Maverick County Hospital District CEO Interviews delayed due to Non-Compliance with Texas Open Meetings Act

By: Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2014, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.

The long saga of the Maverick County Hospital District’s (MCHD) search to find a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) was once again delayed as a scheduled special meeting of the MCHD Board of Directors on Thursday, May 1, 2014, at 1:30 P.M. for the purpose of interviewing candidates had to be cancelled because the local Hospital District failed to post an Agenda of the meeting pursuant to the Texas Open Meetings Act.

By failing to post an Agenda of the scheduled May 1st special meeting caused the MCHD to be in non-compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act requirement that all public meetings of the Board of Directors be posted at least 72 hours before the scheduled meeting, unless it is an emergency meeting which allows said meetings be posted within two hours whenever the public’s health and safety are affected.

Local and out-of-town candidates who were already present and others enroute to be interviewed on Thursday, May 1st, had to be informed by the MCHD that their interviews could not proceed as scheduled due to the non-compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act. Candidates were advised that the MCHD regretted the error and would pay for their expenses as well as re-schedule their interviews at a new Board special meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 7th, at 5 P.M.

This is not the first time that the MCHD Board has had to cancel interviews of candidates for its vacant CEO position as a similar situation occurred at an April 16, 2014 special meeting because the Agenda failed to expressly provide an agenda item regarding the interviews of CEO candidates, requiring that the MCHD Board reschedule these interviews at another Board special meeting held on April 23, 2014.

These delays have caused some candidates to withdraw their names from the MCHD CEO search because they have since found employment elsewhere or some other unspecified reasons.

The MCHD CEO application deadline closed on March 7th and almost two months later the interviews of the finalist candidates have not been concluded due to these delays. As a result of the delays, the MCHD lost the opportunity to interview some of the finalist candidates as well as the possibility of hiring one of them as its CEO. The remaining finalist candidates will be interviewed at the newly rescheduled Board special meeting on May 7th.

Both of the MCHD’s Board meetings rescheduled due to their non-compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act were raised by Board member Ricardo E. Calderon, whom promptly advised his fellow Board members of the non-compliance with the Texas Open Meetings Act upon his discovery and they concurred with Calderon’s assessment, rescheduling the interviews.

The MCHD is under the leadership of Board Chairman Juan Manuel “Chuco” Farias and Interim CEO William Worrell.