Disappointed, disheartened and confused..............

I had hoped that I would have something nice to relate for a change, but based on today's posting at OBXAlert.net, things are not going well in regard to the negotiations between the SSVFD and TOSS.

I viewed this report to be so inflammatory that I contacted both Chief Harvey and Deputy Chief Shrader to verify the validity of those statements. Both have confirmed to me that the quotes originate from a recent email copied to the Town Attorney, Town Manager, and Council Member McDonald. This email was thought to be confidential and was intended as an internal communication regarding the production of a contract and part of the negotiation process. Although these statements are factual, they are quoted out of context, from a lengthy memo dealing with multiple points of discussion. I was assured that this email had not been released by the SSVFD.

It appears that someone at Town Hall decided to “leak” this email with the intent of influencing or sabotaging the negotiations. I can only interpret the article as being negative to the SSVFD.

I'm fairly certain the Town Attorney wouldn't be happy with this, and I hope the Town Manager would know better than to do such a thing. Having known Brian McDonald for a number of years now, I cannot imagine that he would have made this public or condoned such.

So, who did it and why? If it was a Town employee, I believe there is something in the Town policies regarding the proper release of documents. If it was a Council member, this could only be interpreted as malicious in intent, and should be subject to censure by vote of the Council.

Perhaps the guilty party will have the guts to “own up to it”. If so, perhaps this person could explain how this would help in the timely completion of a contract negotiated “in good faith”.

The logic in this whole situation regarding the SSVFD contract is totally lost on me. If the TOSS intent is to abandon the volunteers that have faithfully served over the last 25+ years for a more expensive and complicated alternative, they should go ahead and do it. Let's get this over and done with (I know that's not a proper sentence). If the true intent is to salvage the situation and rebuild a trusting relationship with the volunteers, looks to me like they need to change the direction and tenor of the discussion now.

Ultimately, this situation will come to a conclusion, which at this point doesn't look pretty. In fact, there is considerable potential for this to end up causing actual financial hardship and damage to the citizens of this town, if the Town Council dosen't put a stop to this game playing. Some Council Members may not feel that's true, but I do hope that they are ready and willing to stand behind their decisions, and be prepared to provide relief to us (the taxpayers and citizens) in the event that we are negatively impacted by their actions.