Council votes unanimously to reject settlement in lawsuit filed by former lawmaker Joe Pickett

EL PASO, Texas - After the El Paso city council discussed behind closed door a lawsuit filed by former State Representative Joe Pickett, city representatives on Monday voted unanimously to reject a settlement.

El Paso Matters first reported in March, 2021 Pickett filed a lawsuit alleging the city of El Paso was hiding tax increases in water bills by using a fee water bills stated were needed to pay for damages to streets that sanitation trucks cause. Pickett told ABC-7 he reached out to his city representative and city staff with questions about his bill and they failed to respond to his requests to itemize the costs of service. At the time he said he filed the lawsuit to compel the city to produce the information.

The lawsuit also sought $100,000 in damages and a declaratory judgment preventing future application of the environmental service franchise fee to Pickett or his property.

After council came out of executive session, Mayor Pro Tempore Peter Svarzbein made a motion and council voted to reject the plaintiff settlement demand.

The case is pending in the 384th District Court.