The fate of the county’s enhanced 911 system is poised to become the next battleground in the ongoing feud between the Broward County Commission and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The government body has placed control of 911 services on the agenda of its next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday. Officially, it’s a “motion to discuss whether to transition the operation of the County’s consolidated, regional E-911 system, including call-taking and dispatch services, from the Broward County Sheriff’s Office to the County.”
The commission has already voted to seize control of fire-rescue services, which have been handled by the Sheriff’s Office since 2003. That would happen after the current contract runs out in 2028.
The commission also is considering whether to replace the Sheriff’s Office with a newly created law enforcement agency at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Port Everglades.
Communications between the Sheriff’s Office and the county government appear to have broken down. Sheriff Gregory Tony was not at a county budget workshop earlier this past week and did not send a representative, even though funding for his office was a factor in every item on the agenda.
Commissioners practically tripped over each other to condemn the apparent snub, and Tony has done nothing to ease tensions in the days that followed.
“I’ve not heard anything from the sheriff,” said County Mayor Mark Bogen on Friday. “He’s asking for money, but he won’t come and sit with us to answer questions about what he needs it for.”
Tony has not communicated with County Administrator Monica Cepero, either, according to her office.
But he has posted memes and videos to his Facebook page touting public support for his services and job performance. He also notified the County Commission before last Tuesday’s meeting that he found enough money in his 2026 budget to give a retroactive 4% raise to all his deputies, a raise the commission did not account for when it approved its own funding for fiscal year 2027, which started Thursday.
The effects of the retroactive raises are also on next Tuesday’s commission agenda, but they underscore a complaint commissioners have repeated as their dispute with Tony has escalated — once the commission allocates funding for the Sheriff’s Office, Tony has the authority to rearrange the budget as he sees fit, without the commission’s knowledge or consent.
Tony’s funding requests have increased year over year, with the commission declining to shell out as much as he has wanted. For the 2026 budget, Tony appealed to the state government to compel the county to meet his demands, but no action was taken on his request and local officials consider it unlikely the governor will step in now that the new fiscal year is underway.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.