Mar 12, 2026 By Conner Goetz 3 min read

South Connellsville Volunteer Fire Company will remain the designated fire department for South Connellsville Borough after Mayor Chris Wiltrout vetoed a motion to transfer the designation to Connellsville Township Volunteer Fire Company.

Borough council members had voted on Monday to switch the official first responder designation to the township department after a breakdown of communication and allegations of financial impropriety at the borough fire department. Wiltrout vetoed the request on Tuesday.

According to a release posted to the borough’s Facebook page on Monday, “basic requests for information on training, background checks, financial solvency and ISO ratings went ignored for several months,” which prompted the council to take action.

This included employee documentation and Insurance Service Office ratings for insurance risk relating to Public Protection Classification.

Wiltrout said that prior to the meeting, residents had reached out with “rumors” of financial mismanagement at South Connellsville Volunteer Fire Company (SCVFC).

Council members were attempting to do their due diligence and requested a range of financial and employment documents from SCVFC, Wiltrout said, which were not disclosed promptly enough.

Wiltrout said that over the past few years, attendance from SCVFC leadership at council meetings had steadily declined.

At first, department leadership had attended nearly every council meeting. Now, the department only attended three meetings in 2025, according to the statement on Facebook.

“We want a representative to come to the meeting, read a report and keep us informed about what’s going on,” he said, “if not we have no clue what is going on.”

Currently, the borough only provides funding for a workman’s compensation insurance for the department, but in the past would contribute up to $10,000 to the department in annual budget contributions.

As the communication between the council and the SCVFC continued to break down, the amount of annual funding was reduced in successive budget cycles down to zero, Wiltrout said.

Wiltrout said that the goal is to reestablish trust and effective communication between the fire company and the borough.

According to Wiltrout, Fire Chief Jeremy Grubb was starting to produce documents in compliance with the council’s request when they voted to remove the designation from the fire company.

Wiltrout said he vetoed the designation change in order to give the fire company more time to work with the council in order to increase operational transparency.

More than 60 residents attended the borough council meeting on Monday night in opposition to the motion to remove the designation from SCVFC, he said.

“I work for the community … and who am I to go against their wishes,” Wiltrout said.

Wiltrout emphasized that he has respect for both the council and fire department, saying that he understands the council’s efforts to increase transparency with the department.

“I think things can really improve, and I think that the fire company wants to work with the council to build a stronger relationship.”

Neither Council President George Jay nor Grubb returned a request for comment.