DFW News App

Fort Worth City Council presented a proclamation recognizing the Oakhurst neighborhood’s 100th anniversary during its Aug. 13 meeting. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)
” data-medium-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CityCouncil_Aug13_CamiloDiaz4336-scaled.jpg?fit=300%2C200&ssl=1″ data-large-file=”https://fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/CityCouncil_Aug13_CamiloDiaz4336-scaled.jpg?fit=780%2C520&ssl=1″ tabindex=”0″ role=”button”>Fort Worth is doing away with its most prestigious form of recognition, proclamations issued on behalf of the entire City Council, after a proposed proclamation recognizing June as Pride month led to division among the council. Going forward, the highest form of recognition will be issued solely by the mayor. Council members will still be able to give lesser forms of recognition, called special recognitions, that will be issued by a single council member on behalf of the city. “At the end of the day, the intent to recognize individuals or groups is still there,” council member Charlie Lauersdorf told the Report on Wednesday. “There’s still a tool that each council member and the mayor has in their toolbox to show appreciation or recognition, so as long as we have that, I think we’re good.” Council member Chris Nettles, who could not be reached for comment prior to publication, previously told the Report he believed the council should present proclamations with or without each council member’s signature — that way, council members could decline to sign a proclamation without derailing the recognition from happening. Laken Rapier, chief spokesperson for Mayor Mattie Parker’s office, declined to comment on the new recognition process. The Report contacted all council members for their thoughts on the changes. How to request recognition

Those interested in requesting recognition from the mayor or a council member can do so through the city’s website. Requests must still be submitted 30 days in advance of when the requestor wants to receive the request, and the mayor and council may choose whether or not to support them. The new forms of recognition come three months after City Council failed to pass an annual proclamation recognizing June as Pride month, which highlights and celebrates the LGBTQ community. The drafted proclamation — which Lauersdorf and council members Alan Blaylock, Michael Crain and Macy Hill declined to sign — would have recognized several Fort Worth nonprofit organizations that serve the LGBTQ community. Instead, several council members and the mayor, led by Elizabeth Beck, presented individual certificates of recognition to the organizations. Previously, proclamations required unanimous council support in order to get presented, typically at council meetings. They were intended to “honor and celebrate special events or increase awareness of programs and people that make Fort Worth special,” according to a page on the city’s website reviewed by the Report in July.In addition to proclamations, the council also previously issued certificates or letters of recognition, which came on behalf of the mayor or a council member. Those forms of recognition did not require consensus among the council. Fort Worth’s new forms of recognition

Special recognition: issued by a single council member on behalf of the city. 

Official recognition from the mayor: issued and presented by the mayor only, at the mayor’s discretion. Lauersdorf previously told the Report he couldn’t support the Pride month proclamation to recognize the LGBTQ-serving organizations without knowing each organization’s stance on issues such as transgender children. He said he didn’t have enough time to research the organizations prior to the June meeting. “I do not personally support surgically transitioning of minors,” Lauersdorf said in August. “If there are organizations that do support that or do push for that, that’s not an organization that I can implicitly endorse.” At the time, Nettles and Beck questioned Lauersdorf’s motives in declining to sign the proclamation. Nettles claimed Lauersdorf and the other council members who declined to sign off wanted to “control the narrative” on what issues Fort Worth publicly supports and how the city is perceived. “He may not know enough information about the organization, but he doesn’t care enough to find out information that he needs to know,” Nettles said. In a June 22 email to her fellow council members obtained by the Report, Beck told Lauersdorf, “Google.com seems like it would be a useful tool to enable you to do your job as a council member. Try it.” Lauersdorf responded: “Amazing resource, thank you!”Members of LGBTQ-affirming organizations who received certificates of recognition stand for a photo within Fort Worth City Council chambers June 11, 2024. Of the eight council members physically present at the meeting, five joined the organizations for the recognition ceremonies. (Camilo Diaz | Fort Worth Report)Lauersdorf said recognitions on behalf of the mayor instead of the full council will bear the same impact to community members seeking recognition. He added that a certificate from the mayor makes more sense to him. “It’s coming from the mayor, it’s coming from the leader of the city,” Lauersdorf said. “If I was an individual or an organization, and I received a document — whether you call it a proclamation or a certificate of recognition or something else — and it had the mayor’s name on it, I would be absolutely delighted. I’d be honored and privileged.” How do other big cities in Texas issue recognitions?

Dallas: Dallas City Council members may recognize the “people, programs, and events that make Dallas a vibrant city” by issuing a special recognition, which does not require council consensus. They also offer letters of recognition, which are issued for souvenir booklets, conferences, conventions and seminars, or a significant anniversary, birthday, reunion or event, according to the city’s website.

Houston: As of Sept. 12, the city’s website states, “Currently, the Mayor’s Office is not accepting new requests as we review policies and procedures for distributing a proclamation, letter of support or certificate under a new mayoral administration.”

Austin: Austin City Council issues several forms of recognition, including proclamations, distinguished service awards, certificates of appreciation, certificates of congratulations, certificates of completion, certificates of recognition and honorary resident certificates. It is unclear from the city’s website if any of the recognition forms require council consensus. 

San Antonio: All ceremonial recognitions come on behalf of the San Antonio mayor, according to the city’s website. They offer several forms of recognition, including certificates, proclamations, alcaldes, certificates of heroism, corporate awards and distinguished citizen awards, plus recognitions to honor emissaries of the muses and honorary citizens.In mid-August, City Council issued a proclamation to the Oakhurst Neighborhood Association to honor the neighborhood’s 100th anniversary. The presentation came in the midst of the recognition process review, after the mayor’s spokesperson said the city would not accept requests for proclamations until the review was complete. When asked about the decision to issue that proclamation on behalf of the full council, Lauersdorf said he wasn’t sure how that decision was reached, but he assumed that the recognition was already in the works prior to the review. “It’s a neighborhood that’s been around 100 years, that’s kind of a no-brainer,” Lauersdorf said. “There’s no controversy there … so I don’t think there was any issue with that one.” Moving forward, Lauersdorf said he welcomes Fort Worth residents to request recognition from his office. He intends to support requests that “lean toward individuals” rather than broader issues. “If someone were to reach out to our council’s office and ask for some sort of recognition for either an individual or an organization, just like before, we’ll take them on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “We’ll do our due diligence, we’ll do our research, ask questions and then move forward.”Lauersdorf said he doesn’t plan to “rubber stamp” each and every recognition request that crosses his desk, but he said other council members can make that choice for themselves and their districts.  Cecilia Lenzen is a government accountability reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at cecilia.lenzen@fortworthreport.org or @bycecilialenzen. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.