Lacy Lakeview City Council on Tuesday narrowly voted down a motion to pursue a criminal investigation against former city manager Mike Nicoletti (pictured below) for credit card abuse.

The 4-3 vote came immediately after the council emerged from executive session , part of a public meeting in which leaders are allowed to meet in private for specific purposes.

The subject of Tuesday’s session was potential or pending litigation, according to the meeting agenda.

City manager Keith Bond said he couldn’t divulge exactly what the council discussed during the session, other than to say it was fairly routine matters. He said he was “surprised” by the motion, made by council member Denise Cogliati.

There was no discussion on the motion before a vote was taken, Bond said. Council members voting in favor of it were Cogliati, Mayor Calvin Hodde and Mayor Pro-Tem Sharon Clark.

Cogliati and Clark could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Hodde said he voted for the motion because he thinks Nicoletti used a city credit card for purchases unrelated to city business. He declined to elaborate.

“Three of us voted our conscience and our principles,” Hodde said.

Nicoletti, Lacy Lakeview’s city manager for 13 years, resigned last November amid questions about how the city spent money from its hotel-motel tax fund. Under state law, such money can be used only to promote tourism.

Misuse of fund

The city has since acknowledged some of the money was spent for other purposes, ranging from maintenance of the city’s highway rights of way to flowers sent to a council member’s wife after surgery.

Officials have put a stop to such spending, and the city now is using all of the money for advertising and promotion of the city and its hotels.

Bond said he thinks Tuesday night’s motion may have stemmed from anger related to misuse of the fund.

With city credit cards, every purchase is linked to a certain city department or fund, Bond said. Some of Nicoletti’s purchases were inappropriately assigned, such as an expenditure that should have come out of the city’s general fund being assigned to the hotel-motel fund. But he said he is not aware of Nicoletti making purchases unrelated to city business.

“Some of them are still pretty angry at him,” Bond said of the council members. “In my opinion, more than anything else it was (Cogliati) wanting to go on record saying, ‘I’m not happy with this guy.’”

Nicoletti could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Most council members also could not be reached.

Councilman James Hammons said he voted against the motion because he is not aware of Nicoletti using a city credit card in a criminal manner, such as buying personal items. He said he thinks Lacy Lakeview needs to move past the controversy related to Nicoletti.

“I think it’s all over with,” Hammons said. “He’s out and he’s gone.”

cculp@wacotrib.com

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