Jersey Village City Council voted to amend an ordinance regulating campaign signs posted on city property at a special meeting April 14.

The former ordinance required a person to pay a $15 fee to receive a permit allowing them to post two signs within a designated area. The ordinance was amended to turn the permit fee into a deposit, which is returned after the sign poster removes the signs. The amendment also extended the registration period to include the two weeks leading up to early voting.

"The permit was essentially to make sure we have the contact information for the person posting the signs," Jersey Village Mayor Rod Erskine said. "It wasn't about collecting fees. The point is getting people to pick their signs up after the election."

The ordinance came under pressure when a woman looking to post signs at Jersey Village City Hall—the city's poll location—claimed the fee was a violation of free speech. The issue was further complicated by vague wording in the recently passed HB259. The bill—passed July 2013—forces a city to allow campaign signs on city property, but allows for regulation using "reasonable" standards.

The city consulted Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart, who said the ordinance, as it was written, could result in the poll location being moved out of Jersey Village. However, Stanart indicated he would approve of the ordinance if the proposed amendments were made.

Council voted 4–1 in support of the amendments. Jill Klein opposed, advocating to eliminate the fee and the deposit entirely. Council members voting in favor said the amendments are in line with Stanart's requirements and still provide an incentive for people to pick up their signs.

"I've heard form a number of constituents who wanted to continue reasonable restrictions on unattended signs," Councilman Justin Ray said. "When signs aren't picked up, it's the Jersey Village tax payers who end up paying for their removal."

The meeting also included a public forum, with residents speaking for and against the proposed amendments. Many residents debated whether the city's ordinance actually violated HB259 in the first place.

"Candidates and those who support them are not entitled to go anywhere they wish, post anything they desire and be completely unaccountable for their actions," Jersey Village resident Dorothy Starkey said. "Absolute access to posting signage with no accountability whatsoever is not what the co-authors of [HB259] intended."

Others echoed concerns about letting signs go unregulated.

"What we're faced with is people who post signs and then just conveniently forget to take them down," resident Howard Mead said. "This is not a free speech issue. It's a public littering issue."

The amended ordinance will be in effect for the May 2014 election cycle. Erskine said the amendments were a fair resolution, in line with Stanart's requirements and still able to address citizen concerns about litter.

"We got the outcome I was hoping we would get," he said.