Resident alleges misleading fire-response claims, questions ladder-truck funding

Vincent Lepore, a Long Branch resident, told the City Council on Aug. 13 that a letter signed by local firefighters contradicts statements made at an earlier council meeting by the city's Business Administrator and Public Safety Director Shirley about a West Long Branch school incident and the proposed ladder truck purchase. "Shirley stated on the public record at the last council meeting, 'no fire response happened,'" Lepore said, adding the letter includes call records he said show otherwise.

The letter Lepore referenced, which he said will appear on the "Watch Dogs and West Long Branch resident's page," lists the incident timeline: a call placed at 8:59 a.m.; West Long Branch Police Department dispatched at 9:04 a.m.; Ocean Township Fire Department in service at 9:13 a.m. and on scene at 9:18 a.m.; West Long Branch Fire Department on site at 9:25 a.m.; and the site cleared at 9:41 a.m. Lepore emphasized, "No fire occurred at a West Long Branch School. Contrary to what Mister Shirley stated."

Lepore also read portions of the letter that question the city's accounting for ladder-truck funds. "Why did the Long Branch administration say that capital money in the amount of 1,600,000.0 were allocated in 2023 to order a ladder truck in 2024," he read, and said Shirley is now saying the city needs to bond "2 and a half million to purchase a truck." He added that West Long Branch's ladder truck last year cost $1,200,000, according to the letter.

Lepore criticized remarks he attributed to Shirley about volunteer firefighters and said the letter recounts denigrating language and inconsistencies in the administration's statements about response times and equipment needs. "The professionals he refers to as Long Branch, instead of the 1 guy in West Long Branch rolling out in an SUV in a pair of Crocs and T shirts," Lepore read from the letter.

The statements Lepore delivered were made during the public-comment portion of the Aug. 13 meeting; the council did not take formal action related to the subject during that meeting. The public portion was closed after comments, and the council did not provide an on-the-record response to Lepore's allegations during the session. The city clerk did not indicate follow-up steps on this allegation during the meeting.

Because Lepore presented this material as public comment and referred to an external letter and web page, the council's acceptance of the claims or any administrative response was not recorded in the Aug. 13 minutes. No vote, motion, or formal investigation was made on the floor during that meeting.

Questions about the ladder-truck funding, the status of previously reported capital allocations, and the city's account of the West Long Branch incident were raised publicly by a resident but were not resolved at the Aug. 13 meeting. Residents seeking to submit documented records or request an administrative response were directed to the city clerk outside the meeting for follow-up.