Beaumont City Council recesses into executive session to consider city manager employment

The Beaumont City Council recessed into an executive session at the start of its meeting to consider matters related to the employment of City Manager Kenneth Williams, the council announced.

Council members completed roll call before the closed-session announcement. An unidentified meeting facilitator asked for roll call and recorded Mayor West as present; Mayor Pro Tem Turner and Council member Sherwood were recorded absent. Council members Durio, Hilliard, Williams and Crenshaw were recorded present.

The meeting included an invocation in which the speaker asked that the council 'begin this process of looking for a new city manager for our city.' After a brief call for public comments—'This is a first'—the facilitator stated the council would move into a closed executive session to deliberate personnel matters.

The closed-session announcement cited Government Code §551.074, the state statute that allows governmental bodies to hold private deliberations concerning personnel matters. The facilitator said the session would 'consider matters related to the employment of a public officer in accordance with section 551.074 of the Government Code, specifically Kenneth Williams, city manager.'

The public portion of the transcript ends with the council's recess into executive session; no vote or outcome on the underlying personnel matter is recorded in the provided transcript. Any decisions or formal actions taken in the closed session were not captured in the public record included here. The council did not record substantive public comment on the matter during the open meeting portion contained in the transcript.

The council may issue further statements or take public actions after the closed session; those would appear in subsequent public minutes or notices if the council elects to disclose them.