All smoke.

It is remarkable that we still have any volunteer firefighters in Bradley County after the way they have been treated for the past decade. If city and county elected officials were to treat them with a little more respect and understanding, recognize their outstanding contribution to the community and let them do their job without the city/county power struggle, we could have the finest volunteer force in the land without it costing an arm and a leg. Could someone please answer why, if under a city contract for fire protection in the fringe area, those residencies being serviced pay the same fire tax rate as city folk but the county still has to pay an additional fee of $1.6 million? Surely, the fire tax is supposed to support the service so why the extra money? If the fire tax does not support the city fire service, then the additional $1.6 million a year is helping to support city services and being partially funded by those outside the fringe that receive no benefit. Also, if the Bradley County Volunteer Fire Service was to remain all volunteer, as it has been, but the respect factor was reinstated, could it not be continued to be fully manned as a volunteer force with the $1.6 million a year used to improve the service and increase the ISO ratings. This approach could also have benefits for city folk because a more experienced and better funded county force could help fight fires in the city under a no-cost reciprocal agreement. These agreements are commonplace elsewhere but for some reason Cleveland puts a price tag on everything and the county pays without question. Why?
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Remember when?

Remember when there was no legal requirement for motorist to carry automobile insurance in Tennessee? Automobile insurance companies operated like any other business, vying for customers in an open and competitive market. Things have changed with legislation forcing people to buy insurance. Take the television ad run by Safe Auto Insurance that depicts motorist being treated harshly by a variety of law enforcement officials, treated like criminals, while a jingle plays, "we keep you legal for less." Having the means to pay for damage you do to another's property is a good thing and this legislation attempts to ensure everyone does, but as the ad points out, it has made criminals out of people for no other reason than being financially less able to pay. Poor people have to get to work or live off the state and in order for them to get to work they need to drive a car. Many people now drive cars that cost less than the legally required insurance and many others are forced to break the law because they can't pay but must get to work. Companies like Safe Auto Insurance are now using scare tactics in order to do business instead of treating their customers with dignity and respect. All this because of a well intentioned law that failed to take into account the less fortunate among us. And the auto insurance companies, they were the ones who lobbied for the law in the first place. Go figure?
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