Cottonwood Shores council denies payment to fire department

By Emily Hilley-Sierzchula

The Cottonwood Shores Volunteer Fire Department will not receive its monthly check from the city in January because of not filing a report required by its contract with the city, said the city’s mayor at the council meeting Thursday, Dec. 18.

“We asked for their financial report, as per their contract, and did not get it,” said Mayor Donald Orr. “We emailed them about it and they emailed back that someone would be here, and they’re not.”

No CSVFD representatives were present at the meeting.

CSVFD Chief Travis Hockensmith chose to let the public information officer respond to an information request. “Chief Hockensmith called city hall and requested to be placed on the agenda and was told he would be placed on the agenda,” said Janet Taylor-Carusi in an email Monday, Dec. 22. “The city then did not place the chief on the agenda and did not notify the fire department.”

Taylor-Carusi continued that withholding the January payment would be a breach of contract. “The contract does not provide a clause that would allow the city to simply not pay its contractual amount because of a whim,” she said.

Orr responded in an email Monday that “it is completely within the city’s right to withhold funds if we do not receive items or services rendered that are called for in the contract.” He said that he requested FY2014 financial reports of activity through the end of September at October and November council meetings.

“I always believe that after asking, in public, for the contract terms be met, that a forceful nudge (by withholding funds) would be better than contract termination,” Orr said. “However, we will proceed any way the VFD wishes.”

In other departments, Cottonwood Shores’ police chief outlined a few changes ongoing in his department since he took the reins from Harold Piatt last month.

“Everybody does things differently. I do things by the book,” said Tom Williams prior to the meeting.

For more on changes in the police department, see Friday's Highlander.