Dispute Over New Contracts Cause Concern for Kleberg County Fire Department Volunteers
KINGSVILLE, TEXAS – On Monday, January 13, 2025, Kleberg County Commissioners Court suggested creating a new personnel contract and to help file paperwork on behalf of the Kleberg County Fire Department to become incorporated. The Commissioners’ suggestion follows a dispute with the fire department over the nonprofit recognition and funding. Currently, the Kleberg County Fire Department is under a nonprofit status with funding coming from Kleberg County.
With suggestion of a new contract and talks of incorporating Kleberg County Fire Department, Patrick Guzman, a volunteer firefighter with Kleberg County Fire Department, posted online that the new contract and incorporation idea is in retaliation against “a member who took to social media to bring awareness to the public from the reassignment of a fire department apparatus to precinct 3.”
In his post, Guzman stated that “Kleberg County Fire Department will dissolve all 19 current firefighter contracts to create a new fire department members with private individuals who have recently obtained a 501c3.”
Kleberg County Judge Rudy Madrid addressed these allegations, calling them false.
“This is to make sure that there are fiscal accountability and to make sure that both state and federal guidelines are set in place, since Kleberg County financially supports the volunteer fire department.” Madrid continued, “We just can’t get involved in the management and the personnel stuff because they (Kleberg County Fire Department) do not belong to the county.”
Guzman stated that he is concerned about the lack of rules and regulations by dissolving the contracts and creating a new fire department may employ personnel who have “little to no training, experience, knowledge, certification or qualifications.”
