 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
City to sue over county's fire grab
By DAN DeWITT BROOKSVILLE -- After the County Commission voted last week to end a 34-year agreement with Brooksville to provide fire protection for Township 22, the city vowed to fight. Monday night, City Council members agreed to a battle plan -- suing on the grounds that the commission lacks authority to cancel the contract. The city will first seek a temporary injunction to stop the county from taking over service of the district at the end of the current fiscal year, Sept 30. The city expected to receive about $330,000 in revenue from Township 22, which is outside the city lines. Ultimately, Brooksville will argue that because the Township 22 fire district was created by a referendum, it can only be terminated by one. "That's our position: That in order to dissolve the special district, they have to have a referendum," council member Joe Johnston III said after the meeting. City Attorney David La Croix outlined the legal position at the meeting. "I think we have a strong argument," he said. Though the city's suit seeks to overturn the county's action, it will actually be filed against the Township 22 fire district, La Croix said. When it was created in 1968, the district had a limited purpose, La Croix told the council. Most relevant to the city's argument, the district is required to contract Brooksville for fire protection. "There is no authorization to contract with anyone else or to operate a fire department," La Croix wrote in his memo. He also referred to a state attorney general's opinion stating a county cannot dissolve a special district except by a vote of residents. "Therefore, without a referendum, Hernando County cannot dissolve this special district," La Croix wrote. The county disagrees, said assistant county attorney Kurt Hitzemann, though he said he could not discuss the case in detail until a complaint was filed. "I can only answer it generally," he said. "The commission, I'm certain, had legal authority to do what they did. We'll just have to deal with any potential lawsuit when it comes down the line." County Commissioner Chris Kingsley said the county considered the agreement "just like any other contract with a vendor." When the contract ends, as it is scheduled to do at the end of this fiscal year, the county has a right to seek another provider, he said. "If we can get equal or better service for a lower price, that's our responsibility to the taxpayers," he said. Commissioner Mary Aiken, who voted against terminating the contract, said the city's argument sounds plausible to her. She said of the county's decision, "I thought it was very low." She was especially offended that Mike Nickerson, chief of the Hernando County Fire Rescue District, included the money in next year's budget before the commission vote. Both the county and the city would face financial hardships without revenue from the township, leaders said, though neither side would have to raise taxes. City council members have asked City Manager Richard Anderson to cut purchases of equipment and vehicles in all departments to save money. The shortfall will be particularly painful because the city faces drastic increases in its workers' compensation insurance. If the county must cut the Township 22 money, said Budget Director George Zoettlein, "it would just pose a small tax flow problem. It wouldn't cause us to close down firehouses or lay people off." The city is confident residents would choose to stay with city protection if they are allowed to vote. The city recently sent a survey to homes in Township 22, Johnston said. The overwhelming majority of residents who responded said they wanted the city to serve them. Ideally, La Croix said, the issue would appear on the general election ballot in November. That may not happen, said Supervisor of Elections Annie Williams. She would have to know whether or not to include it immediately after the Sept. 10 primary, when her office begins preparing the November ballot, she said.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
From today's Hernando Times Letters |
