Brittany Kelley
KYLE — Following the resignation of former city manager Bryan Langley, Kyle City Council opted to pay less than what was initially suggested of his contract, citing legal technicalities, at its June 16 meeting.
This item was initially brought forward at the June 2 meeting, but was tabled after council directed the interim city manager to seek legal advice from outside counsel. The proposed payment was for $204,492.56, consisting of the maximum payment of 720 vacation hours and 305.43 hours of sick leave.
In line with this request, Frank Garza of Davidson Troilo Ream and Garza was present at the meeting to share his findings.
He first began by recapping the agreement with Langley, which began in April 2023 and provided him with 80 hours of vacation leave and 40 hours of sick leave. This is common, said Garza, when employing an individual from another city.
“Section 17 of the agreement states that if the manager was terminated without clause, he would receive a severance of 12 months of base salary and the value of all leave accrued. On June 20 of 2025, Gov. [Greg] Abbott signed Senate Bill 2237,” continued Garza. “It limits severance pay to executives of political subdivisions to no more than 20 weeks — five months — excluding paid time off for accrued vacation leave. On July 16, 2025, council had a city council meeting with an executive session and this was used to discuss legal issues related to the contracts between the city manager and the city attorney, including discussions of potential amendments.”
This session was followed by then-Mayor Travis Mitchell making a motion to amend severance provisions in the contracts based on the changes in state law, effective Sept. 1, 2025, which was done by reducing severance to 20 weeks, as required, but council opted to remedy this by increasing the vacation payout to 2,000 hours. Then, a second amendment was made Aug. 1, which increased the base salary of Langley from $298,000 to $330,095 and his vacation from 80 hours to 1,360. It also allowed the city manager to accrue unlimited vacation leave, with a maximum payout of $2,000, if terminated. Furthermore, language was added that Langley would be paid up to 720 hours of vacation leave or the maximum allowed, whichever is greater, if he resigned.
Langley’s last day with the city of Kyle was May 15, 2026, leaving Garza with the following questions to answer:
• Is the city obligated to pay the proposed calculations of $204,492.56 and payout the vacation and sick leave balances and still comply with the Senate bill?
• Should Langley receive a payout of vacation leave in excess of his earned or accrued balance upon resignation, when the city intended that excess amount to be provided only as a severance benefit?
Garza first noted that the city did comply with state law by reducing the severance agreement from 12 months to 20 weeks, but that the issue that its facing is not dealing with severance, it is a resignation. Regarding the sick leave, there is no maximum cap on sick leave payout in the contract; therefore, the 305.43 hours of accrued sick leave earned by Langley should be paid out, he said.
Vacation leave, he continued, should be handled differently. The contract states that “the city will not be obligated to pay the severance payment (including payment of leave over the maximum hours for pay out caps pursuant to the city’s personnel policies)” if the city manager voluntarily resigns, said Garza. In light of a resignation, the contract language states that the city is required to pay “accrued leave.” This would mean that the initial suggested payment brought to council, consisting of 720 vacation hours would not be paid, only the 63.55 he accrued.
“It is clear, in my opinion, that it was the city’s intent to only pay for the accrued leave,” said the lawyer. “Therefore, in my opinion, the city is only legally required to pay for the accrued vacation and sick leave and nothing more.”
He also noted that the city did comply with the Open Meetings Act when it voted to approve the manager’s amendment.
Council member Courtney Goza asked about an additional 40 hours of sick leave, which she believed should be deducted from the amount, as it was added per contract. Garza agreed, stating that they have an argument for this, as it was accredited, not accrued, which is the keyword. This means the final sick leave payout would be 265.43 hours, instead of 305.43.
In response to this, council member Marc McKinney stated that the addition was because Langley’s initial contract was 120 hours of sick leave and was lessened to 80, so they added 40 to bring it back up. Because of this, he felt that the 40 should be included. Council member Claudia Zapata agreed, stating that there was an error in the description.
Mayor Yvonne Flores-Cale said that her “hands are tied” because so much of the discussion happened in executive session, with the only witnesses being McKinney and council member Lauralee Harris, and she has to look out for the best interest of the residents. Additionally, the contract itself states that the 40 hours were credited, she said.
Garza echoed this same note, reiterating that the required payout is for accrued hours only.
The next step is most likely mediation, said the lawyer, as the contract states that Langley’s attorney can call for this, if there is a dispute.
“My suggestion is going to be to pay him what we think he has earned — the accrued [hours],” said Flores-Cale. “We’re not denying the payment out-flat-right. What we’re doing is evaluating what we believe through the resolution, which describes the intent through the motion, and through watching the meeting .. I do become a little torn when we pay an $8,000 mediator, which we’re probably going to be required to pay half of, and then, if he sues the city, it goes up into these bigger bills, too. Part of this is going to be important because I feel like moving forward, we have to learn a lesson somehow.”
Medina motioned to pay Langley only the accrued hours of 63.55 vacation leave and 265.43 sick leave. The item passed 6-0. Council member Michael Tobias was absent.
“Thank you guys for talking our way through this. We’re handling some really tough stuff and so, I appreciate the teamwork,” concluded the mayor.
The final payout, after the adjusted leave total, was not disclosed at the meeting, but, according to Goza, the change will save taxpayers approximately $140,000.
To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/4uJQS3S.
