Hometown With a Vision

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Eldridge Statement Regarding Recent Public Comments Involving the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Company

As many of you now know, city staff and elected officials have been working for over a year with members of the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Department to solve the department’s dire shortage of manpower and burnout. We all agree that the safety of our residents and their property is not only a top priority – but one of the most essential services a city provides. For decades, the City of Eldridge has contracted to have those services provided by the Eldridge Volunteer Fire Company, a private non-profit organization. We can also all agree that the EVFC has countless dedicated volunteers who have served our residents for decades. Their service is and always will be appreciated.

In May of 2025, members of the EVFC asked the City to hire a full-time fire chief as a City employee to lead the fire company and ease their administrative burdens. Both sides dedicated resources into evaluating this option and, ultimately, it was determined that having a City employee supervise employees of a private, nonprofit organization was not possible, for a variety of legal and insurance reasons. As an alternative, the City offered to provide funding so the EVFC could hire its own chief. The EVFC rejected that offer, clarified that they were not looking for money and instead asked the City to take over the EVFC as a City Department. This would include owning all assets, including their building, trucks and other equipment.

The City, the County and Benefitted Fire District #3 then engaged in substantive conversations to evaluate this request. This involved various meetings and information sharing. Critical to this assessment was an evaluation of staffing and department needs. The City could not identify how the department would be organized without understanding its current operations, which had placed them in a dire position. During that process, the EVFC disclosed that it had received a FEMA grant for a full-time position to perform administrative and other operational tasks. The FEMA grant provided an annual salary of $50,000 and was paid to Keith Schneckloth. Mr. Schneckloth was also working full-time for the City during this time. The EVFC further confirmed that Mr. Schneckloth did not work full-time for the EVFC but represented to FEMA that he did. He received and accepted the full $50,000 grant amount. The City found this concerning but had no ability to address it with the EVFC being a separate, private entity.

In late October 2025, the City then received reports regarding concerns related to Mr. Schneckloth’s employment as City Mechanic. The City has reviewed the statement released by Keith Schneckloth regarding his termination. The City has historically declined to publicly discuss personnel matters out of respect for employee privacy. However, because former employee Keith Schneckloth has chosen to publicly discuss the circumstances surrounding his termination and has made statements regarding the City’s actions, the City believes it appropriate to address at this time.

Mr. Schneckloth has publicly characterized his termination as the result of a simple “coding error” involving an $86.68 purchase. That characterization is false and materially misrepresents both the City’s investigation and the findings of an administrative law judge for the State of Iowa.

Mr. Schneckloth’s employment was not terminated because of an isolated clerical mistake. Following a formal investigation, the City concluded that Mr. Schneckloth:
• purchased parts for a non-City vehicle using City funds;
• engaged in a pattern of time theft by conducting personal business during compensated work time and reporting that time as hours worked;
• falsely reporting his time worked on his timecard;
• repeatedly used the City’s tax-exempt purchasing account for personal purchases, there by avoiding payment of sales tax on non-City items;
• was dishonest during the City’s investigation; and
• failed to properly manage City purchasing and public funds.

These findings are set forth in the City’s termination letter issued on December 12, 2025. Following Mr. Schneckloth’s appeal for unemployment benefits, an independent Administrative Law Judge considered testimony and documentary evidence from both parties. The Administrative Law Judge affirmed the City’s findings, concluding Mr. Schneckloth was discharged for “substantial job-related misconduct.” The decision specifically found that purchasing items for a personal vehicle using City funds constituted theft from the employer and that Mr. Schneckloth repeatedly violated the City’s policies. Mr. Schneckloth was denied unemployment benefits. He never filed a grievance related to his termination. Mr. Schneckloth’s recent public letter also omits important facts. His statement suggests the purchase involved only a fire department command vehicle. The Chevy Tahoe in question also happened to be the vehicle Mr. Schneckloth drives for his own personal use. The investigation established that the parts at issue were purchased for a 2012 Chevrolet Tahoe that was not owned by the City. The City’s investigation further determined that the explanation initially offered by Keith—that the purchase resulted from a simple dropdown coding error— was not true and he later admitted the same. His story changed during the investigation. Mr. Schneckloth’s assertion that he received no personal financial benefit is also not true and is inconsistent with the evidence. There were numerous personal purchases processed through the City’s tax-exempt NAPA account, which allowed Mr. Schneckloth to avoid paying sales tax. Mr. Schneckloth admitted that he had reviewed and made corrections on certain transactions but he had no explanation for the numerous personal purchases that remained tax exempt. The City also wishes to address recent public statements suggesting that the City threatened to not fund the EVFC if Mr. Schneckloth remained Fire Chief. That statement is inaccurate. The City has made it clear to the EVFC that the City would continue to provide the same funding that had been provided regardless of their Fire Chief selection. Understanding what transpired with negotiations following Mr. Schneckloth’s termination is critical to understanding our current position.

Around the time of Mr. Schneckloth’s termination, the City was notified that he had resigned as Chief from the EVFC. Following his resignation, representatives from the EVFC and the City re-engaged in discussions about the future of fire protection services in Eldridge. Those conversations were productive for several months and both parties were seriously considering the transition to a City department. Those conversations persisted and ultimately reached a point where the EVFC and the City were only $50,000 apart in their respective proposed budgets. The EVFC provided a minimum budget they felt they needed to remain independent, which was $476,670. At the conclusion of the meeting held on April 8, 2026, the City invited the EVFC to present their position to the City Council regarding the request for the additional $50,000. By that time, Mr. Schneckloth had returned as Chief and the City shared that a conversation was needed on the additional funding given the misconduct concerns addressed above. At the conclusion of the April 8, 2026, the EVFC communicated that they were taking the decision to remain independent or become a City department to a membership vote.

The City then heard nothing from them until June 12, 2026 – when the City received an email now claiming that the EVFC needed at least $828,516 to remain independent. The EVFC also demanded the City respond with a decision no later than July 15, 2026. The increased budget came without any conversation despite productive meetings occurring between the parties for several months. This shift was unexpected but communications further changed after the EVFC engaged a marketing firm to begin a public campaign of statements the following week. The City does not believe that responding to individual social media posts is a sound use of taxpayer dollars. This statement has been prepared to address the various inaccuracies that have been disseminated to our residents.

The City values the dedicated service of the many volunteer firefighters who protect our community. We will not allow their dedicated service and the health or safety of our community to be jeopardized by individual actions not motivated for the collective good of our community. No matter which direction this goes, both sides agree that providing fire protection services is of the utmost importance. In fact, many of our elected officials have walked in their shoes. We will find a long-term sustainable solution for our City and owe our citizens nothing less.

The City remains committed to working cooperatively with the EVFC to ensure uninterrupted, high-quality fire and emergency medical services for the residents of Eldridge. Public safety decisions will continue to be guided by accountability, transparency, responsible stewardship of taxpayer resources and the rule of law. The City remained at the table willing to continue these discussions and find a positive path forward. That willingness remains unchanged by the recent social media campaign directed by the EVFC. It is our sincere hope that we can continue these discussions directly – never losing sight of our residents and our community.

Eldridge Residents: Starting on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, Dammann Drive will be closed just north of W. Donahue Court for the installation of a speed hump. This work will take approximately one week to complete. Residents will need to use either W. Donahue St., W. Maple St. or W. Price St. to access N. Dammann Drive during this time.