RENO — Some residents of Reno are trying to let their voices be heard by signing a new petition asking for the disincorporation of the city to be placed on the ballot for the May election. The petition cites concerns about governance and a desire for greater accountability under Parker County oversight.
The latest petition — the second in as many years — spearheaded by former Reno mayor Eric Hunter, has collected more than 400 signatures, which is more than enough to meet the legal threshold under Texas Local Government Code 62.002. Hunter says he wants the residents' voices to be heard in this new petition.
“At this point, it's really basically about the right to vote and the fact that our right to vote on this matter, yay or nay, we want both sides to be heard,” Hunter said. “And actually, several people who signed the petition both times said, ‘I'm going to vote against it, but I think everybody has the right to vote.’ That's basically our position at this point and so that's what we're fighting for — our right to vote.”
The reasoning behind the petition includes concerns over the city's ability to manage budgets and the lack of infrastructure support.
This second disincorporation effort follows a previous petition filed in 2022, which was disqualified by the Reno City Council due to a controversy regarding signature verification.
“And it's sad, in 2025, in the United States of America that we have to fight so hard to get our right to vote," Hunter said. "We were very transparent in our process. We told them that we were going to ask Parker County Elections to count the signatures. They said that there were 440 good signatures on this one.”
Hunter alleges that the current Reno mayor, Hector Bas Jr., has been delaying the process of the putting the disincorporation question on the ballot.
“Bas has been very nontransparent, using scare tactics to delay this,” Hunter said. “He said, in a text, he responded to a petitioner. He said, ‘I have up to 78 days to make up my mind and we are gonna go over every line of this petition.’ We, the citizens, don't know who he's referring to. We feel like there's a definite conflict of interest with him and any other city official being involved in the verification process, whereas our third party, which is County Elections (Office), they have no opinion, one way or the other about disincorporation.”
In a letter published on the City of Reno’s website, Bas stated the council received the petition Dec. 18 and says results may be expected in early February. Hunter says having 400 signatures on the petition immediately triggers the disincorporation to be on the ballot in May.
“I think it clearly shows that he (Bas) is intentionally delaying this, because the city has demonstrated it’s capable of expeditiously processing a petition, when it chooses to do so,” Hunter said. “A lot of people are frustrated and angry that they did not get the right to vote. I'm a veteran — I'm pretty passionate about this. And when the (former) mayor came out last time and said, “No, I'm not calling the election,” it was an insult, to not necessarily my service but the service of those before me.”
Bas also claims the city received complaints about misleading practices by petition circulators, though Hunter maintains that circulators were fully transparent about the petition.
“We were very direct and very specific,” Hunter said. “And letting people know that the petition only got the issue on the ballot and then you would have to come and vote the way that you wanted to vote.”
Mayor Bas responded to the newest petition by alleging that Hunter practiced the very actions he cites as reasoning for the petition.
“Disincorporating Reno would profoundly impact every resident, creating challenges beyond what we can fully anticipate,” Bas said. “Hunter frequently claims that his petition is solely about giving citizens the right to vote. However, during his tenure as mayor, he acted against the will of the voters by taking out a $1 million loan to cover his administration’s financial shortfalls. This loan has cost the city approximately $250,000 annually, severely restricting future mayors from addressing the very issues Hunter now criticizes.”
Supporters of disincorporation argue that Parker County would manage resources more effectively than the city government, particularly when it comes to road maintenance and law enforcement. Bas disagrees with that point of view.
“Our current fire department could cease to exist unless an Emergency Service District is established,” Bas said. “The police department, already operating with limited resources, faces recruitment challenges amid the possibility of disincorporation this May. If the city dissolves, law enforcement duties would shift to the county, likely causing delayed response times. The water department is dealing with significant infrastructure issues and it remains unclear who would assume responsibility. Taxpayers would most likely bear the cost of any required improvements.”
Bas also says he feels the supporters of disincorporation and Hunter have not answered several looming questions about public safety and infrastructure maintenance.
“To date, neither Eric Hunter nor the other petition circulators have been able to answer basic questions about what will happen if the City of Reno is abolished,” Bas said. “These unanswered questions include what will happen to the water department and who will manage it? What construction ordinances will govern new developments? What level of service will Parker County provide for Reno’s existing roads and police services? How will public safety and infrastructure maintenance be managed moving forward?”
Hunter says the county would oversee these operations if disincorporation were approved by residents.
“I believe the level of service that we'll get from the county will greatly exceed the level of service on these issues that we get from the city currently,” Hunter said. “And how will public infrastructure maintenance be managed moving forward? That's going to be managed, like the rest of the county, by Precinct One, the commissioner's court and Parker County Sheriff's Office. They'll do the management of that.”
As tensions between city officials and residents continue to grow, both sides are preparing for what could be a pivotal moment in Reno’s history. The next city council meeting will be Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. To read Bas’ full letter to Reno citizens regarding the issue, go to the city of Reno’s website under city documents, subsection “archived newsletters.”