DFD Message Board

3,6,9, Christmas Party

SgtCletus — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:12:10 GMT

Party will be held on December 9, 2009. As in the past you all know who has to pay, Bosses , Drivers, Chiefs. Even tho some say that the deckies, who are working overtime should pay thats not how this works. (Ha-Ha). It will be held at the F.O.P. hall same as last year. Cost is $30.00 dollars please pay your respestive chiefs. Retirees and other Batt. are welcome. Retirees cost is going to be $15.00 this year I do believe. Any questions contact Lt. Mike Myszynski @ E-47 U2 or Lt Chojnacki @ E-32 U2 . Keep your head down and see you there........ Flyers soon to follow.

Forum: Announcements

Lt. Pete Pink

BlueCanary — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 01:44:47 GMT

I'd like to drop a line to all you DFD guys that may remember my Dad, Retired LT. Peter Pink.
Pete suffered a stroke on Monday October 5th. Luckily emergency crews were able to get to him quick and he was stabilized. He is currently at Beaumont hospital. My Dad is looking at long recovery but he is in good spirits. He is well enough for visits if anyone is in the area. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

Forum: Sick & Visiting

Videos on youtube

box1352 — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:37:55 GMT

Here are some DFD videos.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqncKV2GSsY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDOJ_HhVTGw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egFVG-cY1MU

Forum: General Discussion

Possible new class

FFApel — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 14:38:08 GMT

Hey guys-

I just got information directly from a Union official. No layoffs or company closings have been scheduled, and DFD has been approved to hire 34 FFs. I'm unsure if they'll come from the existing prior City employee list, a new employee list, or if they'll start a new general list, but I've asked the question, so I'll post more here when/if I hear anything.

Hopefully this will keep rumors down to a minimum.

Stay safe out there-

Forum: General Discussion

Trustee Pegg Article

CharlieTowne — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 14:54:50 GMT

     Todays Freep posted in their editorial page what I believe is a great comment/retort by P&F Trustee Jeff Pegg. Make sure you read it. His remarks were accurate & concise. If the newspaper allowed more comment space I believe Pegg would have went on to say something like the following:
        Our elected trustees struggle on a daily basis to keep the city's hands out of our "Cookie Jar". The boards scheduled meetings are every Thursday and often are reminiscent of the wild west. We elected members bust be diligent and attend all meetings so as to not afford the city fathers a chance to pull a fast one when they have superior numbers.The city and their appointed pension representatives frequently try to push deals thru using companies and people with a proven record of non performance and shady deals. We are standing strong to maintain and improve the financial integrity of our retirement system.
        Relative to moving our offices to a new building, we really have no choice. Our current facility in the Coleman A. Young Building is outdated, with bad mechanicals, a leaky roof and no parking for our members. Those in charge of the center are often rude and unresponsive. The rent is high. Our new structure will enable us to better serve our customers and with current commitments from other entities to lease space, will add to our systems assets immediately.

Forum: General Discussion

ONE LAST CALL

WAYNE — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:24:57 GMT

ONE LAST CALL

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWGZdMT2dI4

Forum: Retirees

2009/2010 Westside Hockey

HULK1167 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 14:35:42 GMT

Starting Tues Oct 6th and every Tues till April from 0930 till 1100 we have the Ice again at Suburban Hockey 23995 Freeway Park Drive, Suite 200 Farmington Hills, MI 48335.

The League should be starting up around the 15th of Oct.

Forum: Announcements

Info ?

TowerLadder37 — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:39:09 GMT

Hello All,

I am trying to find info on how to get ahold of a Detroit Firefighter, He was in Chicago recently on vacation and taking pictures. I think he said he works at Engine 10 and i believe he said his name was Matt and was driving a red truck if that helps.

I would like to get a few photos from him if anyone knows how to get a hold of him please post and let me know.

Thanks and Be Safe

Forum: General Discussion

Firefighter in need benefit

Jabo — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:42:03 GMT

FF Randy Hall benefit dinner/party
When: October 10, 2009
Where: Axemen Clubhouse
8480 South, Det, mi 48209
Time: 4:00pm till 12:00
Cost $20.00 per person
ladies $15.00
Dinner/entertainment/ 50/50 /silent auction
all proceeds to Randy Hall

Randy Hall is a Commerce FF (Union Rep) who lost his leg in an accident.
He is our Road Captain for Chapter 1 Mi. Axemen
Lets help our Brother in need. If you can't make it to the event
donations can be mailed to the club to show your support.
For Tickets or information please call 313 806 7044 or 313 461 7840

Stay safe
Dan Jablonski (Jabo)
retired DFD Chief

Forum: General Discussion

PENSION ARTICLE IN FREE PRESS

WAYNE — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 13:11:28 GMT

Legislators target pension abuses
Bills call for transparency, accountability

By JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Prompted by Free Press reports revealing lavish travel and ill-advised investments by Detroits two public pensions, Michigan lawmakers have introduced several bills to make local retirement systems more accountable to taxpayers.
Six bills have been assigned to a committee chaired by Rep. Marie Donigan, D-Royal Oak, who said she hopes they can be packaged together and sent to the House floor, where she expects the reforms to pass. Donigan said her committee will start taking testimony on the bills Tuesday.
The bills, she said, including measures requiring more training and oversight, seem timely. Being transparent is really an important issue for elected officials.
Matt Marsden, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester, said that while there hasnt been much talk in the Senate on pension issues, when it comes to issues of transparency, were open to giving consideration to different options.
Rep. Marty Knollenberg, RTroy, said his legislation will go a long way toward preventing fraud.
? WHAT LAWMAKERS PROPOSE. 4A

See pension on Page A04

COVERSTORY|
Shining light on pensions
Bills in state House would cut secrecy, add trustee training
By JENNIFER DIXON
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Trustees who oversee public pension plans in Michigan would be required to get ethics training and publish an annual list explaining every investment decision they make, according to bills pending in the state House.
Other proposals would make public pension plans subject to independent audit, or require retirement systems to keep their expense records, including travel, for at least five years.
"This is the public's money and the public doesn't really know how that money is being invested," Rep. Marty Knollenberg, R-Troy, sponsor of two bills, said. "The public has a general feeling that decisions are being made in the dark and that games are being played."
Knollenberg and others said they were motivated by a series of Free Press articles exposing unchecked travel spending and shaky investments by Detroit's two public pension plans.
Knollenberg's proposed legislation would require a public pension plan to list every deal it invested in during the year, along with the rationale for each deal.
A second bill would require trustees to get training within a month of taking office, and then yearly, on investment laws and the ethical requirements of being responsible for investing someone else's money.
The bill would require the state Treasury Department to offer the training or approve another training program.
Treasury spokesman Terry Stanton said the department believes "such training would be good" but a fee system would be necessary to cover any costs.
Knollenberg said, "The reason I came up with this is your newspaper digging into the problems of the Detroit pension boards, members going onall these lavish trips. They claim that they needed to go on these trips to get experience to manage these pension funds."
The Free Press reported in June that Detroit's two public pensions spent $380,000 during a year on travel by trustees, top staff and their lawyers. One trustee alone spent $105,000, including three trips to Singapore, while another spent $20,000 to attend a conference in Dubai that she later said was not worthwhile.
The Free Press also reported that the two funds, with combined assets of more than $5 billion, do not follow their own rules that require companies seeking investment dollars to disclose if they intend to pay a finder's fee to a third party. Federal regulators haveproposed a ban on such payments to guard against corruption.
The newspaper also found the funds' adviser failed to alert trustees to numerous red flags involving the businessmen behind several deals that later failed, costing the pensions at least $90 million.
Bob Stevenson, an Ann Arbor lawyer who has specialized in pensions for more than 30 years, called the bill requiring pension boards to explain their investments a great idea. He said training also is important, especially because public pension trustees are predominantly rank-and-file government workers, not investment experts.
"The point really becomes, how much sense does the current model make?" Stevenson said. "Education is a great idea; the problem is the entire model is flawed." Rep. Douglas Geiss, D-Taylor, wants to allow local governments to audit their public pension plans. Under his bill, for instance, the City of Detroit could audit the two public pensions. "We need to make certain there is accountability for these pension boards," he said.
Stevenson agreed. "The city is the voice of the taxpayers who are the payers of last resort if the fund is inadequate," he said.
?CONTACT JENNIFER DIXON: 313-222-6625 OR JBDIXON@FREEPRESS.COM

Rep. Marty
Knollenberg,
R-Troy

Rep. Douglas Geiss,
D-Taylor


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Forum: Retirees

New Commissioner

HULK1167 — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 16:47:26 GMT

Good or bad? Only time will tell.



Bing Picks New Fire Commissioner: Sep 11, 2009

Metro Desk

     The City of Detroit has a new Fire Commissioner.

     Mayor Dave Bing is selecting recently retired Second Deputy Fire Commissioner James Mack as Detroits new head of the citys fire department. Mack, a 31 year veteran retired in July, says the biggest issue facing the department is the budget.

     One of the biggest challenges, everyone knows, is the budget constraints that the city is under. Manpower is always going to be an issue and we have to do some things in the department to kind of streamline that to make us more effective with what we have.

     Mack takes over the Fire Commissioner position from Tyrone Scott who retired in June after 32 years with the Detroit Fire Department.

Forum: General Discussion

Remember 911

SgtCletus — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 13:04:38 GMT

GOD BLESS THE HEROS...........................................

Forum: General Discussion

Loss in Buffalo, NY & arrangements

Jabo — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 13:11:27 GMT

http://www.buffalonews.com/home/story/773936.html

Funeral
> Arrangements
>
>
>
> Lt Charles McCarthy:
>
>
>
> Visitation for Lt. McCarthy will be held Thursday, Aug. 27
> from 2 p.m. to 8
> p.m. at James Cannan Funeral Home, 3155
> Orchard Park Road , Orchard Park ,
> NY 14127 .
>
>
>
>
> Funeral services will be held Friday, Aug. 28 at 9:30 a.m.
> at St Josephs Old
> Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street ,
> Buffalo , NY
> 14202 .
>
>
>
> Firefighter Jonathan Croom:
>
>
>
> Visitation fore Firefighter Croom will be held Thursday,
> Aug. 27 from 2 p.m. to
> 8 p.m. at the Amigone Funeral Home, 1132
> Delaware Avenue , Buffalo ,
> NY 14209 .
>
>
>
>
> Funeral services will be held Friday, Aug. 28 at 1 p.m. at
> St Josephs Old
> Cathedral, 50 Franklin Street ,
> Buffalo , NY
> 14202 .
>

Forum: General Discussion

Cuts May Put Fire Boat in Storage

snweborg — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 00:54:01 GMT

http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/dpp/news/local/090812_detroit_fire_boat

Cuts May Put Fire Boat
in Storage

Updated: Wednesday, 12 Aug 2009, 10:42 PM EDT
Published : Wednesday, 12 Aug 2009, 10:42 PM EDT

By SIMON SHAYKHET
FOX 2 News

DETROIT (WJBK) - During the summer months, the Detroit fire boat crew puts out flames on the water. Now, it looks like it's their jobs that are going up in flames thanks to city-wide budget cuts. However, the crew is prepared to fight this battle.

Forum: General Discussion

DFD Heirarchy

CharlieTowne — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:10:55 GMT

After several years now I find myself matriculating into retirement mode and moving constantly farther out of the DFD "Loop". So, let me know, whats happening on the third floor? Has a new fire commissioner been named? If not, is Seth Doyle Esq. running the show for now? Did Tyrone Scott and Jimmy Mack secure new jobs after retiring? Is FEO Fred Wheeler still a Second Deputy Detroit Fire Commissioner? Who will be the next COD? Heard Amos is retiring.
In these tumultuous time there are many good local people who can step up and get the job done. Pray Mayor Bing expands the scope of his search, ignores local politics and hires a cadre that can "hit the ground running". Let me know if you have any information on this. God bless and get home safe.

Forum: General Discussion