Deerfield Beach has voted to cut ties with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO), ending a 35-year relationship that deteriorated sharply over the past year amid rising costs, political tensions and competing visions for public safety.
In a 4–1 vote Tuesday night, the City Commission approved a motion to begin establishing its own police and fire rescue departments for the first time since 1990. The decision followed months of heated debate between city leaders and Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony, with both sides accusing the other of placing politics and personalities ahead of effective policing.
Mayor Todd Drosky said the move would give the city greater autonomy and long-term stability.
“The vote gives the city control of its own destiny,” Drosky said, adding that the decision was made in the best interest of Deerfield Beach’s roughly 87,000 residents.
Deerfield Beach has contracted law enforcement services from BSO since 1990 and fire rescue services since 2011. The city’s contract with the sheriff’s office expired in September, triggering a two-year window in which the city could either renegotiate or pursue independent operations. Under the expired agreement, BSO is required to continue providing police and fire services until September 2027.
In October, the city hired the Independent Center for Public Safety to conduct a feasibility study on creating its own departments. The consultant projected potential savings of more than $500 million over 20 years, while acknowledging the figure was an estimate and that actual savings could range from $250 million to $900 million.
Sheriff Tony sharply criticized the study, calling it flawed and biased. At a January 6 commission meeting, he described it as “an advocacy memorandum to support some of the agenda to move towards an independent police department and fire rescue.”
“If you are going to make that decision, it needs to be an informed decision based upon data analytics, sound reporting, qualitative and quantitative analysis, and not an emotional decision that impacts the 87,000 people and the hundreds of first responders that have been serving this community for 35 years,” Tony said.
Ahead of Tuesday’s vote, Tony offered the city a two-year contract extension that would maintain current services while a new, sheriff-funded study was conducted by a consultant chosen from what he described as top reputable firms. The commission rejected that offer.
In an op-ed published on the eve of the decision, Tony warned against what he described as a hasty move based on “unsupported assumptions” and “incomplete or inaccurate information.”
“The commission acknowledged that public safety cannot be governed by theoretical savings or untested models and that any proposed changes must be rooted in verifiable data, operational reality and a clear demonstration that it will enhance, not jeopardize, public safety,” Tony wrote.
Drosky pushed back, saying the city had fulfilled its obligation by commissioning an independent analysis and relying on professional staff.
“It’s not just that we trust our consultant,” he said. “I have confidence in our city manager and staff going forward. I know this is in the best interest of Deerfield Beach long-term.”
He also dismissed concerns about the wide range of projected savings, noting that long-term forecasts are inherently variable. “Even on the low end, a savings of $250 million is nothing to sneeze at,” the mayor said.
At the center of the dispute were escalating costs. In August, BSO sought a 9.4% increase for fire rescue services and a 10.1% increase for law enforcement, despite contractual language limiting annual increases to no more than 5%. Drosky said the BSO model left the city with limited authority over staffing, compensation and operational decisions while bearing the full financial burden.
“Under the BSO model, it is indisputable that the city has limited authority over staffing, compensation benefits, and operational decisions, yet it bears the full financial impact of cost increases,” he said.
The mayor also strongly rejected claims that public safety would suffer without BSO.
“The fallacy that lives will be lost or that there’ll be a lack of public safety with such a switch is nothing but baseless fear-mongering,” Drosky said. “To imply these men and women somehow would be less professional or less attentive to their duties, merely because they work for the city of Deerfield Beach instead of BSO is offensive to everyone who wears the uniform.”
Public comment ahead of the vote was divided, with some residents arguing that law enforcement services were not broken and did not need fixing. Since the vote, Sheriff Tony has not issued a public statement.
