Effort to curb power of Valley Mills mayor stalls

VALLEY MILLS — Gridlock prevailed this week as the city council considered measures to curb the authority of mayor in this town of 1,235 residents.

The Valley Mills City Council agenda Tuesday included two proposed measures regarding the mayor’s power. One would reserve the power to hire and fire for the council, with the mayor making recommendations, Mayor Pro Tem Ray Bickerstaff said.

“This feels personal,” said Mayor Josh Thayer. “It feels like it’s about me.”

The Tribune-Herald previously reported on controversial firings of the public works director and city secretary who held office when Thayer was elected in spring 2021. The public works director left city employment in the summer and the city secretary left in the fall, to be replaced by supporters of Thayer.

The Texas Municipal Code gives the mayor of a small city like Valley Mills authority to fill vacancies of city staff with council confirmation. While the code does not give firing authority to the mayor, it does say that a mayor inspects the performance of city officials and “shall cause any negligence, carelessness, or other violation of duty to be prosecuted and punished.”

Council Member Nick Guerrero said three other council members had put this ordinance on the agenda. He asked whether the law would be removed from the books if Thayer were no longer in office.

Bickerstaff answered that the ordinance was directed to the office of the mayor, not to Thayer personally.

Thayer said the ordinance would hamper his ability to conduct day-to-day operations of the city.

“(The council) would completely undercut my authority as mayor, if you take away my ability to fire people,” Thayer said.

Bickerstaff said that under the proposed measure Thayer would be able to give verbal and written warnings and then make a recommendation about firing at the next council meeting.

“This actually protects you from a (human resources) standpoint,” Bickerstaff said.

Bickerstaff also said that when he was mayor a few years before, he brought all hiring and firing decisions to the city council. He gave them his recommendations and reasons and then the council acted.

The council took no action on the ordinance.

The second ordinance would have limited the authority of the mayor to make purchases, again requiring the mayor to seek approval of the council.

Guerrero asked why the council was bringing up an ordinance in response to something that happened a year ago. He said the mayor bought an all-terrain vehicle with city money a year ago and action had been settled between the mayor and council members as gentlemen.

Bickerstaff said this ordinance was on the agenda to clear the books of lingering items that had been proposed but not adopted or rejected.

“The mayor has a fiduciary responsibility to see that taxpayer funds are spent for the benefit of the city and in accordance with the law,” Bickerstaff said. “If a purchase is needed, put an item on the agenda and bring it to the council for approval.”

The council took no action on the purchasing limits.

Gridlock also prevailed in the council on recommendations of the infrastructure committee.

Infrastructure committee chairperson Casey Sadler told the council that any grants for projects to renovate the town water system will require matching funds. To get the matching funds, she said the city has three choices: raise taxes and fees, sell assets, or issue bonds.

Thayer suggested the possibility of investigating a waiver for the restrictive use covenants on the deed to the city’s airport, so that the airport could be sold as an asset to raise matching funds for the water system renovation. The deed given to the city by the Army Air Corps in the 1940s stipulates that the land may only be used for an airport, the Tribune-Herald previously reported.

The airport has two unimproved dirt taxiways, no tower and no facilities. The Tribune-Herald reported last month that parties had contacted Valley Mills expressing interest in buying the land, but the council has not approved any such proposals.

Guerrero proposed a motion on the mayor’s waiver suggestion, which died for lack of a second. He also proposed a motion to form a bond exploratory committee, which died without a second as well.

In an executive session that lasted longer than 40 minutes, the city council deliberated the employment evaluation of Police Chief Roy Fikac. The chief emerged from the session with a smile. No motions regarding his employment were made.