← Back to PlainDocket
PASSEDHouston City Council · 2026-04-07

The City Council approved a $300,000 increase to an existing contract with the law firm Husch Blackwell, LLP for professional legal services. The additional cost will be paid from the City's Property & Casualty Fund.

What it means for you

Houston is paying its outside legal counsel more to handle property and casualty-related legal matters on the City's behalf. This spending comes from an insurance-type fund rather than the general operating budget.

Outcome

Adopted — all voting aye, nays none. Ordinance 2026-0297, official minutes of April 7, 2026.

Contracts & spending — see all →Citywide

Official sources

Meeting minutes — full record with the vote (PDF) ↗

These are the official minutes — the narrative record of what happened at the meeting, including the vote on each item.

District A — Amy PeckADistrict B — Tarsha JacksonBDistrict C — Joe PanzarellaCDistrict D — Carolyn Evans-ShabazzDDistrict E — Fred FlickingerEDistrict F — Tiffany ThomasFDistrict G — Mary Nan HuffmanGDistrict H — Mario CastilloHDistrict I — Joaquin MartinezIDistrict J — Edward PollardJDistrict K — Martha Castex-TatumK

Official council district boundaries · City of Houston GIS. Tap a district to see who represents it.

How to weigh in

Where
City Hall, 901 Bagby, 2nd Floor, Houston, TX 77002
When
Council meets Tuesdays 1:30 p.m. & Wednesdays 9:00 a.m. Public Session — when you can speak — is Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m. (5:00 p.m. on the last Tuesday of the month).
Speak
Register by 3:00 p.m. the Monday before: call 832.393.1100, email speakers@houstontx.gov, or go in person to the City Secretary (City Hall Annex, 900 Bagby, Room P101). Each speaker gets 1–3 minutes.
Watch
Live on HTV ↗

From the City Council meetings information page. Confirm the exact date on the official agenda before you go.

Quick answersfrom the official record
How much?$300,000minutes ↗
Who benefits?HUSCH BLACKWELL, LLPminutes ↗
Who pays?Property & Casualty Fundminutes ↗
Who decides?Houston City Council — its 16 members (11 district + 5 at-large) vote; the Mayor presides and also votes. Taken up at the April 7, 2026 meeting — Adopted, all voting aye.minutes ↗

What this company has been paid

The city's published checkbook records $2,407,922 paid to HUSCH BLACKWELL LLP across 100 payment lines, FY2019–FY2026.

That is money already paid across all city business with this company — not the amount this item approves, and not a total for this contract.

See the year-by-year breakdown →

Cite this: https://plaindocket.com/item/real-cs20260407-10 — data from official records via PlainDocket.