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Flemington fire relief fund works to clear up its records

By WENDY STIVER

wstiver@lockhaven.com

FLEMINGTON — The Flemington Firemen’s Relief Association continues to work with the state Department of the Auditor General on clearing up findings from an audit for the calendar years 2013 to 2015, borough council heard.

Tony M. Mahon, who is the relatively new treasurer of the fire relief association, updated council on the matter Thursday.

The Auditor General’s office filed an Order to Show Cause on June 8, stating the 2017 allocation of money would not be sent unless things can be cleared up.

The fire relief association is responding and matters are being taken care of, Mahon said.

According to the audit, the fire relief fund had $8,202 in undocumented expenses during the years of 2013 to 2015. However, Mahon said, that figure has been reduced to about $1,000 now, and the association continues to gather invoices and work with vendors to get the appropriate documentation for the rest of these expenses.

The audit also found $9,289 in unauthorized use of funds. This was apparently due to some confusion about what the relief association can legally pay for and what it cannot. All but one of these unauthorized uses was for maintenance on vehicles owned by the fire company. (The remaining one was for Christmas decorations.)

Fire relief associations receive public monies from the state through local governments. They use that funding in a variety of ways, including paying out benefits to families of deceased active fire company members and buying safety equipment and fitness training equipment for firefighters.

That figure of $9,289 has been reduced as well, Mahon said, and is now $8,289. The fire company will repay the relief fund for these expenses, he said.

Also at Thursday’s borough council meeting, Rose Reeder, local coordinator for Fair Districts Pennsylvania–Clinton County, gave a presentation on how voting districts are created. Manipulating changes in districts for political gain is known as gerrymandering, and this practice has been used in Pennsylvania, she said.

She is asking local governments to pass a resolution against it and to encourage state legislators to work toward stopping it.

Council put the issue on its agenda for its next meeting, to be held Aug. 10 at 7 p.m.

Council also renewed the borough’s commercial insurance coverage, for things like vehicles and property, with Gearhart, Herr & Co. of Lock Haven.

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