Florida Trip Questioned as Bills Come Under Scrutiny in Schulenburg

The vote on the ICE agreement wasn’t the only item Schulenburg Council members Frank Wick III and Randy Mican opposed Monday night.

The two of them also voted against paying the City’s bills that were due.

While reviewing the bills at the meeting, Mican asked about a $24,000 payment to North Dallas Bank and Trust. City Administrator Tami Walker said the bill was the second of four payments for the Public Works Director’s new pickup truck.

In addition, Wick asked about a $500 payment to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Brenek said the payment was for an IACP Conference he plans to attend in Orlando, Florida, in October.

“What do we get out of that,” Wick asked.

“Networking, and also I’ll be in the exhibits,” Brenek said. “There’s every exhibit known to law enforcement that comes through there, so we keep up with the pace of technology and everything else.”

After the meeting, Brenek told the Record he has attended the IACP Conference for the past 10 years. He said the conference moves to different cities each year.

When the bills came up for a vote Monday night, the Council approved them 3-2 with Mican and Wick opposed.

Later in the meeting, Mayor Connie Koopmann informed everyone that she would not be attending the Texas Municipal League (TML) Conference this year. TML is an association of Texas cities that provides training to municipal leaders and a variety of other services.

“For me to go for one day, it’s going to cost $700,” Koopmann said. “If you’re gonna go for three days, I think it’s $1,000 and something plus your hotel room. Right now we’re getting ready to crunch numbers on a tight budget. I have backed out. I am not going to attend the TML.”

Instead, Koopmann said she plans to utilize some of the training webinars that TML offers. She suggested the Council members do the same.

“I asked that before y’all say yes or no, that y’all really think of what you’re doing, because that’s taxpayers’ dollars that y’all are going to be spending up there,” Koopmann said.

“I respect your view, but we just paid a bill for $500 to send someone to Florida for a conference,” Mican said. “This is a learning tool for us. Like I said, I respect your decision, but we’re sending staff out of state.”

Koopmann went on to say that she has not accepted the Mayor’s salary since her election in 2023. At that time, Koopmann was a public school employee and thus prohibited by law from accepting a salary as an elected official. Koopmann no longer works in schools and could accept the City salary, but she has declined to do so.

Koopmann polled the Council to see who wished to attend the TML conference.

Alderman Greg Thomas said he could not attend due to work obligations. Alderman Roger Moellenberndt said he has attended in the past and that they were educational. However, he declined to attend this time. Alderman Kathy Kleiber said she will not attend and would rather participate in TML webinars.

Mican and Wick said they would attend the TML conference.