FOOKIE
12-16-2004, 10:53 AM
In Bartlett, a battle over fire trucks, money
Mayor, firefighters clash over vehicles' titles, budget reviews
By Camille Wheeler and Melissa Ludwig
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, December 16, 2004
BARTLETT -- In the latest brewing debate, Mayor Bobby Hill is demanding that volunteer firefighters submit to more city control by turning in annual budget reviews and handing over titles to two fire engines.
"All we want is a little accountability," Hill said. "Someone has to be the boss of the crowd, and I have an obligation to the citizens."
This discussion is nowhere near the level of controversy in recent years that surrounded Bartlett's previous Police Department and its strained relationships with minorities, which now seem to be on the mend. After Hill's election on a platform of reforming the Police Department, the police chief quit and Hill fired the remaining officers.
Still, the Fire Department issue is heating up. Hill is asking department officials to sign a contract that would require the submission of annual budget reports for city review -- something that is not legally required.
As a nonprofit organization, the department must show how it spends a combined $28,000 from Bell and Williamson counties, about $24,000 from bingo games authorized by the Texas Lottery Commission and $33,000 from the City of Bartlett.
The department also has been awarded eight grants in the past 18 months, including one for more than $200,000 to purchase a truck that carries a large tank of water to rural areas lacking fire hydrants.
Assistant Fire Chief Steve Wentrcek said each entity knows exactly how its dollars are spent. But the department does not compile a comprehensive, itemized spending plan, as the mayor has requested.
Hill said he is prepared to sue the department if it does not relinquish ownership of two of its trucks, which the city originally bought. The city also owns the Fire Department building, he said.
"I'm not accusing anybody of doing wrong," he said. "I just want the titles back. We're liable if anybody were to be killed in those trucks."
The Fire Department owns six fire trucks, including a 1921 antique engine that's for display purposes only, Wentrcek said. Last year, at the department's request, the City Council turned over the titles to the two engines in question, he said. He said the department has paid more than $100,000 to the city and the bank for one of the trucks, which cost about $160,000. The other is a 20-year-old truck currently worth about $6,000, he said.
"This came as a real shock to us, that he would want to take the trucks away from us," Wentrcek said.
Volunteer fire departments are not regulated by any state authority but must have their own charter to legally exist, according to the Texas Forest Service. Bartlett's city charter allows the city to intervene in the operation of its volunteer fire organization "any time it deems necessary."
The 22-member department serves a 128-square-mile area in Bell and Williamson counties, Wentrcek said.
Hill said he redirected to the city a $4,000 check intended for the Fire Department. The money, which came from the Bell County Fire Chiefs Association, was resent to the department later at the request of Bell County Commissioner Richard Cortese.
Wentrcek said he hopes the department and the city can iron out the conflict without going to court.
"The volunteer fire department is doing everything we can to help the community and be fiscally responsible," he said. "If it wasn't for us getting the grants, the stress of everything else would probably be too much to bear."
Mayor, firefighters clash over vehicles' titles, budget reviews
By Camille Wheeler and Melissa Ludwig
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Thursday, December 16, 2004
BARTLETT -- In the latest brewing debate, Mayor Bobby Hill is demanding that volunteer firefighters submit to more city control by turning in annual budget reviews and handing over titles to two fire engines.
"All we want is a little accountability," Hill said. "Someone has to be the boss of the crowd, and I have an obligation to the citizens."
This discussion is nowhere near the level of controversy in recent years that surrounded Bartlett's previous Police Department and its strained relationships with minorities, which now seem to be on the mend. After Hill's election on a platform of reforming the Police Department, the police chief quit and Hill fired the remaining officers.
Still, the Fire Department issue is heating up. Hill is asking department officials to sign a contract that would require the submission of annual budget reports for city review -- something that is not legally required.
As a nonprofit organization, the department must show how it spends a combined $28,000 from Bell and Williamson counties, about $24,000 from bingo games authorized by the Texas Lottery Commission and $33,000 from the City of Bartlett.
The department also has been awarded eight grants in the past 18 months, including one for more than $200,000 to purchase a truck that carries a large tank of water to rural areas lacking fire hydrants.
Assistant Fire Chief Steve Wentrcek said each entity knows exactly how its dollars are spent. But the department does not compile a comprehensive, itemized spending plan, as the mayor has requested.
Hill said he is prepared to sue the department if it does not relinquish ownership of two of its trucks, which the city originally bought. The city also owns the Fire Department building, he said.
"I'm not accusing anybody of doing wrong," he said. "I just want the titles back. We're liable if anybody were to be killed in those trucks."
The Fire Department owns six fire trucks, including a 1921 antique engine that's for display purposes only, Wentrcek said. Last year, at the department's request, the City Council turned over the titles to the two engines in question, he said. He said the department has paid more than $100,000 to the city and the bank for one of the trucks, which cost about $160,000. The other is a 20-year-old truck currently worth about $6,000, he said.
"This came as a real shock to us, that he would want to take the trucks away from us," Wentrcek said.
Volunteer fire departments are not regulated by any state authority but must have their own charter to legally exist, according to the Texas Forest Service. Bartlett's city charter allows the city to intervene in the operation of its volunteer fire organization "any time it deems necessary."
The 22-member department serves a 128-square-mile area in Bell and Williamson counties, Wentrcek said.
Hill said he redirected to the city a $4,000 check intended for the Fire Department. The money, which came from the Bell County Fire Chiefs Association, was resent to the department later at the request of Bell County Commissioner Richard Cortese.
Wentrcek said he hopes the department and the city can iron out the conflict without going to court.
"The volunteer fire department is doing everything we can to help the community and be fiscally responsible," he said. "If it wasn't for us getting the grants, the stress of everything else would probably be too much to bear."