ABSTRACT: According to the article, “FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR MERGER WITH P.G., MONTEREY,” The Carmel Pine Cone, February 29, 2008, Carmel Firefighters want the Carmel Fire Department to merge with Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments. Information from August Beacham, Engineer and President of the Carmel Firefighters Union, the Carmel Firefighters Union and FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR THE CITIES OF MONTEREY, PACIFIC GROVE AND CARMEL is presented. A COMMENT is made with regard to the City Administrator’s (and Mayor’s) politicizing public safely to the detriment of all of us!
• According to the article, “FIREFIGHTERS CALL FOR MERGER WITH P.G., MONTEREY,” in The Carmel Pine Cone of February 29, 2008, Carmel Firefighters want to merge with Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments. August Beacham, Engineer and President of the Carmel Firefighters Union, was quoted as stating “The initial plan was for the council to vote on this in the March meeting, that has been put on indefinite hold, and we’re trying to figure out what the new plan is, because we don’t see any other options being viable.”
• The Carmel Firefighters Union stated that continuing with the status quo “means the city is willing to accept all of the risks, including personal liability, and is willing to compromise the safety of the citizens, by having an improperly structured emergency response system. Combining staffing and resources from several independent fire departments into one consolidated department will deliver the ‘right amount of people in the right amount of time’ in critical emergencies. By doing so, not only are the citizens receiving the level of service they deserve and are entitled to, the emergency responders are able to perform their duties more efficiently and, most importantly, more safely.”
• According to the FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR THE CITIES OF MONTEREY, PACIFIC GROVE AND CARMEL, the City of Carmel-by-the-Sea needs to expend about $400,000 more per year regardless of whether Carmel-by-the-Sea merges or doesn’t merge with Monterey and Pacific Grove Fire Departments.
“Earlier in this report we noted that with or without consolidation, Carmel needs to have 3 career firefighters assigned daily to the engine company rather than the present 2 in order to have an effective fire and EMS presence at the scene of an emergency. While this represents an added cost of about $400,000 per year to the City of Carmel, this added staffing need would be there regardless of whether Carmel operated its own fire department or merged line operations with Monterey and Pacific Grove."
(Source: FIRE DEPARTMENT CONSOLIDATION FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS FOR THE CITIES OF MONTEREY, PACIFIC GROVE AND CARMEL, Final Report, June 12, 2007 pg.38 of 49, http://www.monterey.org/fire/news/feasibilitystudy.pdf)
But, according to August Beacham, the merger would cost the City an additional $230,000/year for “chiefs, assistant chiefs, supervisors, fire marshals, training officers and administrative staff.”
COMMENTS:
• When City Administrator Rich Guillen (and Mayor Sue McCloud) renege on their initial plan of placing the Carmel Fire Department’s merger with Monterey and Pacific Grove on the City Council’s March 4, 2008 agenda, and further use as a reason the “holding a municipal election in April that could see a change in leadership,” the City Administrator and Mayor are politicizing public safety to the detriment of all of us!
• Engineer August Beacham has called on the City “to put the merger plan back on its agenda in time to move forward with it July 1.” Mayor McCloud should honor August Beacham’s request forthwith and put the merger plan on a Special Meeting Agenda in March 2008!
• To the City Council Members and Supporters of Mayor Sue McCloud who believe “If it ain’t broke, let’s not fix it:” You are putting yourselves, your neighbors, your friends and our Carmel firefighters at untold, unacceptable and needless loss of life risk.
3 comments:
One wonders how bad it has to get in Carmel before Carmelites start acting like a responsible and engaged citizenry. In a city of active and responsible residents, this situation would never happen and if by chance it did happen, voters would throw their representatives out of office in a hurry. Arguably, the fire dept. is the most important department in the city of older residents and if the Carmel firefighters succeed in merging with Monterey and Pacific Grove, I don’t see why Carmel-by-the-Sea should continue being an incorporated city. Residents and firemen would be treated better by the county or why don’t we hope for annexation to Pacific Grove or Monterey somehow?
Sue McCloud learned petty bureaucratic politics in the federal bureaucracy. Nothing is beneath her politicizing for her own advantage, whatever that advantage may be. It will take years to undo the damage she and her cronies have done to the village of Carmel.
The chasm between reality and the "If it ain't broke, lets not fix it" is huge. Reality is the firefighers, make believe is the mayor and her supporters.
Where is the outrage and riots in the village streets? Are Carmelites paying attention?
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