City Council Meetings
The City of Jamaica Beach Council Meetings are held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month starting at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall. Depending upon Federal Holidays, we will adjust the meeting.
NOTICE REGARDING TITLE II OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
The City of Jamaica Beach, Texas (Jamaica Beach) acting pursuant to 28 C.F.R. § 35.106, provides this notice regarding Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (“Title II”) and its applicability to the services, programs, and activities provided by the City of Jamaica Beach, Texas.
Policy. Title II establishes requirements for making the services, programs, and activities of a local government entity more accessible to disabled persons. It is the policy of Jamaica Beach to comply with the requirements of Title II and to make its services, programs, and activities reasonably available to disabled persons, as long as that can be done without fundamentally altering the nature of its services, programs or activities, or imposing an undue financial or administrative burden on Jamaica Beach.
Reasonable Accommodation. Jamaica Beach, upon reasonable notice, will provide auxiliary aids/services where necessary to enable effective communications between Jamaica Beach and a disabled person. Jamaica Beach will also make reasonable modifications to its services, programs, and activities where necessary in order to allow disabled persons an equal opportunity to enjoy those services, programs, and activities. Jamaica Beach will not impose any surcharges to cover the costs of providing auxiliary aids/services or making modifications to its services, programs, or activities.
Jamaica Beach Contacts. Anyone who believes that, because of their disability, they require an auxiliary aid/service for effective communication with Jamaica Beach, or a modification to its services, programs, and activities to enable their participation, may contact the Jamaica Beach’s City Administrator at (409) 737-1142 for assistance.
Americans with Disabilities Act Grievance Procedure. Complaints concerning discrimination on the basis of disability by Jamaica Beach may be sent to Jamaica Beach’s City Administrator at (409) 737-1142. The City Administrator will contact the complainant within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint to discuss the complaint and will respond in writing within 15 days of the discussion.
House Bill 2840 Public Comment on Agenda Items: House Bill 2840 amends the Texas Open Meetings Act to provide that "a governmental body shall allow each member of the public who desires to address the body regarding an item on an agenda for an open meeting of the body to address the body regarding the item at the meeting before OR during the body's consideration of the item." Before the passage of the bill, the public had only the right to observe, rather than speak at, an open meeting of a governmental body. The City of Jamaica Beach allows for public comment on agenda items only at the beginning of every open meeting, therefore, the city's existing policy meets the requirements of H.B. 2840. To clarify, H.B. 2840 only requires a government body to allow the public the right to speak on items on the agenda "either" at the "beginning of the meeting" OR "during the meeting when the agenda item is being considered" by the governmental body. The city is not required to allow the public to speak before and during consideration of the item. That being said, each time the Mayor gives a member of the public an additional opportunity to speak/comment on an agenda item, he is exceeding the requirements of the bill. Please feel free to contact the City Secretary if you have any questions concerning H.B. 2840. (H.B. 2840 Q&A)