Utilities Fees Worry Fire Board Chairman

The chairman of the Spring Hill Fire Rescue board liked mostly everything he saw Wednesday when he looked over the line items of the proposed budget.

"I'm fairly happy with the budget," said Charles Raborn. "The fire department can still do its job and still be progressive."

He said his only concern is the amount of money allocated for utilities. Given how unpredictable oil, gas and water can be in the current economic climate, he was hoping the district would be better prepared in case of a price surge.

There is $47,500 set aside for electric service in the requested 2008-09 budget - $900 more than in this year's budget.

For gas, oil and lubricants, $110,000 has been allocated, compared to $105,000 for 2007-08.

Raborn is worried the district might "come up short" if there isn't enough money on hand to pay for gas and other costs but, nonetheless, he is satisfied with the latest figures.

"We're not paying for frills," he said.

The version fire commissioners saw Wednesday was a rough draft. Thursday night, the county held a public meeting for its upcoming budget. The current fiscal year ends Sept. 30.

Fire commissioners will vote on the budget Sept. 24. It would then go to the county the following night for a final vote.

Some of the major cuts include personnel expenses, such as safety gear and supplies, administrative fees, clerk fees, travel and per diem costs and special pay/incentive programs.

Certain line items were questioned by fire Commissioner Rob Giammarco, who spoke up during Wednesday's meeting. He told interim Chief Mike Rampino he was displeased with some of the numbers.

Giammarco also questioned having the budget presented to the fire commissioners on the eve of the county's budget meeting. He thought the board should have had more time to discuss it before it was presented to the county.

"This budget needs to be analyzed more closely," he said.

Rampino worked with the Hernando County Office of Budget Management throughout the process. He thinks county commissioners will approve the $14,235,537 budget, which was reduced by more than $1.2 million compared to this year's budget.

"I would imagine it will go smoothly," Rampino said of the Sept. 25 vote.

What would we pay?

A Spring Hill homeowner with a house valued at $150,000 would be required to pay $226.86 in ad valorem property taxes for his/her fire services.

The millage rate is 2.2686.