The following are excerpts from a blast e-mail from the Lauderdale By The Sea Times during the week of December 11, 2006.
CORRECTION:
CORRECTION: It should be pointed out that LBTS Commissioner Jerry Mcintee is an Assistant Chief with the volunteers, and LBTS Commissioner Jim Silverstone is the Chief of the volunteers. Yet both men routinely and repeatedly voted on Town issues regarding the VFD without ever citing any conflict of interest.
"...[The VFD was dismissed ] by a cash hungry Sheriff Jenne, [and] residents of LBTS pay more per capital for fire service and police service for Jenne’s troops then anyone else"
CORRECTION:
- The fire agreement between the Town of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea and BSO is a $2 million dollar contract in Sheriff Ken Jenne's overall BSO budget of $700 million dollars. It represents less than 1/3 of 1% of BSO's budget. It is also a contract from which BSO makes zero profit.
- As for the cost to the Town, LBTS is a barrier island community that - for public safety reasons - must have a minimun of one fire engine and one rescue ambulance ON THE ISLAND to respond to emergencies. While critics claim the town population may be approximately one third the size of other similarly equipped communities, it is impossible to staff LBTS with one third of an engine, or one third of a rescue. On the other hand, while the Town only pays for one fire truck and one rescue, BSO sends to every structure fire call in the Town a total of 3 engines, 2 rescues, 1 arial truck and two battalion chiefs at no additional cost to the Town.
"...[LBTS Town Commissioner John] Yanni works for BSO and in any sense of fairness should not have been allowed to vote to remove the Volunteers."
CORRECTION: It should be pointed out that LBTS Commissioner Jerry Mcintee is an Assistant Chief with the volunteers, and LBTS Commissioner Jim Silverstone is the Chief of the volunteers. Yet both men routinely and repeatedly voted on Town issues regarding the VFD without ever citing any conflict of interest.
