost $625,000 compared to the police department’s $1.1 million budget. The move left the elected Police Chief Jeff Johnson in a precarious position, as his role remained despite the department’s closure, pending a potential voter referendum to eliminate the position entirely.

This transition followed a tumultuous period, including a Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) raid on City Hall on February 27, 2024, investigating missing evidence, though a subsequent report in February 2025 found no criminal activity, citing only 99 unaccounted evidence items out of 2,461 logged between 2010 and 2021.

Additionally, there are circling unconfirmed plans by Governor DeSantis to potentially convert Camp Blanding, a military training center near Starke, into a detention facility, though these claims lack official corroboration and should be treated as inconclusive.

The closure of a family-owned trucking company, Davis Express, in April 2025 after 44 years of operation also impacted the local economy, as the company filed a WARN Notice for mass layoffs.

Starke Navigating Recent Changes to Governance

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