DUANE OLSON is the Mayor of the City of Oak Point.

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JIM WOHLETZ has been a resident of Oak Point since 2000. He and his wife, Dianne, have really enjoyed the “country lifestyle” of Oak Point.

Jim was in the Air Force where he trained as a computer specialist and was a master instructor for computer systems. He has been in the information technology field for the last 40 years. He is currently client business manager for Northrop Grumman.

Jim will bring his expertise and business knowledge to maintain a fiscally sound and efficient budget during this period of growth and expansion in Oak Point.

Jim has served as Associate Vice President of the Emerald Sound Property Owners Association for two years and as a Planning and Zoning Committee member for four years. He was one of the organizers establishing the 4th of July Parade in Oak Point and has enjoyed the event tremendously.

Jim is ready, willing and able to listen, learn, and promote the interests of all the citizens in Oak Point. “I am committed to the commercial growth of Oak Point and to increasing the involvement of our citizens so that we can have a “country-style” city where people want to live.”

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COLLEEN CAMERON is originally from California and graduated from UCLA with a BA in Sociology.

She went on to work for Enterprise Rent-a-Car for 4 years and after that successfully led the strategy development of a wholesale flower growing business into a competitive retail operation.

She married her husband, Jeff, in 1997 and has two school aged children, Corey and Ceilon. She is currently the Vice President of Operations at Signs by Design, a local sign and graphic design company.

Colleen Cameron’s strong family ties and desire to raise her kids in the country are what moved her family to Oak Point from Southern California in 2003. Since her arrival in Oak Point, she has been heavily involved in her community. Jumping right in to her neighborhood Board of Directors, she served for 4 years in various positions. She also served on the Economic Development Advisory Committee for the City.

“I am a strong believer that you get what you give and it is every citizen's responsibility to help shape and mold the city we live in. It took a run-off election for me to get this opportunity to serve the citizens of Oak Point and I will strive to have a positive influence on our city.”

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TOM BAHL was born in Chicago but moved early on to Nebraska where he attended high school and college. While in college he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Engineering and later for the Rio Grande National Forest as a surveyor. In 1966 he started his career in the computer industry by joining NCR corp. Tom has been married for 40 years to wife Midge and have three adult children and seven grandchildren. His career allowed him to opportunity to live in several cities through the years working for NCR, AT&T and Teradata. In 1999, his fifth and final move, he says, brought him to Oak Point, TX. He was then managing Teradata computer support for the Western US, and second level support for all of the Americas and Europe.

Tom retired in 2003 and has kept busy with his volunteer work, BBQ’s and gardening. Tom enjoyed hunting and fishing and motocross racing. He even did a little coaching of little league baseball. Tom also served his neighborhood on the Architectural Control Committee for Emerald Sound. In the past year he and his wife, Midge have created the Oak Point Helping Hand to assist our citizens experiencing some tough times. “We love Oak Point and will strive to make it a better place for all.”

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LYNN HARPOLD moved to Oak Point with his wife April in 2002. He was raised in Mineola, Texas, on his family’s peach orchard. Lynn joined the US Marine Corp after high school where he was a member of the Fleet Anti-Terrorist Security Team during Desert Storm.

Lynn obtained a BA from The University of Texas at Arlington in Exercise and Sports Studies. He also has an AA from Weatherford College in Fire Department Administration. He has been employed for 12 years as a Firefighter/Paramedic for the City of Carrollton. Lynn also serves as a Tactical Paramedic with the Carrollton Police SWAT Team.

Lynn chooses to serve on our city council because he understands the importance of being a citizen advocate by listening, offering feedback, and ultimately providing solutions that will positively benefit Oak Point and its citizens. He looks forward to working with his fellow city council members to obtain these objectives.

Lynn and his wife, April, chose Oak Point for its country atmosphere, serenity, and uniqueness. They now have two daughters, ages 4 and 9, and they enjoy the lake, quietness, and natural beauty of Oak Point. He believes in keeping Oak Point a “country place” and will always work to maintain this quality.

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Council-Manager Form of Government
 

In May of 2001 and pursuant to Section 25.001, et seq. of the Texas Local Government Code, the citizens of the City of Oak Point elected to adopt the council-manager form of government for the city's operation. An ordinance establishing the council-manager form of government was also adopted. On May 19, 2003, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2003-18, reaffirming its commitment to the council-manager form of government.

The basic structure of the city manager plan is similar to that of a private corporation, in which the stockholders elect a board of directors which then hires a president to run the company. Under the city manager plan, the voters elect a city council that, in turn, hires a city manager to administer the City's day-to-day affairs. The mayor and council members have no administrative duties under the council-manager form of government. These are vested in the city manager, who is responsible for directing the workforce and programs of the City in accordance with ordinances, rules, and regulations adopted by the city council.

The council-manager form of government is used in many local governments, cities, and counties because it combines the strong political leadership of elected officials with the strong managerial experience of an appointed local government manager. The strength of this system lies in the maintenance of a representative system, with locally elected officials retaining the power to hire a professionally trained manager to oversee the delivery of public services.

The Council members in this form of government are the leaders and policy makers elected to represent the community and concentrate on policy issues that are responsive to citizens' needs and wishes. As a legislative body, the Council members are the community decision makers. They approve the budget, determine the tax rate, focus on the community goals, major projects and long term considerations such as community growth, land use development, capital improvement plans, capital financing and strategic planning. They are also responsible for the appointment of citizens to the various boards/commissions that will make recommendations for tools to implement these goals, plans, and projects.

The City Manager is appointed by the Council to carry out policy wishes and ensure that the entire community is being served. The manager is hired to serve the Council and the community, and to bring the local government the benefits of training and experience in administering local government projects and programs. The manager prepares the budget for Council's consideration, recruits, hires and supervises the local government staff, and serves as the Council's chief adviser bringing forth objective information, pros and cons of alternatives, and long term consequences. The manager makes policy recommendations to the Council, but the Council may or may not adopt them, and may modify the recommendations. The manager is bound by whatever action the Council takes.

The mayor in a council-manager form of government is the key political leader and policy developer. In the case of the Council, the mayor is responsible for soliciting citizen views in forming these policies and in interpreting them to the public. The mayor presides at meetings, votes only to break a tie vote, serves as a spokesperson to the community, facilitates communication and understanding between elected officials, advocates policy decisions, assists the Council in setting goals, and serves as a promoter and defender of the community. In addition, the mayor, council, and manager constitute a policy-development and management team.

Since its establishment in the early 1800's, the council-manager form of local government has become the most popular form of government in the U.S. for cities with populations of 5,000 or greater. It has become increasingly popular among cities with populations of less than 5,000, as persons with this specialized training are better able to guide council members as laws and regulations become more complex and demanding. Currently, 3,625 cities in the U.S. operate under the council-manager system of local government. Local governments have found overall that costs have actually been reduced with the competent management that comes from hiring a professional city manager.

General Law Cities

There are two categories of cities in Texas:

• Home Rule and
• General Law

• Type A
• Type B and
• Type C

General Law cities are smaller cities, most of which are less than 5,000 in population. All general law cities operate to specific state statutes prescribing their powers and duties. General law cities are limited to doing what the state authorizes or permits them to do. If state law does not grant general law cities the express or implied power to initiate a particular action, none may be taken. "General Law" is a term used to describe all of the state laws applicable to a particular class of things. A general law city, therefore, is one that is subject to all of the state laws applicable to such cities, most of which are found in the Texas Local Government Code.

Type A general law cities are the larger general law cities. Most were incorporated under Type B status and then switched to Type A status when their population increased to 600 or more, or when they had at least one manufacturing establishment. The City of Oak Point was originally a Type B general law city and switched to Type A status through an election on August 9, 1986, and such election was canvassed and approved on August 14, 1986. Ordinance No. 2003-04, duly passed and approved by the City Council on October 7, 2002, reaffirmed the reclassification to a Type A general law city.