— from Pierrette Guimond —
I have lived on Orcas Island for 23 years now and I have seen a lot of changes. I came here to live in a small community without knowing very little about this place except that I could find a small home at the end of the road.
After working for the airlines as a flight attendant, I was trained in emergency procedures but did not pay too much attention as to what was available here in case of an emergency.
It had never been my priority as I always landed safely; now everything is about being safe and it is great that we have so much more available to us now.
My questions are: Is the best possible use of our money being used to protect us? I have attended the fire department meeting for over 10 years now under three different Chiefs and I was happy to have a local, Kevin O’Brien, being chosen as our new Chief.
Is the Fire Dept along with our volunteers doing a great job? No problem there, we are very lucky—but the next question:
Do we need to give the department as much money as we gave them for the 1999 levy which was for capital expenditures?
We are in good shape with structures and equipment. So why are we building such top-heavy management? Is this really necessary to keep us safe?
Money has been spent on unnecessary expenditures and that is why I am asking questions.
$4,500 a month for a temporary CPA? Why did we not try to find a local person to do this job or give back the accounting to the Auditor like it used to be and a lot cheaper.
Chocolates, greeting cards, pencils, food (lots of it), nice hotels, flying in Chinese food, and shopping at Costco, and being paid for mileage, etc. Why not order from the local store and get a discount and support our local businesses?
So why not ask questions?
This department and the volunteers have done a very good job since the 23 years that I have lived here but now is the time to ask the hard questions: why so much money now ?
If you are interested in learning more about the proposed levy, please check out http://www.supportoifr.com.
Thanks Pierrette- great comments. Sometimes it feels like if you’re against the levy, you’re against the Department – but that’s not the case. I love the work my neighbors do, just think that for a community of 5,000 people, maybe we don’t need something quite as fancy. I guess maybe I just miss having people in charge who value doing things the island way (thoughtful, thrifty, local, and with lots of common sense!). Fact is that anyone who is familiar with the way OIFD is run knows very well that we’ve got a very luxurious operation here. That’s good in some ways, they do important work- but having a real community conversation about what is “need to have” vs. “nice to have” seems like a good idea. Let’s vote no, get their attention, and then have a real conversation where it’s more than just a marketing blitz. Again, not an attack on the leadership or staff- they’re great, but it’s possible to vote no and still be a supporter!
Seems like I recall the school asking the voters for $34 MILLION DOLLARS to rebuild the middle school. It was presented as a bare-bones-can’t-do -it-for-less-project. Voters rejected the proposal and the school came back with another proposal–REJECTED AGAIN….then school came back after sharpening their pencils and the voters approved the school levy–what was it? 19 million?
I think most of us on Orcas appreciate OIFR( just as we appreciate the school) but this may be another case where the voters are being asked for more $$$ than is really needed. OIFR will make their case on why they still need the current funding and the voters will decide if that is correct or send OIFR back to sharpen their pencils. While I am undecided still as to how I will vote, I really appreciate hearing the pros and cons on this proposed levy.
I’ve lived here for ever. That doesn’t make a big difference. What does matter is that Kevin has worked very hard to open the fire department to this community and to answer the questions we ask. I live at the end of a road and am quite happy when the department arrives with the trucks that will make it either to my house or the top of Turtleback to fight a fire. Technology,insurance, maintenance. There are lots of meetings to attend for answers. This too is new.
One question I’d like to know: The upcoming WSRB (Washington state ratings board -people that determine our fire department readiness and hence your insurance rates…) will soon re-rate our island’s fire dept’s ability to fight fires. If the rating goes up,(worse) and our insurance rates go up, wouldln’t YOU want to know this before voting on the upcoming levy? I want to know why this re-rating has been pushed out past the levy vote, when this this could affect the vote? Makes you wonder…