Firefighter learns that Sunshine Law enforcement remains weak

When Camden Point Fire Protection District volunteers in Platte County, Mo., needed new equipment, they looked to their board of directors. Keith Dutcher, a volunteer firefighter for the district, asked the board in November 1996 to replace the fire department's 28-year-old fire truck along with some personal firefighter protection equipment. Dutcher, a firefighter for six years, and eight other volunteers are responsible for Camden Point -- a sleepy town of 400 located north of Platte City -- and some surrounding rural land. Little did Dutcher know that such a routine request would result in his and the other volunteers' losing their firefighter positions and lead to a lawsuit. The fire truck request also started political struggles that escalated until both the Missouri Attorney General's Office and the Office of the State Auditor investigated financial irregularities at the district and noncompliance with the Missouri Sunshine and election laws.

Fire district board members, it was found, were reimbursed for cell phone bills and received a gas allowance. But the board, say former volunteers for the district, wouldn't ante up for new equipment. Last year, Dutcher filed suit against the district for violating the Sunshine Law, which is supposed to ensure that government records remain open and available to the public. Dutcher says that after three and one-half years, the Sunshine Law has failed district taxpayers.

It was the fire truck that turned Dutcher from a lieutenant in the fire department to an interested and outraged citizen. "We needed a new truck," he says. "The directors said we couldn't have one, that we just couldn't afford it."

Dutcher, an accountant, says that after repeated requests, the district's elected directors asked firefighters, including Dutcher's brother, to look for a truck for the district's needs. "My brother (Kurt), the chief, asked me to put a package together on how to finance the truck and do it right," Dutcher says. "But when they finally bought the truck, they borrowed the money from the local bank."

The district, Dutcher says, for many years had a competent bookkeeper, who left after a dispute with one of the directors. "Things they were doing, he could not go along with," Dutcher says. "The directors (then) hired an accountant who did a disastrous job. They started losing money and didn't know where it was going. They asked me to look for the money. I found two tax levy checks for a total of $1,000 that never made it to the bank. That was in 1996, when the district had a $45,000 budget. It was a big loss on that kind of a budget.

"What I found was appalling: We could not afford gear, but one director had cell phone bills of $120 a month. The directors also had a mileage allowance. They were looking at volunteer firefighters and telling them they could not afford new equipment. The firefighters are looking at the way the directors are spending and losing money."

In Missouri, a government entity cannot take on long-term debt, or debt that exceeds one year of tax revenue, without voter approval. With leases and debt, the district far exceeded its $45,000 income (in 1996) with the purchase of the new $175,000 truck. Local government also cannot get financing from a local bank unless the debt is secured with bonds or taxes.

Dutcher says the district had no budget program and was losing tax checks. The board had given Dutcher authority to research what he thought was proper. "I found bills paid on the check register, but instead of an actual bill, I found handwritten notes that said so much was paid to the phone company or somewhere else." Without the original bills, Dutcher had no way of knowing what calls or expenses were actual fire department business.

By September 1997, Dutcher had attempted to get financial and meeting records but was denied by the same board that empowered him to look into matters. At a Nov. 24, 1997, board meeting, Dutcher says, he "told the board that the things I was looking for were public record. The directors said because of the lies and exaggerations loose in the community, they didn't feel it was advisable to give me access. I then wrote them a letter under the Sunshine Law that it didn't matter what they thought, I needed the stuff. They never produced the documents."

At that time, Dutcher says, the fire chief found that the board had spent $1,000 on attorneys to fight Dutcher's records requests. "The board then told the chief he could not give district records to people," Dutcher says.

When the chief said he would give district records to anyone who asked, he and eight firefighters were relieved of their duties. For a volunteer firefighter, that is quite a blow. Many volunteer departments, such as the one in Camden Point, follow the strict training and rank guidelines of the National Fire Protection Association and state fire district laws. Many volunteer firefighters are as experienced and have as much training as their full-time counterparts.

After the mass firing, Dutcher says, the board of directors decided to raise the tax levy without an election to pay for the debt from the new fire truck, ignoring citizens' concerns. Dutcher asked for the minutes to the meeting, a request the directors turned down.