In Tazewell County, a meals tax has been passed by the Board of Supervisors to support much needed equipment for the Tazewell County Sheriff’s Office and Tazewell County Fire Departments. It is not the intent of this article to question those needs, as many are apparent. However, it is essential that the taxpayers know how their money is being spent and how these future tax revenues will be allocated. In fact, it is required by law that under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that publicly funded agencies, unless specifically exempted, be open and transparent with information, particularly financial records, because it is our money that pays the bills.
Well apparently, this statement isn’t entirely true in Tazewell County. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to inform the citizens on how a couple of local fire departments are spending the funds which they are already receiving. It is also in the public’s interest to know that these departments have consistently failed to fully comply with ongoing Freedom of Information Act requests as they are required by law.
On December 5, 2024, a FOIA request was submitted to Tazewell County administration asking for information pertaining to two Volunteer Fire Departments. One was Baptist Valley Fire Department (BVFD) and the other was Tazewell County Fire Department (TCFD). Requests were made for their department rosters, stipend monies that the members had collected, training records, and financial statements including receipts for the prior 6 months (June 2024 to December 2024). The response that was received from the county stated that they did not monitor or have record of this information and that the individual county fire departments took care of this themselves. It was then requested that these FOIA requests be forwarded to the appropriate FOIA official with those agencies and they did. To date, only a portion of the information requested has been received, and long after the time limit allowed by law.
As a result, a second FOIA request was submitted on January 30, 2025, asking for additional information for two reasons. One was to provide unquestionable clarity as to the original information requested. The other was to obtain additional documents that would be needed to better analyze the original information received. This second FOIA request was for the prior 6 months bank statements for both departments including canceled checks that had been written, and the individual call sheets from each agency for calls responded to from September 2023 to August of 2024.
Both agencies responded with only one or two pages of multiple-page bank statements, with some months omitted entirely, and none of the requested canceled checks. The financial institutions that they bank with verified that the canceled checks are part of the bank statements. As of the date of this publication, Baptist Valley Fire Department did provide the requested call sheets and Tazewell County Fire Department has provided none.
Mr. Eric Young, County Administrator, and Mr. Chase Collins, County Attorney, have advised that they have done everything within their authority to encourage the full cooperation of these agencies to comply with these requests as required by law. This issue has been addressed with the Tazewell County Board of Supervisors during public comments. The Board members were given multiple specific examples of potential wasteful spending to garner their support. After these examples were given, they were asked if they had any questions and they had none, and in fact it was met with total silence. Apparently, our elected board members do not take this issue seriously, despite being informed of the inappropriate spending and questionable practices that have taken place with these agencies. The condensed version of responses that has been received from county officials has been, essentially that it is not our problem and the funds the county provides to these volunteer fire departments are simply a “donation”.
On March 4, 2025, a presentation was made by Barry Brooks, Tazewell County Public Safety Director, at a Board of Supervisors meeting. During this meeting Mr. Brooks was very assertive as to the financial needs of the volunteer fire departments and particularly he stressed how the county should do more to support them financially. In addition, he spoke in detail about how the county would be held liable for inadequately trained firefighters engaging in practices they should not be. He used examples of internal firefighting by those who had not had Firefighter I and basic Haz-Mat training, and how operators of the fire trucks could not operate the county trucks without having first completed Emergency Vehicle Operations and Controls training (EVOC). The irony in this presentation came about while reflecting on the FOIA responses that had been received from the county that was mentioned earlier.
Would it not be critical to know, and have an account of, how current funds are spent when you are so adamantly advocating for additional funds, rather than stating that it is just left up to the departments to monitor themselves? If the county admittedly is aware of the direct liability that they assume if an accident occurs, and in fact have no auto insurance coverage for drivers who have not been properly trained, why would they not maintain training records? The very situations and scenarios that were given as examples are taking place, so why are county employees who are paid, such as Mr. Brooks, not stopping it from happening?
Most reasonable taxpayers would assume or imagine that “donations” made to the volunteer fire departments through either our county tax dollars or their personal donations would be used by the fire departments to support fire protection and operations.
Well apparently, Tazewell County Fire Department has a unique definition of what this would consist of according to the receipts received. The receipts obtained through FOIA would be indicative of someone using the agency charge card for personal use.
Many taxpayers, who may have their own financial struggles, would find some of the following expenditures not only unnecessary, but completely unrelated to adequate fire protection. The citizens deserve answers as to how the purchase of tobacco products, multiple visits to the grocery store, charging/loading gift cards, individual snacks, soft drinks, energy drinks, and frequent dinners for two, both in the area and as far away as Pulaski County, VA and Bristol, TN, relate to our fire protection. It has been made clear in communications with the county administration that if there were expenditures for an annual summer picnic or for the fire department Christmas dinner, these purchases would not be scrutinized. If fire department personnel were out for an extended period on a call, purchasing their meals would not be out of the question. However, using department funds for purchasing a life jacket, a throw cushion, and a diet Pepsi at Walmart when the fire department has no rescue boat, seems very questionable.
Numerous receipts have been obtained through these FOIA request(s) to expose this type of behavior and have cost out of pocket funds when realistically citizens should not have to pay for the information and volunteer their time to audit it. In the case of Tazewell County Fire Department, Chief Scott Cornwell, should respond and provide justification for these purchases.
Chief Cornwell owes the citizens of Tazewell County some answers to some rather serious questions.
What is the explanation and justification for all the individual purchases at convenience stores and grocery stores on a regular basis and who made these purchases?
Why did you not report that you were on any calls from September 2023 to June 2024, but one over 80 years old at the time, made exactly 5 calls per month during the same period? Why would you not disclose and comply with the FOIA request to show the individual call sheets so that this information could be confirmed? Were there any members who were on these calls to verify this information?
Why has a debit card utilizing department funds used to load gift cards locally and as far away as Dublin Walmart?
Why are there so many receipts for unleaded gasoline versus diesel fuel on the agency card when most all departments fleet runs on diesel fuel?
What types of purchases have you made while out of town on a personal trip using the agency card/funds? Did these purchases include jewelry for a significant other that you were directed to reimburse the fire department /county for? What justification can be made to the citizens of the county as to these types of spending practices?
Why will you not comply with FOIA and produce the entire agency bank statements, including the canceled checks, so that the citizens have a transparent view of the agency’s expenditures?
As for the Baptist Valley Fire Department, I suppose that they owe the citizens more explanation than the Tazewell County Fire Department does. Although the spending practices of TCFD are questionable, at least they have disclosed a little more information than BVFD has. It is my understanding that the responsibilities of Chief have been passed around there a few times since the onset of my FOIA requests. In the beginning of this inquiry the chief there was Scotty Counts, but as I understand it, now the chief is Nathan Miller. Regardless of who the leader of the department is, the people of the county deserve honesty and transparency, which you have failed to provide.
In conclusion, it is extremely bothersome that as a citizen you must pay for FOIA information, audit and analyze what information you do get, and report to the county your findings. The elected Board of Supervisors apparently could care less as they will not even comment on the findings or take action to have these agencies comply with the law. They are simply continuing to hand over funds as “donations” without accountability as to how the money is spent. As voters, it is essential that this type of management practice, or lack thereof, be closely considered and vote accordingly when these seats are up for reelection. It simply is incomprehensible to believe that it is the position of our elected officials that their hands are tied on these matters. Most, if not all the volunteer fire departments in the county operate from county owned stations, in county owned and insured vehicles, and the county provides most of their funds, yet they claim to be powerless for the most part. The truth is they are not powerless at all; they just lack the courage and fortitude to be assertive and hold these agencies and individuals accountable. So, the citizens of Tazewell County are left to wonder how much of the new meals tax money will be frivolously spent, while no one in county administration is assigned to provide oversight.
Finally, I would like to be clear on something that is very noteworthy. I am in no way trying to put all of Tazewell County’s volunteer fire departments into the same category as the two that this article references. In fact, I know several leaders of other area departments and I am confident that they are managed very well. It is very safe to say that other properly managed organizations would find these issues appalling as well.
