The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office and Citrus County Fire Services became a single entity on Saturday during a special swearing-in ceremony at Curtis Peterson Auditorium in Lecanto.

Families and friends of firefighters were on hand for the ceremony, an historic first for Citrus County, and of note throughout the state of Florida and the nation.

The merger of law enforcement and fire services follows the model of Broward County, which in 2003 combined its law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services into a single agency, saving the taxpayers of that county significant amounts of money, according to Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti.

Lamberti on Feb. 18 addressed a coalition of Citrus County residents and business leaders under a temporary body dubbed the Citrus County Public Safety Task Force, co-chaired by Citrus County Commissioner Joe Meek and Citrus County Sheriff Jeff Dawsy.

On June 14, the Citrus County Commission voted 3-2 to create a super-agency for public safety. The plan, which did not include emergency medical services, was presented by Sheriff dawsy. Although Broward County has a which has a population of about 1 million people, compared to approximately 140,000, commissioners and Dawsy said they were confident the plan would be a move forward for Citrus County.

In public remarks on Saturday, Commissioner Meek said that the joining of the two agencies was "a great day" for Citrus County.

“In a time of declining revenues and budget shortfalls, we had to be innovative as a community, a county and a government,” Meek said of the need for the merger. “This is an exciting day, and I think this will prove to be a model throughout the state. We’re on the cusp of being leaders in this, and we’ll be able, I think, in our community to show how it’s done,” Meek said, through the work and leadership of both parts of the new agency.

Sheriff Dawsy told the public gathered at the swearing-in ceremony that he is excited by the county commissioners’ challenge of enhancing fire services in the community, and utilizing only the available Fire Rescue funding. Plus, he said, he is grateful to the county commission for giving him the necessary support and opportunity to change the face of public safety in Citrus County.

“We’re extremely excited to make fire services part of our family,” Sheriff Dawsy said. “Our one main mission is the citizenry of our community. We will never forget that – from fire services to the law enforcement contingent, it is ‘One Team, One Mission’ – and that is the people we serve.”

Dawsy said the financial situation the county and nation find themselves in will likely last for awhile. "We have to look at things differently, and try to provide services differently - more cost effective, more efficient, more effective operation," Dawsy said. The merger of the two county functions makes sense, Dawsy said.

As for organizational structure, Dawsy said he sees himself as an administrator in the new combined agency. Dawsy said his responsibility includes overseeing the firefighters' welfare, and providing the necessary technology, training and equipment to ensure the safety of Citrus County residents. In addition, he said, that would necessarily include a vision of what fire services should look like now and as far as 10 years into the future, complete with funding mechanisms.

"I don't want anybody out there to think that the fire services are going to be lost in the overall leadership and management of this new sheriff's office as we move forward, because they will not."

Speaking briefly to the public, Fire Services Chief Larry Morabito said he thought the merger was also a good idea, but it had not been easy to make the transition initially.

"As the sheriff said, this is a new beginning," Morabito said. "Over the past two months, we've worked very, very hard to bring this about - not without some tears, not without a lot of hard work - but I think we are truly at a new beginning, and I am proud to be part of it."

According to CCSO spokesperson Gail Tierney, the merger included the addition of about 200 former county career and volunteer firefighters, drivers, inspectors and support staff, as well as coordinators for both training and volunteers.

Two previously vacant fire stations already have been reopened; one in Sugarmill Woods, and the other in Floral City. The DeRosa fire station, located just north of Citronelle, is due to reopen sometime in January, Tierney said. The facility currently is being retrofitted in order to activate it effectively.

Video:

• More about Broward County
• Even more about the public safety task force