FIRE COMMISSIONER FACES ACCUSATIONS
THE STATE LOCAL FINANCE BOARD IS IN RECEIPT OF TWO COMPLAINTS
Fire District Commissioner Nicole Saucier has two ethics complaints before the New Jersey Local Finance Board (LFB), which is the state body tasked with evaluating ethics complaints against new jersey local elected officials.
Complaint One:
I submitted a complaint alleging that Ms. Saucier accessed Fire District camera’s for a May 26th 2026 complaint to Mount Holly police about individuals which Ms. Saucier accused of placing lawn signs around town. The signs made allegations about her behavior. While Saucier was perfectly within her rights to make the complaint about harassment, it was her access to and use of Fire District records that are alleged to have crossed the ethical line.
Saucier was Chair of the Fire District during the waning days of 2025. Commission Chair is a purely elected position in the District, not an operational position. As such, Commissioners have the same status as an ordinary resident with regard to access to certain FD operational spaces, equipment and data. But during the last days of 2025, Director of Fire Services Carty was on suspension and Saucier assumed his role as operation Director. Once Jules Thiessen was voted in as Chair in January 2026, Ms. Saucier lost that Director designation which passed to Thiessen. Accordingly, her operational access to the powers of Director should have also stopped by May 2026. But the access was not shut off and as of the May 26th police complaint, Saucier still had access.
Allegation 1: Use of Official Position for Personal Advantage
The law states at N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5(c) that No local government officer… shall use or attempt to use their official position to secure unwarranted privileges or advantages for their-self or others.
As to “privilege”: When I [a resident] sought access to Fire District video during 2024, I met a wall of bureaucratic obstruction. They claimed video access posed a “security” risk. The rejection from the Fire District was for video of the intersection in front of Good Intent Firehouse. The response was worded as follows: “your request for surveillance video is denied under N.J.S.A. 47:1A-1 – Security measures and surveillance techniques.” Getting access to FD video is a privilege and advantage that ordinary residents do not have.
Allegation 2: Misuse of Public Resources / Public Confidence Eroded
The law states at N.J.S.A. 40A:9-22.5(a) & (d) that
Officers must maintain “the highest standards of ethical conduct” and avoid conduct which undermines public confidence. Officers shall not act in matters in which personal involvement impairs judgment.
By accessing and disseminating Fire District security recordings for a personal dispute, Saucier used public resources to advance her personal agenda. I allege that this conduct bypassed the operational chain of command and took control of public resources which Saucier did not have authority to access. I allege that this conduct, which involved access the general public does not have, undermines trust in government.
Complaint Two:
Former commissioner Joseph Sams submitted a complaint which alleges that Ms. Saucier used her access to Fire District spaces not available to the general public to stage a photo shoot for her daughter during Prom time. The photos were later posted on Facebook.
Sams’ complaint alleges that
At all relevant times, access to the Fire District building was restricted and not open to members of the general public. On or about April 13 2024, the Fire District building was still under construction and closed to public access. During this same period, volunteer firefighters were subject to access restrictions and not provided keys to the building. Nevertheless, Ms. Saucier, her daughter and her daughter’s friends [none of whom were Fire District authorized personnel] entered the Fire District building.
Sams claims these allegations violate the same New Jersey statutory restrictions that I listed in my complaint.
The Reporter will provide updates regarding whatever action the state of New Jersey takes, or doesn’t take.