Cibolo City Council OKs posting for city‑secretary promotion, authorizes contract talks after executive session

CIBOLO, Texas — The Cibolo City Council authorized the posting of a promotion for the city secretary and granted the mayor and mayor pro tem authority to enter contract negotiations during a special meeting on Jan. 13.

Unidentified Speaker 4 moved “to post the promotion of city secretary in accordance to city policy and authorize the mayor and mayor Pro Tem to enter contract negotiations.” The motion, seconded by Unidentified Speaker 3, was approved by the council after members returned from an executive session held to discuss the city‑secretary appointment, employment evaluations and duties. The council recorded four affirmative votes; some seats were noted as nonvoting in places during roll call.

The action followed an executive session announced at 05:07, which the presiding officer said was authorized under Texas law for personnel matters. The council reconvened in open session at 06:07 and took the vote authorizing the posting and contract negotiations.

City attorney Mr. Matt summarized a set of proposed policy corrections included in council packets before the vote, saying the packet contained three primary edits and several wording clarifications. He recommended removing the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) from a general city‑policy directive because the EDC is a separate entity with its own bylaws and that specific provisions are better handled in the EDC’s bylaws.

Mr. Matt also noted a change in state meeting rules, stating, “The new law also requires 3 business days.” He described that update as replacing older 72‑hour language used for meeting notices under the Texas Open Meetings Act (TOMA), and advised clarifying quorum language to state that a majority of those present constitutes a quorum unless state law requires otherwise.

On public‑comment procedure, Unidentified Speaker 2 asked about a recommendation to discontinue reading submitted comments into the record. Mr. Matt said reading emailed or submitted comments is “not a preferred practice unless somebody signs up,” arguing that in‑person comment provides clearer record‑keeping and that written submissions may amount to hearsay if the author is not present.

The council also voted to excuse two members — Katie Cunningham and Robert Mahoney — from the special meeting earlier in the session. Later, council members moved to table a broader set of policy revisions (agenda item 8a) so the policy group could continue work. The tabling motion was seconded and recorded as approved.

Votes at a glance — Jan. 13 special meeting: Unidentified Speaker 2’s motion to excuse Katie Cunningham and Robert Mahoney: approved (affirmative votes noted as four). Unidentified Speaker 4’s motion to post the city‑secretary promotion and authorize the mayor and mayor pro tem to enter contract negotiations: approved. Motion to table policy item 8a: approved.

What happens next: The council posted the promotion and authorized negotiation steps; the broader package of policy changes was tabled for further review by the council’s policy group. The FY25 annual report and the updated FY26–27 council strategic plan were recognized and left for later action because of time constraints.

Reporting note: The transcript identifies speakers only by numeric labels; where a full name was not provided the article uses generic labels (for example, “Unidentified Speaker 4”). Mr. Matt is identified in the transcript as the city attorney but is not quoted with a full personal name.