Friday, July 18, 2008

Nadeau Settlement

Anyone reading the NN this last week, looked at the headline article about the settlement of the ex-fire chief of the now defunct East Derry Fire Dist. At the time, The reporter did call me for comments, however I thought that the records were sealed. I was surprised to see comments form Councilors Carney and Coyle and Metts on the subject.
Since they have made their feeling known, I want to let the taxpayers of Derry know that I voted to NOT settle for anything less than 100% of what he owed. At the initial vote, their was one councilor who agreed with me that this more than anything was more of a principle issue and not a monetary one.
Although, some of Nadeaus old allies( on the council) tried to convince other councilors that we should go for less money.
After much talk about the issue and to see what money could be return 6 councilors voted to accept the small amount of money to get it off the table.

One Councilor said No WAY I want ALL the taxpayers money returned. ( give you 1 guess who.)

After all, What message do you want to send out to the outside world!

Too bad the taxpayers got robbed again!

53 comments:

Anonymous said...

BC, I agree with you 100% .We have been robbed ,and at contract negotiations and everyday we don't do something about the way this DFD is run.
The article stated about the "stain" this crook has left on the Dept in the 70 years it has been with Derry.
As far as the stains left .There isn't a washing machine large enough to get that load clean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

and your thought process was; spend a dime to make a nickel...of taxpayer money?

BC said...

Anon 8:03,
If you want to believe what one councilor stated. It would not have cost 25K to collect 50K.
Besides if we collected $0 but made a collective statement that we expected him to do the right thing and return the taxpayers money. I would of been more satisfied!

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:44 - Your statement is wrong. It was the former chief of the EAST DERRY FIRE PRECINCT who is a "crook".

The former EAST DERRY FIRE PRECINCT was mismanaged for years and years by its commissioners and voters who consistently supported the precinct until it finally saw the light a few years ago.

The ELECTED commissioners of the EAST DERRY FIRE PRECINCT virtually gave away the taxpayers money to NADEAU.

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:47 All wrong. But I don't think it serves Derry to rekindle the EDFD discussions. However, I was part owner (as a taxpayer in East Derry) of those assets and I was stripped of them by the Derry Town Council without due process. Personally I wish the East Derry Chief had gotten more. Derry deserved nothing of the assets for having voted those fools on the town council into office.

BC said...

anon 4:50,
"with out due process" ???
Last I knew, the people of East Derry voted to dissolve.
That my friend is in deed "due process"

Anonymous said...

No BC- having people dragged from their district (and their assets - EDFD had a sizable cash reserve, into which my tax dollars had flowed for many years) by vote of the town council is not due process. It is typical Derry slimy politics engineered by people who found EDFD charging less in taxes than DFD to be embarrassing. All the talk of saving through consolidation was BS. Had I foreseen the outcome I would have personally taken Derry to court. You are touching a nerve.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 10:47
It does not matter what part of town this happen in.DFD has been tring to break up East Derry fire since upper village began.

ITs a shame it was all about power, overtime,how many captains, how many chiefs and "now we have a whole slu of no lay-off clauses".

ANOTHER CROOK has stained Boston Fire Dept .He has his doctor say he is 100% disabled,now get this .He now lifts weights for a living as a body builder.

AH- HA UNTIL some winer and complainer turned him in.Now this clown will have to show up for work monday .All those muscles and all he has to do is carry a clip board for 8 hrs. WBZ NEWS SAID HE WORKS IN FIRE PREVENTION.

Just to let readers of this blog know. When these guys get the doctor to sign off on their so called diability,they automaticaly get a 30 percent pay raise because they dont have to taxes anymore.
Then they move to another state and get another job.
There are thousands of these clowns colecting illegaly but they are protected by there own and alot of it starts in little back room deals just like the one in east Derry.

Bottom line is the taxpayers keep paying and paying .

Anonymous said...

GD it brian.........stop your BS!! the edfd was strong armed away from ED through a systematic process of unabashed political abuse and disregard of the will of the majority of east derry residents as evidenced by all the other times the matter was voted upon.

unless you are clueless B-, which sadly i can not rule out judging from you position, you know that this department was under-siege for decades. this supposed consolidation only passed because of the combination of in-climate weather, abysmal district representation by a district councilor that had a very difficult time putting a thought together, let alone utter it coherently and of course distortions and outright lies by councilors and fire department officials about the inevitable cost efficiency's. all BS from the get go.

B- why don't you invite klauber or any other of the council chowderheads to put together an analysis that can demonstrate where the promised efficiency's are? have george present this in operational and budgetary terms. i won't be holding my breath even if equipped with a DFD oxygen tank.

want to talk about money wasted B-, how about the money spent by the council to gain the input of fire consultant wes adams? remember? he conducted a comprehensive study of the consolidation. but, true to form, the group of jokers on the councilors at the time voted to basically ignore the recommendations because it was not consistent with their plans. sure chief....... we need a new firehouse alright. thank goodness that idea was s-canned....and by accident no less, as one of the bobble-heads was on vacation as i recall.

wake up and stop the BS B-. there is a higher bar to jump these day's which i am sure you have noticed, if not felt.....btw, is that why you are running for state office by chance?

BC said...

anon 7:52,
Thanks for going down memory lane one more time. It is interesting how this EDFD/DFD issue still raises peoples emotions. Alot of this happened before my time on council although I am aware of the political battles over the years. The original post is about the returning of money from Nadeau. I think you would agree with me that he should of returned that money. The judge ruled that they raided the ED funds. Heck I don't live in East Derry, Its not my money, yet I think it should be returned and I made my voice heard that it needed to be ALL returned. I'm not interested in reliving the old battle as it is over.
I'm running for rep because I have 18 mos left as a councilor ( I believe in self imposed term limits) and I'm tired of Derry not being heard in Concord. I understand that it won't be easy however being a councilor was not either. At least, I will try and get something done for the benefit of Derry.

Anonymous said...

Hey, that bobble-head comment was funny.

Anonymous said...

anon 10:29 though the council bobble-head comment is visually funny, it is sadly accurate. to this day, the past (and some present) council bobble-heads behavior of mindlessly rubber-stamping some "biz as usual" town matters impacts us all in ways that are anything but funny. from excessive tax burdens to the resulting and revolting unfavorable comparative regional fair market valuations on our homes. the council bobble-heads collective ineptitudes have conspired tp make this fine community less than what it otherwise could be. imho of course.

Anonymous said...

BC given your fervor in collecting debts, how are the receivables from our ambulance service coming along? Or do you just chase headlines and avoid the daily grind on running a town efficiently? Time to privatize. Time for neighboring towns to pay their way... btw how did you stand on that joke of a contract with the other towns?

Selective indignation.

BC said...

Anon 8:53,
Without the contracts with other towns, Yours, mine and everyone else taxes would be higher. Again, another reader wants to listen to one councilor and his interpretations. he makes a living by being able to "spin" the way that best gets his net results.
Lets spin it another way. Derry has had its abulance service since when? To help offset Derry resident costs because we already pay the staff, we made investment in the equipment, we then sell the service to surronding communities to keep Derry's cost as low as possible.
Now lets talk about privitizing. I'm for looking at what the end results would cost us. In fact I want the best bang for our dollar. You show me that we get as good or better service and for less money and I'm all ears. But why stop there. Can we make other dept private as well? Transfere station? Cemetary? Recreation Dept? Economic Development- Whoops ( been there, done that)

Anonymous said...

OMG - BC you are as clueless as they say! You seriously don't get it regarding the contract with the other towns! You price deals like that NOT based upon the additional revenues to Derry but based upon what it would cost the other towns to do it themselves. How many of our councilors (or our town manager) have ever taken a course in economics?
As for privatization, as someone running for state rep as a Republican, please enlighten us as to your views on the proper roles of government. Do you really think that a municipal department mismanaged by our town administrator and town council will be more efficient than a private company where efficiency equals survival?

Anonymous said...

BC,

The settlement isn't even cold yet and the station on Hamstead road is alrady looking for bids to remodel thier kitchen. PRETTY NICE.

Alot of us taxpayers only can dream of having a nice kitchen like "Apendix A" but we don't have 5000.00 Dollars coming in every month to our reserve fund, from East Derry taxpayers.

Taxpayers can check on this bid process on town link page.

SPEND SPEND SPEND

Lets see what relative gets this 40 k contract!!!!!!!!!!

I know lets save a whole bunch of time and buy them the fire-house pub for 845,000 and they can drive all the fire-trucks there for lunch.

Anonymous said...

After the Town spends thousands of dollars on a study of the fire department, maybe it will recommend buying back the old station on Broadway and reopening in. Heck, the last MMA study said we need a station over there.

Turn the clocks back 5 or 6 years... wasn't Coyle and his cronies fighting to keep all the stations in town open?

Anonymous said...

Sorry 7:32 but your posting "don't make no sense." I think some years ago Kevin and others questioned the need to build a new station. Since that station was not built, the town saved millions and everyone lived happily ever after (not plagues were visited upon us), I think you should simply say "thank you" and leave it at that. Or you could take all you tax savings from the fire dept consolidation and go on vacation...perhap to Chester. Things cost less there since they are all subsidized by Derry taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Yes 7:32 let's dig into the storied past of the Broadway fire station. Let's look at the not so arms length transactions. Let's see who was involved in that fiasco. Same old good old boys? What a surprise!

Anonymous said...

anon 8:53
<< BC given your fervor in collecting debts, how are the receivables from our ambulance service coming along? >>

I have an idea how the receivables are going...
the Town is going to sue me for $52 for a 2003 ambulance ride after getting $465 from my insurance.

And they let this Nadeau guy slide with a lower amount-- Thank You Derry.

TIME TO PRIVATIZE

If the town wants to waste a day in court for $52 that's fine by me. It will cost more to have a town employee at court than the $52 they want. "Spend a dime to make a nickle."
The Town doesn't even have the original invoice so they can't even tell me the charges, just that I owe $52. I've tried several times over the last 5 years to get someone from the town to contact me and they never did, until now. Now they threaten me with court where I will have to pay court costs of $60. I'll take my chances in court and let the judge hear the story and let him decide. Would be fun to hear the Town explain why Chief Klubber never contacted me after I replied to his letter over 3 years ago.

Anonymous said...

Excuse me BC - if you're insinuating that we privatized economic development you're off base; unless of course you'd hire a security guard and call him a police officer; oh yeah that's right, you probably would...aren't you the one that always pushes for a police officer to be a prosecutor?

Anonymous said...

Ah 9:32, you have provided the true story of government provided ambulance service. One real story is worth 1,000 pontifications on the subject. Thanks for sharing that with us.

BC you are ultimately responsible for the management of that department, what do you have to say about this? I see misallocation of funds to chase unlikely receivables, poor record keeping and failure to answer customer communications. Who needs outside consultants to know improvement is badly needed? Repeat 100 times: "Firefighters are not businessmen". Do not ask a CEO to put out a fire, do not ask a firefighter to run a multi-million dollar business.

Anonymous said...

I realize this is off topic, but does the Town of Derry have a sign ordinance that businesses must adhere to? If so, who is responsible for enforcing the ordinance?

I can't help but point out the sea of signs in front of Hillside Plaza at 127 Rockingham Rd (where 7-Eleven is located). There is one large sign intended to hold smaller signs for individual units. Then there has to be at least 8 other signs scattered across the lawn stretching the entire length of the road in front of that property.

This looks absolutely horrible and should be addressed. I can't imagine that the Town has Okayed these signs as they stand now.

Please take notice and maybe we can get something done about this.

Thank you.

BC said...

celtic,
You right! It does not look good over there. I'm surprised the owner allows the tenants to put up those signs all over the place like that. There is no sign ordinance in town and I for one am not a big supporter of ordinances. Maybe someone can ask the landlord to clean it up a bit.

Anonymous said...

Brian, let's for a moment assume that your position on ordinances is somehow derivative of the live free or die non-sense so often referenced by some as an excuse to avoid the hard work of protecting the common good.

Now let's assume someone owns a dry cleaner for instance, say downtown. Further, let's assume that the owner of the dry cleaner was not particularly careful in the handling of cleaning solvents. Let's also assume that there was an ordinance that specifically addressed the handling of certain classes of known toxic chemicals. Which begs the question, would the towns greater good have been served by having such an ordinance? You betcha.

Brian I for the life of me find it astonishing that you can't see that it is attitudes like yours that are directly responsible for the accident that is Derry in terms of it's overall development....especially downtown. Signage can be a real eye sore, take a look on route one. But all it takes is one stubborn live free or die yahoo and you too can find yourself living on the same street that features multiple rusted out cars accented with a huge weed garden tire planter. long live ordinances!! signs or otherwise.

BC said...

anon 12:09,
Thanks for the post. Government should not be looked at to answer everyone's issue. It should have a limited role in the big picture of life. Having said that, sometimes you need ordinances to protect the well being of people. Your two examples are good ones of each.

Anonymous said...

I believe there are ordinances for signage in certain business/commercial zones. The town doesn't seem to keen on enforcing them but if you look they do exist.

Anonymous said...

BC - I don't know if you seen the comment to your letter to the editor in the Derry News but I copied it and here it is:

Mr. Chirichiello;
1. Thank you for pointing out your blog - I did not know it existed
2. John Burtis' request for Renewable Energy Incentives in Derry was the front page story in the Nutfield News
3. It sounded to me like you were against the elderly exemption but if you advocate not shifting tax burdens this would make sense
4. Since you're a proponent of not shifting tax burdens as you've mentioned not only in your letter to the editor but on your blog I have to assume that you did not vote in favor of funding any local community nonprofits or charities i.e. CART, Upper Room, Outreach, fuel assistance etc. Being a proponent of not shifting tax burdens your view must be that while it may be immoral for someone not to feed the hungry and care for the sick or less fortunate it is a separate issue from the issue of taxation. Compassion and charity are personal and religious matters, not matters for the tax collector and it shifts the burden.
5. At the state and federal level you're an advocate of abolishing Medicare. Much of the cost is shifted from users to non-users and shifts the burden to younger generations for the benefit of the retired generation.
6. If you are a proponent of not shifting tax burdens what opinions and solutions can you offer when addressing the two most socialized areas of the economy, health care and K-12 education?
6. If you're not in agreement with points 4 and 5 you are not a pundit of not shifting tax burdens and rather apply political beliefs and strategies based solely on areas or people you personally favor or disfavor. Either way....
7. I will not be voting for you for state representative or any other public office.

BC said...

Well, Can't please everyone everytime. Hopefully you still come out to vote.
I don't believe in tax shifts especially when the economy is not doing well for anyone.
Now as far as CART or Upper Room, fuel assistance is concerned. I did vote for their budgets because ALL TAXPAYERS could use these programs if needed TODAY!
As far a medicaid is concerned. Why would I be against that. I have paid into the system so that I can use the program when I am eligable. You are confusing programs that we pay into and "bank" if you will until we are eligable to use them.
The tax shifts, I'm talking about giving priveledges to one group at the expense of another.
Now if you really looked at my blog and read it, you will see that I have supported exemptions in the past. However, giving breaks to people who make 45K a year and have 125K in the bank who may save $300, doesn't make sense to me

Anonymous said...

BC "I don't believe in tax shifts especially when the economy is not doing well for anyone." So the morality of shifting is dependedent upon the current economic climate? Interesting...How about the morality of bank robbery? Stock market is down, let knock off a bank.

Have you considered the view that the elderly are being forced to pay for services provided to others? Isn't that a tax shift? Shouldn't we all pay for what we use?

Also, $125,000 in the bank will generate about $6,000 per year in income. Therefore the elderly with that amount saved will have to start consuming their principle to live on and can easily calculate when they will run out. They must hope for death to come relatively quickly. Tick, tick, tick.

Finally, why would you hope that 10:11 comes out to vote? 10:11 is clearly going to vote against you. The object of the exercise is to get the most votes not to engender civic virtue.

Anonymous said...

A definition: "1. Psychiatry. a mental disorder characterized by systematized delusions and the projection of personal conflicts, which are ascribed to the supposed hostility of others
2. baseless or excessive suspicion of the motives of others."

BC- Do you really think that we all conspire to have John Burtis write about you? John is a very bright man and to the best of my knowledge does not need or ask for subjects for his letters. You may be disappointed but we rarely discuss you or think about you at all.

BC said...

Anon 8:58,
One reason I decided to run for an elected position was because i was brought up to "do something" instead of whinning about how things. You get more done this way. Another thing that gets me going is APATHY. I would much rather have a bigger voter turnout and have many people determine outcome than for people to think they cannot make a difference.
Now on the exemptions. If you add your 6K to the 45K allowed. You get 51K a year. This to me is not a hardship.
And I can't do anyhting about the schools and they way they get funding. Although, I can say that I wouldn't mind a system that once you have paid for your own kids going through the system, you would get tax relief there as well.

BC said...

anon 9:07,
Two weeks in a row. Two different newspapers. Two different articles bringing up my name by JB.
Have you ever seen JB write a "brick" article on KC? how about JF? And you think he has no bias?
Never said he wasn't a smart man. Just thinks government is the answer to everyones issues.

Anonymous said...

I know this is ot but I have to say I agree with Anon 10:11. Medicare funding is complicated but our money isn't "banked" until we're eligible to use it not to mention some people that paid into it will never use it. It most certainly does shift the burden.

Your attempt at substantiating funding non profits and charities while not shifting the burden is lame at best. Taxes are fair and don’t shift the burden if they are taken from all citizens in equal proportions and used to the extent practical for the equal benefit of all citizens. Not ALL TAYPAYERS are eligible to use these programs TODAY therefore it most certainly does shift the burden, including onto those elderly people you keep picking on. Not only is the government lousy at distinguishing the truly needy from the phony needy, but it's just wrong to force some citizens to support other citizens through the tax code and most of these non profits get funded at the local, county, state and federal levels; they don't double dip - they quadruple dip.

Be careful of being a proponent of not shifting the tax burden; over half of government activity is funded by theft.

I also will not be voting for you.

Anonymous said...

BC - You were brought up "to do something" yet at the local level, as a councilor to boot; you can't even do anything about signage that you agree is an eyesore - your response is "maybe someone can ask the landlord to clean it up a bit?"

"I'm not a big supporter of ordinances" translation: "I'm too lazy and I don't really give a crap about the town I chose to represent unless of course it has to do with my neighborhood then I'm all over it."

Anonymous said...

BC – No, John Burtis is probably not going to throw bricks at people he agrees with (most of the time) like KC and JF.

I never said he has no biases. However your letter in the Derry News suggests that the taxpayers advocates sit around coming up with targets for John's cleverly worded barbs. Not so. Hence, my introduction of the definition of paranoia. I think readers will see that it fits. We are not all out to get you. Given the cast of characters running for state rep, I might even vote for you despite your abysmal record as a town councilor. (Some real loonies have signed up.)
This blog makes you a relatively easy target for attack. Contrast that with Benson and Wetherbee who say nothing but are good soldiers following orders. How can you attack such nonentities? Also, our town manager may leave much to be desired, costing us millions, but as long as he has protection from you and the good old boys, pointing out his shortcomings is shouting into the wind. Yes, you will continue to make an easy target.

Anonymous said...

BC - you brought up school funding. As a state rep will you favor vouchers? If so, you have my vote and several others from my family.

BC said...

anon 10:50,
Yes, I favor vouchers. Did anyone see the UL today. Sweden of all places is having success with private schools. A 16 year study has changed the way people are thinking about education over there.

BC said...

anon 10:48,
I will always speak my mind on any subject and I'm not a soldier for anyone including the town administrator. If he does someting that i don't like- he and the people will know about it.
I believe you may be correct that I'm an easy target because of this blog however if its what people feel about certain subjects-it gives me another way to gauge the peoples thoughts.
I appreciate your possible vote in Sept/Nov.

BC said...

anon 10:41,
You are wrong. Again, my political views are such that ordinances to micro-manage every thing is not the way to go. Yes i know we don't leave in a perfect world but remember creating an ordinance for a specific issue may have un-neccesary burdens on others. You can't just go slapping up ordinances for everything. We would then need government to enforce and then we would need to hire and you can see where this would lead to.
heres a suggestion! Call every business owner over there who has a sign outside of the regular spot and tell them you will not do business with them until it is cleaned up. I'm sure they would listen!

Anonymous said...

BC, so why does Derry currently have a sign ordinance if everyone knows it will not be enforced?

Why don't you propose to the council that we eliminate the ordinance all together.

Anonymous said...

brian, i do not presume to speak for JB. nor would that ever be necessary, he is more than able to speak for himself. but, your comment that JB "Just thinks government is the answer to everyones issues" illustrates a serious comprehension issue with a touch of political partisanship thrown in.

a consistent thread that runs through ALL of JB's writings i have seen and is diametrically opposite your erroneous statement. JB is not as concerned with what local government can "provide" as he is with what it "extracts."

his concerns are justifiably focused on derry's operating and political inefficiencies (no shortages of these given the virtual embodiment of the "peter principle" by certain town officials, elected or otherwise.)

brian, i hope the above perspective helps you going forward. understanding why JB and the majority of people in town are asking tougher questions and demanding better answers from those that are supposed to represent their interests is far more important than the non-issue you harp on ....voter turnout?....wtf....who cares if non-voters don't care enough to vote? MI stop self-righteously begging people to turn out for each election, it gets tiresome. but i digress.

this mess took years to create and will take years to correct. brian a good place to start is for you and those of your ilk to finally comprehend that the deficiency(s) JB points out are at their essence the dynamic between "provide" vs. "extract." from my read JB is spot on. what JB is expressing is simply a natural response to the wheels falling off the wagon. the question is brian, are you going to reach for the reins and try to put a stop to the entrenched systemic excesses in light of a ability to pay or go along for the ride? we all know how that ride ends if left unattended.

Anonymous said...

BC- Like your answer on vouchers. Imagine Sweden teaching us the benefits of free competition! You have my vote.

Anonymous said...

BC I must agree with 12:29. JB's themes tend to focus on waste in town government. If he were one of the "Extractors" he would have his fingers in the Tiff and Exit 4A pies. He would be pushing phoney development schemes and joining DEDC. That is not the John I know. I do not always agree with him but he has my respect.

I also agree with 12:29 regarding non-voters. We should treat non-voters as second class citizens (of their own doing). If they don't mind being fleeced by poorly managed town government then they deserve the tax bills they get. They deserve no respect.

Anonymous said...

Although many of us do not agree with JB, he at least puts everything out on the table. You know where he stands on any issue ... something perhaps our current council could learn from. I would like to know how much we spent in legal fees to get back $25,000 from Nadeau ... probably close to the $25,000. Those of us who were in the EDFD we mislead into believing we would see something more for our tax dollar. I for one, never thought that the deal which merged the two departments would give Derry every thing the district had for nothing. Derry should have had to purchase the land, equipment, etc., instead, again the EDFD was fleeced of money. Oh, but least I forget those whose worked on the agreement were part of the good old boy network ... in reality they did what they were told by the DFD and fleeced their neighbors of funds which should have been returned to them with the sale of the department. But lets blame Nadeau for taking advantage of the situation presented to him, why shouldn't he have, the Town certainly benefited from doing just the same thing.

Anonymous said...

I agree completely with 8:26. The assets from EDFD should have been sold and returned to their owners (the EDFD taxpayers). As usual there is no sense of perspective. The Chief gets a nice golden parachute and there is outrage but the really big dollars taken from the EDFD by the town are ignored. That went so well let's take over Londonderry. Our sleazy politicians can be a formidable force for conquest.

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:32
If you paid your bill back in 2003 they wouldn't be looking for their money. Don't pay your PSNH bill and see what happens. I heard from a little bird that the DFD doesn't do their own billing anyway. They have a company that does it. By the way, you're welcome. Well, the rest of us are going to have to eat the $52 you didn't bother to pay and if 20% of the rest of the town did the same as you did we'll be in a little bit of a pickle wouldn't we? Again, you're welcome it's on us!

Anonymous said...

Anon 10:07
I paid my taxes in 2003 when the Derry ambulance came to my house and transported my son to the hospital. My taxes help pay for the ambulance. My taxes help pay for the personnel, the training, the gas etc. Everything the fire department has is paid for by our taxes. And then I get a bill for using the services I use. How would you like to pay to walk into the Library? Pay to use the transfer station? Does the DFD send a bill when they put out a fire? Are you aware that the DFD wants a new ambulance, who is paying for that? WE ARE, the taxpayers. But if you use it, you will get billed.

Anon 10:07: When I get a bill from psnh, it includes what service I received and at what billing rate, the Town can’t even provide that to me so use a different example.

I can only hope 20% of us in town would refuse to pay for ambulance service provided by the town then maybe we could bring in a private company that may charge us less for the service and then all our taxes could go down.

As quoted from http://www.klingreport.com/ambulance/ “For the majority of the fire departments, the ambulance budget does not reflect the true costs of operating the service due to its tight integration with the fire department. The patient is expected to pay when using this service and steps are taken to insure payment from the patient. For some fire departments, though, the focus is on providing the service and while the patient is billed, no attempts are made to collect.”

As for DFD hiring a company to do the billing, they used to use Comstar Billing services from Mass. They no longer use them so maybe that little bird could tell us who they use now. I got a letter from Comstar 5 years ago stating I owed $52 with no explanation as to the charges. I wrote them back asking for more info and to call me, THEY NEVER DID. Then 2 years later I received a letter from Chief Klauber himself, signed by him (that was 3 years ago) requesting payment. I wrote him a letter back asking him to contact me. HE NEVER DID. Now 2 more years later, a clerk from the finance department threatens to sue me. I say bring it on. The town can’t even produce an invoice since they no longer use Comstar. My insurance paid them $465.

I say it’s time to privatize the ambulance service in the Town of Derry and save the taxpayers some money.

Anon 10:07
Before I forget, Thank You for the contribution from your taxes to help pay my bill. Maybe if someone had called me 5 years ago you wouldn’t have to help out! Just think how much you spent on me…. You helped pay for DFD and the ambulance. You helped pay Comstar for their billing. You helped pay Chief Klauber for writing me and ignoring me. You helped pay the finance department who will try to sue me. You’ll help pay the $52 the Town can’t explain why. You’ll help pay the person to sit in court all day. THANK YOU (if ambulance services were private, you’d pay NOTHING for me)


PRIVATIZE AMBULANCE SERVICE IN DERRY NOW

Anonymous said...

Actually, if the town used a private amb service your bill would've been much for the basic service. After they sent you your share of the bill, you would've heard from the bill collections people on the phone that would be happy to explain the invoice to you along with the 30,60, 90, 120 day past due % added on. I think that it's a little odd to sue over $52. Atleast we own the service that we have now and the costs are lower overall. If you can get an amb co to come in here and dedicate the same service in means of training, costs to users, and the actual number of amb that we have now then we'll talk. The truth is, they will all offer to come in for little to no money, stick it to the users on billing, and none of them will give you as many units in Derry as we already have and already paid for. I'd love to see what is collected from those who don't have ins. and then we will see the problem. Other towns pay less on the bottom line for a private service and others pay more to use Derry. I wonder why that is? Service, Training, availability. I've wondered why we have as many ambulances as we do here in Derry and when I do, I hold my breath for as long as I can and then consider myself lucky to have what we have.

Anonymous said...

And if you believe 4:33 I have a time share to sell you. Which of our paramedics are you?

Your concept of pride in ownership is interesting 4:33. Why should I give a rat's a** if the town of Derry owns the ambulance service? Are we going to sell it at a profit? Will it be better run by a fireman than a businessman? I've heard the same argument for building our own high school... "then we would own it"... so what?

Like anything else there is a tradeoff between safety and cost. Everyone who drives a small car is accepting some additional risk for savings. If we had an ambulance stationed on every road we would be slightly safer, and broke.

Anonymous said...

I don't work for the DFD but, if you had paid your $52 along with everyone else who hasn't stepped up to the plate, it wouldn't look like the service is showing a loss. Bring in a manager to see that funds are collected and that they haul every deadbeat into court that doesn't pay. Someone should check the collection rate from the other towns the amb goes to. It just seems to me like the service works and it is what we have. I've had family that has used the service and never heard a complaint. The school topic was a good one too. I love nothing more than paying for all the "Love" children from the apartment complexes. They're welcome! Talk about a waste of public funds! Four kids to a single parent living in the Fairways on rent control, with welfare, and the boyfriend who happens to be the father of atleast 2 of the kids. They're welcome! Remember, Derry's the place to be!

Anonymous said...

Anon 9:31... its even better than that, the town doesn't assess the Fairways at full market value. Why? Ask the people who run Derry.

Anonymous said...

BC,

The way taxpayers in East Derry saw this Due Process is Derry Fire stong-arming E.DERRY to disolve with no lay-off clauses and guarantees to joint DFD .

As far as THE Settlement !!!!
Derry FIRE saw the money DUE to EAST DERRY taxpayers and processed it to DFD reserve fund . I guess thats what you call "due process".