Criminal complaint against city manager dropped

City Manager Joyce Wilson has withstood public backlash over the ballpark, a set of personal emails that raised eyebrows, and a criminal complaint.

This morning, there are signs that the hot seat may be cooling for Wilson.

It all began with a website.

Back in October, a section of the city’s website was devoted to the then-upcoming “Quality of Life Bond” vote.

A screen grab obtained by ABC-7 of the original crafting of the website once stated the following, “Voters will be voting on a 2 percent increase in the hoteloccupancytax only. Voters will not be voting on the ballpark project itself. An increase in the HOT tax will allow for visitors to pay for the majority of the ballpark project, not its residents.”

That language was removed from the site following response to the wording.

Before the removal, parties on opposing sides sought legal action.

Wilson was accused of using public taxpayer dollars to influence an election.

The complaint, filed by Raymundo Rojas, stated that Wilson was attempting to deceive voters.

That complaint dealt a blow to Wilson’s reputation, but Saturday morning the district attorney announced the case will not be pursued.

Wilson wasn’t available to speak with ABC-7 about the dismissal of the complaint, but released a statement saying she was pleased because this was damaging to her reputation.

Wilson added that with all change comes conflict. She went on to say, “The difference this time is the level of personal attacks and false public allegations that have the potential to compromise the community’s confidence in its local government.”

As for the ballpark, its funding has already been approved through the hotel tax, despite the city’s removal of the language from its website.