Palm Harbor Fire Commission Candidate: Bob Shatanoff

Palm Harbor Special Fire Control & Rescue District, Seat 3 Candidate: Bob Shatanoff

• Age: 56
• Resident of: Palm Harbor
• Occupation: Certified Public Accountant, current Fire Commissioner.

Pinellas County has been struggling to figure out how to pay for EMS transport services with fewer tax dollars. What kind of emergency transport system do you think should eventually be implemented in Pinellas County and why?

This issue has been ignored for many years until the housing recession hit. As long as property values were rising, why address the problem? But when it did hit, then the various departments (which includes the cities) said we want the same as last year.

If you look at the funding formula from two points of view, tax proceeds coming in and tax proceeds being paid out, the Palm Harbor district loses. First, the resident pays more into the system as tax proceeds. When it comes to the county funding, the resident receive about 68% of what was paid in. Thus our residents are supplementing other departments for EMS service. This is where the funding formula is not equitable.

When Palm Harbor Fire Rescue was able to see how the formula worked, it really was not working. Some departments received additional funding because of staffing costs, pension costs, equipment costs and "overhead cost". Thus, departments like St Petersburg would receive a larger reimbursement from the county than its residents paid into EMS, because its cost of operation was greater than Palm Harbor's. To me, that means why promote cost efficiency when you are going to receive more funding? The other concern is if one department does not get their way they will sue. In all, it shows that the funding formula system is broken.

The county commissioners for the past several years have used the excuse, "let's hire a consultant and form a committee" which to me means further delays in addressing the problem. The county will spend about $400,000 on a study and then hire an accounting firm to audit the study and as I explained to the Board, how can a firm audit the numbers when there is nothing to audit?That is why no accounting firm submitted a bid to do the work, because it did not make sense what was being asked. This is one CPA understanding why another CPA could not do the work.

Now that we got through the problem with funding let’s look at the transport of the patient. Most counties in Florida used what is called "Fire-Based Transport". A simple idea but for Pinellas County it appears that they want to ignore the trend even though it costs less than the current system. Fire-Based Transport is the rescue vehicle that responds to the call will also transport the patient. There will be no need to wait for a Sunstar ambulance to become available. The initial startup funding cost would be funded through EMS taxes collected. If the patient is transported, the patient will be billed for the cost (the same as Sunstar), however 100% of the money goes to the EMS fund.

Proceeds cannot be used elsewhere within the county coffers. The expected cost of the delivery of EMS service will decrease, however departments with higher operating costs would have to find additional sources of revenue because the system is promoting efficiency in operations, which gets me back to the comment I made in a previous paragraph that if you do not like then sue the county which means more money being spent to try and address the matter.

With the consulting firm hired to look at alternative methods it will take several years to come to a resolution and move with the majority of the counties to fire-based transport. Hopefully, you will not have to ask me this question in four years and fire-based transport will be in place.

What do you see as the top challenge facing the Palm Harbor Special Fire Control & Rescue District and what is your opinion on how to solve this challenge?

The challenges we face as a department are we have maxed out our mill rate which is 2.0 of assessed value. In 1995, when the residents approved the rate we assumed it would last five years but we got 17 years out of it. Assessed values have decreased, which of course means less tax revenue. The good part is we set up reserves for equipment replacement, however we continue to have to pay for unfunded mandates by the state or county. The 2012-2013 budgets is the first year we had to go into general reserves for an unfunded mandate of new communication equipment of 100K. The good part is it has been deferred for one year by the county.

The other problem the department faces is increased operating costs which does not include salaries. Working together with the union, the members pass on any pay increases except for several members (10) that qualified for a 2% raise. In addition, working with the union our medical costs only increased 1% where most departments were 5-10%. The union members realize that they have a stake in this department and have taken a proactive approach working with the Chief and the Board to minimize costs. If you look at the costs that have gone up it is P&C insurance and compliance cost mandated by the state.

The irony to all this, is the Board was told that when the Penny for Pinellas was renewed several years ago we would finally get funding for capital improvements and the county, as usual, being true to their word, has not provided any funding to date. The department has taken on the task of rebuilding three stations to newer standards and has ten years left pay off the construction loan and we are still working to maintain the same level of service. We could not wait for the county to decide when they would give us "Penny Funds".

This department is not successful just because of one person. This department is successful because we have a great chief and employees who believe in him and this Board. I as one person do not have all the answers. It is going to take a team effort to make sure that we continue to deliver the best EMS service to our residence.

What makes you the best person for the job? 

The answer would be knowledge, experience and passion.

Knowledge that I am a licensed CPA on Florida whose has been the CFO and Tax Director for several large entities that have over $150 million in revenue and understand what the shareholders want and expect. It is optimal use of the funds invested. No one board member has final say. This board works together as a team and the members realize that our shareholders are the members of this community. They expect and want to see a return on their tax dollars. If you ask any member of this community they have been very happy with this department and the department involvement in the community.

Experience- I have 20 years experience with this department. I was appointed by the Board 1992 to fill the seat of a department member and realized at that point the Board at that time had no idea that they were actually going to run out of funds and the Chief had no idea of an operating budget. The Board ultimately replaced the Chief with our current Chief and began the process of rebuilding the infrastructure of the department. In addition, I bring business experience in seeing what other businesses are doing in other industries and seeing how it will fit into this department. If you look at our equipment we use one manufacturer and one design with our crews going to the factory during construction to make sure there are no problems or errors. The manufacturer enjoyed this concept because it allowed their workers to go over the process with the department members and reduce defects. Also, by having the same design it reduces training time and equipment transfer time when an engine goes out of service because everything is the same on all engines. A concept used by Southwest Airlines.

Passion. Since I have been a commissioner I have seen this department grow and it will continue to grow. I have known most the employees since the day they started and when I have the time stop by each of the stations to say hello and ask about them and their families. I know from personal experience they have been there for my family and the community. You can see it in there expressions if they have had a save for a victim in an auto accident or cardiac arrest. I have seen first hand how the extrication team training has paid off in getting the victim out of the vehicle and to the hospital. I have been out on calls at 3 a.m. thanking the crew members, and this community appreciates what they do. That is something you do not forget. I could say more but passion is the best word.