Mayor, city secretary of Kendleton receive pay raise unapproved by city council, official says

KENDLETON, Texas (KTRK) -- City leaders are divided after the mayor of Kendleton and the city's secretary are being slammed for raises in the city council that were never approved.

Councilmembers spoke to ABC13 and said they denied those pay raises in November 2022, but the mayor, DarryL Humphrey, somehow saw a nearly 60% pay bump and wanted to know why it happened.

"The problem is, as of September 30, the checks were already written for his and the city secretaries' raises," Councilwoman Sherrie Schulze said.

Despite not approving them, Humphrey said he started to earn an additional $600 a month, and the city secretary, Christina Flores, got a 13% raise. He said Flores deserves that raise but blames his on a former bookkeeper.

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"The mistake was made where I was getting $1,600, a $1,000 or whatever it is," Humphery said.

The mayor said he was the one who noticed the issue with his check about three months after it started.

"I came into the office and said, 'Hey, we need to fix this'," Humphery said. He cut the city an $1,800 check and fixed his direct deposit.

Councilmember Schulze says he isn't the person who brought it to the council's attention. It was the former bookkeeper.

"When she brought it up, it got our attention," Schulze said.

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The Lazy K RV Park owner saw a nearly $600 price increase in his water bill. After learning that a city ordinance approved the price hike, he went to ask but was left empty-handed.

Ayanna Merchant is the former Kendleton bookkeeper who told ABC13 she was let go after she started raising concerns about the city's finances.

Merchant said the mayor is wrong, and she never adjusted the payroll to give him that big raise. She said she didn't like how the mayor spoke to her, so she blocked his number and was let go for blocking his calls.

The Fort Bend District Attorney told Eyewitness News he is looking into the allegations of unapproved raises but cannot comment on an open investigation.

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