Thursday Night Massacre-An Afterword

In the wake of the Thursday Night Massacre of Gray Dispatch, we all must extend our thanks to the various participants who picked up the broken pieces and still accomplished some impressive broken field running under very adverse conditions.

The Town Manager did in fact cover a lot of bases and attended to a lot of problems in a short period of time. I may question the need for the firings, and I certainly challenge Council’s motivations, but Ms. Cabana took the proverbial bull by the horns when the decision was made. Kudos to you Deb

The Fire Rescue Department was notified of the firings Friday night at a meeting hastily convened by Deputy Ryan. From all accounts, there was no talk of treason or revolt as many might expect. The topic of discussion was only focused on what new procedures and practices would have to be adopted so that the Gray residents would continue to receive the highest levels of emergency services possible. Since the members knew that a weather crisis was looming on Saturday, their primary concern was how to prepare with County for the anticipated flurry of emergencies. I understand that the Deputies and department members even stayed all night and all weekend to monitor the private fire alarms that had not yet been hooked up to County. We all ought to be proud of the dedication and professionalism of our volunteers.

County dispatchers clearly rose to the occasion. They had neither the equipment nor the personnel to take on Gray’s Dispatch on Friday, but somehow they pulled resources together to make it work. I listened in on a scanner to the exchanges between Gray Fire Rescue and County . Although there were inevitable glitches, both parties were working hard to meet the challenges. Kudos to the County supervisors and dispatchers.

A difficult weekend in which cream rose to the top.

Thursday Night Massacre

For those who don't know it yet, on Thursday night, the Town Manager fired all members of the Gray Fire Rescue Dispatch and requested that Cumberland County immediately begin dispatching emergency calls for the Town of Gray. Friday in the Public Safety Complex on Seagull Drive, the doors were all locked, a emergency call box to Cumberland County was installed, and paramedics and firefighters all wondered why the cell phone text messages announcing emergency locations suddenly went dead. The strident Gray 40 disappeared from the scanners and was replaced by a monotone Fire Alarm.

On October 17th, the Council instructed the Town Manager to sign a contract and make the changeover to County dispatch before January 15, 2007. County began dispatching ten days later. What event precipitated such draconian action?

You have probably heard that all of the dispatchers threatened to quit.

Well that's just untrue.

One of the dispatchers had read the writing on the wall and had secured a job long before the vote on the 17th. That dispatcher gave notice for the first week of November, more than a two weeks notice. Three of the dispatchers were clearly distraught at the firing, they had no backup jobs and were not in a financial position to stage a mass walk-out. Do not know about the fifth, maybe there was a squeaky wheel there.

Even if there was an unprofessional troublemaker in the woodpile, the Fire Rescue Department has reserve dispatchers available to plug the gaps. Reservists hale from within the Department ranks, from neighboring departments (Raymond, Windham, etc) and yes, even from Cumberland County Dispatch. Chief Barton used these reserves many times. I guess nobody bothered to confer with the GFR Deputies on how to harness such resources. A lot of that going around.

The deed was done quickly, decisively and without any warning for the Department to prepare for the chaos that would naturally occur in the wake.

What is most interesting about the Thursday Night Massacre is that this whole drama occurred right after a certain prominent citizen conferred with the Town Manager on the correct legal procedures to initiate a citizen petition to reinstate Gray dispatch. You gotta admire the tactics: makes it a lot harder to reinstate something that has been destroyed- people fired, equipment sold off, facilities converted to other uses, and long-term contracts signed.

Hmmmm...must be just an incredible coincidence.

Public Participation

"Cherish, therefore, the spirit of our people, and keep alive their attention. Do not be too severe upon their errors, but reclaim them by enlightening them. If once they become inattentive to the public affairs, you and I, and Congress, and Assemblies, Judges,and Governors, shall all become wolves."

-- Thomas Jefferson (letter to Edward Carrington, 16 January 1787)

Tom was always a bit patronizing and a founding member of the"Do as I Say, Not as I Do" Club, but man could he nail a truth.

Council chooses Highest Bidder for Dispatch

Last Tuesday night Council disappointed all of us by voting unanimously to dismantle the Gray Fire Rescue Dispatch center. Besides the inexplicable act of killing off an efficient time proven system that has long-standing confidence of the fire/rescue service and the general public, the Council made incomprehensible blunders in its analysis of the submitted bids, resulting in the dispatch contract being awarded to the highest bidder-Cumberland County.

Public Safety Committee had devised a creative solution to the dispatch " problem" that would have resulted in a true win-win situation for Gray citizens and a major benefit for our mutual aid towns. Referred to as the "Regional Dispatch Plan", the Town of Raymond proposed joining Gray in sharing expenses in forming a joint dispatch center in Gray Central Station. The Casco Fire Department had made a commitment to follow Raymond to whatever new dispatch provider it chose, so from the start, the proposed Regional Dispatch center would have three communities already signed up-at a projected cost to Gray (after start-up infrastructure and equipment improvements) of $60,000 +/-. Enter the fourth community, strong member of Gray’s mutual aid family unhappy with its current service provider, and ready to jump to Gray’s Regional Dispatch as soon as the Council showed commitment. Now the price of maintaining dispatch in Gray is cheaper per capita than County. Add the fifth community, New Gloucester when their contract expires with County next year, and Gray is making money on the Regional Dispatch center. Imagine, non-property tax revenues....what a concept.

But lets put the financial points aside and examine what types of services would the proposed Regional Dispatch provide the citizens of Gray?

Why the same services that Gray residents and visitors have enjoyed for the past 10-15 years:

1. 24/7 On-Site Emergency Walk-In services. Dispatchers in the office (all EMT-B and higher) are able to render aid immediately and summon the paramedics upstairs for all walk-in emergencies. Countless lives have been saved because of this service.

2. On-site medical billing: Insurance billings for all transport ambulance calls are processed and submitted by the Gray dispatchers. These funds pay for the 24/7 paramedic/firefighter services that insure that the first ambulance or engine rolls within two minutes of the call.

3. Fire Permits:: On demand fire permits any time .especially during the weekend.

4. Administrative services for the Fire Chief and staff. Self-explanatory, essential and especially critical when such support is removed. Who answers the phone when everybody is at a call, or at meetings, or sleeping, or on details?

5. 24/7 Information and Public Service Center: According to Department records dispatch entertained over 6,000 visits from citizens last year for everything from road directions, to first aid requests, to fire safety instructions, to showing kids the fire trucks.

6. Intimate Knowledge of Gray: Gray dispatchers know the historic landmarks, site features, and even family homesteads that can direct first responders into the scene. They know the location of the new private roads and driveways long before the data is incorporated into the E-911 or GIS systems. On a dark rainy night such knowledge saves lives.

The Public Safety Committee developed the Gray Regional Dispatch proposal in 60 days. It took the Towns of Freeport, Cumberland, Falmouth, and Yarmouth et al 2 years and a Homeland Security grant to come up with their regional dispatch system. Our PSC and department staff fleshed it out its plan in less than 60 days and no cost. Now that is performance!

The PSC wanted 60 more days to finalize more details and to entice the fourth participating Town to come out of the closet. But NO, Allison Libbey had imposed an arbitrary "Drop Dead " date of 60 days from August. Council gave itself and County 1 year to devise their own plan, but gave the PSC only 60 days???

Sounds like a rigged bid to me.

But wait, lets go back and compare apples to apples. Was the Council/County bid complete when submitted? Upon questioning by Paramedic Paula Rice at the meeting, Council had to admit that it had yet to devise a plan to accommodate all of the non-emergency functions that Gray Dispatch currently performs:

Despite working with County for a year behind the scenes, Council has not nailed down how they are going to compile and submit the medical billings from ambulance calls that Dispatch currently accomplishes. That is over $200,000 in revenues!!! Not a minor error, but a stunning and major financial oversight!

Fire Permits- If you are a homeowner, or farmer or clearing your land or a developer, this issue is no small potatoes. The State requires the Town to issue fire permits for just about any outdoor burn. Most property owners pick them up on weekends or after work. Without dispatch at the station, there is nobody to issue these permits. Certainly the Town Offices are not open. Faced with this conundrum Councilor Crane mused about devising an on-line fire permit system. As if the Visual Basic fairy is going to suddenly flit down and whack Skip on the head, bequeathing the Town with an interactive internet database system. Right. The Town can barely keep the static website current. How much is it going to cost to buy such a system and is it even available?

Administrative/ secretarial services- Council had no clue. They mused about perhaps the paramedics assuming that responsibility, but then dropped it, perhaps realizing the absurdity of their thoughts.

In the end, the Council as a group conceded that they would probably have to hire a clerical person to sit in the dispatch office during the day to perform all of these unaccounted for but vital duties.

BUT THAT CHANGES THE BOTTOM LINE OF THE COUNTY BID.

The Town will need to hire an administrative person to do all of the things County doesn’t. Assume a $26,000 - $28,000 salary plus benefits ($6,000-$7,000). Examine the final real costs:


Year 1
Start up Costs $35,000
Dispatch Fee $32,500
Administrative Assistant $33,000
Total $ 100,000

Year 2
Dispatch Fee $32,500
Administrative Assistant $34,000
Total $66,500

When just some of the hidden costs of the County bid are added up, the real cost of the County bid is actually more expensive than the three Town Regional Dispatch and much more expensive with the four Town scenario. Compared to the State Police bid as well, the reality starts to sink in that in choosing County dispatch , the Council has selected the highest not the lowest bid.

In fact Council has selected the highest bid for the lowest package of services provided.

We as citizens are losing in every aspect of this "deal"! Has not this Council billed itself as being fiscally conservative? Or is this just a case of inept fiscal analysis?

An even bigger question is: If the Council fumbled so badly in performing a cost-benefit analysis of the County dispatch proposal, then how fundamentally flawed are their assumptions about more complex issues like TABOR?

What happened to Heart of Gray Blog?

Checked in this morning after returning from a trip down south and found that Heart of Maine just slipped off the radar screen.

Gone, poof, Bermuda Triangled.

Anybody know what happened?

Council's War Against the Fire Rescue Department

If we look at both the context and the sequence of events and actions this Town Council has taken since June 2005, it appears that this Council has been waging an undeclared and progressive war against the Gray Fire Rescue Department (GFR) and its membership.

Let’s look at the facts:

1. This Council refused to honor the previous Council's commitment to make a token monetary contribution to the 125th Anniversary Celebration. (Granted the sum requested showed incredible political naiveté on the Association's part, but what the heck, they are firefighters not politicians). Perhaps this is not a big deal by itself, but in context to all of the other events, it is the first insult in the Council's long campaign.

2. Reeling from the 125th sting, the Fire Department suddenly finds itself under attack by both the Council and the Monument for not filing a Mass Gathering Ordinance permit within 60 days of the 125th Anniversary Celebration. The intent was to provide fuel for the Council's campaign against the Mass Gathering Ordinance and at the same time undermine and embarrass the Town Manager and the Fire Chief. Eventually a number of local business owners with heavy investments in the 125th helped convince Council to find a way through the impasse. Why would any true leader allow such a thing to spin out of control like this?

3. Council starts savaging the Fire Chief for advising the Planning Board (upon their request) as to the type of fire suppression measures that are necessary for various subdivision applications in order to protect the public safety. Hmmm, is there anybody who knows how to fight a fire better than the Fire Chief? I have checked Councilor’s resumes and found their NFPA fire chief certifications wanting. Nor have I ever seen one of our leaders with a fire nozzle in their hands. Small detail: while the Council was busy demeaning John Barton's expertise, he was completing his term as the President of the New England Fire Chiefs Association, elected by all of the New England Fire Departments to be the Chief of Chiefs. But foolish me, I did not realize that our Council as so much more experienced and knowledgeable than Jon Barton.

4. Against the advice of the Fire Chief and without consulting the Public Safety Committee, the Council passes Order 77. Have any of you read this monstrosity? Here is the link: http://www.graymaine.org/Public_Documents/GrayME_CouncilOrder/2006orders/S008F8A2B it gets even more surreal when read in context of the subdivision ordinance:

SECTION 401.27 A – UTILITIES The site, type and location of public utilities, such as street lights, electricity, telephones, gas lines, fire hydrants, etc. shall be approved by the Board and installed in accordance with local practice provided, however, fire hydrants and/or related water retention facilities for fire safety protection shall not be required.


SECTION 401.34 C - WATER SUPPLY- Storage shall be provided as necessary to meet peak domestic demands and fire protection needs provided, however, fire hydrants and/or related water retention facilities for fire safety protection shall not be required.


Why the hell would the Planning Board require fire hydrants or surficial water supplies for anything but fire suppression? Maybe this is the key; the Planning Board could require fire hydrants and fire ponds or cisterns in subdivisions as a water supply to wash Public Works trucks or rinse the roads after sand removal in the spring and hence be in compliance with Order 77.
This crass piece of legislation is clearly intended not to protect the lives and property of Gray residents, but to only lessen the overhead costs of the development community. It is such a blatant Tammany Hall sell-out, stunning in its audacity and such a corrupt act that it should have shocked the community to the core. But we were all asleep at the wheel, reassured by the Council's lapdog newspaper, while the Planning Board, the Chief, and his firefighters were publicly whipped and humiliated.

Thanks to TinMan for raising the point in his blog that it has been over six months since the Council stated that they would have a new fire protection ordinance immediately in place.

Council's fealty to the development community has succeeding in achieving the following results:

a) Puts firefighter lives in greater peril: Most of the new subdivisions are in remote parts of Town where there are no surface waters readily available for suppression purposes.

b) Puts homeowner lives and property in peril: The future residents of subdivisions developed under Order 77 will be unwittingly purchasing homes that lack adequate fire suppression capabilities that will become apparent only when an emergency arises. However the insurance adjusters will note the project deficiencies and surprise them with an unexpectedly higher premium, year after year.

c) Increases the Tax Burden on the General Taxpayer: Just because the developer isn't required to install adequate fire protection facilities doesn't make the deficiency or the fire danger disappear. At some point glaring fire protection deficiencies will have to be corrected. And who will have to pick up the tab for these post-facto corrections...the developers? No they and their money are long gone. Will the residents in the new subdivision, step up to the plate to finance correction of the public safety problem? No, they won't have the resources. Besides these new residents will correctly argue that the Town was negligent when it failed to adequate protect the public safety and welfare during the approval process, and therefore the Town should be responsible for picking up the remedial tab.

Which means that the costs of correcting these public safety nightmares will fall on all of us taxpayers? Such remedial actions will be portable cisterns in lieu of the permanent cisterns that the Planning Board and Chief would have required the developer to pay. These portable cisterns carry only 1/15th of the water capacity of the permanent varieties, have a service life of only 25 years, and cost $500,000 to purchase. We call these portable cisterns "additional fire engines. Which would you rather see-the developer installing a cistern or you buying and maintaining another Engine 2 every 20 years or so?

What is amazing is that this Council touts itself as the administration of fiscal responsibility. But in reality this moronic land use policy will actually cost the taxpayer more dollars both now and long into the future. This Council has prided itself on being more responsible and responsive to the citizenry, but the elimination of any fire protection measure in our land use ordinances is criminally negligent and intended only to serve the land rich old boys and their developer friends.



5. Next slap in the face of the Fire Department was the refusal of the new manager to name the existing Deputy Chief as the "Acting Fire Chief”. Gee he was only carrying the weight of the Chief for the last year of Mr. Barton's life, quietly and with dignity. In their time of great loss, the Gray Fire Department has needed a feeling of continuity that Deputy Ryan could provide. But the one-month old manager is too inexperienced to recognize that naming the Deputy "Acting Chief" provides some interim continuity and maintains morale without committing the Town to permanently hiring the Deputy in the PSC position.

6. Finally the decapitation of Gray Dispatch at a time when the department is in mourning and demoralized and purposefully deprived of a leader is the Council/Manager's latest coup de grace. We have heard Council state that they have been working on this project since last November. The truth is that Skip Crane has been working on this project since November with only one entity-Cumberland County dispatch. Public Safety Committee was handed this concept for review only in July. And in the interim they have pointed out a myriad of irregularities including sole sourcing of the contract and failure to match apples to apples bid requirements. Crane is in a headlong rush to give the bid to County. Why? The allocation for the dispatch center is set for the year and paid for. It just can’t be the money, because the PSC has received a lower bid from State Police with better services. Public Safety has been collaborating with the Town of Raymond to develop a regional dispatch center in Central Station that could end up costing the Town zero dollars. Making money instead of spending it, now that’s an idea worth exploring.

Taken individually, any of these events could be written off to oafish handling of volunteers, poor judgment, or just procedural error. But in sequence and together it appears that Council is engaged in a coordinated, concerted, and unprovoked assault on the Fire Department.

If I were on the Fire Department, I think I would getting quite angry at being so poorly used and so pushed around. I might be inclined to push back.

And that would be a disaster for us all.

Threadless Tuesday 10-5-06

OMG Its Threadless Tuesday!

Anybody can post a comment on any topic they want!?

"Isn't it supposed to be Threadless Thursday?"

Didn't the Germans bomb Pearl Harbor?

"Point taken."