Calendar

You may not have considered attending our town council meetings until a project or problem near you affected your life in the community. Here is what you should know about the town council.

Town council’s responsibilities

The Town of Shady Shores council makes decisions that affect the everyday life where we live. Its actions affect such matters as street construction and maintenance, trash pickup, water and sewer infrastructure, health codes and zoning restrictions, and police and fire department presence. It proposes, discusses, and votes for or against local laws, regulations, and budgets.

As we all learned in school, in representative democracies such as the United States, the people elect representatives to govern on their behalf at the local, state, and federal level. In Shady Shores, Town Council representatives are elected at large, and serve for a two year term.   Begin your involvement with our town council by learning about the members that represent our community.

Town of Shady Shores council generally meets at least once per month. When needed additional meetings will be announced. Texas has an open meetings law that requires these meetings, and documents they generate, to be open to the public. There are rare exceptions to open meetings laws that allow closed-door sessions to discuss such matters as litigation or certain personnel issues. The Town of Shady Shores will publish minutes of the previous meeting, proposed and enacted resolutions, and budgets for the public to read on our website.

What happens at meetings

Attending town council meetings keeps you in the know and gives you a voice in decisions.

• The council’s meeting dates are a matter of public record. You will find the calendar at shady-shores.com and posted in public places such as the Town Hall bulletin board, our electronic sign, and through social media platforms. The agenda of items to be discussed and voted on will be posted too. A certain minimum number of council members (3, and the Mayor) for the Town of Shady Shores council, known as a quorum, must be present for the council to conduct business.
• Meetings begin with the review and approval of the previous meeting’s minutes. The council will discuss old business discussed in previous meetings first, then new business items. The council may hear from advisory committees it commissioned to study proposed projects. These committees provide research on the costs and feasibility of actions the council is considering, such as construction projects, crime control measures or projects that benefit the Town of Shady Shores in other ways.
• For the Town of Shady Shores, time is offered for public comment at each session of the Town Council. During Public comments, a citizen is given 3 minutes to speak. Council members may ask questions or answer questions with a statement of fact. The council may or may not act on a specific comment. On occasion, there may be an agenda item that may require a public hearing before it can be adopted, the pre-posted agenda will indicate when this is appropriate.  Input is vital and can come from citizens who speak to the council at its meetings or who write council members. This is your opportunity to voice your support for or concern about council plans and proposed laws and initiatives. If you want to make your voice heard, be sure to have done your homework beforehand. Come armed with facts, not speculation or emotional arguments. Preparation is key. 
• After the council votes to adopt a new town law or ordinance, there may be a waiting period before the law or ordinance goes into effect, such as 30 days or upon official publication.

The Town of Shady Shores hopes that once an individual immerses themselves as a citizen in the workings of our town government, that one day they may decide to serve our community by running for the council themselves.