LET'S SEE IF THEY PUBLISH THIS OR CONTINUE TO TELL ONE SIDE OF THE STORY. THIS IS THE EXACT LETTER SUBMITTED TODAY JUNE 4, 2009 AT 5 PM.
In response to editorials by your paper on May 29, 2009 and June 2, 2009:
Newsday hasbeen waging a decades-long campaign AGAINST the volunteer fire service on Long Island. Now that the State of New York is governed and controlled by the union-loving Democrats the time has come for you to use your pen as sword to strike a fatal blow to the volunteer fire service; something you have wanted to do for years.
Your editorials are biased attacks that only tell half of the story. You label the men and women of the fire service and their families as “…a self-interested group…popping up at the last minute to distort the truth.” Talk about hypocrisy. We understand that this publication is an ardent supporter of County Executive Suozzi and any bad press against him surely won’t be tolerated but to label taxpaying citizens as annoying is over the line.
Dozens of people showed up at the Cradle of Aviation to discuss the issue with the local Democratic politicians. Over 6,800 people felt this issue was important enough to join a Facebook internet page group. Countless others took the time to write so many emails to their assemblymen and senators that the server became overloaded and non-functional. People even boarded a bus from Long Island to Albany to speak with their representatives and voice their displeasure with the contents of this Bill. I call that exercising their right to freedom of speech and the right of the people to peaceably assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances; both of which granted to them by the 1st Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Touting a bill that will do nothing in the way of saving money, and is actually a way to potentially add more civil service employees to the roles, is irresponsible journalism. What this Bill will do is eliminate a layer of protection that the taxpayers currently have to prevent out of control State and County governments from taking more of their tax monies from local governments to fill budget gaps elsewhere in the State.
You tout lawmakers who vote in favor of the Bill as “courageous” and you accuse any politicians who vote against this Bill of “…giving in to political pressure…” and “…perpetuating our high tax misery”; thus vilifying them. They voted against this bill because they are listening to their constituents’ voices and those voices have said loud and clear: NO. What I fail to understand is why our loyal elected officials would neglect to address the gross waste and corruption within the fragmented school districts across the County and State. At last check, the average amount that a taxpayer will pay toward their school district is 66% and the amount paid to the. Nassau County Police Department is around 12% while the amount paid toward their special districts [fire, water, sewer, sanitation] is around 10% combined!
The pattern here that is conveniently left out of your editorials is that the Teachers’ and Police unions provide more support [both financially and at the voting booths] to the politicians both in the County and in the State than the non-union special district entities do and that is why this Bill is being forced down the taxpayers’ throats. Why not pen a Bill that will centralize and consolidate the waste that exists in the nearly 130 school districts on Long Island alone?
The fire districts are some of the most publically accessible and fiscally responsible entities. All one needs to do is simply attend a public meeting and voice their opinion or request any information they like. Our fire districts, not Albany, not Suozzi determine the most effective use of local taxpayer money in order to protect the residents they are responsible for and accountable to. You can actually see where your tax money goes. It provides the resources and training to your neighbors who volunteer their time to protect YOU.
One final question to the staff at this paper: when and where was the coverage by this publication of any debates on this subject within the last two years while the “government reformers” were so hard at work trying to save the taxpayers all of this money? I don’t recall seeing any.
Instead of continuing your assault against the brave men & women who put their families on hold and their lives on the line to protect their neighbors when the bell rings; direct your focus where it should be; on wasteful spending by school districts, ridiculous union contracts and other democratic institutions that are running this state into the ground.
We applaud the politicians who had the courage to stand up for the special districts and voted against this flawed piece of legislation.
Jeff DiLavore – Ex Chief Lakeview Fire Department
Barry Daskal – Wantagh Fire Department
The letter [in its entirety] was published here, on Suffolk, and on Facebook so that everyone can see the UNEDITED version. We'll see what happens. Thank you for the nice words.
Excellent letter, you guys should be proud. The fight may have been lost in Albany, but wuth the possible exception of Gordon Heights, I don't think most people will vote to disband their Fire District. A public education campaign, using this superb letter may help inform the public about why Long Island property taxes are so high.
Guys and gals remember that our Governor still has to sign this Bill. Perhaps a letter writing campaign to him will help him see his way to doing the right thing.
He may not veto the Bill but he will get an idea of how many VOTERS this is affecting.
Guys and gals remember that our Governor still has to sign this Bill. Perhaps a letter writing campaign to him will help him see his way to doing the right thing.
He may not veto the Bill but he will get an idea of how many VOTERS this is affecting.
Just something to think about.
Jedi:
This guy is blind in both the physical and metaphorical sense. Whenever there is a right road to follow or a wrong road, 90% of the time Patterson takes the wrong road. A bill that was sponsored by low life Shelly Silver, supported by the Unions, and bad for Long Island Fire Districts will be signed by him forthwith. They won't mess with the teachers union, thus no school district consolidation. Also, since the bill is being pushed by Andrew Cuomo, Patterson will sign it because he wants to avoid a primary fight from Cuomo who is either after the Governor's seat, or the Senate seat.
The best case scenario, is that the public is generally happy with their sanitation, water and fire protection, and they vote down attempts to consolidate.
This guy is blind in both the physical and metaphorical sense. Whenever there is a right road to follow or a wrong road, 90% of the time Patterson takes the wrong road. A bill that was sponsored by low life Shelly Silver, supported by the Unions, and bad for Long Island Fire Districts will be signed by him forthwith. They won't mess with the teachers union, thus no school district consolidation. Also, since the bill is being pushed by Andrew Cuomo, Patterson will sign it because he wants to avoid a primary fight from Cuomo who is either after the Governor's seat, or the Senate seat.
The best case scenario, is that the public is generally happy with their sanitation, water and fire protection, and they vote down attempts to consolidate.
From what I understood, the union (which I am unfortunately forced to pay dues to) CSEA was supporting this legislation. I'm not 100% sure, and may have misspoken on that point.
From what I understood, the union (which I am unfortunately forced to pay dues to) CSEA was supporting this legislation. I'm not 100% sure, and may have misspoken on that point.
If this is true never have I been so pissed off to be a member of the CSEA.
Op-Ed Submission to N***day
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