Pompano Beach will get its first public look Tuesday at a study commissioned last year to answer a simple question with wide-ranging impact: Can the city save a bundle by ending its 27-year partnership with the Broward Sheriff’s Office?
The answer, according to an executive summary of the report shared individually with city commissioners last week, is yes. Or maybe. Or no. It’s complicated.
With an estimated population of 118,000, Pompano Beach is the largest city under contract with the Sheriff’s Office. It jettisoned its own police department in 1999 but has maintained its own fire rescue service. Last year, when Sheriff Gregory Tony pitched an annual contract increase of 16%, Pompano responded by commissioning a report on the cost of independence.
The consultants, Raftelis and the Center for Public Safety Management, refrained from the headline-grabbing findings that had Deerfield Beach beaming at the prospect of saving anywhere between $200 million and $900 million over a 20-year period.
No such estimate was provided for Pompano Beach. Instead, the consultants weighed four different approaches and urged commissioners to consider the cost and benefit of each. Sticking with the Sheriff’s Office saves money. Dropping the agency would give the city the most control over decision-making and cost-cutting. In between are two intermediate approaches: working with nearby agencies on a regional public safety plan, or reconfiguring services with the Sheriff’s Office, taking on some responsibilities while leaving the rest in the hands of Sheriff Gregory Tony and his staff.
“This report does not advocate for a specific outcome,” the report’s authors wrote. “The appropriate path forward depends on the city’s policy priorities, risk tolerance, fiscal capacity and long-term vision for public safety governance.”
Commissioners and Mayor Rex Hardin have been careful to remind residents that the report should be greeted with caution and not with a sense of urgency. In Deerfield Beach, the city commissioned its report in October, received it in December and voted in January to create its own agency for the first time in 30 years.
That will not be the timeline in Pompano Beach.
“The report provides us with the bare minimum of what we need to make a decision,” said Commissioner Alison Fournier. “I have historically thought while there are some service gaps, an independent police force would come with costs that are prohibitively expensive.” But Tony’s most recent budget request led her to be more open to exploring independence.
The Sheriff’s Office has defended its track record in northeast Broward County. Sheriff’s Maj. Dave Ellwood spoke at a Feb. 10 meeting, citing statistics showing that crime in Pompano Beach overall decreased by 13% from 2024 to 2025. The number of shootings and homicides went down.
“Those aren’t just numbers,” he said. “Those are people in the community.”
Mayor Hardin said he expects the Sheriff’s Office to have representatives at Tuesday’s meeting, which gets underway at 6 p.m. at Pompano Beach City Hall, 100 W. Atlantic Blvd.
Rafael Olmeda can be reached at rolmeda@sunsentinel.com or 954-356-4457.