Copyright 2024 All Rights Reserved.

March 28, 2024

Rochester FPD – What can we believe?

By Kirk Allen & John Kraft

On January 5, 2021

Sangamon Co.  (ECWd) –

During the Illinois State Police criminal investigation involving the Rochester Fire Protection District and their business transactions with a company, A.E.C., owned by the Fire Chief John Archer, “Archer stated the prices AEC is selling equipment to the Rochester Fire Protection District are better than prices they could get anywhere else.

According to the ISP report, Archer also stated: “When the Captains would call AEC for a price, they were not directly dealing with Archer the would get the price from whichever salesman was at the showroom.”

Such statements beg a follow up to determine if it is true in light of the fact the Fire Protection District was unable to produce more than a single quote during a three year period.

What did Trustee Riggs tell the ISP about pricing and what did ISP outline in their report?

  • The captains get competitive bids before making purchases
  • AEC usually has the best price.
  • Riggs thinks AEC has the best prices that they could get.

We exposed Trustee Riggs’s false statements in this article as it relates to bids.  If they can’t produce bids, how would he know A.E.C has the best price? One would expect there would have been a follow-up investigation on pricing to see if the claimed pricing was in fact the best.  Our follow up proves Riggs’ claims false.  See below.

What did Captain Sunderland tell the ISP about purchasing and what did ISP outline in their report?

  • Sunderland didn’t compare prices when buying the fuel because AEC had it locally and it was something they needed right away.
  • He would also purchase gloves for new members from AEC.
  • They did not keep quotes they had found from other companies. It was mostly just comparing other prices online.
  • Sunderland doesn’t know if there is another vendor who has this fuel locally.
  • If he grabbed the last can of fuel he would call AEC and ask for five more 2 cycle fuel cans
  • When making purchases with AEC Sunderland would typically just ask John Archer or another member, Brady Reim, to pick up some fuel.

If the President Trustee is under the belief competitive bids are obtained before making purchases, and the very person in charge of purchasing confirms not getting prices when buying fuel, that alone points to a disconnect.  Sunderland claimed he didn’t compare prices because it was something they needed right away.  That statement doesn’t hold water in light of the fact he said when he would grab the last fuel can he would ask for more.  Having that last can points to a need for ordering more but not a need to have it right away as you still have that last can.

If Sunderland is in charge of purchasing how can he not know if there is another vendor who has this fuel locally when he claimed his quotes were mostly just comparing other prices online? The fuel mix in question was being purchased from A.E.C. for $7.50 a quart in November of 2019.  Interesting is the fact Sunderland claimed he would contact A.E.C. and ask for five more cans yet the invoice reflects the November purchase was for an 8 Pack.  Who made the decision to include three more cans into the purchase?  How does that price compare to other local vendors who also sell 50:1 fuel mix in quart cans?

We note that not only were we able to find multiple vendors locally to purchase this fuel from, but they all also had prices considerably less than what A.E.C. was charging them.  That points to the claim of best pricing not being true.

Also of interest is Chief Archer’s claim that when the Captains would call to place an order they were not dealing with him but rather a salesman in the showroom. As pointed in the ISP reports, Captain Southerland and Captain Polley would just ask or call John Archer to pick up what they needed.   So who do we believe, the Chief who said they were not directly dealing with him or the two Captains that say they dealt with him directly?

What did Captain Polley tell the ISP about purchasing and what did ISP outline in their report?

  • Polley is known as the tightwad on the department and is always looking for the best price.
  • Sometimes Polley will just call John Archer or another member that works at AEC and tell them to pick up something small like a pair of gloves.

If Polley is known as the tightwad maybe he should be getting actual quotes and doing more research to ensure that they are truly getting the best price.

John Archer claimed, “The nearest fire equipment stores are in Peoria, St. Louis and Chicago“.    How convenient to not disclose a fire equipment company only 44 miles away, Mac’s Fire & Safety in Litchfield.

We obtained some quotes for equipment purchased by Rochester FPD from A.E.C. to see how they compared to the claims A.E.C was the best price.  We found the claim to be false at a minimum. Below, items in red were the lower price and you will see, in a brief review of only 6 items, A.E.C. only provided a better price for 3 of the 6 items.

Quotes vs A.E.C charge

  • H41PSNBFH-LG HOOD –$110.00      A.E.C price $109.00
  • RES-Q-RENCH SPAN25 – $17.00      A.E.C price $21.00
  • 804176-03 LOWER STRAP – $21.00  A.E.C. price $27.00
  • DJ25WB 2.5 X 50 HOSE – $130.00    A.E.C price $144.00
  • FDXL100 FIRE DEX BOOT –$295.00    A.E.C price $281.00
  • G2LLG  DEX PRO GLOVE     $90.00    A.E.C price $83.00

As we continue sifting through the misrepresentations made during this investigation, two statements by Chief Archer simply don’t hold water.

When he’s doing business with the department came up during one of the trustee meetings Archer replied that he was not personally benefitting according to the ISP report.  How on earth can the owner of a company that is doing business with the Fire Department claim he is not benefitting from that business?    The other odd statement came from the ISP investigation report: “He does not make a commission on sales” (Archer).  While Archer may not make a commission in the common definition of that word, it’s clear the business makes money from the sale and he owns the company.  To imply he makes no commission ignores the fact the company he owns profits from the sales.

As anyone willing to read the facts and investigate the claims being made can see, the truth appears to be much different than what the ISP was told.

Stay tuned for the next article that will share the 10 years of A.E.C invoices from Pawnee FPD where Archer was the Assistant Chief.

 

SHARE THIS

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on print

RELATED

8 Comments
  • tbaker
    Posted at 15:11h, 05 January

    Yeah sounds like Bradford FPD.

  • Terry Hutchcraft
    Posted at 15:16h, 05 January

    What ever happened to everything going on with the Shelby county board, sheriff and especially Allen Spesser,the supt of highways?

    • Kirk Allen
      Posted at 20:23h, 05 January

      My understanding there are now three criminal investigations taking place by the ISP and possibly the FBI.

    • PK
      Posted at 20:45h, 05 January

      The ECWd’s are holding an all day seminar at a martial arts studio there in Shelbyville, the Shelby county seat, later this week. Seems like a complimentary event.

      Unlike state court records, appellate court case records are not open to the public via internet. But I often wonder what became of the appeal on the Shelby County Circuit Court judgement for the private practice attorney the board had hired then retained.

      • Kirk Allen
        Posted at 20:56h, 05 January

        Appeal briefs are due February 4th. The court has not heard the case yet.

  • PK
    Posted at 18:16h, 05 January

    That’s operating at $2 in the hole on a margin of throw away 2 cycle fuel cans, I believe.

    Be still my broken purple heart.

  • Rich Ramsey
    Posted at 12:02h, 06 January

    Pricing is a factor but the practice is not legal and the board members signed a form stating they are aware of this. (The yellow document) If Mr Archer wants to sell RFPD anything he should not be the chief, fairly simple for most of us.

  • Jack Handy
    Posted at 09:55h, 09 January

    Once again the “Dogz” tackle a case with hard hitting facts. How can they purchase such high priced equipment and supplies like this? 2 cycle engine oil that can be bought cheaper at another town for a few cents less is more than worth a drive to another town. And the equipment wow someone is padding their pockets. I didn’t even do the math and it’s has to be at least $10 of pure profit. #rochesterswamp #drainrochester #2cycle2expensive

$