By Rich Pollack
John Shoemaker was pretty sure residents of Highland Beach would vote to support the town’s efforts to start a fire department when they went to the polls last month.
“I had a feeling from talking to residents and people in the condos,” said Shoemaker, a town commissioner. “I also had a feeling that we had all the bases covered” in explaining why a Highland Beach fire department was necessary.
Shoemaker was so confident residents would give the town the green light to spend up to $10 million to create the department that he predicted nine out of 10 voters would favor the proposal.
He came pretty close.
When all the votes were counted, the measure passed by just a shade off 89%, with a little more than 11% of close to 1,500 voters rejecting the idea and supporting the continuation of receiving fire rescue service from neighboring Delray Beach.
If he was taken aback by anything, Shoemaker says it was that the number of votes supporting the initiative wasn’t higher.
“I was surprised that we had over 150 people voting no,” he said. “There was no negative to this.”
Shoemaker said he suspects those who voted no are happy with the service they receive from Delray Beach and don’t see a need for change.
In fact, residents and even town leaders have had nothing but praise for the service they have received from Delray Beach over the years.
The issue, commissioners said, came down to money and control of costs.
For almost 30 years, Highland Beach has been receiving fire service from Delray Beach, which staffs the town’s fire station. In April, however, commissioners voted unanimously to end the agreement with Delray Beach and create a town-run fire department over a three-year period.
Mayor Doug Hillman and other commissioners have repeatedly said they believe the town can provide better service to residents at a lower cost than it is paying Delray Beach.
They have pointed out that the new fire department will have two fire trucks and two rescue vehicles operating out of the station next to Town Hall as opposed to the one fire truck and one rescue vehicle currently at the station and staffed by Delray Beach.
Town Manager Marshall Labadie said the passage of the referendum makes it possible for the staff to move forward with efforts to get the new department running.
“This gives us the appropriate funding mechanism to put a world-class fire department into operation,” he said.
When that does happen, Delray Beach will likely lose between $5 million and $6 million of annual revenue it receives from Highland Beach.
In addition, Delray Beach Fire Rescue will no longer be able to rely on firefighters working out of the Highland Beach station to respond to calls within the Delray Beach city limits unless an agreement can be worked out.
That has at least one Delray Beach commissioner concerned about the impact it will have on the city’s residents.
“The financial implications could be substantial and will ultimately fall on Delray Beach taxpayers,” Commissioner Juli Casale said.
In his Oct. 29 weekly update to commissioners, Delray Beach City Manager Terrence Moore said that the city would work to address “reallocation of resources” and other adjustments over the next two years.
“We are thankful for the ample amount of time available to work graciously and cordially with the town of Highland Beach to ensure a smooth transition,” he said.
Casale said she suspected all along that Highland Beach residents would vote in favor of creating a town-operated fire department.
“I wasn’t surprised by the vote in light of the information provided to residents,” she said.
In the weeks ahead of the referendum, Highland Beach launched an education campaign that included fliers, videos, website posts and even food truck events.
Hillman wasn’t surprised by the overwhelming support the initiative received but didn’t expect such a large turnout — 39% — given that no other issues were on the ballot. He said the town will continue communicating with residents as the fire department project develops.
Plans are in the works to send out a monthly update via direct mail and on the town website.
“This is a major step forward for our town and we need to supply residents with information,” the mayor said.
Comments