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Politics

Cities find no humor in e-mails

Some think messages between a consultant and the county attorney show cities' authority is in peril.

By LORRI HELFAND
Published October 10, 2006

It was just a joke, a county official said.

But city officials aren't laughing.

For months, city officials have accused Pinellas County of trying to usurp their authority by changing the county charter, the local constitution that sets forth the county's powers and duties.

Now they say they have proof: e-mails between charter review consultant Kurt Spitzer and County Attorney Susan Churuti.

"Didn't Shakespeare say that the first thing we should do is abolish all of the cities? Or something like that," Spitzer wrote in an April 26 e-mail. "Let's talk tomorrow."

"It's ringing a bell with me!" Churuti replied by e-mail later that evening. "Let's!"

Spitzer and Churuti said the reference to Shakespeare's Henry VI, which actually mentions killing all of the lawyers, was a harmless joke.

But city officials see it differently.

"I was very disappointed," Tarpon Springs Mayor Beverley Billiris said Monday. "The charter amendments are a serious matter. Protecting our home rule and how our cities are governed is even more important."

The Charter Review Commission is considered independent from the county, though city officials have questioned that.

In August, 21 Pinellas municipalities sued to block a Nov. 7 referendum in which voters will consider proposed changes to the charter.

The cities have claimed that the charter changes undermined their authority, that the ballot language was unclear and that the charter review process itself was flawed.

These e-mails were uncovered in public records requests related to that case.

City leaders said another e-mail acquired from that request shows why they should worry about one proposed amendment.

Currently, any move to change countywide standards requires a dual vote: one in the county and one in the city.

The dual vote allows cities to opt out of certain policies if city residents reject them.

The Charter Review Commission has recommended getting rid of the dual vote, and the question is scheduled to go to voters Nov. 7.

Although county officials say the dual vote issue mainly concerns things like environmental standards, city officials fear it could eventually jeopardize the independence of their fire and police departments.

In an April 11 e-mail, Managing Assistant County Attorney Dennis Long described how the County Commission could secure the authority to do fire protection planning countywide.

In response to questions from Spitzer, forwarded by Churuti, Long wrote that one option was to "have the (Charter Review Commission) put it on the ballot in November '08 if, and only if, the charter dual vote requirement is eliminated in the referendum of '06."

If the dual vote survives, Long wrote, "then ask the Legislature to adopt the special act which grants countywide fire protection planning authority to the (County Commission) and exempts this issue from the charter dual vote requirement, subject to a referendum."

Spitzer said Long's comment was irrelevant because, two weeks later, the Charter Review Commission decided to abandon any discussion about fire consolidation.

But Alan Zimmet, the city attorney for Largo and Safety Harbor, said the e-mail admits that if a dual vote is repealed, the county can take control even if the Charter Review Commission laid the issue to rest.

"Nothing prevents a future commission from taking over fire protection by a single vote," Zimmet said.

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard agreed.

"It more or less confirms what some of the cities have been concerned about," Hibbard said.

Palm Harbor fire Chief James Angle, president of the Pinellas County Fire Chiefs Association, said removing the dual vote could have an impact on local governments' ability to set their own local standards for fire service in the future.

But Spitzer maintained that the objective of repealing the dual vote is chiefly to set countywide standards in environmental protection, as touted in recent advertisements approved by the charter commission and paid for by the county.

"The reason for this being put on the ballot has absolutely nothing to do with fire protection or fire service standards," Spitzer said.

Largo Mayor Pat Gerard said the environmental argument is misleading.

"There's a reason why they're fighting for that so hard, and I don't pretend to know what it is, but it is a little scary," Gerard said.

[Last modified October 10, 2006, 05:44:35]