Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council votes to hire outside counsel to interpret charter after dispute over mayoral vote
Summary
Following a contentious discussion and an earlier tied motion to remove the city’s existing legal services, the council voted to retain outside counsel to interpret a charter provision about mayoral voting authority.
After a heated debate over the city attorney’s performance and billing transparency, the Cibolo City Council on Feb. 11 voted to retain outside counsel to interpret a provision of the city charter that council members disagreed about — specifically whether the mayor may vote on certain personnel decisions.
A tied vote earlier in the meeting left the council without removing the city’s contracted firm (Hyde Kelly LLP). Councilwoman Norma Sanchez Stevens had moved to terminate existing legal services; that motion resulted in a tie and no action. Later, amid continued disagreement about interpretation of the charter language and procedural practice, council adopted a motion to hire a third‑party attorney to provide an independent interpretation of the charter language governing mayoral voting and related appointment or termination actions.
Nut graf: The outside interpretation is meant to resolve a procedural dispute among council members about whether the mayor has a vote on a set of executive appointments (city manager, city attorney, city secretary and city judge). Council members said they sought an authoritative reading from an attorney with no prior work for the city or the existing law firm.
Background and council discussion Council members raised questions about billing transparency from the contracted law firm and the scope of work the city is receiving under its flat‑fee arrangement. Councilwoman Katie Cunningham and others sought hour‑by‑hour details of legal work; the city attorney (George Hyde) responded that the firm’s contract is a flat‑fee arrangement that blended staff time and that certain billing detail was not contracted for.
Council action Councilwoman Cunningham moved to hire a third‑party attorney to interpret the charter provision; Councilman Joel Hicks seconded. The council then voted and the motion passed 5–2. The outside counsel will be asked to provide a legal opinion on the charter language and whether it permits mayoral votes on the enumerated positions; council requested the attorney be independent of prior work with Hyde Kelly LLP or the city.
Ending: The outside opinion should clarify whether the mayor’s vote on these specific appointments is valid so the council can proceed with any personnel decisions in a manner consistent with the charter and reduce procedural dispute.
