Costello Filling in as Mayor

Billy Costello, known by many in Deer Park for his community involvment and as a State Farm owner/agent, has recently been filling in for Mayor Tim Verzal. “I got elected to city council – I think I took the oath of office in January of 2024,” Costello said.

“And then our council members voted and elected me to serve as mayor pro-tem, which is to fill in for (Mayor) Tim when he's unavailable to do his duties.” Verzal submitted a letter at the May 20 city council meeting, sharing that he was recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He said he will continue to serve as mayor, although he may need to be absent from time to time for treatment. That’s when Councilmember Billy Costello was tapped to serve as mayor pro-tem. “I really don't have any power to make decisions or anything like that. [Verzal] is still the acting mayor of Deer Park. I'm just kind of filling in some of the gaps while he's out,” Costello said. He added that this isn’t his first time filling in for Verzal.

“Over the last few years, I've had to fill in by running city council meetings, sign some checks, and stuff like that – nothing really big,” Costello said. However, with Verzal’s prolonged absence, Costello said his mayor protem duties have expanded. “Over the last month, [there have been] more things to deal with. Summer's always a big time in Deer Park and there's a lot of things that [Verzal has] done. Some of the gaps are minor administrative duties, [such as] signing and approving payroll checks, vendor checks, things like that, and running the city council meetings.”

Other activities that Costello has filled in as mayor pro-tem include appearances at local events, such as the fireworks show on July 4. He elaborated that he worked with local deputies and the sheriff to get security coverage and he encouraged residents to attend. Speaking to the differences between acting as a council member and may- or pro-tem, Costello said, “As a council member, we're advocates for the citizens to help create laws and regulations, and listen to some of the different city issues that are going on. Whereas, the may- or is pretty much a hierarchy of things. They manage all the administration and day-to-day things that happen at city hall.”

He added, “It's almost like you become a boss of 30-plus employees.” Costello said he’s unsure how long he will serve as mayor pro-tem as it depends on Verzal’s health. He clarified that if, for some reason, Verzal can't continue to serve as mayor, that he won’t automatically become the mayor. “It's a process, just like when we have city council members that step down. I'd continue to fulfill the administrative duties, but within 90 days of [Verzal] officially stepping away from the position, the city council would have to appoint somebody [via] an interview process. We’d invite citizens to apply for the job and interview all the candidates, then the council would vote on who would be the mayor until our next election cycle,” Costello said. When asked if he would ever consider running for mayor, Costello said, “I've thought about it.”

Throughout the interview, Costello reiterated that Verzal is still acting as mayor and making mayoral decisions. Verzal was not available for comment by press time.