Originally published on CitizenLyle.com. Reprinted with permission from the author, Lyle Nelson.

On the Consent Agenda for the Special Called City Council Meeting of March 4, 2025, there were several items that should have been considered as individual items. Consent agendas are passed without discussion or public input. There was even a Consent Agenda Item that contained a Public Hearing. This is suspect in that the Consent Agenda normally does not allow for discussion. In addition, there were seven (7) Public Hearings scheduled here that had far reaching effects on the City’s Land Development Codes. While I support positive development for our City, I prefer such decisions by our elected representatives to be beneficial to our citizens while encouraging positive development. A hurried process to alert, inform and allow our citizens time to evaluate seems contrary to public service.

Items placed on this Consent Agenda included:

• 3C – The first reading of an Ordinance (basically a municipality’s law)
• 3E – The expenditure of $150K of public funds
• 3G – The first reading of an Ordinance with a PUBLIC HEARING. It should be noted that this item was moved for individual consideration, but no PUBLIC HEARING was provided.
• 3H – Confirmation of an appointment of Jimmy Crouch to the P&Z Commission

I had comments to make for Item 3H and submitted a Request to Speak before the Council started. Section 4.8 of the “Rules of Procedure for the City Council and Boards & Commissions of the City of Bastrop, Texas” states …..”a citizen may request that any item be removed from the consent agenda and considered separately”. The presiding officer, John Kirkland, did not ask if those in attendance wanted an item removed and although I asked for the item to be removed from the consent agenda TWICE, such was not acted upon. The presiding officer violated Section 3.13 of the City Charter by blatantly ignoring the published Rules of Procedures. Does this make the vote taken for this Consent agenda invalid?

In not allowing the opportunity for a public discussion, has John Kirkland, in a questionable capacity:

• Indicated that he makes up his own rules
• Continued a private vendetta
• Adopted Cronyism as an accepted procedure
• Denied Citizen Rights