Deerfield-News. com-Deerfield Beach, Fl-Below is an editorial from The Sun-Sentinel today. They, along with Deerfield-News.com, agree that Deerfield Beach will be best served with our own Police and Fire departments again.
A deal is a deal. Sheriff Gregory Tony has broken the deal when he unilaterally canceled the BSO contract with Deerfield Beach.
Why would Deerfield Beach enter into another contract with a Sheriff that does not honor them?
Doing the same thing and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
I believe that our Mayor and 2 Commissioners have it right and will vote in favor of Deerfield Beach Police and Deerfield Beach Fire Rescue either tomorrow or on the 20th of January.
Bring Them Home To Deerfield Beach, Again!
The above is the opinion of-
Howard Levy, Publisher,
Deerfield-News.com
Deerfield News Inc.
Feature photo credit DFB Police – Rich Grabowski
IT IS BROKEN
-Source Sun-Sentinel January 5 2026-
It’s Splitsville in Deerfield Beach.
After much acrimony over the rising costs of police protection and Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s confrontational antics, the North Broward city is poised to permanently sever ties with the sheriff’s office after 35 years. On Tuesday night, the city is expected to send the sheriff off into the sunset, after a last best offer by BSO yielded no significant savings.
Fed up with Tony’s bellicose style and an unwillingness to meaningfully negotiate, Deerfield Beach would have to start its own police force and fire-rescue service — a major undertaking that will take two years. Until then, BSO remains in this city of 90,000 residents.
At a commission meeting Tuesday, city officials and the public will review a consultant’s report that shows Deerfield Beach will save an enormous amount of money by splitting with BSO — as much as half a billion dollars over 20 years.
The 14-page report is thin on detail. So it is critical that consultants from The Center for Public Safety in Winter Park be there in person or remotely to field questions.
The normally quiet Deerfield Beach is only the 10th most populous city in Broward, but this still is a big deal for a number of reasons.
It shatters any sense of Tony’s invincibility. It is being closely watched by other cities also thinking of parting ways with BSO, notably Pompano Beach, Deerfield’s southern neighbor, which also awaits a consultant’s study on the feasibility of building its own police force and is the largest city patrolled by BSO.
Deerfield Beach Mayor Todd Drosky said people respect the men and women of BSO, but that the sheriff’s style has worn thin and residents want “local control” of public safety.
“That feedback has been overwhelming,” Drosky said, “and now they have the numbers.”
Commissioner Dan Shanetzky, who lives in and represents the Century Village retiree complex, remains a big BSO backer and is expected to vote to keep the sheriff (as will Commissioner Ben Preston, based on their past statements).
Shanetzky said he has walked door-to-door in Century Village for three weeks and residents overwhelmingly support keeping the sheriff. “If it’s not broken, don’t fix it — that’s the sentiment I’m getting,” Shanetzky said.
In our view, it is broken. It’s time for Deerfield Beach to go its own way, and the city must be as open as possible about the costs of building its own public safety system.
The Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Steve Bousquet, Deputy Opinion Editor Dan Sweeney, editorial writers Pat Beall and Martin Dyckman, and Executive Editor Gretchen Day-Bryant. Contact us by email: letters@sun-sentinel.com.
