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Council halts over mismatched ordinance drafts; resumes and adopts Ordinance 61 after corrections
Summary
Council members discovered two differing drafts of Ordinance 61–2025, recessed to reconcile the versions and later adopted the ordinance after reading a corrected caption and voting to declare an emergency.
Chair Perez called the special meeting to order at 6:04 p.m. and limited public participation to items 60–2025, 61–2025, 62–2025 and Resolution 243–2025. During the public-comment period, resident Greg White criticized the council for not following its 2024 rules of procedure, saying required request-for-legislation forms and signatures were missing.
"When is this council finally gonna get their act together and start following the rules of this council?" Greg White said, identifying himself as living at 1125 Hellcrest Drive. His comment prompted discussion about whether rule suspension was needed to proceed that night.
At the first reading of Ordinance 61–2025, several members said the text being read aloud did not match the copy in the meeting packet. A council member noted missing phrases such as "sub paragraph," and another said edits appeared to have been made to a different file. Council member voice 4 summarized the problem as two competing drafts circulating and recommended pausing to work from the original packet version.
The council recessed for 10 minutes to allow staff and members to reconcile the versions. When members returned at 7:10 p.m., a corrected copy was on the table and a council member read the full caption of Ordinance 61, which detailed appropriations across general, income tax, safety forces, street construction, park and recreation, waterworks, sewage, stormwater and pension funds and included an emergency declaration.
After the corrected reading, the council voted to suspend rules for second and third readings and then to adopt Ordinance 61–2025. The roll-call vote recorded multiple "yes" votes and one "no" from Deshaun; the ordinance was declared duly adopted. The council took no recorded formal action at the meeting to address Greg White’s procedural complaint beyond suspending and then reconciling the ordinance text to permit action that night.
The council returned the ordinances and resolution to finance for origin when asked earlier in the meeting and the record shows the finance committee reported favorably before the council completed final readings and adoptions. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.
