MAcciard said
Publius please accept this as an article submission, second part in the series.
Do we get Value for money from our Fire Dept.?
As long as I have committed to try and make public these budget numbers, I will try to concentrate on the three or four largest budgets in town, Highway, police, fire, and possibly library. Hopefully this will engender more public discussion of where our tax dollars go.
HAMPSTEAD FIRE DEPT.
ADMINISTRATION
Secretary Salary $7,500
Salaries-Call $56,650
Salary-Custodial $3,605
Salaries- FT Firefighters $168,000
Salaries- Board of engineers $20,600
Salary- Chief $43,855
Salary- shift coverage $8,000
Medical Insurance $40,250
Dental Insurance $2,500
Life Insurance $425
LTD Insurance $800
STD Insurance $800
Retirement $26,000
Telephone $4,200
Advertising $100
Dues & Subscriptions $6,500
General Supplies $3,000
Computers/office machines $5,500
Custodial Supplies $500
Book and periodicals $150
FIREFIGHTING
Forest Fires $2,000
Fire Alarm $3,000
Vehicle Repair-Fire/rescue $25,000
Mileage expense $2,000
Hose and fittings $5,000
Equipment- Fire $6,000
Equipment- Rescue $3,500
Dress Uniforms $2,500
Protective clothing $9,000
Pressure Hydrant $8,000
Dry Hydrant $2,500
Medical Supplies $5,500
Hydrant Maintenance $5,200
INSPECTION/PLANNING
Fire Prevention $2,500
TRAINING
Training- Fire $5,000
Training- Rescue $5,000
SUPPORT SERVICES
Dispatch $38,912
Commuications $10,000
MEDICAL SUPPLIES
Physical Exams $3,000
Misc. Medial Expense $500
Hepatitis B shots $500
FIRE STATIONS AND BUILDING
Electricity $8,000
Heat $8,000
Repair and Maintenance $15,000
TOTAL $574,547
Hampstead Fire Dept. responded to 939 calls, making thier budget $611.87/call
ATKINSON FIRE DEPT.
FIRE ADMIN
Chief's salary $8,955
Officers $83,659
Clerk $4,864
Custodial $2,400
Insurance(AD&D) $2,136
FICA $6,043
Medicare $1,413
Retirement $600
Telephone $4,250
Electricity $7,000
Heat $4,000
New Hydrants $13,500
Dues/Subs/Memberships $2,000
Hazmat District $5,000
Office Supplies $2,500
Postage $300
Education/conferences $10,000
FIRE FIGHTING
Truck Mainentance/Labor $1,500
Hydrant Mainenane $2,500
Minor Equipment $3,000
Gas & Oil $3,500
Truck Mainenance $35,000
Chemicals $1,600
New Equipment $14,000
Food $1,000
Uniforms $10,000
FIRE PREVENTION/INSPECTIONS
Fire Inspectors $20,600
FICA $1,277
Medicare $298
Printing & Binding $600
TRAINING
Instructional Materials $1,500
COMMUNICATIONS
Minor Equipment/other repairs $7,000
Truck Lease $62,392
MEDICAL SERVICES
Physicals $2,500
Medical Supplies $4,500
TOTAL $331,369
Note that Atkinson has a truck lease of $63,000 that the other towns do not.
Atkinson Reponded to 543 calls. Making their budget $610.27/call
SANDOWN FIRE DEPT.
RESCUE ACCOUNT
Equipment Maintenance $3,500
New Equipment $5,000
Health $600
Supplies $4,500
Training $4,500
Membership Reimburse $13,000
FIRE ACCOUNT
Communications $1,800
Dues $5,600
Equip. Maint./Repair $4,200
Fire Prevention $1,800
Forest Fires $500
Gasoline/Diesel $3,600
New Equipment $27,000
Payroll Fire Chief $46,405
Personnel Reimburse- Fire Chief $3,000
Personnel Reimburse- Engineers $4,800
Personnel Reimburse- Fire Fighters $7,000
Supplies $1,400
Telephone $1,000
Training $5,000
Vehicle Maint./Repair $4,500
TOTAL $148,605
Sandown Fire Dept. answered 308 calls making their budget $482.48/Call
Hope this helps.
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ATKINSON's Vietnam HONOR ROLL as VOTED and PASSED by 2005 Town Meeting and re-approved at Special Town Meeting Sept. 12
EDITORIAL-
A voice of compassion, an example of fairness and reasonable government.
One who believes in the strength and comfort you, your children and your family can draw from good government leadership.
A person who knows Atkinson is our home -- our most important possession that must be preserved and protected through fair taxes and sound community planning and where our children must be safe to grow to become a new generation of leaders.
One who knows that the citizens of Atkinson are all neighbors with her leadership to be dedicated and responsive to all.
One who believes that when those from Atkinson have served our nation and honors are deserved, those honors must be given.
In Valerie Tobin, we now have a leader we know we can entrust with these responsibilities because they are part of her character.
It is our honor to endorse Valerie for election to Atkinson’s Board of Selectmen.
Just a note for those who wish to count the deer.
In January 08 this blog had 16,000 hits and 1,500 unique visitors (for the month).
In 2007 this blog had over 100,000 hits and 5,750 unique visitors (for the year).
In 2007 this blog had over 100,000 hits and 5,750 unique visitors (for the year).
EDITORIAL-
"I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense . . ." [TP, 1776]
We take no small measure of umbrage at such a hostile official act against this BLOG’s patron. Therefore, a timely Editorial comment is both appropriate and necessary.
Discussion of Atkinson’s financial direction, from any viewpoint, is fundamental and encouraged and we will always attempt to limit and correct errors.
However, Righteous indignation towards purported error of such inconsequential nature is not appropriate.
The ENTIRE car deal is problematic. If it was caused by poor judgement, improper exercise of authority, neglect or mistake or even specious reasoning, this will never trump the facts that the entire questionable transaction started and ended within a very small circle of confidants.
We find the entire circumstances surrounding the disposition of the police Cruiser highly irregular at the least and the "explanations" somewhat trifling and exhaustive of our intellect.
Mr. Consentino: It’s time to go. Being Chief of Atkinson’s Police Department is NOT a birthright. That is a fabled legend of yesteryear.
Historically in Atkinson, police chief appointments were made "under the hand of the selectmen" for terms of one year at a time, as was also the case in the beginning of Mr. Consentino’s assorted and discontinuous stream of appointments to this position.
Your only remaining credential established on a claim of indispensability has faded.
So time is neigh. Plan a graceful exit, Clean out your desk, Accept the gratitude and tearful sentiments from some. We plan no editorial recriminations. It is time. Thank you for your service, We wish you a long and happy retirement. Bon Voyage.
LETTER
"To All Atkinson Residents,
I am writing to ask for your help. A member of the Atkinson Police Department needs our help. I am here to ask for your help in Corporal John Lapham's fight for his life. As you are aware, John has been diagnosed with Leukemia. He has been once again hospitalized with an infection that is threatening his life. He is one of the bravest people that I have ever met. He has never asked of anything from the residents of the town. Now is our chance to step up and help both him and his family out. As everyone is aware John has been out of work for a few months. His family has been busy helping John to get better. He needs our help, and I am hoping that this town can step up to the plate and help. From the moment that I met John, I have admired him. He does alot, but never asks for anything in return. He has helped so many people in this town. I for one am one of those people. Please help him.
There is a fund set-up in his name at TDBanknorth in Plaistow. Any amount will help John, while he is out of work. It would be great if this town could help ease a burden off his wife.
Thank You
Also if anyone would like to send a card, please address it to:
John Lapham
c/o Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Ctr.
Inpatient mail
75 Francis Street
Boston, MA 02115
United States
Please show Corporal John Lapham, that this community can stand up and show our support to those in need. I for one, miss John and can not wait until he can get better and return to work. Please show him that we support him. "
14 comments:
God bless you for collecting and posting the info Mark, but it's difficult to have the time to try to compare the numbers, espcecially where the classification titles of the towns tend to be different (at least in the last set of numbers).
The average per call is helpful, but beyond that it's tough to get a grip on the numbers without more analysis and direct comparison...
the best way is to compare like items.
payroll against payroll
gas against gas
etc.
What exactly is the point? I fail to see what is trying to be done here and what the end game is. How can you put a dollar amount on public safety? If my house is burning down, I want the fire department to show up with A.) as many firefighters as possible and B.)the best equipment available to do the job as quickly and effectively as possible.
Also, please keep in mind that with the economic downturn, you are going to arson on the rise. So don't be shocked when a few of the "McMansions" in the Town of Atkinson are in danger of being foreclosed on start to go up in flames. All one has to do is look back on history to tell us this is the fact.
What that means, is we...the Town of Atkinson...had better maintain a well satffed, well trained, well equipment, and well funded fire department to protect us.
Obviously, the fire department has to be fiscally responsible..they owe it to the tax payers. However, it scares me that there are those who post on this blog that want to see public safety go backward in terms of staffing, budgets, etc. Whhat may have been good 20 years ago is not the case in 2008.
A question for Mr. Acciard:
How are you going to post a non biased, neutral piece on "Do we get value for our..." police department?
I am also curious if you will speak to any rank and file cops to find out what is really going on; and what the numbers actually mean.
I find it hard to accept criticism from people who have never served in a law enforcement and / or fire service position to pass judgment. It is your right to do so, but please get both sides of the story...and get clarification on what the numbers mean. Please do not let your troubles with the the Phil Consentinos of this world color your opinion of our police department...or any other public safety agency. There are good people who work hard every day here and have families to support...and this is how they do it...by running to trouble while every one else is running away from it.
Thank you.
We ought to feel lucky someone is doing this. This is NOT a witch hunt but a facts finding. It is helpful in understanding what we get for our dollar. I always felt that an informed voter is the one corrupt politicians fear.
I have nothing against the fire department and the Road agent. I feel that they do a great job, but I do want to know how much I pay for these services.
Thanks again Mark
Thank you, Mark for doing the work that most of us don't have the time or know how to do ourselves. I find this very informative and would hazard a guess that most others would,too!
Proposed bugdet amounts can differ greatly from actual spending. This effort to report budgeted money is commendable, however falls short of giving us objective numbers to
make a real analysis on any given department.
To anon Janurary,31.3:26am,
Very well said..I agree with you.
To M.Acciard,
You stated that all monies not spent go back into the general fund. Does this mean any line item not spent automatically goes back to the general fund or are dept heads able to transfer these monies to other lines within their
budget? I am not sure how this works and would like to know.
To Anon @ 3:26am
If you have watched the budget committee meetings for the last three years you would see that every time a vote came up on the police dept. I recused myself from voting on the matter, not because I would be biased but because it would have the APPEARANCE of impropriety. This is all I asked the chief to do and he refused, even after the Court ordered him to.
Second, The budget numbers are what they are. there is no "spin" to the numbers, they stand as facts, and as they say, facts are inconvenient things.
also to Anon @3:19am;
The point here is not to scale back "public safety", but to review what is spent on the three or four largest budgets in town and compare them as objectively as possible to surrounding towns, and determine if we are getting an efficient use of our tax money.
Fire is a little different from a budgetary standpoint than police because while police work is ongoing, and day to day, you need to have the equipment in the barn to fight the fire when it happens. and Chief Murphy has been VERY GOOD about keeping his budget increases as frugal as possible. He even instituted and maintains a capital reserve account to fund upcoming truck purchases. He would come into the budget meetings with a 30 year projection of when each truacks life expectancy ends, what it will cost to replace, and how if we maintain regular deposits each year these purchases can be funded without any great tax impact.
It is axiomatic on the budget committee that when Fire or highway goes up there is a readily obvious reason to point to; ie; we bought a truck, we had 8 snowstorms, we had to buy a pump for a truck. There is some instance we can point to and show a reason. I wish every budget was that transparent.
As to the comment about talking to the officer on the street; I see police officers from Atkinson every day, I am on very good terms with all the ones I see on a regular basis, We laugh and joke about what is going on, and they are a very professional bunch of gentlemen by and large.
I would suggest YOU talk to them and find out what they really think, it might be eye opening.
As to the question about Dept. heads having the authority to roll unused monies out of one line item and into another, LEGALLY the answer is NO! they cannot, only the selectmen can.
In fact you will often see Mike Murphy, or Teddy come in to the selectmen and explain why one line item is going to be overspent and ask to overspend it. THAT is the proper procedure. unfortunately that does not always happen, and the selectmen do not enforce it, except with regards to Teddy.
Yes Selectmen have the statutory power to move money from one line - even one account to another, but it doesn't happen all that often.
What's more likely to occur is that the Selectmen will review a budget, see where there might possibly be money left over and would it be enough to cover the over-expenditiure of anothe line.
In that way, the departmental budget doesn't change, just the line items within. Gives an accurate view of expenditures, which is important for budgeting the next year.
There's a new Warrant Article to purchase an ambulance for the FD. I thought we contracted out for EMT services. Does someone have information about this??
Sorry, a little off topic, but does anyone have any information or documentation regarding the antenna tower proposal. I'd like to know what exactly is included in the $600K price tag. Thanks.
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