Thank you Florida for Amendment 1

[FireNinja]

You stay up for 16 hours
He's been up for 48 straight
You take a warm shower to help you wake up.
The rain in the middle of the interstate keeps him awake.
You complain of a "headache", and call in sick.
He's chilled to the bone, hasn't eaten all day, has the flu, and then runs into a burning building
You drink your coffee on your way to the mall.
He pumps on a five years olds chest on the way to the hospital.
You make sure you're cell phone is in your pocket.
He makes sure the pass device on his pack is working.
You talk trash about your "buddies" that aren't with you.
He watches his buddy fall through four floors.
You walk down the beach, staring at all the pretty girls.
He walks down the highway looking for the motorcyclists missing limb.
You complain about how hot it is.
He wears fifty pounds of gear in the middle of July and drags a body out of 1600 degree flames.
You go out to lunch, and complain because the restaurant got your order wrong.
He hasn't seen a meal since last shift at breakfast.
Your maid makes your bed and washes your clothes.
He's worn the same stinking, wet, grungy clothes for the past 24 hours....no time for a shower.
You go to the mall and get your hair redone.
He holds the hair of some college girl while she's puking in the back of the ambulance.
You're angry because your class ran 5 minutes over.
His shift ended 2 hours ago and he's on for another 24 hours at a station thirty miles away.
You call your girlfriend and set a date for tonight.
He calls his wife to tell her he made it back alive....then leaves abruptly for another fire.
You YELL and SCREAM at the engine that just past you because they SLOWED you down.
He's in the back of the engine, going to cut somebody out of their car only to find out that their dead and their daughter is barely alive.
You roll your eyes as a baby cries.
He cries as he hears his new born cry in the hospital....but he was taking a drunk teenager in when his boy was born.
You criticize your FIRE DEPT. and say their never there quick enough anyway.
He blows the air horn while the person in front of them REFUSES to MOVE while talking on their cell phone and doing their makeup.
You hear the JOKES about fallen firefighters and say they should have KNOWN BETTER.
He feels the floor give way while he's carrying an old lady from her bedroom and tosses on to the hard floor and falls into the unknown.
You see the bright lights when you go by.
He sees the broken bodies lying around the car.
You are asked to go to the store by your parents. You don't.
He looks into buying a bullet proof vest because he has been shot at trying to save the shooting victims life.
You stay at home and watch TV.
He takes his spare time to wash the wagon, restock the ambulance and maybe call his mother to tell her not to worry, he'll be home the next night
You crawl into your soft bed, with down pillows, and get comfortable.
He tries to sleep on his spring board bed but keeps getting woken up by the gong and bell, ah, one hour of sleep, it should due till tomorrow night.
You sit there and judge him, saying that its a waste of money to have them around. Garbage truck workers make more than he does,
but its NOT for the MONEY, its for the people who DON'T appreciate what he does.

And now the voters of florida have cut the budgets of Fire, EMS and Police they really have shown us how little the appreciate us!

 

[JPINFV]

/me sighs.

I guess even "hero" work has it's downsides. No sense complaining about things that aren't going to change (dangers of fire fighting, cleaning/stocking etc).

 

[MedicPrincess]

It doesn't matter now Ninja. The time to be educating is over. It simply boils down to people do not believe that jobs will actually be lost, services will actually be cut, lives will actually be affected. Even if they do believe all that will happen, it does not matter because it does not affect them directly. Nobody thinks they will be the one having the heart attack and response times are delayed d/t decreased staffing. They don't believe they will be the one waiting on a a LEO response, only to be waiting and waiting d/t staff cuts.

Cities, Counties, and otherwise have known that these cuts were possibly coming for long enough that they should all have contingency plans in place. If "worst case scenerio" plans were not made, then shame on that area.

I can tell you, on Fire District that I respond with regularly, laid off 5 FF effective today.

It was part of their contigency plan. It does not matter to the citizens though....they do not know the people that got laid off. They are not related. They do not care.

But I we better ensure our level of service is the same!

Thank god I no longer work for a private service that does not rely on tax dollars.

 

[Ridryder911]

At least Fire Service usually is able to get the sympathy vote of the people for the "heroes" where others do and perform just as a dangerous and important job without any notice of the public.

I just came out of State EMS meeting discussing the same topic of EMS being shutdown because lack of funding. Many presume the public cares.. they do in a different way.

They will endorse Police out of fear and potential financial losses from thefts and damage, they will also endorse Fire because of ISO ratings (homeowners insurance rates are based upon) but for EMS... hmm a nice convenience, but hopefully not needed. Again, as usual unless it effects them on a financial or "out of pocket".. or on a personal level, no one cares. We have became an apathetic nation...

I would not "bank" upon private 911 services making it long. Most private are supplemented by government funding somehow.

R/r 911

 

[VentMedic]

Oh the scare tactics people of Florida have been hit with over the past few weeks prior to election. Did you wonder how much of your tax payer dollars were used by special interest groups in the cities/counties to promote those scary commercials? The Fire Union could also have spent the dues better by working with the government agencies to ensure stability and cut the pork from all those "special projects".

Luckily 64% of Florida saw through the crap.

If you are losing FF jobs now it is not because of this amendment but rather a dwindling tax base based on residents and businesses.

Now for a little Taxation 101.

Florida is living in a tax nightmare now with taxes being increased dramatically 2 - 4x over the past few years. Yet, services provided by the county have not changed dramatically. It has been more business as usual for the majority of services. I hate to think my taxes were used only for the nice shrubs and pretty fountain by city hall. There's enough pork in city and county politics that could be used to keep services viable. Check your own community's budget. It can make for interesting reading. I believe that is what pushed the vote when some of those budgets were published.

The tax structure is very dependent on property owners and businesses.

Florida is no longer the pearl of retirement. Arizona, New Mexico and even California are attracting the baby boomers.

Without some tax relief, people will also be more inclined to remain renters which will add little to the tax base.

Businesses are no longer able to expand or exist in some areas. This is evidenced by the many Ma and Pa stores that have closed over the past 5 years. Large companies are also not entering Florida like they used to which decreases the growth of jobs, new residents and property owning tax payers.

Not only is it a matter of attracting retirees but also young people. If the taxes and overall cost of living are too high, they will not be able to buy and settle. Thus, recruitment for Law, Fire and EMS may become difficult. Currently the FDs in my area do not have recruitment problems, but, they have laxed their residency requirements. There are EMS and FD workers now buying homes 2 to 3 counties away. Many are in unincorporated areas for tax reasons. This is worrisome when we have our hurricanes. The FF and EMS personnel will be torn between looking after the safety of their families and property or remaining on duty for several days. When their homes are nearby, even if their families are safe in another area, they have a better feeling of knowing their property is closer. Response time of these individuals to their duty stations is long and that can mean a lot in a time of disaster or any major incident that may require additional personnel.

Between the housing costs, insurance and taxes Florida will continue to lose people that provide vital services or support to the services by taxes.

This is only one small step for tax reform. I hope there will be more. This is a wake up call for the communities and counties to reevaluate their priorities be it a new fountain with pretty shrubs or keeping their fire stations.

Trying to scare off the people who pay taxes is not the way. If the Fire unions continue to run this amendment into the ground, retirees considering Florida becoming their home will definitely think twice about moving here and the tax base will be even more in the toilet. That would be unfortunate since most of the information is misleading and meant to scare to achieve someone's own personal agenda for their favorite pork project which doesn't include Fire or EMS.

Now for the post by FireNinja.
There are a lot of jobs that have better working conditions than the FD and pay more.

There are also a lot of jobs that have worst working conditions and pay very little with no benefits.

If the FD is stressing you out, you do have options.

 

[reaper]

Don't worry so much! The county's are just going to raise the fees on all their services, to make up the difference in property taxes!!