Rowley selectmen, firefighters in standoff over contract

The Daily News has reported on the impasse in contract negotiations between the Board of Selectmen and the Rowley Volunteer Fire Protection Association:

Rowley selectmen, firefighters in standoff over contract

As this is an official RFD website, the webmaster will keep his opinions to himself and offer three factual corrections:

First, the much-vaunted $40,000 surplus never existed. What did exist was a capital fund. $40,000 is merely the amount arbitrarily cut from the RVFPA budget request last spring. (It had been a level-funded budget request.) After the installation of a much-needed new roof on the firehouse, the RVFPA ended the year with approximately $3000 in town funds. In government this is a 'surplus' which must be reclaimed and immediately spent elsewhere; to the rest of us it is known as 'saving for a rainy day.' Without the funds in question, we would currently have a leaky roof over our multi-million dollar investment.

Secondly, the chief does have control over maintenance and over the firefighters. No item of maintenance is ever ignored when requested by the chief. Maintenance on the town-owned equipment is also performed under the Association's budget. All of the firefighters serve under a unified command system headed by the chief. He sets policy and gives the orders, as it should be. Chief Broderick receives his authority from the Office of the State Fire Marshall and in turn delegates to the firefighters to get the job done.

Thirdly, the town only has two full-time firefighters and a chief, not three. I'm not sure where the News got that 'fact' from.

Comments are encouraged below, please read them for my personal opinion.