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Committee votes to add whistleblower protection clause to charter, leaves details to HR and ordinance
Summary
Lago Vista charter reviewers agreed unanimously to add Section 11.19 to Article 11 guaranteeing city employees a right to communicate with elected officials and prohibiting retaliation, while leaving implementation and definitions to HR, ordinance, or city attorney.
The Lago Vista Charter Review Committee voted to add a whistleblower protection provision to Article 11 of the charter that affirms city employees’ right to communicate with elected officials and prohibits retaliation.
Committee members debated whether the charter should replicate the Texas Whistleblower Act or expand protections to ethical or policy concerns beyond unlawful activity. Several members and staff noted the Texas statute (Texas Government Code §554.002) already protects employees who report violations of law; others favored a charter clause to make protections harder to change than an ordinance or personnel policy.
The committee agreed on a concise charter paragraph. The adopted language, as read aloud during the meeting, says in substance that "in addition to protections in the Texas Whistleblower Act, Section 554, city employees shall have the right to communicate with any elected official without fear of reprisal. This includes raising concerns regarding policy, operations, or employment matters. Any retaliation against employees for exercising this right is prohibited." The committee agreed the paragraph would be placed in Article 11 (proposed section 11.19) and that the city’s HR department would produce implementing policy procedures (employee handbook or ordinance) to define details such as process and remedies.
Jean Harris moved for the insertion of the provision and Mike Slaughter seconded. The motion passed unanimously. Committee members noted that including the clause in the charter makes the protection more durable than putting it solely in a policy manual or ordinance. Several participants also emphasized that existing state and federal protections (including the Texas Whistleblower Act and EEOC protections) remain in force and that the charter language was not intended to displace those statutory remedies.
The committee asked the city attorney and HR to draft implementation language for council consideration, and to coordinate the new charter clause with related sections (notably Section 3.06) to avoid internal conflicts.
