HAMBDEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Residents arrived at Wednesday’s Hambden Township trustee meeting looking for answers about the theft from their community’s nonprofit fire department.

Many wanted to know how much money was stolen, who took it and what it means for the future of the department.

Instead, township trustees and Fire Chief Scott Hildenbrand cited an ongoing criminal investigation as the reason they could say little beyond what had already been disclosed: A longtime employee admitted taking a “large amount of money,” and resigned last week, leaving the department short on cash and seeking township payments ahead of schedule.

With about 20 residents in attendance, turnout was far larger than trustee meetings typically draw, two attendees told cleveland.com.

Among those seeking answers was longtime Hambden Township resident Melissa Overstreet, whose 21-year-old daughter volunteers with the department.

“It’s puzzling,” Overstreet said. “I’m sure people are looking at how much money is missing. How bad is this and what’s going to happen? What’s going to happen to the fire station?”

Hildenbrand, who also serves as Geauga County sheriff, was at Wednesday’s meeting and handed out the usual monthly rundown of fire and EMS calls. He said nothing about the theft.

Trustee David Johnson read a prepared statement.

“The fire department is a separate entity. It is just like a vendor you contract with for services,” Johnson said. “Therefore, we do not have any financial oversight over them.”

Johnson said trustees could not comment further because of the ongoing criminal investigation and on the advice of legal counsel.

Johnson’s statement highlighted a key complication in the theft: Hambden Volunteer Fire Dept., Inc. serves as the township’s fire department but is legally a separate nonprofit corporation.

Unlike a traditional fire department, the nonprofit operates independently while receiving taxpayer money from the township.

Under its 2026 contract, Hambden Township is to pay the nonprofit nearly $793,000 in four quarterly installments. In return, the nonprofit is required to provide fire and EMS services. It must also provide annual financial estimates and a breakdown of how township money is spent.

While it’s unclear how much money was stolen, officials initially described it as a “large” amount that could affect the department’s operations.

During an emergency meeting last week, trustees approved a $100,000 advance on the fourth-quarter payment after the nonprofit said it was “necessary,” according to a press release. The nonprofit also expects to seek another advance before its next scheduled payment in October, the release said.

The financial uncertainty comes as the nonprofit oversees construction of a new fire station funded with nearly $9 million in state and federal grants.

The nonprofit said in its release that construction of the new fire station “will not be affected by this deceitful criminal act.”

Federal spending records identify Hambden Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. — not Hambden Township itself — as the recipient of an approximately $6.75 million U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development Community Facilities grant.

Records obtained by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer show the State of Ohio also awarded the nonprofit a separate $2 million grant for the fire station project. The state grant requires the nonprofit to report how the money is spent.

State records show Capt. David Baird, a trustee of the nonprofit, submitted the Ohio grant application in 2024. The state later notified nonprofit Secretary Danielle Baird that the grant had been approved and payment was being processed.

In a July 20 letter to the state, David Baird wrote that the project remained on budget and that about $1.2 million of the state grant had already been spent on land acquisition, engineering, legal work, permits, utility improvements and site preparation. He also requested a one-year extension, until July 2027, because of permitting delays, utility work, supply chain issues and weather.

The nonprofit’s most recent federal tax filing, from 2024, shows it employed 34 people and spent about $570,000 on salaries and employee benefits that year, up from about $508,000 in 2023.

The filing lists Hildenbrand as the nonprofit’s highest compensated employee, reporting a 2024 salary of $89,400. It does not identify the pay or positions of the nonprofit’s other employees. The filing lists four officers and four trustees as receiving no reportable compensation from the nonprofit.

Capt. Tim Tobin, who serves as president of the nonprofit, did not respond to requests for comment. Cleveland.com left Tobin messages seeking information on whether the federal and state grant money is kept separate from the department’s operating accounts, whether those funds may have been affected and how the department’s payroll is structured.

The township’s contract with the nonprofit is funded, in part, through local fire levies. Hambden voters overwhelmingly renewed the township’s Fire and EMS levy in 2025. This November, voters will decide whether to renew a separate 0.5-mill levy expected to generate about $66,000 annually for fire and EMS operations beginning in 2028.

Despite the uncertainty now unfolding, Overstreet said the theft has not shaken her confidence in the firefighters who continue responding to emergencies.

“Everybody in the department is dedicated to Hambden and the Chardon area,” she said. “When the calls go out, they all go to the calls. When other people run away from danger, my daughter is running towards it. I see a lot of good stuff with the fire department.”

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