Every taxpayer left behind, Barnstable's fire district legacy

A committee built to fail….

Barnstable’s Fire District Study Preparation Committee will meet on October 18th.  The committee has a very low threshold; to sniff the air, and see if the subject of possible consolidation  passes the smell test.

The committee’s mission is to “gather information”, “determine goals,” “set parameters,” “research funding,” and “create an RFP” for groups to conduct a study.  The group is to remain neutral and take a “positive proactive” approach to consolidation. 

The study committee was given life through concerns articulated to councilors by town residents, the Committee of 150, and the Barnstable Citizen Survey.

Maybe the young-uns and wash-a-shores are beginning to outnumber the old farts in town?

Assuming the committee is “on the level”, and not just another “Barnstable Bag Job".

COG wants to  help with your information “gathering;”

Last year;

     The state average per capita cost of fire protection was $128.

      Plymouth, a nearby city of 54,000 with 114 sq. miles of area, spent $143 per capita for fire protection.

      Barnstable, population 49,000 living within 64 square miles spent $309 per capita for fire protection.

      Barnstable’s combined 5 fire districts utilized 13 engines and 4 ladder trucks.

      The Plymouth Fire Department operated with 9 engines and 2 ladders.

Plymouth too far away?   Let's bring the comparisons closer to home.

Mashpee, Falmouth, Yarmouth, and Sandwich combined (population 93,905)

      Have as many ladder trucks as Barnstable.

      Operate with only 5 more engines.

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      Employ 15 less Fire Chiefs, Deputy Fire Chiefs, Shift Captains, and Shift Lieutenants than Barnstable (35 to 50)

      Use 50 less fire personnel (180 to 230) despite having nearly twice the population.

      Combined per capita costs of fire protection were $171.

      If Barnstable emulated the four neighboring community’s fire budgets, taxpayers would get a $7 million tax cut.

Plymouth

      Employs 15 less fire district/department officers than Barnstable.

      Operates out of seven fire stations, the same number as Barnstable.

      Employs zero EMT’s and paramedics to Barnstable’s 118 (privatized ambulance service)

The Committee needs to remember that during the last two consolidation votes, the costs of ambulance service were paid for by the taxpayers and at no cost to users. 

Today costs of ambulance service are paid for by insurance carriers, similar to all other cities and towns.  The fire districts have the option to privatize ambulance service at no cost to taxpayers.

All fire district taxes, with the exception of some minimal costs of street lighting, are used to fund fire protection.

Per capita costs of fire protection services were derived by dividing the collective $14.7 million in fire district taxes by Barnstable’s 49,000 residents.

Per capita costs in all other towns were calculated by dividing fire budgets by population.

The fire districts do not have to comply with Prop. 2 ½ tax limits.

Barbara Anderson and the Citizens for Limitations in 1980 overlooked the districts, and omitted them from the law.

Had the five Barnstable fire districts been included in the law, they would have to merge with town government because their 1980 budgets totaling $2.5 million would have been reduced to $1 million under the first formula of the law; tax ceiling of 2 ½% of the town’s EQV.                     Because the fire districts refuse to be limited by Prop. 2 ½, their taxes are not included with the town’s levy by the Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services

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spreadsheet files that annually supplies the legislature and Governor with municipal tax information for interpretation.

The impacts of Barnstable’s anemic looking tax effort are manifested in reduced local aid, such as state school aid. 

The rule on Beacon Hill is for communities to exert a maximum tax effort, pursuant to receipt of appropriate local aid.

Example of how Barnstable's tax effort vs. school aid to the General Court;

In 2005 Barnstable’s average single family tax bill was $2,784 or 10% below the state median. 

Had district taxes been included, the town’s tax effort would be 10% greater than the median.

Plymouth, Mashpee, Falmouth, Yarmouth and Sandwich;

Single family tax bills 10% greater than the state median.

This year Plymouth’s school aid is $16.8 million or $1950 per student. 

Mashpee, Falmouth, Sandwich, and Yarmouth’s average per student school aid is $1500.

Barnstable’s school aid is $1040 per student.

If you live in Hyannis in a $400K home, you’re spending $600 a year for fire protection. 

If you live in the COMM fire district you’re spending $400  a year to fund a fire department that averages about a dozen fire hydrant hook-ups a yearThe state average cost of fire protection as a percentage of the overall budget is 5.4%.  In Plymouth it’s 6.3%, and in Barnstable after plugging in the fire district levy the cost would be 12.8 % to 8.4% for police.If we’re talking about cutting fire costs in half, and the fire levy is $14.5 million, there’d be more than $7 million to either return to the taxpayers or used for other services.  The wasted fire district taxes are as much as the commercial/industrial tax levy.  If the $7 million was applied to roads instead of fire chiefs and their fire toys, we’d have to drive to Yarmouth to find a pot hole..

COG feels there’s enough money running down the drain to call for a study. 

If the committee is a legitimate one, they should feel the same.  What do you think?

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Maybe the committee could explain to the fire districts the universal benefit of compliance with Proposition 2 1/2 just like all other 350 Massachusetts communities do.

Councilor Barton, Chair of the committee, is one of two Barnstable councilors who perpetually whine about low levels of school aid.  I wonder if in her role as a parent, if she ever had an occasion to tell her child, "If you don't clean your room, no movies?"

Well the legislature has told the town of Barnstable on many occasions, "Step up your tax efforts, or no more additional school aid."

I wonder if Barton and the Committee get it?

And thank the Lord, Barnstable isn't Newton, because it has ELEVEN villages

December 19, 2005

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Too many chiefs, not enough Indians.

Consolidating Barnstable’s five independent fire districts, should be a “no-brainer” but, not with this town manager/council.

Somewhere out there in Committee Land is a group studying the feasibility of whether or not the town should fund a plan to consolidate the five fire districts. 

In 1997 when the same issue was before the voters, all five fire chiefs promised to produce the badly needed report, as none had been produced in the 95-year history of the districts.

The facts cry out for a fire district consolidation plan.

During 2004 the 6,100,000 odd residents of Massachusetts spent $830,385,173 for fire protection or $136 per capita.

Barnstable’s total fire district taxes were nearly $15,000,000 for the 49,000 residents, for a per capita cost of $327.

Barnstable’s 2004 costs of fire protection  were 240% greater than the state average.

While Barnstable’s town property taxes are limited by Proposition 2 ½, fire district taxes are exempt.  .

In addition to the fire district levy, the five fire districts collect approximately $5 million in ambulance billings.  Ambulance costs are paid for from user insurance billings.

“Do Barnstable's fire districts use Perrier Water to extinguish fires?”  Arlington Fire Chief in 1997

The fire chiefs will argue that Barnstable is the second largest land area community in the state (64 square miles) and shouldn’t be compared to the state average.

Plymouth has a population identical to Barnstable, 49,000, and nearly double the land area (114 square miles).

In 2004 Plymouth’s fire budget was $7,890,790, or $161 per capita, which is 103% less than the amount spent on fire services in Barnstable.

Barnstable’s fire costs are the state’s highest surpassing the City of Boston’s ($246 per capita) by 41%.

The fire district study committee should recommend a study based solely on the disparity in costs with other communities.

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But will it?

The make-up of the committee indicates the committee will find no reason to consolidate despite all the evidence to the contrary.

“Do you want essential services under the control of the  town manager and council?”  Fire Chief's rally call in 1997

How badly did the manager and council butcher their lone foray into the world of fire district business?

1)     They paid $6 million too much for the Barnstable Water Company.

2)      They undervalued the 109-acre BARLACO property from $5.5 million to $8.2 million depending on which appraisal used, forcing Hyannis water users to buy for town open space through their water bills.

3)     The gave out a NO-BID water management contract costing Hyannis water users $150,000 a month.

4)     The appointed a Hyannis Water Study Committee months after the deal was consummated.

5)     They just announced plans to install sewer lines from Wequaquet Lake and Long Pond homes from Strawberry Hill Road to the Waste Water Treatment Plant, and pass the costs along to Hyannis water users.

A large percentage of voters will agree with the fire chiefs.  A consolidation vote today would lose by 85% to 15%, not on the merits of equal service/property tax savings, but because of the ineptitude of town administration.

Fix Barnstable’s town government now, and the fire districts later.

December 19, 2005

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If your tax bill shows a tax rate, but lacks your home's assessed value, could it be a bill?

When COMM (and all the other fire districts) set their tax rates in the next few days, without knowing the fair market or cash value of the homes and commercial properties in their district, will the tax rates be legitimate?

If a “tax rate” is the product of a division of the district levy by the total district property value, which won‘t be known by the town Assessor until next December, what the hell will the firemen be voting on in mid-May?

This is the third year after the 2003 revaluation, and by law a new complete revaluation is required..

Everyone remembers the last year the Assessor actually revalued all the properties in town, because it resulted in surprises by the thousands, to wit, lots of $2,000 - $5,000 tax increases.

Many might also recall the tax rate dropped from $9.40 to $6.05 which meant the Cape Cod Mall, whose valuation stayed the same as the prior year, got a $250,000 tax cut.

In 2004, 2005, and 2006 the Assessor was allowed to “adjust” or “guess” property values, but this year he’ll have to compare home sales throughout the town, and come up with an accurate “market” or “cash” value of each property.

When Crocker, Crocker, and Silva set COMM’s 2007 tax rate next week, and send it on to the printer so it’ll be ready for the firemen to ratify it in mid=May no one will know if it’ll be $Y.YY TIMES $350, $450, $400, or $250, because the Assessor won’t know the value of your house until late fall.  You see the troika have no clue as to who lives where and how much their property is worth.  They'll get their tax information from the Assessor who is just as much in the dark at this point as the districts.

If you like shopping in stores where the price per pound is followed by a question mark, and the check-out counters are scale-less, the clerk merely lifts the item in both hands and guesses the weight and price, you must love the fire districts.

Solution; Why don’t the fire districts just figure out how much more money they want this year over last, and ask the Assessor to set the rate when he’s ready, just like the town does?

During the interim the Assessor can send out preliminary tax bills in August based on 50% of last year’s bill, and settle up with the final tax bills sent out next Winter?

Last year Crocker, Crocker, and Silva undervalued the worth of COMM by $450,000,000, and will end up with a nice windfall when us suckers send in our taxes.

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This year the three can triple that.

March 31, 2006

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Public Service Message..... Are Barnstable's Five Fire Chiefs Guilty of Discrimination?

If 17% of the students in the Barnstable school district are minorities, and firefighter/EMT jobs are entry-level positions,

One could reasonably expect at least 25 of Barnstable’s firefighters/EMT's are minorities.

A local citizen posed the question. We racked our brains, and could come up with only one minority firefighter (Cape Verdean descent.)

Comment on the district employing a minority only.

HELP CLEAR UP THIS QUESTION.

March 29, 2006

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Comparing Barnstable's Fire and Ambulance Costs with other Cape towns and Plymouth, SPECIAL: HYANNIS FIRE DISTRICT SALARIES

Barnstable’s five fire districts are the subject of discussion far beyond the Cape….

Many firemen defend Barnstable’s lavish spending on essential services.

They claim Barnstable is unique in that it has many seasonal homes, the owners of which are not included in town’s population skewing the per capita costs of fire protection.

Firemen also claim Barnstable’s land area and number of road miles within the town is immense

Some have even claimed Barnstable has an inordinate amount of housing units, and density of housing units

I‘ve compiled the FY 2005 fire and ambulance budgets of Plymouth, Falmouth, Yarmouth, Sandwich, Dennis, Orleans, Eastham, and Truro for a comparison to Barnstable. Plymouth privatizes its ambulance service, so I’ve depicted per capita costs of essential services both with and without ambulance revenues for Barnstable. The Barnstable total costs include the aggregate district fire taxes and ambulance revenues in the black type, and district fire taxes without ambulance revenue in the red type.

These communities are demographically similar, in that they have seasonal homes, and neighboring.

POPULATION

PLYMOUTH 51,701FALMOUTH 32,660YARMOUTH 24,807SANDWICH 20,136DENNIS 15,973ORLEANS 6,341EASTHAM 5,453TRURO 2,087TOTAL 159,158

BARNSTABLE 48,811

FIRE AND AMBULANCE SERVICE BUDGETS

PLYMOUTH $8,237,374

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YARMOUTH $5,013,854FALMOUTH $4,754,597DENNIS $3,056,906SANDWICH $3,012,004ORLEANS $1,870,842EASTHAM $1,121,330TRURO $412,711TOTAL $27,479,618

BARNSTABLE $25,465,799

BARNSTABLE                    $19,484,139

*Barnstable's Fire Taxes and Ambulance revenue in black.

*Barnstable's Fire Tax Revenue total in red.

ROAD MILES IN EACH COMMUNITY

State Town Private TotalBARNSTABLE 31 352 67 449PLYMOUTH 40 194 178 412FALMOUTH 25 217 107 348YARMOUTH 15 152 83 250DENNIS 10 145 58 213SANDWICH 18 135 25 179EASTHAM 6 51 42 99ORLEANS 10 51 34 95TRURO 10 38 11 59

HOUSING UNITS

Total Housing Units

LandArea

FALMOUTH 32,660 44 BARNSTABLE 25,018 60 PLYMOUTH 21,250 96 YARMOUTH 16,605 24 DENNIS 14,105 21 SANDWICH 8,748 43 EASTHAM 5,535 14

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ORLEANS 5,073 14 TRURO 2,551 21 TOTAL 73,867 234

PER CAPITA FIRE COSTS

PLYMOUTH $159.33FALMOUTH $145.58YARMOUTH $202.11SANDWICH $149.58DENNIS $191.38ORLEANS $295.04EASTHAM $205.64TRURO $197.75TOTAL $172.66

BARNSTABLE $521.72BARNSTABLE $399.18

*Barnstable's $521.72 per capita fire cost includes ambulance revenue.

*Barnstable's $399.18 per capita cost is the fire district aggregate total, not including ambulance revenue.

YOU BE THE JUDGE.

Are Barnstable's fire costs excessive?

Following is a list of last year's earnings for the Hyannis Fire District.

I received it without names, and I have no problem with that.  The point was the overtime and management.

I did sort the list in descending order.

$110,209$105,465$94,841$91,603$88,384$84,172$83,843$83,410

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$82,902$82,050$79,411$79,145$78,551$77,719$75,525$74,320$74,105$73,879$73,601$73,291$73,256$72,905$72,804$72,760$71,695$71,335$71,198$70,200$69,784$69,061$68,714$68,373$68,096$67,467$67,465$67,334$66,885$66,555$65,756$65,190$65,028$64,831$64,223$64,111$63,919$63,431$63,299$62,273$61,939$60,757$58,873$58,424$57,057$52,674

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March 27, 2006

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Barnstable‘s five fire districts;

Inordinate, immoderate, extreme, exorbitant, disproportionate, overmuch, intemperate, superfluous. abundance, plethora, surplus, superfluity, surfeit, profusion, inundation, lavish, redundant, surplus, and waste.

Comments regarding per capita fire costs posted earlier this week claimed Barnstable’s population doubles in July and August, skewing the results.

This comparison accounts for the summer residents as the population has been adjusted Barnstable to include the doubling during July and August.

The formula used is termed Equalized Annual Population.

Barnstable’s year-round population is 48,000 for ten months

or 480,000,

and 96,000 for two months

or 192,000.

480,000 + 192,000 = 672,000

which when divided by the twelve months in a year

equals an Equalized Annual Population of 56,000.

Centerville, Osterville, and Marstons Mills 25,000 population

jumps to 29,106,

and Hyannis’s 18,671

as Equalized Annual populations.

Barnstable’s Equalized Annual Population is ranked 19th in the state.

COMM’s adjusted population would make it the 54th largest municipality,

and Hyannis’s 114th.

I’ve listed Massachusetts 40 biggest cities, including the adjusted Barnstable population, and added COMM and Hyannis at the end for comparison as separate municipalities.

MUNICIPALITY POP.

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BOSTON 589,141

WORCESTER 172,648

SPRINGFIELD 152,082

LOWELL 105,167

CAMBRIDGE 101,355

BROCKTON 94,304

NEW BEDFORD 93,768

FALL RIVER 91,938

LYNN 89,050

QUINCY 88,025

NEWTON 83,829

SOMERVILLE 77,478

LAWRENCE 72,043

FRAMINGHAM 66,910

WALTHAM 59,226

HAVERHILL 58,969

BROOKLINE 57,107

MALDEN 56,340

BARNSTABLE 56,000

TAUNTON 55,976

MEDFORD 55,765

CHICOPEE 54,653

WEYMOUTH 53,988

PLYMOUTH 51,701

PEABODY 48,129

REVERE 47,283

PITTSFIELD 45,793

METHUEN 43,789

ARLINGTON 42,389

ATTLEBORO 42,068

LEOMINSTER 41,303

SALEM 40,407

WESTFIELD 40,072

BEVERLY 39,862

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HOLYOKE 39,838

FITCHBURG 39,102

BILLERICA 38,981

EVERETT 38,037

WOBURN 37,258

MARLBOROUGH 36,255

CHELSEA 35,080

COMM 29,106

HYANNIS 18,671

Following is a list in the he fire budgets of the same top 40 cities, and their percentage of the city or town budgets.

Note that Barnstable’s fire budget/district spending

is ranked 4th in the state,

and its percentage to the town budget is double the spending that of all other communities.

Also note that COMM’s fire district spending ranks 19th,

and Hyannis’s ranks 25th

despite their 54th and 114th population rankings.

Also note that COMM and Hyannis Fire District spending compared to Barnstable’s town budget

Are on a percentage par with the operating budgets of city budgets.

MUNICIPALITY FIRE SPENDING % Budg.

BOSTON $153,310,619 7.69

WORCESTER $29,047,593 6.91

CAMBRIDGE $21,620,045 6.51

BARNSTABLE TOWN $19,484,139 16.90

BROCKTON $16,936,728 7.57

SPRINGFIELD $16,576,567 3.79

LYNN $15,905,241 7.29

QUINCY $15,307,357 7.26

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NEW BEDFORD $14,555,545 6.50

LOWELL $13,339,746 5.29

FALL RIVER $12,925,975 6.99

NEWTON $11,477,736 5.57

WALTHAM $11,365,643 9.08

BROOKLINE $11,085,897 7.24

LAWRENCE $11,019,184 5.69

SOMERVILLE $10,979,476 7.16

FRAMINGHAM $10,255,132 6.17

CHICOPEE $8,244,221 7.48

COMM $7,995,675    6.66

HOLYOKE $7,615,506 6.52

MALDEN $7,522,611 6.34

HAVERHILL $7,218,318 5.94

WEYMOUTH $7,119,216 6.52

CHELSEA $6,496,291 6.50

HYANNIS FD $6,319,099 5.27

METHUEN $6,257,556 6.40

SALEM $6,214,963 6.57

FITCHBURG $5,906,441 6.89

MARLBOROUGH $5,809,695 7.21

WOBURN $5,775,546 6.76

ANDOVER $5,756,925 5.48

BRAINTREE $5,754,244 7.58

LEOMINSTER $5,711,306 7.60

PEABODY $5,660,955 5.63

NATICK $5,520,692 6.52

ATTLEBORO $5,226,237 6.04

ARLINGTON $4,927,162 5.74

BEVERLY $4,598,900 5.40

WESTFIELD $4,144,628 5.02

LEXINGTON $4,097,118 3.79

March 23, 2006

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Barnstable permanent homeowners, "Abate that tax bill you just got in the mail."

The property tax bill you just got in the mail contains egregious errors and ommissions;

The Residential Exemption and Split Tax Rate approved by the Town Council in November impacts the Fire District Tax as well.

The council's approval of the split tax and Residential Exemption set the tax policy for the town, and the fire districts are an entity within the town.

The Assessor's failure to apply the tax relief measures to permanent homeowners means they did not receive the $110,000 exemption from the assessed valuation of their homes in the calculation of fire district taxes.

The Fire Districts;

Have no power or ability to set a tax rate or assess property.

Taxing power is limited to establishing the levy.

Have no statutory authority to act on the Residential Exemption or Split Tax rate.

Pay the town a service fee to assess property within their districts,

Employ the Treasurer as a part time employee to collect district taxes.

Are not named in MA GL Chapter 40 Sec. 56, Ch. 59, Sec. 1A as having the authority to approve the Residential Exemption or Split Tax Rate.

Section 5C. With respect to each parcel of real property classified as Class One, residential, in each city or town certified by the commissioner to be assessing all property at its full and fair cash valuation, and at the option of the board of selectmen or mayor, with the approval of the city council, as the case may be, there shall be an exemption equal to not more than twenty per cent of the average assessed value of all Class One, residential, parcels within such city or town; provided, however, that such an exemption shall be applied only to the principal residence of a taxpayer as used by the taxpayer for income tax purposes.

Does anyone see the terms, Prudential Committee, or Fire Commissioners in the law?

The Department of Revenue Tax Chief should not have certified the fire district tax rates.

After the fire districts set the levy, the Assessor sets the tax rate pursuant to the council's decision to adopt the Residential Exemption and the Split Tax Rate, the Assessor was bound to use the same methods and manner for the tax collection of Fire District levies.

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The Assessor’s error will cost the permanent homeowners approximately $6 million in taxes.

I will withhold $125 of the district tax on my tax bill, and appeal the tax rate to the County Commissioners as proscribed by law.

A ten-taxpayer class action lawsuit should be filed to force the Assessor to correct his error in establishing the Fire District Tax Rates.

Is there anyone in town hall who has a clue about their responsibilities for anything.

Call the town manager, or your councilor, and ask he or she to correct this mistake now before the bedlam begins.

March 22, 2006

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While people in other communities feast at fine restaurants, Barnstable folk stay at home and eat ham sandwiches

This post is a comparison of Barnstable's per capita costs of fire protection to 243 reporting communities in 2005.

First a comparison of Barnstable Village's individual school to fire protection costs.

In 2005 Barnstable’s school budget was $56 million of which $6.5 million was paid by the state as school aid. The population was 48,526 which meant each one of us spent a little more than $1,000 apiece on education.

Barnstable Village‘s fire tax was $2.1 million for its 1,908 residents which means they spent $1125 each for fire protection.

THE FOLKS OF BARNSTABLE VILLAGE SPENT MORE ON FIRE PROTECTION THAN THEY DID ON SCHOOL KIDS.

The DOR posts a file on expenditures by function.

Only 243 communities filed expenses for 2005.

Listed are thereporting communities and their;  

fire budgets,

per capita cost of fire protection.

Barnstable’s fire costs are reported both for the town, and individual districts.

The town’s per capita cost is

the sum of the district tax levies, $19,484,129 million

divided by the population 48,526.

The district’s per capita costs are the individual levies divided by the village population as reported in the 2000 Census.

MUNICIPALITY/VILLAGE FIRE BUDGET/ PERDISTRICT TAXES

CAPITA

COSTBARNSTABLE FD $2,116,786 $1,109COTUIT FD $2,005,653 $605HYANNIS FD $6,319,099 $395

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BARNSTABLE TOWN $19,484,139 $399WEST BARNSTABLE $1,046,926 $335WELLFLEET $920,210 $333COMM $7,995,675 $313ORLEANS $1,870,842 $294BOSTON $153,310,619 $260CAMBRIDGE $21,620,045 $213SCITUATE $3,687,618 $206EASTHAM $1,121,330 $205YARMOUTH $5,013,854 $201BROOKLINE $11,085,897 $194WALTHAM $11,365,643 $192HOLYOKE $7,615,506 $191DENNIS $3,056,906 $191CHELSEA $6,496,291 $185ANDOVER $5,756,925 $184BROCKTON $16,936,728 $179LYNN $15,905,241 $178QUINCY $15,307,357 $173HINGHAM $3,449,537 $173WEST BRIDGEWATER $1,146,218 $172CANTON $3,572,151 $171NATICK $5,520,692 $171BRAINTREE $5,754,244 $170WORCESTER $29,047,593 $168HOLBROOK $1,754,396 $162NAHANT $586,620 $161MARSHFIELD $3,933,884 $161MARLBOROUGH $5,809,695 $159CONCORD $2,659,142 $156NEW BEDFORD $14,555,545 $155NORWELL $1,519,568 $155WOBURN $5,775,546 $155WESTWOOD $2,171,737 $154SALEM $6,214,963 $153FRAMINGHAM $10,255,132 $153LAWRENCE $11,019,184 $153CHICOPEE $8,244,221 $151FITCHBURG $5,906,441 $151FALMOUTH $4,905,241 $149SANDWICH $3,012,004 $149AMESBURY $2,452,706 $149CHILMARK $126,350 $149DANVERS $3,699,779 $146SUDBURY $2,473,176 $146MANCHESTER $761,787 $145

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NORTH READING $2,009,258 $145NORTH ANDOVER $3,949,704 $145MILTON $3,751,135 $144METHUEN $6,257,556 $142SOMERVILLE $10,979,476 $142BREWSTER $1,431,378 $141FALL RIVER $12,925,975 $140LEOMINSTER $5,711,306 $138NEWTON $11,477,736 $137KINGSTON $1,610,250 $136LEXINGTON $4,097,118 $135WAYLAND $1,759,074 $134ROCKLAND $2,372,042 $134MALDEN $7,522,611 $133AYER $972,006 $133HANOVER $1,746,067 $132WEYMOUTH $7,119,216 $132ACTON $2,687,187 $132WAKEFIELD $3,214,782 $129WRENTHAM $1,361,620 $128DUXBURY $1,819,414 $127LOWELL $13,339,746 $127WEST SPRINGFIELD $3,528,039 $126SAUGUS $3,275,282 $125WILMINGTON $2,679,211 $125FRANKLIN $3,686,063 $124ATTLEBORO $5,226,237 $124NORTON $2,227,303 $123ROWE $43,050 $123STONEHAM $2,721,814 $122HAVERHILL $7,218,318 $122MARBLEHEAD $2,464,564 $121READING $2,854,146 $120STOUGHTON $3,255,020 $120PEMBROKE $2,024,868 $119FOXBOROUGH $1,926,190 $118PEABODY $5,660,955 $117RANDOLPH $3,619,539 $117ARLINGTON $4,927,162 $116BEVERLY $4,598,900 $115ABINGTON $1,666,204 $113HOPKINTON $1,524,336 $113WINTHROP $2,036,478 $111CHELMSFORD $3,734,551 $111BOXBOROUGH $539,747 $111NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH $3,001,360 $110

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SALISBURY $856,385 $109SPRINGFIELD $16,576,567 $109EAST BRIDGEWATER $1,420,430 $109WALPOLE $2,402,788 $106WESTFIELD $4,144,628 $103AGAWAM $2,909,466 $103MENDON $534,197 $100EASTHAMPTON $1,599,015 $100AUBURN $1,568,823 $98ATHOL $1,096,815 $97MILFORD $2,596,731 $97LINCOLN $772,912 $96MONTEREY $89,446 $96SOUTHBRIDGE $1,646,352 $95FAIRHAVEN $1,527,578 $94WESTPORT $1,339,289 $94MANSFIELD $2,108,683 $94WESTMINSTER $647,211 $93WILBRAHAM $1,241,223 $92BELLINGHAM $1,374,389 $89BELMONT $3,390,378 $89IPSWICH $1,159,880 $89AMHERST $3,089,787 $89WESTBOROUGH $1,593,523 $88SOMERSET $1,583,876 $87GARDNER $1,800,541 $87NORTH ADAMS $1,241,602 $85SHARON $1,445,075 $83NORFOLK $855,195 $82DRACUT $2,314,506 $81BRIDGEWATER $2,000,232 $79DIGHTON $483,221 $78PLAINVILLE $597,178 $77STURBRIDGE $608,395 $77HALIFAX $576,013 $77SHREWSBURY $2,427,732 $76WARE $734,322 $75FREETOWN $641,225 $75LONGMEADOW $1,160,789 $74HUBBARDSTON $291,182 $74CHARLTON $810,774 $72LITTLETON $581,850 $71MILLVILLE $193,105 $71UPTON $395,920 $70SANDISFIELD $57,201 $70ASHBURNHAM $383,572 $69

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NORTHBOROUGH $940,875 $67WEST TISBURY $166,014 $67MARION $338,840 $66STOW $375,663 $63EDGARTOWN $224,427 $59GROTON $556,167 $58EAST BROOKFIELD $116,841 $56MEDFIELD $675,011 $55HEATH $43,723 $54HOLDEN $843,536 $54HAMILTON $408,027 $49ERVING $71,771 $49LUNENBURG $459,594 $49DOVER $268,719 $48TOLLAND $20,123 $47NEWBURY $317,069 $47PAXTON $194,902 $44GREAT BARRINGTON $314,520 $42LENOX $211,687 $42WARREN $197,674 $41BERLIN $97,936 $41HUNTINGTON $88,611 $41BOXFORD $320,325 $40STERLING $293,275 $40CARLISLE $186,826 $39OAK BLUFFS $146,711 $39BARRE $200,001 $39LEVERETT $63,410 $37EGREMONT $50,033 $37HOLLISTON $514,827 $37TYNGSBOROUGH $412,711 $37MILLBURY $473,638 $37OTIS $48,851 $36ESSEX $115,884 $35CHARLEMONT $48,092 $35SUTTON $284,504 $34HARVARD $200,481 $33BOYLSTON $126,973 $32STOCKBRIDGE $71,155 $31REHOBOTH $314,366 $31TOWNSEND $280,693 $30CARVER $339,155 $30DUDLEY $297,872 $30ASHBY $83,897 $29PETERSHAM $34,560 $29TISBURY $110,157 $29

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HAWLEY $9,800 $29RICHMOND $45,929 $29CHESTER $37,330 $28BRIMFIELD $93,688 $28SHUTESBURY $48,923 $27SOUTHAMPTON $146,596 $27RUTLAND $172,439 $27NEW ASHFORD $6,576 $27LEYDEN $20,290 $26GEORGETOWN $191,465 $26BELCHERTOWN $333,440 $26HINSDALE $46,928 $25NORTHFIELD $73,299 $25GROVELAND $149,189 $25NEW BRAINTREE $22,730 $24OAKHAM $40,822 $24WEBSTER $397,277 $24PLAINFIELD $13,953 $24HARDWICK $61,520 $23GOSHEN $21,017 $23PERU $18,220 $22LANESBOROUGH $64,502 $22HADLEY $100,162 $21MONSON $171,687 $20BOLTON $84,135 $20COLRAIN $35,177 $19SUNDERLAND $71,092 $19SPENCER $216,833 $18WEST BROOKFIELD $70,036 $18TEMPLETON $121,139 $18HOLLAND $42,129 $17LEICESTER $173,842 $17PEPPERELL $183,329 $16GRANBY $100,142 $16ROYALSTON $20,317 $16BROOKFIELD $44,582 $15NORTH BROOKFIELD $66,957 $14WINDSOR $11,960 $14OXFORD $180,991 $14WALES $22,310 $13CUMMINGTON $11,987 $12CHESTERFIELD $13,959 $12LEE $68,040 $11WESTHAMPTON $15,150 $10CLARKSBURG $16,804 $10BECKET $16,299 $9

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SHEFFIELD $30,624 $9CHESHIRE $24,519 $7DUNSTABLE $17,965 $6HAMPDEN $24,239 $5WILLIAMSTOWN $3,622 $0SHELBURNE $42 $0EASTON $2,191,922 -$98TOTALS $741,671,100 $148

March 21, 2006

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The Barnstable Fire District salaries have been received, and are posted.

Please not that Fire Chief Robert M. Crosby’s salary was $89,873,

and not the $155,925 asked for in the FY2004 Prudential Warrant, a photo of which is in the Photo Album in the lower right had column.

Had this information been in the possession of COG at the legal deadline on Friday, March 17th the reference to the warrant article would not have been reported

The non-receipt of the district's public record resulted in a review of past Barnstable Fire District Warrants to determine the Chief's salary.

The issue still remains that, because of the extremely low voter participation in the elections and annual meetings, and those in attendance having a symbiotic relationship with the warrant articles to be ratified, the fire districts are a government where almost any expenditure is possible.

The salaries listed are for the entire district, including the Water Department.

One of the advantages of blog reporting over the mainstream media is that omissions, misunderstandings, and errors can be reported virtually immediately.

The Fire Chief’s salary not withstanding, all other references to per capita costs in the Barnstable Fire District, still stand because the budget noted was the budget ratified.

Pfaulz, Richard P. $93,314Crosby. Robed NI. $89,873Guilford, Edward G. $79,396Ogonowsky, Richard P. $78,310Olsen, Christopher $77,976O’Ne~R Donald J. $75,400Poirier, Edward J. $67,285Cecil, Robert C. $67,194Brailey, Kevin F. $64,861lacove!li, Stephen A. $64,778Erickson Jon R. $60,992Beal, Christopher A. $60,617Garran, John W. $60,126Weir, Ge=orge $56,846Rex, Donna $56,692Marshall, Richard M. $55,861Tuepker, James N. $53,106Fleming, William E. $47,606Tivey, Ronald C. $42,636

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Mclsaac, Mary T. $40,501Rampino, Mark A. $32,353Freeman Marguerite M. $30,943Igoe, Janet L. $13,380Blanchard, George F. $6,087French, Richards B. $5,933Bein, Virginia L. $5,578Brailey, Yvette A. $3,837Neniec, Brenda J. $2,667Eager, Chades W. $2,386Desrosier, Peter E. $1,632Nemec, Jeffrey T. $1,194Karras, Terry $1,182Traugot, Debra $1,182Bassett, Evelyn G. $953Eleftherakis, Peter $953Fuller, Charles N. $953Flannery, Brad T. $582McPhee, Maureen J. $500Carroll, Richard P. $477Lewis, William I-I. $477McDaniel, Lorrie A. $462Cannon, John R. $401Doherty, Phillip A. $260Clark. Richard W. $100Fleming, John P. $50Coffin, Glenn B. $43

March 20, 2006

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We now have the Poster Boy for consolidation of the SIX fire districts/departments in Barnstable.

Along with the reason why Barnstable Fire District Chief Crosby refused to hand over the 2005 fire district salaries in the manner proscribed by state law. 

He doesn’t want us to know how easy it was for him to get his $93,660 pay raise on the warrant at the district meeting a couple of years ago.

His proposed $156,000 salary is probably chump change for the filthy rich Barnstable villagers.

The Chief’ asked for a pay raise from $63,263 to $155,925 in one giant step.

He refused to give me the Barnstable Fire District salaries, so I’m off to the Attorney General to force him to release the same public information aired on this site of the municipal, school, Cotuit Fire District, COMM Fire District, and the West Barnstable Fire Districts.

Barnstable villagers, in addition to their ostentatious wealth, are are exempt from state law.

Lookie at what I found. 

I've posted a page from the Barnstable Fire District’s 2004 Warrant (see Photo Album lower right column, click, then click again for full screen view.)

The photo indicates (in bold red) the item in which him and his three cronies on the Prudential Committee slipped into the Annual Warrant,

an article to give him a 247% pay raise from $63,363.00 to $155,925.00 in one easy step.

Since the Chief didn't give me the salaries for the district, I have no way of knowing if his new salary was approved by the assembled voters at the 2004 district meeting,

but typically only symbiotic souls attend the annual meeting, so the odds are good that his fellow firemen, their wives, families, and friends did

attend, the salary was most likely okayed.

In these days of Proposition 2 ½ tax increases, the 1,908 Barnstable village residents may have managed to give the chief a pay raise that was 90,000 times greater than the levy limit.

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Fire Chief Crosby must have thought he died and went to Heaven when the Prudential Committee laid the raise on him. 

I can imagine how hard he worked to stack the small meeting hall with supporters.

Remember last year when voters in the COMM Fire District couldn’t get a quorum of 100 out of the 20,000 voters to the district’s annual meeting. 

The meeting was postponed for two weeks, and only 85 showed up at the second meeting, which caused a frenzy of cell calls pleading people to come over to finally field a quorum, and avoid a third annual meeting try.

If the district voters did pass his salary it was 13% of the F/Y04 Fire District Fire Budget of $1,268,462.

If Crosby’s salary was approved, his pay check, by itself,

cost each Barnstable Villager $82. Compared to the state’s $130 per capita cost for all fire protection.

If the $2,194,439 fire budget was approved in FY2004, the per capita costs of fire protection in Barnstable village were $1,150.

Governor Romney and Therese Murray have their people read this blog on a daily basis.

Hopefully an aid will tack this post on their bulletin boards in the State House for reference when some folks down here whine for more school or lottery aid. 

Senator Murray can simply call the gang of 1900 in Barnstable Village for a loan next time the state has money shortfall problems. 

There are a handful of towns the size of Barnstable village so let’s examine how they stack up against the village‘s $1,150 per capita cost for fire protection;.

Hinsdale, population 1,825 spent $46,808 for a per capita cost of $26.71

Shelburne, population 2,061 spent $42 last year for a per capita cost of TWO CENTS.

Truro, population 2,180 spent $185,796 or $85.22 per capita on fire protection,

Truro’s fire budget would have been a little more than Chief Crosby’s salary.

Poor Hyannis families are coughing up $200 to send their kids to school on busses, and the Barnstable Fire Chief may have made enough money to bus 780 of them for a year.

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I know Police Chief Finnegan has several advanced degrees that figure into his high salary, and the new School Superintendent has a doctorate to support her big bucks, but Chief Crosby I’m not sure.   

This obscene salary increase attempt ranks right up there with COMM’s Chief Farrington’s article on a warrant shortly after he was elected Fire Chief to have himself declared FIRE CHIEF FOR LIFE.

Stay tuned.  When Chief Crosby is forced to give up his death grip on the Barnstable Fire Department salaries, we’ll soon learn his salary.

We might even have to use the “jaws of life” to pry the papers loose from him.

Don't you feel sorry for Chief Farrington.  He's get to service 25,000 people and his district only offered him $101 G's. 

It kind of makes you wonder how much Chief Brunelle in Hyannis makes.  He too, refused to turn over the salary data.

March 20, 2006

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The two to three thousand daily viewers to this blog this past week signal the taxpayers may finally be fed up with the inmates running the Fire District asylums.

Year after year less than 1% of COMM’s district voters turn out at either the annual district meeting or election.

Last year the annual district meeting couldn’t achieve a quorum of 100, and had to be rescheduled.

The second meeting drew 85, but attendees with cell phones called and begged friends to “come on down” and approve the $12 million + warrant, and a quorum was ultimately present.

It makes you wonder how the new arrivals got to understand all the spending warrants within the five minutes between votes.

Who does vote at the annual election and district meetings?

Answer; firemen, their wives, family and friends.

Barnstable voters should be ashamed.

Iraqi voters risked death and personal injury, but nevertheless turned out and voted by the tens of thousands.

In May, unless there is a major change in voting, the symbiotic fire society cycle will continue

and the “ins” will vote to raise and spend for themselves in property tax revenues an amount equal to 25% of the town levy. The tax money will be supplemented by $6 million in ambulance revenue raising the fire district revenues to 33% of the town levy. At a time kids have to pay $200 to ride the bus to school, and hundreds more for

sports, extra curricula activities, music, books, etc.

Did you know that Fire Chiefs salaries are to be 25% greater than their highest paid subordinate.

By giving salary increases, the chiefs automatically give themselves a raise.

COG will sponsor three articles in the annual COMM warrant in May.

Impose a limit on the annual increase in property taxes, stop “the triple dipping” in ambulance billing, and relieve an unjust burden on water subscribers.

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Article One;

The COMM Fire District shall impose upon the Prudential Committee a levy restriction of 2 ½% per annum. Should the planned appropriations or expenditures in any year exceed 2 ½% of the prior year's levy, the Committee shall place the increase on the ballot for voter ratification at the annual district election.

Rationale:

COMM property taxes increased 15.5% in 2005.

All other municipalities in the state, including Barnstable, are restricted to a levy increase of 2 ½% pending an override ballot question ratified by the voters.

COMM’s levy increase from 2004 - 2005 was 10%

or a two-year tax increase of 25%.

Article Two:

The COMM Fire District’s ambulance service billing for COMM residents shall be not exceed a resident rider's maximum health insurer payment for the ambulance service. Should a COMM resident not carry insurance covering ambulance service, the district will provide the service at no charge.

Rationale;

COMM property owners pay fire district taxes to fund operational costs. Should the need for an essential service vehicle arise, the client’s insurance carrier

pays the standard fee for the service. In many cases COMM’s ambulance fees exceed the insurance carrier‘s maximum

coverage, and residents are forced to pay the balance. As a result many residents of COMM drive themselves to the emergency room to

avoid the overcharges in ambulance billing. COMM’s insurance billing policy equates to a “triple dip” for the same service,

and this by-law will curtail the unjust billing.

Article Three;

The COMM Prudential Committee shall pay the COMM Water Department $500,000 annually as “fire readiness charges.”

Rationale

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COMM provides fire protection to areas outside the district, Hunter Hill in West Barnstable, for example, as well as water tanks to insure a sufficient flow of water to commercial customers. Many of these clients buy little or no water from the district.

Because water tanks and fire hydrants are constructed and maintained through increases in water bills, which means out-of-district homeowners and commercial entities pay little or no fire readiness costs.

While passage of this measure will increase the property tax slightly, the savings in water bills will be significant. The district does plan to construct a massive water tank soon that will benefit all, but be paid for by water users only.

If you live in Centerville, please try to understand what we are trying to do and why,

then come out to vote at the annual district meeting in May.

The dates of the district meeting and election in May will be aired on this blog on a continuing basis until the exact date has been established.

COMM also has three elected positions open for election in May.

The deadline to submit nomination papers is Friday, MARCH, 24.

COG will help any interested parties getting signatures this week, as well as support in the election.

Seats open are for Prudential Committee, Fire Commissioner, and Water Commissioner.

James H. Crocker, Jr., the town councilor, is up for reelection for COMM Prudential Committee.

The stipend for these positions is $3,000 a year, but after two terms or six years of service, you and your family will have district-paid health insurance for the rest of your lives.

Having a problem paying for health insurance?

Run, don't walk, and become a COMM commish. politician.

March 19, 2006

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We’ve always heard how wealthy people are in Cotuit, but we didn’t know they included firemen.

Along with the Cotuit salary postings, COG has filed a complaint with the Attorney General against the Hyannis and Barnstable Fire Chiefs for failure to comply with Chapter 66, Sec. 10 of the public records law, to wit, failure to provide public records in the public domain within the ten-day period.

Citizens living in both Hyannis and Barnstable Village should be ripshit over the fact their fire departments refuse to disclose information that is routinely published in the Annual Reports of just about every city and town in the country.

But I forgot.  The fire district belongs to "them," not you.

All of us in are being ripped off by the fire districts on ambulance charges. People are driving themselves to the hospital whenever possible to avoid the “double dipping” of ambulance charges.

In cities and towns utilizing private ambulance services,

the ambulance contractor must respond within five minutes with an EMT and a paramedic on emergencies.

The ambulance company can ONLY CHARGE THE PATIENT THE AMOUNT ALLOTTED BY THE INSURANCE COMPANY.

In Barnstable the fire districts charge ambulance rates that are typically twice the amount insurance companies will pay.

Local homeowners are forced to pay hundreds of dollars more. Barnstable property owners who use an ambulance are “triple dipped,”

1. because they’ve already paid for the firemen to come their home in their property taxes,

2. the insurance coverage for half the ambulance ride,3. and a third time by having to come up with the other half of the ambulance

service not covered by insurance.

Listed are the salaries for the Cotuit Fire District

PIERCE, JAYNE $125,193

PIERCE, DAVID $111,408

VANETTEN, MICHAEL $101,831

MACNAMARA, WILLIAM $86,542

SARGENT, WILLIAM $85,215

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FRAZIER, DAVID $83,508

HOFFMAN, STEPHAN $75,555

LYONS, BRENT $75,409

POULIOT, JOSEPH $67,688

FENNER, DONNA $53,436

GEGGATT, JOAN $39,955

AMENTO, JOHN* $2,988

*NEW HIRE                          TOTAL          $908,708

March 17, 2006

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The West Barnstable and Centerville Osterville Marstons Mills Fire District 2005 earnings are listed.

COMM has 91 people on the payroll, and WBFD has 60.  COMM’s total payroll was virtually $5 million, and WBFD had 60. 

COMM’s earnings have been reposted to correct errors in name spelling..COMM’s jobs come with 90% district-paid HMO health insurance, or a 70% paid non-HMO health insurance at the employee’s option.  COMM retirement pay after age 55 is calculated by multiplying the three average of the three greatest earning base pay earnings by 80%Retirement health insurance remains 90% paid HMO or 70% paid non-HMO health insurance.  Firemen work tow days on and two days off. 

WBFD health and retirement plans are not known at this point. 

COTUIT FIRE DISTRICT SALARIES WILL BE POSTED FRIDAY, MARCH  17.

West Barnstable Fire District is in the left columns and COMM in the two right columns.

Edward F. Clough $77,588 $119,396 SCHERBARTH, RICHARDChristopher J. Greim $68,533 $101,488 FARRINGTON, JOHNJoseph V. Maruca $26,782 $95,444 ROGERS, C. BRADYJohn P. Jenkins $13,615 $94,210 FIELD JR., PHILIPAdamM. Goode $10,191 $88,458 ELDRIOGE, BYRONCorey P. Walsh $9,265 $86,490 WHITELEY, CRAIGBrian D. Pecci $8,593 $85,643 GARDNER, JAMESCraig S. Pye $7,934 $83,157 AALTO, ROGER C.Jacob P. Springs $7,577 $83,013 SARGENT, RICHAiD P.Jeremy R. Cadrin $7,519 $81,150 BURCHELLI THOMAS J.David B. Quigley $7,115 $80,008 CROSBY BRITTONJoseph T. O’Hare $7,092 $79,939 OFMELIA ROBERT F.

Matthew S. James $7,051 $79,199 SCHNECKLOTH, CHARLES L.

Carl F. Syriala $6,000 $77,480 JUDGE, MICHAEL A.JoIm P. Richardson $4,059 $76,890 SM1ONS, MICHAEL 3.Edward A. Osmun, Ill $3,936 $75,816 MOSSEY, BARRY 0.Christopher W. Hussey $3,863 $74,736 SULKALA, KARL A.Edward P. Crowley $3,829 $74,700 CROCKER, CRAIG A.Todd S. Ostrom $3,626 $74,453 BENGSTON, ERIC A.Patrick W. Friel $3,594 $74,122 CARNEY, MICHAEL J.Janice IC. King $3,412 $73,334 000DEARL, THOMAS A.James A. Murphy $3,194 $73,190 LONG, THOMAS A.Marjorie A. Melanson $3,136 $72,951 CARPENIER, DANIEL T.Michael Rogers $3,113 $72,562 GREENE, SEMI

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Christopher J. George $3,042 $72,515 HENDERSON, STEVENJason Charlonne $2,990 $72,189 MISIV, THOMASMatthew P. O’Neill $2,952 $71,207 OSGOOD, DANIEL C.Ryan J. Smith $2,936 $70,999 WILLIAMS, GORDONElaine L. Grace $2,790 $70,722 GRENIER, MARC 3.Derrick A. Irving $2,751 $70,481 FEROLA, DAVIDJed A. Maki $2,629 $70,434 MACNEELY, MARTINRobert R. Stolte $2,262 $70,345 ADNIS, R. CHRISTOPHERSteven C. Davis $2,146 $69,993 DAVERN, JASON?.William C. Hallett $1,996 $69,613 RHUDE, PAULJoshua C. Glaser $1,853 $69,426 JOHNSON, GARY N.Nanette P. Jacob $1,816 $69,015 MORRISON, BRIAN 7.Jeremy P. LaFlamme $1,291 $68,831 LEWIS JR., FREDERICK C.KellenP. Daley $1,212 $68,218 SAUL, RICHARDChristopher P. Mailloux $1,020 $67,528 REED, ANDRW C.Sean R. Elliott $1,003 $66,494 TAVARES JOHNPaul A. Holt $721 $66,260 MCSORLEY, HERBERTAmy F. l-Iallett $630 $66,167 LEHANE, SEANPeterj. Golas $607 $65,846 MISKIV JR., GEORGE H.Kenneth E. Morey $500 $65,215 BENSON, ROGER W.John E. Brennan $500 $64,484 OAKLEY, GARYEdward C. Smith $500 $64,168 SABITENELLI, ERICAndrew L. Heckler $447 $64,086 GALLO, RICHARD M.Brain P. Cabral $424 $62,508 DILLOW, MATTHEW 2.Robert R. Black IV $403 $62,394 GANNON, JANICE

RobertJ. Crocker $314 $61,454 GROSSMAN, MICHAEL GLEN

Michael F. Goodwin $302 $60,688 GIFFORD, JEFFREYMaureen McPhee $200 $57,459 CROSBY ROBYNAlfred R. Mogan, Jr. $172 $55,869 MONROE WILLIAJI A.Keith L. Stranger $171 $55,825 SPRAGUE, 1JUDITH C.Christel E. Icalweit $107 $55,424 MOTTIE, LAURIEClifford P. Irving $86 $55,184 PULSIFER,FRANCISPhilip A. Blowers $74 $53,420 NICKERSON, SAMUELDaniel J. Mullen $50 $52,148 FERGUSON KEVINEric P. Anderson $36 $48,086 DELANE, ANTHONYSean P. Cox $29 $47,465 LOVERIDGE KATHRYNTOTAL $341,577 $44,538 WINFIELD, JUDITH

$42,971 HYLAS, JAMIE$39,624 RAYMOND ROGER P.$36,130 LONGEWAY, SHEILA A.$35,500 FAWKES, TURNER$35,463 DEGRAAN, MICHAEL$34,959 DALBEC, EDWARD J.$34,872 FARIA, CHARLES$32,999 PISTONE MATTHEW P.

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$32,466 STOLZ, SUSAN$32,423 OAKLEY, PETER$30,000 DONAHUE, ROBERT$29,633 FLICK, MARY$29,292 DUNTON, MARCUS$24,092 TAVANO, DIRSTEN$23,951 PICARD TIMOTHY C.$13,340 ROGERS, MICHAEL R.$13,150 GELINAS, DAVID$8,732 MAHONEY, JESSICA$6,803 GLEASON, KATHLEEN$3,000 RILEY, EDWARD P$3,000 CROSBY, SCOTT$3,000 CROCKERCARLTON$3,000 MCINTYRE, WILLIAM A.$3,000 CROCKER, JAMES$3,000 HANSEN, PETER$3,000 SILVA, NESTOR 0.$3,000 CHASE, JEFFREY A.$3,000 HULME, FRED$2,500 MCPHEE, MAUREEN$1,973 HOOKINSON, FLORENCE

$4,892,400         TOTAL

March 15, 2006

40

The Centerville Osterville Marstons Mills Fire District 2005 earnings are listed.

The list has 91 employees including the ten elected officials, and one retired clerk. The total payroll is virtually $5 million, and includes water department employees along with firefighters.

If the numbers carry over to Hyannis, it doesn’t look like the town and fire districts will achieve 100 employees with earnings greater than $100K.

The jobs come with 90% district-paid health insurance and 80% of highest earnings retirement benefits.  Firemen work 2 days on with 2 days off or work 3 1/2 days per week.

SCHERBARTH, RICHARD $119,396FARRINGTON, JOHN $101,488ROGERS, C. BRADY $95,444FIELD JR., PHILIP $94,210ELDRIOGE, BYRON $88,458WHITELEY, CRAIG $86,490GARDNER, JAMES $85,643AALTO, ROGER C. $83,157SARGENT, Richard P. $83,013BURCHELLI THOMAS J. $81,150CROSBY BRITTON $80,008OFMELIA ROBERT F. $79,939SCHNECKLOTH, CHARLES L. $79,199JUDGE, MICHAEL A. $77,480SM1ONS, MICHAEL 3. $76,890MOSSEY, BARRY 0. $75,816SULKALA, KARL A. $74,736CROCKER, CRAIG A. $74,700BENGSTON, ERIC A. $74,453CARNEY, MICHAEL J. $74,122000DEARL, THOMAS A. $73,334LONG, THOMAS A. $73,190CARPENIER, DANIEL T. $72,951GREENE, SEMI $72,562HENDERSON, STEVEN $72,515MISIV, THOMAS $72,189OSGOOD, DANIEL C. $71,207WILLIAMS, GORDON $70,999GRENIER, MARC 3. $70,722FEROLA, DAVID $70,481

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MACNEELY, MARTIN $70,434ADNIS, R. CHRISTOPHER $70,345DAVERN, JASON?. $69,993RHUDE, PAUL $69,613JOHNSON, GARY N. $69,426MORRISON, BRIAN 7. $69,015LEWIS JR., FREDERICK C. $68,831SAUL, RICHARD $68,218REED, ANDRW C. $67,528TAVARES JOHN $66,494MCSORLEY, HERBERT $66,260LEHANE, SEAN $66,167MISKIV JR., GEORGE H. $65,846BENSON, ROGER W. $65,215OAKLEY, GARY $64,484SABITENELLI, ERIC $64,168GALLO, RICHARD M. $64,086DILLOW, MATTHEW 2. $62,508GANNON, JANICE $62,394GROSSMAN, MICHAEL GLEN $61,454GIFFORD, JEFFREY $60,688CROSBY ROBYN $57,459MONROE WILLIAJI A. $55,869SPRAGUE, 1JUDITH C. $55,825MOTTIE, LAURIE $55,424PULSIFER,FRANCIS $55,184NICKERSON, SAMUEL $53,420FERGUSON KEVIN $52,148DELANE, ANTHONY $48,086LOVERIDGE KATHRYN $47,465WINFIELD, JUDITH $44,538HYLAS, JAMIE $42,971RAYMOND ROGER P. $39,624LONGEWAY, SHEILA A. $36,130FAWKES, TURNER CHATH~N $35,500DEGRAAN, MICHAEL $35,463DALBEC, EDWARD J. $34,959FARIA, CHARLES $34,872PISTONE MATTHEW P. $32,999STOLTZI SUSAN 71 $32,466OAKLEY, PETER $32,423DONAHUE, ROBERT $30,000FLICK, MARY $29,633

42

DUNTON, ~RCUS J. $29,292TAVANO KIRSTEN L. $24,092PICARD TIMOTHY C. $23,951ROGERS, MICHAEL R. $13,340GELINAS, DAVID $13,150MAHONEY, JESSICA $8,732GLEASON, KATHLEEN $6,803RILEY, EDWARD P $3,000CROSBY, SCOTT $3,000CROCKER, CA2ITON B. $3,000MCINTYRE, WILLIAM A. $3,000CROCKER, JAMES $3,000HANSEN, PETER $3,000SILVA, NESTOR 0. $3,000CHASE, JEFFREY A. $3,000HUU4EI PREDA. $3,000MCPHEE, MAUREEN $2,500HOOKINSON, FLORENCE $1,973TOTAL $4,892,404

March 14, 2006

43

Keep it up Farrington and Crocker, and you’ll have to rent Gillette Stadium to hold your annual district meeting in May. .

Maybe you haven't noticed, but the Times is writing a series on Freedom of Information requests.  I have such a request in for the 2005 salaries, and the deadline is Friday.

The natives in Barnstable are getting restless which doesn’t bode well for the chiefs who’ve been caught squirreling away the tribe's wampum.

As for Julius, Walsh, Doiron, Papparo, capecog readers, including myself, how about flexing our muscles.

Let's go out Saturday and get the signatures to put a referendum on the ballot in May to cap annual fire district spending to 2 ½%.

At the same time we can get signatures for a second referendum to cap ambulance fees to insurance carrier fee payment standards. and stop suing taxpayers for overcharges.

Why should 20,000 COMM voters let a couple of hundred firemen, their wives, friends, and family decide how much of everybody's money they want to spend this year.

Thank God for Cog;

Barnstable doesn’t need more affordable homes. What we do need are more Donald Trumps, and Bill Gates of the world to build more expensive homes.

We need to drive up the average home cost to that of Nantucket where the Residential Exemption is $316,700.

That would mean all us average folk who live in $325,000 homes can go down to the redemption center and cash in all our soda bottles to pay our property taxes because the exemption could be as much our homes are assessed.

This site is out of business.

March 14, 2006

44

Barnstable doesn’t need overrides. Every year fire districts raise property taxes from 4 to 5 times what they were the year before, because voters give them a blank check.

COMM tax increase this year is 15%, and that doesn’t include millions in ambulance fees, most of which comes from money beyond what insurance companies pay…

The average home gives the fire district $550 in taxes, and the owner's insurance company pays a maximum standard charge for ambulance service. 

The districts gouge $300 and more beyond what the insurance company pays, and sue to collect the difference.

WITH SUCKERS THAT TOLERATE THIS KIND OF ABUSE BY THEIR CIVIL SERVANTS.  NO WONDER WHY PEOPLE GET THEIR OWN TRANSPORTATION TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM.

Only in Barnstable.  No wonder why this site is out of business.

March 13, 2006

45

If the fire district taxes in West Barnstable will be $1,163,265, including $115,000 for a new roof on the fire station, and the department services 2,023 people,

how much will the per capita cost of fire protection total?

Answer $575.00.

If Ozzie and Harriet lived in West Barnstable, both of them would be sending

$1,150 to the fire district to pay for essential services,

but if they lived in

Medfield they‘d send in $112,

Lincoln, $194,

Ware, $170,

Manchester by the Sea, $244.,,

in Eastham, $412,

and Brewster $240.

Or anywhere else in the state $320.

Are people in West Barnstable that rich that a family of two can simply toss $800 out the window every year on unneeded fire costs?

Tomorrow illegal immigrants who perform the jobs Americans don’t want will take a time out.

With the 2% voter (TWO PERCENT) turnout in West Barnstable’s Fire District election the other day, aliens stand a good chance of taking over firefighter's jobs next year.

Four dozen legal immigrants who buy four homes in West Barnstable, and turn out to vote in the Fire District election next year, and the fire station could be flying the Brazilian flag.

There must be firemen in Brazil. 

If Brazilians are willing to work for less, why not in Barnstable as firefighters and EMT’s? 

46

The word tomorrow should be, "aliens get registered and move to Barnstable."   "The town is ripe for picking."

On Monday night the 3,500 residents of the Barnstable fire district will be asked to approve $2.8 million in spending for fire and emergency services from the district’s $3.6 million overall budget (balance is Water District funds.)

If Ozzie and Harriet lived in Barnstable Village, they’d be mailing in $1,585 for fire protection or about $400 more than their neighbors in West Barnstable.

Barnstable Village’s $793 per capita cost of fire protection needs to be contrasted with its per capita cost of education of $1,147.

Fire costs are on the rise in Barnstable folks.  It won’t be long before taxpayers will spend more per capita on fire protection than they do on education.

You got that up on Beacon Hill? 

$793 per capita spent on fire, and $1,147 per capita spend on education.

If you’re going to increase education aid by $82 million, don’t send any Barnstable’s way.

We’ve got plenty.

On Saturday the Barnstable Fire district held its annual election. 

Monday the district will hold its annual meeting.

Any ventures on the turnout?

I say no more than 3%.

If the voter turnout in Iraq, despite the car bombings and rocket attacks, was as bad as it was in Barnstable and West Barnstable, President Bush would order the troops home tomorrow.

Ashamed to live in Barnstable.

April 30, 2006

47

COG received an email yesterday from the Barnstable Patriot

Dave Still insists he correctly reported the West Barnstable F/Y2007 budget operations request at $747,900 up for voter approval tomorrow.

Following is a scanned version of the warrant.

Yes the TOTAL FIRE DEPARTMENT EXPENSE is $747,900, but “other” costs, including the three articles in the warrant (Radio Equipment, Protective Gear, and a new roof for the fire station) that total $166,000, bring the total to $1,262,765.

Voters can only reject the three warrant articles leaving a minimum budget of $1,096,765 that is “voter-proof.”

You decide.

Was it more appropriate and accurate for the Patriot to report next year’s fire costs in the West Barnstable Fire District at $747,900 or $1,262,765?.

GROUP / LINE ITEM REQUESTED

STREETLIGHTS 7,800SHORT TERM INTEREST 1,000INTEREST LONG TERM DEBT 22,750PRINCIPAL LONG TERM DEBT 101,000TOTAL DEBT SERVICES 124,750MODERATOR 50DISTRICT TREASURER 6,000DISTRICT CLERK 4,000PRUD COMMITTEE MEM (3 @500 EACH)

1,500

CONTINGENCY 2,000SALARY; TOWN OF BARN TAX COLLECTOR

220

TOTAL DISTRICT SALARIES 13,770ASSESSIN~ITAX COLLECTION 5,000BANK SERVICE CHARGES 300FICAJMEDICARE 4,700LEGAL 1,500PRUDENTIAL COMMITTEE OPERATION

6,200

PAYROLL SERVICES 2,000WATER COMMISSION OPERATION

250

TOTAL DISTRICT EXPENSES 19,950

48

FIRE CHIEF 67,000DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF 10,000FIRE ALARM SYSTEM 3,200FIRE DEPT OPERATION 92,000FIRE DEPT PAYROLL, CALL 145,000FIRE DEPT PAYROLL, CAREER 259,000FIRE DEPT PAYROLL, CAREER OT 122,000FIRE DEPT PAYROLL, ADM. ASST. 12,500CAPE & ISLANDS EMS SYSTEM 2,600HYDRANT SERVICE 1,700RECRUIT TRAINING 0UNIFORMS 4,400FITNESS 7,000DISPATCH 18,000TRAVEL & TUITION 3,500TOTALFIRE DEPARTMENT 747,900COUNTY RETIREMENT 25,095GROUP I-!EALTI-I INSURANCE 81,000INSURANCE 47,000TOTAL MISCELLANEOUS 153,095RESERVE FUND 15,000STABILIZATION FUND 15,000TOTALS-lU 1,097,265RADIO EQUIPMENT 60,000PROTECTIVE GEAR 20,500ROOF REPLACEMENT 85,000TOTAL SPC ART REDISTRIBUTED/FY 07

165,500

TOTALS 1,262,765

April 25, 2006

49

Please President Bush, Please

When you clean up the voting irregularities in Iraq, could you send some troops into Barnstable to protect our voting rights?

Centerville, Osterville, Marstons Mills (COMM) Fire District has more than 20,000 voters, and we all have to vote at a single polling place within an eight-hour period.

It is impossible to get more than 5,000 voters to cast ballots in the building on a single day.

MA General Law, Chapter 54, Section 6 “every town having precincts or six thousand, two hundred or more inhabitants shall, divide the town in the manner hereinafter provided into convenient voting precincts.”

o 2,023 West Barnstable Fire District voters from its population of 2,500 are expected to cast ballots within 2 hours next Wednesday.

o They’ll then vote within minutes to approve a $750,000 fire district levy at the annual district meeting beginning at 7:00 PM.

Last year the towns of;

o Lincoln (population 8,006) o Manchester by the Sea (6,228) o Ware, (9,707), and o Medfield (12,273)

had respective fire budgets ranging from $772,912 to $695,011.

o Each of the communities used a combination of full time and call firemen. o All provided ambulance services at no cost to residents, although two of

the towns bill insurance providers where applicable.

Manchester by the Sea is an affluent community and hometown to General Patton, and abuts the Myopia Polo Club in Hamilton.

The blood in those communities is far bluer than its southern cousin communities.

Medfield is nestled next to two of the most affluent Massachusetts communities of Dover and Sherbourne, and was the home of Drew Bledsoe, and Pete Carroll.

o Curt Schilling bought Bledsoe’s home when he signed with the Red Sox. While the exact price isn’t known, it is reported to be far less than the original asking price of $16 million.

50

If Medfield’s fire department is safe enough for key members of the Super Bowl Champion Patriots, World Champion Red Sox, and the manager of the two-time NCAA Football Champion, U.S.C. Trojans,

o is the service West Barnstable offers equally as safe for its residents.

Last year's per capita costs of fire protection in

o Medfield were, $56,, o in Lincoln, $97. o In Ware,$65,, o and in Manchester by the Sea, $122, o and in tiny West Barnstable for the year beginning July 1, 2006, $300.o The per capita costs of the total fire district levies in Barnstable beginning

July 1, 2006 are expected to be $420.

But unlike the northern towns when ambulance billing exceeds insurance carrier payments,

o in Barnstable you will be billed for the difference.

Of course Curt Schilling and the rest of the luminaries in the state don’t get to vote for their favorite Fire District politicians, because his essential services are handled by the town’s Board of Selectmen through the budget process.

Personally I’d rather stick with Curt Schilling because I know he is a winner.

But then, I’m in the minority in Barnstable,

o so I’ll just have to continue to piss my money away on the fire districts.o that disregard any law they don’t like, o while embracing any law they find favorable to them.o No to Proposition 2 ½ levy limits, o Yes to rejecting the Residential Exemption on the levy to permanent

residents.o No to the laws that require a separate polling place for every 6,500

inhabitants o Yes for holding two-hour elections.

The war in Iraq may not be wrapped up in time for President Bush,

Mitt, will you send troops to Barnstable once you wrap up in Iraq?

April 19, 2006

51

Anatomy of slime….Fire District tax policy

It might be boring stuff, but it’s how the districts plan to rip you off once again.

State property tax laws permit an imposition of taxes based on speculation periodically, but followed by an adjustment to "cash" or "market value" every three years.

Barnstable's F/Y 2007 property taxes are due for such an adjustment.

Calendar year 2003 was the last year for evaluation.

2004, 2005, and F/Y 2006 (altered for quarterly billing) property taxes were “guesstimates” based on random sales data.

Jeff Rudziak, Barnstable’s new Assessor recently said his department needs a full year of sales figures to set new values, and assuming he started in January, he’ll be on track with the latest assessments in December.

Not that bad because the town just signed onto quarterly tax which begins on July 1st.

Like last year, the first and second quarter bills will be based on 50% of the prior year, and the second two quarters will settle up the first half estimates.

The pressing question today is,

“Since December is eight months away, what data will the fire district’s use this month to develop their F/Y 07 tax rates?”

Massachusetts General Law requires "cash" or "market" values during the next fiscal year which doesn't start until July.

COMM, for example, is preparing its F/Y 07 budget and setting its tax rate for voter ratification next month.

Last year COMM's Crocker, Crocker, and Silva came up with a tax rate of $1.06 after adding 12.5% on top of the prior year’s levy.

The problem was the $1.06 was based on an assumed total property value in April of $7.5 billion for the villages of Centerville, Osterville, and Marstons Mills.

In last year's May district meeting voters thought they were approving just a $1 million tax increase, but when December came along, the actual property value of the three villages was $7.95 billion.

COMM's final tax bill was sent out last month and the increased value at the $1.06 tax rate gave Crocker, Crocker, and Silva a $500,000 windfall.

52

In 2002, the year before the last revaluation period, the town’s total taxable worth was $7 billion that jumped $11.3 billion in 2003,

an increase of 50%,

That increased to $14.5 billion in 2006

or a 100% increase in 5 years.

The meteoric rate of inflation drove Barnstable to 11th place in the top 25 least affordable housing markets in the U.S.A.

The revaluation due in December will tell us definitively if the inflation was for real, or a figment of assessing imagination.

Foreclosures in Barnstable are up 40%.

Homes are on the market for nine months…

with little activity.

     Home prices have dropped 20% - 30%,

    and the lines that a willing buyer and willing   

    seller are willing to accept aren‘t close to

    intersecting..

Potential buyers are still “waiting it out” sensing the market will drop further in the near future.

But deep in the bowels of the Taj Mahal, Crocker, Crocker, and Silva will venture a tax rate.

Which will be challenged at the Department of Revenue when sent for certification.

Even more astoundingly,

Crocker, Crocker, and Silva, and the rest of their ilk, will also vote on the split tax rate and Residential Exemption for their respective districts.

They will vote without any language in the law granting them any such authority.

Since the law requires a breakdown of the total assessments of all the property classes in each of the fire districts.

53

And the Assessor claimed he won’t know these numbers until December,

Will their votes be legal?

The law on the vote on the Residential Exemption requires the total value of seasonal and permanent homeowners be known, as well as the average priced home in each of the fire districts.

A subsequent breakdown of the 10% and 20% exemption tax rate increases be listed,

as well as the final tax rates for the two exemption choices be known.

Once again the town Assessor has indicated he will not know these figures until December.

COG has already challenged the DOR Tax Chief on all these issues.

This year the slime stops here.

April 18, 2006

54

Barnstable taxpayers spend thousands of dollars for ambulance service every year.

They've paid for ambulance service in their;

home insurance, homeowners insurance, auto insurance, health insurance….

Store and shop owners pay for ambulance service in their liability insurance plans…

The Cape Cod Mall will pay $692,285 for police, schools, health, DPW, roads, debt, general administration, etc.,

and $264,635 to the fire district,

$132,316 just for ambulance service.

I’m sure the ambulance costs are a “pass through” to customers…

or the costs are passed on to you once again.,.

So why are you writing a check this month for $300 - $500 to the fire districts to pay for more ambulance service?

In case you didn’t know, half your fire district taxes are used to pay the costs of the 136 EMT’s, Paramedics, and 10 ambulances in town.

Most other cities privatize ambulance service, and the contractors take no tax money.

Ambulance contractors survive from billing for services provided.

and offer two paramedics on every call, instead of EMT's with minimal training..

The fire district’s enabling legislation does not mention a word about ambulance service.

The legislatures long ago gave the fire districts the right to impose taxes for fire protection and water service only.

You’re being strong-armed into an unlawful renegade monopolistic ambulance service that costs you $10 million in taxes every year, as well as another $6 million in insurance carrier payments..

55

And, if you do happen to use the service, the districts bill you for what your insurance carrier didn’t pay.

Private contract ambulance services cannot "double bill" for ambulance service.

You'd think the council would give us the option of not paying half the fire district tax so we could contract with a private ambulance service. 

BOSTON DOES IT...

Boston's ambulance service is not connected to the Boston Fire Department.

The Boston Board of Health offers EMS ambulance service in conjunction with three private ambulance contractors.

April 03, 2006

56

One man’s thumbnail Rx for trimming $10.5 million off fire district taxes..

Consolidate the five fire districts into one super-district.

Retain the Fire District Water Departments as independent entities that operate on water fees only.

Pink slips to

4 Fire Chiefs,

4 District Clerk/Treasurers,

4 Assist. Clerk/Treasurers,

12 Fire Commissioners,

12 Prudential Committeemen,

81 EMT’s,

55 Paramedics,

and 3 Fire Prevention Officers.

Retain firefighting personnel;

1 Fire Chief 3 Deputy Chiefs 13 Lieutenants , 36 Privates, 9 Captains, , and 88 Firefighters.

Hire

24 more firefighters .

Privatize ambulance service to a company that will;

Operate from fees from insurance carriers without double billing patients for fees not covered.

The super fire district will pay for extra ambulance service in Cotuit/other town extremities.

57

Provides two paramedics per emergency run.

Uses EMT’s for transfers only.

Gives first preference to hiring laid-off fire district employees.

Responds to emergency calls within five minutes.

Allow private ambulance contractor the use of fire stations.

Sell

10 ambulances.

and 2 ladder trucks.

Gross Savings on earnings, $13,000,000

Add extra firefighter earnings, $1,500.000

Add additional benefit costs of ambulance service, $1,000,000

Want more details on the taxpayer diet?

Ask your councilor to support a fire district study when the issue comes before the town panel.

Fire District taxes can be cut in half.

This is a layman's view used to justify the need for a study.

April 02, 2006

58

Why would anyone in their right mind want to live in Hyannis?

The Hyannis property tax rate is 7% higher than COMM, and 21% greater than Yarmouth, its two neighboring communities..

Hyannis's average water bill is 66% greater than COMM, and 39% more than Yarmouth.

COMM‘s 12,000 customers divided by $1.5 million in water fees. Yarmouth, with 16,340 water customers collects $3.6 million for an average of

$220 each. Hyannis water services 7,200 customers pay $2.6 million, or $361 each. 

While Yarmouth and COMM have modern ductile iron pipes in good condition, Hyannis water users need $55 million in badly-needed capital improvements, including the replacement of;

a 100-year old wooden water tank, 45 miles of asbestos pipe, 700 fire hydrants with 4” hose connections (6" connections are standard)

And constructing

A $5 million plant to remove iron and manganese from the water supply. $2 million to rehab wellheads.

If the costs to fix the derelict water system weren’t bad enough, Hyannis water users face a 20% increase in water rates just to pay off the principal and interest to payoff a $10 million acquisition loan.

The current $10 million temporary acquisition note requires interest-only annual payments of $500K because a permanent loan wasn't possible due to the ten-taxpayer lawsuit.

Since the suit has been dropped, and the one-year term of the interest-only note due to expire on June 21, Hyannis ratepayers will borrow $10 million long-term that will increase debt service by $500K to amortize principal.

Shortly Hyannis water bills face a 20% increase to amortize the acquisition note.

Hyannis water users woes will get worse..

Last week the Hyannis Water Committee agreed that $55 million in capital improvements are needed over the next 10 years.

Hyannis water rates will increase 20% for each $10 million borrowed to pay for capital improvements. 

59

Hyannis water users can look forward to an average water bill of $800 in the near future, without factoring inflation costs.

Hyannis Fire District costs are more than Yarmouth and COMM.

Costs of fire protection in Hyannis are $1.61 per $1K of property valuation compared to $1.06 in COMM. 

Yarmouth has no added tax for fire protection costs are included in the property tax.

A home assessed at $500K paid $275 more in fire district taxes than its counterpart in COMM, and $870 more than an identically valued home in Yarmouth.

Typically folks who live on the “other side of the tracks” spend less for essential services, but in Hyannis, thanks to councilors, Munafo, Brown, and Tobey, such is not the case. 

If you anticipate purchasing a home, make sure you factor the extra $100 a month just to live in Hyannis, than it does in Yarmouth, Centerville, Osterville or Marstons Mills.

You can verify this post by clicking on the following websites, and from the 2005 Town of Yarmouth Annual Report.

May 27, 2006

60

Stick a fork in Barnstable politics, it’s done….

30 of the 12,000 registered Hyannis voters turned out last night to approve an $8 million Hyannis Fire District Budget.

Couple that with a 21st Century record turnout at the COMM Annual Meeting on Tuesday when 178 of the 20,000 district voters turned out to approve a $13 million budget.

The district voter turnouts at the two annual meetings to approve $21,000,000 in spending for the next year were;

two-tenths of one percent in Hyannis,

and nine-tenths of one percent in COMM.

It’s too bad the voter turnouts in Iraq weren’t comparable to those in the All American City of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Cape Cod,  U.S.A.. because if they were President Bush would have to order the troops home, and turn Saddam Hussein loose.

The turnouts at the annual meetings in the West Barnstable and Barnstable Fire Districts were equally anemic, which means the four districts will spend close to $29 million next fiscal year ratified by less than 1% of the registered voters.

Even more amazing is that not one of the 12 elected positions were contested in the annual elections.

The only article on all four warrants that got rejected was a $7,000 request for a gym weight set at the West Barnstable Fire District.

COMM  voters ratified an extra $478,000 to be divvied up by 50 firemen in retroactive pay, which means the gang’s obscene salaries of last year will be even more bloated in a few weeks.

Several years ago when I pushed the districts to bill insurance providers for ambulance service, I insisted that residents without insurance continue to get a free ride. 

Property owners, through their fire district taxes, already pay firefighter's expenses.

Dunning homeowners for overages beyond what insurance carriers pay is "double dipping."

Now I find out the Hyannis Fire District is paying a company in Rowley, MA, 20% of each ambulance invoice for billing service.

61

Last year's ambulance "take" in Hyannis was $1.1 million which meant the billing company got more than $350,000 for handling the paper work.

Comstar is throwing away money by not dunning homeowners.

With all five districts using Comstar for billing service, the company has to be grossing close to $800,000 for sending out and collecting fees for ambulance bills.

Small wonder why people who've used the ambulance service in the past, now drive themselves to the hospital in emergencies.

Perhaps the town should allow a private ambulance company to operate on the condition it only bills the going rates.

Can't the districts find some local undocumented immigrants who will perform the service for less  20%?

Federal and State politicians and bureaucrats, when contemplating local aid to Barnstable, should take notice of the complete apathy in town

The perpetual whining emanating from Barnstable for more funding are really just peeps from a handful of roaring mice.

It's time to streamline Barnstable's tax collection policy by just asking for property owner’s debit and credit cards. 

Town administrators could then just charge the cards monthly for whatever amount they think is fair without the formalities.

The handful of decent Americans living in Barnstable should walk around with paper bags over their heads until they get out of town.

May 17, 2006

62

What would you think if I sang out of tune

Would you stand up and walk out on me Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song And I'll try not to sing out of key

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends Mm, I get high with a little help from my friends Mm, gonna try with a little help from my friends

COMM firefighters need a little help from their friends…

The last Annual Centerville Osterville Marstons Mills Fire District Meeting almost didn’t get a quorum to approve the annual budget.

On Tuesday, May 16, 2006 the gang will need

at least 100 of the 20,000 COMM Fire District voters to show up.

The hundred voters will equal a one-half of one percent turnout.

They need to stay just up to Article 25.

Articles 26 and 27 are just appropriations  to raise

$500,000 for pay raises this year. as bonuses for work performed last year, and the year before. as retroactive pay. or windfalls. 

The articles were placed last hoping most of the regular folk will have gone home by then.

ARTICLE 27

To see if the District will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available fundss and appropriate the sum of $340,700 for the contract settlement of the Fire Department Fiscal Year 2006 for employees covered under the collective bargaining agreement....

ARTICLE 26...

To see if the District will appropriate $132,138 ......

63

Total of both warrants...$472,838 in BACK PAY to be divvied by 49 union employees

On top of the bonuses, going forward

Pay raises include a

12.4% raise for Chief Farrington. 

The Chief's salary was $101,488 last year

increased to $114,047 this year.

The Deputy Chief will get a,

12.5% raise from

$86,500

to $97,326.

What’s good enough for the Chief is good enough for the Deputy.

The firefighting mechanic got a 32% base pay raise to

$83,333.

And that doesn’t include overtime.

The firefighters will get a 18% pay increase in regular wages,

and a 19% increase in overtime pay.

and a 19% increase in holiday pay.

For all, but the Chief and Deputy Chief, the $472,838 will be in addition to union COMM earnings last year, which follow, sorted by the greatest salaries in descending order.

SCHERBARTH, RICHARD $119,396

FARRINGTON, JOHN $101,488

ROGERS, BRADY $95,444

FIELD JR., PHILIP $94,210

ELDRIDGE, BYRON $88,458

WHITELEY, CRAIG $86,490

64

GARDNER, JAMES $85,643

AALTO, ROGER $83,157

SARGENT, RICHARD  $83,013

BURCHELLI THOMAS, $81,150

CROSBY, BRITTON $80,008

O"MELIA ROBERT $79,939

SCHNECKLOTH, CHARLES $79,199

JUDGE, MICHAEL $77,480

SIMMONS, MICHAEL. $76,890

MOSSEY, BARRY $75,816

SULKALA, KARL $74,736

BENGSTON, ERIC A. $74,453

CARNEY, MICHAEL $74,122

G00DEARL, THOMAS  $73,334

LONG, THOMAS $73,190

CARPENTER, DANIEL  $72,951

GREENE, SEAN $72,562

HENDERSON, STEVEN $72,515

MISKIV, THOMAS $72,189

OSGOOD, DANIEL C. $71,207

WILLIAMS, GORDON $70,999

GRENIER, MARC $70,722

FEROLA, DAVID $70,481

MACNEELY, MARTIN $70,434

ADAMS, CHRISTOPHER $70,345

DAVERN, JASON. $69,993

RHUDE, PAUL $69,613

JOHNSON, GARY $69,426

MORRISON, BRIAN. $69,015

LEWIS, FREDERICK C. $68,831

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SAUL, RICHARD $68,218

REED, ANDREW $67,528

TAVARES JOHN $66,494

MCSORLEY, HERBERT $66,260

LEHANE, SEAN $66,167

MISKIV JR., GEORGE  $65,846

BENSON, ROGER $65,215

SABITENELLI, ERIC $64,168

GALLO, RICHARD M. $64,086

DILLON, MATTHEW  $62,508

GANNON, JANICE $62,394

GROSSMAN, MICHAEL GLEN $61,454

GIFFORD, JEFFREY $60,688

CROSBY ROBYN $57,459

MONROE WILLIAM $55,869

SPRAGUE, JUDITH $55,825

MOTTE, LAURIE $55,424

PULSIFER,FRANCIS $55,184

NICKERSON, SAMUEL $53,420

FERGUSON KEVIN $52,148

May 14, 2006

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EXTRA! EXTRA! Monday’s COMM sticker campaign to upset Jimmy Crocker for his Prudential Committee seat is off.

The organized effort to elect a write-in candidate during the expected low turnout election has been called off because Crocker was tipped off.

He is is already calling his troops to vote on Monday, ruling out the element of surprise.

If you were contacted to vote for a write-in candidate, (Operation Ambush the Dancingman) please note the attempt has been called off. 

We needed to catch Crocker sleeping.

COMM firemen should show up at the annual District Meeting at the Marstons Mills East Elementary School, on Osterville-West Barnstable Road on Tuesday. May 16 at 7:00 PM.

They’ll get to give themselves an extra cool half-million in bonuses, or about $10,000 each.

Firemen will have to stick around late for the last two warrants. 

Most of the regular folk will be gone by then.

Article 26.. To see if the District will vote to raise and appropriate and/or transfer from available funds and appropriate the sum of $123,337.90 covered under the collective bargaining agreement between the District and the COMM Fire Fighters Local 2346.

Article 27.…To see if the District will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of $340,700.44 for the same reasons articulated in Article 26.

It looks like the gang at COMM has been working without a contract the past 15 months, the windfall will only cost taxpayers a nickel increase in the tax rate.

Despite this being a revaluation year, and housing sales data continue to be collected until late November, the Assessor tipped his hand on property values.

COMM is reporting a 10% increase in overall property values,

and a tax rate of $.99, a decrease of 7% from last year.

Despite the high rate of foreclosures, and decreases in current home prices,

Barnstable will be immune from the 12.5% drop in property values expected throughout the rest of the state.

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It kind of makes you wonder why the assessors go through all the trouble of compiling data for the year when they intuitively know the answers.

If you are smart, collect home sales prices in your neighborhood for the rest of the year.

You might be a candidate to file for an abatement of the assessed value of your home.

May 13, 2006

68

I’ve racked my brain, and the only event I could connect 26 (twenty-six) to was the mileage Texas got out of the battle of the Mission San Antonio de Valero in 1836 when 26 drunken Mexicans

got into a fight with some soldiers later  characterized as the Battle of the Alamo.

Last night 26 sober Barnstable villagers braved the rain and the cold and approved the F/Y 2007 Barnstable Fire District Budget of $3.6 million, $2.8 million of which will come from property taxes to pay for fire protection.

None of the $2.8 million will come from ambulance billing.

According to the Barnstable Fire District Website, the district serves a population of 3,500.  According to the Census Bureau the year round population of Barnstable Village (Zip 02630) is 1,909.

Precinct 1 (Barnstable Village), in order to achieve a population total of 2,700, encroaches into Centerville (north Wequaquet Lake area), and Hyannis (Yarmouth Road).

Since the Barnstable Fire District does not serve the encroached areas, the 3,500 people it serves must include seasonal homes.

You can check out the fire district website at;

http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/09%20FD%20%20Barnstable.htm

The remaining portion of the district budget is for Prudential Committee and Water Department costs.

To calculate the per capita cost of fire protection in the village;

$2,800,000 divided by 3,500 = $800. 

(The actual budgeted numbers were rounded off to $2.8 million.)

Also approved last night was a Residential Tax rate of $2.04, down eight cents from last year, as well as a commercial rate of $2.69.    

The Prudential Committee qualified the tax rates based on a total district taxable worth of $2,370,416. 

Obviously the warrants are egregiously in error as the net taxable worth the Barnstable village has to be greater than $4 billion, but math wasn’t the strong suit for the 26 voters in attendance last night.

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There is a lot of difference between two million and four billion, but the voters didn’t seem to notice.

COG will send the warrants and the spreadsheet up to the Department of Revenue in Boston to help them understand the lunacy of the information presented to the voters when it comes time for the DOR to certify the tax rate.

If the people of Barnstable want to piss their tax money away, let’s be honest and dispense with the annual district meetings that 1% to 3%of the voters attend.

That low of a voter turnout by a band of moribund voters isn't what the Founding Fathers had in mind 230 years ago when they wrote their vision of the new Republic.

When it comes to fire districts, everyone should just send a Debit Card Authorization Form to the fire chiefs, and let them charge homeowners what they feel is appropriate, because that's what's going on, but filtered through some pretense of representative democracy.

The town spends $1,147 per capita on education,

and Barnstable village spends virtually $800 per capita on fire protection.

We’re talking 18 personnel in the fire district versus 1,200 in the school department.

Following are last year’s per capita costs of fire protection for the communities reporting to the Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services.

=IF('Gen Fund Expend'!C9>0,'Gen Fund Expend'!C9/'Expend Per Capita'!$P9,0)

BARNSTABLE FIRE DISTRICT 793WEST BARNSTABLE FIRE DISTRICT

575

BARNSTABLE TOWN ESTIMATED

460

WELLFLEET 324ORLEANS 289BOSTON 269CAMBRIDGE 215SCITUATE 203YARMOUTH 201EASTHAM 199BROOKLINE 197CHELSEA 196WALTHAM 192HOLYOKE 190DENNIS 190

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ANDOVER 179BROCKTON 178LYNN 178NATICK 172QUINCY 170BRAINTREE 170WEST BRIDGEWATER 167CANTON 166WORCESTER 165HINGHAM 163NAHANT 162HOLBROOK 162MARSHFIELD 159MONROE 158CONCORD 157FRAMINGHAM 156WESTWOOD 155NEW BEDFORD 155WOBURN 154MARLBOROUGH 154LAWRENCE 153CHICOPEE 150SALEM 148FITCHBURG 148AMESBURY 147NORWELL 146SOMERVILLE 145FALMOUTH 145MILTON 145SANDWICH 145DANVERS 144SUDBURY 144NORTH READING 144BELMONT 144MANCHESTER 142NORTH ANDOVER 141FALL RIVER 140METHUEN 140BREWSTER 138NEWTON 137LEOMINSTER 136MALDEN 136CHILMARK 135AYER 135LEXINGTON 135WAYLAND 135

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ROCKLAND 133WEYMOUTH 131WAKEFIELD 131KINGSTON 130ACTON 130LOWELL 129HANOVER 126WEST SPRINGFIELD 126STONEHAM 125WILMINGTON 124DUXBURY 124ROWE 123WRENTHAM 123SAUGUS 122READING 122FRANKLIN 122STOUGHTON 121MARBLEHEAD 121ATTLEBORO 120HAVERHILL 119ARLINGTON 119FOXBOROUGH 118RANDOLPH 118WINTHROP 117NORTON 116BEVERLY 114PEMBROKE 114PEABODY 112CHELMSFORD 111State Totals 110SPRINGFIELD 109HOPKINTON 109BOXBOROUGH 107WALPOLE 107NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH 107SALISBURY 105EAST BRIDGEWATER 104ABINGTON 102WESTFIELD 102AGAWAM 102EASTHAMPTON 99LINCOLN 97AUBURN 96SOUTHBRIDGE 95EASTON 95MILFORD 95

72

ATHOL 94MONTEREY 94FAIRHAVEN 94MENDON 93MANSFIELD 92WESTPORT 91AMHERST 90WILBRAHAM 89WESTMINSTER 89NORTH ADAMS 88BELLINGHAM 87IPSWICH 87GARDNER 86WESTBOROUGH 85SOMERSET 85SHARON 83NORFOLK 82DRACUT 81BRIDGEWATER 78PLAINVILLE 75LONGMEADOW 74HALIFAX 74WARE 73SHREWSBURY 73DIGHTON 73FREETOWN 71STURBRIDGE 70SANDISFIELD 70HUBBARDSTON 68LITTLETON 68CHARLTON 66MILLVILLE 66NORTHBOROUGH 66ASHBURNHAM 65MARION 64UPTON 63WEST TISBURY 62STOW 61EDGARTOWN 57EAST BROOKFIELD 55MEDFIELD 54HEATH 54GROTON 54HOLDEN 51HAMILTON 48DOVER 48

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ERVING 47LUNENBURG 46NEWBURY 46TOLLAND 45PAXTON 43GREAT BARRINGTON 42LENOX 41ACUSHNET 41HUNTINGTON 40WARREN 40BOXFORD 39CARLISLE 39OAK BLUFFS 38STERLING 38BARRE 37EGREMONT 37HOLLISTON 37BERLIN 37TYNGSBOROUGH 36LEVERETT 36MILLBURY 35OTIS 35ESSEX 35CHARLEMONT 34HARVARD 33SUTTON 32STOCKBRIDGE 32BOYLSTON 30TOWNSEND 30CARVER 30ASHBY 29TISBURY 29HAWLEY 28REHOBOTH 28RICHMOND 28CHESTER 28DUDLEY 28PETERSHAM 27NEW ASHFORD 27SHUTESBURY 27BRIMFIELD 26HINSDALE 26SOUTHAMPTON 25LEYDEN 25BELCHERTOWN 24GEORGETOWN 24

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RUTLAND 24WEBSTER 24PLAINFIELD 23NORTHFIELD 23HARDWICK 23GROVELAND 23PERU 22GOSHEN 22LANESBOROUGH 22OAKHAM 22NEW BRAINTREE 21HADLEY 21MONSON 20ASHFIELD 20BOLTON 19COLRAIN 19SUNDERLAND 19SPENCER 18WEST BROOKFIELD 18HOLLAND 17TEMPLETON 17PEPPERELL 16LEICESTER 16GRANBY 16ROYALSTON 15BROOKFIELD 14WINDSOR 14NORTH BROOKFIELD 14OXFORD 13WALES 12CUMMINGTON 12LEE 12CHESTERFIELD 11CLARKSBURG 10WESTHAMPTON 10BECKET 9SHEFFIELD 9CHESHIRE 7DUNSTABLE 6HAMPDEN 5ADAMS 1http://www.dls.state.ma.us/mdm.htm Municipal Actual Expenditures and Revenues

May 02, 2006

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The following commentary is by Peter Doiron, one of the two private citizens, and one news reporter, in attendance at the recent Fire District Alliance meeting.

Will the Town's Fire Districts ever join less than one Prudential Committee, one treasurer, and one chief? 

Will the Districts go status quo (read principalities) in a Town which boasts one each of a police department, DPW, Town Hall, Town Manager and Town Council (which sometimes fractured into 13 pieces)?  "The last bastion of democracy in Massachusetts," sayeth one fireman the other day.

Or, will Councilor Janice Barton's fire-engine-red-label committee knock heads and come up with commonsense solutions to a touchy, v-e-r-r-y touchy issue?  "We're doing something unique" says she.

But first something completely different:  a little history.  District consolidation was last voted on by the public in the late 1990's.  Voters were promised if they chose to retain districts the fire people would conduct a thorough survey into consolidation.  What happened?  Voters upheld the districts.  No survey or evaluation ever took place.

    "I hear the bells on polling day/they're old familiar promises play/a piece for you and none for me/forever and a day."

And, that's how it was back in the 1990's.

So ... citizens we're expecting fireworks at the long awaited "Alliance" meeting this past Wednesday eve at Centerville's F.D.  (The Alliance was formed during the 1990's election.)  Only 25 people attended the championship duel:  two were civic-minded citizens, a Patriot fourth estater, Councilwoman Barton, and 21 fire people from all over Town.

An eight-item agenda was handed out by Knute Silva, President, of Centerville's Prudential Committee who also chaired the meeting.  The agenda kicked off with street light updates (COMM doesn't buy any; HFD buys $125,000 worth every year).  The agenda was to end on a "Public Comment" note.  Item number five was the main event: "Fire District Study Committee."

The principal players were Ms. Barton, Mr. Silva, James Crocker (a COMM official and Town Councilor whose dual role here is out of order), Paul Sullivan, Walter Jenkins, Barnstable Chief Crosby, Centerville's Farrington, Barnstable Prudentialer Traughot and Hyannis Chief Brunelle. 

The main event was a series of rounds where Councilor Barton fought every round against a different foe.  She wasn't heroic but she didn't break; she wasn't all wrong or all right. 

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Ditto the fire chiefs.

Throughout the match Silva was a referee who constantly warned Barton she inhibited public comment at her meetings.  He considers public input the most important ingredient in public meetings.  Do not forget this point.

West Barnstable's Brennan said costs were blown up.  HFD's Brunelle criticized the "closed" attitude of the Council Committee by citing that even Committee member Chief Crosby could not tell fellow firemen the true skinny.  Things are so bad that a citizen had to complain to the DA's office. 

Endemic was the fire people's confusion over the committee's purpose and actions.  Just as endemic was the nagging feeling of being invaded.

Hyannis Commissioner Sullivan told Barton she's a wonderful lady, but he fears a "conspiracy and hostile takeover."  He told the group that fire people know budgets and that he resented his valid "minority report" not being presented Council along with the "majority" Barton report.

Barton replied that there's no problem, no secrecy, only strict maintenance of integrity.

Crosby said consolidation costs are not a problem.  Bad data is! 

Farrington declared the fire faction welcomes a definitive survey of consolidation purposes.  $500,000 worth.  He and Chief Crosby know just the companies to hire.

James Crocker is asked by Jenkins of his Council impressions of Barton's committee work.  He doesn't recall any specifics.  Crosby read out a Council statement requesting Barton, et. al., go back to the drawing board.

For role call up yonder purposes (to arms! to arms!) Crocker read out the fire people present (citizens were ignored).

Traughot thought the meeting had gone far enough and reached out her heart to Barton.  Crosby complained people were ganging up on Ms. Barton.

Fireman Jenkins stressed the importance to remember three key elements:  fire, water, ambulancing.  All are requisite for proper consolidation calculations. 

Referee Silva suggested Alliance next meet in October 2006. 

Barton said she'd be hosting a workshop/public comment fete July 19.  "We're a work in progress.  We're writing the book on cooperative efforts!"

Mr. Crocker moved rapidly for adjournment.  It's seconded. Toute-de-suite Referee Silva

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called for a voice vote. "Yes!" is the thundered response.

So much for scheduled and praised public comment, number eight on the agenda.  No one spoke out in this last bastion of Massachusetts democracy.  Firebugs in the firehouse of free speech.

July 15, 2006

78

Can voters sue the Fire District Alliance and the Five Fire Chiefs for "Breach of Contract?"

The Fire District Alliance of 1997, through the five fire chiefs at the last consolidation vote, admitted that a fire district study was needed.

They told voters that the material issues responsible for the creation of the fire districts in the early part of the Twentieth Century had changed dramatically.

Unlike in 1915 the town’s roads have been paved, fire hydrants installed uniformly throughout the town, and today's fire trucks are powered by diesel engines instead of horses.

Response to essential service calls in the four villages outside of Hyannis in a quantified period is far different today than it was 70 years ago.

Alliance leaders promised voters that if they voted against the override to fund a consolidation study, the districts would commission a similar study to look into the improvement and/or efficiency of mutual cooperation, including the benefits, if any, of consolidation.

The Alliance leaders went one step further. 

They told voters that an in-depth look at the districts was NEEDED, thus creating a notion in voter's minds that their promises were a type of contract.

But the legal status of promises is that not all contracts are legally enforceable.

Generally speaking, the law provides remedies for a breach of promise if it has created a "sufficient consideration", that is, where non-fulfillment of the promise results in a loss to the promisee.

The promisees in this case are Barnstable property taxpayers who question the need for the five fire chiefs, a contrived Rube Goldberg type political infrastructure, and oodles of redundant equipment and personnel.

To liken the political promise to a contract may give a superficial indication of the Fire District Alliance’s determination to carry out its promise.

The widespread expectation that the Alliance's political promise in 1997 woud not be fulfilled - means that these guys are hiding something that cries out for an independent study.

Voters, in the consolidation vote nine years ago, had every right to say that he or she believed what was promised.

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So when Paul Sullivan, a member of both the 1997, and current Fire District Alliances attacked Councilor Barton over the material in the Committee report to the Council by saying, "If I hadn’t filed the minority report, those figures would still be missing." "It leads me to believe this is a dishonest process," he forgot Barton’s committee is merely trying to make good on the Alliance's dishonesty in 1997.

Capecog disagrees in part with Barton’s committee on the issue of an ambulance study. 

Water and streetlighting are red herrings in the study because all fire district water deparments take no tax dollars, and street lighting is chump change.

One hundred fifty five of the five district’s fire fighters are also paramedics or EMT’s, so a potential separation of the two services needs to be articulated.

95% of essential service responces are for ambulance service.

COMM typically hooks up to fire hydrants less than ten times a year, but responds to hundreds of ambulance calls.

The district’s essential service revenue is bifurcated between property taxes and insurance carrier payments.

All Massachusetts cities utilize either private or publicly funded Board of Health EMS service.

Barnstable could privatize its ambulance service at no cost to the taxpayers.

The town could also create and manage a more cost efficient town-wide EMS Department like the one in Boston.

A detailed explanation of the three types of ambulance services needs to be presented.

Last year a Cotuit Fire District couple earned a quarter of a million dollars in regular and overtime pays between them because ONE paramedic in the district was injured.

If Cotuit was a member of a coalition the overtime could have been avoided.

Councilor Barton and Governor Romney are on the same page.

Romney says, “Is it proper to ask the people who run the Turnpike Authority to be responsible for the investigation of their work in the failed ceiling panels?"

Barton should pay no heed to the Alliance when it complains about an outside independent study of the methods of running the fire departments.

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Maybe we can’t sue the Alliance for its broken promise, but we can envision why they fear an independent study.

What’s at stake for the Barnstable taxpayer?

A huge reduction in the $23 million in fire district property taxes.

No one knows how much the study will cost, but we can find out without costing the town a cent. 

Councilor Barton's committee simply needs to author a Request for Proposals, and the companies will respond with their prices.  All this at no cost to the taxpayers.

The council can then decide if the cost of the study is too costly.

July 14, 2006

81

My education is of the genre that used the phrase, "funny as a barrel of monkeys," that literally means a group that is very cunning, mischievous, or disorderly.

In Barnstable the barrel of laughs is made up of the Barnstable Town Council, the COMM Fire District Prudential Committee, and Representative Demetrius Atsalis..

On April 15th, 2003 the Barnstable Town Council voted to ask the legislature for a special act to prevent Jimmy Crocker, Carlton Crocker and Knute Silva, the COMM Prudential Committee, from taking by eminent domain, and for short money, some land in Osterville (the Darby Property) that the town had paid $12 million for in 1985.

Rather than look up COMM Water Department records in 1996, when an extensive analysis of the groundwater under the property was commissioned by the water commissioners. that indicated the property was useless as a water supply,

the 2003 council voted to have the legislature fight the turf battle for it.

AN ORDINANCE FOR THE PROHIBITION OF THE TAKING BY EMINENT DOMAIN  BY ANY FIRE OR WATER DISTRICT  IN THE TOWN FOR CERTAIN LAND BY THE TOWN…

Section 1No fire or water district shall exercise the power of eminent domain with respect to any parcel of land owned by the town which the town has identified and/or expended funds on for the purpose of developing or facilitating the development of affordable housing thereon..

Section 2The ordinance contained in Section 1 shall apply to any purported exercise of eminent domain by a fire or water district within the town with respect to a parcel of land owned by the town, which purported exercise takes place after May 15, 2003.

RESOLVE 2003-093 FOR PETITIONING THE GENERAL COURT FOR SPECIAL LEGISLATION PROTECTING THE TOWN’S AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROGRAM FROM INTERFERENCE FROM THE TOWN’S FIRE AND WATER DISTRICTS.

Fast forward to April 6, 2006...

Barnstable Town Council Resolve 2006 – 100Order authorizing conveyance of easements and restriction for public water supply extraction, protection, and passive recreation land known as The Darby Properties..

Ordered that the Town Manager is authorized to convey to the COMM Fire District the sum of $133,000 for an easement….

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that essentially gives the fire district control of the entire parcel that the council asked the legislature to bar by eminent domain.

The original vote on the issue passed 7 – 4, but after a discussion of whether the passage required a 2/3rds majority, an intermission was called.

Upon learning the measure only required a simple majority to pass, for some mysterious reason, a second vote was taken.

After a second vote, the measure was defeated by a vote of 6 – 6 and one abstention.

Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2006AN ACT VALIDATING CERTAIN ORDERS PASSED BY THE BARNSTABLE TOWN COUNCIL.

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to authorize certain land transactions in the town of Barnstable, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1.  Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, each of the appropriation orders passed by the town council of the town of Barnstable for which a public hearing was held on May 15, 2003, before 7:00 p.m., is hereby ratified, validated, approved and confirmed, notwithstanding any defect in the notice published for those public hearings under sections 6-3(a) and 6-4 of the charter of the town.

SECTION 2.  This act shall take effect upon its passage.

Approved June 13, 2006.

You can read it by clicking on the link here,

http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw06/sl060107.htm

I’ll bet you thought that legislation filed during a specific year, not acted upon, died, and needed to be re-filed as a new bill in the next legislative session.

So the question is, “Did Atsalis file the council’s bill in 2003, and again in 2004, then again in 2005, and once more in 2006 before he got it passed.

Or did he put it in his jacket in 2003, and not discover it until three years later...

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Maybe there are some lessons to be learned here,

And then again maybe there aren’t…

At least we know a couple of things for sure..

Osterville liberals are all for alternative energy production, like wind power.

They are also for affordable homes…

Great for Hyannis and Buzzards Bay.

But not in their village, or line of sight…

So instead of building homes on top of bar rooms and restaurants,

It’s high time for the Smart Growth Department to build its nect affordable home project on the Darby property in Osterville…

Hyannis is all “full up” on affordable houses.

At last the Fall Season of television is upon us.

And one of my favorite weekly comedy series is on at 7:00 PM on Channel 18.

It’s good for a barrel of laughs.

It's too bad the good folks of Yarmouth can't tune in.

August 28, 2006

84

An Open Letter to Massachusetts Commissioner of Education Dave Driscoll about Barnstable's Five Fire Districts

Hi Dave, It's been a long time since we've spoken.  How are you doing?  I heard Bob Antonucci is back in the state.

You might want to consider the Barnstable Fire District concept as the paradigm for school districts in the Commonwealth. 

The idea is to create a multiplicity of school districts by scrapping the state’s 83 regional school districts.

You would then force the 193 regional school member communities to build new schools, and hire their own school superintendents, administrators, and teachers.

By creating separate districts school children could enjoy the same quality of education that Barnstable residents enjoy in fire protection from their FIVE INDEPENDENT FIRE DISTRICTS.

Sure it’ll drive up the costs of education, but there are benefits.

Think of the jobs that will be created;

Building 1000 new schools 113 new school superintendent positions. 3,000 new teaching positions. Thousands of assistant teaching and intervention specialist positions. Thousands of new bus driving jobs.

The new independent 193 school districts could expect per student costs similar to those in Provincetown;

Last year taxpayers spent $4.3 million to educate the town’s 286 school children or a per-student cost of $18,285.

Right now Barnstable taxpayers foot the bill for four independent public school, including the Sturgis Charter School

I see that you held up a School Committee attempt to create its fifth autonomous school by denying the panel's application for a third Horace Mann charter school.

The Barnstable School Committee is copying the Barnstable multiple Fire District model in its plans to create five independent school districts.

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Barnstable taxpayers are currently spending $10,000 per student, but working hard to bring it up to $15,000.

If you like the idea that more is better, contact members of the Barnstable Town Council, any fire chief, fireman, or fire district politician.

They’d be happy to apprise you of the superior quality of Barnstable’s quintuple essential services program despite the near quadruple cost.

For example on August 18, 2006 a cat was rescued by a COMM fireman from a smoky Rafyn Road, Cotuit, residence basement during which five fire departments responded (Cotuit Fire District, COMM Fire District, West Barnstable Fire District, Mashpee Fire Department, and the Sandwich Fire Department)

Think of the advantages of thousands of new teachers,

no child in the state will ever be left behind because neighboring teachers will rush in like fire departments with offers of help.

Just in case someone calls you about this blog, it's intended as a burlesque of Barnstable's multiplicity of fire departments, and nothing about education.

You were right all along believing Barnstable had far too much school aid.

It took me a long time to agree until I considered the fact taxpayers pissed away $13 million every year in fire protection costs.

Say hello to Roger Hatch, Jeff Wulfson, and Bob Antonucci for me.

Yours truly,

Gary Lopez

September 11, 2006

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Cheating constituent taxpayers is a sin…Barnstable Councilors can avoid Hell by approving the fire district study…

EXAMPLES OF FIRE DISTRICT RIP OFFS....

COTUIT

Last year each man, woman, and child living in the village of Cotuit contributed

$40

just to pay the Cotuit fire chief’s salary.

Last year each man, woman, and child in Cotuit contributed

$94

in property taxes just to pay the salaries of the two paramedic Pierces, who also work for the Cotuit Fire District.

PEABODY

Each man, woman, and child living in Peabody spent

$1.98

in property taxes to pay the salary of their Fire Chief.

WEST BARNSTABLE

Each man, woman, and child in West Barnstable spent

$37.50

in property taxes just o pay the salary of the Fire Chief.

PLYMOUTH

Each man, woman, and child living in Plymouth spent

$2.00

in property taxes to pay their Fire Chief’s salary.

BARNSTABLE VILLAGE

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Each man, woman, and child living in Barnstable village spent

$28.56

in property taxes just to pay the salary of their Fire Chief.

TOWN OF BARNSTABLE

Each man, woman, and child living in town spent on average spent

$449

in property taxes just to pay their costs of fire protection, excluding ambulance service, which is funded by insurance carriers.

CITY OF PEABODY

Each man, woman, and child living in Peabody spent

$115

in property taxes to pay the costs of fire protection, excluding ambulance service, which is funded by insurance carriers.

TOWN OF PLYMOUTH

Each man, woman, and child living in Plymouth spent

$157

in property taxes to pay the costs of fire protection, excluding ambulance service, which is funded by insurance carriers.

Barnstable’s Police Chief and School Superintendent combined earn more money than God, yet the pair will only cost every man, woman, and child in town

$7.14

The people living in the city of Peabody spent

$16.7 million

LESS on fire protection last year than the people living in the town of Barnstable.

The people living in the town of Plymouth spent

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$14.3 million

LESS on fire protection than the people living in the town of Barnstable did last year.

The fire study under consideration by the Barnstable Town Council will provide solutions to narrowing the gap between what other similar size communities in Massachusetts spend for fire protection than do the taxpayers of the town of Barnstable.

Between spending

$450,000 too much in fire chief salaries to, millions in unnecessary overtime wages because the districts won’t cover for each

other, to lifetime 90% district-paid health insurance plans for 45 politicians, including

the hundreds who preceded them, and the millions in redundant unnecessary vehicles,

fire district property taxes stand to be reduced dramatically through the study.

That’s enough public money to be saved to make it a Cardinal Sin for the council to ignore a fire district study.

September 10, 2006

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Message to Fire Chief Crosby, and Fire District Sycophants Goodwin, and McConnell; Methinks thou dost protest too much…

Shakespeare’s quip should alert the Barnstable Town Council that “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” as to the "over the top" objections to the fire district study (no pun intended.)

Stu Goodwin and Mimi McConnell are obsessive/compulsives in need of medication when it comes to fire district issues.

Both are from Cotuit where last year after a fireman was injured, his job responsibilities were placed on a $60 K a year firefighter and her husband.

Both worked enough overtime to earn a quarter million dollars between them.

The pair’s draconian work load not only imperiled those in need of hospital attention, but also the rest of us driving the roadways leading from Cotuit to the two hospitals in Hyannis and Falmouth.

Did these people really need to literally work themselves to death?

Under the Cotuit Fire Department’s compliment of five paramedics the loss of one paramedic meant a 20% reduction in its ambulance service work force.

Since the five fire districts combined employ 55 paramedics, the loss of a single paramedic would represent a depletion of less than 2% of the work force.

Could the five fire districts have worked together to share the work load created by the loss of the Cotuit firefighter?

A fire study might answer that question.

Cotuit residents obviously have “money to burn.” they didn't blink an eye to a husband and wife team of firefighters living in a million dollar assessed home earning a cool quarter million last year. (again no pun intended)

Hyannis residents are dirt poor.

Should Hyannis people have to sustain a life style imposed by their peers in Cotuit?

A fire district audit would point to the fat in fire district budgets, and suggest ideas to cut costs.

The five fire chiefs in 1997 admitted that there hadn’t been a study of the fire districts in 70 years.

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The chiefs admitted a study was "needed" and promised voters that if they voted against spending money to commission a fire study, that they would jointly fund one.

Barnstable voters took the fire chiefs at their word, and opted not to fund a town study nine years ago, but the fire chiefs reneged on their campaign promises.

WHAT WE IN BARNSTABLE DO KNOW IS;

Last year Barnstable property taxpayers coughed up $20 million or $400 for every man, woman, and child, to fund their respective fire departments.

Everyone else in the state pays $140 to fund their fire departments. The “smoke” in the fire study issue is the unnecessary $260 each of us spends on

fire protection. A study will point to the error of our ways, and leave us choices whether to

resolve the problems.

We can understand Chief Crosby’s strong objections to a fire district audit because there is a strong probability that four of the five $100K a year fire chiefs will be let go.

The $100K fire study cost is a small price to pay to trim some fat from the $20 million in property taxes spent on fire districts.

Interestingly many of the same town councilors on the Fire Study Committee are also on the Roads Committee.

The $7 million needed each year to repair town roads could come from the $7 million of fat cut out of fire district taxes.

There’s nothing to prevent a consolidated town fire department operating in conjunction with a Cotuit Fire District.

Cotuit’s Median Income is quadruple Hyannis Per Capita Income, so a few extra bucks to pay for extra fire protection shouldn't hurt.

For the rest of us we are all stocked up in property taxes. 

The Council should give the people a choice, Roads or Fire Chiefs.

Give the voters a chance to decide the issue before a citizen's referendum is placed on the ballot..

Approve the $100 K for a fire district audit.

September 09, 2006

91

Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Championship Tag Team Match between “The Undertaker" and Barnstable Taxpayers versus Bret Hart and the Fire District Study Preparation Committee…

Guess who won this political "bag job"?

Hint;

The members of the Fire District Study Preparation Committee were;

Christopher Adams, COMM Firefighter, Robert Crosby, Barnstable Fire District Fire Chief, Stu Goodwin, long-time Cotuit Fire District Fire Commissioner, Pete Medeiros, Hyannis Firefighter, Edward Smith, West Barnstable Fire District Prudential Committee Member, Paul Sullivan, Hyannis Fire District Commissioner, Janice Barton, Town Councilor, and past vendor to COMM Fire District, Anne Canedy, Town Councilor, Leah Curtis, Town Councilor, Mike Ingham, CFAC, Lisa Sheehy, Osterville resident, and Jeff Slater, CFAC.

Twelve members on the committee, seven of whom are or were connected to the fire districts, two on the CFAC, the Council's and Manager's personal rubber stamp team, one I don't know, and two Town Councilors.

The Losers are…

Barnstable taxpayers…and “The Undertaker.”

COG knew the committee was in the tank from Day 1; March 31, 2005..

I wrote a couple of posts on just that fact in September, 2005..

Why was it in the best interests of Barnstable taxpayers to study fire district consolidation?

"To determine if the “same” or “better” level of essential services is available at less cost to the taxpayer."

In F/Y 2006 the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services’ (DLS) Data Bank reported

the average percent of fire department costs in all other 350 Massachusetts communities to total municipal costs was

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6%.

Barnstable’s percentage of fire district costs to the town's total municipal costs was

17%.

The DLS also reported the

“The per capita cost of fire protection” in all Massachusetts communities was

$96.

Barnstable’s per capita cost of fire protection was

$450.

Barnstable's per capita costs for all municipal services, including fire protection was;

$2,648

The per capita costs of all municipal services in the state's remaining 350 municipalities was

$1,749

Virtually every city in Massachusetts offers municipal curbside collection of trash and recyclables.

Barnstable taxpayers pay private trash haulers $700+ a year.

Listed are charts delineating the per capita and percent of General Government (Town Hall administrative costs), police, fire, education, and DPW average spending versus total municipal spending versus the same in Barnstable.

As you can see Barnstable spends too much on Town Hall salaries, police, education, and fire protection, and not enough on public works.

Another major issue in consolidation is the water departments. 

As of today four of the fire districts operate water departments,

and in the case of Hyannis,

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the water department is town-owned.

Yet the Fire District Fire Study Preparation Committee ignored the excessive costs of fire service, and the water departments from consideration in their report.

Following are the issues the committee considered in the report that was accepted by the full Council in July of this year.

"On March 31, 2005 Barnstable Council President Brown announced the creation of a FIRE DISTRICT STUDY PREPARATION COMMITTEE, Chaired by Councilor Janice Barton. Its charge is to gather information, determine goals, set parameters, research funding and create an “RFP” for groups to conduct a study, if one is determined to be necessary."

"This Committee is NOT conducting the study itself and will NOT make any decisions regarding consolidation. The main objective is to take a POSITIVE, PROACTIVE approach to this complex issue n response to concerns voiced by residents to councilors in the past two years, the Committee of 150, and the most recent Barnstable Citizen Survey."

"This Committee will NOT conduct the study itself and will NOT make any decisions regarding consolidation."

"The Committee will bring representatives of all of the stakeholders to the table in a productive and cooperative setting. The Committee will also allow concerned citizens the opportunity to contribute information and opinions in a reasonable time."

FINANCIAL

Benefits, especially compared to police, municipal employees and other districts. Salaries different/competitive between districts Would money be saved in there was one chief vs. five? Fire Districts do not have 2-1/2 cap How would money from the Fire Districts be distributed? How to deal with taxpayers regarding transferring assets to the town? What would bond counsel say when town assumes the districts’ liabilities? ISO rating different for each district? Fire Departments are worth something — how would the assets of the fire

districts be addressed? What would the impact of consolidation be on chapter 70, Special Ed, and local

aid? What would be the administrative costs of consolidation to the town? What would be the cost to the town when or if the current commissioners and

ProComm members retire?

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Would consolidation require more or less personnel? Long term workmen’s compensation— what are the financial liabilities to the

town? Is anyone in this situation now? Who would assume debt & interest from each district?

ADMINISTRATIVE

Uniform Report Writing Consolidation of administrative positions (school model) including treasurers,

dispatchers, clerical, Different District election dates. What do we do about street lights and water? Coordinate ALL activities. Should each district do things the same way? Funding, reporting, capital imp.,

expenses, ISO rating different for each district? Different policies for collection of fees from district to district (Ambulance, etc.) Is partial consolidation feasible? What to do with the call firefighters?

OPERATIONS

Work Schedules What would the structure of a consolidated fire district look like? I.e. response

time, buildings, trucks, ambulance service, duties of the firefighters Would consolidation even out or increase service? What about response time? Will you have the flexibility to maintain an adequate response time? Level of Service (equipment, manpower) Would consolidation even out paramedic staffing between districts? Would consolidation create consistent policies and procedures, including staffing

schedules?

UNION

Different unions have different contracts Could we have one union? (Legal matter) Fire, dispatch, water

Personnel changes are negotiable. Coalition bargaining for insurance coverage? For 150 firefighters in the town,

each district negotiates their own rates

LEGAL

Can the town legally take the districts or is it a voluntary transfer or would you have to enact legislation?

Can we have one union?

95

What could be put in Enabling Acts to allow the districts to find other services (libraries, police)? Can the Enabling Acts be changed to affect Districts’ ability?

What would bond counsel say when the town assumes the districts’ liabilities? Would consolidation make the town legally vulnerable? What would the

vulnerabilities be? Is it legal for one district to request to be consolidated with another? What if you get a fractured vote result from the five districts? What can each district do under its enabling acts?

A professional fire study is a snapshot of the author's concept of an ideal fire department.

Fire department consultants inherently know the answers to virtually all of the questions, and routinely include the committee's concerns in the report.

Barnstable voters and taxpayers own all the assets of both the town and fire districts.

Voters in each of the fire districts are empowered to merge their district assets with those of the town.

Consolidation means each district ceases to exist, along with its union, and all other contracts.

Firefighters would reorganize with a new union that would negotiate a new contract with the town.

The four water departments would be merged with the town water department enterprise fund.

The town would seek contracts with private ambulance providers.

The private ambulance contract would specify response times, and number and qualifications of personnel on each run.

Taxpayers would spend no money on ambulance services. 

The private ambulance contractor would be funded exclusively by insurance carrier invoice remittances.

The ambulance contractor will agree not to "double bill" clienta by agreeing to accept its invoice fee as complete and final payment for services rendered.

Barnstable taxpayers fund the fire district's ambulance program.

The district then invoices insurance companies for ambulance service.

96

Insurance companies pay standard rates for ambulance service.

When your fire district isn't fully reimbursed for ambulance billing, the district bills taxpayer ambulance clients for the difference,

and even sues its benefactors for the balance.

The committee's report will be handy to raise questions pursuant to study.

The real story is the Council put the foxes in charge of guarding the chicken coop.

Why should the majority, who will sustain personal losses, support anything that could result in the demise of the fire districts?

The Council should just vote to bring the question of fire district consolidation to the voters just like it did in 1997.

If the voters support consolidation, the Council will be obligated to appropriate the money to pay for the study.

What's fire distrit consolidation's bottom line for Barnstable taxpayers?

o $11 million less annual property taxes.

December 27, 2006

97

It’s that time of year to check in to see if anyone in COMM or Cotuit Fire Districts is eligible for affordable housing…and for Paul Gauvin to eat crow…

The Pierce’s hit the charts again, Paul.

I guess you were wrong again, because last year wasn’t an aberration after all.

This year I’ll try to get Fire District salaries up on two posts...

Today it’ll be COMM and Cotuit. 

Tomorrow I’ll post Hyannis, Barnstable, and West Barnstable.

Remember that COMM’s list includes Water Department personnel.

COMM FIRE DISTRICT

Scherbarth, Richard $126,812

Farrington, John M. $120,303

Rogers, D. Brady $106,086

Gardner, James A. $103,524

Eldridge, Byron L. $103,156

Whitely, Craig E. $102,918

Field Jr., Philip H. $100,883

Burchell, Thomas J. $99,809

Crosby, Britton W. $95,966

Schneckloth, Charles L. $95,612

Aalto, Roger C. $94,370

O'Melia, Robert F. $91,667

Sargent, Richard P. $91,360

Greene, Sean $91,191

Bengston, Eric A. $90,813

Osgood, Daniel C. $88,948

Sabatinelli, Eric J. $88,349

Long, Thomas A. $87,066

Henderson, Steven $86,709

Simmons, Michael B. $86,397

Goodearl, Thomas $85,688

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Miskiv, Thomas J. $85,477

Williams, Gordon M. $85,447

Tavares, John M. $85,426

Sulkala, Karl $84,882

Barry Mossey $84,647

Pulsifer, Frank $84,338

Judge, Michael $83,233

Adams, R. Christopher $82,273

Rhude, Paul L. $82,237

MacNeely, Martin 0. $81,662

Morrison, Brian T. $81,483

MacNeely, Martin 0. $81,226

Davern, Jason P. $81,094

Carney, Michael J. $80,139

Craig A. Crocker $80,117

Lewis Jr., Frederick $79,887

Johnson, Gary N. $79,491

Sassone, Louis P. $78,985

Sahl, Richard N. $78,943

Henson, Roger W. $78,842

Lehane, Shawn T. $78,563

Lewis Jr., Frederick $78,533

Lehane, Shawn T. $78,353

Miskiv Jr., George M $78,246

Reed, Andrew C. $78,234

Carpenter, Daniel $77,419

Ferola, David F. $76,768

Gallo, Richard M. $76,508

Grenier, Marc J. $74,299

Grossman, Michael $73,575

Dillon, Matthew B. $72,650

Herbert L. McSorley $69,901

Gary L. Oakley $68,977

Dalbec, Edward $67,651

Janice E. Gannon $67,178

Gifford, Jeffrey W. $65,032

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DeGraan, Thomas $63,441

Monroe, William $60,277

Judith C. Sprague $59,325

Motte, Laurie $59,164

Rogers, Michael $58,484

Gelinas Jr., David J. $56,394

Crosby, Robyn R. $56,359

Samuel A. Nickerson $53,539

Kevin J. Ferguson $52,192

Loveridge, Kathryn $49,609

Judith E. Winfield $47,873

Jamie R. Hylas $45,801

Roger P. Raymond $41,196

Longeway, Sheila A. $36,832

Faria, Charles J. $35,902

T. Chatham Fawkes $35,707

Susan M. Stoltz $35,568

Matthew D. Pi stone $35,199

Peter J. Oakley $33,339

Timothy C. Picard $31,929

Mary E. Flick $31,633

Kirsten L. Tavano $25,804

Scott, David M. $16,384

Arrascue, Enrique $10,795

Kathleen P. Gleason $9,206

Anthony DeLane $4,479

Carlton Crocker $3,000

Nestor Silva $3,000

James Crocker $3,000

Scott Crosby $3,000

Peter Hansen $3,000

William McIntyre $3,000

Hulme, Fred $3,000

Chase, Jeffrey $3,000

Riley, Edward $3,000

Maureen McPhee $2,500

100

Florence Hodkinson $2,321

Dunton, Marcus $1,882

Dunton, Marcus $1,882

Wilcox, Glen $1,499

Mahoney, Jessica $1,194

Clough, Glen $634

Charles Sabatt $300

TOTAL $5,944,984

COTUIT FIRE DEPARTMENT

Pierce David $116,244

Pierce Jayne $106,629

McNamara William $87,041

VanEtten Michael $86,220

Frazier Paul $85,275

Lyons Brent $81,095

Sargent William $77,364

Hoffman Stephen $75,657

Fenner Donna $67,415

Amento John $66,966

Pouliot Joseph $62,214

Geggatt Joan $41,150

TOTAL $953,270

February 22, 2007

101

In Hyannis without fire district “hydrant fees” homeowner water bills would skyrocket.

The use of the term “hydrant fee” is a terse characterization for the expenses of the entire water system.

Water departments or districts provide water for two separate purposes; consumption and fire suppression.

Each fire hydrant is connected to a complex hydraulic system that includes pumps, motors, valves, mains, pipes, tees, ells, elbows, filters, corrosion control plants, chemicals, and hydrants.

Hydrant acquisition costs are about $1,200.  Hydrants also need to be opened annually and maintained to insure they aren’t rusted, and in good working order.

Hydrants have no meters, but play an important role in fire suppression.

Barnstable’s five fire districts have been in an evolutionary process since the turn of the Nineteenth Century.

Not all homes in town are connected to the public water supply, but fire hydrants are located throughout most neighborhoods for fire suppression.

Most West Barnstable residents utilize private wells for their water supply because the district offers no water service... 

Many West Barnstable homes, including Hank Farnham's house, have COMM hydrants on their streets, but pump their own water for consumption.

The COMM Water District collects no revenue from fire district property taxes, ergo is fully supported through water rates.

What this means is the hydrant in front of Hank’s house is fully paid for by COMM water users.

Since Hank has his own private well, he doesn't pay a water bill to underwrite the costs of his hydrant.

The same goes for more than 1,000 other homes in the COMM fire district that have fire hydrants, but are not “hooked up” to the COMM water supply.

The annual “hydrant” fee is merely a means to support the acquisition, installation, and maintenance costs of hydrants.

102

The Barnstable Water Company was once a private entity that supplied potable water to Hyannis homes and businesses.

Since the company's revenue was, for the most part, limited to water fees from rate payers, the company had no other choice but to charge the fire district for the cost of hydrant maintenance and water usage.

The Hyannis water supply is now a town-owned enterprise fund that continues to generate its revenue from user fees.

Hyannis water consumption is primarily from residential customers, which means that without “hydrant fees” the extraordinary added costs of fire protection to the hundreds of retail outlets would be borne by homeowners.

The 700 fire hydrants throughout the 10 square miles of Hyannis are also connected to the hydraulic system for the benefit of residential and commercial properties alike.

Most commercial properties buy water for toilet and wash basin use only, ergo pay minimum water bills,

yet these properties are responsible for triple the size water mains and the expensive water towers to insure a constant supply of water in the event of a fire.

Without “hydrant fees” the costs of 12” mains and water towers would be added to the water rates, and for the most part paid for by homeowners who consume six or seven times as much water as most commercial buildings.

Without “hydrant fees” Hyannis home owners could experience a 10% to 15% increase in water bills.

Ten years ago I tried to convince the COMM Water Commission to impose hydrant fees, because the department took no property tax revenue.

But this is Barnstable, and Barnstable loves to “think outside the box,” as evidenced by the town’s eccentric spending for its five independent fire departments.

Hyannis has lots of big retail stores in need of better ISO ratings to cut fire insurance costs.

Hydrant fees charges are a means to impose fundamental fairness to the costs of water.

COMM water payers have been getting screwed for years, but that’s a price people seem to want to pay.

103

If the people in Hyannis want to listen to Paul Gauvin and get rid of hydrant fees, then God bless them because they'll need lots of prayers.

There is some light at the end of the Hyannis water department tunnel, Lou Gonzaga, who was on the original board of Hyannis advisory board, said he'll run for Gary Brown's seat on the Town Council, in November.

While Brown stuffed plugs in his ears until he blew up into a mini blimp on the water company acquisition, Gonzaga did his best to protect the interests of Hyannis residents.

April 13, 2007

104

How to easily and legally cut $10 million from Barnstable's collective fire district property tax without consolidation

Barnstable's five fire district charters were issued by the legislature between 1911 and 1934.

The charters enabled separate fire and water governments within the town, and the right to impose property taxes to fund the services provided.

At the turn of the 19th Century the center of the town was Hyannis.

The other villages were connected by dirt roads that caused intolerable delays getting fire equipment, that was in a technology transition from horse driven power to mechanical horsepower, from achieving their purpose..

Village fire districts became the solution for the rapid deployment of fire apparatus and volunteer firemen.

The enabling charters did not include ambulance service as fire district services..

Because public ambulance service as we know it today, didn't arrive on the scene until after World War II, the fire districts usurped the service from the town..

Throughout Massachusetts, the United States, and the world, cities and towns with populations greater than 30,000 typically use private contractors to provide ambulance service, at no cost to taxpayers.

Ambulance contractors can pay their bills and turn a profit through the collection of ambulance fees paid for by insurance providers.

The Barnstable Town Council could put a Request for Proposal on the street (RFP) for private ambulance service.

Locally every Greater Boston city utilizes the services of private ambulance contractors.

Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and most western states of the United States offer ambulance services separate and unrelated to fire departments.

The City of Boston offers Emergency Medical Service (EMS) ambulance as a function of the Board of Health.

Boston also contracts with private ambulance providers to back up its EMS department.

Ambulances are not fire engines, and fire engines aren’t ambulances.

Paramedics are skilled medical personnel, and the firemen’s tool of choice is the axe.

105

The Town Council could put out an RFP to contract with an ambulance contractor, who will assure there are two paramedics on each ambulance call with a guarantee of a maximum of five minute response time on each call.

EMT's would be used for non-emergency transfers.

The collective fire districts in Barnstable employ

76 emergency medical technicians (EMT's)

whose training is a one-semester course at a community college,

and 60 paramedics

who not only completed two-year college courses, but also extensive internships at hospital emergency rooms and maternity departments.

By hiring a private contractor to provide ambulance service, fire district taxpayers should reduce their collective levies by $10,000,000.

Centerville, A Osterville, Marstons Mills fire district comparison to the Yarmouth fire department follows;.

In 2006 the COMM levy (excluding the water district) was

$9 million, including debt service.

COMM’s fire district payroll alone was $4,819,363.

The COMM Fire District and the Yarmouth Fire Department serve virtually the same population, but the Yarmouth fire budget was 37% less..

BUDGETS

Yarmouth 2006 fire budget was $5,031,847

COMM’s fire budget was $7,995,675.

The Yarmouth Fire Department serves an area of

24.5 square miles

and the COMM Fire District an area of

26  square miles.

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Yarmouth’s population in 2004 was

24,972,

to COMM’s population of

25,552

Yarmouth’s per capita cost of fire protection was

$201

to COMM’s per capita cost of

$313

The services provided by both departments are comparable.

Yarmouth's ambulance fees become part of the general fund that is used to finance fire and ambulance equipment.

COMM's ambulance fees are retained by the district, and banked in a separate slush fund to acquire ambulances and ambulance equipment.

Comparing the five fire districts with the town of Plymouth's fire department.

Plymouth’s population in 2006 was

51,000.

Barnstable’s population was

48,811.

The Plymouth fire department is responsible for covering

96.5 square miles.

All five Barnstable fire districts are responsible for covering

68 square miles.

Barnstable’s combined fire district levy was

$23,000,000.

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Plymouth fire budget in 2006 was

$7,804,396.

Plymouth per capita cost of fire protection was

$153.

Barnstable’s per capita cost of fire protection was

$471.

Plymouth uses a private ambulance contractor, who derives his revenue from ambulance fees paid by insurance providers.

Plymouth taxpayers spent

$15 million less

on fire protection than their counterparts in Barnstable.

Barnstable's fire districts do have debt service obligations for equipment and land.

Since the fire districts have no statutory right to provide ambulance service,

the Town Council could turn the service over to a private contractor,

leaving the fire districts to do their job, fighting fires, and as first responders to only a few ambulance calls.

Privatizing ambulance service in Barnstable could be an effective compromise to consolidation.

Firemen could be firemen,

And ambulance service could be left up to an all-paramedic emergency transportation system.

April 11, 2007

108

If Cape Cod Hospital required its physicians to sweep and mop floors along with their medical duties, do you think it Housekeeping Department costs would increase?

A fireman's job is different than a paramedic's job.

and there are private companies that regularly contract with cities and towns to provide ambulance service at no cost to taxpayers.

Paramedics can take courses at Cape Cod Community college, and get hands on training working as interns at Cape Cod Hospital.

The fireman’s job is an entry-level job.  Training is done at the Barnstable County Fire Academy, the same one that burned old flares and diesel fuel leaving residues to leach into the groundwater to contaminate water supplies.

Last year the combined fire districts responded to

9,462 ambulance calls,

and fire engines were sent out 2,360 times.

COMM hooked up to fire hydrants less than a dozen times to extinguish fires.

The Hyannis Fire Department hooked up to fire hydrants a few more times.

Most of the fire engine calls were not for fires, but as first responders for ambulance service.

The Barnstable Village Fire District, Cotuit Fire District, and West Barnstable Fire District

reported no fires to which fire equipment was sent out in 2006.

Check for yourself at the following links.

http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/08%20FD%20%20West%20Barnstable.htm

http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/06%20FD%20%20Cotuit.htm

http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/08%20FD%20%20West%20Barnstable 

http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/07%20FD%20%20COMM.htm

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http://www.capecodfd.com/PAGES%20Depts/10%20FD%20%20Hyannis.htm

All Greater Boston, Metro-West, North Shore, and all larger South Shore communities contract for ambulance service.

Boston has an Emergency Medical Service unit that operates under the city’s Board of Health, as well as two private ambulance contractors to handle its ambulance service.

Barnstable’s five independent fire districts probably connect to fire hydrants less than two-dozen times each year, yet their combined fire budgets resulted in

$23,000,000 in property tax levies.

Ambulance revenue accounted for an additional $5,000,000.

Private ambulance contractors get their revenue exclusively from insurance providers.

Following is the combined fire district/municipal employee salaries in 2006, including school teachers/administrators. 

Note the Hyannis Fire District refused to include employee names with their salaries.  Hyannis Fire District employees are listed by numbers under Dept..

Also note that former Police Chief John Finnegan's salary was not included.  Finnegan worked virtually the entire year, was under an employment contract, and earned $183,000 in 2005. His name should top the list.

NAME SALARY DEPT.

JASON JO ELLEN $133,368 POL

ANDERSON GLEN $133,319 SCH

TAMASH CRAIG $126,775 POL

SMITH ROBERT $126,495 LEG

MILNE MARK $125,008 FIN

KLIMM JOHN $122,218 TM

Farrington, John M. $120,303 COMM

MARTIN MICHAEL $118,714 POL

Pierce, David $116,244 COTUIT

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ELLS MARK $113,539 DPW

HYANNIS X $110,385 1

GRAVES PATRICIA $109,389 SCH

Edward Clough $108,767 WBFD

MACDONALD PAUL $108,090 POL

HYANNIS X $106,636 2Pierce, Jane $106,629 COTUIT

TWOMEY THOMAS $106,142 POL

Rogers, D. Brady $106,087 COMM

BIDGOOD DONALD $105,736 SCH

Gardner, James A. $103,524 COMMEldridge, Byron L. $103,156 COMM

MIKA JOHN $101,937 SCH

FORLONEY DONNA-LEE

$101,609 SCH

NIEDZWIECKI PAUL $101,377ASST. MAN

Field Jr., Philip H. $100,883 COMMBurchell, Thomas J. $99,808 COMM

WEIL RUTH $99,692 GM

SWEENEY JOHN $99,361 POL

BURNS SHEILA $99,304 SCH

TYNAN KEVIN $99,113 POL

MOSBY QUINCY $98,091 BMA

STONELY KAREN $98,087 SCH

GIGLIOTTI FRANK $96,681 SCH

Robert Crosby $96,440 BFDCrosby, Britton W $95,965 COMM

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GEILER THOMAS $95,649 CON AF

MURPHY JOHN $94,743 POL

Aalto, Roger $94,370 COMM

CLARK MICHAEL $94,303 POL

SULLIVAN MARK $94,264 SCH

MYETT DAVID $93,966 POL

WOOD DANIEL $93,883 INFO

DAMERY MICHAEL $93,751 POL

MELLYN MARK $92,685 POL

Richard Pfautz $92,425 BFDO'Melia, Robert F. $91,668 COMM

STOLOSKI KIM $91,514 SCH

HYANNIS X $91,510 3

PACKER WILLIAM $91,405 POL

Greene, Sean $91,191 COMMBengston, Eric A $90,812 COMMHYANNIS X $90,528 4

COLE WILLIAM $90,403 HUM RE

HYANNIS X $90,067 5Osgood, Daniel C. $88,948 COMMHYANNIS X $88,886 6HYANNIS X $88,791 7

CURLEY DAVID $88,631 REC

Sabatinelli, Eric J. $88,350 COMM

DONEHEY ROBERT $88,158 SCH

HYANNIS X $88,079 8Christopher Olsen $87,584 BFD

CHEVALIER THOMAS

$87,387 POL

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ENGELSEN EDWARD $87,156 WPC

Long, Thomas A. $87,067 COMMMcNamara, William $87,041 COTUITEdward Guilford $86,967 BFD

ANTHONY DAVID $86,899 PUR

Henderson, Steven C. $86,700 COMMVanEtten, Michael $86,220 COTUITHYANNIS X $86,035 9Goodearl, Thomas A. $85,688 COMMMiskiv, Thomas J. $85,477 COMM

EVERSON PAUL $85,325 POL

Frazier, Paul $85,275 COTUITBarry Mossey $84,648 COMM

ELLIS-STETSON ANN MARIE

$84,617 FIN

MORSE RICHARD $84,425 POL

Pulsifer, Frank $84,339 COMM

LABER JASON $83,759 POL

TAYLOR HOPE $83,689 SCH

HYANNIS X $83,273 10Judge, Michael $83,232 COMM

GRENIER PATRICIA $83,216 SCH

HYANNIS X $83,196 11Richard Ogonowsky $83,115 BFD

HOUGHTON DAVID $82,290 LEG

. Adams, R. Christopher $82,272 COMMRhude, Paul L. $82,237 COMM

HORN DANIEL $82,183 HAR

ORR BETHANN $82,019 SCH

HYANNIS X $81,974 12

113

MacNeely, Martin 0. $81,662 COMMMiskiv Jr., George M. $81,662 COMM

MORIN JOHN $81,624 DPW

Morrison, Brian T. $81,484 COMM

FRANCIS STEVEN $81,304 SCH

Christopher Greim $81,256 WBFD

ANDERSON JAMES $81,132 SCH

Lyons, Brent $81,095 COTUITDavern, Jason P. $81,094 COMM

GOLDEN ROBERT $81,011 DPW

HYANNIS X $80,554 13

THOMPSON SCOTT $80,321 POL

Donald O'Neill $80,250 BFDCarney, Michael J. $80,139 COMM

EVERETT STEVEN $80,122 POL

Craig A. Crocker $80,116 COMM

BREAULT ROLAND $79,898 DPW

ANDRES CORNELIUS

$79,737 DPW

HYANNIS X $79,588 14

SMITH DAVID $79,575 SCH

BLANCHARD NANCY

$79,427 POL

BIRD THOMAS $79,189 POL

MCDONALD THOMAS

$79,075 SCH

David Paanan o n $79,069 WBFDSahl, Richard N. $78,944 COMM

FAVREAU JANET $78,871 SCH

114

Henson, Roger W. $78,842 COMM

SULLIVAN MICHAEL $78,771 SCH

HYANNIS X $78,526 15Lehane, Shawn T. $78,353 COMMReed, Andrew C. $78,235 COMM

BRUINOOGE ERIC $78,215 SCH

MAHER STEVEN $77,752 POL

HYANNIS X $77,694 16Carpenter, Daniel T. $77,419 COMMSargent, William $77,364 COTUITRobert Cecil $77,348 BFD

VALLIERE EUGENE $77,274 DPW

HYANNIS X $77,054 17Ferola, David F. $76,768 COMM

O'BRIEN STEPHEN $76,667 POL

CELIA BRIAN $76,620 DPW

Gallo, Richard M. $76,507 COMM

MORRISON BRIAN $76,322 POL

MCNAMARA JEAN $76,176 SCH

SCIPIONE EDMUND $75,796 POL

Glenn Coffin $75,668 BFDHYANNIS X $75,600 18

TETREAULT LINDA $74,778 SCH

GOODEARL THERESE

$74,738 POL

DELANEY MARK $74,643 POL

READY LINDA $74,599 SCH

BERGEN CAROL $74,509 SCH

115

TURNER DANIEL $74,434 POL

MACHADO PATRICIA

$74,428 REC

SCHLOERB MARCIA $74,422 SCH

Grenier, Marc J. $74,288 COMMHYANNIS X $74,178 19

ROBBINS ROXANE $74,092 POL

HYANNIS X $73,955 20

CLARKE KEITH $73,912 SCH

MURRAY BRIAN $73,881 POL

HYANNIS X $73,671 21Grossman, Michael G. $73,575 COMM

RILEY MICHAEL $73,147 POL

984 Kevin Brailey $73,119 BFD

GILBERT VIRGINIA $73,095 SCH

HUTCHENRIDER LINDA

$72,998 TC

BENOIT JAMES $72,934 GIS

MALOY SANDRA $72,906 SCH

HYANNIS X $72,862 22

GEARIN NEIL $72,683 POL

HYANNIS X $72,676 23Dillon, Matthew B. $72,650 COMM

BERNON CAROL $72,466 SCH

STONE GAIL $72,440 SCH

BROSNAN THERESA $72,414 SCH

SULLIVAN JOHN $72,329 SCH

116

HYANNIS X $72,327 24Christopher Beal $72,273 BFD

ABORN NANCY $72,258 SCH

ELLIS JENNIFER $72,076 POL

O'TOOLE MICHAEL $71,791 SCH

REED JOHN $71,789 SCH

SEYMOUR STEPHEN $71,688 GM

LEARY SUSANNE $71,529 SCH

HYANNIS X $71,459 25

CATTABRIGA BRIAN $71,310 SCH

MASON MARY $70,993 SCH

GUAZZALOCA EDWARD

$70,974 SCH

HYANNIS X $70,893 26Lewis Jr., Frederick C. $70,887 COMM

BRODERICK CHARLYNE

$70,853 SCH

HYANNIS X $70,819 27

YORK JOHN $70,748 POL

HENNESSEY DEBRA $70,681 SCH

HYANNIS X $70,621 28

NADOLNY LAURA $70,403 SCH

Johnson, Gary N. $70,401 COMM

ALEXANDER JOHN $70,347 POL

HYANNIS X $70,247 9HYANNIS X $70,219 30

117

NEEDHAM OWEN $70,216 POL

PECK ROBERT $70,201 SCH

KEENAN OWEN $70,182 SCH

HYANNIS X $70,173 31

GIBSON CHERYL $70,085 SCH

HOURIHAN REGINA $70,051 SCH

GATEWOOD ROBERT

$70,045 CON

KEENAN KENNETH $69,952 SCH

ESTEY STEPHEN $69,924 POL

PARKE SUSAN $69,920 SCH

HYANNIS X $69,632 32

ALLEN BETH-ANNE $69,496 SCH

PAULHUS MARIE $69,461 SCH

HYANNIS X $69,454 33

MILES SUSAN $69,401 SCH

BROWN LAUREL $69,362 SCH

MCKANE LINDA $69,261 SCH

HYANNIS X $69,194 34

BEUKE DIANNE $69,021 SCH

Jon Erickson $68,988 BFD

GENATOSSIO CHARLES

$68,875 DPW

GOODE PETER $68,781 SCH

118

AFRAME LAUREN $68,759 SCH

TRACZYK ARTHUR $68,755 GM

MCNAUGHTON ALLISON

$68,532 SCH

WEST SUSAN $68,130 SCH

HYANNIS X $68,099 35

DUNCAN KATHLEEN

$68,075 SCH

KASER STEVEN $68,071 SCH

GYRA MICHAEL $68,011 SCH

SIMONETTI MARY $68,011 SCH

RHUDE DIANE $67,997 SCH

MEAGHER NANCY $67,931 SCH

BOWMAN DONNA $67,911 SCH

KYNOCH SCOTT $67,887 POL

CASEY KATHLEEN $67,871 SCH

JACKSON JEFFREY $67,799 POL

WRIGHT SCOTT $67,725 POL

Dalbec, Edward $67,650 COMM

VERROS THALIA $67,574 SCH

MARKS LEISA $67,471 SCH

LESCARBEAU MARY-LOU

$67,457 SCH

119

Fenner, Donna $67,415 COTUIT

DECOLLIBUS KEVIN $67,332 INF

RIZZITANO MELISSA

$67,323 SCH

CLARK PAULA $67,211 SCH

Janice E. Gannon $67,178 COMM

SULLIVAN KAREN $67,162 SCH

Edward Poirier $67,089 BFD

CURLEY-GIORDANO MAUREEN

$67,001 SCH

HOWARD ANNE $66,991 SCH

Amento, Joh $66,966 COTUIT

MCCARTHY-KRAUS MELISSA

$66,901 SCH

HYANNIS X $66,894 36

MEGATHLIN KAREN $66,891 SCH

STONE BARBARA $66,871 SCH

GAUTHIER ANDREW $66,850 SCH

CHILDS LINDA $66,841 SCH

BUCKMAN JAMES $66,841 SCH

KANE ANN $66,820 SCH

SILK LINDA $66,761 SCH

MCLEOD JOHN $66,726 SCH

CWYNAR PHILIP $66,707 SCH

120

MAZZEO BRENDA $66,701 SCH

James Tuepker $66,638 BFD

ALCOCK ARTHUR $66,626 SCH

BEVERIDGE BERNARD

$66,556 SCH

GARDINER PATRICIA

$66,531 SCH

MCCAREY CAROLE $66,481 SCH

LENHART CARL $66,361 SCH

CATOLINE MARGARET

$66,361 SCH

LEEMAN LINDA $66,121 SCH

MCEACHERN MARIE $66,116 SCH

HYANNIS X $66,012 37HYANNIS X $66,005 38

ETSTEN JACQUELINE

$66,004 GM

HYANNIS X $66,002 39

O'TOOLE EDWARD $66,000 SCH

Joseph Maruc $66,000 WBFDHYANNIS X $65,982 40

MACHON ALLEN $65,982 SCH

SWINDLER MARTHA $65,945 SCH

HYANNIS X $65,757 41Donna Rex $65,744 BFD

SCHULZ KARIN-LEE $65,477 SCH

121

BROWN DAVID $65,450 SCH

HINCKLEY KATHLEEN

$65,425 POL

DOYLE KARIN $65,308 SCH

BLOOM CHARLES $65,276 SCH

SHEA LAUREN $65,180 SCH

LARIVIERE KURT $65,123 POL

SWEENEY SUSAN $65,075 SCH

Gifford, Jeffrey W. $65,031 COMMHYANNIS X $65,009 42

April 04, 2007

122

Just how much are Barnstable's fire districts costing us?

Compare the fire budgets, and per capita costs of fire protection in other communities to the combined fire district levy in Barnstable for yourself.

Listed are the 2006 fire budgets for;

Brookline

$11,500.000,

o per capita cost of $204

Fall River,

$13,388,313,

o per capita cost of $140

Framingham,

$10,483,108,

o per capita cost of $160

Haverhill,

$7,775,169,

o per capita cost of $129.

Holyoke,

$7,795,513,

o per capita cost of $195.

Lawrence,

$10,373,015,

o per capita cost of $144.

Lowell,

$13,797,506,

123

o per capita cost of $133.

Lynn,

$16,339,590,

o per capita cost of $183.

New Bedford,

$14,869,302,

o per capita cost of $158.

Newton,

$11,248,147,

o per capita cost of $134.

Plymouth,

$7,804,396,

o per capita cost of $143.

Quincy,

$15,211,743,

o per capita cost of $189.

Springfield,

$15,676,835,

o per capita cost of $103.

Waltham,

$11,011,496,

o per capita cost of $186.

Watertown,

124

$6,720,231,

o per capita cost of $206.

Weymouth,

$7,583,236,

o per capita cost of $140.

and Yarmouth,

$5,031,847

o per capita cost of $201.

Barnstable’s five fire districts combined collected

$23,000,000,

o per capita cost of $471.

in fire district taxes, and the combined payrolls alone totaled

$11,485,123 

This Thursday the Barnstable Town Council will act on a measure to fund a fire district study.

Ask yourself whether spending $10 to $15 million each year more than other communities for fire protection is a sign of a problem.

Barnstable’s combined fire district payroll follows; 

NOTE;  The Hyannis Fire District once again refused to identify its wage earners.  Hyannis Fire District employees are listed by greatest earners who are assigned numbers.  Greatest earner is 1, and so forth.

NAME DISTRICT SALARY

Farrington, John M. COMM $120,303Pierce, David COTUIT $116,244HYANNIS X 1 $110,385Edward Clough WBFD $108,767

125

HYANNIS X 2 $106,636Pierce, Jane COTUIT $106,629Rogers, D. Brady COMM $106,087Gardner, James A. COMM $103,524Eldridge, Byron L. COMM $103,156Field Jr., Philip H. COMM $100,883Burchell, Thomas J.  COMM $99,808Robert Crosby BFD $96,440Crosby, Britton W COMM $95,965Aalto, Roger  COMM $94,370Richard Pfautz BFD $92,425O'Melia, Robert F. COMM $91,668HYANNIS X 3 $91,510Greene, Sean COMM $91,191Bengston, Eric A COMM $90,812HYANNIS X 4 $90,528HYANNIS X 5 $90,067Osgood, Daniel C. COMM $88,948HYANNIS X 6 $88,886HYANNIS X 7 $88,791Sabatinelli, Eric J. COMM $88,350HYANNIS X 8 $88,079Christpher Olsen BFD $87,584Long, Thomas A. COMM $87,067McNamara, William COTUIT $87,041Edward Guilford BFD $86,967Henderson, Steven C. COMM $86,700VanEtten, Michael COTUIT $86,220HYANNIS X 9 $86,035Goodearl, Thomas A. COMM $85,688Miskiv, Thomas J. COMM $85,477Frazier, Paul COTUIT $85,275Barry Mossey COMM $84,648Pulsifer, Frank COMM $84,339HYANNIS X 10 $83,273Judge, Michael COMM $83,232HYANNIS X 11 $83,196Richard Ogonowsky BFD $83,115. Adams, R. Christopher  COMM $82,272Rhude, Paul L. COMM $82,237HYANNIS X 12 $81,974

126

MacNeely, Martin 0. COMM $81,662Miskiv Jr., George M. COMM $81,662Morrison, Brian T. COMM $81,484Christopher Greim WBFD $81,256Lyons, Brent COTUIT $81,095Davern, Jason P. COMM $81,094HYANNIS X 13 $80,554Donald O'Neill BFD $80,250Carney, Michael J.  COMM $80,139Craig A. Crocker COMM $80,116HYANNIS X 14 $79,588David Paanan o n WBFD $79,069Sahl, Richard N. COMM $78,944Henson, Roger W. COMM $78,842HYANNIS X 15 $78,526Lehane, Shawn T. COMM $78,353Reed, Andrew C. COMM $78,235HYANNIS X 16 $77,694Carpenter, Daniel T.  COMM $77,419Sargent, William COTUIT $77,364Robert Cecil BFD $77,348HYANNIS X 17 $77,054Ferola, David F. COMM $76,768Gallo, Richard M. COMM $76,507Glenn Coffin BFD $75,668HYANNIS X 18 $75,600Grenier, Marc J. COMM $74,288HYANNIS X 19 $74,178HYANNIS X 20 $73,955HYANNIS X 21 $73,671Grossman, Michael G. COMM $73,575984 Kevin Brailey BFD $73,119HYANNIS X 22 $72,862HYANNIS X 23 $72,676Dillon, Matthew B. COMM $72,650HYANNIS X 24 $72,327Christopher Beal BFD $72,273HYANNIS X 25 $71,459HYANNIS X 26 $70,893Lewis Jr., Frederick C. COMM $70,887HYANNIS X 27 $70,819

127

HYANNIS X 28 $70,621Johnson, Gary N. COMM $70,401HYANNIS X 9 $70,247HYANNIS X 30 $70,219HYANNIS X 31 $70,173HYANNIS X 32 $69,632HYANNIS X 33 $69,454HYANNIS X 34 $69,194Jon Erickson BFD $68,988HYANNIS X 35 $68,099Dalbec, Edward  COMM $67,650Fenner, Donna COTUIT $67,415Janice E. Gannon  COMM $67,178Edward Poirier BFD $67,089Amento, Joh  COTUIT $66,966HYANNIS X 36 $66,894James Tuepker BFD $66,638HYANNIS X 37 $66,012HYANNIS X 38 $66,005HYANNIS X 39 $66,002Joseph Maruc WBFD $66,000HYANNIS X 40 $65,982HYANNIS X 41 $65,757Donna Rex BFD $65,744Gifford, Jeffrey W. COMM $65,031HYANNIS X 42 $65,009HYANNIS X 43 $63,668DeGraan, Thomas COMM $63,441William Fleming BFD $63,344HYANNIS X 44 $63,216Pouliot, Joseph COTUIT $62,214Adam Goode WBFD $62,187HYANNIS X 45 $62,104HYANNIS X 46 $61,958HYANNIS X 47 $60,591John Fleming BFD $60,349Monroe, William COMM $60,278HYANNIS X 48 $60,118HYANNIS X 49 $59,826HYANNIS X 50 $59,493Judith C. Sprague  COMM $59,325

128

Motte, Laurie COMM $59,164HYANNIS X 51 $58,822HYANNIS X 52 $58,648Rogers, Michael COMM $58,484George Weir BFD $58,245HYANNIS X 53 $57,753Gelinas Jr., David J. COMM $56,394Crosby, Robyn R.  COMM $56,358Kevin J. Ferguson  COMM $52,192Brian Cabral BFD $50,634Loveridge, Kathryn M. COMM $49,609Ronald Tivey BFD $48,984Yvette Brailey BFD $48,160Richard Marshall BFD $47,472Mary Mclsaac BFD $47,000HYANNIS X 54 $42,639Marguerite Freeman BFD $41,993HYANNIS X 55 $41,943Geggatt, Joan COTUIT $41,150HYANNIS X 56 $38,540Longeway, Sheila A. COMM $36,831T. Chatham Fawkes  COMM $35,707Susan M. Stoltz  COMM $35,198Faria, Charles J. COMM $35,091HYANNIS X 57 $34,581HYANNIS X 58 $33,281HYANNIS X 59 $15,328Janet Igoe BFD $13,849Janice King WBFD $11,260Arrascue, Enrique  COMM $10,796David Quigle WBFD $10,110Kathleen P. Gleason  COMM $9,206Matthew James WBFD $6,478Edward Osmili WBFD $5,615Edward Crowley WBFD $5,452Jeremy Cadrin WBFD $5,374Joseph O'Hare WBFD $4,749John Richar s n WBFD $4,650Anthony DeLane COMM $4,479Christel Kalweit WBFD $4,342Elaine Grace WBFD $3,500

129

Jane McCormick BFD $3,492Nestor Silva COMM $3,000Carlton Crocker COMM $3,000Nanette Jacob WBFD $2,972John Gannon BFD $2,802Paul Holt WBFD $2,707Jeremy LaFlam e WBFD $2,591Craig Pye WBFD $2,583Maureen McPhee  COMM $2,500Robert Black WBFD $2,461Charles Eager BFD $2,443Peter Goias WBFD $2,415Florence Hodkinson  COMM $2,321James Murph WBFD $2,321Erik Anderson WBFD $2,252Colin O'Donn II WBFD $2,110Derrick Irving WBFD $2,107Matthew O'Neil WBFD $2,044Kim Vermette BFD $2,039Dunton, Marcus COMM $1,882Todd Ostrom WBFD $1,722Patrick Friel WBFD $1,714Clifford Irving WBFD $1,523Andrew Heckler WBFD $1,521Michael Goodwin WBFD $1,517Bathsheba Mille WBFD $1,473William Hallet WBFD $1,357Jed Maki WBFD $1,219Terry Karras BFD $1,216Mahoney, Jessica  COMM $1,194Virgina Bean BFD $985Richard Carroll BFD $977Peter Eleftherakis BFD $977Charles Fuller BFD $977Elvelyn Basset BFD $976Mary Mclsaac WBFD $910Amy Hallett WBFD $815Stephen lacovelli BFD $774Brenda Neme WBFD $771Richards French BFD $728Jason Charlonne WBFD $664

130

Clough, Glen COMM $633Maureen McPhee BFD $550John Brennan WBFD $500Kenneth More WBFD $500Christopher George WBFD $483Brian Tyson BFD $423Brenda Nemec BFD $398Lorrie McDaniel BFD $361Christopher Ma ux WBFD $327Charles Sabatt COMM $300Phillip Doherty BFD $257Joshua Glaser WBFD $256Christopher Hus WBFD $218Peter Desrosier BFD $200Jeffrey Nemec BFD $153Maureen McP WBFD $110Richard Clark BFD $63Daniel Mullen WBFD $50

TOTAL $11,405,122

April 03, 2007

131

Barnstable’s combined five fire district budgets, excluding water departments, are bigger than 216 Massachusetts City and town budgets.

Barnstable’s tax base is nearly $15 billion which means every dollar on the tax rate brings in $15 million in revenue.

Barnstable five fire district tax rates vary;

Barnstable FD - All Classes- $2.10,

Cotuit FD - All Classes - $1.34,

Cent/Ost/MM FD - All Classes - $1.03,

Hyannis FD - Residential - $1.54, Hyannis FD – Commercial - Industrial/PP - $2.37,

W Barnstable FD - Residential - $1.69, W Barnstable FD - Commercial/Industrial/PP - $2.02.

When you calculate them all out the total for F/Y2008 will be $27 million.

Each of the districts collects ambulance fees which they bank as surplus revenue, usually for capital expenditures, for a total of $7 million for a total of $34 million.

In many other cities and towns ambulance service is privatized, ergo no property tax money is used to finance the service.

In these communities ambulance contractor/contractors operate from insurance carrier revenue only.

In Barnstable homeowners pay three times for the same service other communities pay once.

Let's take Plymouth as an example…

Plymouth taxpayers pay for fire services from their tax base.

If an ambulance service is needed a private ambulance contractor provides the service and collects the fee designated by the insurance carrier, whether it be from liability, automobile, homeowner, health, or Medicare insurance providers. 

The ambulance provider in Plymouth is prohibited from imposing other charges for service.

132

In Barnstable taxpayers pay the salaries of firemen, EMT’s, and paramedics.

Insurance providers pay ambulance fees.

Ambulance clients pay the difference between the fire district ambulance fee and the amount paid by the insurance provider.

If you can find a streetlight in your neighborhood, the costs of the light are paid for by the fire district.

Posted is the list of cities and towns where the entire municipal budgets are less than Barnstable’s combined fire districts;

                                                          NEW   ASHFORD $452,265MONROE $463,025MOUNT WASHINGTON $486,418TOLLAND $764,468HAWLEY $780,236ALFORD $868,745MIDDLEFIELD $974,705TYRINGHAM $981,570GOSNOLD $993,707WASHINGTON $1,027,783PLAINFIELD $1,125,139MONTGOMERY $1,279,658LEYDEN $1,349,504PERU $1,372,828WARWICK $1,401,892HANCOCK $1,521,536WINDSOR $1,530,662CUMMINGTON $1,540,354ROYALSTON $1,561,976SAVOY $1,582,025NEW BRAINTREE $1,619,625GOSHEN $1,693,116WENDELL $1,748,212HEATH $1,780,025SANDISFIELD $1,871,129NEW SALEM $1,873,745PHILLIPSTON $2,021,652BLANDFORD $2,034,874OAKHAM $2,186,804WORTHINGTON $2,215,571

133

CHESTERFIELD $2,241,533RUSSELL $2,243,129GILL $2,258,725FLORIDA $2,303,657CHARLEMONT $2,325,579MONTEREY $2,332,316AQUINNAH $2,374,984PETERSHAM $2,554,081EGREMONT $2,562,863ROWE $2,598,557CHESTER $2,731,665COLRAIN $2,734,936NEW MARLBOROUGH $2,904,812HINSDALE $2,947,354SHELBURNE $2,997,119OTIS $3,002,524CLARKSBURG $3,012,616BUCKLAND $3,086,364HUNTINGTON $3,174,775EAST BROOKFIELD $3,179,057ASHFIELD $3,218,665WALES $3,230,446PELHAM $3,411,299WESTHAMPTON $3,531,910HARDWICK $3,700,523WEST STOCKBRIDGE $3,812,486BERNARDSTON $3,861,764BECKET $3,968,327WHATELY $3,970,469CONWAY $4,075,102CHESHIRE $4,109,889GRANVILLE $4,199,076LEVERETT $4,378,196MILLVILLE $4,400,563ASHBY $4,472,079RICHMOND $4,495,212SHUTESBURY $4,604,211WILLIAMSBURG $4,838,960HOLLAND $5,166,414WEST BROOKFIELD $5,203,668HUBBARDSTON $5,549,919ERVING $5,831,648NORTHFIELD $5,871,585

134

STOCKBRIDGE $5,897,928CHILMARK $6,122,240PLYMPTON $6,169,159BROOKFIELD $6,291,630SUNDERLAND $6,540,906SHEFFIELD $6,566,135WARREN $6,680,243DUNSTABLE $6,738,579HATFIELD $6,998,388BARRE $7,221,358PRINCETON $7,441,012BRIMFIELD $7,658,209BERLIN $7,758,540LANESBOROUGH $7,984,609ESSEX $8,376,807HAMPDEN $8,635,141PAXTON $8,716,273WEST NEWBURY $8,833,545NAHANT $8,978,585TEMPLETON $9,010,558GROVELAND $9,613,620DEERFIELD $9,940,437BOYLSTON $10,230,510NORTH BROOKFIELD $10,535,501MENDON $10,603,838ADAMS $10,752,700HADLEY $10,800,619DUDLEY $10,825,647WENHAM $10,992,311ATHOL $11,020,023TRURO $11,057,665SOUTHAMPTON $11,129,805DALTON $11,249,689ROWLEY $11,391,621ASHBURNHAM $11,651,572DIGHTON $11,656,288WEST TISBURY $11,871,963RUTLAND $11,954,472MERRIMAC $11,957,343GRANBY $12,428,667WELLFLEET $12,997,154MONTAGUE $13,048,053WESTMINSTER $13,069,175

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SPENCER $13,219,464LANCASTER $13,349,351BERKLEY $13,480,137SHIRLEY $13,577,657LEE $13,675,496SOUTHWICK $13,772,523UPTON $13,773,028ROCHESTER $13,938,476TOWNSEND $14,077,336BLACKSTONE $14,125,887NEWBURY $14,344,897WILLIAMSTOWN $14,382,265LENOX $14,442,323BOLTON $14,961,543SALISBURY $15,040,982MARION $15,117,532HALIFAX $15,239,184AVON $15,335,500PEPPERELL $15,575,980EASTHAM $15,981,576ORANGE $16,106,943STERLING $16,219,682HANSON $16,221,006TISBURY $16,264,130CHARLTON $16,385,073GREAT BARRINGTON $16,538,942HOPEDALE $16,606,014BOXBOROUGH $16,674,602FREETOWN $16,837,374MANCHESTER $16,888,444WEST BOYLSTON $17,175,121REHOBOTH $17,230,690MATTAPOISETT $17,569,991TOPSFIELD $17,575,472HARVARD $17,793,206STOW $17,822,093WEST BRIDGEWATER $18,453,788GEORGETOWN $18,471,549SHERBORN $18,675,083MIDDLETON $18,732,152MILLIS $18,839,913AYER $18,979,898LAKEVILLE $19,374,005

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CARLISLE $19,549,306PLAINVILLE $19,620,346STURBRIDGE $19,843,539DOUGLAS $19,880,228ACUSHNET $20,056,287OAK BLUFFS $20,226,613HAMILTON $20,309,669WHITMAN $21,064,741ORLEANS $21,484,741MONSON $21,503,506PROVINCETOWN $21,613,094SUTTON $21,749,649ROCKPORT $22,543,058BOXFORD $22,636,272DOVER $22,939,537WARE $23,038,592EDGARTOWN $23,093,747LEICESTER $23,250,064LINCOLN $23,255,547LUNENBURG $23,416,895WINCHENDON $23,643,234GROTON $24,938,146RAYNHAM $25,122,604WEBSTER $25,170,918LITTLETON $25,686,769WESTPORT $25,736,967NORFOLK $26,097,456HOLBROOK $26,400,858SWANSEA $27,190,003OXFORD $27,303,021TYNGSBOROUGH $27,473,436CHATHAM $27,514,087WILBRAHAM $27,888,084MILLBURY $28,184,724WRENTHAM $28,273,185EASTHAMPTON $28,659,793CARVER $28,696,226KINGSTON $29,151,511COHASSET $29,462,230MAYNARD $29,580,364BREWSTER $29,644,972EAST BRIDGEWATER $30,010,805HULL $30,290,371

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FAIRHAVEN $30,349,655CLINTON $30,412,784PALMER $30,825,526UXBRIDGE $31,010,507SOUTH HADLEY $31,085,660HOLDEN $31,791,847IPSWICH $32,308,061GRAFTON $32,339,865LYNNFIELD $32,623,659ABINGTON $33,167,659NORWELL $33,233,251SOUTHBOROUGH $33,528,197NORTHBRIDGE $33,775,518SEEKONK $33,910,058

Fire district politicians, who serve at least two terms, get free health insurance for the rest of their lives for themselves and their families.

While they serve their two terms, in addition to stipends, the 45 fire district politicians receive full 90%-paid health insurance for themselves and their families.

All the fire chiefs except West Barnstable earn $100K, and firemen salaries average $80K.

The fire districts are exempt from Proposition 2 ½, which means the Massachusetts Department of Revenue refuses to recognize Barnstable's fire district tax for the purposes of disseminating state aid.

Annual fire district elections typically have less than 4% turn out, and those that do vote are typically firemen, their families and friends.

Annual meetings, where the budgets are approved, typically have a difficult time achieving a quorum.

The vast majority of annual fire district meeting attendees are firemen, their wives, family, and friends, which means they authorize their own spending wish lists.

COMM Fire District holds its annual meeting at Marstons Mills East Horace Mann Charter School auditorium that has a seating capacity of 400, while there are 20,000 registered voters in the district.

The median priced home in

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COMM incurs a fire district tax that is 23% of the permanent resident town tax.

In Cotuit the fire district tax is 30% of the permanent resident town tax.

In Hyannis the fire district tax is 34% of the permanent resident town tax.

In West Barnstable the fire district tax is 45% of the permanent resident town tax.

In Barnstable Village the fire district tax is 47% of the permanent resident town tax.

This year the Cape Cod Mall paid $607,130 in town taxes,

and $258,330 in fire district taxes, or 43%.

Last year the state per capita cost of fire protection was $142.

Last year the per capita cost of fire protection in Barnstable was $543.

If you and your wife live in Barnstable for the next 30 years, there might be a day when you could use the extra $24,000 you pissed away on extra fire protection costs.

Posted below are the fire budgets in other Massachusetts communities..As you can see Barnstable’s combined fire district budget is ranked as the second highest fire budget in the state…

                                                                                                                                BOSTON $159,612,498WORCESTER $31,512,240CAMBRIDGE $22,030,373BROCKTON $17,564,369LYNN $16,339,590SPRINGFIELD $15,676,835QUINCY $15,211,743NEW BEDFORD $14,869,392LOWELL $13,797,506FALL RIVER $13,388,313BROOKLINE $11,593,906NEWTON $11,248,147SOMERVILLE $11,014,736WALTHAM $11,011,496FRAMINGHAM $10,483,108LAWRENCE $10,373,015

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MEDFORD $8,747,427MALDEN $8,511,412CHICOPEE $8,484,267TAUNTON $8,375,074PLYMOUTH $7,804,396HOLYOKE $7,795,513HAVERHILL $7,775,159WEYMOUTH $7,583,236EVERETT $6,962,504REVERE $6,817,908WATERTOWN $6,720,221METHUEN $6,558,259CHELSEA $6,525,371FITCHBURG $6,257,535BILLERICA $6,235,061BRAINTREE $6,203,440MARLBOROUGH $5,891,068PEABODY $5,826,080LEOMINSTER $5,798,548WOBURN $5,766,321ANDOVER $5,755,748SALEM $5,745,593NATICK $5,728,068ATTLEBORO $5,465,278PITTSFIELD $5,419,493FALMOUTH $5,418,444NEEDHAM $5,221,212ARLINGTON $5,115,941YARMOUTH $5,031,847GLOUCESTER $5,000,596BURLINGTON $4,994,600BEVERLY $4,949,348NORWOOD $4,505,837LEXINGTON $4,396,518WESTFIELD $4,324,891DEDHAM $4,295,113TEWKSBURY $4,085,430FRANKLIN $4,058,677CHELMSFORD $4,021,228NORTH ANDOVER $4,014,737MARSHFIELD $3,919,132WELLESLEY $3,916,749MILTON $3,880,200

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DANVERS $3,842,175CANTON $3,742,130HINGHAM $3,693,358SCITUATE $3,670,755WEST SPRINGFIELD $3,569,591NORTH ATTLEBOROUGH

$3,556,178

BELMONT $3,477,723WINCHESTER $3,464,193RANDOLPH $3,452,928STOUGHTON $3,323,071NORTHAMPTON $3,308,973DENNIS $3,267,550AMHERST $3,213,557WAKEFIELD $3,091,778SANDWICH $3,082,806SAUGUS $3,080,468READING $3,045,301AGAWAM $3,005,973MELROSE $2,876,492NEWBURYPORT $2,876,305CONCORD $2,802,154MASHPEE $2,799,961STONEHAM $2,750,338WILMINGTON $2,725,381ACTON $2,723,726WALPOLE $2,689,910ROCKLAND $2,646,125MILFORD $2,644,700WESTBOROUGH $2,628,670HARWICH $2,612,214SWAMPSCOTT $2,597,676SUDBURY $2,547,353SHREWSBURY $2,540,107FOXBOROUGH $2,490,124DRACUT $2,473,920MARBLEHEAD $2,456,507AMESBURY $2,429,847HULL $2,399,235NORTON $2,373,331HUDSON $2,311,124WESTON $2,309,452EASTON $2,286,873

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MANSFIELD $2,266,619NANTUCKET $2,258,608WESTWOOD $2,167,527MIDDLEBOROUGH $2,161,552BEDFORD $2,154,228NORTH READING $2,131,129PEMBROKE $2,061,085BRIDGEWATER $2,047,954WESTFORD $2,042,356WINTHROP $2,013,792BOURNE $2,012,748WHITMAN $1,971,972ORLEANS $1,943,243DUXBURY $1,925,574GARDNER $1,922,093ASHLAND $1,919,959HANOVER $1,870,608CHATHAM $1,869,802WAYLAND $1,820,686HOLBROOK $1,800,747COHASSET $1,798,999ABINGTON $1,762,223LUDLOW $1,726,528AUBURN $1,720,534RAYNHAM $1,682,019SOUTHBRIDGE $1,676,148KINGSTON $1,667,707GREENFIELD $1,633,083FAIRHAVEN $1,610,124HOPKINTON $1,600,937NORWELL $1,585,546EASTHAMPTON $1,569,105SOUTHBOROUGH $1,558,303SOMERSET $1,545,120WESTPORT $1,482,111BREWSTER $1,481,203SHARON $1,467,821EAST BRIDGEWATER $1,446,088WRENTHAM $1,438,883MAYNARD $1,437,647BELLINGHAM $1,423,667CLINTON $1,372,415EASTHAM $1,368,840

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HANSON $1,323,627SEEKONK $1,316,395WILBRAHAM $1,302,258NORTH ADAMS $1,242,763IPSWICH $1,242,029LONGMEADOW $1,234,075WEST BRIDGEWATER $1,227,298ATHOL $1,161,868MIDDLETON $1,131,148NORFOLK $1,053,905AYER $1,008,610NORTHBOROUGH $996,900AVON $984,241WELLFLEET $983,946CHARLTON $939,851LYNNFIELD $934,730SALISBURY $926,590MANCHESTER $911,276PLAINVILLE $897,465NORTHBRIDGE $859,541HOLDEN $844,820LINCOLN $818,978WARE $790,254MEDFIELD $786,612ASHBURNHAM $775,936LAKEVILLE $769,095ORANGE $753,725GROTON $746,410WESTMINSTER $703,201BOXBOROUGH $669,033FREETOWN $656,084PROVINCETOWN $648,714NAHANT $624,221MILLBURY $620,161EAST LONGMEADOW $585,321LITTLETON $584,325STURBRIDGE $580,893HALIFAX $565,128HOLLISTON $541,179MENDON $536,876DIGHTON $534,717LUNENBURG $519,832TOPSFIELD $508,730

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BLACKSTONE $498,371NEWBURY $477,440WEST BOYLSTON $463,356HAMILTON $450,439UPTON $440,078UXBRIDGE $429,582HOPEDALE $429,422SWANSEA $428,116TYNGSBOROUGH $416,571ROWLEY $400,667SHIRLEY $399,899STOW $386,874BOXFORD $386,345MARION $384,791WEBSTER $384,600WENHAM $380,718STERLING $374,181WINCHENDON $373,610ACUSHNET $367,746CARVER $361,198SHERBORN $334,430GRAFTON $316,891MILLIS $314,633REHOBOTH $313,969BELCHERTOWN $308,632DUDLEY $303,796SUTTON $291,924DOVER $291,378HUBBARDSTON $288,595SPENCER $287,240LANCASTER $280,761GREAT BARRINGTON $273,584GEORGETOWN $269,999TOWNSEND $268,849MEDWAY $263,726BERKLEY $258,546EDGARTOWN $235,094MATTAPOISETT $231,953WEST NEWBURY $227,217LENOX $223,482BARRE $221,174WARREN $220,025MERRIMAC $218,571

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WEST TISBURY $212,601PAXTON $212,287MILLVILLE $208,689HARVARD $202,965LEICESTER $202,702CARLISLE $199,015DOUGLAS $193,195PEPPERELL $182,202MONSON $180,494RUTLAND $174,813TRURO $173,730ROCKPORT $171,681GROVELAND $170,670SOUTHWICK $169,408BOYLSTON $167,097OAK BLUFFS $158,260PRINCETON $149,850ESSEX $147,500SOUTHAMPTON $147,286HADLEY $144,280ROCHESTER $135,096EAST BROOKFIELD $128,322TEMPLETON $120,086ASHBY $104,684PLYMPTON $103,948MONTEREY $102,654GRANBY $100,665TISBURY $99,819BRIMFIELD $96,534HUNTINGTON $88,385CHILMARK $84,767BERLIN $83,760HARDWICK $81,077RUSSELL $79,848NORTHFIELD $79,461NORTH BROOKFIELD $78,330NEW MARLBOROUGH $76,624PHILLIPSTON $75,022WEST BROOKFIELD $74,033HATFIELD $72,176ERVING $70,051LEVERETT $68,891LEE $68,528

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BOLTON $68,344LANESBOROUGH $65,281SUNDERLAND $64,678GILL $60,561EGREMONT $59,195WILLIAMSBURG $55,247ROYALSTON $54,287BERNARDSTON $54,171RICHMOND $54,077STOCKBRIDGE $53,237SHUTESBURY $50,030BROOKFIELD $49,525OAKHAM $49,471SANDISFIELD $48,305OTIS $47,186ROWE $45,380HINSDALE $44,875CHARLEMONT $43,474HOLLAND $42,889SHEFFIELD $41,011PELHAM $40,695ASHFIELD $37,861WEST STOCKBRIDGE $37,050WORTHINGTON $36,320HANCOCK $34,136GOSHEN $32,938GRANVILLE $32,488CHESTER $32,230CONWAY $30,444NEW SALEM $30,092WHATELY $29,363PETERSHAM $28,719BLANDFORD $27,764NEW BRAINTREE $27,676HAMPDEN $26,590TOLLAND $26,338SAVOY $25,440LEYDEN $25,071CHESHIRE $24,808WALES $24,702COLRAIN $23,403AQUINNAH $23,319FLORIDA $22,573

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WESTHAMPTON $22,038BECKET $21,508HEATH $20,693DUNSTABLE $19,776GOSNOLD $18,563PERU $18,332TYRINGHAM $17,851CLARKSBURG $17,307WINDSOR $15,063PLAINFIELD $13,646CUMMINGTON $12,270MONTGOMERY $12,140CHESTERFIELD $12,128MONROE $11,294HAWLEY $9,936WASHINGTON $9,678ADAMS $9,226ALFORD $8,600MIDDLEFIELD $8,365WENDELL $7,996MOUNT WASHINGTON $7,000NEW ASHFORD $6,774WARWICK $6,387SHELBURNE $43

October 13, 2007

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Barnstable’s fire districts could be responsible for the town's being dealt out of a new state revenue sharing pool...So what else is new?

Governor Patrick unveiled his new Casino Plan which includes an income tax credit for homeowners in communities that spend more than 2 1/2 % of their median income for property taxes.

The average tax credit would be $215, and will be a defacto tax cut since it will apply to single family home and condo owners only.

The actual dollar figure will vary considerably from community to community depending on each community's tax effort, and median income reporting by the Census Bureau.

Low-and middle-income homeowners living in cities or suburbs would receive the biggest percentage tax break, but not the biggest dollar rebate, because the formula is based on literal tax dollars paid.

Residents of Fall River, for example, would receive an average tax credit equal to 7.6 percent of their property taxes, or $177.

Homeowners in wealthier communities would receive a higher dollar amount, but because their taxes are much higher.

In Weston, for example,

the average tax credit is projected to be $261,

Dover homeowners would receive $241.

Homeowners whose taxes equal 2.5 to 4.99 percent of their income would receive

a $150 credit;

homeowners who spend 5 to 7.49 percent of their income would receive

$225 as a tax credit;

those who pay 7.5 to 9.99 percent of their annual income for taxes would get

$300;

and homeowners who pay 10 percent or more on property taxes would get a

$375 tax credit.

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The Governor’s analysis did not indicate how many property owners would not qualify for the credit - either

because they are so wealthy,

or because their taxes are so low that they cost less than 2 1/2 percent of their income.

The Governor estimated 1 million home and condo owners would be eligible, and

there are 1.5 million homes and condos in the state.

You do the math...

Barnstable's 22,000 home and condo owners may be included in the 500,000 units left out of the windfall, because Barnstable’s $25 million fire district property tax levy is not recognized by the Department of Revenue.

Once again, as with Chapter 70 aid and Lottery Receipt aid formulas, local homeowners will get the short end of the stick.

One thing is for sure; Barnstable home and condo owners face receiving either minimal or even none of the new revenue sharing.

Property tax levies in all other Massachusetts communities include costs of fire protection, because fire departments are a facet of their municipal services paid through the tax base.

Because Barnstable Fire Districts refuse to comply with Proposition 2 ½ annual levy increases, the Department of Revenue ignore Barnstable's fire district tax levy as part of the town’s tax effort.

For example, if Barnstable’s levy, was compared oranges to oranges (all cities and towns spend money to maintain fire departments), its levy would be ranked as the state’s 8th greatest.

But Barnstable’s levy is ranked 15th behind

1. BOSTON2. CAMBRIDGE3. NEWTON4. WORCESTER5. QUINCY6. SPRINGFIELD

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7. FRAMINGHAM8. BROOKLINE9. WALTHAM,10. LEXINGTON,11. PLYMOUTH,12. ANDOVER, 13. BROCKTON, and14. LOWELL 

Under the Governor’s plan Barnstable’s average tax bill, the town's average tax bill would have to exceed $1,350 (2 ½% of $54,026).

Because Barnstable adopted the Residential Exemption the town’s average single family tax bill is not computed by the DOR,

which means the town's average tax bill would have to be computed separately excluding seasonal home property taxes.

Barnstable’s median home taxable value is $200,000 (after deducting the $105,000 abatement) which means a strong case could be made that the average annual tax bill in Barnstable is

$1,264, or $86 less, than the minimum tax effort threshold imposed by the Governor.

Conversely, if the $20 million in homeowner fire district property taxes were added to the $74 million town property taxes, the average homeowner tax bill would jump to

$4,442,

a dollar value that doesn't include municipal curbside garbage and recyclable material collection, bus fees, sports fees, music fees, ambulance services that are included in other communities.

Readers must understand that if just the fire district taxes were included with the town tax,

not only could the local property tax levy be cut by $15 million,

but also the Residential Exemption abatement for permanent homeowners could jump from $666 to $1,000.

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For example the homeowner contribution to the fire district levy using the same commercial/residential levy share split of 90%/10%, means the residential levy was $97 million in property taxes in 2007.

The $666 permanent homeowner tax cut was based on a formula using the actual $74 million residential levy, which means had the fire district levy been included the individual tax cut would increase to

$1,000,

or a new property tax cut of $700 including the Governor's Casino Plan.

If Barnstable taxpayers want the state receipts to which they are entitled, one of two changes must be made;

1)     Eliminate fire districts and form a fire department as a town service within the town's tax base.

2)     Force the fire districts to comply with Proposition 2 ½ annual tax increases, and ask the DOR to include the districts as part of the town levy in its reporting

Until one of the latter-mentioned measures come to fruition, Barnstable taxpayers will continue to tuck it to themselves.

Maybe voters will get a wake-up call next spring when the school district is forced to make $5 million in cuts in its F/Y09 school budget,

unless a significant override is passed.

Barnstable voters will then have to pause and evaluate whether the luxury of having five fire chiefs,  and five times the fire district bells and whistles, is worth it, especially when we now learn that one of the two firemen killed in the recent restaurant fire in Boston was totally shit-faced (2.7 blood alcohol level), and the other with cocaine in his blood.

Time to reflect...

October 11, 2007

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Barnstable County’s new frontier; Regionalization

This post is up Sunday morning, and for those who aren't already aware; there is a snow emergency for Sunday evening/Monday morning...4 -7 inches of wet and heavy snow that could cause power outages...

With the shrinkage in state revenue, the minuscule level of state aid, and exponentially increase in costs to run town governments,

it’s time for the 15 Cape Cod Communities to start the process of consolidating fire/police/other municipal services.

For example, the Los Angeles County Fire Department protects the lives of Los Angeles County residents, the environment and property within its 2,296-square-mile jurisdiction.

The department’s mission is to “provide prompt, skillful and cost-effective fire protection and life-saving services” to nearly

4 million residents

in 58 cities

and 90 unincorporated areas,

covering 2,300 square miles.

The F/Y 07 LA County Fire Department budget was

$850 million and included

4,265 total personnel.

In 2007 LA County’s per capita cost of fire protection, and emergency services was

$212 ,

LA County Fire Department employs

one employee

for every 973 people,

and one emergency service provider per square mile.

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Conversely the total costs of fire protection and emergency services of all 15 Barnstable County communities in F/Y07 was

$59,868,283

to service a population of

221,401

in a 212 square mile area.

The per capita cost of fire/emergency services of the combined 15 communities in Barnstable County is

$270.

The 15 communities in Barnstable County combined, employ

one fireman/emergency service person for every

283 people,

and one emergency service provider per 3.8 square miles

Besides saving millions of tax dollars, yet having the advantage of having four times the number of firemen per square mile, are there advantages to one major fire department over 15 small ones?

Let's examine the major accomplishments of the Los Angeles County Fire Department in 2005-2006

• Streamlined the firefighter recruitment process by creating a continual application filing system for candidate selection, saving significant expense.

• Initiated a long-term study of the fire protection and life safety needs of the growing Santa Clarita Valley, including a master plan for the construction of new fire stations.

• Won the United States Lifesaving National Championship (County ocean lifeguards) for the 20th consecutive year, for a total of 33 wins.

• Received a $4.1 million federal grant and expanded the department’s homeland security infrastructure, including development of the regional,

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public safety Del Valle Training Center and acquisition of several major incident response vehicles.

• Garnered two awards from the County Quality and Productivity Commission for the 12-Lead EKG Program and the Coastal Monitoring Network.

• Implemented the East County Air Squad, a 24-hour air paramedic squad to serve the San Gabriel Valley, greatly improving medical outcomes for trauma patients.

• Developed and implemented a new electronic badge tracking system and procured enterprise software, hardware and services to support the department’s information technology infrastructure upgrade.

• Continued to expand the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program to include 28 cities, eight unincorporated communities and 7,000 volunteers, increasing community-level readiness in the event of a major disaster.

• Responded an urban search and rescue team in support of the USAID and Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance to provide humanitarian aid for victims of the Islamabad earthquake in Pakistan.

• Created an emergency management plan for the community of Topanga, in conjunction with other County agencies, the Third Supervisory District and community groups, resulting in the publication of the Topanga Disaster Survival Guide to help local residents evacuate during wind-driven brush fires and other emergencies.

• Developed a new Internet website to improve the public’s knowledge about the Fire Department and its services and programs.

• Completed the initial phase of the department’s radio upgrade project, including the research, evaluation and procurement of 3,850 portable UHF and VHF radios to replace all hand-held radios.

• Developed a countrywide mutual aid plan with 20 major ambulance companies to provide ambulance response to a major or catastrophic event.

With individual community budget shortfalls virtually all of the Cape’s fire department accomplishments (except Barnstable) faced budget cuts, some leading to layoffs.

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None of the 15 Cape fire departments own proprietary aircraft to airlift seriously injured patients to Boston or Hyannis hospitals.

FIRE PERSONNEL                     TOWN            CAREER        CALL BARNSTABLE        154        46BOURNE                  49          0BREWSTER              35        10CHATHAM                24        10DENNIS                    35        10EASTHAM                18          1FALMOUTH             78          0HARWICH                35          0MASHPEE                31          0ORLEANS                19        15SANDWICH              80          0TRURO                      0        29WELLFLEET              9        12YARMOUTH             64        16 TOTALS                631        149 GRAND TOTAL       780

In addition to the individual fire departments, the 15 Barnstable communities employed a combined

12,000 municipal employees.

Cape Trends reports Barnstable County’s work force;

18% in Retail Sales,

15% in Health Care/Social Assistance, and

16% in Accommodations/Food Service,

If the report included the 12,000 municipal/fire employees the report could add another category

11% town government employees

or a figure that rivals the number of people working in all retail operations on the Cape.

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If the 15 Cape Communities were to regionalize, the method should not be through the Cape Cod Commission,

but a restructured Barnstable County Selectmen/Councilor Association.

The $4 million Cape Cod Commission budget could be transferred to the Selectmen/Councilor Association, the people who are charged with the responsibilities of making policy decisions in each of the communities.

By removing the superfluous Cape Cod Commission Act, including the DRI process,

the 15 communities, directly through elected leaders, could hire its own administrative staff to outsource studies the needs for which would be determined on a regional basis by the people who wield the power.

The $4 million Cape Cod Commission budget could be used Selectmen/Councilor Association to pay for feasibility studies to develop a stronger, leaner, and meaner Barnstable County Fire Department that would operate on a budget

$8.5 million less .

The Barnstable County Selectmen/Councilor Association could also seek studies on consolidating the 15 police departments into an organization like the Los Angeles County Sheriff and Police Departments

The Los Angeles County Police provides police services to County client departments, including the Departments of Health Services, Parks and Recreation, Public Social Services, Mental Health, Probation, Public Library, and Public Works.

The County Police utilize vehicle, bicycle, foot, boat, horse, and all-terrain vehicle patrol methods to accomplish its mission.The County Police is comprised of four bureaus: Health Services, Park Services, Facilities Services, and Administrative Services. A Special Operations Section includes the Training Unit, Background Unit, Recruitment Unit, Tactical Response Team (TRT), Weapons of Mass Destruction Response Team (WMD), and Canine Teams (K-9), while

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department provides law enforcement services to 40 contract cities, 90 unincorporated communities, nine community colleges, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and 47 Superior Courts. Additionally, the responsibility of housing, feeding, medically treating, and securing approximately 20,000inmates in seven custody facilities is the department’s obligation.

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Diversity permeates the population of Los Angeles County. This requires deputies to navigate through the intricacies and customs of nearly 100 cultures and languages while answering calls for service.

At any one time, deputies patrol the coastline, city streets, mountain roads, the water/ocean, and the sky.

Detectives from Homicide Bureau, Arson/Explosives Detail, Operation Safe Streets Bureau, Special Victims Bureau, and Major Crimes Bureau conduct investigations on complex and often notorious cases.

The Sheriff’s Department maintains specialized search and rescue teams which deploy helicopters and rescue teams to emergencies or disasters anywhere within the county and sometimes beyond.

Many of the team members are reserve deputies and volunteers who bring specialized skills or training to the department and have received additional specialized training in mountain swift water and ocean rescue operations.

The state has taken over the costs of operating the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Department, including the jail.

Barnstable County could be better served with a county-wide police force that would operate more efficiently through the elimination of redundant administration positions,

including 14 less $100,000+ a year chiefs.

The Barnstable County Selectmen/Councilor’s Association has met monthly for decades on a casual basis.

What better way to start regional policy than through the people who answer directly to Cape-wide voters?

This spring Yarmouth and Bourne voters will elect whether to secede from the Cape Cod Commission.

Sandwich, Provincetown, and Barnstable voters are seriously considering similar efforts.

If seceding from the Cape Cod Commission is "Not about the money,"  the concept of regionalization could be better served by using the $4 million Cape Cod Commission, to finance a "toothless" regional organization based on trust, empathy working to find real solutions to the real problems facing Cape communities.

                                                                                                                                               

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FIRE POLICE POPULATION

BARNSTABLE $28,000,000 $10,612,641   47,380BOURNE $2,189,985 $2,961,680   19,224BREWSTER $1,500,952 $1,660,429   10,143CHATHAM $1,869,802 $1,682,653     6,783DENNIS $3,710,592 $3,542,168   15,691EASTHAM $1,445,393 $1,395,489     5,509FALMOUTH $5,318,469 $5,309,243   33,590HARWICH $1,387,868 $2,749,253   12,537MASHPEE $2,833,418 $3,352,579   14,343ORLEANS $2,173,644 $1,983,769     6,398SANDWICH $3,192,728 $2,772,018      20,508TRURO $173,730 $1,188,316     2,152WELLFLEET $1,039,855 $1,410,298     2,789YARMOUTH $5,031,847 $5,045,489 24,354

TOTAL $59,868,283 $45,666,025 221,401

January 27, 2008

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The good news; a way to finance $375 million to pay for sewers throughout Barnstable without raising one cent in taxes, or betterment fees. The bad news; you’ll have to make do with a single fire department.

The real question is,

"Would you care less if the fire truck that never showed up to your house read

"COMM" or

"Barnstable Fire Department?"

Last year Barnstable taxpayers paid $20 million to finance the five separate fire districts in town,

and insurance companies chipped in another $6.5 million in ambulance fees.

Since the water departments of the fire districts are entirely financed through water rates,

in 2007 the fire districts

spent,

or sand-bagged,

$26.5 million,

which is $4 million more than Yarmouth spent on the D/Y school budget.

I know Suzanne McAuliffe, Chairwoman of the Yarmouth Board of Selectmen, and I'll guarantee Yarmouth voters would be elated to take over Barnstable's fire protection, plus give the town $4 million each year to boot,

in exchange for Barnstable paying Yarmouth's share of the D/Y school budget.

Last month I wrote a post;

Regionalization; Cape Cod’s new frontier,

that compared the combined 19 Barnstable County fire department/district costs to those of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

The LA County Fire Department services

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4 million people

in 58 cities and towns,

and 90 unincorporated areas,

covering 2,300 square miles of ocean, mountain, hills, dales, and flat land areas,

using proprietary ambulances, and medi-vac helicopters,

all under the direction of one fire chief.

Conversely Barnstable County's 19 different fire departments,

run by 19 different fire chiefs,

covering 212 square miles,

and serving 220,000 people

in15 communities.

Last year LA County taxpayers spent

$212 per capita

to finance their fire protection costs.

Barnstable’s per capita cost of fire protection is

$542.

The Cape Cod Times ran a series on Regionalization that attracted a lot of interest.

REGIONALISM SHOULD BEGIN AT HOME...

Ottaway Newspapers, parent company of the Cape Cod Times and Barnstable Patriot, own three properties in Barnstable.

This year the company will pay a total of

$55,562 in town and fire district taxes,

$13,245,

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or 27%,

of which are Hyannis and Barnstable Fire District taxes.

Barnstable’s five fire district spending is equal to

26% of the town’s budget.

The state average community fire protection percentage of the overall budget is

5.4%.

The percentage of fire costs to other Cape community budgets follows;

State Totals                  5.4%BARNSTABLE               26.0%BOURNE                        5.9%BREWSTER                    5.0%DENNIS                          8.6%EASTHAM                       8.6%FALMOUTH                    6.0%HARWICH                       6.3%MASHPEE                        6.8%NANTUCKET                   7.0%ORLEANS                        9.0%PLYMOUTH                     7.0%PROVINCETOWN             3.0%SANDWICH                       5.0%TRURO                            1.6%WELLFLEET                     5.7%YARMOUTH                    10.0%

Using the combined Falmouth and Bourne fire budgets as a standard,

Barnstable’s fire costs should be reduced by $10 - $12 million.

Falmouth and Bourne demographics are similar to Barnstable.

The combined population of Bourne and Falmouth is

51,381,

or 8% greater

than Barnstable’s 48,811.

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Bourne and Falmouth's combined housing units of

29,703 total housing units,

is16% more than the

25,018 total housing units in Barnstable.

Bourne and Falmouth’s

22 square miles of water area is

27% greater

than Barnstable’s 16 square miles.

The 85 square miles of land area in Bourne and Falmouth is

29% more than the

60 square miles in Barnstable.

The 107 square miles of land and water area in Bourne and Falmouth is

29% greater than

Barnstable’s 76 square miles.

The population per square mile in Bourne and Falmouth is

1,196 or

33% denser than the

797 per square mile in Barnstable.

Bourne and Falmouth combined have

689 houses per square mile which is

39% denser than the

417 per square mile in Barnstable.

Bourne and Falmouth's combined demogrpahics point to a greater demand for essential services than Barnstable,

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yet the combined fire budgets in 2007 totaled

$7,431,192,

or 66% less

than the $20,000,000 fire district taxes used to fund Barnstable's essential services.

If Bourne and Falmouth regionalized their fire departments, the combined budgets should be reduced $1,000,000 which means fire costs in the two towns would be

70% less than Barnstable.

Assuming the five fire districts were consolidated into a single Barnstable Fire Department,

and fire district taxes were distributed; $.50 of the fire district tax rate to the tax collector to pay the $7.5 million town fire department,

and the remaining $13,500,000 used to pay off a $375,000,000, 30-year note to build a new waste water treatment plant, an outfall pipe, and the costs installing sewer pipes throughout the town, in  30 years $405,000,000 would be collected, not including annual inflation increases.

Sewers, or less

fire chiefs, deputy chiefs, ladder trucks, firemen, and overtime? 

The answer is only

a few signatures

on five petitions

followed by a popular vote,

away.

Mental Age Assessment          The following was developed as a mental age assessment by the School of Psychiatry at

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Harvard University.

Take your time and see if you can read each line aloud without a mistake.

The average person over 40 years of age cannot do it in forty seconds!

This    is        this         cat

This    is        is             cat

This    is        how         cat

This    is        to            cat

This    is        keep        cat

This    is        an            cat

This    is        old           cat

This    is        fart          cat

This    is        busy         cat

This    is        for            cat

This    is        forty        cat

This    is        seconds    cat

Now, go back and read the third word in each line from the top down.

I betcha' you can't resist passing this one on!

February 22, 2008

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Barnstable voter’s heinous brain fart….The levy for the town's five fire districts ($23 million) is more than the residential levies of 234 Massachusetts communities.

Barnstable's fire district's levy is also 30% of Barnstable's residential levy.

Fire district levies pay the costs of fire protection.

Ambulance fees pay the costs of ambulance service.

The town levy pays the costs of education,

police, assessing, public health, recreation, roads, public works, human services, finance, administration, debt service, lawyers, tax collector, information services, growth management, senior and veteran services, building inspectors, engineering,  libraries purchasing, marine and environmental services, etc.

Statewide the cost of fire protection is less than 6% of municipal budgets, but 30% in Barnstable, not counting the $15 million in capital improvement spending this year.

All together more than $40 million will be spent in May in the five fire districts with less than 2% voter participation.

Firemen's wives, family, neighbors, friends, and acquaintances get to cut up the $40 million pie, with a few not-connected folks witnessing the events.

Once again this year COMM had difficulty meeting its quorum of 100 to authorize

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$21,318,228.11

in district spending that includes a

$4.1 million fire station, $830,000 for three new ambulances, and $3.8 million for a new water tank to replace the perfectly good one on Old Stage

Road.

COMM's attempt to lower the quorum to 50 failed.

The ridiculous and the sublime…

Hyannis water users still drink from a 100-year-old wood water tank that is still full of bird shit e-coli bacteria discovered last October.

Massive amounts of chlorine is added to the water supply in Hyannis each day in an attempt to kill the deadly bacteria.

The old 250K gallon COMM water tank will be taken down, and a 1.5 million gallon water tank will be erected to protect the commercial development on Route 28 between Old Stage Road and Phinney’s Lane, while the two small antiquated and inadequate water tanks used to provide water to extinguish fires throughout Hyannis from Phinney's Lane to the Yarmouth line to downtown Hyannis, West Main Street, and Route 28.

GO  FIGURE….

If COMM needs the new tank to address summer water demand and fire protection, then all of Hyannis is a massive fire trap.

When Beacon Hill looks at the money Barnstable taxpayers throw at firemen, is it any wonder why the Massachusetts legislature awards Barnstable the least possible state aid?

What this town really needs is for the legislature to grant us $30 million so we can pay for psychiatric help to rid voters of their psychotic  pyrophobiamania (fear of leaving the shadow of a fire truck).

COMM's taxpayers will finance the costs of acquiring THREE NEW AMBULANCES at a cost of $900,000 which means they agree to pay nearly $300,000 for each ambulance,

to replace the three seven-year-old, ridiculously low mileage ambulances.

As I recall the district paid nearly $200,000 each in 2000 for the ambulances that will be replaced.

I never thought I’d ever live to say it,

166

but Ed Moskovitz, the author of the 1993 Education Reform Finance Formula,

was right,

Barnstable taxpayers don’t deserve any state aid; "Why loan your filthy rich uncle money.”

Awarding municipal welfare to Barnstable is like feeding a pig ice cream.

To prove my premise, I took a snag-shot of the 2008 Levies by Class file from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, Division of Local Services on-line data bank, and sorted the Residential Levy column from smallest to largest.

The snag-shot is a picture of the last twelve communities with residential levies less than $24 million.

The far left column is the number of communities by row which is 241, from which the seven first rows describing the file must be deducted.

The communities with residential levies less than the combined levy of Barnstable’s five fire districts in alphabetical order are;

1. ABINGTON2. ACUSHNET3. ADAMS4. ALFORD5. AQUINNAH6. ASHBURNHAM7. ASHBY8. ASHFIELD9. ATHOL10. AUBURN11. AVON12. AYER13. BARRE14. BECKET15. BELCHERTOWN16. BELLINGHAM17. BERKLEY18. BERLIN19. BERNARDSTON20. BLACKSTONE21. BLANDFORD22. BOLTON23. BOXBOROUGH24. BOXFORD

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25. BOYLSTON26. BREWSTER27. BRIMFIELD28. BROOKFIELD29. BUCKLAND30. CARLISLE31. CARVER32. CHARLEMONT33. CHARLTON34. CHATHAM35. CHELSEA36. CHESHIRE37. CHESTER38. CHESTERFIELD39. CHILMARK40. CLARKSBURG41. CLINTON42. COHASSET43. COLRAIN44. CONWAY45. CUMMINGTON46. DALTON47. DEERFIELD48. DIGHTON49. DOUGLAS50. DOVER51. DUDLEY52. DUNSTABLE53. EAST BRIDGEWATER54. EAST BROOKFIELD55. EASTHAM56. EASTHAMPTON57. EDGARTOWN58. EGREMONT59. ERVING60. ESSEX61. FAIRHAVEN62. FLORIDA63. FOXBOROUGH64. FREETOWN65. GARDNER66. GEORGETOWN67. GILL68. GOSHEN69. GOSNOLD70. GRAFTON

168

71. GRANBY72. GRANVILLE73. GREAT BARRINGTON74. GREENFIELD75. GROTON76. GROVELAND77. HADLEY78. HALIFAX79. HAMILTON80. HAMPDEN81. HANCOCK82. HANOVER83. HANSON84. HARDWICK85. HARVARD86. HATFIELD87. HAWLEY88. HEATH89. HINSDALE90. HOLBROOK91. HOLLAND92. HOLYOKE93. HOPEDALE94. HUBBARDSTON95. HUDSON96. HULL97. HUNTINGTON98. IPSWICH99. KINGSTON100. LAKEVILLE101. LANCASTER102. LANESBOROUGH103. LEE104. LEICESTER105. LENOX106. LEVERETT107. LEYDEN108. LINCOLN109. LITTLETON110. LUDLOW111. LUNENBURG112. LYNNFIELD113. MANCHESTER114. MARION115. MATTAPOISETT116. MAYNARD

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117. MEDWAY118. MENDON119. MERRIMAC120. MIDDLEBOROUGH121. MIDDLEFIELD122. MIDDLETON123. MILLBURY124. MILLIS125. MILLVILLE126. MONROE127. MONSON128. MONTAGUE129. MONTEREY130. MONTGOMERY131. MOUNT WASHINGTON132. NAHANT133. NEW ASHFORD134. NEW BRAINTREE135. NEW MARLBOROUGH136. NEW SALEM137. NEWBURY138. NORFOLK139. NORTH ADAMS140. NORTH BROOKFIELD141. NORTHBRIDGE142. NORTHFIELD143. NORTON144. NORWELL145. OAK BLUFFS146. OAKHAM147. ORANGE148. ORLEANS149. OTIS150. OXFORD151. PALMER152. PAXTON153. PELHAM154. PEPPERELL155. PERU156. PETERSHAM157. PHILLIPSTON158. PLAINFIELD159. PLAINVILLE160. PLYMPTON161. PRINCETON162. PROVINCETOWN

170

163. RAYNHAM164. REHOBOTH165. RICHMOND166. ROCHESTER167. ROCKLAND168. ROCKPORT169. ROWE170. ROWLEY171. ROYALSTON172. RUSSELL173. RUTLAND174. SALISBURY175. SANDISFIELD176. SAVOY177. SEEKONK178. SHEFFIELD179. SHELBURNE180. SHERBORN181. SHIRLEY182. SHUTESBURY183. SOMERSET184. SOUTH HADLEY185. SOUTHAMPTON186. SOUTHBOROUGH187. SOUTHBRIDGE188. SOUTHWICK189. SPENCER190. STERLING191. STOCKBRIDGE192. STOW193. STURBRIDGE194. SUNDERLAND195. SUTTON196. SWANSEA197. TEMPLETON198. TISBURY199. TOLLAND200. TOPSFIELD201. TOWNSEND202. TRURO203. TYNGSBOROUGH204. TYRINGHAM205. UPTON206. UXBRIDGE207. WALES208. WARE

171

209. WARREN210. WARWICK211. WASHINGTON212. WEBSTER213. WELLFLEET214. WENDELL215. WENHAM216. WEST BOYLSTON217. WEST BRIDGEWATER218. WEST BROOKFIELD219. WEST NEWBURY220. WEST STOCKBRIDGE221. WEST TISBURY222. WESTHAMPTON223. WESTMINSTER224. WESTPORT225. WHATELY226. WHITMAN227. WILBRAHAM228. WILLIAMSBURG229. WILLIAMSTOWN230. WINCHENDON231. WINDSOR232. WINTHROP233. WORTHINGTON234. WRENTHAM

May 22, 2008

Barnstable and Dartmouth fire districts; a tale of two towns..

You’ve been to Dartmouth, I've been to Dartmouth, and we’ve all been to Dartmouth to shop, because that's where the values are.

172

I’ve been buying most of my stuff there since the early nineties after the Cape Cod Commission prevented COSTCO from coming to Sandwich.

Shopping in Dartmouth made me feel like I was still on Cape Cod after waving to dozens of friends and acquaintances in the stores shopping along with me.

Dartmouth's population is the same as Falmouth, 34,000, and believe it or not the town has three fire districts, and no town fire department.

Their districts don’t have names like the five fire districts in Barnstable; just numbers.  District One, District Two, and District Three.

Dartmouth is the third largest municipality in land area in Massachusetts, behind Plymouth, and Middleborough.

Dartmouth’s per capita income is $1,000 less than Barnstable, and the town’s operating budget is half that of Barnstable.

Dartmouth was settled in November,1652, but the purchase had evidently been made some six months before, because records indicate that on March 7, 1652, a meeting was held in Plymouth with the native proprietors, thirty-four in number.

A deed was signed by Chief Wamsutta, and for the colonists by John Winslow and John Cooke.

The deed in part reads as follows:

"Massasoit and Wamsutta sold to William Bradford, Captain Myles Standish,  Thomas Southworth, John Winslow, John Cooke, and their associates, for thirty yards of cloth, eight moose skins, fifteen axes, fifteen hoes, fifteen pairs of breeches, eight blankets, two kettles ,one clock, two English Pounds in Wampum, eight pair of shoes, one iron pot, and ten shillings, that land called Dartmouth."

Massachusetts Indians were a lot shrewder than their counterparts in New York, who sold Manhattan for twenty-four pieces of costume jewelery.

Dartmouth selectmen represent the people, not the Chamber of Commerce, by adopting the split tax rate. 

Homeowners pay a tax rate of

$6.43,

to the commercial property owners tax rate of

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$9.78.

Interestingly there have been no reports of businesses going bankrupt because of the split tax rate. 

In fact, like Barnstable, business has been thriving in Dartmouth because the town draws tons of shoppers from Cape Cod acquiring the steady streams of bargains.

Despite the split tax rate everything in Dartmouth is cheaper than in Barnstable.

For example yesterday a gallon of regular gasoline in Dartmouth sold for $3.60 at the Stop and Shop service station, which could be reduced by $.20 a gallon with proof of purchase of $50 of groceries.

B.J.’s in Dartmouth sold gasoline for $3.63 to cardholders.

The price of regular gasoline in Barnstable yesterday was $3.89, a gallon or $10 more for 20 gallons than it was at the Dartmouth Stop and Shop using the shopper's discount.

Stop and Shop is planning to build a gigantic store in Hyannis just off Route 132 near Phinney's Lane.

Do you think the Cape Cod Commission extortionists will allow the company to erect a gasoline station that would offer the same deals to Cape Codders?

Gasoline, groceries, clothing, shoes, and appliances aren’t the only things cheaper in Dartmouth than here in Barnstable.

The town's fire district property taxes are a bargain as well.

Dartmouth's three fire district tax rates are;

The District One Fire District.... $.26 The District Two Fire District.... $.50

The District Three Fire District.  $.32

The median price home in Dartmouth is $303,000 so let’s compare this year’s Dartmouth fire district property taxes with the fire districts in Barnstable for the same value home;

Dartmouth Fire District One….$78.78 Dartmouth Fire District Two….$151.50

Dartmouth Fire District Three….$96.96

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Barnstable FD….$618.12

Cotuit FD…..$402.99

COMM FD… $320.47

Hyannis FD…..$463.59

W. Barnstable FD…..$563.58.

Why the big difference in fire costs between the two towns?

Dartmouth District Three covers the commercial section which is similar in size to Hyannis, and its fire budget in 2007 was

$963,546.Last year’s Hyannis Fire District budget was $8.1 million.

Dartmouth taxpayers spend nothing for ambulance service.

Ambulance service is provided by a private contractor than gets its revenue from insurance providers.

The wholesale voter indifference in Barnstable costs each Barnstable family thousands of dollars in unnecessary expenditures by the fire districts, the town, and the Cape Cod Commission.

Voter indifference in Barnstable is the same bugaboo as OPEC.

Barnstable voters created their own OPEC through voter apathy.

Last night COMM's annual meeting didn’t have a quorum until 7:30PM, when people began showing up after getting cell phone calls from the firemen in attendance.

Do you think that folks arriving five minutes after receiving the phone calls were aware of the nature of the two dozen spending warrants?

Or do you think they were told to follow the lead of the people who called them?

COMM reported $6 million in its ambulance revenue reserve account, and expects to get $1 million+ in ambulance revenues this year, yet voters approved a warrant to borrow $893 K to buy two new ambulances.

Voters approved $4.1 million to build a new fire station in Osterville.

175

Voters approved a $3.8 million 1.5 million gallon water tank to replace the old one on Old Stage Road.

The water tower spending should run shivers up Hyannis water subscribers, who were told recently that a soon-to-be-purchased 1.25 million gallon water tank, plus a section of land on which to site the tank, and a connection to the water supply is $1.5 million.

COMM already owns the property, and the piping to the water supply is already in the ground.

Is Mark Ells pulling the wool over eyes of the folks in Hyannis, or did Jimmy Crocker pull a fast one on COMM taxpayers?

What’s in your wallet?

May 21, 2008

176

May is Fire District month in Barnstable, and Janice Barton's boys will be carving up $30 million with nobody looking over their shoulders….

Tomorrow, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 the Centerville, Osterville, Marstons Mills (COMM) fire district will hold its annual  Warrant Information Night at the Taj Mahal on Route 28 at 7:00 PM.

I know there won’t be a soul at the meeting, other than a handful of COGgers, to watch the boys divvy up $11 million for next year’s budget, but I'm going to say my piece anyway.

This year’s COMM fire budget, excluding the water department, will be $9 million,

which is $2 million short of what the combined towns of Falmouth and Yarmouth spent on fire protection and ambulance service last year, 

and the $9 million doesn’t include the four other fire districts in town.

This year the COMM annual meeting includes a warrant reducing the quorum to hold the annual district meeting from 100 to 50.

Each of the last few years’ fewer than 100 people (there is no check to determine if attendees are registered voters) showed up at annual meetings.

Two years ago the meeting was postponed and rescheduled because the district couldn’t motivate 100 folks to observe out of which windows their tax and water bill money would fly.

Astoundingly COMM serves 22,000 registered voters, and the boys can’t corral 50 strangers to come to the annual meeting to join the 50 firemen approve their pay raises for the coming year.

Tomorrow night it’ll be strictly COGgers who'll ask why the COMM water department had a

$706,836 deficit in F/Y2007.

A recently released audit by Thevenin, Lynch, Bienvenue, LLP, Certified Public Accountants reveals the expenses from water operations in F/Y2007 ($3,332,087) exceeded revenue ($2,625,251) for a $706,836 loss.Next year’s Water Department budget is $1,656,804 which means if last year’s loss was applied to this year’s budget

the deficit would be 46% of the budget.

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Within the audit report is an audit letter that refers to financial irregularities, or “material weaknesses;

Compliance and other matters

As part of obtaining reasonable assurance about whether the District's financial statements are free of material misstatement, we performed tests of its compliance with certain provisions of laws, regulations, contracts, and grant agreements, noncompliance with which could have a direct and material effect on the determination of financial statement amounts.

However, providing an opinion on compliance with those provisions was not an objective of our audit, and accordingly, we do not express such an opinion.

The results of our tests disclosed no instances of noncompliance or other matters that are required to be reported under Government Auditing Standards.

We noted certain matters that we reported to management of the District in a separate letter dated October 9, 2007.

This report is intended solely for the information of District management, federal awarding agencies, and pass-through entities.

This report is not intended to be and should not be used by anyone other than these specified parties.

WOW!!!

The audit preparers felt their findings were so serious to the people that hired them that their report had to be kept separate from the audit with a caution the results should be kept SECRET.

COG asked for a copy of the secret report, but COMM only gave us the first three pages consisting of a management letter which are posted below.

It was obvious that a number of pages specifically delineated the problems were removed, because the copies bear spine outlines.

Why would someone bind three pages with spines?

The cover letter of the secret audit report does mention that the Clerk/Treasurer of COMM had been in possession of COMM credit cards.

The audit report management report cautions that the Massachusetts Department of

178

Revenue cautions municipalities against the use credit cards for purchase, and for obvious reasons.

The audit report letter also advises the Prudential Committee to verify requests for appropriations by visually inspecting invoices to insure COMM funds aren't being used for private purchases.

Someone within the district asked for funds to buy or pay for personal goods and services, otherwise why the caution?

Why did the auditor, who was hired by the Prudential Committee, insist the audit describing the financial irregularities, the report be kept secret, except to the feds?

Last year’s COMM $707,000 deficit may have been the cause for the audit that found many problems with the way the Prudential Committee handled the public’s money, but we'll never know because the second report won't be released to the public.

Janet Joakim, and her ilk on the town council, will have more ammunition in their arsenal to label us “crazies”, “loonies,” “misfits,” “rabble-rousers,” “gadflies,” and trouble makers because of this post.

Like most politicians in Barnstable, the public's business is deemed to be proprietary to them.

May 13, 2008

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