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Officials to review finances, operations of fire district

A committee will try to find ways to help fund the Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District without a large tax hike.

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published March 13, 2005

INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - Officials from Pinellas County and four beach cities met here Wednesday to formally begin an in-depth investigation of the operations and financial management of the Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District.

What the final result will be is unclear, even to members of the newly constituted "Oversight Committee."

"At the end of the day, what do we intend to do? What are the legal remedies?" said fire district Commissioner John Todia.

The fire district is a reluctant participant on the committee, created by beach city officials who lobbied their voters last year to turn down a proposed fire tax increase that would have increased fees (now $170 per residence) for larger homes to $500 or more a year.

The county and cities of Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach and Belleair Shore hope to find a way to keep its half-century old fire district operating, but not at a cost that would sharply escalate fees for residents and businesses.

"I don't think any city wants to get rid of the fire district," said Belleair Beach council member Lynn Rives, who was elected chairman of the group.

A provision of state law allows local review of independent fire district operations. However, there is no authority giving local governments the ability to force an independent fire district to change its mode of operations.

"We want to know how our district compares with other districts. There is no way we (the towns) can run the fire district," said Belleair Shore Mayor John Robertson.

Indian Rocks Beach Commissioner Bill Ockunzzi said the main "issue" is how the district raises and spends money. "Where is the leak? They have been deficit spending since 2003," he said.

Another issue raised by the committee is whether the district is spending fire taxes to subsidize EMS services in the Redingtons, which are not members of the district. The fire district has a contract with the county to provide EMS services to Redington Shores, North Redington Beach and Redington Beach.

Chuck Kearns, the director of EMS and fire services for the county, said the county fully funds those services.

County Commissioner Karen Seel and Assistant County Administrator Gay Lancaster also attended the meeting.

The committee plans to hire an outside consultant to do this comparison and perhaps recommend changes in how the district operates. The cost of the consultant will be shared by the four towns and the county.

At its next meeting, March 23, the group will review how EMS and fire services are structured in the county, decide what issues will be examined by the outside consultant and review the fire district's budgeting process.

Fire district officials maintain that without significant additional revenue, reserves will be gone within the next year and could force bankruptcy and possible dissolution by the state. If the district is closed down, fire and rescue service most likely would be provided (at an unknown cost) by nearby departments in Largo and Seminole.

The fire district includes about 12,000 homes and businesses in the towns of Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach, Belleair Beach and Belleair Shore, as well as on the mainland from Walsingham Road south to 94th Avenue and from 131st Street west to the Intracoastal Waterway. The district also provides emergency rescue services to Redington Shores, North Redington Beach and Redington Beach under a contract with Pinellas County.

[Last modified March 13, 2005, 00:22:15]