Incompetence or Corruption?

“What the people out there are calling for is honesty which has been missing for quite some time now. We are tired of all the deceit and incompetence of this government.” - Joseph Muscat

Fire Starter has learned that under the guise of consolidation of services, Johnson City is yet again subsidizing public safety in neighboring communities. 

We have previously highlighted Village's deal  to share a fire chief with the Village of Endicott.  In the end, the Village of Johnson city paid $50,000 more for a part time chief than it would have cost for a full time chief promoted from the ranks. Endicott reduced their cost of having a fire chief by $45,000 and went from a full time chief to a part time chief.

In the police department, Binghamton was the beneficiary of Hannon's largess.  Similarly to the shared services deal with Endicott, Johnson City is paying  $50,000 more for half of Binghamton's chief than if they promoted through ranks.  Binghamton, on the other hand saved $45,000 courtesy of Uncle Dennis from JC.  Dennis was so generous that he is also reducing Binghamton's expense for other command positions through the use of Johnson City tax dollars.

Fire Starter has now learned that Dennis Hannon is essentially gifting the services of a Johnson City Police Detective and the use of a Johnson City Police car to the City of Binghamton.  Daily, this detective now signs in at the Johnson City Police Station, signs out a JC detective car and reports to Binghamton to pick up his Binghamton counterpart.  They both spend their day in Binghamton doing Binghamton police work.  Fire Starter has learned that the JC detective has been unable to carry out his duties in the Village due to his responsibilities is the city of Binghamton.

The underwriting of neighboring communities is bad enough.  But now, village resources are being gifted to neighboring communities.  Ad this is not even to mention the complicated jurisdictional and authority issues which are sure to come to the surface.

What's hard to rationalize is why is Hannon doing this.  does he think he will someday become Broome's "supercop" or County Executive?  Dream on.  Hannon has shown himself incapable of managing his own "train wreck" of a personal life much less the Village or a county.

Which leads Fire Starter to the conclusion that if Hannon is not "on-the-take", he is being cheated.