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Giddings council adopts police pay increases, limits on public-record requests and pauses CenterPoint rate hike
Summary
At its March 9 meeting, the Giddings City Council approved a police pay-scale increase (Mayor Joel Lopez broke a tie), unanimously adopted limits on staff time for Public Information Act requests, voted to suspend a proposed CenterPoint Energy rate increase for 45 days and approved several community events and administrative items.
GIDDINGS, Texas — The Giddings City Council on March 9 approved a package of personnel, transparency and administrative measures, including a contested increase to the police department pay scale and a 45-day suspension of a proposed CenterPoint Energy rate increase.
The council adopted Resolution No. 622-2026 to amend the Giddings Police Department step pay scale after a split vote left the measure tied; Mayor Joel Lopez cast the deciding vote in favor, making the final tally 3-2. Interim City Manager Heather Garner told the council the increases "would only apply to sergeants and patrol officers, not to admin or the chief and assistant chief," and said the change followed review of overtime budgets and staffing shortages.
Councilors also approved Ordinance No. 921, establishing local limits on the amount of personnel time the city will spend responding to Public Information Act requests and permitting the city to impose labor charges when a single requestor exceeds the time threshold. "This ordinance doesn't restrict access to information or change our obligations under the Public Information Act," Garner said, describing the measure as a framework the city attorney recommended for handling unusually time-consuming requests. Resident Dexter Wilson used the public-comment period to address the open-records item before the vote.
On utilities, the council adopted Resolution No. 621-2026 to suspend the effective date of a proposed CenterPoint Energy rate increase for 45 days, a routine action the city takes annually while it reviews filings. The agenda also included Resolution No. 624-2026 concerning a second amendment to the city's wholesale power agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority; the council recessed into executive session under Government Code Sec. 551.086 and reconvened, but the transcript does not record a final vote on Resolution No. 624-2026.
The council approved several community events: Lee County ARES's rescheduled public event for May 2, 2026, at Giddings Downtown Plaza and the Giddings Chamber of Commerce's Freedom Fest on July 3, 2026, at Veterans Park. It also authorized Amendment No. 3 to the agreement with Strand Associates, Inc. to add terms and conditions to the city's technical-services contract.
Chief Bill Weems presented the Giddings Police Department's 2025 racial profiling report; council members received the report and asked no questions. The council approved a City Manager recruitment brochure prepared by Strategic Government Resources (with suggested additions) and directed Public Services to post "City of Giddings Customers Parking Only" signs in front of City Hall.
The meeting began at 7:05 p.m. and adjourned at 8:04 p.m. The council recorded roll-call votes for motions where shown in the minutes; several administrative items were enacted on unanimous or near-unanimous votes.
