After weeks of saber rattling on both sides, the Loxahatchee Groves Town Council agreed to a three-year contract extension with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, June 4 after the PBSO agreed to lower its requested increase to make the numbers more palatable to the cash-strapped municipality.
The council unanimously approved the seventh addendum to a contract first hammered out in 2017 that brought additional PBSO services into the town.
The cost of the contract, currently $660,092 annually, has gone up three percent a year for the past two years. Before that, it was unchanged for three years. Going back over 10 years, the cost of the contract has gone up 13.7 percent.
Due to inflation and increasing costs, the PBSO initially asked for a 4 percent increase with the current contract renewal. However, through negotiations, that was lowered to 1 percent as of Oct. 1, 2024, and 2 percent in 2025 and 2026. The contract will cost the town $666,693 during the next fiscal year.
During public comments, former Councilman Todd McLendon described the contract as “extortion,” which he blamed on the top brass at the PBSO. “I ask for you tonight to vote for what is right, not for what you fear,” he said.
However, former Councilwoman Marianne Miles urged the council to approve the contract and let the PBSO do its job. She thought the requested increase was fair.
“When somebody has a problem, they don’t call town staff if they have to have a sheriff’s deputy come out,” she said.
Councilman Robert Shorr stressed that the PBSO initially wanted a 4 percent increase and is instead taking 1 percent this year, then 2 percent for the next two years.
“I think this is a great deal,” he said. “We do pay extra, but we have them in our town 24/7. Our residents are used to that immediate response when they call.”
Mayor Anita Kane said she met with three PBSO representatives along with Town Manager Francine Ramaglia and Town Attorney Glen Torcivia. At the start of the meeting, she felt that the tone was hostile and unpleasant. While it eventually calmed down, it left her with deep concerns.
However, Kane credited Torcivia for helping negotiate down the increase.
In the end, Kane did support the three-year extension, but said that she struggled deeply with the decision.
“Myself and many people in this town feel that the sheriff’s contract is double taxation,” she said.
At her meeting, Kane requested the ability to design an “a la carte” agreement with the PBSO for just certain services but was told that would not be possible. However, she later found out that the Town of Haverhill does have that type “partial services” agreement. It is something that Kane said she wants to look into for the future.
“I do appreciate the law enforcement services we get, and I do believe that they really do have a commitment to our community and that they are doing a good job,” Kane said.
She worried that not approving the contract could have far-reaching consequences.
Councilwoman Phillis Maniglia said that she asked the PBSO to help the town get grants, which would make the contract and overall budget easier to fund.
“I was told that if we approve the contract, the sheriff would help support us in our future grant funding,” she said.
That help could come through letters of support from the sheriff for federal, state and county grants, particularly for any project that can be seen as enhancing public safety.
Vice Mayor Marge Herzog said that she had an informative meeting with PBSO Capt. Craig Turner regarding why the increase was necessary. She did not like the original proposal, but appreciated the effort made to trim back the increase.
Maniglia made a motion to approve the three-year contract extension, which passed unanimously.
Before the eventual approval, the council passed the final reading of an ordinance that laid the groundwork for not having an active contract with the PBSO.
The new ordinance, which is now town law, provides that in the event there is no contract for law enforcement services in effect between the town and the PBSO, the law enforcement services in the town will be “the standard law enforcement services by the PBSO.”
Final approval of that change passed 3-2 with Shorr and Councilwoman Laura Danowski dissenting.
That change is based on the “double taxation” argument mentioned by Kane. However, that has not been the PBSO’s point of view on the issue, and Torcivia has said it could lead to a lawsuit.
