“Spending proposals in Middlebury are cloaked in canards
Weeks ago when Middlebury voters were told they were voting for a total 2008-09 town budget, it was a lie. They merely were voting for part 1. Now First Selectman Thomas Gormley and Selectman Robert Desmarais are back with part 2.
They want voters to approve at least $1 million for expenses they didn't put in the budget because the budget would have been defeated for the fourth time if they had. They also need approval for deals already cut without proper approval.
Now they want taxpayers to fork over more than $500,000 for a new fire truck because they say the privately owned Middlebury Fire Department has no money. This is untrue. Lucille Condon bequeathed $200,000 to the department. Is Chief Paul J. Perrotti using any of that money for a new fire truck? No. The department's ambulance service turns a profit of nearly $200,000 a year. Is the chief using any of that money for a new fire truck? No. None of the $825,000 he reports on the department's federal tax forms is being used, either.
When will the lies stop? When will voters stop believing the lies? Vote
"no" to part 2 of the budget Thursday.
Pat DeAngelis”
Mr. DeAngelis cannot win in the arena of truth, so he must resort to publicly spreading lies, and distortions.
1) He falsely tells his readers that taxpayers will have to fork over more than $500,000.00 for a $474,000.00 pumper, yet never mentions that $315,000.00 of that amount has already been set aside, and approved by taxpayers in previous budgets.
2) He falsely tells his readers that the L. Condon bequest can be used to purchase a new fire engine. That is not correct. The L. Condon bequest had very specific terms. Purchasing a pumper was not included. So, you can take that right off the table. It can’t be used...period. You can’t change the Will. It should be noted that these funds ARE being spent in a manner that benefits the community.
3) He falsely tells his readers that the MVFD Ambulance makes a profit of $200,000.00 a year. That is also incorrect. This blog has outlined in detail on several occasions how the Ambulance Billing Funds are spent. They are detailed in the following posts:
Middlebury Has A Better Deal Than Winsted, And Winsted Has A Pretty Good Deal.
Mischaracterizing The MVFD Ambulance Fund.
Read the above links for details, but in a nutshell, all funds received by the MVFD Ambulance go towards maintaining the ambulance. Any profit left over at the end of the year, is saved up to purchase the next ambulance. In about three weeks the MVFD will be receiving the new FD12. The price tag of this ambulance, approximately $190,000.00. None of this will be funded through taxes. It is 100% paid for through the MVFD billing. So all that money in the ambulance fund that Mr. DeAngelis says can be used to purchase a pumper has already been used to purchase an ambulance.
4) He falsely tells his readers that the MVFD has $825,000.00 that could be used to buy a pumper. That statement is not true. The Chief of the Department responded to this back in January of this year. Although some of the figures have changed a little, the general outline is still accurate. Click Here To Read The Chief’s Letter.
“Gormley, Desmarais and Perrotti are trying every which way to stifle the people. Instead of a free, open referendum they want a tribal meeting where they can wear their war paint, scream and eat ham sandwiches.”
The Town Hall Meeting has been the purest form for democracy for 300 years in New England. It was also the way the Town approved fire apparatus when Mr. St. John was in office.
The statement that Gormley, Desmarais, and Perrotti are trying to stifle the people is just plain asinine. Mr. St. John and Mrs. Strobel stonewalled apparatus replacement since 2003. The result is a fleet of aging apparatus.
Engine 1 17 years old
Engine 2 27 years old
Engine 3 20 years old
Engine 4 21 years old
Rescue 1 30 years old.
Tom Gormley and Bob Desmarais are not playing politics, but rather, working together as Republican and Democrat, in a bipartisan effort to do what is right for this community. They are slowly sorting out the mess they inherited from the previous administration.
Part of their job is public safety. Ignoring apparatus replacement jeopardizes not only firefighter safety, but the safety of the entire community.
Chief Paul Perrotti’s number one priority is the same number one priority of every Chief in this country - FIREFIGHTER SAFETY AND PUBLIC SAFETY. In order to ensure that these priorities are fulfilled, firefighters must be provided with the proper equipment. Frontline apparatus over the age of 20 years old threatens these priorities. NFPA recommends that all frontline apparatus be replaced after 20 years. Click Here For Information About Apparatus Replacement.
The apparatus problem will only get worse if Middlebury delays ordering this lifesaving equipment. If the Town does not act by January 1st, 2009, the cost of the apparatus will increase by as much as $45,000.00.
What would motivate Mr. DeAngelis to write such a letter, when nothing in his letter is true? It is just another attack against a great organization that helps people on a daily basis.
Posts
14 comments:
All you keep saying is "DeAngelis is a liar"
So somebody left money to mvfd, what ARE they being spent on ? why can't you use the money for a new truck ? So, this 99 yr old lady said in her will "the money can't be used for a new truck" ? it said for the benefit the the mvfd....guess what guys and gals, that includes the truck you want
I notice that Pattie has taken to using the same language on his web site as he uses when he's "talking with the boys" on the porch at Perrotti's Pizza. Some of us who hang with Pattie are not necessarily his friends. In fact, I'd call myself a spy now that Pattie is kissing Eddie's ass.
Pattie said this today "So, Fuck You, and your 'ram it down our throat' even in these tough times philosophy."
Nice.
"All you keep saying is "DeAngelis is a liar"
So somebody left money to mvfd, what ARE they being spent on ? why can't you use the money for a new truck ? So, this 99 yr old lady said in her will "the money can't be used for a new truck" ? it said for the benefit the the mvfd....guess what guys and gals, that includes the truck you want"
Have you seen the bequest personally? I doubt it. Ask Mrs. Condon's lawyer, maybe he might tell you. The bequest had specific terms that, among other things, prevented it's use on any FIRE equipment. DeAngelis is not a liar. No, what he is is even worse. He is a distorter of the truth. To me , an out-and-out lie is just that, a lie. Taking the truth, bending, stretching, distorting until it no longer bears any resemblence to what it originally was borders on nauseating. The old saying holds true: "Liars figure, but figures never lie". The reality of the matter is that it's the Town of Middlebury's responsibilty to provide fire protection to it's residents. Part of that responsibilty is providing equipment. Just because the MVFD, Inc. has been blessed with financial prudence, proper planning, and, most importantly, generous public support, does not absolve the town of their responsibilties to the residents. All of the nay-sayers run around saying "don't spend", but, I guarantee you this: If your house burnt to the ground because a piece of equipment failed, and we had to wait 10-15 minutes for Watertown, Southbury, or Woodbury to come, you'd be at some lawyers office faster than I could type this. What the MVFD, inc. has in their accounts is no more anyone's business than what you or I have in our private accounts. The State FOI Commission has already ruled repeatedly on this issue, and by all accounts, they are beginning to became aggravated w/DeAngelis because he keeps asking to see things they already told him he can't see. So, stop looking to the MVFD, Inc. for money.
I ask you, how can Bill Perrotti let pattie boy anywhere near his pizza place after all pattie has done to his brothers???? What kind of a family guy is that, I think Bill is a sell out for the Perrotti family!!!!!! Is Bill doing eddie also????
Great job mr. anonymous, now you should put that in the paper!!!!! Let the people of middlebury see what a real JERK pattie boy is!!!!!! No life, no friends, not even a dollar bill in his pocket!!!!!
What's wrong with ham sandwiches?
I'd like this blog to publish the names on the referendum petition.
Fair is fair!
why publish the names ? so the mvfd can throw beer bottles at their houses ? or key their car ?
then publish the names of the people in this town who want to raise taxes.
Deangelis was never afraid to publish the names of contributors. To Ed St. John's campaign and to Brennan's campaign.
Turnabout is fair play. Let's shine the light of Information Freedom on these people!
He also got mad because she said the guys do not all the trucks!!!!!
The highway dept. does not need all those trucks!!!! And now they are getting a truck that has been on the back burner for the last three years, what the hell is that all about????
If you want the names of the people who signed the petition just go to the town hall duuring business hours and use your FOI right to get the information. Pat does it all the time so why can't anyone else
If we can trade three old police cruisers for a 2004 Harley then why can't we trade a fleet of green trucks for a fire engine?
Win-Win
Why dosen't someone ask The Public Works Commissioner how many bids he got for that truck? Does anybody know?
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