We don’t WANT to subpoena the Fire Dept.’s Chief, Treasurer, Secretary and Benevolent Fund Director but the taxpayers of this town want full disclosure…
The taxpayers of this town DEMAND to know what is being done with their money. If there are legitimate funds in the Fire Dept. that can be LEGALLY excluded from public view then so be it.
However our attorney will subpoena the above individuals and the information that belongs to the public WILL be get to us in spite of the shouting, swearing , threatening and other boorish behavior exhibited by
some.
The Benevolent fund, Ambulance Replacement Fund, and EMS/Rescue Bequest are not Taxpayer Money. None of the money in these accounts came from TAXES. The Fire Department Budget that includes fuel, maintenance, and all the costs in maintaining the apparatus does come from Taxpayer money. All Taxpayer funded money is handled by Town Hall and is listed in the Town Budget. That is where Mr. DeAngelis should be going. Unless Mr. DeAngelis has forgotten, all of this has been explained to him by the MVFD lawyer and the Rep from the FOI Commission.
Who is demanding this information anyway? We don’t see the masses lined up outside the Fire Department carrying torches. Is it just Mr. DeAngelis? We don’t think Mr. DeAngelis really cares in reality. Who does care, is Mr. St. John, as illustrated at the last FOI hearing when Mr. DeAngelis was reported to have sat quietly, while Mr. St. John ranted and raved in front of the MVFD attorney demanding that he be given access to MVFD Inc. information. It is Ed St. John who just can’t leave the MVFD alone.
Who will be funding your attorney? Our guess, it’s not Mr. DeAngelis. He has his own problems with Straw Pond. Those are real problems. Over-development in Middlebury is a serious problem, that needs to be checked. Energy should be generated in that direction, not trying to help Mr. St. John settle the score with the MVFD. Who created those Straw Pond problems for you Mr. DeAngelis? Perhaps the one you carpooled with to the FOI hearing?
The MVFD has been told by their attorney that they are following FOI law to the letter.
The MVFD has been told by the representative from the FOI Commission that they are following the law. So what is the problem? The problem is and has always been Mr. St. John. His behavior at the FOI hearing illustrates is crusade against the MVFD continues to this day. Why does he wonder why his picture was taken off the wall at Fire Headquarters?
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The unfortunate thing here is that anyone who has ever attended a FOI Commission informational session, or CAREFULLY read the FOI laws in CT would know that the FOI Commission states regularly, and I quote from an FOI staffer's own mouth, "Volunteer Fire Departments in CT are unique under FOI laws". The reason is plain. Many CT towns use a budgetary system like Middlebury. The Fire Department has a line-item budget, which is administered by some town department. In the case of Middlebury, this is the office of Mike Belden, Financial Officer. Tax money never comes into the MVFD, Inc. treasury. All payments are made out of Town of Middlebury accounts. This is not the case in every town. Some towns make annual or semi-annual disbursements to their fire departments. These fire departments are not exempt from FOI requests, because tax dollars pass thru their accounts. As stated in the original post, Mr DeAngelis already was granted access to the financial records pertaining to town tax expenditures. Why he continues to insist on proceeding with his foolish adventure is beyond me, or anyone else I know who is familiar with FOI law. In the long run, who will end up looking like a fool? Don't forget, Pat, that your "buddy" Ed already knew that the FD was exempted from FOI requirements on most of the things you want to see. If he says he knows nothing about the FOI rules, well, that sure makes me want to go and elect him again (just a hint of sarcasm!!) What was he doing all those years in office, if he hadn't attended at the very least one FOI seminar? Oh, that's right.........He was probably busy at the Street Department!!!
Well, it appears to me that Mr St John has found the chance to tickle the fancy of some of our elderly and disabled in town i.e.(pat deangelis).Good luck Ed pat has a bad set of knees'or else he would have joined the dept.Well I guess he's joined your team.
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