The Coconut Creek City Commission on Dec. 11 accepted a $100,000 Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) drone replacement grant and separately authorized the use of $100,000 in federal law enforcement trust funds to pay for the Axon Air Skydio Basic Patrol software and subscription required to operate the equipment.

Chief of Police Fred Hoffer told the commission the FDLE program was created initially to replace equipment that relied on certain foreign software and has since been broadened; Coconut Creek secured a $100,000 award to purchase four patrol drones. "This is a $100,000 grant put specifically to purchase the 4 drones that we plan on putting on patrol," Hoffer said.

Hoffer and staff clarified there is no immediate taxpayer impact: if the city later chooses not to retain the equipment after the grant period, it would pay nothing. The subscription/match item will use federal forfeiture/trust funds and cover software, warranty and maintenance; Hoffer said the software averages about $20,000 a year and integrates with the city's traffic homicide investigation (THI) system.

Commissioners asked about deployment logistics and licensing. Staff confirmed drones will be mobile (launched from patrol vehicles), operators will require FAA certification and the city will create a policy with designated supervisors and training before allowing operational use.

Both the grant acceptance (Resolution 2025‑187) and the trust‑fund subscription (Resolution 2025‑188) passed on roll‑call votes.