setting a date and rules for a future special election of officers.
All parties agreed to the special election.
The city suspended the company from March to July due to missing firefighter certifications and failure to properly test and certify equipment.
Now, it’s back in service, with most certification and equipment issues resolved, and a lawsuit is moving forward.
Both sides are jostling over how much control the city can exert over the nonprofit organization.
At the heart of arguments Wednesday was the allegation by city attorney Van McPherson that the company has not held membership committee meetings or had the organizational structure to accept new members. The situation insured that a small number of people continued to vote on officers and control the company, he suggested.
Fire company attorney Salvatore Siciliano, of Haddonfield, argued that case law allows the city to exercise oversight on operational issues, such as certifications and training, but not on administrative issues, such as elections and how the nonprofit manages its day-to-day affairs.
McPherson argued the company’s weak administration and day-to-day management threatens its operational ability to remain a viable company capable of keeping up with certifications and other responsibilities. Those conditions leave the city liable for bad outcomes due to poor management, he said.
Bard Shober, the lawyer who represents former Fire Chief John Wagner, was there to protect Wagner’s interests. Wagner was removed as chief by Mendez after the city sued the company in April.
The suit was to ensure the company was not operating while shut down and that preparations to reopen would be handled properly, Mayor Stephen Teasenfitz has said.
The company then filed legal papers to block a new city ordinance that requires the fire chief to make monthly reports to council about finances and new members, to submit an annual report and be present at the first council meeting of the year.
The annual report would have to show the certification status of each firefighter, fit-testing results for each firefighter and flow-test results of every unit of self-contained breathing apparatus. It also would have to include ladder and hose test results for all equipment, and the results of any other testing or certification required by the state or Atlantic County.
Both sides agree the fire company, while private, has elements of a quasipublic organization.
