THEODORE STONE, DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR

The Director of Public Safety administers a department providing a wide variety of essential community services. Although at first glance these services appear very diverse, in actual practice, with the exception of Animal Services, they are interrelated and interdependent. The Director of Public Safety coordinates daily emergency services, along with system-wide emergency communications for EMS, fire/rescue, and emergency management response. Animal Services are delivered on a countywide basis, as well. This is accomplished by daily interaction between Public Safety division managers; the Fire Chief, Emergency Communications/E-911 Manager, Emergency Management Manager, and the Animal Services Manager. This close coordination allows for a smooth transition from daily operations to that of countywide disaster response and recovery functions.

In addition to the divisions listed above, the Director of Public Safety is responsible for direct oversight of the Petroleum Storage Tanks Bureau. This Bureau is headed by a Program Manager and is responsible for to performing Florida Petroleum Liability Insurance and Restoration compliance and enforcement inspections, and the Pre-Approval/Voluntary Cleanup portion of the Petroleum Contamination Cleanup Program and State Cleanup Project Management. These services are provided under contracts with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, within the jurisdictional boundaries of Seminole County.

The Director of Public Safety is also responsible for oversight of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Performance Management Bureau. This Bureau is managed by a Program Manager and is responsible for coordinating the system-wide EMS quality improvement program, delivering critical care education, improving the “standard of care” based on evidence-based medicine and supported by clinical outcome data, and partnering with local hospitals to decrease mortality and morbidity to the citizens of Seminole County. This Bureau works closely with the Medical Director, who is contracted with by the County, to provide medical direction and education for the 633 emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in the Seminole County EMS System. The EMS Performance Management Bureau also administers the Seminole County Community Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) Responder Enhancement (CARE) Program.

The Administrative Assistant to the Director provides direct administrative support to the Business Office and serves as confidential secretary to the Department Director. This position is responsible for overseeing administrative operations and coordinating special projects for the department, and ensures adherence to department directives and County policies and procedures.
 
All fiscal controls and budget development are centralized in this office and managed by the Public Safety Coordinator. Two Accountants are responsible for monitoring the fiscal transactions for the department, including account maintenance, payroll and leave processing, budget change requests, fund transfers, and project tracking. A Staff Assistant is responsible for all requisitioning and invoice processing for the EMS/Fire/Rescue Division, with assigned support staff for the other divisions/sections within Public Safety responsible for these functions for their assigned division/section.

In 2005, Seminole County's population of 411,744 ranked twelfth in comparison to Florida’s 66 other counties however it ranked third in density due to its relatively small geographic area of 344.9 sq. miles, 308.2 being land area, the remainder large lakes. Seminole County has become increasingly urban in character, no longer primarily a low density suburban and agricultural community. (Source: UF/Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Florida Statistical Abstract, 2006).