[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6518184,"mediaKeyId","5398968-3c5d0882c21d706e6ac5d47cf592a9dd","parentId",5398968,"title","Little Elm council approves employment agreement and severance, consent agenda passes","audioSeconds",27,"startMs",2468985,"endMs",2496695,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5398968-3c5d0882c21d706e6ac5d47cf592a9dd&start=2468&end=2496","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5398968-3c5d0882c21d706e6ac5d47cf592a9dd/thumbnail_2468985.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6518184/Little-Elm/Denton-County/Texas/Little-Elm-council-approves-employment-agreement-and-severance-consent-agenda-passes","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518184-1b6280be20aaddf7e11af97d638dfa1f/orig.mp4?Expires=1770445511&Signature=FWDLfPT1FqNMcja3oB9rvCpxWuq~l0oh6ERO1TmFkv9SduPxKeIrNgO8V8xHHa4qlYhTe6sSYZLTW1iVFKa9NjpYNC4v1Ug6KsMat2rmtyQR8zRiWsMyXXNE1H4vMWO9dUdBbeHPXCtF-WU2R3lyq58PoH00O5ngnY3MlLUv8euexGt9YokFuucK6Qardut1vaMPH9xwAm4U7R3WAYEMSnLFtRPxSXEM5tbfLUhUb-cQYcLOH-m1PMMDzUmrzoPxgG13O-iSu1gjds7mdVJWg7EQ~4uaYBZ1g4BkhKGc5JIMQSEmkCLvx8Z1KbqUEw76MIGlpq-~h5fEWr1wN72GMw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Little Elm","date","2025-07-15T00:00:00Z","article","After returning from executive session at 7:37 p.m., the Little Elm Town Council took three formal actions recorded in the July 15 meeting minutes.

The council approved “the employment agreement between the town of Little Elm and Matt Mujer.” A motion to approve was made and seconded; the chair called the vote, which passed unanimously (4–0). The meeting transcript does not identify the motion maker or the seconder by name in the record.

The council also approved “the severance agreement between the town of Little Elm and Matt Miller.” That motion was made, seconded and approved unanimously (4–0) according to the meeting record.

Earlier in the meeting the council approved the consent agenda after pulling item 5f for additional review; the consent agenda passed by unanimous voice vote. Meeting participants stated that item 5f was being pulled to allow further notice and consideration.

The transcript records the council moving into executive session at 6:44 p.m. and reconvening at 7:37 p.m., but the public record in the transcript does not provide the substantive terms of either the employment or severance agreement discussed in executive session. No roll-call vote with individual member names for these motions was captured in the publicly available transcript; the clerk recorded the unanimous outcome.

Votes at a glance:
- Employment agreement — Town of Little Elm and Matt Mujer: passed, vote recorded as unanimous (4–0). Motion and seconder not specified in the transcript.
- Severance agreement — Town of Little Elm and Matt Miller: passed, vote recorded as unanimous (4–0). Motion and seconder not specified in the transcript.
- Consent agenda (item 5, with item 5f pulled for additional notice): passed, vote recorded as unanimous.

Because the transcript provides only the motions’ titles and the vote outcomes, the article does not infer or report additional contract terms or financial amounts that were not stated on the record.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Little Elm - Town Council - Jul 15, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Following an executive session July 15, the Little Elm Town Council approved an employment agreement with Matt Mujer and a severance agreement with Matt Miller; the consent agenda also passed with one item (5f) pulled for further review. All recorded votes were unanimous.","taxTitle","Little Elm, Denton County, Texas","taxId",52812,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6518189,"Little Elm reports 16,000-cap Red, White & Beach drew mostly residents, fewer incidents and a $40,000 deficit",1369,45295,1414670,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5398968-3c5d0882c21d706e6ac5d47cf592a9dd&start=45&end=1414","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5398968-3c5d0882c21d706e6ac5d47cf592a9dd/thumbnail_45295.jpg","/articles/6518189/Little-Elm/Denton-County/Texas/Little-Elm-reports-16000-cap-Red-White-Beach-drew-mostly-residents-fewer-incidents-and-a-40000-deficit","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6518189-70137392ea6fa3dfb001a9255f8a91ab/orig.mp4?Expires=1770445511&Signature=KRGbAlkAPoxSn3Y18Zh1RLe4B7E-WmLlJbaQqQLybfvaJzLVjSg6lO5eRQcg3cWDelyXCaOmyyQT84nhbVwsPL2w4iBIFnD4cQ0JhpDABtZ-jvSxs9~7DMnFIcFryvPcdpDVfG-xupnmz7s808j9PZ5xNo~upCOmTkUkYFqR6fefLQqEecNpiNS60I~jdfa3d8~EB8akzlATXcyP16YyDpwZHZNAkRkKOrI0i5IRbVCR8yTLjGiwn9EnO1bh99hKcUvOVndSixjQ~imdCXG62ZD37BA3cKvHuqyNEGV8QqHt9PIJbs~cxLu-h7Huu~uTcpA64UaRsCsqCbkNCeYUZw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Drew, a town staff member, told the Little Elm Town Council on July 15 that this year’s Red, White & Beach event — held July 4 at Little Elm Park — was largely resident-focused, saw reduced public-safety calls compared with 2023 and cost the town about $40,000 after fireworks and event expenses.

The presentation said organizers pre-distributed roughly 6,500 free resident wristbands and that 4,868 residents attended inside the fenced event. Staff set an overall attendance cap of 16,382 (the figure includes staff and vendors) and reported the crowd was “probably just shy of 16,000” at peak. Hotel occupancy in town rose from about 68% going into the weekend to 98% on Friday and Saturday, staff said.

Why it matters: Town staff framed the event as intentionally resident-focused and said the changes reduced the operational burden on public safety while still delivering an economic boost from visitors. Council members and staff discussed both the public-safety improvements and the continued subsidy from the town budget to pay for a large fireworks display.

Staff-listed public-safety metrics showed fewer incidents than in 2023: total logged incidents fell from “30-plus” in 2023 to five this year; reported disturbances in the park fell from seven to zero; fights dropped from two to zero. Missing-child incidents remained two in both years but, staff said, the children were located and reunited quickly this year. Drew credited fencing, security bag checks, wristbands with parent phone numbers for minors, and added cooling/rest stations for staff and attendees as contributors to the improved safety results. “It was a fantastic — well, I shouldn’t say it on behalf of the police department and fire department, but to me, it looked like it was a fantastic event, from a public safety standpoint,” Drew said.

Organizers listed 49 vendors, a headline performance by the group Empire 6, axe-throwing and other programming. Staff reported using outreach to homeowners associations (HOAs) — including Union Park, Valencia and Hillstone Point — and special-event ambassadors to distribute wristbands ahead of the event. Staff also said they used social media, the town and parks pages, police traffic updates and an emergency-text opt-in; 989 people opted in for text updates.

On finances, staff said the town’s net loss for the event was about $40,000. In the presentation Drew noted the fireworks contract was about $70,000 but that the final net deficit to the town was roughly $40,000 after offsets and event revenues. Staff said that the event has historically not been cost-recovered and that the town balances resident benefit and economic impact when deciding how to subsidize large displays.

Council members and residents raised operational items staff said they will review for next year, including colored wristbands or separate gates for pre-ticketed residents to speed entry, contingency plans for rain that created entry bottlenecks, and the potential to revisit bus service or other transportation options to manage attendance. Several speakers also raised concerns about private fireworks and enforcement in neighborhood areas outside city limits; staff responded that enforcement is difficult when displays occur outside municipal jurisdiction and that coordination with county authorities may be required.

Staff recommended retaining the resident-focused approach, continuing neighborhood outreach and improving entry logistics while acknowledging the town will continue to underwrite part of the event cost to ensure resident access.

For context: staff compared 2025 attendance and staffing to recent years: 2024 attendance was about 10,000 (beach closed due to flooding), and 2023 had higher police staffing and more incidents. Police staffing for the event this year was listed at 50 officers compared with 78 in 2023; staff said shifts were eight hours this year versus 10–12 hours in 2023, which reduced strain on personnel.

Next steps mentioned by staff included planning a rain contingency, considering band-color gate fast lanes for pre-ticketed residents, and continuing HOA outreach to improve distribution of resident wristbands next year.","Town staff told the council July 15 that the July 4 Red, White & Beach event at Little Elm Park drew about 16,000 people (including staff and vendors), produced far fewer public-safety incidents than 2023 and left the town with an approximate $40,000 net deficit after fireworks costs.","actionData","errors"]

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Little Elm council approves employment agreement and severance, consent agenda passes

Little Elm reports 16,000-cap Red, White & Beach drew mostly residents, fewer incidents and a $40,000 deficit