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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Questioning mayor’s claim of powers

Mayor Susan Jaggers continues to mislead the people of the Valley. The majority of her council continues to stand by in silent complicity.

Wimberley has had a city administration form of government since 2001 – one where the council decides policy and a professional administrator carries it out. It is completely legal. Some consider establishing professional administration through ordinance best because it maintains a balance of power that a Chapter 25 may take away.

In response to Mayor Jaggers, Scott Houston, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel of the TML, wrote, “The “work around” that you mention is actually the more common way for a city to transition into professional city management. Around 400 general law cities have created the position of city administrator by ordinance, rather than through a Chapter 25 election. Only about 20 have adopted Chapter 25 by election. The ordinance method was called into question by a 2002 attorney general opinion. Following that opinion, those 400 cities asked the League to make it a priority to pass legislation clarifying their authority. We did that in 2003 with the passage of S.B. 734: “. So it’s not like Mayor Jaggers doesn’t know this information.

And yet, Jaggers keeps telling us in paper, on radio, and from the dais that the many checks on her power are all “illegal”, as she tries every which way to subvert them. Now she’s placed amendments on this week’s agenda to try to expand the powers of the mayor through ordinance amendments.

We may not have understood the ins and outs of the balance of powers last summer, but we’ve all seen the chaos and secrecy shrouding this partisan administration play out on a number of issues since… (What is happening with the sewer to nowhere anyway?) When will this council uphold historic ordinances and stop the power grab once and for all? What can we readers do to make sure this council does its job?

-Chrys Grummert

Wimberley View

P.O. Box 49
Wimberley, TX 78676
Phone: 512-847-2202
Fax: 512-847-9054