Van Zandt County commissioners voted to hire Kevin Palmer on a temporary basis beginning Jan. 2 and to appoint him to the county’s full-time fire marshal position on Jan. 21 at an annual salary of $70,000 plus certificate pay. The motion was presented and carried by voice vote.

The motion to hire was read aloud in open session and discussed so that dates and compensation could be confirmed. An unidentified official summarized the motion as "to hire Kevin Palmer on a temporary basis beginning January 2nd until January 21st, at which time he'll become full time fire marshal at a rate of $70,000 a year plus certificate pay." An unidentified speaker said, "I second his, his, emotion to hire," before the chair called for the voice vote; commissioners answered "aye" and the motion passed.

Speakers noted that Palmer had requested time to give three weeks' notice to his current employer, meaning he would work the temporary period while completing that obligation. The county did not provide further details in the record about Palmer's prior employer, his certifications, or an employment contract; those items were not specified in the transcript.

The hire resolves a vacancy in the county's fire marshal position with an interim period intended to allow both staffing transitions and budget processing before the full-time appointment. The commission did not record a roll-call vote or identify individual commissioners' votes in the transcript; the action was approved by voice vote.