WILLOW PARK -- A divided city council here decided Tuesday to sign non-disclosure agreements regarding information the city keeps close to the vest.
The NDAs also will be required for city staff and contractors working for Willow Park.
"It's an added layer of protection," City Attorney Fritz Quast said, noting that city officials often "become exposed to information that would not be subject to public disclosure" during negotiations or in closed sessions.
"You don't want that official or city councilman to go out and disclose that information," he said, later noting that contractors and city staff also are privy to sensitive information.
Responding to Mayor Teresa Palmer, Quast said secrecy also applies to emails marked, 'confidential.'
He also told Councilman Scott Smith it applies to verbal as well as written communications, prompting the councilman to voice a concern.
"My worry is that it can be stated any time that 'I stated that information is confidential,'" Smith said.
The councilman would later join Chawn Gilliland in opposing the new policy, which passed 3-2.
Smith and Gilliland were emailed Thursday morning asking them to elaborate on their dissents.
Passage occurred after discussion over whether non-disclosure would be covered by signing one document or on a case-by-case basis.
Councilman Nathan Crummel suggested the policy start out as a case-by-case decision.
Tuesday's meeting also brought good marks on the city's bookkeeping for the city's fiscal year ending Sept. 30, 2025.
"It's a clean audit coming in this year," CPA Reba Long said, reporting $7.2 million in assets in the general fund and $1.4 million in liabilities.
The city took in $8.5 million in revenue that year, from property and sales taxes, franchise fees and other sources, and spent $9.8 million, Long said.
The general fund budget, which pays for most daily operations including city hall staff and the police force, closed out that fiscal year with a $5.4 million positive fund balance.
"We like to see that," Long said.
Total revenue taken in the water/wastewater account, which is separate from the general fund, was $6.3 million, with $4.6 million spent.
The accountant, with Weatherford-based Snow Garrett and Williams CPAs, finally praised the city's internal controls, which are policies that ensure funds move securely through the system.
"We didn't find any deficiencies in internal controls," Long said. "So, all in all, a clean report card."
Other items were discussed without action taken Tuesday, including the mayor's role in emergency management.
"When we had the ice storm, I didn't even know we closed King's Gate Road," Palmer said of a long north-south street through a central neighborhood.
Palmer said she subsequently learned the city has an emergency management team and that she is its director. She also noted the city has operated under Parker County's emergency management protocol.
She concluded by saying she would review the county plan next to the city's plan and likely would add the police chief to the city's plan.
City Communications Director Rose Hoffman also reported Tuesday she should update the council at its next meeting on progress getting a new Willow Park logo trademarked.
"I feel like our logo is very outdated looking and does not reflect on our community," she said.
She said the city's policy decrees when the city logo can, and can't, be used, and she suggested trademarking the current logo as well.
"Because we still want to protect our brand," she said.
The council on Tuesday also agreed on a $250 monthly raise for the prosecutor in municipal court.
Court Coordinator Michelle Lowe told the council that attorney Ashley McSwain had not seen a pay raise since 2018.
Finally Tuesday, the open comments portion of the meeting drew high praise for the city's public works director, Chase McBride.
Resident Houston Wingard said he'd encountered a neighbor whose yard had flooded twice after a culvert was not replaced when the home's owner laid a wastewater pipeline under her driveway.
McBride installed a new culvert that day, Wingard said.
"He got it done, not just quick. He got it done in hours," he said of McBride.
Wingard said he wished McBride was at the meeting to hear the compliment, but that was when the mayor spoke up.
"Oh, there he is walking in," she said as the 15-year city employee entered council chambers to applause.