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A Times Editorial
© St. Petersburg Times, published January 16, 2003
During the 1970s and '80s, residents of unincorporated Pinellas County frequently complained that county government was too distant from them, didn't communicate with them, and cared nothing about their needs. They sometimes envied the residents of cities, who generally had more responsive local officials.
Their complaints, unfortunately, weren't far off the mark.
So it is ironic that today, when county commissioners are more sensitive to residents' concerns than they have been in decades and when a new county administrator is improving communication, increasing numbers of unincorporated residents are considering becoming city folk.
Voluntary annexations by Pinellas cities have been so numerous in the past year that Pinellas County officials have viewed with growing alarm their shrinking territory.
On the other hand, several Pinellas cities have come to view annexation of county territory as a financial lifeboat as they struggle with the triple whammy of buildout, the national economic downturn and residents' continued resistance to tax increases to pay for government services. Cities recognize that growing their tax bases is one of the few ways to make their bank accounts grow.
So we see the posh golf course community of Cove Cay, the type of place that at one time would not have given a passing thought to joining Largo, preparing to vote on whether to voluntarily annex into that city.
And we see a Palm Harbor resident trying to organize an effort to incorporate Palm Harbor, which if it became a city would be the third largest in Pinellas.
(Raise your hand if you think Pinellas County needs another city. We agree. Twenty-four is already way too many.)
There are lots of reasons why annexation is so popular right now. Among them is that action by the state made it easier for cities to annex unincorporated territory, and cities started offering expensive incentives that would have been unheard of (or even illegal) a few years ago.
Indeed, Pinellas officials contend that some incentives Largo is offering Cove Cay residents -- the incentive package includes new fire-safe windows and a new fence -- are illegal.
For what it's worth, Pinellas County gets at least a B for its recent efforts to fix the problems of the past.
County commissioners are seen far more frequently at public functions around the county and often turn out to observe or participate in meetings at even the neighborhood level. Less county business is conducted behind closed doors; now there is more discussion and debate at County Commission meetings.
The county has begun to "take the temperature" of county residents more often by using polling and town hall meetings. The county has even opened three new county satellite facilities where residents can drop by to get help or have their questions answered. Those offices are in Palm Harbor, on Roosevelt Boulevard and in St. Petersburg.
Part of the motivation for the boost in responsiveness may be due to the threat of unincorporated residents abandoning the county for the cities, but the fact is that county government was changing even before the rash of annexations began.
The public elected county commissioners who were less resistant to the concept of constituent service and who were determined to let more light into the county courthouse. And the hiring of a more engaging county administrator with new ideas and a desire to be open helped the process along.
Residents of Pinellas County might keep that in mind when cities come knocking.