STATter 911: "We are looking at the demise of the volunteer system". Prince George's Co. volunteers react to new method for allocating state grant money.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

"We are looking at the demise of the volunteer system". Prince George's Co. volunteers react to new method for allocating state grant money.

A vice-president of the Prince George's County Volunteer Fire & Rescue Association says, "We are looking at the demise of the volunteer system". Bill Smith is reacting to news the Maryland county is devising a new formula to allocate state grant money. Smith tells STATter 911, that combined with Prince George's County recently taking over ambulance billing and limits on the ability to raise money with fire hall rentals, "We are looking at our end".

Smith says the leaders of the Prince George's County Fire Commission met with Prince George's County Fire/EMS Chief Lawrence Sedgwick Jr. on Thursday. According to Smith, they were informed Chief Sedgwick will now determine what departments will receive state grant money and how much they will receive.

Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department Chief Spokesman Mark Brady confirms there will now be more "county oversight in the way grant money is allocated" after an audit by the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). But Brady says, "It is premature to say Chief Sedgwick will be the sole grantor of funds".

According to Brady, the volunteers will have input into the new guidelines. Brady says the guidelines are to be set by a three member panel that will include Chief Sedgwick, Chief Administrative Officer Jacqueline Brown and Fire Commission Chairman John Alter, who is the chief of West Lanham Hills Volunteer Fire Department.

According to Bill Smith, also a member at West Lanham Hills, Chief Alter was not told he would be part of a panel. Instead, Smith says Chief Sedgwick indicated the guidelines would be set by one of his top aides, Lt. Colonel Karl Granzow Jr.

The money in question is from the Senator William H. Amoss Fire, Rescue, and Ambulance Fund. The fund is named in honor of the late legislator who represented Harford and Cecil Counties and was a supporter of Maryland's fire and EMS departments. It is commonly referred to as "508 money" for the number of the Senate Bill introduced in 1985 authorizing the fund. The money is considered a grant that can be used to help purchase fire apparatus and other capital expenditures.

Bill Smith believes with Chief Sedgwick making the decisions, volunteer corporations that currently rely on the Amoss Fund money for loans on apparatus may not be able to make the payments. Spokesman Brady tells STATter 911 the county is "not going to leave corporations high and dry on outstanding payments on apparatus or capital improvements."

Bill Smith says ten problems were noted by MEMA. Smith claims most of the issues have already been corrected.

Prince George's County receives a little more than $1 million from the fund each year. Until now, Prince George's County, after taking ten- percent for the county's use, had equally divided the rest of the grant money to as many as 43 separate fire and rescue organizations. In the most recent distribution, each share was approximately $22,000.

According to sources familiar with the situation, MEMA officials found a problem with the current formula, telling the county the individual organizations must show a need for the grant money. MEMA found some of the money was not being used as intended, including being placed in interest bearing accounts. The sources say, in the future, it is likely the fund money will be distributed directly to vendors and where payments need to be made and not to the individual departments.

The sources say the county had to meet a deadline last week to provide information to MEMA on how the issues will be resolved.

Bill Smith describes the situation as "the last straw", citing the grant money as the latest way Prince George's County is starving the volunteers in tough economic times.

As STATter 911 first reported in August, Prince George's County Executive Jack Johnson ordered volunteer fire departments to immediately stop billing the public for ambulance service. That money now goes to the county.

Also, some volunteer departments are in a dispute with the county over fire hall rentals. The organizations say after decades of using the facilities to raise funds, the county now claims the corporations lack the proper permits.

Smith tells STATter 911 he will be at the County Administration Building on Friday trying to secure a face-to-face meeting with County Executive Jack Johnson.

# posted by Dave Statter @ 7:13 PM

Comments:

Just when you thought it couldn't be any more dysfunctional...

1. You know, if there were guarantees the 508 money was going directly to the PGFD for its intended purpose, that would be something, but coming on the heels of the budget fiasco, you can't be sure it's not going into the General Fund (or into something other than what it was intended for.

2. MEMA conducted the audit. If Sedgewick had a clue, he would let them release the report, let them make a recommendation for the PGFD takeover, and diffuse the situation. Once again, but putting himself front and center, it's like he relishes being the bad guy, and, of course, somehow Granzow's name ends up in it (the guy volunteers love to hate).

3. Once again, the way this story is framed by Dave makes it all about the volunteers. The story, and the copious quotes from the PGCVFRA, overlook the fiscal mismanagement and play right into the "oh, but the tradition" segment that's holding back the fire service in the county.

4. Once again, with 35+ volunteer corporations, the potential for fraud, waste, and abuse is huge, and big shocker, some of the companies are screwing the pooch. Unfortunately, this whole "we must stick together and defeat the evil Sedgewick" mentality is going to backfire when companies are swirling around in the toilet bowl with those companies who have lost sight of the real reasons to volunteer as a firefighter.

You know, if they really wanted to effect the demise of the volunteer system, they could simply stop paying for maintenence and apparatus, and take stations off the 911 system. This whole nickel and dime stuff is just petty, unprofessional, and counterproductive.

Not to mention the PGFD ain't exactly the paragon of fiscal prudence. Just a debacle all the way around. It's amazing that a county with 850,000 people can't find more intelligent, competant people to work for the Fire/EMS department.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 4, 2008 8:21 PM

WHO gave Sedgewick the authority to allocate the funds?

My advice? Every single one of the volunteer departments should immediately cease responding. Right now, not tomorrow, NOW and let the people of PG county know about WHY they quit. Sit back and wait for the PGFD to screw up trying to cover all the calls.

PG vollies, you are obviously not wanted there, so why keep letting yourself get kicked?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 4, 2008 9:25 PM

Hey Dave,

Before everyone starts screaming that the sky is falling and PG is just doing this to get rid of volunteers, I have a few questions that might help shed light on this issue. Maybe you can submit these questions to Bill Smith and ask the PGVF&RA to provide some of the answers for you:

1) How do the other counties in the state with combination systems currently distribute their 508 funds?

2) What percentage of Maryland counties currently allocate 508 funds on the basis of need, and what percentage of Maryland counties currently divide their 508 funds into equal shares distributed to all companies?

3) Do any other counties allow their volunteer companies to administer 508 funds directly? What form of oversight do counties that do this use?

4) Did MEMA find any similar accounting irregularities or fraudulant practices in any other county or volunteer company in the state? If they did, how did those counties distribute their funds?

5) Has PG county always distributed their 508 funds in equal shares directly to the volunteer corporations? If not, what was the prior method of distribution, who decided to change it, when was it changed and why was it changed?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 4, 2008 10:26 PM

Tell the people you quit responding because what, you didn't get your way and now to show how dissatisfied you are you are gonna throw a temper tantrum like some 3 year old child? I don't know how much longer you can bury your heads in the sand and think it is still 1960. Wake up and realize you no longer have the political clout you once did and the days of where you thought you were kings of the castle are just about to end.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 12:35 AM

We'll see how much political clout we have when firetrucks stop going out the door and alarms are met with silence on nights, weekends, and holidays.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 4:21 AM

Good point above. Look and see how the other counties that have a combo system do it. Then do it that way. Stop pretending that we're a county with 40 volunteer fire departments and enter the 1980s.

It would be one thing if the tradition of community service represented by so much of the volunteer service in the United States was fully on display here in Prince George's County, but the reality of it is, the county is spending a lot of money on an insubordinate, uncontrollable force of weekend warriors and thrill-seekers from other counties and states who seem to spend every second not at a fire scene dreaming up ways to complain about the county government that pays their bills.

I know...what's a little bit of waste and abuse compared to the $20 billion of free labor (what's the figure this week?) the volunteers provide....

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 7:45 AM

To your comment about county paying for everything. The county pays very little compared to the funds that are raised by the volunteer companies. If you sat down and put both volunteer and career budgets next to each other you would see that. The county fire chief's side of this matter is not the cleanest slate out their either. A lot of money is mismanaged and used for things that it was not intended for.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 8:31 AM

FINALLY PG FIRE AND EMS TAKING THERE POWER BACK FROM THE VOLUNTEERS. HALLULAUAH!!!!!! KEEP IT UP CHIEF SEDWICK THIS IS HOW YOU GET THE BAD VOLUNTEERS OUT WHO ARE USING THE FIRE STATION AS A HOMELESS SHELTER, AND TO AVOID CHILD SUPPORT!!!!!!!! CAREER, CAREER, CAREER I WILL PAY HIGHER TAXES........

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 8:47 AM

I don't understand why PG doesn't use the model that neighboring jurisdictions have with their volunteers. Hold the volunteer firefighters, line officers, and command officers to the same standards that the career side is held ot. Then develop a collective bargaining agreement, which also seems to work well in other jurisdictions, so that the volunteers have rights and a medium in which to bargain.

It seems to work well for them, why not the PGFEMS? The volunteer system is already difficult enough to participate in with the standards and course requirements getting higher by the year. Volunteer attrition is at its highest level, and it shows no signs of improvement. I don't understand why the PG Fire Chief and his supporting cast is so hell bent on doing this now. If things continue with obvious trends we see today, the volunteer system will eventually enter into oblivian soon enough.

Just my thoughts and not a sermon

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 9:43 AM

And, therein lies the problem

If the county government under Johnson could be trusted with the money, it would be much easier to transition to this more appropriate disbursement of funds.

Unfortunately, with the lack of professionalism coming out of Basil Ct, do you really think that "trouble" companies like 33 are going to get their fair share?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 9:47 AM

To the poster who thinks that alarms will be unanswered on nights, weekends, and holidays if the volunteers refuse to answer calls what a great way to show your"community pride" and how much you care about your neighborhoods. That just shows that you care nothing about the community, you are only in it for what you get out of it and to validate your self worth.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 9:50 AM

Wow, this is an amazing statement, Carl Granzow the main henchman for Sedwick. Carl’s father (former Battalion Chief in PG) had so many kids their tiny house in Mt. Rainier could not hold then all. One of Carl’s brother at their father’s funeral said those very words how each one of his brother took turns living at the firehouse and they called it the” homeless shelter”. The very system that gave them a roof over their heads he now wants to destroy. How ungrateful is that. I would love to sit down a just talk to this guy to see if he really is trying to kill the volunteer system. I believe he is stuck between is lively hood and Union and doing what is right. Maybe he just lost his soul somewhere along the way.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 10:33 AM

YOU SIR/MADAM are a moron. The PGFD/EMS in all of it's glory cannot do the job if it had too. Dave, you should know this as well as the next person, coming from an extensive caounty background both career and volunteer. The county has approx 800 career positions. Including the fire chief and majors and such. There are 250 of those slated to retire in the next 12 months. PG County CANNOT meet the minimum requirements for minimum staffing now. They certainly will not be able to met them in the next year. They are not hiring. And those that they have hired and may think about hiring are worthless. They do not care about John Q. Public just a paycheck. The volunteers do the job WITHOUT a paycheck. And they do it because they want to, not because they are told to. As far as some "homeless" volunteers, I have to agree somewhat. But that is besides the point. They are still doing the job regardless. If PG county wants to be more proactive in the safety of the community, they should hire persons that like the job equally or more than the paycheck. But that is too hard for the Fire Chief and the County Executive to understand.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 10:41 AM

As long as you have career people in PG County that supported or is of the Resolution 43 Generation the volunteers will be fighting to survive. The citizens of Prince George’s County do not know just how bad the career firefighters hate volunteers and want to remove them. I wonder what would happen if the citizens truly understood what is going on. Remove free labor, replace it with expensive labor for the sake of the union. More union members, more jobs, more benefits, more taxes, more taxes, more taxes. If you polled the career firefighter’s you find a majority of them are Republican and support less government and few taxes. But all that goes out the window when it comes to their precious union, the IAFF is killing the fire service in America. Both career and volunteer. They just past another resolution that has their own union members fighting among themselves if they volunteer on their own time. Citizens of Prince George’s County get involved.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:09 AM

I. The county’s mechanism for request for public funds for the Volunteer Fire Departments comes from the Fire Commission.
Sec. 11-302. Duties.
The Fire Commission shall review the financial needs and requests for public funds of each volunteer fire company. It shall formulate annually one capital budget, one capital improvement program, and one current expense budget for all volunteer fire companies with respect to the expenditure of public funds, and shall submit said budgets and program, together with appropriate justification, to the County Executive in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.
(CB-107-1979). The County Executive has the authority here not Sedwick, he has no authority to approve or disapprove any request from the Volunteers. The Commission is doing the right thing by demanding the County Government follow their own laws. Strine and Sedwick had their way for a long time. The State is doing the audit at the Volunteers request.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:12 AM

That is true, after watching John McCain's speach last night and reading your post, I got to say you are correct. I am a PGFD Firfighter and a IAFF 1619 Union Member. But you know what I going to follow the "Maverick's" way. It is not about party, it about people, I have for a long time now been fed up with all the crap I hear how my Union Brother and Sister try to pull some stunt on Volunteers. Well, it is going to end here with me. Damn it I am going to Volunteer again. I love it when I was a Volunteer. But all that changed when the brain washing began in the academy. I mean really do we have to burn our Volunteer t-shirts to prove we are loyal to the Union. Grow up IAFF!

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:26 AM

I am a tax payer who supports the Volunteer system which saves our county so much money. I feel the true cost can’t be measured because of the countless lives that they have saved, educated and helped obtain a career in the fire service. I have for years been interested in how the Volunteer Fire system started and by talking to the men in my neighborhood have come to a greater appreciation of just what these wonderful men and women do for our community. I often bring food to the Volunteers in my city. I don’t want my fire department to be another county government run service. It should stay local to the community like our community police department. I don’t see PG County stickers on Bowie’s police cars.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:31 AM

It seems pretty clear to me. MEMA stated mismanagement of the money. If you go to the PG Volunteer Fire Commission's website, you can look at their meeting notes. It is quite comical what they actually put on there. $3000,00 for a new TV. $5,000 for Ocean City Convention. A lot of that money is the money granted from the state.
You better go to their website quick, because I am sure it will be taken down shortly.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:42 AM

No leave it up because it is all part of the Strine era, which has ended.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 12:19 PM

We got the same problem in Michigan...

Michigan Professional Fire Fighters Union bringing fire fighters up on charges.

On a related matter, there are still many IAFF members that continue to violate the IAFF Constitution and By-Laws by serving as members of volunteer or paid on call departments. If questioned about it, most of them try to rationalize that their situation is unique and that somehow the rules don’t apply to them. No matter what excuse or explanation may be offered by these individuals, there are NO exceptions!! If you know of someone doing this, ask him or her to stop. If they refuse, then it is imperative that someone files charges against them. Any member in good standing can do so. Call the MPFFU office if you need assistance.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 1:58 PM

The career fire service in America is comprised of approximately 350,000 fire fighters. The volunteer fire service numbers over 800,000. The International Association of Fire Fighters boasts a membership of approximately 260,000 of the career fire fighters. As other sectors of the union movement dwindle to record lows, government worker’s unions are on the rise. It is important to note that the overwhelming majority of IAFF members are utilizing the union for local purposes. Most fire fighters are unaware of the larger labor movement and the problems arising from the IAFF and its affiliates violating the individual rights of fire fighters.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 2:01 PM

I am a career fire fighter in Austin, TX. I was an IAFF member for ten years. We need to provide an avenue for career fire fighters to express their support of the volunteer fire service. Career fire fighters along with the volunteer fire service working together could create a legislative voice that would trump the will of the labor movement and protect our individual freedoms.

Articles from: http://www.volunteerfd.org/recruitment/articles/245117

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 2:02 PM

Typical volunteer crybaby responses-We just won't go when the bell rings and then we'll see how much clout we have. That's the difference between vollies having jollies and PROFESSIONAL FIRE FIGHTERS! Professional Fire Fighters go everytime the bell rings no matter what. So go back to your day jobs and hick hangouts and let the real fire fighters do the job.

# posted by

Kentland H8r : September 5, 2008 2:35 PM

There's a bit of a misconception above.

The days of going directly to the County Executive are pretty much over.

Sedgewick works for Herron. Herron reports to Jackie Brown. She reports to Jack Johnson.

The law says "report to the County Executive." Everywhere in the County Code where it says "report to the County Executive" it is understood that it means the entire Executive Branch. The legal terminology "The County Executive" means the Executive Branch.

It's not surprising, given the context, that people wouldn't understand the concept of a chain of command.

Keep that in mind, also, with regard to the Fire Commission. The Fire Commission is supposed to distill all budgetary requests from all companies, do some commonsense cutting/adding to them, and submit them to the Executive Branch. That's their sole responsibility, is to submit budget RECOMMENDATIONS to Sedgewick or OMB for review, acting on behalf of the County Executive.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 4:18 PM

Wow, Dave...

I see a lot of mis-informed and ill-informed speculation going on here.

I even see some blatant sock-puppery: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_(Internet)

...and a good bit of strawman mock-puppetry going on too, but as is usual with issues involving watchdesk posters, what I have yet to see is any proof to back up the whole host of wild accusations.

Not one single person has stepped up to answer five simple questions:

1) How do the other counties in the state with combination systems currently distribute their 508 funds?

2) What percentage of Maryland counties currently allocate 508 funds on the basis of need, and what percentage of Maryland counties currently divide their 508 funds into equal shares distributed to all companies?

3) Do any other counties allow their volunteer companies to administer 508 funds directly? What form of oversight do counties that do this use?

4) Did MEMA find any similar accounting irregularities or fraudulant practices in any other county or volunteer company in the state? If they did, how did those counties distribute their funds?

5) Has PG county always distributed their 508 funds in equal shares directly to the volunteer corporations? If not, what was the prior method of distribution, who decided to change it, when was it changed and why was it changed?

Is everyone posting here really all hat and no cattle?

Seriously...Can we please grow up and stop dragging the late Carl Granzow Sr's reputation through the mud and get back to discussing the real issue?

You all got your chance to boo-hoo about this for a whole day...now it's time to wipe the tears and put on your big girl panties.

Can anyone answer the questions?

Anyone?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 5:17 PM

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 5:51 PM

508 money is designated for the volunteers, why does the county take 10% off the top? Are the vol's supposed to trust that their money will be equitably distributed to them by a govt. that scams 10% off the top? That is 10%, $100,000.00 of $1m.

Here's my suggeston:
1. Take all vol owned apparatus off county maintenance and fuel.
2. Vol co's go back to billing for ambulance service.
3. ALL 508 money goes to the vol co's as it should.
4. The vol's BILL the county 1/2 the hourly pay rate of a newly hired career person for every hour that a vol is handling an emergency incident. This money is then placed into a fuel, maintenance, apparatus fund which is audited annually and reported to an OUTSIDE control agent.

The county doesn't have to handle the overly excessive, must be a lot it keeps coming up as an argument, cost of fueling and maintaining vol apparatus. The county is getting emergency service coverage at HALF the INTRO rate for service. The vol dept's have funding for fuel, maintenance, and apparatus purchases and the only staffing the county has to do is for stations that are county owned and fully staffed.

Looks like a win-win for the county. They are not burdened with the costs associated with the dept's other than 1/2 the cost of a rookie firefighter on emergency calls. The vol's can have the funds needed to "assist" the county with staffing due to the county's mismanagment of funds. The citizens essentially get two fire departments for the cost of one. And the vol's don't have to depend on a ....well, someone of a less than moral charachter and mediocre at best manager/chief.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 6:48 PM

"508 money is designated for the volunteers"

Sorry...that may be what you THINK, but what you think is clearly not what the legislation states:

"The SenatorWilliam H. Amoss Fire, Rescue, and Ambulance Fund is established to promote
increased financial support for fire, rescue, and ambulance companies by local government
and the continued financial viability of volunteer fire, rescue, and ambulance companies.
Grant funds may be used for acquisition or rehabilitation of fire or rescue apparatus, capital
equipment used in connection with fire or rescue apparatus, and rehabilitation of facilities
used primarily to house fire fighting apparatus, equipment, ambulances, and rescue vehicles."

(see http://senate.state.md.us/PDF-Documents/1999rs/fnotes/bil_0008/hb1068.PDF)

Clearly, 508 was never intended to be a personal slush fund "for the volunteers" to do with what they wish.

508 funding is intended specifically to assist with the purchase, rehabilitation, maintenance and repair of apparatus, related equipment and facilities first, and is suggested that it be expended in a manner that promotes volunteerism second.

Taking a 508 check and putting it in an intererst-bearing savings account fulfills the second ideal, but it miserably fails to meet the first.

If you actually read the legislation, you will soon understand that was it clearly never intended to pay for volunteers hotel bills and bar tabs for firemens convention in Ocean City either.

Therein lies the challenge.

Clearly this is just another situation where PG volunteers, given the ability to self-police, lost sight of what they were supposed to do, and instead, started doing what they wanted to do.

The situation clearly calls for better accountability.

With proper scrutiny from both sides, volunteer and career working together, PG should be able to get 508 funds working to actually do what they were intended for...funding new equipment where it is needed most.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 8:12 PM

That kind person that was quoting the text of the Amos Bill shoud read further. If he did, he would see that 508 monies may NOT be disbursed to a government for THEIR use. It may NOT be used in lieu of taxation. The local government is to operate their involvement of the associated fire/rescue service via their funds derived from local (not State 508 monies) taxation. 508 Monies are to SUPPLEMENT the needs of independent volunteer fire and rescue departments and not to be used for funding of expenses that are normally funded by local taxation. The local government may be a conduit for subsequent disbursal, but they are not supposed to retain any funds as they have no need to inasmuch as their needs are met by local taxation. Good luck to the PG Volunteers as they fight for their lives !!

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 8:58 PM

It is not just the volunteer firefighters in PG fighting for their survival. Now supposedly the Fire Chief has notified the ladies auxiliaries that the county will no longer pay workers compensation insurance for them,this after the county just helped buy a new canteen that the fire chief expects the ladies to staff! It just gets more and more sad.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 10:49 PM

Thanks for the citation...I guess you skipped over the whole "The local government may be a conduit for subsequent disbursal" part.

(psssst...I believe that means the legislation empowers the County Executive to decide how and where the funds will be disbursed, as well as the option to decide who has the greatest need!)

One question: You keep mentioning some mystical "10%" figure that you claim was "skimmed" off the top by the "county"....Please enlighten us (that is, if you actually have any clue), what were these funds actually used to purchase? Where were these assets placed, and if, as you claim, the county mis-managed these funds, and put the cash directly into Jack Johnson's pocket, wouldn't MEMA have been duty-bound to cite the county too? Or has your loony conspiracy theory grown to include MEMA and the State Legislature among your ever-expanding list of potential "volunteer haters"?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:13 PM

"508 Monies are to SUPPLEMENT the needs of independent volunteer fire and rescue departments..."

Sorry to burst your bubble, but I already checked the annotated code for the State of Maryland, and nowhere does it state anything of the sort.

What it DOES state is the following:

(b) Distribution to fire, rescue, and ambulance companies, departments, or stations.-

(1) Subject to paragraph (6) of this subsection, each county shall distribute the money provided under this subtitle on the basis of need to fire, rescue, and ambulance companies, departments, or stations in the county, including companies, departments, or stations located in municipal corporations.

(2) Each county shall determine need in accordance with procedures that the county uses to adopt its budget. (emphasis added)

(3) In determining need under this subsection, the county shall consider:

(i) the failure to meet minimum standards established by the county or the Maryland State Firemen's Association;

(ii) the existence or potential existence of an emergency situation as described in § 8-203 of this title;

(iii) the age and condition of existing facilities and equipment;

(iv) the lack of availability of mutual aid;

(v) any service problems associated with demographic conditions; and

(vi) any other relevant factors.

(4) In addition to consideration of the factors in paragraph (3) of this subsection, for a volunteer company, the county shall consider the company's inability to raise money to pay for the item.(emphasis added)

(5) Notwithstanding paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subsection, each county shall give the highest funding priority to the failure to meet minimum standards or the existence of an emergency situation as described in § 8-203 of this title.

(6) Distribution of money to fire, rescue, and ambulance companies, departments, or stations located in qualified municipal corporations in a county in the aggregate may not be less than 50% of the proportion that the expenditures of the qualified municipal corporation bear to total aggregate expenditures for fire protection in that county.

(7) To receive money under this subsection, each county shall participate in the Maryland Fire Incident Reporting System and Ambulance Information System.

I suggest you take a moment and actually go and read the legislation before you attempt to reply.

Here's the link.

http://www.michie.com/maryland/lpext.dll?f=templates&fn=main-h.htm&cp=mdcode

# posted by

Anonymous : September 5, 2008 11:52 PM

DAVE YOU WANT DIRT I HAVE DIRT SO LET ME WRITE, THESE PEOPLE JUST DONT NO.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 10:33 AM

And the fight continues - all CAREER firefighters in PG County are such heroes and go out no matter what when the bell rings - Yeah OK - Tell some more lies. Volunteers wake up - some are too worried about their convention and the party, especially their President of the PGCVFRA. I believe he said he doesn't deal with the issues - he has entities that deal with them for him. Way to go Bob - skirt the issues and go to the parties. You might need to step up to the plate before the party and actually do something productive before you go out of office - why is it Billy Smith is the only one who seems to be standing up for the volunteers here? Anyone seen Bob? The citizens of PG County have no idea how the system truly works or what they are paying for when they pay taxes and they probably don't care. Nor do they care about the career hating the vollies and all the issues within. What they do care about is when they call 911, they get the help they need or deserve. It is unfortunate to think their safety and needs may be compromised by such ignorance and selfishness from the PGFD! (career).

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 10:39 AM

"do you really think that "trouble" companies like 33 are going to get their fair share?

What part of "each county shall distribute the money provided under this subtitle on the basis of need" do you tools not grasp? Not one single place in the legislation does it state everyone who wants one gets an "share".

Just because it was once allowed to be done in a particular manner does not mean that it will always be required to be done in the same manner.

Get over yourselves!

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 11:16 AM

Oh, and the volunteers saying they need to refuse going on calls to prove their point isn't ignorant or selfish? You really have lost touch with what the fire service is all about. Go ahead, throw your little temper tantrum and show the public what your really about-your own ego's.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 11:30 AM

You misunderstood me. When I said "their fair share," I mean any moneys needed (not that everyone gets a share). My fault, poor wording.

I agree with your point.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 4:53 PM

BORING

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 4:54 PM

It's over. The only thing left will be for the fire chief to condemn the volunteer fire departments and sieze them under "eminent domain" and "sovreign immunity" for PG Homeland Security. This will happen and there will be no opposition from the new ineffective fire commission and the crippled volunteer fire association. Lawrence Sedgewick and his cadre hve very effectively and methodically wiped out the volunteers with backroom deal-making, malfeasance and now edict from an ignorant, corrupt and inept county executive. It's done. A year at best and the doors will all be closed and the county wil have a fairly nice (but ulti-colored) fleet of apparatus and many well-cared-for stations free of charge.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 6, 2008 10:01 PM

The only thing left is for some volunteers to stop acting like spoiled little brats, and to start remembering that they are there to serve the community, not themselves.

Get over yourselves.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 9:11 AM

Let's talk about the departments that misused the 508 funds. Isn't it odd that they are also the ones who haven't filed their LOSAP reports for years at a time, who have habitually misused station management money and a plethora of other misdeeds? Then let's look at the administration of the County and the Fire Department; see any similarities, and why these several corporations are "untouchable"?

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 9:41 AM

I guess if 1619 knew how to play nice with the vol's, they could probably put together a pretty good press conference/protest in ref to what JJ and Sludge are doing. That would keep money in their pocket and good working conditions. But because they want to fight the vol's, they are getting bent over. The vol's don't sign your paycheck, the vol's are not taking money from your pocket, your own stupidity is. Had you been keeping your eyes on the real enemy, you wouldn't be getting bent over like you are now. Maybe in the future you will learn to play nice with those on your side. Enjoy your vacation, or maybe you could vol some of your time at your local fire department since YOU are so professional and care about serving the public.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 10:29 AM

Boy, if there's one thing this county will shy away from, it's eminent domain. If they had the balls to do that to fire houses, I can think of about 200 apartment complexes they would have already done it to.

However, it is widely known that several fire houses are operating in violation of the building and safety codes, and the only reason they're open is because the FEMS department has told DER not to inspect them.

The budgetary argument is hilarious as well; JJ is willing to cut the entire county budget just to put more cops and firefighters on the street. Sedgewick actually gets some muted credit for trying to squeeze as many man-hours out of the volunteers as possible, because, at this point, the county government is more than willing to step in and fund a workable (if not ideal) level of paid staffing just to get rid of the volunteers.

This county government is much more interested in symbolism, identity politics, and how every single thing they do right is some great moment in the history of the civil rights movement, than they are about getting things done.

One of the biggies coming down the pike, if not under this County Executive, than the next one, is a residency requirement like many big cities have. One of the constant complaints from residents is that the county government seems to be entirely made up of people who "aren't from here" or "don't look like us."

It would be amusing, somewhat, to see the impact that would have on the police and fire departments (hardly any of whom live in the county). However, it would devastate the volunteer companies. Like I said, it would cause most of the best and brightest employees of county government to seek work elsewhere, but because of the symbolism, it would be hugely politically successful.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 11:58 AM

In reading the comments on the PGFD & County Executive Financial Decisions I am amazed that each comment reflects a Negative self serving Attitude. First off the comment about Thrill seekers from other Jurisdictions as Volunteers is an out and out untruth. Just because an individual chooses to Volunteer is not wrog. This is nothing more than IAFF Bullying and
self centered. I am a Retired Officer from another Local Jurisdiction and am a Lifetime member of a PG County Volunteer Organization. I am Proud of it. I am thoroughly Disgusted with Union Agitators. The Union is nothing more than a Store Front Lawyer Group. I donot run calls, However I would like to point out that all the Trash Talking form both factions is sickening. Just FYI for Career/IAFF individuals The Volunteers you so freely critcize who must meet Standards of PGFD/CB48 and other Requirements just may pull one of you Career know it alls out of a Burning Building. As for the Volunteer Comments encouraging Stop staffing Appratus and refuse to get the Apparatus out, you should listen to yourself, and be ashamed of your inappropriate remarks. You should remember a Career Firefighter just may pull you out of a Burning Building. The disgraceful comments against the Fire Chief is totally out of line, uncalled for. You donot have to like Chief Sedgewick, however you should/must RESPECT the position he's in. He takes his marching orders from the County Executive who works for the Taxpayers who Elect him. There are some Good Well Trained Career Fire Fighters, and there are some Good Well Trained Volunteer Firefighters. Combined Fire and EMS System means TRUST and RESPECT form both Factions. Professional is an "ATTITUDE" not a Pay Check.
Professionalism is Defined "Career and Volunteer" The Taxpayers Demand and Deserve the very best Delivery System each one of you can/will provide. Everyone Have a Nice Day

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 12:07 PM

Blame it on "JJ", blame it on "Sludge", blame it on "1619"...wow!

I guess in your mind, EVERYBODY should be held responsible for the fact that volunteerism is in decline in PG fire.

Everybody except YOU, that is.

Real men don't whimper and whine and cry and make excuses for their failures.

Real men stand up and accept responsibility, and then they work to find solutions.

Face it...in the vast majority of stations in PG, volunteers apparently can't even step it up enough to guarantee 10% night coverage anymore.

If the system is failing, it ain't Sedgwick or Johnson or 1619 that are making it fail...

...it's people like YOU.

Own it.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 12:09 PM

I am a maryland property owner and taxpayer and I am glad the state is auditing the 508 money. Finally the volunteers are going to be held accountable for wasting money. Tick chiefs riding around in personal take home/work Tahoes and Hummers, apparatus with all the unecessary bells and whistles.
They need to have an audit of the entire budget.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 7, 2008 3:07 PM

This is one reason why the Fire Commission no longer posts minutes on its website. Too many people wondering why they are approving thousands of dollars for TVs, rec room enhancements, and bells and whistles.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 8:23 AM

I may be missing something here, but can someone tell me exactly where the volunteers overspent $48 million dollars? It seems to me that all the woes in the county are being blamed on the volunteers. The county exec, fire chief and career firefighters are saying they are not responsible for the mismanagement of funds, resources and personnel.....and the volunteers are??? WTF??

Someone please show me where the volunteers are a financial burden on the county? What do the Volunteers want to do? Volunteer their time to help the citizens of this county. Are they asking for raises? Are they asking the county to contribute more to their health insurance? Are they asking the county to contribute more to their retirement? No, they don't have any of that. (Yes LOSAP, but $200/month really doesn't count.) Someone please show me: 1. How the volunteers financially hurt the county, and 2. Exactly what the volunteers are getting that is so important that the fire chief is attempting to eliminate them from providing much needed service to the county? 508 money? That is $900,000 or approx. $23,000 per station after the county takes their cut. Are the volunteer stations getting rich off that?

The volunteers want to raise the funds to operate and provide services they have done for a hundred years in this county. A service the career side cannot provide. You have an existing fire chief that wants to jeapordize the lives of citizens by stealing the money that has gone toward helping them for years.

County fire department budget-$200 million, Volunteer station budget $23,000 (IF the money is distributed to the station from the 508 money). Who needs ambulance billing money more??

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 9:38 AM

Yes company chiefs and their assistants get take home vehicles.

How many take home vehicles are on the career side of the house?

I'm sure if you compare actual numbers of vehicles, the career side have as many if not more than the volunteer side.

I'm quite sure a certain number of volunteers abuse the use of take home vehicles. I'm also quite sure a certain number of career personnel abuse the use of their take home vehicles.

All of this bickering does nothing but make BOTH groups look silly and unprofessional.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 11:44 AM

The PGFD 2007 Annual reports details the FY 2008 budget for the department as $123M (million) with $13.6M allocated to the volunteer budget and $109.4M allocated to the career side, with $103M being paid for salaries and benefits.

The operating expenses are $6.6M on the career side and $10.8M on the volunteer side. The volunteers own the vast majority of the fire apparatus and buildings in PG county and PG owns the majority of the ambulances.

The 508 money has certain rules and dollar limitations for each station. During the Sarnicki era, PGFD strong-armed there way to get 10% of those funds for their use. However, no details of how those funds of the past years have ever surfaced. The funds given to a station for apparatus purchase was limited to a maximum of $150k over a five year single purchase AND the department was required to match half of the purchase price.

The major concern with a greater control of the 508 money by PGF/EMS department managment, is greater leverage by PGFD to force the volunteer corporations to do what PG wants OR ELSE WE WILL NOT GIVE YOU YOUR 508 FUNDS. This type of tactic is currently used on other funds dispersed by the county.

For Example, for many years PGFD was self insured. Due to the high cost of apparatus, many volunteer corporations purchased insurance on the vehicles and buildings. Within the past two years, the county (fire commission) decided to pay the insurance premiums. Shortly after they took over the insurance premiums a letter from the chief was sent out forbiding "this and that" on or in anything insured by the county.

This is the typical way PGFD "works" with the volunteers!!

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 1:15 PM

The real reason the Chief has taken the 508 money, and this comes from someone in the know, is that he needs that money to buy apparatus for the new stations.The state audit was simply a convenient way to say the volunteers were mismanaging the money and take control of it.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 4:50 PM

"The real reason the Chief has taken the 508 money, and this comes from someone in the know, is that he needs that money to buy apparatus for the new stations.The state audit was simply a convenient way to say the volunteers were mismanaging the money and take control of it."

Take it from someone in the know, the above statement is pure fantasy and conjecture, anonymously posted by someone who is clearly NOT "in the know".

The audit was requested by the fire commission, not the fire chief, and was in response to concerns raised by MEMA over the failure of some volunteer companies in PG to submit required reports, and failure by others to adhere to mandated accounting procedures.

Quit trying to cloud the issue.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 7:06 PM

No one is trying to cloud the issue. The Fire Chief has been trying to find a way to get his hands on the 508 money for some time now. The fact is the county is embarking on building several new stations and have no apparatus to put in them nor do they have cash to buy apparatus. A miilion dollars a year would go a long way towards solving that problem.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 8, 2008 11:40 PM

Yes, it's not clouding the issue. It's lying about it.

If there wasn't apparatus to put in the Northview station, the City of Bowie wouldn't be hounding the County Council and the PGFD to get it built. If they want it so badly, they should put up the money to cover any gaps.

The District Heights VFD consists of a chief and several pieces of apparatus. That covers the new 26.

Every new house/townhouse/condo that is built in this county, the developer has to pay over $5,000 in an impact fee that, by law, can only go to new stations or new apparatus. The PGPD doesn't want any new stations, and the other public safety agencies are taken care of, which means that the bulk of that money goes to PGFD for new stations (in areas where new development has occurred or is occuring) and new apparatus for those stations.

The Council has approved enough residential development in the Clinton/Brandywine area and Westphalia alone to build and outfit an entire county over the next 20 years. When the real estate market was booming in the early part of the decade, that money was pouring in.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 9, 2008 9:16 AM

As you said the money WAS pouring in, not any longer. While I cannot speak for the Brandywine-Clinton area, The entire Westphalia development has been put on hold indefinitely. A big part of the problem was that with the exception of the last two years, no accounting of the 508 money was done by the county or the volunteers for a long time. It was merely handed out with no checks or balances. I certainly do think the Chief is looking for funds anywhere he can get it be it furloughs, cutting station management funds or taking control of the state funds. Times are tough everywhere, the fire department is no exception.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 9, 2008 2:39 PM

"The PGPD doesn't want any new stations, and the other public safety agencies are taken care of..."

Um...speaking of LYING, I KNOW there is a new police station slated to break ground this month. Additionally, there are 3 other police facilities that are long overdue for replacement due to overcrowding and the fact that the buildings are just run down. As far as having an engine and ambulance to throw into the Northview station, that isn't the issue. The issue would be staffing for a new station that already has 4 stations surrounding it. Why not get into mismanagement of funds?? If staffing isn't an issue, and there are blue shirts in surplus, why was 29 understaffed on St. B? Matter of fact, lets look at staffing at St. B closer.

Of the 7 companies dispatched on the initial assignment, there was 1 volunteer company and 6 that the career side either provides day staffing for or 24hr. staffing for. The 1 vol. engine was staffed fully. Of the 6 for the career side, 4 were understaffed. Not just by one or two, but understaffed by 7 personnel.

The county does not have the manpower to staff what they need staffed now. Instead of working with the volunteers to keep stations and volunteers operating they are attempting to push them out. The county is building two or three new stations where they are not needed, and they are going to fill them with staffing they do not have. This fire Chief is going to get someone killed trying to screw with the volunteers. 1619 is more concerned with the vol's than keeping their own people safe. St. B should be a wake up call for the fire Chief and 1619, but it won't be. How many firefighters are going to be injured or killed before you pull your head out of your ass and stop mismanaging money and personnel.

# posted by

Anonymous : September 10, 2008 11:07 AM