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Council appoints Sarah Kerr as city ethics compliance officer amid calls to re‑advertise RFP
Summary
After receiving one response to an RFP, the city attorney recommended Sarah Kerr as the ethics compliance officer; council raised concerns about experience and directed staff to proceed with the appointment while offering to run another procurement if desired.
City Attorney Amy Alcorn Reed asked the council to confirm the appointment of Sarah Kerr as the city’s ethics compliance officer and Christina Demirs as backup, based on the recommendation of a partner at the responding law firm.
Alcorn Reed told council the code of ordinances requires the ethics compliance officer be a licensed Texas attorney who does not represent the city on other matters. Staff issued an RFP, extended the deadline and advertised more widely, but received a single response. The partner who responded recommended Sarah Kerr; Alcorn Reed said she had discussed the candidate with that partner and noted Kerr’s government‑law experience, including work with school districts.
Councilors expressed concern about appointing a compliance officer after only one response and questioned Kerr’s record in specific ethics‑law matters. Alcorn Reed said the appointment could be temporary and the contract is terminable at will; council could direct staff to re‑run the procurement while ensuring the city has an available officer to handle complaints and advise the Ethics Commission.
Councilor Tobias moved to appoint the candidate and asked staff to start a new RFP process if council wished to seek alternatives. The motion passed by council vote (recorded as 5–1). Staff said the backup nominee’s name spelling would be corrected in the resolution.
