By Alex Klepper, President of the Apopka Professional Firefighters Association
Editor's Note: Alex Klepper is the President of the Apopka Professional Firefighters Association President (APFA) and an Apopka Fire Department Captain. He frequently speaks at Apopka City Council meetings on behalf of the APFA and sent this open letter to the Apopka City Commissioners expressing his frustration with the changes made to public comments at the August 7th meeting. He shared it with The Apopka Voice and gave permission for its publication.
"Commissioners,
On behalf of the Apopka Firefighters we are contacting you to relate our absolute disillusionment with you, our City Council, and the disappointment we were forced to live through at the council meeting tonight (08/07/24). What transpired tonight when public comment was pushed to the end of a public meeting and then subsequently and DECEPTIVELY cut off from the public YouTube feed was unconscionable and fundamentally un-American. Our firefighters who have bled, suffered, and died for this City have had their only public recourse stripped from them with your approving vote. Is this why you ran for office? Is this why we endorsed some of you for office? To put corporations and developers and Mayor Nelson’s petty grievances over the people?
The presentation Mayor Nelson made Dr. Patton present was a complete farce and by YOUR actions, WE were denied an opportunity to refute these lies. Why were Apopka Firefighters compared to Apopka Police Officers on different terms? The numbers showed tonight showed Apopka Police salary cost VS Apopka Firefighters' Salary/Benefit cost and likely the cost of our gear needed to work. Do you not see why those numbers would be higher?! What is the point of showing merit raise increases without showing the salary that they’re based on? In 2019 Apopka Firefighters and Apopka police officers both started at $46,6k. In 2024 Apopka Police officers are starting at $59,749 while Apopka Firefighters are STILL at $46,600! These wages do not include the pension HIGHER benefits that Apopka Police Officers receive for contributions LESS THAN Apopka Firefighters put in…but those benefits are what seem to be holding up our firefighters' contract. Shame. Removing public comment and accountability emboldens unethical politics and liars. Why did you choose to strip us of our ability to contest these issues publicly? We need an answer.
The people vote for and depend on elected officials to give them a voice, not strip one from them. If what transpired this evening came as a surprise to you, please let us know, along with how you specifically propose to rectify this preposterous situation and this despicable erosion of the public trust.
Additionally I do want to note the particular significance that the public comment period holds with our firefighters and fire department. If we had been denied the opportunity to have our voices heard after Austin’s death, our department and its members would be in shambles. It would have allowed our Fire Chief to remain idle and brush everything under the rug. We would likely not have restarted the safety committee, we couldn’t have convinced the city to create our current safety, training, and inspection divisions, and we would still be understaffed on fire apparatus, and that’s not an exhaustive list!
The medium of a broadcasted public comment period is critical for the ability of citizens and employees to address the council and have that in a shareable format for those with busy lives who can’t commit to sitting through 4-5 hours of developers haggling over turn lane capacity. Our elected officials should do everything in their power to promote free speech and differing opinions, not silence them.
Respectfully on behalf of,
Apopka Firefighters
Apopka Citizens
United States Armed Forces Veterans
Americans"
