VOL 4 No. 1
Phone: 281-980-6745
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FORT BEND FAIR. BALANCED. INFORMATIVE. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2011
P. O.BOX 623, SUGAR LAND, TX 77487-0623
Official newspaper of Fort Bend County, Missouri City & Sugar Land
Councilmember loses unemployment benefit following resignation By BARBARA FULENWIDER Heard the story about the city council member who applied for unemployment benefits after she lost the election? It’s a story more complicated and it pits former Councilmember Cynthia Lenton Gary against Missouri City. The story began in 2008 when Gary, who taught at Prairie View A&M, left that school and was halfway through her first two-year term as a Missouri City council member. In 2008 Gary applied for and received unemployment benefits from Prairie View. In June 2010 Gary was disqualified for receiving benefits because she voluntarily resigned from the city council without good cause connected with the work. The no payment period began May 2, 2010. Before Gary filed a continued claim for unemployment benefits on May 8, 2010, Gary had last ‘worked’ from July 2, 2007 through May 8, 2010 as council member. She received a monthly stipend of $600 and $150 a month for transportation from the city. When her unemployment benefits were stopped by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) after she quit the city council, Gary appealed the decision. When someone applies for benefits the TWC conducts an analysis. The first level determines if there is a discharge or resignation. If it’s a discharge, the commission does an analysis as to whether there was misconduct or no misconduct associated with that discharge. In a resignation or a quit situation, they look at whether the employee had good cause connected with the work for quitting or whether there was none. So an employee may get benefits or not either in a discharge or resignation. The issue for Gary was whether it was constitutional for Missouri City, which is a home rule city, to have codes which require an elected official to resign from their office in order to run for another office. Missouri City’s charter says that when an official files to run for another office that triggers the official’s automatic
Gary resignation, which is effective on date of the next election. When Councilmember Gary filed to run for mayor of Missouri City in 2010 she triggered her automatic resignation. The issues on the appeal before the commission was whether Gary was “separated from her work on city council as a result of a discharge based on work connected misconduct or a voluntary quit without good work connected cause” and if Gary was entitled to extended benefits. Here the TWC treats Gary as an employee of the city, though technically she is not. Neither is the city an employer. The TWC merely takes into account the work performed by Gary and the compensation she received for the work, without ruling on the issue if Gary was a city employee. The TWC conducted the appeal hearing on Oct. 13, 2010, via conference calls that included Elaine Turner, hearing officer, Caroline Kelley, Missouri City attorney, Robert Williams, TWC hearing representative, and Gary. All parties were on the phone at the same time in regard to Gary’s appeal. The findings of fact in the hearing show that Gary filed a continued claim for unemployment benefits with the effective date of May 8, 2010 and last worked from July 2, 2007 through May 8, 2010 as an elected member of Missouri City council, which is her named employer and is a home rule city. The hearing officer’s decision regarding Gary’s appeal says that Gary “argued that she
did not resign.” Even though Gary “knew that the city charter said her action would be treated as resignation, she did not believe the city had the power to enact such a provision and therefore she could not be treated as having resigned.” Both sides cited the same articles and sections of the Texas Constitution but the hearing officer disagreed with Gary’s argument that Missouri City’s charter was unconstitutional. At the hearing Kelley also pointed out that there is an attorney general’s opinion that says “A home rule city charter providing for the automatic resignation of a mayor or council member serving a two-year term of office is not inconsistent with the Texas Constitution.” In the end Gary lost her appeal so she won’t receive any unemployment benefits until she has returned to employment and either worked six weeks or earned wages at least equal to six times the claimant’s weekly benefits amount. The hearing office found that Gary “resigned when she chose to run for mayor. She knew that her action would be treated as a resignation under the city charter, but chose to take the action. She effectively resigned to seek another position, which she preferred. That was not good cause connected with the work for resignation.” After the hearing, Kelley said, “The TWC looks at the last work and they also use the term last employee unit but they also mean an outfit that provided work. In this particular case, they did not get to whether this was the type of work that qualifies. They just looked at where they worked, which was the city and the nature of the work separation from the city.” What the TWC looks at “is governed by the state labor code,” Kelley said. Gary said she did not file unemployment claim against the city, but appealed when her benefit was denied as a result of her quitting an elected office. Gary said she is now “currently teaching on-line for the University of Phoenix.”
New “Shout Outs!’ Girl Scout Cookies are sensibly Sweet communities nationwide. “Just like mom would make,” says Selena Sanderson, Senior Vice President at Interbake Foods, whose ABC Bakers division bakes Girl Scout Cookies. “We understand that consumers are making a concerted effort to eat more simply, and Shout Outs! reflect that, “she explained, saying that the average serving size is four cookies totaling 130 calories.
Girl Scouts newest cookie, Shout Outs, is a Belgianstyle caramelized cookie that has zero grams of trans fat per serving, no hydrogenated oils, no artificial colors or preservatives, and no high fructose corn syrup. Girl Scout Cookie Season starts January 8. The program is considered to be the largest girl-led business in the country and generates over $700 million for girls and Fort Bend Education Foundation Gala. The Fort Bend Education Foundation will hold its 18th annual gala at the Sugar Land Marriott Hotel on Feb. 26. This year’s theme is “A Tea Party in Wonderland.” FBEF Gala 2011 committee members seated L to R; Sue Chiang, Namita Asthana, Manmeet Likhari, Nappinnai Natarajan, Brenna Smelley, FBEF Executive Director, Gabriella Cone, Gala Co-Chair; Laura Winters, Gala Co-Chair; Jessica Kij, Sonal Bhuchar, Terrie Gorney, Mary Ahner. Back Row; Violet Robertson, Shawn Owens, Namita Patel, Tracey
Lisse, Terri Wang, Yolanda Humphrey, Lynn Halford, Jacquie Chaumette, Melissa Cruz, Chris Berger and Shaelyn Neal. Visit www.fortbendisd.com/foundation.
Sugar Land City Manager will stay Sugar Land City Manager A l l e n Bogard will stay with the city, after Bogard all. Bogard was recruited to apply for city manager position with Corpus Christi and Plano. Corpus Christi CallerTimes last week listed Bogard as one of the 53 applicants for the post. Bogard was among the short-listed finalists, but on Monday he withdrew his applictaion. Following a conversa-
tion he had with Sugar Land Mayor Jimmy Thompson, on Monday Bogard decided to withdraw his name from consideration with Corpus Christi and Plano. Sugar Land City Council
recently recognized Bogard for 15 years of service to Sugar Land. Thompson praised Bogard for numerous city accomplishments that occurred during his tenure.
10701 Corporate Drive, #282, Stafford, TX 77477 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, TX 77487 Seshadri Kumar Publisher & Editor
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Fort Bend Independent, (USPS 025-572) is published every Wednesday (for a subscription rate of $20 per year) by Fort Bend Independent, LLC., 10701 Corporate Dr., #282, Stafford, Texas 77477. Periodicals Postage Paid at Stafford, Texas. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Fort Bend Independent, P.O. Box 623, Sugar Land, Tx 77487.