Sheriff’s Empire Threatened: SW Ranches Wants Davie Cops Instead of Deputies
BY BUDDY NEVINS
Two communities are taking the first steps to dismantle Sheriff Scott Israel’s empire.
Southwest Ranches is now following Deerfield Beach’s lead, exploring whether to cancel its policing contract with the sheriff.
The restiveness among commissions in the two communities is the result of Israel pricing services at their actual cost for the first time in years, according to a spokesman for the sheriff who asked not to be identified.
“(Former Sheriff Al) Lamberti subsidized these cities by charging all the county residents more money,” the source said. “We have instituted fair prices.”
The source speculated that Southwest Ranches and Deerfield Beach’s actions were negotiating ploys designed to get the sheriff to lower his price.
Regardless of the reasons, Southwest Ranches Town Attorney Keith Poliakoff has been instructed to ask the Florida Attorney General whether it would be legal for Southwest Ranches to turn its policing over to Davie.
The letter went out last week.
“After receiving an initial proposal for a million dollar increase in services, the Town of Southwest Ranches Town Council unanimously authorized me to request an Opinion from the Attorney General to confirm that the Town has the ability to solicit services from the Town of Davie to be the Town’s law enforcement services provider. If the Town is unable to come to terms with BSO, the Town would be the first municipality in Broward County to seek law enforcement services from a neighboring municipality, opening the door for all other municipalities who may desire to seek an alternative option,” Polikoff explained.
Deerfield voted last month to explore other policing, fire and EMS options after the sheriff’s department hiked the annual rate by $3.5 million. The city is hiring a consultant to determine whether it would be cheaper to return the police to city control.
Police services in Deerfield have been handled by the Broward sheriff for 23 years, according to the Sun-Sentinel.
The Sheriff’s Department currently handles police services in 14 Broward cities and town, unincorporated sections of the county, the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Port Everglades and the Broward County courthouses. In addition, deputies guard four jails and the intake facility.
August 26th, 2013 at 4:28 pm
I’m not pleased with the service BSO provides to Dania Beach either.They hit us with a huge increase this next budget cycle also.We had to cut 9 fireman and 3 public safety people and the fireman resort to scare tactics with our residents.The nine fireman were part of a grant to put the 3d. fireman in our firetrucks.The grant ran out.You can’t get blood from a turnip.We can’t afford the BSO’s high cost during Israel’s tenure.I was NEVER in favor of Dania Beach going to BSO for our fire department.They low balled us figures and when they had us they raised the rates they charged.
August 26th, 2013 at 4:54 pm
As the dominoes fall.
It was not that long ago when former State Senator and Broward County Sheriff Ken Jenne, wanted Broward County to become the next Jacksonville (one city, one county).
With that in mind knowing the County Commissions thoughts on the idea were luke warm at best, MrJenne thought if he could not be Mayor of Broward County, he would run for Sheriff’s position, get elected and then at the expense of all Broward Ciunty residents, sign up smaller municipalities
August 26th, 2013 at 5:14 pm
Lauderhill bailed on BSO when Cochran was Sheriff, for financial reasons. Didn’t mean Cochran was weak. It just meant he was a straight shooter in business matters.
Does anyone really expect Israel to give contract cities a break and charge less than full price for police/fire services? Charging them any less than full price means non-city residents would be subsidizing the city for services by using county tax dollars. That wouldn’t be fair!
August 26th, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Page 2 (con’t)
at discounted prices, the newly elected sheriff would start bringing in more and more municipalities thus building his fiefdom so one day the sheriff would become Mayor of Broward.
Here we are today with all these municipalities finally paying their fair share and they don’t like it.. Thats to much money to pay for our little city they say and they now are crying fowl. We’ve been hood winked they cry. Now Sheriff Israel is having to deal with the unhappy elected officals and employees who want a piece of his behind.He has to deal with the grandeous plans of his friend and former Sheriff Jenne.
The County Commission would best prepare themselves for the onslaught of the dis-satisfied municipalities coming down the pike.
August 26th, 2013 at 5:38 pm
Page 2 (con’t)
at discounted prices, the newly elected sheriff would start bringing in more and more municipalities thus building his fiefdom so one day the sheriff would become Mayor of Broward.
Here we are today with all these municipalities finally paying their fair share and they don’t like it.. Thats to much money to pay for our little city they say and they now are crying fowl. We’ve been hood winked they cry. Now Sheriff Israel is having to deal with the unhappy elected officals and employees who want a piece of his behind.He has to deal with the grandeous plans of his friend and former Sheriff Jenne.
The County Commission would best prepare themselves for the onslaught of the dis-satisfied municipalities coming down the pike.
August 26th, 2013 at 5:57 pm
I am part of a group who has just received form approval from the City of Pompano Beach City Clerk and City Attorney to place a Citizen Initiative on the November 2014 ballot to remove the BSO from Pompano Beach and replace it with our own Local Police Department. We are gathering signatures now. If you would like to talk please call me at 786 267 7444, Tom Terwilliger, 3160 NW 1st Avenue, Pompano Beach, Fl.
August 26th, 2013 at 6:19 pm
Lamberti lied his azz off with those contracts. Lamberti threatened and intimidated local officials. What is Israel supposed to do? It is OK to let the cities go back if they want to. It was Lamberti who was determined to keep the “kingdom” no matter what. Thank god he is gone.
August 26th, 2013 at 6:22 pm
@ just saying:
Lauderhill bailed because corrupt queen Lieberman had other plans for the tax money and power.
August 26th, 2013 at 6:24 pm
@ dania:
Look what Lamberti did with Dania Fire…he gifted all the command staff with cushy, high paying positions. Look it up on sheriff.org….they are all Dania Fire peeps. No wonder they went.
August 26th, 2013 at 6:56 pm
Scott Israel is exactly right. The cost is the cost and if cities have better options they should exercise them. BSO does not need to be in the municipal police or fire business. Even without one contract city, we would still have BSO to patrol the port, the airport, the courts, to conduct special initiatives, run the jails, etc. BSO can be as large or as small as Broward County requires so if cities want to go off on their own I say let them. This is not about kingdoms it is about public safety for residents and businesses.
August 26th, 2013 at 9:48 pm
@BSO Watcher – think about what you’re saying, 2/3 of BSO deputies work in Cities. No Cities, no work, pretty straight forward. It doesn’t cost what it cost, it costs what the customer is willing to pay and if Cities were smart they would create multi city departments thru the legislature and freeze out high cost BSO. You’re right, other options exist and soon people are going to wise up and look for better, less expensive options than the BSO bloat that exists today. Isreal so badly wanted to be Sheriff, well now he is and he better start acting like it.
August 26th, 2013 at 10:02 pm
Scott Israel is finishing what Ron Cochran started. Destroy BSO. There has been a long rivalry between BSO and FLPD.
Ron Cochran was clear he wanted to get out of the uniformed policing business. That was why all off the unincorporated areas were forced to be annexed.
FROM BUDDY:
The annexation of the unincorporated areas may have had the support of Cochran, but it was a long-stated initiative of the Broward Legislative Delegation and the County Commission.
August 27th, 2013 at 7:38 am
So when the deputies on these cities stay at BSO who will these cities hire, castoffs of other agencies and rookies? Most cities with their own force now are paying new officers nothing and limited pensions.
August 27th, 2013 at 8:46 am
Blame Lamberti all you like, but this mess was the making of Ken Jenne and Eight Democrat County Commissioners. Pull the verbatim minutes from the County Commission meeting when Parrish and Wasserman-Rubin guffawed all over themselves giving Jenne the County Fire Department, and continueing to cowtow to every budget request he ever made. It’s no secret that the citizens of non-BSO cities have been subsidizing the BSO cities for years. Why should taxpayers in Fort Lauderdale, Pembroke Pines, Hollywood and Sunrise pay to more for those cities to have new apparatus, cost-of-living increases, better healthcare, shiny police cars and a palatial office for his majesty?
August 27th, 2013 at 11:18 am
How many municipalities do we have in Broward? It’s ridiculous. Most of the cities should be annexed / merged and BSO should be the only police agency in Broward County. But that would be too efficient and make too much sense.
August 27th, 2013 at 12:09 pm
Han: The deputies get hired by whoever provides the service. BSO hired city officers when selected to provide service to a city that formerly provided it themselves and same will apply if a city takes over a BSO account. The issue is the cost and the service provided. If a city can find a better deal they should. BSO has a right to price their service and cities have a right to shop for other alternatives.
August 27th, 2013 at 12:22 pm
The Town of SW Ranches was never a fiscally sustainable idea. Now they are being made to pay their honest bill for policing. If a better alternative is available they should take it. Same goes for every city. Pay your true bill or find a better alternative. Israel is correct and BSO has every right to price their own service. His business is public safety and the Walmart mentality is not what Broward needs. I commend him for making that clear. Honestly there isn’t much to say about any city that can’t afford to provide their own essential services in the first place. Why even be a city if you can’t do at least that?
August 27th, 2013 at 12:32 pm
Makes you wonder if good ole Southwest Ranches is acting out of spite due to Castillo…..
August 27th, 2013 at 1:07 pm
Broward has too many municipalities. Most of them should be merged / annexed and have BSO cover the whole county.
August 27th, 2013 at 1:57 pm
@ Nunz
GREAT POINT or BSO (Castillo) is putting the screws to SWR in terms of increased costs.
Wasn’t there a personal rift between Jean Robb (Deerfield) and Scott Israel earlier this year too?
August 28th, 2013 at 9:10 am
So, if BSO is going to be charging cities more money for providing services, why is Scott Israel going before the County Commission asking for more money from county taxpayers?
August 29th, 2013 at 7:57 am
You people are waaaaay off. SW Ranches is nearly broke. Plain and simple, it was never a financially feasible idea to create that town. That reality is now crashing down on them and this is the evidence. They cannot pay their bills.
If they can get a bargain price on law enforcement from Davie they should take it. BSO needs to focus on putting the best force it can on the road and charging every customer the correct amount. Nobody needs Monty Hall in charge of BSO just charge them the correct amount for a change.
Assuming any of the prior under billing began with Jenne, Al Lamberti had four years to fix that problem. Four years. He must have seen it and chosen for political reasons not to man up to the task of fixing the problem. Scott Israel on the other hand is there less than one year and already he is charging the honest amount for the service.
You tell me which is the better man? To me that’s a no brainer.
August 30th, 2013 at 3:28 pm
BSO Watcher said: “Scott Israel is exactly right. The cost is the cost and if cities have better options they should exercise them. BSO does not need to be in the municipal police or fire business. Even without one contract city, we would still have BSO to patrol the port, the airport, the courts, to conduct special initiatives, run the jails, etc. BSO can be as large or as small as Broward County requires so if cities want to go off on their own I say let them. This is not about kingdoms it is about public safety for residents and businesses.”
Too many jobs would be lost with that scenario. Cities will realize that “I can get it for you wholesale” doesn’t apply here! Stick with the Sheriff!!!
August 31st, 2013 at 7:19 am
Oh no! Mercy no!! The sky is falling the sky is falling! What will we do? Woe is me.
Please.
Just tell the town to pay their frigging bill or go shop in a new store.