Hanceville has been temporarily suspended from the federal 1033 military surplus property program — and faces having to return all items acquired under it — after a water tanker was reportedly improperly transferred to the city’s fire department.

The city received notice of the suspension earlier this month and awaits a final decision from the Alabama Department of Economic Development and Community Affairs which follows the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Law Enforcement Support Office’s (LESO) recommendation.

The 1033 program requires police departments to retain items for at least one year before they transfer it to another department or sell it. That’s where Hanceville ran into trouble.

A video that included interviews with Mayor Kenneth Nail, Police Chief Bob Long and Fire Chief Roger Green implied the city had acquired the water tanker for the fire department. ADECA, which oversees the program, became aware of the video which included a story regaling Nail’s “shrewd utilization of the 1033 program.”

“This isn’t a situation where the property was used for public benefit or theft. They just didn’t follow the guidelines,” Bailey said.

“They won’t be allowed to acquire any new property under the temporary suspension. We’re still deliberating whether to recoup all the items Hanceville received under the program. But that’s the absolute last resort. We’re waiting to hear back from Battle Creek, Michigan (where LESO is headquartered.)”

Nail said the situation was more of a misunderstanding than anything else, but the city has since reviewed its policies and has submitted a letter of a correction. The water tanker has never been used on a single fire, Nail said. 

“We’ve always used our equipment for taxpayers, not for personal benefits. We’re suspended for 60 days, and I really hate it, but we just had to straighten our house up a little bit,” he said.

Bailey said Hanceville has been good to work with through the program, and he hoped to resolve the suspension soon and see the city returned to eligibility.

“We had some of their people teach some of the classes when ADECA took over the 1033 program,” Bailey said.

According to Department of Defense records, Hanceville has acquired nearly $1.7 million worth of 1033 property, compared to roughly $1.5 million combined that was obtained by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and Cullman Police Department.

Alabama was among a handful of states temporarily suspended from the 1033 program in May 2014 when several violations were discovered concerning police departments’ use and inadequate tracking of military equipment transfers. ADECA took over management of the state’s 1033 program from the Department of Public Safety, now called the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

A 2014 executive order under former President Barack Obama banned armored tracked personnel carriers; Hanceville was one of only six possessed by law enforcement agencies across Alabama. The order also implemented tighter scrutiny over police departments obtaining certain surplus gear, like .50-caliber guns and ammunition and grenade launchers, from the Department of Defense.

Since October 2015, police departments have been required to get approval from their city councils, mayors or other local governing bodies to obtain such equipment. Police must now provide a persuasive explanation of why it is needed, train its personnel annually, record its use of the equipment and retain information if allegations of unlawful or inappropriate police actions involving the equipment trigger a federal compliance review. Those incident records are to be made available to the federal agency that funded the equipment as well as the public under Obama’s order.

The Hanceville Police Department acquired a water tanker, valued at $28,845, Dec 16, 2016, according to Department of Defense records. In all, Hanceville has acquired nearly $1.7 million worth of 1033 military surplus property, compared to roughly $1.5 million combined that was obtained by the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office and Cullman Police Department.