Water Turned Off At Ill. Fire Station: Bill Not Paid

Feb. 29--GARDNER -- The Gardner Volunteer Fire Department's water has been turned back on after it started a payment plan with the village.

The village board held a hearing Monday regarding the fire department's unpaid water bill, Mayor Tom Wise explained Tuesday. At the hearing, Wise said Fire Chief Randy Wilkey said the village was endangering the community by turning the water off.

"I said, 'No, we're not.' They have access to all the hydrants," said the mayor, who proceeded to say the department needed to pay the bill or set up a payment program.

"The fire department is no different than everyone else we shut off. If we turn it on for them, we have to turn it on for everyone who didn't pay their bills," Wise continued.

The department put money toward its bill Tuesday morning, and the village turned the water back on. It was turned off last week after the bill was unpaid and notification ignored.

Wilkey said Tuesday he did not go before the village to ask for the department's water to be put back on unpaid, but instead to explain the situation and concern.

The department's bills are paid by the Gardner Fire Protection District. But the fire trustees are refusing to pay department bills unless they are given original copies of the bills. For two months now, Wilkey said, the fire department's bills have been denied payment.

Fire Trustee Barbara Baker and fire district adviser Terry Marketti, who is also a former trustee, said Wilkey cannot be trusted with the finances and this is why they are demanding originals.

"In the past, claims, innuendos, rumors and whatnot have been said accusing Mr. Wilkey of doctoring bills that were submitted. The taxpayers said the trustees weren't protecting the tax dollars," Baker said.

Because the department is a separate corporation, once the fire department receives the revenue from the tax levy, the monies are no longer public funds and are spent per the department's budget, not how the district tells the department to, Wilkey said.

The chief argues that, because the fire department is a separate entity, it needs its originals.

"If I give the original copies to them, our department doesn't have the originals to give to our auditor," Wilkey said. "Trustee Barbara Baker said at the meeting copies can be manipulated. I'm sorry, but we're not that intelligent, nor are we crooked to deceive anyone like that."

The fire department is separate, he said, and provides a contracted service to the district for fire and EMS service. That contract is currently being disputed between the department and district in court.

The trustees passed a resolution last fall requiring the original bills and, by January, still never receiving an original bill, the trustees decided they would no longer accept copies. In February, Wilkey was still trying to submit copies, Baker said.

The copied front page of a phone bill is an example of what they receive, and the phone bill is $500 to $600. They do not receive the list of calls or even know how many lines the department has.

"That's excessive ... something is wrong there," Baker said.

The fire district passed a resolution no longer recognizing Wilkey as chief because it does not trust him with the department's finances, Marketti said. As a result, Wilkey is no longer insured by the district, nor on the firemen roster, but the district cannot do more because the firehouse and equipment are in the department's name, not the district's. This is why they are battling for control in court.

"It doesn't mean anything. They are having a hard time digesting they don't control the Gardner Volunteer Fire Department. We are a separate, legal entity from the district," Wilkey said. "I am elected by the firemen and firewomen on the fire department. They have stood by me through all this and all of them made a commitment if I leave, they leave."

VENDETTA OR ACCOUNTABILITY?

For decades the fire district and department worked together without issue, until, Wilkey said, Marketti became a trustee. Marketti has a "vendetta" against him, Wilkey accused.

"Bullying and dirty politics have no place in life/safety," he said.

Wilkey said when Marketti was a village trustee in Gardner and the Grundy County Sheriff, he questioned whether Marketti could hold the two elected positions. After asking the state's attorney's office and the attorney general, Marketti eventually stepped down as village trustee in 2007.

"There's never been a vendetta. It's simply that when I was appointed to the board, I saw a bunch of things not being done properly and we proceeded with changes. Mr. Wilkey didn't like that and objected to everything we did and has not cooperated and that's why we are in the situation we are in," Marketti said.

All the trustees want is for the department to be held accountable, he said. It's their job to make sure the taxpayer's money is being spent properly and that is all they're doing.

The district and the fire department are currently going through court proceedings. The district is trying to gain control of all the department's finances and assets. There are several funds, such as the department's TIF fund, ambulance billing fund and others to which the district does not have access.

Wilkey said the taxpayer's money is not being abused by the fire department, but by the expenses caused by the court cases.

"With the amount of money being spent, we should be purchasing another pumper tanker to lower our ISO rating . . . and save the residents $100 a year on their insurance," he said. "Instead we're paying attorneys. They're the only ones profiting from this court case."

Copyright 2012 - Morris Daily Herald, Ill.