Waxahachie City Council to hold special meeting Friday to appoint interim city manager
The Waxahachie City Council will look to appoint an interim city manager at a special meeting called for 1 p.m. Friday, July 11, at the Waxahachie Civic Center. The move comes after council members unanimously voted an end for Michael Scott’s employment in that position during their meeting Monday night.
"The Waxahachie City Council, acting unanimously, made a decision to move forward in a different direction with the city manager position," Mayor Billie Wallace said in a statement to In The Know Ellis. “We thank Michael Scott for his 22 years of dedicated service to the city of Waxahachie. He leaves a strong legacy of accomplishments, including the Railyard Park, the Waxahachie police station, fire station, and the Chuck Beatty Building, to name a few. We wish Michael Scott the very best. We look forward to building on a solid foundation and moving into a bright future for Waxahachie, Texas.”
On Friday, the council will convene into a closed, executive session to deliberate an interim’s appointment, according to the agenda released Tuesday, July 8. Any action taken by the council would occur after members reconvene to open session.
A public comment period is part of Friday’s agenda, with people able to speak to the council before it convenes into the executive session, although under the Open Meetings Act, members are not allowed to respond. According to the agenda, there is a five-minute time limit per speaker.
The video from the council’s Monday, July 7, meeting shows members going into an executive session at about 8:37 p.m. on an agenda item “to review performance evaluation and employment for City Manager as permitted by Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code.”
Upon their return at about 11:38 p.m., Wallace asked if there was a motion, with council member Tres Atkins reading from a piece of paper, “Madame Mayor, I move to separate the employment of the city manager (Michael Scott) effective immediately, and to authorize the payment of the severance provisions in the city manager’s employment.”
Council member Patrick Souter seconded the motion, with all five council members present voting for the motion’s approval, including also council members Travis Smith and Chris Wright.
During council member and city staff comments prior to entering Monday night’s executive session, Scott extended his appreciation to the council and staff for their work on the upcoming fiscal year budget. He also mentioned a budget workshop held by the council earlier that morning.
“I think it was a very successful meeting today,” Scott said. “I appreciate the feedback from city council. We’ll continue to work towards putting a bow on that budget and move towards adoption later this summer.”
Written by Jo Ann Livingston/In The Know Ellis.
(Editor’s note: This story was updated to include a statement from Mayor Billie Wallace).
