Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has sued Tolleson over a policy requiring firefighters who leave within three years to pay the city $15,000, arguing the charge is an unlawful penalty that can discourage workers from taking jobs elsewhere in the Valley. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 13, 2026, also asks a judge to temporarily bar the city from enforcing the policy while the case proceeds. Tolleson says the fee is intended to recoup the costs of recruiting, training and equipping new firefighters. The state argues the amount is far greater than the cost of the training itself. Glendale, which operates the fire academy attended by Tolleson recruits, charges up to $4,500 per recruit, according to the lawsuit. The case centers on Sean Krienke, who left Tolleson for the Goodyear Fire Department in August 2025. The city withheld $2,473 from his final paycheck, including unused vacation pay, and later billed him an additional $8,776, the lawsuit says. Krienke said Tolleson’s fire chief told firefighters in 2024 that the policy would no longer be enforced. In a June letter to the attorney general’s office, a lawyer for the city said the chief denied making that statement and argued courts have upheld similar training-repayment programs. Mayes said firefighters should not be held in a job by a bill that does not reflect the actual cost of their training. Tolleson has also said it would abandon the program if state lawmakers required departments hiring trained firefighters to cover those costs, as Arizona law already provides for police officers. The legal dispute could affect how local fire departments recruit and retain staff—and whether workers can move between public agencies without facing large repayment demands.