Was Ed St. John The Jimmy Carter Of Middlebury?

When Jimmy Carter took office in January of 1977 the Nation’s defense budget was already weakened.  In his first month in office he cut the defense budget by $6 billion.  He then canceled the B-1 bomber, deferred development of the neutron bomb, and made overtures to scrap the Trident submarine. The end-result was a seriously weakened National Defense. It took Ronald Reagan, elected in 1980, to rebuild our military to such a state that it caused the collapse of the Soviet Union.

It appears that Mr. St. John’s legacy at the MVFD is what Jimmy Carter’s was to our nation’s defense.  Our fire apparatus are aging.  The Town now has four pieces of apparatus that are over the age of 20 years, and despite being warned of this pending condition since 2002, Mr. St. John did nothing to rectify the situation.  

In fact he did the exact opposite by imposing his politically-motivated Fire Commission, outsourcing communications to Northwest C-Med, stonewalling the High Band radio upgrade, piling up legal costs for both the MVFD and the Town with an unrealistic “Ambulance Contract” that threatened the very existence of this life-saving service. In addition, ask the Police Department if they feel confident and safe with the radio system he built for them.

In a survey conducted by Firehouse.com on April 18th, 2005 from a pool of 6827 fire department respondents, only 6% of the responding fire departments have a first out piece over 20 years old.  Only 1% of the responding fire departments have a first-out piece older than 20 years. 

Engine 3 is Middlebury’s first-out engine.  It is 20 years old this year.  If Engine 3 breaks down, Engine 4 will be used in its place.  Engine 4 is 21 years old and is totally under powered.  The other pumper is a 1981 American LaFrance Engine 2.  Rescue 1 was built in 1978.

The Fire Department was talking about creating a replacement plan with Ed St. John since 2002.  Mr. St. John did nothing.  The Fire Department Officers met with Ed St. John in 2003 to discuss replacement of Engine 2, Engine 4, and Rescue 1.  At that time Mr. St. John wanted to create a “Global” replacement plan.  Yet he never did.  In the Spring of 2006 the Fire Department presented a “White Paper” to the Board of Selectman recommending a plan of action for apparatus replacement.  Elaine Strobel and Ed St. John ignored the white paper and voted to form a Fire Commission.  The Fire Commission did nothing to secure the Town a new pumper during their tenure. The voters rejected the Fire Commission in the Charter vote in November of 2007.

The Town’s population is growing exponentially, and Board of Finance member Mike McCormack wants to cut the MVFD fleet of apparatus and weaken it even more than Mr. St. John has done. Perhaps serving on the Public Works Commission has jaded his thinking away from public safety. The Town needs to concentrate on replacing the red trucks, not the green ones.

Is Tom Gormley the Ronald Reagan of Middlebury?  He understands that we can no longer stick our heads in the sand and hope that the apparatus problem goes away, or pass it off to a politically-motivated Fire Commission to create further delay.   Tom did not create these problems.  He has inherited them from his predecessor. Don’t ask Tom Gormley why Middlebury Fire apparatus is so old. Ask Mr. St. John. Last piece of fire apparatus replaced - 2000.

Mr. St John Wants Answers

Why is former First Selectman Ed St. John adding to the never-ending flood of FOIs targeted at Town Hall, the Police and MVFD. According to sources at Town Hall, the cost to the Town for Mr. DeAngelis's FOIs has been in excess of $20,000. Mr. St. John is a member of the Fire Department.  If he wants to see the minutes, he knows where they are.

But what answers is he looking for?  Perhaps the names of those who made and seconded the motion to have his picture taken off the wall at the MVFD.  More names to add to his ever-growing enemies list?  Or is he looking for some way to link the vote to Chief Paul Perrotti, who has no vote under Robert's Rules? *

In his hatred for the Perrotti family he has squandered his legacy at the MVFD. What he does not see, is a whole new generation of Middlebury Volunteer Firefighters whom he has never even met. These new members have a genuine distain for this man and view Mr. St. John as a past and current threat to the MVFD. 

Will he find that there was only one dissenting vote?  What a waste of a legacy. When will Mr. St. John and his side-kick Mr. DeAngelis realize that the MVFD is one a Middlebury's most precious assets?  The constant and never-ending attacks are only a reflection of the character of the attackers.  In the wake of the attackers symphony of dissidence, the MVFD marches on, without drums, without fanfare, protecting the lives and property of the residents of Middlebury 24 hours a day. That is a legacy that we can all live with.

*Tiebreaker can be made by the chairman.

Mike McCormack Gets It Wrong About Middlebury Dispatch - Gets it Right About Taxes

“We have a communication department that cost the town more than $200 per 

911 call when the average for a regionalized service is less than $30. Regionalization would save the town more than $300,000 per year, but our first selectman will not consider it.”

Michael J. McCormack

Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital.*  What is vital here is that the argument is flawed.  It would be quite the price tag for Middlebury Taxpayers, if in-fact, all they were paying for was $200.00 per 911 call.  The problem with the argument is that Middlebury Communications does far more than just answer 911 calls.  

It handles all police dispatch, and anyone with a scanner will tell you that the vast majority of police calls in this town are NOT of a 911 nature. The Middlebury Communications Center also handles Public Works, Buildings and Grounds, Public Health, the Building Department and Animal Control.  Before former First Selectman, Mr. St John, outsourced the Fire and EMS dispatch to Northwest C-Med, our communication center handled these calls as well. The Middlebury Dispatch is the hub of this community. One of the greatest benefits of living in Middlebury is the quality of our Police Department.  They are second-to-none. The Department would not benefit from outsourcing communications, and the Middlebury residents would suffer because of it.

Regionalizing Communications could be an absolute disaster for this town, and a threat to public safety.  This would be especially true in a time of a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado. A regional dispatch center could be immediately overloaded and a total communication collapse could be very possible.  Nothing illustrates the importance of local dispatch,  more than the work they did on February 11, 2008, during the Hydrogen Tanker Truck leak on I-84. 

This is one of the main reasons why communications for Fire and EMS eventually has to come back to Middlebury.  But,  it will have to be done right.  There is no quick fix, but a community working together for the genuine benefit of the residents will ultimately come up with the correct solution.  Outsourcing is not the solution.

One of the advantages of a local communication center is that our dispatchers are familiar with the residents who live in town and the roads they live on.   When the 911 call goes out, it is our Police Department who are the “First Responders,” and by working closely with our dispatch center during time-critical events could make the difference between life and death.  If you are having a heart attack, it will be the Police who may ultimately save your life, and not the MVFD. Response time is on their side.  If you have ever needed our police, you will know that they are at your door almost immediately. This is almost unheard of in any other community, and it is one of the services that makes Middlebury a great town to live in.  We don’t want to give that up. With the community growing at such a rate, it is imperative that dispatch remains local.

I believe the taxpayers in Town appreciate Mr. McCormack’s aversion to the currently presented budget. Anyone who values keeping more of their hard-earned pay will certainly be voting against it. We as taxpayers can no longer afford such increases. 

However, heaping all the Town’s woes on the current leadership, who has only been at the Town Hall for barely five months is nothing more than a smokescreen of what is really happening.

It would be more productive if Mr. McCormack, who is wearing both hats of the Board of Finance and Public Works Commission, show some leadership himself, and find ways to cut the Public Works budget and other bloated areas in Town.  The current administration inherited the current problems from the past administration. The some $900,000 in funds reported to be owed to the Town from the “Win/Win” deal could certainly have gone far in alleviating  some of the burden now being heaped upon our taxpayers.

The current administration is attempting to clean up what they inherited, but raising taxes is not the way to endear themselves to this community.  With the high cost of heating fuel, gasoline, and now food, taxpayers are fed up with parting with their hard-earned money.  The Selectmen need to take a proactive, and aggressive approach against this budget and work with the BOF. Government cannot continue to grow, whether it be federal or local and expect the taxpayers to pick-up-the-tab.

* Quote by Aaron Levinstein

MVFD Response To Pat DeAngelis Letter To The Editor

In his May 12, 2008 letter to the editor published in the Republican/American, Pat DeAngelis appears to be resurrecting an old propaganda ploy straight out of the forties. "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it.” Nothing illustrates this more than Mr. DeAngelis’s continuous and ever-inflating claims that the MVFD is sitting on top of and hoarding close to a million dollars.

This is factually inaccurate as addressed months ago in Chief Perrotti’s letter to the editor published by the Republican/American. Click here to read. In spite of the truth, Mr. DeAngelis is relentless with his inaccurate $800,000 mantra, hoping that Middlebury residents will eventually come to believe it. The plain truth is that Mr. DeAngelis assertions are just not true. Mr. DeAngelis should reread the above link.

Another nonfactual stink-bomb Mr. DeAngelis enjoys hurling at our Middlebury Volunteers, is the claim that the Fire Department Ambulance is making a cool $150,000 profit each year.

All money collected from ambulance billing goes directly back to the ambulance service. All equipment, supplies, and maintenance are paid for by ambulance billing funds. In addition this fund saves taxpayers annually over $80,000 in Advance Life Support (ALS) fees, a tab that is traditionally picked up by the taxpayers. The only direct taxpayer contribution to the ambulance is to pay for fuel, insurance, and the firehouse in which it is stored; as the Town does for all other Fire Department apparatus.

What is left with the “surplus” funds at the end of the year? It all goes into an “Ambulance Replacement Fund.” In fact, the MVFD has recently ordered a new ambulance to replace the 17 year old FD12. The price tag, approximately $170,000. This is $170,000 that will NOT come out of our taxpayers pockets.

If Mr. DeAngelis is so concerned about Middlebury finances perhaps he should consider reinbursing the Town for his frivolous FOI requests that have cost the Middlebury Taxpayer in excess of $20,000.

Hypothetical Situations

This is just a hypothetical situation:

          Let's say a man gets a "stipend" ( a stipend is defined as "money")

of close to $ 8000.00 a year. Then let's say that the same man gets $ 12.00 

EVERY time he goes on a "fire " call. A fire "call" could be as reported in 

the Middlebury-Bee something as simple as four houses reporting smoke 

alarms that went off. As stated here before Middlebury gets a structure fire 

once every 16 months. Anyway, let's just say the same guy that gets the 

stipend gets $5,000.00 from this pot. Then let's say there is what is called 

an "incentive" fund whereby higher "ranking" guys with "more" 

experience get the lion's share of that fund even if they get a "stipend" 

and fire pay.  And it goes on and on.

          Our question is: Isn't a volunteer someone that gives up his/her 

time for no money?  We're sure a lot of the volunteer firemen fit this 

category, but does the "Chief" or does the Middlebury Fire Dept Inc. pay 

him for his "work"? Does he get paid more than $ 15,000.00 a year, 

counting the free car and free gas?

          How exactly is he a "volunteer"?

Even with FOI in hand Mr. DeAngelis can’t get it right.  He knows the MVFD has posted this information on their website, and the rest he has FOIed from the Town. Yet it is not sensational enough for him, so he is forced to create a “Hypothetical Situation.”  If the truth does not work, then maybe a hypothetical situation may.

The truth is, that the Chief receives a stipend of about $500.00 per month before taxes.  That is less than the Fire Marshall and the Animal Control officer. That comes to less than $6000.00 per year, not $8000.00.  Someone with an FOI in hand should have known that. But accuracy has never been the hallmark of Mr. DeAngelis’s Money Pit site.  

Mr. DeAngelis also claims that his ‘hypothetical” Chief makes $12.00 per call.  Again he was notified by the FOI representative that all Fire Pay records are posted on the MVFD website.   The actual number is $10.00 per call for the Chief, and $6.00 per called for regular members.  I believe the last time I checked, Woodbury was paying all volunteers $10.00 per call.  Middlebury just pays the Chief that.  More incorrect and misleading statements from Pat DeAngelis.

In a post 9-11 world where the responsibilities of Fire Chiefs have increased exponentially, this is a small price to pay for someone who is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year. What’s next?  

“Anyway, let's just say the same guy that gets the stipend gets $5,000.00 from this pot. “

Open your eyes Mr. DeAngelis, you know where the information is.  It’s actually $2150.00, not $5000.00. The reason he receives that amount of money is because he makes over 70% of the fire calls. Only 6 members in a 65 member organization even make over 50% of the calls. The men and women in the MVFD are like everyone else.  They are busy with jobs and family, and we appreciate any time they can afford to volunteer. However making over 70% of the calls is truly extraordinary, and therefore is why the Chief’s fire pay is what it is.

Then let's say there is what is called an "incentive" fund whereby higher"ranking" guys with "more" experience get the lion's share of that fund even if they get a "stipend" and fire pay.  And it goes on and on.

Wrong again.  The incentive pay is based on performance and years of service and has nothing to do with rank.  The more calls and other events you go to, the more of the chunk of the pie you get.  If you don’t make enough calls you get nothing. Plain and simple. Fair and honest. The people who get paid the most out of this fund have put in more time throughout the year than the rest.  Nothing complicated about it.

If Mr. DeAngelis is going to cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars in FOI requests, I think it is only reasonable that he gets that facts contained in these requests correct.  The problem is that the actual truth is not sensational enough for Mr. DeAngelis, so he needs to make up “hypothetical situations” in order to try to fool his readers into thinking it is actually the truth.