The Seymour Volunteer Fire Department’s detailed records are still not being made available to the Seymour Herald.  
    After several attempts by the Herald to view the SVFD’s full and detailed records, SVFD Chairman Ted Esch asked the Herald to refer all further questions to the fire department’s attorney.
    It is the Herald’s standing that the SVFD is the “functional equivalent” of a governmental entity since the department receives money annually from Sevier County and The United Way, as well as, from local donations and U.S. Federal Grants.
    This fact makes the department’s records subject to the Tennessee Open Meetings Act.
    The SVFD’s attorney, David Benner, stated in a letter to the Herald that he has come to the conclusion that the SVFD is not a government agency.
    The Herald’s attorney and SVFD’s attorney have been in contact with each other, and to date, SVFD is for some reason still not wanting to open the records.
    The Herald’s stance is that it is in the best interest of the public to pursue these records because of the public’s right to know how the department’s funds, in approximately $300,000 dollars per year is being spent.
    It is also the paper’s stance that the fire department’s donated funds and grant money should not be spent on a lawyer in the attempt to keep records closed that will eventually, by law, have to be made accessible to the public.  
    It is in no way the paper’s intention to discredit the volunteers of the SVFD who selflessly and courageously donate their time and risk their lives to protect the residents and visitors in the area.
    If anything the paper believes that the SVFD Board’s decision to withhold their full records tarnishes the volunteers’ heroic efforts in the community.
    
 

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