Tuesday, July 28, 2009

VOLUNTEER

Many of us got to read the article in the paper that calls for volunteers across the county. Our Executive Mike Hein is correct that we need to pump up the numbers in our Emergency & Fire Centers, but it goes beyond that.

The push for recruits comes when the desire to volunteer seems to be waning and the number of calls increasing. I would like to add my voice to that call to volunteer, but I would broaden the options a bit.

You know Kingston has a paid Fire Department, so the issue of manning a station is less the issue, however, the number of institutions that could use your help is increasing. Notably those who help families in need. That is where the current crisis is within our city limits.

I am willing to bet that of the 70 volunteer fire companies and EMS squads througho
ut the county, you'll find most of those who volunteer there extend themselves beyond that. Wouldn't you agree?

Visit the Queen's Galley, Angel Food East, one of or remaining Volunteer Fire Houses. Something. Maybe just get some neighbors together and clean up the forgotten corner. It takes an afternoon at the most. Knock on the door of the ailing senior down the street. Are they eating enough? Do they have electricity? How about a functioning bathroom?

These are the simple actions that make up the fabric of a community. The push for volunteers is a noble one and we need to be reminded once in a while. I commend Mike Hein for bringing this up, but the scope of need is wider than the emergency centers.

35 comments:

Anonymous said...

VP Biden announces stimulus money for the following police depts and Kingston is not one of them:
Newburgh $937,480, Poughkeepsie $1,050,400, Monticello $253,313, Hudson $171,907

What happened to Kingston?

joe frank said...

Excuse me but Kingston's Fire Department is both Paid AND Volunteer.

Lets get the word out that Kingston needs volunteer's too!

Anonymous said...

Hey 5:40, Mike mentioned the volunteer fire houses in his article. They are always in need of support and always threatened with extinction unless people make the effort to volunteer. Anyone living in thre Rondout neighborhood can walk right in to the fire house on Hone St and inquire about serving. I'm sure they'd be happy to set you up for the training.

TRB

Anonymous said...

I have heard many times that Mr Hein likes to take credit for the hard work of others and get his nam in the papers and other media while doing it. In this case it is very true, I know the people involved with getting this Volunteer initiative started and none of them are Mike Hein. He should be ashamed of himself for taking credit for the hard work of others and this blogger should be more careful in giving him credit where NONE is due.

Anonymous said...

Iyi...

I have issues with this!

Yes, the call is always out for volunteers...

Here. There. Everywhere...

And it is nice, kind, wonderful (and in this case, sometimes life-saving!) that so many folks DO volunteer...

But what about PAID jobs? Why not a fully paid Fire Department?

We need jobs in this City - and across the nation - to the point that some people are attempting (or so they say...) to pull them out of a magic hat...

And yet, if you ask me (you didn't) - there are plenty of jobs (at some of the other places mentioned, as well...) IF people were willing - and able (Is all that money in Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Monticello, Hudson going to HIRE firefighters - or are the big guys there just getting raises and new toys?) - to PAY workers like they did in the "good old days..."

I volunteer too. I'm not against the concept. But what we need is paid positions in this City - and if ever a position existed that I think should definitely BE PAID - it is the folks that work for the Police and Fire Departments!

Just an opinion.

NS

Anonymous said...

I agree with 9:18, this program has been being developed for months by people other than Mike Hein. For him to step in at the last minute and hog the spotlight is sickening.

He did the same thing with last year's winter heating program. He took a system of organizations and government working together that had been around for years, changed the name and wa...la.... claimed the idea as his own.

Anonymous said...

NS, I have to respectfully disagree with you. Why do we HAVE to add paid jobs to a fire department. The Kingston Fire budget is over 6.7 million dollars. The combined Town of Ulster Fire Departments cost the tax payers less than 2 million. When you look at the call volume, taking out certain calls that the town does not respond to like vehicle lock outs and non life threatening EMS calls, the call volume is not that much different. The town departments are 100% volunteer.

The problem is the city has a lack of volunteers willing to volunteer in the fire department. Or does it??? Look at the percentage of city residents that volunteer in Town of Ulster departments. This number hovers between 40 and 50 percent of town departments rolls. So it is not a matter of there not being volunteers from the city, but it is a matter those volunteers not feeling very welcome in the city fire department so they join town departments.

I am not saying that the city should go 100% volunteer, but it would seem that we could get a much better bang for the buck with more volunteers.

Anonymous said...

Paid firemen are fine, but 42 fire fighters and 16 officers are too much. The 7.1 million we paid in 2009 will be 7.5 in 2010. We cannot afford this type of service. I understand about insurance you pay for it and hope you never need it. But I can no longer afford my 200 dollar deductable I have to go to the 1000 dollar deductable to balance my home budget. When times get better I will change it back. The same thing has got to be done with the firemen. Downsize now and increase the numbers when we get out of the mess SOTTILE/NOBLE has put us in.

Anonymous said...

Greetings Alderman Madsen, Id like to respond to 11:09 posting. Mr. Madsen please research how many paid kingston fireman ACTUALLY LIVE and pay taxes in kingston,I think you will be shocked to find that a good majority of them do not! We need to follow example of the town of ulster volunteer fire dept. and recruit and attract volunteers in kingston. I cant afford to pay higher taxes for that luxury anymore!

Anonymous said...

Mike: here is an incredible video
thought you and your readers might enjoy some minutes about the Federal Reserve- mostly not in favor of this system established in 1913-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dmPchuXI...

take care,
sz

Anonymous said...

Hey 11:o9,we do have and need a paid fire dept., we just cant afford to have as many fire houses open as we do in kingston.We need more volunteers to help out like we used to.

Anonymous said...

I have to return to Maslov's "heirarchy of needs" here...

Food... Shelter... Safety... Security... Self Esteem...

All of which require, at this point in time, an income from one source or another...

Before one can climb the ladder of one's higher aspirations, which might include something like volunteering for an organization like the Fire Department...

What we have, instead, in the City of Kingston is (for the most part) City workers, County workers, people that are hanging on by their fingernails, rooming houses, a homeless shelter and homeless people...

Which is not going to lead to a whole lot of folks with higher aspirations - or the ability to fullfill these - even if they do have them!

"Somewhere in the middle" - I have heard - "is the truth..." - but I've found not too many folks like the truth...

Which leaves us all in a serious bind (reorganize? restructure? jobs, jobs, jobs...!) - indeed!

BTW, the fire department and EMTs have saved my husband's life twice (severe allergic reactions / critical emergency situations) in the last ten years...

My brother-in-law has been a Fire Department volunteer (in another county) for decades...

And the high taxes are zapping (maybe some other taxation issues could use a little "look see")everyone...

So, I'm not speaking out of a vacuum, from a place of privlege, or with any prejudice...

This is simply (as noted above) what I (based in some sound psychological theories) believe.

NS

Anonymous said...

In twenty years service as a volunteer fireman in Kingston - never got one letter of thanks from a Mayor or Alderman - the Kingston paid Department sued the Kingston Volunteers - the current mayor takes huge amounts of contributions - in $ and in-kind services for his campaign during contract negotiations?

Anonymous said...

How come Middletown has only 31 paid firemen?

Anonymous said...

To Anonymous 7:54 AM...

As noted above, my husband's life has been saved - 2X - by EMTs associated (I'm not clear on how they intermesh) with the Town of Ulster and City of Kingston Fire Departments...

So please let me say, "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!"

NS

Anonymous said...

Right on 7:54 They make calls for the Sottile/Noble team, pick up the voters list, and take them tho the polls. This has led to a very lucrative contract. The last one was the best. They gave the Ctiy a $300.00 increase in there health insurance cost. Then got the $300.00 back if they worked out and stayed in shape. Something has got to be done with them. We can no longer afford this. Look for HOFFAY/REYNOLDS to join with the firemen this year and promise not to cut anything in the 2010 budget if they help them get reelected. 8:17 Why do they only have 31 firemen in Middletown. I bet they all live in Middletown.

Anonymous said...

The kingston firemen have worked on Election day for the Democratic party for years in return for cushy perks in thier contracts. Actually, outragious perks is more like it! This practice must stop , before we all go broke!What makes the firemen in this city so special? We have to start cutting back, and you know what? Well be o.k.

Anonymous said...

Volunteers are hard to find because they are out working two or three jobs to survive. Instead of bashing the paid or volunteer fire fighters lets embrace the concept that they are both needed. Just ask someone who survived a heart attack or was pulled out of a burning building.
By the way Mike Hein is trying to help bring attention to the need for volunteers because of his ability to get press. A simple thank you would be nice.

Anonymous said...

8:17,Middletown has 31 firemen because thats what they can afford,we as a community need to do the same. We do not need to be so top heavy with our dept.,lets down size there with attrition. Whatever the consequences are as a result,so be it. We need not be intimidated by these firemen.After all,its common knowlege the majority of these people dont live or vote in kingston anyway!

Anonymous said...

8:31 you are so right! The primary reason we dont have volunteer firemen in kingston is because they dont feel welcome! We have to do a better job of that starting now. We cant allow our paid firemen to make them feel unwelcome. Its a shame that we stood by as a community in the past and allowed the former Mayor and chief Salzman to close down volunteer firehouses. Lets turn that around and start anew beginning!

Anonymous said...

7:36 Right let's start getting more volunteers. Ulster Hose is the pride of the Avenue and there is no reason why Kingston cannot model themselves after them. I hear a lot of Kingston volunteers are there. They have so many voluteers there they don't have enough room for them all and are going to build a second fire house with there own money, not taxpayer. I am sure they would come back if they felt welcomed. Fred Heppner a Kingston resident and Ulster Hose volunteer was a hero a few years ago. Breathing life back into a drowning victim.

Anonymous said...

I looked up some info in the City Budget for 2009 - and according to that, if I got all of the facts right, the City of Kingston has (or had at the time the book was printed) 44 Firefighters making a (this is a rough estimate; it probably varies by person) of around $51,961.71 dollara a year - including benefit packages.

This is high, but it is offset somewhat by $25,000 that comes from State and Federal assistance.

I am no expert here, for sure, for sure. But I am someone that is trying to listen to what folks have to say, research the associated facts - and (where possible) present some possible (in all humility, I could be way off base sometimes) solutions...

Firefires and EMTs require special training and - at least some of the time put their life in danger for our sakes. They are at higher risk than the general population of suffering a serious injury on the job and/or of developing a disorder such a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)...

What does that have to do with anything?

It has to do with my continued belief that they should be paid and paid well - although perhaps not to the degree (I would throw out a figure of about $35,000 to $40,000 a year) that is reflected in our budget.

Kingston is a City. Which may explain some of the differences between here and the Town of Middletown and the Town of Ulster.

However, if the City of Kingston, the Town of Ulster and the Town of Kingston (as a test flyer) were to merge / become one entity (removing overlappinng services) some of this problem might be alleviated by that merger alone!

This is in line with some of the issues that the State Attorney General has addressed - in some of his outreach to the public - when he points out that the the general public / the taxapayers are not powerless over such things --- unless they / we / us just complain --- sans taking action.

A proposed merger - such as that noted above - has been addressed here and there along the way by various people.

Perhaps now is the time for the citizens (Combine the City and Town Fire Departments, etc.) to give it some serious tought?

Mike - if I've made any factual errors here, please correct me...

Math is not my strongest (although I stay after it!) point!

NS

Anonymous said...

The problem with merger is that there is nothing in it for the Town of Ulster. We already pay less for high quality fire protection made up of all volunteers, I am not sure about police. We do not have an aging sewer system that needs to be replaced, we do not have unfriendly business taxes and meters, our highway department is small and economical. I see no benefit for me as a homeowner, a merger in my opinion would do nothing but spread out city of Kingston costs among Town of Ulster Taxpayers.

I would suggest that anyone that wants to save money on municipal related costs, should look at annexing into the Town of Ulster.

I do have one question regarding the $25,000 assistance. Is that per firefighter per year? I have never heard about that. I agree that the firefighters do a very dangerous job and should be well compensated for it. The question is how many do you need, and how many could be replaced by volunteers if an enviroment could be created that welcomed volunteers.

Anonymous said...

10:40, your numbers are looking good, but you left out in addition to 44 firefighters there are 17 "white shirts" or superiors,lieutenants and captains that make a whole lot more money then the actual firefighters. It is costing us A TON of money under the current system. Maybe the Mayor needs to consider restructuring the fire dept. This needs serious consideration.

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately that $25,000 in State and Federal assistance appears to be a one-time a year (at least in this book) revenue source (What a difference it would be if it were per fireman, eh?)

As far as the number of administrative types associated with the fire department, though - I only count 5: The Chief, Assistant Chief, Deputy Chief, Captain and Lieutenant - who are (especially the Deputy Chief, Lieutenant and Captain (???) pulling in some pretty hefty (am I reading this book wrong????? Gulp! Maybe you folks should pick up a copy at the City Clerk's office) salaries...

Checking into why the Deputy Chief, Lieutenant and Captain are making so much --- and making so much more [these three are being paid $337,818, $313,570 and $176,943 a year???] than the Fire Chief [$73,757] and Assistant Chief [$68,714]--- might be (is there something I don't understand here?) a place to start...

Should someone take a microscope to all of this...? I would (based on how I'm interpreting it) say!

Restructure? For sure.

Treat volunteers better? Absolutely.

Pursue the merger I mentioned...

Maybe.

How could such a merger (I don't understand what you mean by attrition..?) benefit the Town of Ulster, Town of Kingston and City of Kingston?

Fewer "big top" salaries (in the political arena) all around...

Consolidated DPW services, etc. (with fewer "big top" salaries all around...)

A better quality Fire Department for all (with fewer "big top" salaries all around) - based, at least in part, on what IS working in the townships.

A consolidated police Department (with fewer "big top" salaries all around.)

Etc.

After all, who says City of Kingston "norms" (i.e., "unfriendly business taxes and meters" - etc.) would have to take presidence (sp?) over Township norms if - as noted by one poster here - the Township norms are working [this could be a "win-win" for everyone involved!] better?

The City of Kingston does have a beautiful waterfront, full of potential (with more funds reputedly coming in...) for growth...

And some other assets (including a thriving citizen activist and beautification community) to bring to the table...

Just thoughts.

Insomnia really sucks :)

NS

Anonymous said...

10:40 am I do not no where you were looking in the budget, but your numbers are off a bit. If you look on page 98 you will find, there are 64 members, this includes 1 sr clerk typist at $40,530, 1 mechanic at $58,981.00,(top scale mechanic DPW 40,416.00)
and 4 dispatchers $47,152 for top scale, DPW dispatch is $38,495.00.

That leaves 58 members 42 firefighters and 16 white shirts. They split $3,104,026. That's $53,517.68 average salary BEFORE BENEFITS,
OPTICAL INS. $16,140.00
DENTAL INS. $$55,581.00
MEDICAL INS. $873,771.00
OVERTIME $146,200.00,
COMP TIME $60,000.00,
SUPPLIMENTAL PAY $185.000.00,
LONGEVITY PAY $100,750.00,
FITNESS INCENTIVE $19,500.00, KELLY DAYS $118,000.00,
EMP PAY $56,000,
Uniform allowance $60,300.
UNLIMITED SICK TIME $!!!!!!!!

Add that all together and you come up with over $100,000.00 per man.

These numbers do not reflect the cost of retired fire fighters health insurance costs either. They can retire after 20 years and have life time health insurance for free. So at 45 retire and seek other employment usually with the City in a different capacity.

It's not the salary that is killing the taxpayer its the perks they get from working for the democratic party on election day and before, lit drops, phone banking, etc. They do this exclusively for the democrats and no one else and are rewarded for it at our expense.

Move to page 108 and find the actual cost for the fire dept.
$6,743,846 for 70 people this includes the members of the building dept which are the lowest paid and NOT part of the fireman's union.

Anonymous said...

Easy to see why we are 3 million dollars short this year. We must get more volunteers!!

Anonymous said...

NS:

With respect to the big top salaries, the town of Ulster doesn't really have any, with the exception of the Police Chief I think. The Highway Sup makes like 50k, the town hall staff are not paid much, in the fire dept. there are no salaries at all, much less the big top ones.

With the exception of a certain elected official that has been on a spending binge with our savings for the last 3 and a half years the town of Ulster runs a pretty economical government.

So I think the answer here is vote out the supervisor, hopefully before he builds the Senior Center which he thinks will cost $700k (HAHA if you beleive that I want to sell you a jail...cheap) When the police chief retires make the new chief's salary more in line with his counterparts. And maybe look for some shared service opportunities with our neighbors to save some more cash. But what ever we do, DO NOT allow a merger with the city of Kingston, it would be like swimming with a tug boat anchor on your back.

Again, I would suggest that any property owners that are interested, look into annexing your property into the Town of Ulster. The city has certainly annexed a lot of town property over the years. Maybe it is time to repay the favor.

By the way you were looking at line items in the budget. Those salaries were the totals of all positions in that line. E.g: There are 4 Deputy Chiefs, 2 Captains??, somewhere around 6 or so lieutenants.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry! I was reading the page wrong - for sure! Maybe I better stick to psychological theories...

Get away from the merger idea [I thought Cuomo (in a general sense) was onto something there!] ---

And try to get some sleep!

Thank you for correcting me. I did learn a lot from this thread... and I appreciate it.

Assume nothing. Examine everything. And accept that sometimes (like now) I wade in over my head...

Peace all!

NS

Anonymous said...

Hoffay? For Mayor? Now I am leaving town.

Anonymous said...

Atrition is when an employee retires you dont fill that position after the employee leaves,its been going on at DPW for years.Example:20 years ago thre were 105 workers over there,thru attrition we are now down to 88 workers. This needs to be practiced at Kingston fire dept.Thats how you downsize effectively without laying off. While that is going on you build your volunteer base and presto! you have straightened out your financial woes with fire dept.Also,stopping these guys from working exclusively for Democratic party in exchange for perks would help too!

Anonymous said...

Hey 10:40pm - FOIL the pay records - most make over $ 70,000 with overtime plus add 40% for pension costs and health benefits.

Anonymous said...

Seems like a lot of people use the Fire Department as their whipping boy - there got to be ways of saving money in other departments. What if Waste Management came in to remove the garbage. They only have one man on a truck. DPW has 3 men and usually go home early, don't they? There has to be a large savings there. Isn't that what they use in the Town of Ulster?

Anonymous said...

The fire department aided the Mayor's campaign during contract negotiations - unethical on both ends.

Anonymous said...

What if we contracted with Ulster Hose to replace our Fire Dept?