Author Archives: Megan J. Mikutis
Tax Rate Scares
The end of September marks two things: (1) the official start of “Spooky Season” and (2) the deadline for certain municipal taxing units to adopt a no-new-revenue tax rate for the current tax year. Under Section 26.05(a) of the Tax Code, the governing body of a taxing unit must adopt a tax rate for… Read More »
MSD: What’s in Your Groundwater?
A Municipal Setting Designation (a “MSD”) places a limitation on the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) requirements for the investigation or remediation of property parcels containing contaminated groundwater, when that groundwater is not used and will not be used as potable water now or in the future, located within a city or a… Read More »
Social Media and Cities: When Is It a Public Forum?
With the growing number of social media platforms and their rapidly increasing potential to attract audiences and disseminate information, local government leaders, management, and staff seeking to engage the community often wonder what can be done about potential internet trolls and keyboard warriors. The chimeric landscape of social media, the vastly growing “like, comment,… Read More »
Abbott’s Border Promise
Earlier this month, Governor Greg Abbott revealed a new plan to revitalize the campaign promise of former President Donald Trump to build a wall at the Texas-Mexico border. The U.S. Border Patrol and Office of Field Operations has seen a dramatic increase in border encounters with the months of March, April, and May 2021… Read More »
Rolling in the Deep (Sea)
As summer heats up, things show up. Recently, news cycles and Facebook feeds seem to have seen an uptick in the number of reports regarding endangered, odd, or record-breaking species being spotted along the country’s rivers and coastlines. Earlier this month, on the Caney Fork River in Tennessee, two friends fly fishing for striped… Read More »
When Texting Crosses the Line
Two Carroll ISD board members charged with violating the Texas Open Meetings Act were indicted by a Tarrant County grand jury for allegedly communicating outside of an authorized meeting. Carroll ISD Board President Michelle Moore and Vice President Todd Carlton face misdemeanor charges of conspiring to circumvent the Texas Open Meetings Act for secret… Read More »
A Rumor ‘Bout Procurement
While probably not worthy of a ZZ Top song, a rumor has been spreadin’ a- ‘round that in a Texas town ‘bout . . . how a municipality can avoid the procurement requirements of Section 252.021, Chapter 252, of the Local Government Code when purchasing and contracting for, more often, services paid from revenues… Read More »
Procurement in the Age of Disaster
While hoping for the best, we should always expect and prepare for the worst. Many governmental entities have experienced emergency management personnel and dedicated procedures in place to react to a disaster. However, these same governmental entities sometimes lack the proactive administrative measures that can be utilized to ensure proper procurement – and more… Read More »
Is That Lunch Meeting Legal?
Is that lunch meeting legal? Is that text message toeing the line? Will that email land you in hot water? The Texas Attorney General has determined that a “walking quorum” occurs when members of a governmental body gather in number that do not physically constitute a quorum at any one time but who, through… Read More »
The Public Information Act: An Open Government for the People
The Texas Public Information Act (the “Public Information Act” or the “Act”), largely influenced by the Sharpstown Stock-Fraud Scandal in 1969 and later adopted in 1973, lays the foundation for the policy of open government, allowing the public to maintain control over the instruments created by and for the people. Attorney General of Texas,… Read More »