By Paul Fallon
The Charleston Daily Mail
KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. — Kanawha County commissioners voted to pay for an audit of a local volunteer fire department, citing concerns that the department has video lottery machines and runs a for-profit business.
Commissioner Dave Hardy requested the audit as commissioners divvied up $388,555 among 18 different fire departments, the Kanawha County Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the West Virginia Public Safety Expo and a radio project.
Commissioners also were concerned with the fact that Chesapeake receives a significant amount of its annual budget from raffles held during bingo games.
The department runs Communication Service Inc., a business that repairs two-way communication equipment. The business is housed in a building separate from the fire station.
“I want to make sure there’s a clear distinction between the fire department and the business,” Hardy said.
Chesapeake Fire Chief P.J. Johnson, who attended the meeting, said he had no problem submitting to the audit.
“We welcome it,” Johnson said.
Hardy also questioned whether the fire department ever has beer on the premises; a facility that has video lottery machines must also have a license to sell beer.
Johnson said the department has a beer license but does not sell any or keep it on the premises.
The department has a license for four video lottery machines, and the money from the machines goes into the department’s coffers. The agency receives about $15,000 a year from the machines, said John Empson, a certified public accountant that handles the department’s books.
Empson, who also attended Thursday’s meeting, said raffles account for about 90 percent of the department’s $300,000 budget.
The issue arose on the heels of allegations of fraud at the Institute Fire Department, where a former treasurer allegedly embezzled $24,000.
Commission President Kent Carper stressed that the issues with the Institute and Chesapeake fire departments are in no way related. He said he had no reason to believe there was any illegal activity going on at Chesapeake.
Chesapeake received $36,000 for new equipment from the commission Thursday night. Carper stressed that he would not have voted to allocate that funding if he believed any illegal activity was afoot.
He wasn’t sure exactly how much the audit would cost but it could run around $3,000 to $4,000.
Commissioners also discussed requiring all fire departments submit to an audit before receiving county funds. However, Carper said he believes this would cost about $75,000 each time audits are performed.
“That’s a lot of money to spend,” Carper said.
Instead, commissioners asked the Mutual Aid Committee, which handles oversight of volunteer fire departments for the county, if the current paperwork fire departments must file with the Internal Revenue Service is a sufficient safeguard.
The commissioners also provided $350,000 to nine police departments in the county.
That figure includes $20,000 to pay for Internet connection fees for the sheriff’s and municipal police departments and another $25,606 to the Public Safety Expo for conference advertisement.
The funds for the Public Safety Grants are received through the excess levy, Carper said.
In other commission news, commissioners asked County Clerk Vera McCormick to hold off on sending notifications out to more than 130,000 registered voters informing them of changes in their districts.
Districts were redrawn because of the recent census. However, legal challenges have been filed questioning the constitutionality of the redistricting process. There is some concern those challenges could result in the new changes being overturned.
McCormick said she could wait until the end of November before sending out the notifications.
County Engineer John Luoni also updated commissioners on his efforts to have a cell phone tower built on Campbells Creek to provide service to the area. Luoni said he has a commitment from Verizon to provide cell phone service from the tower.
He also believes he will soon have commitments from AT&T and nTelos. The county is seeking state grant money to build the tower. However, they must have commitments from a cell phone company stating that the tower will be used.
Copyright 2011 Charleston Newspapers