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STAMFORD, Conn. The following letter was submitted by Peter Cogliano, a member of the Belltown Fire Department and a Stamford resident. The Stamford Daily Voice accepts signed, original letters. Email letters to reporter Anthony Buzzeo at tbuzzeo@DailyVoice.com.
Dear readers, come Election Day you will be faced with what is arguably one of the most important elections in modern times. Much is at stake, not only on the national stage, but right here at home as well. You will be deciding on a number of important Charter changes which will directly affect you and our city. Of these none may be more important or contentious than the questions regarding our citys disjointed fire service and the future of it. Unfortunately, although much time and energy was invested attempting to combine and fix this fractured service; sadly that effort has fallen short in a very crucial and key respect. As proposed, only one stakeholder in our fire service, the career firefighters, are the ones truly represented. Because of this you must vote no to question #2 and provide the other two stakeholders, yourselves and the Citys volunteer firefighters, with what is our only chance to fix this oversight and create a truly equitable, stable and long lasting partnership.
Now, many may be worried that a no vote will simply prolong what has become an already intolerable situation. This need not be so. The 17th Charter Review Commission has already addressed and approved postponing changes for another item on their agenda. That issue, how the City handles bonding issues, will be taken up after the election by another Review Commission. While some might argue it, for different reasons the fire service issues are no less deserving of a new commission to resolve them, due in no small part to complexity involved in making the fundamental changes that our fire service needs. This added review should be, in fact must be done, but can be only if you put aside the proposed fire service changes on the ballot first. This is the only way left for you to ensure that you have a direct voice in how your fire service serves you in the future.
The importance that all affected, be they career, volunteer and most importantly you, the taxpayer, be given representation on a Fire Commission, and the voice it provides in our future fire service, cannot be over stated. In fact, other communities have realized this fact and taken the steps to ensure that it is the foundation on which their combination fire departments rest. This was first addressed in a previous letter to the Editor in which the idea of representation, as part of a revised Fire Commission, for all of the parties above was suggested. One in which not only the career and volunteer fire services but more importantly you, the taxpayer, have a voice. I wrote that plea, not only as a volunteer firefighter but as a resident and taxpayer of our great City as well. The words below express why this is so, especially as it relates to you, the taxpayer and the influence you can and should have:
Our failure to include career members on the current Commission has often resulted in a structural imbalance in the strategic and operational decision-making processes that guide service delivery. More importantly, failure to include independent citizens on the Fire Commission has resulted in policies and practices that often do not have our citizens best interests in mind. With the proposed changes, career and volunteer members will be required to clearly convince three neutral residents how each issue or concept improves the lives for those who ultimately will be called upon to foot the bill: Our citizens. It will force the new commissioners to work for common goals and objectives, and to temper all decisions under a prime directive, which asks; is this the right decision for the County and the best possible expenditure of tax dollars?
The words above are neither mine nor those of any other volunteer firefighter; they come from Andy Pantelis, President of IAFF Local 1619, which represents the career members of the Prince Georges County Fire Department, one of the largest combination fire departments in the Country. He wrote those words in a letter to that countys Executive Board, seeking representation for the career firefighters and taxpayers on the county Fire Commission that oversees their fire department. His letter outlines how and why such representation works and is of vital importance. A fact which is the same and applies, no matter what combination or proposed combination fire department is involved. His words also clearly show that a concern over a lack of representation for all, is not one exclusive to volunteer firefighters alone. As we can see, it is also one that career firefighters share, especially when it is they that are lacking it. This is borne out by the fact that as part of one of the nations largest combination fire departments, they thought it vital enough to pursue through a charter revision. The changes proposed for Stamford, though similar, have the roles reversed and will effectively invest all authority in our career element alone, thus depriving you and our Citys volunteers their voice in our fire service. Only you can now prevent this from happening by voting no to question #2 in November.
You have heard a lot of rhetoric and arguments supporting this view or that in regards to our fire service future. As you step into the ballot box you must of course cast your vote based on what you believe is best for you and our City, but before you pull that lever think it through. A no vote will provide us all an opportunity to put right what has been overlooked by a politically expedient, yet unintentionally prejudicial and oversimplified solution. It will also send a clear signal that you believe a better solution is possible. One that serves all, and in which all serve to their fullest potential. One in which you, as well as all of the firefighters who serve you, are represented. Ultimately ladies and gentlemen, your vote will decide if you and our fire service take advantage of our only opportunity to create a true and long lasting partnership, or not.
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