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Storm Day Takes Toll On County, City Income

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By RICH SHOPES and MIKE SALINERO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 20, 2008

Tropical Storm Fay's winds and rain largely missed the Tampa Bay area, but that doesn't mean their effect wasn't felt by taxpayers.

Virtually all local government offices shut down Tuesday, meaning most employees didn't have to work but still drew a paycheck. Some agencies and departments that depend on user fees such as tolls or parking fees also took a one-day hit.

The county pays about $1.2 million in daily salaries, not including departments with elected leaders such as the circuit court clerk and the sheriff's office.

Hillsborough County, however, loses a minimal amount of money when offices are closed for an emergency, said Eric Johnson, county director of management and budget. Usually, county employees have the same amount of work that has to get done; they just have to get it done in a shorter week, he said.

"Most of them will just be making up for it the rest of the week," Johnson said.

Though county offices were officially closed Tuesday, there were hundreds of employees working in various departments, including emergency management and the water treatment plants.

The employees who worked will not be paid overtime unless they work more than 40 hours this week. Because it's early in the week, most of their schedules can be adjusted to avoid overtime.
County firefighters and the sheriff's office were working Tuesday on regular pay.

In Tampa, most police and fire department employees worked Tuesday, as did some other employees with the utility departments, chief of staff Darrell Smith said.

The city isn't expecting to pay out a significant amount of overtime because employees adjusted their schedules accordingly, he said.

Fewer people working downtown also meant lost revenue at the city's parking garages. Public garages were closed Tuesday and on-street meters were free.

Those moves cost the city $6,000 to $7,000 in lost revenue. The parking division's yearly budget is about $15 million.

"It's not the end of the world, but if we could have collected those revenues it certainly would have helped," parking manager Jim Corbett said.

Some employees who did make the trek into work enjoyed an added perk: free tolls. Florida's Turnpike Enterprise gradually suspended tolls on all 465 miles of toll roads under its management.

The agency normally collects $1.8 million a day on those roads.

Free tolls on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway on Tuesday meant a loss of about $20,000 for the Tampa Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, spokeswoman Sue Chrzan said.

Chrzan said the agency went to free tolls for the safety of toll workers and those needing to travel quickly throughout Tampa.

"Yeah, we lost revenue, but we'd rather have people safe than have people hurt," she said.

There were a few savings as well. Tampa canceled trash pickup service for Tuesday, eliminating fuel costs involved in running the routes. Other departments also were expected to save on electricity and fuel.

Reporters Ellen Gedalius and Shannon Behnken contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Salinero can be reached at (813) 259-8303 or msalinero@tampatrib .com. Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633 or rshopes@tampatrib.com.

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