Parkland City Commission Votes for More Policing Funds in Wake of Tragedy

By: Sharon Aron Baron

A special meeting was held at Parkland city hall to increase policing services after the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School left 17 dead and 16 people wounded.

In a meeting held on February 23, with Coral Springs Commissioner Dan Daley, City Manager Mike Goodrum, and Coral Springs Parkland Fire Chief Frank Babinec present, the Parkland city commission voted unanimously to authorize a general fund transfer in the amount of $180,000 to increase police services expenditures for the current fiscal year budget.

“We had quite a week and we’re here today to do the business that the city has to do,” said Mayor Christine Hunschofsky. “We’ve all been grieving, and today we’re here to take our first step in getting back to business and making sure the resources are available so that the residents and the students feel safe.”

The $180,000 will be transferred to a police account from a contingency fund set aside. The meeting was held to only authorizing the funding and it will be up to the city and the Broward Sheriff’s Office to decide where the funds will be used.

The mayor told those in attendance that when you have these sorts of tragedies, there will be baby steps as part of a long plan.

“For those of you in the business world, we do planning, we do strategic planning, we don’t do knee-jerk reacting, we don’t do over-reacting, we do decision-making based on data. This is only a first step. This is not a final step.”

She said that everyone moved to Parkland for the same reasons, and there was 100 percent commitment by the commission in making sure that all the residents in the city feel safe.

“So I want to be clear, this is a first step in a process.”