Burnet: City council will stay the same for now

By CHRIS PORTER • Daily Tribune Staff

BURNET - The Burnet City Council will likely retain its current makeup, despite a Sept. 25 ultimatum from Mayor Allen Smith calling on three councilmen to resign.

Councilmen James Ritter, Bill Flynn and Ken Graham didn’t tender their resignations from the council by Smith’s Wednesday deadline, according to City Manager Mike Steele.

Smith had pressured the three to resign after he claimed they violated the Open Meetings Act, Steele said.

“I don’t know who they’d turn their resignation in to,” he said. “The council really is not empowered to remove someone from the council. That’s a voter decision.”

Smith, Ritter, Graham and Flynn could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.

Smith has said he’ll ask the council to vote on a recommendation for the three men to leave the council if he didn’t receive their resignations by the deadline. He stressed, however, that the councilmen couldn’t be forced to leave, and any vote by the council would remain a recommendation by their peers.

The imbroglio began when the three men allegedly approached Smith privately to discuss firing Steele, a move he called a violation of the state’s Open Meetings Act.

The council eventually voted to retain Steele, adding a unanimous show of support for the city manager.

Smith, however, wasn’t satisfied, saying the council would be unable to function as long as Graham, Ritter and Flynn remained.

“On Wednesday, Sept. 5, Councilman Flynn asked to meet with me and was very adamant to me that City Manager Steele be terminated,” Smith told the council Sept. 25. “I did not agree. I feel that most, if not all of the issues could be resolved with the strategic planning sessions this year.”

That first meeting was followed by a second meeting with Graham Sept. 10, he said.

“The conversation (at that meeting) turned south very quickly, and Councilman Graham told me that City Manager Steele ‘needed to go,’” Smith said. “He further explained that if I didn’t (fire Steele), Councilman Ritter said that he would.”

Ritter denied those claims, adding the group’s wish was only to set up an executive session to discuss Steele’s employment.

“What was meant to happen was, the council was to go into executive session with Mr. Steele to discuss his job performance, then we would vote to fire him, or let him stay,” Ritter said Sept. 26. “The mayor had no business making that statement afterward.”

Ritter maintained City Attorney Sheila Limon assured him the private meetings weren’t illegal.

“As far as violations of the Open Meetings Act, we asked the city attorney up front about it, and (Smith) knew that,” he said.

Steele said the three councilmen were concerned with leadership issues related to the recent resignations of former Police Chief Bob Watson and former Parks and Recreation Director Colby Van Gundy.

“You talk to an employee who’s leaving, and there are usually valid reasons,” Steele said in an earlier interview. “Like I told the council (Sept. 25), you try to treat people like you want to be treated. I’ve received notes of support from many of the employees in question.”

Steele said Smith could still opt to take his complaint before the Burnet County District Attorney or the Texas Attorney General.

Even so, he said the council is working well together despite the controversy.

“The council meeting (Oct. 9) was extremely positive,” he said. “The council worked very well together, and it’s clear we’re on our way toward healing.”

chris@thepicayune.com

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Burnet: City council will stay
the same for now