Fort Lauderdale leaders struggling to come up with a spot to house the homeless continued the debate Tuesday, well aware that the city might face lawsuits from citizens if they don’t come up with a plan soon.
For months, the Fort Lauderdale commission has been prepping for a statewide law against public camping and sleeping that takes effect Oct. 1. Cities across Florida that fail to enforce the controversial state law — signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March — can be sued starting Jan. 1.
Now Fort Lauderdale has been hit with a new unexpected wrinkle: Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony is making it clear the county jails will not be accepting homeless people who face arrest under local anti-camping laws.
“In the next few weeks, cities and counties throughout Florida will enact new ordinances to remove homeless persons from public parks, streets and buildings,” Tony wrote in an op-ed published by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “The jail is not the place to shelter and provide services to the homeless. I have directed our Department of Detention to no longer accept individuals who are brought to the jail for purely municipal ordinance violations. Rounding up the homeless and bringing them to downtown Fort Lauderdale or Pompano Beach to be housed in the county jails is neither a good solution, nor an available one.”