Pinellas County, Florida

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Pinellas County, Florida
Map
Map of Florida highlighting Pinellas County
Location in the state of Florida
Map of the U.S. highlighting Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded May 23, 1911
Seat Clearwater
Largest city St. Petersburg
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water
608 sq mi (1,575 km²)
280 sq mi (725 km²)
328 sq mi (850 km²), 53.94%
Population
 - (2005)
 - Density
928,031
3,292/sq mi (1,271/km²)
Website: www.pinellascounty.org/
Named for: Punta Piñal

Pinellas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. Its county seat is Clearwater, Florida[1], and its largest city is St. Petersburg. The county is contained entirely within area code 727, except for sections of Oldsmar, which has area code 813. It shares area code 727 with parts of West Pasco County. Pinellas along with Hillsborough County, Hernando County, and Pasco County comprises the Tampa-St.Petersburg-Clearwater metro area, often called the Tampa Bay Area.

Contents

[edit] History

Timeline of Pinellas County, Florida history.

Pinellas County seceded from Hillsborough County in 1911, and was named for the Spanish Punta Piñal ("Point of Pines" or "Piney Point"). The Pinellas Peninsula, dividing Tampa Bay from the Gulf of Mexico, and a small part of the mainland were incorporated into the county.

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 608 square miles (1,574 km²), of which, 280 square miles (725 km²) of it is land and 328 square miles (849 km²) of it (53.94%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent counties

  • Pasco County, Florida - north
  • Hillsborough County, Florida - east and south (center span of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge which links St. Petersburg of Pinellas County to the Bradenton area of Manatee County is Hillsborough County so no portion of Pinellas County actually touches Manatee County)

[edit] Demographics

Pinellas County
Population by year [1]

2006 924,413
2000 921,482
1990 851,659
1980 728,531
1970 522,329
1960 374,665
1950 159,249
1940 91,852
1930 62,149
1920 28,265

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 921,482 people, 414,968 households, and 243,171 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,271/km² (3,292/sq mi), making it the most densely populated county in Florida. There were 481,573 housing units at an average density of 1,720 per square mile (664/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 85.85% White, 8.96% Black or African American, 0.30% Native American, 2.06% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 1.14% from other races, and 1.64% from two or more races. 4.64% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 414,968 households out of which 22.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.80% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.40% were non-families. 34.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.77.

In the county the population was spread out with 19.30% under the age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 27.30% from 25 to 44, 24.50% from 45 to 64, and 22.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $37,111, and the median income for a family was $46,925. Males had a median income of $32,264 versus $26,281 for females. The per capita income for the county was $23,497. About 6.70% of families and 10.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.90% of those under age 18 and 8.20% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] Communities

Location of municipalities in Pinellas County as indicated by list at left
Location of municipalities in Pinellas County as indicated by list at left

[edit] Incorporated municipalities

  1. Town of Belleair
  2. City of Belleair Beach
  3. City of Belleair Bluffs
  4. Town of Belleair Shore
  5. City of Clearwater
  6. City of Dunedin
  7. City of Gulfport
  8. City of Indian Rocks Beach
  9. Town of Indian Shores
  10. Town of Kenneth City
  11. City of Largo
  12. City of Madeira Beach
  13. Town of North Redington Beach
  14. City of Oldsmar
  15. City of Pinellas Park
  16. Town of Redington Beach
  17. Town of Redington Shores
  18. City of Safety Harbor
  19. City of Seminole
  20. City of South Pasadena
  21. City of St. Pete Beach
  22. City of St. Petersburg
  23. City of Tarpon Springs
  24. City of Treasure Island

[edit] Unincorporated

[edit] Unincorporated Area - Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) Budget

Roughly 280,000 people reside in unincorporated Pinellas County, which represents the 36 percent of the County not located within one of the 24 municipalities. The unincorporated areas include communities from the Pasco County line to Tierra Verde. As an unincorporated resident, the Pinellas County Board of County Commissioners serves as your local government. A portion of the County budget (Municipal Services Taxing Unit) is paid by residents of the unincorporated area and is devoted to providing municipal services to the unincorporated area that are over and above the services provided to the county as a whole.

Pursuant to 218.64(1) Florida Statute, the county will receive approximately $16,000,000 from the Local Government Half-Cent Sales Tax Program on behalf of Pinellas County’s unincorporated area population for Fiscal Year 2008 (FY08). This is sales tax dollars that the state returns to the unincorporated area via their default local government the Pinellas County BOCC. The county is intending to only allocate $3,000,000 of it to the FY08 Municipal Services Taxing Unit (MSTU) Budget (a $2,000,000 reduction from FY07).

The accumulated effect of having such a huge portion of one of the major revenue sources diverted from the MSTU Budget is having a detrimental impact on basic public safety and quality of life in the unincorporated area.

REVENUES FY08 FY07 FY06 FY05 FY04 FY03
Ad Valorem Taxes 40,750,020 43,535,660 37,597,320 34,016,890 31,472,640 29,486,350
Local Gov't 1/2¢ Sales Tax 3,000,000 5,000,000 4,900,000 4,750,000 4,970,080 8,291,900
Communications Services Tax 12,838,480 13,200,500 12,384,960 10,971,770 10,432,890 5,914,820
Building Permits 4,612,420 4,379,300 3,987,910 3,506,790 3,040,180 3,638,500
Zoning Fees 702,360 752,840 664,900 576,320 361,000 503,500
Interest and Miscellaneous 701,200 491,820 249,800 235,420 272,000 314,980
Tree Removal Permits 413,860 409,830 385,530 390,170 299,250 199,500
Franchise Fee - PEG 332,500 350,000 352,740 371,300 397,740 401,850
Tax Collector Excess Fees 252,650 189,820 82,150 201,590 138,510 84,780
Sheriff Excess Fees 237,500 215,800 0 0 283,320 0
Franchise Fee - I-Net 123,950 125,000 125,980 132,610 142,050 143,520
Delinquent Taxes & Tax Redemptions 118,240 104,800 97,050 97,050 71,570 93,230
Mobile Home Licenses 117,040 131,570 205,690 205,690 0 218,500
Sheriff Civil Income 84,000 114,380 92,630 88,850 113,490 108,810
Reimbursement of Impact Fee Admin. 60,000 63,150 60,940 66,630 79,760 83,950
Lot Clearing 7,420 29,000 44,180 52,250 52,250 52,250
Property Appraiser Excess Fees 3,810 4,940 4,910 4,990 5,120 4,260
Traffic Court 0 0 0 0 1,741,200 2,049,300
Subtotal - Revenues 64,355,450 69,098,410 61,236,690 55,668,320 53,873,050 51,590,000
Beginning Fund Balance 18,346,670 18,397,000 15,695,020 16,011,040 8,988,910 4,882,850
TOTAL RESOURCES 82,702,120 87,495,410 76,931,710 71,679,360 62,861,960 56,472,850
EXPENDITURES & RESERVES FY08 FY07 FY06 FY05 FY04 FY03
Sheriff 39,966,850 40,330,190 36,636,150 35,452,420 32,592,690 31,451,180
Full Cost Allocation 5,706,650 5,785,990 4,760,130 3,869,960 4,194,260 3,788,920
Building Inspection 4,174,160 4,612,630 3,927,040 3,794,000 3,545,350 3,411,080
Public Works Permitted Facilities (Stormwater) 3,424,810 3,801,590 3,712,430 3,639,130 3,743,380 3,897,260
Development Review Services 2,951,890 2,983,590 2,696,560 2,578,120 2,417,760 2,364,200
Prior Years' Recreation Grants outstanding 2,760,000 0 0 0 0 0
MSTU Road Paving / Sidewalks / ADA 2,250,000 3,000,000 1,500,000 1,200,000 0 0
Environmental Management (incl Lot Clearing) 2,156,210 2,666,650 2,319,330 2,135,420 2,218,960 1,453,190
Tax Collector Fees 848,180 890,220 781,030 694,120 617,900 493,340
County Connection Centers 764,780 768,320 719,770 557,500 0 0
Property Appraiser Fees 425,020 449,290 423,620 396,240 387,110 300,280
East Lake Library Operating Grant 316,500 316,500 200,000 200,000 200,000 200,000
Economic Incentive Grants 63,800 63,800 0 0 0 0
MSTU New Service Initiatives 0 350,000 3,000,000 3,366,810 7,323,320 4,133,340
Recreation Initiatives 0 2,243,470 2,219,160 2,000,000 0 0
Neighborhood Grants 0 250,000 250,000 250,000 0 0
Other Transfers to Capital Projects Fund 0 750,000 0 0 0 0
Fire Hydrant Systems 0 500,000 0 0 0 0
Communications: Public Access 0 351,100 258,400 324,400 223,760 216,740
Traffic Court 0 0 0 0 581,920 577,190
Subtotal - Expenditures 65,808,850 70,113,340 63,403,620 60,458,120 58,046,410 52,286,720
Reserve for Contingencies 2,481,064 2,685,720 2,048,150 2,007,020 1,320,100 1,581,240
Reserve - Fund Balance 14,412,206 14,696,350 11,479,940 9,214,220 3,495,450 2,604,890
TOTAL EXPENDITURES & RESERVES 82,702,120 87,495,410 76,931,710 71,679,360 62,861,960 56,472,850
  • FY08 is Request and FY07 to FY03 is Budget

[edit] Unincorporated communities not Census Designated Places

[edit] Unincorporated communities part of Palm Harbor CDP Census Designated Place

  • Crystal Beach - Has a U.S. Post Office with a post office box mail system. It is a non-delivery office. The zip code for Crystal Beach is 34681.
  • Curlew
  • Innisbrook
  • Ozona - Has a U.S. Post Office with a post office box mail system. It is a non-delivery office. The zip code for Ozona 34660.
  • St. George
  • Wall Springs

[edit] Transportation

Coast Guard C-130 taxis at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport
Coast Guard C-130 taxis at St. Pete-Clearwater Airport

[edit] Airports

[edit] Mass transit

Pinellas County has the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) as the public transit provider, with major stops at all local malls and employment centers. There are 197 buses and trolleys that serve 43 routes, in addition to the 2 express routes to downtown Tampa via the Howard Frankland and Gandy Bridges, connecting with HartLine. In addition, PSTA connects with PCPT in Tarpon Springs to continue service to western Pasco County. The 2 main bus terminals are located in downtown Clearwater and downtown St. Petersburg, with routes bisecting and crossing the entire county. During fiscal year 2005-06 PSTA transported 11,400,484 passengers.

[edit] Railroads

CSX operates a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch line which sees daily rail traffic from north Tampa though Safety Harbor, Clearwater, Largo, and into downtown St. Petersburg and the adjacent industrial areas. As of March, 2008, the portion in downtown St. Petersburg and the adjacent western industrial areas is abandoned and being dismantled. There is a small rail yard north of downtown St. Petersburg.

The former Seaboard Air Line branch from the western coastal portion of the county was abandoned in the latter portion of the 20th century and converted to a popular recreational trail called the Pinellas Trail.

[edit] Major highways

[edit] Education

The county is served by the Pinellas County Schools district.

[edit] Emergency Management

Pinellas County has had 911 since 1978. Over the years, the system has evolved many times. Originally the Sheriffs Office handled north county areas and the City of St. Petersburg the south. In 1987 the Pinellas County Emergency Communications Center was formed and assumed the role of 911 center for the central and northern portions of the County. A year later “Enhanced 911" was installed countywide. The most recent change to the system occurred in December 1991. The Pinellas County Emergency Communications Center became the primary answering point for ALL 911 calls within the County.

You can listen to this agencies EMS, Police and Fire as well as Clearwater Police at Live Radio Scanner

[edit] Fire Departments

Palm Harbor Fire Rescue

[edit] References

  1. ^ Find a County. National Association of Counties. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
  2. ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

[edit] Government Links

[edit] Special districts

[edit] Judicial branch

[edit] Links of interest

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Pinellas County, Florida
County seat: Clearwater
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Coordinates: 27°54′N 82°44′W / 27.90, -82.74