Coffeeville Fire Funding Under Scrutiny
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COFFEEVILLE — Concerns over the financial management and compliance status of the Coffeeville Fire Department were raised Monday morning during the Yalobusha County Board of Supervisors meeting, as Yalobusha County Emergency Management Agency Director Stewart Spence warned the department could face possible state action if issues are not resolved.
Spence told supervisors that one of his responsibilities as county fire coordinator is accounting for state funds allocated to local fire departments.
“One of my jobs as a fire coordinator, I have to oversee all state funds coming to fire departments,” Spence said. “Every year at the end of the year, they have to do compliance forms.”
Spence said he met several weeks ago with the Coffeeville fire chief, along with the town’s mayor and city clerk, to review the department’s finances. He noted that while the funds are designated for fire protection, the accounting and documentation — including how the money is deposited and spent — are handled through City Hall.
“The day we met with them, they had $468 in their fire rebate bank account,” Spence said. “Keep in mind, in August they received their fire rebate money for this year, which was right at $11,000. That money is still sitting in the general fund account.”
The fire rebate funds are distributed through the Fire Insurance Rebate Program, which was established in 1951 by the Mississippi Legislature to provide fire protection in areas where insurance coverage was unavailable due to the lack of organized fire services. Funding for the program has increased over time, growing from an original $250,000 allocation in 1951 to more than $15.5 million statewide today.
In addition to rebate funds, Spence said the Town of Coffeeville also receives $5,000 annually from Yalobusha County for fire protection, but that check has not been deposited.
“None of that has been deposited in the fire rebate account,” Spence said. “I have no way to verify those funds are actually there,” he added about the potential that the funds had been co-mingled with other city funds deposited in the general fund.
Spence said additional concerns surfaced when he reviewed the purchase of the town’s fire truck roughly three years ago. He said the town received $90,000 in Rural Fire Truck Acquisition Assistance Program (RFTAAP) funds from the state, but only $50,000 of that amount was paid toward the truck.
“They made two checks to the company where the truck was bought,” Spence said. “$50,000 came from RFTAAP, and the rest of the $380,000 came from the bank that financed it. They’re missing $40,000. It has to be paid for that truck. There’s no way around it.”
RFTAAP is a state program that provides matching fund grants up to $90,000 for fire truck purchases in rural areas.
Spence said because of the questions, he will be required to flag Coffeeville as non-compliant when submitting his annual reports to the state. He also said the compliance issues could also trigger consequences from the state fire coordinator, including the possibility of shutting the department down.
“That’s what the state has been telling us the last several weeks,” Spence said.
Spence noted that a similar situation occurred decades ago in Water Valley, when the city was found to be out of compliance with state fire funding requirements. In that case, the state allowed the city a period of time to transfer the funds back for approved fire department expenses without farther consequences.
Spence explained that if the state fire coordinator shut the department down, it would mean the town would lose access to nearly all equipment purchased with fire rebate or RFTAAP funds.
“If they get anything bought with RFTAAP or fire rebate money, the town cannot access it,” Spence said. “That is everything in that station except for the brush truck. And even the tank and everything on that brush truck was bought with rebate money.”
District Four Supervisor Eddie Harris expressed concern about response times if Coffeeville’s department were taken out of service.
“They can get to my house in five minutes, but then Velma Fire Department is going to take 10 to 15 minutes,” Harris said.
“That’s correct,” Spence said. “Velma and Skuna Valley would take over, if that is what the state chooses to do.”
Board President Cayce Washington questioned whether town officials had offered an explanation for the missing funds.
“They don’t have any explanation on the $40,000?” Washington asked.
“I haven’t talked to the mayor about that yet,” Spence said. “I just found out over the holidays.”
Washington also asked whether the town was making payments on the fire truck loan.
“Supposedly, they are,” Spence said. He explained the town approved the assessment of a $5 monthly fee per water meter to help fund the truck payment, which should generate more than $33,000 annually. However, Spence said the town reported being short on those funds and last year used $10,000 from rebate money to cover the payment.
Spence noted that using rebate funds for truck payments is legal, but raised concerns about how the designated water-meter fees are being handled.
“You legally said you are taking $5 per month for the truck payment, and it is not going where you said it is going,” Spence said. “That is another issue.”
Washington suggested requiring stronger documentation moving forward.
“I think they should give you a fund balance off of a bank statement that you can put with your report,” Washington said. “So it’s not a question.”
Spence said he plans to discuss the issue with the state fire coordinator and ask that reporting forms be revised to require third-party bank statements as proof of compliance.
Board Attorney Shannon Crow noted the financial records are public information.
District Four Supervisor Eddie Harris said the stakes extend beyond paperwork.
“It’s putting a lot of folks in jeopardy if they had to close their fire department down,” Harris said.
Washington urged Spence to continue pursuing the matter while keeping supervisors informed.
“Keep pressing and do what you need to do,” Washington said. “If that department gets shut down, it affects people in this community that we represent.”
