Logan County Fire Coordinator Jimmy Porter perusing documents from a Freedom of Information Act concerning co-mingling and appropriating tax payer funds at Logan No.2 Fire Department at Man. Porter has taken umbrage with the department since it decided not to seek a civil suit for funds embezzled by a former member. PHOTO | AM Stone
Robert Fields | WVOW News
LOGAN The Logan County Commission is considering a new policy requiring expenditure reports on distributed funding requests in the county.
Logan resident and Logan County Fire Coordinator, Jimmy Porter made a presentation to commissioners on funding requests and made his own request for a policy with full transparency of how county funds are spent.
“Today is a teachable moment, I believe, in Logan County,” Porter said during the commission meeting on Monday, February fifth. “There is no contract between the county commission, there is no MOU (Memorandum Of Understanding), nothing. So, when the county commission provides you a documented check, there is no report of where that money went to.”
Porter began by presenting documentation to Commission President Diana Barnette detailing a request from Porter to the Logan County Fire Department No. 2 in Man, asking that the department file a civil suit against Lisa Wimmer, following a 2022 embezzlement case. Wimmer was the first of several individuals indicted or accused of embezzlement charges across multiple departments in Logan County. She faced state criminal charges and pleaded guilty to embezzling $40,000 in 2022. She was ordered to pay back the money and sentenced to probation.
According to Porter, the $40,000 was only a portion of the money misappropriated by the department.
“With the help of staff of the County Commission, Mister Porter (Alvis Porter Jr.), Chris Trent, and information I got through Freedom of Information from Mister Wandling, we found additional monies was put in different accounts by this person or people at this fire department. They hid money in a separate account. They did the shell game. We found it last year. But, I just got the last letter, Mister Wandling, on the ninth. I just got it. They said they’re not going to pursue any civil suit against this person. So, they’re going to let $150,000 of that go.”
Responding to Porter’s presentation, Barnette read a section of the letter from the board of directors of the No. 2 Fire Department.
“And this last letter that you have here that you received, it says, ‘at this time, this board has no reason to believe that we could recover any further funds from a civil suit.’ They didn’t say they weren’t going to pursue because they just wanted to let them go.”
In light of these allegations, Porter requested his correspondence with the No. 2 station be submitted into court records. When asked by Logan County Prosecuting Attorney David Wandling, who was acting as counsel for the commission, about the purpose of his request, Porter cited that the funds being discussed were public funds provided by the tax payers of Logan County.
Furthermore, Porter requested that the Logan County Commission adopt a policy which would require any entity that receives funding from the county commission to submit an expenditure report to account for how the funds are spent.
“I request that the county commission, again today, February 5th, 2024. This is a request to set a policy requiring all corporations, associations, groups that receive county funds to report back to the county commission in ninety days every receipt, every dime, every penny that you spend of county dollars. I’m asking the county commission to set today a policy by vote.”
Porter’s request was taken under advisement as suggested to the commission by Wandling and was agreed upon to be placed on the next agenda. The next Logan County Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February twentieth at 3 P.M.