Jonathan Thatcher

When Jonathan Thatcher entered the City of Forney in 2016, he found millions of dollars committed to a development that had yet to materialize. A tax increment reinvestment zone included roads, a bridge and other public infrastructure, but little economic activity had followed. As city attorney, he saw that the reimbursement agreement was heavily weighted toward the developer and could leave the city paying millions, with interest adding to the burden for years.

Thatcher brought the issue to management and city council members and advocated for renegotiating the agreement. While the developer was reluctant to give up favorable terms, the city had to demonstrate that a revised arrangement could offer added value to both sides and help spur development. After difficult negotiations, the agreement was renegotiated in late 2018 on terms more beneficial to the city and developer. Since then, property values within the zone have increased by more than $1.2 billion, reflecting subsequent growth in the area.

The judgment behind that approach was shaped years earlier in Rockwall County. As assistant district attorney and civil division chief, Thatcher served as lead counsel to the commissioners’ court and, for much of his tenure, was the only attorney in the civil division. The position required him to spot issues quickly, prioritize the court’s needs and give officials concise legal advice. It also demanded restraint because public officials could take an attorney’s words as law. When he did not know an answer, he learned that it was better to say so, research the issue and return with a reliable answer than to shoot from the hip.

The same approach carries into his work with Forney’s elected officials, who may arrive with clear goals before confronting legal and financial constraints. Thatcher helps them understand those constraints, weigh the legal ramifications and navigate the different roles of state, county and local government. His role goes beyond identifying what cannot be done, helping the council find where its goals and the law can meet and building consensus along the way.

My job isn’t to be the person who just always says no, but to take what they’re trying to achieve as a group and help find where there’s consensus among their colleagues.

Influenced by a father who was a longtime city manager and an older brother in the field, Thatcher entered law school intending to serve communities from the legal side. Several of his brothers have since followed similar paths into city management and local government. Much of his career has been spent in small offices, where he has handled contracts, ordinances, resolutions, employment matters, construction disputes, criminal prosecutions and civil litigation. From this range of work comes his advice to attorneys entering the field: learn to love being pulled in many directions.

Such breadth now matters in a municipal environment facing new pressures. Social media gives residents and others who use city services a louder, more immediate voice, surfacing issues faster while also increasing pressure on officials to respond in real time. In fast-growing cities, leaders are also being asked to reduce taxes while expanding services. Thatcher expects those competing demands to force harder conversations about essential services, where outside organizations or public-private partnerships can help fill gaps, and the agreements needed to make them possible.

Yet municipal service can also mean responding to the unexpected. A council member once reported a kitten trapped inside the wall of a newly built home, prompting city staff to stop what they were doing and rescue it. For Thatcher, the moment reflects what makes municipal work distinctive: serving a community means being prepared to address whatever needs attention, large or small.