Hollywood Park council approves emergency-management pact with Bexar County, tightens hiring rules and formalizes EDC fee

The Town of Hollywood Park City Council on Tuesday approved an interjurisdictional emergency-management resolution with the Bexar County Office of Emergency Management, adopted new ordinances governing appointment and hiring of municipal department heads, and authorized a $10,000 annual administrative-services payment from the Hollywood Park Economic Development Corporation (EDC) to the town.

The agreement with Bexar County places Hollywood Park under the county’s emergency-management umbrella for planning, training and resource coordination. Council members and emergency-management staff said the arrangement is intended to bring standardized plans, grant support and on-call county resources to the town without transferring day-to-day operational control.

Ray’s Cruz, liaison officer for the Bexar County Office of Emergency Management, told the council the county offers planning, a mobile command vehicle, credentialing, hazardous-materials resources and grant support. “We prepare, plan, prevent, respond, recover from all hazards,” Cruz said. He added the county charges the town nothing to participate.

Interim Fire Chief Eric Burnside, who serves as the town’s emergency-management coordinator, said Hollywood Park would keep its local authority for incidents that only affect the town. “For all local emergencies that normally just affect the town of Hollywood Park, we make complete autonomy,” Burnside said, adding that the county steps in to coordinate only for broader, multi-jurisdiction events.

Council members discussed the practical effects of joining the county program: the county will help update the town’s emergency plans to meet state standards, coordinate mutual aid during large incidents and help the town identify grant opportunities. Staff said the mayor is the town’s designated emergency director and that the chief will continue to operate as the local coordinator under the county umbrella.

On personnel policy, council members approved two related ordinances that add a concise hiring outline to the town’s Code of Ordinances and incorporate a detailed appointment-and-hiring procedure into the town personnel manual. Key elements include a 30-day public posting for department-head vacancies, a requirement that interview panels be an odd number (three or five members for most hires), mandatory use of qualified personnel or DPS-secure-site-approved staff for sensitive fingerprint-based background checks, a 180-day probationary period for newly appointed officers and a requirement that expert consultants be included on panels for police- or fire-chief searches.

Councilmembers framed the changes as safeguards to ensure transparent, consistent hiring of senior staff. Josh Bates, speaking for the Hollywood Park Firefighters Association, submitted a letter supporting promotion of Interim Chief Eric Burnside and praised Burnside’s leadership and focus on training.

The council also approved an agreement formally transferring administrative billing for EDC services from informal practice to a written contract. The EDC will pay the town $10,000 annually to cover administrative services provided by town staff — city secretary, treasurer and meeting/office support — and the council directed that the payment be made to the town rather than directly to staff.

Other routine items carried on the consent agenda included acceptance of financial statements, renewal of the investment policy and authorization of an ordinance to hold the regular municipal election May 3, 2025. In executive session the council discussed two pending lawsuits; on return to open session council instructed legal counsel to proceed with the recommendation made in executive session on the short-term-rental litigation styled Champagne Campaign LLC v. Town of Hollywood Park.

Votes at a glance - Joint interjurisdictional emergency-management resolution with Bexar County — approved (unanimous). - Ordinance amending Chapter 1 (personnel policy handbook) — approved (unanimous). - Ordinance amending Chapter 2 (Code of Ordinances insertion referencing hiring procedures) — approved (unanimous). - Agreement for the town to provide administrative services to the Hollywood Park EDC (annual payment $10,000) — approved (unanimous). - Consent agenda (minutes, financial statements, investment policy resolution, ordinance setting May 3 election, agreement with Bexar County for election services) — approved (unanimous). - Direction to legal counsel on Champagne Campaign LLC v. Town of Hollywood Park — council instructed counsel to proceed as recommended (recorded in open session).

What’s next Staff will finalize the interlocal agreement implementation steps with Bexar County and update the town’s emergency operating documents; the personnel handbook and ordinance language will be posted in the town’s records as the new hiring procedures. The EDC payment will appear in the town’s accounting per the executed agreement.