Schertz raises drainage fee to $11 a month, approves drone pilot

Drone response pilot

The council approved Resolution 26-R-115, accepting a quote from Motorola Solutions with Brinc for a pilot drone-as-first-responder (DFR) program with two DFR pods. Motorola will cover the first-year cost of $119,998. The recorded vote was 6-0. For residents, the approval authorizes a new response tool; the outcome record does not itself measure response-time changes or show how often the drones will fly.

The staff material listed years two through four at $119,998 each, or $359,994 in total, and described a possible grant with a local match. Those are proposed future terms and funding expectations in the item material, not proof of later appropriations or a grant award. The next useful records are the executed pilot agreement, any grant decision and a subsequent city budget showing how later-year costs would be covered.

City manager contract

After City Manager Steve Williams' annual evaluation, the council approved a 4% pay raise for him and a one-year extension of his contract. The recorded vote was 7-0. The outcome establishes the percentage and extension, while the resulting salary in dollars would require the underlying contract or payroll record. This was a separate public action following the evaluation.

Citizen comments

The posted agenda allotted a Hearing of Residents and public hearings on the fee ordinance and an automobile-repair permit. The retained agenda and indexed outcome entries used for this recap identify the hearings and decisions but do not provide a summary of speakers' concerns, requests, testimony or any council or staff responses. That source limitation cannot establish whether anyone spoke. The official recording is the next record to review for the general comment period and each hearing before attributing particular views or responses.

How to follow the decisions

The Schertz City Council regular meeting was scheduled for Oct. 13, 2026, at 6 p.m. in the Hal Baldwin Municipal Complex Council Chambers, 1400 Schertz Parkway, Building #4. Its posted agenda also listed consent purchases and agreements, an automobile-repair permit hearing, a streets update, a water-rights workshop and a projects report. This account limits its decision descriptions to the three public actions above. Readers can use the numbered official agenda to identify an item and the meeting recording to check its public disposition; the next billing record and executed pilot agreement will show how the two resident-facing decisions are implemented.