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Ms. D'Antonio,

Although we all appreciate your husband Joseph's responsibilities in his job performance the answer to your question is very simple. What is a firefighters worth? A firefighters worth amounts to only what the community can afford. That is it very simply. Unfortunately in Warwick the taxpayers can afford no more. Do we continue to jeopardize senior citizens for 200 employees? The problem with this conversation is that when concerned residents talk about this issue in a financial perspective, the beneficiaries, (employees and family members) want to turn the discussion into an US vs THEM discussion. That has never been the discussion. Frankly we are tired of the self appointed hero status that gets thrown in our face constantly. Have you ever heard that attitude from a wounded warrior? Of course not. So stop playing that card for sympathy because it doesn't work for most residents.

Let me remind you that when ever anyone questions expenditures of the WFD, they are targeted, heckled, harassed by various means, and if you are an elected official they boycott your events, and as was the case last week, they disrupt the meeting by screaming and yelling and then as they walk out the door they yell, JUST WAIT TIL NOVEMBER.

The only time you see them is at contract hearings. They scream and yell when all together, but never get up and take the microphone. And yes, they often comport themselves as gang members in public.

You spoke volumes when you stated that this was the first city council meeting that you attended. You attended because you were concerned about you, not the rest of the taxpayers, you and your family alone, because you are beneficiaries of the generosity of the taxpayers of which, none enjoy such benefits.

By your own admission, you have never attended a budget meeting, never attended an actuarial hearing. If you attended the actuarial hearing 5 years ago you could have watched the WFD gang members beat up on a man that was asked to make a presentation to the council. They heckled, disrupted, swore, whistled, and then took the egregious step to contact his employer and demand that he be fired for speaking out about unsustainable pension benefits. It is this type of behavior that has caused the rift and the US vs THEM demeanor which now exists.

I am sure that you have never read any of the contracts particularly this contract which is certainly the worst contrived contract language that has ever been presented before the city. It reeks of litigation and numerous areas have never been corrected. So lets talk specifics and I would invite you to educate me.

Your husband Joseph D'Antonio base salary is $78,396.24 He was hired on March 24, 2013.

Each year he receives a longevity bonus of $6661.44 That is 8.5% of wage in addition to his annual raise .

He receives for "Uniform allowance" $1450.00

So his base pay without overtime is $86,507.68

His family healthcare plan is valued at $20,000.00 According to the official documents

So his value is $106,000 for 165 days of work annually. Not a bad gig.

As of Feb 1 2019 he had 50 sick days accumulated

He continues to receive 16 paid vacation days (4 weeks)

He receives 16 paid sick days

He has unlimited substitution days, he has averaged 10 per year since 2016 so call it 30.

He has a prescription health care plan with a max copay of $600.00.

He works 48 hours within an 8 day period.

He can sleep on the job, cook on the job, exercise on the job, watch cable TV on the job, and even hold another job.

I think that it is reasonable to say that he is paid pretty well. However, at one point the system is going to collapse. You can go on with blinders thinking that it is not going to collapse, however, when the city actuaries come before the council and tell you exactly that, who should we believe?

Also, although your husband was not involved in the unused sick pay and unused vacation pay schemes, there is undoubtedly, and always has been an element of fraud within this department. Of course it is not everyone, and again, no one is questioning their skill set, but for once it would be nice to have a conversation of finances without throwing out the "race card". The fact is that when you make your argument based upon the job responsibilities which he and others chose, (no one dragged them there) and you insert the element of self proclaimed hero's, that in itself turns the conversation into US vs THEM.

Think about it, and also maybe attend regular council meetings so that you have a well rounded knowledge of the fiscal situation of this ailing city.

I as everyone else, respect and value their service and we all have had a loved one served by them at one time or another. But the fact remains. The community has constraints and can only afford so much. We are at the breaking point. A famous man (guess who) once said "the needs of the many exceed the needs of the few". Think about it.