New Boston council to hold special meeting
Focus will be on whether mayor can hire or fire professional services without advance OK
NEW BOSTON, Texas—The New Boston City Council will hold a special meeting at noon today to vote on whether the city’s mayor should have the freedom to hire and fire professional services without the advance approval of the council.
Mayor Johnny Branson said he believes he should not have to wait the 72 hours required for public notice of a council meeting to get such approval. Branson said he is seeking to “ratify” his authority to make such decisions without council input following the resignation of Texarkana lawyer Troy Hornsby earlier this month.
“One of the councilmen questioned whether I had the authority,” Branson said.
Hornsby was hired and paid with city funds without a vote from the city council. Councilman Joe Dike said he believes Hornsby was retained to re-write the city’s personnel policy manual to eliminate the mechanism by which employees can appeal a termination if they believe it was wrongful.
The city’s attorney of record, Mike Brock, who is paid a monthly retainer to handle legal business
for the city, could not be reached Thursday for comment.
Hornsby’s resignation letter, dated March 22 and addressed only to Branson, states that he was hired to address an employee matter.
“As you know, I was supposed to represent the City mainly with regard to the Millwood issue. With the agreement reached Monday (March 20) night, I believe the city is on the path to doing that,” Hornsby’s letter states. “However, Tuesday’s council meeting and its results have made it clear there are challenges to effectively representing the city for several reasons, both legally and ethically.”
New Boston Chief of Police Tony King fired Lt. Johnny Millwood on March 9, after the policy manual had been changed. Millwood’s lawyer, Butch Dunbar of Texarkana, said Texas law guarantees police and fire fighting personnel the right to appeal a termination and at the last regular meeting, the council voted 5-0 to reinstate Millwood.
The council also voted to ask Bowie County District Attorney Jerry Rochelle to request an investigation by Texas Rangers into the New Boston Police Department. A letter to Rochelle requesting he direct such an investigation was signed by Brock and Hornsby after the March 20 council meeting.
Dunbar and others allege King has engaged in racially discriminatory hiring practices, violated Texas law by firing Millwood, made arrests without probable cause and has made questionable purchases with city funds absent the approval of the City Council. King is also accused of sending a sexually graphic text message to Millwood last October.
King previously declined comment on the allegations, when called for comment.
Since the council voted to reinstate Millwood and place him on administrative leave with pay pending the Rangers investigation, King has refused to file documents with Texas Commission on Law Enforcement validating Millwood’s status as a peace officer. Dunbar said King is acting in conflict with the council’s vote at the March 20 meeting.
Branson said he believes he needs to hire another lawyer, other than Brock, to represent the city, because of potential or possible litigation. The city is not currently named as a defendant in any suit. Dike and Dunbar said the Texas Municipal League would retain a lawyer on the city’s behalf in the event of a suit at no additional cost to the city and question the need for outside counsel at taxpayer expense.
Branson denies that a pre-meeting between himself and two council members is scheduled to take place at 10 a.m. this morning. Such a meeting could violate Texas law concerning open meetings. Branson said he had invited the two members to come and view video filmed by city hall staff he says shows Dike attempting to break into City Secretary Darla Faulknor’s office at city hall last week.
Dike said he was told by Faulknor that he could view King’s personnel file if he came to her office that day though she had told him she would be out in the late afternoon. Dike said a member of the local news media was present with a video camera when he entered city hall early in the afternoon, rattled Faulknor’s door knob and knocked on her office door.
“I hope they do look at the video,” Dike said. “I did not try to break into anyone’s office. That’s ridiculous.”
In recent days, criticism of the city has come in forms both direct and indirect.
Branson denies that he attempted to force a New Boston resident into taking down a post on a local online news site concerning the state of city government and the police department. Paula Cole, who works at a New Boston funeral home, said she believes it was Branson who contacted her supervisor and threatened to cease police escorts at funerals if the post wasn’t deleted.
Cole’s post does not name any person specifically and uses no profanity.
“Something definitely stinks in the leadership of New Boston and with the support staff and it’s not the skunks you’ve been smelling around town,” reads a line of the post, a copy of which Cole provided to the Gazette.
Faulknor said she she was the one who contacted Cole’s supervisor at the funeral home.
“I said they might not want us there if we stink,” Faulknor said, referring to police escorts at funeral processions.
Cole said she is not planning to remove the post expressing her opinion.
“This has nothing to do with the place where I work,” Cole said. “He’s not going to bully me. It’s time people stand up.”
Tomorrow’s special meeting agenda includes only one item: “To consider and take official action on ratifying the authority of the Mayor to retain and release professional services.”
The meeting is open to the public and is scheduled for noon today at New Boston City Hall, 301 EN Front Street in New Boston.