NY Attorney General Wants Champion Volunteer Fire Company Dissolved

CHAMPION, NY—The state attorney general has filed court action in an attempt to force the dissolution of Champion Volunteer Fire Co. Inc.

The office of Letitia James filed state Supreme Court action Monday at the Jefferson County clerk’s office claiming the company “has been defunct for several years” and has failed to comply with a statutory requirement to file annual financial reports with the attorney general.

The attorney general claims the company “can no longer carry out its corporate purpose,” yet has continued to “represent itself to the public as a functioning fire department, and has engaged in fundraising campaigns.”

Starting with its incorporation in 1958, the company provided fire protection within the town of Champion until 2015 when the town terminated its contract. The town claimed the company breached the contract by not providing requested information about required physical exams and training for the company’s firefighters and by failing to provide proof of insurance naming the town as an insured party.

In 2014, town residents voted to dissolve the Champion Fire Protection District, for which the town contracted with the Champion company, Great Bend Fire District, West Carthage Fire Department and Copenhagen Fire Department.

The dissolution was proposed by members of the Champion Volunteer Fire Co. in order to form a fire district—a political entity with its own elected governing body that may incur indebtedness and require the levy of taxes. The fire company members claimed they were not receiving their fair share of the funds collected for fire protection.

The town subsequently terminated its contract with the company and devised a new fire protection plan, contracting with the Great Bend, West Carthage and Copenhagen departments.

Multiple legal actions were brought by members of the company challenging the loss of its contract with the town and the establishment of new fire districts. None of the litigation resulted in the company returning as a functional fire department.

According to the attorney general’s complaint, the company was supposed to present a petition for the dissolution of the company to the attorney general’s office, along with a plan for the distribution of its assets, including its real estate on Route 126 and its firefighting equipment.

The attorney general claims that has not happened, and the company also has not provided an accounting of any fundraising it has allegedly conducted or annual financial reports, as required under state law.

In addition to dissolving the company, the attorney general is asking that a judge order that the company’s assets be equitably distributed to the town of Champion for use within Fire Protection District No. 1 with the village of West Carthage and Fire Protection District No. 2 with the village of Copenhagen.

The attorney general is also looking for a five-year accounting of the management of the company’s funds and assets to verify the lawful use of the assets.

The fire company’s attorney, David B. Garwood, Syracuse, declined comment on the matter Tuesday.

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