Belleair Bluffs Calm After Mind Boggling Acts by Its Fire ChiefBy Leo Coughlin BELLEAIR BLUFFS - A modicum of calm has returned here after the upheaval of the past two weeks which had its roots in the dissatisfaction of a fire chief who went beyond his powers and tried to upset a contract executed by another jurisdiction. Patrick Campetelli tried to coax Belleair to repudiate its contract with Largo for fire services and in so doing overstepped his job and was fired last week. The events leading up to Competelli's firing fall into the category of unbelievable. On June 30, he fully endorsed Belleair Bluffs idea of hooking up with Largo for fire services, calling Largo a "world class organization" and urging Bluffs residents to vote yes on the September 1 referendum which, if approved, will allow the commission to contract for fire services. But less than four weeks later he was seeking a meeting with Belleair officials, trying to get them to back out of their contract with Largo for fire services. That could possible be interpreted by some as a form of tortuous interference with a contract, a factor that Competelli, along with Bluffs Commissioner Suzy Sofer, is apparently blissfully unaware of. Mayor Gary Katica of Belleair and the town manager, Micah Maxwell, not unsurprisingly graciously agreed to a meeting, but Katica says now that he felt he was in the theater of the absurd. To make the meeting scenario even more bizarre, Stan Sofer, a member of the Belleair Beach City Council, was also present. Katica said he couldn't figure that out, but said that Stan Sofer mentioned being present for "moral support" for his daughter. What happened after Competelli's endorsement of Largo on June 30 and his attempt to upset everyone's applecart by the time August 1 rolled around is a matter of speculation, but observers believe it has to do with Competelli's measuring his own future. "He expected to have an executive position at Largo with pay something near what he was getting as fire chief in Belleair Bluffs," one observer said. He was being paid $85,000. Chief Mike Wallace of Largo said that he offered Competelli a code enforcement position that paid $38,000 a year. It was just after that when Competelli began to evince his concern about Belleair Bluffs future. Competelli has denied that his possible future with Largo and a much lower paycheck had anything to do with his changing his mind on the prospect of Bluffs contracting with Largo. He said his concerns were solely about safety. Everything about the whole contretemps involving fire services in Belleair Bluffs concerns economics. Finances spurred the Belleair Town Commission into bowing out of its contract with the Bluffs and an economically sound offer from Largo persuaded the commission to contract with Largo. That left Belleair Bluffs in a financial crunch because the city could not maintain its fire department without the income from Belleair. That left the Bluffs with the choice of raising taxes to support the fire department or eliminating the fire department and contracting with an outside party for fire services. Largo was available and a deal was struck - to be executed in the future, once that September 1 referendum is approved. Keeping the department in the Bluffs, Arbutine said, would have meant tripling the tax rate. Largo will charge less than $250,000 a year. Some see the developments as a step in the direction of consolidating all fire service in Pinellas County.
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