At today’s Delray Beach City Commission meeting, residents will get an update on the police contract negotiations from a commissioner who believes that the majority of his four colleagues have rejected “reasonable compromises.”
The police union will also be meeting with the city at 3 p.m. today, although it is a shade meeting. Shade meetings are not open to the public. This was announced Monday evening.
On Monday, Commissioner Rob Long emailed me his summary of the discussions, based in part on the May 14 hearing before a magistrate. That hearing took place because in February the Police Benevolent Association declared an impasse.
According to Long, the two sides have agreed on several issues. Four remain unresolved, though:
- The city wants to require psychological evaluations of officers. The union acknowledges that the city has the right to do so under federal law but wants “legal safeguards.”
- Regarding salaries, the city wants increases in a three-year contract to be “front-loaded” and “focused on entry-level pay.” The union argues that such a wage scale would “fail to retain experienced staff.”
- The city wants “blanket” drug and alcohol testing of officers after “vehicle crashes.” The PBA wants testing only if there is “reasonable suspicion” of drug or alcohol use.
- Finally, the union wants officers to stay in the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for eight years, rather than the current five. In DROP, an employee keeps working while retirement benefits are frozen. The employment then collects those benefits after officially retiring.
That last item seems to be the main sticking point. Mayor Tom Carney and Commissioners Juli Casale and Thomas Markert have held out against that demand for financial reasons. Casale said the union wants “money that we don’t have.”
Last year, Long and Commissioner Angela Burns voted against the “no-new-taxes” budget that Carney, Casale and Markert approved. That decision, Long said, brought about the contract dispute. While he and Burns have “tried to bargain in good faith throughout this process, others have chosen to impose artificial financial constraints … This moment highlights the broader consequences of those choices, not only for our officers but for public safety and long-term stability in Delray Beach.”
One exchange in the May 14 hearing sums up the debate within the commission. The witness was Henry Dachowitz, the city’s chief financial officer. The questioner was PBA attorney Brennan Keeler.
While discussing the DROP extension, Keller asked, “Is this something the city can do financially?”
Dachowitz responded. “They can do anything … but there are expenses … If we spend money today, we don’t have it tomorrow. We have less flexibility.”
Keeler tried again. He asked if the retirement proposal is “something the city can afford to do?”
Dachowitz again did not answer directly. “Affordability,” he said, “is a very vague, imprecise concept.” He then said, “I don’t like the question.”
At one point, Dachowitz said commissioners “do not have an appetite to raise taxes.” He also said, “I think it’s a decision that has been made, that we do not want to go forward based on the commissioners who have to approve whatever we offer.”
When Keeler again asked about affordability, Dachowitz said, “I’m not going to comment. I don’t have an opinion.” Keeler asked if he was refusing to answer. Dachowitz responded, “I didn’t refuse. I just don’t have an opinion.”
For his part, Long claims that the extended DROP would save the city $6.1 million over 30 years. Long said he intends to lay all this out during today’s meeting.
In a phone call Monday, Carney said he generally agreed with Long on which issues remain in dispute. He disagreed with Long’s slant. The union, Carney said, first asked for better pay to attract “young officers to join the force. This pay package is very attractive to young officers.” Then, Carney said, the union asked for more money “on the back end” for older officers. He continues to oppose the retirement extension as unaffordable.
Recommendations from the magistrate will come within a month. The commission does not have to accept them. Budget hearings begin in August. The city’s budget, Carney said, is based on the offer to the police union of another $15.2 million over three years.
At the same time, the city is implementing the contract for firefighters. There’s also a commission debate over that. Carney acknowledged that the next few weeks will be “very consequential” for Delray Beach.
Should any developments arise on the police contract in either the commission or shade meeting, I’ll have more in my Thursday post.
FAU goes before Board of Governors for evaluation
When Florida Atlantic University goes before the Board of Governors (BOG) today for its annual evaluation, university representatives likely will hear again about the BOG’s fixation—for good or ill—on rankings.
Since 2014, the BOG—which oversees the 12-member state university system—has used a system of metrics to evaluate each institution’s performance and decide how much extra money it will receive. Some metrics are obvious: graduation rate over four years and six years, and the salaries of jobs that new graduates receive.
Last December, though, the BOG increased the focus on rankings. Specifically, FAU was told that it must reach the top 100 among National Public Universities in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings. Last year, FAU was 103rd.
The BOG’s strategic plan lists 10 rankings and where each university stands. In addition to the U.S. News list, FAU ranks 117th in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, 110th in the Wall Street Journal’s Best U.S. Colleges, 84th among Public Colleges in the Forbes magazine guide, 112th in World University Rankings by the education analytics firm Quacquarelli Symonds, 73rd on the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and 19th among National Universities in the Washington Monthly guide.
Rankings, of course, are subjective. The Washington Monthly, for example, emphasizes social good. FAU thus scores very well because of its focus on students who are the first in their family to attend college; FAU’s enrollment always has been disproportionately high in that area.
As for the U.S. News list, critics note that it’s subject to manipulation. Some universities have refused to participate and then rejoined. The ranking relies heavily on endowment, which favors established universities.
FAU’s 2025 accountability plan notes that the university has increased the graduation rate for those first-in-college students 34 points since 2014—to 53.2%. The goal is 55% for 2024-28. The report lists several programs designed to get students through their first year with at least a C average, thus increasing the chance that they will not drop out.
Overall enrollment at FAU is about 28,000, with all but about 4,600 of those being undergraduate students. The plan forecasts enrollment to be 33,626 by 2030-31.
This will be the first accountability plan under new President Adam Hasner. I’ll have more after the meeting.
Board of Governors to approve new Florida university presidents
Also on the BOG’s agenda is approval of presidents at Florida International University and Florida A&M University, and an interim president at the University of West Florida.
Jeanette Nunez at FIU and Manny Diaz at West Florida are former Republican state legislators. Gov. Ron DeSantis engineered the choice of both—and of Marva Johnson at FAMU—despite opposition, especially to Diaz and Johnson. Similarly, the appointment of Hasner—also a former GOP legislator—seemed preordained. An article in the September/October issue of Boca magazine will examine the FAU search in the wider context of DeSantis’ unprecedented attempt to control higher education in Florida.
PBC commissioners to select new county administrator
Palm Beach County commissioners are set to choose a new administrator today from among six candidates. The main question is whether this commission will deviate from past boards and pass over two top aides to Verdenia Baker, who retired last month.
That would break with three-plus decades of precedent that has resulted in steady, capable, apolitical leadership. If it happens, the choice likely would be Clerk and Comptroller Joseph Abruzzo. Four commissioners—a majority—were ready to choose Abruzzo in March without a search, but public backlash caused the commission to reconsider. The South Florida Sun Sentinel Editorial Board praised the delay as preventing “a bad backroom deal.”
I’ll have more after the meeting.
Expansions to Delray Beach public cemetery
Delray Beach is making progress on accommodating those who want to make the public cemetery their forever home.
In his weekly information letter to the commission, City Manager Terrence Moore said work is underway on two “mausoleum facilities.” One will have 378 crypts and 432 “large niches,” or places where urns can be stored. The other will have 340 crypts and 385 niches. Moore said construction should be finished early next year.
