New Fire Department Coming to Deerfield Beach, FL, Amid Break-up
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
(TNS)
Deerfield Beach resident Matt Castillo was not expecting his new hometown’s government to take such a drastic step.
A recent arrival to the coastal city of 87,000, Castillo was satisfied with knowing law enforcement, fire rescue and emergency medical services were in the hands of the Broward Sheriff’s Office, with a 35-year track record of service that no one seemed to be complaining about. But when the City Commission voted this week to cut ties with BSO, it was a decision ripe for second-guessing.
Other cities that have made a similar decision are sending messages of encouragement to Deerfield Beach, assuring them that there is life after BSO and that it actually looks pretty good. Some officials are questioning the rosy projections of the city’s consultants, and Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony accused the commission of ignoring its residents and their needs.
“This misinformed decision poses great public safety concerns,” Tony said in his first public reaction to the decision Wednesday night. “Despite being presented with facts and deficiencies in its flawed feasibility study, members of the City Commission voted not to renew its contract with BSO. The Commission also ignored the voice of the people, which was consistent with an independent poll indicating 75% of Deerfield Beach voters supported the city renewing its contract.”
For Deerfield Beach, the independent Center for Public Safety’s projection of anywhere between $250 million and $900 million in savings over a 20-year period was too tempting to turn down. “It’s not just that we trust our consultant,” Mayor Todd Drosky said after the vote. “I have confidence in our city manager and staff going forward. I know this is in the best interest of Deerfield Beach long-term.”
Castillo was not as trusting. “I personally have zero trust in the city to do the right thing,” he said, criticizing officials for holding information sessions leading up to the vote without answering the toughest questions about how much it will cost in the short and long runs.
Steve Bertuccio, president of Local 4321 of the International Association of Firefighters, representing 800 BSO firefighters and paramedics, said the city would be in for a fight if it tried to realize its cost savings on the backs of its first responders.
“It’s not realistic,” he said. “They’re not going to save that much money unless they either cut personnel or they cut salaries and benefits by extreme amounts. And why is anyone going from BSO to Deerfield unless they’re willing to pay more? And if they do end up paying more, why not just pay the sheriff what he wanted?”
Tony prematurely terminated the department’s contract with the city in September when officials refused to give in to his demand for a substantial funding increase. When the contract expired, the city had a decision to make: establish its own independent police and fire-rescue operations or reach a new deal with the Sheriff’s Office, which has served Deerfield Beach since 1990.
The city chose independence.
The last city to do that was Pembroke Park in 2022. Police Chief Daniel DeCoursey said in an interview Friday that the town has been able to court new officers with a generous salary ($90,000 a year for officers with a decade of experience, plus a $20,000 signing bonus) and mutual-aid agreements with BSO, Hollywood and Hallandale Beach.
Deerfield Beach will need to hire seven times as many officers in two years to serve its population, DeCoursey said. And it won’t be easy.
“They’re going to need to figure out how many people from BSO are going to be willing to transfer,” he said. “It’s not guaranteed that they’ll just stick with their city rather than BSO.”
Deerfield will also need to factor in numerous startup costs, from vehicles and equipment to training, radios and computers. Expect little cooperation from BSO, he warned.
Southwest Ranches broke off from BSO 10 years ago. Unlike Pembroke Park and Deerfield Beach, the small southwest Broward town decided to hitch its fortunes to the Davie Police Department.
“Once we realized the initial cost of setting up independent departments, plus occasional needs like a SWAT unit, dive unit, K-9 and equestrian, we figured our best move was to contract with Davie,” said Southwest Ranches Mayor Steve Breitkreuz. “It wasn’t that BSO was providing bad service. It’s just that their cost increases did not seem reasonable.”
That was the same reasoning behind the decision made by Deerfield and Pembroke Park.
Deerfield Beach has a year and eight months to turn its rebellion against BSO into reality. Cost savings won’t be enough to redeem the decision in some residents’ eyes.
“I really thought cooler heads would prevail,” said Bertuccio, who had hoped commissioners would accept Tony’s offer of a two-year extension coupled with an independent study. When they didn’t, Bertuccio said he slumped in his chair. “No one brags about having the cheapest fire and police.”
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4457.
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