GVFD UPDATE : This article really sums it up and appeared in Wednesdays Standard Newspaper: Save The Golden Valley Fire District I could only wish the reports coming out of the Golden Valley Fire District office were as positive of a picture as that being painted. Oh, of course every organization uses spin to look good or better , but at this point since 2010 nothing could be more deceptive. Most of us have now read or heard something about the drama unfolding in Golden Valley. It would appear that with no real evidence or credible tax payer support the District has set a path to build a utopian model metropolis type fire district in good old low income Golden Valley. This currently includes a huge Training Center, a new ( not additional ) station and a proposed expensive new Administrative Building . A resident of Golden Valley myself I know the people cant and dont want to foot the tax bill for such an experiment, especially during the current poor economic times. They also do not wish to risk the sustainability of the district, which is not controlled by the county. Its not like Mohave County hasnt already had two fire district go insolvent , so the concern and the worry is based on real events. In addition the treat of a tax hike has only been fought back by citizen protest for this year. You can bet they will be back for that pound of flesh just next year. A closer look reveals more emphasis is placed on expansion and litigation than the actual operation of the district. There have been no denials of complaints about poor fleet maintenance yet 1/2 million tax payer dollar has been spent on litigation to begin a repetitious Fire District owned and operated Ambulance Service. This proposed new service would be of no savings to the Golden Valley user, no quicker and arguably less efficient. This last year or so we have had a display of either sheer stupidity or bold defiance coming from the GVFD, the chief and the Board of Directors.The District has stalled on Public Information Requests; has conspired in an effort to recall the only outspoken Director and has ignored all local and county building codes and permits, including State Fire Codes on all building and construction. Once officially reported to authorities the Chief Tom ODonohue took retributive action by having an outspoken citizen arrested on a charge of trespass with no real evidence. The charge has been made innocuous . The district sold its Administration Building without a formal board approval thereby making the district administrative staff orphans on the street unless the chief and board provides a new building within one year. This new building has not been approved so its either a situation of the cart before the horse OR/AND in this case a created situation mandating a false need to expand. This process is most disingenuous and the people are being basically ignored. Even with the districts own threat of layoffs in 2015 they are still spending like Donald Trump. At the same time the errors are becoming more serious all the time. Recently due to poor administrative management our firefighters had a lapse in medical coverage. During the last Board Meeting the chief asked to hire a special IRS attorney to represent the district because a portion of 2013 Federal Payroll taxes was never sent to the IRS. On top of that the chief wants to bring prison labor into the districts motor pool after having used them on recent un-permitted district construction projects. The use of prison labor is very controversial and is not a secure fit for the GVFD. All of this information is most alarming and the district seems to be trying harder to cover up than to fix the many issues. Basically the sustainability of the fire district itself is at stake AND the welfare of all the good folks of Golden Valley. We love our firefighters as they are our everyday heroes . They are being impacted as well ( and by some accounts ) in a hostile work environment . Jobs are at stake, lives could be at stake and several great senior fire fighters have recently quit because of the turmoil. The Assistant Chief is leaving as well. Mid term elections will give the people of Golden Valley an opportunity to elect a new Golden Valley Fire District Board of Directors, ( two seats ) and restore some type of sanity and security to our fire district. Please stay tuned to these issues and help SAVE THE GOLDEN VALEY FIRE DISTRICT. Respectfully, Jim Consolato
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 03:13:08 +0000
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