
Since June 1, 2024 is the last listed day, and voted upon by commissioners, that Cindy/Cyndi Gray would be in payroll, and she is now the General Manager of the Expo, I wondered about the two offices that she has had in the past. In other words, Gray had a nice office in the annex in the wing of the auditor, Nikki Weedon and also a large office in the Expo Center. Presumably since she is no longer anything in the accounting wing of the County, she would have nothing to do with any office space there. But, she does. There is a locked office caddy-corner from Nikki. Keep in mind that this section of the building in the Annex has a security device that either people can use a card key on or use the intercom to get buzzed in. Presumably, also, there would be a log of who comes in and out. Saying that if the office is empty, even with desks, etc, it would still be secure from the public at large.
I asked Auditor Nikki Weedon if Gray still has a key to that office and she said she does, and it is up to Weedon’s discretion to have it so. She further said that it would be available for Gray to use again when the Expo job ended. (The Expo is up for bid and if sold to a private entity, it would be up to the purchaser to determine who stayed in that job). Then she added an *or* that she could put out to hire someone else for that job. She said that Danny Chambers has keys and indeed, he does have keys, although he was unsure if that included the one for Gray’s office. Or that the maintenance man has keys, in case of emergency.
I have always liked Weedon so my gripe about this is nothing personal. I do not agree, however, with the idea of *holding* an office open with a locked door for someone (Gray) that does not even work in that location and giving her the key to come in and out. Again, SHE IS NOT WORKING IN PAYROLL NOR AUDITING but her job is as a general manager; Nikki was voted on to be Gray’s boss recently but that entitles Gray to two offices? Why does she still have an extra office that she keeps the key for and keeps locked? In my own experience in the world of corporate jobs, once someone no longer has a position in given area, the office is vacated and keys returned if they were given out. Or, if they moved positions to a different office, that is the ONE office that is kept, not the second one. Heck, I have worked at places where office space was at a premium and people even fought over who would have a given office (window space being premium).
Also, since Weedon has control and discretion over the offices in the wings where she is, does the District Attorney’s office pay rent to Somervell County for those or is it a courtesy on the part of Somervell County to offer that space? For example, Richard Talavera of the commissioners office moved to the old jail building across the street and is no longer in the wing of commissioners. I have not asked, but presumably that office would be available for someone else to use if needed, but sits empty now. If, as it seems might be possible, Weedon is keeping it empty and allowing Gray to keep a key to it, is she pre-planning to bring Gray back, and possibly then not going out for bids AT A LATER TIME for a possible position?