Finance chief is fired as small town plans to leave the Broward Sheriff’s Office – Sun Sentinel

PEMBROKE PARK — As the little town of Pembroke Park faces uncertainty over a costly move to create a new police force, it has fired one of the plan’s vocal critics — a top employee helping oversee the finances.

The town fired Finance Director Harry Taubenfeld on Wednesday night after months of public infighting about whether the money was there to leave the Broward Sheriff’s Office and create its own police department.

The Pembroke Park Police Department has inched closer to reality even though a consultant report over whether it’s even possible has not been turned in.

On Wednesday, the town swore in the first three officers to its new force, one of its most public moves yet in its effort to break its relationship with the Sheriff’s Office.

Advocates have argued the sheriff’s contract continues to go up in costs, while the town leaders think they can do it for less money and better service.

The town’s administration blamed bad behavior in firing the finance director, while Taubenfeld has questioned for months whether the new police department was even possible. Taubenfeld had sparred with leaders when he alleged the police chief submitted “calculation errors” and his budget is “wrong.”

“You are looking at bad information, the numbers are not correct,” Taubenfeld told commissioners at a public meeting in January, especially since the chief submitted a proposal for $5,000 annual salary bump for the entire department.

[ RELATED: Pembroke Park’s top cop faces criticism but won’t be fired as town moves to leave the Sheriff’s Office ]

In December, Taubenfeld emailed the town’s Human Resources, complaining “there has been a coordinated attack against me” from town leaders. Taubenfeld had been sent home a week ago on a paid suspension that Mayor Geoffrey Jacobs said was for “behavioral issues.”

On Thursday, the finance director said he didn’t know he’d been fired. “You’re the first person to tell me that,” he told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Nobody informed me.”

Plans for a new police department has been filled with drama since the beginning, as the start date has been continually pushed back. Projected costs to start the department have wildly fluctuated and the town administration has blamed Chief David Howard for adding on costs after his initial financial projections. Town Administrator Juan Carlos “J.C” Jimenez’s efforts in January to have Howard fired failed.

[ RELATED: A small town plans to leave the Broward Sheriff’s Office. Will it conquer the obstacles to start its own police force? ]

Mayor Jacobs has pushed for the town to leave the Broward Sheriff’s Office and have its own police department. He said the consultant report will show there needs to be five officers on a shift, which raises costs, even though the budget only proposes two.

Jacobs said if there were a tragedy, the Pembroke Park Police Department could ask for assistance from neighboring cities. But his critics have argued his plan could leave the agency regularly understaffed and dependent on other agencies.

Earlier this year, the town hired a law enforcement consultant for $48,000 to figure out what the true long-term costs of the police department would be, and what the town should do next. The final report is expected by the end of the month.

Lisa J. Huriash can be reached at lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008 or Twitter @LisaHuriash