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’s ruling supports the town’s 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’ question gave power to the voters at the Town Council’s expense.
The ballot language would have prohibited the creation of a town fire department “until the town’s voters approve the creation and operation of a town fire rescue department at a future referendum.”
That’s not acceptable, the judge wrote, citing a 1992 ruling that said “The electorate has no power … to enact a charter amendment” that restricts future council action.
The town sued Jupiter Residents to Keep Palm Beach County Firefighters, a , in December 2023 to stop the “unconstitutional and illegal use of the referendum process to amend the town’s charter to prohibit the duly elected Town Council from establishing or operating a town fire rescue department.”
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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’s decision in court, the town filed a countersuit.
“(The court’s decision) was something that we always expected, so we’re grateful that it finally has been issued,” told Stet News.
Countered , president of the Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County Local 2928: “It’s sad to me that residents didn’t get to have their say.”
Firefighters haven’t decided yet whether to appeal, draft a new petition or merely support alternative candidates for Town Council in March, when the mayor’s seat and two others are open, Newsome said.
“There could be a total switch of that whole council,” he said. “I would imagine you’re going to see a lot of politics happening around Jupiter in March.”
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.
“We’re thrilled with the fire rescue talent that we’re getting,” Kuretski said. “We’ve 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’s our goal.”
Newsome disputed the mayor’s assessment. The town proposes a 56-hour work week for firefighters, while most other departments offer shorter work weeks, he said.
“There’s no way they’re going to be able to provide the same quality of service that we can provide,” he said. “They’re going to be a training ground for other agencies.”
Kuretski pointed out that the fire department will have 93 workers, more than the 90 provided now by Palm Beach County.
The firefighters’ 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’t buy that argument from the town, writing that “there is a genuine dispute as to the ‘chief’ purpose of the ballot proposal.” Since he found in favor of Jupiter on other grounds, that argument didn’t matter, he wrote.
The town claimed that the amendment’s 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 WLRN News partner.
