City of Bastrop – Carol A. Spencer

When a Mayor ≠ a Mayor

I’m sure each of us has an idea of what we think it means to be a mayor. I always thought the mayor ran the city, determined policy, crafted the budget, hired and fired. Basically, I thought the mayor was the executive in charge.

But, guess what? That’s not always the case. The city’s form of government determines who’s in charge, who hires and fires, who creates budgets, who adopts budgets, who authorizes spending, who negotiates contracts and more.

I was mayor under a “Strong Mayor / Weak Council” form of government. The City of Bastrop has a “Weak Mayor” because the form of government is “Council – Manager”. Broad powers are vested in the elected City Council and the City Manager, an unelected bureaucrat. The mayor has little to no authority.

COMPARE THE POWERS OF A STRONG MAYOR VERSUS A WEAK MAYOR

The powers of the mayor in a Strong Mayor / Weak Council community are as follows:

MAYOR : Exercises executive power of the municipality, appoints department heads with Council approval. Removes department heads subject to Council disapproval by 2/3 of all members. Prepares budget. Has veto over ordinances subject to override by 2/3 of all members of Council.

Mayor exercises executive power of the municipality. Up to 10 departments under Mayor’s direction. Business Administrator assists Mayor in budget preparation and administers purchasing and personnel systems. By ordinance, Business Administrator may supervise administration of departments, subject to Mayor’s direction.

COUNCIL : Exercises legislative power of municipality, approves appointment of department heads. Disapproves removal of department heads by 2/3 vote of all members. Overrides Mayor’s veto by 2/3 of all members.

Council sets its meeting dates and times. For a limited number of boards, commissions and committees, Council has ‘advice and consent’ authority. Council can appoint subcommittees of its members, but not inclusive of citizens.

The City of Bastrop operates under a “Council – Manager” form of government. The mayor is a “weak mayor”. Few of the powers listed in a “strong mayor” form of government is applicable to a “weak mayor” form.

As you can see from the list below, taken directly from the City of Bastrop Charter, the mayor in Bastrop has little to no authority over anything in the City. While the mayor is a member of the City Council, the mayor has no vote except in a tie and has no veto authority.

COUNCIL: enacts local legislation, adopt budgets, determine policies, appoints the City Attorney and the Judge of the Municipal Court. The Council shall also appoint the City Manager, who shall execute the laws and administer the government of the City.*

The Council shall have the power by ordinance to fix the boundary limits of the City.*

All powers of the City and the determination of all matters of policy shall be vested in the City Council.*

(1) remove from any office or position of employment in the City government, any officer or employee or member of any board or commission, unless that person reports to the City Manager or is employed in one of the City departments under the direction of the City Manager;
(2) establish, consolidate or abolish administrative departments;
(3) adopt the budget of the City;
(4) authorize the issuance of bonds;
(5) provide for such additional boards and commissions, not otherwise provided for in this Charter, as may be deemed necessary, and appoint the members of all such boards and commissions. Such boards and commissions shall have all powers and duties now or hereafter conferred and created by this Charter, by City ordinance or by law;
(6) adopt and modify the zoning plan and the building code of the City;
(7) adopt and modify the official map of the City;
(8) regulate, license and fix the charges or fares made by any person, firm or corporation owning, operating or controlling any vehicle of any character used for the carrying of passengers for hire on the public streets and alleys of the City;
(9) provide for the establishment and designations of fire limits and prescribe the kind and character of buildings or structures or improvements to be erected therein, and provide for the erection of fireproof buildings within said limits, and provide for condemnation of dangerous structures or buildings or dilapidated buildings, or buildings calculated to increase the fire hazard and prescribe the manner of their removal or destruction within said limits;
(10) adopt, modify and carry out plans for improvement and redevelopment of any area of the City which may have been destroyed in whole or part by disaster;
(11) adopt, modify and carry out plans for the clearance of slums and the rehabilitation of blighted areas;
(12) fix the salaries and compensation of the City officers and employees;
(13) provide for a sanitary sewer and water system and require property owners to connect with such sewer system, and provide for penalties for failure to make sanitary sewer connections;
(14) provide for garbage disposal, and set fees and charges therefor, and provide penalties for failure to pay such fees and charges;
(15) exercise exclusive dominion, control and jurisdiction in, upon, over and under the public streets, avenues, sidewalks, alleys, highways, boulevards and public grounds of the City and provide for the improvement of same;
(16) compromise and settle any and all claims and lawsuits of every kind and character in favor of or against the City.*

So what can the mayor do in the City of Bastrop, you ask? Not much.

MAYOR: The Mayor shall preside over the meetings of the Council*

The Mayor shall appoint members to all City boards and commissions, subject to confirmation by the Council.*

The Mayor shall also be recognized as the chief presiding
officer of the City.*

The Mayor shall also be recognized as the head of the City by all courts for the purpose of serving civil processes, by the Governor for the purpose of enforcing military law and for all ceremonial purposes.*

That’s it. That’s all the Mayor of the City of Bastrop can do. And, once the Council, as this Council did, takes away the Mayor’s office, requires Council approval for the Mayor to represent the City at various functions, what’s left?

All that’s left is the right to preside over Council meetings. The mayor doesn’t even determine the agenda.

So, the Mayor sits on the dais while the various Council members criticize, interrogate, accuse and otherwise take pot-shots at the duly-elected Mayor of the City. All that angst for $150 per month.

I’ve wondered for a long time why Lyle Nelson would want to be Mayor in a Council-Manager form of government. In all honesty, I don’t know why anyone would want to be mayor in these conditions. To me, this is a dangerous form of government with far too much power handed to an employee: the City Manager. (More on that in another blog post.)

With basically no authority, Lyle Nelson has had to sit on the dais and suffer the vitriole of three angry and vindictive Council people. I salute him for holding out this long, for trying to calm the flames and do the business of the City, but to no avail. I fully support Lyle Nelson’s resignation.

[All items with an * following are taken directly from the City of Bastrop Charter.]

Don’t be Fooled

The current attack on Bastrop City Councilwoman Cheryl Lee is nothing more than retribution and payback. Her City Council opponents say the concerns raised in her 42-page detailed memo aren’t worth investigating. Instead, they wanted to limit her access to information and want her off the Council.

Retribution. Retribution is common in the political world. This attack on Councilwoman Cheryl Lee is nothing more than retribution for her support of ending the vicious attack on Mayor Nelson. It’s retribution for her call for the shenanigans to end and a return to the business of the City and its residents.

Payback. Payback is common in the political world. If citizens didn’t know it existed before, the lawfare thrown at President Trump is proof positive. Take on the establishment, those who want power and control, and as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, they have “six ways from Sunday at getting back at you.” That’s true for not only the intelligence community, but politicos and their funders / supporters.

Cheryl Lee and I are in opposite political parties. But, the first time I heard her speak (it was about the wastewater treatment project), I knew she knew her stuff and spoke from a position of being well informed. You see, I was a councilwoman and mayor of a town that had been under a 20 year sewer ban, one that built a 4-phase, 1400 home, sewer project, and dealt with all the issues associated with that. It was quite obvious that Cheryl Lee does her homework.

To the public: Don’t be fooled. From my experience, when council members vociferously attack other council members, it’s a sign of either corruption or of ignorance. Far too often, elected officials just go with whatever the city administration has to say, not wanting to do the detailed homework necessary to do their jobs and cast informed votes. Less often, they are actually part of the game and don’t want anyone around who might be looking into the details of complex transactions.

Administrators work for the Council. Thus, it is the Council’s job to be sure they are doing what they’re supposed to do, ensuring contracts are properly scoped and administered, bills are properly paid, employees and contractors are fully qualified for their work, contracts aren’t thrown to unqualified friends, and projects come in on time and as budgeted. If Council people aren’t asking informed and detailed questions, how can they possibly claim to represent the people who elected them?

Cheryl Lee should be thanked, not vilified, for her work and effective representation. Beware those who do otherwise.

The Emperor Has No Clothes

Today, Mel Cooper who serves as chairman, treasurer, and person calling the shots at Bastrop County Conservatives, sent out an email to his list asking people to show up at the Bastrop City Council meeting tonight.

Emperor has no clothes Why? He says it’s to “demonstrate what kind of leaders and citizens we want in our public offices”. Is it that, or is there more to the story?

Among the list of alleged accomplishments of the city manager was that she “Maintained flat tax rates, the only jurisdiction in the county to do so, while other areas raised theirs.”

Tax Rates. Politicians point to tax rates all the time saying they lowered them or kept them stable. Pointless. Of course the tax rate will be stable or lower in a city growing like Bastrop. More and more dollars pour in as more and more buildings are built and taxed.

SPENDING is the key. I note that Cooper didn’t comment about spending. It doesn’t fit his narrative.

So what about double-digit raises? Paying a temporary employee the equivalent of a 6 figure salary. Spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a witch hunt against a duly-elected city official. Having the authority to spend up to $50,000 on any given item without Council oversight and approval. Accepting waivers from the City Council to buy a house outside the city limits when the City Charter demands living within those limits (a charter provision just reinforced by a public vote in November).

I note Cooper’s email mentions none of those.

It makes sense, though, that he comes to his Council buddies and Carillo’s, defense. After all, they voted to donate $25,000 to Cooper’s pet project last year, the “Festival de la Cultura”. And, it seems Carillo and crew went out of their way to make that happen. Here’s the timeline:

The staff report is undated, however the supporting census information for this line item was created 10/19/2023.
October 19, 2023: Sylvia Carillo’s staff report says “Festival de la Cultura” is a 501(c)(3) under Federal IRS guidelines. The application for 501(c)(3) status had not even been filed with the IRS on this date.
October 20, 2023: City Council agendas go live the Friday before a meeting, meaning the $25,000 donation was already on the 10/24 agenda on 10/20, the date the Texas non-profit was formed.
October 20, 2023: Texas Secretary of State records show the non-profit was formed effective October 20, 2023 with Mel Cooper as one of 3 directors.
October 24, 2023: The agenda item itself, and the agenda item presentation at the meeting, were by Sylvia Carillo, the same City Manager now so strongly supported by Mel Cooper.
October 24, 2023: The $25,000 taxpayer funded donation was approved by the Bastrop City Council. Cynthia Meyer made the motion. John Kirkland seconded it. It was unanimously approved. (Mayor Nelson does not have a vote.)
April 27 & 28, 2024: Festival de la Cultura was held at Mayfest Park in the City of Bastrop
July 1, 2024: The IRS approval letter was issued and posted online a full two months after the April 2024 event. Approval was retroactive to October 23, 2023.
The organization is required to file 990s with the IRS. They are due 5 1/2 months after the fiscal year end date. If Festival de la Cultura has a fiscal year that ends on December 31, 990s were due on May 15, 2024. No 990s have been filed. They’re late.
Minutes on subsequent agendas at the City of Bastrop show no discussion items regarding the Festival or the expenditure of these tax monies.
March 5, 2024 – Cultural Arts Commission meeting – no minutes online
April 2, 2024 – Cultural Arts Commission meeting – no minutes online
May 7, 2024 – Cultural Arts Commission meeting – “Approximately 5,000 attendees. Attendance was lower due to weather.”
These are the only comments in City minutes. No financial accounting anywhere.

Councilwoman Cynthia Meyer very pointedly stated at a Council meeting that she would watch every single dollar of taxpayer monies spent by the City. And, that is, after all, the job of City Manager Carillo.

The emperor has no clothes.

Power and Control

Let’s be clear. I don’t live in the City of Bastrop. I can’t vote on City matters. City elections are non-partisan so there aren’t primaries where my positions in Republican politics would come into play.

But, I did spend ten years in elected office: six on a Town Council and four as the Mayor of a town of 16,000 people under a strong mayor, weak council form of government. So, I know how the game is played.

People who live in the City of Bastrop should rise up in anger at what’s happening in their City. A voting majority of the City Council can meet in private according to their current charter.

That voting majority is trying its hardest to keep that power, to be able to decide issues away from the public view, to run government in private. This is completely opposite of government “of the people, for the people and by the people”.

Frankly, who do they think they are? Do they think that they are smarter or more privileged than any other resident of the City of Bastrop? Who said they had all the ideas? How did they learn what they could and couldn’t do as Council members? Were they born with this knowledge and others weren’t?

First, they came after Mayor Nelson. He had an affair. Not good, but not illegal, and not a rationale for overturning the will of the voters. John Kirkland said citizens asked him if there was a way to recall the mayor, yet the petition submitted has 96% of the signatures collected by 3 Council members, a former Council member, and their families. No one has any idea what people were told at the door when asked to sign this petition, but my guess is it wasn’t that an audit and investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of the Mayor. I’ll bet they didn’t tell people that the mayor had the legal right to keep his private cell phone data private. Did they tell people that there was no subpoena for that cell phone data? One would think if there was a criminal investigation into the Mayor that his private cell phone would have been subpoenaed.

From this former mayor’s perspective, this is an attempt to get rid of Mayor Nelson and install a mayor of their choice and one they can control.

Now, they’re going after the City attorney. Monday night’s Special meeting now includes an Executive Session “to discuss the duties of the City Attorney.” My guess is he won’t play ball with them, won’t support their shenanigans, won’t muddy the legal waters to give them the power they so desperately desire.

I’ve seen this movie before. If the citizens of the City of Bastrop don’t pay attention, get involved and stop this, they’ll end up living in a city they don’t like and they don’t recognize.

Government Behind Closed Doors

In 1989, I ran for Township Council on a platform that included Open Government. We elect representatives, and other than those items allowed to be discussed in executive session by law, majorities of governing bodies should ALWAYS discuss government business in public.

I was shocked to learn that the City of Bastrop Charter allows a voting majority to meet in private because of its definition of a quorum. Currently set at 4, that means 3 City Council members can meet in private. The voting majority is 3. So any and all public business could be discussed in private.

Mayor Nelson supports changing this to a quorum of 3 so no more than 2 (less than a voting majority) can meet in private. Those trying to recall him want it to stay the way it is. No wonder they want Nelson recalled.

Please read this article on indytexans.org. If you signed the recall petition and now realize why its happening and no longer want to support it, you can have your signature removed. This article explains how to do it.

Remember: WE THE PEOPLE are the government. WE THE PEOPLE have the right to know what our representatives are doing and discussing. WE THE PEOPLE will be kept in the dark if a voting majority can meet in private, contrary to the principles on which this country was founded.

Oh, the Irony

Cell phone photo Yesterday, the City of Bastrop Ethics Commission voted unanimously to issue a letter of reprimand against Mayor Lyle Nelson for allegedly “interfering” with an investigation by refusing to turn over his private, personal device data.

Oh, the irony.

This happened at the same time that members of Congress scuttled FISA 702 over the issue of warrantless searches of Americans’ digital data. Our Congressman, Michael Cloud (CD-27), voted against the current iteration of FISA 702, stating “The Constitution is not a set of recommendations or suggestions,” said Rep. Cloud. “It is the limit on our government. Our first job in Congress should be to protect the peoples’ liberties from government intrusion, and allowing for warrantless spying on American citizens is a grave violation of those liberties. This is a red line for me and should not be a partisan issue. If you need to surveil someone, get a warrant.“

Nelson’s lawyer stated “Even as a public official, people have their right to privacy and the minutiae of their private lives are not fair game just because a City Council seeks to pry into their lives.”

No warrant was issued for Nelson’s private device data. While the original allegation was misappropriation of VisitBastrop funds, which are predominantly taxpayer funds, no action has been taken against the former executive director of that organization, the person with the authority to make financial decisions. (In fact, effective January 1, 2024, she officially joined the board of the national DI organization.) Nelson was not a VisitBastrop board member, City Council member or mayor at the time of the allegations.

Based on the Ethics Commission decision, who in their right mind would want to serve on any board or commission in the City? Who would put their name forward knowing that, at any time, the City Council can demand their personal data be provided to an investigator without a warrant; and a refusal to provide that data, demanded without a warrant, would result in a public reprimand or possibly loss of office?

I’ve served on many boards and commissions, both by appointment and by running for office. Luckily, that was prior to the personal proliferation of cell phones. This is why today many elected officials use encryption apps like Signal. Want the password to my Signal account? Get a warrant. Want my personal data? Get a warrant.

The Fourth Amendment of the US Constitution states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

While a majority of the US Congress stood for the Fourth Amendment yesterday, these City of Bastrop appointees and elected officials chose to ignore it. Oh, the irony.