United States (Pennsylvania) - The chief of a northeastern Venango County volunteer fire department has been appointed to sort through the rumors, suspicions and allegations surrounding an eastern Crawford County department's operations. Crawford County Judge John Spataro approved a consent order Wednesday that installs Cooperstown Fire Chief Dick Braden as custodian over the Centerville Volunteer Fire Department, a fire and ambulance service that covers Centerville and three surrounding townships.

The order gives Braden exclusive authority over the department's operations for at least six months. His duties will include reviewing the department's roster and determining membership, reviewing and possibly changing its slate of officers and board members, and reviewing its financial records.

The action comes a little more than two months after a group of local citizens, led by two department members and a man who said department officials tried to block his membership, filed suit over what they claimed were questionable practices by department leaders.

The suit included allegations that an "insider group of officers and directors" withheld "firefighting and ambulance service equipment capacity" from residents, improperly granted membership to people outside of its coverage area, attempted to bar voting members from meetings, and refused to release financial and other records.

The April 29 petition asked a Crawford County judge to appoint a custodian to "properly manage" department affairs, and noted that Centerville borough officials had agreed in early April to serve as custodian if appointed.

In a response filed June 1, department officials claimed the allegations were vague and had no merit, and accused the plaintiffs of trying to stir up dissent through misinformation. They also challenged the legality and feasibility of having a municipality serve as custodian.

Both sides were prepared to argue their cases during a hearing that former Crawford County President Judge Gordon Miller had scheduled for Aug. 3 and 4.

But the hearing was averted when the lawyers in the case agreed to the appointment of a custodian, crafted the consent order and selected Braden for the job after a mutual review of potential candidates, said Brian Pulito, a Meadville lawyer who is representing the plaintiffs.

"It meets the goals," he said. "We're very happy to be able to reach an amicable settlement, and we're happy that we didn't have to go through several days of protracted litigation. It's better for the residents and everyone involved."

Kim Ross Houser, a Greensburg lawyer representing the department, said Wednesday that the parties can now work toward their main goal, which is providing an important service to the community.

"I think it's a win-win," he said. "It gives structure to how to work out some of the issues that everyone has been pointing to."

The consent order requires Braden, who couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday, to designate all current and prospective members in the department's service area as "interim members" while his review of membership procedures advances.

Department officials are also required to turn over all department records, documents and data to Braden within seven days, according to the order.

There is no specific deadline for when Braden's review of department operations must be completed.

But the order gives him at least six months to review financial records and direct financial affairs, and it permits him to petition the court to continue, modify or terminate his role.

More details should become clear next week, when the parties meet again to discuss the matter, said James Warner, one of the original plaintiffs.

"Things are moving forward, hopefully for a brighter future," Warner said. "It's not good for the community when you have turmoil, but it got too far, and this is where we ended up. All we're really asking for is to have (the department) open to the whole community, and it looks like that's the direction we're going."

Written by Erie Times-News