City Manager
Frank Babinec was hired as the City Manager for the City of Coral Springs in December 2019. Prior to that, he served as the Chief of the Coral Springs-Parkland Fire Department from February 2014 to December 2019. The City of Coral Springs has approximately 920 full-time employees who serve more than 136,000 residents as a full-service governmental organization.
A native Floridian, and a resident of Coral Springs since 1991, Babinec joined the fire department in 1993 as a volunteer and was hired full-time in 2000 as the training officer. He spent seven years as an Assistant Chief (shift commander) and an additional seven years as the Deputy Chief of Operations, dedicating more than 26 years of service to Coral Springs and Parkland communities. Babinec served 12 years as a Lead Instructor at the Coral Springs Regional Institute of Public Safety.
Babinec holds a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and earned an MBA in Public Administration.
Babinec possesses a Chief Fire Officer designation from the Center for Public Safety Excellence, Fire Officer IV from the State of Florida, and an Executive Fire Officer designation from the National Fire Academy. In 2021, Babinec received the Credentialed Manager designation from ICMA, the International City/County Management Association.
During Babinec's tenure as Fire Chief, he created and implemented the Community Paramedic Program, improved safety, health, and wellness programs, and enhanced its fleet and facilities. Under his leadership, the department achieved an ISO Class 1 Certification in 2016 and was named "EMS Provider of the Year" by the Florida Department of Health in 2017. During this time, the American Heart Association also recognized the department three times with its annual Mission: Lifeline ® award for excellence in EMS coronary care.
In 2019 Babinec contributed to a Cancer Prevention Research Article, "Impact of Organizational-level Factors on Cancer Screening Activities in Fire Departments: A Cross-sectional Study from the Sylvester Firefighter Cancer Initiative." In 2019, Babinec was a contributing author to Chief Billy Goldfeder's Book.
Babinec was also the Florida Fire Chiefs Association Fire Chief of the Year for the State of Florida in 2017. In 2018, Babinec was recognized as the Fire Chief of the Year by the Southeastern Association of Fire Chiefs. He also received the 2018 Community Leadership Award from the Broward Council of Professional Firefighters. In 2019, Chief Babinec received the Billy Goldfeder Organizational Safety Award from the International Association of Fire Chiefs' Safety, Health, and Survival Section. In 2019, Babinec earned Telly and Emmy Awards for "Our Story," a video detailing cancer prevention and awareness for the fire service.
In October 2020, Frank Babinec received the Florida Fire Chiefs Association's inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Firefighter Safety and Health, now named in Frank's honor. In 2022 Babinec received the ICMA Strategic Leadership and Governance award and BCCMA Community Service Award.
Babinec served as the President of the Fire Chiefs' Association of Broward County, the Chair for the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association Safety and Health Section, and the 2nd Vice President for the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association. Babinec served as the Co-Chair for the Florida Joint Council of Fire and Emergency Services Subcommittee on Mental Wellness.
As City Manager, Babinec plans to develop and deploy comprehensive strategies that ensure Coral Springs stays on a path towards innovation, business expansion, and enhanced public safety while improving city parks, events, and festivals, ensuring that Coral Springs remains attractive to both businesses and families.