Part 2: Misappropriation

Misappropriation. That's a big word for misusing things or funds that aren't a persons. When someone is in a public office or position it's important to remember that what you have is provided by the taxpayers and you must remain above reproach. It's always good to be held accountable but often times from the inside looking further in, if you're not in the management end of things, you really don't understand the big picture.

That's the case with all the false accusations by the fake named person, Steve Stevenson who later revealed himself to be Batallion Chief Pete Donchenko. Remember what I said about being above reproach? We're gonna come back to that on Donchenko in particular. He's accused the board of selling the retiring chief, Tom Hennessy his laptop for a $1.00. That's generally to cost of a "gift" when someone gets something. It was perfectly appropriate to do so. It did not strap the district and it was suitable for a faithful servant after 29 years of service to the department as a parting gift. But Donchenko considered it worth complaining about in order to smear a good man's name, though there's nothing he can prove that the department is lacking because of this gesture.  



Commissioner Ruben

What's truly inappropriate is the use of a fire station for a child's birthday party! AND the use of the fire district credit card to buy that child's birthday cake!  Consider the situation had a call come in and everyone had to mobilize in the midst of a child's birthday party. This was reported to the Commissioners that one of their own, Commissioner Ruben had done this very thing and the persons reporting it didn't feel it was appropriate. They are right. In the history of the commission, no commissioner has ever used fire facilities for personal use like that. Tours happen all the time but they are planned for and it's explained that if a call comes in it will be broken off immediately. A birthday party is an event that is time, personnel and property consuming. And to think, we taxpayers actually bought the birthday cake! Perhaps Commissioner Ruben paid the credit card back but nonetheless it doesn't look good either way.

So, What's Been Going On? The Union, Misappropriation, Personal Agendas and Corruption

The Union, Misappropriation, Personal Agendas and Corruption

Welcome to what will be a mega-part posting about the subjects in this title. There is much to disclose here and I want to be sure it's understood fully by the voting public so be patient and keep checking in. Please understand that alot of the information you recieve here can be found in public records or has been personally verified by me directly. I realize many will read this and wonder how does she know? Well, there really still are firefighters out there with integrity who don't like what the Union has done to their brotherhood  and the divisive nature of it. Just because every other fire department in the state or country is in the AFL-CIO IAFF 2546 Union doesn't mean Manatee County has to be, and particularly Southern Manatee! Individualism still runs deep in this district.

Prior to September 11, firefighters were just firemen (or women as the case may be) who did their job for us in the backgrounds of our lives. These folks were taken for granted and expected to do their duty as a part of our lives in our world. With September 11th, we saw them in action in a way we never realized they worked but for them,  it was an every day, every call event only in a much more concentrated and disastrous catastrophe. September 11th etched heroes into our minds with incredible pictures of regular men and women in firefighter gear going beyond human capacity to handle an inhuman crisis.

Since then firefighters have become our heroes and been more highly esteemed. Children have aspired to be a firefighter and the firefighting community has enjoyed a popularity they had known existed but it hadn't been so prominent pre-September 11. Now they were in the limelight along with the other emergency personnel forces in our country that we depend on like police etc. But,sadly as with any organization, even firefighters are subject to leadership that falls prey to their own personal agendas and corruption.

The Union

Southern Manatee came into existence via the merger of two small but fierce districts back in 1990. The merger was an emotional one but worth it in the long run as the two very powerful and spirited departments came together they proved very strong as one unit. The Board of Commissioners has managed the district wisely in an effort to make it one of the very best in the state. Over the years, there have been "takeovers" of the board by special interests groups who wished to look out for their own areas only but this has not lasted, thankfully. No district should ever be run by one "special interest" group, be it a group of people who get elected from one specific neighborhood and want very specific fire issues taken care of and focused on for them or a Union that is focused on it's own gain and controlling the firefighters needs and benefits which ultimately only benefits the Union and it's leadership. Special interests serve no one but the special interests. These are simply personal hidden agenda's being fed by personnel with egos that don't fit the department.

What Do Fire Commissioners Really Do? and why should I care?

Eleven districts in Manatee County
not counting the city & volunteer departments

Fire Departments are organized in different ways from one municipality to another. Traditionally, Manatee County has consisted of multiple districts, eleven to be exact at the moment in just the county, not counting what's the city and some miscellaneous volunteer departments. Some are small and some are mega-million dollar budgeted districts managed by fire commissions. In Manatee County this has worked very well for a long time, quite efficiently with very few hiccups in the system. Those ten districts are: Cedar Hammock, West Manatee, Southern Manatee, East Manatee, Braden River, North River, Parrish (volunteer), Longboat Key, and Myaaka City. Fire Commissions were originally appointed by the Governor many years ago and then about sixteen years ago, they became elected officials- which meant they had to "earn" the people's vote.



Commissioner Ranney enjoys delivering a new
peice of equipment!

 Now, most people in Southern Manatee Fire District haven't got a clue what a Fire Commissioner does. Even more importantly, most people don't even know Fire Commissioners exist and actually manage their Fire Departments. Let me tell you what a Fire Commissioner in our district does. They get paid $500/month and it's taxed like any regular paycheck. They reside over a monthly board meeting the third thursday of every month, that is open to the public anytime, but usually doesn't get attended except when a controversy is brewing. Commissioners regularly take turns attending the Volunteer Firefighters Meetings on the first Monday's of the month. They volunteer their time to all the charity events the district may be involved in, help deliver new equipment, make themselves available for training exercises, and often oversee various events their firefighters may be involved in. Many commissioners have scanners at home or in their vehicles so they can monitor calls to be sure response times and responses are proper and accurate. And many commissioners spend time at the various stations with the firefighters, visiting during the holidays, delivering meals to those shifts who have to be away from families during holiday times, or donating stuffed animals for the trucks for children in crisis situations.

The Commissioners of Southern Manatee oversee a $12 million budget that they have managed at a reduced rate due to all the foreclosures [less houses and homeowners reduces the fire tax income to the district]. All the while under this reduced income, they've managed to REPLACE every fire station with a new thirty (30) year state-of-the-art building that sits within a three (3) square mile radiius of every resident in our district for the quickest response time in the county, if not state. While managing that same low budget, they've provided the best equipment for the fire fighters, best training, cooperated with other districts in training events, managed to build up to four men per truck (instead of the standard two - which in essence employs more firefighters) and makes our district a higher ISO rating for insurance purposes. Our firefighters enjoy the best equipment to do their jobs with. Even administratively, equipment is top notch.