Katy City Council briefly discussed the appointment of a new mayor pro tem at its July 22 meeting before Council Member Frank O. Carroll made a motion to tag, or postpone, the agenda item and continue discussions at the next regular council meeting Aug. 12.

A mayor pro tem takes the mayor’s place in the event of absence due to death, physical incapacity, impeachment or resignation. The mayor’s nomination must be backed by the council before it is approved.

At its July 8 meeting, Mayor Bill Hastings nominated Council Member At-Large Chris Harris for the position, which is currently held by Ward B Council Member Durran Dowdle, who was elected to the council in 2014 and has been mayor pro tem since March 2017. The council voted against the nomination 3-2.

“My objection is that we have the largest budget in Katy history due in two months, with final approval in September,” Carroll said. “We have a mayor who has not been through the budget process and a council that has been through one or zero, except Durran, who has been through five.”

Council Member Janet Corte, Harris and Carroll joined the council in 2018 while Hastings and Council Member Jenifer Stockdick were elected in May.

“My proposal tonight is that Durran stay on [as mayor pro tem] until after the budget then step down as mayor pro tem … since the pick requires consensus. I hope all of council and the mayor will meet in the middle,” Carroll said. “Durran Dowdle is the best-case scenario in the worst-case scenario.”

City of Katy to temporarily cover recycling charge increase

The council agreed to cover an 87 cent-per-unit rate increase from Republic Industries, the second-largest provider of nonhazardous solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and energy services in the U.S., which works with the city’s garbage and recycling services. Council members voted to cover the approximate $4,500 per month until October when the city budget is scheduled for discussion.

David Aguilar, municipal services manager at Republic Industries, said his request is in response to China’s National Sword policy, enacted in January 2018 to ban the import of most plastics and other materials headed for Chinese recycling processors, which handled nearly half of the world’s recyclable waste.

Aguilar said the policy has affected communities across the U.S., including Katy.