CITY COUNCIL MEETING 5/10/2022 - Agenda Item 5E

SUMMARY OF EVENTS

In the 11/9/2021 Council meeting, during a citizen requested agenda item, Mr. Baroody presented information about the City Charter as it relates to elections, and statements he obtained from the Secretary of State.

In the 4/12/2022 Council meeting Citizens Forum, Mr. Baroody spoke regarding the city budget, taxes and how those taxes were divided up and dispersed.

Mayor Blackburn immediately calls Mr. Baroody back to the microphone and questions Mr. Baroody saying statements Mr. Baroody made in the 11/9/2021 meeting regarding the city's May 2022 elections were not true (this questioning is obviously unrelated to what Mr. Baroody was speaking about). Mr. Baroody replies that Mayor Blackburn needed to review the messages he sent to Council, and the video of the 11/9/2021 Council meeting.

In the 5/10/2022 Council meeting during a citizen requested agenda item, Mr. Baroody referred to Mayor Blackburn's statements made towards him during the Citizens Forum, asking for a public apology for basically calling him a liar ("Untrue" was the word Mayor Blackburn used. Mr. Baroody later stated he could change his wording "liar" to "untruth".). After much discussion no apology was offered, although Mayor Blackburn did state (in response to what Mr. Baroody read as a possible statement of apology the Mayor could make), "OK. What you said there can be put into the record in some form. But, ah. OK. Thank you Mr. Baroody."

HOW WE SEE IT

It would have been best for the Mayor to publicaly apologize to Mr. Baroody - for any disparaging remarks he may have made regarding Mr. Baroody's statements at the April 12, 2022 Council meeting.

We believe this could all have been avoided with the Mayor privately apologizing to Mr. Baroody with a guarantee to state that apology in the next Council meeting; then taking a moment at the beginning of the next Council meeting to apologize to Mr. Baroody for using the words "not true" in regards to Mr. Baroody's statements. Problem solved. No public arguments as occurred in the 5/10/2022 Council meeting. No public division. A bit of humbling perhaps, but the Mayor would have gained a lot of respect from everyone - Council, staff and the public.

Just our opinion of course!

Whether Mr. Baroody is correct or not about the legitimacy of the May 2022 elections, the questioning of Mr. Baroody by Mayor Blackburn in the Citizens Forum of the 4/12/2022 meeting was completely unrelated to what Mr. Baroody was speaking about, and clearly appears to be in violation of the Opens Meeting Act. And saying statements Mr. Baroody made in the 11/9/21 Council meeting were "not true" is not giving "factual information" or "reciting existing policy" as prescribed in the Open Meeting Act.

Mr. Baroody clearly states in his remarks during Agenda Item 5E in the 5/10/2022 Council meeting that he is simply looking for an apology from Mayor Blackburn/the Council for Mayor Blackburn's "not true" remark.

While Mayor Blackburn did not apologize, he did say the suggested apology read by Mr. Baroody "can be put in the record in some form". In fact, with that statement, it is in the public records as the meetings are video recorded, and that makes it a public record. Whether it appears into the written Council minutes is yet to be seen.

The rest of the debate regarding the legitimacy of the city elections is irrelevant to Agenda item 5E.

THE DETAILS

Council Meeting 11/09/2021 - Agenda Item 7B

This is the Council meeting in which Mr. Baroody presented information for why the elections should not be held in May, 2022, and information/answers to questions the Secretary of State and given him.

Mr. Baroody:
(After some opening comments regarding the charter and Council actions in prior meetings) Lastly, confusing things is, you may have heard that the Secretary of State had made a ruling that that proclamation shortened terms. That's actually not accurate. It's part of the story as Paul Harvey would say, "This is the rest of the story." When asked the Secretary of State will tell you they don't interpret Charters, they only interpret the law. So when they were asked the impact of the Governor's proclamation on our terms, our elections, the answer was - this is where I get to say "And the rest of the story."

"Your newly elected office holders from the November (2020) elections will have a shorter term. Their next election will return back to the May date."

And this is the part that was left out. They put it in, but it was left out in the explanation earlier in the year.

"Their election will return back to the May date if and only if the entity conducts their general election in May."

Which we don't. We don't have our elections mandated for a date. The real confusion for the Secretary of State is most cities do. An example would be Sugarland. Sugarland's city Charter mandates their elections to be held in May. . . .

City Council Meeting 4/12/2022 - Citizens Forum

Mayor Blackburn:
"Mr. Baroody, before you sit down I have a question for you. Several Council meetings ago you sent a message that you had a message from the Secretary of State saying that we should change our, the date of our elections from May to November. As it turns out, that was not true."

Mr. Baroody:
I didn't actually say that. If you go back and watch the video, I totally disagree with what she put in the paper (pointing to perhaps Mrs. Prout, publisher of the Hill Country Community Journal). I did not actually tell you that I had something from the Secretary of State saying that your elections needed to me moved. Go back and read my email and the statements I made and you'll find out what I said. ... I basically said, the Secretary of State told me that the term begins, in, on the date of election - which was November. The Secretary of State also told me that the Governor's proclamation had no more force of law except in 2020. Therefore, our Charter holds, that's what they were telling me, our Charter holds after that. Which is what I was talking about. So you can go review those facts."

City Council Meeting 5/10/2022 - Item 5E

This agenda items is a result of Mayor Blackburn's questioning of Mr. George Baroody's statements during the Citizens Forum of the 4/12/2022 Council meeting in which Mr. Baroody was giving reasons and facts on why the city elections should not be held May 7, 2022, since the council seats up for elections took office in November 2020.

As printed in the 5/10/2022 City Council Agenda
5.E. Citizen requested agenda item: A discussion of the current "Ethics Policy for Elected and
Appointed Officials - City of Kerrville, Texas" as it relates to the Mayor's behavior during
Visitor's Forum at City Council meeting April 12, 2022. Requested by citizen George
Baroody, sponsored by Councilmember Roman Garcia.

Note: Texas Municipal Code, regarding the Open Meetings Act:

Sec. 551.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(2) "Deliberation" means a verbal or written exchange between a quorum of a governmental body, or between a quorum of a governmental body and another person, concerning an issue within the jurisdiction of the governmental body.

Sec. 551.042. INQUIRY MADE AT MEETING. (a) If, at a meeting of a governmental body, a member of the public or of the governmental body inquires about a subject for which notice has not been given as required by this subchapter, the notice provisions of this subchapter do not apply to:
(1) a statement of specific factual information given in response to the inquiry; or
(2) a recitation of existing policy in response to the inquiry.
(b) Any deliberation of or decision about the subject of the inquiry shall be limited to a proposal to place the subject on the agenda for a subsequent meeting.

Councilmember Roman Garcia opens with a statement how he came to sponsor the agenda item, then Mr. Baroody is called to the microphone and he presents his statements including why he asked for this agenda item, that he cared little for the Council ethics but was simply looking for an apology from the Mayor - the Council.

"So, back to your Ethics Code, since I really didn't want to go there. I mean, because it's really not about that. The end result, all I was looking for, and it doesn't sound like it's going to occur, I don't think he (the Mayor) can humble himself enough to do it, is actually just say, "He had no evidence to supp. . .(Mr. Baroody is interrupted by Councilmember Eychner stating "Point of Order. This is not a time for. . .") . . . I'm going to put my "ask" in. (Mayor Blackburn interrupts saying "Don't make remarks like that. Just state your case.") Allright. . .

Mr. Baroody then asks the Council to confirm parts of the city's Ethics Code he reads. He is again interrupted by Councilmember Eychner stating "This is not a question and answer (unintelligible) Mr. Baroody. Mayor Blackburn then says "Wrap it up please."

Mr. Baroody then continues, "So the "ask" was to have the Mayor simply say, to put into the record, I can read it myself if I have to, to simply say, 'Let the records show that I, Mayor Blackburn, at the April 12, 2022 City Council meeting did wrongly and without evidence accuse Mr. Baroody of speaking an untruth to Council and the public concerning information from the Secretary of State Election Division. Council wishes to extend it's deepest regret for any embarrassment and harm this may have the Baroody family.'"

I would like to have that read into the record by . . .

Councilmember Eychner interrupts: "Point of Order. You're putting words into the Mayor's mouth and I don't believe that is what this is all about."

Mayor Blackburn: "OK. What you said there can be put into the record in some form. But, ah. OK. Thank you Mr. Baroody. OK. do we have speakers? Then nine of the public individually addressed the Council speaking in support of the Mayor. The Mayor never stopped the speakers to advise them to stay on topic of the agenda item.