Resident questions $240,000 assistant city administrator proposal; council tables resolution

A Shenandoah resident urged caution over a proposal to create a permanent assistant city administrator position, and the City Council voted to table the related resolution after an executive session.

Ron Rainmaker told the council that Shenandoah handled major growth and complex projects for years without the role and questioned why the position was needed now. "We're being asked to add a permanent position costing roughly $240,000 a year at the exact moment when major workload is ending," Rainmaker said, asking what measurable outcomes the role would deliver and whether the position would be publicly posted.

Mayor John Escottes moved the meeting into executive session on personnel matters under the Texas Open Meetings Act. When the council reconvened at 7:20 p.m., Escottes announced that consideration of Item 10 — a resolution described in the agenda as establishing an assistant city administrator and authorizing the city administrator to take necessary steps to implement the position — would be tabled. "We are going to table item number 10," Escottes said; the council took no final action on the resolution.

The transcript record shows the citizen comment referenced a proposed annual cost of about $240,000 and urged that any new position should come with clearly defined duties and measurable outcomes. The resolution text was discussed in closed session and not finalized in open meeting; council members did not adopt the resolution during the May 27 meeting.

Next steps: The council did not set a date to revisit the resolution in open session. The record indicates no vote or formal adoption occurred; the item remains pending and will require a future agenda to advance beyond the tabled status.