Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 8, 1993 TAG: 9309080253
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY BELL STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
State Police Special Agent James Ruhland confirmed that the agency's Bureau of Criminal Investigation has closed the case after finding no state law that applies to how volunteer organizations spend donated funds. An investigator delivered the results of the probe to town officials Tuesday afternoon.
Roanoke County Commonwealth's Attorney Skip Burkart, asked by state police to review the case, said the volunteers "broke no law" because "there are no laws governing the way volunteer organizations use funds collected from the community."
Even if a volunteer organization spent what the public might consider exorbitant amounts of money on trips and other perks, there is no recourse under law if nonpublic money is used, Burkart said.
Funds collected by an organization from the community are considered nonpublic because they are not provided by a government.
"It would be a whole different story if public funds had been utilized," Burkart said.
The investigation was prompted last month by an anonymous letter charging that funds were being misused by the volunteers.
Vinton Town Manager Clay Goodman, saying he wanted "an impartial third party" to investigate the charges, contacted state police.
The letter writer alleged that money was being spent by volunteers on social functions, gifts, coffee and perks instead of on equipment and other items that might be more beneficial to the community.
Vinton's volunteer fire department spends about one-third of its $18,000 budget on social functions, including a Christmas banquet and an initiation ceremony.
Volunteers maintain that funds devoted to social functions are used to retain specially trained members, who devote numerous hours to the department with no pay.
"We never [implied] that the allegations were true," Goodman said. "We're very pleased about the outcome of this investigation, because the Vinton Volunteer Fire Department provides a very high level of service to this town."
While he is pleased with the results of the investigation, Vinton Fire Chief Barry Fuqua said he hopes the town "will conduct its own investigation to determine the source of the anonymous accusations."
Fuqua said several letters attacking the department and him have been received during the past two years, and he questions whether the intent of the letter-writer is malicious.
"The volunteers are a fine group of individuals who serve their community, and they should not have to put up with this type of aggravation," he said.
Burkart defended the author's right to voice an opinion.
"Citizens have the right to bring things to the proper attention in this manner, if they feel they have no other way to voice a genuine concern," he said.
But he said he has followed community sentiment through the newspaper's editorial page and thinks "many people seem to think it is perfectly fine for them to spend the money the way they want to."
Still, Fuqua said the volunteers now are working on damage control. "Obviously, we need to work on public relations within the community."
Fuqua said morale has been bad, although community support has been strong. "We've received numerous donations with letters telling us to spend the money any way we see fit," he said.
One citizen delivered several cases of coffee because the letter writer took issue with the department's buying a coffee service.
"I do not personally feel that we need to cut down on these types of expenditures. We try not to spend a lot as it is," Fuqua said.
Burkart said it was "regrettable" that an anonymous letter could cause such an uproar, because of its possible effect on donations, an outlook shared by Mayor Charles Hill.
"It is unfortunate this had to come up. No matter the outcome, I feel there will always be harm done the department and the town because of these allegations," Hill said.
"I hope this will not affect donations. I hope that we can restore morale in the department, which has been greatly damaged."
Firefighter G.P. Stone, who has been with the department since 1974, said he is concerned that the public might think the only reason the investigation was closed is because of a lack of state law governing volunteer fire departments.
Burkart said that in his review of the department's financial records, he found "every dollar was accounted for. They kept meticulous records, and voted in open meetings about everything they spent."
by CNB