Firefighters descend on Courthouse to question commissioners [Lisbon, OH]

[Box 2565]

Firefighters descend on Courthouse to question commissioners
By MARY ANN GREIER, Review Staff Writer


LISBON - Columbiana County firefighters concerned about the status of their federal homeland security funding fired questions at commissioners and Emergency Management Agency personnel Wednesday.

But some questions appear to remain on how a deadline for filing paperwork related to the 2004 Weapons of Mass Destruction grant was missed and whether the $194,747 earmarked for first responders will be secured by the Sept. 30 deadline for spending the funds.

"The grants aren't lost," EMA Director Darren Dodson said. "We're making every effort to ensure that they are not going to be lost."

Apparently the problem with the grant came to light Monday, when Dodson notified commissioners that he just learned the report showing how the money would be spent was supposed to be sent to the state that day, and it wasn't ready.

According to Commissioner Jim Hoppel, the state agreed to give the county a one-week extension, although when contacted at his office, Dodson said he hadn't received confirmation of the extension.

While responding to a written list of questions from the firefighters at the Courthouse, Hoppel explained that the county had a Weapons of Mass Destruction coordinator who was supposed to be handling the paperwork related to the grant.

A reminder about the Aug. 15 deadline had been sent to the EMA office in the form of an E-mail July 27, but Dodson said he didn't learn there was a problem until 8:45 a.m. Monday, just 15 minutes before an emergency meeting of the WMD committee was scheduled concerning the WMD coordinator's position. The meeting would have been his first with the committee.

In May, commissioners were asked to renew the contract for WMD Coordinator Chris Fabbro on the recommendation of the WMD Committee which includes some firefighters. The commissioners took no action, saying it was too early and they wanted more time to consider the options.

Dodson was hired effective July 1 to the director's position, a position which had been sought by EMA deputy director Mary Smith. He said he approached the commissioners about the WMD coordinator's position on more than one occasion, asking them to fill the spot and recommending Fabbro be reappointed.

His term was expiring Aug. 13 and Hoppel said there had been talk about his salary. Hoppel said he told Dodson that if the situation wasn't settled by Friday, to tell Fabbro not to come to work Monday.

In addressing the firefighters, who surrounded the courthouse with fire trucks, Commissioner Sean Logan noted that he learned the firefighters were told the 2004 money was delayed because the commissioners failed to enter a name for who was administering the grant for 2005.

But he questioned why the 2005 name would matter when someone had already been named for 2004. Hoppel questioned why the report hadn't already been sent since he was told by a WMD committee member that all the work by the committee had been completed in May.

"We have our suspicions, but we don't know," he said.

The firefighters questioned what the commissioners were doing with the money, why they hadn't attended a meeting of the committee and what was happening with the 2005 allocation.

"Why are the commissioners risking nearly $380,000 in WMD grant money?" their written presentation asked.

The commissioners assured the firefighters they wanted the money to go where it was intended to go and they would do everything in their power to solve the problem.

The Review OnLine 08/17/05