Beaumont Mayor Roy West tilted the scales of a City Council tie vote, electing to once again hire Gap Strategies to provide consulting services at a cost of nearly $100,000 during the elected officials’ Sept. 2 meeting. The narrowly-secured vote of 4-3 contracted the services of the out-of-town consultant linked to the recent Hays County, Texas bond election overturned by judicial ruling, despite sharp pushback from several council members that argued the city’s own staff could handle the work.
Gap Strategies most recently was contracted by Beaumont to consult and lead certain procedures through the general obligation bond election process, which resulted in five proposals being placed on the November ballot totaling $264 million.
Supporters of the new contract said the firm’s expertise would be critical in ensuring accurate and legally compliant communication with voters, while opponents questioned the price tag and the need for an outside consultant to “educate” voters about what should be straight-forward information.
Councilman Joey Hilliard was the first to object, pointing to the city’s own communications team, led by Director of Communications Tracy Kennick, which has already been “educating the public” for months.
“I don't understand why we don’t let them shoulder the burden and not spend the $100k,” Hilliard prodded to a response from Kennick that the city staff could do the work – but not as well as Gap consultants.
Assistant City Manager June Ellis defended the decision to pay for Gap Strategies by indicating the Buda-based firm was instrumental in getting the recommended bond propositions before council. Ellis said he felt it would be useful for Gap to continue to assist and support the communication department.
“Could we do it without them? Yes,” Kennick confirmed. “Will they make us better, probably so. There’s a lot of things outside of my wheelhouse.”
Kennick emphasized the importance of “legal guardrails” surrounding the city’s upcoming bond election, pointing to the expertise of Gap Strategies as a reason for rehiring the firm. During Gap’s recent presentation to the Beaumont City Council, the consultants highlighted their past work with Hays County as an example of their successful consulting services.
However, the 2024 Hays County bond election Gap Strategies consulted on has since come under scrutiny. In June 2025, 419th Civil District Court Judge Catherine Mauzy voided Hays County’s 2024 General Obligation road bond election, ruling that the county commissioners violated the Texas Open Meetings Act when calling the special election.
The court determined that Hays County failed to provide sufficient public notice about the bond’s cost, scope, and potential tax impact. The lawsuit, filed on Oct. 21, 2024, alleged that county officials misled residents by placing the bond item on a meeting agenda at the last minute – limiting public input and leaving voters without enough information about how the $439 million bond would affect local property taxes.
Although the bond was approved by 55.76% of voters, the judge’s ruling invalidated the bond election. According to public record, during the July 8 meeting of Hays County Commissioners Court, commissioners voted 5-0 to appeal the decision, arguing that the ruling undermines the will of the voters.
In the meantime, despite the expertise of Gap consultant guidance through what is described as “legal guardrails,” Hays County taxpayers will foot the bill for legal costs, the consulting fees already paid to Gap Strategies, and now face the possibility that road repairs will not move forward if the county loses its appeal. Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra is cited via social media as saying that, “We’re taking the hit” despite consulting experts – the same experts consulting Beaumont City Council with advisement and assistance for the pending $264 million Beaumont bond – also on the taxpayers’ dime.
“It’s a huge win for enforcement of the Texas Open Meetings Act,” Freedom of Information of Texas attorney Bill Aleshire celebrated of the judicial ruling striking down the ill-presented Texas municipal bond. “This case is the first time a TOMA violation was the basis for a successful election contest. This decision is also another warning to attorneys representing governmental bodies to stop being careless and complicit with their clients violating the Open Meetings Act. There are serious consequences to violating TOMA, and they won’t get away with it unchallenged.”
Kennick acknowledged that she has relied heavily on Gap Strategies for guidance in Beaumont’s own bond efforts.
“I have used them as consultants with everything that I have put out regarding the bond,” she said, describing the process as “super time consuming.”
Gap Strategies, she explained of the new contract, will handle a range of tasks, including social media campaigns and direct mail outreach.
“They have been super successful; they’ve done this plenty of times,” Kennick said, adding that the firm’s fee could be rolled into the bond itself.
In an interview with The Examiner, Kennick stated “One lawsuit would cost more than what we’re paying them (Gap Strategies),” in support of the $98,000 paid Gap to head “marketing” endeavors leading up to the November election.
According to the proposed 2026 fiscal year budget, the City Communications department is touted as the “primary source of information about the City of Beaumont,” charged with fostering community engagement utilizing digital and traditional media channels. The department is currently comprised of Director Kennick, a multimedia specialist and a digital media specialist and budgets for the hiring of one additional digital media specialist. The proposed budget for fiscal year 2026 stands at $511,711, which includes wages of $321,359, benefits of $121,779, and an operating cost of $68,573. This budget has grown by more than $100,000 since the FY2024 budget was set at $407,983.
Councilman Mike Williams argued the arrangement to add “communication” cost to taxpayers already footing an annual bill was unnecessary and costly.
“This is essentially a $100,000 educational process and, in marketing terms, that seems expensive to me,” Williams said of the scope of services that includes, social media messaging, two direct mail pieces, speaking events, media relations, printing, website hosting, content management, videos, and travel expenses.
With regard to videos, more than five years of Gap Strategies videos are available online via their company Vimeo account, which is comprised of 25 videos for various clients, including Beaumont, whose video received 329 views as of press time with many similarly subjected videos at less than 100 views each. (https://vimeo.com/user84641269)
Councilman Cory Crenshaw was especially critical of the added expense to Beaumonters.
“Why on God’s green Earth would we pay travel and lodging to a group from Austin when we could pay a local marketing firm and save that cost?” Crenshaw queried. “This is a shocking example of wasteful spending.”
Kennick stressed that most city employees were not equipped to answer detailed questions about the bond.
“How many of them are knowledgeable about the bond – not that many,” she said. “Most of our staff, if you were to ask them, tell me why this was put on the bond, tell me what’s needed at the police station – they probably couldn’t even tell you that.”
City Manager Kenneth Williams boisterously defended staff, however, and countered that, at minimum, the risk of perceived bias makes the contract for outside consulting worthwhile.
“This is not money out of our tax dollars now … if that bond passes, this is paid for out of that,” Williams said. “If you want it to be successful, you should put more effort into it. It provides an unbiased perspective and my staff is already getting accused of being biased in this election. Council can do as it pleases but don't come at my staff later about being biased when we had the opportunity to let somebody else do it.”
Councilwoman LaDonna Sherwood expressed concern about ensuring consistent messaging but seemed open to negotiating a more palatable fee for the communication work. After receiving legal advice that council could request lowering the figure, the councilwoman did not make the motion to do so when the vote was called.
Mayor West said that, while continued use of Gap Strategies was not initially expected, he was persuaded by their presentation and experience. After more than an hour of debate, the motion passed 4–3, with Hilliard, Williams, and Crenshaw voting against the contract.
Beaumont voters will decide to approve or deny a total of $264 million in a General Obligation bond election this November. The ballot will be comprised of five propositions, although specific ballot language has not yet been revealed.
Should all propositions pass, taxpayers will pay an additional $171.00 per $150,000 taxable property valuation for an undetermined number of years.
Early voting by personal appearance will run Oct. 20 through Oct. 31, with Election Day set for Tuesday, Nov. 4. To participate, residents must be registered to vote by Oct. 6. Following the deadline for registering to vote, Gap Strategies has committed to contributing to five open house events and two direct mail pieces to be sent to Beaumont residents. Prior to this, website changes and unspecified public information efforts are items on the consulting firm’s timeline of services to provide.
Breakdown of bond propositions:
Proposition A: Infrastructure - Drainage, Streets, and Sidewalks (Total Cost: $58,162,200)
- Citywide Sidewalk Initiative ($10,000,000): Major sidewalk initiative to address sidewalks citywide
- Street Improvements ($20,000,000): Includes improvements to Lucas Drive, Avenue A, Avenue C, Carroll Street, Sycamore Streets, Doucette Avenue, Dollinger Road, Cottonwood Street, 7th Street, and Gladys Avenue
- Drainage improvements ($28,162,200): Improvements to Broad Oak St. (outfall ditch), West Lucas Dr. (storm sewer rehabilitation), citywide ditching program and related equipment, and citywide storm sewer cleaning
Proposition B: Facilities and Public Safety (Total Cost: $147,369,424)
- Animal Care Services & Adoption Center ($7,900,613): Replace the current, undersized and outdated animal care center with a new, modern facility
- Fire Station No. 4 ($6,667,827): Replace Fire Station #4, built in 1954, with a new, modern rapid emergency response facility
- Police Headquarters and Operations ($60,979,482): New police headquarters and facility improvements
- Facilities Improvements ($10,000,000): Citywide assessment and renovations to existing facilities across the city
- Multipurpose Sports and Community Facility ($49,573,639): Creation of a state-of-the-art sports facility and community multipurpose center designed to host a variety of sporting events, tournaments, community classes, and training.
- Multipurpose Center at Alice Keith Park ($11,247,864): Multipurpose facility at Alice Keith Park.
- Public Safety and Technology Improvements ($1,000,000): Public safety and technology improvements, including cameras that tie into the Real-Time Crime Center.
Proposition C: Parks, Trails, and Recreation (Proposition C Total Cost: $37,215,874)
- Playground Equipment and Park Improvements ($3,000,000): Construction, rehabilitation and equipment, and permanent improvements and facilities for certain city parks (including Halbouty Park, Cottonwood Park, Fletcher Mini Park, Perlstein Park, Guseman Park, Collier’s Ferry Park, Magnolia Park, Tyrrell Park, Rogers Park, Riverfront Park, Roberts Park, and Central Park)
- Renovation of Park Restroom Facilities ($1,815,624): A system-wide renovation of park restroom facilities; replace outdated, unusable facilities with modern restroom facilities.
- Tyrrell Park Upgrades ($25,000,000): Upgrades and added amenities to Tyrrell Park.
- Athletic Complex #4: 3-Field Conversion ($7,400,250): Converts softball fields on Complex 4 into baseball fields. Upgrades to restrooms, dugouts, fencing, bullpens, and other amenities to allow yearround use.
Proposition D: Riverfront Park Extension (Total Cost: $12,498,220)
- Riverfront Park Extension ($12,498,220): 8.25-acre expansion of Riverfront Park with family-focused amenities, an amphitheater, and 4 storefronts.
Proposition E: Pointe Parkway North Extension (Total Cost: $8,922,278)
- Pointe Parkway North Extension ($8,922,278): Extend a 0.6-mile segment of Pointe Parkway from Northwest Parkway to State Highway 105