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Dallas Fire-Rescued owed thousands from management group
Dallas Fire-Rescue says a group hired to manage events at Fair Park owes them thousands from events their medics worked last year. FOX 4's Lori Brown has more.
DALLAS - The company the city of Dallas once hired to manage Fair Park owes tens of thousands of dollars to Dallas Fire-Rescue medics.
The medics worked at Fair Park last year and still have not been paid for their time.
What we know:
Oak View Group, also known as OVG360, still owes some DFR medics $1,000 or more for the time they spent working during events at Fair Park between March and August of last year.
Dallas hired the company to manage Fair Park but cut ties last summer after an audit found money allocated to building a park was instead being used for operating expenses.
Even after the city canceled its contract with Oak View Group in June, a firefighter source told FOX 4 they were assured the city’s attorney was working to get them paid. Many DFR medics continued to work at events scheduled by Oak View Group through August.
Company hired to manage Fair Park left it in disrepair, Dallas leaders say
Fair Park is in much worse condition now than it was before the city turned over management to the for-profit company, Oak View Group.
By the numbers:
A list obtained by FOX 4 shows that more than 50 medics are owed a total of $27,504.
Individual medics are owed amounts ranging from $200 to more than $1,500.
What they're saying:
"With FIFA currently in Dallas, and Dallas being on the world stage, Dallas has depended heavily on DFR and its medics to represent the city and serve the public and our international guests. It’s extremely disappointing and frustrating to hear that the city I have represented for many years easily abandoned its firefighters/medics," FOX 4’s firefighter source said.
Chris Peterson is the president of the Dallas Firefighters Association. He is also frustrated by the lack of urgency when it comes to paying the first responders.
"I think if we could figure out how to get the city to pay the $27,000 and then just add this back into the lawsuit, I think this solves our members’ problems," he said.
The other side:
A DFR spokesperson said the department’s leadership has requested payment from the Oak View Group’s management, but those requests have gone unanswered.
The city of Dallas has not yet responded to questions about whether it will pursue legal action on behalf of DFR.
The Source: FOX 4's Lori Brown gathered information for this story by talking to firefighter sources, the president of the Dallas Firefighters Association, a spokesperson for Dallas Fire-Rescue, and the city of Dallas.