Crockett council restores CEIDC director’s authority after lengthy public comments; action on assistant deferred

The Crockett City Council voted on May 28 to restore James Gentry’s authority as executive director of the Crockett Economic and Industrial Development Corporation (CEIDC), after a lengthy public-comment period in which residents cited a forensic audit that they said showed financial and governance problems at the development corporation.

Dozens of residents packed City Hall and urged the council to delay any reinstatement until outside legal and audit work was complete. ‘‘Miss Hicks was taken off at the Crockett Economic Development Board for having a private meeting when the board had been suspended,’’ said Vicki Cox during public comment, arguing that prior conduct should bar a return to the board. Other speakers described missing bank statements and checks, alleged nepotism in contracts, and questioned CEIDC’s record on projects funded by taxpayers.

Council member Katrina Hicks moved to "affirm the position of James Gentry as the executive director of Crockett economic and industrial development corporation with rights to receive legal and other official documents and act on behalf of the corporation; rescind any implied or actual suspension and any implied or actual administrative paid leave status of James Gentry ... effective immediately" and to postpone consideration of the assistant executive director’s paid-leave status until further notice. An unidentified council member seconded the motion.

The city administrator cautioned the council against rushing. "Reinstating members and employees to their previous positions before addressing these root problems can place the city and each council member at personal risk of litigation and prosecution," the city administrator said, urging the council to await an internal affairs review and corrective-action plan from outside counsel that the administration expected within weeks.

During public comment and later in discussion, residents cited specific findings from a forensic audit and related inquiries: claims included missing or partial bank statements, ‘voided’ checks reportedly held in the director’s office lockbox, unpaid or unreported payroll forms and tax reporting (alleged $118,622 in unreported 1099/W-2-related amounts), alleged unrecorded payments totaling roughly $450,000, an $8,400 bonus paid in 2021 that speakers said lacked authorization, and a $4,000,000 USDA loan on an Angelina Building project. Lawrence Minner and other commenters also alleged familial ties between contractors and CEIDC staff that they described as nepotism.

Council members debated terminology and process: some said the director had been ‘‘suspended’’ in practice; others—backed by the city administrator—said the status had been paid administrative leave, a distinction they argued had legal and procedural implications. The motion’s text, read into the record by Council member Katrina Hicks, specified rescinding ‘‘any implied or actual suspension and any implied or actual administrative paid leave status of James Gentry ... effective immediately’’ and asked that action on the assistant executive director remain postponed.

The transcript records the motion being called for a vote after extended discussion; the chair declared the motion carried. The meeting record in the transcript does not include a roll-call tally of yes/no votes. After the vote the council moved to adjourn.

What happens next: the council’s discussion referred repeatedly to a pending internal affairs review and a corrective-action plan expected from outside counsel; several speakers and the city administrator said those documents should guide any additional personnel or governance decisions. The council’s motion reinstated Gentry’s authority immediately, but the transcript shows the council left the assistant’s status and any detailed corrective steps for later action or for the incoming review.