WEB EXCLUSIVE: Ordinance eliminating fire marshal rank dies

By JOE BOCANEGRA
Special to the NEWS

Citizens of San Benito packed the Municipal Building Tuesday for the swearing in ceremony of two newly-elected commissioners and a regular city meeting in which three spoke during public comment. (Photo by Joe Bocanegra)

The second and final reading of Ordinance 2485, which if approved would have eliminated the rank of fire marshal in San Benito in favor of assigning it as a job function, died Tuesday due to lack of a second motion.

The meeting was the first for newly sworn-in City Commissioners Joe D. Gonzales, Place 4, and JD Penny, Pl. 3, both of whom, along with fellow Commissioner Rene Villafranco, decided not to second the ordinance.

During public comments, San Benito Fire Fighters Association President Caleb Silva, along with Secretary Adan Gonzalez and Treasurer Jose A. Loya, voiced concerns over the ordinance, saying that the position should not be removed from the city. These sentiments echoed ex-fire marshal Henry Lopez’s opposition to the ordinance.

Lopez has recently commented that the ordinance was proposed by Assistant City Manager Arturo Rodriguez to prevent him from returning to the fire marshal post after being indefinitely suspended in March. Rodriguez has emphatically denied Lopez’s claims. Lopez, meanwhile, is currently awaiting a May 29 Civil Service hearing in which his appeal will be heard.

“This should not happen,” Silva said about the ordinance. “I feel that this ordinance is retaliation towards the ex-fire marshal. If this ordinance is to pass, and he gets back on, what is he to do then? What will his duties be?”

During the meeting, Commissioner Gonzalez asked that the matter be discussed in executive session so that they could explore the legal impact of the ordinance. After the session, Mayor Pro-Tem Tony Gonzalez agreed to make the first motion on the item; however, no one seconded it.

Earlier Tuesday, Commissioners Gonzalez and Penny considered possibly tabling or discussing the item at length, considering it was their first city meeting and they didn’t have enough background on the matter to suffice a decision.

City Secretary Lupita Passement said she was unaware whether the item would return to any future city agendas. Attempts to reach City Manager Manuel Lara on this matter were unsuccessful as of press time.