East Fishkill Fire District denies requests for info about $1 million fire truck that was returned to manufacturer
Assemblyman AJ Beephan said he was asked by constituents, including some members of the fire district, to help find out how much the district received when they sold the truck back to the manufacturer.
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The East Fishkill Fire District is facing increasing pressure to answer one question: How much taxpayer money might have been wasted over a $1 million fire truck that apparently never worked properly?
Leaders of the fire district are digging in, refusing to share details of a transaction involving taxpayer money.
Some government transparency experts believe the district is in the wrong.
"I think there were defects with the truck from Day 1," State Assemblyman AJ Beephan said of Truck 39-46, a 100-foot RMP apparatus that the district bought in 2014.
The initial purchase price for the custom-designed rig from Ferrara Fire Apparatus Inc. was $1,002,351.00, according to a bill of sale from early 2014.
Problems with the ladder and bucket collapsing without warning and problems with other parts of the truck persisted for years, Beephan said.
In 2020, after a long legal battle, the fire district sold the truck back to the manufacturer.
Beephan, a former East Fishkill firefighter, said he was asked by constituents, including multiple members of the fire district, to help find out how much the district received when they sold the truck back to the manufacturer.
Beephan sent the district a records request pursuant to New York's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL).
"We're just looking for that number, how much the vehicle was sold for," Beephan said during a Zoom interview Monday morning. "Taxpayers dollars were used to buy it and taxpayers have a right to know."
Beephan's request to know the price was denied.
The fire district's attorney, Christina Mazzarella, explained in her written response to Beephan.
"East Fishkill is unable to disclose ... receipt of funds received by Est Fishkill in connection with the settlement and the settlement agreement," she wrote, in part. "East Fishkill's position is that these items are protected from disclosure under §87(2)(b) and (c) of the law."
Those sections of the law state that record requests may be denied if disclosing the record would constitute an unwarranted invasion of privacy or if disclosing the record would impair any present or imminent awards.
Experts with the New York State Committee on Open Government wrote Monday morning in an email to Beephan that the fire district should release the information in accordance with the law.
"It is unclear on what grounds the East Fishkill Fire District believes an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant to POL § 87(2)(b) applies to the records in question," wrote committee fellow Miguel-Carlo Bautista. "The District itself does not have any 'privacy' rights as a government agency. Records reflecting the amount that the truck was sold for and to whom it was sold would not, in our view, constitute an unwarranted invasion of anyone’s personal privacy."
The fire district posted a response to Beephan's inquiries on social media attacking the Assemblyman, writing that he is "selectively and cynically choosing the information he is providing regarding this matter."
The post goes on to provide some details of the district's six-year protracted legal battle with the manufacturer, but does not disclose how much the district was paid when it returned the truck.
"We work hard, as I'm working right now," said town resident Joseph Rucci, in the midst of a food delivery. "We work really hard, and where our money goes is important to the voters, is important to the people."
"Somebody needs to step in," retired polive officer Richard Greene said. "This is our local fire department ... That's crazy. We want our money back, plain and simple."
Beephan said he will cite the committee's opinion when he appeals the fire district's decision in writing, and will send it along with several documents to the New York State Attorney General's office for review.
Beephan is also considering legal action on behalf of the constituents who asked him to help resolve the saga of the $1 million truck.
