Spring Hill Fire Bosses Oppose Merger

SPRING HILL - Spring Hill Fire Commissioner Leo Jacobs said he would be all for merging his fire district with that of the county's.

However, his thumbs-up comes with conditions: That the county conform to Spring Hill's ad valorem rate schedule; that the county fire district improve its service level to match his department; that Spring Hill's taxpayer-purchased equipment stays in the district; and that his firefighters keep the same level of pay and benefits.

"Bring the county's rating up to ours, then we'll talk consolidation," said Jacobs, one day after the release of a consultant's master plan study examining fire and emergency services in Hernando County.

The 528-report, which cost taxpayers $128,000, makes a strong case for consolidating all fire departments and forming an independent fire district overseen by an appointed board.

Spring Hill Fire Chairman Charles Raborn called the expenditure "criminal" because it essentially does little more than reinforce the county's desire to pump more money into its coffers by acquiring a lucrative cash cow such as Spring Hill.

"Maybe (Circuit Court Clerk Karen Nicolai) just needed someone else to tell her that," Raborn said.

Nicolai entered into a contract with Oregon-based Emergency Services Consulting Inc. (ESCI) based upon a recommendation from the audit services planning and priorities committee. The county commission gave its blessing to the study after Nicolai broached the idea during a public meeting.

The commission was not a party to the contract, Interim County Administrator Larry Jennings said.

The county has everything to gain by grabbing Spring Hill, which has managed to run its department without raising taxes and still provide a level of service superior to many others, Raborn said.

Spring Hill, on the other hand, has nothing to gain, he said.

"The system would be watered down, and the people would not get the same level of protection," Raborn said.

For some reason, the county is pushing to have a unified fire district when the norm across the country is to have communities made up of multiple departments, he added. County Commissioner David Russell spent the last 24 hours reviewing the report. His copy is liberally marked with yellow highlights and sticky notes - a testament to not only the weight of the tome but its seriousness, he said.

ESCI did a thorough job identifying short- and long-term outlooks for fire service, Russell said.

Russell agreed that the report calls for a breaking down of territorial borders, but that doesn't mean that Spring Hill would lose its identity if consolidation occurs.

Brooksville, High Point, Hernando Beach and Spring Hill could still retain its own sense of autonomy, he said.

For example, the sign on the Spring Hill fire station could read: Hernando County Fire Department, Spring Hill Division, he said.

Russell said he would also fight to keep Spring Hill's equipment in Spring Hill.

"I'm a Spring Hill taxpayer, too," he said. "My money helped pay for that equipment."

Nicolai said Wednesday it is important to remove the politics from the equation and concentrate on how the study will improve the efficiency of all fire and rescue services countywide.

Spring Hill Fire Chief J.J. Morrison said he needed time to digest the report.

However, he wasn't surprised that the consultant recommended consolidation because that was an area he was asked to explore.

Morrison said he looks forward to meaningful debates in the coming weeks.

"Do you decrease the level of service in one area to provide a higher level in the entire county?" Morrison said. "It's a question posed in the study itself."