Volunteer fire department ordered to provide records

— The Gentry Volunteer Fire Department operates separate from the city, but a ruling by a local circuit judge said the group had so entwined itself with the city’s two-man fire department that the volunteer group subjected itself to the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

Judge Mark Fryauf issued the ruling Monday after listening to testimony in former Gentry Mayor Wes Hogue’s suit against the city. The suit also named Mayor Kevin Johnston and Fire Chief Vester Cripps as defendants.

Cripps also is the chief of the volunteer fire department. Cripps is the only full-time employee of the city’s fire department. The assistant chief is a part-time employee and the department is manned by volunteer firefighters.

Hogue filed a Freedom of Information request Aug. 31 asking for a copy of a deposit slip concerning money raised from the 2010 Fall Festival Car Show. Hogue’s request sought a copy of the checking history for 2010 and who the checks were made out to on the account into which the money was deposited.

Hogue told the judge his rights to the documents had been denied and he only wanted documents concerning funds raised by the fire department.

Jay Williams, who represented Gentry, Johnston and Cripps, told the judge the car show was sponsored by the Gentry Volunteer Fire Department, which Williams described as an unincorporated entity and not owned by the city.

Hogue, acting as his own attorney, opened the hearing by trying to introduce a document from the Internal Revenue Service showing the volunteer fire department group does not have 501(c)3 status. He could not use the document since he did not have a person from the IRS to certify its authenticity.

However, Cripps testified he learned in June the volunteer department had lost the status, had refiled for it and was awaiting recertification.

Hogue also presented testimony that Cripps gave permission to use a fire truck at the car show.

Williams presented testimony from Johnston andCripps that neither the city nor the fire department give any money to the volunteer association. The city also had nothing to do with the volunteer department’s bookkeeping, according to Johnston and Cripps.

Richard Arnold, who joined the volunteer department in 1985, testified the department had its own employee identification numbers.

Arnold also said the department did not receive any public money, but raised money mainly to buy equipment for firefighters. The equipment was purchased by the association and then turned over to the city’s fire department, according to Arnold.

A critical piece of evidence was brought up after Hogue and Williams questioned Johnston.

The entry form for the 2010 car show had been admitted as evidence. Fryauf questioned Johnston about why the entry form had the words “Gentry Fire Department” instead of the name of the volunteer group.

Johnston admitted it was a mistake.

Johnston recently had sent Cripps a memo asking him to make sure the city’s fire department and the volunteer association acted as different entities. One of the issues of Johnston’s memo concerned making sure the volunteer department and city’s fire department had different mailing addresses.

Hogue had presented testimony that the city’s fire department and volunteergroup received mail at the same post office box.

Hogue claimed the money from the car show was solicited on behalf of the fire department and once the funds were received the city didn’t want to abide by the Freedom of Information Act.

Williams said the volunteer group is a different entity than the city fire department. The volunteer group collects its own funds and is not under the control of the city, Williams said.

Williams said it was a mistake that the entry form had “Gentry Fire Department” on it and did not specify that the volunteer fire department was in charge of the car show.

Fryauf said he did not believe there was an intent to deceive the public about the car show. He also said that it was appropriate for the city to allow the use of a fire truck at the car show.

However, Fryauf did believe the volunteer group, with the use of the entry form, had entwined itself with the fire department and made it subject to the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.

Fryauf told Hogue he needed to file the request with the volunteer organization. Fryauf said the volunteers must turn over the requested information to Hogue, but only information concerning the 2010 car show.

“It does not give you carte blanche access to all their records,” the judge told Hogue. “We are talking about the 2010 car show.”

News, Pages 2 on 10/18/2011