NOTICE: City offices were described at the June 17, 2025 meeting as open “Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday 9 to 5.” Office hours are set by the City Administrator (Ord. 2023-05-31.1, Sec. 6(K)).
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Meet Your Officials

Hawk Cove is a small town with a lot of public record. Here are the people who hold, or have held, City office, introduced by that record.

About These Profiles

Each profile covers the office, not the person: titles held and when, how the office was filled and what we know of its pay, motions, votes, signatures, and words spoken at public meetings. Every line links to its record.

  • Meeting quotes come from the meeting video or the transcripts on this site, at the time shown. The video is the record.
  • Court and criminal matters are stated the way the court record or the news report states them, and credited. Being charged is not being convicted. If we hold no record of how a matter ended, we say so.
  • Elected officials are named. Appointed officers are listed by title, as everywhere else on this site. Where one office has had more than one holder, the profile is of the office.
  • We do not profile City employees outside these offices.
Seats are as of October 2026, from the council table. When we find a newer record, this page changes.

Darren Evans, Mayor

Mayor Last elected May 2, 2026, unopposed

The Mayor presides at Council meetings and votes only to break a tie (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §22.037(a)). By ordinance, “The Mayor shall not initiate, oversee, manage, or regulate the day-to-day operations of the City” (Ord. No. 04-102). Mr. Evans is on his third turn in the office: by his own sworn affidavit he was Mayor “from October 8, 2019 to November 3, 2020 and from May 17, 2022 through and including May 31, 2024” (Cause 94315, Exhibit B, para. 3), and he was elected again on May 2, 2026. On the record he has also held three other titles.

Titles held

  • Mayor, 2023–2024. The minutes show “MAYOR DARREN EVANS” calling the May 15, May 25 and May 31, 2023 meetings to order (May 15; May 25; May 31). He was still Mayor at the May 21, 2024 meeting, according to the Herald-Banner.
  • Former Mayor, November 2024. eExtra News called him “former Mayor Darren Evans” (Nov. 21, 2024). His sworn petition that month speaks of “my former duties as Mayor” (Cause No. 94315, p. 25; see Legal matters).
  • Financial Consultant for the City, November 2024. In the same petition he swore to facts known “in my present official capacity as a resident voting citizen and Financial Consultant for The City of Hawk Cove, Texas” (Cause No. 94315, p. 25; see Who Does What).
  • Mayor again, 2026. Elected May 2, 2026. The Mayor’s race is not among the contested Hawk Cove races in the Herald-Banner’s April 6, 2026 preview; at the May 19, 2026 canvass he was read as the only candidate for Mayor (council table).
  • Consultant, while Mayor. “…a consultant, not a contractor.” (Sept. 28, 2026 special session, 0:32:58)
  • Municipal Judge, while Mayor. “As judge I do not take salary because I donate my time to the city.” (same meeting, 0:33:18). At the same meeting the City Attorney called him “Your Honor” and “the Chief Budget Officer for the City of Hawk Cove” (Who Does What). State law: “In a general-law city, the mayor is ex officio judge of the municipal court unless the municipality by ordinance authorizes the election of the judge or provides for the appointment and qualifications of the judge.” (Gov’t Code §29.004(b); we became a Type A general-law city by Ordinance 100-5.) Our ordinance library holds no ordinance providing for the election or appointment of the judge.

Appointment and pay

  • Mayor is an elected office (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §22.031(b)). We hold no record setting pay for the office.
  • As judge, in his words, no salary (0:33:18). We hold no record of any pay as Financial Consultant or consultant.

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Presided as the Council approved the City’s agreements with twelve positions and vendors, among them the Municipal Judge, City Administrator, Chief Financial Officer, City Secretary and City Attorney/Prosecutor, and the Wastewater Plant Operator and Public Works Director, both James Mullis, whose agreements he signed as “Mayor” (see below). Each time, “MAYOR DARREN EVANS ENTERTAINED A MOTION” (minutes, p. 4; p. 5).
  • May 31, 2023. Presided as the Council approved nine ordinances, including the ones on the City Administrator’s powers and what Council members may not do (minutes, pp. 4–6). Our copies of those ordinances are unsigned and the adoption date is blank.
  • September 9, 2023. With one Council member present: “Because this requires an act, and we do not have a quorum at this time, then I must, in accordance with the tax code, section 26.05, produce a tax rate in accordance with the tax code in sufficient time for publication” (0:04:26), and “This meeting is adjourned at 4:10 on September 9, 2023” (0:08:36) (Finances).
  • May 21, 2024. “Mayor Darren Evans ended the meeting early,” according to the Herald-Banner (May 22, 2024).
  • May 19, 2026. Told the Council it was “in receipt of the fiscal year 2024 audit and the fiscal year 2025 audit,” and that “council cannot distribute the audits” (meeting video; Audits).
  • July 21, 2026. Gave the agenda’s informational presentation on trash billing, saying the contract’s overages “were not coming from those rates but coming from the … city coffers” and “there may be some increases” (meeting video). No motion was made (Fee Schedule).
  • FY2027 budget. Signed the “FY2027 AMENDED PROPOSED MUNICIPAL BUDGET,” date line blank (pages held). Its adoption record is empty (Finances).
  • September 22, 2026. “I will unilaterally adjourn this meeting, as is my right and presiding officer.” (0:50:09)
  • October 20, 2026. Told “Mayor, you’re off agenda,” he replied, “I am not off agenda” (meeting video; City News).

Legal matters

  • Petitioner, with former Council member Amanda Bodiford, in Cause No. 94315, the November 2024 petition to remove three City officials. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Delores Spence, Former Mayor

Mayor, on the records of November 2024 through September 2025

Delores Spence was the Mayor in office between Mr. Evans’s two terms. She signed the September 30, 2025 tax-rate order as “Delores Spence, Mayor” (the order). The November 2024 petition in Cause No. 94315 names her “DELORES MARLOW SPENCE”; the City’s 2017 canvass minutes and the Herald-Banner call her “Dotty Spence.”

Titles held

  • Candidate for Mayor, May 6, 2017. Listed as “Dotty Spence” in the canvass: 1 early vote and 30 on election day, to 7 and 71 for the winner (canvass minutes, May 17, 2017).
  • Council Place 5, then Mayor, 2023–2024. The November 2024 petition says she served as Place 5 from June 1, 2023 to May 31, 2024, and as Mayor “From and after May 31, 2024” (Cause No. 94315, petition, p. 2; that is the petitioners’ sworn account).
  • Council member, May 2024. One of three council members who, according to the Herald-Banner (May 22, 2024), “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats” at the May 21, 2024 meeting.
  • Mayor, November 2024. Named in Cause No. 94315 as “DELORES MARLOW SPENCE, CITY OF HAWK COVE, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL MAYOR” (petition, p. 1), and as Mayor by eExtra News and the Herald-Banner.
  • Mayor, August–September 2025. See the budget and the tax-rate order below.
  • Candidate for Council Place 2, May 2, 2026. Received 48 votes to 55, unofficial count (Herald-Banner).

On the record

  • August 30, 2025. The amended FY2025–26 budget is “prepared by the Mayor,” with the Mayor’s budget notes (budget; notes).
  • September 30, 2025. Signed, as “Delores Spence, Mayor,” Order No. 2025-09-___.01, which recites that the Council “did not adopt a fiscal year 2025-2026 property tax rate” and sets $0.774139 per $100 (the order; Finances).

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Mayor, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

The Council

Five Council Places, elected at large (Government). What the Council’s own ordinances say its members may not do is at What Council Members Are Not Allowed to Do. It is a long list. They are introduced here by Place.

Rebecca Bernardi, Council Place 1

Council Place 1 Last elected May 3, 2025

Titles held

On the record

  • May 21, 2024. One of three council members who “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats,” according to the Herald-Banner.
  • October 21, 2025. Asked the City Attorney for “a copy of your statement” (transcript, 0:14:07). The answer: “I will not be supplying a copy” (0:15:05).
  • July 21, 2026. On the $10 billing fee: “There was no notice given to the citizens” and “I’m requesting that on the next agenda we take action to have that $10 removed” (meeting video, 18:18; Fee Schedule).
  • September 22, 2026. “We don’t have an audit. We’ve never received an audit” (meeting video; Audits).
  • September 28, 2026. “We should not be paying an extra $10 in our garbage service,” and she had “asked for that $10 fee to be brought before council for a decision” (meeting video, 27:12). We have not found the fee on a later agenda.
  • September 30, 2026. “A county tax order is not the same legal instrument as a city council ordinance” (0:40:37), and of the 2025 order, “It was signed off in City Hall without council’s knowledge” (0:45:12). Those are her statements. We have not seen a record that settles them either way (Finances).

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Council Place 1, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Kenneth Cork, Council Place 2

Council Place 2 Elected May 2, 2026

Titles held

On the record

  • September 23, 2026. Asked who performed the City’s audit, he told the Council that state law “permits a person regularly employed by the municipality to perform its annual audit. Our CFO is a person regularly employed by the city” (special session, 0:29:07). The law does allow it (Tex. Loc. Gov’t Code §103.002). We have not seen the audit (Audits).

Brandy Vahl, Council Place 3

Council Place 3 Last elected May 3, 2025, unopposed

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 3 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Henry Butcher, Council Place 4

Council Place 4 Elected May 2, 2026

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 4 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Sherry Logan, Council Place 5

Council Place 5 Last elected May 3, 2025

Titles held

On the record

  • Place 5 has not yet been quoted on this site. We are still posting meetings.

Mark Beatte, former Council Place 4

Council Place 4, 2024

Titles held

  • Council Place 4, November 2024. Named “CITY OF HAWK COVE, TEXAS, CITY COUNCIL PLACE 4” in Cause No. 94315 (petition, p. 1; order of May 8, 2026). The court’s case summary lists the style with “CITY COUNCIL PLACE 5.” We go with the petition and the order.

On the record

  • May 21, 2024. One of three council members who “refused to comply with the call to order and left their seats,” according to the Herald-Banner.

Legal matters

  • November 2024, Open Meetings Act charges. Charged, as Council Place 4, with one count of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act and one count of conspiracy to circumvent it, according to eExtra News (Nov. 21, 2024) and the Herald-Banner (Nov. 22, 2024). Both report that the charges came from the Texas Attorney General’s Office. Charged is not convicted. We hold no court record of how the charges ended.
  • Cause No. 94315. Respondent in the November 2024 petition for removal from office. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

Amanda Bodiford, former Council member

Council member, 2023 Council Place 4 from May 31, 2023

Titles held

  • Council member, May 2023. Present at roll call on May 25, 2023 (minutes, p. 1).
  • Council Place 4, from May 31, 2023. After the Council accepted “THE RESIGNATION OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PLACE 4,” it filled the vacancy “AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PLACE 4, AMANDA BODIFORD, NOMINATED BY LEETTA GOOLSBY IN HER RESIGNATION.” Three members voted aye; the minutes record one abstention (minutes, p. 6; p. 7).
  • Council member, September 2023. The only Council member to answer “here” at the September 9, 2023 special session (Finances).
  • Former Council member, November 2024 (eExtra News). Candidate for Council Place 5, May 3, 2025: 30 votes to 41 (Herald-Banner).

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Made the motion to approve the City’s agreement with the City Administrator, and seconded the agreements with the Municipal Judge, the Chief Financial Officer, the Utility Supervisor and the City Attorney/Prosecutor, and the fire and rescue extension (minutes, p. 4; p. 5). Seconded the first, later revisited, Mayor Pro Tem appointment (p. 2).
  • May 31, 2023. Made the motions to approve the ordinance “GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBERS’ INTERACTIONS WITH CITY ADMINISTRATION, STAFF AND EMPLOYEES” and the ordinance “GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBERS COMMUNICATIONS WITH VENDORS, CONTRACTORS, AND REPRESENTATIVES,” and seconded the one on candidates’ qualifications and the oath of office (minutes, p. 5; p. 6). Then moved to adjourn (p. 7). The ordinances by those titles are 2023-05-31.3, 2023-05-31.4 and 2023-05-31.9 in our library.

Legal matters

  • Petitioner, with Darren Evans, in Cause No. 94315. Dismissed as moot May 8, 2026. Details below.

The May 2023 Council

Who moved what, at the two meetings where the City’s twelve agreements and nine ordinances were approved, as the minutes record it. The minutes give no Place numbers for these members, except for the Place 4 vacancy. Every motion below carried with “ALL MEMBERS PRESENT” in agreement unless noted.

Council memberMay 25, 2023 (minutes)May 31, 2023 (minutes)
Stephanie BishopMoved: agreements with the Wastewater Plant Operator (James Mullis), the CFO, the Utility Clerk and GeoThematics. Seconded: City Secretary, Public Works Director, Facilities Custodian, and the revisited Mayor Pro Tem (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the police department ordinance and the candidate qualifications and oath ordinance. Seconded: the vendors ordinance. Voted aye to fill Place 4 (pp. 4–7).
Tiffany TaylorAppointed Mayor Pro Tem on the revisited motion. Moved: the first Mayor Pro Tem appointment, the fire and rescue extension, and agreements with the Municipal Judge, the City Attorney/Prosecutor, the Public Works Director (James Mullis) and the Facilities Custodian. Seconded: Wastewater Plant Operator, GeoThematics (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the agenda authority ordinance, the sewer plan ordinance, the records and information ordinance, and filling Place 4. Seconded: the police department, staff interactions and sewer rates ordinances, and the Place 4 resignation (pp. 4–7).
Roger VanceMoved: the revisited Mayor Pro Tem appointment. Seconded: agreements with the Municipal Court Clerk and the City Administrator (pp. 2, 4).Moved: accepting the Place 4 resignation. Seconded: the City Administrator ordinance, the sewer plan ordinance, the records and information ordinance, filling Place 4, and adjournment (pp. 4–7).
Leetta GoolsbyNominated for Mayor Pro Tem and voted nay on her own appointment, which passed 4–1 before the item was revisited. Moved: agreements with the Municipal Court Clerk, the City Secretary and the Utility Supervisor. Seconded: Utility Clerk (pp. 2, 4–5).Moved: the City Administrator ordinance and the sewer rates ordinance. Seconded: the agenda authority ordinance. Her Place 4 seat was then filled by a nominee “NOMINATED BY LEETTA GOOLSBY IN HER RESIGNATION” (pp. 4–7).
Amanda BodifordSee her profile above.
The minutes describe the ordinances by title only; we matched them to the copies in our ordinance library by title. Our copies are unsigned and the adoption date is blank. The May 25 agreements we hold are all posted: The 2023 Agreements.

The 2023 Agreements

The agreements the Council approved on May 25, 2023 (minutes, pp. 4–5), as we hold them. Nothing is covered. Each one we hold in full says it was entered into by unanimous vote of all five voting members and runs to 2033.

Staff

  • City Secretary, Patricia Pendergraft. Agreement, 8 pages. Salary: $2,600.00 a month, §5.2, p. 2.
  • Court Clerk, Bobbie Barton. Agreement, 8 pages. Salary: $2,184.00 a month, §5.2, p. 2. The signature page says “KAREN FRONTERHOUS has set her hand and signature” (p. 8). The signature under it is Bobbie Barton’s.
  • Utility Clerk, Evelyn Ford. Agreement, 8 pages. Salary: $2,184.00 a month, §5.2, p. 2. Same sentence about Karen Fronterhous on the signature page (p. 8). It provides the equipment needed “to the position of Court Clerk” (§8.1, p. 3).
  • Facilities Custodian, Teresa Bannister. Agreement, 8 pages. Pay: “Six Hundred Ninety-Three Dollars and 33/100 ($693.32)” a month (§5.2, p. 2). The words and the numbers are a penny apart. The agreement calls her both “Contractor” and “Employee.”
  • Chief Financial Officer, Karen Fronterhouse. We hold page 1 of 8 (p. 1).
  • Wastewater Plant Operator and Public Works Director, James Mullis. Two agreements, 8 pages each: his card below.

Court and contractors

The Chief of Police’s agreement is dated a month earlier, April 24, 2023: The Chief’s Contract. We do not hold the City Administrator’s, the City Attorney/Prosecutor’s or the Utility Supervisor’s agreements. Every posted record is also in the Document Library.

City Administration

The ordinance lists the offices: “City Administrator; City Secretary; City Chief Financial Officer; Financial Data Specialist; Municipal Judge, City Police Chief; City Attorney; and City Prosecutor” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4). Several of these titles are worn by the same person (Who Does What). Each is introduced here by title.

Rhonda E. Mckeehan, City Administrator and Chief of Police

Appointed Term: “indefinitely”

Titles held

  • Both titles, one person. The Chief of Police is Rhonda E. Mckeehan, who signed her April 24, 2023 employment agreement as “Police Chief” (agreement, p. 9). The City Administrator is Rhonda Mckeehan, who signs agendas as “City Administrator” (May 31, 2023 agenda, p. 3; April 16, 2024 agenda, p. 3) and signed the September 30, 2025 tax-rate order with that title (the order). Her Chief’s agreement expressly allows her to work “as City Administrator” (§3.1, p. 2). A March 25, 2019 USDA Rural Development email calls her “Rhonda (Police Chief/City Administrator)” (email), and a 2023 Texas Health and Human Services Commission hearing decision lists the “Police Chief and City Administrator of Hawk Cove.” As of October 1, 2026, the state’s peace-officer license lookup still lists her with Hawk Cove Police Dept., through “Today” (TCOLE).

Appointment, term and pay

  • Administrator, appointment: “The Mayor shall appoint the Administrator subject to confirmation by the governing body” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §3).
  • Administrator, term: “The Administrator’s term of office shall continue indefinitely” (§3).
  • Administrator, contract: approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Bodiford, seconded by Council member Vance (minutes, p. 4). The ordinance says the contract “shall govern all aspects of the employment relationship” (§3). We do not hold the City Administrator agreement. We do hold her Chief of Police agreement, below.
  • Administrator, pay: the ordinance’s caption promises “COMPENSATION,” and its body names no figure. The only dollar amount is $50,000, which is purchasing authority, not pay (§6(H); City News). The budget pages we hold show payroll as one line, not by office (Finances).
  • Police Chief, appointment: the Council “shall contract for the employment of, and thereafter appoint, the Police Chief” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.8, §3). Her agreement as Chief is dated April 24, 2023, five weeks before that ordinance, and is signed by her as “Police Chief,” by Mayor Darren Evans and by Mayor Pro-Tem Tiffany Taylor (p. 9).
  • Police Chief, term: “until the anniversary of this Agreement in the year 2033” (§2.2, p. 1), then an automatic six-year renewal unless the Council gives 180 days’ notice by certified mail (§3.2, p. 2).
  • Police Chief, pay: “a monthly salary amount of not more than One thousand, four hundred seventy Dollars and No/100 ($1,470.00)” (§5.2, p. 2), plus a police vehicle and mobile telephone with “unrestricted use” including “personal, leisure and/or off-duty activities” (§8.2, p. 4). She can be fired for “just cause” only after a conviction that costs her the peace officer license (§13.3.2(a), p. 6). The rest of the terms: The Chief’s Contract.

Meetings

  • Every meeting, executive sessions included. The Administrator shall “Attend all Regular, Special and Executive meetings of the City Council” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §6(B)), and, in case that was unclear, “Be notified of all Regular, Special and Executive meetings, which City Administrator shall attend and in which City Administrator shall have the non-voting right and responsibility to participate” (§8(C)). The Council “shall afford Administrator the right, to take part and fully participate in all Council meetings and discussions, except that Administrator shall not vote” (§7).
  • The other meetings, too. The Administrator “is authorized to attend, and shall not be excluded from, any and all non-Council meetings, conferences and communications relating to all City business and contracts” (§6).

On the record

  • Powers set by ordinance, May 31, 2023. The Council approved the ordinance “ESTABLISHING AND CLARIFYING THE OFFICE OF CITY ADMINISRATOR” on a motion by Council member Goolsby, seconded by Council member Vance (minutes, p. 4). The full list of powers: Who Runs Hawk Cove: the City Administrator.
  • Agendas certified. The Administrator signed the posting certification on the agendas for May 15, 2023, December 20, 2023 and April 16, 2024 (May 15, 2023; Dec. 20, 2023; Apr. 16, 2024).
  • September 30, 2025. Rhonda Mckeehan signed Order No. 2025-09-___.01, the tax-rate order, as “City Administrator,” with Mayor Delores Spence and City Attorney Ronna L. Hodges (the order).
  • Police Chief, reporting: “the sole administrative authority of and over the Department without the requirement, or reporting, of any of the Police Chief’s actions to the Mayor or Council” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.8, §4). So the Police Chief has not been quoted here either.

Ronna L. Hodges, City Attorney and City Prosecutor

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

  • City Attorney, 2023–2026. The May 25, 2023 minutes record that “CITY ATTORNEY HODGES GAVE THE INVOCATION” (p. 1). She signed the September 30, 2025 tax-rate order as “Ronna L. Hodges, City Attorney” (the order).
  • City Attorney; City Prosecutor. Two titles in the ordinance (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4), one agreement: the “CITY’S AGREEMENT WITH CITY ATTORNEY/PROSECUTOR” (May 25, 2023 minutes, p. 5).
  • Public information requests, for the City. On August 18, 2026 she wrote to a requester: “The City is processing your August 13, 2026 public information request,” and asked him to clarify it “under Texas Government Code § 552.222(b)” (Exhibit B). On August 27, 2026 she sent the answer: “The City of Hawk Cove has completed its search of the City’s records for public information responsive to your August 13, 2026 request” and “Attached is the responsive public information located in the City’s records,” adding that a council member had been asked, “pursuant to Texas Government Code §§ 552.203(4) and 552.233,” to surrender records she held (Exhibit C). Section 552.203 lists the duties of the “officer for public information” (Gov’t Code §552.203). Both e-mails are exhibits to the requester’s September 1, 2026 petition in Goodson v. City of Hawk Cove, Cause No. 96860, 354th District Court, Hunt County (p. 1).
  • Also, on the record: records requester (July 15, 2025) and records reviewer (June 16, 2026), in her own words (Who Does What).

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Taylor, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 5). Its terms are not posted here.
  • Pay, in her words: the City’s accounts are “broken down by city attorney prosecutor, which by the way also is pro bono” (Sept. 28, 2026, 0:40:59).

On the record

  • May 25, 2023. Gave the invocation (minutes, p. 1).
  • September 9, 2023. “Your honor, respectfully, I would submit to you that the value is zero point eight three four three three zero” (0:05:53; Finances).
  • September 30, 2025. Signed the tax-rate order with Mayor Delores Spence and City Administrator Rhonda Mckeehan (the order).
  • October 21, 2025. Reported that “the council did not pass a valid tax rate on September 10th September 16th or September 19th” (transcript, 0:03:10). Asked for a copy of her statement: “I will not be supplying a copy” (0:15:05).
  • July 15, 2025. “Oh, the status on the FOIA request that I asked for in March 3rd, April 3rd?” (transcript, 0:10:06)
  • June 16, 2026. “…it cost the city over $3,000 for me to review again for a FOIA request…” (0:37:27)
  • September 28, 2026. Addressed the Mayor as “Your Honor” and as “the Chief Budget Officer for the City of Hawk Cove” (Who Does What).
  • October 20, 2026. “The council did not and has not adopted the proposed budget” (meeting video; Finances).

Legal matters

  • Cause No. CC1700152, Hunt County Court at Law No. 2. Ms. Hodges was a defendant in a civil case there. She appealed the court’s “Final Judgment dated January 9, 2018” (notice of appeal, April 9, 2018). The other side “prevailed in the trial court” (findings, ¶2).
  • The cost of the record. She asked not to pay the costs of her appeal, “particularly, the trial record with an estimated cost of $6,400.00.” Judge F. Duncan Thomas held a hearing on May 30, 2018 and considered portions of her October 18, 2017 deposition and her live testimony (findings, p. 3).
  • The court’s findings, signed May 31, 2018 (findings, pp. 3–5):
    • “Appellant was not found to be indigent for purposes of trial. And, no statement of inability to pay costs was filed in the trial court.” (¶3)
    • From her own testimony: her husband’s income “is over $60,000 per year”; she “grossed about $8,000 in law practice in 2017 up until October, 2017”; in May 2018 she “received fees of $9,600” and “works from her home which cuts her overhead costs”; her home is worth “approximately $40,000” with equity of “approximately over $25,000”; and she has 20 acres, 18 of which can be cut for hay, worth “$3,600 to $5,400 in additional income,” with “a tractor and baling equipment” (¶¶4–8, p. 4).
    • The acreage. In her October 2017 deposition, 2.25 acres with the residence; in the revised exhibit filed the day of the hearing, 1.24 acres. The court: “This is an example to the Court of the lack of credibility of the Appellant that the Court experienced during the trial and noted in the Court’s Findings of Facts and Conclusions of Law after rendering the Court’s Judgment.” (¶9, p. 4)
    • The husband’s income, three figures in seven months: “$60,000 or more” (October 2017 deposition); $3,971.40 a month (May 11, 2018 statement); $3,546.73 a month (May 30, 2018 revised exhibit). The court: “There is no explanation, no evidence that he changed jobs, etc. The only explanation is the Appellant’s lack of credibility.” (¶10, p. 5)
    • Ruling: “the Appellant, Ronna Hodges, is not indigent and is able to pay costs.” (p. 5)
  • How the appeal ended. On November 15, 2018 the Fifth Court of Appeals granted “appellant’s motion for voluntary dismissal” (opinion) and ordered that the appellees “recover their costs of this appeal from appellant RONNA HODGES” (judgment). Docket: No. 05-18-00469-CV. The post-trial findings the court mentions are not posted here; we have not seen them.
  • Cause No. 94315. The November 18, 2024 “ORIGINAL, SWORN, PETITION FOR REMOVAL” against Mayor Delores Spence and Council Members Rebecca Bernardi (Place 1) and Mark Beatte (Place 4) was signed by Ms. Hodges, through her law office, as “Attorney for Petitioners Amanda Bodiford and Darren Evans” (petition, p. 26). It alleges offenses including “Abuse of official capacity, a first degree felony” (p. 3) and acts done “with intent to defraud” (p. 5). These are the petition’s allegations; no court decided them. One of the grounds it gives is the respondents’ State Bar grievance “against City’s Attorney”; the same page says the Chief Disciplinary Counsel dismissed that grievance on December 28, 2023, and the Board of Disciplinary Appeals dismissed the appeal on March 21, 2024 (p. 5). The court granted the motion to dismiss “as Moot with prejudice” on May 8, 2026 (order). Details below.

City Secretary

Appointed by agreement

Current City Secretary: Angela Massey. The July 21, 2026 regular-meeting packet lists “City Secretary, Angela Massey” (packet, p. 1), and the September 1, 2026 citation in Cause No. 96860 is addressed to “Hawk Cove City Secretary Angela Massey,” served on her September 8, 2026 (citation; return). Our October 8, 2026 cost estimate is signed by the “Hawk Cove City Secretary” (estimate; the personal name is redacted in our posted copy).

The office has had more than one holder in the years our records cover. Patricia Pendergraft held the 2023 agreement below; she is the City Secretary named on the certification of the May 31, 2023 minutes (p. 7), and she signed the 2025 records listed below.

Appointment and pay

Duties by ordinance

  • One of three people allowed to sign on City bank accounts, with the Court Clerk and the Utilities Clerk (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4).
  • When the Administrator is away, the Administrator’s duties “shall, first, default to the City Secretary” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §5).

On the record

Chief Financial Officer

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Bishop, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 4). We hold its first page of eight: p. 1.

On the record

  • The FY2024 and FY2025 audits, which the Council “cannot distribute,” “will be available through public records request,” the Mayor told the Council (Audits). We have not seen them. We look forward to it.

Municipal Judge

Appointed by agreement

Titles held

  • Municipal Judge, one of the offices of City Administration (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §4).
  • In 2026, the Mayor, in his own words: “As judge I do not take salary because I donate my time to the city” (Sept. 28, 2026, 0:33:18). See Darren Evans, Mayor. State law: “In a general-law city, the mayor is ex officio judge of the municipal court unless the municipality by ordinance authorizes the election of the judge or provides for the appointment and qualifications of the judge.” (Gov’t Code §29.004(b); we became a Type A general-law city by Ordinance 100-5.) Our ordinance library holds no ordinance providing for the election or appointment of the judge.

Appointment and pay

  • Agreement approved May 25, 2023, on a motion by Council member Taylor, seconded by Council member Bodiford (minutes, p. 4). The 2023 agreement, with Charles I. Calkins, is posted: $200.00 per court session, §5.2, p. 3.
  • Pay in 2026: none, in the words quoted above. We hold no later agreement for the office.

James Mullis, Wastewater Plant Operator and Public Works Director

Two agreements, May 25, 2023 Term: “the year 2033”

Titles held

  • Wastewater Plant Operator. “Agreement for City Wastewater Plant Operator of the City of Hawk Cove, Texas, between the City of Hawk Cove, Texas and James Mullis,” dated the “25th” (handwritten) day of May, 2023 (agreement, p. 1). Eight pages, posted as we hold them, with nothing covered.
  • Public Works Director. “Employment Agreement for City Public Works Director of the City of Hawk Cove between the City of Hawk Cove, Texas and James Mullis,” dated the same day (agreement, p. 1). Eight pages, nothing covered.
  • Approved that evening. The Council approved the “AGREEMENT WITH WASTEWATER PLANT OPERATOR” on a motion by Council member Bishop, seconded by Council member Taylor (minutes, p. 4, item C1), and the “AGREEMENT WITH PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR” on a motion by Council member Taylor, seconded by Council member Bishop (p. 5, item C10). The minutes do not name the holder. Both agreements do.

Appointment, term and pay

  • Who signed. Both are signed by James Mullis, by Darren Evans, “Mayor,” and by Tiffany Taylor, “Mayor Pro-Tern” [sic] (operator agreement, p. 8; director agreement, p. 8). Above the signatures, the director agreement says the City signed “and KAREN FRONTERHOUS has set her hand and signature.” The signature under it is James Mullis’s.
  • How it was approved. Each says it was entered into “by unanimous vote of all five (5) voting members” of the Council, and that “All actions taken by or on behalf of City by Council on, or relating to, this Agreement” and the position “shall be by unanimous vote of all five (5) voting members of the Council sitting in Regular or Special Session” (operator, §1.1, p. 1; director, §1.1, p. 1).
  • Term. Both run “from the date of this Agreement until the anniversary of this Agreement in the year 2033” (operator, §2.2, p. 1; director, §2.2, p. 1). Without 180 days’ written notice “by certified mail, return receipt requested,” each “shall automatically renew for a six (6) year term” (operator, §3.2, p. 2; director, §3.2, p. 2).
  • Pay, Public Works Director: “an averaged gross monthly salary of at least Three Thousand, Four Hundred Sixty-Six Dollars and 67/100 ($3,466.67)” (§5.2, p. 2), with City retirement, insurance and other benefits (§7.1, p. 3).
  • Pay, Wastewater Plant Operator: “at least Two Thousand, Two Hundred Dollars and no/100 ($2,200.00),” payable “at the same time, on the same bases and in the same manner as other City employees are paid or by preference of Contractor” (§5.2, p. 2). The section does not say per what. The operator agreement calls him an “independent contractor” (§§6.1, 7.1, p. 3) and also “an officer of the City” (p. 1).
  • The equipment. Both allow “unrestricted use” of City-provided transportation and communications equipment, including for “personal, leisure and/or off-duty activities” (operator, §§8.1–8.2, p. 3; director, §§8.1–8.2, p. 3). The director agreement provides the equipment the Administrator deems necessary “to the position of Court Clerk.”
  • Firing. Before any “Involuntary Termination,” the City must give notice by certified mail of the Executive Session where it will be considered, with “certified copies of any materials,” and hold that session “not less than ten (10) calendar days” after he receives it (operator, §§13.7–13.9, p. 6; director, §§13.7–13.9, p. 6). If the City terminates him involuntarily before the agreement expires, it “agrees to pay” a lump sum “equal to the amount which would have been due and payable had the Agreement, and any extensions, not been terminated,” within thirty days (operator, §13.10, p. 7; director, §13.10, p. 6).
  • Side by side. The ordinance on City staff says changes to “City Administrative Personnel shall be within the sole purview and discretion of City’s Administrator” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.3, §3), and the Administrator ordinance lists “hiring and terminating (without City Council approval)” (Ord. No. 2023-05-31.1, §6(D)). The minutes record the Council approving both ordinances, by title, on May 31, 2023 (minutes, pp. 4–5), six days after it approved these two agreements, which require a unanimous vote of all five members for any action on them. We put them side by side. We do not pick one.

Legal matters

  • June 29, 2026: the notice. We sent James Mullis a “Notice of Termination of Employment” dated June 29, 2026, signed by Rhonda Mckeehan as City Administrator (notice, p. 1), with an employee inventory checklist and a certification dated the same day (pp. 3–5). His home addresses are covered.
  • August 11, 2026: a demand letter. GFA Law, PLLC, writing as “COUNSEL FOR JAMES MULLIS,” sent the City a “Demand for Payment and Notice of Material Breach of Contract” (letter, p. 1; p. 5). The letter says the City terminated both contracts by a “Notice of Termination of Employment dated June 29, 2026,” issued “unilaterally by the City Administrator, with no such Council vote” (p. 2). It demands $514,536.64 and says that if the City does not pay by September 10, 2026, “Mr. Mullis is prepared to file suit” (p. 4). These are the letter’s claims. No court has decided them, and we hold no filed suit. The rest: Finances and City News.