Yesterday Was Kid Gloves, Today Boxing Gloves!

Nothing. No reply. No statement. NO fix.

The city isn’t denying it. They’re just shrugging it off. Fourteen points of failure. Fourteen places where if fire strikes, you better pray you have a miracle on standby because the water won’t be. And they’ve had the money to fix them for months. Years, even.

But they won’t.

Why? Well here is some loud whispers we have heard.

Because instead of fixing them in-house, which they’ve admitted in previous meetings they could do, they’ve chosen to sit on their hands and wait for their “approved” nepotist contractors to overcharge the city at three times the cost.

Let me say that again for the folks in the back:

More than one whisper says – They are intentionally stalling life-saving repairs so someone’s bro buddy can make a bigger payday. And if you don’t believe it, the whispers say ask former mayor Luke Price about how that system really works. Ask about those so-called “bids.” Ask about who’s really getting paid. Wink wink.

Let’s Talk Regulations Being Ignored:

1. Kentucky Administrative Regulation 807 KAR 5:066, Section 10(2)(b)

This regulation stipulates that fire hydrants must be installed and maintained according to specific standards. It mandates that utilities are responsible for the maintenance of fire hydrants, ensuring they are operational and meet required flow rates. Failure to maintain these hydrants can lead to regulatory actions by the Kentucky Public Service Commission.

2. Kentucky Administrative Regulation 807 KAR 5:095

This regulation governs a utility’s provision of water for fire protection services. It outlines the responsibilities of utilities in maintaining infrastructure, including fire hydrants, to ensure they are functional for fire protection purposes.

Let’s Talk Laws Being Broken:

1. Under 807 KAR 5:066 Section 10(5) of Kentucky Administrative Code:

“In case of emergency interruptions of service, the utility shall immediately notify the fire chief or other responsible public officials.” When a hydrant fails, they are required to notify the right people immediately. Are they doing that? No. Are they putting public safety at risk? Absolutely.

2. KRS 61.170 – Neglect of County or City Officer

This law makes it illegal for an officer of the city to willfully neglect any duty required of them by law. “Any officer of a city… who willfully neglects any duty enjoined on him/her by law shall be fined not less than one hundred ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), and his office shall be vacated.”

Application:

City managers, utility supervisors, or council members who have failed to enforce maintenance of fire protection infrastructure, especially when they acknowledged the issue and still did nothing, may be guilty of this offense.

Several more Kentucky statutes would apply if any of the whispers we heard are true. At this point, some city officials may be teetering on the edge of official misconduct. Kentucky law doesn’t care if you’re lazy or loyal to a buddy , if you ignore your duty, it’s a crime.

KRS 522.030 – Official Misconduct in the First Degree

“A public servant is guilty… when he/she knowingly refrains from performing a duty imposed upon him by law.”

Class A Misdemeanor.

Further, if a city has the budget and the authority to perform repairs in-house, but instead knowingly delays repairs in favor of who knows what, that’s malfeasance. That’s willful negligence.

You want to get into liability? The city is one structure fire away from being sued into the ground for gross neglect and deliberate endangerment.

This isn’t some obscure policy. This is about basic emergency infrastructure that Falmouth is legally obligated to maintain. And they are choosing not to.

Here’s What We Need:

We need your help to start mapping each one of these dead hydrants. Street by street. Block by block. If you know of one, send it in. We’ll build the full map and we’ll put it on blast for the entire city to see.

And while we’re at it , blast the city. Call, write, speak out at every meeting. Make it so loud they can’t ignore it. Because the city officials responsible for this? They’ve gotten real comfortable with your silence. Time to make them uncomfortable with the truth. Also Falmouth is home to an actual State Representative. Who has worked as a first responder. Willful neglect is contagious.

Mark Hart 859-654-4278

You can start by calling the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and reporting this as a public safety and corruption concern.

1-888-432-9257

Tell them the City of Falmouth is refusing to fix emergency fire hydrants despite having the budget, and they instead may be waiting on overpriced contracts from connected individuals.

Then start showing up. Speak up. Don’t ask them to fix it. Demand it. Also show your concern by calling here are the pertinent Falmouth numbers.

Mayor Sabrina Hazen (859) 609-1991

Falmouth Fire Department (859) 654-8256

We could only find long time running council woman Joyce Carson’s number (859) 391-2701

Because next time, it might not just be a burned-down building. It might be someone’s life. And if that happens, they don’t get to say “we didn’t know.” They knew. And now so does everyone else. Say it with me “WILLFULL NEGLECT”, any snarky comments to say to that Madame Mayor?

The Falmouth Whisper

Truth. No filter. No permission asked.