SRBA meets Tuesday to consider media rules

Sulphur River Basin Authority Bard of Directors will meet in regular session Tuesday to consider several resolutions, including one on how members should deal with the media.

This will be the first official meeting of the board since Gov. Greg Abbot appointed three new members to the board in February. Last month, the board met for a workshop where they received board training manuals and were sworn in by Sen. Bryan Hughes.

Tuesday, they will not only consider the media resolution, but also adopt a policy on negotiated rule-making and alternative dispute resolution and a policy concerning complaints. These resolutions are required through HB 2180, passed during the last session of the Texas Legislature. The bill specifically addressed issues within the organization, as detailed by the Texas Sunset Commission. It identified several issues within SRBA, including a lack of transparency with stakeholders, the media and the public, along with a lack of board training.

The proposed policy on negotiated rule-making and alternative dispute resolution comes from the Chapter 154 of the Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code and Chapter 2009 of the Texas Government Code. These outline procedures a governmental body should take to resolve disputes. The resolution also states that the board will be trained on the procedures and collect data on their effectiveness.

The proposed complaint policy states SRBA is committed to the efficient and prompt resolution of complaints filed against them and that they will maintain information about the parties to each complaint, the subject matter, a summary of the investigation of such and the end results. It also states the authority will outline details on the procedures of how they investigate and resolve complaints.

The proposed media policy was suggested during the February workshop. SRBA does not have a written policy on how the board speaks with the media. The board packet includes a policy from the Northeast Texas Municipal Water District, which states that employees shall not act as representatives for the board without proper authority of the district’s general manager.

The board will also present plaques to former Board Members Mike Sandefur, Patricia Wommack and Mike Russell.

Updates will be given on the feasibility study, the Clean Rivers Program and the Region D Water Planning group.

The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Civic Center, 1800 N. Jefferson, Mount Pleasant, Texas.

The agenda is available at srbatx.org.