helicopper

Not necessarily. In some cases there are multiple fire 'departments in the same town.' If these entities were to be consolidated into a single, larger department, they would have a larger pool of members and theoretically be able to muster a better response with volunteers. For example, there's a town with five individual, autonomous agencies and each has two qualified FF's available during the day. Completely unacceptable by any standard to respond with two guys. If the FD's were merged, there would be 10 members available without mutual aid. They could respond together or roster and be available in-house. It would cut down on some of the in-breeding in the emergency services and enable more FF to go on more calls. Win-win-win. This wouldn't require closure of houses, it would require a change in managemnent, training, and procedures. What's popular isn't always right and what's right isn't always popular. If members vote with their feet so be it. If it weren't for change you'd still be using horses and wearing rubber coats and boots but at some point they changed, right? Chiefs and Commissioners must embrace these ideas and present them to the membership as the way for the future. If, because of egos or other agendas, they fail to do that it will cause problems. All agencies need to be led from the top. If members don't like consolidation and won't be a part of a new and improved system let them vote with their feet. You don't necessarily need (or want) career staff in all these departments. Yes, without a doubt, there are some departments that would benefit from career staffing but better management and deployment/scehduling of the thousands of volunteers we allegedly have would also work wonders.

I'm just guessing but there'd be E310, SQ11, E312, E314 and L70, L75 as a first due depending on exactly where the job was in that area. Mutual aid probably won't have to change that much as Yonkers doesn't use it as often as many jobs in the county.

Given the fiscal reality in Yonkers, I doubt they're going to fund new companies even though they are sorely needed. Even with all the growth and development along the Central Park Avenue corridor during the past 25 years they haven't added any new stations or upgraded companies (with the exception of converting Engine 311 to Squad 11) so I doubt the city will suddenly start doing the right thing now. On the police side this is going to make the first precinct a lot busier but I doubt they'll get any more bodies either. As long as the city has a strangle hold on the budget and keeps playing politics with the emergency services and their budgets nothing will change.

Barry is 100% correct! Jumping into a large full-scale exercise is not the way to improve disaster preparedness or MCI management. People need to start looking at the exercise process and capabilities based training and exercise to develop a plan for system improvement. Just picking a Saturday and having a y'all come disaster "drill" isn't the solution. There is a process for this and training to support it. Now we just have to get EMS (and other) people to take the training and implement it effectively

Liberty Lines was included in the trunked radio system so they could use federal transportation funds for the development and installation of the system. I doubt that there was anything altruistic about it; it was all about the almighty dollar. You are definitely right that leadership is required for incident management and those leaders need to know how prioritize, delegate, coordinate, and communicate. They have to be good managers too and there's a severe lack of management, management training, and management experience in EMS. This lack of experienced managers results in the common knee-jerk reaction of calling for more resources at a complex incident when in reality all that is needed is better coordination and oversight of the resources that are already there.

School taxes are by far the largest portion of the tax bill (generally between 65-75%) and the rest is municipal taxes. Keep in mind that your county taxes include all the mandates from the State like Medicaid and other things. If you factor in the unfunded state mandates that are pushed down to our county taxes and state income taxes that fund the state bureaucracy and our state taxes may rival school taxes. In past years the Department of Social Services (welfare, Medicaid, etc., etc.) was two thirds of the County's budget. Start cutting back those programs and we'll actually see some tax relief. Hey, what's up with school contingency budgets? I was reading a few and the proposed budget was identical to the austerity/contigency budget that they'd have to adopt if the proposed budget was voted down. If it's the same why do we both voting on them at all?

It isn't paid department doctors, it is NYS doctors that render decisions on disability pensions. I've heard of department doctors ordering a person back to work and the State panel retiring that same person. The reverse is also true so I don't think it is pay-offs. I don't think most of us even know who the state doctors are. As for disparate standards between the career and volunteer fire services, that is a major issue and one of the topics that generates the most controversy. The fact that disparate standards are allowed to exist is one of the problems in the fire service.

That's probably the same case I saw being reported.

Without more information it is difficult to say. There was recently a case profiled in the media where a career FF was retired due to a disability but his local VFD allowed him to continue operating as an interior FF and if I remember correctly the State doctors retired him and the VFD doctor said he could stlil serve. So, are there cases of disability fraud? Absolutely. Just like there are cases of welfare fraud, insurance fraud, credit card fraud, etc. Not everyone who is retired with a disability is proscribed from serving as a volunteer. It depends on the disability, retirement rules, pension program, etc.

How are pension programs unfunded mandates? Local communities are paying into the pension program for their employees and for years enjoyed no contributions to the program when the economy was more robust. Now that the economy is suffering, the locals pay into the pension program for their employees. As for healthcare, if you're referring to employee benefits that is not a state mandate nor is it unfunded. It is funded by the local community, again for its employees, so I'm not clear on your comments above. The bottom line is that Westchester County doesn't need 150 separate and distinct taxing entities so consolidation will benefit the taxpayer and in almost every case benefit the agency or entities involved so I have to ask you to substantiate your claim that it isn't justified/justifiable.

I hope that I'm just missing the sarcasm you intended because if you're serious, I will dispute that the obscene number of PSAP's and the single agency dispatch protocols is severely outdated, in some cases is outright dangerous, and needs to evolve and improve.

If you're implying that the members here are not advocates of due process I think you need to reconsider your position as the majority of us are staunch advocates of due process and protecting our rights. To suggest that law enforcement officers are not advocates of due process is flat out wrong. We work within the sytem that has been crafted for us and this decision is merely a clarification of what has long been an exception to the warrant requirement of the 4th Amendment. You obviously didn't even read this case before posting your comments. The police were pursuing someone who was "actually committing a crime" not "grasping at straws" or "having trouble nailing the bad guy". Perhaps the appropriate criticism is that they just didn't run fast enough and he managed to get into an apartment before they apprehended him. Every warrantless search is scrutinized at every level from the PD to the DA to the courts and in this case it went all the way to the Supreme Court where, in what was already noted as a rare 8-1 decision, they reaffirmed that the destruction of evidence is an exception to the warrant requirement. It is a great example of due process working as designed and everyone should be happy about it. Our rights are being protected and law enforcement is doing their job. Having absolutely no idea what it takes to get a warrant or run into a housing project after a suspect your final comment "Oh well its hard for me to lock up the bad guys because its so damn hard to prove they are doing anything wrong" is nothing more than inflammatory and a slap in the face at all law enforcement. Every day police officers jump through all the hoops you're accusing them of ignoring or finding too difficult. Now, let's get back to the point: the Supreme Court decision.

A very good friend of mine is riding in the Police Unity Tour to raise money to honor police officers killed in the line of duty. This 300 mile tour from Ground Zero to the Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington, DC takes place next month and Jack Schonely (who some of you may remember from the Suspect Tactics and Perimeter Containment training course last year) is riding in it. Please consider making a contribution to this cause in Jack's name. The info on making an online contribution is below. Thanks and stay safe! Chris (feel free to share this info with friends and colleagues!) Dear friends, Next month Jack Schonely will have the honor of riding in the memory of our fallen officers in the Police Unity Tour. This is a 300 mile bicycle ride from Ground Zero in New York to the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial in Washington D.C. over three days. On the final day thousands of us will ride into the memorial and later join in the Candlelight Vigil to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice. To keep the memorial going, I am asking for your support in sponsoring me on this ride. Please take a moment and click on the Police Unity Tour banner on top to make your donation. (please scroll down to my name – "Jack Schonely" to support my ride for Ketchum and Libolt). All proceeds go to maintaining the National Law Enforcement Officer's Memorial so that none will ever be forgotten. Please donate right away as this is our last week to raise support. Thank you for your help and in remembering those who gave so much. Please feel free to email me if you have any questions or would like further information. If the link doesn't work in the banner, please go to: http://www.socalput.com/sponsorRider.asp (scroll to Jack Schonely to support) <BR style="mso-ignore: vglayout" clear=all>(Click above if you would like to view the Candlelight Vigil)

Cleaning it up to make it a healthy body of water is a major effort and expense. Just ask Onondaga County about their lake! This is a small reservoir bounded almost entirely by the Sprain Brook Parkway with no scenic landscapes or other "draws" to bring people in to spend money. Swimming and scuba diving? Come on - it's cold, murky, stagnant water. Yuck! Who wants to dive in that? As for the money issue, grants are almost assuredly tax dollars just allocated from a bigger pot of money so it's still a drain on our economy. Considering they're closing clean, chlorinated pools in the County due to $$$, I doubt this is going to get much traction.

MODERATOR NOTE: You've probably noticed that this thread is a little bit shorter than it had been. The infantile rant of one person masquerading as two (different screen names) have been removed. Unfortunately, several posts by mature, reasonable members were removed as well because the quoted they prohibited content. No substantive comments that contributed to this dialogue were removed and I apologize for the inconvenience caused by not getting to these posts more expeditiously. Remember that this is an emotional issue for some and for others it is simply an opportunity to stir the pot. Please try not to lower yourselves to the level of these pot stirrers and always remember: Never engage in a battle of wits with one who is unarmed!

It has been less than two full days since the question was posted and we've only gotten a limited number of responses so there have been no changes. The staff is still soliciting input so a more informed and popular decision can be made. Patience. Patience.

Putnam is actually pretty simple.. First two numbers are department #, second number is apparatus type, and third number is sequential. 13-2-1 is Cold Spring Engine 1, 13-2-2 is Cold Spring Engine 2, and so on. 34-7-1 is Putnam Valley Ambulance 1. Apparatus Types are: 1 = Chief Officer 2 = Engine 3 = Brush Truck / Mini-Attack 4 = Tanker 5 = Ladder 6 = Rescue 7 = Ambulance 8 = Utility/Specialty/Fire Police 9 = Portable Marine = Marine Department Numbers: 11 = Brewster Fire Department 12 = Carmel Fire Department 13 = Cold Spring Fire Department 14 = Continental Village Fire Department 15 = Garrison Fire Department 16 = Kent Fire Department 17 = Lake Carmel Fire Department 18 = Mahopac Fire Department 19 = Mahopac Falls Fire Department 21 = North Highlands Fire Department 22 = Patterson Fire Department Department 23 = Putnam Lake Fire Department 24 = Putnam Valley Fire Department 31 = Carmel Ambulance Corps 32 = Garrison Ambulance Corps 33 = Philipstown Ambulance Corps 34 = Putnam Valley Ambulance Corps 35 = Medic Units

This story makes me very happy about one point - I don't live anywhere near Chicago. This is absurd and totally demoralizing to all the men and women who took and passed the exam to become firefighters. I wonder how the judge would feel if she was passed over for law school with a score of 89 so that a person with a score of 64 could take her seat. I guess this means they better start passing out diplomas to those who failed out of HS also because apparently grades don't matter.

True. And the good clipboard for the special mutual aid resources couldn't be used in the rain.

I'll take that one step further. I don't believe that it is an "intrusion" at all. You're not being stopped (seized), neither your vehicle nor the occupants are being searched, and no personal information is accessible to the LPR.

Save your money and just use a clipboard.

Perhaps I'm not making myself clear. My point is that your license plate is not private and you can't drive down the street without it. The use of an LPR is not unconstitutional. It is the use of technology as an investigative tool. A town could put a cop or two out on the street to write down every plate number if they wanted to; the use of a computerized camera is just more efficient. What infringement of your constitutional rights do you perceive? I'm a staunch advocate for our Constitution and our individual rights and I simply don't see the argument. If you're worried about an "unscrupulous cop" that's a weak argument. The license plate data doesn't tell anyone whether or not someone is home, it merely captures the plate data. The LPR data and registrant information are different databases so it would be some pretty sophisticated hacking to get into one let alone both. If someone is going to do a hack that sophisticated, I bet they won't be doing residential burglaries. I don't believe we're giving up any freedom with the proliferation of LPR's. They're not a part of the Patriot Act either. As for TSA screenings, first I don't think that Texas will be successful in criminalizing airport pat-downs as air security is a federal prerogative. Second, the absurd system we have today was borne out of political correctness and expedience rather than true security. Because we can't profile for fear of offending someone that fits the profile of a terrorist, we have to inconvenience everyone.

MODERATOR NOTE: Posts quoting or referencing a post that was deleted by the staff have also been removed. I apologize for any inconvenience but an account was established specifically to create problems and that will not be tolerated.

You're right. More information is needed. I interpreted the staffing to mean adequatel staffing but as you point out that isn't clearly stated so it may not be a requirement. Leave it to the federal government to create a grant program that will pay for inadequate staffing.

The license plate issued to you is the property of the Department of Motor Vehicles and your information as the registrant for a vehicle is maintained in accordance with the Laws of New York and Rules and Regulations of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Upon cancellation of your insurance or transfer of ownership of the vehicle the license plates are, by law, supposed to be surrendered to DMV. There is no expectation of privacy on a public highway and there is no intrusion from the capture of plate data by an LPR so what's the issue? I think the benefits of being able to catch pattern criminals, detect stolen vehicles, and apprehend other offenders through the judicious use of this technology far outweighs any perceived inconveniences.