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Fire rescue may lose jobs

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By KEVIN WIATROWSKI

kwiatrowski@tampatrib.com

Published: June 21, 2009

As next year's county budget starts to take shape, it appears Pasco County's fire and rescue staff will have to stretch to protect county residents.

County officials are considering a plan to shrink the ranks of firefighters and emergency medical technicians to save money next year. But they say they have no plans to close any of the county's 26 fire stations.

"We knew the question would come up somewhere along the line," said Dan Johnson, the assistant county administrator who oversees fire and rescue. "To shut down a station would be the very last thing we would want to do. We do not believe there's a need."

The county spent the past few years building new fire stations from rural Blanton in northeast Pasco to rapidly urbanizing areas along State Road 54.

In a budget workshop last week, county officials recommended commissioners cut 68 positions - about 16 percent of the fire and rescue staff. About a third of those positions are vacant.

The county finances its fire and rescue operations in two different ways. The bulk of the system's money comes from a fire protection tax on property in unincorporated areas. The rest comes from the county's operating fund, which comes from regular property taxes. Both funds have taken big hits because of the recent steep drop in property values countywide.

Some researchers have said Pasco properties have lost more than half their value since the real estate market peaked in 2006. That, combined with a tax rate about 40 percent less than a decade ago, means commissioners are struggling to close a projected $35.7 million budget shortfall. The county's new budget takes effect Oct. 1.

The budget deficit has grown about 20 percent since county officials began talking about it in the spring. Along with deep cuts, county officials are also considering raising taxes to about half the county's 24 percent rollback rate - the rate that would keep next year's budget the same as this year.

Because of the decline in property values, an increase in the tax rate likely would leave most county taxpayers with lower bills than they had in the past, county officials say.

In the next month, the county's financial staff will assemble a proposed budget for commissioners to review. If last week's discussions bear out, that budget will include dramatic cuts in services county residents have come to expect, including firefighters and rescue personnel.

Last week's budget discussions came on the heels of a visit from inspectors with New Jersey-based Insurance Services Office, which reviews communities' ability to fight fires. ISO last visited Pasco in 1995, so the county was overdue for its once-a-decade review. A favorable rating can bring down insurance rates.

Reviewers examined, among other things, the number of fire stations and how close they are to homes and businesses. The county's recent building boom in firehouses, financed largely by impact fees, has helped put more fire stations closer to more people.

It's unclear, though, how cutting staff at county fire stations might affect ISO's final report, which is due in the fall.

A reduction in either fire stations or fire crews could hurt the county's fire insurance rating, but determining exactly how much will take more study, said Mike Waters, vice president of risk decision services at ISO.

"A detailed evaluation would have to be performed to determine the actual impact that these changes might bring about," Waters said.

Reporter Kevin Wiatrowski can be reached at (813) 731-8168.

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