Volunteer fire chief responds to mayor’s letter

April 18--After Elkhart Mayor Mike Gordon wrote a letter to the public explaining why the city council decided to sever ties with its fire department, Elkhart Volunteer Fire Chief Randy McCoy responded.

McCoy disagrees with Gordon, who said the city was spending a tremendous amount of money paying for the volunteer fire department's insurance and utilities, and the history of oversight and accountability demands placed on city officials, as well as the city's staff, were costly and time consuming.

"As with many cities across Texas, Elkhart does not have unlimited resources and must make financially sound decisions when spending taxpayer dollars," Gordon wrote in a press release. "Sometimes these decisions are difficult."

McCoy said after reviewing the past year's financials from the city, he would have to disagree with Gordon's statement that they have been spending tremendous amounts of money on the EVFD.

He said the only tremendous amounts spent was for replacing two of the concrete block walls that were pulling away from the fire department structure.

During these repairs, an extra bay was added, and since it is a city-owned building, the city was doing the upkeep on it, McCoy said.

On average, according to McCoy, it appears that the following amounts are being paid on behalf of the EVFD:

--TXU Electric at $1,000 a year

--CenterPoint at $600 a year

--Insurance on the trucks and city-owned building at about $7,000 a year

McCoy said this pales in comparison to what the city has paid for travel, training and tuition, where it spent $14,500 in the last 27 months.

McCoy also disagrees with Gordon's statement that the city was not having adequate covered storage for city vehicles.

He said there are three carports behind the city office, where the city has been storing junk trucks for months. They also have the public works building.

"So, instead of providing the VFD the rough amount of $8,000 a year, which is paid by taxpayer money, then we will have to ask the public to help out more than ever," McCoy wrote in response to a letter Gordon wrote to residents.

"The city may be able to free up $8,000. However, the citizens will end up having to donate more to us in order for us to keep going; so, in the end the taxpayer is the one being penalized," McCoy wrote.

He said, if the EVFD is moved from its current location, it has already been confirmed by insurance companies that its rates would go up, unless a place close to where the fire department is now housed can be found.

This includes the school's insurance rates, which in turn will trickle to the taxpayers in the form of school taxes being raised, he said.

He also said the blasts on Facebook from Councilman Chris Sheridan and the mayor's brother, Pat Gordon, have led most of the public to believe that the city's decision to sever ties with the EVFD is a personal vendetta against him.

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