Last month, with 16 months remaining in her term, my wife Carol Johnston resigned as commissioner of the Wantagh Fire District. Although I urged her to continue, I could see the stress and strain she endured by being the lone female in a male-dominated setting. It's unfortunate that despite the public's overwhelming support for her election in 2003, the attitudes of some commissioners and chiefs made doing her job extremely difficult.

As former chief of department who attended almost 100 commissioners meetings, I know firsthand how a lone voice for accountability and fiscal responsibility can be stifled and ignored. In 2005, according to Newsday, the Wantagh Fire District had the fourth highest budget on Long Island. This budget was increased by a whopping 9.39 percent in 2006. If this were a school district, heads would have rolled.

In just three short months, residents of the Wantagh Fire District will have an opportunity to vote for not one, but two new fire commissioners. Soon you will be hearing and reading announcements from a variety of individuals. If permitted, I will utilize this publication to assist in educating the public as to immediate measures which must be undertaken in order to correct what I perceive to be mismanagement and out of control spending. Our state legislature has implemented measures that should help make our fire district more accountable and transparent to the public.

Jim Johnston