Pinellas County should consolidate fire coverage for its unincorporated areas to save taxpayer money and equalize resources, an audit recommends.
The audit was released Thursday, about a week before the Pinellas County Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on emergency medical services issues.
Deciding whether to consolidate the county's 19 fire departments has been "a long outstanding issue," according to the report from the Clerk of the Circuit Court's Internal Audit Division.
Nevertheless, auditors recommended that consolidating perhaps 10 fire districts such as Belleair Bluffs, Dunedin, Largo, Seminole and Safety Harbor that provide fire services to the county's unincorporated areas could save $10 million annually.
The auditors compared the county's services with the centralized fire service in Orange County for the cost estimate. A complete consolidation of fire service in Pinellas would require action by the state Legislature, a change in the county charter, or both, the audit says.
Auditors said overlapping management and inconsistencies in personnel deployment are inefficient to taxpayers.
In a two-month review, for instance, the auditors found that St. Petersburg Fire Rescue sends roughly two vehicles to structure fires while the Tarpon Springs fire agency sends about eight.
Responding to the auditors in the report, county officials said they partially concurred with the recommendation but disputed the calculations.
The commission hearing on EMS issues is set for March 20.
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