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PASSEDHouston City Council · 2026-07-07

The City Council approved hiring the law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP as bond counsel to provide specialized legal services when Houston sells bonds to finance public expenses. The firm was selected because the work requires expertise in municipal finance, federal tax, and state securities law that City attorneys cannot adequately provide.

What it means for you

This affects all Houston residents because bond financing funds city projects and public expenses; the law firm only gets paid if a bond transaction successfully closes, meaning no legal fees are owed if a deal does not go through.

Outcome

Adopted — action noted on the official agenda, which assigns Ordinance 2026-0585 but records no vote count. Official agenda of July 7, 2026, with notes of action taken.

Contracts & spending — see all →Citywide

Official sources

Official agenda with notes of action taken — the record posted for this meeting (PDF) ↗

This is the agenda the City Secretary posted with notes of action taken. It records the action and the ordinance or motion number assigned to each item; it does not record vote counts.

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
Who's paid?GREENBERG TRAURIG, LLPminutes ↗
Who decides?Houston City Council — its 16 members (11 district + 5 at-large) vote; the Mayor presides and also votes. Taken up at the July 7, 2026 meeting — Adopted.minutes ↗
The official caption doesn't name a dollar amount or which fund pays for it — full details in the official minutes ↗

What this company has been paid

The city's published checkbook records $3,722,026 paid to GREENBERG TRAURIG LLP across 34 payment lines, FY2018–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-cs20260707-14 — data from official records via PlainDocket.