The Budget Myth

"You will have another chance to vote NO to this jump in the tax rate on August 26. We must keep voting "no" until those in charge come to understand the problem: cut spending , do not raise the tax rate. They have to understand that year after year after year SPENDING CANNOT INCREASE."

Mr. DeAngelis just does not get it.  Tom Gormley and the BOF have cut spending by 2.38% on the Town side of the Budget.  That is not a tax increase, but rather a tax cut.  The whopping increase is on the Region 15 side, which has already been passed by the residents of Southbury.  Middlebury residents had voted against it, but were out voted by Southbury.  Don’t blame Tom.  The blame lies with all of us, who just let Region 15 do as they wish, and never examine where the money goes.  Year after year their budget goes up, and year after year we get outvoted by Southbury. 

One of the biggest fallacies in this country is that Americans are not spending enough on education. Americans spend $501.3 billion of taxpayer money on education. It takes four taxpayers to raise enough money to educate one child for one year. Spending more money on education has never made education better. We spend much more money than most countries, yet the United States is ranked 18 out of 24 nations in terms of the relative effectiveness of its educational system.

After the first school budget went down earlier this year, Region 15 had already had a revised budget in hand.  They planned ahead.  Middlebury should plan ahead as well so we don’t get hit with a huge tax increase again next year. That is where the efforts of Town government should be concentrated.  Start now, and study the school budget.  Find where programs and administrators can be cut.  The public educational bureaucracy is growing by leaps and bounds.  Waiting until next year to do something about it will be too late.

For now residents have to realize that the Town has a smaller budget than it did last year, not a larger one.  If residents do not want to see more cuts in services they actually use, they should make sure they vote YES for the next budget.

Risky Business

 “It has been reported to OMP that the union leadership at Public Works scored a victory when First Selectman Gormley informed P. Perrotti in writing that he (Perrotti) needs to stop taking work from town employees by mowing town lawns and plowing town-owned property.”

Taking work away from Town employees???  Hey, wait a minute.  Didn’t they close the Transfer Station on Wednesdays because there was too much grass to cut.  Have Town employees been laid off because the grass is being cut at Fire HQ?

“It is reported that Perrotti received a letter from Mr. Gormley informing him of the above. The union did a good job in protecting its members and saving the town from a potential lawsuit resulting from when and if an amateur crashed into a tree on a lawnmower.”

Thank goodness that was taken care of.  The union saved the day. They may just have averted a Town-wide walkout, if this behavior continued. It would have been a mess. Firefighters crossing the picket lines with their Lawn Boys and John Deeres to come to the rescue.  You would have really seen the grass clippings fly then. This is why they pay union dues.  It is protection you can count on.

The Fire Chief who operates fire apparatus costing millions of dollars, would be a total amateur on his own garden tractor. An accident just waiting to happen. Work such as this should really be left in the hands of teenaged, part-time, minimum waged-paid, non-union, summer help professionals.  They possess the skills to maneuver around the many waiting obstacles and dangers that lurk upon the lawns of Fire HQ. This type of work is fraught with danger for mere mortals, and much more dangerous than fighting fires.

This is just plain silly. The Fire Chief is doing the Town and Taxpayers a favor by cutting the grass at Fire HQ.  It frees the PW and B&G to work on other projects that would be deemed more important than cutting grass, such as re-opening the transfer station on Wednesdays.  The Fire Chief takes pride in taking care of Fire HQ.  The Town should be taking pride in its Fire Chief. 

Catch 22 Strikes The Lawns Of The Firehouse

Chief Perrotti has a high degree of pride when it comes to the Fire Department.  It encompasses almost every aspect of the organization, from mopping the floors at almost every chance he gets, to making sure not a single leaf sits upon the apron.

In May of 2007 the MVFD was pleased to be the host for the Bicentennial showing of the Town’s Video Presentation.  The MVFD pulled out all the stops and hosted a wonderful reception at Fire HQ.  See link click here.

Everything was absolutely perfect except for one very important element.  Former First Selectman and Public works head Ed St. John had failed to order mowing of the lawn at Fire HQ.  It was a hay field.  Chief Perrotti took things into his own hands and mowed the lawn himself, with his own mower. Since then the Chief has been mowing and weed-whacking the grounds at Fire HQ and even planted a flower garden near the old Firehouse grounds.  The place looks great all the time.

Now we turn to the Town Budget problems.  There was no money in the budget to pay summer part time help to cut grass around town.  The guys working at B&G and PW are being stretched in a million directions.  They have to do their normal duties as well as cut all the grass.

The problem hit critical mass, when it was announced that the Transfer Station was going to be closed on Wednesdays, so those workers could go out and cut grass.  Here is the problem - too much grass and not enough grass cutters. Close the Transfer Station and get more grass cutters.

Its a good thing Chief Perrotti is cutting the grass at Fire HQ. NOT!  The Chief received a cease and desist order from Town Hall stating that the Chief will no longer be able to cut the grass because someone at PW was filing some sort of union grievance and the MVFD was violating some sort of grass cutting law.  

For heaven sakes. The Town is closing the dump because they do not have enough people to cut grass, yet there is a grievance by the union because the MVFD is taking work away from its workers. Does that make any sense?

On top of that someone also stated that it was a liability problem for the Town, for the Chief to be mowing the grass. What?  A liability problem?  Its absolutely no problem if the Chief runs into a burning building and puts his life in danger, but if he sits on top of a garden tractor, watch out, that’s spells real trouble.

What about the MRA and the Little League.  They all mow their own grass.  Are they outfitted with some sort of special survival suit?

We are not trying to make light of this but for crying out loud!

The Town is having a hard time staffing Buildings and Grounds.  They have to close the Transfer Station so workers can cut grass. You have a volunteer who will cut the grass for nothing. He is already insured by the Town. He takes pride in the building and grounds and you tell him he can’t cut the grass? 

The Town should be happy about this, but somehow they are not. Amazing. 

A Vote Of Conscience Or Consensus

From Voice July 25, 2008

MIDDLEBURY - A seemingly cut-and-dry Board of Selectmen meeting Monday, July 21, where the only comment from the public was a request for the town to replace the batteries for the clock in the Town Hall Conference Room, took a more complicated turn when Selectman Elaine M.R. Strobel asked about a photograph of former First Selectman Edward B. St. John's that was hanging on the wall at the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department.

Mrs. Strobel told Voices she is sorry for what occurred and called the policy a lose-lose situation for the town. She said she felt like the board needed to present a united front on the matter.

"I'm sorry for the volunteers who worked hard and who have their pictures on the wall," she said. "It's a tribute to them and now everything has got to come down. Unfortunately, there was only a vote to take the pictures down, never a vote to put one picture up."

I am confused by Mrs. Strobel’s comments to Voices.

She started the snowball rolling by asking about Mr. St. John’s picture being taken off the wall at Fire HQ, even though First Selectman Tom Gormley was quoted in the Waterbury paper that very day saying, he had too many things on his plate to worry about pictures.  Mrs. Strobel has been to the Firehouse and knows where it is.  If she wanted to find out why the picture was taken off the wall, then she might have thought to come to Fire HQ and speak with the members who voted to remove it. 

But that was not the plan.  The plan was to keep the issue alive for Mr. St. John, who she appears to hold more allegiance to, than the current BOS.  The plan worked like a charm. The issue is still alive. Its hardly a topic that should be brought up at a Selectman's meeting.  Tom was right, there is a heck of a lot more important things on the BOS plate then how the Firehouse is decorated.

If Mrs. Strobel is sorry that volunteers who have worked hard will have their pictures removed from the walls, then why in the world did she vote for it?  She calls it a lose-lose situation, yet votes in favor of it! Why did the board need to present a united front?  Is that what she was elected to do?  Government should not rule by consensus. If she thought it was wrong, she should have voted against it no matter what. 

It appears that Mrs. Strobel never wanted to have a vote to take all the pictures down, but rather a vote to put Mr. St. John’s picture back up.  That shows the level of respect Mrs. Strobel has for the members of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department. She is not interested in the reasons why it came down, and would not support the Fire Department just as she never supported the Fire Department when the MVFD asked her for her support in 2006 and  2007. Nothing has changed.  

The fundamental point that Mr. St. John should really understand.  As much as he would like to believe,  it was not a Perrotti idea, it never was a Perrotti idea.  It was tabled on several occasions by Chief Perrotti, and Chief Perrotti never voted on the motion with the rest of the 28 members.  This is important.  As much as Mr. St. John appears to hate the Perrotti family, the removal of his picture from Fire HQ had nothing to do with them, but rather was the culmination of events precipitated by Mr. St. John against the MVFD as an organization.  

Those who volunteer their time, risk their safety and health, disrupt and inconvenience their family, and save the Taxpayers of Middlebury more than 4.5 million dollars a year for what they do, should be listened to. The majority of members of the MVFD genuinely believe that Mr. St. John damaged the Fire Department, and looking at his portrait every time they enter the building was not something they wanted to continue doing.

More Inaccurate Information

“On August 7th. Perrotti, Paul was supposed to meet with DeAngelis, Pat so that Perrotti could turn over financial records to DeAngelis, the citizen.

Wrong. There was no date of August 7th that the MVFD was aware of. More like sometime in September. Whatever the day is, no documents will be turned over to Mr. DeAngelis and he will be told once again by the FOI Commission that he is not entitled to the information he is seeking because the funds are not generated from Taxpayer money.

      “Perrotti asked, through one of his attorney's to put off the meeting because BOTH of his attorneys can't be there.”

Wrong.  First. Chief Perrotti never asked to put off anything. Second, the MVFD has only one and one lawyer only.  The Town of Middlebury is sending the Town Attorney to protect the Town’s interests, not the MVFD’s interests. It has nothing to do with the MVFD. The MVFD lawyer asked for a continuance because she was going on vacation and will be on vacation until September.

“BOTH? He needs two attorneys because a citizen said, " please, sir, I'd like to see how public money is spent."

Wrong. The one MVFD lawyer is not Perrotti’s lawyer, but the MVFD’s lawyer. Mr. DeAngelis is not seeking to see how Town money is spent but rather how MVFD private funds are spent.  By law he is not entitled to this information and therefore he will not get this information. It is not Taxpayer money.  All Taxpayer funds given to the MVFD are available at Town Hall, and Town Hall has already provided him with all the information he is entitled to.

“The meeting may be put off for a week or so, but the day of reckoning is just around the corner.”

Wrong. Mr. DeAngelis does not dictate when a meeting will or will not take place.  That is up to the FOI Commission.  The MVFD looks forward to the day that this matter is finally put to rest.  It was not the MVFD who put off the July date.  In fact, Mr. DeAngelis and Mr. St. John would have enjoyed the company of not only the MVFD attorney, but many of the rank and file members of the Department.  We look forward to seeing Mr. DeAngelis in September.

“By the way, how come Perrotti has two attorneys and the Fire House Treasurer has none?”

Perfect score.  Wrong on all five points.  Chief Perrotti does not have any attorneys.  Nor does the MVFD Treasurer. They don’t need attorneys. The MVFD has one attorney only, and it is being paid out of MVFD funds, and not taxpayer funds.  So funds that the MVFD raises to help support two $1000.00 scholarships, the Little League, the Middlebury Food Bank, the almost $4000 towards the Bicentennial celebration, $8000 for new defibrillators to be placed around Town, supplies  and equipment for the Firehouse, and other charitable endeavors is being wasted on Mr. DeAngelis's frivolous FOIs.  This adds to the already $20,000 of Taxpayer money that Town Hall reports he has already wasted on FOIs directed at them.

Can anyone name one solid benefit to the community that has come from any of these FOIs?

Truth And Competence

“Fire Chief Paul J. Perrotti said he found the new policy to be a waste of 

time.( Gee, correct me if I'm wrong but didn't he precipitate the whole 

mess by arbitrarily taking down a former chiefs picture?)

“If that’s what they’re going to do, I’ll follow their ruling, ( HE  blames 

"them"?) but it’s stupid, ( well, no doubt he's an expert on that topic ) it’s 

crazy, ( ibid ) and they should worry about other things like our aging 

apparatus and radio system,” Perrotti said. ( we're worried about getting 

competent leadership in the fire department )“Fire department members 

made a decision. It wasn’t Paul Perrotti’s decision. ( did you ever see a 

guy backtrack so much and try to blame everybody but himself for 

everything that goes wrong? )We really don’t want anything to do with the 

picture.”( what the hell does that mean?)”

The above paragraph of ranting hate illustrates just how Mr. DeAngelis is not interested in what is true, or what is accurate, but rather appears to be acting as the pit bull for Mr. St. John.   It basically is not worth even commenting on, but somehow we have an insatiable desire to offer Middlebury residents something they never read on Mr. DeAngelis’s website, and that is the truth.

So in a nutshell, we once again point out what is not true in Mr. DeAngelis’s unrelenting attacks on the MVFD.

1) The Fire Chief did NOT precipitate the “whole mess.” The MVFD does not consider this a mess at all.  They consider it a problem that has been resolved. The MVFD members voted to remove the picture, not Chief Perrotti. The decision was anything but arbitrary.  The picture was taken down for reasons listed under “Childish Actions” on this blog.

2) The Chief is not blaming anyone for anything. The action of the BOS was not the correct way to handle the matter, and their solution will not be seen by MVFD members as the correct one. There were reasons why the picture was taken down and to try to mitigate the situation by taking down everyone’s picture punishes all those who deserve to have their pictures up around Town.

In addition no other pictures of Ed St. John were removed from the wall.  Just the portrait.  Mr. St. John was Chief of the Department when he purchased and hung his own picture on the wall at Fire HQ.  It was not Town property and was not MVFD property. All the other pictures are MVFD property.  The members voted to take the picture down.  The BOS should have respected that vote, understood why it was done, and then moved on to the variety of challenges that are before them.

3) The comment about competent leadership of Chief Perrotti is insulting if not outright slander. To our knowledge Mr. DeAngelis is not a firefighter, has never been a firefighter, and has no firefighting training to speak of. Making comments about Chief Perrotti’s competence, when he has no expertise to measure such competence, illustrates that his opinion is based on personal feelings rather than on any measurable criteria. It is an emotional response devoid of all logic.

Now lets take a look at Chief Perrotti’s qualifications. The following is a list of certifications and positions held by the Chief.

Certifications:

1) Fire Fighter I 

2) Fire Fighter II 

3) Medical Response Technician.

4) Company Officer I

5) Fire Service Instructor I

6) CORE Rescue Technician 

7) Pumping Apparatus Driver/Operator

8) Aerial Apparatus Driver/Operator

9) Elevator Rescue Technician

10) Fire Marshall Trained

11) Safety Officer

12) Public Information Officer

13) HazMat Operations

14) NIMs Trained in Levels 200, 400, and 700

Positions Held:

1) President of the Waterbury Area Fire Chiefs Association.

2) Member of Connecticut Fire Chiefs Association.

3) Adjutant Instructor Wolcott Fire School.

4) Holds a seat on the Governor’s Educational Committee that oversees the 9 Connecticut Fire Schools.

5) Homeland Security Trained Emergency Manager.

6) Longest running Fire Chief in Middlebury

Organized and cataloged all information with the MVFD office secretary in order for the Town to qualify for a Homeland Security Radio Grant worth almost $300,000.00. 

What else does Chief Perrotti do?

He serves as the MVFD Training Officer, and trains all new MVFD Apprentices in Fire Fighter I and Firefighter II and does not charge a penny for his services.  This saves the Taxpayers thousands of dollars, by being able to train new firefighters in-house.

I would say that Middlebury may be unique, in that it has such a highly trained, and competent Fire Chief.

On a personal note, as a firefighter who has been on the attack line of some of the worse fires Middlebury has seen in the last twenty years, I can say that I thank God Paul Perrotti is the man outside directing the operation.  It is his competence that gives our firefighters the courage and confidence to do what they do, when it is absolutely necessary to do it at that moment, and there is no one else to mitigate the emergency than those who step forward to volunteer. 

The Fire Service has a quasi-military structure. Our firefighters can and will react to bring about a favorable outcome to most of the challenges they face, because of the training that is instilled in them by this Department and its Chief. The MVFD is one of the best trained Fire Departments anywhere, and the credit goes to Chief Perrotti.

Whose Report Card Looks Better

“Gormley report card looks bad...”

1. Straw Pond--Gormley throws out only people that knew the situation 

from the beginning. Hires Savarese, an attorney with no land use 

experience.

Mr. Gormley inherited  your little Straw Pond problem from your FOI carpooling buddy.  If it was not for his actions, would Straw Pond be an issue?

“2. Budget--Gormley has the bad judgement to bother the voters with 13 

percent tax increase referendum question that was voted down by a 3-1 

margin

3. Budget--Gormley comes back with a 9 percent budget increase, that 

was voted down 3-1.”

Tom Gormley has control over the Town side of the budget. He has little control over the Region 15 Budget.  Tom was able to cut the Town side by 2.38%. That is 2.38% less than the Budget Mr. St. John presented last year.

“4. FOI--Gormley refused to release information of town finances relative to 

fire dept.”

Not true. All Taxpayer funded information was given over.  Records of funds that do not come from the Taxpayers will not be turned over to Mr. DeAngelis.  That is FOI law, and Mr. DeAngelis and Mr. St. John are upset about that.

“5. Republican Town Committee--The elected head of the party ( Gormley ) 

fails to attend even one of  the Committee meetings.”

Mr. Gormley does not work for the RTC, nor does he answer to them. The RTC is suppose to be supporting him.  The Row B folks are failing to live up to what they said during the campaign.  Why are they not behind the First Selectman and supporting the budget? The big lie that Row A was supporting Brennan and not Gormley is certainly turning into be what it was from the start, nothing but a lie.

“6. Gormley allows Perrotti to refurbish junk cars at town expense.”

Two vehicles were given to the MVFD under Mr. St. John’s administration.  It is making good use out of vehicles the PD no longer needs.  

“7. Gormley closes dump with no financial savings to town.”

Mr. DeAngelis complains about Chief Perrotti mowing the grass at Fire HQ to help out the Town  and save Taxpayers money.  Mr. Gormley closes the dump so there are more workers available to cut grass.  So much for your assessment of taking work away from your union buddies.  Looks like they have too much work.  If the MVFD cut it’s own grass, maybe Tom Gormley can reopen the dump. The MRA cuts its own grass. How long does it take to cut the Fire HQ grass?  How many man hours  could be saved a year?  Man hours convert into Taxpayer dollars. 

Everyone is searching for ways top save Taxpayer money, and here is one way.  The cleanest public building in Town is Fire HQ.  It is maintained by Chief Perrotti and not the Town.  Chief Perrotti takes a great deal of pride in the building, apparatus and the grounds. It is a showplace and the pride of Middlebury. 

“8. Gormley allows library to close on Saturdays”

Mr. DeAngelis is a trained Librarian, perhaps he may want to volunteer on Saturdays, like the MVFD volunteers seven days a week, 365 days a year.  Train volunteers and reopen the Library.

“9. Gormley wastes 11 thousand dollars on audit of audit.”

Town Hall reports that Mr. DeAngelis has wasted over $20,000 of Taxpayer money on his frivolous FOIs.  If Mr. DeAngelis pays back the Taxpayer the $20,000, maybe we could open up the dump and the Library.

What marks would be on Mr. DeAngelis’s report card of accuracy?

The Authority To Hang Or Not To Hang

“This was a "no-brainer" decision for Gormley or any competent administrator: tell Perrotti that he has no authority to take down pictures in a public building and tell him to put the picture back on the wall.”

If Middlebury Fire Chiefs have no authority to take pictures off the wall at Fire HQ then it should hold true that they do not have the authority to put them up either.  Since Chief Ed St. John put his own picture up on the wall, then it must come down, because he had no authority to put it up in the first place.

I guess it is only certain Chiefs who have the authority to decorate the Firehouse, and others do not.  This is a perfect example of why the BOS should have stayed out of the matter.

Missing The Point

There seems to be some sort of notion that removing former First Selectman Ed St. John’s portrait from the wall of Fire HQ created some sort of problem.  To the members of the MVFD taking the portrait down solved a problem. The membership voted to remove the picture because of reasons listed below in the post titled “Childish Actions.”  The problem at the MVFD, was not with taking the picture down, but rather with leaving it up.

Instead of respecting that the MVFD must have had a darn good reason for taking the picture down, and because some of Mr. St. John’s allies made a stink at Town Hall, there is some sort of manufactured notion, that there is now a problem.  There is no problem. The picture was not Town property, it was not MVFD property.  The members did not want it on the wall, so they returned it to its rightful owner. End of story.

Now the BOS still perceives that there is a problem and believe they have resolved it by ordering all portraits off all walls in Town buildings? In essence, they are punishing all past Chiefs, and any other individual important enough to have his or her portrait on a wall in Town, for the actions of Mr. St. John? The Republican/American reports, “De­partments can ask the Board of Selectmen’s permission to re­hang the portraits on a case­by- case basis.”

Somehow, the logic of all this escapes me.  When there is a budget to be passed,  fire apparatus to be replaced, and a police radio system to be purchased, why is the BOS worrying about what pictures should be hanging on what walls? Let the MVFD hang whatever they want on the walls of Fire HQ.  Even Tom Gormley is quoted saying that he had more on his plate than worrying about pictures. So why worry?  

The action is like killing a flea with a sledge hammer, and the poster child of micromanagement.  If I was a Selectman (and I am glad that I am not - who would want the job), I would be concentrating on getting the word out about the budget, and how the Selectmen and the BOF have actually cut the budget by 2.3%.  I think that is better use of the Press than worrying about pictures. I would also be working on ensuring Middlebury has a stronger voice in the Region 15 budget which is the real source of tax increases.

If the BOS want the pictures off the wall, then fine take them all down and leave them down, but engaging any longer in this folly is a waste of time.  

Lack Of Patriotism In Middlebury - MVFD Ordered To Take Support Our Troops Signs Down.

The Fire Department received a cease and desist order from the Planning and Zoning Commission stating that the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department has to remove the “Support Our Troops” signs that are displayed around Town.  They also stated they wanted the MVFD to remove all the American Flags that are hung along Route 188.

We like to know what has sparked such a unpatriotic move by the commission? The members of the MVFD put these signs up to support the brave men and women who are risking their lives on the battle fields of Afghanistan and Iraq.  

As of July 21, 2008, there have been 543 soldiers who have died in Operation Enduring Freedom and 4108 soldiers who have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom, for a total of 4651 total war dead. On top of that 2974 people died on September 11th, 2001 including 343 firefighters.

After September 11th there was a wonderful rise in patriotism in the country with flags hanging from every front porch and car antennas.  But, with everything in our country some people get tired and the novelty wears off. The members of the MVFD are a pretty patriotic bunch of guys, and those signs were up as a reminder that we have not forgotten about them, even though it has been years since 9-11, even though it is no longer fashionable to display signs of patriotism.  I am sure that every Veteran in Middlebury agrees with the MVFD.

In Woodbury, American flags adorn every telephone pole along Main Street during the summer.  It appears that they have not lost their patriotic spirit.

If you agree with the MVFD that the flags should stay up, and the signs should stay up until our troops are safely home, we urge you to make your opinions known to the First Selectman and the Planning and Zoning Commission. This unpatriotic action will only serve to embarrass the Town.

Childish Actions

                  Former first selectman  Edward B. St. John

was surprised when he found a package from UPS leaning on his front door recently, but he was even more surprised by its contents.

 It was his portrait from the walls of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department. The photo had been removed from the department’s Tucker Hill Road fire house after members decided St. John had “disgraced” the department.

 “It’s not a big deal,” said Fire Chief Paul J. Perrotti.

 “It was probably just better to get it out of the equation. We didn’t buy that picture, and we’ve had other pictures duplicated in my tenure. It’s back to its rightful owner, and this wasn’t done to harass him.”

 St. John, who was the department’s chief in the 1960s and 1970s, said Friday he 

was upset his picture was removed. He has since hung the portrait with other 

memorabilia in his home.

 “I am upset, and this is what’s upsetting to me: it’s nothing but childish, and will 

continue to be just that,” he said. “It just goes to show you what happens when you fall out of favor with our fire chief. They’re trying to recreate history, and that’s not how we do business.”

 He said he wants First Selectman Thomas Gormley to take action on the matter to deter­mine what can be hung in public buildings.

 “I told him (Perrotti) you have to pick your bat­tles, and this is not one we should be concerned about,” Gormley said. “I have too much on my plate to be worrying about pictures, but I person­ally think because Ed was a chief it shouldn’t have been done.”

The portrait was not leaning on Mr. St. John’s door.  It was signed by Eva. 

Mr. St. John calls the action childish.

Was it childish to appoint a fire commission to harass the MVFD for a year and a half, that stonewalled apparatus replacement, attempted to interfere in the fireground chain of command, and attempted to delay repair of life-saving equipment?

Was it childish to waste $9,000 of taxpayer money to hire a consultant to tell him what he had already knew back in 2003 about apparatus replacement?

Was it childish to delay apparatus replacement since 2003, creating a condition where taxpayers are facing replacing 4 pieces of fire apparatus over the age of 20 years old, and another to be over 20 in three years? This will cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars more in additional taxes.

Was it childish to go after the fire department for the cell phone incident, when it was the MVFD itself, and not the Town that discovered the problem and resolved it within 48 hours?  Was it childish for Mr. St. John and his cronies to force the MVFD to hire a lawyer regarding an incident that had already been resolved? Was it childish to accuse Chief Perrotti of wrong doing when there was no evidence of such, and there was no Town-wide cell phone policy.  In fact it was the MVFD that created a policy after the fact, and the Town wanted a copy of it so they could adopt the same policy.

Was it childish to force the Chief to sign a document that had all the credibility of a North Korean confession, that attempted to lay blame on him about trading a Town car for a golf cart and a sum of money, when in order to execute the deal Mr. St. John would have had to sign over the title?  In that same document, was it childish for Mr. St. John to accuse the Fire Chief of misspending Town funds when he attempted to use Westover money to install an outside service at Memorial School that would have benefited the entire community?  Since Westover funds are a gift to the MVFD and not Taxpayer money, this was a joke.  In addition the bill was never paid by  Mr. St. John. 

Was it childish for Mr. St. John to hand over documents to Mr. Heidkamp who in turn created a 43 page smear against the MVFD, when he was charged with being the Chairman of the fire commission who was suppose to be helping the MVFD? He presented his dissertation to the charter revision commission in order to try to sway them into making  the fire commission permanent.

Was it childish of Mr. St. John to not allow the Charter Revision vote to be divided into separate questions, even ignoring a petition signed by almost 200 residents requesting it be divided into separate questions? Mr. St. John thought that all the good revisions in the Charter change would overshadow the fact that the MVFD was against the Charter change that included a Fire Commission.  But, not allowing a separate vote, positive elements in the Charter change were lost, which hurts the entire community. 

Was it childish to attempt to not provide the $15,000.00 in matching funds in order to secure the almost $300,000.00 radio grant, even though his fire commission had known about the matching funds requirement for months?

Was it then childish to attempt at the 11th hour to derail the radio installation by refusing to allow the MVFD to replace an existing antenna with a smaller antenna in order to complete the radio installation by the December deadline? Mr. St. John wanted the MVFD to spend thousands to hire an engineer to do a study on the tower.

Was it childish to install surveillance cameras at the MVFD so Mr. St. John could remotely spy on the members, even from his boat?

Was it childish of his office to question whether or not EMTs and the ambulance were properly insured when he knew they were?  This forced the MVFD to spend thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer to sort out the problem?

Was it childish of Mr. St. John to have spend thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to draw up a one sided, ridiculous ambulance agreement, that would have in essence seized the ambulance away from the MVFD and handed over all money that is earned by the ambulance back to the Town. All money collected by the ambulance billing goes directly back into maintaining and purchasing a new ambulance.  Mr. St. John’s plan would have most likely purchased more dump trucks.

Was it childish for Mr. St. John stall payment for MVFD training computer, even though he was told there was finite time limit in order for the MVFD to take advantage of a rebate that would have saved the MVFD $200.00?

Was it childish for Mr. St. John to sign MVFD documents with Ph.D. after his name when he admits he never has had the degree?

Was it  Mr. St. John who admitted in his  court case last spring to taking underage MVFD Juniors to Rhode Island and giving them alcohol? 

Was it childish for Mr. St. John not to step away when he left office, and now has positioned himself on the RTC so that he can derail Tom Gormley's administration, because Tom Gormley refused to continue Mr. St. John's reign of terror against the MVFD?

Is it childish for Mr. St. John to use Mr. DeAngelis in order to "get even" with Perrotti and the MVFD?

Is it childish for Mr. St. John to get involved with Mr. DeAngelis and attend FOI hearings, where he seeks to see records of MVFD private funds (not taxpayer funds) ?

No one is rewriting history here, we are just listing it.

Kudos to Tom Gormley who understands that there are larger problems in Middlebury than Mr. St. John’s picture. 

More Stupid Ideas From The Pit

     “Middlebury Volunteer Fire Dept to hold elections in Nov. 2008

If the Middlebury VFD is a town department ( which it is ) and if it receives hundreds of thousands of dollars from the town why is it that only members of the MVFD can vote in the election for chief? If it is a town department supported by public money why can't all the citizens of the town vote for chief?

Our attorney is researching this question. Not the "town" attorney, Mr. Savarese, but rather an attorney that represents the people.”

Another brilliant idea from the Money Pit. For months he complains about the MVFD getting involved with politics and now he wants to make the selection of Chief political. That is like the military allowing the public to choose their generals.

The MVFD is the only organization in Town that runs smoothly. The idea is so stupid, it is not even worth commenting any further on it.

Wrong About Everything

“Gormley tells Perrotti to put St. John's picture back up on the firehouse 

wall. Perrotti mails the picture back to Ed St. John's house, symbolically 

telling Gormley to stuff it.”

 Wrong. Mr. Gormley, asked to meet with the Officers to discuss the matter.  Mr. Gormley did, and the Chief and Officers told him the reasons why the picture was taken down, and that it was returned to the rightful owner.

“Gormlely tells Perrotti to give the Fire Marshall an office in the TOWN 

OWNED fire department building. He told Perrotti to do this FOUR 

MONTHS AGO. Perrotti still refuses to do it.”

Wrong again. The room has been ready since the beginning of the month. Its not okay for the MVFD to take a picture off the wall, but it is okay if they become office creators.  Why should Paul Perrotti be responsible for decorating an office for the Fire Marshal in the first place.  There is an Officer’s office at Fire HQ he could have used.  Who is paying for the renovations?  Why is the MVFD giving up a bunk room and making it into an office?  Where will female standby firefighters be able to stay and be separated from male firefighters during snowstorms and other emergencies? Does not make a lot of sense.

“Perrotti tells Gormley to take a TOWN OWNED LAWN MOWER and give it 

to him so that he alone can cut the grass at a TOWN OWNED BUILDING. 

No other town employee is allowed to do this but Gormley does what 

Perrotti tells him to do and gives him the lawn mower. What does the 

Public Works union say about this?”

Wrong again.  The MRA cuts its own grass, not PW.  Wrong. Gormley did not give the MVFD a lawn mower.  If the MVFD buys a lawn mower from its own budget, they can save the Town money by cutting the grass.  The MVFD takes great pride in the appearance of the building and grounds. If the lawn does not get cut, it is a reflection on the entire Town.  

“Perrotti tells Gormley to give him ( Perrotti ) a car and free gas. Gormley 

does it.”

Wrong again, the Chief’s vehicle started with St. John, not Gormley

“Perrotti hires an attorney and then makes the town attorney represent him 

as well AS A TOWN DEPARTMENT because he ( Perrotti ) doesn't feel he 

has to give the public information under the FOI laws. Gormley says 

nothing.”

Wrong again. The MVFD hired the lawyer to protect the Department from your Mr. St. John's attempted takeover of the ambulance and your illegal FOI requests. You are wasting both Taxpayer money and MVFD money with your frivolous FOIs.   

Wrong, wrong, wrong.  Everything is false.  How long will Mr. DeAngelis carry Mr. St. John's banner of hate? 

Another Inane Letter On The Money Pit

“Until I see some real management of money and cuts that matter 

and not out there as scare tactics I'm not impressed. By the way, 

Thanks the good Lord for Kelli Bollard You go Kelli !  No matter 

what your opinion of Mr. St John ...be respectful people and put 

the picture back up. Or else take all of the pictures down. 

Hopefully Paul Perrotti  will be voted out in November and we will 

get a competent , knowledgeable fire chief

.  Stop being so afraid of the Fire Department Tom, go down 

there and put the picture back up in the presence of the press. 

That should earn you some points for sure. It's the right thing to 

do.”

First of all this seems like another phony letter to match the other irresponsible things that are posted from the pit. If you have not figured it out by now, there is no address published on the Money Pit to send messages.  However, if you would like to send Mr. DeAngelis a thoughtful note, according to WhoIs, his e-mail address is :

sargoniv@yahoo.com

Tom Gormley has cut the Town side of the budget by 2.3%, which is more than what Mr. St. John did last year. Mr. St. John did not have a budget passed by this time last year as well.

You moan about the DARE program and other cuts being made to services, but you declare that you will not vote yes for the upcoming budget.  Guess what will happen, more cuts to services.

As far as the MVFD, they cut their budget 2 years in a row, which is more than any department in Town.

As far as the picture, Mr. St. John deserves absolutely zero respect from the MVFD and he will get none. His political antics have cost the taxpayers thousands of dollars, in legal fees and the delays in apparatus replacement will cost the taxpayer dearly down the road.  His fire commission was a threat to both firefighter and public safety. His office tried to derail the ambulance, by saying that the Volunteers were not insured. He tried to seize the ambulance from the Department with a ridiculous legal agreement. He tried to stonewall the radio grant, in which the Town may have lost a  $300,000.00. He told the MVFD they could not mount the new high band radio antenna on the existing tower without having a structural engineer do a study of the existing tower, which would have cost the taxpayers thousands of more dollars. The list is a mile long.

In Mr. St. John’s never-ending quest to “get Perrotti” he has alienated the entire MVFD.  Except for a few long-standing friends, 95% of the Firefighters at the MVFD dislike this man for what he has done to this Town and what he has done to this Fire Department. Even if Perrotti chose not to run in November nothing would change. The distain for Mr. St. John will never be undone.

Your comments about Chief Perrotti illustrate just how far down the phylogenic tree of life you really are.  You know absolutely nothing about this man.  Paul Perrotti is the most competent and knowledgeable firefighter in the entire Department. You should go to bed at night and thank God he is the Chief.  Perrotti has worked harder at this job than any other Chief that has held the position, and the MVFD has had some very hard-working Chiefs. He is on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  If your house catches on fire in the middle of the night it will be Paul Perrotti who will be at your door first. 

You should be ashamed of yourself with your disrespectful comments. You know nothing about the MVFD nor its Chief.

Safe With Owner

It has been  41 days and Perrotti will not take St. John's picture out of the basement as Gormley asked.

Wrong again.  The picture has been safely returned to its rightful owner, and has been with the rightful owner for some time now.  It is not in the basement, and never was in the basement. It was always protected and never harmed.

If you keep posting lies about the MVFD, we will keep posting the truth.

More Culture For Middlebury

“Every morning a group of older, out of shape guys go for a walk 

in Middlebury. One of them talks about a relative who was "hot" 

about the cultural committee snub by Mr. Gormley.

It seems the "problem" was with the insurance angle. ( why one 

needs to insure culture is beyond us, but...).

If this is truly a problem for Mr. Gormley why doesn't he simply 

put the cultural people under the direction of the Park Dept? B. 

Proulx is very good at her job and we're sure she would know 

how to take advantage of the services of these people.

Hey, it's free and we need some culture. Some need it more than 

others.”

In a time when Mr. DeAngelis is relentlessly attacking Mr. Gormley about the size of the budget, he also seems to want to grow the size of the Town’s bureaucracy by forming a Cultural Committee.  Such a committee is not necessary, and will eventually ask for funding which will raise your taxes. It is not the Town’s responsibility to provide cultural events to its residents.

However, it is not to say that cultural events could not happen in Middlebury.  It would be a great idea. Create your private organization, and raise your own money.  Have fund raising events, car washes and other money making events, just like other private organizations do it. That way you will have funds to pay for such silly things like insurance.

Just keep the Town out of it. Putting people under the direction of Betty Proulx gets the Town involved.  Since the Town pays Betty Proulx’s salary, the Taxpayers would be paying Betty Proulx to help with your cultural committee.  That is not her job, and now you are involving taxpayer money.

Other private organizations have cultural events to raise money for special purposes. See how Nantucket brings the Boston Pops to the island every summer - Click Here. to benefit its island hospital.  

The Warm Feeling Of Helping People

“It was refreshing and heart warming to see residents pull together Sunday 

at the MRA. After a mother had noticed her small child missing she notified 

the lifeguard. The lifeguard very professionally lined up volunteers ( 

everybody on the beach volunteered) to "walk" the water, looking for the 

child.

A short time later , much to everyone's relief,  the child was found 

returning from the bathroom.

The point here is that when its important, when they're really needed 

people come together to help each other.”

Thats right Mr. DeAngelis it is a great thing, but you know this type of thing happens almost every day of the week in Middlebury, and you know where it happens?  At the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department.  Almost on a daily basis, and sometimes several times a day, members of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department drop whatever they are doing at the time and hurry to help their fellow residents.

Why not be a volunteer yourself.  Take an EMT-Basic course and you too can enjoy that warm feeling inside.