Sherman, Ill. (ECWd) –
UPDATE:
The Sherman Fire Protection District responded to our inquiry on whether they had policies permitting car detailing business in the district buildings.
Fire Chief Todd Masterhan replied vie email:
“We were not aware of the use of district property for this purpose. The volunteer has been retrained on district policy prohibiting such activity and other policies of the district. Other personnel actions that may be taken are not for discussion here.“
We appreciate the fact they owned up and stopped this activity and conducted some training on fire district policies.
***Original Article***
Last week we received an anonymous tip showing a fireman in the Sherman Fire Protection District advertising his car/truck wash and detailing business at $200.00 each.
The problem was that all of the photos we found were taken inside the fire district building right next to a fire truck – with a wet floor and comments leading us to believe he actually used the open bay in the fire district building to conduct his private business.
On Monday, April 28, 2025, we sent a Freedom of Information Act request for public records to the district asking for copies of any board or fire chief approval or policy permitting anyone to use fire district property and resources to operate a vehicle wash, wax, clean, or interior detail service out of the fire house. They have not yet responded, and do not have to respond until 5 business days later, or in this case Monday, May 5, 2025.
We did notice the fireman in question has removed those photos and posts from his Facebook page, so we assume he was notified that we were asking questions.
Hopefully the trustees have put an end of this improper use of a public building.
Actions such as this are an improper use of public funds, property, or credit – which violates Article VIII, Section 1(a) of the Illinois Constitution because it serves no public purpose.
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