Jersey Village City Council members decided against billing residents directly for trash and recycling services, discussed the City Campus project funding, and planned to maintain the six-firefighter minimum staffing number at the July 17 budget work session.

The big picture: The fiscal year 2026-27 budget book proposed billing residents directly for trash and recycling services to potentially lower the maintenance and operations tax rate, but council decided against doing so, with residents continuing to be unhappy with previous water bill increases, council member Simon Hughes said.

City Manager Austin Bleess said the city should receive the Harris Central Appraisal District tax rate calculations by July 24. However, meeting documents show a preliminary 3.28% increase in property tax revenue for FY 2026-27 compared to the previous year based on a tax rate of $0.0821.

Looking forward: Jersey Village City Council is slated to meet July 21 at 7 p.m. in the Civic Center Auditorium at 16327 Lakeview Drive, Jersey Village for a regular meeting.

Layne’s Chicken Fingers CEO Garrett Reed told Community Impact the franchise held a soft opening for its new Cypress location on July 17 and its grand opening on July 18.

The details: Located at a former Zaxby's, Reed said the new Cypress location boasts an expansive dining area featuring a country-inspired design with rustic elements. Creating over 30 jobs for Cypress area residents franchise owner Masroor Fatany said the new location is located adjacent to Wendy’s within the HEB parking lot and across from Lifetime Fitness.

On the menu: Known for its crispy fried chicken meals, Reed said Layne’s Chicken Fingers contains marinated tenderloin chicken and is hand breaded to offer a crispy crunchy exterior that reflects traditional fried chicken.

Beginning Dec. 17, Frontier Airlines will offer daily nonstop service from Houston to Puerto Rico, airline officials announced via a July 14 news release. 

The big picture: The new route will run between George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston and Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan. With the latest addition, Frontier Airlines will serve 21 destinations from IAH.

In December 2025, the airline added new routes from IAH to three Latin American countries, as previously reported by Community Impact. 

Quote of note: "We are pleased to grow our service at IAHn ensuring low-cost travel options remain available for Texas consumers as they travel to Puerto Rico," said Josh Flyr, vice president of network and operations design for Frontier Airlines, in a statement. "With premium upgrades paired with our signature affordability, we are thrilled to show travelers why we are America's Low Fare Airline." 

According to officials with the National Weather Service, a tropical depression is working on gaining strength and organization in the Gulf, and Houston area officials are monitoring the storm for potential local impacts. 

What we know: Officials with the Houston-Galveston office of the NWS released advisories for Tropical Depression Two, a weather disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico that has the potential to turn into a tropical storm by July 21. Based on current models from the NWS, the storm could bring tropical storm-level winds and rain to the Greater Houston area over the weekend.

Stay tuned: Officials are urging residents to check all hurricane preparations regardless of additional storm development in the coming days. If the storm continues to gain strength, it will become Tropical Storm Bertha, per the NWS.