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Challengers oppose change

Two candidates running against the incumbent oppose the fire board's support of changing the flat-fee system.

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - Despite organized opposition to a proposed change in fire fees, two incumbents on the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District commission face no opposition and will automatically return to office next month.

Only Bill Ripley, a nine-year veteran of the fire board, will again face voters Nov. 2. Commissioners Dan Madura and Robert McEwen, whose terms expire this year, will automatically return to their seats after the Nov. 2 election.

Ripley represents Indian Rocks Beach, focus of the strongest opposition to a referendum that would drastically change the way and amount home owners pay for fire service.

Both his challengers, Patricia Muneio and John Todia, are angry at the fire board's attempts to abandon the district's traditional flat fee structure for one that would charge owners of larger homes more than their neighbors.

But despite this controversy over the fire fee referendum, whoever wins Seat 2 will not change the balance of power on the board, which voted unanimously to ask voters to pay more for their fire service.

The challengers believe that the board's current financial problems could have been avoided if the commission had managed its affairs better.

"I went to a couple of board members and was not convinced the district needs to ask for more money," says Todia, adding that he has an open mind about future increases in fire fees. If elected, Todia says he will be the conscience of the board and will suggest new ideas to address its financial situation.

Muneio wants the board to consider seeking federal or state grants for additional money. However, such grants usually are targeted to capital projects and equipment, not operating expenses. She also wants the board to seek more money from the county for EMS services. The county maintains it is fully funding the district's EMS activities.

Ripley defends his and the board's actions in running the fire district. He says his continuing goal is to ensure the district offers superior services at a low cost. He says he voted for the proposed referendum "because without the additional revenue the district might be shut down."

The Pinellas Suncoast Fire District, formerly the Indian Rocks Fire District, serves some 12,000 homes and businesses in the towns of Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach, Belleair Shores and a portion of mainland between Ulmerton Road, 94th Avenue N, 131st Street N and the Intercoastal Waterway.

The Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District board members serve four-year terms and are paid $250 a month. Each of the five board members must live in the areas they represent. One seat is up for election this year: Seat 2, which represents Indian Rocks Beach. Incumbents representing Seats 1 (Indian Shores) and Seat 5 (Mainlands South) had no opposition and will remain in office.

"Shall Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District, pursuant to Chapter 191 F.S., be authorized to change its non-ad valorem rate of assessment of $190 per single family residence as established by referendum in 2003, to a non-ad valorem assessment of 0.17 cents per square foot per single family residence equaling $170 per 1,000 square feet for residential property commencing in FY 2005/2006?"

Voters should note that, despite a mathematical error in its wording, if the referendum is passed homeowners will receive tax bills that will levy a fire service fee of 17 cents per square foot of space, according to the tax collector's office.

Homes measuring smaller than 1,118 square feet would be charged less than the current $190 fire service rate, while larger homes would be charged more.

The inclusion of a decimal point in the referendum wording technically calls for a tax rate of less than two-tenths of one cent per square foot. But, the inclusion of additional language explaining the tax's impact on a 1,000-square-foot home clarifies the issue, according to the district and the tax collector's office.

PATRICIA MUNEIO, 55, moved to Florida from Michigan seven years ago and become an Indian Rocks Beach resident two years ago. She earned a nursing degree at Wayne State University and a master's degree in health care administration from San Diego College. She works as a nurse with the Heartland Home Care agency and owned a bookstore in Indian Rocks Beach. Muneio is a member of Action 2000, the Indian Rocks Beach Historical Society, the Beach Art Center, the Indian Rocks Beach Parks and Recreation Board, the Citizen's Emergency Response Team and the Indian Rocks Beach Executive Committee. She volunteers at St. Anthony's hospital and is a pastoral minister. This is her first attempt to secure a public office. ASSETS: Home, investments. LIABILITIES: Mortgage. SOURCES OF INCOME: Investments, Heartland Home Care.

BILL RIPLEY, 70, has represented Indian Rocks Beach on the fire board for the past nine years. Appointed in 1995, he has been elected to two full terms and now is seeking his third term. Ripley received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida, as well as associate degrees in fire services technology and fire administration from Hillsborough Community College and St. Petersburg Junior College, respectively. Ripley worked as a firefighter for 39 years in the Tampa, Hillsborough County, and Sarasota fire departments. He retired in 1993 as chief of training for the Hillsborough County Fire Department and moved to Indian Rocks Beach. He is married and has three children. ASSETS: Home, real estate, investments. LIABILITIES: None listed. SOURCES OF INCOME: Social Security, pension, investments, fire board salary.

JOHN TODIA, 59, moved to Indian Rocks Beach two years ago from Mystic, Conn. Originally, from Cleveland, he attended Cornell University, earning a degree in hotel/restaurant management. He worked in the hospitality business for 38 years, was president and CEO of the Waterford Hotel Group, and executive vice president of Hammonds before forming his own consulting company. He is now retired. Todia is treasurer of the Indian Rocks Rotary Club, vice president of Action 2000, president of the Harbour House Townhomes Association, and serves on the Indian Rocks Beach Board of Adjustment. This is his first attempt to secure a public office. He is married and has two grown children. ASSETS: Town house, investments. LIABILITIES: Mortgage. SOURCES OF INCOME: Investments.