Railroad Township has some extra work to do before adopting a contract with its fire department.
During a meeting Wednesday night, the agreement between the fire department and the township was considered for approval. The Township Advisory Board, however, was concerned with some of the language in the contract.
While overcoming volume and hearing problems at this week’s meeting, Railroad Township Trustee Mandy Thomason explained how the process worked.
“The fire department has been in breach of contract for a while,” Thomason said. “They handed over paperwork and the board was just deciding whether it was sufficient or not.”
Thomason referred questions about the contract talks and what the document packet entails to her attorney. He did not respond to requests for comment.
The 2016 contract contains provisions the fire department hand over its financial records for review by the trustee. Sources close to the situation say the packet included the department’s financial records and a letter from an attorney stating that the firefighters had insufficiently reported them to be in compliance with the township’s 12-5 form. The Advisory Board accepted the packet, nonetheless.
Members proceeded to consider a newly proposed contract with the fire department for 2017. The previous year’s agreement is usually in effect until December 31st with reconsideration of the terms each year. Board members didn’t take long to reject the proposal on a 2-1 vote.
Fire department members plan to discuss the contract amongst themselves, but will also meet with the township advisory board to review ideas. The matter will come back for a future vote.
San Pierre/Railroad Township Fire Chief Joe Kryzyzanowski tells WKVI News he needs more information on the alleged contract violations.
“I asked the trustee and the board about what the violations were and they gave me no answer,” says Kryzyzanowski.
Sources say the fire department is a separate entity, and that the Railroad Township trustee should be disallowed from reviewing the fire department’s financial records, calling the current setup “unusual”. Rumors regarding the trustees’ reasons for the financial review have circulated, but Thomason has said she will not comment on the matter.
Heated exchanges were confirmed following Wednesday’s Railroad Township Advisory Board meeting. Deputies with the Starke County Sheriff’s Department were present to ensure safety and civility. Reports of arrests and violence were deemed untrue by multiple sources.
Kryzyzanowski says the meetings will be needed to review the disagreements.
“Basically it can be ironed out if we can just sit down and talk about it, but that hasn’t come about yet,” says Kryzyzanowski.
The fire department and the advisory board will meet in the next couple of weeks before taking the contract to another vote.
At least one official said the board may look to discontinue contract adoption until the end of the year to prevent future financial records from being reviewed into 2017.
