I feel for anyone who is challenged to find a job these days but i have to answer No, they should not have an automatic job in Waterford. These are 2 separate financial situations with different guildines, pay, and benefits. If the employees that worked in East Lyme are good employees and do a good job why are they opposed to applying for the position? if they have those needed skills and traits to do the job they should have no competition because they have been doing it for a long period of time. This belief that we are owed a guaranteed job for the rest of our lives is not realistic or make any business sense what-so-ever. Sometimes work force reductions or contraction is necessary especially when the economy has been in a down turn for the last 4 years.

Well said Kevin. Also, I’m finally proud that Mr. Steward is stepping up and doing what is right and not what is popular. I would like to urge Mr. Steward to continue with this philosophy and look at all town departments for cost savings. If consolidation or outsourcing saves taxpayers money, then get it done. If the First Selectman’s job was easy we could hire anybody. We ELECTED you!

Right? What is right for who? You have him as your first selectman. He's not the first selectman of East Lyme. Keep his cost savings for Waterford, stay out of East Lyme. Also by the sounds of it. Waterford is already flexing its muscles before EL is even there. Just a preview of things to come for East Lyme.

Have you ever had the opportunity to see either dispatch center? Why would East Lyme want to give up their beautiful station...compared to the tiny, underspaced one Waterford has.

These people should be guaranteed a job. They do a great job in East Lyme. Mr. Steward should not be saying, "But I am not willing to say that just because you were doing this somewhere else means that you are a good employee… You could be taking an employee that doesn’t have any idea what they are doing, and that’s not what we do.” He keeps employees that do bad jobs now, and one in the dispatch center that should have been fire a while ago. You also can not run a regional dispatch center under one town, that is not practical. It is actually dangerous and unethical. Do the research and then talk. Secondly, if you were losing your job, you would not be preaching to others as you are.

Question>? Why would dispatchers laid off from East Lyme, to regionalize services by moving and continue to dispatch for East Lyme under the roof of a building in Waterford have to re-apply for their jobs? They would be doing the same thing that they are doing now. These new positions are for dispatching East Lyme services, Fire, Ambulance and a heads up to the Police prior to being sent up to the State Police to be dispatched 15 minutes after you initially called for your emergency to begin with. The three union employees they are speaking of have been there a long time and do a fine job. So is Steward stating that the Town of East Lyme has and maintains terrible employees that don't know what they are doing?
“I understand their angst,” he said. “But I am not willing to say that just because you were doing this somewhere else means that you are a good employee… You could be taking an employee that doesn’t have any idea what they are doing, and that’s not what we do.”--- Sorry East Lyme, I guess your long time dispatchers don't know what they are doing and are not good employees therefore should not have the right to keep their job that they are doing now for East Lyme only to move their seat several miles down the road. Maybe Easy Lyme should buy the old Waffle House property with grant money, erect a building there for regional dispatch center and make Waterford dispatchers reapply for their jobs, But only if they can pass the East Lyme's employment test.

Here is where the 'regionalization' goes right out the window when I hear politicians speak on this topic. This mess would have been avoided if they set this up as a true REGIONAL DISPATCH model which would have its own ordinance, manager and budget. The first selectmen in either town would not be deciding the fate of the jobs of employees, equipment or any other asset either in Waterford or East Lyme. It would be the communications center MANAGER who is specifically trained and educated in the running of an Emergency Communications center. Not some politician talking (to the Waterford patch) about how employees will be working for HIS town.. They ALL should be employed for the REGIONAL AUTHORITY, I mean if thats what these 2 first selectmen want this to be.

The cost of trainning new people will be a waste, so why dump people who are on the line already? Put the old Steward in the Dispatch Center for a few hours (no help) and let him get an eye opening. If not, next thing you know, he'll out source to India or China....

I agree with "I Know", WE (all dispatchers) all use the state 911 system, a form of computer-aided dispatch, an EMD program, and are certified by the State of CT. Station W & Station B have been working together for years as they're neighboring towns anyways. If they plan on hiring 4, why not take the 3 from B, and only have to train 1 new dispatcher. If they decide to put on a test, make it a generalized one like a civil service exam, and have ALL of the dispatchers take it, including Waterford's. Fair is fair.

AGREED! If you want to lay off the EL dispatchers then lay off all the Waterford Dispatchers as well. They are ALL trained to a Minimum standard therefore are all equal. So Lets also decide that if they want to Lay off the Dispatchers then lay off the people in charge as well. Put a test out for everyone and make everyone " earn" their spot! OH WAIT that would mean Waterford wouldn't have it their way! SO Fair is fair lay everyone off and start from scratch, retest everyone including the PEOPLE IN CHARGE (wtfd police) or leave it alone and stop reinventing the wheel. Also what about the taxplayers of EL that just spent Millions revitalizing the Dispatch center. So thats just in the garbage now? Or does Waterford get that to? And finally for those of you who don't know the Waterford Dispatch center is run by the police. But last time I checked they also dispatch Fire fighters that go to Medical , Fire, Car accidents and numerous other types of calls. So shouldn't there be someone highly trained to represent the tax payers of the Town of Wateford and EL that has experience with this? So maybe they need to reconsider and hire additional people with this knowledge. Sounds expensive! Wasn't the point to save money?

The screwed up fire dispatching in Waterford is the result of the five fire chiefs. Apparently everyone thinks if this happens the dispatchers will neglect EL and 911 calls will ring forever. Please. This would become part of thier job and they would still be expected to do their job. As for the people in charge, the waterford police sergeant does a outstanding job making that center work. The real opposition to this is the 3 people who stand to loose their jobs and the hobbyist dispatchers (part timers) who were never worth thier weight anyway. It's sad for someone to loose their job but that's the gamble you take in civil service. The only part of this that won't work is the 2 dispatcher minimum... It should be 3... One more thing, for all the nay sayers to blog about this is one thing, 3 people showed up tonight to the RTM meeting on it, good thing it was delayed because now you all have 2 weeks to at least pretend to look like you care.

hey major leaguer use your real name or zip it

Since I don't support your opinion that's what you reply? So much for a constructive debate on the matter, some friendly advice spell & grammar check your posts.

Sounds like someone is bitter over not getting hired in 152

Consolidation is the only way to go..........Towns here are too small for each one to have a department for everything at the expense of the taxpayers........Most states have regionalized by counties and have departments that cover probably areas that are as big as 1/2 of CT!

Don , Major Leaguer is Jake Ragen from Waterford and is a big city ( so he thinks ) dispatcher in New York .

Whoa, Major Leaguer, the 3 dispatchers are not the only ones opposed to this. The EL FIRE & EMS ARE OPPOSED TO THIS. Cant speak about about the Waterford Fire Chiefs and there issues. Another thought going around EL, Waterford who has had there tax base hit by the lowering of Millstone taxes are trying to find more money, cant find it in Waterford, so lets try East Lyme, and New London. Also Major Leaguer, maybe the Waterford Part-time hobbyist arent worth there weight. but you not being from East Lyme have NO RIGHT to critize anything East Lyme DOES.

Maybe the two towns should compare all their full time dispatcher's employee files and the dispatchers that have been disciplined the most should loose their jobs. That way both towns get the best for their money. I don't think I have ever seen anything in the day about EL disciplining a dispatcher, but I do remember that not being the case for the other town.

Wow Major Leaguer. First your real name needs to be mentioned to be considered a valid argument. Second, you say that the real problem is the five fire chiefs. Well, the problem in not the fire chiefs. The problem is not the sergeant who runs the dispatch center in Waterford. As a matter of fact, no one ever said any management or dispatcher was a problem anywhere. Throwing a shot at part-time dispatchers in East Lyme is totally reckless and obvious uneducated response from someone who is not worth their weight in anything. Those people are also responders other places and work just as hard and are trained to the same standards as full-time employees. Keep your mouth shut unless you have something intelligent to add to a discussion! Also, consildation is not a bad idea anywhere if the process is done correctly, contracts are negotiated legally, jobs are not thrown away like trash, and no one town has total control. That is the real issue here, not petty, obvious personal issues.

First I would like to start by stating “No one from EL Fire & EMS is against Regionalization.” The problem is that none of their concerns have been addressed. Approximately a year ago East Lyme's 1st Selectman Paul Formica, came to the fire services with this concept, and he assured the fire service they would be apart of the process if it continued. The Officers & Members voiced their concerns on certain issues that would certainly arise. Mr Formica could not answer them at that time and said he would hold off until he could address our concerns and have possibly more than 1 option to present. A year later on January 12th 2012 the fire services were told they would be having a meeting with the EL 1st Selectman to discuss our “options” of Regionalization. The meeting would take place in the next couple of weeks. On January 25th the WTFD Patch web site released its first article “Waterford, East Lyme Looking to Share Dispatch” SHARE? That's not how any of this is being interpreted by the fire service. We the fire service were under the impression that we were going to discuss options. When the patch is stating an agreement was already tentatively reached. The patch's article, is the first notification of an agreement anyone from the Town of East Lyme Fire, EMS, Dispatcher, or Board of Selectmen were made aware of. No one within these agencies were aware this agreement was being brokered.

Once again, no one is against regionalization, what they are opposed to, is having this agreement with Waterford with no input from the agencies of East Lyme that will be utilizing the service. The agreement proposed appears to benefit the Town of Waterford much more than East Lyme, in finances for grant money applied for. After the first WTFD Patch article was released, Mr. Formica with a seven month head start on the issue, and the issue now public, finally decided to include the Emergency agencies directly effected by this “merger” Which probably would not have happened if it wasn't made public in the patch.

When this article hit the “Patch” it was also discovered that there was a draft contract in existence between the towns of Waterford and East Lyme. Which after reviewing benefited the Town of Waterford greatly. In the past year there have been 18 documented meetings. While 8 of the meetings were in of police in nature, 9 meetings were of dispatch criteria, radios, towers, etc. The eighteen meetings does not reflect telephone, emails or other types of communications that certainly took place. Of these eighteen meetings not one Fire Chief, Fire Officer, Emergency Medical Technician or fire department member was represented. If the documentation is correct, there also seems to be two meetings where no one from East Lyme was present. We understand the police have issues being supervised by the Ct State police. We support the EL police in there efforts to form their own department and we have all along. However, not at the expense of the emergency operations that volunteers and career personnel provide to the Town of East Lyme.

3 seperate Post due to the character count