Gary A. Schroeder was already on the Kenedy City Council’s March 10, 2026, meeting agenda before he was given a city job. Texas G, LLC was listed as a presenter for a GLO Hazardous MIT Grant update, and the meeting minutes say Schroeder appeared before council representing Texas G to give an update on a waterline project. Later that same night, after a closed-door session involving the public works director position, council members returned to open session and appointed Schroeder interim public works director. According to the minutes, Cindy Saenz made the motion, Saundra Schultz seconded it, and the motion carried with all members in favor.
Nearly three weeks later, city emails show he was still asking for the city application, drug test, and criminal-background-check paperwork so the hiring file could be completed.

The city has said Schroeder remains on the payroll, and records show his compensation was later converted from $60 per hour to a $124,800 annual salary.

Schroeder was serving as the Gonzales District 1 city councilman when he was indicted on September 4, 2019, by a Gonzales County grand jury for a third-degree felony sexual assault charge tied to an alleged Aug. 18, 2017 incident. He later pleaded guilty to a Class A misdemeanor assault bodily injury charge and received deferred adjudication. The sexual assault case was dismissed as part of the plea agreement, and a grand jury indictment is not a finding of guilt.

The Email Asked For The Application To Be Put “On File”

Schroeder emailed, about twenty days after the vote, Human Resources Manager Thomas Faulkner and City Manager Melissa Gonzalez asking for the city employment application. He wrote that he wanted to complete the application and make sure it was “on file.” In the same email, he asked the city to arrange a drug test as soon as possible and said the message should be treated as his formal request and authorization for a criminal background check under city policy.

That email also carried a detail that ties the later paperwork back to the March 10 meeting. Schroeder’s signature block listed his name followed by Texas G, LLC. That is the same company name that appeared on the council agenda and in the meeting minutes when Schroeder gave the waterline project update.

Faulkner responded the same afternoon with the city application, DPS authorization form, and background-check form. He told Schroeder the criminal-history authorization was the most important form outside the application because it allowed the city to run a DPS check. Faulkner also wrote that once the paperwork was complete, Schroeder would need to finish additional documents so the city could process him as a W-2 employee for payroll and I-9 reporting. By then, Schroeder had already been appointed interim public works director for nearly three weeks.

The City’s Own Emails Show The Process Was Backward

Kenedy’s employee handbook says Human Resources is responsible for making sure the city uses proper procedures to evaluate and hire new employees. It requires anyone seeking employment or reemployment to complete an official city application for the position. It also allows the city to require drug screening, background checks, and other pre-employment review. The records show those steps were still being handled after council had already appointed Schroeder to the interim public works director role.

Schroeder’s application marked “Yes” to a question asking whether he had ever been convicted of a crime, received deferred adjudication, been assigned a probation officer, or pleaded nolo contendere to an alleged crime. The explanation on the application is redacted in the records provided. Kenedy’s policy says Class B misdemeanors and above can eliminate a candidate unless specifically approved by the city manager. Schroeder’s plea to Class A misdemeanor assault bodily injury was above that Class B threshold, even though the sentence was deferred adjudication.

The city’s records do not show that Schroeder hid his background once the paperwork was completed. In fact, the HR manager later wrote that the available report showed no indication of misrepresentation or falsification.

HR Said Employment Had Already Started

The clearest internal warning came on March 31, one day after Schroeder asked for the application and background-check paperwork. Faulkner emailed Gonzalez with a background investigation summary and policy consideration.

Faulkner’s concern was what had already happened. He wrote that the City Council had appointed Schroeder at its March 2026 meeting and that his employment had commenced before the background investigation was completed. He also wrote that the appointment happened without the involvement of the Human Resources Department.

Faulkner told Gonzalez she could not retroactively approve or disapprove the appointment because the City Council had already acted and an at-will employment relationship had already been established. If there were concerns about Schroeder’s continued employment under the handbook policy, Faulkner wrote, the matter would have to go back to the City Council through an agenda action item.

A Six-Figure Public Job

By April 6, the city was working on Schroeder’s compensation. Gonzalez emailed Faulkner and wrote that she had reviewed Schroeder’s timesheet. She said the city was compensating him at $60 per hour and asked Faulkner to convert that amount into salary pay. Faulkner replied that the annual rate would be $124,800, with a biweekly rate of $4,800.

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