City officials and bar owners discuss long-term public safety funding for downtown Orlando

Ongoing talks between downtown bar owners and city officials surrounding a controversial ordinance due for a final vote later this month have included studying other ways to fund the area’s safety needs long term.

So far, the ordinance requiring a permit to pour liquor after midnight and calling for large venues to hire off-duty police, have metal detectors and private security, has been tweaked ahead of the planned March 20 vote.

The city has agreed to shave an hour off the required shift for off-duty cops funded by bars from six hours to five, as well as cap nightlife-funded officers to 30 per night in a move to cut costs for owners, said Cassandra Bell, a spokesperson for Mayor Buddy Dyer.

But bar and nightclub operators bristled at the proposed ordinance and its associated costs in January, and are hoping for more changes in the coming weeks. They’ve asked city officials to make the ordinance a pilot or re-evaluate it within 18 months; hire a consultant to study the area and help market downtown; usher in hospitality-oriented policing for officers; and create a permanent downtown unit to patrol the area at cheaper hourly rates than the $90-per-hour cost of off-duty.

“Permits are necessary … but they don’t stand alone,” said Dominique Greco, the executive director of the Orlando Hospitality Alliance.

The city also agreed to present an update to the City council after 18 months of the ordinance, which, if approved, would go into effect May 1.

At a meeting with nightlife operators last month, city officials committed to working on further adjustments ahead of the vote, Bell said. Another meeting is scheduled for March 8.

The proposed ordinance is the latest regulation brought forward by the city as officials review downtown and policies surrounding its nightlife, which began amid a spate of shootings and a murder that happened in the heart of its bar district.

The City Council last year signed off on new rules for private parking lots and noise levels at bars. Alongside the after-midnight permit, the City Council is also weighing a moratorium on new nightclubs downtown.

Among efforts to tamp down violent crime, police Chief Eric Smith surged 30 more officers downtown late at night starting in October at a cost of about $40,000 per weekend covered by the Community Redevelopment Agency, a special taxing district. That price tag is unsustainable, Smith said, even though OPD data shows it has led to decreases in late-night violent offenses.

At issue is how to properly police downtown, and also how to pay for it.

“We don’t think it’s appropriate in perpetuity to charge large venues for this extra duty officers for 30 officers at $90 an hour. We all hope that we’re not going to need that forever,” Greco said. “In the few months coming up, we’re not going to need 30 detail officers. What we really need is an appropriately sized downtown unit.”

Since the initial vote, the Alliance pitched city officials on different ways to fund public safety costs, including adding a surcharge to alcohol sales, creating a neighborhood improvement district charging property owners based on square footage, or having a company take out a special event permit on weekend nights.

Creating a neighborhood improvement district and issuing the special event permit are two ideas the city could implement without state or county action, Bell said. Creating a NID would require public hearings, a published plan approved by the City Council, and a referendum, according to a city presentation shown at the meeting last month.

If all of that was completed this year, money would likely be available at the end of 2024 or 2025, the presentation said.

“The City remains committed to working with OHA and working with them on potentially implementing these in the future, while remaining focused on the immediate goal to make downtown safe for everyone,” Bell said.

Such an arrangement would work similarly to one on International Drive. The area is policed by a squad of law enforcement trained to operate in tourism and hospitality zones, and is completely funded by a special assessment on I-Drive businesses.