Frontlines

County board member settles meeting case

CONROE — A Montgomery County Hospital District board member and the district attorney’s office reached a settlement on her Open Meetings Act case just two days before her trial was set to begin.

Nicole Huff will serve a probationary period in lieu of facing two conspiracy charges of circumventing the act involving the appointment of a new district administrator, The (Conroe) Courier reported. She was accused of holding secret meetings to discuss firing the chief executive director.

The district attorney declined to disclose the terms of the settlement or the length of the probation, saying it was confidential.

Huff was facing up to a $500 fine and six months in jail if convicted.

Judge bars media from pre-trial hearing

BROWNSVILLE — Judge Robert Garza barred the media from attending a pre-trial hearing on a 22-year-old man accused of slaying and decapitating three children, two of whom were his own, The Brownsville Herald reported.

Jury selection began Sept. 24 in the 138th District Court in Cameron County and the judge allowed the newspaper and other media to be present for certain portions but everyone connected with the case is under a gag rule.

Since the case’s onset, the Herald has experienced several obstacles in obtaining information.

It took five months to obtain a copy of the original March 11 police report. The Brownsville Police Department balked at handing over the document and a prolonged volley between the Herald and the department ensued, but eventually the question was moot.

Judge Garza ordered the press to leave an August pre-trial hearing in which defense attorneys asked to throw out a confession in which police say Rubio admitted to the murders. The judge said he might release a transcript of that hearing. The Herald submitted an open records request for the material.

Entities must follow start time on agenda

OVERTON — School boards and other entities that post notice of back-to-back meetings and start the second meeting early are violating the Texas Open Meetings Act.

An open government investigator with the Office of the Attorney General told TPA that such an action would not comply with the act and would defeat the purpose of posting a meeting notice stating the start time.

The Overton Independent School Board last month scheduled a public budget hearing for 6 p.m. and a meeting to adopt the budget 30 minutes later on the same day. Both meetings were posted correctly but the school board likely violated the act by starting the second meeting well before the posted time after no comments were filed at the public hearing, the Overton Press reported.

Actions taken at meetings that are found to violate the law can be declared void.

Marble Falls gets info after 11-week delay

MARBLE FALLS — The Highlander finally received a report on a criminal investigation the city launched into illegal voting in the May city elections.

The city released the report almost three months after the newspaper on June 23 requested the records. The city sought an attorney general’s opinion after citing the ongoing investigation exception but the AG said the documents should be released.

Citizen panel reports stay under wrap

AUSTIN — City officials are baffled at an agreement they reached with the police union that is keeping the results of an outside investigation into a June 2002 fatal shooting confidential.

The city hammered out a new contract with the union and nowhere in a 217-page transcript that the Austin American-Statesman obtained did officials mention a desire to publicly release findings of investigations ordered by a newly created citizens panel. The transcript shows repeated discussions where officials favored keeping outside investigations into police conduct confidential.

The agreement’s provisions came to light after the police department declined to release the results of an independent report into a controversial fatal shooting of a black mentally retarded woman by a white police officer.

College board’s evaluation is public information

CORPUS CHRISTI — Del Mar College officials released the performance evaluation of its former president after an attorney general’s ruling that it be made public.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times filed a request for the evaluation July 29, one day after the president resigned under fire from officials and received a $190,000 settlement.

The college sought an AG’s opinion on the release, citing an agreement that officials would not make disparaging comments about the former president.

The evaluation rated the administrator’s performance as unacceptable for honesty, leadership and fiscal management, the Caller Times reported.

County’s election tab raises resident’s ire

BELTON — A four-page election tab the Bell County Commissioners Court published in the Belton Journal and three other county newspapers sparked complaints from one citizen who said the publication was advocacy advertising.

A spokeswoman for the Texas Ethics Commission told the Temple Daily Telegram that an entity can publish factual information about a bond election if the information does not advocate for or against any issue.

Bell County spent $9,000 to insert the tab, which included info on the state constitutional amendment, into the Journal, Telegram, Killeen Daily Herald and a free newspaper in Salado. Since the tab included only factual statements about the election, the ethics spokesman said the tab likely did not violate the law.

Baylor boosters sue to keep records closed

WACO — The Baylor Bear Foundation filed a lawsuit last month to keep its financial records secret saying it is exempt from a state law requiring charitable organizations to give the public access to its books.

The Dallas Morning News had requested the records of the foundation, which raises money for the Baylor University’s athletic programs. An internal Baylor investigation is probing allegations of illegal payments to student athletes.