October
4, 2008
There is absolutely NO WAY this endeavor can be
accomplished with twelve million dollars. Cities of similar size to
Deltona budget anywhere from 25 million to over 50 million dollars for
their own police force. As we all know, having your own police force
is not as effective as having a consolidated police force.
Cities/Counties nation wide are consolidating everyday.
Furthermore, if you take a look at cities using a
Sheriff's Office like Deerfield Beach who uses BSO and Daytona who has
their own force. It is obvious using BSO is more cost efficient than
Daytona having their own police force. Also the cities of Doral and
Miami Gardens have recently formed their own police departments also going
in the wrong direction.
As you can see the city of Doral budgets over 14
million for a city with a population of 21,895. Miami Gardens is
closer to the size of Deltona. Here, Miami Gardens budgets
33,457,413 to have their own police force. This does not include
start-up cost.
Another great comparison is Wellington, FL and
Pensacola, FL. Both cities are similar in terms of population,
however, Pensacola budgets 17,624,200 for their own police force and
Wellington who uses PBSO budgets 6,300,500. Also, in June 2007, the
Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its Semi Annual Report for
Fiscal Year 2007. The report indicates the Village of Wellington has
the highest clearance rate (31.7%) and the lowest crime rate 3,659 for a
municipality in Palm Beach County with a population of 50,000 or more.
Can't say the same for Pensacola who has a crime rate
of 6,119 per 100,000 residents. So it's clearly obvious having your
own police department has no benefit so why is this still an issue?
Oh, I know: the Mayor's relentless pursuit of absolute control.
Agency
Amount Budgeted Population of City
Deltona (VCSO) $9.2 million 86,540
Titusville PD $9.9 million 44,526
Palm Bay PD $22.5 million 101,793
Daytona Beach PD $29.3 million 64,370
Davie PD $30.0 million 84,057
Boca Raton PD $34,111,600 85,488
Plantation $31.3 million 85,349
West Palm PD $50,256,503 92,686
Pensacola $17,624,200 53,248
Delray Beach $27,129,410 64,150
Boynton Beach $23,875,529 66,714
Deerfield Beach (BSO) $18,947,709 71, 595
Hollywood PD $65,667,050 145,879
Pompano (BSO) $33,116,270 102,745
Royal Palm (PBSO) $6,036,068 31,864
Doral $14,732,626 21,895
Miami Gardens $33,457,413 106,566
Thank you,
Ryan Mugridge
