I think we need to take a step back and look a little deeper for a moment. Mrs. W. says she is looking out for "the taxpayers" but I have to ask, where was she when the former commissioners allowed chief Hennessey and Chief Gover to have such elaborate iron clad contracts? She blames the media for creating a witch hunt yet I think most of the "taxpayers" would have been appalled to know that Tom Hennessey was guaranteed a 4% raise on top of what the firefighters received (if anything) each year. This is on top of his already bloated base salary of $130K a year (with longevity its closer to $160K). While the economy is in the dump and people are losing their jobs, he was getting huge salary increases. He was in charge of 5 fire stations. Sarasota county's chief didn't make that much money and he was in charge of over 50 stations. You attack the firefighters salary but defend the chiefs ridiculous salary. It is painfully obvious that you are not "looking out for the taxpayers" as you state you are, instead you are looking out for your friends and your friends, friends. If you were really looking out for the district you would have been upset to find out that even after all of the wrong doings chief Gover was found guilty of, he still couldn't be fired. as a matter of fact, he would have had to commit a felony in order to be fired. This is the kind of contracts that the Bradenton herald and the community are appalled at.
You continue to defend our former chief, what was his name.....ummmm? Oh yeah, Tom Hennessey. Let's talk about Tom Hennessey (upstanding citizen of the year) for a moment. You state he was "cleared of any wrong doing" yet he did receive a laptop which chief Gover admitted he had deceived the board when he gave it to Tom. Was Tom just an innocent player in this ordeal or is he smart enough to know when he is receiving something of great value he must turn it down? Lets let that one sit for a moment. How about when he instructed Assistant chief Thayer (in his own words) "to not have the attorneys present" during his pension meeting. Why do you think that was? Maybe it was because he knew the attorneys would have told the board that his lump sum request might have a negative impact on the pension, therefore denying his request for a lump sum. Your right, maybe he did nothing wrong by the letter of the law but you being a christian woman I would hope you can see that what he did was, in Gods eyes, deceitful, self serving and wrong. The final few years of his career were not about the firefighters or the fire department. It was about how to make his retirement better. And with the help of the former commissioners, he did just that.
Enough looking backwards. It's time we move forward. I understand your apprehension toward the union. I myself am not too fond of them. I must admit though, without the union we would not have been able to rid this department of the garbage and put in place new commissioners that have only the districts best interest's at heart. I believe if you give them a chance you will see they are men of great character and are devoted to making our department the best in the county again. as much as I enjoy this playful banter, I would hope you could set aside your bitterness for a while and join with us to try and make this department even better.
