HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2025-021 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-021
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND
HILLS, TEXAS, PUBLICLY REPRIMANDING COUNCILMEMBER PLACE 5,
BLAKE VAUGHN FOR VIOLATIONS OF RULES OF PROCEDURE AND
HOUSE RULES; REMOVING COUNCILMEMBER PLACE 5, BLAKE VAUGHN
AS DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TEM; DECLARING THAT COUNCILMEMBER
PLACE 5, BLAKE VAUGHN HAS NO AGENCY ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OR
THE CITY COUNCIL; FINDING NO WRONGDOING BY THE CITY MANAGER;
ORDERING THAT NO INVESTIGATION BE MADE OF THE CITY MANAGER;
PROVIDING DIRECTION TO THE CITY ATTORNEY; AND PROVIDING AN
EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, the City of North Richland Hills is a home rule municipality acting
under its charter adopted by the electorate pursuant to Article XI,
Section 5, of the Texas Constitution and Chapter 9 of the Texas
Local Government Code; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has adopted certain Rules of Procedure that govern
its operations in Division 2, Article II, Chapter 2, of the Code of
Ordinances, North Richland Hills, Texas; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed and discussed certain House Rules to
govern the actions of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the Rules of Procedure and the House Rules are intended to enable
the City Council to carry out the business of the City in an orderly
and dignified manner; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the actions of Councilmember Place
5, Blake Vaughn in the public meeting of the City Council on March
24, 2025; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has determined that the actions of Councilmember
Place 5, Blake Vaughn in said meeting were in violation of the Rules
of Procedure and the House Rules of the City Council and deserving
of reprimand to restore the order and dignity of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to publicly reprimand Councilmember Place
5, Blake Vaughn for his actions in violation of the Rules of Procedure
and House Rules of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council calls on Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn to
conduct himself in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and
House Rules in all future public meetings of the City Council; and
Resolution No.2025-021
Page 1 of 7
WHEREAS, the North Richland Hills City Charter (the "Charter") establishes
certain powers and duties of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, Section 3, Article VI of the Charter provides, in part, that one duty of
the City Council is to inquire into the conduct of any office,
department, or agency of the City and make investigation as to
municipal affairs; and
WHEREAS, this Section 3 of the Charter establishes and reserves the authority
for any such investigation to the City Council as a body, not to
individual councilmembers; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn
has represented to the public that he is investigating the City
Manager; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has not ordered and does not find the need for any
investigation of the City Manager; and
WHEREAS, a single Councilmember does not have authority to act on his own,
but the City Council must act as a body; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to make clear that any investigation being
performed by Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn is being
performed in his individual capacity, not his official capacity as a
Councilmember; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to make it known publicly that
Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn is not speaking or acting with
agency on behalf of the City or the City Council with regard to any
investigations; and
WHEREAS, an investigation uses vital resources of the City and costs the City
time and money in the form of staff time and other resources; and
WHEREAS, the City Council calls on Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn to
immediately stop any independent investigation being pursued
without authorization of the City Council to avoid the waste of
additional City resources; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has a practice of discussing and handling personnel
matters in executive session to protect the privacy and integrity of
City officers and employees; and
Resolution No.2025-021
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WHEREAS, the actions of Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn discussing the
personnel matter related to the City Manager in public on social
media is in violation of this practice; and
WHEREAS, such comments of Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn are in
direction opposition to the decision and the position of the City
Council as a body; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to make it clear that Councilmember Place
5, Blake Vaughn is not speaking or acting with agency on behalf of
the City or the City Council on these issues; and
WHEREAS, Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn was duly appointed by the
City Council to serve as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem; and
WHEREAS, the City Council believes that the title of Deputy Mayor Pro Tern could
lead the public to give more credence to Councilmember Place 5,
Blake Vaughn's actions and could lead the public to believe that
Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn speaks with agency on
behalf of the City or the City Council on these issues; and
WHEREAS, in order to reduce the possibility for confusion, the City Council
desires to remove Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn as Deputy
Mayor Pro Tern, effective immediately; and
WHEREAS, the City Council's practice is to hold discussions regarding the City
Manager's performance in executive session in order to protect the
privacy, integrity, and effectiveness of the City Manager as the
administrative leader of the City, yet the actions of Councilmember
Place 5, Blake Vaughn have made it necessary for the City Council
to publicly address this issue; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has discussed and reviewed in executive session
the actions of the City Manager with regard to the FlashVote survey
regarding carports; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the video of the City Council's work
session on January 27, 2025, and the City Council has discussed
their own personal recollection of the events that transpired in said
public meeting; and
WHEREAS, the only Councilmember that requested to review the questions for
the FlashVote survey was Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn;
and
Resolution No.2025-021
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WHEREAS, the City Council unanimously, with the exception of Councilmember
Place 5, Blake Vaughn, believes that there was not a consensus of
the City Council to request the City Manager bring the questions for
the FlashVote survey on carports to the City Council for review and
approval; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the City Manager acted in accordance with
the direction of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that there was no malfeasance on the part of
the City Manager; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the City Manager handled herself with
integrity and truthfulness throughout this process; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to make it known that Councilmember Place
5, Blake Vaughn does not speak or act with agency for the City or
the City Council on the issues related to the Flashvote survey on
carports, the City Manager's actions in relation to same, and the City
Council's direction in relation to same; and
WHEREAS, the City Council approved and entered into that certain Agreement
for Legal Services with the law firm of Taylor, Olson, Adkins, Sralla
& Elam, L.L.P. and appointed Bradley A. Anderle as City Attorney,
effective October 1, 2024; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to said Agreement for Legal Services, the City Council
appointed the City Manager and the Mayor as City representatives
in dealing with the City Attorney; and
WHEREAS, the City representatives were established for the purpose of limiting
and controlling legal expenses for the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council reserves the right under said Agreement for Legal
Services to clarify direction to the City Attorney as a body; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that errant or unnecessary requests for legal
services can cause the City to incur significant costs that may not be
beneficial to the City; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to provide clear direction to the City Attorney
that proper requests for legal services should come solely from the
City Manager or the Mayor unless clear direction is given from the
City Council as a body.
Resolution No.2025-021
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• NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TEXAS THAT:
SECTION 1. The findings and recitals above are found to be true and accurate
and are incorporated herein and adopted as the findings and
statements of the City Council.
SECTION 2. The City Council finds that Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn's
actions in the City Council meeting on March 24, 2025, were in
violation of the Rules of Procedure and the House Rules of the City
Council, as follows:
• Section 43.20, Roberts Rules: Councilmember Vaughn's
comments during open session related to City Manager's actions
were not germane to the question before the City Council at the
time because they were related to executive session discussion;
• Section 43:21, Roberts Rules: Councilmember Vaughn's
comments calling the Mayor a liar and accusing the Mayor of
misleading the public were an attack or question of the motives
of another member;
• Section 43:26, Roberts Rules: Councilmember Vaughn's playing
of a recording after objection of the Mayor and without approval
of the City Council;
• Section 43:28, Robert Rules: Councilmember Vaughn abruptly
leaving the meeting was a disruption of the meeting;
• Section 2-65(c), Rules of Procedure: Councilmember Vaughn's
comments calling the Mayor a liar and accusing the Mayor of
misleading the public was impugning the motives of a member
and a violation of decorum. Councilmember Vaughn's comments
about the City Manager's actions was not the question under
discussion at the time; and
• House Rules: Councilmember Vaughn's comments calling the
Mayor a liar and suggesting he was misleading the public were
not treating others with respect. Councilmember Vaughn's
discussion of the City Manager's actions in open session was not
being aware of the open meetings laws as the item was posted
for discussion in executive session. Councilmember Vaughn's
online discussion of the City Manager's actions was not debating
pending issues in the council environment.
The City Council finds that Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn
has violated the practice and the desire of the City of North Richland
Hills, Texas, and the City Council by discussing personnel matters in
the public on social media.
Resolution No.2025-021
Page 5 of 7
The City Council hereby publicly reprimands Councilmember Place
5, Blake Vaughn for his actions in violation of the Rules of Procedure
and the House Rules of the City Council.
The City Council calls on Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn to
conduct himself in accordance with the Rules of Procedure and
House Rules in all future public meetings of the City Council and to
respect and act in accordance with the lawful practices of the City
Council in the best interest of the City.
SECTION 3. The City Council removes Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn as
Deputy Mayor Pro Tern, effective immediately upon the adoption of
this Resolution. From the date of the adoption of this Resolution,
Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn shall no longer be the Deputy
Mayor Pro Tern of the City Council of the City of North Richland Hills,
Texas, and shall now hold no office, position, or title other than
Councilmember Place 5.
SECTION 4. The City Council definitively and unequivocally states that
Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn is not acting or speaking with
agency on behalf of the City of North Richland Hills, Texas, or the
City Council in his statements regarding the FlashVote survey
regarding carports, the City Manager's actions related to same, and
the City Council's direction in relation to same.
SECTION 5.The City Council finds that the City Manager acted in accordance with
the direction of the City Council and did not commit any wrongdoing
in the preparation and execution of the FlashVote survey on carports.
SECTION 6. The City Council has not ordered and does not find the need for any
investigation of the City Manager. The City Council further finds that
no investigation of the City Manager should be performed at this
time.
The City Council makes it known that any investigation being
performed by Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn is being
performed in his individual capacity, not his official capacity as a
Councilmember, as such investigation has not been ordered or
authorized by the City Council.
The City Council makes it known that Councilmember Place 5, Blake
Vaughn is not speaking or acting with agency on behalf of the City of
North Richland Hills, Texas, or the City Council with regard to any
unauthorized and unwarranted investigation he is pursuing.
Resolution No.2025-021
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The City Council calls on Councilmember Place 5, Blake Vaughn to
immediately stop any independent investigation being pursued
without authorization of the City Council to avoid the waste of
additional City resources.
SECTION 7. The City Council instructs the City Attorney that the only authorized
representatives for the City to make requests for legal services are
the City Manager or the Mayor, unless clear direction is given from
the City Council as a body. The City Council further instructs the City
Attorney not to respond to requests for legal services received from
an individual Councilmembers without the direction of the City
Council as a body.
SECTION 8. This Resolution shall be effective immediately upon its adoption.
PASSED AND APPROVED on this 9th day of April, 2025.
CITY OF NORTH RICHLAND HILLS
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o,•+•�GHL'A/v°•, J k McCarty, Mayor
ATTEST: a iz.z,....• . y
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Alicia Richardson o"p' �//
City Secretary/Chief Gover °teO c e.,
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APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
Bradley A. Anderle, City Attorney
Resolution No.2025-021
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