Katy council orders May 3 special election on charter amendments after heated public debate

The Katy City Council voted on Feb. 10 to place multiple proposed Home Rule Charter amendments on a special election ballot May 3, 2025, after extended public comment and debate over process and policy.

The measures that will go to the voters include a change to allow the mayor pro tem to count toward a quorum and retain voting privileges while removing a veto power; updates to vacancy and resignation rules to align with the Texas Constitution’s one-year-and-30-day filing standard; a revision to give appointed department heads the same right as other city employees to petition council for a hearing after suspension or termination; and an amendment to raise the consecutive-term limit for city council members from two to four three-year terms. Multiple other proposed changes — including removing term limits for mayor and council entirely — failed to obtain the council majority needed to be placed on the ballot.

Why it matters: The package will send several structural changes in city government to voters rather than resolving them entirely at council level. The items prompted strong public comment from members of the Charter Review Commission and longtime residents who said council had bypassed the commission and urged the council to allow the commission’s review. Supporters of the ballot measures said voters should decide.

Public comment and council debate focused on process as much as policy. Sherry Booth, a member of the Charter Review Commission, told council she was concerned that one…