Northpinellas: Belleair's voters make things clear

BELLEAIR -- Town officials have sent 3,300 registered voters a letter and survey about two crucial issues facing the community: the future of its Police Department and Florida Power.

The package begins with a four-page letter from Mayor George Mariani that indicates residents have been misled about the issues. "This communication," he wrote, "will attempt to summarize both issues in an objective manner."

Enclosed with Mariani's letter is a second two-page letter written by former Mayor Jack Donlan about the electric issue and a stamped postcard with two survey questions. The town spent about $2,000 on the mailing and 112 surveys came back unclaimed.

Earlier this week, residents had mailed back 1,312 postcards.

The results indicate Belleair residents overwhelmingly want to keep their Police Department and they support the town's ongoing exploration of breaking away from Florida Power and establishing a municipal electric utility.

Given the results, Mariani said, "I think our path is clear."

"The magnitude of the numbers in each category are indicative of what the Belleair voters feel in each issue," he said.

Mariani said he began talking about the mailing in December, in part as a response to mailings and public comments by activist and commission candidate Bob Rogers, who has been a vocal critic of the idea of breaking away from Florida Power.

Another reason, Mariani said, was to present to the public information comparing the cost of the Police Department -- $920,000 annually -- to the cost of hiring the Sheriff's Office, estimated at just under $400,000. The Police Department was a topic of conversation after a November St. Petersburg Times story highlighted problems within the ranks, including inappropriate sexual behavior.

"With the two issues being bantered about in the town . . . I had two goals," Mariani said. "One is to fully educate the citizens as to what the issues are and then No. 2, I wanted to get an accurate response after they had a chance to read the whole story."

In his letter, Mariani characterized problems at the Belleair Police Department as "trivial in nature and no different than petty problems found in any organization." However, he added, town officials are working to resolve those problems.

Mariani told residents they have the option of hiring the Sheriff's Office, a move that would mean disbanding the local force. He said later that he was prepared to begin negotiations with Sheriff Everett Rice's office if that's what residents wanted. But it's not.

Asked to choose between the Belleair Police Department and Sheriff's Office, 79 percent of people responding to the survey indicated they want to keep the local department. Police Chief George Harmansky said the level of support was a surprise.

"I would not expect it and I'm very pleasantly humbled and surprised," Harmansky said. "My thought was I'd feel good if it was 55 or 60 percent. If it hit 65 percent I'd be elated. I'm beyond elated."

The second half of Mariani's letter deals with the idea of Belleair establishing a municipal electric utility. Ultimately, he said, town officials will have to make a business decision about the issue.

"The commission does not intend to enter any form of agreement that would raise the cost of power to its residents," he wrote.

The survey poses three choices to residents: renew Belleair's contract with Florida Power, proceed to buy out the Florida Power system or continue negotiations with Florida Power while "maintaining rights and due diligence."

Sixty-four percent of people supported the town's current actions of negotiating while continuing to explore the idea of a municipal electric utility. Eighteen percent said the town should sign a new contract with Florida Power and 15 percent said the town should buy out the Florida Power system.

"I think the people are endorsing the commission's position," Mariani said. "That gives me some confidence."

While town officials were pleased by the results, the survey is not objective, says one expert who examined the letters and questionnaire.

"This is not the way one should send off a survey," said statistician Susanne Fischer, St. Petersburg Jr. College's director of institutional research. "People can't make an informed decision based on this."

Among the problems Fischer noted is that the letter fails to give residents a fair comparison between the services of the Belleair Police Department and the Sheriff's Office.

And on the electric issue, the letter clearly indicates town officials have not reached a conclusion as to the best alternative, because, "there simply is not enough information yet to make a decision." So, Fischer asked, how can the town expect its residents to make a choice?

It leaves residents with only one option -- the one that supports the town's current position, she said.

"This is a highly biased survey in favor of what the town leadership has provided," Fischer said.

Town officials said they were not bothered by that criticism.

"I don't think it's biased," Town Manager Steve Cottrell said. "This is about assessing the sentiment of the people of Belleair, and I think it does it with reasonable rigor statistically."

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