By Dan Christensen, FloridaBulldog.org
It’s beginning to look like the Broward County Commission has had enough of controversial Sheriff Gregory Tony and it’s taking active steps aimed at dismantling large chunks of his Broward Sheriff’s Office.
On the agenda for the commission’s next meeting on Tuesday, April 14, is a motion to direct County Administrator Monica Cepero “to outline the process necessary to bring the Broward County Department of Fire Rescue” – contracted out to BSO since 2003 – “back under the operational control of Broward County…”
Such a move would immediately pull more than 890 BSO fire rescue and emergency services personnel out from under the sheriff’s control and eliminate about $220 million in revenues that BSO’s budget projections for fiscal year 2025-2026 say it collects for those services. (The accuracy of the sheriff’s budget numbers, however, are questionable. In February, Florida Bulldog found tens of millions of dollars in budget discrepancies when comparing BSO’s Department of Fire Rescue’s actual revenues for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 to the detailed expense pages for contracted services provided to eight municipalities, Port Everglades and the aviation rescue unit.)
But it gets worse for Tony, the current constitutional overlord of the county’s combined police and fire services, who has asked Gov. Ron DeSantis and his Cabinet to order the county to give BSO $73 million more than it has already approved. The sentence in next week’s agenda goes on to say that along with starting to figure out how to take back control of fire rescue, the commission should consider the findings in a consulting firm’s study – still under wraps – “regarding forming a law enforcement agency” to replace BSO at Port Everglades and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
BSO provides law enforcement and fire rescue services at both by contract with the county. “Given the critical nature of these services, a discussion of the public safety needs of (both) would be incomplete without also discussing fire rescue services,” the agenda item says.
Should the county take direct control of those duties the loss of those contracts would cost BSO $28.5 million in revenues from the port and $41.6 million from the airport, using projected revenues contained in its current budget report.
Asked for comment, BSO’s public information unit issued a statement reciting the fire rescue department’s accomplishments and called it a “cornerstone of public safety in Broward County.”
“BSO takes pride in providing premier services to Broward County and is revolutionizing pre-hospital trauma care. BSFR was the first organization in Florida to administer life-saving whole blood transfusions,” it reads. “BSO’s Department of Fire Rescue and Emergency Services also takes community education to the next level. Employing a second-to-none public education program, our dedicated team of life safety educators teaches hands-only CPR and bleeding control courses, critical skills in a lifesaving emergency. They also offer free car seat installations and inspections and help educate parents and caregivers on child passenger safety.”
THE HUNT FOR SAVINGS
Sheriff Tony’s aggressive push this year demanding significant hikes for cities contracting police and fire services with BSO, sometimes despite caps, have fueled significant budget disputes. Tony has said he wants the increases to pay for raises to deputies and firefighters but given past experience some elected officials are skeptical.
One of them is the sponsor of next week’s agenda item, Broward Commissioner Lamar Fisher. In a Monday interview with Florida Bulldog, he pointed out that time and again commissioners had granted the sheriff’s requests for additional funds, including for pay raises and hiring.
“A couple of years ago he wanted additional money for detention deputies, so we said over a three-year period we’ll give you (about) $8 million a year towards that. But at the end of the day the issue is that we can’t dictate to the sheriff, whoever sits in that seat, how to spend those monies,” Fisher said. “He can spend whatever dollars he gets however he wishes. And that’s frustrating at times because we’re trying to fill those gaps where he’s requested funds.”
“Fifty four percent of our budget right now is public safety, which is fine. Public safety is #1 for us,” Fisher said. “But we just need to look if there are any alternatives out there. We need to see if there are any alternatives for us to save dollars and at the same time provide the best public safety we can to our residents and visitors.”
Fisher said when he was first elected to the commission in 2018 the cost of public safety was “less than 50 percent, probably in the 40s. It continues to creep up every year.”
On July 1, 2003, the county commission voted 6-2 to approve an interlocal agreement with then-Sheriff Ken Jenne regarding the delivery of fire rescue services. “The county provides funding for regional fire rescue services, such as helicopters and hazardous materials response units. Municipalities contracting with BSO for fire rescue services pay BSO for those services.”
The county’s reconsideration of the outsourcing to BSO of its fire rescue department comes at a time when some municipalities are withdrawing, or thinking about withdrawing, from Tony’s BSO.
The first to depart was tiny Pembroke Park in south Broward. It ended its contract with the sheriff and launched its own police department in 2022. It continues to contract with BSO for fire rescue services.
Following sometimes ugly clashes between Deerfield Beach leaders and the sheriff over his demand for an additional $7.2 million, which the city said was too expensive, the city commission voted 4-1 in January to end its longstanding contracts with BSO for police and fire services. Today, the city is transitioning as it prepares to re-establish its own police and fire departments next year. It recently hired former BSO District Chief of Oakland Park John Bukata as its transition manager.
Pompano Beach, which also signed up with BSO decades ago under Sheriff Jenne, hired a private firm last year to find out if it would benefit from going its own way regarding police services. The Sun-Sentinel reported last month that it would cost the city more to re-establish its own police department and that the city manager has urged the commission to extend its contract with BSO for another year while they think it through.
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