Hutto staff relay mayoral guidance: religious proclamations will not be read at meetings; Veterans Day and Human Rights Day planned

Christie Barnes, the city’s community and culture officer, told the DEIB Commission she had provided a packet containing a mayoral email saying that, going forward, religious proclamations will not be read during council meetings unless specifically requested.

Barnes read the mayor’s message aloud and said the mayor was concerned that reading multiple religious proclamations at council would consume meeting time: "...going forward, if it's a religious holiday, I can find them, but I don't want to read religious proclamations going forward. My fear is that we will have multiple groups wanting their holidays to have proclamations, and I'd like to use the city council time to celebrate bigger community." Commissioners discussed alternatives, including partnering with the library to host displays or multi-day presentations that would give community groups more time and avoid forcing proclamations into a single ten-minute meeting slot.

Commissioners asked whether proclamations could be archived or displayed in the library so the public could access them without relying on the formal council agenda. Barnes said the city secretary’s office is starting an online archive of proclamations and that the commission could keep copies of proclamations it sponsored; commissioners suggested offering a binder at the library or a digital archive for public access.

On upcoming items, commissioners identified sponsorship and timing needs: Veterans Day (Nov. 11) and International Human Rights Day (Dec. 10) were listed as planned proclamation items. Commissioners agreed to check with community groups (for example, the American Legion) about sponsorship and to confirm whether Commissioner Williamson would sponsor the Veterans Day proclamation or whether the commission should prepare a template for council consideration.