As Donna council dispute stalls in court, city business goes undone

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EDINBURG — As a fractured Donna City Council continues to litigate their arguments in court, city business is going undone in the face of looming state deadlines to pass a budget and property tax rate.

After several hours of debate, including some closed-door deliberations by the judge, not much happened Monday morning in the ongoing dispute which has pitted Donna Mayor David Moreno and City Attorney Robert J. Salinas, against the rest of the city council.

More than half a dozen motions were pending before Albert Garcia, presiding judge of County Court at Law No. 6, on Monday in the litigation and cross litigation that first began in August as a dispute over whether or not to call a municipal election.

But before Garcia could consider any of them, he first had to decide if he even had the jurisdictional authority to preside over the dispute.

Ultimately, Garcia decided he did not, and ordered the case to be transferred to a state district court. In so doing, the judge also dissolved the temporary restraining order that has been keeping the council from firing Donna City Manager Carlos Yerena or City Attorney Robert J. Salinas.

“I am leaning toward dissolving the TRO, the injunction. And then there’s other matters that came up, some of which I do have jurisdiction (over), some of which I do not,” Garcia said.

“But I find that the district court would have jurisdiction over all of them,” he added just moments before making his order official.

For Jaime Peña, the Edinburg attorney representing Place 4 Donna Councilman Oscar Gonzales, transferring the litigation to district court was the right move.

“The court made a good ruling saying that this case belongs in the district court… and is gonna transfer (it),” Peña said.

“The district court has exclusive jurisdiction over injunctions and mandamus,” he said a moment later.

At issue are competing allegations that members of the Donna City Council held secret meetings in violation of the Texas Open Meetings Act.

The mayor, along with the city attorney, first lobbed those allegations a month ago, just as the council was set to discuss Salinas’ and Yerena’s employment.

Just minutes after the mayor called that Aug. 26 meeting to order, a civil process server hand delivered copies of the TRO to Gonzales and Place 3 Councilman Ernesto Lugo Jr.

The TRO alleged that the pair had held a meeting with fellow councilman, Jesse “Coach” Jackson, to gameplan the firings of Yerena and Salinas.

It further alleged that Jackson was a cooperating witness who tipped the mayor off about the allegedly illegal meeting.

But just days later, Lugo and Gonzales — each with their own legal representation — filed a flurry of motions and counterclaims with the court.

Perhaps most notable among them was a sworn affidavit from Councilman Jackson roundly denying that he had participated in an illegal meeting with Lugo and Gonzales.

Instead, he claimed that it was the mayor and city attorney who had lured him into an improper meeting.

“I received a phone call from Mayor Moreno requesting me to meet him at Counsel Salinas’ office, and since I was in need of legal advise (sic) I went to said meeting,” Jackson stated.

“Upon my arrival, both Counsel and Mayor Moreno were consuming alcoholic beverages,” he further stated.

Meanwhile, in his court filings, Lugo referred to the mayor and city manager’s TRO as a “publicity stunt” — one he hopes a judge will toss out entirely.

But, if not, then Lugo hopes a judge will make the cost of litigation too painful for the mayor and city attorney to bear.

“(Lugo) believes he will be damaged more than $500, as the current bond stands. Accordingly, the bond in this matter should be increased to $100,000,” Lugo’s attorney, Damian C. Orozco states in a Sept. 6 filing.

The motion makes clear that Lugo does not expect the city of Donna to pay that bond, but instead, Mayor Moreno and Salinas themselves.

For his part, Gonzales also argues that the suit should be tossed.

But in the alternative, he alleges that it’s the mayor who has violated the open meetings act by unilaterally deciding to file litigation on the city’s behalf without holding a public meeting first.

As such, Gonzales is seeking an injunction of his own, one that would prevent “Mayor Moreno from taking further legal action on behalf of the City without City Council approval, in accordance with the City Charter,” Peña stated in a Sept. 9 filing.

Shortly after Monday’s hearing adjourned, attorneys for the mayor and city attorney filed a motion to amend their complaint against Lugo and Gonzales. Now the pair want to name Jackson — whom they initially considered a cooperating witness — as a defendant.

But as the two sides sit in stalemate, important city decisions are being left in a holding pattern, including approving Donna’s proposed budget and property tax rate — both of which must be approved by Sunday, according to statutory deadlines.

The council was scheduled to hold a meeting last Tuesday, but only the mayor, city attorney and city manager, and a number of angry Donna residents showed up.

Councilmen Lugo, Gonzales, Jackson and Place 2 Councilman Joey Garza Jr. no-showed.

Speaking after the court hearing, the mayor said he hoped his council colleagues would show up for a specially called meeting set for Monday afternoon to discuss the items from last week’s failed meeting.

If not, Moreno has already called for another meeting with an identical agenda to be held on Tuesday.