Houston adopts Ordinance 2025-109 fixing 2025 tax rate; council schedules September meetings and moves to closed session

Bill No. 109, described in the minutes as 'An ordinance of the City of Houston, Missouri, fixing the rate of taxation for the 2025 assessment year,' was presented and placed on first reading by title only on Aug. 4. The council subsequently placed the bill on second and final reading by title only and the motion to adopt carried with six yes votes, making it Ordinance 2025-109 as recorded in the minutes. The minutes do not list the numeric tax rate or show the ordinance text in full.

Mayor Samuel Kelley also informed the council that the September meeting dates would be Tuesday, Sept. 2 (moved because of Labor Day) and Monday, Sept. 22 (due to council attendance at the Missouri Municipal League annual conference). Later in the meeting the council adjourned the regular session at 6:43 p.m. and moved to an executive closed session pursuant to Section 610.021 Subsection (1) (Legal) and Subsection (12) (Contracts). The minutes record a later adjournment from the executive session at 7:18 p.m.

Why it matters: adopting a tax-rate ordinance is a formal step that sets the city’s levy for the assessment year; although the ordinance number and adoption are recorded in the minutes, the specific levy rate is not provided in the meeting record and would need to be obtained from the full ordinance text or subsequent city records.

Procedural note: the minutes record both readings occurring by title only and votes recorded as carried with six yes votes. The executive session was authorized under Section 610.021 of the Missouri statutes identified in the minutes.

Next steps: the full ordinance text or updated tax-rate schedule should be available in city records or the official ordinance log for residents who need the numeric rate; the council moved to closed session for legal and contract matters as allowed under cited statute.