Tye down to 3 city employees after wave of resignations

TYE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A post made on the City of Tye’s official Facebook page revealed that the city’s entire public works department has now resigned. This comes after multiple city employees and city officials have stepped down from their positions, with some citing irreconcilable differences after the most recent election for city leadership.

Dark hallways, police uniforms unceremoniously placed aside, and alert calls with no one to answer them. This is the new norm for Tye City Hall, and with the entirety of the public works department resigning, city services will be processed a lot slower for the time being. This most recent round of resignations was announced on Tuesday, May 27th, on the City of Tye’s official Facebook page. Tye Police Chief Christopher Selander says that the city has now lost members from a variety of city departments, including city employees and many officers from the Tye Police Department. It’s a problem that Selander said will lead to greater difficulties down the road.

“Obviously, that’s going to hurt the city as well, because then there won’t be any income coming in to pay the water bills, which therefore we need to pay Abilene. So, the city is going to suffer quite a bit,” Selander explained.

As it stands, the City of Tye now has only three council members (Jason Moore, Greg Treadwell, and Police Chief Selander, who is serving as an acting council member) and three city employees. Interim City Mayor Jason Moore explained how a disagreement over city leadership has led to this outcome.

“They were not happy with certain members who did win the election, but the people spoke, and the council is who the people want. So, you know, like it or lump it, we are going to do our very best to serve the city,” Moore said.

Two of the three city employees remaining are officers for the Tye Police Department. City officials have stated that the lack of a fully staffed police department has prompted them to seek assistance from the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office to supplement city patrols. However, Tye citizens aren’t sure it will be enough. Ricardo Pequeno has lived in Tye for some time and says the lack of officers makes him concerned about his own safety and that of his family.

“Now with only two officers around, crime rates are going to go up. Every town has its little wild side and protection. Like I said, everybody who lives around me has children, and anything can happen,” Pequeno shared.

Another Tye resident who voiced concerns over the city’s current situation was Journee Pugh. She said that her family moved to Tye roughly eight months ago and stated that in that time, she has noticed several issues with city services.

“We don’t get any alerts. We’ve never gotten a water bill from the City of Tye. We’ve called a few times, and there’s no answer on that,” Pugh explained. “Our trash… We never know when it’s going to be taken out. This isn’t the first time it’s happened, but it was supposed to be taken out yesterday, and it’s not.”

The leadership of the City of Tye says they are looking to rapidly fill the needed positions. They added that the challenge is difficult because with so few members, it is harder to process these potential candidates in a way that is in accordance with city regulations. However, city officials are hopeful that a good portion of the vacant positions will be filled within the next 60 to 90 days.

In speaking with Chief Selander, he informed our studios that this will be his last week as Chief of Police for the City of Tye and that his plan to retire was in no way influenced by the current conditions the city is facing. With Selander leaving, the city will be left with just two city council members. Jason Moore and Greg Treadwell.