Smiths Station Fire Chief Resigns Amid Allegations of Corruption

Fire Chief Joseph Walden announced his resignation on Tuesday, September 5th of 2023 in the aftermath of a whistleblower document that had been released four days earlier which accused him and his leadership at the Smiths Station Fire Protection District of fraudulent behavior, wasteful malfeasance and a litany of corrupt practices. As of this writing the identity of the author who penned the "Smiths Station Fire Protection District (SSFPD) Complaints" document is unknown as well as the anonymous creator of the "Concerned in Smiths Station, Seale, Bleecker & Phenix City in Lee County" facebook page that had originally posted it on Saturday, September 2nd of 2023. Copies of the document were also emailed via an anonymous gmail account on September 2nd to a long list of recipients which included local newspapers, area television stations and government agencies.

Included in the document's introduction was an explanation that the "information within this document was provided by Smiths Station Fire Protection District (SSFPD) coverage area taxpayers, homeowners, residents, current and past SSFPD Firefighters, and SSFPD Emergency Medical Service (EMS) personnel." Providing background context on the situation, they stated "Smiths Station Fire Protection District SSFPD and paid Emergency Medical Services (EMS) provides fire protection, fire prevention, emergency medical services and related services and facilities within our community. SSFPD coverage area is roughly seventy-two (72) square miles within Lee County, Alabama, that covers all of the City of Smiths Station, Alabama, parts of Phenix City, Alabama, Bleaker Junction, Alabama and Salem, Alabama."

Up until the creation of the SSFPD eighteen months ago, emergency services had been provided by a volunteer fire department where a culture of corruption had allegedly thrived for years previously only for these same "bad actors" to eventually take the helm of the newly formed organization. Describing the wanton disregard for professionalism at the SSFPD, the document remarks "The leadership within the department has turned a blind eye to an incompetent/complacent board, untrained leaders, and individual and personal agendas. The leadership at the department still operates as if it is still in the 1970s/1980s where the good-ole-boy system is still in effect." It goes on to continue "The SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden opposed any and all efforts from previous Officers and Volunteers to bring the department up to 21st century standards and refused to follow proper and required policies and procedures within the State of Alabama. Even before incorporating as a Fire Protection District, and still, post incorporation, the board and leadership continued to operate under a Volunteer Fire Department status, even though they are a Fire District now."

Painting a dark picture of the gross dereliction of duty at the SSFPD, it remarks "Every attempt to steer the leadership from 'Volunteer Mode' which is likened to the expression of 'The Good-Ole-Boy System'. Where, if you are friends with a member of the SSFPD Board of Directors or Fire Chief Joseph Walden, you are guaranteed a leadership level role as either a Board Member, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief or Captain, although you lack leadership experience, performance skills, competence, or achievement of fire certifications (many without attempting), a lack of understanding and a disregard for the laws and codes of the state of Alabama. Simply, they were given these positions because they were friends and is an obvious tactic for allowing the organization to be used for personal gain, as you will see throughout this document." Concluding that thought, it noted "There were prior and current Officers and Volunteers that had valid concerns for the overall operation of this organization, when they would see or witness a violation of Alabama Code or Law, to include ethical or financial misconduct within the department, they would bring these violations to the attention of Fire Chief Joseph Walden and eventually to the SSFPD Board of Directors, however, those concerns were dismissed and were told that these were of their opinion and nothing more. First, as stated above, they (Fire Chief Joseph Walden and SSFPD Board of Directors) have continued, even after becoming an incorporated Fire Protection District, to manage and operate in 'Volunteer Mode.' By choice, they lack an understanding for the concept of leadership or that their decisions have consequences."

Strife from this hostile work environment finally boiled over when a deputy chief abruptly resigned in protest and on June 6, 2023 "attended a SSFPD Board of Directors meeting in a last effort of due diligence to inform the SSFPD Board of Directors and the public that attended the meeting of some of the issues in the department". Characterizing the abject futility of petitioning the board of directors, the document states

The former Deputy Chief stayed after the board meeting and discussed a few of these issues with all the SSFPD Board Members. While voicing all the concerns mentioned above, they appeared to hear but not comprehend, and Fire Chief Joseph Walden, lied to the board with disceptation, stated that these concerns were false. The SSFPD Board Members, along with Fire Chief Joseph Walden, listening, as the former Deputy Chief referenced laws and codes of the great state of Alabama appeared to have no knowledge as if they had never heard of them, and stated, “Well, that’s your opinion!”

Alarmingly, the document remarks that in the aftermath of that meeting "there are rumors that the SSFPD Board of Directors, Chief Joseph Walden, newly appointed Deputy Chief Brad Wade, Assistant Chief Clint Knox, and Captain Blake Green are trying to conduct a coverup of the following complaints or issues that he reported in his letter. For example, they are back dating polices, documents, and assigning new first line supervisors, to name a few." Attempting to seek oversight and a sorely needed intervention from Lee County Commissioner Gary Long after the meeting, the document recounts how the former Deputy Chief "decided to contact District 3, Lee County, Alabama Commissioner Gary Long, to address his concerns about the Smiths Station Fire Protection District, since Commissioner Long is responsible for nominating two (2) of the five (5) board members. He attempted to call Commissioner Long twice, and left voice messages, to which Commissioner Long did not answer or call him back. Former Deputy Chief then texted Commissioner Long, on June 13, 2023, at 1453 hours (2:53pm), to which Commissioner Long never replied. He then emailed Commissioner Long on June 19, 2023, at 1857 hours (6:57pm), but later found out it was his old email address, and Commissioner Long no longer used this email. The former Deputy Chief found Commissioner Long’s correct email address, emailed him again on June 27, 2023, at 1119 hours (11:19am), to which the former Deputy Chief never received a reply or a call back to address his concerns from Commissioner Long. Which we have obtained a copy of the emails and text sent."

Those who know Commissioner Long by his reputation may be less than surprised to learn of the disheartening interaction the former deputy chief had with him when trying to request his assistance;

Commissioner Gary Long ignored every attempt to correct this matter! We believe due to the fact that he is up for re-election and is a close personal friend of the SSFPD Board of Directors (since he used to be one) and Fire Chief Joseph Walden.

At the dark heart of much of the unbridled profiteering in the SSFPD is Susan Walden, wife of Fire Chief Joseph Walden, one of the few paid employees in the organization who holds the titles of Board of Directors Secretary, Corporate Secretary and Office Assistant. Under these auspices, Mrs. Walden is responsible for keeping the meeting minutes that make up a large part of the community engagement aspect of the SSFPD. Commenting on how this all plays out, the document states that the "Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden are keeping you (the community) in the dark and only posting on the Board Meeting Notes (Minutes)what they want you to see. Take a look at that three (3) page letter from above that the former Deputy Chief read word-for-word to the SSFPD Board of Directors. On the SSFPD Board Meeting Notes (Minutes) posted online, it only states; 'By regulation, (former Deputy Chief), citizen present, came before the Board with his opinions and concerns about the future of the ambulance service.' There was no mention of the complaints or issues or the complete document that should have been posted in the minutes in order for the community to be informed. There are only paraphrases of what they want you to know or see."

Explaining the stunning lack of transparency further, the document states "Smiths Station Fire Protection District is not being transparent with the community by not keeping their records up to date. When visiting the following link below: you will see the dates their information was posted. These records are not accurate nor are they available to the public in a timely manner. Most get posted months after the meeting occurs. By not having these meetings filmed or saved, the SSFPD community cannot see the discussions between the board members and others. However, there is a lot of information left out of the minutes and are edited by Board Secretary Susan Walden to where she just paraphrases, which leaves out vital information that was discussed during the board meeting. The public should be able to see and hear the thoughts of the board members and others."

Social media is another area of problematic activity according to the document "one of many deceptions that SSFPD deceived the SSFPD coverage area residents is the use of their Social Media Platforms. A sterling example is their Facebook Account. Numerous of you asked several questions in October 2022, when the first bills were sent out to the public. Several of you also asked how the SSFPD Board of Directors were selected, in which the responses on the SSFPD Social Media Platform stated, ‘The Board of Directors were nominated by the Lee County, Alabama County Commissioners within the coverage area and the Mayor of Smiths Station, Alabama.' Which were and are Lee County, Alabama Commissioner, District 3 Gary Long; Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 4 (previous) Robert Ham, (presently) Tony Langley; Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 5 Richard LaGrand Jr; and Smiths Station, Alabama Mayor F.L. 'Bubba' Copeland. We are willing to bet that Commissioner Langley and LeGrand Jr. have no idea who they are or know they don’t presently have a director on the board from their districts."

Expanding further on the botched transition in leadership from a volunteer fire department to the SSFPD, the document states "initial or current board and SSFPD Fire Chief Joe Walden; Lee County, Alabama Commissioner, District 3 Gary Long; Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 4 (previous) Robert Ham, (presently) Tony Langley; Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 5 Richard LaGrand Jr; and Smiths Station, Alabama Mayor F.L. 'Bubba' Copeland deceived the SSFPD Community; the City of Smiths Station, Alabama City Council; Lee County, Alabama County Commission; and the approval authority, the Alabama Secretary of State by placing board members that they wanted in position without following the guidelines that they put forth within the Certificate of Incorporation of the Smiths Station Fire Protection District. They assisted Fire Chief Joseph Walden by placing a Board of Directors at Smiths Station Fire Protection District of his choosing. These board members currently on the board have been board members for several years, ranging from 30 years to five (5) years with no understanding on how to correctly run this organization or the required codes or laws within Alabama to operate this organization within the law."

Going from bad to worse, the document exposes the deranged process by noting "The initial or current SSFPD Board of Directors were chosen from all the other Board of Directors from years past within the department. Where if you were chosen as a board member, you weren’t selected for your qualifications, you were chosen because you are a friend of a board member or Fire Chief Joseph Walden. When the new Fire District was formed, there should have been a new SSFPD Board of Directors selected, that are qualified for the position. Instead, these Board Members were selected and put on the list. The Certificate of Incorporation of the Smiths Station Fire Protection District dated March 09, 2022; and By-Laws of Smiths Station Fire Protection District, dated April 08, 2022, was not followed during this process. Lee County, Alabama Commissioner, District 3 Gary Long and Smiths Station, Alabama Mayor F.L. 'Bubba' Copeland just went along with Fire Chief Joseph Walden to emplace these directors. Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 4 (previous) Robert Ham, (presently) Tony Langley; Lee County Alabama Commissioner, District 5 Richard LaGrand Jr currently have no director representing their districts and are likely unaware that they have this requirement."

In one of its starkest assessments, the document delivers the verdict on the leadership's abdication of their sacred trust;

These initial board members were chosen for several reasons that are not good for the Smiths Station Fire Protection District community. The initial current board is in question for moral and ethical reasons. They are incompetent and have a history of not knowing the day-to-day operations of the department. Fire Chief Joseph Walden knows that he will not be held accountable by these initial board members, and they are accessible to go along with his personal agenda. With Fire Chief Joseph Walden as the Vice Chairman of the SSFPD Board of Directors, he is essentially his own boss and reports to himself.

Providing additional insight into the endemic dysfunction at the SSFPD, the document remarks "IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITEM ELEVEN: which states: 'Each Director nominated by a governing body must be a duly qualified elector of the governing body and must be a resident of the area in which the Smiths Station Fire Protection District shall render fire protection services.' Each director is to be nominated by a governing body and who must be a duly qualified elector of the governing body, the individual must reside and be able to vote for the County Commissioner or Mayor from which they are nominated. For example, an individual residing within District 3 cannot be nominated by a County Commissioner from Districts 4 or 5 to sit on the board to represent Districts 4 or 5 if they live in District 3. Currently all Board Members live in District 3 or within the limits of the City of Smiths Station, Alabama. Presently, residents of District 4 and District 5 are not represented by any member of the Board. Today Board Member Todd Boatner is representing District 4 and lives in District 3 and SSFPD Fire Chief Joseph Walden is representing District 5 and lives in District 3. Both of their terms are three (3) years. With their term in office, it will be FY2025 before a board member can be nominated to represent the proper districts."

Delving deep into specific cases of abuse, the document details recounts a highly unethical pattern of behavior in purchasing vehicles "The initial and current SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden, knowingly disregarded the legal steps required within the Alabama Competitive Bid and Public Works Laws of Alabama, dated September 2021 when purchasing two (2) 2023 Dodge 3500 Ram Promaster Ambulances worth close to or over $350,000.00 from Malley Industries, which are not on the state list, by not following the detailed procedural requirements outlined in Chapter 5, Procedure Under Competitive Bid Law, by not advertising for sealed bids and selecting a prospective bidder by just picking the company that provided their last ambulance. Keith from Malley Industries informed Fire Chief Joseph Walden that they were not on the Alabama State Bid List and need to be added. Keith asked Fire Chief Joseph Walden to see if the North or South Carolina State Police Association could be added to the Alabama State List. Fire Chief Joseph Walden attempted to get the agency added, however they were declined." It goes on to continue "Several months passed and Fire Chief Joseph Walden was asked several times how the bids were coming along. He just replied that he was working on it. Around December 2022, Keith, from Malley Industries informed SSFPD on the status of the new ambulances. Keith stated that the new ambulances were in, but it would be between February and April 2023 before they would be completed. Keith then stated that he was concerned about the loan because he had not received anything on the bid process. Fire Chief Joseph Walden asked Keith to send him the specs of the vehicles. Once Fire Chief Joseph Walden received the specs, he made up a bogus bid request that was unattainable for any organization with a completion date for the ambulances that could not be met. He then sent the bogus bid request to John at NAFECO and to Excellance INC, located in Madison, AL. To which they both could not meet the bogus bid request. The new 3500 RAM Promaster Ambulances were delivered in early May 2023."

Setting even lower standards for conflict of interest, a highly questionable maintenance project was laid bare by the document "Robert Todd Boatner, Board Member, Representing District 4 The initial and current SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden, knowingly disregarded the legal steps required within the Alabama Competitive Bid and Public Works Laws of Alabama, dated September 2021 when upgrading SSFPD Station #5, located at 9500, Lee Road 240, Phenix City, Alabama. The SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden hired SSFPD Board Member, Todd Boatner, owner of Boatner Builders, to perform Station #5 upgrades and knowingly disregarded the Alabama Competitive Bid and Public Works Laws of Alabama. The discussion for this plan started in September 2022 to comply with Alabama Code requirements for housing employees. The combined costs of the upgrades exceeded more than $15,000.00. There is no evidence to support that this project was voted on and approved by the SSFPD Board of Directors and that Mr. Boatner did not recuse himself from participating in the vote." It goes on to continue "The project plan was for Fire Chief Joseph Walden to correspond with District #3 Lee County, Alabama Commissioner Gary Long, to get quotes to complete the SSFPD #5 Upgrades. A month or two (2) went by with no answer from Commissioner Long, as expected, so Fire Chief Joseph Walden got with SSFPD Board Member Todd Boatner to get a few quotes together. Not long after SSFPD Todd Boatman got involved, he brought in an architect to begin drawing up the plans to complete the project. Once the plans were completed, Fire Chief Joseph Walden brought the plans up in a conversation at the board meeting, the members agreed that the project should be expedited for completion however there was no cost estimate, no quotes from other vendors and the SSFPD Board of Directors did not vote to approve the project nor for SSFPD Board Member Todd Boatner to be hired as the contractor for the work. All that is found are periodic monthly updates on the progress of the SSFPD Station #5 project, which would be given by either Fire Chief Joseph Walden or SSFPD Board Member Todd Boatner."

One especially sickening episode of Chief Walden's graft was depicted in his purloinment of a government vehicle when the document recounted "The initial and current SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden, knowingly disregarded the legal steps required within Alabama to properly auction off or properly dispose of a Black Chevrolet Tahoe (formerly known as Rescue #120), as surplus, for Fire Chief Joseph Walden’s personal use and gain. This Black Chevrolet Tahoe (formerly known as Rescue #120) was an essential part of the SSFPD fleet and responded to many 911 calls within the Fire District’s coverage area and was still in excellent mechanical and reliable condition. This vehicle is real property that was deemed not needed for department purposes by Fire Chief Joseph Walden since he wanted this vehicle for himself. According to Fire Chief Joseph Walden, he stated in February 2022 that he asked the SSFPD Board of Directors if he could have the Black Chevrolet Tahoe (formerly known as Rescue #120) and that he would buy it from the department with the intention of bypassing a silent auction which the organization normally conducts for all fleet vehicle surplus." It goes on to continue "This vehicle was paid for by the taxpayers, business owners, homeowners, residents, current and past, of the Smiths Station Fire Protection District coverage area for a cost of well over or near $30,000.00. It is still unknown if Fire Chief Joseph Walden paid for this vehicle or if he did, was it a price of fair market value that benefited the residents of the Fire District, or just a benefit for him. Upon review of all the board minutes from FY 2022 and 2023, there is no mention of this vehicle being promised to Fire Chief Joseph Walden, a silent auction date, or that this vehicle was surplus, nor is there a price or value posted for the vehicle. This vehicle is currently parked at Fire Chief Joseph Walden’s residence and has been for over a year."

One of the most damning entries elucidates the bizarre budgeting and revenue practices of the SSFPD when the document states "The Initial or current SSFPD Board of Directors and SSFPD Fire Chief Joseph Walden, failed to create a plan or policy 'to establish monthly charges for fire protection and EMS services and to provide for the collection thereof.' Nor did they implement procedures to determine the eligibility requirements for exemptions of the fire and EMS fees, Without a current plan or policy, SSFPD Fire Chief Joe Walden would supersede the SSFPD Board of Directors and take it upon himself by exempting the Smiths Station City Government, schools, political associates, friends, and certain types of property, to name a few. Is this fair and impartial to the rest of the Smiths Station Fire Protection District coverage area, in that it depends on who you know if you pay a fee or not? When the established plan to become a Fire Protection District was being talked about, all addresses and residents’ names in the Smiths Station Fire Protection District coverage area were obtained. There were about 30,000 listings of names and addresses."

Running amok with horse trading amongst his fellow travelers, Chief Walden's financial chicanery could result in millions of dollars in lost revenue for the SSFPD, explained by the document when it states;

Through long-range planning and the future budget of Smiths Station Fire Protection District it was projected that the income would be near five (5) million dollars per year. The plans were to buy two (2) new ambulances, hire EMS Crews, and eventually hire nine (9) to twelve (12) firefighters. With all the exemptions that were granted by Fire Chief Joseph Walden and others, the SSFPD would collect roughly half of what they expected and will be lucky to achieve their goals. Currently with no plan or policy for the collection of the fire fee from the SSFPD Board of Directors, SSFPD Fire Chief Joe Walden succeeds the Board of Directors by taking it upon himself to implement unwritten exemption policies. At this point, the only other way to achieve the goal of the Fire Protection District is to raise the fire fee, because of all the allowed, unwarranted and non-qualified exemptions.

Chief Walden enjoys a formidable accomplice through his marriage to Mrs. Walden, along with Diane Corbin who is one of the few other paid employees at the SSFPD in the position of Billing Clerk and Office Assistant and also just happens to be best friends with Fire Chief Joseph Walden and his wife Susan Walden. This unsavory arrangement has been severely abused in what amounts to a veritable no-show job for Mrs. Walden as well as her best friend and co-worker Mrs. Corbin when the document describes "The initial and current SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden, failed to follow the current Paid Time Off (PTO) policy that was put in place when the SSFR EMS was still in service to create a new plan or policy for paid-by hour or salary employees that addressed pay, vacation, paid time off (PTO), sick days, process to apply for vacation or PTO, when it is authorized to take a vacation or PTO, and establishing a program or time clock to keep track of hours worked to name a few for all employees. The above is in question due to SSFPD Corporate and Board Secretary Susan Walden, also the wife of SSFPD Fire Chief Joe Walden has taken at least eight (8) vacations within the past year."

Asking the tough questions, it reflects "What policy does the SSFPD have to authorize this? Were they paid vacations? Was Corporate and Board Secretary Susan Walden paid for this time off? Does the fact of being the wife of the Fire Chief and Vice Chairman of the Board and Susan Walden’s first line supervisor an advantage over other employees and a cost to the SSFPD Community? How are the Smiths Station Fire Protection Administration Office employees Susan Walden, Diane Corbin and others annotating their hours of work for the workday? Is there a program, time clock or do they just get 40-hours a week regardless of if they work 40 hours or not? The SSFPD Board of Directors and Chief Joseph Walden shepherded nepotism by hiring the wife of Fire Chief Joseph Walden, Susan Walden, as a Corporate Secretary, who reports to the SSFPD Board of Directors IN ACCORDANCE WITH her duty description posted online on the SSFPD website. Also, the SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden marshalled fraternization by hiring Diane Corbin as a Billing Clerk, who reports to the Fire Chief IN ACCORDANCE WITH her job description posted online on the SSFPD website. Mrs. Corbin is Fire Chief Joseph and Susan Walden preacher’s wife and best friend, who also lived with them for a length of time. Both employees, (Susan Walden and Diane Corbin) were shown considerable favoritism by the SSFPD Board of Directors and Fire Chief Joseph Walden. To where both employees are treated with extreme favoritism and can do whatever they wanted, such as extended lunch hours, nurmous vacations, creating policies on their own and carry them out, to name JUST a few."

But wait, there's more, the document notes "SSFPD Fire Chief Joseph Walden, Susan Walden and Diane Corbin conducted fraud, waste and abuse; ethical misconduct; financial misconduct; unauthorized use of government property, time, and information by using the copier, thousands of sheets of paper and several binders that SSFPD paid for from the monies collected from the community to make several books for their church which costs the residents of SSFPD coverage area several hundreds of dollars, and intern absolutely no costs to their church." Chief Walden is no ordinary parishioner at his house of worship, as the document recounts "SSFPD Joseph Walden conducted fraud, waste, and abuse; ethical misconduct; financial misconduct; unauthorized use of government property, time, and information by using his assigned 2018 Dodge 2500 Ram Truck for personal use. He would use this vehicle for his own personal appointments in the SSFPD Coverage area or several miles out of the area. He would use this vehicle for personal and church errands at the cost of the SSFPD coverage area residents." Hallelujah!

Note: The Examiner attempted to contact Lee County Commissioners Richard Lagrand and Tony Langley for comment on this breaking story. Commissioner Lagrand responded that he had been unaware of the SSFPD but is now apprised of the situation. Commissioner Langley failed to respond as usual.