County approves funding for deputy fire marshal, clerk

County approves funding for deputy fire marshal, clerk Main Photo

6 Mar 2021


news, Guadalupe County

Dalondo Moultrie The Seguin Gazette

Swamped with traditional fire marshal duties compounded by the county’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, helping distribute food to needy county residents and more, a local official found himself and his office barely treading water.

County Emergency Management Coordinator Patrick Pinder asked Guadalupe County commissioners to hire two more full-time employees to lessen the load. Commissioners granted the request, some with hesitancy, at their regular meeting Tuesday.

“I don’t want to make this a habit,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Michael Carpenter said about Pinder’s mid-year budget request for a full-time deputy fire marshal and a full-time clerk.

Carpenter said he recognizes the need during an extraordinary time for the county and Pinder’s department. The court voted unanimously to approve the additions with the department’s fire code fund supporting the deputy’s salary and money from the general fund supporting the clerk position.

“I give my ‘aye’ vote reluctantly,” Carpenter said.

Pinder, upon making his request, said he knows Guadalupe County Commissioners Court doesn’t like to make budget changes in the middle of the year, but his office has seen a significant increase in work.

The emergency management office has three full-time staff members and one part-time staffer, he said. One of the full-timers recently announced intentions to resign and another is on maternity leave, Pinder said.

In 2020, his office worked to approve 30 permits. As of Tuesday, the office had seen 80 permits come in already, Pinder said.

The department saw a dramatic increase in inspections as well, he said. Most years, staff fails to get to some inspections, but even that number is on the rise in the county, Pinder said. Last year, the fire marshal’s office did not complete 140 inspections, a number already reached so far this year, he said.

The number of completed inspections also continues to soar, as do investigations and telephone calls for assistance made to the office, Pinder said. More work was driven his way as the county called on his office to conduct the COVID-19 response, including scheduling and administrating testing and vaccination clinics.

“Over the weekend, we had probably about 400 missed calls come in for this COVID allocation,” Pinder said. “With so many people out and about, there’s nobody [on staff] in the office to answer that. We want to make sure we have somebody available to sit at a desk and answer the phones and be the face of the office so we’re not having the public wait on us.”

Then even more work piled on as an unprecedented winter storm dumped ice and snow on the area accompanied by colder-than-normal temperatures. The emergency management office responded by helping get food and water to people without those necessities in the county.

Commissioners and County Judge Kyle Kutscher initially showed support for Pinder’s request, but also expressed concern over setting a precedence in which other department heads come with budget changes after county finances are already set.

Other departments also are stretched thin and could face similar staffing issues, prompting them to come forward with their own data detailing why they need additional funding, Carpenter said.

Several members of the court, including Carpenter, voiced their acknowledgement of the tremendous job Pinder’s small staff is performing.

“If we’re being honest, it’s not a department asking for more people because it’ll be better,” Kutscher said. “It’s, ‘I’m drowning, my nose and mouth are barely above water. Help.’”

Eventually, the court approved a full-time deputy marshal to be paid $39,751 and a clerk at the hourly rate of $13.65.

View article on SeguinGazette.com