Who Runs Davie: A New Homeowner’s Services Guide

Who provides services in the Town of Davie, Florida?

Davie is one of the few Broward County towns that runs its own police department and its own fire rescue and EMS, plus water and sewer for part of the town and all local building permits. Broward County handles your property taxes, your homestead exemption, and your public schools. Electric comes from FPL. Your water provider depends on your address, so confirm it on the Town map before you close.

When you buy a home in Davie, you are buying into a specific set of service providers, and they are not the same for every address. I get this question from almost every buyer relocating here from out of state, because the split between what the Town runs and what the county runs is not obvious from a listing. Here is how it actually works, and who you call for each piece.

What the Town of Davie runs, and what Broward County runs

Start with the big picture. Some services are local to the Town of Davie, and some are countywide through Broward County. Knowing which is which saves you hours of calling the wrong office.

The Town of Davie directly provides:

• Police. Davie operates its own full service police department. That is different from many nearby communities that contract with the Broward Sheriff. Your day to day policing, traffic, and non emergency reports run through the Town.
• Fire rescue and EMS. Davie also runs its own fire rescue department with advanced life support ambulances and engines. It even provides fire and EMS to neighboring Southwest Ranches under contract. Owning in a town with its own police and fire is a real quality of service point, and it is one I flag for buyers comparing Davie to other western Broward options.
• Water, sewer, and trash. The Town runs its own water plants and a wastewater plant and bills many homes directly. Trash, recycling, and bulk pickup for residential homes are contracted through the Town and handled by Coastal Waste and Recycling. The cost is billed as a solid waste assessment on your annual property tax bill, not your water utility bill.
• Local permits and zoning. Any addition, pool, roof, or fence runs through the Town’s Building Division. Davie’s western and equestrian zoning is stricter than a typical suburb, which matters if you plan to build.

Broward County handles:

• Property assessment and your homestead exemption, through the Broward County Property Appraiser. This is where your assessed value is set every January 1 and where you file for homestead.
• Tax billing. The Broward County Tax Collector mails your bill in November and applies early payment discounts.
• Public schools. Broward County Public Schools operates the public schools that serve Davie addresses. School zones depend on your exact address, which I break down in the Davie schools guide.

Setting up your home services after closing

Here is the order I walk new owners through so nothing gets missed in the first week. None of this requires a specific phone number in this post, because the Town pages below take you straight to the right desk.

1. Find your water and sewer provider. Davie does not have one water provider for the whole town. Some homes are on Town of Davie water, others on the City of Sunrise, and a few on a private utility. Check your address on the Town’s Utility Service Area map before closing so you know who to set up with.

2. Set up electric with FPL. Florida Power and Light serves Davie. Start service online in your name for your closing date.

3. Confirm trash and recycling. Curbside trash, recycling, and bulk pickup are provided by Coastal Waste and Recycling under Town contract. The cost is billed as a solid waste assessment on your property tax bill, separate from your water account. For new construction, start service through the Town’s Solid Waste and Bulk Pickup page; for existing homes, the assessment follows the property.

4. File your homestead exemption. If this is your primary residence, file with the Broward County Property Appraiser. Homestead caps your assessment growth under Save Our Homes and is the single biggest carrying cost lever you control. I cover the full picture in the Davie cost of living guide.

5. Line up permits before you renovate. If a project is on your list, pull the permit history and open new permits through the Town’s Building Division online system before any work starts. Unpermitted additions are one of the most common problems I surface for buyers during due diligence.

For the deeper detail on billing cycles and what each utility covers, my Davie utilities guide goes provider by provider. This post is the wider civic map; that one is the utility playbook.

How Davie’s town government works

Davie runs on a council and administrator structure. Five elected members set policy, including a Mayor and a Vice Mayor elected at large, and a professional Town Administrator runs daily operations. The Town Council meets on the first and third Wednesday of each month at the Pine Island Multipurpose Center on South Pine Island Road, and meetings are open to residents.

This matters more in Davie than in most towns because the Council’s decisions on zoning, land use, and the western and equestrian overlay directly shape what you can do with your property and what gets built near you. A buyer looking at acreage in Davie needs to know that the town has deliberately protected its low density character since it first incorporated in 1925. That is not an accident of history. It is an active choice the Council reaffirms, and it is a big part of why Davie feels the way it does among Broward’s roughly 110,000 residents here, per the US Census.

If you are moving here and want the full lifestyle and relocation picture beyond services, start with my Living in Davie guide. Understanding who runs what is step one; understanding how the town lives is step two.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Town of Davie have its own police department?

Yes. Davie operates its own full service police department rather than contracting with the Broward Sheriff. It handles patrol, traffic, and non emergency reports for the town. This is one of the service points that separates Davie from several neighboring communities in western Broward.

Does Davie have its own fire rescue, or is it the county?

Davie runs its own fire rescue and EMS department, with advanced life support ambulances and engines. It also provides fire and EMS to neighboring Southwest Ranches under contract. So both police and fire are local to the Town of Davie, which is uncommon in this part of Broward County.

Who provides water in Davie, Florida?

It depends on your address. The Town of Davie provides water and sewer to a large part of the town, while other homes are served by the City of Sunrise or a private utility. Always confirm your provider on the Town of Davie Utility Service Area map before you close, so you set up service with the correct company.

Does Broward County or the Town of Davie handle my property taxes?

Broward County handles both sides of your taxes. The Broward County Property Appraiser sets your assessed value and processes your homestead exemption, and the Broward County Tax Collector mails the bill and applies discounts. The Town of Davie sets its own millage rate, but the county does the assessment and collection.

What should I set up first after closing on a Davie home?

Confirm your water provider on the Town map, then start electric with FPL, then verify trash pickup, and file your homestead exemption with the Broward County Property Appraiser if it is your primary residence. Handle any renovation permits through the Town before work begins. That order keeps your first week clean and protects your carrying costs.

Talk to a Davie Real Estate Expert

Knowing who runs what is the boring part of buying in Davie, and it is exactly the part that trips up buyers moving in from out of state. If you are planning a move here, the fastest way to get your service setup, your zoning questions, and your carrying costs mapped to a specific address is a direct conversation. Schedule a Davie strategy call and I will walk you through it for the home you are actually considering.

Anthony Spitaleri

Living in Davie Florida

954-235-5783

Davie, Florida

livingindavieflorida.com

Written by Anthony Spitaleri, Broker Associate with Coldwell Banker and a Davie native. More about Anthony