Council appoints interim marshal, fills vacant seat

The Bandera City Council appointed Rusty Pancoast as Interim Marshal during their regular meeting last week, during which they also appointed Tony Battle to fill the council seat vacated by Rebeca Gibson, who was recently elected mayor.

“I am privileged to be serving as the Interim City Marshal for the City of Bandera,” Pancoast wrote in a Dec. 12 LinkedIn Post. “While it is called a Marshal’s Office, it is a full service law enforcement agency with four full-time deputies along with several active reserve deputies. Bandera is actively recruiting a City Marshal to lead the agency.”

Pancoast was chosen for the position following last month’s termination of Will Dietrich after a unanimous council vote of no confidence in the former marshal.

The interim marshal wrote on his LinkedIn page that applications are being taken for the position and the salary range is between $70,000 and $80,000. Applications can be submitted through tml.org.

The Bandera City Council voted last week to review applications in three weeks from the Dec. 6 meeting.

Pancoast served as the Police Chief for the City of Bee Cave from 2008 to 2014, after which he served as an interim police chief in multiple Texas cities.

After interviewing multiple applicants in closed session, the council unanimously voted for Tony Battle to fill the vacant seat.

City Secretary Jill Shelton swore in Battle to serve an unexpired term until Nov. 2023’s General Election.