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Article
Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel
By
Edward Sifuentes
Posted June 23, 2005
Chris
DeLiso said he's concerned about crime returning to his community if his
homeowners association is not able to pay for security.
The Crossings of Boynton Beach, the neighborhood where DeLiso is association
president, is one of three residential communities that contract with the
Boynton Beach Police Department to provide security with off-duty police
officers. But the city approved a rate increase last month that the association
did not expect, DeLiso said.
"We've been paying $25 and they raised it out of the blue to $37 an
hour," he said. "I thought it was inappropriate to raise it to such an
extreme."
Before the increase, the city charged $25 an hour to provide off-duty police
officers for security details. The city charged $30 an hour if a patrol vehicle
was used. Under the new rates, the city charges $33 an hour for an officer
without a vehicle, a 32 percent hike, and $37 for an officer with a vehicle, a
23 percent bump. Now, the 280-condominium association has a choice: either
reduce the hours of patrol or impose an additional fee on residents to pay for
the increase, he said.
At Tuesday's commission meeting, commissioners agreed to take another look at
the fee hike because the associations were not notified that the rate increase
would be up for a vote.
"We need to listen to them," Commissioner Bob Ensler said. "To
me, it's a safety issue."
The increase approved by the commission on May 3 was intended to help cover
other city expenses and to help attract more officers to off-duty details,
according to a memo recommending the increase. The lower fee just covered the
officer's pay of $25 an hour, according to city officials. The new fee provides
$3 to cover expenses and the officer is paid $30 an hour, a 20 percent raise.
"Nobody likes it when rates go up, but they do," Police Chief Marshall
Gage said. He said the commission that sets the rates.
DeLiso, a former police officer and one-time city commission candidate, said his
homeowners association logged 837 hours of security last year, totaling about
$21,000. He said the association budgeted about the same amount for this year,
and did not factor in a rate increase because they were not notified before the
vote.
"It's a slap in the face," he said. "We realize that things go
up, but not to this extreme."
Using off-duty police officers for security has improved conditions at the
complex, DeLiso said. He said he would prefer a fee structure that offers lower
rates for long-term contracts. Otherwise, the association might be forced to
return to less expensive private security.
"We've tried private security and it was not as effective," he said.
"Crime was rampant."
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