VON ORMY – An angry crowd, a controversial city employee, a failed attempt to pass a budget, and even an arrest were part of a chaotic Von Ormy Board of Commissioners meeting Wednesday morning.
The mayor and two city commissioners of the small city in Southwest Bexar County had been scheduled to vote on the city budget and tax rate following a public hearing at the municipal building. However, an issue with the timing of required public notices meant the vote was delayed for at least the second time.
Dozens of residents - many of them angry with City Administrator Valerie Naff - gathered for the meeting. But with the city’s police department enforcing a 35-person capacity on the building, most were left outside and had to cycle through as space became available.
One woman was taken out in handcuffs before KSAT could enter the building. A Von Ormy police lieutenant said she was arrested for disrupting the meeting.
The crowd inside was vocal and openly antagonistic toward Naff, who sat at the table with the board.
Several people wore shirts reading “no salary for Valerie” and “keep Von Ormy tax free” in reference to a budget proposal the city administrator had put forward, which has since been replaced by one from Mayor Casey Homer.
Homer, who has clashed with Naff and the two other commissioners on the board, started Thursday’s meeting by expressing his frustration with the setup.
The board had already run into similar capacity issues during a Sept. 28 attempt to meet about the budget, he said, and “we all said we’re going to reschedule for next Thursday (Oct. 5) at the blue building with the higher occupancy threshold.”
“What changed between Thursday (Sept. 28), 8 p.m. and Friday (Sept. 29) at 5:12, less than 24 hours later, where I was informed that the two commissioners wanted to hold this meeting Wednesday morning in this location?” Homer asked.
The board heard public comments from several people before going into an executive session behind closed doors. Afterward, Homer announced they could not proceed with the public hearing on the budget and tax rate because there had not been 10 days’ notice.
The board, which is comprised of Homer and two commissioners, agreed to meet at a larger nearby building on Oct. 20 to try another vote on the budget.
The city budget has been a recent source of frustration for residents in the famously property-tax-free city. Instead, the city relies on sales tax, franchise tax, fines and fees for revenue.
Naff filed a budget proposal on Aug. 28 that included both an $80,000 salary for herself and a property tax rate of 66.95 cents per $100 of property value - enough to bring in $470,000.
The city administrator said the $80,000 figure had been included in the proposal because the board had considered a requirement that she and the police chief only work for the city. They are not currently considering that restriction.
Naff said she currently makes about $57,000 through her work at the city and gets to $80,000 through working a side job.
“So, you know, if you want to do that, you know you’re going to pay me the difference. So that was in the original budget. But again, it wasn’t finalized. It was just for the numbers,” Naff told KSAT.
“It was just a conversation,” she said later in the interview. “It was just to see if the numbers were even possible. But you have to publish it, right? You publish the highest and you come down from that.”
As for the implementation of a tax rate, Naff said there had been concern from commissioners over whether the city could cover the front-end costs related to a $3 million sewer grant it received from Bexar County.
The city will have to spend money on its own first before the county will reimburse it using American Rescue Plan Act funds. Commissioners were initially concerned about the city’s ability to borrow money to cover those costs without a property tax.
“It wasn’t approved or anything. It was just, we’re going to post it at this level,” Naff said. “And the commissioners can choose any level, including zero, whatever they decide. Ultimately, they have decided to go with the 0% tax rate for our ad valorem taxes. But I think a lot of these people don’t understand that that’s what it was.”
Homer said it was improper for Naff to put forward a budget and tax proposal and told KSAT he was the “state-designated budget officer” for the city. He has since had Naff remove her original proposal and replace it with his own.
Homer, who said the administrator position is a recent addition, did not include any money for the position in his budget proposal. His plan also kept the property tax rate at $0.
After announcing the delay on the budget vote, the board met behind closed doors to hear performance reviews of Naff and Police Chief Lionel Perez Jr.
Though a discussion of whether to remove Naff or dissolve her position entirely, based on a citizen petition, was also on the council’s agenda Thursday, the board declined to take it up.
Homer told KSAT that a recent board vote means he is not allowed to make motions or vote during a meeting unless there is a tie between the other two commissioners. Though he asked for a motion to dissolve the administrator position, both commissioners, Sabastian “Sammy” Martinez and Ramon Guzman Jr., stayed silent.
The approval and signing of employment contracts for Naff and Perez also went undiscussed during the meeting. Homer said the board should pass a budget first.