NEOLA, Iowa — A small Iowa city will rely on mutual aid to cover calls after 12 of its 16 volunteer firefighters resigned Monday night in a dispute over who controls the fire department.
Omaha.com reported that the Neola (Iowa) Volunteer Fire Department currently has four members and the city council is set to review eight applications. In the meantime, the city will be covered by two neighboring departments.
Part of the dispute was over city council efforts to exert more control over the department. Acting Fire Chief Ryan Ward asked if the department would have a say on new members.
“To avoid any further miscommunication, the city hall will be involved in every non-emergency decision from here on out,” Mayor-elect Pete Sorenson said in response to Chief Ward’s question. “So, once we have your staff filled again, the city will help you make decisions on what staff is best suited to protect the city.”
The resignations and council involvement come after a state audit report found that a former city clerk allegedly misspent more than $230,000 over a five-year period. The former clerk, Deb Schierbrock, was a member of the fire department and wife of Fire Chief Bill Schierbrock.
The audit also found about $47,000 of the $230,000 in misspent money was out of the fire department’s account. Chief Schierbrock and his wife, along with Sarah McDermott, a deputy city clerk and member of the department, were suspended indefinitely as a result of the audit.