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TMCNet: Three Seven Points council members try to oust Mayor Dobbs

[September 02, 2010]

Three Seven Points council members try to oust Mayor Dobbs

Sep 01, 2010 (Cedar Creek Pilot - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SEVEN POINTS -- And so began another warm summer morning in this Cedar Creek Lake community.

And just as quickly it heated into a continuing political broiler, resulting this time in the ousting of Mayor Joe Dobbs for allegedly misappropriating funds for which the city is responsible.

Really, can they do that? He's out.

Really? Maybe. Maybe not.

As we speak, Dobbs is still running the city.

Attorneys are beginning to appear on the horizon. Several of them, in fact.

Here's how it went down Monday morning: --7:30 a.m. -- a special-called meeting of the Seven Points City Council convenes.

--The doors to the council chambers are locked, keeping the three council members from going to their usual seats at the front of the chamber.

Three of the five members who showed up, declared they had a quorum, and they sat down on the pews in the lobby to conduct the meeting.

Mayor Dobbs had said earlier that in a special meeting, it takes the presence of four members to form a quorum.

Councilman Bubba Powell said, "No, it only takes three." A check with the city's attorney, Blake Armstrong in Tyler, supported Powell's claim of three.

On the other hand, Armstrong continues to agree with Dobbs that he, and only he, has the power to set the agenda.

His opinion is that Monday's action was not valid.

He agreed that three council members could request a change, but said it was still up to the mayor, under current council ordinances, to set the agenda, and that he had the right to fulfill or reject the requests of the three council members.


Armstrong admitted his opinion would change if, and when, Powell is able to come up with the paper work showing the 1995 ordinance was overturned in about 2003.

"Up to now, I haven't seen any evidence of that," Armstrong said.

According to the single-item agenda Monday, the meeting was to discuss booting Dobbs.

What has been done at city hall since Dobbs took over, is also being challenged by "the missing three" in a complaint Powell has filed with the District Clerk's office.

Now, in an ironic reversal of sorts, it appears, Dobbs and the "missing two" council members will be challenging everything the "missing three" try to do.

Small children may be in college by the time this one is settled.

There was no pledging and praying, or praying and pledging, to begin this meeting, which in itself may, or may not, be a violation of city council rules.

Almost anything that can be challenged, is being challenged by both sides.

Mayor Pro Tem, Hank Laywell did call the role.

Those in attendance included Laywell, Cheryl Jones and Powell, who were all seated on the pew directly in front of the candy machine in the lobby of the Municipal building.

Reporters stood in front of them. Police watched from the side.

Laywell called the role. just as Dobbs had done a few weeks ago, when the missing three weren't at their seats. They didn't answer then, anymore than Claudette Allsup and Tommy Taylor answered Monday.

Laywell said he would have preferred that the mayor be in attendance, but since he wasn't, they'd carry on without him.

Item No. 1: Discuss, approve, or disapprove the removal from office of Mayor John Dobbs under local government code section 22.009 under local code, section 22.07.

Actually, Dobbs had already canceled this meeting the same day it was posted with a notice on a Municipal building window.

Dobbs said he removed it, saying it was an illegal meeting. Powell said it didn't matter whether Dobbs tore it down or not. It was placed there on good faith.

He said Dobbs should have marked "canceled" through it if he wanted to cancel the meeting.

So there's another dispute to be settled, tear down the notice, or make an X on it? Once the meeting was closed, from out of nowhere seemingly, Dobbs appeared in the lobby, announcing that the meeting was illegal.

He also said he would be pressing charges on the "missing three" for being in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Laywell then announced to the small gathering that the locksmith had already been called.

Police Lt. Mike Tayem then said, "You will be arrested if you change any of the locks, and so will the locksmith." At one point, when Laywell attempted to back into the police area, he was told he would be arrested if he didn't leave the area, which he did.

When Laywell and Powell were again threatened with arrest if they persisted with the locksmith, they relented and left the meeting. Jones had already left.

A few seconds later, inside the City Secretary's office, Dobbs asked Laywell a rhetorical question. "Don't you have a two-story house, Hank?" When Laywell said he did, Dobbs countered by saying "I'm about to own it." Dobbs then said he'd be suing him for slander "for all the lies he'd been telling about him." Laywell countered on the way out, "Tell Joe I hope he enjoys my house I've been living in for the last 20 years." TEMPORARY INJUNCTION SOUGHT: At 8:07 a.m., even before Powell could make his way out of the Municipal Building, a representative, acting in his behalf, filed a "Plaintiff's original petition for removal from office and request for temporary restraining order and injunction" in the 173rd District Court.

By late Monday afternoon, 173rd District Court Judge Dan Moore had not set a date for a hearing on the petition. The judge will determine whether the action will go forth, or be thrown out.

The petition accuses Dobbs of the following: --canceling a city council meeting called by Hank Laywell; --suspending City Secretary Debbie Mosley without council approval; --allowing community service personnel as well as unauthorized persons to access personal and confidential records while moving employee offices within the city hall of Seven Points; -- hiring an employee for a position that is not in the City of Seven Points against personnel policy at an hourly rate more than any other rate approved by the governing body; --refusing to place items on the Seven Points City Council agenda that were requested by three council members; --refusing to allow council members to speak during a council meeting; --firing City Secretary Debbie Mosley with full knowledge that the council denied him the power to fire an employee without council approval on May 14; --that he has been signing checks for the City of Seven Points with one signature instead of the two signatures required by the city council with full knowledge he is in violation of the requirements of the city council; --that he is spending more money than what has been budgeted by the city council of Seven Points; --that he purchased a vehicle without city council approval; --that he fired Seven Points Police Chief Brad McConahay without city council approval with full knowledge that the council denied him the power to fire an employee without council approval on May 14; --that he signed a severance agreement with former Police Chief Brad McConahay without city council approval; --that he paid court fees to other cities out of Seven Points general funds instead of the court funds; --that he removed funds from the Seven Points Road Fund and deposited said funds into the Seven Points general fund account; --that he signed a contract for police uniforms without council approval; --that he signed a contract for cellular telephones without council approval; --that he increased the pay scale for employees to a pay rate in excess of the amount set forth by the Seven Points personnel policy without council approval; --that he changed the names of the Seven Points Police Department to the Seven Points Department of Public Safety; --that he refused to issue a check to the Seven Points Economic Development Corporation for its share of funds for the month of July.

As a result, the plaintiff asked that Dobbs be temporarily restrained immediately, without hearing, and upon notice and hearing be temporarily enjoined, pending the order of this court. Here are some of the three pages the plaintiff is requesting: --restricting Dobbs from things like "causing bodily injury to Plaintiff and other members of the city council; destroying, removing, concealing, encumbering, transferring, or otherwise harming or reducing the value of the property of the City of Seven Points; opening or diverting mail addressed to Plaintiff or other city council members." The petition also presented a temporary order for any approriate temporary injunctions for the preservation of the property and protection of the parties and for the safety and welfare of the City of Seven Points, as deemed necessary and equitable.

The request also wants the court to keep Dobbs from "coming onto city property, communicating with plaintiff and other members of the Seven Points City Council in person, by telephone, or in writing in vulgar, profane, obscene, or indecent language or in a coarse offensive manner." Also requested authorization by order of this court; that Dobbs be restrained from threatening plaintiff and others members of the Seven Points City Council with imminent bodily injury, among other things, from making any withdrawals from any checking or savings account of the City of Seven Points in any financial institution for any purpose, except as specifically authorized by order of this court.

OWEN STEPS IN TO CASE: Dobbs' new personal city attorney, James Owen, said none of the accusations by the plaintiffs are accurate.

He also said, "The Bubba group hasn't followed the procedure to file a removal petition." Owen said if the case is allowed to go forward, the applicants have to post bond damages.

On the accusations, Owen said, "They're wrong every time." Powell said City Attorney Blake Armstrong told him the meeting could be challenged, but that it would take a district judge.

Dobbs said that's exactly who he intends to take it to shortly.

"They don't get to take road funds," Powell said.

"It is not the City of Seven Points funds. That is tax money that goes directly into the road fund. We're entrusted with that money, but it's not our money. It's strictly for roads." As for the threatened arrest, if the locksmith tampered with the locks, Powell said: "I know it's not legal, but what do you do? For the time being, I'd have to spend a day in jail. So we left." "What they don't understand is that I'm one fifth responsible for city hall. I can do pretty much what I want to do. Changing the locks is not destruction of property.

"Them locks will be changed, and Joe will be out of there," Powell promised.

To see more of the Cedar Creek Pilot, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://cedarcreekpilot.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Cedar Creek Pilot, Gun Barrel City, Texas Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail services@mctinfoservices.com, or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544).

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