Sulphur Springs city attorney Jim McLeroy to retire
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The City of Sulphur Springs will host a come-and-go retirement reception for city attorney Jim McLeroy on December 29 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at The Venue at 219 Main Street.
McLeroy will officially retire after 30 years as city attorney on December 31, 2021. He began his tenure in September 1991, according to city records.
The son of a school superintendent, McLeroy was born in Borden County near Midland. McLeroy attended Texas Technical University for his undergraduate education, where he gained a degree in business administration. He then attended law school at Texas Tech, where he gained his juris doctor.
After graduation, McLeroy accepted a job in private practice in Dallas in 1982, and eventually became a partner. He moved to Sulphur Springs in 1988 to work with Litzler, Rutherford, Bauer and Friday. Four years later, he joined city staff part time, and transitioned to full-time as he found the work enjoyable and challenging, he said.
“McLeroy’s greatest hits you’d never know, as they fall under attorney-client privilege,” city manager Marc Maxwell pointed out. “I do believe he’s saved the town more than once.”
“There are a few things that are confidential,” McLeroy laughed, but said he believes his most important accomplishments as city attorney have been “group projects.”
“For example, it took us 25 years to get downtown. It wasn’t because of any one of us that it was accomplished– not Marc Maxwell, not me, not any specific council member. We’ve always been fortunate to have stability, and that allowed us to work on long horizons. The results showed.”
McLeroy says he has been pleased to serve the community for the past 30 years in a role of “moderator and facilitator”.
“Attorneys make money off of drama, but truthfully, he’s kept us out of the drama,” Maxwell noted.
“It’s more positive to cut out the adversary process,” McLeroy said. “I want us to work together and make a collective effort to drive issues forward. That way we don’t cut out any of our citizens in the decision-making process.”
The city is certainly satisfied at McLeroy’s self-declared peacemaker role within government over the past decades.
“He [McLeroy] has been an excellent lawyer, the perfect city attorney, and he became a close friend to me, personally,” Maxwell said. “I get pretty passionate, and a few times, he talked me down off the ledge.”
“I depend on him for sound legal advice, but also on policy and projects,” Maxwell noted. “He understands the community and he understands people. I will miss him greatly.”
McLeroy said he has the same positive expectations for his replacement, Nate Smith. In the meantime, he says he plans to spend time on his Hopkins County farm, and will continue to serve as part time city attorney to Campbell, Point, Alba, Quitman, and West Tawakoni.
“It would be my legacy if I could see the city council continue with the same sense of harmony and growth,” he said. “Sure, we disagree, but we talk through things. The council and the citizens, rather than being divided, can celebrate shared goals.”
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