President Anna Guy September Special Council Meeting Statement
Today is the 22nd anniversary of the day we all watched as thousands were killed, including 343 members of the NYC fire department and 71 law enforcement officers who rushed to the scene and risked their lives to save others. Many more have died since then from their efforts that day.
We are joined by the volunteers from the Parkside Fire Company who, like those 911 heroes, are willing to rush toward danger to save lives and property. I would like to thank you for your service.
You are here because you believe that I want to take away your funding. I realize that you are concerned and angry and I understand why you feel that way. Unfortunately, you are getting all your information from people who have been trying to have me removed from council since I was elected and none of you have spoken directly with me.
Please know that when I refer to the fire company, I am talking about the people who decide how to spend the money.
A little background for those who haven’t been following along for the past few years.
In 2020, Rob and former Mayor Dietman approached council because the fire company was losing the ambulance service. We were told by Ms. Purcival that she reviewed their finances, but I was never allowed to see their books. In the 2020 budget meetings, we were told by Ms. Purcival that the fire chief would attend the monthly council meetings and provide a financial report. There was no report in January or February of 2021 and then we were told the chief would provide quarterly reports.
This is an example of what they provided us. We got 3 reports in 2021, two in 2022 and one so far this year in April.
We were told numerous times by Rob Powers, Tom Dietman and Shirley Purcival that the fire company was a non-profit with tax exempt status, despite the fact that the website where one can find the 990 forms filed by non-profit organizations reports that the Parkside Fire Company lost their non-profit status in May of 2018 because they had failed to file their forms since 2014. This was the last one filed.
I have not seen a single official financial document that was filed since 2014.
I met with the fire chief last month, a few days after Mr. Powers second arrest. I was told at that time that Mr. Powers was no longer serving as president pending the outcome of the charges. I explained to the chief that the reports that have been provided to council over the years are not sufficient, especially in light of the charges against the president.
Why is this report not sufficient? First, it is a list of numbers that could have been pulled out of the air as far as I know. There are no bills attached, no copies of receipts, nothing but a list of numbers. If you go to the bank for a loan and give them this, they will ask you where the official documents are - your tax return, paystubs, loan documents. The forms you file with the IRS are signed, attesting that the numbers you have recorded are true and accurate under penalty of law. You are going to have to give the bank more than your word.
I have seen zero official documents. No, wait. I did see a couple, technically. Mr. Powers and I had a meeting in the firehouse and he handed me two documents to show me that they have two EIN numbers, but he snatched the papers away from me when I tried to write down the EINs and told me I wasn’t allowed to have them.
We were told we would see a budget for the fire company. I have never seen one. I have not been given a copy of their tax filings for 2021 or 2022. I have not seen a single bill or bank statement.
Here is what I have been told - the $1,200 that they have reported for janitorial every three months has been paid to Rob Powers and is for the entire building, including the recreation hall. They have also listed close to $10,000 for utilities, cable, phone, and security. Is that for the entire building? I have seen no bills, no receipts, just this piece of paper with no signature.
Even if every number in this report is genuine and accurate, how much of our taxpayer’s money is being used to pay for the recreation hall? Are there two different bank accounts for the firehouse and the recreation hall? Do they keep the finances separate?
Parkside’s Fire Company, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019, was the premiere fire company. It was held up as the standard for other fire companies to aim for.
Today, the Parkside fire company’s reputation hardly resembles that of its past, something I have heard from numerous sources. Apparently, Parkside is not the backup fire company for the towns around us. Each town notifies the 911 system of their primary and backup fire companies to call when there is an emergency in their town. At this point, unless it is Parkside fire company’s turn in the on-call rotation, our company is only called for emergencies within our borders. You can check this for yourself on Delco Dispatch like I did, because nobody has actually told me anything.
Ideally, the fire company and borough council should work hand in hand with integrity and transparency to spend taxpayer money responsibly and restore that stellar reputation.
In the past, they engaged in successful fundraising totalling over $44,000 in 2012, and over $30,000 in 2013 and 14. I have no idea how much they have raised in the years since then.
Some of the fire company’s financial woes are due to poor management. I was told that the air conditioner was damaged in a storm and it will cost $40,000 to restore air conditioning in the building. I was also told that should have been paid for by their insurance company but nobody filed a claim and after a year it was too late. They might as well have taken $40,000 and thrown it in the trash. Are our taxpayers supposed to foot the bill for that?
Last month we held a special council meeting and voted to require that the fire company submit to a financial analysis in order to get their next check in September. Mr. Wills, who has had a long relationship with both the fire company and the borough was the one to bring it up in our executive meeting given the news of the charges against Mr. Powers. Our solicitor was contacted shortly thereafter by the solicitor for the fire company who said they were planning to cooperate. On August 8, the treasurer sent the solicitor a list of document they need. Weeks went by and the treasurer did not receive anything, no documents, no emails. Jay was unable to reach the solicitor. Jay asked me to call and I left a voicemail letting him know that we had not received any documents. On August 31st, Mr. Wills sent another letter.
Last Wednesday the fire company statement was posted on Facebook. That is how I found out about it. It was not emailed to council. It was not mailed to us. It was posted on Facebook.
We finally received a letter from the fire company’s solicitor Friday which said that the fire company objected to using Brinker Simpson, which is a reputable accounting firm. Why is last Friday the first time we are hearing this objection from their lawyer? They waited over a month to let us know they want a different firm? The time for that conversation was a month ago. This looks like an attempt to stall and not provide the requested documents until, perhaps, they won’t be required to.
Council voted unanimously for Brinker Simpson to conduct the analysis of their books, with Ms. Purcival qualifying her vote, wanting only 2020 to present. The other five of us voted to look back to 2018. At this point, in an effort to resolve this, Mr. Wills told them that we will accept 2021 to present.
The solicitor for the fire company told Mr. Wills that he never saw the statement the fire company released until after it was posted. He also confirmed that the claim in the statement that he sent me a cease and desist letter is not true.
Nobody signed their name to that statement but it was attributed to the fire company officers and members. The entire statement was an attack against me, personally. It claims that the other council members are not responsible for voting for Brinker Simpson to look at their books because they are all my puppets, including Mr. Wills.
I’m really not that powerful. I do not control anybody in this room.
They claim that I have a personal vendetta. What about Mr. Wills and the council members who voted with me? Mr. Wills was the one who brought it up in the executive session and I was sitting all the way across the room so it isn’t possible that I was pulling his strings.
Their Facebook statement ends with the claim that the fire company has been transparent and has nothing to hide.
I have no idea what their annual expenses are. I don't know if some of the expenses they list on this report are for the whole building. Are the taxpayer funds we provide taxed again since the fire company is not tax exempt? I am far from the only person who wants to know the answers to basic questions like these.
Nobody wants to defund the fire company. But it is irresponsible for us to continue to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to the fire company without proof that the money was spent on fire service for Parkside.
We were told after Mr. Powers second arrest that he was no longer president of the fire company. My understanding is that he is very much still running the show. Does he want to provide the documents? Was he behind the statement attacking me?
Does the fire company want to continue receiving taxpayer money from the residents? They deserve to know how that money is being spent.
Do you trust the person who has been charged with 4 separate thefts to decide for all of you whether or not to cooperate? Is he acting in the best interests of the fire company or his own?
After stalling for weeks and the release of that statement, we notified the solicitor for the fire company that they had until today to provide a significant number of documents. We have not received anything so it appears that they are not going to cooperate.
Despite this, I am not closing the door on future to discussions with the fire company as a way to move forward together.
But, my duty on council is to the residents of Parkside. We are obligated to provide fire services.
I invite you all to read the paragraph on the back of the agenda with me.
“Though we all support our fire company, our responsibilities are with the residents. Legally we have to provide Police and Fire Protection. This does not mean that we have to financially support our own fire company to stay open, if it seems that is an impossibility. We have five fire companies within a 1-mile radius. Yes I definitely want to and do support our fire company. But our community will not be without Fire Protection if they financially have to close their doors.”
Any idea where I got that, because I didn't write it?
Shirley Purcival wrote this in an email in January of 2020.
I totally agree with her. Our community must not be without fire protection and I would prefer to stick with our fire company. But we have to explore our options because I have not seen any indication that the fire company is willing to live up to its end of the bargain.
Why is the fire company refusing to open its books? Ask yourselves why whoever is calling the shots would rather close the firehouse down than open their books.
