Attention; we continue to have technical problems that now appear to be of a nefarious nature. I have called in my eastern european comrades to help with the problem.Your patience is appreciated during this time.
Yes this is the same Department that has been whining for years about being shorthanded. The same department that in 2007 under Ron Kim claimed they needed 9 more Firemen to do the job.
So why does the Saratoga Springs Fire Department, who are perhaps best known for their culinary skills and shopping forays to Price Chopper on the cities dime, driving a couple hundred grand of equipment than putting out actual fires want to get into the meatwagon business? One word survival.
The Saratoga Springs Fire Department is a product of another age, of old wooden buildings heated by coal. When vast areas of Saratoga Springs were consumed by flames, men like my Father Fire Chief Joseph Tighe and my Uncle Fire Captain John “Grassy” Callahan battled monster fires with bad equipment for little pay, both men died prematurely and neither collected much of a pension.
Today some senior fireman make six figure salaries and even rank and file members make well over 60k. “I will be putting the full salaries of all public safety workers for 2011 up as soon as they become available}
All the while they wait for calls for structure fires that never come. To compensate for the lack of calls the fireman came up with a job saving scheme. Beginning in the early nineties fireman have been playing a game of “I’m not a doctor in real life but I play one on a Fire Truck” chasing SEMS and in some cases delaying transport of patients to a fully equipped hospital minutes away.
So today we stand at a crossroads, both for-profit ambulance companies Empire and Mohawk said they could take over the service completely and compensate the city handsomely to boot. This would spare the city immensely in terms of outrageous salaries, benefits, claims for disabilities not to mention pension costs for the fireman doing the calls.
But if the Fireman no longer have a need to go ambulance chasing, we no longer have a need for them at all.
One word “Volunteer” Now if this council was honest and was looking out for the cities and not the Unions they would award the contract to Empire and Mohawk and then commission a study to disband the Fire Department and replace it with Volunteers or a combination of paid and volunteer.
HELL it works for the larger communities of Colonie and Clifton Park. Hell look at Malta with Global Foundries and the HUGH apartment and hotel complex’s going up. Yep all Volunteers. Let’s not leave out Milton were I am temporarily located. We have three Nuclear reactors and an Airport serving jets but no need for paid fireman here. The Saratoga Springs Fire Department is a product of another age. Once they were an affordable luxury for the city but their greedy union demands for outrageous pay and benefits have made them a luxury we can longer afford.
So let’s look at the players.
Mayor Scott Johnson: A sensible man who I would guess can see through Chief Robert Williams claims that he will only need “one new fireman”
Public Works Commissioner Anthony “Skip” Scirocco; who knows he comes from a public safety background but I guess he will vote against the fireman.
Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan; Took one thousand dollars from the PBA the other Public Safety Union and Fireman went door to door on her behalf, her yes vote is brought and paid for.
Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen; well at least he's consistent, he ran on a campaign of a bigger public safety department and he’s keeping his word.
Too bad the taxpayers weren’t paying attention.
Accounts Commissioner John Franck; could be the swing vote either way.
Franck had been a fiscal watch dog but during the workshop Thursday Franck made perhaps the most disingenuous statement of all the commissioners when he said
"The problem with for-profit is if there are two calls, they are going where the money is"
That John just isn’t true, the idea any ambulance company would risk their operating certificate for a better paying transport is absurd.
Whatever happens I will film each commissioner’s vote and use it in the next election.
Till Tuesday night Good bye
9 comments:
How in the hell can a Commissioner on the City Council during a negotiation with professional ambulance services make a comment that the Fire Dept. EMTs are better qualified than professional EMTs. Is eh trying to make them walk away and leave us with only one choice. Why should someone like me even bother to care any more. This decision was made before the election. Why even have a workshop when the decision has been made???
How do we address fire and EMS on the Eastern Plateau with the current plan. The origianl plan with SEMS being part of it was to have an ambulace on that site along with I assume one fire truck.
If the Ambulance Business is so profitable, why aren't any of the firemen stepping up to start an Ambulance business? Current Firemen run landscaping companies, contracting businesses, a recently retired superior from the SSFD is even a partner in a local bar/restaurant I believe. With all this ambition, why aren't any of the firefighters bidding to milk the cash cow that is ambulance service by starting a private service. How come none of the guys with their 20 years in aren't walking away with their pensions, and padding their retirement with the 6 figure profits that a ambulance company is SURE to make?
Plain and simple, why don't these guys put their money where their mouths are? We've got 6 FF's looking to be laid off after the SAFER grant runs out. They're trained and will be looking for work. There's your staff, all someone needs to do is step up, take the reins, and you can start cashing all that Ambulance $$$$$.
I am not surprised that Mathiesen is for this. He campaigned on enlarging both the Police and Fire department. One of the reasons I did not vote for him.
I am not surprised about Madigan either. The firemen expect pay back for all the campaigning they did for her. She stated that she was not going to be their “puppet.” Well so far the firemen are pulling the strings and she is responding just like they want her to.
I am surprised about Franck. He has always been a fiscal conservative. In fact he has been more conservative than some of the so called Republicans. I am dismayed that he would flip flop like this.
The long term effects of this decision will cost the tax payers dearly. Once the firemen take this over it will be even harder to go any other direction. I can hear it now if the firemen get this. They want a little now but will keep adding additional costs as time goes on. To justify this they will cry how people will “die” unless we spend even more.
Keep this in the private sector and keep government out if this
Please like this page if you want to save SEMS
Save SEMS
Franck is going to sell us down the river
I found the answer in [url=http://www.google.co.uk]google[/url], remove the topic pls.
This is going to be a big mistake. Madigan and Mathieson have no clue about how the fire dept. runs. The benefits that are currently enjoyed by firemen, will bloat the budget for emergency services. What happens if there is the need for EMS at the same time a fire breaks out? Think of the number of firemen who will be called in on overtime?
This service can be privatized for less cost to the taxpayers.
One added fireman, actually means one added fireman per shift. Don't fall for this smoke screen.
You really make it seem so easy with your presentation but I find this topic to be really something which I think I would never understand. It seems too complex and very broad for me. I am looking forward for your next post, I’ll try to get the hang of it!
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