Newton County Fire Chief Mike Conner, seen here at a Sept. All of them said they couldn’t speak about the issue and referred questions to the county spokesman.įire Chief Mike Conner didn’t return phone calls and wouldn’t come to the lobby when reporters visited fire headquarters. How exactly the arrangement with Into the Blue Scuba developed is unclear because nobody’s taking questions.įOX 5 tried to talk to several county employees, including Finance Director Brittany White, whose department handles payments to vendors. "As soon as this matter came to my attention, I instructed that no further payment or purchases be made to the vendor in question," County Manager Cooper’s statement said. Newton County’s Code of Ethics says, "No official or employee shall acquire or maintain an interest in any business that is engaged in the sale of property, goods or services to the County …" The policy has exceptions if certain conditions have been met, such as going through a competitive bid process.Ī county spokesman said the FOX 5 I-Team’s open records requests alerted the county to the potential conflict. "It tells me that someone knows the rules, and they know how to break the rules," Dennis, of Common Cause Georgia, said. Three times, the Scuba store submitted invoices just two dollars under the threshold – including a $4,998 charge in August for training two team members, along with four knives and four shears. The policy forbids breaking up orders into multiple orders below $5,000.īut the I-Team found 14 charges that came within a few hundred dollars of the threshold – all paid by the county. Newton County’s Purchasing Policy says any purchase over $5,000 requires at least three competitive quotes. "There could be power/privilege dynamics. "That’s not allowed because it creates a clear conflict of interest," Common Cause Georgia Executive Director Aunna Dennis said. The government watchdog group Common Cause Georgia said most local governments bar employees from doubling as vendors. The store’s role as the dive team supplier was never put out for bid by the county. A $29,892 charge for six custom-fitted dry suits, 12 sets of undergarments, and six sets of diver boots. He is currently a fire inspector, dive team member and scuba instructor for the dive team.Īmong the sales: $2,499 for a sonar device. Sales racked up after the store’s owner, Glenn Mikos, went to work for the department in 2019. Records obtained by the FOX 5 I-Team show more than $140,000 spent at Into the Blue Scuba for the fire department. It also involved tens of thousands of dollars in training for dive team members. That meant purchasing gear for team members, including wetsuits, dry suits, BCD jackets, regulators, masks, boots, knives, ropes, and even a new inflatable rescue boat. But about three years ago, Newton County Fire Chief Mike Conner decided his department would start its own team. Newton County and the City of Covington have had a joint dive team for decades. The state Department of Public Safety has a dive team, as do other cities and counties throughout the state. They might also search for important evidence of a crime, such as a weapon discarded in deep water. When a swimmer disappears into a lake or river, rescue dive teams have the grim duty of searching and pulling up the body. Members of the Newton County Fire Services dive team wade into the waters of Lake Varner, on the north end of the county, for a training session on Sept.
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