Public comment on current or future agenda items

8:09Here. Okay, and uh now is the time for public comment. Citizens are given an opportunity to comment on any current or future agenda item coming before the board. and on other business under the board's purview. Today's public comment will be handled as follows. First, we take public comment from those who are here in person. Then we will take public comment from those Who are pre-registered for a WebEx link. And are currently on queue. Ooh. Not sure why we

8:39did that. Someone might be leaning against the light switch.

8:43We'll have staff fix that. Um we request that when you address the board, comments are not directed personally against the commissioner or team member, but rather directed at the issues. This provides mutual respect between board members and the public. After stating your name and address for the clerk, a three minute timer will be activated. After two minutes, a single beep will indicate you have one minute left. When your time is up, two beeps will sound, and you should close your comments. Webex participants

9:14will be disconnected automatically when their time is up. Madam Clerk, do we have anyone signed up for public comment?

9:20We do. We have Pastor Troy Peterson followed by Dixon Phillips, and that's the only two that have actually signed up.

9:29Okay,

9:30please. Good morning.

9:35Staff, thank you for your time. I really appreciate the opportunity to come and come and share. A couple of quick things uh coming up. We have three backpack giveaways uh through Somebody Cares, uh Pasco coming up, uh one at Newport Ritchie Harley Davidson, July. ninth, uh the other in Waterfront Park. on uh July 30th and then we're looking at doing an outreach in Griffin Park the following Saturday. Also CareFest

10:05uh thank you uh for the commissioners that have been involved with that in the in the past that'll be coming up where the Body of Christ comes together with governing authorities and we go tackle projects for the elderly and and and stuff like that. But today uh I was praying with a couple other pastors and uh I just felt that the Lord was telling me I needed to share some scripture with you this morning. Found in John 1717. Sanctify them by your truth. Your

10:36word is truth. As you sent me, being Jesus, into the world, also I have sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself that they also may be sanctified by truth. How many here want truth? We all want truth, don't we? And so Our nation was founded on biblical principles in God We Trust, right? And I believe wholeheartedly that if

11:06we truly wanna see Pasco great, we'd gotta acknowledge Jesus Christ in the invocation. And so I've come For a year now sharing truth with you, the truth of God's word. The only way to the Father is to the Son. And what I would recommend and even to the attorney here, if if somebody could reach out to me and we could get with my staff, with somebody cares pastors. And we can find out how we can lead in the invocation. That way it's put on us. It's our

11:36responsibility. It's not yours. And then we can come in and pray for y'all. Because I believe wholeheartedly, as we lift up the name of Jesus, okay, and we ask for his wisdom, his guidance, his resources, you know, God is truly going to bless Pasco County. Thank you for your time.

11:57Uh next followed by Dixon Phillips.

12:14Dixon Phillips. So my address is protected.

12:20Good morning commissioners. My name is Dixon Phillips. I'm the District Three Representative for Local 4420. Today I'm gonna talk to you about the scariest word in the fire service cancer. Cancer is something that has affected my family directly. My grandmother survived a very aggressive form of breast cancer, and my mother is currently awaiting her final surgery after a double mascectomy. So please don't mistake my passion for aggression when I speak on this subject. Cancer is the most dangerous threat to firefighter health and safety today. From 2002 to 2019, cancer caused 66% of firefighter

12:50line of duty deaths. Firefighters have a 14 percent higher risk of dying from cancer than the general U.S. population. And Pasco County Fire Rescue is without a doubt an industry leader when it comes to cancer prevention. We've dedicated millions of dollars to the firefighter decontamination program, but this packet I hold in my hand right here tells a different story. In 2019, the state of Florida passed State Statute 112.1816, which is also known as the Cancer Presumption Bill. This bill covers firefighters who have served as a firefighter for more than five years if they develop twenty-one different forms of cancer. This statute

13:21entitles a firefighter diagnosed with cancer, full reimbursement of any out-of-pocket costs, and provides them a one-time cash payout of $25,000 upon the initial diagnosis. But a member of our IFF Local 4420 has been denied his statutory right by the county that this board governs. This member was diagnosed with invasive skin cancer over a year and a half ago, and our union has contended with this county persistently and in good faith to get our member his benefits, but to no avail. This member has served as citizens of this county as a firefighter for more than 20 years. He's revived dead children. He

13:51has saved your husbands, your wives, your neighbors. He has made more sacrifices to the citizens of this county than all of you combined. And due to his dedication and service to this county, a street was even named after him in Wesley Chapel. But all the years served and all the people he's helped save don't mean a thing to any of you if you don't do what is right. This member has a qualifying diagnosis as stated in his pathology report. The validity of his claim has never been questioned. This county just doesn't believe the invasive skin cancer is worthy of acknowledgement. This became even more apparent when the county that this board governs filed a challenge against the

14:21constitutionality of the Cancer Presumption Bill. Cancer patients are already in the biggest fight of their life and now they have to fight you too. How dare you? This is not just an attack on every firefighter in Pasco County, it's an attack on every firefighter in the state of Florida. The argument the county is making to avoid following its statutory obligation is that determine invasive skin cancer is unconstitutionally vague. A simple Google search will tell you the term invasive skin cancer has a very specific definition. Another one of our members was diagnosed with glioblastoma brain cancer. He was fortunate to receive his $25,000

14:52benefit. But do you know what he did with that money?

14:57He purchased a small piece of land. The dimensions are ten feet. It's a place where his family will always be able to love him, talk to him, and remember his ultimate sacrifice to this county. The Cancer Presumption Bill was championed by Florida Republican Party leader Senator Ed Hooper, CFO Jimmy Petronas, and Governor Ron DeSantis. Choose the wrong side of this justice issue and you will lose in the courtroom, you will lose in the eyes of the public, and you will lose at the polls.

15:25Yeah.

15:27You cannot clap in the boardroom.

15:46All right, is there anyone else who wishes to speak to the board here in the room?

15:52Okay, um Madam Clerk, do we have anyone online who wishes to address the board?

15:56We had one person registered to talk, but um he did inform us that he is not going to be present.

16:01Okay. So um we will move on to the pulled items.

16:09Oh no, now we have resolution.