The August 25 meeting was long and, at one point, tense. On the budget discussion, Mayor Palmer gaveled the meeting out and left the room; the Mayor Pro Tem called it back to order, and the Council later noted the Mayor cannot stop a meeting without its approval. On the substance, the Council advanced its budget work — setting the September 8 public hearing and taking a roll-call vote to propose the $0.429041 tax rate — and worked through a long slate of engineering reports.
Among the decisions: the Council approved an updated development fee schedule (Ordinance 946-26) and the Bandidas economic-development agreement; declined to shut off public comments on the city’s social media, opting for a “no one is monitoring this page” disclaimer instead; tabled the open-records routing change; and cut regular council meetings from two a month to one — but only as a three-month trial, to be reconsidered in January. Several engineering and water items were reports with no action. Councilmember Gilliland was absent, so all recorded votes were 4–0.
Called to order: 6:00 PM. Presiding: Mayor Teresa Palmer. Present: Councilmembers Eric Contreras, Buddy Wright, Scott Smith, and Nathan Crummel (Mayor Pro Tem). Absent: Councilmember Chawn Gilliland (recorded votes total four). Staff: City Manager Toni Fisher; City Secretary Deana McMullen; City Attorney Judy El Masri. Invocation: Pastor Jonathan Mansur, Cross Timbers Baptist Church. Adjourned: 10:08 PM.
The minutes record five residents present to speak: Marcy Galle, Kenna Hannah, Chris Wood, Gene Martin, and Lee Miller. A proclamation in honor of the late Dixie Smith was read by Mayor Palmer and KJ Hannah.
Mayor Palmer opened by asking for prayers for those affected by the Palo Pinto County fires, read a Bible verse, and recognized Sour Boule, a new business at 280 Willow Bend. A proclamation in honor of the late Dixie Smith — a community advocate who died August 26, 2025 — was read by the Mayor and KJ Hannah.
The Council approved the minutes of the July 18 special meeting and the August 11 regular meeting as presented (Contreras / Smith, 4–0).
CPA Jake Weber reviewed a balanced FY 2026–2027 budget and the proposed tax rate of $0.429041 (the no-new-revenue rate). He noted that because some property values fell, a typical homeowner could see a decrease of about $46, and that the budget funds a 3% pay raise for staff and 5% for police. He told the Council that adding $500,000 for road repairs would push the rate up about 12% (to roughly $0.47), and that he would not be comfortable drawing more than $450,000 from reserves for roads.
Item 4 set the budget and tax-rate public hearing for September 8 (Wright / Crummel, 4–0). Item 5 was the roll-call vote to propose the rate — M&O of $0.169112 and debt of $0.259929, totaling $0.429041. All four members present voted yes (4–0).
During the budget discussion, after Councilmember Contreras spoke, Mayor Palmer “gaveled out of the meeting at 6:37 pm and left the room.” Contreras moved, seconded by Smith, to challenge the chair “for interrupting the meeting during his speech.” Mayor Pro Tem Crummel called the meeting back to order at 6:39 pm and the Mayor returned. City Attorney El Masri advised that the Mayor should not stop a meeting without Council approval — the proper step is to request a break and have the Council vote on it. The motion passed 3–0 with Councilmember Wright abstaining.
A long block of engineering items, all informational. Engineer Derek Turner presented the draft 2026 Capital Improvement Plan (Item 6), noting the city’s population could grow from about 6,100 to roughly 17,000 over 25–30 years, and that the draft includes about $20.34 million in wastewater projects and $27.25 million across 43 street projects. He discussed the projects tied to the $6.43M tax note (Item 7, estimated at $5,966,000), the difference between a CCN and annexation (Item 8), road-prioritization methodology (Item 10), and state and federal grant options (Item 11).
Two items the Mayor had placed — a report on the city’s CCN boundaries (Item 9) and on the $10 million Texas Water Development Board water application (Item 12) — produced no report; the City Manager and engineer said no report was available at this time. No action was taken on any of these items.
The Council adopted Ordinance 946-26, approving the updated development fee schedule as presented by staff (Smith / Crummel, 4–0).
The Council approved the Chapter 380 economic-development agreement with Bandidas Willow Park, LLC as presented (Contreras / Wright, 4–0). The agreement covers a new restaurant at The District, with a sales-tax abatement on food sales for its first two years.
City Manager Fisher asked the Council to approve a resolution letting staff deactivate public comments on the city’s social-media pages, citing the lack of a staff member to monitor them since Rose Hoffman left the city. The Council was not in favor of deactivating comments. Instead, it directed staff to add a disclaimer noting the page is not being monitored and giving City Hall’s number (817-441-7108) for immediate service (Crummel / Contreras, 4–0).
A resolution to direct open-records requests to the city’s online portal rather than direct email was tabled until the new records software is in place and staff can compare it to the current system (Crummel / Wright, 4–0).
The Council approved amending Ordinance 1.03.035 to reduce regular meetings from two per month to one per month, on the third Tuesday, beginning October 1 — but added an important limit: the change runs for a three-month trial period, to be reconsidered in January 2027, with special meetings called as needed (Contreras / Crummel, 4–0).
Item 18. On a proposed P&Z meeting schedule, the City Manager said the Planning & Zoning ordinance sets no specific date and time, so meetings can be scheduled by staff as needed; no action was required. Item 19. Councilmember Smith asked to reinstate a local Emergency Management Team. The City Manager said the prior volunteers had resigned and were not interested in continuing; Mayor Palmer noted she is the city’s Emergency Management Director by law and works with Parker County’s coordinator. No action was taken.
The Council recessed into executive session at 8:55 PM (with attorney Melissa Cranford joining by video) for four matters: the Beall-Dean Ranch lawsuit (CV26-0175); the Halff & Associates matter; the Police Chief position; and a legal consultation on employee complaints. It reconvened at 10:03 PM and reported no action on any item.
City Manager Fisher thanked staff for the budget work and congratulated Assistant Fire Marshal Kevin Lockwood on passing his Fire Inspector exam, and noted National Night Out on October 6 and a Muni-Versity event September 15. Councilmember Contreras thanked staff for the budget and asked for prayers and city involvement for those affected by the Palo Pinto fires; Councilmember Smith reminded residents of “Coffee with a Councilmember” on September 4. For future agenda items, Contreras asked to bring back an ordinance regulating Flock cameras and data centers. The meeting adjourned at 10:08 PM (Contreras / Crummel, 4–0).
