Monday Council Meeting
Attention all Local 1132 Members. All available members are asked to attend the Roanoke City Council Meeting on Monday May 12, 2008 at 2pm. We will be meeting at the Union Hall for lunch (provided) at noon and then going to the Council Meeting. We will not be able to speak at the Council Meeting. However we want City Council to have to look us in the eye when they take Engine 13 out of service and the 4 person off of Ladder 7. Your attendance is important on this matter and is greatly appreciated.
Please wear your black IAFF shirts from the last Council meeting. If you do not have one, we will provide one for you. If you have questions, contact your Shift Vice President, Rodney Jordan, or Rhett Fleitz.
The last meeting, 91 of us really made a statement. It would be great to increase that number this time.
8 comments:
I have to wrok monday,but i will try to be there. I am not trying to be a JERK, but what good will this do? Mason,lea and Trinkle do not give a shit about us,they proved it,they will carry on Harris agenda without him,and with no help bowers is on his own.Its said that we had bat chiefs captains 1st lt's and Lt and many firefighers there telling them this is wrong. and we only had 3 mins to say what we wanted to say.but chief hoback got all the time he needed to come back and SPIN his side.Chief Hoback if you are reading this i think you made a huge mistake,IF SOMETHING Happens out in the peters creek area do you think big Red and Jim will stand by you OR let you take the wrap and be run out of the city? You can not meet your Performance standards and you know it but you still say on tv we do??? Thats a big risk YOU are taking ( Remember Chief you have a family to look out for).This is a big Mistake just like the Quints. and Remember the firefighters told you then and we are telling you know.How do you sleep at night??? Sweet dreams Chief,cause this is on you,Remember Jim and Darlene will not be in your corner IF this goes bad you will be the fall boy.
Good luck guys!
From what I understand we have Lea's vote, it's Fitzpatrick who is voting the other way. Either way I hope we have a huge turnout on Monday, I will sure as hell be there. I really hope council will be able to sleep well at night knowing that they are putting us and the citizens in jeapordy, but then again as long as they are happy in South Roanoke who cares about the rest of the city.
This is a slap in the face. I used to give the administration the benefit of the doubt. They have proven that they do not care about the ones that they lead. I could give a shit about who the chief has to answer to. He needs to be a leader to the department. If they are forcing him to do it, then the last answer should be to take men off of the streets. Stand up to your boss and tell him your not going to reduce staffing. But that bed has been made. Hope you can sleep in it. I'm tired. I'm frustrated. I give up on waiting for our leaders to do right, and I'll be damned if I provide any freebies to the department anymore. If they want something from me, then they will have to earn it. Or pay for it. I leave it up to them. Damn bean counters.
PANDORA’S BOX
I my few years, I have always been trained to pre-plan and prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The direction we are being led seems to be that we are planning for the best and hoping that the worst never happens. It is very evident that now 8 years post 911; our country, our state, our city, and yes even our own fire department has forgotten the events of that day and the lessons we were all supposed to learn form the mistakes of the past. As citizens and front line defenders of this great country, we were promised that our country would never again look into the eyes of disaster of that magnitude without being prepared. Well, with less training/time to train, a reduction in available resources, and a pure lack of commitment to the public safety and security of our small piece of this country, it is no longer a matter of if we will be doomed to repeat the past but when will it happen and the answer is sooner rather than later. If we do not capitalize on the opportunity to forge ahead in the face of seemingly impossible odds, we will be reduced to a city where the fire department is a skeleton crew with minimum staffing below even today’s numbers, where the police department has to hide or face suicide missions in order to just survive the exponential growth of violent crime, and our sheriffs department will be over run by the very criminals we entrusted them to protect us from. It is absolutely unconscionable for any municipal government to choose projects that reflect curb appeal in exchange for the safety and security of its own. If we are to grow as a city and bring new opportunities into our region, you must first show that you are dedicated and committed and actually care about the safety and security of the citizens you serve. If not, our region will bring in new opportunities for growth, in the form of the destruction of the very fabric that our city was forged from. It is incumbent upon the leadership of this government to take a stand and make a choice. Do we just stand here and wait for the next 911 or maybe it’s just the simple death of a police officer or maybe that first in crew from E13 that needed the help of a brother to show them the way out of a burning inferno. Or do we actually decide to roll up our sleeves, dig down deep and choose to make a difference in the lives of the people who really do care…our citizens and fellow employees!!!
To this I give you these FACTS:
· New flat screen monitors in every office of admin- 300.00 each x 9 = 2700.00
· New 52” Plasma Screen in admin- 2000.00
· Charity Golf tournament @ Ashley Plantation- 2 teams at 5000.00/team = 10000.00
· 10 people sent to Atlanta for FRI- avg. 700.00/person = 7,000.00
· Lunch out every day M-F- 3.50/gal -avg. of 5 mi round trip or 25 mi/ wk = 364.00/yr
· Driving Home every day- max distance is 20mi 1 way x 2 =40 mi x 5 = 200mi/ wk x 7 take home vehicles- you do the math- avg. mpg is 15. Avg of 45.00/wk/vehicle x 7 = 315.00/wk x 52 = 16,380.00/yr.
· Cell Phones – paid by city = 9 in admin 35.00/mo = 315.00/mo x 12 = 3780.00/yr
· PDA’s for every admin position- 250.00 ea x 9 = 2250.00
· There is no way to estimate the THOUSANDS of dollars wasted on equipment purchased this year alone ( i.e. zero torque nozzles, foam nozzles etc) that was never used, returned for credit or even attempted to be traded for what we had to repurchase. One might ask why- well- the reason might be that the person in charge of purchasing had or still has a secret deal going with the supplier. I know its hard to believe- but consider a few facts:
Ø How is it that we are buying BDU’s from a company that didn’t sell them before we were buying? And did you know that the pants we are buying are seconds- irregulars. That is the only way we could buy them from CW Williams- they are not PROPER brand distributors. Also, our Carhart coats- CW Williams – guess what- not distributors- that’s why there was a delay in getting them- CW Williams had to find them first. How about 2 dishwashers being bought but only 1 delivered to a station and the other is unaccounted for. How about all that paint for the hydrants- amazing we bout so much but ran out so fast- wonder where it went? Why is it that when we get an order for items only part goes out and the rest stays in the personal stash? We had a delivery of 2 boxes of BDU’s- oops they were black- they sat unattended for weeks- not returned- wonder where they are and who got the money? Why is it we are having to get 14.00/pair irregular BDU’s repaired when they are new and a button comes off or a seam separates instead of returning them for another pair? Well- its because we are buying from an unauthorized dealer and someone is getting kickbacks in return. Our little connection moved on from CW Williams to AKRON- hence the Zero torque nozzle and the worthless fog nozzles. Why did we not return them and get credit towards the other nozzles we had to buy. The Zero torque nozzles were 13,000.00 We bought them 2-3 at a time so that the bid process could be avoided and direct credit card purchases could be made( Alfred Dowe has nothing on this one!!!)- there is a limit on purchases by amount before the bid procedure has to be followed. This is a common practice when trying to funnel money to a particular supplier who rewards their best customers with gifts, dummy accounts for laundering money back to yourself, and freebies like race tickets and many other untold fringe benefits.
Yes we all need to do our part to try to reduce operating expenses and yes we could get our groceries while off duty. But stop to think how much more willing would we all be if everyone was playing by the same rules starting at the top. If we want to start saving, let’s start at the top- show some initiative and implement some measures from the admin side. When will we have a Chief who will stand beside or in front of the men and women of this department and let it be known that we are important, they do care, and what we think actually matters? I’m afraid our “Chief” has shown his true colors or to be more accurate color- YELLOW . I can’t express how fed up I am with the lack of leadership in this City. It will truly be a sad day WHEN not if one of us will pay the ultimate sacrifice. And when this horrible day comes, I truly believe that our leadership will wear this death as a badge of courage and flaunt it proudly to the public as to say “How proud we are of the uncommon valor and bravery shown in the face of such danger- what a terrible tragedy”. May God have mercy on all their souls when this happens- and I will be there to point my finger at each and every one of them to remind them of these decisions and any future decisions that continue to degrade our service. Unless it is me who is the unfortunate one- then they will have to face my family and answer for their actions.
GOD BLESS YOU ALL and don’t ever forget- EVERYBODY GOES HOME NO MATTER THE COST!!!!!
I have heard a lot of Anti EMS for many years, and I tried to give Hoback the benefit of the doubt as he was given chief. after the last year all the old guys are 100% right Hoback cares nothing about the fire service, just the medic truck. I should have known the day i heard that chief manual did not get so much as a consideration for the chiefs job, that all of this was a joke. It was funny that down town waited for Hoback to get his mail in degree so they could justify their lap dog for the job.
When he got this job I figured that he would come around to the stations shake my hand look me in the eye an tell me some of his plan, hum , still waiting, but why would I think that, thats what a leader and a man would do. The truth is there was no ideas - he is out of his league and does every thing big red wants through Grigsby. I really am not trying to bash the chief but what it is ,is what it is. I have never wrote on any thing like this before but I am so dumbfounded I have to before I explode. Hoback; my suggestion would be go down stairs where the fire trucks are for now, and kindly ask forgiveness to the first firemen you see for what you have done to our fire department
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
Should we let the fools continue to run the department and city into the ground.
No. Rage aganist the maddness.
It's worse than you know.
If you are too ignorant to know whats going on; you are excused. If you know, really truly know, then you are responsible for that knowledge.
This city management is so corrupt. We know big red is clueless and incompetent. And the plan to cut emergency services yet spend for pet projects is disgraceful. The citizens should be outraged.
Remember the story about the commissioner of the revenue not trying to get personel property taxes owed by over 500 businesses...
I heard today that 90% of them are minorities. Could that be true? How does that guy keep his job?
I guess he's just like the rest of city management.
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