Most of the population in Sedona is way over 50 years old and all or most are retired and possibly over the age limit if there is one. Of those younger men willing to volunteer, when will they have time to take approximately 1500 hours of training just to obtain their certification, work their normal jobs AND share time with their families, ALL FOR FREE????

I have a nice young neighbor down the block that used to be on the volunteers way back when, he said that for those who REALLY volunteered, it took a lot of his free time but, back then he was single working at Basha’s and didn’t have to answer to his family.

Now, he says that with his 2 jobs, wife and children there’s no way that a person can give that much of themselves FOR FREE! Also, what employer could afford to let one or more of their employees leave work, whenever there was a medical call, I believe that there were 65 medical calls last month. What business can afford to allow that anymore?

So, let’s stop this nonsense about volunteers as no one could afford to do that in today’s times.

Let it go. Walk away.

Paying for ANY SFD personnel to obtain AA, bachelors and masters degrees that enable them to receive an in house promotion is what I am referring to, and something completely different all together.

With you being a senior citizen, my contributions to social security are funding your generation’s monthly payments – as your contributions funded the generation prior and I have no qualms or complaints about that – same goes for the school district. My child’s education – Kindergarten through 12th grade is being funded by the current adult tax paying contributions, as were the generations before and as will the generations after. However, the Post-High school, Secondary education (College) will not be paid for by the tax payer (unless of course she gets on with Sedona Fire District).

Like I said, continuing education – to ensure the operations personnel are competent in their chosen career path is one thing – to have any and all SFD personnel expect the tax payers to pay for their continuing Post-Highschool, Secondary education (College) to get them promoted is another thing completely.

As you can understand, as a senior, I personally am getting a lot more out of the Sedona Fire District on a day to day, month to month or annual basis than I am from the school system. Yet, I am willing to help pay for your children’s education which costs me far more than I pay for SFD services. Shouldn’t you be willing to do the same?

Why is it that the tax payer is expected to pay for the education of the employees of SFD so that those employees can get promoted to an even higher pay step?

My child will have to study hard & work for scholarships & grants while in the public school system as well as hope that I as a tax payer have something left to donate to further her education yet these grown adults expect me as a tax payer to pay for their educations for their promotions as well?

I don’t know how many of you readers had the expectation or the convenience to have your college credits fees dispersed amoungst the tax payers so that you could get promoted in your choice of career.

With a child in the school system, I personally am getting alot more out of the school system on a day to day, month to month or annual basis than I am from the Sedona Fire District. My child goes to school 9 months out of the year, every year, but I have never had the need to call upon or utilize SFD.

Housing values in Sedona jumped, and their were two firefighters wives on the board to make sure it was all spent. According to the SFD website, the SFD budget went from 6.6 million in 2002 to 15.9 million in 2009.

Did your income go up 240%? SFD’s did.

Now it needs to come back to reality. Which is about 8 million accounting for inflation for a district this size. According to SFD it needs to be 12 million or we are all going to die. The last major fire was Lumbermans in 2005 according to the SFD. All going to die, I doubt it?

As to SFD legal fees, a private citizen can call the SFD attorneys and get it billed to SFD. Hazime’s resignation and replacement incurred additional fees.
This is just a guess, but when you are passing out money as SFD did in the past, the whole staff joins in. When you try to cut an entrenched bureaucracy, you better check with your lawyers.

I think the board of Blauert, Christensen, and Erick, working for free to make SFD an efficient and responsive depart should be commended.

If you want to check my facts, they come from Sedona fire.org.