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Hernando Today

The Perfect Solution To Merging Fire Districts

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

I may have come up with the perfect solution to the question "Should the Spring Hill Fire Rescue district become independent or merge with the county?" This is so simple; I am amazed that no one has ever thought of this before.

If Hernando County is serious about investing in the county's financial growth as a whole, and not just in Spring Hill, then let them merge both departments into one, then pay all firefighters what the Spring Hill Fire Rescue district does.

This will be money well spent, I assure you.

I don't have the exact figures handy, but I do believe that the 98 SHFR firefighters earn about $5,000 more per year than the 129 Hernando County firefighters. The current population of the county is about 150,000 people; so if you do the math, that works out to about $6 per person per year, to have a happy, well-trained fire department. I'd be willing to pay five times that! Isn't it worth it? If money is an issue, then sell the 100-foot ladder truck. That money could pay the increase in salary eight times over!

Now I realize that there may be issues involved other than salary, but this is a step in the right direction toward consolidation and harmony. Let's take that first step, and show everyone in the fire department, the county and, indeed the entire country, that Hernando County is a good place in which to live, work and retire.

What do you think?

Mike Grab

Spring Hill

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