Jupiter residents are unlikely to get a chance to vote on town plans to create a fire department after a Palm Beach County Circuit judge against a proposed referendum question.
The judge鈥檚 ruling supports the town鈥檚 decision to reject a petition from firefighters, who argued that the town illegally refused to put the question before voters.
said the town acted within the law because the firefighters鈥� question gave power to the voters at the Town Council鈥檚 expense.
The ballot language would have prohibited the creation of a town fire department 鈥渦ntil the town鈥檚 voters approve the creation and operation of a town fire rescue department at a future referendum.鈥�
That鈥檚 not acceptable, the judge wrote, citing a 1992 ruling that said 鈥淭he electorate has no power 鈥� to enact a charter amendment鈥� that restricts future council action.
The town sued Jupiter Residents to Keep Palm Beach County Firefighters, a , in December 2023 to stop the 鈥渦nconstitutional and illegal use of the referendum process to amend the town鈥檚 charter to prohibit the duly elected Town Council from establishing or operating a town fire rescue department.鈥�
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The PAC, supported by firefighters, had submitted signatures in October 2023 to place the charter change proposal on the town ballot. But the town refused and after the firefighters challenged the town鈥檚 decision in court, the town filed a countersuit.
鈥�(The court鈥檚 decision) was something that we always expected, so we鈥檙e grateful that it finally has been issued,鈥� told Stet News.
Countered , president of the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928: 鈥淚t鈥檚 sad to me that residents didn鈥檛 get to have their say.鈥�
Firefighters haven鈥檛 decided yet whether to appeal, draft a new petition or merely support alternative candidates for Town Council in March, when the mayor鈥檚 seat and two others are open, Newsome said.
鈥淭here could be a total switch of that whole council,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 would imagine you鈥檙e going to see a lot of politics happening around Jupiter in March.鈥�
The town has moved forward with creating its own by October 2026, breaking with Palm Beach County Fire Rescue after more than 40 years. The town has started building two fire stations, hired a and lined up trucks and ambulances that will arrive before the changeover.
鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled with the fire rescue talent that we鈥檙e getting,鈥� Kuretski said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e hired a so the protocols for the new Fire Rescue Department are being developed to make sure we can be the best fire rescue department in the state. That鈥檚 our goal.鈥�
Newsome disputed the mayor鈥檚 assessment. The town proposes a 56-hour work week for firefighters, while most other departments offer shorter work weeks, he said.
鈥淭here鈥檚 no way they鈥檙e going to be able to provide the same quality of service that we can provide,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be a training ground for other agencies.鈥�
Kuretski pointed out that the fire department will have 93 workers, more than the 90 provided now by Palm Beach County.
The firefighters鈥� PAC submitted more than 7,400 signatures in October 2023, exceeding the 4,415 required. Firefighters objected to the way the town made its decision to switch and argued that residents should have the final say.
Jupiter countered that the proposal aimed to shore up Local 2928, which contributed $214,000 to the effort. Only $40 came from Jupiter residents, court records showed.
But the judge didn鈥檛 buy that argument from the town, writing that 鈥渢here is a genuine dispute as to the 鈥榗hief鈥� purpose of the ballot proposal.鈥� Since he found in favor of Jupiter on other grounds, that argument didn鈥檛 matter, he wrote.
The town claimed that the amendment鈥檚 language misled voters, failing to clarify that approving it would strip the town of its authority to decide on fire services and lock it into continuing with Palm Beach County services.
That would be costly for town residents, the town said, because the county had been considering raising the tax rate used to pay for its services.
establishing its own fire department could save taxpayers $50 million to $70 million over a seven-year period.
The town entered a 10-year agreement with Palm Beach Fire Rescue in 2020, but costs rose from $20 million in 2020 to $28 million last year. The town exercised its right in August 2023 to give three years notice to terminate the agreement.
This story was originally published by , a SA国际传谋 News partner.
