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County-run fire rescue? You must be kidding
• Lobbying organization threatens quality fire rescue services in Margate
Sunday,
April 18, 2010
With the help of county legislators, the Broward County Council of Professional Firefighters is working on a opt-in county-wide fire district bill that would adversely impact Margate taxpayers.
The new district would add another layer of taxes to what Margatonians already pay for fire-rescue, and would diminish fire-rescue services in Margate—as neighboring cities with inadequate fire-rescue coverage per capita would rely on Margate firehouses (turned county) to support emergency services in their cities.
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What’s wrong with this picture?
First, Margate residents should be wary of the Broward County Council of Professional Firefighters (BCCPF) and their President, John McNamara. One visit to the BCCPF website clearly indicates that the group is a lobby organization and one with little direct benefit and value to Margate taxpayers.
Second, what has Broward County done right lately?
Education? No, our kids are just as uneducated, if not more, than they were ten years ago. Save our Schools? How about save our kids from the Broward County School Board, whose Beverly Gallagher recently was brought up on charges of fraud, extortion and bribery?
Police? Well, things are changing since Al Lamberti took over the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. Before that, BSO was overrun with corruption and bad cops under the leadership of former BSO head and convicted felon Ken Jenne.
Government? Does the name Joseph Eggelletion ring a bell? The Broward County Commissioner recently charged with fraud and money laundering.
Development? County water restrictions, a result of poor decision making and lack of planning and foresight by the county, is a tell tale sign that there just isn’t enough quality drinking water for all of us now and in the future.
Fiscal Responsibility?You already know the answer to this one. The county is broke.
Broward County government is financially overburdening for taxpayers, and county officials have proven incompetent over the years in terms of contractual oversight and their ability to manage the needs of 31 cities and then some. It’s a very expensive layer of government and one difficult for taxpayers to attach a value. The majority of county residents neither have the time nor wherewithal to travel the distance to county meetings where their voices can be heard and, because of this disconnect, county politicians often go unfettered in the decision making process.
Broward residents in other cities joke about Margate—they say it’s a redneck city, low income and blue collar. The same residents who would give their right arm to have the fire department we have.
Be assured, going county wide with fire rescue will benefit the fire-rescue industry and create jobs for emergency personnel--and of course benefit the BCCPF--but it will hardly improve fire-rescue services for Margate residents, especially the elderly.
In addition to crippling emergency response times in Margate, a county-wide fire department will further politicize fire-rescue in the county, it will make it difficult for Margate to track fire-rescue performance and expenditures and will result in much less personable fire-rescue squads, as transfers of duty become commonplace and personnel grow detached from the immediate public they serve.
Currently a proposed bill for opt-in county-wide fire services is being explored by Broward County's state legislative delegation, a political arm of county government highly influenced by lobbyists and the special interests they represent.
Reader Opinion
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Copyright © MargateNews.net 2009
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