Uvalde City Council denies Pete Arredondo's leave of absence request

[sl8]

https://abcnews.go.com/US/uvalde-city-council-denies-pete-arredondos-leave-absence/story?id=85544930

Uvalde City Council denies Pete Arredondo's leave of absence request

Earlier Tuesday, Arredondo testified for hours in front of state legislators.

By Teddy Grant
June 22, 2022, 6:04 AM

The Uvalde City Council unanimously denied council member Pete Arredondo's request for a leave of absence from future meetings, in an effort to be more transparent following criticisms of law enforcement's handling of the Robb Elementary School mass shooting.

Arredondo, who serves as the chief of police for the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District and was sworn in as a city council member at the end of May, wanted to be exempt from attending future city council meetings.

A motion was unanimously denied to grant a leave of absence to the newly elected council member, who was not present Tuesday night. Per city council rules, there is a $2 fine for missing council meetings, and after three missed meetings, the other council members can vote to have a member removed from their post.

Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin said he would vote "yes" to replace Arredondo on the city council if he misses three consecutive meetings without a leave of absence. The council pointed out that it can't take an opinion or make any official vote because Arredondo hasn't actually missed three meetings.

[...]

[ZonkerHarris]

1. Cowardly Lion was the Chiefs role model.

[Wounded Bear]

2. A $2 fine? Well, that'll make him think again...

[LeftInTX]

6. I believe he can be removed if he does not attend for three consecutive meetings

Granting him LOA would allow him to stay on city council.

[BlueCheeseAgain]

3. I almost feel that too much is being made of the police response.

It was indeed an abject failure, and it should be investigated in depth. We should also find out why their story keeps changing so much.

But the reason that 19 little kids and 3 adults died wasn't mostly because a small-town school police chief found himself out of his depth in a chaotic situation. Focusing on that distracts from the root problem-- that we have too many damn guns in this country, and that a random teenager was able to buy a weapon of mass murder so easily. A weapon so dangerous that even the police are afraid to confront someone who has one. I worry that focusing on the police response lets the NRA and their crazy GOP enablers off the hook.

[LisaM]

8. Those are good points.

I think you're right.

[brush]

9. Of course there are too many guns, but in this particular situation...

"...a small-town school police chief found himself out of his depth in a chaotic situation." And that is a euphemistic way of putting it.

He froze or he choked are a couple of other ways to put it, but frankly what really happened is he found himself to be a coward when he needed to act and instruct the officers there as to what to do. Besides the door, which may have even been open with no key necessary, there were classroom windows that could have been used to distract the killer while others used the tactical shields present to attack the door simultaneously.

[grumpyduck]

4. I believe Pete's request

falls into the category of WTF.

[LiberalFighter]

5. Only 2 dollar fine? That must hit them hard.

I do hope they are blasting him hard for not doing the right thing by resigning.

They also need to make the position of police chief an ineligible person to hold an elected office.

[LeftInTX]

7. He can now be removed if he misses 3 consecutive meetings

The position is considered "volunteer" anyway. Members are compensated at $25/month

Sec. 3 - Compensation of officers.
Unless refused, the compensation of the mayor shall be fifty dollars ($50.00) per month and the compensation of each councilmember shall be twenty-five dollars ($25.00) per month. The mayor and councilmembers shall also be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of official duties, on the same terms as provided in the reimbursement policy applicable to city employees. The compensation of all other officers and employees of the city shall be fixed by the city council. The council may, at will, increase or diminish the compensation of any other officer or employee or, except the offices established by this Charter, abolish any office or employment position entirely at any time.

(Ord. No. 2011-06, § 1, 3-8-2011/Res. No. 2011-05, § 1, 4-24-2011)

https://library.municode.com/tx/uvalde/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=CICHUVTE_ARTIIMACOOTOFGE_S3COOF



Until 2015, the San Antonio Mayor and City Council were also considered volunteer positions.
https://ballotpedia.org/City_of_San_Antonio_Council_and_Mayor_Salaries,_Amendment_2_(May_2015)
Charter Amendment 2 increased the salary of city council members from $20 per meeting, amounting to $1,040 per year, to $45,722 per year. Amendment 2 was also designed to increase the salary of the mayor from $4,040 per year to $61,725 per year.[1]

[SYFROYH]

10. Jesus, how does he live with himself.

It stuns me that he hasn't resigned from all public service.

[gldstwmn]

11. Good. He should not get to hide.

[Thomas Hurt]

12. Are the nitwits trying to keep this dude under their thumb to maintain the cover up...