A jam-packed Corpus Christi City Council meeting that could have lasted until midnight ended earlier than expected after Councilmember Eric Cantu moved to table the final four agenda items at about 8 p.m.
"I make a motion to put the items... 19, 20, 21, and 22 to put on the agenda next week," Cantu said.
Cantu cited the Mayor removal trial which begins Wednesday morning at 9 in the morning.
The council had been discussing 10 potential changes to the city charter, including extending term limits and raising salaries for city councilmembers and the mayor.
Discussion of pursuing federal funding for the Inner Harbor project and possible action on the Far Field Study, which looks at the environmental impact of Inner Harbor, will have to wait until the next meeting.
What the council did approve was raising water rates. The vote was 8-1 in favor, with Mayor Paulette Guajardo casting the lone dissenting vote — a decision that sparked a public argument between Guajardo and Councilmember Carolyn Vaughn.
Guajardo said the ratepayers should not face higher water prices while the city council has not pursued a federal grant for the Inner Harbor desalination project.
"How can we tell our residents that our water rates are going to go up when we haven't done everything we can? There have been opportunities," Guajardo said.
Vaughn pushed back, arguing the rate increases are not tied to Inner Harbor but are instead about paying for past and present water projects.
"The reason she's not going to do it is it has to do with the money for the grant. That is wrong that's not leadership. You have to step up and you have to do the right thing. You have to put the city first," Vaughn said.
The tabled items are scheduled to be placed on the agenda for the Tuesday, July 28 council meeting.
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