LETTER: Citizens deserve transparency, accountability, leadership

The special council meeting scheduled for April 30, 2026, is illegal as per the City of Rusk Charter, Article XI, Section 2.

Mayor Middlebrooks, City Attorney Anthony King, and City Manager Bob Goldsberry owe the citizens of Rusk an explanation and, more importantly, compliance with the City Charter. The Charter is not ambiguous. Article XI, Section 2 clearly states:

“Special meetings of the City Council shall be held at the City Hall or at such other places within the city as the City Council may designate and shall be called by the City Secretary upon the request of the mayor or upon the request of at least three (3) members of the City Council. Notice of a special session of the City Council shall state the location and time of the meeting and the subject to be considered, and no other subject shall be discussed at such special session.” 

Read that again. The subject to be considered, and no other subject shall be discussed.

That is singular. That is limiting. That is the rule.

Yet a so-called special session has been called with nine separate action items, each requiring its own discussion and action. That is not one subject. That is multiple subjects packaged together to bypass the structure and transparency required for a regular council meeting.

You cannot take nine different matters, label them under one heading, and pretend they are a single subject. If each item stands on its own, requires its own vote, and addresses a different issue, then each is its own subject, plain and simple.

This is not a technicality. This is exactly the kind of maneuver the Charter was written to prevent.

A special session is meant to be narrow, specific, and limited, not a backdoor for conducting broad city business without proper process.

Mayor Middlebrooks, Attorney King, and Manager Goldsberry, follow the Charter as written. Cancel this improperly called special session and place these items on the agenda of a properly noticed regular meeting. 

The citizens of Rusk deserve transparency, accountability, and leadership that follows the rules, not leadership that tries to work around them.

Sincerely,
Ken Ferrara
Rusk, Texas