FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Broward County is considering taking back control of its fire rescue services from Sheriff Gregory Tony and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
Leading the effort is Broward County District 4 Commissioner Lamar fisher.
“The sheriff’s done nothing wrong,” said Fisher. “I want to make that clear, nothing wrong at all. It’s just that, how do we look at public safety in its total?”
In 2003, Broward County Fire Rescue merged with the sheriff’s office and they’ve been together ever since.
The latest five-year contract between the two is coming up soon.
“Times have changed, cost has changed, and also control has changed,” said Fisher.
Local control is what Fisher says it’s all about, but also there is the financial impact.
The county would get all the say when it’s time to negotiate contracts with cities, including how much it’s going to cost to rely on their firefighters and paramedics.
“Right now, unfortunately, we can’t dictate to the sheriff how to spend his money,” said Fisher. “We can give him money and make suggestions, but this brings it back to where we have full accounting of how the department is run.”
After 35 years, Deerfield Beach voted to split from BSO and start its own police and fire departments, while just weeks ago, Pompano Beach ultimately decided to renew with BSO after months of debating.
Pembroke Park ended its police contract with BSO in 2022.
Next Thursday, the county commission will talk about the process for how this would work.
The meeting to watch will take place in late September, as that’s when Fisher plans to call for a vote to end the contract with BSO.
Local 10 News reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment, but they did not respond as of the time of this story’s publication.
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