There are, unquestionably, problems with the Long Branch Fire Department Fund Drive Association.
Based on statements of the Long Branch fire chief and a trustee of the association, it is clear that the organization is not living up to the rules spelled out in its bylaws.
Indeed, it seems it may never really have done so.
By itself, that should raise serious concerns about the nonprofit organization.
That the chief and trustee do not view that matter seriously enough to seek to immediately rectify it only makes it more troubling.
It also seems probable that the organization is not properly fulfilling state and federal filing requirements regarding accounting for its revenue.
Either that, or the association is being dishonest with the very fire companies it was created to support. It is possible that both those things are happening.
While the city does not have direct oversight of the association, it has a well-defined relationship with the individual fire companies and the department as a whole. As such, it has some obligation to try to preserve its good name.
City officials need to take those running the association to task for their lax attitude regarding their own bylaws and the fiduciary responsibilities they have assumed.
When an organization like the LBFD Fund Drive Association gets itself into trouble, rightly or wrongly, that reflects on the rest of the community, particularly those most closely associated with it.
A prolonged problem will undoubtedly cripple the organization, and it will end up hurting the very fire companies it was created to assist.
City officials should do all they can to keep that from happening. If they don’t, they become part of the problem.