holtsville chief on Fox News

[Unregistered2342342342]

they must be hooked into Newsday.
what the chief should have said besides the obvious is look at all the FDNY cars that go to the suburbs when their users are not at work. Same principle and these guys are paid.
Sorry the chief could not think on his feet but I am sure the reporter was a bit overwhelming.

[Unregistered132457]

im sure the chief of holtsville bitches about there taxes being to high too
well at least he knows why
with gas prices as high as they are it is disrespectful and disgraceful to the tax payers that bought the vehicle and pay the gas
if your are getting more out of vollin that your putting which is that case here there is something wrong
you do it out of the goodness of your heart not to get a vehicle or gas
all he has done is put yet another bad name on the vol community fd's and ambulance co
THIS IS A CRIME!!!!!!

[Unregisteredloser]

Get A Life Loser!

[akidlenyn]

The one question the reporter didn't ask was "Do you pay for your own gas" all the the interviews with public were about rising gas prices but all the questions to the chief were about use of the vehicle. Classic media switch....as one question but answer it a different way with sound bites that presumably answer the question but really are a totally different subject.

Actually Newsday is tied in with News12 but you will never see this type of thing on News 12....they love us.

[dontknowdont tell]

The one question the reporter didn't ask was "Do you pay for your own gas" all the the interviews with public were about rising gas prices but all the questions to the chief were about use of the vehicle. Classic media switch....as one question but answer it a different way with sound bites that presumably answer the question but really are a totally different subject.

Actually Newsday is tied in with News12 but you will never see this type of thing on News 12....they love us.

YEAH OK That will be the day a Chief pay for his or her own gas NOT. Actually, not that they do it. A Chief is supposed to keep a log book in the vehicle and log private use from official use and declare that private use on his or her taxes along with those stipends that the department or company give them…oops shhh don’t tell the tax payers about those stipends shhhhhhhh.

[1099]

YEAH OK That will be the day a Chief pay for his or her own gas NOT. Actually, not that they do it. A Chief is supposed to keep a log book in the vehicle and log private use from official use and declare that private use on his or her taxes along with those stipends that the department or company give them…oops shhh don’t tell the tax payers about those stipends shhhhhhhh.

The BOFC is suppose to give the Chief's 1099s for the amount of fuel consumed during private use of the vehicles. Who pays for the tolls to NYC?

[Unregisteredda chief]

The BOFC is suppose to give the Chief's 1099s for the amount of fuel consumed during private use of the vehicles. Who pays for the tolls to NYC?

The taxpayers pay the tolls, who else !

[UnregisteredCoram]

Hey chief call the Coram FD they have been raping the public for 40 years and have not gone to jail. They can give you some good advice on how not to talk to Newsday.

[Unregistered Taxpayer]

im sure the chief of holtsville bitches about there taxes being to high too
well at least he knows why
with gas prices as high as they are it is disrespectful and disgraceful to the tax payers that bought the vehicle and pay the gas
if your are getting more out of vollin that your putting which is that case here there is something wrong
you do it out of the goodness of your heart not to get a vehicle or gas
all he has done is put yet another bad name on the vol community fd's and ambulance co
THIS IS A CRIME!!!!!!

It's Not A Crime!!

What you may or may not realize is that there is NO Crime here. you forget that the Holtsville Board of Fire Commisioners approved the use and allowed the Chief of the Department to use the vehicle for going back and forth between the city and Holtsville.
As a taxpayer myself, Yes, I too would like a vehicle to go back and forth beween work and home at the expense of others. However, I would not like the fime print that goes with it. Countless hours of missed family Holidays, Birthdays, Kids sporting events, etc..
We sit here and complain about the cost of taxes forever increasing, yet we are the first to also praise our volunteers when they save a life or spare a buring residence. Unfortuantely, we are also the first to blame and point fingers when something like this comes up.
I have been myself to only a few commioner meetings over the years, but i have never once seen the face or faces of any of those people on tv expressing there concerns over the use of the department CHief taking his vehicle to and from work.. I'm just a bit curious as to what they would say if they were on the expressway in the middile of the night and had an accident where they were seriously injured and this CHief just happen to stop upon it as he was on his way home from work. I'm pretty sure that the fact of him being medically qualified and being able to instantly radio for additional help wouldn't soon be forgotten.
I have no ill will toward those who voice concerns, but I do take issue with those who voice there concerns in the wrong arena.
YOU, the people are the ones who elected your local board of fire commisioners. If you have concerns or don't like something being done, than put down the remote for your tv and come down to a commioners meeting and ask questions!! The department has been there for over 75 years serving the community, it's not like you don't know the address...

[UnregisteredNOT]

YEAH OK That will be the day a Chief pay for his or her own gas NOT. Actually, not that they do it. A Chief is supposed to keep a log book in the vehicle and log private use from official use and declare that private use on his or her taxes along with those stipends that the department or company give them…oops shhh don’t tell the tax payers about those stipends shhhhhhhh.

Actually it DOES NOT have to be 1099... Check the facts before posting something. Your sounding as bad as the reporter who did the story with non residents from street that are not even in Holtsville's District. Doubt you will see a retraction of those facts...

[Unregisteredhey]

How about the chief drive his own freaking car

[UnregisteredSeriously?]

How about the chief drive his own freaking car

Because he is the Chief, ALL THE TIME!! We are not just talking about a person that is a volunteer, we are talking about a person that is responsible for the lives of each of the members of the department he oversees and for the lives of the members of the community he serves. Are people really not aware of just how many people in ranking positions throughout New York City, Nassau and Suffolk County whom take vehicles home from there jobs once they are off duty?
I mean seriously, we ae talking about someone who has been with the department in question Longer than he has been a Police Office, Husband or a Father. Yet we st here and throw a camera in a persons face as they are leaving there place of employment? C'mon. how hard would it have een for the News or the people / person(s) who brought this forward to just ask the Fire Department abou the vehicles use and to express there concerns once they found out.
We love to rip people apart in this country. Holding people accountable is one thing, but to not have all the facts straight and then ambush a person when leaving work is totally improper.

[chief cars at work]

When people are working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, all the while paying their own gas, tolls, and other expenses, perhaps it is time to rethink these policies. Can a chief realistically expect to respond from 53 miles away? I understand that some jobs allow people to leave work for fires, but the NYPD is not one of them. Since he claims to have 3 other chiefs working for him when he isn't in town, it seems unnecessary. I have seen chiefs leave their cars at the firehouse and drive their own cars to work-- and these guys only had to drive 20 miles or so. I have also seen these guys go to the alarm in their personal cars and assist in command (along with those extra chiefs who are already in town).

And as mentioned before, if you want to view this as a take-home car like one would receive with any corporate job, then you should be fine with him claiming it as income.

[Unregisteredhey]

When people are working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, all the while paying their own gas, tolls, and other expenses, perhaps it is time to rethink these policies. Can a chief realistically expect to respond from 53 miles away? I understand that some jobs allow people to leave work for fires, but the NYPD is not one of them. Since he claims to have 3 other chiefs working for him when he isn't in town, it seems unnecessary. I have seen chiefs leave their cars at the firehouse and drive their own cars to work-- and these guys only had to drive 20 miles or so. I have also seen these guys go to the alarm in their personal cars and assist in command (along with those extra chiefs who are already in town).

And as mentioned before, if you want to view this as a take-home car like one would receive with any corporate job, then you should be fine with him claiming it as income.

I'm just a bit curious. Would those same people that are working 2, 3 obs be happier if there local fire department was an all paid system and they worked a 4th. or 5th. job? I'm just asking because people seem to have lots of comments, but yet I don't see a single one of these people ever stop down at a fire house to attend a borad meeting taht are usually held a couple of times a month. I'm just a bit curious as to what the people of Holtsville believe is a fair or unfair for those that protect there lives and there property everyday. I also like how your post does nothing to address anything with regards to what exactly this VOLUNTEER has had to go through since this report has aired. Does one really believe that it was fair or necessary to address the issues in this forum, rather than the one available to ALL Holtsville citizens..
I'm not saying that there is not room for compromise with regards to what the report stated or what the residents are upset with, but you have to admit, this was a Sucker Punch report. I especially like how the report would not specify which official from the Holtsville Fire District whom she spoke with. These people are Elected officials! It seems to me that if I were doing a report, I would not be giving the very elected officials that allowed this and the many other Chief's before this one the right to not tell the members of the Holtsville Fire District who the officials name was.
People, it is your right and your duty to VOTE for your local elected officials.. If your pissed off about the way things are being done, then step up to the plate and do something about it..

[77778888]

Not a Crime is 110% correct. I agree with it all the way. I pay taxes and do you really think that your taxes are so high here on long island is because a chief drives his car around......BS............

[Unregisteredhey]

When people are working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet, all the while paying their own gas, tolls, and other expenses, perhaps it is time to rethink these policies. Can a chief realistically expect to respond from 53 miles away? I understand that some jobs allow people to leave work for fires, but the NYPD is not one of them. Since he claims to have 3 other chiefs working for him when he isn't in town, it seems unnecessary. I have seen chiefs leave their cars at the firehouse and drive their own cars to work-- and these guys only had to drive 20 miles or so. I have also seen these guys go to the alarm in their personal cars and assist in command (along with those extra chiefs who are already in town).

And as mentioned before, if you want to view this as a take-home car like one would receive with any corporate job, then you should be fine with him claiming it as income.

You're right, when you're working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meat, it's tough to see someone driving a company paid vehicle around.

What you have to remember is that these people work their 2nd & 3rd jobs for compensation. The Chief is putting in (in some cases) 60hrs a week for NO compensation.

Look at it this way, if it costs $100/wk for commuting costs, that's around $5000 a year it's costing the taxpayers.

I know everybody likes to keep touting that "volunteer" flag but times are changing. People keep throwing up that times are tough & people have to work multiple jobs, the same goes for the volunteers. Most people just don't have the ability to donate their time for free anymore. Things like a pension & some "Perks" around the Firehouse are basically a last ditch effort to keep the volunteer fireservice intact. The fact is that all of you complainers about the volly service may very well get your wish of having a paid department. That means payrolls approaching & even exceeding $1,000,000 in most fire districts, keep in mind, that's on top of the opperating budget that we run with today. In 90% of the homes, taxes will go up, it's basic economics.

So, next time you start complaing about the firhouses, or the chief trucks, consider the alternative. More taxes and in some cases increased response time.

[7778895]

Dido, could not have said it better myself.

[Unregisteredfoxsux]

How about the chief drive his own freaking car

The same could be said to you and hundreds others that call ambulances for BS, with six cars in the driveway and all sorts of family members there. Thinking if I go to the hospital in an ambulance I bypass the waiting room.

I always laugh when we bring them to triage and they get stuck in waiting room anyway.

Chief's typically put in 40-60 hours per week besides their normal employment, this is a joke making a big deal out of this. He has earned that vehicle period.

Fire districts are tax exempt so they pay half the cost of gasoline that you see at the pump. This would equate to pennies per taxpayer per year, for a person that does a very difficult job 24/7/365.

Walk a mile in his shoes, put in the hours of training, the years of service, running out during Thanksgiving dinner, or Christmas, or ringing in the new year with a intox OD instead of your loved ones.

Fox 5 sucks and Barbara Nevens Taylor is just trying to make a name for her self vis a vis Liz Moore.

This is a non issue, no laws were broken. The people complaining do nothing to serve their community, no where near the level of dedication and time it would take to achieve the rank of fire chief. Or they are IAFF trolls, or disgruntled because they have not been able to make the grade.

Let it go, it is nonsense

[cheeef]

Just got home from a board meeting....members of public in attendance.......zero....go blow fox 5

[the public]

I love how everybody assumes that the only people who don't like the chief driving 53 miles to work (106 round trip) everyday are the ones who have never volunteered. The issue is a lot bigger than one guy driving to and from work. He might do a lot for free, but so do so many other volunteers who don't get a car to make a 100 mile round-trip to a job from which they cannot respond to alarms. Sure, gas is cheaper, but the taxpayers are paying for it anyway. Those miles also add up. What if, because of all of the wear and tear put on this vehicle, the district is forced to replace it sooner than they had planned? Fully Loaded Tahoes don't come cheap, and neither do lighting and graphics packages.

Sure, no laws were broken, but this story is a wake up call to Fire Districts to rethink some of their policies. When every citizen is calling for transparency, and taxpayers are sick of seeing government money going to companies just so officials can get perks, maybe these districts should be putting restrictions on the usage of their vehicles.

[Unregistered6930]

Just got home from a board meeting....members of public in attendance.......zero....go blow fox 5

Where did you find a Board meeting at 3am, all I could find was Tittie Bars. Much more fun than a board meeting, great idea, lets move the board meetings to ------- na never mind

[Unregisteredtaxpayers]

I love how everybody assumes that the only people who don't like the chief driving 53 miles to work (106 round trip) everyday are the ones who have never volunteered. The issue is a lot bigger than one guy driving to and from work. He might do a lot for free, but so do so many other volunteers who don't get a car to make a 100 mile round-trip to a job from which they cannot respond to alarms. Sure, gas is cheaper, but the taxpayers are paying for it anyway. Those miles also add up. What if, because of all of the wear and tear put on this vehicle, the district is forced to replace it sooner than they had planned? Fully Loaded Tahoes don't come cheap, and neither do lighting and graphics packages.

Sure, no laws were broken, but this story is a wake up call to Fire Districts to rethink some of their policies. When every citizen is calling for transparency, and taxpayers are sick of seeing government money going to companies just so officials can get perks, maybe these districts should be putting restrictions on the usage of their vehicles.


What he said !!!!

[U betcha]

I love how everybody assumes that the only people who don't like the chief driving 53 miles to work (106 round trip) everyday are the ones who have never volunteered. The issue is a lot bigger than one guy driving to and from work. He might do a lot for free, but so do so many other volunteers who don't get a car to make a 100 mile round-trip to a job from which they cannot respond to alarms. Sure, gas is cheaper, but the taxpayers are paying for it anyway. Those miles also add up. What if, because of all of the wear and tear put on this vehicle, the district is forced to replace it sooner than they had planned? Fully Loaded Tahoes don't come cheap, and neither do lighting and graphics packages.

Sure, no laws were broken, but this story is a wake up call to Fire Districts to rethink some of their policies. When every citizen is calling for transparency, and taxpayers are sick of seeing government money going to companies just so officials can get perks, maybe these districts should be putting restrictions on the usage of their vehicles.

That's the problem, even with transparency the commissioners don't give a crap what it looks like when it comes to helping out their friends. The screw over the common firefighter but bend over backwards to help out their buddies....it's the same everywhere. Some more need to go to jail.

[Unregisteredhey]

Ok, I did some simple math to help the people of FOX and Holtsville see how they are getting fleeced with this gas scandal. Being that FOX is concerned with the price of gas and the distance the Chief goes to work every day here are some numbers to help them figure it out. The reporter gave us all the sensational news that a Long Island resident drives into NYC for work. 103 miles round trip. Now I'll guess that the Chief is not a new member of the NYPD so I'll assume he works about 47 weeks a year (52 weeks minus 5 weeks vacation) 5 days a week. The department car looks like a Chevy Tahoe to me. The sticker on a 2010 Tahoe is 21 GPM highway (blue book web site). That works out to be 4.90 gallons a day the chief uses to get to and from work. So I'll round it up to 5 gallons. Gas retails in Holtsville for $3.99 a gallon. So again I'll round it up to $4.00. Now I don't know if the Holtsville Fire Department buys gas in bulk so I will stick with the retail average that I found on gas buddy. So 5 gallons a day for 235 days at $4.00 a gallon= $4700.00 a year for gas used to go to and from work only. (I will not add in all the other use the car probably gets being that FOX isn't concerned with what he does while in the district). FOX stated that there are 5,000 homes in the Holtsville district. Divide $4700.00 by the 5,000 homes and the Chief has taken the residents for a sum of $1.06 a year per house. Mind you I did not add in the insurance or the price of the truck as they would remain constant for the most part.

Sorry FOX. I'll pay $1.06 to make sure the fire chief has his truck with him. When he gets in the truck he is on duty. I see many chief cars stopped on the LIE, GCP, and Belt parkway at accidents helping out often before NYPD or FDNY units get there. I see them do the same in Nassau and Suffolk counties too. Please find some real news to report.

[UnregisteredHater]

Barbara Nevens Taylor is a Fucking Cunt ! Hey instead of doing stories on volunteers why don't you do a story on our Dumb Fucking President who doesn't want to use our own oil and perhaps stopping the use of the oil from the Mideast. Now theres a real story! Fuck Taylor and Fuck Obama!

[Unregiste red666]

this story is a wake up call to Fire Districts to rethink some of their policies. When every citizen is calling for transparency, and taxpayers are sick of seeing government money going to companies just so officials can get perks, maybe these districts should be putting restrictions on the usage of their vehicles

[redonkulous]

Just ban the chiefs from leaving Suffolk County cuz that makes sense he can drive to montauk 65.4 miles from holtsville but not manhattan 54.9 miles from holtsville.

[bigger waste]

Just ban the chiefs from leaving Suffolk County cuz that makes sense he can drive to montauk 65.4 miles from holtsville but not manhattan 54.9 miles from holtsville.

Do something more productive; get rid of the waste of money Race Teams. Race teams waste more money in 4 months then chief’s vehicles do in 12

[Question 106]

Ok, I did some simple math to help the people of FOX and Holtsville see how they are getting fleeced with this gas scandal. Being that FOX is concerned with the price of gas and the distance the Chief goes to work every day here are some numbers to help them figure it out. The reporter gave us all the sensational news that a Long Island resident drives into NYC for work. 103 miles round trip. Now I'll guess that the Chief is not a new member of the NYPD so I'll assume he works about 47 weeks a year (52 weeks minus 5 weeks vacation) 5 days a week. The department car looks like a Chevy Tahoe to me. The sticker on a 2010 Tahoe is 21 GPM highway (blue book web site). That works out to be 4.90 gallons a day the chief uses to get to and from work. So I'll round it up to 5 gallons. Gas retails in Holtsville for $3.99 a gallon. So again I'll round it up to $4.00. Now I don't know if the Holtsville Fire Department buys gas in bulk so I will stick with the retail average that I found on gas buddy. So 5 gallons a day for 235 days at $4.00 a gallon= $4700.00 a year for gas used to go to and from work only. (I will not add in all the other use the car probably gets being that FOX isn't concerned with what he does while in the district). FOX stated that there are 5,000 homes in the Holtsville district. Divide $4700.00 by the 5,000 homes and the Chief has taken the residents for a sum of $1.06 a year per house. Mind you I did not add in the insurance or the price of the truck as they would remain constant for the most part.

Sorry FOX. I'll pay $1.06 to make sure the fire chief has his truck with him. When he gets in the truck he is on duty. I see many chief cars stopped on the LIE, GCP, and Belt parkway at accidents helping out often before NYPD or FDNY units get there. I see them do the same in Nassau and Suffolk counties too. Please find some real news to report.

You forgot the tolls and the upkeep on the vehicle....Or is there more than one vehicle in questions?

[Unregistered falsity]

Do something more productive; get rid of the waste of money Race Teams. Race teams waste more money in 4 months then chief’s vehicles do in 12

Believe it or not, a lot of teams manage to cover their expenses through fundraisers and out of pocket, including insurance costs. Our last few years racing motorized, our "budget" consisted of about $500 to be used only for food and beverage for any dept members who came to "support" us