What Will Happen If Engine 3 Fails Again?

MIDDLEBURY 
 Leaking valve on pumper has been fixed, chief says 
  A leaking valve on a pumper truck owned by the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department’s has been fixed, according to the town’s fire chief.
  Paul J. Perrotti said the leak was discovered when Engine 3 was taken for a routine maintenance test. The valve is part of the system that provides stable water pressure for the truck, he said. A short time later, the truck’s more than 20 year-old onboard computer system also failed.
  The truck was sidelined for nearly a week while it underwent nearly $8,000 in repairs.
  Department members have been pushing se lectmen for several years to purchase new equipment to replace some of the department’s aging apparatus.
  “It’s back in service, but we have to keep a con stant eye on it,” Perrotti said. “We don’t have a spare or alternative. We’re talking about a piece of equipment that needs to be able to start or respond.”

-------------------

So what happened when the on-board computer failed?  Engine 3 was en-route to a motor vehicle accident on I-84.  The apparatus was responding Code III - lights and sirens through Town, and at the 63/64  junction, the throttle just stopped responding.  No power, no acceleration. Dead!  Warning lights lit the dash.  Power all of sudden was regained, only to fail four more times before Engine 3 managed to return back to quarters, and out of service

Engine 3, is Middlebury's front-line fire attack piece.  Once haled as the ultimate firefighting pumper, is now getting tired.  It may look terrific on its exterior, but on the inside it is getting warn out.  As each month passes the repair bills keep piling up with a the latest repair bill of $8,000.  

The real question is, when will it fail next, and what will be the ramifications if this important piece of apparatus does fail?

The MVFD has been trying to replace three pieces of apparatus since 2002.  The former First Selectman allowed his personal animosity for the MVFD to get in the way of firefighter and public safety. He stonewalled all apparatus replacement since 2002.  When the Department made another attempt to secure new apparatus in the spring of 2006, instead of spear-heading a plan to replace this life-saving equipment, The former First Selectman and Elaine Strobel created their ill-conceived fire commission which further delayed the replacement of this much-needed apparatus.

The result is the reality that Middlebury now has three pieces of apparatus over the age of 20 years old, and a rescue truck over the age of 30.  Engine 1 will be 20 years old in 3 years.

Middlebury can no longer pretend that this is not a serious public safety concern.  Fire apparatus is not getting any less expensive.

The community needs to address this apparatus issue now and cannot put the issue off for later, hoping for a more favorable economic climate.

The next time Engine 3 fails, the results could be disastrous.

Who Is Calling The Kettle Black

“Paul Perrotti mislead people into voting down a move that would have 

sent all votes to a referendum vote. He wanted to keep things in the 18th. 

Cen. mode of a "town meeting." Perrotti, Savarese and Gormley want 

these votes taken at 9 o'clock in the middle of winter when people with 

small children or the elderly can't make the meeting. Hey, screw the three 

of you, let's stay with the American way of a secret machine ballot.”

How did Paul Perrotti do that? Is he First Selectman? No, he is the Fire Chief.  He is not in Town government, does not call Town meetings, and does not arrange referendums.  Pure nonsense from the Money Pit.

Perrotti, Savarese, and Gormley, have never arranged a 9 o’clock meeting in the middle of winter, to quietly pass their budget.  But, Mr. DeAngelis knows who has. Referendums started in 2005.  How were budgets passed during the past years of Mr. St. John’s administration?  In the dead of winter when no one was paying attention.  Who is calling the kettle black?

Mr. DeAngelis wants to diminish the importance of Town meetings in America.  They give the ordinary person a chance to stand up and voice their opinions.  Its called freedom of speech, and is something Mr. DeAngelis thinks is reserved only for himself.

Distortions Try To Create The Illusion Of Chaos

“One need only to look at the fire chief's recent purchase of expensive, unneeded chrome wheels for his town-owned vehicle to realize that town money has been spent to repair this used vehicle.”

Not exactly a recent purchase. The wheels were ordered and installed under the last budget year.  The vehicle has been in service long before the new budget was suppose to go into effect.

It already has been stated that the chrome wheels were USED and the cost on the invoice also reflects the labor, not just the wheels themselves.  The USED chrome wheels turned out to be less expensive then new steel wheels.

In addition, it is the MVFD who has cut its budget by almost 10% over the last two years.  Cutting a budget means you are spending less, not more. To run a Fire Department on $214,000.00 shows how well the organization is run.

“These costs are magnified by the first selectman's inability to control spending.”

If Town Hall has an inability to control spending, why is it that the proposed budget has been reduced by $242,653.00 over last year’s Town budget ? That is a tax cut, not a tax increase. Tom Gormley has been able to cut taxes by 2.36%. He was able to do that without the $600,000.00 from lost interest income and building fees, without the $948,125.00 from Mr. St. John’s Washington Dr. deal, and without the $657,000 rainy day fund Mr. St. John used last year to offset a tax increase.

It seems like Tom Gormley has tried pretty hard to control spending and create a budget that has the least impact on Town services, in an environment that he inherited from his predecessor.  

Tom Gormley should be commended for his efforts, and to suggest that he is corrupt or lying to the residents, only reveals the true character of the one manufacturing such accusations.

Where is the RTC?  They were the ones who proclaimed their support for Tom when they ran a primary against those who were elected during the Republican caucus.  Where is their support now?  Where are their editorials?

Bob Smith was quoted in Voices that the bylaws of the town committee are limited when it comes to supporting candidates.  Is that not the entire reason the committee exists?  

How is it that the Democrats could meet and support the budget, while the Republicans decided to skip the entire matter and go on vacation instead?

Where does Elaine Strobel weigh in on all of this?  Tom Gormley wrote editorials.  Bob Desmarais wrote an editorial, but nothing from Elaine?  The only remarks we have heard from Elaine in past months was her decorating suggestions for the walls of Fire HQ.

The motivation behind the attacks on the First Selectman and the MVFD is to create the illusion of chaos in Town.  The Town is not in chaos.  The problems are systematically being corrected.  With such a loss of income, these problems will not be solved overnight. 

Tom Gormley and Bob Desmarais have worked very hard together and initiated the first steps to get this Town back in order.  They deserve the support of Middlebury residents.

Jamie Cura's Voices Article Puts Things In Perspective

MIDDLEBURY - The proposed 2008-09 town budget in the amount of $10,025,120 is going to referendum for the third time, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, August 26, at Shepardson Community Center, 1172 Whittemore Rd.

First Selectman Tom Gormley told Voices the proposed municipal budget reflects a $242,653 decrease from the 2007-08 approved $10,267,773 municipal budget.

The $58,337,060 Region 15 2008-09 Board of Education budget was approved June 5. Middlebury's share of the approved Region 15 budget is $16,817,012. That reflects an increase of $912,229 from Middlebury's share of the adopted 2007-08 budget, at $15,904,783.

"There's nothing we can do about that," said Mr. Gormley. "The school budget was approved at the last referendum [in Region 15], so even though Middlebury voters turned it down, we're stuck with that increase."

He said the town is committed and obligated to pay the money to Region 15.

At the June 5 school budget referendum, 6,184 votes were cast. Southbury voters put the count over the top with a plurality of 1,349 votes. Middlebury voters turned the budget down by 377 votes.

Mr. Gormley explained that when $242,653 is subtracted from $912,229, the increase from last year for the region and town budget combined is $669,576.

He explained that current economic times resulted in budgeting approximately $600,000 less in interest income and building fees on the revenue side.

Because investment rates are decreasing, Mr. Gormley said the town is out approximately $103,000 in revenue because the interest income on investments is dropping.

"The other bombshell is that we're still out $948,125 on the Middlebury Land Associates deal, so you can see the predicament we're in going into it," said Mr. Gormley.

Middlebury Land Associates, a division of Connecticut Adult Condominiums, LLC, was responsible for repairing and upgrading Washington Drive and three other roads in the area for Longmeadow Farms, a development off Washington Drive.

The developer owes the town $948,125 out of a $3 million bill for the project. The developer stopped making payments to the town in September 2007. The Board of Finance learned of the situation in December 2007.

The town had entered into a contract with the developer when Edward B. St. John was first selectman, and the town essentially acted as a general contractor, hiring subcontractors to work on the project.

Subcontractors included Hubble Construction Company and O&G Industries. The subcontractors were never paid, Mr. Gormley had told Voices.

He also noted that last year, $657,000 was taken out of the rainy day fund in an effort to appease taxpayers and get the budget approved.

"Now, we're in a tremendous downturn and we don't have that rainy day fund to turn to," said Mr. Gormley.

Democratic Town Committee members weighed in last week with their opinion, in a press release from Chairman Stephen R. Ferrucci, III.

At a recent Democratic Town Committee meeting, committee members voted unanimously to endorse the proposed town budget.

According to the press release, after discussion, the town committee concurred with the Board of Finance's proposed budget as being a bare-bones budget and felt any further cuts would result in town employee layoffs.

Mr. Ferrucci, a resident of Middlebury for more than 40 years and a former full-time town employee, stated that he can not remember the last time, if any, the town had to lay off personnel.

He said a reduction in personnel could result in loss of vital services to the public, like road repairs, snowplowing, library and recreation services, and possibly fewer services to senior citizens.

Mr. Ferrucci stated in the press release that the current town budget is less than the previous year, and the mill rate is elevated due to the Region 15 school budget, which has already passed.

"It is also the result of the down turn in permit fees from a slow down in building and home sales, as well as the use of the rainy day funds last year to balance the budget for the loss of close to $1 million from the contract with [Mr.] St. John and a contractor, where the town had to pay a third party to install sewer lines to a development for that contractor, and that contractor failed to repay the town in a timely fashion," Mr. Ferrucci stated in the press release.

"The town is still owed this money."

Mr. Ferrucci cited concerns about the cost of gasoline, heating oil, food, and all the other utilities that the increased cost of oil has caused. He said the town uses gas for police cars and fire trucks, and heating oil for the town buildings.

"The Police Department and the Fire Department need to update equipment to respond to, and deal with, your emergency in the quickest and most efficient way possible," said Mr. Ferrucci in the press release.

"Roads have to be plowed so you can either get to work or get home from work. Children and adults still need library services, as well as recreation for after school activity or stress relief. Let's all pass this budget and move on."

Republican Town Committee Chairman Bob Smith told Voices the RTC has yet to meet this month. He said the bylaws of the town committee are limited when it comes to supporting candidates and the same is true for budgets.SAA Plans EventCopies of the budget are available at the town clerk's office at the Town Hall, 1212 Whittemore Rd.

Tom Gormley Tells It Like It Is.

OFFICIAL RESPONDS TO CRITICISM OF TOWN’S SPENDING PRACTICES 

  This is in response to Pat DeAngelis’ Aug. 19 letter, “Middlebury should not approve budget with hidden costs.” I would like to set the record straight on a number of issues he presented. 

■ The proposed 2008-09 town budget to be voted on Tuesday would reduce spending by 2.4 percent, not raise it 7 percent Mr. DeAngelis wrote. He continues to fail to note our share of the Region 15 education budget, which already has been approved by voters of Southbury and Middlebury will be responsible for any tax increase. 

■ Fire Chief Paul Perrotti traded a used ambulance for a used Ford Expedition from the Police Department. He knew the Expedition would need repairs but as a first responder felt it would be safer to drive in the winter. The chrome wheels Mr. DeAngelis refers to were used wheels obtained from another vehicle to replace the steel ones, which were rusted and needed to be replaced anyway. The cost was about $125. 

■ Mr. DeAngelis writes about the set-aside for the new fire engine. Prudent capital budgeting is done when we can in our household and business budgets, and Middlebury always has done it to build up funding to pay for expensive equipment. As far as his point of having to pay for a new communications system, as Rep. Christopher S. Murphy, D-5th District, recently said, Middlebury’s system was fast approaching the Stone Age. We as a town cannot continue to turn from the need to address critical our needs. 

■ Mr. DeAngelis surmises the town has distorted the projected figures for heating fuel for the coming year. Besides failing to note the recent drop in oil prices, he perhaps is unaware the town is transitioning to natural gas, which will save 25,500 gallons of heating oil, save on maintenance and reduce heating costs by up to 30 percent.

 ■ Mr. DeAngelis says we are wasting $10,000 putting in a new tank at the Fire Department that already has a tank. The truth is the engines and the building all use diesel fuel. The new tank will allow the building to use less expensive fuel, which will save 45 cents per gallon, with a complete payback in three years. 

 First Selectman Tom Gormley 
 Middlebury 

Liars, Thieves, and Fuel Tanks

“Does the town really need a "spare" fuel tank that costs

11 thousand dollars when THE FUEL TANK AT PUBLIC WORKS

can accomodate the needs of the town? PLUS and this is a big 

PLUS the fuel tank at public works will be monitored so that it is 

only used for TOWN BUSINESS.”

Mr. DeAngelis has already suggested that the MVFD and its Chief are a bunch of liars, along with all of those who serve in public office in Middlebury. Now he is accusing the MVFD as being fuel thieves.  

He has no idea how the fuel at Fire HQ is monitored.  If he is so interested in how it is monitored, perhaps he should accept Chief Perrotti’s invitation to come and sit down with him at Fire HQ.  Of course, he would never do that.  He is more comfortable spreading lies about the Fire Department than he is with the truth.

The $11,000 tank will pay for itself in less than three years.  It is important that access to fuel for fire apparatus be located at Fire HQ and not at the Town Yard.  It is also important that Fire HQ is no longer heated with diesel fuel meant for fire apparatus. The new tank will accomplish both objectives.

As an aside, Mr. DeAngelis enjoys launching nonsensical attacks on the prose of others, yet he is constantly committing his own literary atrocities. In a time of easy-to-use computer spell checkers, one would think that “accomodate” would have never made it to the pages of his website. But, that is not for small minds to ponder, only for those with Mr. DeAngelis’s high degree of intellect.

Wrong Again.

 “Recently a town flack said that the insurance money paid by 

the taxpayer for the ambulance service was "no where near 40 

thousand dollars."

     Well that was the figure given by the a Fire Commission 

member that was negotiating the "agreements". Is the Fire Chief 

telling the truth or is the Commission telling the truth?

    Look at the track records involved.  Anyway you look at it, the 

taxpayer pays twice, once in our taxes and once when we use the 

ambulance service.”

No one is disputing the number appearing in the agreement.  What is in dispute is the accuracy of that number. It is not correct, and was never subsequently proven to be correct when the Department made inquiry. 

Mr. St. John’s “agreement” was an attempt to take over and control the Fire Department Ambulance.  The Department flatly rejected Mr. St. John’s one-sided agreement that was not worth the paper it was printed on.   It would have essentially killed the goose that laid the golden egg.  Tom Gormley is currently working with the MVFD to draft a new agreement that will benefit the Town, the Department, and the residents of Middlebury.

The $40,000 figure is NOT correct.  It does not cost $40,000 to insure 2 vehicles that come under the Town’s Fleet insurance and 12 ambulance auxiliary members.  The number is bogus.

The MVFD ambulance is a bargain for this community.  If it disappeared, then watch your taxes go up.  

What really threatens the MVFD ambulance is apathy among residents.  The ambulance cannot roll unless there are trained EMTs to ride it. The MVFD needs EMTs.  Volunteer and they will train you. Become involved. Its really the one sure way you can become a hero. 

MVFD Chief Responds To DeAngelis Distortions

Once again, as chief of the Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department I feel obligated to respond to a distorted letter by Pat DeAngelis (Aug. 19, “Middlebury should not approve budget with hidden costs”).

 In a desperate attempt to smear the department’s good name, Mr. DeAngelis continues to misinform residents on financial information and jeopardize our firefighters’ safety by creating a gossip campaign in town that has some resi­dents questioning our needs for fire apparatus.

 Luckily, the department has a strong base of support, and residents are not buying into Mr. DeAngelis’ schemes and slanders.

The department always has had an open-door policy with regard to our entire operation. Never once have I been unavailable to answer any resident’s questions. I cannot believe Mr. DeAngelis cannot find time in his schedule to sit down with me and get the truth. Instead, he uses needless Freedom of Information requests that ultimately cost taxpayers thousands of dollars.

The town has had public meetings that address in detail each department’s budget. Mr. DeAngelis has failed to attend any of these meetings.

Here are just some of the elements Mr. DeAngelis has distorted.

1) The $11,000 fuel tank. Currently, Fire HQ is being heated with expensive, high-quality diesel oil that is meant for fire apparatus. This new tank will be installed for apparatus only. The current tank will be filled with less expensive regular home heating oil, which will be used to heat the building. The change will save taxpayers $3800 to $4000 per year.

2) The chrome wheels on Car 1.  The MVFD refurbished a vehicle acquired from the Police Department, which proved far less expensive than purchasing a new vehicle.  The wheels on the car were unsafe and needed to be replaced. Bob Ford gave the MVFD an excellent deal on used chrome wheels, which turned out to be significantly less expensive than new steel wheels.

3) $40,000 in insurance for the ambulance. This number is a myth and completely manufactured. 80% of those who ride the ambulance are cross-trained firefighters who are already covered under the Town’s current liability insurance. That leaves 12 Ambulance Auxiliary members, plus the actual insurance on the vehicles.  Thats it.  The previous administration was never able to give a figure as to what that liability insurance exactly is, but it is no where near $40,000.

In return what does the MVFD provide? Besides fuel and insurance, the MVFD funds all other expenses through the Ambulance Billing service.  The Department has ordered a new ambulance, which will save Taxpayers almost $190,000.  The MVFD pays approximately $80,000 yearly for Advanced Life Support.  This is another expense usually passed on to taxpayers, but the Department picks up the tab.  All other expenses including pagers, supplies, and training certifications are paid from this Ambulance Fund. Any funds left over at the end of the year go directly into an account and saved to buy the next ambulance.  

4) $80,000 towards apparatus replacement.  The MVFD currently has three pieces of apparatus over the age of 20 years old, and one piece 30 years old.  Engine 1 will be 20 years old in three years.  The National Fire Protection Association recommends that front-line apparatus be replaced every twenty years.  The MVFD has been working for apparatus replacement since 2002. No action was ever taken by the previous administration to remedy this situation.

5) The MVFD is one of the largest departments in Town with the smallest budget. Over the last two years the Department has cut its budget by almost 10%.  That does not include the hydrants that were finally removed from the Department’s budget.

As a Volunteer Department, we save taxpayers millions of dollars each year.  Our actions illustrate our dedication to the residents in this community. We are a proud organization with a time-honored heritage, and we will not yield our sworn and sacred calling to individuals who champion the causes of those with political axes to grind.

Paul J. Perrotti

Chief Middlebury Volunteer Fire Department

Bob Desmarais Speaks The Truth And Someone Does Not Like It

 “Can you believe it? The "do nothing" Democrats along with a REPUBLICAN first Selectman have taken to blaming the past REPUBLICAN administration for all the screwed-up situations in which they currently find themselves.”

Yes we can, because what was stated in the Friday August 15, 2008 letter to the Editor of the Bee, by Selectman Desmarais was right on the money. 

Mr. DeAngelis seems to have an aversion to facts and the truth, as illustrated in his almost daily haranguing of most every public official in Town. These endless rants, without substance, only reduces the credibility of the source.

 

He believes that preventing Paul Perrotti from mowing the lawn at Fire HQ is much more important than the unpaid $950,000 the Town is losing from Mr. St. John’s Washington Dr. deal.  That little episode is never even commented on. 

Replacing Mr. St. John’s portrait on the wall at Fire HQ, after members voted for its removal, is more important than the lack of the $650,000 rainy day fund.

The hypocrisy of his arguments is only augmented by his distortions of what he perceives as fact. There is a total disregard for the truth, and with all the finesse of a cow on roller skates, attempts to bolster the fuzzy legacy of the former First Selectman.

Mr. Gormley and Mr. Desmarais did not create the problems they are now dealing with.  The lack of payment to the Town by the Washington Dr, developer was not a deal that Mr. Gormley nor Mr. Desmarais hatched up.  The spending of the $650,000 rainy day fund that could have helped offset the $950,000 was not spent by Gormley and Desmarais.  1.6 million not available. 1.6 million the taxpayers must make up for.  Not even mentioned. 1.6 million does not seem to be as important as used chrome wheels (that cost less than new steel wheels) installed on a Town-owned vehicle.  That is what is important.

The real truth is Mr. Gormley and Mr. Desmarais cut the taxes on the Town side by 2.36% ... something the previous administration did not do. It is the School Budget that is doing the Middlebury Taxpayer in this year.  Perhaps if steps were taken by the previous administration to reduce excessive spending on the school side, the Middlebury Taxpayer would not be in the position they are in today.

You can’t rewrite history.  The Town was not founded in December of 2007.  Many of these problems were already in place and the current administration is doing its best to make things right.

Surplus Apparatus?

“Also could you tell me why the two surplus fire engines and the fire chief's "old" car are not being sold in this event?”

Surplus fire trucks? Mr. DeAngelis gets it wrong once again.  There is no surplus apparatus, but guess what? Mr. DeAngelis knows this.  It is just another attempt to manufacturer a controversy that has no basis in truth.

According to the MVFD inventory over the last 20 years, the Department does not have a surplus of apparatus.  In fact, the MVFD has one less piece of apparatus in its fleet than it used to.  The Department used to have Engine 5, a brush truck and FD 10, a personnel transport vehicle.  FD 10 was never replaced, and the Department uses Engine 5 for both purposes now.

But, lets talk about the fire apparatus the MVFD does have.  They have 4 pieces of apparatus over the age of 20 years old, and an additional piece that will be over 20 years in three years.  That will be 5 pieces of apparatus over the age of 20 years.

NFPA advises that fire departments should replace frontline apparatus over 20 years old.  Middlebury is well behind in that endeavor thanks to former First Selectman Ed St. John who put off apparatus replacement since 2003.

Would you drive around in a 20 year old car?  Should we put the safety of our firefighters and residents in the hands of this aging apparatus? 

When Engine 2 is finally ordered, the old Engine 2 will be sold. Other pieces of aging apparatus will also be sold when they are finally replaced.

The MVFD will not be dropping any apparatus as was described in the “elusive consultant’s” report. The consultant, who spent less than two days in Middlebury recommended that Middlebury drop a piece of apparatus.  Not a very smart move when development in Middlebury continues to grow despite the current housing market.  The consultant, who Mr. St. John paid over $9,000 of taxpayer money also said that the Fire Chief should have a brand new Crown Victoria, and that the Town should erect a new Firehouse.  Not very sound thinking.  The consultant was also suppose to return to Middlebury and give us all his report.  Never did.  He took Middlebury’s money and off he went.

Where Is The Integrity?

        “About one hour after ending the Special Selectman's meeting on this past Friday , Gormley called for a Special Selectman's meeting for today, Monday , the 11th.

            Special meetings are supposed to be held for matters that can't be handled at regular meetings they are not to be used to avoid the public at the last minute.

            For example, on Friday, Gormley and Co. were going to sell town property. We asked for where the bids where. We have received no response. Now we ask, where's the integrity?

           Todays special meeting for which there was no 24 hour notice is todeal with the DEP contract relative to Ed's Greenway. This couldn't have been handled at a regular meeting? Who bought the mini-bus and for how 

much? And why didn't I have a chance to buy it? Or you? How much did they get for the rock crusher that doesn't exist? Where's the integrity?

          Next time we look at who goes to these meetings in the middle of the day. Interesting to see who works for a living.”

Mr. DeAngelis asks where Tom Gormley’s integrity is, as he champions the causes of the former First Selectman.

Mr. St. John I believe was quoted saying that it would take Tom Gormley at least one if not two terms in office to get a real feel for the job.  However, Mr. St. John afforded Mr. Gormley a non-existent honeymoon when Tom failed to continue Mr. St. John’s plan to stonewall the high-band radio grant, by allowing a high-band antenna to be mounted on the chimney of Town Hall.

In addition, when Tom Gormley found out that the Town was basically, losing almost a million dollars from the Washington Dr. deal that Mr. St. John appeared to have arranged, he was determined that he was not going to take the wrap for what his predecessor may or may not have done.  Thus the forensic audit was ordered.

The audit was the last straw for Mr. St. John.  Couple that with the fictitious “Brenann” takeover of the RTC, and Mr. St. John came out of the sunset to mobilized the crippled remnants of his political machine, to target Tom Gormley, a candidate hand-picked by Mr. St. John himself, and now being seen as an enemy for doing the right thing.  

Mr. Gormley did not cause the $950,000 Washington Dr, fiasco.  Mr. Gormley did not create the Straw Pond problem.  Mr. Gormley did not spend the $650,000 rainy day fund.

Mr. Gormley does not set the Region 15 budget, yet he is accused of raising taxes by over 7%.  It was Mr. Gormley who actually cut the Town side of the budget by 2.36%. 

Mr. DeAngelis asks where the integrity is?  Where is the Integrity in posting lies about the First Selectman, the MVFD and its Chief that he knows are untrue?  

If you were to read the MoneyPit website on a regular basis you would think that Middlebury is tumbling out of control.  Its not. Last year’s budget never passed until November.  This is just a series of manufactured controversies, many that have been so distorted they don’t even have one iota of truth.  Create a manufactured smoke screen and try to set up Mr. St. John as the savior who will come to Middlebury’s rescue, to save us all from the problems he created.

Tom Gormley may make some mistakes.  He may not handle every situation they way he would have liked to have handled it.  But, Tom Gormley is a man of integrity.  He is an honest man, whose initial flaw taking over as First Selectman was to try to please everyone.  He has made a genuine effort to pull this Town back together, in the wake of the damage caused by the previous administration.

Mr. Gormley wants nothing more out of his position than to do what is best for this community.  If he makes some mistakes along the way, so be it.  No one is perfect, but you can go to sleep at night knowing that the man who sits in the First Selectman’s chair at Town Hall is a good and honest man, who unlike his most vocal critics has integrity.  

The Marshals Of Middlebury

“Fire Marshall Jack Proulx was promised an office in the fire dept by Paul Perrotti. FM Proulx got the office BUT the lettering on the door says "Fire Marshals". Not "Marshal" but"Marshals" , with an "S".

We can only guess that Perrotti expects a large number of Proulxs' to arrive and felt he would go with the plural in order to save time.

When last we checked the door ( yesterday ) it was still in the plural. Maybe it is simply a grammatical error.”

Not a large group of Proulxs, just two more.  I guess Mr. DeAngelis thinks that Jack Proulx is the only Marshal in Town.  There are four Deputy Marshals:

David Proulx

Brian Proulx

Tim Baldwin

Tony Bruno

No grammatical error.

Freedom Of Speech Has No Time Limit

"We asked someone with a 132 IQ  and has a familiarity with "liberries" to check out Perrotti's assessment of the U.S. SC decision-here are some early points to ponder ... You see class, she had a small sign, not in her window as was said, but on her own lawn at home { HER SIGN WAS 24 INCHES BY 36 INCHES } AND MOST IMPORTANTLY THE ISSUE WAS THE CONTENT, NOT THE SIZE OF THE SIGN."

Mr. DeAngelis  once again is not correct in what he has posted on his site. Perhaps the IQ of 132 was not high enough.

The 24 x 36 inch sign was the first sign she was told to take down.  The second sign, and the one that caused all the commotion, was a very tiny 8 1/2  x 11 inch sign in her window that said, “For Peace In The Gulf.”

Second, this issue was not about content. The city was against all signs, and was not targeting her message. See below:

“Ladue's sign ordinance generally prohibits all signs within its 8 square miles. Exemptions are included for real estate signs, road and safety hazard signs, health inspection signs, public transportation markers and commercial signs in commercially zoned or industrial districts.”  “

“Ladue officials think signs are ugly. "Ladue has comprehensively protected aesthetics from its beginning" in 1936, Cherrick said. "Police have enforced the ordinance against commercial signs that say, `Siding going up,' and against ones that say `Happy Birthday.' "”

“Of course that sign must conform to town regulations. The town can amend the size of the sign and the location of the sign but not the content of the sign.”

Wrong again.  Actually the Town can regulate content.  It can limit signs of a commercial message, which are not seen by the courts as political speech. 

However, they cannot regulate political speech on private property. The Town can not limit the size, tell you where to put it on your property, nor can it say that a sign is ugly and has to be taken down.  The Supreme Court upheld that one’s freedom of speech was of more value than aesthetics.  As I read online one person said, “Democracy can be ugly,”

In Middlebury, the complaint about the “Support Our Troops” signs was that they exceeded a finite time limit imposed by the Town.  That is not constitutional and has been struck down every time it has been challenged.  You cannot put time limits on freedom of speech.  You can’t say to someone, you only have these freedoms for 10 days, 30 days, or whatever.

In addition, the Town cannot order the MVFD to take a sign off of the private property of others.  If the property owner allows the MVFD to place a sign on their lawn, and believes and identifies with the message, then the Town is infringing on the free speech rights of the property owner. You don’t have to be the maker of the sign to display it, just as very few of us ever construct their own yard signs that support political candidates.

The Town is violating the Constitutional rights of free speech by imposing time limits on signs of free expression.  They cannot do that, and should reexamine their zoning ordinances regarding free speech signage on private property.

By the way, what are liberries?

Wrong Decision

The Board of Selectman voting to return Mr. St. John’s picture back on the wall of Fire HQ was the wrong decision.  It was disrespectful to the volunteer firefighters who voted to take the picture down.  There were a boat-load of reasons why members voted to remove the picture and all of them were ignored by the Board of Selectman.

Mr. St. John as Chief of the Department put the picture up when he was Chief.  How is it that this one act of a former Chief supersedes the votes of an entire membership of volunteers.  The decision seeks to undermine the MVFD INC. structure, where unlike the fireground, decisions are made in a democratic manner. If the volunteers do not have a right to take a picture down,  how was it that Chief St. John had the right to put it up in the first place?

Freedom Of Speech And Appeasing Political Enemies

“Remember all those horrific signs on 64/63 that made it look like you were entering a ghetto when you came into Middlebury? They have been removed.”

Horrific ghetto signs is how Mr. DeAngelis describes the patriotic signs put up by the MVFD on private property. The signs in a nutshell, read, “Support Our Troops.” 

The same rights that allow Mr. DeAngelis to have and support his freedom of speech to publish his website is being defended at this very moment by the brave men and women in Afghanistan and in Iraq.  He has a lot of audacity to characterize the signs that support their effort as “horrific signs” when brave men and women are dying everyday in the name of freedom.

The only reason why these signs are being targeted is because the MVFD put them up, and it is their opinion that the man who Tom Gormley replaced is the one orchestrating the complaints through his various minions in Town.  It is high-time that the BOS stop appeasing those who seek to destabilize the MVFD and the First Selectman.  This only serves to enable them.

Appeasing political enemies is just what they are doing.  Voting to demand the picture of Ed St. John be put back on the wall at Fire HQ was a huge mistake.  It ignored the almost unanimous vote of its members and even more shocking, it seeks to support an individual who the members of the MVFD believe has done a great amount of damage to the Department and to the Town. (See Childish Actions).  It ignores the reasons why the picture was removed in the first place and once again appeases allies of Mr. St. John, without any benefit to the First Selectman.  It will do nothing to stem the attacks on the First Selectman, but rather will be used to hurt him. It will also be used by his political enemies to drive a wedge between the MVFD and the BOS.  Score one more for Mr. St. John.  Its working Ed. Its brilliant.

But, lets talk about signs. These were signs at various locations in Town that pronounced the support of our troops by the MVFD.  They WERE located on private property until the Zoning and Planning Commission sent a cease and desist order to the MVFD saying they should be removed. The MVFD complied.

Under what authority should they be removed?  Some zoning regulation? A Town ordinance,maybe?  But guess what?  This is a violation of the First Amendment rights of the property owner that guarantees freedom of speech.  

It is not Constitutional for a town to stifle freedom of speech by controlling political signs on private property. , and the Supreme Court backs this up in its historic 1994 case.  See below.

A Town cannot regulate a political sign on a homeowner’s private property.  They cannot control the size, the aesthetics of the sign, they cannot control time limits, nor can they fine, or charge for an individual that in anyway seeks to block one’s freedom of speech.  You would think Mr. DeAngelis would be supporting such freedoms, but somehow he appears to have other political allegiances.

Is the Town opening itself up for a law suit from the ACLU? Perhaps.

It may be prudent for the Zoning Commission to reconsider restrictions on private political signage in order to divert a potential embarrassing,  if not costly mistake. Towns across the Nation have paid dearly for this same mistake.  Lets not have this happen in Middlebury. The signs must go back up. Lets support our troops that are harm’s way.

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES

Syllabus

CITY OF LADUE et al. v. GILLEO

certiorari to the united states court of appeals for the eighth circuit

No. 92-1856. Argued February 23, 1994 -- Decided June 13, 1994

An ordinance of petitioner City of Ladue bans all residential signs but those falling within one of ten exemptions, for the principal purpose of minimizing the visual clutter associated with such signs. Respondent Gilleo filed this action, alleging that the ordinance violated her right to free speech by prohibiting her from displaying a sign stating, "For Peace in the Gulf," from her home. The District Court found the ordinance unconstitutional, and the Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that the ordinance was a "content based" regulation, and that Ladue's substantial interests in enacting it were not sufficiently compelling to support such a restriction.

Held: The ordinance violates a Ladue resident's right to free speech. Pp. 4-16.

(a) While signs pose distinctive problems and thus are subject to municipalities' police powers, measures regulating them inevitably affect communication itself. Such a regulation may be challenged on the ground that it restricts too little speech because its exemptions discriminate on the basis of signs' messages, or on the ground that it prohibits too much protected speech. For purposes of this case, the validity of Ladue's submission that its ordinance's various exemptions are free of impermissible content or viewpoint discrimination is assumed. Pp. 4-10.

(b) Although Ladue has a concededly valid interest in minimizing visual clutter, it has almost completely foreclosed an important and distinct medium of expression to political, religious, or personal messages. Prohibitions foreclosing entire media may be completely free of content or viewpoint discrimination, but such measures can suppress too much speech by eliminating a commonmeans of speaking. Pp. 10-13.

(c) Ladue's attempt to justify the ordinance as a "time, place, or manner" restriction fails because alternatives such as handbills and newspaper advertisements are inadequate substitutes for the important medium that Ladue has closed off. Displaying a sign from ones' own residence carries a message quite distinct from placing the same sign someplace else, or conveying the same text or picture by other means, for it provides information about the speaker's identity, an important component of many attempts to persuade. Residential signs are also an unusually cheap and convenient form of communication. Furthermore, the audience intended to be reached by a residential sign--neighbors--could not be reached nearly as well by other means. Pp. 13-14.

(d) A special respect for individual liberty in the home has long been part of this Nation's culture and law and has a special resonance when the government seeks to constrain a person's ability to speak there. The decision reached here does not leave Ladue powerless to address the ills that may be associated with residential signs. In addition, residents' self interest in maintaining their own property values and preventing "visual clutter" in their yards and neighborhoods diminishes the danger of an "unlimited" proliferation of signs. Pp. 15-16.

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The Wheels Of Ignorance And Hate Go Round And Round

“The price of fuel for the town is up 83 percent, the First Selectman is screaming for money to keep our “quality of life” intact, we need money for “public safety”, he says. So why, without a budget did we just put $ 500.00 WHEELS ON A TOWN VEHICLE?”

“We” JUST did not put wheels on the vehicle. Mr. DeAngelis is once again, distorting the truth. The Fire Department Car 1 is a nine year old vehicle previously owned by the Police Department.  It was given to the Fire Department to replace the previous Chief’s vehicle.  Before being given to the Fire Department, it sat up at the PD outside and unused for two years. It needed to be refurbished. Refurbishing fire apparatus is a way for the MVFD to save the Town money. The car was no different. The MVFD was able to do it with Rescue 1 and with the old Truck 1.  There is nothing unusual about it. 

A new vehicle would have cost $40,000 and would have been a waste of taxpayer money.  Mr. St. John’s elusive fire consultant recommended the Chief receive a NEW vehicle.  The MVFD disagreed, and chose to fix up what the Town already owns.

In this case,  the wheels on the car were badly rusted and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not safe. The MVFD received an estimate from the Ford dealership for STEEL wheels.  The cost would have been $200.00 per wheel, for a total cost of $800.00. However, Bob Ford in Middlebury, gave the MVFD an excellent deal on USED chrome wheels for only $125.00 a piece.  Thats a bargain. Bob could have charged the Town a whole lot more. Bob Ford and the MVFD saved the Town $300.00. 

Go to eBay and search for chrome wheels. We did and after searching through the first 400 auctions could not find a single set of chrome wheels even close to $500.00.  All were priced much higher ranging from $800.00 up to $4,000. How much did Mr. St. John pay for all the chrome wheels on his fleet of trucks?

Mr. DeAngelis also does not tell you what the timeline was.  The work on the vehicle was done last winter under last year’s budget.  The new wheels were not ordered recently. However, the work was just recently billed to the Town by Bob.

End of story. 

As a side note, the rather blurred picture of the Chief’s vehicle sitting on the apron at Fire HQ appears to be the work of the former Chairmen of the Fire Commission, Mr. Heidkamp, who was reported seen taking the picture, while speeding by Fire HQ. This supports the MVFD’s assertion that Mr. Heidkamp was never put into the position of Chairman of the Fire Commission by former First Selectman Ed St. John to help the MVFD, but rather to hurt it.  It appears he is still working with Mr. St. John and Mr. DeAngelis against the MVFD, and Tom Gormley.