Battle lines drawn on fire district issues

Candidates are split on the costs and benefits of an independent East Lake district.

By ROBERT FARLEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published July 27, 2000

EAST LAKE -- The elections for seats on the East Lake Fire and Rescue commission are strictly non-partisan, but two very distinct camps have emerged among candidates for the board.

On one side are those who favor a Sept. 5 referendum that could make the fire district independent from Pinellas County. They say it would provide local control, tax savings and attractive state and federal benefits to the firefighters.

On the other side are those who warn that independence could turn out to be more expensive than anticipated, and that a fire board free of county oversight could raise taxes unchecked.

Leading the independence movement is incumbent fire commissioner Chuck Schult, who will square off against East Lake Eagle publisher Daniel Bobel.

Bobel is leery of making the district independent, and last month his newspaper ran a column from another skeptic of the plan. In the Eagle's lead item, Fire Commission Chairman Jim Nobles questioned whether independence could be an expensive disservice to East Lake taxpayers.

"At this point in time, I have not 100 percent made up my mind," Nobles said in an interview this week. "I am leaning toward opposing an independent district.

"I don't see the big advantage to being an independent district," said Nobles, who will run unopposed for another four-year term on the fire board. "It could end up costing the taxpayers."

Bobel, who publishes several North Pinellas community monthly newspapers, is similarly skeptical of the independence initiative.

"I don't think we have all the answers," Bobel said. "The bottom line is, who's going to benefit from this?"

Schult says the taxpayers will benefit. By his calculation, an independent fire district would result in annual savings of about $200,000. The biggest savings, according to Schult, would come from not having to pay the county more than $70,000 in administrative fees, and being able to keep the interest earned on real estate taxes that have been collected but not yet spent.

Nobles and others question Schult's calculations.

Schult noted there are 55 other independent districts in the state.

"Why would it work so good for 55 other districts of our size or bigger in the state of Florida and not us?" Schult asked. "Why would we, with the intelligence of our voters, not be able to run our district and run it economically? They want to live in the past and not change."

The differences between Bobel and Schult pre-date the independence issue.

Bobel and Schult were once leaders of community groups -- East Lake 2000 and the Community Action League, respectively -- that opposed each other on several important East Lake issues. The most publicized were three failed referendums on whether to support local recreation and library services with specially earmarked tax dollars.

Bobel, who supported the referendums, said failure to support a library tax has ended up costing East Lake residents dearly. Now, he said, East Lake residents pay a county library tax, only a fraction of which is returned to the East Lake library. East Lake residents do receive other benefits, however, such as library courier service and access to any of the other county libraries.

In the race for the other contested seat, former fire commissioner Chuck Dedman, who questions independence for the fire district, will face Rondi Hosking.

Hosking, a self-described dark horse candidate, said she was recruited by Schult to run. Hosking said she specifically waited to file election qualifying papers to ensure she would oppose Dedman.

Hosking, who was actively involved two years ago in the successful and controversial push to save Station 57, said she is sold on the independence plan.

"Any time you take a level out of the structure, you have a leaner, meaner machine," Hosking said.

Dedman warns an independent board could raise taxes without any county approval. The county has proven an effective watchdog, he said.

Sure, he said, voters could turn out rogue fire commissioners in the next election, but "when someone is an incumbent, it's almost impossible to get them out of office. An awful lot of damage could be done in the four years it would take to replace someone."

Dedman also questions whether the current fire commissioners have the expertise to run the district themselves. And he worries the independence advocates may be too closely aligned with the firefighters, who wholeheartedly support independence.

Curiously, should the Sept. 5 referendum fail, the election picture in November would drastically change. In fact, the two contested races would no longer be up for re-election. That's because only three seats would have been up for election this year. However, County Attorney Susan Churuti determined that if the district becomes independent all five seats should come up for election on the November ballot.

If the independence referendum fails, Commissioners Schult and Jim Galloway would serve out the two years remaining on their terms. And the candidates for the three uncontested seats would have to requalify, Schult said.

For that reason, Hosking said, she will focus her attention on the September referendum, and worry about the general election later.

- Staff writer Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or at farley@sptimes.com.

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