Two members of the Hopkinsville Fire and Emergency Services received a promotion in rank during Tuesday’s city council meeting. Martin J. Bangart and Spencer D. Wood were sworn to the levels of Lieutenant and Captain, respectively, before council and family members alike.
Bangart, hired in 2008, previously served three tours of duty in Iraq and according to Fire Chief Freddie Montgomery, has earned his Bachelor’s degree in Fire and Emergency Response Management since being hired. Bangart is currently pursuing a Master’s in that field, is a Fire Department Academy Instructor, and serves as the department’s new Hazmat Coordinator.
Wood, a 17-year veteran of the department, has been an E.M.T. since 1998 and is a certified Level II fire instructor, according to Montgomery. Additionally, Wood serves as the department’s Maintenance and Airpack Coordinator and an instructor in its academy. Both received their pins from family after taking their oaths.
In other business, an audit report by Kerry Fort, of York, Neel and Associates, showed an uptick in the city’s general fund cash over the last four years.
The report, which covered through June 30 of last year, also indicated an increase in long-term debt obligations. In 2014, it stood at just under $34 million and by 2015 increased to $83 million, according to Fort. He says that was mainly due to a change in accounting principles by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, a private non-governmental organization.
Since there was matching revenue, Fort adds it didn’t really change the city’s net position and that overall, the audit gave the city a clean bill of health.
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