Investigation clears Burnet County commissioner in conflict-of-interest claim
Burnet County Precinct 2 Commissioner Damon Beierle publicly addressed an anonymous letter on Oct. 8, 2024, that accused him of violating conflict of interest statutes. A six-month investigation by an outside county attorney’s office found no merit to the allegations. Staff photo by Elizabeth De Los Santos
An investigation into a 2024 conflict-of-interest complaint against Burnet County Commissioner Damon Beierle is not moving forward after an outside prosecutor found no evidence that state statutes were “knowingly violated.”
The investigation started late last year after an anonymous letter, submitted to former Burnet County Judge James Oakley, accused Beierle of failing to properly fill out paperwork when recusing himself from Commissioners Court votes that were tangentially connected to his private business, Double Eagle Entertainment. The company provides musical acts for county-sponsored events like Jackson Street Jams in Burnet and the Marble Falls Summer Concert Series.
Beierle publicly addressed the letter during an Oct. 8 court meeting.
The Burnet County Attorney’s Office referred the matter to Burnet County Court-at-Law Judge Cody Henson, who requested an unaffiliated prosecutor look into it. San Saba County Assistant Attorney Russ Baker conducted a six-month investigation before determining the allegation had no merit.
“Having reviewed the relevant audio recordings and the report of the special investigator, I am declining to prosecute Commissioner Beierle for an offense under (Texas Local Government Code 171.003),” wrote Baker in a May 6, 2025, letter to the Burnet County Attorney’s Office. “At this time, there is no evidence that (Beierle) knowingly violated (171.003) by failing to file the required affidavits on these two occasions.”
Historically, Beierle has recused himself from Commissioners Court votes on matters relating to his personal business, but he failed to file the required affidavits (an official written statement for court records) to accompany them on two occasions in May 2023: once for a vote to allocate $3,600 to the Jackson Street Jams concert series and another for a vote to allocate $5,000 to the Marble Falls Summer Concert Series.
“I appreciate the investigation and time that was taken by the San Saba County Attorney’s Office to look into the anonymous letter with the accusation of the statute violation,” Beierle told DailyTrib.com following the conclusion of Baker’s investigation. “I’m glad to put this behind me. I hope the anonymous person as well as anyone else who had questions can put their mind at ease knowing this was investigated outside the county, which resulted in a finding that no violation occurred and prosecution was declined.”
The report doesn’t say that there was no violation, only that it wasn’t knowingly violated.
Big difference.
You’re a class act Damon Beierle.