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Letter to the editor

Amendment 1 could force fire layoffs

Between six and 14 positions out of 86 could be affected, likely starting in May. In a worst-case scenario, one fire engine could be taken out of service.

By Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer
Published February 24, 2008

SEMINOLE - City administrators have warned firefighters that some of them will likely lose their jobs because of a budget shortfall caused by voters' overwhelming passage of Amendment 1.

The layoffs could affect from six to 14 positions - or 7 to 16 percent - of the 86-person Seminole Fire Department. The layoffs would likely begin in May.

If the worst happens and 14 positions are lost, city officials say that fire and emergency service could be profoundly affected - at least one fire engine could be taken out of service, which would increase the response time to those in need.

The problem is caused in part by the way the Seminole Fire District is funded. The city itself encompasses only 25 percent of the entire district. The remaining 75 percent lies in unincorporated Pinellas County.

City taxpayers pay for fire service within the municipal limits - which accounts for one of the district's four fire stations. Seminole can use money from any source that goes into the general fund - property taxes, franchise fees, etc. - to help pay for fire service for its residents.

Pinellas County pays Seminole to provide fire service to the portion of the district that is in the unincorporated area. That portion is known as a "dependent fire district."

The county gets the money for the unincorporated portion from the property owners who live in that section of unincorporated Seminole. By law, the county can only use money from ad valorem, or property, taxes to pay for that fire service. Unlike the cities, the county is not able to use money from other sources to offset reductions in property taxes.

With the reduction in taxable property values as a result of Amendment 1, the county is facing a choice: Either raise the property tax rate or cut the budget. Acting County Administrator Fred Marquis has said he will not increase the tax rate because it flies in the face of voter sentiment. The only other option is to tighten the budget. And a tighter budget means firefighters and others in the Seminole Department could lose their jobs.

The news that Seminole may have to lay off some firefighters came in a letter earlier this month from fire Chief Dan Graves to fire union president Art Bruckler.

Figures from the Pinellas County Property Appraiser's Office estimates show the 2007 taxable value of all property in the unincorporated portion of the Seminole Fire District to be about $3.2-billion. That's pre-Amendment 1. if the estimated effect of Amendment 1 is figured in, the estimated value drops to about $2.8-billion - a decrease of about 12 percent.

That means the county's portion of Seminole's fire budget will go down by about 12 percent. The estimated hit to Seminole's budget is about $1.45-million. The actual effect won't be known until later this year.

"We don't know those figures because they're not available. So we're making some assumptions," Seminole City Manager Frank Edmunds said.

One certainty exists, Edmunds said. If Seminole has to cut $1.45-million from its fire budget, 14 positions will be lost. Most of those will be firefighters. And the effect on service will be dramatic.

"It would force us to take some vehicles out of service on some days," said Graves, the fire chief. The result would be "much longer response times" for those who live near the station(s) where the vehicles are mothballed.

One possible solution would be to tap into reserves. The county has about $1-million in reserves for the Seminole Fire District. Edmunds said he has asked Marquis if half of that could be used to offset some of the potential revenue loss.

Jobs would still be lost, Edmunds said. But likely, only six people would be idled and three of those would be administrative. Losing three firefighters amounts to a reduction of one person per shift. The effect on service would be minimal.

Seminole is not the only area affected. All the county's dependent and independent fire districts are in a similar fix because they are funded solely by ad valorem taxes.

Fire District 2007 CertifiedTaxable Value Amendment 1 Tax Value Belleair Bluffs Fire $370-million $344-million Clearwater Fire $1.4-billion $1.3-billion Dunedin Fire $414-million $370-million East Lake Fire $3.3-billion $3-billion Gandy Fire $74.5-million $74-million High Point Fire $1.15-billion $1.08-billion Largo Fire $867-million $793-million Lealman Fire $1.4-billion $1.2-billion Palm Harbor Fire $4.8-billion $4.3-billion Pinellas Park Fire $367-million $342-million Safety Harbor Fire $99-million $93-million Seminole Fire $3.2-billion $2.8-billion South Pasadena Fire $159-million $146-million Tarpon Springs Fire $251-million $236-million Tierra Verde Fire $1-billion $993-million Source: Pinellas County property appraiser

Amendment 1 impact on fire districts

The Pinellas County property appraiser has estimated the reduction in taxable property value caused by Amendment 1. In figuring the effect, the 2007 values were used. The actual 2008 values will not be released until later this year. The chart below shows the effect on the dependent and independent fire districts.

[Last modified February 23, 2008, 22:07:25]