The City Council shall meet in regular session no less frequently than once each month at 5:45 p.m. The meeting shall be held in either the City Council chambers, or in the Council Briefing Room in City Hall, or other public place as may be posted. Additional meetings may be held as established in the City Council Governance Policy Rules and Procedures.
('65 Code, § 2-1) (Am. Ordinance 1664, adopted 11/6/1990; Am. Ordinance 2527, adopted 6/13/2000; Am. Ordinance 3204, adopted 2/5/2008)
Citizens attending and/or speaking at meetings will adhere to the following rules of decorum:
(1) 
No person will engage in disorderly or boisterous conduct, including, but not limited to, stamping of feet, whistling, booing, or making any loud, threatening, profane, abusive, defamatory, personal, or impertinent utterance, that disturbs, disrupts, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the meeting;
(2) 
No person will speak for longer than their allocated time, in accordance with the process set forth in section 30.03;
(3) 
No person will engage in behavior that may interfere with the rights of other participants; and
(4) 
Display of signs, placards, banners, or the presence of similar items that impede or impair the rights of other would-be participants will not be permitted.
(Ordinance 4274 adopted 9/9/2025)
(A) 
Citizen comment.
In accordance with Texas Government Code, § 551.007, as amended, citizens desiring to address the Council on matters on the agenda shall fill out a speaker request form, provided by the city, prior to the beginning of the meeting. The form shall contain the citizen's name, address, phone number, and agenda item they wish to address. Citizens' comments will be limited to the amount of time allocated by the Mayor for each citizen and must be limited to items on the posted agenda. In situations where a large number of citizens representing a group speaking on the same topic have signed up to speak, the Mayor may ask the group to consider designating a spokesperson to present the group's comments to the Council. Citizens shall observe the rules of decorum and courtesy and speak only upon recognition by the Mayor. Citizens not following rules of decorum set forth in section 30.02 and/or disrupting the meeting will lose their remaining time to speak, may be subject to removal, and may forfeit their right to attend a future meeting as set forth in section 30.04.
(B) 
Public forum.
(1) 
During posted public forum sessions, citizens may address the City Council on city-related topics not posted on the agenda; provided, however, citizens topics are limited to items of city business or affairs that are in the scope of the authority and legislative functions of the City Council. Citizens' comments will be limited to the amount of time allocated by the Mayor for each citizen. The rules of decorum set forth in section 30.02 apply to citizens regarding non-agenda items.
(2) 
Responses by the City Council and staff to comments during the public forum shall be in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act[1] requirements. If a citizen raises a subject, a response may only consist of a single statement of specific factual information or a single recitation of an existing policy. The City Council will not discuss or take action relative to any item not on the posted agenda. The Mayor and Council Members shall strictly comply with the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act and shall not enter into discussions with citizens speaking during public forum.
[1]
Editor's note—See Government Code, chapter 551.
(3) 
The agenda item for the public forum may be suspended by the Mayor should citizens become disruptive, not follow rules of decorum and civility, or speak in such a manner that prevents the meeting from being conducted in an orderly and efficient manner.
(4) 
Citizens who do not follow rules of decorum set forth in section 30.02 and/or disrupt the meeting will lose their remaining time to speak, are subject to removal, and may forfeit their right to attend a future meeting as set forth in section 30.04.
(C) 
Public hearings.
Citizens wishing to speak during a posted public hearing shall complete a speaker request form. Comments during a public hearing must be germane to the matter being considered. Citizens' comments will be limited to the amount of time allocated by the Mayor for each citizen. Public hearings may be required by other laws, and are therefore held in accordance with federal, state, or local laws or policies, as applicable. Citizens who do not follow the rules of decorum set forth in section 30.02 and/or disrupt the meeting will lose their remaining time to speak, are subject to removal, and may forfeit their right to attend a future meeting as set forth in section 30.04.
(Ordinance 4274 adopted 9/9/2025)
(A) 
In the event a citizen disrupts the meeting or fails to comply with the rules of decorum set forth in section 30.02, the Mayor has the right to remove a citizen or temporarily adjourn a meeting. In addition, the consequences below will apply to a citizen when the rules of decorum are not followed, or the citizen disrupts a meeting:
Citizen Disruption/Failure to Follow Rules
Council Action
Authorized Actor
First time
Verbal warning
Mayor
Second time, same meeting
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost.
Mayor
Third time, does not have to be the same meeting
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost. Warning notice of potential forfeiture of right to attend meeting for 30 days for additional disruptions or failure to follow rules is mailed to the citizen.
Mayor and City Secretary
Fourth time, does not have to be the same meeting.
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost. Notice of forfeiture of right to attend meeting for 30 days is mailed to the citizen.
Mayor and City Secretary
Fifth time, does not have to be the same meeting
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost. Notice of forfeiture of right to attend meeting for 90 days is mailed to the citizen.
Mayor and City Secretary
Sixth time, does not have to be the same meeting
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost. Notice of forfeiture of right to attend meeting for 180 days is mailed to the citizen.
Mayor and City Secretary
Seventh time, does not have to be the same meeting
Microphone is turned off. Speaking time is lost. Notice of forfeiture of right to attend meeting for one year is mailed to the citizen.
Mayor and City Secretary
(B) 
The above consequences will be applied to a citizen who disrupts the meeting but is not speaking. The same incremental steps will be applied, except for the loss of speaking time and turning off the microphone. The notice of forfeiture will include language in accordance with Texas Penal Code, § 30.05, as amended, notifying the recipient of the consequences for failure to comply with the forfeiture period.
(C) 
The City Council reserves the right to implement additional action after the seventh time a meeting is disrupted, or a citizen fails to follow rules of decorum, after a citizen returns from a one-year forfeiture period.
(Ordinance 4274 adopted 9/9/2025)