DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. — Deerfield Beach held its first city commission meeting on Tuesday since cutting ties with the Broward Sheriff’s Office.

It’s an issue that divided the community for nearly a year.

While that topic was not on Tuesday’s agenda, residents still showed up raising questions over the logistics of the city starting its own police and fire departments.

“I’m just trying to understand how this will impact us as citizens, from a tax perspective for one,” said resident John Slattery. “It’s all happened so quickly, without any transparency about the numbers, how it will be paid for, and any of that.”

Deerfield Beach Mayor Todd Drosky was among the majority on the dais who voted to split with BSO.

“Quite simply, the BSO model no longer works for a city of our size and our budget,” he said at the time of the vote.

Details are light on the city’s transition plan.

They have until September 2027 to figure it out, as that is when BSO will stop providing services to the city.

Local 10 reached out to the city to request an interview with Drosky but received no response as of the time of this story’s publication.

Drosky previously argued the split will give the city local control and save it big money, citing a consultant’s report that claimed Deerfield Beach will save hundreds of millions of dollars over the next two decades.

“Every city I have to talked to say this can be done and they’ll be there to support us every step of the way,” he said. “We are not alone, and Deerfield Beach has a lot of friends rooting for our success.”

Pompano Beach, the largest city in BSO’s jurisdiction, could be next.

Later this month, Pompano Beach is expected to review its own report about whether ditching BSO would save money

The city has its own fire service but still relies on BSO for policing.

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony called Deerfield Beach’s vote misinformed and said the story they relied on was flawed.

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