Lincoln looks at consolidating fire services to save money
7:52 AM Tue, Dec 01, 2009 | Permalink
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LINCOLN, R.I. -- Several residents expressed support Monday night for an effort to consolidate Lincoln's firefighting services. But they wanted to know whether the rest of the fire districts will take seats at a table where representatives from three districts sat at a public forum. Fire commissioners and chiefs from Albion, Lonsdale and Saylesville districts have launched an effort to reach some kind of consolidation and on Monday they held the first of what is expected to be more public meetings. The 45 people gathered at the Housing Authority at Lincoln Manor heard a show of solidarity from the three districts and assurances from others, including Lime Rock Fire Chief Frank Sylvester, who was in the audience, that Lime Rock, by far the largest fire district, is also supportive. The Manville Fire District reportedly supports consolidation, but the Quinnville Fire District was said Monday night to oppose the effort. Both Lime Rock and Manville representatives have joined the other three supportive districts in meetings this year with Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond. Almond says the time has come to evolve from a system that dates to a time when a small, all-volunteer department served a mill and its workers who lived close by. Almond said after the forum that he views the change as a logical step given that districts are now essentially full time, with budgets and equipment purchases that might be made more efficient. He said that while most communities have a total fire/EMS budget about 20 percent higher than the police budget, in Lincoln it was most recently a combined $6.7 million for fire/EMS -- nearly double the police budget. "Let's face it, the economy right now is killing everyone," said Michael Allen, former chairman of the Albion Fire District commissioners and one of the representatives who spoke to the public Monday. "This is a very positive sign," Almond said of the effort by the districts. He said he believes they, as the professionals with expertise in firefighting, should have the chance to find a solution they can offer the public. Any proposals would eventually need to get the nod from voters, according to representatives of the fire districts. Michael V. Napolitano, chairman of the Albion Fire District's Board of Fire Commissioners, and others see consolidation, in whatever form its takes, as achievable in three years or less. "People are getting aggravated when they get their fire tax bill in the mail and it's higher than" their utility bills, he said. He also made clear that nothing specific has been decided but, rather, "we have to look at everything." Whatever comes out of it all, Allen viewed the time line as closer to six to 10 years. Next will be an effort to select a panel made up of two representatives from each participating fire district and one at-large member. The representatives who spoke to the public Monday tentatively set the next public forum on fire district consolidation for Dec. 29 at the Lincoln Senior Center. 
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ABOUT TIME SOMEONE (SOME TOWN) SETS AN EXAMPLE REGARDING THIS ISSUE!
Here in RI, for far too many years, these little Fire District Fiefdoms have been ripping off their District's taxpayers, by stacking their boards and always having friends, relatives and close supporters, along with their fellow fireman, show up at annual meetings wherein they vote in everything and anything that they want....including sweetheart deals for salary, benefits and pensions!
As a matter of fact, most of these Fire Districts, here in RI, and elsewhere, similar to Lincoln, could go back to being almost all volunteer for even more savings!
AND....CUMBERLAND, AND THE FOUR THIEVES OF FIRE DISTRICTS THERE...SHOULD BE NEXT!
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Is Cumberland next?
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And you'll be the first to volunteer for the 3am alarm bell calls, right Tom L.?
Yeah. I didn't think so.
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Tom L, god forbid your house burns down, or if you or a family member were trapped inside of your house while its on fire and you had to wait and rely on volunteers in the middle of the night please DO NOT complain. If you happen to crash your car or get hit by another driver or a drunk driver...please sit tight and hold on in pain while those volunteers get to you...that is if they wake up for the call or aren't too busy or at another job and can't get to you.
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Progressive members of the East Greenwich Fire District have been working to consolidate operational functions with the Town for about three years. Some functions have been consolidated; a combined tax bill being one of them. The Town also collects the Fire District's taxes, and runs payroll and accounts payable services. The EGFD and Town are two separate municipalities sharing geographic boundaries.(there's one fire district in town, with two stations, and approximately 36 employees). The process has been plagued with problems, chief among them is the fact the the Town Manager has done everything in his power to torpedo the efforts. The EG Firefighter's Association has been much more open to the idea, as are the Chief and Deputy Fire Chief. Publicly the Town Manager is all for it; behind the scenes it's an entirely different story. Add the Town Finance Director and the Fire District's Treasurer to the mix, and everything nearly grinds to a halt. Then you have the Town Council and Board of Fire Commissioners. Everyone is power hungry, and doesn't want to relinquish control. I can only imagine what it's like in Lincoln.
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Fire Unions and firefighters always attack anyone who supports consolidation of services with doomsday scenarios of houses burning to the ground and people dying. This scare tactic results in a big credibility loss. Just like whenever someone proposes reducing the police workforce, the police unions suggest that the crime rate will skyrocket and quiet streets will instantly be overrun with gangs.
Taxpayers have a right to call for reductions in services.
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Notice how the flameheads go on the attack whenever
taxpayers question their existence? You need us!!
You won't survive without us. Yeah right. Well ladies...Consolidation is going to happen and then you bottom feeders will need to get a real job!!!!!!!
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Arline and Bill,
Im a professional unionized firefighter. I dont know of one firefighter opposed to consolidation. Even the providence fire dept has said on record they are open to it. Should lincoln and cumberland and coventry consolidate into single depts? ABSOLUTELY!!!! We get defensive when folks act like they dont need us because well, its entirely untrue. How often do we pull babies out of burning buildings? Daily, no. Weekly, no. Several times a year, yes. What other govt functions serve the people more than police and fire? Firefighters pick your grandmother up when she's fallen unable to get up and been on the ground for hours. Firefighters rush to your house when you toddler has their first temperature induced seazure and you think shes dying, we tell you its ok it happens. lets go to hasbro an have a look. Ive seen that look of relief on your faces. We run in the door when your daddy is blue in bed and oftens times, your daddy walks through that door again himself. We patch your sister up when her husband beats her again. We open ur grandpas lungs for air when his CHF is threatening suffocation. We protect your crushed vehicle from traffic with ours, we weave around speeding cars to cut you out of yours, we hang our bodies out to protect your spine when that airbag has wretched your neck. We push drugs to stop that overdose thats killing your only boy so he can have just one more chance to turn it all around. And sometimes we fail, because thats how life works. And we live with those failures for our entires lives. Its easy to blame us, but dont forget you need us.
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