The board of the Trophy Club Municipal Utility District No. 1 ruled Tuesday that its president, Nick Sanders, must file a conflict of interest statement because of his ownership in a tech firm that maintains the town’s software program.

The decision stemmed from a complaint by a resident, Jim Budarf, who was defeated by Sanders for a spot on the utility board in May.

Sanders’ company, Combined Computer Resources, provides support at $1,200 a year for the software that he donated to the town in 2003.

Sanders, who was mayor of the town from 2005 to 2009, contends that the fee was paid by Trophy Club rather than the MUD, although both entities use the software.

“Basically, they found him guilty of violating the ethics ordinance,” Budarf said of the decision.

“It was anticlimactic,” Sanders contended. “The board decided it did not want to censure me or reprimand me, or think that it had any grounds to remove me.”

He added that he will halt the support fee for the software at this point, further reducing his exposure to any allegations of impropriety.

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Contact Steve Miller at 832-303-9420 or stevemiller@texaswatchdog.org.

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