Who could appoint and remove San Benito housing-authority commissioners, the mayor or the city manager?

Texas AG Opinion JM-686: Housing Authority Appointments

Plain-English summary

A Texas senator asked whether San Benito's mayor or city manager had authority to appoint and remove public housing-authority commissioners. Article 1269k assigned those functions to the "mayor," but defined that term to include the city officer charged with duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head.

San Benito's charter made the city manager the administrative head of the municipal government. The manager appointed city officers and employees, enforced laws and ordinances, supervised departments and offices, and could remove the manager's appointees. Appointments required the advice and consent of the city commission.

The Attorney General concluded that this charter allocation brought the city manager within article 1269k's definition of mayor. The city manager therefore had authority to appoint housing-authority commissioners and to remove them for the statutory reasons of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 1987. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Why did the city manager count as the "mayor" under the housing-authority law?

Article 1269k defined mayor functionally. It included the officer charged with duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head, and San Benito's charter placed those executive and administrative duties with the city manager.

Did the elected mayor retain the appointment power simply because the statute used the word mayor?

No. The opinion applied the statute's broader definition and the charter's actual assignment of executive duties.

Could the city manager appoint commissioners without the city commission?

The opinion noted that the charter required the city commission's advice and consent for appointments made by the city manager.

Could the city manager remove a housing-authority commissioner at will?

The opinion tied removal to article 1269k, section 7. That provision identified inefficiency, neglect of duty, or misconduct in office as grounds.

Did the opinion announce a rule for every home-rule city?

No. Its conclusion depended on San Benito's charter language and article 1269k's definition of mayor. Different charter allocations could produce a different analysis.

Background and statutory framework

Article 1269k, section 5, directed the mayor to appoint housing-authority commissioners. Section 7 authorized the mayor to remove a commissioner for specified causes.

Section 3(d) defined mayor as either the city's mayor or the officer charged with duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head. That definition required the opinion to examine San Benito's charter rather than rely only on office titles.

The charter called the mayor the executive officer but allowed the appointment of a city manager. Once appointed, the manager became the administrative head, enforced laws and ordinances, made most officer and employee appointments with commission consent, and supervised departments and offices.

Citations and references

Statute:

• Article 1269k, V.T.C.S., sections 3(d), 5, and 7 (housing-authority appointments and removals)

Case:

• City of San Antonio v. Robert Thompson & Co., 30 S.W.2d 339 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1930), dismissed as moot, 44 S.W.2d 972 (Tex. Comm'n App. 1932)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0686
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1987/jm0686.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

April 30, 1987

Honorable Hugh Parmer
Chairman
Committee on Intergovernmental Relations
Texas State Senate
P. O. Box 12068
Austin, Texas 78711

Opinion No. JM-686

Re: Whether the mayor or city manager of a home-rule city is authorized to appoint and remove a public housing authority commissioner

Dear Senator Parmer:

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Intergovernmental Relations, you ask about a situation that has arisen in the city of San Benito which prompts the following question:

With regard to a home rule city which has adopted a charter making the city manager chief executive and administrative head of a city, does the city manager or does the mayor have the power to appoint and remove public housing authority commissioners governed by article 1269k of Vernon's Annotated Texas Statutes?

Section 5 of article 1269k, V.T.C.S., provides that the mayor shall appoint the commissioners of the housing authority and section 7 thereof provides that, "[f]or inefficiency or neglect of duty or misconduct in office, a commissioner of an authority may be removed by the mayor. . . ."

Section 3(d) of article 1269k defines "mayor" as follows:

"Mayor" shall mean the mayor of the city or the officer thereof charged with the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city.

You have furnished us with relevant portions of the city charter of San Benito. We find the following pertinent to the issue you present.

Article II. City Government

Section 1

The Mayor shall be the executive officer of the City and shall have direct charge of the Police, Sanitary and Fire Departments of the City, and general supervision over all departments, and officers of the City, provided that a City Manager may be appointed as provided in Article XXV of the Charter of the City of San Benito. . . .

. . . .

Article XXV. City Manager

Section 1. Appointment

At such time after the taking effect of this charter as the city commission shall see fit to do so, it may appoint a city manager, who shall be the administrative head of the municipal government and shall be responsible for the efficient administration of all departments.

Section 2. Duties

The city manager shall see that the laws and ordinances of the city are enforced. He shall appoint all appointive officers, except city attorney, and employees of the city, with advice and consent of the city commission, such appointments to be made upon merit and fitness alone and he may at will remove any officers or appointees appointed by him. He shall exercise control and supervision over all departments and offices that may be created by the city commission, and all officers and appointees appointed by him. . . . (Emphasis added).

The information you furnish us reflects "The San Benito commission has elected to appoint a city manager and has operated the city for many years with a city manager as the executive head of the city."

The city manager of San Benito is designated "as the administrative head of the municipal government" in section 1 of article XXV of the city charter. Section 2 of article XXV imposes upon the city manager such duties as appointing all appointive officers and employees except the city attorney, with advice and consent of the city commissioners. The city manager is vested with the responsibility of seeing that the laws and ordinances are enforced and the duty of exercising control and supervision over all departments and officers. In addition, the charter gives the city manager the authority to remove, at will, any persons appointed by him.

Section 3(d) of article 1269k, V.T.C.S., defines mayor as "the mayor of the city or the officer thereof charged with the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city." (Emphasis added).

The powers and duties of a mayor depend on the statutes and the city charter and on the ordinances enacted pursuant to them. 52 Tex. Jur.3d Municipalities § 196 (1987). The mayor of a city has the power of supervision over every department of the city government. City of San Antonio v. Robert Thompson & Co., Inc., 30 S.W.2d 339 (Tex. Civ. App. - San Antonio 1930), dismissed as moot, 44 S.W.2d 972 (Tex. Comm'n App. 1932).

It is our opinion that the charter of San Benito charges the city manager with "the duties customarily imposed on the mayor or executive head of the city" so as to bring the city manager within the definition of mayor as that term is defined in section 3(d) of article 1269k. We note that the city charter provides that appointments by the city manager are to be made with the "advice and consent of the city commission."

SUMMARY

The city manager of the city of San Benito is the official with the authority to appoint public housing authority commissioners governed by article 1269k, V.T.C.S. The city manager may remove public housing authority commissioners for reasons stated in section 7 of article 1269k.

JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas

JACK HIGHTOWER
First Assistant Attorney General

MARY KELLER
Executive Assistant Attorney General

JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAKLEY
Special Assistant Attorney General

RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee

Prepared by Tom G. Davis
Assistant Attorney General