Hannon's Rant

"Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives..." - John Lennon

Mayor Dennis Hannon published an opinion piece in yesterday's Press & Sun Bulletin in which he attempted to respond to the pamphlet sent to Johnson City residents several weeks ago.  Fire Starter read with great excitement and anticipation Mayor Hannon's rebuttal to the detailed and factual account provided by the State Association of Fire Fighters.  We could not wait to see all the facts and figures that prove once and for all that the pamphlet was just a "fairy tale".

Imagine our disappointment when we realized that this was yet another fact-less screed intended to distract voters and deflect justifiable criticism. 

It was a "hit piece" on Harry Lewis.  The Mayor accuses former mayor Lewis of lying to him regarding "mutual aid".  No details of what this lie was or proof that it occurred.  Only Hannon's unsubstantiated assertion.

It was another tepid defense of  Joint Fire Administrator Hrustich.  No facts.  Just an undeserved and unsubstantiated "attaboy".

It was an attack on the vote of  no confidence taken by the fire fighter's union.  The no confidence resolution details the misfeasance and malfeasance of Hrustich.  Again, no facts.  Just the assertion.

He then concludes that "the firefighter's contract was the greatest scam ever perpetrated on the people of Johnson City".  But of course, no factual back up.

Fire Starter has always endeavored to provide fact based analysis of Hannon's destructive behavior.  We have provided facts and figures regarding fire fighter salaries, the cost of the shared police chief and the Joint Fire Administrator.  We have provided figures regarding the cost of the endless litigation and the lack of economic development in the Village.   We even provided evidence to show that Hannon's incompetence started while he was Village Police Chief.  It may not have won us a Pulitizer Prize, but it has always been fact based.

As a rambling rant, we give Hannon an "A".  As anything resembling a reasoned argument or a fact based advocacy piece, he gets an "F".

Which causes Fire Starter to wonder whether Mayor Hannon is beginning to lose his grasp on reality.  Perhaps his destructive approach to Village government is beginning to catch up to him.  Perhaps he realizes that the end of his reign of pettiness is close at hand.  The fact that voters rejected Hannon's crusade to destroy the Village may be too much for him to handle.  Suddenly, he finds that he is not the Sheriff of Johnson City but an impotent little man. 

And unfortunately for Hannon, everyone else sees the same thing.

No Confidence, No Competence

“In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” - Laurence J. Peter

Fire Starter has previously provided extensive evidence regarding the overpaid and under worked “Joint Fire Administrator”. As detailed on this page, Stephen Hrustich costs the Village of Johnson City over $83,000 per year in salary and benefits. His commitment to the village is 20 hours per week. He gets an identical package from the Village of Endicott. This places his hourly cost to the taxpayers of Johnson City at almost $80 per hour. The only “sweeter deal” is to be the Village attorney at $200 per hour!

What has not been discussed in the past is the reaction of “his men” on the Johnson City Fire Department. Fire Starter has learned that earlier this year, the Johnson City fire fighters took the unprecedented step of voting “no confidence” with regard to their part time “Fire Administrator”. In any position of public accountability, a vote of “no confidence” is a devastating indictment of incompetence. In the fire service, it is a life and death accusation of dangerous mismanagement. Among the accusations:

Hrustich has failed to adequately staff the department allowing as few as 4 firefighters to protect Village residents. Multiple times since the staffing reductions, village fire fighters have had insufficient personnel to respond to medical calls.

He implemented (and later rescinded) the “automatic first response” between Endicott and Johnson city often leaving one or both Villages unprotected while on duty personnel chased false alarms and minor fires.

During the height of the H1N1 outbreak, Hrustich denied fire fighters the industry recommended respirator because of cost.

During the N1H1 outbreak, his solution for protecting the fire fighters was to have them provide care from a distance of six feet!

He has denied that station closures would result from the staffing cuts but it has already happened several times since the changes were implemented.

He promised to apply for federal SAFER grants alleging that the money could be used for equipping volunteers while knowing that the funds were not for that purpose.

He later drafted sloppy and shoddy SAFER grant applications for both Endicott and Johnson City. These amateuristic submissions were rejected by the federal government while Binghamton and Kingston’s grants were approved.

The chief has repeatedly attempted to take charge of fires and issue orders while he is driving to the fire from his Tioga County residence thereby placing fire fighters at risk from his ill informed decisions.

He has stubbornly resisted utilizing the closest professional department for mutual aid, (Binghamton) in favor of various volunteer departments with slow and unpredictable responses.

The no confidence resolution indicts Hrustich both for mismanagement and incompetence. It questions his priorities and it questions his skill as a fire fighter and chief. Overall, the no confidence resolution paints a disturbing picture of a man in whom residents and fire fighters can not have confidence.

In the end, Joint Fire Administrator Hrustich has been willing to sell his soul and risk the lives of residents and fire fighters to advance his career and bank account. This is exactly the kind of “leadership” Mayor Hannon sought to buy. And it appears that Hrustich’s price is $83,000 per department.