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Dear "Reality" AKA Roger Durant,

You complain about EVERYTHING. Some day you will say something nice and it will come as a shock to everyone. And Roger, when did I become "best buddies" with Camille Vella-Wilkenson and Donna Travis? All I have ever said is that Vella-Wilkenson is one of the hardest working people I have ever met and Travis has done more for Oakland Beach than everyone on the planet, put together! That said, they are so involved with Avedisian that I doubt they will ever put a "Corrente" bumper sticker on their cars but when they are alone in the voting booth...different story. To respond to you, Scal1024, and DougMartin, I have stated many times that if the firefighters (or anyone else) has unused sick time, personal time, or vacation time, doesn't that suggest that it is un-needed? In corporate America the rule is "use it or lose it". I think this should apply to all departments of government. I did look into the claim of excessive overtime and learned that the 45 new firefighters received training pay that was improperly listed under "overtime" instead of adding a new category labeled "training pay". The lazy person that did that should be shot. Lastly, I have done a considerable amount of research on health benefits. I have learned that benefits with no co-pay and no deductible cost double! When the taxpayer is paying it, there should ALWAYS be a co-pay. There should ALWAYS be a deductible. Always. The way to "reduce the abuse" is to share the cost. When health insurance is free it is abused. When health benefits are affordable it's a win-win for taxpayers and Warwick employees. For the record, and yes, you can quote me on this later, I would rather put money into salaries than benefits. When Warwick hired those 45 new firefighters, it was to eliminate overtime. My research has shown that they have reduced it significantly but not completely. Where you and I agree, Roger, is that Avedisian brought us to the brink of bankruptcy. My plan will bring us back because it will increase the number of taxpayers. The U.S. Census shows that Avedisian lost 5,800 taxpayers in the last ten years alone. That means a lot more taxes for you and me. My plan has tax rebate checks, a moratorium on building permits and an all-out promotion of Warwick to the rest of Rhode Island to increase our numbers and I promise you Roger, I will!... even though you will probably complain about that too.

Stay well.

Richard Corrente

Democrat for Mayor