By Tony Plohetski
Austin American-Statesman
Originally published Aug. 12, 2024
Travis County District Attorney José Garza met with county commissioners behind closed doors with an urgent request earlier this year.
Worried about his safety after someone posted his residential address online, Garza asked for help to make himself and his home more secure, Commissioner Margaret Gómez told the American-Statesman.
“He wanted something to be done to keep him safe,” Gómez recalled.
At their March 19 meeting, commissioners met again in closed session to discuss a nondescript and, according to government transparency experts, potentially legally insufficient agenda item about county security. The item said commissioners would “receive (a) briefing and take appropriate action regarding Travis County security.”
“In my opinion, it does not comply with the Open Meetings Act,” Houston attorney Joe Larsen, a board member for the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, said of the posting. “It is quite clear they are trying to obfuscate what is at issue here in any way they can.”
Then, with no public discussion or explanation about how the money would be spent, the commissioners voted unanimously in open session to transfer $115,000 from the county’s budget reserves to its general fund. Records show officials routed that allocation to Garza’s office, but it is unclear whether the money was used and, if so, how it was used and who oversaw the spending.