Former Bertram Mayor Michael Dickinson was recently sentenced to four years of community supervision stemming from a third-degree felony regarding a false statement made to obtain a line of credit.

According to Burnet County court documents obtained by DailyTrib, Dickinson was charged on May 1, 2026, with drafting a false statement to obtain property or credit valued between $30,000 and $150,000 in an incident that occurred on Jan. 22, 2025.

Dickinson vacated his mayoral seat on Jan. 21, 2026, due to “health reasons,” ahead of the May 2 general election, where his seat would have been up for reelection.

In a complaint document filed with the court on May 1, it was stated that Ange Amani–a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety’s criminal investigation unit, the Texas Rangers–discovered that Dickinson had falsified his current address in order to obtain a large sum of money through a refinancing loan.

“(Dickinson) did intentionally and knowingly make a materially false or misleading written statement… that he lived at 545 North Grange Street, Bertram, Texas, with the intent to obtain money or credit, namely money or a cash-out refinance loan of money, and the value of the money or credit was $30,000 or more but less than $150,000,” reads the complaint.

According to the Burnet Central Appraisal District’s records, Dickinson and his wife sold their property at 545 N. Grange Street on April 29, 2021, meaning that he had not owned the parcel for more than three and a half years before drafting the loan.

Dickinson entered a plea deal on July 8, 2026, that rendered himself guilty of the charge, and was ordered to serve a sentence of four years of deferred adjudication community supervision, repay the entirety of the loan he took out, and pay all court costs and fees.

Deferred adjudication community supervision will allow Dickinson to continue living in the community under a four-year probationary period without being jailed, so long as he does not break any of the set conditions under his probation. If he meets all requirements under his probationary period, Dickinson could be granted clemency from the court.

DailyTrib reached out to Dickinson’s defense attorney, Austin Shell of Shell & Shell, on Tuesday, July 28, for a statement on the plea deal, and received the following response:

“This case was really more about sloppy bookkeeping than anything. I don’t think Mr. Dickinson had any real intent to deceive, and his decision to accept probation was the best decision for him and his family. We look forward to the case being dismissed at the end of his probation.”

caden@thepicayune.com