Bells and Whistles, Buzz Words and Fire Trucks

All of us have listened to the BUZZ WORDS of funding --

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FOR THE CHILDREN

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FOR THE SENIORS

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PUBLIC SAFETY

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There is NOT ONE SINGLE MIDDLEBORO RESIDENT who wouldn't support:

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3 fully staffed Fire Stations, with spares and extra firefighters twiddling their thumbs waiting for your call, filled with BRAND NEW EQUIPMENT

10 additonal police officers to respond to each call

6 10 hours days at the Library

a COA with an expanded facility begging for additional participants

a Park Department that expanded and offered free programs to ALL children

a School Department that offered 15 students per class, superlative schools, high school labs to envy

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And much else.

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But the Cadillac taste and the Ford pocketbook collide.

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Middleboro simply cannot afford ALL that we want without making choices.

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The Town appears at its bonding limit.

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Yeah, we can continue to borrow, just as the sub-prime market has proven, but it has its hidden costs.

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Those hidden costs are increased interest rates because Middleboro continues to overextend itself, the Board of Selectmen REFUSE to take unpopular stands and refuse to fund its rainy day SAVINGS ACCOUNT - the Stabilization Fund. (DOR recommends 4-6% in the Stabilization Fund. For Middleboro, that should be ~ $2.56 MILLION -- $3.84 MILLION.)

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Now, consider the LADDER TRUCK.

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Try a google search for USED FIRE TRUCKS

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Check out :

FENTON

FireTec

FireLine

VFD-Fire

Rosenbauer

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Outstanding aerials
Aerials represent a significant investment, and used ones pose a significant potential for liability. Departments looking for a used aerial should be prepared to conduct a detailed investigation before they buy.
The most important concern about used aerials is the strength of the aerial device itself. This is a matter of safety and shouldn't be dismissed with a verbal reassurance from the seller. All used aerials should be examined by an independent, third-party testing service and be certified according to the latest edition of NFPA 1911, Inspection, Maintenance, Testing, and Retirement of In-Service Automotive Fire Apparatus. Buyers should insist on these tests at the time of sale, even if the aerials were certified within the last year. Buyers also should understand that some aerials built before 1991 may not be designed to support the current minimum tip load at full horizontal extension and may not be suitable for some applications. continued

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Townspeople were told by the interim Fire Chief/Police Chief that the life expectancy of a ladder truck was 20 years, along with much additional misinformation about the problems with the ladder trucks and the 4 year old fire station.

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Of the three estimates requested, two appear to have come from companies that build and sell new trucks. Do your own google search for all the companies that REPAIR fire trucks.

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Trucks are NOT CARS.

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The town in which I grew up still has the ladder truck for which the volunteer fire department worked to raise funds --- house to house by donations. It's + 30 years old. Still works. Still does its job of transporting Santa on Christmas Eve and the Easter Bunny on Easter Eve. And it does the nitty-gritty house fires.

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There's a waiting list to get on that volunteer fire department. And those guys are AWESOME! They've won all sorts of competitions and they're truly INVESTED in the community. They deliver Christmas presents on Christmas Eve in Santa suits, and much else that contributes to a small community feel that Middleboro has long since lost.

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Sitting in front of a computer, the world of information in front of us, will we google search to educate ourselves or continue to accept emotionally charged arguments, with little basis in fact ?