We have added a speech that was read at tonight’s(10-10-07) Woodlands Community Association board meeting. Click HERE
Late last week, a State Bar of Texas grievance for professional misconduct was filed against Mr. C. Robert Heath and Mr. Michael C. Beller.
These two individuals provided legal counsel for the Woodlands Community Service Corporation (WCSC) in regards to a Public Information Act complaint that was filed with the Texas Attorney General in the Fall of 2006.
In an October 24, 2006 brief sent to the Texas Attorney General, Mr. Heath and Mr. Beller argued the WCSC does not spend nor is it supported “in whole or in part” by public funds.
Whether an organization receives public funds is a key concern in determining if the organization is subject to the Public Information Act. Making the argument that an organization does not receive public funds can effectively kill any inquiry into the matter. In reality this is exactly what occurred in this case. The Attorney General based their November 20, 2006 ruling, which was favorable to the WCSC, on the representation by Mr. Heath and Mr. Beller that the WCSC did not receive public funds.
The most troubling aspect of this argument is the argument is not true.
Using the Public Information Act we recently acquired documents from Town Center Improvement District (TCID) which shows TCID has been transferring funds to the WCSC since at least 2002. Remember, TCID was created by the Texas Legislature in 1993, thus TCID is considered a governmental subdivision of the state. The origin of TCID becomes important when one reviews the definition of public funds. Public funds, as described in the Public Information Act are, “funds of the state or a governmental subdivision of the state.” Therefore, any funds dispersed or transfered from TCID to WCSC would be considered public funds.
Maybe it was an honest oversight to forget the funds transfered from TCID to WCSC? That might be plausible if Mr. Beller’s signature did not appear on one of the agreements calling for the dispersal of public funds from TCID to WCSC. This scenario might also be plausible if the WCSC’s General Manager, Mr. Norrell, had not signed two agreements (agreement #1, agreement #2) regulating the transfer of public funds from TCID to WCSC. Additionally, it would be hard to believe that Mr. Tough, Chairman of the WCSC Board had no knowledge of the transfer of funds from TCID to WCSC. Nor is it plausible to think Ms. Sharp, WCSC General Manager of Administration and Finance, was not aware of the transfer of public funds from TCID to the WCSC.
The public funds issue is not the only misinformation presented in the original brief. A rebuttal to the original brief was sent to the Attorney General pointing out the numerous other omissions and factual errors.
The Attorney General is aware of this misinformation and has restarted their initial inquiry into the source of public funds for the WCSC.
According to his firm’s web site (www.bickerstaff.com), Mr. Heath is a well known lawyer based out of Austin Texas. One of his specialties is open government and ethics law. Mr. Heath is also a former chair of the Texas Attorney General’s Opinion Committee.
Mr. Beller routinely provides legal services for the WCSC and served as Assistant County Attorney of Montgomery County, Texas from 1987-1998.
Related Information
State of Texas Bar Grievance - Heath
State of Texas Bar Grievance - Beller
Brief to the Attorney General - Heath/Beller
Letter Ruling OR2006-13748 from the Attorney General
Transfer of Funds Documents -TCID->WCSC
Law Enforcement Contract 2004 - WCSC/TCID
Park Maintenance Agreement - TCID/WCSC
GIS Agreement - TCID/WCSC
Rebuttal to Mr. Heath’s and Mr. Beller’s Brief
