Council to address city manager in ‘personnel matters’

Sulphur Springs city manager Marc Maxwell’s job security may hang in the balance this week, as the city council takes a special session on Tuesday night to discuss personnel matters specifically relating to Maxwell. 

The meeting, on Dec. 3 at 6 p.m. is not open to the public, in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. The city manager position is hired by the city council, not voted upon directly by the general public. As most other at-will positions in Texas, the city manager can be dismissed “for any reason, or no particular reason at all, with or without advance notice,” according to the Texas Workforce Commission. Maxwell has been employed as the city manager since 1995. 

Rumors swirled about Maxwell’s performance evaluation and possible termination for the first time this summer.  In July the News-Telegram received an anonymous email from a proxy server alleging that a planned executive session would discuss “suspend[ing] or otherwise discuss[ing] the removal of Mark [sic] Maxwell as the city manager.” 

However, such a meeting failed to materialize on both the Sept. and Oct. council agendas.

According to the city website, only two jobs are open with the city, neither of which is the city manager position. The Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) also does not list an open position in Sulphur Springs. 

During the Nov. 5 regular meeting, the council went into executive session to discuss Maxwell.  No action was taken as a result of the session, which lasted approximately 24 minutes.

The email sent to the News-Telegram alleged the action was “spearheaded by [council member Jimmy D.] Lucas.” Lucas declined to comment on whether or not he was involved with calling for an evaluation of Maxwell, citing the Texas Open Meetings Act. 

Maxwell also declined to comment on the contents of the previous executive session in Nov. or the contents of the upcoming executive session, citing the Texas Open Meetings Act. 

TRUSTIE LABOR

Maxwell and Lucas have found themselves at odds on several issues over the past months, most recently on trustie labor. 

“We’re building a lot of parks and we’re building a lot of things for citizen usage, but we’re not building in monies to take care of that,” Lucas told the council at a special “city vision” meeting in September. 

Lucas’s solution, which he put forth in the August regular session of the city council,was to use trusties from the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office jail as “free-- almost free-- labor,” Lucas said. 

“I was told that it was not a good plan,” Lucas said at the community meeting. “I have since spoken to three county commissioners and they all tell me that they use them with flair. They even go when these guys get out and they hire them. So I’m a little bit concerned that we have not investigated that fully.” 

“On that point, we’ve been there before. We’ve done this, and not with much success,” Maxwell said. 

After the adjournment of the meeting, Lucas and Maxwell agreed Maxwell would explore using trusties for weed-eating and mowing projects in the city, and Maxwell resolved to talk to Sheriff Lewis Tatum.

In September, Maxwell had a positive update for Lucas during his manager’s report. 

Maxwell commented at the previous meeting he had “pushed back” on the idea of using trusties due to a “bad experience.” 

“I’ve taken your comments to heart,” Maxwell said, and stated that conversations with current Tatum have “eased [his] concerns.” 

Maxwell stated that training for city employees to supervise trusties was ongoing, and that he looked forward to using trustie labor to mow and clean ditches along the reservoir. 

While the city did mow and dredge ditches on Reservoir St. during Oct., trustie labor was not used for this project. Maxwell told the News-Telegram that efforts to incorporate trusties were ongoing, and trusties had been used for projects at the wastewater treatment facility. Maxwell said members of the utility department were certified as supervisors, and the parks department will follow. 

“Soon we’ll keep them [trusties] busy at the parks department,” Maxwell said. 

FIRE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS

At a Wednesday, Aug. 14 special budget session, fire Chief David James appeared before the council to discuss the 2020 allocations for the fire department, which price in at $2.18 million. $2 million of the budget goes directly to staffing, according to city budget documents. 

When Mayor Norman Sanders asked James if he believed the budget allocation was sufficient, James replied he “thought it was a good start.”

During question-and-answer feedback from the council, Lucas inquired of James about the impact of the 2018 to 2019 loss of five members of Sulphur Springs Fire Department. 

“A lot of our guys that leave us we can’t. ...[They’re] going from $58,000 to $68,000 a firefighter, just... the pay is substantial,” James said.

“Larger cities that border us…a person can move from Sulphur Springs to Rockwall—especially if they’re a firefighter—make another $20,000 or $30,000 a year in wages plus within a three-year period get paid service credits for their retirement,” human resources director Gordon Frazier told the council. “That’s a pretty big difference.”

Providing the fire department with a sufficient budget has been a concern of Lucas’s since before his 2018 council run. 

Specifically, Lucas refers to the 2017 attempt by the city to lower the fire department’s budget by combining the role of fire chief and police chief into the role of public safety director. Finance director Lesa Smith told the News-Telegram the move saved the city $31,000 at the time; however, the recreation of the fire and police chief roles in June 2019 cost the city $32,000 for a net total loss of $1,000.

Both Smith and James noted that a major difficulty in the fire department budget was the high cost of equipment. Smith added that the city station recently required a $437,000 truck and will soon require a $1 million ladder truck. James pointed out the high cost in buying personal protective gear, which may range into the thousands. 

Maxwell told the city council in August that fiscal year 2021 would “be the perfect time to buy a new engine.” However, SSFD suffered a major breakdown of their vehicles in early Sept., as the ladder truck experienced mechanical issues SSFD was able to fix themselves while Engine 2 had to be sent to Dallas for work on a “blown turbo,” according to James. Purchasing a new engine had “been looked at and talked about, but at this time we [SSFD] do not know what the status of that is,” James told the News-Telegram. 

“I’m not sure along with a lot of other citizens I understand why the fire chief was let go. If it’s a cost savings measure then I have to question why are we spending money elsewhere,” Lucas told KSST in a candidate profile video in 2018. “You know, I have a saying, ‘If your toilet’s backing up, don’t remodel your kitchen.’ You know? It seems like we’re doing a lot of kitchen remodeling but we’re not calling the plumber to fix the toilet.” 

SCHISM OR VISION?

During the city’s vision meeting, citizens were quick to praise the city’s accomplishments and specifically Maxwell’s role in its success. 

“If you leave here and drive anywhere in east Texas… west Texas, central Texas, anywhere but metropolitan areas, I would challenge you to find a downtown area that is as beautiful as ours,” Economic Development Corporation member Tom Sellers told assembled citizens. 

In fact, the city accepted an Urban Excellence award from the Rudy Bruner Foundation in Oct., over 100 times smaller than other awardees Memphis, Houston and New Orleans. Zoning Board of Adjustments member Jay Julian, speaking as a citizen during public comments, specifically praised Maxwell’s role in receiving the award, stating, “this has your fingerprints all over it.” 

“Sulphur Springs downtown provides a great example of how to bring small towns back to life,” the Bruner selection committee said. “Sulphur Springs has inspired other rural towns and cities in Texas. Sulphur Springs has become a role model for other places and teaching lab for designers.”

Lucas, however, felt that the city is sometimes hyper focused on downtown. 

“With a number of businesses opening up downtown, it’s creating a problem where there’s a revolving door and we have got to get away from managing and micromanaging and focusing on that four-block area,” Lucas stated in 2018. 

Maxwell also celebrated a huge win for the city just last week, as Sulphur Springs finalized their deal with mining company Luminant, and are now the owners of the nearly 4900 acre former mine property in Thermo. 

“The benefits to the city and the State of Texas will be substantial,” Maxwell said, and noted that the property could be a “game changer for the city in terms of tax revenue.”  

A recent story by the Texas Tribune noted that 80% of the land in the property has been remitted or returned to its original state. However, according to the Tribune, Maxwell and the city are “so trusting” the company will remit the rest of the land properly they did not call for an environmental impact assessment. 

Maxwell told the News-Telegram the Tribune’s story was “sensationalistic.” 

Citizens had strong views about the continuation of large-scale projects by the city, which they impressed upon the council during the vision forum. 

“We need to continue to be progressive,” citizen Jimmy Rodgors said. “If we continue to be progessive, businesses will come here.” 

“These things don’t happen in a vacuum,” Sellers noted. “It takes leadership and courage… the investments turn into dollars, and that’s what our future is about.”

“I caution - we have not had turmoil in this city. People can disagree… but when you step back and look at the big picture, we’re a better place now,” Sellers said. “I don’t want that to change… we need you to think for all of us. Don’t make a decision that would hurt us in the long run.” 

In September, Maxwell discussed his history as the city manager and being a lighting rod figure with the News-Telegram. 

“It’s not just my job, it’s my home,” Maxwell said. “I’ve been here 24 years and I’ve built a lot of friendships and relationships. This town has become a part of me.”