A CHANGE FOR THE WORST

I had hoped this blog would give peolpe a safe place to voice their opinions, whether it be secretly or up front, on whatever issue I post about, maybe even poke some fun at someone or myself, as if I don't receive my fare share of pokin'. I have a feeling this next topic will get a few folks talking or even vent a little.
The New Hampshire State Senate is on the verge of implementing some BIG changes to the retirement system and the end result will be the loss of seasoned leaders in the fire service in the CFD as well as many other fire departments across the state. Now let me just start out by saying that there are those out there who are more educated in the changes than I am and hopefully they will weigh in on the subject later.
For anyone retiring after July 1, a loss of round about $5,ooo or MORE a year (on the average) could be in the mix for them. If they will be living on a fixed income, that would be about $125 dollars a week loss from their income. OUCH!!!!! Factor into that inflation, rising cost of health care, and other unexpected expenses one could imagine, the decision to retire (as opposed to waiting a few more years because they "STILL LOVE THE JOB AND AREN"T READY TO LEAVE IT") is simple but tough. Go now and take advantage of the system that's in place or wait til later and take the hit financially. The state senate doesn't care about what happens to people after retirement and the residents of New Hampshire that depend on the fire service, as well as the Police dept's, probably don't know much about how it will affect them each and every day.
Here's how I see it playing out. Just in the Concord Fire Dept. there is atleast 8-10 guys who have the time and age to retire today. They range in rank from Battalion chief, to Captain's, to Lietenant's. Just in a rough estimate, that represents approx. 250 years of on the job experience, knowledge, and leadership. GONE!! Can they be replaced? Sure they can, but who is going to suffer because of their absence. EVERYBODY!!!! The guys still on the job will continue to get on the trucks and put their lives on the line, and maybe the next person in the officers seat will be able to look out for the saftey of his crew, and maybe the unlucky citizen who dialed 911 because their life is on the line will have a company responding with enough experience, knowledge, and training to rescue them from whatever IDLH atmosphere (immediately dangerous to life or health) they are in. Every department in the country is playing the financial warfare game with their city councils and every dept is trying to cut back and find ways to save money. One of the areas that suffers is training. With fewer guys taking classes to improve their skills coupled with the loss of guys who took those skills when they left makes for a bad reipe for disaster. Yet we are still going to get on the trucks and do what we have to do.
That's just my take on it. I hope I am wrong, which would be the first time by the way, (that's humor for those of you who didn't recognize it). I guess we'll find out in a couple of months.