The mayor of a small Sussex County municipality is defending the display of a Trump reelection flag by parading firefighters in full uniform, even though the department’s tax-exempt status prohibits such campaigning.

Franklin Borough Mayor Nicholas Giordano said he saw nothing wrong with the Franklin Fire Department carrying a “Trump 2020 Keep America Great” flag at the Sussex County Firemen’s Association Inspection Day and Parade on Saturday, a 99-year-old march honoring firefighters.

The Franklin Fire Department is registered as a tax-exempt, section 501(c)(3) organization, and under federal law is not allowed to support or oppose candidates for elective public office.

“Do they have a right as a group to support the president of the United States? Sure they do,” Giordano, a Republican, told NJ Advance Media following a borough council meeting Tuesday night.

Photos from the parade show that the Trump campaign banner was held aloft, and given equal visual prominence, with the U.S. flag, official POW-MIA flag, and flags dedicated to fallen firefighters.

The parade drew firefighters from 26 departments in Sussex County but it appears only the group from Franklin displayed a Trump flag, or any political signs for that matter.

“If you don’t like Trump, you have an issue with it. If you do like Trump, you don’t have an issue with it,” said Giordano, who said he supports Trump.

Trump received 63 percent of the vote in Franklin in 2016, to 31 percent for Hillary Clinton.

The display at the parade, which was held in Franklin, has not drawn any public criticism in Republican-dominated Sussex County. No one in the audience of about 20 at the council meeting raised the issue during public comments, and no uniformed firefighters were present.

The flag display might have escaped wider notice, but for a weekend Facebook post by Franklin’s business administrator, Alison McHose.

McHose, a Republican who represented Franklin in the New Jersey Assembly until 2015, posted a photo of the Franklin firefighters to Facebook, along with an approving note.

“Proud of my hometown volunteer fire department for flying a Trump 2020 flag,” McHose wrote.

Franklin Business Administrator Alison McHose's Facebook post on the paradescreenshot

Giordano is not a volunteer firefighter, and noted in an interview following the meeting that the borough played no role in sanctioning what happened.

While absolving the firefighters, the mayor did take issue with those criticizing what they did on social media.

“They sullied an event that was supposed to be totally devoted to the volunteers,” Giordano said of the critics.

Giordano said that, though borough officials declined a request last spring to fly on municipal property a rainbow flag - a symbol of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) pride - he saw no inconsistency in the volunteer firefighters weighing in on behalf of Trump while in full uniform.

“When you do it as a town government, it’s a political statement,” Giordano said in explaining the rainbow flag’s denial.

It is not known whether the Sussex County Firemen’s Association, which oversees the annual parade, will review the matter.

James Raputo Sr., the association’s president, did not immediately return a phone call on Wednesday.

The IRS website details at length the rules governing tax-exempt, section 501(c)(3) organizations such as the Franklin Fire Department.

It states that such organizations “are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office.”

The prohibition includes “public statements of position,” either verbal or in writing, made “on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office,” according to the IRS website.

Violators run the risk of losing their tax-exempt status.

At least one member of the Franklin council, Joe Limon, is a volunteer firefighter in Franklin. Limon did not attend Tuesday’s meeting.

Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips.

Get the latest updates right in your inbox. Subscribe to NJ.com’s newsletters