The Fine Print: Houston
What they put in the agenda
Every agenda the site reads, from Commissioners Court and City Council to the port, the transit authority, the college districts and the school boards, is checked item by item. Anything that adds a rule, a fee, debt, surveillance or land control, or that happens behind closed doors, is logged here with the agenda's own words. Anything that cuts or repeals one is logged too, as a rollback.
Showing City of Waller only. Every government →
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Adopt new building permit fees and contract with SAFEbuilt Texas
Resolution 2026-17 adopts new schedule of fees and rates for building permits and approves Professional Services Agreement with SAFEbuilt Texas for building department and inspection services. Property developers and applicants will pay the new permit fees.
Oct 19, 2026 agenda, item 21: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to approve Resolution No. 2026 - 1 7 , adopting a schedule of fees, rates, deposits, and other charges for building permit and other related matters, and a Professional Services Agreement with SAFEbuilt Texas, LLC, for building department, inspection, permitting support, and related municipal services .
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Adopt new garbage collection and disposal rates
Resolution 2026-14A adopts new schedule of fees and rates for garbage collection and disposal services and establishes policy for collection of overdue accounts. Garbage customers will pay the new rates.
Oct 19, 2026 agenda, item 10: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to amend Resolution No. 2026 - 14 with No. 2026 - 14A , to include “ Exhibit C ” to Billing Cycle 2 , adopting a new schedule of fees, rates for garbage collection and disposal, and a policy for the collection of overdue Garbage collection accounts; ratifying rates charged; and other related matters .
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Adopt new gas, water, wastewater rates per rate study
Resolution 2026-13 adopts new schedule of fees and rates for gas, water, and wastewater services according to a rate study. Customers of these city utilities will pay the new rates.
Oct 19, 2026 agenda, item 9: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to approve Resolution No. 2026 - 13 , adopting a new schedule of fees, rates, deposits, and other charges for the following in accordance with the rate study and a policy for accounts: repealing all resolutions in conflict herewith; and other related matters: a. Gas rates b. Water rates c. Wastewater rates
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Adopt new garbage collection fees and rates
Approval of new schedule of fees and rates for garbage collection and disposal services and policy for garbage accounts.
Sep 21, 2026 agenda, item 18: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to approve Resolution No. 202 6 - 1 4 , adopting a new schedule of fees and rates for garbage collection and disposal, and a policy for the garbage collection accounts; ratifying rates charged; and other related matters.
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Adopt new gas, water, and wastewater rates
Approval of new schedule of rates, fees, and deposits for gas, water, and wastewater services based on rate study. Affects utility customers.
Sep 21, 2026 agenda, item 17: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to approve Resolution No. 202 6 - 1 3 , adopting a new schedule of fees, rates, deposits, and other charges for the following in accordance with the rate study and a policy for accounts: repealing all resolutions in conflict herewith; and other related matters: a. Gas rates b. Water rates c. Wastewater rates
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Set ad valorem tax rates and adopt tax ordinance for 2026
Sets debt service tax rate at $0.1779 per $100 valuation and maintenance/operations rate at $0.3515 per $100 valuation, adopting combined ad valorem tax rate of $0.05294 per $100 assessed valuation. Property value added to tax roll is $768,182.
Sep 21, 2026 agenda, item 16: the agenda's words
Discussion and possible action to: a. Set the 202 6 Debt Service Ad Valorem Tax Rate at $ 0. 1779 per $100 valuation. b. Set the 202 6 Maintenance and Operations Ad Valorem Tax Rate at $ 0. 3 515 per $ 100 valuation . c. Approve Ordinance No. 6 84 , adopting an Ad Valorem Tax Rate of $. 0 5 294 per $100 assessed valuation; providing for the assessment, levy and collection of Ad Valorem Taxes of the City of Waller, Texas for the year 202 6 ; providing for the date on which taxes shall be due and payable; providing for the penalty and interest on all taxes not timely paid; and repealing all ordinances and parts of ordinances in conflict herewith; and providing for severability.
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Adopt fiscal year 2026-2027 budget for multiple funds
Approval of budget for General Fund, Water and Sewer Fund, Gas Fund, Debt Service, Capital Improvements Fund and Special Revenue Funds for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Sep 21, 2026 agenda, item 15: the agenda's words
a. Discussion and possible action to approve Ordinance No. 6 83 , approving and adopting the budget for fiscal year 202 6 - 202 7 for the period beginning October 1, 202 6 , and ending September 30, 202 7 , for the General Fund, Water and Sewer Fund, Gas Fund, Debt Service, Capital Improvements Fund and Special Revenue Funds.
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Rate study presentation from Wildan consultant
Workshop discussion and presentation regarding a rate study. Likely precedes potential rate or fee changes affecting city revenues.
Sep 8, 2026 agenda, item 1: the agenda's words
Discussion and presentation from Wildan regarding rate study.
Deed restrictions
Houston has no zoning; deed restrictions are what keep a business out of a neighborhood, and the city's Legal Department enforces them for neighborhoods. Complaints don't go through 311: they go to drcomplaints@houstontx.gov or the city's complaint form.
- Deed restriction cases reviewed and enforced by the city: 530 in 2024-25, an estimated 550 in 2025-26, and a target of 550 for 2026-27. Nuisance lawsuits handled: 15 in 2024-25, an estimated 10 in 2025-26. [City of Houston FY2027 budget, Legal Department]
- The city's list of reported deed restriction violations has not been updated since Oct. 20, 2015. [data.houstontx.gov]
Code enforcement
- 40% of the City of Houston's Neighborhoods code citations and 36% of Public Works citations were dismissed; the top reasons were "Nolle Prosequi" (the city dropped it), "Officer Not Present" and "Insufficient Evidence." Inspectors made 95,688 residential inspections from Jan. 1, 2024. [KPRC, Nov. 21, 2025]
- Code enforcement inspectors from Neighborhoods and Public Works have been merged into one Community Code Enforcement division in Houston Public Works. Targets for 2026-27: 13,500 weeded-lot cuts, 87% voluntary compliance, 325 demolitions. [City of Houston FY2027 budget, Neighborhoods]
- The Municipal Courts do not publish code citations and how each ended (fined, dismissed, deferred), and the city's code violation dataset was last updated in 2023.
Code and nuisance complaints to Houston 311, by type, and the average days each took to close, from the city's 311 extract.
| Case type | Cases | Closed | Average days to close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parking Violation | 1,175 | 643 | 6.3 |
| Traffic Signal Maintenance | 1,162 | 882 | 1.2 |
| Container Replacement | 984 | 945 | 1.4 |
| Weeds/Trash/Stagnant Water on Property | 950 | 88 | 5 |
| Trash Dumping or Illegal Dumpsite | 562 | 179 | 4.8 |
| Traffic Signs | 509 | 367 | 4 |
| New Resident Container | 494 | 471 | 1.3 |
| Building Code Violation | 403 | 337 | 2 |
| Container Repair | 340 | 311 | 1.3 |
| Heavy Trash Code Violation | 335 | 119 | 5.4 |
| Health Code | 261 | 25 | 5.7 |
| Junk Motor Vehicle - Private Property | 163 | 34 | 5.1 |
| Bandit Sign - Right of Way | 157 | 148 | 1.8 |
| Traffic Signals | 104 | 54 | 4.9 |
| Dangerous Buildings | 54 | 12 | 3.9 |
| MultiFamily Habitability Violation | 49 | 28 | 1.8 |
| Fire Code Complaint | 49 | 40 | 2.6 |
| Occupancy Violation | 38 | 36 | 2.4 |
| Container Placement | 25 | 3 | 4 |
| Graffiti on Private/Commercial Property | 12 | 4 | 4.5 |
| Drainage System Violation | 11 | 5 | 4.6 |
| Donation Box Violation | 8 | 6 | 2.1 |
| Sign Code Violation | 7 | 5 | 4.5 |
| Malfunctioning Railroad Signal | 4 | 0 | |
| Graffiti - ATT Telephone Equipment | 4 | 0 |
By council district: A 707 (2.5 days) · B 978 (2 days) · C 1,066 (3.1 days) · D 1,118 (2.6 days) · E 370 (2.2 days) · F 337 (3 days) · G 512 (2 days) · H 1,037 (2.7 days) · I 822 (2.7 days) · J 328 (3.1 days) · K 557 (4.1 days) ·
Ghosts in the machine
These cities pass ordinances, set tax rates and sign contracts, and none of it appears here: their agendas could not be read by machine in the last 90 days (scanned images, script-only pages, or no posted agendas). Unseen is not clean.
- 9,613 residents · Jacinto City (0 agendas read, 0 new items; newest agenda posted is for May 28, 2026)
- 4,385 residents · City of Hunters Creek Village Its website does not answer this site's public-records reader, and has since Oct 23, 2026. Its meeting agendas are public records the city must post under the Texas Open Meetings Act; nothing it approves can be shown here until it lets them be read.
- 3,704 residents · City of Taylor Lake Village Its website answers "forbidden" to this site's public-records reader, and has since Oct 23, 2026. Its meeting agendas are public records the city must post under the Texas Open Meetings Act; nothing it approves can be shown here until it lets them be read.
- 3,128 residents · City of Piney Point Village (0 agendas read, 0 new items)
- 816 residents · City of Hilshire Village (0 agendas read, 0 new items)
Scorecard, last 12 months
Points: New rules 3 · Money 4 · Surveillance 4 · Land control 3 · Strings attached 2 · Secrecy 2 · Rollback −3 · the same weights The Fine Print uses everywhere. The Fuckery Meter adds tax rates, consent agendas, closed sessions, missing notice and withheld records.