City of Lowry Crossing Official Website — Compliance Audit
> Last Updated: April 28, 2026
> Relevance: All Lowry Crossing residents, especially those seeking election information, meeting agendas, or city transparency
Overview
The City of Lowry Crossing maintains an official website at lowrycrossingtexas.org, hosted on the Revize platform. As a Type A General Law municipality in Collin County (population ~1.25 million), Lowry Crossing does NOT qualify for the small-city website exemption (which only applies to cities under 5,000 in counties under 25,000). The city is fully subject to all Texas website posting requirements under Government Code §2051.151, the Texas Open Meetings Act (Chapter 551), and the Texas Election Code.
Critical Compliance Issues (Legal Requirements Not Met)
1. Election Information — Severely Deficient
Applicable Law: Texas Government Code §2051.151 requires continuous posting of election-related information. The Texas Election Code requires that by the 21st day before an election, the website must post: each candidate on the ballot, each measure on the ballot, polling place locations, early voting dates/times/locations, and the early voting clerk's contact information. Election results must be accessible within 2 clicks of the homepage.
What the city website shows (as of April 28, 2026):
- Filing period dates for the May 2, 2026 Special Election (January 14 – February 13, 2026)
- Description of the election (two Ward 4 seats + proposition regarding tax rate)
- City Hall address and hours for filing
What is missing from the city website:
- No candidates listed — three candidates have filed (Ollie Simpson, G. Hijazen, Donna Crenshaw-Outland) but none are named on the site
- No polling place locations listed
- No early voting dates, times, or locations
- No early voting clerk contact information
- No sample ballot
- No Proposition A text (what voters are actually voting on)
- No link to VoteTexas.gov or the "Am I Registered?" tool (recommended by Texas Secretary of State)
- No past election results posted (required to remain accessible for 22 months per Election Code)
- The homepage "Elections" quick-link points to a broken URL that returns a 404 error
Status: The election is May 2, 2026 — the required information was due by April 11, 2026 (21st day before election).
2. Meeting Agendas — May Not Be Properly Posted Online
Applicable Law: Texas Government Code §551.056 requires municipalities that maintain a website to concurrently post the meeting notice AND the agenda on the website. As of September 1, 2025 (HB 1522), agendas must be posted at least 3 business days before the meeting date (changed from 72 hours).
What the city website shows: The "Meetings and Agendas" page exists and describes itself as listing upcoming agendas, but the actual document library appears to rely on JavaScript-loaded content that may not be rendering properly for all users.
3. Budget — Outdated
Applicable Law: Texas Local Government Code requires posting annual budgets. As of September 1, 2025, when a budget is on a meeting agenda, the agenda must include a link to the proposed budget on the entity's homepage or a physical copy.
What the city website shows: "Proposed budget for Fiscal year 2025." The city is currently in FY2026 (October 2025 – September 2026). The adopted FY2026 budget is not posted on the website.
Significant Deficiencies
4. City Council Page — Ward 4 Missing
Applicable Law: §2051.151 requires posting "each elected officer of the political subdivision."
What the city website shows: Council members for Wards 1, 2, and 3 are listed with names, titles, and email addresses. Ward 4 is completely absent — Ollie Simpson (appointed Ward 4 in late 2025) is not listed, and the vacant Ward 4 1-year seat is not mentioned.
5. News Section — Completely Empty
The homepage has a prominent "Latest News" section with a "See more news" button, but there is zero news content. The newslist.php page is also completely empty. While not a strict legal requirement, this signals to residents that the website is not actively maintained.
6. Public Notices — Stale
The only public notice posted is a Notice to Bidders from October 2025 for the Bridgefarmer home remodel project. That bid deadline passed over 6 months ago. No current public notices are posted.
7. Tax Rate Information — Shows 2024
The Tax Rate page shows the proposed tax rate for "tax year 2024" of $0.14700 per $100 of value. We are now in tax year 2025. This is particularly relevant because Proposition A on the May 2, 2026 ballot proposes reducing the tax rate.
8. Newsletters — Large Gap
Newsletters show publications from May–September 2024, then a gap from October 2024 through October 2025 (one full year missing), picking up again in November 2025.
What the City Website Does Well
- Meeting minutes are posted and current through March 24, 2026
- City Hall contact information (address, phone, hours) is in the footer on every page
- Calendar shows upcoming meetings
- Council member email addresses are listed
- Fee Schedule reference is current ("Updated April 2026")
- Permit forms are available for download
- Board member lists (BOA, P&Z, Park Advisory) are posted
- Fire/EMS information is available
- Boards page includes members for Board of Adjustments, Planning & Zoning, and Park Advisory Board
Legal Framework (Key Statutes)
- Texas Government Code §2051.151 — Internet posting requirements for political subdivisions (continuous election info, elected officers, contact info)
- Texas Government Code §551.056 — Meeting notices and agendas must be posted on website
- Texas Government Code §551.021 — Meeting records must be posted
- HB 1522 (effective Sept 1, 2025) — Changed agenda posting from 72 hours to 3 business days before meeting date
- Texas Election Code — Candidate/measure/polling place info due 21 days before election; results within 2 clicks of homepage
- Texas Government Code §2051.152 — Exemptions for small cities (does NOT apply to Lowry Crossing because Collin County population exceeds 25,000)
How the Civic Hub Fills These Gaps
The Lowry Crossing Civic Hub (lowrycrossing.info) — an independent, community-built resource — provides much of the information that is missing from or outdated on the city's official website:
- Election information: Full candidate profiles, ballot guide, Proposition A details at lowrycrossing.info/elections
- City Council: Complete listing of all wards including Ward 4 at lowrycrossing.info/city-leaders
- Meeting minutes: Searchable, AI-indexed archive of 128+ meetings at lowrycrossing.info/minutes
- Ordinances: Full searchable code with plain-English translations at lowrycrossing.info/ordinances
- Current news: Filtered, verified local news at lowrycrossing.info/news
The Civic Hub is NOT affiliated with the City of Lowry Crossing government.
New Resident Information — Errors on City Website
The city's "New Resident Information" page at lowrycrossingtexas.org contains some outdated or incorrect information:
- Lists "Lone Star Trash" and "CARDS Recycling" for trash service — residents should verify current provider
- Lists "Greyson Colling Electrical Company" and "Texas-New Mexico Power" — these do NOT serve Lowry Crossing (Oncor is the electric delivery provider)
- Lists "All American Dogs" for animal control — should be verified
For current, verified utility and service provider information, see the Civic Hub's Resident Guide or Who to Call directory.