Tarrantâs new manager reports to work as mayor challenges hire in court
There’s a new person in charge at Tarrant City Hall and it isn’t the mayor.
John C. Brown, the new city manager, took office today as the city faces a challenge on the legality of his position.
Mayor Wayman Newton last week filed a lawsuit alleging that the city council did not have the authority to create the city manager position and hire Brown. The council voted to hire a city manager, citing concerns about Newton’s leadership.
Mayor Pro-Tem Tracie Threadford along with City Attorney Michael D. Brymer signed the contract dated Monday to officially hire Brown in the new role.
Newton argued that hiring a city manager essentially guts his role as mayor to a ceremonial one.
As city manager, Brown is responsible for managing Tarrant’s daily operations. When contacted by AL.com for comment on Monday afternoon, Brown responded in a text message that he was extremely busy and had no comment.
Brown will earn $100,000 per year in salary, according to his contract. The city will also pay him a vehicle allowance of $850 each month for using his personal vehicle on the job.
Brown, according to his contract, is an at-will employee and “serves at the pleasure of the City Council for the duration of this City Council’s term.” The council’s term ends Nov. 3, 2025.
Charlie Waldrep, the city council’s attorney, told AL.com that Councilwoman Tracie Threadford, the city’s mayor pro-tem,was authorized to complete the contract for Brown to begin his service.
“There is no reason for Brown to not proceed with this contract,” Waldrep said. “Mr. Brown will be hired, he’ll be in his service, and this litigation will play out in the courts however long that may be. Life goes on.
Some council members have accused Newton of failing to manage city business, necessitating the need for a professional manager.
In his lawsuit, Newton questions Brown’s authority to hold the position. Waldrep noted that the mayor did not ask the court for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction to block the council’s move.
Newton’s lawsuit accuses the council of failing to follow the state’s Manager-Council Act of 1982, which sets provisions for changing a city’s form of government.
State Rep. Mary Moore, whose district includes Tarrant, said that in order to change the city’s form of government, the council must either seek a referendum or ask the state legislature to pass a bill. The Tarrant council did neither before hiring Brown. Moore, who is cited in Newton’s lawsuit, appeared before the council to state her objections ahead of the vote.
Moore told AL.com that council members should separate their emotions in favor of what was legal.
“This doesn’t mean that I’m on anybody’s side, it’s just that what’s right is right,” she said.
Moore said Tarrant residents who have contacted her oppose moves by the council to take away the mayor’s power. Instead, that is a decision reserved for the people, she said.
“The citizens that I have talked to don’t think the council should do anything against the mayor as far as his powers are concerned,” Moore said. “We should listen to the people who elected us.”
The legal wrangling among Tarrant city leaders is the latest episode in the contentious relationship between the mayor and council, which at times has turned violent and even resulted in arrests and assault charges.
Councilman Tommy Bryant late last month was found not guilty last week of assaulting the mayor in 2022. Jefferson County District Judge Katrina Ross ruled that the mayor used “fighting words” when he made sexually degrading remarks about Bryant’s wife in the parking lot of Tarrant City Hall after a council meeting Nov. 7, 2022. The case was the latest in a series of court actions regarding the mayor, council members, and city officials.