No item jumped out more last week during the Delray Beach City Commission’s budget discussion than this one:
The Community Redevelopment Agency’s boundaries include 17 percent of the city. From within those boundaries, however, come 37 percent of calls to the police department.
City Manager Don Cooper proposes adding four officers in next year’s budget, which bring the sworn officer total to 160. The CRA would pay for two of those officers, who would be assigned to the Clean & Safe force that patrols what Delray calls the “entertainment district” – from Interstate 95 to A1A. According to Police Chief Jeffrey Goldman, the CRA then would be paying for 12 officers in all.