Tampa fire union head gets inspector’s salary, performs few inspections

Tampa has seven sworn city fire inspectors tasked with monitoring commercial buildings for hazards and enforcing code so residents can live and work in safety.

Most members of that team — called the Existing Inspections Division — inspected hundreds of locations last year: schools, hospitals, high-rises and more. One inspected more than a thousand.

But one staff member conducted just 31 inspections in 2023, according to records reviewed by the Tampa Bay Times. So far this year, he hasn’t conducted any.

Still, Nicolas “Nick” Stocco collects a $120,307.20 fire inspector salary from the city, thanks to a clause in the city’s contract with the firefighters union. Stocco is the Local 754 president, representing some 750 Tampa firefighters — a role for which he receives an additional estimated $40,000.

Under the city’s agreement with the union, Stocco can devote his city fire inspector time to handling union business. It’s called “union leave,” and can be used for tasks such as handling grievances, dealing with negotiations and attending City Council meetings.

But even now, as Stocco is suspended from his fire inspector position following his March arrest by St. Petersburg police for disorderly intoxication, he continues to collect his inspector salary because he is classified as being on union leave, according to city records.

The city’s Fire Department directed questions seeking Stocco’s precise union pay to the union, which did not respond to calls from the Times.

Police caught Stocco urinating in a downtown parking garage in late March, the Times previously reported.

Stocco, 33, asked officers: “Do you know who I am?”

“Nope,” replied the police officer, according to bodycam footage obtained by the Times.

Stocco did not elaborate, but about 20 seconds later he added: “I would never do that to y’all.”

He soon added: “I work with you guys.”

Stocco, who said he was unavailable to comment for this story, was taken to the Pinellas County Jail in a police van, arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly intoxication in the early hours of March 24. Officers noted his slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and the smell of alcohol wafting from him as he staggered. The charge against him has since been dropped, according to court records.

Stocco first informed Mayor Jane Castor’s chief of staff, John Bennett, of the arrest the day it happened.

Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp didn’t find out until more than a week later, according to a department spokesperson.

Three days after that, on April 5, Stocco was suspended from his inspector position for “conduct that did not follow both departmental and city policies,” according to the spokesperson. He remains suspended while the city investigates.

Bennett told the Times he received a text and a call from Stocco, but declined to comment on their communication further. “It’s still an open investigation,” he said.

When asked why he thought Stocco reached out to him, rather than the fire chief or his inspection supervisor, Bennett said: “That’s under investigation.”

The city’s union agreement allows for members designated by the president to collectively use up to 3,300 hours of “union leave” — time off with pay to handle union business. That’s more than 400 standard, eight-hour workdays.

The agreement has permitted 3,300 hours since October 2019, when it jumped from an allowance of 2,500 hours per year.

Stocco, who has been president of Local 754 since Jan. 1, 2023, used 1,380 hours of union leave during the last fiscal year. Since October, when fiscal year 2024 began, he has used 996 hours, according to department records.

“I believed the arrest was unwarranted and expressed that belief to the arresting officers,” Stocco previously told the Times in a written statement, adding that he reported the arrest to Tampa officials that Sunday, March 24, and retained counsel to contest the charge. He was not in uniform or on duty at the time of the arrest.

In addition to the city’s seven sworn fire inspectors on the existing inspections division, the city has five sworn inspectors responsible for new construction. Each is expected to conduct 75 inspections per month.

One member of the existing inspections division conducted fewer inspections than Stocco: Scott Acker, who, according to a statement from the department, was tasked with handling fire watch responsibilities for large events, including pyrotechnic permit reviews. That didn’t leave much time for building inspections.

In addition to the 12 full-time city fire inspectors, there are an additional 12 who work part time and are expected to conduct an average of 65 inspections a month.

Stocco joined the department as a firefighter in 2011 and later was promoted to a driver. Then, in October 2022, he was promoted to fire inspector.

His current inspector salary places him at the higher end of the city’s pay range for the position, which is $78,470 to $132,760.