Butler Township residents shouldn't be hasty in their conclusions about allegations that some former township police cars that were donated to volunteer fire departments serving the municipality might have been used improperly. It's conceivable that explanations regarding the use of the vehicles might eliminate the current concern. Time will tell.

However, the situation involving the cars of two of the township's five departments raises troubling questions beyond how and when the vehicles have been used. Those questions deal with the township commissioners' reaction to the prospect that something might be amiss. At a commissioners meeting Monday, they projected a lack of understanding of the potential seriousness of what was being alleged.

For example, Commissioner Joseph Wiest said the commissioners had been aware of the alleged abuses for a couple of months. He said two fire departments had used their cars for personal use.

"These guys think it's their own car," he said.

Wiest didn't say why the issue hadn't been publicly addressed and resolved a couple of months ago, when the situation first surfaced. This is an issue within the parameters of township taxpayers' right to know. It was alleged that the cars in question were refueled at the taxpayer-financed municipal gasoline pumps, and commissioners chairman Joseph Hasychak said the township pays the insurance premiums for the vehicles.

Commissioner Paul Langland, who is the board's representative in fire department matters, said, "It only comes down to one or two departments. We don't have the facts and figures yet."

A similar allegation against only one of the departments would have been just as troubling as if the allegations involved all five departments. And, like Wiest, Langland gave no acceptable excuse as to why the matter had not been divulged to taxpayers before now.

In the end, Langland might be right in his belief that the issue has been overblown. Information-gathering will confirm or discount that opinion. However, by now it would seem that the commissioners would have something concrete to say, or a decision to announce, about the alleged vehicle misuse. It's puzzling why they don't.

Had a township resident not made an accusation Monday about the vehicles' use, the issue might not have been publicly addressed at that time. Prior to the resident's accusation, there was no indication that the issue was on the meeting agenda, despite the fact that the issue already was a couple of months old - perhaps older than a couple of months.

For the commissioners, the issue has to be a source of embarrassment, since it reflects on a lack of vigilance and lax controls on the township's part. But more importantly, based on the amount of time the commissioners have been aware of the issue, it suggests that the officials failed to contemplate or comprehend the seriousness of the alleged private use of public vehicles, in terms of the municipality's potential liability.

"It's a policy we need to look into," said Bruno Muscatello, township solicitor.

In reality, the commissioners should have implemented a strict understanding governing the use of the vehicles when the first vehicle was donated. That would have provided the commissioners a firm basis on which to evaluate the validity of what currently is being alleged.

While township residents shouldn't make premature conclusions about how the vehicles have been used, they should be concerned about the fact that their officials have allowed the issue to fester and remain under wraps for so long.

The fire departments that serve the township do so with great skill and dedication. There is no question about the high level of service they provide, and they should be encouraged and praised in regard to their mission. It also must be acknowledged that they use their own vehicles, pay for their own gasoline and devote many hours of their own time, without compensation or reimbursement, to fire company maintenance operations, fundraising events and in responding to emergencies.

Still, that excellent level of service doesn't provide room for errors in judgment when township liability and public money is at stake.

It is in the best interests of the township and the departments in question that the issue be resolved quickly and that the public be notified of the findings and told what corrective actions have been applied. But the commissioners also should look beyond this vehicle matter to ascertain whether there are other lapses in vigilance.