BEAUMONT, Texas — After a few hours and a little back and forth between city council members, Beaumont has a new city manager.
Beaumont City Council members appointed Kenneth Williams as the new city manager in a 4-3 vote on Tuesday. Councilmembers Mike Getz, Randy Feldschau, and Taylor Nield voted "no."
While the council seemed to agree Williams was the right man for the job, they disagreed on the terms of his employment agreement.
“Our job is not to negotiate the best contract for Kenneth Williams,” Getz said during the meeting. “It's to negotiate the best contract for the citizens of Beaumont. This is not it, and I will not support it."
Getz said his decision to vote no was based on a severance package Williams demanded.
If Williams is fired for any reason, he will still get severance money. This means he would walk away with a payment equal to his yearly salary, $250,000.
“Literally, under this employment contract that council passed today, the city manager could not show up to work and force us to have to be in a position where we would have to fire him, and he could say, ‘Fine. Right me a check," Getz said.
Getz, Feldschua and Nield feel the severance package is unprecedent. Getz also claimed the city offering Williams the package would go against the city charter and therefore be illegal.
The city's attorney said otherwise, according to Councilman A.J. Turner
In the end, they were out voted. The council approved a list of amendments to the agreement with Williams.
Getz requested a clause offering Williams compensation pay for working more than 40 hours in a week be taken out of the contract. His request was approved.
The council also added that Williams must live in Beaumont once he starts the job. Williams will start his new role on September 6, 2022.
“I just believe his reputation has exceeded our expectation," Mayor Robin Mouton said.
Mayor Mouton said everyone, "had nothing but good things to say," about Williams.
“I know a lot of people that know him,” Mouton said. “I know a lot of people who spoke highly of him. Our city attorney even said a man that he fired spoke highly of him."
Now that Williams has been hired, Getz believes he will have to hit the ground running.
"Beaumont is 10 times the size of Buda,” Getz said. “Beaumont has police unions, fire unions, civil service employees. Buda does not. He's going to be coming in right in the middle of budget season."
Both Mayor Mouton and Getz hope it works out.
“I want to look forward to the positive things of moving Beaumont forward,” Mouton said. “I ran on building a better Beaumont, and I think he’s going to be a part of the equation to help us do that."
Getz hopes Williams will use his more than 15 years of experience to help the City of Beaumont.
"We hope that he brings in the ability to move the city to the next level," Getz said. "That he brings with him some experience in economic development and economic diversification."
Important to note in the past, a city manager has received a severance package. However, this is the first time one will have a severance package before starting the job.
There were more than 50 applicants for the Beaumont city manager position. That number was narrowed down to 16 and presented to the Beaumont City Council.
Those sixteen applicants were narrowed to three: Williams, Christopher S. Boone and Lionel D. Lyons.
Williams is the “semi-retired” city manager for the City of Buda, Texas. He has served in city management for 18 years.
Williams is an International City Managers Association Executive Board -Credentialed manager and served as president of the Texas City Management Association in 2019 and 2020.
Williams' philosophy of city management is to, "provide professional acumen, practical skills and a servant’s heart in providing support and leadership with city council, staff, and the community in shaping the best cities to live in the country."
Williams worked as an emergency management coordinator in Lufkin for nine years and worked through several hurricanes and the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.