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Livernois named Pinellas Suncoast Fire & Rescue District chief
By CHARY SOUTHMAYD
Article published on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006
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![[Image]](/content_images/092806_bee-01.jpg) |
| Photo courtesy of PINELLAS SUNCOAST FIRE AND RESCUE |
| PSF&RD Commissioner Bob McEwen, left, swears in the district’s new fire chief, Russell Livernois. |
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INDIAN ROCKS BEACH – By unanimous vote of the Pinellas Suncoast Fire and Rescue District Board of Fire Commissioners, Russell Livernois has been appointed fire chief. Chief John R. Leahy Jr. retired several weeks ago, following knee replacement surgery.
Commission Chairman Tom Hafner was absent from the Sept. 21 meeting.
Livernois is a 25-year veteran of the fire district, where he began as a volunteer firefighter and worked his way through the ranks of lieutenant, district chief for training, assistant chief of operations, acting chief and, now, chief.
Livernois’ brother, David, is a PSF&RD firefighter/EMT and his brothers, Robert and Randy, are with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
“I am looking forward to the challenge,” Livernois said in an interview. “We’ve made progress already.”
Livernois recently negotiated a new 1-year contract with the Indian Rocks Professional Firefighters Association, IAFF Local 3206. The firefighters received the 5 percent pay increase they had requested, though they still remain among the lowest paid firefighters in the county.
The fire board approved the union contract at its Sept. 21 meeting.
Taxpayers in the fire district will be asked in a Nov. 7 referendum to approve a $70 increase in the fire service flat rate assessment from the current $190 to $260. If approved by voters, that additional funding still would not be realized by the financially strapped fire district until the end of 2007. Livernois considers it crucial that elected officials in Belleair Beach, Belleair Shore, Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shores support the referendum.
“We need their support,” Livernois said. “Without the support of the mayors, referendums haven’t passed.”
Belleair Shore Mayor John Robertson supports the referendum as a necessary step in solidifying the fire district’s future.
“It’s very important that we get this matter solved,” Robertson said. “It is a very fair amount of money for fire services. This provides the breathing room we need while we work together to get a reasonable agreement for the Legislature (proposed charter changes).”
On tap under Livernois’ leadership will be legislative approval of proposed changes to the district charter stipulating that the county EMS administrator review the fire district’s budget annually, and that future COLA adjustments in the fire assessment be based on the Florida Personal Income Index. If the charter changes are approved by the Legislature, the funding change would take effect in 2008.
In addition, PSF&RD Station 26, which has been the target of fire district critics because it is situated outside of the district, will be moved to the Fifth Third Bank building in Indian Shores, owned by businessman Frank Chivas. Livernois said they hope to make the move by the end of the year.
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Article published on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2006
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