FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A unanimous vote Tuesday by Broward County commissioners means an assessment will soon land on their desks, one that details future steps and a cost structure if the county retakes control of firefighting duties instead of contracting that work to the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
“This has nothing to do with Sheriff Tony, who is doing a wonderful job,” said Broward Commissioner Lamar Fisher. “It’s just to look at the feasibility, and what it would be prudent to look at public safety in its total.”
Commissioners have already commissioned a feasibility study to look at launching in-house police departments at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades to replace BSO.
Fisher said 54% of Broward County’s budget is devoted to BSO for public safety.
“I think it’s a business decision that we need to look at, right?” he said. “When it continues to be 54, 55, 56, 57%, is there ways that we can cut costs and we can have more control at the end of the day.”
Attaching the fire rescue component to the ongoing law enforcement feasibility study as a cost-effective mechanism has been met with a favorable response among other county leaders publicly.
BSO assumed control of fire rescue in 2003 after it was previously operated by the county.
This new idea would give a layer of transparency since the county can’t dictate how dollars are spent.
By law, the sheriff’s office doesn’t have to disclose that information.
“By bringing it under, it obviously provides a different accountability when it comes back to Broward County. We specifically know what those costs would be,” said Fisher.
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