Furthermore, the FD ended up paying people an extra $50,000 to begin their lucrative retirement early. The extra people were only there as a union ploy to get their hands on high paying “overtime” days. Those positions should never have existed, so again, absolutely no sacrifice whatsoever.

This is not normal.

Being a Firefighter in El Dorado Hills is far from dangerous, and miles from “extremely dangerous”. Police officers have a much more dangerous position, and frankly work a lot harder. Yet the EDH taxpayers pay firemen twice as much!

That’s just plain wrong, and again, you don’t seem to care. Why you people are so focused on your own wallets, instead of your community is beyond my comprehension. I think each of your messages tells the public what you’re all about.

The Fire Board should have been better leaders and managers, and put a stop to the firefighter’s union greed. The Grand Jury asked Fire Dept members to discontinue exagerating or misleading the public, so your community would appreciate more honesty.

A vote for a Peterson and a Petersen will benefit the entire community, not just the fire dept.

And it should be noted that Mr. Pelham is not an EDH FF, a volunteer maybe so he is choosing to support Hidahl & Hartly based on principles rather than a financial decision.

I disagree with the comments pointing to EDHFD not willing to “compromise”. JP they may not have compromised to your liking, but decreasing FF on apparatus, incentivizing early retirements to save the FD money overall, minimizing admin staff, and recently filling vacant spots on the ambulance with part-time hourly, non-union paramedics rather than full time union employees to save money are big compromises. There are many more compromises that aren’t listed.

I’ll be transparent, my husband is an EDHFD firefighter. Let us not forget that at the end of the day- firefighting is an extremely dangerous profession, even a way of life. When my husband gets up and leaves to go on duty, and leaves me and our 16 month old daughter for 48+ hours straight…is gone on Christmas and every other holiday…I would hope that our community appreciates this and know that day or night EDHFD is there- competent, educated, and has quality people to do a quality job. I realize the argument isn’t about the day to day but maybe it should be. Yes, fiscal responsibility is very important, and they have made changes to reflect the times and continue to do so. Lets not drag our first responders through the mud, no matter your position they will still help you through your emergency. I support Hidahl & Hartly.

John Pelham is an EDH Firemen, and we all get that you guys are fighting against any changes. But this is the 21st century, and everyone but the EDHFD has worked to get their budget down to ease the burden for their taxpayers. The public has noted your reluctance to find compromises.

You know John, the community would have had no problem with the Grand Jury report and the Fire Dept, if you guys would simply have apologized, said you made some fiscal errors you wish you hadn’t, and promised to fix them. If you had reduced the budget and shown us some savings, there would have been no board challengers.

The FD’s continued defensive stance isn’t working for you. What would Psych 101 tell you about the position your audience will take if you are 100% defensive? Your audience will assume an offensive position. That’s why you are losing people’s support.

And believe me, if you can lose a 2nd generation Firemen’s support, you have really messed up. So take some responsibility.

Your losses are mounting. Today you’re seeing board challengers, and tomorrow (next election 2 years from now) everyone will turned on you. We’ll all find out in a few days whether enough of the community has become aware of the fiscal irresponsibility. If you don’t make some stronger, substantial corrections on your own, you’ll find the number of people against you will grow exponentially.

If you guys can get creative and show you’re responsible concerning your budget usage (I’d suggest on your own find a minimum 15% reduction), your adversaries will go away. We just want more responsibility.

Lastly John, instead of everyone at the FD getting behind the “union guys”, who everyone knows are most interested in getting as much taxpayer dollars into their pockets as possible, get behind the smartest guys. The smart ones are often not the loudest – you may have to bring them out, but make sure those voices are heard and respected.

The ball is back in your hands John. Show us you are willing to police yourself into some savings for the community, and we’ll all get back behind you again. And I’ll be the first to sing your praises.

I have been to the Tea Party meetings where they stated they were supporting the Pertersens but I believe they have changed their minds on that topic.

It is true that a one point the EDH Fire had four people on a fire engine but then the economy changed and the department changed with the times. Four people on a fire engine is still better than three when is comes to fighting fire or accidents, but times have changed. When the department payed for some of the fire fighters to retire early it was to the benefit of the department, it saved more money than it cost to keep them. That sounds fiscally prudent.

I am a strong believer in education but just because you have some does not make you better than others. I have known many people without a formal education that can run circles around your average MBA, what matters is the right person for the job. Your average person does not want to do the job of a firefighter or police officer but a few people do and you criticize them for it and for protecting their way of life.

This Grand Jury report that you keep hanging your hat on was out dated before it was printed. Of the items in the report that were not incorrect all had been changed before the report came out because of fiscal prudence. Time to find a new horse to beat.

In all of the EDH Fire Board meetings that I have gone to I have yet to to see you there Mr Peterson to listen to the real facts about what the board is doing. As to the Petersens they have gone to the meetings but when they ask a question they choose not to listen to the answer. As you have stated they like you must think that everyone lies when they try to respond.

As someone who has lived in this community for almost 30 years and has seen the positive change the fire department has made from their meager beginnings to what they are now I am impressed and I want my fire department to stay on the cutting edge to provide my family with the right service if they should need it. There are few fire departments in the state that can say that without having to ask for more money.

Please vote for Hidahl and Hartley a keep a sound fire department.