To the Editor:

What story will Ogdensburg’s city manager use next to defend his actions? He says the city can’t afford essential public services because of “significant fiscal distress”. But he’s also stated, in reference to applying for the SAFER grant: “One of the problems is you have to show there is financial hardship and right now with everything we’re doing I’m not sure that will come through.” So which is it? It depends on what ill-advised decision he’s trying to justify.

When talking about firefighter Jake Thornton being laid-off, he initially stated he needed two firefighters to retire to bring him back. Then he said he needed only one retirement. But that’s to the public. To the Ogdensburg Firefighter’s Union, he says he needs a contract deal to bring him back, wanting to essentially nullify the union’s existing agreement.

The truth is, the city can bring Jake back now at no additional cost (the numbers were provided to council). And the city manager can make that decision on his own, instead of holding Jake hostage for a deal and blaming the union for the situation he created.

Here’s his latest insulting deflection attempt, emailed to the union president on Friday: “It is not the city that owes the Thornton Family any additional effort; it is you! It is the entire membership of IAFF Local 1799 that owes a real effort”.

That’s just a small excerpt of the latest rambling email from the city manager, where he threatens another layoff and calls the union “shameful and greedy”, after the fire department has now lost eight positions since the end of 2019 (went from 29 total down to the current 21).

As many have discovered, the city manager talks a good game, but there’s another side, and when you look deeper you can find the mistruths, inconsistencies, and outright carelessness.

For example, more than three months ago we were told he was getting signed agreements for automatic mutual aid into the city, but we recently learned he got a letter two months ago from Heuvelton’s mayor stating that Heuvelton Fire rejected such an agreement because it’s not feasible. They simply want to continue providing aid when needed, as before.

The letter was dated January 13, and the city manager decided to hide it (?) until the first week in March, when he shared it with the media. He never told OFD members, and his emailed “directive” remains in place for OFD officers to call for mutual aid automatically anyway, even though the volunteers clearly haven’t agreed. Morristown’s fire chief has said that his department will also not sign such an agreement.

So why did he finally share the rejections? Because he just wanted to blame OFD members for not getting his way, calling them “shameful” for not supporting his unsupported plan. The volunteer departments made it clear what works best for them, which the city manager has decided to ignore.

So what spurious story will he give us next? Whatever it is, it’s worth looking for the truth and questioning why he’s not doing what’s right, like bringing Jake back to work (at the OFD), honoring a binding contract, and respecting the wishes of outlying volunteer fire departments.

Shaming, threatening, retaliating, using layoffs as leverage, hiding valuable information, and ignoring reasoned input is no way to manage. And trusted leaders don’t blame others for the problems they are solely responsible for. But that’s where we’re at. Brought to us by the four politicians allowing it.

Ron Bouchard

Retired OFD Assistant Chief