Villages Fire Service

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  #16  
Old 07-29-2021, 05:34 AM
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There are currently commissioners on the board that would stop at nothing to make moves that they perceive will hurt The Developer, even it it ultimately results in damage to the Villages.
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  #17  
Old 07-29-2021, 05:36 AM
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Originally Posted by villagesff View Post
Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe
After learning it was Arnold behind AMR getting the contract for ambulance service in the county and reading about their response time I want nothing to do with ANYTHING he is proposing. I have had two emergencies in which 911 was called and it was the fire departments EMT that show up in less than 6 or 7 minutes both times. Granted I live only 2-1/2 miles from our local fire department but I think no one else could come close to the service these folks provide and I ALWAYS remember to thank them when I see them in public.
  #18  
Old 07-29-2021, 06:17 AM
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I was told that the reason for the Villages separate fire/EMT service is that Sumter county response time was too slow. The fire department in the villages has world class response times and is worth the money, especially if you are the one having the heart attack.
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Old 07-29-2021, 06:20 AM
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Originally Posted by villagesff View Post
Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe
Villages Fire Service should be controlled by those who live in the Villages
I recently moved to the Villages. Just retired from the Fire service after 34 years and 10 years as fire chief. My department was always always under attack by the Big City so they could take out money. During the time I was there our local department provided a much better, more personal and better value than the big city. Giving control to a larger entity is not always the best plan. In my opinion Taking our Villages tax money and paying it to our Villages fire department with our Villages control is a win for us.
  #20  
Old 07-29-2021, 06:55 AM
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The Villages Fire Dept would be the best service to take over the ambulance service. As a former Fire Chief and Firefighter that is the best service period.
  #21  
Old 07-29-2021, 07:05 AM
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Default Support villages fire dept

We all agree that we need to keep the excellent service of our Villages Fire Department in place and not allow County Commissioner Bradley to take it over. We need to get involved! Contact your local and County representatives! Also we need to attend the open meetings of the ad hoc County EMS committee which are held at the Wildwood Community Center on August 4, 18, Sept 1 and 15. All meetings start at 7:00pm. Voice our opinions!
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Old 07-29-2021, 07:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by villagesff View Post
Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe
The way these mini governments run is crazy. The residents here pay crazy taxes but the way these CDDs are set up more money is never enough. The biggest issue is phenomenal growth and ill prepared for it. My gosh they’ve had over 40 years to prepare for this growth this will not end well. Watch the next 5 years.
  #23  
Old 07-29-2021, 07:28 AM
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Originally Posted by villagesff View Post
No, there are really3 options as it stands right now. Things can stay the same as now, which is Sumter Co. paying through your tax money for the Villages Fire.
Or
They would take over everything under Sumter FD
Or
The Villages Fire could become its own tax district, independent of the county.

I feel it should be up to you the residents of the Villages to decide, not Mr Arnold or the Commissioners. You moved to the Villages for a reason. You wanted the best place to live and retire to. Don’t you want the best services? Sumter County was one of the poorest counties in Florida before the Villages. The Villages FD was formed over 20 years ago because they could not provide the service to -the residents, and they still cannot.
Sumter county has other residents besides the villages. They can barely afford to live in this area. It’s the way this non transparent way of governing has affected everyone.
  #24  
Old 07-29-2021, 07:44 AM
virtualcynthia virtualcynthia is offline
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So let me understand this. Our, The Villages, fire department has an excellent response time. Sumter County ambulance service (AMR) has the most horrible response time, sometimes between 30 min to an hour. Which means you call 911for a heart attack, the fire dept gets to you in 5 to 10 min, but then you wait 30 to 60 min for an ambulance to get you to a hospital. That’s what we have now. What is being proposed is that we put The Villages excellent Fire Dept under the management of the horrible Sumter County management. Whose brilliant idea was that? The sad thing is that if we don’t get this to a wider audience, they will slip it in under our noses. Who’s spearheading The Villages action on this?
  #25  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:05 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by villagesff View Post
Hi
I am writing this as a resident and a Villages Firefighter. Bradley Arnold is trying to take away your Fire Department! It sounds strange, but it is what is happening. I am not going to belittle the men and women of Sumter County FD or AMR, but your Villages Firefighters are under attack. We provide you with many services that neither organization will provide. We as an organization do it for less per call than Sumter FD with better manning. Our Firefighters are treated better because the residents care to have the best services. Take a look outside of the Villages and see if there is a difference, I will discuss and or answer any of your questions truthfully and the best I can if you have any. You all need to let The Sumter Board of Commissioners know you want to keep your Villages Firefighters. Sorry this is so long. I know there will be trolls and naysayers and that’s okay, I just wanted you all to know what is going on.
Stay safe
Make your voice heard, got this from a member of TVPS - SAVE THE VILLAGES FIRE RESCUE
YOUR VOICE MATTERS TO SAVE OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT
Please contact the Ad Hoc Fire, EMS, and Transport Committee and Sumter County Board of County Commissioners to support The Villages Fire Rescue and oppose Sumter County consolidating The Villages Fire Rescue!
To contact the Ad Hoc Committee, please email Leslie.Smith@sumtercountyfl.gov To contact the Sumter County Board of County Commissioners, please email
doug.gilpin@sumtercountyfl.gov gary.search@sumtercountyfl.gov oren.miller@sumtercountyfl.gov garry.breeden@sumtercountyfl.gov
craig.estep@sumtercountyfl.gov
  #26  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:20 AM
DiandJay DiandJay is offline
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If option 2 mentioned above happens in Sumpter County, will Lake County try and proceed to take over as well?
I like the independent model 3; where we as Villagers pay for our own excellent fire department services and have a say in what it looks like moving forward.
Even if it works out as a bit more tax money it may be worth the cost to have ownership of such an important service. Just my opinion.
  #27  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:25 AM
SugarOnMyTongue SugarOnMyTongue is offline
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Thank-you for providing this information and insight. It can be very difficult to get this in this sea of propaganda that seems to overshadow the villages in so many areas.

I suspect the vast majority of people in the villages want what is best when it comes to their health and safety. SO, my primary question is, what is best for the health and safety of the villages? Second question is about cost; who pays, who benefits and is this a fair model?
  #28  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:25 AM
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Villages Kahuna Villages Kahuna is offline
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Default Isn’t Arnold The Choice Of The Prior Commissioners?

Wasn’t Bradley Arnold the choice for Sumter County administrator of the prior Developer-supported County Commissioners?

Now that the county commission is no longer under the control of the Developer, what’s changed? How long will Arnold survive under his new bosses?
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  #29  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:28 AM
Bill14564 Bill14564 is offline
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Are we talking about fire protection services, ambulance services, or both?

Does TV Fire Department have enough resources (vehicles, manpower) to provide ambulance service or would they need to substantially expand?

If the independent district is established and we pay fire protection (and I assume ambulance) taxes to it then where does the rest of Sumter County get funding for their emergency services? Is there any reason to believe our county property taxes (the ad valorem part) would not be increased to cover the shortfall in the county budget?
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  #30  
Old 07-29-2021, 08:30 AM
NotGolfer NotGolfer is offline
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Echoing...thank you so much for your service! That said we've had the honor of some of your folks helping us out and the response time was excellent. It's always been comforting to know you are "there" for us. When one is in what is a medical emergency---time is of the essance. We've been following what the new commissioners have tried to railroad through and quite frankly it's frightening!! They even live here and Heaven help them "if" they ever need your services!! Just saying. These folks are "NIMBYS" (Not in my back yard)....wanting to change everything and how it's done to be what it was like where they were from. Also are RINO's which was false pretenses. Anyway, unfortunately people's lives are at stake. It's not because of the developer but the CCD's who are the rule makers. Just my 2-cents worth.
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