The Pflugerville City Council deferred action on an amendment to its contract with Focus Advocacy and did not move forward with a separate $90,000 professional services agreement with CIRTL Strategies LLC for legislative support after public comment and an extended council debate over the city’s legislative priorities.

Staff presented an amendment proposed by Focus Advocacy that would narrow the consultant’s scope to two items: TxDOT toll revenue legislation and a hotel-commission-center bill, replace the point of contact, remove a 30-day termination clause, and fix the amended contract amount at $200,000. A staff member confirmed the amended scope “limits it to those 2 items,” and that the current contract would otherwise remain in force through June 30, 2025.

Councilmembers on the legislative subcommittee asked for more vetting and time. A council motion to postpone the Focus Advocacy amendment passed.

Council next considered a separate proposal to hire CIRTL Strategies LLC for $90,000 to push parts of the council-approved legislative agenda, including emergency-services-district (ESD) changes. The discussion grew contentious. Several residents spoke against spending city funds on legislation that opponents said would target the city’s ESD structure: “When you use your PAC money to attack the fire department, that's one thing. But when you use all of our tax dollars to do that, that's unforgivable,” said Chris Wolf, identifying himself as a resident firefighter. Mack Harrison, a resident, said the recent public vote had shown broad support for the local fire department and urged the council to focus on mending relationships rather than funding lobbying aimed at ESD reform.

Council members also debated committee process, vendor selection and whether the topic should remain on the city’s legislative agenda. One council member asked that the legislative agenda itself be revisited at the upcoming council retreat; another said the item should be discussed publicly rather than in subcommittee alone.

No motion to authorize the CIRTL Strategies agreement passed; the item “died for lack of a motion.” Council then emphasized a desire to repair relationships and to handle the legislative agenda in a more collaborative public way.

Votes at a glance: Focus Advocacy amendment — motion to postpone: approved. CIRTL Strategies LLC $90,000 professional-services agreement — no motion; item died.