Comments by Brent Smith

HMB Fire District outlines shortcomings of referendum petitions

Let me ask you this, and I mean this with the utmost sincerity, Is it to much to ask to have a board that really looks into the information given them. Who listens to their employees, all of them, and examines all the information surrounding these issues. Unfortunately that has not happened. A few years ago the administrators who came from outside the fire district to run the place brought with them poor and corrupt management practices. They also developed a system for controlling the information…

Fire boards vote to reject firefighters’ petitions

It is very important to understand the level of stress the firefighters are under. They are doing their job very well and at a high level while at the same time Chief Fererra and Paul Cole have worked out a deal to eliminate the Half Moon Bay fire District and replace it with a state run agency administered by Paul Cole. It is equally important that the community understand that all of the firefighters efforts to have a honest, ethical and incorruptible administrative staff have failed. This failure…

Grand jury says Coastside fire districts should merge and outsource services

The facts: The HMF Fire district WAS one of the most financially secure districts in the county until Jim Asche stepped in. Shorty after his back door appointment by the board at the time, things begun to go very wrong. The firefighters noticed several acts of unethical behavior and corrupt business practices being perpetrated by Mr. Asche and made several attempts to have it stopped through the proper channels. Unfortunately, Jm Asche was able to manipulate the information be given the board at…