Commission approves $37,006 from fire contingency fund for tanker repairs after volunteer association objection

The Monongalia County Commission on May 13 approved a request to use County Fire Protection Contingency Fund money to pay for emergency repairs to a 2011 Freightliner tanker owned by the Mon County Volunteer Fire Association.

Jason Todd, recording secretary for the Mon County Volunteer Fire Companies Association, told the commission the contingency fund should not be used to repair what he called the association’s tanker and argued the fund was created to help volunteer departments that find themselves in financial distress. "That is not what that contingency fund was created for," Todd said during public comment.

Commissioners responded that the contingency fund’s statutory language and board practice allow distribution for fire‑protection needs. One commissioner explained the tanker was purchased by the county and later gifted to the association but is titled and insured to the association and noted the fund’s enabling code section (read in hearing as "75 B 2") directs distribution for fire‑protection services.

At the hearing, commissioners said they had reviewed estimates and due diligence; the repair estimate discussed in the record rose from earlier figures near $10,000–$15,000 to $37,000. A commissioner noted the contingency fund has been used multiple times since its creation, has earned interest, and remains available in reduced balance after the proposed payment.

A motion to approve funds in the amount stated in the meeting was moved and seconded; the commission approved the request by voice vote. The transcript records the amount as "$37,006.00 $2.80"; meeting speakers also reported that after the expenditure the contingency balance would be approximately $31,007.78 (as read in the record). The commission did not direct additional follow‑up beyond approving the payment.

Because members of the volunteer association publicly expressed concern about the fund’s intended purpose, commissioners also reiterated the programmatic reasoning for holding a contingency balance to respond to extraordinary needs across multiple volunteer companies.