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 West University Place only. Every government →
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Executive session for personnel and litigation matters
City Council held executive session authorized by Texas Government Code §551.074 (personnel matters regarding City Manager and City Secretary) and §551.071 (attorney consultation on pending or contemplated litigation).
Oct 26, 2026 agenda, item 14: the agenda's words
Executive Session At approximately 8:33 p.m. the City Council recessed the Special Meeting to convene an executive session authorized by Title 5, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, for the following purposes: • §551.074, Personnel Matters, to deliberate the appointment, employment evaluation, reassignment, duties, or dismissal of a public officer or employee, to wit: City Manager and City Secretary and • §551.071, Consultation with Attorney, pending or contemplated litigation, a settlement offer, or 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 this chapter.
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Executive session for real property and litigation matters
City Council held executive session authorized by Texas Government Code §551.072 (real property negotiations) and §551.071 (attorney consultation on pending litigation including City v. SER Construction Partners, LLC and Brunger v. the City).
Oct 26, 2026 agenda, item 2: the agenda's words
R ecess Special Meeting and Convene Executive Session At approximately 5:46 p.m. the City Council recessed the Special Meeting to convene an executive session authorized by Title 5, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, for the following purposes: • §551.072, Real Property, the City Council will deliberate the purchase, exchange, lease or val ue real property that deliberation in an open meeting would have a detrimental effect on the positi on of the City in negotiations with a third party or parties. • §551.071, Consultation with Attorney regarding pending or contemplated litigation, a settlement offer, or 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 this chapter: • The City of West University Place v. SER Construction Partners, LLC; • Brunger, et. al. v. the City of West University Place, et. al.
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Executive session for consultation with attorney
City Council held closed executive session under Texas Government Code § 551.071 for consultation with city attorney. No action or decisions from the session are described in the minutes.
Sep 28, 2026 agenda, item 2: the agenda's words
Recess Special Meeting and Convene Executive Session At approximately 5:45 p.m., Mayor Sample recessed the S pecial meeting to convene Executive S ession. As authorized by Title 5, Chapter 551, Texas Government Code, for the following purposes 551 .071, Consultation with Attorney .
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.