Editing West University Place, Texas (section)

===Local government===
[[File:WestUGov.JPG|thumb|City hall]]
The city of West University Place operates under the Council-Manager form of government.  The council contains the mayor and four city council members. The city council, elected on a non-partisan basis, is elected during the first Saturday in the May of every odd-numbered year. Each member serves a term of two years. Members may serve for not more than two successive terms in each office. The council enacts legislation, adopts budgets, establishes policies and appoints the city manager, city secretary, city municipal court judges, prosecutors, and clerks.<ref>"[http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10413 Mayor And Council] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807065004/http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10413 |date=August 7, 2007 }}." ''City of West University Place''. Accessed June 17, 2008.</ref>

The City Council appoints the city manager to carry out the operations of the city.<ref>"[http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10414 City Manager] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807070558/http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10414 |date=August 7, 2007 }}." ''City of West University Place''. Accessed June 17, 2008.</ref> The city secretary maintains ordinances, resolutions, meeting minutes, and legally required publications.<ref>"[http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10415 City Secretary] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070725214813/http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10415 |date=July 25, 2007 }}." ''City of West University Place''. Accessed June 17, 2008.</ref> The city attorney gives the city council general counsel, litigation, contract review, and ordinance review.<ref>"[http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10416 City Attorney] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070919090342/http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10396&sub1menuid=10416 |date=September 19, 2007 }}." ''City of West University Place''. Accessed June 17, 2008.</ref>
West University Place's sewage treatment plant and animal pound are located on a lot in Houston.<ref>"[http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10395&sub1menuid=10410&sub2menuid=10686&sub3menuid=11604#City%20Kennel Animal Control FAQs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070807065842/http://www.westu.org/default.asp?menuid=10395&sub1menuid=10410&sub2menuid=10686&sub3menuid=11604 |date=August 7, 2007 }}," ''City of West University Place''</ref>

The West University Place Fire Department is headquartered at 3800 University Boulevard. Adam Ohler, a firefighter at the department, said in a 2009 ''[[Texas Monthly]]'' article that the pace of work in the department is "a lot slower than in other city stations—certainly slower than the [[Provo, Utah|Provo Fire Department]], where I moved from, or some of [[Houston Fire Department|Houston's units]], whose guys run twenty to thirty calls a day."<ref>"Adam Ohler, 30. Firefighter and Paramedic." ''[[Texas Monthly]]''. Volume 37, Issue 12. December 2009. 40.</ref> The West University Place Police Department is also now headquartered at 3800 University Boulevard following a large two-story addition completed in the summer of 2011. The old police department building was torn down and replaced with a large parking lot. In 2018 Swartz stated that "The police department is famous Houston-wide for enforcing speed limits with a vengeance."<ref name=SwartzTrumpShirt/>

There was a plan to sell the West University maintenance facility, but city council suspended the proposed sale in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|author=Sansbury, Jen|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/bellaire/news/article/West-U-suspends-plans-to-sell-facility-5901537.php|title=West U suspends plans to sell facility|agency=[[West U Examiner]]|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=2014-11-18|access-date=2020-05-04}}</ref>

====Local politics====
In 2001 Kathleen "Kathy" Ballanfant, the publisher and editor of the ''[[Village News and Southwest News]]'', stated that "There's a long tradition in West University of not letting your partisan affiliation influence what happens. If you have committed your volunteer time in Little League and the city and various other things, it doesn't matter what political party you're in."<ref>Fleck, Tim. "GOP Mayoral Pipe Dreams." ''[[Houston Press]]''. May 24, 2001. p. [http://www.houstonpress.com/2001-05-24/news/gop-mayoral-pipe-dreams/ 1]. Retrieved on April 13, 2014.</ref>

The city enforces a ban prohibiting drivers around [[West University Elementary School]] from talking on mobile phones during school zone hours.<ref>"[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5964375.html Most, but not all, drivers comply with West U. phone ban]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. August 25, 2008.</ref> AT&T tried and failed to persuade the city to not apply the ban. The West University City Council voted 5–0 to establish the ban; a person who violates the ban gets a $500 fine.<ref>Casey, Rick. "[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/casey/5703768.html AT&T fails to sway council]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150928180721/http://www.chron.com/news/casey/article/AT-T-fails-to-sway-council-1755584.php Archive]). ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. April 16, 2008. Retrieved on February 1, 2009.</ref> In 2008 the ''[[Houston Press]]'' rated this ban as the "Best New Ordinance".<ref>"[http://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2008/people-and-places/best-new-ordinance-6606272 West University Cell Phone Ban (Around West U. Elementary) ]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20150928125130/http://www.houstonpress.com/best-of/2008/people-and-places/best-new-ordinance-6606272 Archive]). ''[[Houston Press]]''. Retrieved on September 28, 2015.</ref>

In December 2009 the city voted to ban [[texting while driving]].<ref>Mark, Steve. "[http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/12/15/bellaire_examiner/news/be_texting_ban.txt Bellaire and West U both ban texting while driving] {{webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120904062720/http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/12/15/bellaire_examiner/news/be_texting_ban.txt |date=September 4, 2012 }}." ''[[Bellaire Examiner]]''. December 9, 2009. Retrieved on January 25, 2010.</ref> Bans of texting while driving were passed in West University Place and [[Bellaire, Texas|Bellaire]] within hours of one another.<ref>Connelly, Richard. "[http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/12/texting_driving_bellaire.php OMG 4 Rlz, No Texting While Driving In Bellaire Or West U]." ''[[Houston Press]]''. Tuesday December 15, 2009. Retrieved on January 25, 2010.</ref>

In 2019 there was a proposal to reduce the number of hours in which landscapers were allowed to work, as a way of reducing noise, but it failed three to two.<ref>{{cite web|author=Beausoleil, Sophia|url=https://www.click2houston.com/news/noise-ordinance-that-would-have-limited-landscaping-hours-in-west-u-fails-to-pass|title=Noise ordinance that would have limited landscaping hours in West U fails to pass|publisher=[[KPRC-TV]]|date=2019-06-24|access-date=2019-06-25}}</ref>