“Although I have not been directly active in Helotes politics, I have been an indirect supporter of the city as well as the current city council.  I enjoy staying abreast of the current issues and can honestly say that it seems there is a lot of common sense on the council today and am proud to be able to say that I live in Helotes.  I believe that I, too, can bring both common sense as well as a good practical business sense to the table.”

On July 9, 2009, Gary Johnson was appointed by the Mayor and the current City Council to serve on the Council in Place 3, replacing Jeff Ellis who resigned in May.  He will serve on Council until the next general election in May 2010, at which time he will have to run for the position he has been serving in, if he wants to remain on Council.

Council announced that night that four citizens had been interviewed for the vacancy.  The Herald has learned that those citizens were Norbert “Bert” Buys, Jr., Paul Friedrichs, Ardith Garner, and, of course, Gary Johnson, who was the least known of the four candidates.

Bert Buys has lived in Helotes for 19 years, and he is currently serving on the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Paul Friedrichs has lived in Helotes since 2004, and is currently serving on the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.

Ardith Garner did not state on her application how long she has lived in Helotes, but in 2002 she started volunteering for the City when she was appointed to the Architectural Review Board.  She served on this Board until current Mayor, Tom Schoolcraft, dissolved the Board a couple of years ago.  She is currently serving as the president on the Economic Development Corporation Board of Directors.  While the three other applicants did not mention how or why they came to submit applications for the Council vacancy, Mrs. Garner stated that Mayor Schoolcraft asked her if she’d be willing to fill the vacant seat on Council.

The information below is taken from the application submitted to the City by Gary Johnson.  We feel that it is important to provide this information about Mr. Johnson, because so few of us know anything about him.

GARY JOHNSON

HELOTES, TEXAS

I have lived in the Helotes area for the past 16 years (13 in the ETJ and the last 3 in the city limits).  My wife and I currently live in the Estates section of Iron Horse Canyon with our two children.  We are members of Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic church and have been since moving into the area in 1993.

I care a great deal about this community though have not considered directly participating in politics in the past.  My only prior “political” experience was as Vice President/Treasurer of the Helotes Ranch Acres – Unit 6 Home Owners Association.  I was one of three individuals that were instrumental in creating the HOA and entering into a settlement agreement with the Estate of John D. Smith.  The settlement agreement consisted of the Estate building a new bridge across Los Reyes Creek and providing “seed” money for the new HOA.

I am a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas with over 20 years of experience in both industry and public accounting.  My entire career has consisted of working in the tax arena with a concentration in the corporate and partnership areas from both international and domestic perspectives.  I currently serve as Sr. Executive Director in the San Antonio Tax Department of AT&T and am responsible for the federal and state income tax audits as well as the tax aspects of all mergers and acquisitions.  I have been with AT&T since 1994 and previously worked in the tax departments for both Ernst & Young in San Antonio and KPMG in Houston.  (More detailed work experience is listed below. Editor).

I received a Bachelors of Business Administration-Accounting degree in May 1988 from the University of Houston.  I received my CPA certification in 1990 and currently am a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the San Antonio Chapter of Certified Public Accountants.

Prior to attending the University of Houston, I worked as a certified welder in the construction business from 1980 to 1984.  The work included building cranes to working in oil refineries and chemical plants.

Although I have not been directly active in Helotes politics, I have been an indirect supporter of the city as well as the current city council.  I enjoy staying abreast of the current issues and can honestly say that it seems there is a lot of common sense on the council today and am proud to be able to say that I live in Helotes.  I believe that I, too, can bring both common sense as well as a good practical business sense to the table.

CAREER SUMMARY:

CPA with 20 years of experience in both industry and the public accounting environment.  The majority of my career has been spent in the research and planning area from both an international and a federal taxation view point, specifically in the corporate and partnership areas.  I have also spent a great deal of time with income tax accounting responsibilities, which included working through SEC reporting issues, the implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley as well as the adoption of FIN 48.  From 1988 to November 2002, my primary focus was in the international area from compliance to research and planning, mergers and acquisitions, IRS audits and income tax accounting.  From December 2002 to the present, my role has been focused on the domestic side but with a much broader, global view point, which currently includes all domestic mergers and acquisitions, a portion of income tax accounting, income tax audits and employee benefits.  In addition, I have been responsible for managing several very significant special projects throughout my career that have gone beyond tax issues.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

AT&T Inc., San Antonio, TX – Sr. Executive Director – Planning, Audits & Benefits, June 2006 to the present; Sr. Executive Director – Tax Accounting & Compliance, November 2002 to June 2006; Director, International Tax, December 1999 to November 2002; and Corporate Manager, International Tax, December 1994 to December 1999.

Ernst & Young, San Antonio, TX – Manager, Tax, July 1993 to December 1994; and Senior, Tax, August 1991 to July 1993.

KPMG, Houston, TX – Senior, International Tax, October 1990 to August 1991; and Staff, International Tax, August 1988 to October 1990.

EDUCATION – University of Houston – Bachelors of Business Administration – Accounting, May 1988

SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS – Mergers and Acquisitions

Member of the tax due diligence and planning teams for the acquisitions of Ameritech Corporation (1999), AT&T Corporation (2005), and BellSouth Corporation (2006), as well as several smaller acquisitions;

Structural planning and due diligence on the AT&T Wireless acquisition in 2004 which was the largest cash acquisition in the U.S.;

Responsible for all tax aspects related to the acquisition of a South African telecom company, including due diligence, modeling and ownership structuring to accommodate a Malaysian partner;

Foreign tax credit planning and structuring for the acquisition of a very large telecom company in Canada.

Special Projects -

Managed four very significant restructuring transactions during 2000 to 2008.  These projects required coordination of several groups, both internal and external, as well as third party investors;

Planning with an internal captive insurance company; and

Several different entity elimination/rationalization projects, involving mergers, liquidations, spin-offs and conversions.

Income Tax Accounting -

Responsible for all aspects of tax accounting from 2002 to 2006, which included implementation of Sarbanes Oxley rules within the tax accounting function as well as the adoption of FIN 48; and

During that same time frame, I was responsible for the income tax footnote included within AT&T’s SEC quarterly and annual filings.

Income Tax Audits -

Currently have responsibility for both federal and state income tax audits which at this time includes four very large examinations and many more state audits at various stages; and

Handled settlement negotiations with both California and Illinois tax authorities for two very substantial controversies.

MAYOR’S REPORT – The Mayor and City staff are continuing to lay out a plan to take care of right-of-way issues, especially in areas where it is difficult for drivers or pedestrians to see on-coming traffic.

Road and traffic signs are being replaced on an as-needed basis.  The City is installing the signs and is saving about $60 a pole.

Bridges and culverts are being maintained on a regular basis.

The construction of the police and fire stations was scheduled to begin in June.  It is now July, and it hasn’t started.  There have been delays, but the equipment should be on-site by next week, and they should start “moving dirt” by next week or the week after.  The contractor is committed to staying on schedule from here forward.

CONSENT AGENDA – As listed on the agenda as reported on this website (see report), there were eight agenda items on the consent agenda.  All of these items were unanimously approved by Council as predicted with no discussion.

ITEMS FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSIDERATION -

Approval of an ordinance amending “Dedication of Right-of-Way (ROW) by Subdividers” and the City’s current Major Thoroughfare Plan which was approved by City Council in 2004.

Near the intersection of Iron Horse Way, FM 1560, and Antonio Drive, the 2004 Council included a thoroughfare (86-foot ROW) bisecting a triangular piece of property now owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  Understandably the Church is now concerned about this designation, as the ordinance would require an 86-foot ROW dedication through the middle of their property.  This ROW would have been used to provide a single entrance to Iron Horse Canyon.  This was never done and since that time a traffic signal has been installed at Antonio and FM 1560 making it easier for Iron Horse Canyon (IHC) residents to come and go from their subdivision.  This proposed ordinance would remove the ROW dedication from the property and transfer the variance authority from Planning and Zoning to City Council.

Council member Whitehead said that the traffic light has helped to relieve some of the bottleneck at the entrance/exit to IHC where about 1/3 of the population of Helotes lives, but he feels that there are still significant safety issues.  He is hesitant to approve this change.  IHC residents are still concerned about the development of this triangle, parking problems, increases in traffic congestion at the entrance to IHC, etc.  Ingress to and egress from that triangle could only happen off of Antonio Road or Iron Horse Way.  Apparently the current owner wants to build a church on that property which is 6.9 acres.

Ultimately, Council decided to postpone this item until the next meeting which will be on July 23, 2009.  Council members want to see the deed to see of the ROW is shown on it.

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Discussion of and action on the creation of a 9-hole disc golf course within the Helotes Natural Area at Parrigin and FM 1560.

Council member Whitehead said there is a disc golf course in Leon Valley around Mystic Park and Bandera Road, and it is rarely used.  He is concerned about the residence right next to the Natural Area, and he thinks the Parks and Recreation Committee should study this proposal and make a recommendation to Council.

Council member Massey also has some questions/concerns:  How many people could we expect to use the course?  How many cars?  Would there be tournaments?  Would the City install lights?  What would the City’s liability be if someone was injured?  Is there enough space for the course?  (I was wondering who would take care of the equipment, and where would everyone go to the bathroom?)

Ultimately, Council approved a motion to postpone this agenda item until the first meeting in August to give Parks and Recreation time to consider this proposal and present a recommendation to Council.

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And last but not least, Council, after interviewing four people, approved the appointment of Gary Johnson to replace Council member Jeff Ellis who resigned in May.  Council member Massey stated that they could have conducted the interviews in an open forum, but the candidates did not want to do it that way.

Mr. Johnson currently lives in Iron Horse Canyon and has lived in Helotes for over 16 years.  He works for AT&T in the corporate tax audit department (if I heard that right).  Council member Legendre said he thinks the fact that Johnson is not well known is a good thing.  They are planning to have a Meet & Greet for Mr. Johnson to introduce him to Helotes citizens.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:57 p.m.