March 3rd, 2008
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We were wondering, if Randy were offered half of what the Commission would have to pay Frank Gummey to go away, would he go away?
End-of-Runway Estates: Crash Pad Estates; Crash and Burn Court; Tarmac Runway Terraces. These are some of the names we would propose to Lee Griffith for his development near the airport to convince the so-called planners that his prospective purchasers would fully understand that they were buying a house near the airport and under the traffic pattern of one of the runways. Gosh, do you not think that it is their choice and his risk as a developer? The Shadow does! So, even if the Feds suggest that the end of a runway is neither the quietest nor the safest place to live, we believe that for the right price, a lot of people would put up with a little noise from primarily single engine airplanes and the remote chance, and it really is remote, that an airplane might fall into their back yard. It seems to the Shadow that even the most ardent proponent of protecting the public would understand that these are choices their fellow citizens can make for themselves, and that if they make those decisions, we can ignore future complaints, should they complain. Let us not forget, no one forced them to buy a house at “End of Runway Estates”!
Randy, there are sharks in the inlet. We do not believe taxpayers should pay Bert Fish to patch up kids bitten by sharks,or prohibit surf boarding where the sharks live. And how about the glue used to build surfboards. Does sniffing glue all day create a “high“, and does it wear off before public meetings? We had our doubts the other night after listening to your presentation at the Commission meeting about the City Attorney. Ask Bob Rodi to pay for a study to determine how long it takes for the effects of exposure to glue to wear off. Spending money for consultant studies is what he does best, and we hear he is a friend of yours. By the way, who at the fire department made up those charts for you? He must also work with glue at the surf shaping shop.
W-2S REVISITED
The W-2's published over the last few weeks are again presented this week as an EXCEL file so that you can manipulate the data as you wish. Additionally, we provide a number of analyses regarding pay and benefits. We have added charts in columns showing each employee and the percentage of increase that includes the benefit package for each employee. NEW LINK
NOTES
We were both astonished and pleased at the way the City Commission is moving ahead to secure the proper rent from City owned leased property. We were also surprised and pleased that at the forefront of this effort is Commissioner Lynn Plaskett who has stated that one of her projects is to obtain a fair revenue stream from City property, and put an end to the freeloading old boy network that has received much unconscionable, favorable treatment by the City. The worst, at least of the several that we know of, is the Anglers Club with its several million-dollar market value improved waterfront property, and its $25 annual lease. Not only should the leases be fair, but also property improvements on leased property should be assessed at full value. Tell that to the tax assessor who wants to be seen as fair, but refuses to look at the Anglers Club, as well as other affected properties within the County. His failure to properly do his job in this case, costs you the taxpayer about $80,000 a year in tax revenue, not to mention many others.
There is no money to build roads in Volusia County in the next few years. NO FEDERAL, STATE NOR COUNTY MONEY. NO MONEY! Therefore, it is somewhat amusing that the City Commissioners of New Smyrna Beach could not understand that no interchange will be built at I-95 whether they oppose it or not. The only difference is that to formally “remove” it, and remember it could be added back in the future if it was deemed warranted, whether “removed” formally now or whether it just died on the vine, will cost the city of NSB $20,000 to $30,000 for the study to warrant “removal”. We think the City should “cerrar las bocas” and let it die on the vine, since they have been given the facts. Not removing the request is tantamount to throwing more money away.
“Best Blog of the Week”
(Edited for grammar and punctuation)
A POTPOURRI OF CITIZEN COMMENTS IS
AGAIN PROVIDED THIS WEEK IN ORDER
FOR YOU TO GET IN TUNE WITH THE
MOOD OF OUR READERS
THE DO-NOTHING COMMISSION
Sunday, 3/2/08, 7:25 AM Has anybody noticed what the Commission has gotten done lately? Have they done anything about the Golf Course? NO! Have they done anything about the Water Taxi? NO! Have they done anything about the Firefighter's contract? NO! Have they done anything about the Angler's Club/MDC? NO! How about the UC, its rates and its water dumping, or how about the City's Budget? No, not one thing! SO WHAT HAVE THEY BEEN DOING? Well, for one thing they spent an awful lot of their time talking about things they can't do anything about, like Gummey's contract! Besides that, they haven't made one decision on anything. DEAR MAYOR; GET MOVING! RIGHT NOW! You can start by cleaning house over at the Golf Course and straighten out their budget, declare an impass with the Firefighters Union and present them with their new "FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE" contract, get started with Budget workshops, leave Gummmey to Gummey, and scuttle the dam Water Taxis, perferably in some very deep water, get the MDC and Anglers Club to pay their own way, and straighten out the mess in UC. YOU HAVE WASTED ENOUGH TIME! NOW GET MOVING!
Florida Ave. Resident
Monday, 2/25/08, 9:21 AM We need a hotel on Flagler Ave like we need a hole in our heads! Will everyone that lives close to it be issued a fire arm to protect themselves. We have a Nice area, Please don't let them change it. From: NSB, LOVE IT LEAVE IT ALONE!
NSB
Monday, 2/25/08, 12:10 PM This could be the big turning point week. With all the meetings and discussions. The City Manager review, the City Attorney review, The Golf Course mess and funding along with high salaries, The Fire Department salaries, the Police salaries, the wasted water, the Mayor's credentials, more personnel reductions, along with all the other high expenditures, the large Hotel on Flagler, etc. etc. We will see who stands strong and/or who weakens on all these major decisions or discussions. It will give us all a good feel on the next elections that is still 3 years away and just maybe the new Amendment this fall about better control of the budgets. Our elected officials were elected to represent us and not themselves. So let us pray and hope that they all stand tall and not weaken for our great City and represent us well... From: NSB
Fire the City Clerk!
Monday, 2/25/08, 1:16 PM The city needs to fire the city clerk. The city commission meeting is tomorrow and she does not have the complete agenda up on the internet site. Two clicks of a mouse too much trouble for $57,000.00 a year?
Thursday, 2/28/08, 5:10 AM
Did the City Clerk go on vacation. There's been no audio posted since the first meeting in Feb. Two workshops and one City Commission later but no audio yet. Must be a very difficult and time consuming task to perform for the public. Probably not much of a priority for the City Commission for us to get recordings of public meetings in a timely fashion. Maybe it can be a goal for next year or the year after.
MRiptide
Tuesday, 2/26/08, 1:59 PM Well, the documents provided by our beachside City Commissioner didn't take much time to read ,analyze and then read between the lines. He wants to fire Gummey but it's not related to job performance. There's no quantitative analysis of costs other than a bar chart of the budget. The budget is down from last year so it must not be salaries creating the cost increase. And how much savings will be realized if we replace the current City Attorney (excluding the severance)? Can we get a quarantee that the City will reduce costs if Gummey goes? I think not because it's impossible to speculate. I'm gonna shower, shave and quite possibly attend the City Commission meeting tonight.
Here's one for Randy.....
Thursday, 2/28/08, 7:19 AM You know I applaud Randy for standing up and taking a real good look at the City Attorney's Budget, and then pointing out that it has increased 133 percent since 2003. But then I remembered the Fire Department, and their wonderful pension plan. Do you know how much it has gone up since 2003? 420 percent! (3 times what the City Attorney's budget has risen) So, when will Randy stand up and complain about that? GO RANDY GO ! ( ref. pension plan costs: 2003-$192,000; 2008; $1 Million)
Wednesday, 2/27/08, 8:07 AM
MRiptide; You're right again, and this case below is a shining example of Nero Fiddling while Rome Burns; We have a City Commissioner who chooses to bring up an issue where the Commission is really pretty-much limited in what they can do, and another issue, where the IAFF contract is open, and the issue can be addressed, yet nobody on the Commision seems to want to be bothered. And when you consider the fact that it is Commissioner Richenberg spearheading this garbage with the City Attorney, you soon find yourself looking up the definition of HYPOCRITE in the dictionary. IS THIS ISSUE WITH THE CITY ATTORNEY JUST A SMOKESCREEN, HIDING THE REAL PROBLEMS IN THE CITY'S BUDGET?
Wednesday, 2/27/08, 9:39 AM
I remember when former Mayor Musson would call the Fire Union's political support "the kiss of death". He always hoped that his opponent would accept the Fire Union's endorsement. Now let's just sit back and see how Mayor Mackay, Commissioner Richenburg and Commissioner Plaskett deal with their 800 pound gorilla. It takes al ot of banannas to subdue the hunger.
This is the issue on Sally's phony degree!
Wednesday, 2/27/08, 9:03 PM Mackay's biography was a masterful deception or should I say swindle. Let's assume you want to falsify a college degree and not get caught. First, you need a college that has gone out of business. Second, you have to use the word "attended" because even if the college went out of business you would still need a diploma (who throws their college diploma away). Third, since the word "attended" is a red flag you need something in the next sentence that says you graduated. In this case Mackay said she taught high school and everyone knows high school teachers have to be college graduates. This has Diesen's and her DC lobbying firms finger prints all over it. I think more important that the swindle is who prepared the copy?
DEAR JOHN
We know of the limited resources available to John Hagood, the City Manager, and to his inability to get all of the important letters written that he would like to send. So we decided to help him and provide him drafts that will simplify his tasks and free him up for more important tasks.
Dear Mayor
The Director of Public Works is the official “Clerk of the Works” for construction of the Third Avenue (needless) fire station. He is eminently qualified for the job having a BS in Physics from SUNY (1985), a BS in Civil Engineering from Toledo State (1986), and is a registered professional engineer in the State of Florida. I have total confidence in his ability to supervise the construction of this facility according to the plans approved by the Commission.
Unfortunately, one of our Commissioners, having no credentials that we can verify, seems to think it is in his job description to oversee this project, (maybe because of his wife‘s close relationship with the Fire Department). Could you please intercede and advise your fellow Commissioners that they will be most welcome to the dedication ceremony for this new facility. Otherwise, stay the hell away from the building site and let competent, well-qualified personnel do their jobs.
Thanking you in advance for your assistance,
John Hagood
PRO ACTIVE CITY LAWYER
After Dandy Randy's stupid attack upon the City Attorney, the Commission turned to the question of what his role should be in advising the City Commissioners. The answer is BABYSITTER. Aside from Commissioner Hathaway who graduated from well-regarded Stetson University, sitting in the room with the other uneducated or minimally educated elected City Officials were a cadre of highly educated employees: City Attorney, City Manager, Financial Director, Personnel Director, etc. etc. While a college education is not a sine quo non of either being smart or capable of governing or making a business function well, it usually a good indicator of what one is likely to expect a person to achieve.
The Mayor requested that Mr. Gummey be more “pro-active”. He indicated that his normal role of a City Attorney was to respond to the legal aspects of proposals and not to make business decisions or governance decisions for the City. Please Mr. Gummey. Do what she asks. They need guidance and the good thing is that you are smart enough and able enough to fill that role. We may have had out differences in the past, but we think the City needs your help, the Mayor has requested it, and you should oblige. We know that is not how you envisage your role, but if you agree to become their babysitter and keep them from getting into trouble, we agree to take up a collection to buy a crib for Randy.shments!
MEMORIALS
The street leading into the Atlantic Center for the Arts was named for Frank Herbert a long time benefactor and advocate for the arts in New Smyrna Beach. It seemed more than appropriate given his long and tireless devotion to create, expand and enhance this aspect of our cultural well-being (see biography in memoriam in the Arts Center newsletter). Imagine our surprise when we were told that it was to be renamed for another benefactor.
They did not rename Frank Herbert Drive. It seems there are two driveways into the Arts Center from the street, and it seems that one of them was named for a current contributor and member of the Board of Directors. Well, we got to thinking about the fact that there are so few facilities in New Smyrna Beach that can be used to memorialize our politicians and notables. Perhaps we could name one of the retention ponds, built some wags claim, to protect Bill Rogers’ house from flooding, but that would seem so mundane. So, we again considered the Arts Center having a driveway named for an important benefactor and decided to use it as a model for honoring other important people. Why not name parts of the “Munson Memorial Bridge” --the South Bridge over the Intra Coastal. The North Railing could be named for Jim Vandergrifft and the South Railing for Larry Sweet. What could be more fitting than a sign at each end of the bridge announcing that the railings were now properly named? In the future, we could decide on the names for the North and South sidewalks of the bridge. Etc., Etc. We could hold naming contests, and we could even do what they did in DC a couple of years ago when they named the street corner at 14th and T streets N.W., as Walter Faunteroy Jr. corner. The opportunities are endless.
Deltona Police
We are almost mesmerized about the plans going forward in Deltona to examine whether they should consider establishing their very own police department, yes there very own police department where they can hire friends and relatives to assure a real down-home arrangement for public safety. They voted last week four to three to hire a consultant to tell them what to do. This City of about 100,000 currently pays the Volusia County Sheriff's office around $9,000,000 dollars for providing this service. If you compare it to our costs here in New Smyrna Beach, which is a 60% savings for each taxpayer as opposed to what it costs New Smyrna Beach per resident. First, let us discuss crime rates:
City UCR Index Crime Rate for 2008: Deltona is almost the lowest in Volusia County. New Smyrna Beach pays almost twice as much and has double the crime rate.
(Numbers = Crimes Reported)
Ponce Inlet 
1,498.0
1,498.0Deltona 2,272.9
2,272.9Port Orange 2,341.8
2,341.8Lake Helen 2,523.3
2,523.3Ormond Beach 3,184.1
3,184.1Edgewater 3,263.5
3,263.5Oak Hill 3,428.0
3,428.0New Smyrna Beach 4,076.3
4,076.3South Daytona 4,414.4
4,414.4Daytona Beach Shores 6,265.1
6,265.1Holly Hill 7,800.9
7,800.9Deland 8,675.0
8,675.0Daytona Beach 9,277.1
9,277.1Orange City 10,312.2
10,312.2Now let us discuss what comes with having your own police force. Why, the cost of your own SWAT team where you pay everybody extra to train and qualify, in addition to increased salaries for being on the team. How about another favorite money pit, a K-9 corps. The Sheriff already provides a two dog K-9 corps with expensive dogs, vehicles and extra pay for officers you pay to train, but that is part of the Sheriff's overall service, and more importantly, the liability insurance is borne by the Sheriff. You only need SWAT or K-9 sporadically, but having your own, no matter how much more expensive, is clearly better if you want to say you are a big time police force. Extra charges for everything, ranging from bookkeeping, record keeping, and extra supervisory positions at every level are in Deltona's future. Please, please do not forget, you also get an invigorated local union component which may or may not become demoralized if there is any effort to control pay and pensions, look at Edgewater. For expensive bloated management and big cars, look at New Smyrna Beach.
OK, why are some of those Deltona elected officials unhappy with the service provided by the Sheriff? Darned if we can tell! Look at the stats:
Deltona's annual UCR crime rate for the past 8 years, covering the period between 1999-2006. (The UCR crime rates are based on the number of reported offenses, on a per-capita basis, in seven offense categories, known as index crimes, utilized by FDLE to compute the crime rate. The offense categories are broken down into two sub-categories: Violent Crime (murder, forcible rape, robbery and aggravated assault) and Non-Violent (burglary, larceny and motor vehicle theft). As you can see from the statistics below:
UCR Crime Statistics for the City of Deltona
Deltona's violent crime rate decreased by 52.9 percent between 1999-2006
Deltona's non-violent crime rate decreased by 31.3 percent between 1999-2006
Deltona's total index crime rate decreased by 35.3 percent between 1999-2006
There is no comparing the costs, and if one wanted saturation police coverage, you could increase the number of Sheriff’s deputies assigned for a fraction of the costs associated with Deltona running its own service. We would normally blame this on boo-brownies at the Deltona Commission meetings, but it must be something else since the proposal is even more bizarre than the usual hallucinations of elected officials. Last week at a “workshop” one of the Councilman stated that she wanted to assure all City employees that projects would be cut and no employee would lose their job next year (They only grew their government be 25% last year (400 up from 300). The Mayor of Deltona said he could not be sure that no one would be cut. At least he read the taxpayer game book when they voted for Amendment I. But now these elves have embraced even bigger costs and bigger expense for apparently no reason at all, except they wanna.
Deltona has seen a drop in its crime rate over the last eight years. Last January 1, 2007, the Shadow published an article comparing Deltona, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, and Port Orange police services based on 2006 data. For a detailed analysis look at the LINK to that issue
. (Put in link)
The message for Southeast Volusia is that Deltona has a low crime rate, an inexpensive and effective police service provided by the Volusia County Sheriff. They have set a good example of how to provide better police service, at a more affordable rate than we are now paying. It is interesting that at least four elected officials seem to be too obtuse to understand they have a good deal for their constituency. It also appears that the elected officials of most small cities in Southeast Volusia are just as dumb. You would think that the NSB Commission would have at least asked Volusia County what it would charge to provide the same level of protection we currently enjoy with our excessively expensive police force and it’s over staffed management.
911-RCC SAVE MONEY AND HONEST STATISTICS
The fact that they have not consolidated the emergency 911 service mismanaged by Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, and Port Orange into the efficient Volusia County system can only be attributable to a back room deal designed to throw away your money. Facts are facts:
Last Year the RCC was ordered to cut 20% from its bloated budget and that saved NSB $300,000 from the $980,000 paid out in 2006. Edgewater saved about $100,000. We believe most of the savings came from eliminating feather bedding Port Orange personnel who sere “assigned” for payroll purposes to the RCC, and some paper positions larded into the budget;
The County said it would provide the service in 2007 for about $380,000, with a few extra bucks for start up. It uses the same equipment. So the 20% cut ordered was only half the money that could be saved from consolidation;
At the budget meeting, the $300,000 savings in addition to leaving another $300,000 on the table was hailed as “more bang for the buck”. They must be smoking something if that represents getting your money's worth;
Jack Flop-Flip Grasty has been named the Commissioner who will sit on the RCC Board of Directors for New Smyrna Beach. Even if we stay with the RCC, how about a businessperson rather than Jack whom to our knowledge has only experience in giving away taxpayer money for the Ponce De Leon Port district, and taking taxpayer money from the City for the Marine Discovery Center. The RCC is like all other enterprise activities run by the City, a management and financial disaster.
There must be a reason why you keep a mismanaged, duplicative and overly costly operation that only seems to benefit Port Orange. We believe the reason is that RCC statistics for calls received will not stand scrutiny. New Smyrna Beach residents are not 30% sicker than both Edgewater and Port Orange residents, and yet we are told that our citizens generate one third more calls for med/EVAC. The higher number generates support demands by the New Smyrna Beach fire department for more resources. We believe there are over 1000 false calls reported each year. The statistical comparisons for all of the services in each of the municipalities in the County for 2007 will not be ready until early April. If it is the same pattern as 2006, with the same inflated numbers, it will be past time for an in depth outside audit of this poorly run and overly costly boondoggle. As it now stands, there is every reason to consolidate with the County and save another $300,000 this year.
DENYING YOU INFORMATION
Look, we are a newspaper. If you are old enough to remember that in the New York Times case where the government tried to prevent the Times from publishing the Pentagon Papers (material on the Vietnam war decisions) the Supreme Court ruling included a finding that since the paper did not steal the information there was nothing wrong in its publishing what it was given. That is the rule of law.
On Friday we were requested by the New Smyrna Beach Personnel Director, however, to take down the posted W-2s this week on the basis that the City thinks it should have redacted, a fancy word for “blacking” out material in a document, material that they felt they had “imprudently” provided for publication. Understand, we publish what we receive from them under the Freedom of Informtion Act and we assume that what they supply is legal to publish. But even if it is not, it is legal since they supplied it and all we did was publish it so that all could see. Last year we published the redacted W-2s given to us which did include specific street addresses of police officers, which publication the police think is prohibited, and the Shadow took it down immediately when the personnel office informed us they had made a mistake. We did not object, although we could have, but we also agree that the address of a police officer's residence is not something you need to know even if it is not illegal for us to publish it, particularly since we did not steal it. That did not stop Commander Drossman from going to every law enforcement office in Volusia County and try to get the publisher indicted for committing a criminal offense even though he knew there was no intent to violate any law and he knew we published what we were given. (Please go to Google, Pentagon papers, and bring up Wikipedia where a slew of articles on both prior restraint and freedom of the press will be found.).
Now we come to the present request. No information published in the W-2s last week is prohibited. We took it down Friday afternoon as a favor to the personnel director since she is obviously being pressured by City employees, but we think probably the police hierarchy, to not have the city where they live published. Why not? So you cannot tell that perhaps that a good number of police “take home cars” are driven out of the City to places like Titusville and Ormond Beach each night after being tanked up with gas at the City gas depot. We requested a legal opinion and have been informed that the name of the City where its employees live is not information that can be with held under the Freedom of Information Act. We should tell you that we had it checked before we published it as given to us by the City and no problem had been found. So, upon reflection, we publish the original again. We think that half the expensive cars given to police officers to take home travel out of town at great cost to the City. We think it should be stopped. If they want to cut expenses, they should start there. We would not have know about it had we not received information that many if not most of the officers that are given cars to drive home do not live in New Smyrna Beach.
The Shadow has published several articles within the past year that addressed the City’s practice of allowing police officers to drive their assigned vehicles to and from their residence. We have no problem with this practice if the vehicles travel to and from locations in New Smyrna Beach. However, as is the case, many of these vehicles travel far and wide throughout the County. We believe this is an unnecessary perk not available to other City employees, and should be abolished. If we have titilated your interest in the ramifications of this unnecessary expenditure of City funds, visit our archives for July 9, 2007, and July 16, 2007. SO HERES THE LINK... again
ABOLISH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT POSITION
OF “LIEUTENANT”
We probably spend $1.5 million to $1.8 million dollars a year in salaries, pensions, and benefit costs, for 12 so-called supervisors called “lieutenants” at the New Smyrna Beach Fire Department. They are rank and file Union members despite the sham of calling them management to justify higher salaries, as well as ensuring they command large dollops of overtime. If they were really managers, they would work the hours required to get the job done for the salary they received for that position. We believe the Battalion Chief, the Deputy Fire Chief, and the Fire Chief, who are all paid in the $100,000 range, should be able to supply enough supervision and management. If not, all of them should be demoted and replaced with people who can. We know that with bumping rights it might be awhile before all the savings would be realized, but given the financial bind the City is in, it should start immediately. But then your elected officials might just raise the property tax rate (millage) or raid the reserve funds again so they can keep throwing money at City employees. The budget process starts soon and it will be interesting to see whether any of them understand that the key to lower property taxes is spending cuts.
We have printed a number of articles showing that the only basis for the union claiming that three firefighters are necessary in our essentially non stressed environment, where each station averages a couple of medical calls a day, and one call every three months or so for a house fire, is the so-called benchmark they have set for staffing each station. Every reason given for these so-called benchmark goals fall by the wayside when applied to any department not in an older city with a large number of pre-1985 code buildings and a dilapidated housing stock.
We were amazed that the union imposed a “swap days arrangement” when they were told that there would be no back filling of positions at stations when someone called in sick. This use of sick leave was an abuse so that the firefighter who called in would get full pay for his personal day, and the one called in to replace him or she would get time and a half. The City refused to keep up this possible fraud in 2007 after the Fire Chief acknowledged it was occurring, and stated he would use it as a cost saving method for 2008. In other words, he knew of the abuse and had not fixed it. This has saved the City about $150,000 for this fiscal year and will do the same or more in future years. But if there were only two firefighters to a station, there would be a statistical base to assess whether it made any difference in fire protection if there were two rather than three firefighters sleeping in a station on a given night. We figure it was in the union’s best interest that each firefighter gave up three thousand dollars a year, on average, to sustain the facade that three were required. So the union arranged that anyone taking a day off “swap” a day with another who would work at regular pay.
The City Commission, we are told, can direct the City Manager to limit the number, and certainly to limit the number of stations to which it is applied. This action would permit the comparison and show that this staffing pattern is by the union, for the union, and has nothing to do with public safety.
Now let us look at the mandate from the taxpayers. The fire department union, as well as the police and teachers unions, ran an intensive campaign to defeat Amendment 1. Their pitch was that any cuts in staffing, pay, pensions and other benefits affected by this amendment would result in a loss of public safety, ignorant children, and worse. Despite this traditional application of these scare tactics to stimulate the fear that chaos would reign throughout our communities, taxpayers voted overwhelmingly for Amendment 1 in the balloting last month. The vote was for property tax relief, and for elected officials to cut spending. Do not let the fire union apologists on the City Commission tell you that they did not get the message from the taxpayers. The taxpayers do not want to pay bloated salaries and unsupportable unfunded pensions at age 50 to every firefighter who will be promoted to lieutenant as a “union” supervisor.
Our fire department is entitled to decent wages and pension. They are not entitled to threaten us with a loss of services if we do not believe the current arrangement is fair or affordable. Nor do we believe that because they agree to do a job that some might think of as more dangerous than roofing or carpentry, although they are not, according to several statistical surveys, they should not be paid much more since the training and educational accomplishments are similar. Nor do we think they are all heroes because the occasional danger in which they find themselves, since they were aware of those dangers when they took the job. Nor that having a heart attack on the job makes one a hero, that happens in many occupations. Yes, there are days when they work hard, just like a roofer or carpenter, but most days hanging around the fire station, cleaning and polishing equipment, performing maintenance, and watching TV is one heck of a lot easier than working on a roof or framing a house. Some of them do that as well, on their more than generous days off. We must keep a reasonable perspective, because these jobs just like any other, but maybe more lucrative.
Governor Crist has stated that Amendment 1 is the beginning and not the end of his effort to roll back property taxes and to cut spending. We are certain he understands that the taxpayers gave him a mandate to stop local elected officials from continuing to raise wages and pad salaries for employees without regard to the need to cut taxes. We should hope our officials have gotten the message, but if not, we should make sure.think they will be told to get the message.
