REMS by ANOTHER tax is a LIE......I dont care if they want to turn into a very very very PRIVATE company that learns how to run it themselves....
WE ALREADY PAY FOR AMBULANCE SERVICE.....it is collected from our paychecks....it's called FICA.....

so as far as I am concerned.....WE ALREADY PAY....THEY DONT KNOW HOW TO GET THE PAYMENT.....GET THE 'F' OFF MY BACK.......

I REFUSED TO PAY FOR THE SET UP OF SOME GUMBAS BUSINESS......IT'S ROBBERY AND WRONG.......I dont ask you to pay my heat bill/taxes/grocery
bill etc.......

GET OFF MY BACK......DONT TREAD ON ME......

Tea Party Political Militia.....(and the feelings are that visceral)

REMS is not a "gumba business"  .. it is a vital provider of a public safety service.

FICA was established to provide a retirement safety net .. not pay for "free ambulance rides" .. so I
would respectfully say .. Social Security  pay for ACTUAL retirement benefits and NOT all the other
frivolous nonsense that was added on to it.    I'll pay for my ambulance service through the local
taxing district and the actual bill sent when either I or one of my family members uses the ambulance.

That IS  true conservatism.

REMS provides a service that not every single person uses.  The person who uses the service should pay for the service.  Each residence / business in a sewer and/or water district uses the service, unlike the idea that each residence / business would use the ambulance squad.  The people who use a service should pay for it, not every person.  

You know, the funny thing is that Price Chopper provides a service that is provided by residents for residents.  Although it may employ people that don't specifically live in town, they provide what is a vital service for residents also, unless you think that eating isn't necessary for you to live.  If you believe that we need a taxing district for the ambulance squad, then it goes to say that you would support a taxing district to help support grocery stores.  After all, not everyone uses Price Chopper, but it is a vital service, right?  Maybe we should have paid for Price Chopper to have the new store put up on Altamont Ave. (although, I guess in a way, we did pay and are still paying for their new corporate offices in Downtown Schenectady... through what is essentially a taxing district that everyone already pays into (Schenectady County Metroplex)).

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

REMS is not a "gumba business"  .. it is a vital provider of a public safety service.

FICA was established to provide a retirement safety net .. not pay for "free ambulance rides" .. so I
would respectfully say .. Social Security  pay for ACTUAL retirement benefits and NOT all the other
frivolous nonsense that was added on to it.    I'll pay for my ambulance service through the local
taxing district and the actual bill sent when either I or one of my family members uses the ambulance.

That IS  true conservatism.

True Conservatism would say that if you support them, make out a check and mail it to them.  Don't force others to do the same.  Conservatism says to give to those you think should be given to.  If, for you, that is REMS, then by all means, write them a check.  If others don't, don't make them do the same.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

REMS is not a "gumba business"  .. it is a vital provider of a public safety service.

FICA was established to provide a retirement safety net .. not pay for "free ambulance rides" .. so I
would respectfully say .. Social Security  pay for ACTUAL retirement benefits and NOT all the other
frivolous nonsense that was added on to it.    I'll pay for my ambulance service through the local
taxing district and the actual bill sent when either I or one of my family members uses the ambulance.

That IS  true conservatism.

according to you and REMS being a 'vital' service and the fact that you pretty much agree with national healthcare.....dont tell me
you dont know that the 2 are connected.....are you that shortsighted? or just ignorant.....and medicare comes from where?
honestly....I might be a slow learner...but I'm not stupid....I might be ignorant of some things but I AM quite capable of learning....
and I have.....and the fact is.....THE AMBULANCE RIDE IS CONNECTED TO THE DIAGNOSIS AT THE HOSPITAL....ICD9-CODES.....
they are universal for billing ANY insurance....ESPECIALLY FOR BILLING THE F'EN GOVERNMENT INSURANCE.....dont sell your pile of crap
to me......as for frivilous nonsense added to SS, your preaching to the choir here........

REMS wants new vehicles.....FUND RAISERS WITH YOUR GUMBAS......or anyother business that sees you fit to run and are willing to
invest in you......otherwise...LEAVE IT TO THE PROFESSIONALS.......

Ironically, I can remember when many fire department and ambulance people came to neighborhoods, went door to door to do fundraising - relying on donations from an appreciative public.  I remember my parents GLADLY giving to these hard working VOLUNTEERS that seemed to do the job quite well for many years.

Anyone seen an Ambulance fund drive lately? I've seen them at the cafe and Dunkin - maybe they were fundraising in there?  What are they doing to raise their OWN money, other than sucking on the town teet?

Quoted from Kevin March

REMS provides a service that not every single person uses.  The person who uses the service should pay for the service.  Each residence / business in a sewer and/or water district uses the service, unlike the idea that each residence / business would use the ambulance squad.  The people who use a service should pay for it, not every person.  .

Each property owner pays taxes to the fire district .. and my family has lived in the town 100 years and only
used the service ONCE ... and that was 44 years ago ...   so by your logic we should privatize the fire service
... go back to the days  before Ben Franklin ... when EACH property owner hired a private  "bucket brigade"
to put out fires ....  and if they did NOT pay a "bucket brigade" .. their house would keep burning until they
did pay or put the fire out themselves.
Fortunately,  Ben Franklin came up with the idea of PUBLICLY paid fire companies ...  later .. we adopted
PUBLICLY paid police departments ....   PUBLICLY paid  ambulances services are just a logical and
good extension of  Ben Franklin's great idea.

Ambulance is personal responsibility....accident or not......so as you use it pay for it......just like having publicly paid for fire/police.....not to mention
the mandate of homeowners insurance(you dont think the rate is different based on how many fire houses/plugs there are)? ever play SIM city or
civilization.....go ahead and say it's not 'real life' but the pretenses are there.......

public fire/police make for large higher taxable base......ambulance service is a crumb.....good service---of course....needed,,,????? individual use....
that is why there are fire/police......government dedicated ambulance not needed.....private,,,,sure why not?.....

the ambulance ride is connected to national healthcare/SS/medicare......no doubt about it.......

Quoted from senders

Ambulance is personal responsibility....accident or not......so as you use it pay for it......just like having publicly paid for fire/police.....not to mention
the mandate of homeowners insurance(you dont think the rate is different based on how many fire houses/plugs there are)? ever play SIM city or
civilization.....go ahead and say it's not 'real life' but the pretenses are there.......

public fire/police make for large higher taxable base......ambulance service is a crumb.....good service---of course....needed,,,????? individual use....
that is why there are fire/police......government dedicated ambulance not needed.....private,,,,sure why not?.....

the ambulance ride is connected to national healthcare/SS/medicare......no doubt about it.......

Senders -- I will ask Mr. Liccardi to amend the resolution for the ambulance task district  .. the amendment
will exempt you from the ambulance tax and allow for you to crawl to the hospital when you need an
ambulance ride.
The rest of us will happily pay the tax for the assurance that REMS will be there when we or our loved ones
need them.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Each property owner pays taxes to the fire district .. and my family has lived in the town 100 years and only
used the service ONCE ... and that was 44 years ago ...   so by your logic we should privatize the fire service
... go back to the days  before Ben Franklin ... when EACH property owner hired a private  "bucket brigade"
to put out fires ....  and if they did NOT pay a "bucket brigade" .. their house would keep burning until they
did pay or put the fire out themselves.
Fortunately,  Ben Franklin came up with the idea of PUBLICLY paid fire companies ...  later .. we adopted
PUBLICLY paid police departments ....   PUBLICLY paid  ambulances services are just a logical and
good extension of  Ben Franklin's great idea.

So, I realize that a certain amount of money comes out of our taxes to pay for the fire and police departments, but answer one thing for me.  When and if you need these groups to come to your house, how much is the bill that gets sent to you afterwards?  Answer - ZERO!

Also, the police are also way overpaid, if you didn't notice that over half of the taxes you pay to your town goes to the police.  Now, that being said, they also take a large risk each and every day they are on the job.  They also help to enforce most of the laws that are on the books (excluding that part about the election signs).  

Now, as far as your idea of the "bucket brigade," the fact is that we sort of have that already.  See, in this town, the firefighters are VOLUNTEERS, something that the people who serve on the ambulance squad USED TO BE, until they had a change in management and everybody thought that they  deserved a paycheck.  Funny, I wonder what the pay wages were that Ben Franklin thought about putting up for those who would help someone to fight a fire.  Oh, that's right, people were just expected to help out, as it would also be a protection for their family.  If they help out someone who is  fighting a fire, then the person they are helping would be there if and when they needed help.  Again, that was VOLUNTEER, but people also understood the importance of it.

How much would the taxing district be "necessary" if there was not a paycheck to draw from being on the squad?  I realize that the board of the squad is volunteers and they don't get paid.  I respect them for that and for trying to figure out the situation that they have been put into with the IRS that the former leaders put them into.  The thing is, they have turned it from a service for the few to a business.  They want to run it like a business, then they can live and die like a business.  If for a long enough time their expenses outweigh the revenues, they'll have to close.  

I understand the importance of having REMS.  I see no need to be taxed for them to be running.

Kevin
If you feel so strongly that REMS should be staffed by all volunteers ..  take the appropriate course ..and
go see the folks at REMS ... I am sure they would be happy to have you volunteer your services.

Personally, I would rather pay the ambulance tax so that they have the new ambulances .. not 1 penny
of the tax is going to pay for their salaries and benefits

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Kevin
If you feel so strongly that REMS should be staffed by all volunteers ..  take the appropriate course ..and
go see the folks at REMS ... I am sure they would be happy to have you volunteer your services.

Personally, I would rather pay the ambulance tax so that they have the new ambulances .. not 1 penny
of the tax is going to pay for their salaries and benefits

yeah right.....once a tax always a tax....once a government job always a government job......

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Kevin
If you feel so strongly that REMS should be staffed by all volunteers ..  take the appropriate course ..and
go see the folks at REMS ... I am sure they would be happy to have you volunteer your services.

Personally, I would rather pay the ambulance tax so that they have the new ambulances .. not 1 penny
of the tax is going to pay for their salaries and benefits

I'm sorry, but I don't have the additional time to go ahead and take the courses to become an EMT.  I actually asked at one time if I could help on the squad.  I figured that even if I wasn't a EMT, maybe I could help, you know, like helping with the stretchers, or with becoming a driver, but when I asked if I could, they said that all need to be EMT's.  I don't have the time for that.  

I may, in fact, be applying for a job there in the near future, but this will be in the billing department.  I would not like any of my paycheck to come from tax money.  In fact, I would make sure that I would be billing well enough to bring the amount of their income from the insurance companies up an amount greater than any amount I would be given as a wage.  That is one position that any company dealing with insurance deals with and it  is a difficult job.  I would do my best to get the job done to keep costs down and to remove any necessity for the squad to have any income coming  from the government (by the way, I do also personally believe that Medicare and Medicaid are illegal programs put into effect by the federal government, which become that Federal Mandate, which also adds to your county taxes).  I realize that in this position, I would be billing these, but one little ambulance company in Rotterdam, NY is not going to have an effect on the major programs.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Senders -- I will ask Mr. Liccardi to amend the resolution for the ambulance task district  .. the amendment
will exempt you from the ambulance tax and allow for you to crawl to the hospital when you need an
ambulance ride.
The rest of us will happily pay the tax for the assurance that REMS will be there when we or our loved ones
need them.

Wow Ronny boy you have a lot of power over there at town hall.  

Please do no include me in the "happy" people willing to pay for assurance of REMS!
I for one cannot afforde another tax.  I can do what FDG did and drive MYSELF to the
ER. He didn't call REMS and maybe you should be asking him why.