Broward sheriff in a city showdown: You don’t need your own police department

As a small Broward city began to consider starting its own police department to save money, Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony arrived at the city’s budget hearing Wednesday night with a strong message: You’ll regret ending your agreement with BSO.

As West Park, a 2.2-square-mile city south of Hollywood, finds itself embroiled in controversy over a commissioner’s lawsuit against city officials, a new showdown appears to have started with the county sheriff.

Tony, along with about a dozen BSO deputies, went to a West Park budget hearing to urge city commissioners not to end — let alone even consider ending — the city’s contract with the sheriff’s office. West Park doesn’t have its own police department and pays BSO for police services, but commissioners have been irked by increases in cost to the police agency by millions of dollars over the last few years.

Tony, appearing before city commissioners, said he’s been “paying close attention” to the city’s consideration of alternatives to BSO.

The West Park City Commission was supposed to consider whether to pursue a study on starting the city’s own police department. The commissioners didn’t end up discussing the study because they ran out of time. BSO provides police services for several cities in Broward, including Cooper City and Pompano Beach.

Tony spoke at the West Park meeting to make an early argument against the city ending its policing agreement with BSO. The city’s current agreement with the agency began Jan. 25, 2023, and is scheduled to end on Sept. 30, 2027.

“You’re not going to be able to afford to start your police department,” Tony told the commission.

Tony’s presence in West Park is the latest in a larger saga of BSO’s contract dispute with the city of Deerfield Beach, which is interested in re-establishing its own police department and fire rescue. Last month, while speaking to reporters, Tony told a cautionary tale about Pembroke Park, the town neighboring West Park that ended its partnership with BSO in 2022 to start its own police department

While speaking to the West Park commission, Tony spun the same yarn. He said that while Pembroke Park wanted to save money by starting its own police department, the town is now “paying 70.3% higher than what they were paying with us.” Tony went on to say that he regretted not getting involved with Pembroke Park’s decision sooner, which is why he came to West Park with his message.

“I beg forgiveness to God and I beg forgiveness for the people of Pembroke Park that I didn’t go out and rage hell when this mayor was over there playing games with politics,” Tony said. “And I explained this to him and every single one of these commissioners that they were going to compromise the safety of the community, and yet they did it anyway. I am here fighting for this community.”

During the November election, over 83% of West Park residents voted for Tony to keep his job as sheriff, he said. As he prepared to speak to the commission, someone passed out informational packets he had printed out for each audience member.

“If you go independent, you’ll be paying somewhere between 60 to 70% more for cost of services. Here’s another reality. What are you gonna pay them? How are you going to recruit?” Tony said. “If you undercut what you’re currently paying us and say we’re going to start at a lower cost to get officers in here, you’re gonna hit the bottom of the barrel. You’re gonna get officers that we fired. Ask Pembroke Park.”

Pembroke Park Police Chief Daniel DeCoursey has disputed several of Tony’s claims, saying that officers had left BSO but were not fired, WLRN reported. In 2022, the Sun Sentinel reported former Pembroke Park Police Chief David Howard had hired several officers who were fired or forced out of their old jobs. The Pembroke Park commission fired Howard in 2023.

West Park City Commissioner Katrina Touchstone sparred with Tony over several complaints, including why the cost of BSO’s services has increased over the last few years. According to West Park’s proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year, the city’s police budget increased from about $5 million in 2021-22 to $7 million the following year to just over $8 million the next year. For the upcoming fiscal year, the city had set aside over $8.8 million for police in the budget.

“This is not a rich community,” Touchstone said. “Our median annual household income is only $56,000. Our residents are complaining about the lack of visibility, the lack of accountability by your BSO officers.”

Tony explained that BSO’s budget is largely determined by the county, which is increasing its funding for the sheriff’s office by 3%, which he called “unacceptable.” He added that BSO’s negotiation team worked with the city manager on the contract.

Though Mayor Felicia Brunson thanked Tony for BSO’s service to the community, some of her fellow commissioners were not impressed with his presentation. Commissioner Cristina Eveillard later said the sheriff was arrogant.

“He doesn’t come with humbleness,” she said.

A last-minute budget vote

While West Park’s future with BSO remains uncertain, the city had bigger issues Wednesday night.

The commission had to vote on a new tax rate and finalize the budget by 11 p.m. or risk violating state law. As the meeting devolved into intense arguments between city officials several times, they nearly failed to vote on time.

West Park, as many residents and city officials would say, is in a moment of crisis. Meetings regularly break out into heated squabbles between commissioners, the mayor and other city officials. Weeks ago, Touchstone sued the city, the mayor, the city clerk and the city manager, accusing them of running the city “like a dictatorship” and preventing an investigation into alleged corruption. Some residents criticized Touchstone, Vice Mayor Joy Smith and Eveillard, who formed a three-person majority on the five-seat board, for supporting a $30,000 raise for themselves while opposing an up-to 5% raise for city staff based on cost of living and merit.

While the raise for commissioners was not on the proposed $36 million budget, plenty of other items were, including the proposed raise for city staff. City manager W. Ajibola Balogun spent about an hour and half on a five-part presentation discussing the budget and answering commissioners’ questions from previous workshops. Audience members and commissioners grew weary.

“There’s a part five?” Touchstone said. “This is ridiculous.”

It took the rest of the meeting to handle the first two items on the otherwise lengthy agenda: the tax rate and the final budget.

Ultimately, the following changes to the budget were made: raises for staff were cut to 2%, three community events were consolidated into one, and the quantity of the city’s bimonthly community newspaper was reduced.

The commission also voted to reduce the money for BSO from $8.8 million to about $8.6 million.

The budget was finalized at the last minute, with the mayor adjourning the meeting at 11:01 p.m. The audience sighed in relief and immediately got up to leave.

“I knew y’all could do it!” one resident said.

This story was originally published September 20, 2025 at 5:00 AM.