Council approves a series of appointments and consultant contracts; questions raised about corporate ownership and eligibility

The Bastrop City Council approved a set of staffing and contract items, and council members requested more documentation about corporate ownership and ethics restrictions before finalizing some publisher and consultant selections.
Resolutions adopted during the meeting included the appointment of a city attorney (resolution 25-2104), appointment of special counsel for budget and policy legal services to Ricky Smith (resolution 25-2105), and the approval of MSR Consultant Group LLC (described as a chief-of-staff services vendor) as a consultant (resolution 25-2107). Council votes on these resolutions were recorded as passing in the meeting transcript.
Multiple councilors and the city attorney raised concerns about an annual-selection item for an official journal (city newspaper). The administration advised that state ethics rules bar contracting with publications substantially controlled by a former council member within a two-year prohibition. Council members asked the publisher Charles Bradford to provide articles of incorporation and related corporate records so the attorney could confirm whether the ethics prohibition applied. The attorney said that if a former council member is an officer with controlling authority the two-year restriction could prohibit contracting.
Council members also discussed the owner structure of MSR/Empire Corporation and whether chief-of-staff consulting work would create an ethics or procurement issue if the consultant or consultant firm was owned by a council-related party. The council approved the consultant resolutions but asked the parties to provide corporate documents and to allow the city attorney to review ownership and any applicable ethics constraints.
The minutes show the council approved the items by voice votes after motions and seconds; the administration said it would review corporate filings and return with any necessary clarifications or actions if an ethics conflict is identified.