Longmeadow vets claim they're underserved
Date: 12/10/2012
By Chris Maza
chrism@thereminder.comLONGMEADOW — Longmeadow veterans recently took advantage of the opportunity to voice their opinions on what the town should be looking for in a veterans' services officer and the message was clear: We need someone who will work hard for us and we need him or her now.
Select Board Chair Paul Santaniello met with a group of roughly 20 veterans, including eight who served in World War II, at the Longmeadow Adult Center on Dec. 5 about the position, which has been vacant since previous veterans' services officer Jason Dieni left his post for a job with the federal government in June.
Gerald Nolet, a veteran and former selectman, told Santaniello that the lack of an agent for the better part of six months was a major disservice to those residents who served their country in the military.
"We've been without an agent essentially since June and I think all of us feel it's kind of a travesty that we're not represented," he said. "Some of us are actually serving, by virtue of being in this group, as veterans' agents."
Nolet criticized a member of the Select Board — whom he declined to name, but said was not Santaniello or Richard Foster, who was also in attendance — for making a statement recently that the veterans were well-served.
"The veterans in this town, which make up 20 percent of the homes in this town, are not being well-served and I found that kind of a statement to be offensive," he said.
Santaniello responded by saying that the Select Board is aware that the lack of a veterans' services officer is a problem and they do not discount it.
"We know that there's a need," Santaniello said. "We're not trying to ignore the need."
Santaniello told the group that the Select Board posted the position on Nov. 30 and was currently accepting applications through Dec. 14 and was taking a two-pronged approach to the issue.
"Maybe two meetings ago we talked about regionalization — there's [the Veterans Service District of Eastern Hampden County] — and we talked about a full-time veterans' services agent for Longmeadow," he said. "What we are doing is two things at the same time. We are looking into the regional district while we have posted for the veterans' agent for Longmeadow.
"Our hope is that we get qualified applicants. In the event that we don't, potentially, joining the regional district is a backup," he added.
According to the job posting, a veterans' services officer "accepts applications and makes initial determinations of [benefit] eligibility, maintains depository of military discharges and service records, provides referral assistance [and] conducts public informational campaigns."
The veterans' services officer must be a veteran. Whomever fills the position would also serve as the veterans' burial agent and graves agent.
"This is exactly the same wording as the posting we had that was put out by Robin [Crosbie], our previous town manager a year ago [when Dieni was hired]," veteran Steven Kennedy explained to the group.
The advertised compensation, Santaniello said, is between $17.89 and $19.55 per hour for the 30-hour a week position.
Nolet said he had concerns about the salary range, voicing skepticism in the town's ability to get qualified applicants who would be willing to stay at that pay rate.
"If you multiply the $19.55 by 30 hours a week, it's roughly $30,000 a year, which is not a living wage, which is why Jason found another job so he could survive," he said.
Kennedy concurred, "It's a stepping stone position at that wage."
Some veterans stated that they had been dissatisfied with previous veterans' services officers because many times they were not active enough in the pursuit of benefits. One unidentified man said that at one point he was told to call an 800 number by the veterans' services officer in response to an inquiry.
Nolet said the veterans' services officer should be a "champion" for the veterans.
Addressing the possibility of joining the Veterans Service District of Eastern Hampden County, Santaniello said he would prefer to have a local agent, explaining that if Longmeadow joined the district, the district would have to hire a second agent and a coverage schedule would have to be worked out.
The district currently includes East Longmeadow, Hampden, Monson, Holland and Wales. The district's office is located at Monson Town Hall.
"The issue is the district is very large," Santaniello said. "There are six or seven towns and it goes all the way out to Wales ... I think that if we can find someone who's qualified and best suited for Longmeadow, my vote would be for that and then we could see if we could draw East Longmeadow in with us."
Several veterans agreed, voicing concerns over the regional district, ranging from the possibility of confusion regarding scheduling to the amount of time the agent would actually have to address Longmeadow veterans' issues.
