Multiple Trinidad officials resign amid water controversy

TRINIDAD, Texas - The entire City Hall staff in Trinidad have resigned following months of controversy involving arrests, firings, and water quality in the small Texas town.

Trinidad City Hall staff resigns

What we know:

All three members of the City Hall staff in Trinidad resigned on Thursday: City Manager Cynthia Dosier, City Clerk Sandra Rojas, and Municipal Judge Susan Carver.

Dosier is currently a defendant in several lawsuits filed against the City of Trinidad. Rojas and Carver have not been named in any lawsuits.

It's unclear how the city's day-to-day operations will function.

"I want to make you aware that this will undoubtedly create some issues at City Hall as we transition through this and I apologize for any inconveniences," Trinidad Mayor Dennis Haws said.

Dig deeper:

The Texas Rangers have since begun an investigation into the now-former Trinidad officials, although the exact nature of their investigation is unknown.

On July 10, FOX 4's David Sentendrey attempted to speak to Dosier at her office in Trinidad. Dosier had no comment when asked about the Texas Rangers' investigation.

Dosier posted a resignation letter to Trinidad City Hall citing a "circus" that has been brought to the city.

What they're saying:

"It’s an operational failure."

Former Trinidad City Administrator and Secretary Lindsey Patterson filed a lawsuit against the city last week, claiming she had "no record of discipline" when she was terminated in Feb. 2026.

Dosier is named in Patterson's lawsuit. With Dosier's resignation, Patterson says the situation is worse for Trinidad residents.

"It prevents people from having the ability to go and pay their bills, pay their tickets," Patterson tells FOX 4's David Sentendrey.

Patterson's suit claims she was fired after reporting to the Trinidad Police Department that "public funds belonging to the city were being held by private individuals."

"And they didn’t like being told that that’s against the law — that that’s not a proper way of doing things and that will impact the city as a whole," Patterson continued. "That will prevent us from having good audits or prevent us from obtaining desperately needed grants. Those are problems."

Despite inconveniences caused by the City Hall resignations, Patterson thinks it'll put the city on the right track. "I think it’s going to give Trinidad an opportunity to actually right the track."

Trinidad Water Saga

Timeline:

The saga in Trinidad, which claims less than 800 residents, began in May following Jennifer Combs' arrest over the city's water issues.

Combs' post stated she had seen reports that people had been hospitalized after drinking the city's water. Trinidad Police Chief Charles Gregory responded by saying Combs’ post "creates fear, panic, or unnecessary emergency response within a community."

A Henderson County grand jury declined to indict Combs, who has since filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Trinidad and Gregory which alleges she was arrested in "an act of deliberate political retaliation."

FOX 4 has not verified that anyone in Trinidad was hospitalized from drinking the city's water. 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released a report on July 13 detailing problems with Trinidad's aging water distribution mains, failures in the system's design, and chemicals over 300% higher than the federally allowed limit in the water.

One day after FOX 4's initial report on Combs, citizen journalist Winston Noles protested outside Trinidad City Hall with a sign with expletives targeting "bad cops."

Noles was arrested and charged with misdemeanor disorderly conduct for the sign. The Trinidad Municipal Judge, Shellena Bivens, later dismissed the charge.

On Wednesday, May 27, Alex Estrada and Colby Reyes, two former Trinidad employees, filed a lawsuit against the city claiming the city administrator fired them without cause.

Reyes, the former Trinidad Water Clerk, says in the lawsuit that she was fired because she "refused to lie" on behalf of Gregory and City Administrator Dosier.

Reyes' lawsuit claims Gregory publicly fabricated a story that Reyes was frightened by Noles in order to arrest him, in which Reyes says she put in writing she was "never offended" by Noles.

At a May 28 Trinidad City Council meeting, Judge Bivens was fired as the city's municipal judge. The issue of water quality in Trinidad was never addressed.

Gregory, who made his first public comments since FOX 4 initially reported on the story, said he had "nothing to hide" in relation to Combs and Noles' arrests.

Bivens is considering legal action against Trinidad, with her attorney saying her firing was unjust. "I’m a good judge. I’m a damn good judge," Bivens told Sentendrey.

In June, a family in Trinidad alleged that after showering with the city's water, their teenage daughter suffered a chemical burn.

An attorney for the family provided a preliminary water test strip result that showed "dangerous" free chlorine levels in the Logan family's water. It remains unclear if Trinidad's recent water treatment led to the Logans' daughter's rash.

A planned meeting for Thursday, June 4 to give an update on the city's attempts to fix their water quality issues was canceled. Mayor Dennis Haws said he did not receive a reason for the cancellation, though a small protest took place outside the planned meeting.

Gregory resigned from his position as Trinidad Police Chief following multiple controversies. His final day with the department was June 19. Gregory has declined interview requests from FOX 4, citing pending lawsuits.

Following news of Gregory's resignation, the Trinidad judge who approved the arrest warrant for Combs wrote a scathing letter against him and his police department.

McKee's letter questions "the accuracy, completeness, and reliability of information presented" to him by two Trinidad police officers in relation to Combs' arrest warrant.

TexasCrime and Public SafetyEnvironment