By Jennifer Sorentrue
Palm Beach Post
Copyright 2007 The Palm Beach Newspapers, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

PALM BEACH, Fla. — More than 200 county firefighters would be laid off from their jobs and no new fire stations would be built if Gov. Charlie Crist's property-tax relief package is approved, County Administrator Bob Weisman said Wednesday.

The number of firefighters on each fire rescue truck would likely need to be lowered under Crist's plan, Weisman said.

Currently, there are three employees on some of the trucks. If the budget cuts are approved, that number would likely drop to two, Weisman said.

In all, the department would lose about 15 percent of its workforce, Weisman said.

"We have a highly trained and well-qualified bunch of people working at fire rescue," Weisman said. "There is no one better than our people. The last thing I want to do is see anyone laid off. That's why we are letting people know how bad these cuts are."

Fire rescue will be hit especially hard by the property-tax relief proposal being considered in Tallahassee.

That's because it has its own property tax, which generates the majority of the money it receives each year.

Only residents who live in areas serviced by the county's fire rescue department pay the tax.

Any state-mandated revenue cuts would have to be made by slashing that tax.

It would be "double taxation" for the county to make up the difference by using general property-tax revenue paid by all county residents, Weisman said.

Crist's plan would double the homestead exemption; allow homeowners to take their accrued "Save Our Homes" tax benefit with them when they move to a new homestead; and roll property taxes collected by cities and counties to 2003 levels.

Under his plan, school districts would not be affected by a tax rollback.

The county is pushing to also exempt special taxing districts for fire rescue departments from the rollback.

Fire Chief Herman Brice has been lobbying local legislators, department spokesman Don DeLucia said.

Brice has been updating the department's employees regularly on the possible cuts.

In his latest e-mail message, Brice pledged to "take whatever steps can be taken to avoid personnel reductions," DeLucia said.

So far, the department expects to slash $21 million from its budget next year. But that number would probably climb under the governor's plan.

Under the department's latest proposal, four replacement fire stations would not be built. Neither would a new station planned in northern Palm Beach County.

And rescue trucks, which are normally replaced every five years, will no longer be upgraded that frequently.