HALLANDALE BEACH -- Firefighters in Hallandale Beach are pushing for a merger with Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue — a plan that would expand the influence of Sheriff Scott Israel and his embattled agency.
Hallandale Beach officials on Sunday confirmed that merger talks are well underway, but one commissioner said the potential removal of Israel could have an impact on the outcome.
Israel has come under fire for his agency’s handling of the Parkland school shooting on Feb. 14 that left 17 dead and 17 injured.
City officials are waiting to see whether he is removed after Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis takes office on Tuesday.
“With this discussion of Scott Israel being removed, it might have an impact on how the commission would vote,” Commissioner Michele Lazarow said.
Officials with the Sheriff’s Office could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Vice Mayor Sabrina Javellana said she’s more focused on whether the merger makes sense for Hallandale Beach.
“Leadership does matter,” she said. “But I don’t believe in the condemnation of Sheriff Israel. And I think people are trying to shift the entire blame [for the missteps in the Parkland shooting] on him.”
Javellana said she’s planning to consider the merger no matter who is in charge at the Sheriff’s Office.
“I’m just worried if he is removed, who would be put in place by the new governor,” she said. “That new person is a little bit scary because you don’t know what direction they’ll take the agency.”
Commissioners agreed last summer to look into merging the city’s fire department with the Sheriff’s Office, but said they wanted to keep their own police department.
Fire union officials, alarmed by rising health care costs and talk of pension reform, urged the city to consider a merger back in late 2017.
“My residents don’t want BSO,” Lazarow said. “They want their own police and fire. I would have to tell my residents that it was the fire department’s request. They are asking to leave.”
Hallandale Beach commissioners would make the final decision on whether to move forward with a merger.
“We don’t know if the numbers line up,” Lazarow said. “That’s why we’re doing this.”
During city elections last fall, fire union officials were telling voters that residents were in danger because Hallandale Beach did not have enough firefighters to staff fire trucks with three men instead of two.
Jim Bunce, president of the fire union, could not be reached for comment.
In a previous interview, he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that the rank and file of the fire department supported merger talks.
“The city is indicating they don’t have the money to properly fund public safety,” Bunce said at the time. “This would be a safer move than just slowly cutting, cutting, cutting.”
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