City of Forni to Consider Major Changes to Ethics Ordinance

FORNEY, Texas. Former city councilman Forney says it’s time for the fast-growing city of Kaufman County to tighten up its ethics laws and become more transparent.

Jason Roberson, who recently resigned from the city council to run for mayor of Forney, says just look at the traffic on Highway 80.

According to him, this is a representative of the thousands and thousands of new residents who have moved to Forni.

“We have been a small town for so long. Now we are big. And it’s time for us to start acting like we’re big,” Roberson said on Inside Texas Politics.

Roberson says it’s time to look under the microscope at business relationships in the community, especially new developments, which may need tighter regulation as a small community grows into a big city.

“Because the developers, many times, they can come in and they have a chance, I think, to go behind the board members’ backs. It’s much easier for them to work that way,” he told us. “And then they leave and go to the next town. And we’re left with traffic. So that’s part of the problem.”

But this is not just a new development.

Among other changes, the ethics reform package also includes term limits for mayors and council members, makes it easier to recall elected officials, requires lobbyists to register and disclose which city officials they meet, and conduct an annual comprehensive audit of city spending.

The decision is expected to be discussed in the near future.

While the vote has not yet been scheduled, Roberson believes it will most likely pass when it does.

“We have a chance to try and demand more from people who are trying to get our attention, and it’s time to start implementing some of these new rules,” he said.