Tensions are on the rise again at City Hall, this time over an agenda item that was yanked before the city council could take a vote on it.

City leaders were set to vote on a crackdown for people who dump or abandon animals, but the item was withdrawn Wednesday night.

The proposal, filed by Councilwoman Marina Alderete Gavito in March 2024, would have slapped steeper fines on anyone caught dumping animals in San Antonio.

  • First offense: Fine of $500-$2,000
  • Second offense: At least $1,000
  • Third and further offenses: Minimum of $2,000

But the item was pulled before it could get a vote.

“Note that item number 11 has been withdrawn by staff,” Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said at Thursday’s meeting.

We pressed for answers on who asked for the item to be pulled and why.

Animal Care Services says they didn’t request the withdrawal.

Thursday evening, a spokesperson for the mayor sent the following statement:

Item 11 was pulled from the City Council agenda yesterday evening by the City staff, as the expired CCR had not been reviewed by the Governance Committee. As has been communicated, expired CCRs from the previous council may be resubmitted, and the Governance Committee will decide on how best to move forward once received.

But records show the Governance Committee, which is a panel tasked with proposing, reviewing, and referring new policy initiatives, did approve this idea.

The city’s own presentation for the proposal says, “CCR Presented to Governance Committee on April 12, 2024.”

It’s also unclear what constitutes an “expired” CCR.

Some councilmembers believe the mayor’s office took issue with this ordinance because it was proposed under the last city council.

Gavito says this proposal is a step toward better public safety.

City Hall must rise above bureaucratic red tape. Leadership may change, but the needs of San Antonio families do not. Government should move swiftly to deliver results on the issues that matter most to our neighborhoods.

District 10 Councilman Marc Whyte also expressed frustration that this agenda item was withdrawn.

The ordinance that would have been passed today would have made our city safer and continued our efforts to stop the abandonment of animals. Significant time has been spent by council and city staff on this issue over of the last year. To have the Mayor unilaterally stop this effort simply because she wasn’t a part of the work up to this point is unfortunate. San Antonians deserve better.

These proposals, called Council Consideration Requests, have faced scrutiny from the new mayor. The process of filing one and debating it through committees is the most common way for councilmembers to make their policy ideas a reality, though there are other methods.

Over the last few months, Mayor Jones has made moves to revamp the process.

In a July memo, the mayor proposed requiring CCRs to be sent in draft form to City Manager Erik Walsh and City Attorney Andy Segovia before being filed. The memo also recommended that council members’ staff meet with the mayor’s staff before starting any new policy process.

Councilmembers Marina Alderete Gavito, Marc Whyte, and Teri Castillo raised concerns over that, and the disagreement ultimately ended with the mayor saying the CCR process would remain unchanged for now.

But the statement from Jones’ office mentions resubmitting “expired” requests and sending them back through the Governance Committee, which Mayor Jones chairs.

It’s unclear when the proposal could be called back for consideration.