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Letter to the editor

Today's Letters: $70 annual hike for fire district is eminently fair

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published October 17, 2007

Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District

On a Saturday this month, my wife and I received our absentee ballots for the Nov. 6 referendum on the Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District tax increase request. The following Monday, I took the completed ballots to the post office, asking the district to increase our taxes by $70 to fund our fire department budget.

Why do that while the entire state is in revolt over high taxes? Our fire department (district) is the only government agency in the metropolitan area that charges a flat fee, regardless of real estate value, and the only one that must ask the voters for any increase. That's the way our charter reads, and the state Legislature has no interest in changing it.

Each taxpaying dwelling owner pays $190 per year whether he lives in a mansion or a hovel. Property value increases or decreases do not affect this fire fee, as they do taxation for all other government agencies.

The fire department went for 11 years without an increase until a $70 jump was granted by the voters in 2003. In the meantime, insurance, fuel and just about every other cost has risen exponentially. And we don't get a single "Penny for Pinellas." The department has made heroic cost reductions, but according to the outside auditor, without an increase this fiscal year, we will be considered "bankrupt" on Sept. 30, 2008.

Who will then provide fire protection and emergency medical services? Mostly the same firefighters, but the taxation and management will undergo a complete change: Nearby cities that have fire departments will take over management of the three stations in our district - one in Indian Rocks Beach, one on the unincorporated mainland (or that one may be closed) and one (EMS) in Indian Shores. Some positions in the department would probably be discontinued. Folks with families will be looking for jobs.

I am pleased to see that our neighboring cities that are likely to pick up the reins should our district be dissolved have reduced their millage rates below 2 mills ($2 per thousand tax appraisal) for the first time in years. Largo charges 1.9005 mills, Clearwater 1.8628 and Seminole 1.9581. That means that a property appraised for taxes at $200,000 would be charged $380.10 by Largo, $372.56 by Clearwater or $391.62 by Seminole.

Some of us have been homesteaded since the beginning and would actually save a few dollars annually by being switched to ad valorem taxation. But what about our neighbors who are not homesteaded, and how about small businesses that are being taxed at "highest and best use"? Let's be fair to our neighbors and show our thanks to the firefighters by voting Nov. 6 for a $70 a year increase ($5.83 per month) to fund our fire department.

Bob McEwen commissioner, Seat 1, Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District, Indian Shores

One big trashy nation

The American people have got to be the sloppiest people on planet Earth. Not a day goes by when I am driving that a person in a vehicle ahead of me doesn't throw out lighted cigarette butts, food wrappers, soda cans, bottles and paper cups. Go to any mall parking lot and you will find acres of litter strewn about, including the contents of ashtrays.

When I lived in Shore Acres and went out in the morning to pick up my newspaper, I usually would find empty pop cans, beer cans or bottles, empty sandwich bags and dog feces on the lawn - sometimes even a garbage bag. In the apartment complex where I live now, the same thing: no pride. If people using the Dumpsters miss the opening, they let it lie there.

The inconsideration shown to their fellow men is ingrained at an early age, and they do not realize they are doing something wrong or illegal. Ask any cop when he last stopped someone for littering. This slovenly, slipshod attitude is not a local phenomenon but appears to be nationwide. Over the years, instead of this condition improving, it seems to be getting worse. The lack of pride of the American people is appalling!

Joseph Welch, St. Petersburg

Cycling turf war

In car or on bike, be nice

As a cyclist, do you ever feel the urge to shout at drivers who come too close, buzzing you, honking in your ear or cursing at you for being on the road? Do you have a difficult time maintaining the Zenlike state that you seek when you ride your bicycle? I do.

Do you ride with a group of cyclists in which some individuals disregard the rules of the road or are insensitive to vehicles and drivers around them? Do your fellow cyclists attempt to retaliate when insulted by drivers? Do you wish you were somewhere else when these events occur? I do.

Statistics show that Pinellas County is a dangerous place to ride a bike. Road rage is not limited to four-wheeled vehicles. I was involved in an incident on a recent Sunday at 10 a.m. that has me re-evaluating a number of things. I got angry with a motorist who was harassing my group of five bikes. Things escalated to the point that the driver attempted to kill me with his car. I'm still angry, but mostly at myself for letting someone provoke me. That's my wakeup call.

I'm not talking about accidents, I'm talking about intent. This turf war must end! What small satisfaction would come from running me down in front of witnesses? My life ends, the driver rots in jail. It's not worth it!

We all have stories about motorists doing insane things to bikes and of cyclists behaving like arrogant pigs toward motorists. But this is not every cyclist nor every driver; it is a fringe element from each group. I appeal to all of you who share the roads with me: Let's clean up our act on both side of the white line.

Richard Reynolds, Clearwater

Curbside recycling

Does Baker recycle?

Mayor Rick Baker does not want curbside recycling in St. Petersburg. He says the collection trucks would be polluting with the exhaust they'd produce.

I wonder if Mayor Baker recycles. I wonder if he drives his recyclables to the collection site in his (polluting) car like thousands of the rest of us.

Maybe he doesn't recycle. Maybe his reason is that he doesn't want to add to the pollution. I wonder ...

Kathy Runde, St. Petersburg

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[Last modified October 16, 2007, 22:19:08]