Port Arthur City Council holds closed session on pending litigation, employee grievance and city debt

The Port Arthur City Council recessed into a closed executive session on June 4, 2025, to consult with the city attorney under the Texas Government Code about multiple legal matters, the council’s presiding officer said. The meeting recessed at 4:17 p.m. and the council returned to open session at 5:32 p.m.

Mayor Barty, the meeting’s presiding officer, said the council was invoking the state’s open-meetings exemptions to consult the city attorney. “I am going to make this statement in order to be in compliance with section 551.101 of, the chapter 5 51 of the open meetings law of the great state of Texas government code,” he said before listing the topics the council would discuss in closed session.

The items Mayor Barty read into the record included: (A) a pending case identified as State of Texas versus City of Port Arthur (cause number read aloud in the meeting), (B) a federal lawsuit noted as Kirk Chalmers versus City of Port Arthur and Flozell Roberts (case number read aloud in the meeting), (C) an employee grievance and an EEOC complaint filed by Gregory Benson (this item was requested by Councilman Lewis), (D) “Project Carol Canel,” (E) outstanding debt collection related to Port Arthur Police Cadet Training Agreements, and (F) an outstanding debt the city says is owed by the Medical Center of Southeast Texas at 2555 Jimmy Johnson Boulevard in Port Arthur.

The council recessed to a closed conference room to consider those matters. When the meeting returned to open session, the City Attorney told the council that any action stemming from the closed session would appear on the open-session agenda. “Actually, the action item is on your open session agenda. And so at this point, no, sir. You may close out the closed session,” the City Attorney said.

No formal votes or final actions were taken or announced in open session at the time the closed session ended. The mayor said that any actions resulting from the executive discussion would be handled in open session when the council next addressed the relevant agenda items.

The closed-session topics mix matters of litigation, personnel, and municipal finance: two lawsuits identified by name and case numbers as read aloud in the meeting; an employee grievance and related EEOC complaint; a project labeled in the record as Project Carol Canel; and two debt-collection items, one tied to police cadet training agreements and one to the Medical Center of Southeast Texas. The City Attorney’s statement that action items would appear on the open-session agenda indicates the council did not make publicly announced formal decisions during the closed portion of the meeting.

The council’s roll call at the open-session reconvening showed Mayor Barty, Mayor Pro Tem Dusett, Councilman Lewis, Council member Hamilton Everfield, Council member Beckham and other council members present. The city secretary handled requests for special accommodations and telephonic or video participation instructions were provided before the closed session.