The Fire Commissioners agreed Friday night to spend $568,200 minus the trade in’s on another two new Braun Super Chief Type 1 Ambulances. With this approved motion by the fire board the commissioners have spent nearly two million dollars of tax payer money in the past 15 months on new equipment, 5 new ambulances and two new fire trucks.
Also they spending money on off duty Lee County Sheriff Officer at the meeting again? Why? Just more money spent again where is the transparency?
The Fire Commissioners documents also show they have spent in excess of $20,000 looking for a new fire chief in the last few months. So, Battalion Chief Robert Dilallo was voted by the Commissioners 4-1 to be the Interim Fire Chief starting Aug 22, 2016 with pay in the excess of $132,000 a year.
The board voted Friday to spend taxpayer money on “Full Scale” investigation on the articles in the Lehigh Acres Gazette because according to Commissioners David Adams “its criminal behavior” and “it attacks the integrity of the board”, said Commissioner Linda Cater.
If the fire board had integrity, “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles”. The Lehigh Acres Gazette wouldn’t have anything to write about to it 8 million worldwide readers monthly, said Robert Anderson, Publisher Lehigh Acres Gazette.
The Lehigh Acres Gazette has First Amendment rights, so does its staff of writers and photographers, it is protected by the State of Florida and also the Federal Government. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
However, after vigorous debate by our fore fathers, the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1789 and Ratified on 12/15/1791. The first freedoms guaranteed in this historic document were articulated in the 45 words written by James Madison that we have come to know as the First Amendment. A careful reading of the First Amendment reveals that it protects several basic liberties — freedom of religion, speech, press, petition, and assembly.
When is the board going to stop spending money like its water and remember it’s the people’s board?
“The voters and taxpayers deserve know the truth about the Fire Commissioners and the lack transparency, the absence of integrity, the abuse of power, and the nonexistence in the ability to work with the media and the taxpayers in Lehigh Acres”, said Anderson.