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Call for fire district independence is unnecessary© St. Petersburg Times published April 24, 2002 Taxpayers in the Spring Hill Fire and Rescue District are enduring an "urgent" call, mostly from district employees, to make the fire district independent of control by the Hernando County Commission. This is at least the third time in a decade the debate has been been proffered. And, as they have done in the past, residents should not be swayed by emotional arguments. It was an unnecessary and ill-advised debate 10 years ago, and it still is. There is nothing urgent about the topic and there is no evidence the County Commission is considering exercising its legal right to dissolve the fire district, seize its assets and meld them into a countywide system. Fire commissioners have scheduled a workshop meeting for 7:30 p.m. today at district headquarters on Bob Hartung Court in Spring Hill. They are expected to discuss the merits of the proposal, which is being pushed by the firefighters union and at least two commissioners, Gene Panozzo and Jeff Hollander. But before commissioners embark on a discussion about current circumstances that might merit reconsideration of independence, they should reacquaint themselves with the history of this issue. In 1992 Spring Hill residents voted by 15,766 to 13,744 against making the fire district independent. They opted for the County Commission to create a Municipal Services Taxing Unit that authorized the county to collect property taxes from residents and pass along the revenue to the fire district. But voters also gave the County Commission ultimate oversight of the district's finances, as well as some other administrative powers, such as selecting residents to fill vacant seats on the fire board. Voters' intent was clear during that referendum, and with the exception of when the firefighters union floated the idea in 1995, and again now, there has been no evidence that residents are unhappy with the current set-up, or that there is a renewed will by county commissioners to take over the district. Today's proponents of independence of the fire district are sounding the same warnings they have before. And, as in the past, county commissioners are flatly stating they have no intention of absorbing the Spring Hill fire district. The only new argument from proponents this time around is that the County Commission may be motivated by the poor financial profile of its county emergency services. While that is a reasonable assessment of the county fire and ambulance service, the situation is far from dire. The County Commission is taking steps to infuse revenue into its department and make it run more efficiently. Given time, it will rebound. At the same time, the county commissioners and their chief, Mike Nickerson, are taking a long-range look at the feasibility of a countywide fire service, and they are astute in doing so. As the county grows and the demand on services increases, it becomes almost inevitable. However, it almost certainly will be years, perhaps as many as 10, before that is seriously considered. It would be unwise, not to mention politically foolish, for county commissioners to tackle the issue of independence now. Proof of the commission's lack of incentive in that regard can be found in their decision last year to not take over volunteer fire departments in the communities of High Point and Hernando Beach. If they wouldn't do that, it is certain they wouldn't risk angering Spring Hill voters -- the largest concentration in the county -- by launching a coup on the fire district. Besides, if the question is ever earnestly considered again, the fire commissioners and the county commissioners should be obligated to leave the matter to voters via a referendum, as they did in 1992. The current system of governing the fire district is just fine. The fire commissioners should not be goaded into making any hasty decisions.
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From today's Hernando Times |
