"Thanks Peter. Unfortunately, we have an event that afternoon/evening that requires my attendance."

"Hi Peter,
Thank you for the information. I won't be able to attend the meeting unfortunately."

"Peter,

I will do just anything to support you and your ideas…however I am in WashDC "

"Hi Peter,

I am just now catching up on my weekend emails. {wife} and I are not able to attend the Wednesday Town Council. "

If there's going to be a meeting about how fire district spending levels can be preserved for lower-income communities, how about the district stop spending money on remodeling homes it plans on eventually tearing down.

The battalion chiefs can sleep with the rest of the firefighters, just like virtually EVERY OTHER fire district in America!

Complaining about the potential for spending impact on EPA etc, while the fire district spends like drunken sailors IS THE HEIGHT OF HYPOCRISY.

Remodeling homes that will not be torn down for years is both prudent and an essential courtesy to the surrounding neighborhood.

Station 77 was built with only sufficient rooms to accommodate the assigned apparatus crews and not to house a Battalion Chief.

There's a lot of hypocrisy all around on this issue.

Does the fire district spend taxpayer money in a boundless way? Yes, of course it does. Salaries and benefits are way too high.

Does the Town of Atherton do the same? Yup. It's called the police department in Atherton, not the fire department, but the same idea applies. Last I heard, the town council wanted to use taxpayer money to provide free housing for police officers.

If the town council thought it had a way to detach and rebate cost savings directly to residents, I'd be willing to listen, assess the risks, and maybe even go for it. But their plan is to get that money (if they can; I haven't delved into the details of whether Peter is correct in so far as this is "impossible"), and then spend it. If existing expenditures are any guide, it will mostly go to to the police department.

Nope. Not willing to take the risk I need emergency medical services, and they are late, because Bill Widmer figured out a brilliant plan to transfer wealth from the fire fighters to the police officers.

Outsource both, then you'd get my attention.