Former City Admin paid more than $64,000 in separation agreement

The City of Liberty Hill paid former City Administrator Lacie Hale more than $64,000 when she resigned from her position in early March. This is according to the separation agreement between Hale and the City, which The Independent recently acquired a copy of through the Texas Public Information Act.

When Hale resigned March 2, it seemed sudden, as it happened immediately after an executive session at a City Council meeting. Following the session, Hale, who was in attendance, left following an open discussion between Council members regarding the mutual decision for her to resign.

At that meeting, Council member Angela Jones said: “The City Council and Ms. Hale have concluded that they have different views on how the City should be managed. Having discussed that issue during at least 12 meetings over the last six months, the City Council and Ms. Hale determined that the relationship had run its course.”

Council member Chris Pezold told The Independent the biggest factor behind Hale’s resignation is that she and the City Council were not on the same page, particularly when it came to the growth Liberty Hill is seeing. Pezold added that the Council tried to work through every scenario they could think of to give Hale an opportunity to stay employed with the City, including giving her a choice to accept a reassignment of duties, which she declined.

Hale hired Attorney Rick Hill, shareholder of Grapevine-based Adams, Lynch & Loftin, to represent her as the separation agreement was negotiated.

“The separation agreement contains the circumstances under which and by which the employer and employee are going different directions,” Hill said. “There is an agreement in place related to [Hale’s] exit from employment between her and the City Council.”

According to the agreement, Hale received “five months of employee’s regular, base salary in effect on March 2, 2022 under and pursuant to employee’s employment agreement, which amount equals to $64,583.33, less tax withholdings required by law, paid within five business days from the date the agreement is signed by both parties” and “accrued but unused vacation time through the effective date, less applicable Texas Municipal Retirement System deductions and tax withholding required by law, to be paid on the first regularly scheduled payroll date following the effective date.” Hale’s annual salary with the City was $120,000.

Mayor Liz Branigan told The Independent the severance agreement between Hale and the City was “mutually satisfactory” and “quite generous.”

“Lacie was a valued member of our city, so we parted generously with her,” she added.

The separation agreement also included a clause of release and waiver and covenant not to sue the City, as well as a clause releasing claims and waiver of rights. Additionally, in the agreement, it stated that the “employee (Hale) acknowledges and agrees that the payment of the separation payment amount constitutes adequate consideration for her separation and a full release of any and all claims, actions or complaints that she may have against the City.”

The agreement also stated that the “City releases and waives any and all claims, complaints, liabilities, damages, causes of action [or] suits … including but not limited to any claim against employee (Hale) relating to employee’s (Hale’s) employment with the City or to her separation from City employment.”  

Also included is a statement that neither Hale, her spouse, nor any elected official or City employee "may make any disparaging remarks or statements regarding [either party], including but not limited to statements or remarks regarding [Hale's] employment or separation from employment, except as required by law or legal process."

Hale was hired in March 2020 as chief operating officer by former Mayor Rick Hall and was promoted to city administrator in October 2020 in a unanimous vote from Council, led by then Council member Kathy Canady. Following the executive session on March 2, Council voted 4-1 to accept Hale’s resignation with Canady opposed. At that meeting, Canady said she could not in good faith accept Hale’s resignation, adding that she believed Hale’s immediate resignation occurred because she was “under duress.”

However, Pezold said he believed the prior Council did Hale a disservice by elevating her to the role of city administrator when her prior experience was working as a city secretary.

“She inherited a lot of stuff, like incredible growth and lack of infrastructure planning, that we’ve worked through, but we need an administrator who has seen this type of growth before and has had time in the seat for this type of management,” he said.

Hale told The Independent Tuesday that per the agreement, she is unable to comment on anything regarding her resignation or on the agreement itself. Hale also declined to share if she has found employment elsewhere.