Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/325356
"All these things happen day-to-day behind the scenes," Harmer pointed out. The Fire Department statistics were first on his Feb. 21 list. He told the board the average response time is five to six minutes. Further, almost 90 percent of the calls are related to a health problem. That is not unreasonable, he added, given the fact that many seniors reside in Sarasota County. (His May 16 list fol- lowed up on that comment, pointing out that Sarasota County's population is the fourth oldest in the nation, with a median age of 53.) Among the other statistics he offered on Feb. 21 were the following: • Sarasota County Area Transit logged 2.8 million passenger rides in the 2013 fis- cal year. • County summer camp participants num- bered 3,600 during the same period. • Seventy percent of the county's residents have a library card. "That's amazing to me," he told the commissioners. • During the 2013 fiscal year, the Building Department logged 76,000 inspections, 97 percent of which were completed on time. Other items on Harmer's May 16 workshop list included the following: • More than 48,600 veterans live in the county. • The county has 229,785 housing units. • The average years of service for a Sarasota County employee is 10.7. County Administrator Tom Harmer. Photo by Norman Schimmel Sarasota News Leader June 6, 2014 Page 57