Bee Cave officials weigh affordable housing, donation reform

"We're really doing something to alleviate stress on our local businesses, on our first responders, our hospital workers and our teachers," Mayor Kara King said.

A city spokesperson confirmed that the council will finalize development plans in June.

What else?

The council approved an ordinance that will regulate monetary and tangible donations to the city of Bee Cave.

The ordinance includes rules which prohibit "quid pro quo" exchanges and calls for the creation of a donation coordinator staff position separate from the planning and development department.

Garza said the ordinance was an important step toward bolstering more transparency around city funding.

"We wanted to come up with a policy that left nothing to the imagination; that [communicated] no one is getting preferential treatment through their contributions," Garza said at the meeting.

Also of note

The council discussed an ordinance that would increase their compensation from the current $50 per meeting to $1,000 per month and $1,200 per month for the mayor.

Garza, who introduced the suggestion, said residents expect more from their leaders now than they did when the city charter was first created.

He said neighboring cities of analogous size don't seem to have a uniform way of designating compensation rates. Liberty Hill, for example, pays the mayor $40,000 a year and council members $12,000 a year, while Lakeway city leaders do not receive any compensation.

Ultimately, the council agreed to discuss the issue further at a later date, and the ordinance was not approved.

What's next

Garza will serve his last day as the city manager Feb. 29.

A city spokesperson confirmed that an employment agreement was extended to a new city manager candidate, but the identity of the candidate will be made public at an unknown date.

Quote of note

"I don't think anyone would doubt that I love what I do. I have made lifelong friends with the staff and the residents here. ... I have been really honored to serve everyone in the community, and I'm really going to miss it," Garza said at the end of the public session.