By: RBT
Friends of Mark Fuhrman

I just received this from a source of mine. I’m posting it here for it’s information value. You decide what the truth is and vote accordingly

Here’s Ten Good Reasons to Vote NO on Spokane Proposition #1

1.) Proposition #1 is a fire levy request for thirty-three million dollars in exaggerated needs as claimed by the Spokane Fire Dept. Administration. It’s a windfall akin to a winning lottery ticket and it will be spent with the same reckless abandon.

2.) Spokane already has new fire stations and facilities that were built in the last two bond issues. The two new proposed fire stations would be built well outside the existing city boundaries. So, city taxpayers would be expected to fund city growth into Fire district’s 8 & 10 that have already built brand new stations in the proposed areas. Why not share existing facilities and save millions in construction cost?

3.) There was around 2 million dollars left over from the 1999 bond issue. These funds were used to buy four new pumpers that were purchased in 2008. The fire apparatus are being worn out running on EMS calls. Today’s cardiac save rate in Spokane is 8%. Back in the mid 1980’s, four smaller and faster squads were used yielding a save rate of 27%. Today the SFD has twice as many paramedics on seven slow fire apparatus so reduced staffing is not the real reason. It’s a management problem where the local fire service is more concerned with saving property than saving lives.

Spokane Advised to Quicken Response

4.) In sworn court documents filed on behalf of the Ambulance overbilling lawsuit in Spokane (9-24-2007) – it was discovered that the original overbilling excuse appeared to be a hoax and the fine levied against AMR could have exceeded $80 million dollars. Instead the city fined them about 1/1000th of this amount. This bond levy would be totally unnecessary if the ambulance company was fined the correct amount.

5.) The 911 dispatch center is divided into police and fire dispatch. Both have computer aided dispatch (CAD) software. The police system already has the fire dispatch software in their CAD system. So, you will be expected to pay for system redundancy in this bond issue that might be in the millions.

6.) The current fire CAD software never went out to bid and it was purchased from a former co-worker and friend of Fire Chief Bobby Williams. This friend used to be the Fire Chief in Clovis New Mexico where Bobby also worked. As reported by a Clovis FD employee in 1999, “Bobby’s friend was later fired for driving a fire department vehicle while intoxicated.” Hence, he went on to sell CAD systems. The NW Edition of the WALL STREET JOURNAL reported the bungling by the Spokane City Council in 1999, as they awarded another no-bid contract to his friend based upon a ten year old consultant report.

7.) The proposed Proposition #1 involves the purchase of new breathing apparatus. Despite the fact that the SFD received a Federal Grant to buy new breathing apparatus earlier this year. So, why wasn’t this mentioned?

8.) Golden parachutes for fire bond managers: In the 1999 fire bond, Chief Williams hired both his deputy and assistant chiefs to manage the bond construction project upon their retirement from the SFD. They were paid a very generous salary to work part time doing work that was already being performed by the architectural firms. So, indirectly the past bond issue was used via a revolving door to pay SFD employees. It has not been disclosed with whom he will appoint should Proposition #1 win.

9.) Why build huge fire stations like the one at the South end of the Maple Street Bridge? The reason is simple, “because they have the money to waste”. This station cost between 3-4 million dollars and it doesn’t really do anything different from the ones that cost $650,000. A no vote on this bond issue is a vote against wasteful spending. If failed, Prop #1 will not have any effect on current fire department operations. A failed bond issue will send the city back to the drawing board and cut the fat out of the next proposed bond levy.

10) The true cost to each citizen for this bond issue is about $163/capita*. For a family of four, that would be about $650 dollars. Six hundred and fifty dollars is about the same cost of a medium sized HD television. One would expect that the average family would spend the same time and effort studying the details about this bond issue as they would before buying a new TV. But they can’t, because all the details are not being disclosed. Study the fine print and vote NO on Proposition #1.

*202,000 people divided into 33 million = $163 per person.