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photo by Heather Renee_____
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photo by Heather Renee_____ |
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In 2009 the County notified the East Lincoln Rescue Squad that their services were no longer needed, and they then voted to disband. The volunteers there had given their spare time for many years, and should have received some reward for their sacrifice. But their Board of Directors voted to take the surplus cash ($140,000), equipment (worth about $400,000) and building (valued at $550,000) and disburse some equipment to another County, sell the rest, and use the remaining assets to on a pet project. My problem with all of this, is the process. It was TAXPAYER money (85% county funds, 15% donations) that was being allocated to the Board's pet project. After talking to several members, I realized that their minds were closed. I filed a lawsuit (never heard) which had the desired effect -- scaring them into opening discussions with the County Commissioners on a suitable use for the surplus. Once an agreement was reached, the case was dropped, and almost all taxpayers were happy with the result. The Rescue Squad's lawyer worked pro bono but actually had very little work to do. The end result was that all the equipment was parceled out to a variety of County emergency services groups, and the remaining cash and building assets were allocated to construct a park on nearby surplus county-owned land. For More Information Contact: |
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