Funds donated to former Palmyra fire department are in question
By Heather Ruenz
Several months before disbanding in late 2011 in a bitter dispute over local fire services, members of the Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department collected nearly $6,000 in private donations to buy a thermal imaging camera and other emergency equipment.
However, in the tumultuous months that followed, it appears the camera was never purchased and the funds were tossed into limbo.
Now several area residents who contributed to the campaign are demanding the funds be used as intended or returned to the donors.
The Village of Palmyra, which now runs a local fire department (also serving the Town of Palmyra), is staking a claim to half of the donated funds citing state statutes.
The other half, the village contends, belongs to the Town of Palmyra, which was part of the fire district served by the volunteer fire company. However, Town Board Chairman Larry Kau said Tuesday, on the advice of legal counsel, that the town is “no longer involved in this matter.”
Sorting out where the money is, how much of it remains and who controls it on behalf of Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. – and whether the volunteer fire company remains a viable entity – will likely take some time.
Paul Oehrke, a member of the disbanded volunteer fire company, declined to immediately answer several specific questions regarding the donated funds. In a July 20 email response to the questions, Oehrke said a reply would take some time as he consulted department bylaws and policies.
“As soon as I feel comfortable in my/our thoughts, I’ll pass along to you, hopefully sometime this week,” Oehrke wrote in the July 20 email.
The Enterprise contacted Oehrke again late last week via email seeking his response to the questions. He replied Monday night:
“As I wouldn’t have had a majority of your questions precisely answered through many individual confirmed sources, I most likely would not have replied with only a partial response, specifically without review by at least one of my professional consultants,” Oehrke wrote.
“I look forward to reviewing your article for factual accuracy,” he added.
Fraud or forgetfulness?
Answers from representatives of the volunteer fire company can’t come soon enough for several current and former residents who donated to the fundraising campaign.
At worst, they say, the handling of the funds constitutes criminal fraud. At best, it’s a violation of public trust.
For Rae Miller, formerly of Palmyra who now lives in California, and is one of the donors who sent a certified letter to volunteer fire company member Bryan Hackett – who is listed as the registered agent for PVFD, Inc. with the Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions – the next step is obvious.
“If Bryan Hackett has not returned the money, legal action should be pursued,” she said. “Perhaps it is too expensive to pursue through legal channels but I am glad that the situation is receiving media attention to this kind of fraud.
“That’s what this is – fraud, and that is a punishable offense,” Miller said Monday.
Miller is among the group of residents who sent certified letters to Hackett. The others are Dan Johnson, Charles Soden, and Irene and Barry Blaskowski.
Seeking satisfaction
In the letters to Hackett, the residents state they made donations and requested the money be given to the current Palmyra Fire and Rescue to help offset the cost of the thermal imaging camera purchased by the village in 2013, or return the donations to individual donors.
Though there are delivery receipts signed by Hackett and another volunteer fire company member, David Nadrachal, the senders said they never received a response from either of them.
“There’s a trust issue here,” Irene Blaskowski said. “The public trust is violated because the volunteer group did not follow through with their original pledge to purchase a thermal imaging camera for the fire department using the funds donated in good faith by members of our community.”
It’s important to note that this occurred with the former Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department, Inc., which contracted services to the Palmyra Fire District for the village and town. The fundraising campaign was held in July 2011 and in December of the same year the joint fire district disbanded. Currently, Palmyra Fire and Rescue serves the village, and through a contract for services, also the town.
Early in 2013, the Palmyra Village Board approved the purchase of a thermal imaging camera for its fire department, action noticed by residents who had donated toward PVFD’s fundraising campaign in 2011.
Village stakes a claim
Village officials, for their part, contend at least half of the donated funds belong to the village. They cite a section of state statute which holds that separate accounts held by volunteer emergency service agencies “shall remain the property of the municipality until the funds are disbursed.”
According to Blaskowski, the League of Wisconsin Municipalities and the Wisconsin Towns Association both issued statements supporting the contention that the funds belong to the municipalities – in this case the town and the village – as they were members of the joint fire district at the time the donations were received.
The village also sent certified letters, along with a copy of the state statute and the original fundraising flier, to Hackett.
One such letter, dated January 20, and signed by Village Board President Dave Turner, stated, in part: “Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Monica Hall interprets this statute to mean that the funds belong to the municipalities involved, Village of Palmyra and Town of Palmyra, and do not in anyway belong to Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department, Inc.
“She further stated that if the funds are used in any other manner than returning to the municipalities or purchasing a thermal imaging camera for the Village of Palmyra Fire and Rescue, it would constitute a criminal violation… and you as registered agent, could be prosecuted as such by the District Attorney,” the letter states.
The letter ended with Turner requesting half of the donated funds, $2,980, be returned to the village.
According to Village Clerk Laurie Mueller, a couple of the certified letters were signed as received but the most recent one was returned as undeliverable.
Town officials respond
Though the town has declined to become involved in the dispute, officials did address the issue briefly earlier this year.
At the March 10 Palmyra Town Board meeting, Chairman Kau and town attorney Tom Levi stated that Oehrke had said: “If donors send a request for a refund along with a copy of their check, the group will refund the donation.”
Blaskowski said she spoke to Oehrke in April and asked for the name and address of the person refund requests should be directed to.
“He told me that he did not know. I gave him my telephone number and asked that he, or another member of this group, contact me with the information. It is now July and I still have not received a return call with this information,” Blaskowski said.
In a phone call Tuesday morning, Kau said the town attorney “believes any town involvement could end up in a counter lawsuit due to the firefighters being locked out of the firehouse and not being allowed to retrieve items that belonged to them,” referring to the controversy that occurred after the joint fire district disbanded.
During that time, the village sent certified letters to Hackett, offering to set a time to meet PVFD officers at the firehouse. Because the village did not receive a response it enacted ordinance 1.11, which states property that had been abandoned or remained unclaimed for a period of more than 30 days, could be disposed of or sold.
Department not active
Whether the volunteer fire company remains an active, legal entity is in question.
Currently, the former volunteer firefighter group is not affiliated with any active fire department – a requirement according to their own bylaws for members in good standing.
While Hackett is currently listed as the registered agent, Palmyra Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. is delinquent in filing with the State of Wisconsin for updated corporation status.
PVFD, Inc. is also not listed on the IRS website of organizations approved for charitable tax exempt status, of particular concern because the flier distributed when members were seeking donations stated 100 percent of the donations would be tax deductible.
