The board expressed worry about negative feedback from the 45 employees, about 16 percent of the municipal work force, who returned questionnaires. About half of these had negative comments about Shaffer's performance. O'Keeffe wrote that that could mean losing competent employees.
But board member Gerry Weiss, in his comments, noted that it is possible most negativity came from firefighters because of their lack of a contract.
Weiss suggested the board should find another vehicle to get feedback next year. O'Keeffe agreed that the board needs to improve the participation.
Yeah, readers of this blog know full well I'm not a fan of critical Cowardly Anon Comments and have to agree--and this does not happen often--with NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd, who recently closed her piece thusly:"As Hugo Black wrote in 1960, “It is plain that anonymity has sometimes been assumed for the most constructive purposes.”
But on the Internet, it’s often less about being constructive and more about being cowardly."
But anonymous surveys of a target audience--in this case town employees--is a tad different. And anonymity is certainly required, as I do know of a Information Technology worker fired (or let go with a payoff) for criticizing his boss in an email to the Town Manager copied to the entire Select Board.
Apparently in the People's Republic of Amherst, if you don't like the message--kill the messenger.
60 comments:
The question is not how many negative comments but how many valid and addressable ones?
I don't mind Weiss standing up for Shaffer. I think we need more of that in our town. I do mind if Weiss signals that Shaffer does not need to pay attention to the feedback and address the issues.
The board in general and the chair in particular are responsible for the town manager's performance.
Weiss might want to recognize that his role has changed and back the direction OKeefe is giving on how she wants the problem addressed.
Just as Shaffer was given written objectives for the year, he should be given measurable written objectives regarding the feedback so it is clear what he needs to do to address the situation.
PS I think the expression is, "raise the bar".
It seems to me that there is a contradictory position here. It's argued frequently on this blog that Amherst is full of corrupt incompetents, yet you want to get their feedback?
First Anon (with two comments):
I was thinking the Jerry Lewis movie, although either concept apply.
And now that I'm thinking about it: I wonder if the negative comments--or positive ones for that matter--are public records?
Anon (Nitwit) 11:45 AM
I don't EVER argue that the average town employee (the ones who actually do most of the work) are "corrupt incompetents". Try to pay attention.
"About half of these had negative comments about Shaffer's performance."
no surprise, given the cold hearted way he treated me over the 250th debacle. i know of at least one planner who left because of him.
Since Larry insists on calling everyone names, including His Lordship, and Princess Stephanie, not to mention Cowardly Anon Nitwits, I suggest we have a contest to give Larry a name and use it every time we post.
How about Immature Bully Larry?
Got other suggestions?
larry shaffer, jr
"Got other suggestions?"
Captain America
Or Cheers Bar mascot because everybody seems to know my name.
I love how people use this as a forum to criticize Larry K. Why don't all the anon haters get their own blog and devote it to bashing Larry, as opposed to coming here? I know why, because you would have no readers....
Back to the point at hand, Shaffer is universally despised in Amherst. I can't really believe that the Select board, with the exception of Weiss, who only has about 6 more months left before being disposed of, can actually think this guy is good for Amherst.
The sad thing is if Shaffer placed a 911 call, the Amherst firefigher / paramedics would come to his aid and treat him with the utmost care and respect. In other words they would do their job in a courteous and professional manner, something Shaffer has not done when dealing with the firefighters.
Good point. Wish I were an emt/firefighter and had to respond to his address. Fair is fair, I'd say. Treat him the way he treats others. If I were him, I would start kissing ass instead of kicking it.
Until later................
"Got other suggestions?"
Lumpy Rutherford.
Anon 7:05 PM
I'm sure you may remember 10 or 15 years ago when the Fire Union was having this same problem with Barry Del Castilho.
One night. feeling chest pains (probably from something I said) he did call 911 and they got there pretty quick.
Because it's their job! They are not allowed to pick and choose who to serve.
You are right it is there job and they do it very well. However, it is Shaffer's job to be an effective Chief Executive. Instead he has chosen to engage in a practive of selective favoritism and anti-union activities in which he has actively engaged in a smear campaign against the firefighters with the goal to break the union and turn the fire department into a volunteer organization, like he had in Vernon, CT. You want to see your homeowners insurance go through the roof, wait until that happens.
In fairness, much of the fire department - all of that which serves UMass, actually SHOULD BE a volunteer organization. With backup for a second alarm.
How many working fires are there that can't be put out by a campus cop with a fire extinguisher, how many medical emergencies that the cops themselves can't deal with? Not many - yet people like Larry claim (I assume legitimately) that the vast majority of the AFD budget goes to responding to UMass.
It well may - they are on campus a lot - although they also do most of their training exercises here.
So shift the campus into a student volunteer force and have full time paid folk for the town and to answer second alarms on campus when it is serious.
Once again you don't know what the hell you're talking about Ed.
The Vernon, CT fire department has 150 member volunteers. It is a great model for Amherst, which should move to such a system.
Could anon 10:27 be the man himself?
what man would that be?
The Vernon, CT fire department has 150 member volunteers. It is a great model for Amherst, which should move to such a system. When you are grabbing your chest that is the time you will let us know that an all volunteer force is a good model to have.
Nothing against an all volunteer force but believe me Amherst would not like a model of what Vernon Ct has. Also Amherst Fire generates revenue from ambulance runs. To learn more about Amherst Fire please follow this link. Ignorance kills.
http://www.amherstfirefighters.org/index.html
-Ryan Willey
Well said. Thanks Ryan.
To the 10:52 Anon who advocates a Vernon CT like department.
You are dangerously ignorant, if not down right stupid. You have no idea what you are talking about. With ignorance and sheer stupidity that you displayed by writing that post you must be a total failure in life and bring great shame to your family.
Of the roughly 5100 calls for emergency service that the AFD responded to last fiscal year, only 16% were to the UMASS campus. About 630 ambulance runs and 200 fire runs. So the remaining 84% of calls do not occur on the UMASS campus.
I am a huge believer in the benefits of having UMASS here and believe its economic benefits to region, far outweigh the costs to the community. However, lets be careful in overstating how much service is actually delivered to the UMASS campus.
Where are you going to find volunteers to respond to over 5000 emergency calls per year? Please don't tell me people would have to be more prudent in their use of the 911 system or the dispatcher would have to make the decision on whether the call merits a response. Sorry, the liability for such a system would be unlimited. The volunteer model does not work for a community this size. It is in no way feasible. Employers are not going to let their employees leave their occupation with that type of frequency. The delay in reponse for the 5-10 minutes it would take the volunteers to get to the station and then another 2-4minutes to man their equipment and 5 minutes plus to arrive at the emergency would be an unacceptable level of service compared to what the people of Amherst deserve and expect. I made a 911 call in Belchertown and had to wait 13 minutes for their initial response of 4 volunteers to arrive. Your house would be burned down in that time. Your child's airway obstruction would have catastrophic consequences.
A community this size? Amherst is almost the identical size of Vernon, CT, which has 28,000 residents. Are you suggesting that there are more houses burning down in Vernon or more people dying because of inferior ambulance care? If so, please provide your statistics. As for volunteers, perhaps you are suggesting that people in Vernon are more willing to volunteer than in Amherst, but I dispute that. A highly-trained volunteer force makes everyone have a stake in the safety of their neighbors.
Vernon CT had 3200 calls for service last year 560 were fire related calls and the remaining 2600+ were for EMS calls. So there call volume is about 60% of Amherst's. There are your numbers. Does that mean Amherst would need 250 volunteers to handle that call volume. At what point do the numbers just get too ridiculous. A highly trained vounteer force requires 10 weeks at the MA Fire Academy, if you expect these firefighters to have similiar c ompetency to career forces. suppose the good hearted volunteers will for go their wages for those 10 weeks. Also know where do refute the response time issue, because you can't. Sorry, I know you believe passionately in what you are writing, but in the end your argument is a weak one.
I don't get it? Why wouldn't you want hundreds of motivated volunteers? I bet you will have a waiting list. We need to move the town towards this model.
I am through debating this with you. You can believe want you want, but the facts demonstrate you are wrong.
I think that Town Meeting should create a committee to study this thoroughly and then the members can vote on it. I personally support smaller government and this is a move in that direction.
The oldest saying in the book: "You get what you for." (tied with "There's no such thing as a free lunch.")
If Amherst can "afford" a Golf Course they sure as Hell can afford a PROFESSIONAL Fire Department.
Would you have our Police Department also be all volunteer (and give them a license to kill?)
Vernon doesn't have a volunteer police force. You are comparing apples and oranges.
They do have a high quality volunteer fire department.
Well, hey, if you want to save money the Police Department consumes as much tax money as the Fire Department.
Would you have Amherst switch to an all-volunteer Police Department?
You keep changing the subject. The subject is should Amherst at least investigate how Vernon, CT runs a very successful volunteer fire department. Should Amherst have a volunteer police department? No. I never suggested it should. Vernon, CT, doesn't have it either.
But, we should think outside the normal tax and spend box and look at programs that are more cost effective, such as a town the same size as Amherst that uses a different model for the fire department, quite successfully.
Larry, now we see your true colors. This sounds just like Beacon Hill cronyism. You are all for small government unless it affects your pals. Then, it’s pay, pay, pay.
Well, we’ve got a $2.5 million dollar town deficit and growing every day. Obama has a socialist agenda to take our money and you are spouting more of the same. You’re all for thinking outside the box unless it’s the box your friends are standing in.
It's hard to be the lone true voice of fiscal conservatism but I'm standing true to the cause.
Amherst is not Vernon CT. During the months of Sep-Dec and February through May Amherst averages 125 fire calls per month and 375 ems calls. That is 500 calls a month or the equivalant of a 6000 call per year dept during those months. While the town of vernon is similiar in size to Amherst the fire dept is a much, much busier entity. If the town can afford to subsidize bus service, have a bloated LSSE, make charitable donations, run a golf course, it can have a professional fire department. The one person here who keeps posting his opinion is in the deep minority in this town when it comes to this subject. I am almost wondering if it is Larry Shaffer himself.
‘If the town can afford to subsidize bus service, have a bloated LSSE, make charitable donations, run a golf course…’
You are making my point. We can’t afford it.
We have a massive deficit. It’s the same point that the people on this blog make on a daily basis, except, I guess, when it serves their special interest.
I support ending bus subsidies, LSSE, golf courses and this “everybody else is getting it so I should get mine too” attitude.
Only in the People’s Republic of Amherst.
Am'st needs a professional, public fire/EMS force.
We also need public transportation, which subsidize using a fraction of parking revenue. That actually SAVES us all money (and is good in other ways too), since otherwise we'd have to build even more parking spaces for folks who might otherwise drive, and we don't have the space for those spaces!
(Or we could charge tolls for all private automobiles
that come into Am'st, but then we'd be like London or New York.)
- Let them ride bikes!
You still don't explain how Amherst can provide fire and ems service for over 5000 calls per year with a volunteer force. There is no department in the the country and that is not hyperbole, that has that kind of call volume and is volunteer. Vernon is not a good example, as it has a call volume 40% less than Amherst. As it is Amherst is the busiest department per firefighter in the State. I am all for saving money and cutting waste. However, this is not the way to do it. You are placing a value on human life. If Amherst gets 3800 ems calls the first year we go to volunteer firefighters and 3798 are adequately served, but 2 are not served in timely manner and the stroke and heart attack victims die, is it deemed worth it because 99.9% of the calls were handled in time and only 2 people lost their lives due to the new system in town? Where is the line drawn on what is an accecptable service rate? Will you go to that families' houses and say we are sorry that your father died, but we needed to save 3 million from our town budget so professional fire service was eliminated. Overall though program has been a success, so while we are sorry for your loss, please know the community feels much more connected through our spirit of volunteerism.
Hmmm...I'm sure there are plenty of Umass Grad students getting their advanced degree in "urban planning" or some such and would love to put on their resume that they were the Town Manger or Assistant Town Manager of the People's Republic of Amherst for a year or two. There's one-third of a million annual savings right there.
Maybe we can get people who like to exercise to volunteer as DPW workers (although the savings per person there is a LOT less.)
Public Safety is a 24/7 operation--including Christmas, Labor Day and during the height of New England blizzards.
Volunteers are great as a back up, but when your life or the life of someone you love is on the line: trust a professional.
Vernon, CT.
"Service is provided 24 hours a-day/7 days a-week."
The one person who keeps responding to this and is a big advocate of volunteer Firefighters, just does not get it. You can put all the facts you want in front of him and he is just going to keep coming back with the same answer-Vernon, CT. He does not know Firefighting, does not know EMS, does not know public safety. He is politically motivated and only wants to ram his agenda through irregardless of any facts that refute his ignorant and uninformed position. There is no changing their mind and you just have to live with the fact that there are people in the world who can not accept the fact that they can be wrong on an issue.
I'm sure it is 24/7 (that is probably a law).
The question of course, is it the same quality of service that AFD provides?
Feel free to move to Vernon, Ct.
And take Larry Shaffer with you (if indeed you are not he)
It is 24/7, as in you call 911 and someone answers. Then the volunteers are paged and proceed to the station from wherever they may be (their home sleeping, their workplace, their kids sporting events, eating dinner out, what have you.) Volunteer forces don't man a station 24/7, they respond to a station when their is an emergency call. Sorry the delay in response times due to the travel to the station, plus the danger to volunteers and the general public, as they respond to the station in their personal unmarked vehicles, is not something I ever want to see as a full-time replacement in Amherst. If Vernon was so great why didn't Mr.Shaffer stay there instead of coming to Amherst and ruining and dividing this town in a way that we have never seen before?
Why don't you naysayers do some research rather than just spouting your preconceived opinions. Start with talking to people in Vernon.
So did you once live there?
Enough with the Vernon stuff. It is not a comparable department. Find a department with 5000-6000 calls and 3800-4000 ems runs to compare it to. Until then go back to Vernon, Mr. Shaffer which you obviously think is far more enlightened and a far better place to live then Amherst. You are the naysayer. You are presented with facts and you continue to ignore them by spewing out the same answer repeatedly. An answer that is not relevant.
Also, this topic as lost some focus. The Gazzette dismissed 45 negative reviews of Shaffer as nothing more than disgruntled firefigheters when there is zero evidence to support that is who provided the negative reviews.
Facts matter folks - Amherst ALREADY HAS a volunteer fire department. Who do you think staffs the North Fire Station and is (was) Engine 3?
UMASS STUDENTS!!!! And there is a lengthy waiting list and they only take something like 1:4 which means that there are a lot more potential volunteers there. Folks who work out of the FIRE STATION just like paid guys, just for free.
Now my point is simple: Increase the number of volunteers. Keep the number of paid, increase the number of volunteers.
And as to the percentage of runs to UMass and how AFD makes money on each ambulance run to UMA, why all the fuss about how much UM costs the town?
It's not a matter of whether I ever lived there. It's a matter of whether this is a model that's at least worthy of looking at, which I think it is as it could mean tremendous cost savings.
No one has presented any evidence that Vernon, CT is less safe than Amherst. The people of Vernon want fire and emergency services too and they are not stupid. Just perhaps, they are smarter than us.
They do employ professional firefighters in key positions and they fully staff 6 firehouses and have full-time ambulance service just like Amherst. (You remember Amherst's professional ambulance service, which has played bumper cars of late.)
From what I can tell from your statements, Larry, you are opposed to even studying this. Why I do not know, as you have presented no evidence. You and others have presented opinions based clearly on your feelings. That is not the same as presenting facts.
The point of a study would be to look in-depth at the model, through statistical analysis, interviews, and other evidence gathering, and then form your opinions, rather than the other way around.
Let the better system as to cost and safety win out. Competition, there's nothing more American in my book. Let's quit automatically hiding behind big government's socialist skirt.
Competition over saving lives. Did you really right that?
Vernon, CT has 6 stations in a town of 18 square miles, reducing the travel distance for volunteers and the response time after the volunteers arrive at the station.
So if you wants the same model for Amherst and its 28 square miles, does that mean Amherst needs 9 stations? 7 more stations at about 7 million each to build. If you could drop off your 50 million for station building at the the town hall, that would be helpful, not too mention the additional apparatus needed to staff those stations would cost into the seven figures as well, your savings disappears pretty fast with all those capital costs. Kind of like the profit on Cherry Hill.
Lets face it, you don't get it and never will and every point you try to make is based soley on one town, which is totally different than Amherst. Smaller population, 40% less calls, no colleges, an ambulance service which does not have full ALS paramedic service, firefighers you are not academy trained, how many differences need to pointed out to you, before you can go find a more similiar municipality to study? Oh wait a minute, you can't because there are none.
Back to the original topic. Why were there only 40+ responses? There are more than 40 Town employees. Was this less then last year? The few employees I know did not take the Select Board seriously, and believe that what ever they say will make little difference.
Also how many residents submitted comments? Where are they?
Yeah, sure this is after all Academic Amherst--so by all means let's do a study.
And while we're at it let's study making the Police Department or DPW all volunteer. Let's do a study to see if you are town manager Larry Shaffer.
How do you "compete" with free?
Sure, maybe I'll do a "Pay You $10 a month to come work out" campaign in order to compete with the new Umass $50 million Recreation Center free to student undergrads.
Yes, Larry: knowledge bad. Why study anything?
And no one's suggesting that the Amherst PD become a volunteer force, so stop bringing that up.
Larry, you've shown your true stripes. So much for mister fiscal budget hawk. Who can compete with free you ask? We are talking about town government not free enterprise, so it's about getting the same service at a lower cost.
IF town government ran itself more like "free enterprise" we would not be in the MESS we are currently in.
You would replace an ENTIRE professional department with volunteers, eh?
If the Uber-Powerful Teachers Union simply gave up their COLA's this year it would save over $1 million.
Gee, maybe we should threaten the Union with a "study" to determine if the Teachers could be replaced by volunteers since education consumes the VAST majority of town tax money.
Nitwit.
You keep changing the subject, and now you have added name calling because you have no argument I guess. Vernon doesn't run their school system on volunteers, nor the police or waste treatment, just the fire department. Some things suit themselves to this model and others don't.
No one is suggesting the fire department become volunteer? Huh? That is what you have been suggesting for two days!
Your point keeps getting rebuked by facts and all you can do is keep coming back is study vernon, ct. Vernon is not some sort of pancea. It is another town with a bleak financial outlook. I am not sure why you want to study them. That is not even considering the fact that the town is no way comparable to Amherst. You and your useless points, backed up by no facts and only your political agenda bore me and has no chance of gaining substaintial ground.
We need to confront Weiss and ask why only 16% of the workforce returned appraisals of Shaffer's work. Why 45 were negative and why he dismissed them as sour grapes from the Firefighters?
Okay, since you are SUCH an expert:
Did venerable Vernon ALWAYS have such a system? Or did they once have a professional Fire Department and then suddenly AXED it in favor of volunteers?
What kind of a message does that send to those other employees (Police, DPW, Teachers) who YOU--being the freaken expert (Anonymous of course) deem do not "suit themselves to this model." At least not at the moment.
Maybe if you left your name and qualifications it would pacify their fears.
##################################
"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out --Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out --Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me -- and there was no one left to speak for me."
All the facts you need but Shaffer doesn't want you to see....
www.amherstfirefighters.org
I think the whole point of Anonyminity is not that we are cowards, but that there's no reason to do something that would possibly cause you to face retribution when you're simply speaking your mind on a subject without any personal stake for you.
For instance, let's say these anonymous employees think their boss is a screw-up. Thing is, he's not enough of a screw-up that anyone needs to get on the rooftops and yell about it, he's not for instance setting minority workers on fire. He's just a screw-up.
People will shed anonyminity for a cause worthy of it. For simply stating a possibly unpopular or distasteful opinion without fear of retribution for one's peers, anonyminity is perfectly justified. It is only "cowardly" if someone attempts to accomplish change without risking themselves for it (exceptions made in the case where exposing oneself could result in actual bodily harm or extreme social retribution).
Agreed (mostly)
The Select Board SOLICITED the feedback of town employees, and they are well aware of what happens when you go on the record with criticism.
Well, hey, if you want to save money the Police Department consumes as much tax money as the Fire Department.
No, it actually consumes a great deal more because of the liability issue. I know of one multi-million dollar lawsuit coming out of something that happened in May.
The APD has been doing something rather stupid for the past couple years and there some 300-500 UMass students with six-figure claims as well, a nice class action lawsuit.
This is all below the radar at this point, but it will truly destroy the town budget for FY-13 or so as the town only has $2M of insurance. And town assets like Cherry Hill & police cars can be seized to satisfy the judgment unless people agree to a massive override which I don't think they will.
Would you have Amherst switch to an all-volunteer Police Department?
They can't violate student civil rights any more than the schmucks you have right now have done.
When this gets out of the negotiatin phase and into the court phase, people will NOT be happy.
Post a Comment