06/08/2025
The Weekend Flush
By CJ Ferry – June 8, 2025
“The price of apathy towards public affairs is to be ruled by evil men." - Plato
This week six members of the city council represented the people of Fall River and maybe their action will benefit the Fall River taxpayers. Joe Camara, Paul Hart, and Brad Kilby once again blindly tried to approve the Fall River budget, but their voices were not strong enough to overcome the blatant spending of the dictator.
The budget has identified huge pay raises throughout the city and the city cannot afford these pay hikes. The dictator is proposing these pay hikes as a way to keep qualified people employed by the city. The problem with that is that the city hires unqualified and in some instances criminals that embezzle city funds, and the dictator repays those people with promotions and pay raises. Currently the dictator is offering a $15,000 annual pay increase for the election’s commissioner and a $18,000 annual pay increase of the human resources director. These are just some of the highlights of the pay raises that are being proposed by the dictator. Michelle Dionne identified over $600,000 in pay raises throughout the budget. The dictator also wants to offer a $33,000 pay increase to a member of the MIS department. What has these people done to merit such pay increases? Political pay-off? Political pay-back? The taxpayer should not be expected to pay off city employees. If you want Boston pay rates, work in Boston, Fall River cannot afford those pay rates.
It is obvious that the budget was ridiculous and could not be easily understood by the common person. Without comparing the budget to previous annual versions of the budget many of these pay increases would go unnoticed, which is what the dictator hopes for. Remember that the Coogan administration is corrupt and we just need to look at the Perry incident, the Seth Aitken incident, and the Matt Malone incident. These three incidents and so many others are obvious actions to deprive the people and the elected officials of the truth about the potential unethical and illegal actions being taken by various employees and in some cases the dictator.
This past Thursday, a community meeting was held at Morton Middle School regarding Southcoast Rail and the increasing problems with the service and the effects that it is having on the neighbors. Of course, the politicians were there to justify the train and to offset the inconveniences that many if not all have experienced. While I am sure that the complaints that were voiced by the few that were present may have been acknowledged, how long will it take to resolve the complaints and issues? As the politicians were lying to the people regarding the train before the vote was taken, a couple of citizens presented an incredibly detailed presentation on the various downfalls of having Fall River be an MBTA city. Many of those concerns were voiced at the meeting I am sure. It is utterly amazing how when people research a topic and present the results of that research they are called negative. I have been called negative many times. Yet when we are proven right, no one acknowledges all the work that was done, and people do not want to acknowledge their own ignorance. While the information may seem to be negative, when a person or person has a track record of being right, give them a little credit!
I must acknowledge that the new Chief appears to want to save the department money and not waste money on unnecessary people or services. Her appointment was controversial, but the city council presentation this week was adequate. She knew what to say and her budgeting was appropriate when not budgeting an item that the city receives 100% reimbursement from state and federal sources. This will cut free cash (Extra taxation) I hope. The chief has a year to succeed or fail, and I am hopeful she will succeed. The alternative is less favorable.
Councilor Cadime and Chief Furtado discussed the issue of President Ferreira of the Police Patrolman's Union working on union business. Cadime asked Chief Furtado why the union president was allowed to work all 4 on and 2 off days on Union business, instead of the 2 days per week specified in the contract. Chief Kelly responded that this practice has been in place for years. Isn’t it time for the “we’ve always done it that way” excuse to end? Accordingly Councilor Cadime asked for the past schedules for President Ferreira and was basically denied access.
The John Perry report has once again been brought up by local media and it appears that this version of the report has more information available and it has caused members of the city council to demand an audit of DCM to verify where the money has gone, is going and who is authorizing the use of city resources. This is something that I am sure the dictator will fight against as he does not want it to be made public so that he paid off a potential criminal as he always appears to do. The city council will be requesting that the State Auditor conduct an audit of DCM and provide a report. While it will not be a forensic audit, it should give us an insight into the potential illegal activities in the department. Fight for the taxpayer!
Michael O’ Reagan, the Fall River Fire Fighter Union President went before the city council this week to expose the dilapidated condition of Fall River Fire Stations. You must remember that Fire Houses are not only a place of employment; the fire fighters are required to live in them while on shift. There are claims that the stations are infested with rodents, chipping paint, poor plumbing and more. Al Oliveira, who was hired to oversee DCM and for a reorganization of the city departments continuously lied to the city council and advised them that the fire stations were good. Several city councilors made investigations into the fire houses and took photos and videos of the issues that were in the stations. I hope that the city council exposes all the lies when referencing the fire houses. Our fire fighters deserve better.
Your apathy allows the elected officials the ability to rob, cheat and steal from you. Get off your butts and get out and vote! It is important for change.
Next weekend is Father’s Day weekend and I am hoping for better weather.
“The tyranny of a prince in an oligarchy is not so dangerous to the public welfare as the apathy of a citizen in a democracy.” — Montesquieu
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