Freeport council establishes police, firefighters civil service commission; confirmations postponed to executive session

Freeport’s City Council voted Dec. 29 to establish a three-member Police Officers and Firefighters Civil Service Commission under Texas Local Government Code Chapter 143, moving the city toward implementing a voter-approved civil service system for sworn police officers and firefighters.

The council adopted Resolution No. 2025-3014 on a 4-0 vote after a joint presentation from city chiefs and a legal overview by attorney Chris Duncan. The council then heard the city manager’s recommended appointments but recessed into executive session for attorney consultation before voting on confirmations, postponing formal appointment action.

The commission is required by statute to administer hiring, promotions, disciplinary actions and appeals for covered employees. Attorney Chris Duncan told council that the city manager must appoint commission members within 60 days of the election outcome and that the full civil service system must be implemented by Oct. 31, 2026. "If the employee goes through the whole process and has their hearing with [the] civil service commission, and they're unhappy with the ruling ... they can file a lawsuit in district court," Duncan said, describing the statutory appeals path and timelines. He summarized statutory deadlines: the chief must submit written suspension paperwork within 120 hours, the employee then has 10 days to decide whether to appeal to the commission, and the commission has 30 days to hold a hearing on the appeal.

City police and fire leaders described how the system will change local hiring and promotion practices. Presenters said civil service will require standardized written testing and a points system that adds seniority credit to exam scores, and that promotion processes now used by the departments would move toward a civil-service-administered model. "This applies to the hiring, promotion and disciplinary process for the employees that are covered there at the police and fire department," a chief explained during the presentation.

Council members pressed for specifics about how appeals and arbitration would work in practice, who would be the point of contact, and how quickly a commission would respond after an appeal is filed. Presenters said arbitration remains an option and described an arbitrator-selection process; local rules to govern timing and process will be developed by the commission and must conform to statutory minimums.

Several speakers raised budget and staffing concerns. Council members asked whether the civil service commission would oversee compensation; presenters and staff said it would not. They warned, however, that the city will need to budget for additional expenses tied to civil service functions — for example, a paid commission director, outside testing, civil service attorneys, exam grading, physicians for fitness evaluations and grievance examiners. "There will be those expenses that the commission will incur but needs to be paid by the city," Duncan said.

Members of the public addressed the council during the meeting. Manning Rollerson urged the city to prioritize housing and diversify boards. Sam Reyna praised two recommended appointees and said the council had not provided complaint materials related to an ethics inquiry; Reyna called for transparency. Pam Dancy said many voters lacked information before voting on civil service and asked how local rules and tests would be created.

At the meeting’s action items, Councilman Pina moved to approve Resolution No. 2025-3014 establishing the commission; Councilman Davis seconded and the motion carried 4-0. The city manager (Dr. Kelly) presented three recommended appointees for confirmation — Margaret Bachman (initial one-year term), Carrie Moore (two-year term) and Tyrone Morrow (three-year term) — but the council recessed into executive session before taking a formal vote on those confirmations. The council indicated the executive-session consultation was expected to be brief.

Next steps identified by staff and presenters include attending civil service training (presenters cited training dates late January in Waco), drafting local rules and preparing a budget line for commission-related costs. The commission, once appointed and confirmed, will adopt local rules, administer promotional and hiring examinations and oversee appeals and disciplinary reviews.

Actions taken at the Dec. 29 meeting and the pending confirmations mean the city has begun the statutory process set by the November election; the commission and city staff will return with more specific local rules, cost estimates and proposed timelines for recruitment and orientation of new commissioners.