At the meeting, board members alleged he more than once violated board policies and abused his power as an elected official.
Paiva did not attend the meeting, but in an Oct. 21 statement to Community Impact, he said he “fully supports a DA investigation,” as it will uncover facts about “unresolved harassment and whistleblower claims” related to prior workplace related complaints within the Cy-Fair Fire Department.
The decision comes almost two months after the board voted Aug. 28 to replace him as president—a role he had held since January.
What we know
The special-called meeting included an item regarding the “appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline or dismissal” of Paiva, according to an agenda posted Oct. 14.
In a statement at the Oct. 20 meeting, board President Naressa MacKinnon listed several allegations against Paiva dating back to May, some of which were related to unauthorized expenditures, collusion, mishandling confidential information and violating the Texas Open Meetings Act, among others.
After a closed-session deliberation, the board voted unanimously to submit a referral with the DA’s office to investigate Paiva.
“This isn’t about sides,” MacKinnon said during the meeting. “It’s about protecting and ensuring the public and the department’s trust in their elected officials.”
The board’s action does not remove Paiva from the board. As of press time, he remains an active ESD 9 commissioner.
“I urge the board to prioritize reforms over division, ensuring our firefighters and the taxpayer community get the oversight they deserve,” Paiva said in the statement. “I stand ready for the DA to dig deep—this will reveal the conflicts and delays currently harming our fire department operation.”
Also of note
The district’s legal counsel Mills Shirley resigned Oct. 19 without a specific reason, MacKinnon said at the Oct. 20 meeting. The commissioners still plan to conduct public interviews for new counsel, as discussed at the September board meeting, but the board appointed attorney David Manley for legal guidance in the meantime.
The board also unanimously voted to terminate an agreement with the district’s investigative counsel—brought on after several CFFD employees filed workplace-related complaints—due to concerns that the investigations were conducted with a predetermined outcome. Commissioner Cameron Dickey said the investigation was “compromised” from the start.
The district will begin a new investigation of the allegations made against CFFD once new investigative counsel has been obtained, Dickey told Community Impact.
The next regular board meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Oct. 30 in the ESD 9 administration building at 10710 Telge Road, Houston.
