Resident urges Missouri City Council to choose transparency in budget process

Guy Sulloway, a Missouri City resident, told the City Council at its Aug. 3 special meeting that he had filed multiple requests under the Texas Public Information Act for records related to this year’s budget process and the appraised-value assumptions used in the 2021 bond program, and that each request had been denied while the city seeks permission from the Texas attorney general to withhold them. "Transparency delayed in this context is transparency diminished," Sulloway said.

Sulloway said the denials mean residents may not be able to review underlying assumptions and provide meaningful input before the council adopts the budget. He framed the issue as a question about how the city attorney should balance protecting the city’s legal interests with promoting public confidence: "When the law allows a choice between withholding information and greater transparency, I respectfully ask you choose transparency." He told the council that, under the Missouri City Charter, the city attorney serves at the council’s pleasure and that elected officials retain judgment over policy choices.

Sulloway told the council he had specifically requested the appraised-value assumptions used to calculate debt service for the 2021 bond program, the proposed budget timeline, opportunities for public input and the five-year financial outlook referenced during budget discussions. He said the attorney general's decision on withholding records could arrive after the budget is adopted, diminishing the public’s ability to influence the outcome.

The city did not respond to the specific allegations during public comment. The city secretary had announced Sulloway as the lone registered speaker on agenda item 4(a) before his remarks. The council later entered a closed executive session; no further public discussion of Sulloway's requests appears in the public record provided in the transcript.