Wrong About Lawyers And About Mulch

“The Fire Chief, a guy who spends 20 grand on a lawyer wants to SAVE the town money by taking away a job from a Public Works Employee.

Paulie P. will spread his own mulch around his own building with his own equipment. The Teamsters have filed a grievance. Good for them. Get the union busting ego maniac.”

Wrong again. The MVFD has not spent 20 grand.  Mr. DeAngelis seems a bit mixed up.  It was actually Mr. DeAngelis that cost taxpayers more than 20 grand for his frivolous FOIs.  

The bulk of the money the MVFD has spend on legal council has been for the benefit of protecting the interests of Middlebury residents, from the actions of Mr. St. John.

It started in early January 2007 when Mr. St. John’s office questioned whether or not the  MVFD’s ambulance and the members that rode on it were insured by the Town.  He already knew the answer, but tried to challenge the MVFD about the matter, a move that threatened the PSA of the organization.  The MVFD paid a lawyer from non-taxpayer funds to reach a legal decision about the challenge. 

The next attack came later that year when Mr. St. John and his team of lawyers attempted to write up an ambulance contract that would have basically taken over the funds for the ambulance billing service.  

Right now, all funds that are used from this billing service go into maintaining the ambulance.  Mr. St. John wanted the Town to seize the money, so it could be put in the general fund.  That would have been the end of the ambulance. When the MVFD refused to sign the contract, Mr. St. John’s lawyers told the MVFD to “Batten down the hatches.”  The very same lawyer that was threatening your Fire Department was being paid from your tax dollars.

When Mr. Gormley was elected, he threw Mr. St. John’s ridicules contract out the window and began work to draft a new more realistic contract with the Town. The new contract would protect the interests of both the Town and the MVFD.  The MVFD has had to spend more non taxpayer money on that endeavor.

The last legal cost is from Mr. DeAngelis, with his never-ending FOI attacks, that have also cost the MVFD money.  Are the attacks really coming from Mr. DeAngelis, or is Mr. St. John continuing his crusade against the organization and using Mr. DeAngelis as his attack dog?

All this money wasted to feed the vendetta of Mr. St. John.  That was money that could have gone to the food bank, to the Little League, given away as scholarships, etc...  

As far as the mulch and taking money away from a Public Works employee... that is just bull.  As stated on numerous occasions, the Fire Chief and MVFD take a great deal of pride in their organization, and that extents to the grounds of the firehouse as well. Every year before Open House they spread mulch around the plantings making the grounds look terrific.  This year was no exception.

With a reduction of work force in Town, there is more than enough work to go around.  The dump had to be closed last summer so that workers could keep up with the grass cutting alone.

The Town has bigger problems facing it, than worrying about who is spreading mulch. It has no impact on anyone’s job. The only ones who seem to be upset by the mulch is the Union Stewart, Mr. St. John and Mr. DeAngelis, because Danny Norton, Tom Gormley, and Bob Desmarais all approved the work to be done by the MVFD.  Time for the critics of Tom Gormley and Bob Desmarais to grow up.