Greenacres says it will not save money by Police and Fire going to County

I was told that the Mayor told his Coffee Clutch at the Towers today that we have hit on "hard times" and that the City of Lake Worth's work force has been cut by 240 employees. Did he also mention that the police and fire that went to the County make up the majority of this 240 number? Did he mention how much more it is costing us for the decision to go with the County for these services?

As I was not there and this was third party commentary, I will give the Mayor the benefit of this doubt and will assume that he gave all of the facts.

In today's paper we learn that Greenacres Staff has concluded, after careful analysis, that it would not save them money at all by merging their police and fire into the County. Of course, the Unions want to merge as it means more money to them.

Greenacres spends half of its budget on public safety and have concluded that in five years, they will save $5.3 million by having its own police department. Having their own fire department will save them $170,000 over the same period.

Greenacres is a city with similar size to Lake Worth that does not have a "cash cow" with its own Utility. They seem to manage their budget well and their millage rate is always less than ours. Unlike Lake Worth's emotional decision to get rid of its own Police Department and shuffle off our Fire/Rescue, let’s hope that Greenacres continues to make sensible decisions.