Resident criticizes Bee Cave use of special meetings and agenda decorum rules

A resident criticized the Bee Cave City Council on Jan. 7 for relying on special meetings and for the council’s posted decorum language, saying the practices limited opportunities for public comment and did not comply with the Texas Government Code.

The resident, who spoke during public comment, invoked Texas Government Code §551.007(a) and told the council that special meetings were being used in place of a general citizen comment agenda item. “Out of the last 4 council meetings, 3 have been special meetings,” the resident said, and added that the council’s repeated use of special sessions for routine business was “abusive.”

The resident also objected to the council’s posted decorum statement, which warns that disruptive behavior including “shouting or derogatory statements or comments may be ruled out of order.” The speaker said that the code does not use the phrase “derogatory comments” and argued the city could not lawfully ban such speech unless it met other legal limits such as slander.

Council members and staff responded that special meetings were called when the regular schedule would not accommodate required business because of holidays and scheduling conflicts. One council member said: “By nature, that is called a special meeting. That's just what it is, Carol. We're not trying to hold meetings that are not legal. We've been calling special meetings since it's the holidays. We've got stuff getting done.”

The city secretary said the decorum language on the agenda was drafted by the city attorney and was included as part of the city’s new agenda software. The council did not take action to change the decorum language at the Jan. 7 meeting.

The exchange highlights a recurring tension between some residents’ desire for routine periods of public comment and council members’ need to schedule meetings outside of the regular cycle to complete municipal business.