Sparks fly over Bradley firetruck purchase

CLEVELAND, Tenn. -- The purchase of a Bradley County firetruck has raised questions from some Bradley County commissioners.

The questions are not about the need for the truck, said Commissioner Lisa Stanbery, but how the county mayor's office went through the process of buying it.

But Mayor D. Gary Davis said commissioners shouldn't be surprised -- they knew the truck would be purchased for the county's new fire station in the Tasso community.

"At the end of the day, we are purchasing a truck we are all familiar with being purchased," Mr. Davis told commissioners.

That's not how Mrs. Stanbery, an announced candidate for county mayor in 2010, sees it.

"Mayor Gary Davis has bought a $350,000 fire truck without anyone's consent," Mrs. Stanbery said in a statement released shortly after Monday's County Commission meeting.

"There is no purchase order, no signed contract, and most importantly, there are no funds in our budget to pay for it," she wrote, adding that Mr. Davis recently notified county employees and commissioners in a memo to stop spending except for emergencies.

She said the firetruck was ordered in May and said the purchase order was canceled, but not the contract.

Mr. Davis said at Monday's commission meeting that the spending freeze was only for the general fund balance.

"There is no (purchasing order) freeze for the fire department," he said.

A vote is scheduled Monday on a $200,000 fire department budget amendment to pay for the truck. The amendment calls for commissioners to pay cash for the truck from the fire department's fund balance, Mr. Davis said.

"If you don't want to pay cash for it, don't approve the amendment. Send the truck back. It's as simple as that," Mr. Davis said.

Commissioner Jeff Yarber asked when the truck was ordered and how. Asking questions is not the same as playing politics, Mr. Yarber said.

"You get nervous to ask questions on the commission right now," he said. "Everything you ask is turned into a political question."

Finance Committee Chairman Ed Elkins said he has been seeking answers about the truck for two weeks, including why there was no purchase order and why money for the truck wasn't included in the fire department budget.