Earlier this month West Odessa residents continued pressing the Ector County Commissioners Court to intervene on their behalf with the Ector County Utility District (ECUD), the local municipal water district which serves West Ector County.
Despite numerous residents speaking before the Court and the submission of almost 700 petition signatures calling on Commissioners for a reset of the ECUD Board, the Commissioners Court took no action citing their inability to intervene due to a perceived lack of legal standing. Their refusal came after a lengthy executive session and consultation with the County Attorney and outside counsel.
During the meeting, County Judge Dustin Fawcett promised participants that he would submit a detailed request to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asking for clarification on the issues raised by local residents and the Commissioners Court ability to intervene. Last week, Judge Fawcett, joined by the County Auditor who can legally request such opinions, kept his promise by delivering a detailed four-page request to the Texas Attorney General. Fawcett also submitted an opinion request to the Secretary of State regarding several election related issues.
On Monday, December 18, 2023, The County Auditor received an acknowledgement letter from the Attorney General’s Office. Due to the number of questions raised by Fawcett, the AG’s office informed Fawcett in their acknowledgment that they have requested a long list of state agencies and offices to submit legal briefs with a deadline of January 17, 2024.
The briefs requested cover three primary areas of concern: (1) violations of the Open Meetings Act by ECUD on November 8, 2023, (2) Issues concerning the election of ECUD Board of Directors, and (3) Official Misconduct of ECUD Directors.
When asked about the Attorney General’s response letter stating that some of the questions were outside of the purview of the Attorney General’s opinion, Judge Fawcett stated “We knew there was a lot to unpack with ECUD based on the residents’ complaints we have received. This request for opinion should have, and has, drawn the attention of the Attorney General to request feedback from other agencies. It shows there are indeed concerns. This is good because we now do not have to take a siloed approach by going to each agency one by one as a standalone opinion. Instead, the Attorney General has asked agencies to file briefs by January 17, 2024. We will soon begin to have more clarity before the AG’s opinion is reached.”
Odessa Headlines will continue following this story and provide updates as soon as they are available.