In December of 2015, Cinnaminson Fire Chief Bill Kramer, a lifelong firefighter, highly respected member of the emergency services community and former State Fire Marshall appeared before the Cinnaminson Township Committee to talk about the issue of improving EMS service in Cinnaminson.
His thought was to have the Palmyra Ambulance Association and the Cinnaminson Fire Department prepare proposals to present to committee. In June of 2016, the fire department met with a township sub-committee and set the October 2016 Township Committee public meeting as the date to present their proposal. However, that presentation was cancelled by then Mayor John McCarthy and Anthony Minniti. The mayor is on record as saying no decision would be made until after February of 2017, after both proposals were publicly presented to Township Committee and residents.
Then, at the December 2016 meeting, before any proposal was heard, a three year no-bid contract was awarded to the Palmyra Ambulance Association. No one knows whether the CFD had a valid proposal, no one knows if it was the right choice for our town, no one knows if it would have saved the township money — because no one got to hear the proposals.
What we do know is that a majority of Township Committee, strongly influenced by Anthony Minniti, made a decision without hearing the proposals, even after promising to hear both. Mayor Minniti denied everyone the opportunity to hear from our own fire district, another elected body in our township. Chief Kramer is, without a doubt, someone to be taken seriously with regard to matters of public safety, and he was dismissed without so much as the opportunity to present his proposal.
We deserve representation willing to listen to everyone, before making any decisions that could impact Cinnaminson’s quality of life. Ernie McGill and Ryan Horner have pledged to do just that — something Mayor Minniti has failed to do for Cinnaminson residents, time and time again.
For the first time in over 50 years, Cinnaminson has a choice. On June 6, McGill and Horner are running for Township Committee. They will respect and consider opinions other than their own. The opportunity for change is here. We need to take it.
Brian Hartley
