FORT PIERCE, Fla. — There are new questions arising over what's next for the Fort Pierce Police Department, as ongoing negotiations between the city and the police union have not brought a new deal.
Now, a new solution proposed by some city leaders could dissolve the police department altogether.
Since May, Fort Pierce Police Union officers have been asking the city for a 15% pay increase.
Data WPTV broke downshows of 11 surrounding police departments, Fort Pierce Police officers are the lowest paid, andin an earlier city commission meeting, city leaders said Fort Pierce doesn't have enough money to fulfill its needs as a city.
“We don’t have sufficient funds to cover all of our needs,” Commissioner Michael Broderick said.
In beginning rounds of negotiations,the city countered the union's 15% raise request with an 8% raise, which last week the union turned down.
In the most recent round of negotiations, city Human Resources Director Jared Sorensen said if both sides can't come to an agreement, the city may look at dissolving the police department and contracting with the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, instead.
WATCH: Fort Pierce police union asking city commission for more pay
"In talking with commission, they're gonna have to look at other options, because we're going to price ourselves out of a police department," said Sorensen.
"It's a shock, because at the last commission meeting, our understanding was that the city commission finally understood what the issue was," Fort Pierce Police Union Representative Troy Carter told WPTV. "It just feels like they don't take any of this very seriously."
WPTV reached out to the city to find out exactly what that would look like. WPTV's Kate Hussey is set to speak to commissioner Jeremiah Johnson about the issue Tuesday.
In an earlier commission meeting, Mayor Linda Hudson said she does not support merging with the sheriff's office, voicing concern over what a merger could look like for the city.
"You give up your own control, you give up your own family, and in return, you get presented with a bill every single year, and you don't have any control over that bill," said Hudson.
St. Lucie County Commissioner Chris Dzadovsky told WPTV's Kate Hussey on the phone the city talked about doing this years ago.
Fort Pierce
Negotiations begin between Fort Pierce police union, city
"And during that process, there was a position by the sheriff’s office that it would be as costly or more costly for him to take it over," said Dzadovsky.
"So contracting with the sheriff's office is not cheaper than raising salaries?" asked Hussey.
"Yes, at least at the time they looked at it 10 years ago," replied Dzadovsky.
In 2008, the city of Lake Worth Beach merged their police department to come underneath the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, so we asked Mayor Betty Resch how it went.
"The services the sheriffs office has to offer, things like undercover work, SWAT teams— things a smaller department just can’t do. So, I think it's a good decision," said Resch.
Resch, who was not mayor at the time of the merger, said many of the city's 91 officers ended up working for the sheriff's office Lake Worth substation.
WATCH: Fort Pierce police asking commission for higher pay
Currently, the Fort Pierce Police department employs about 141 officers.
Fort Pierce's population is slightly larger than Lake Worth Beach's, clocking in at 48,000 people in 2022 compared to Lake Worth Beach's 38,000.
WPTV asked residents around the area how they feel about it.
Resident Melissa Aguilar said she wasn't so sure that would be a good move.
"I mean I think it's kind of crazy, we obviously need it, especially here in Fort Pierce, it's high crime," said Aguilar. "They’re going to use their people to come here? Like, I don't think that would work."
In the last city commission meeting, Mayor Linda Hudson also proposed raising city taxes to better fund officers next year.
Fort Pierce Police officers are expected to bring up the topic once again in Tuesday evening's commission meeting.
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