Texas City Sues Fire Department
A Texas city has filed suit against its volunteer fire department seeking to obtain legal title to the department’s apparatus and equipment.
The City of Huntington is suing the Huntington Volunteer Fire Department seeking a declaratory judgment that the city is the legal owner of a 2007 tanker, vehicle extrication equipment, SCBAs and protective clothing. The suit also seeks punitive damages.
The department has been under fire since 2012 when it was disclosed that its ranks included convicted felons and at least one sex offender. At the time, fire chief Jerry LaSalle took the drastic step of terminating all members, reorganizing the department, and requiring everyone interested in returning to reapply. Apparently it was too little too late. Last year the city stopped funding the department as did the Angelina County Firefighter’s Association who took a vote of no confidence in HVFD.
In April, 2013, the city opted to create an all new fire department, the City of Huntington Volunteer Fire Department. A career firefighter from Jacksonville, Paul Hatch, was named as fire chief and a career paramedic from Beaumont EMS, Lance Dempsey, was named as assistant chief.
According to the City of Huntington’s attorney, Jimmy Cassels, the lawsuit “is the direct complication of having two fire departments and not knowing who owns what. … We have two fire departments down there, and the city is alleging ownership to the equipment. We are essentially asking the court to determine what they own and what we own.”
From the municipal perspective…
1) Even if the VFD is contributing money towards the apparatus, pay the down payment and final payments with separate checks from the organization and town. Don’t hand over the final check until you the builder has prepared a title jointly in the VFD and town name and is ready to hand it over in exchange for the town check.
2) Run capital small equipment purchases through the town hall, or at least if the VFD is contributing money with separate VFD and town checks. Bit more accounting, but makes it clear the town is buying the equipment, not simply giving the VFD a grant they can spend as they see fit.
I don’t have a problem handing over annual appropriations for operations as a grant to the VFD, but the town should protect its interests in case of disputes like this.