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 Webster only. Every government →
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Executive session on City Manager appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal
Closed meeting pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.074 to deliberate on City Manager personnel matters including appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal.
Oct 20, 2026 agenda, item 16: the agenda's words
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will hold a closed meeting pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, in accordance with the authority contained in:
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Executive session held; topic not specified in agenda
City Council held closed executive session pursuant to Chapter 551, Government Code, but the specific topics discussed were not itemized in the agenda.
Oct 6, 2026 agenda, item A.15: the agenda's words
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will now hold a closed executive meeting pursuant to the provision of Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon's Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in:
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Executive session on City Manager personnel matters
Closed executive session pursuant to Texas Government Code Section 551.074 regarding deliberation on appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal of the City Manager.
Oct 6, 2026 agenda, item 15: the agenda's words
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will now hold a closed executive meeting pursuant to the provision of Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon’s Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in:
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Executive session on attorney consultation regarding Open Meetings Act conflict
City entered executive session at 6:30 PM under Texas Government Code Section 551.071 to consult with attorney on matter where attorney's duty conflicts with Texas Open Meetings Act. Session concluded at 6:42 PM.
Sep 22, 2026 agenda, item A: the agenda's words
Section 551. 071 — Consultation with Attorney 1) Consultation with Attorney on a matter in which the duty of the Attorney to the governmental body under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with the Texas Open Meetings Act. Councilmember Gaines made a motion to enter into Executive Session at 6: 30 PM. Councilmember Davis seconded the motion. Resolution 26- 15.
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Executive session for consultation with attorney
City Council will hold a closed meeting pursuant to Texas Government Code Chapter 551, Section 551.071 for consultation with the city attorney.
Sep 22, 2026 agenda, item 11: the agenda's words
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will hold a closed meet ing pursuant to Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code, in accordance with the authority contained in:
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Executive session on attorney consultation and city manager personnel matters
City Council held closed executive session under Texas Government Code Section 551.071 (attorney consultation) and Section 551.074 (personnel matters regarding city manager appointment, employment, evaluation, reassignment, duties, discipline, or dismissal). Session lasted from 6:03 PM to 6:48 PM.
Sep 1, 2026 agenda, item 16: the agenda's words
EXECUTIVE SESSION: The City Council will now hold a closed executive meeting pursuant to the provision of Chapter 551, Government Code, Vernon' s Texas Codes Annotated, in accordance with the authority contained in:
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.