BOCA RATON, FL — Boca Raton city staff will ask the City Council on Monday to add four police officers to the downtown Community Redevelopment Area, create a new city position to coordinate homeless outreach and stand up a permanent working group of residents, businesses and service providers.
The request comes as a discussion item at the council's July 27 workshop, which begins at 1:30 p.m. Workshops are used for direction rather than final action, and no ordinance or budget item is scheduled for a vote. City Manager Mark Sohaney wrote in a June 8 memorandum to the mayor and council that staff will return with funding options and implementation plans after hearing from council members.
The staff presentation prepared for the workshop puts three specific questions in front of the council: approve four additional CRA officers, approve a Community Resource Coordinator position and establish a quality-of-life working group.
Sohaney framed the package as an addition to work already underway rather than a reset. "No single policy, ordinance, or program will eliminate homelessness," he wrote in the memo. The memo also says enforcement actions must be based on unlawful behavior rather than a person's housing status, and that the city does not operate a shelter system or control the regional services network.
What the four officers would cost
The presentation lists the cost of the CRA officers at $280,000 per officer. Four positions at that figure would total roughly $1.12 million, though the memo and presentation do not state a combined total or specify whether the number is recurring annually or a first-year cost that includes equipment and vehicles.
Under the current structure shown in the presentation, the police department's CRA sergeant oversees two traffic officers and two quality-of-life officers, with two homeless outreach officers assigned to the Community Engagement Unit. The requested chart would raise both the traffic and quality-of-life assignments to four officers each, which the presentation describes as a total of eight downtown designated officers, and would add two homeless liaison officers.
The Community Resource Coordinator is estimated at $110,000 to $140,000 annually, including salary, benefits, equipment and operating expenses, according to the memo. Staff would return with funding and organizational placement recommendations as part of the FY 2026-27 budget process if the council supports the position.
According to the memo and presentation, the coordinator would:
- Coordinate homelessness outreach citywide
- Strengthen partnerships with service providers
- Track service outcomes and coordinate case management
- Provide dedicated follow-up for individuals with repeated contacts
- Serve as the city's primary point of coordination with law enforcement, providers, Palm Beach County and community partners
The numbers staff are bringing
The presentation includes an activity snapshot covering January 2026 through June 30, 2026, listing 715 calls for service, 767 contacts made, 815 engagements, 172 services provided, 106 follow-up actions and 30 program outcomes.
A citywide map in the presentation plots the top 10 categories of homeless-related calls for service, led by disturbance, city ordinance, suspicious incident, civil matter and trespassing calls. The heaviest clustering on the map falls in and around the downtown and East Palmetto Park Road corridor, with additional concentrations along the barrier island and Federal Highway.
The memo lists the concerns staff say residents and businesses have raised: safety and comfort in public spaces, impacts on downtown businesses and their customers and employees, misuse of public facilities, cleanliness and maintenance, requests for more visible enforcement and follow-up, and recurring activity in specific locations.
What the city has already done
Two pieces of the city's response are already in motion.
The council adopted Ordinance No. 5765, the trespass warning ordinance, on Jan. 6, 2026. The memo says implementation is still underway and includes signage installation, administrative procedures, staff training, documentation and tracking systems, and coordination across departments.
Park Rangers moved from Recreation Services to the Police Department effective July 1, 2026. Training and operational integration are expected to be finished by Sept. 1, 2026, according to the memo.
Staff also list physical mitigation measures they are evaluating, including bench modifications, electrical outlet controls, security enhancements, park access controls and facility improvements. The memo says any future recommendation in that category would be evaluated for effectiveness, accessibility, operational impact and cost.
Fort Lauderdale and Delray Beach as models
Staff reviewed both cities and attached written summaries to the memo.
From Fort Lauderdale, staff flagged that city's Community Court program, which offers an alternative path for people cited for certain low-level offenses or municipal violations and can resolve those violations without traditional court processing. The memo recommends that Boca Raton explore whether a diversion-based approach could be developed regionally in coordination with Palm Beach County and judicial partners.
From Delray Beach, staff pointed to that city's police Clean and Safe Unit and its Downtown Safety Ambassadors, a non-sworn, visible presence downtown. The memo says Boca Raton should evaluate whether additional public-facing personnel would help in certain locations and whether an ambassador-style program is operationally warranted.
The memo also recommends a Quarterly Homelessness and Quality of Life Dashboard, with a first report anticipated within six months of council direction, and an annual report summarizing activities, trends and outcomes.
What happens next
The homelessness item is listed as item 2.C on Monday's workshop agenda. Public requests are taken later in the meeting under item 3, with speakers asked to state their name and address and limit remarks to three minutes.
Following the workshop, staff will incorporate council feedback and return with budget requests, implementation plans, partnership agreements, policy recommendations or ordinance amendments, according to the memo. Funding for the coordinator position and the officers would be taken up in the FY 2026-27 budget process.
The workshop agenda also includes a staff presentation on the Police Services Complex, a presentation from Greater Boca Raton Beach and Park District Executive Director Briann Harms, a discussion of the Historic Preservation Board, and interviews for vacancies on eight city boards, including the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, the Financial Advisory Board, the Library Board and the Sustainability Advisory Board.
For coverage of Boca Raton City Council votes, zoning and variance decisions, CRA projects, the municipal budget, and the officials making those calls, visit Boca Post's Boca Raton Government and Development section.
