On Aug. 26, council unanimously chose Denton Navarro Rodriguez Bernal Santee & Zach PC to represent the city in legal matters. The firm has been acting for Cibolo on an interim basis since the termination of former City Attorney George Hyde with Hyde Kelley LLP on March 11.
What happened
In November 2024, the dais voted to provide a 30-day notice to end its contract with Hyde Kelley, then voted to reinstate the attorney Dec. 2, according to previous reporting by Community Impact.
At its Feb. 11 meeting, a council motion to terminate its agreement with Hyde Kelley ended in a split vote of 4-4, with Mayor Mark Allen voting on the matter. Allen said he was allowed to vote on the attorney decision per the language in the Cibolo City Charter.
Following the Feb. 11 vote, council directed city staff to hire a third-party attorney to review and interpret the city charter. The firm, Messer Fort, found that the mayor could not vote on any matter, including the removal of the city attorney, absent a tie vote.
A 4-3 vote to adopt the third-party interpretation March 11 terminated the Hyde Kelley agreement.
One more thing
Communications Manager Jeanette Gonzalez told Community Impact that City Council must officially approve the firm via a resolution during its Sept. 9 council meeting to designate Dan Santee as city attorney. Gonzalez said others in the firm will still represent the city and help with items like municipal court and open records requests.
