Letter by Carl E. Atkinson, Jr., in 05-24-08 Vanguard Weekly News

Sorry it is so late in the week when I get to watch City Council Meetings and read your synopsis. Reading Vanguard tonight piqued my interest with a letter from an anonymous firefighter. I would like to start with reprinting his or her note:

“You and Bruce Philpott are out to get us hardworking firefighters. The public knows us and loves us especially when we remind them about the New York Fire Department (FDNY) and how they gave their lives for others. The City owes us! We have enough “juice” in Glendale and other cities to get what we want. It only takes three votes to get what we want and we already have those three locked up. A proud Firefighter.”

I do love firefighters, I grieve for those who have fallen and I believe my life and the lives of my family are safer because we have a fire department. I have family that has been and some continue to be firemen in other cities. My brother-in-law made District Chief of a larger city in California and never made $200,000 in a year including overtime and other benefits. His son-in-law is currently a paramedic with 10 years in service to a capitol city in the Western United States and struggles to raise a family on significantly less than $100,000 per year even after paying less than $300,000 for a nice home with borrowed money. Now I love these firemen and have a hard time understanding who thinks management personnel are entitled to overtime or who really thinks $200,000 or more per year is a reasonable amount of money to earn as a public servant. I don't agree with anyone who claims the City Manager, the head of any department or any contract service provider, like a lawyer or financial consultant, EARNS that kind of money while serving the public. What I have seen Mr. Philpott report is waste on the part of the City Council in its negotiations with fire department representatives. Unlike most who report waste, Mr. Philpott has offered well designed improvements that will reduce that waste. If this "proud firefighter" disagrees with these suggestions I would advise him to put his name on the line and respond to those specific suggestions he or she believes are not going to reduce waste and defend those items Mr. Philpott has suggested need to be changed.

I would like to read his comments in Vanguard in the near future. I am a proud junk tire dealer and resident of Glendale since 1970 and always use my name. Carl E. Atkinson, Jr.