Galveston park board vice chairman resigns amid battle with city

The resignation had nothing to do with the conflict between the city and the park board, however, Wright said.

“This was a difficult decision, but obligations in the coming months would preclude me from being an active member of the board,” Wright said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.

Wright sent notice of his resignation to Mayor Craig Brown and the city council this morning, he said.

Park board trustees, who govern an organization that manages some aspects of Galveston’s tourism industry, are appointed by the city council.

Wright was appointed in 2017.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity to have served on the board as a trustee for the past six years, chair of the Tourism Development Advisory Committee, member of the Finance and Operations Committee and board vice chair,” Wright said.

“My time with the park board has lent years of insight into the dedication and talents of the staff that make Galveston such an important destination for tourists and a home to our fellow residents,” Wright said. “It’s been an immensely rewarding experience.”

Wright’s resignation came about two weeks after park board General Counsel Carla Cotropia resigned.

The park board and city have been at odds for weeks over management of hotel occupancy taxes.

That conflict got hotter in December when the city council approved controversial ordinances requiring the park board to transfer about $14 million in hotel occupancy tax revenue into city accounts, which city officials have asserted is required by charter and state law.

Park board trustees on Jan. 12 voted to seek a Texas Attorney General opinion on its roles and responsibilities in relation to the city.

The ordinances were prompted by an assertion by City Councilman David Collins that the city and park board had for years inadvertently violated the city charter and state laws by allowing the park board to keep revenue from hotel occupancy taxes — a 15 percent tax assessed on people who rent hotel rooms and short-term rentals in Galveston and amounts to 15 cents on every dollar charged for a room or rental — in its own accounts.

The ordinances also require the park board to submit its budgets to the city council for approval and to submit frequent expense reports.