2006 Know Your Candidates

Fire district's future divides incumbents, challenger

Spring Hill Fire Rescue Commission

By CHANDRA BROADWATER
Published October 25, 2006

The two incumbents envision Spring Hill Fire Rescue as part of a unified Hernando County district in the future; their challenger scoffs at the idea.

Gene Panozzo and Leo Jacobs hope to retain their two open, unpaid fire commission seats against a competitor with experience as a paramedic and in business management.

Panozzo, who is also the commission chairman, has served for 14 years as a fire commissioner. The 67-year-old retired firefighter from Chicago last won re-election in 2002.

Even though he said four years ago that he would not run again, Panozzo said he couldn't pass up another chance to work on a board that gets along so well.

"There's no bickering," he said of the five-member board. "And it's not just that everyone agrees all the time. We can discuss things."

Panozzo said the merger with the county is the biggest challenge facing the fire district. But he thinks that the cash-strapped Hernando County Fire Rescue needs to come up to Spring Hill's level of services - by hiring more firefighters and buying new, badly needed equipment - before a consolidation can take place.

Both he and Jacobs don't doubt that such a move would ultimately save the county money by eliminating duplicated services. But Jacobs, 71, wants to see the unified district become independent from the county.

County Commissioners appointed Jacobs to the fire district board in 2004. He replaced Darryl Hamilton, who resigned after moving out of Hernando County. Though he never served as a firefighter, Jacobs worked for more than 20 years in the fire service industry.

"Any time you do away with a dual administration, you save money," he said. "I would like to see an independent fire district, period."

Like Panozzo, Jacobs also sees building new stations in the north- and southwestern parts of the fire district as priorities. As the county's population grows and subdivisions in these areas of Spring Hill swell, it will become imperative to have stations in these locations, they said.

Newcomer Doug Tatum, 44, is a retired paramedic who worked in Citrus and Hernando counties for 15 years. He also owns a towing business. While he thinks the fire commissioners have done a good job of directing the district, he said, Spring Hill Fire Rescue needs help in community relations and other areas.

Tatum doesn't think the fire district should merge with the county's. He thinks that more incentives for promotion should be offered to firefighters and paramedics.

Unlike the other two candidates, Tatum does not think that fire commission workshop sessions should be televised. People speak more candidly when a camera isn't on them, he said.

THE CANDIDATES

Gene Panozzo

Panozzo, 67, was born and raised in Chicago. He worked as a firefighter for 16 years there and, before that, for Shell Oil and Fireman's Fund Insurance. Panozzo has been on disability since 1980, after he fell through the second floor of a building to the basement, breaking his back. He moved to Spring Hill the same year. He is married to Dana, a fire inspector for Spring Hill Fire Rescue. He has four children. Assets: Home, savings. Liabilities: Car loan. Sources of income: Pension, Social Security.

Leo Jacobs

Jacobs, 71, was raised in North Carolina. He spent more than 20 years as a salesman in the fire service industry. Jacobs earned his economics degree from the University of Tampa in 1970. He is married and has two children. He also is also active in county veterans affairs. Assets: Home. Liabilities: None. Sources of income: Pension, Social Security.

Douglas L. Tatum

Tatum, 44, was born in St. Petersburg. He has worked as a paramedic in Hernando and Citrus counties and owns Tatum's Towing in Hudson. He also serves on the advisory board for the emergency medical services program at Pasco-Hernando Community College, where he received an associate's degree in emergency services. Tatum is married and has a daughter. Assets: Home, stocks. Liabilities: Loans. Source of income: Social Security.

THE JOB

Fire district commissioner

The five fire district commissioners serve four-year terms and do not get paid.

[Last modified November 3, 2006, 15:26:05]