Getting Prepared
Tuesday, August 13, brings another Bastrop City Council meeting. While the focus of the news often is squarely on national politics, the decisions of your local city council directly affect your day to day life.
So, how to keep up? First is to download and read the agenda. Agendas must be online 72 hours prior to the start of a City Council meeting. They typically are up on Friday afternoon before a Tuesday regular meeting.
Go to CityofBastrop.org. Click “Government”, then “City Council”.
From the left menu on the City Council page, select “2024 Agenda & Minutes” to review the agenda. Under “2024 Bastrop City Council Meetings”, select “Click here for Agenda and Packet“.
Amendments to the City Charter will be on the August 13 agenda, so if you want to read through the current City Charter, select “City Charter (pdf)”.
To register your wish to speak, or register your opinion on an agenda item, select “Council Request to Speak Form“. It’s fillable and can be submitted online.
DID YOU KNOW? If you right click a link on your desktop browser, you can choose to open it in a new tab.
There are two ways to speak at a City Council meeting.
For issues not on the agenda, you can choose to speak for up to 3 minutes on the topic of your choice under “Citizens’ Comments”.
For issues on the agenda, indicate the agenda item number in the box and whether you will speak in favor of or in opposition to that item.
You can also choose not to speak but to register your support or opposition to an agenda item.
You can download the agenda as a PDF, print it, and make notations on your copy. Bring it with you. Some copies will be available at the meeting, but not the full agenda packet for the public (only the agenda itself). The full packet includes all the reports provided to Council members ahead of the meeting so you can review what they have reviewed. The agenda includes links to the specific backup information for each item so you don’t have to wade your way through several hundred pages to find details on an issue.
Hopefully this post provides you with lots of information on how to be an informed citizen.