Fire District Board seeks solution to problem of missing funds, addresses possibility of becoming a municipal fire department

The Maricopa Fire District’s governing board meeting Thursday evening began almost immediately with an executive session that lasted for about an hour. The five board members met with their legal counsel, Tom McCarville, County Attorney Rick Husk and George Medina, who is in charge of special districts, to seek a solution to the problem of missing funds.

Although no decision was announced to the public at that time, the meeting was in response to irregularities discovered in what was previously termed the Maricopa Fire District Pension Fund and has now been titled Volunteer Supplemental Life Insurance.

During the annual audit conducted by Henry and Horne last spring, missing funds were detected. The district learned this at their April 2005 meeting, and the problem was then reported to the state’s Attorney General as well as the County Attorney.

At that April meeting the board indicated that the fund was being overseen by board chairman Don Pearce, board member John Sampson and Chief Eddie Rodriguez. The funds were administered through a Chase Bank subsidiary whose agent was Pearce’s son-in-law, Len Micas. The actual amount of the missing funds was not revealed at that time.

Following the executive session, City Manager Rick Buss presented information regarding the city’s proposal to move secondary property tax to a primary tax. This move would bring the fire district into the city as a municipal department.

Buss told the board and the firefighters present, “This is not about the very, very good work the fire district has been doing throughout the year. It isn’t about the quality of your operations. You have our compliments for that. It’s about reducing property tax.” He added, “Nothing changes if the voters don’t approve this.”

In point of fact, the electorate would have to approve the change and the reassignment of the fire district to a city department in a scheduled May 16 election. The savings per household, according to Buss, is approximately $448 per year over a five-year period.

Pearce replied, “There’s a lot to be worked out if this comes to pass.” Buss agreed that there would be many meetings and a fact sheet would need to be created, which might become the statement on the election pamphlet.

J.W. Salazar asked if this would be a step back for the department in terms of growth. City Finance Director Roger Kolman assured the board that “we have the ability to meet the needs of the district or the department.”

“We do have obligations, and you would assume those?” asked Pearce. Kolman gave him an unequivocal ‘yes’, explaining that there would actually be a one-year lapse period until the property tax measure would take effect, which would actually be July 1, 2007. Pearce also noted that the city would be losing the county’s Fire Assistance Tax funds.

Buss noted, “The board and the city should get together to make this transition. I envision many, many meetings.”