Liberty's Blog

Kemah Pissing Contest.

The Kemah Volunteer Fire Department is having a Pissing Contest with the Galveston County Water Control and Improvement District No. 12.

According to KVFD Fire Chief John O’Neil, the steps taken by WCID this week were for the sole purpose of repossessing fire equipment to the detriment to the community it serves.

“The board voted to strangle KVFD financially with the sure and certain result that the fire equipment now owned by KVFD will be repossessed,” O’Neil said in a formal statement released Friday. “This has compromised the ability to allocate additional funding to continued training and sustain operational effectiveness to this community.”

At the heart of the issue between the two entities is ownership of fire equipment purchased with tax dollars. When KVFD, a non-profit corporation, entered into a contract with the water district in February 2000 for fire services in Kemah, Lazy Bend and Clear Lake Shores, ownership of equipment purchased for the fire department was not given to the water district.

The Water district started to support the fire department under a contract, and the new arrangement seemed to be working pretty good. They have built a fancy new building. Its pretty nice after struggling to get a real budget. Now that its become confrontational. The Water Commission is ready to play hardball. They want to replace the department elected chief with a fulltime salaried chief. The new chief would be accountable to the folks who pay his salary, and not to the Department which he serves. This is sure to discourage a membership who volunteers its own time for no compensation. Every goverment agency will always work towards one goal. to grow and increase their power.

After the water board met in closed session Thursday to discuss a letter sent by a Houston law firm retained by KVFD, the district approved charging the volunteer fire department $20,000 a month in rent for the use of the new fire station and reduced the mandatory fire department assessment fee included on the water bills of residents served by WCID No. 12 to 10 cents a month. The water board also approved the publication of an advertisement for a full-time fire chief who would also serve as a fire code enforcement officer.

posted by Liberty @ 7:44 AM