Somers Board Of Finance Member Criticized For Remark About Stafford

SOMERS, CT — An offhand remark about a neighboring town made by a Board of Finance member at a meeting Tuesday night has escalated into public expressions of outrage by local first responders.

About an hour into the monthly meeting, a discussion about a delivery date timeline for a new ambulance led board member Joe Tolisano to say there is about a 2-year waiting list to buy a new vehicle. "The backlog is bad, and we want to get in that pipeline as soon as we can," he said. "It could come a lot earlier, but I wouldn't risk anyone's life on it, unless they live in Stafford."

As several board members laughed, one sheepishly grinned and covered his face. After a brief awkward pause, chairman Michael Parker continued the meeting.

By early afternoon Wednesday, the Somers Career Firefighters IAFF 4284 union had posted a statement on its Facebook page, calling the comment "reprehensible and disgusting" and calling on the finance board "to make a statement condemning the language of its member, and reaffirming its commitment to mutual aid agreements that benefit Somers residents."

Similarly, the Somers Fire Department issued the following statement Wednesday night:

"The Somers Fire Department Volunteer Association shares the concerns of our brother IAFF Local 4284 firefighters regarding comments made during the Board of Finance meeting on February 28th. We take our responsibility to the citizens of Somers, as well as to our surrounding communities, very seriously. As a part of the Tolland County Mutual Aid Association, we are dedicated to serving all areas of the County, including the Town of Stafford, with the highest quality Fire and EMS services possible. While the comment from a member of the Board of Finance may have been in jest, it was inappropriate, and certainly does not represent the Somers Fire Department’s dedication to serve our community as well as those of surrounding towns. At the very least, an apology to the residents of the Town of Stafford and a clarification of the inappropriate statement should be made."

Tolisano responded to the criticism by explaining his reasoning for the remark Thursday morning in an exclusive interview with Patch.

"First, I have the highest respect and admiration for the men and women of the Somers Fire Department and have worked to ensure they have adequate funding for equipment to meet the challenges they face," he said. "My comments, out of frustration, are strictly financial. The cost to the town of Somers taxpayers well exceeds six figures. Mutual aid to Stafford by Somers is not designed to replace Stafford's requirement to provide ALS-qualified ambulance services to its citizens. I believe we have sent over 1,000 calls to Stafford under mutual aid. The Somers Board of Selectmen has done everything possible to secure funding from Stafford regarding this issue, and will continue to do so in the future.

"This is a complicated issue and as is the case with problems of this type, finding the truth can be difficult. I don't believe leadership in the firehouse has been forthright with the elected officials, which has caused the problem to continue without a solution over time. This has cost the town financially and placed its citizens at risk, when our ambulance is not available to service Somers residents."