Following a tense and contentious city council meeting, council members extended an offer for the position of city administrator to Toni Kunz while also debating the proposed salary range for the city's vacant treasurer position.
After a brief discussion in closed session, council member Lynn Palmer called for a vote to extend the offer of city administrator to interim city administrator Jill Dickerson.
“Jill Shelton [Dickerson] is the most qualified person, candidate, applicant for this position,” Palmer said. “She has all the qualifications for city administrator. She’s been running the city for the last year and a half and has done it periodically for the last eight years.”
Council member Jeff Flowers seconded the motion, but the motion died as council members Tammy Morrow, Deanna Mc-Cabe, and Debbie Breen voted against the motion.
“Lynn, you asked me back in January to give [Dickerson] a chance,” Morrow said. “It’s been six months, and we have got nothing but pushback from her.”
Morrow also cited a meme Dickerson had posted, depicting an AI photo of Dickerson going through applications and answering a call with the caption “Can you say walking quorum?”.
“She lied to us about that meme,” Morrow said. “It was posted a two ‘o’clock in the morning. She was not in training when she did that.”
Dickerson did not respond to the Bulletin’s request for comment on the meme.
Palmer attempted a second motion to appoint Jillian Roden as city administrator, but the motion was not seconded. Morrow then motioned to appoint Toni Kunz as city administrator – which carried with McCabe and Breen’s votes. Flowers and Palmer voted against Kunz.
Kunz accepted the position of city administrator with a salary of $100,000.
“Toni may not have all the certifications, but neither did Jill when she walked into it,” Morrow said of her vote. “Yes, [Dickerson’s] been through nine administrators. There’s a common denominator there.”
It is unclear whether Dickerson will stay as city secretary. In an email to the Bulletin, Dickerson said she would discuss the matter with Kunz.
Kunz started her position on Monday.
“I have hit the ground running, and it has been a great first day,” Kunz said. “Stepping into this role is both a privilege and an exciting opportunity.”
In other business, the council debated the salary range for the vacant position of city treasurer.
“We have no applications for city treasurer,” Dickerson said, adding that the position had been posted on the Texas Municipal League and the city’s Facebook. “Right now, we have bills that need to be paid.”
Dickerson expressed that the proposed salary - $45,000 – was low. The previous salary, which former city treasurer Allyson Wright held, was approximately $73,000.
“You’re probably not going to find anybody locally that will get paid $45,000 a year,” Dickerson said. “They’re definitely not going to be have any knowledge about Encode because Encode is not something you would learn unless you work for a city.”
As a temporary solution, Dickerson suggested outsourcing the position to a part-timer that was certified in Encode, the system that the city uses for financials.
The city approved Dickerson to hire a part-time, remote city treasurer in the interim of seeking a full-time applicant. The part-time applicant will be paid $65 an hour.
Dickerson also stated that she and Mayor Denise Griffin were in the process of interviewing for code enforcement.
“The Mayor and I interviewed a very good candidate that is currently working in a city doing that [code enforcement],” Dickerson said. “That is actually licensed through TDLR [Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation] when you type up their name, it pops up.”
The council also discussed the $17,000 invoice paid to Flock Safety Cameras, after cancelling the contract in a 3-2 vote in May. Dickerson stated that the city was working on receiving a reimbursement.
The council also discussed cross-training employees, approved the search for new legal counsel, and requested to revise the city’s sign ordinance to be an easier process for businesses.
“I don’t know why we have to make it so hard for our businesses in the city of Bandera to get a sign up,” Palmer said. “I don’t know why it’s such a huge hassle.”
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