[00:00:02]
GOOD EVENING, AND WELCOME TO THE MONDAY, JANUARY 22ND, 2004 WORK SESSION FOR THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL.
UH, THE FIRST ITEM, WE'LL WORK THROUGH THIS EVENING'S PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS. I DON'T BELIEVE WE HAVE ANYONE SIGNED UP THIS EVENING.
[Consider the Consent Agenda]
THE CONSENT AGENDA.UH, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY REQUESTS HAVE ANYTHING PULLED, BUT OBVIOUSLY THERE'S TIME AND A PROCESS, SO IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING MOVING ON TO WRITTEN
[Written Briefings]
BRIEFINGS.UH, ITEM ONE, FEDERAL GRANTS CALENDAR, FISCAL YEAR 24 25.
ITEM TWO, ADVANCED FUNDING AGREEMENT WITH TDO FOR SHILOH ROAD FROM MILLER TO FOREST LANE.
AND ITEM THREE, DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT, TWO 15 SOUTHWOOD.
ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO VERBAL
[4. Discussion of 2024 Council Policies and Procedures]
BRIEFINGS.ITEM FOUR, DISCUSSION OF 2024.
COUNSEL, POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, MR. ENGLAND, IT, YOU MAY WANT TO COME UP HERE AND BE THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT
UH, GOOD EVENING COUNSEL, SINCE THE LAST TIME WE MET, UM, CONCERNING THE Y'ALL'S POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, UM, I ASKED FOR A CALL FOR ANY AMENDMENTS.
I RECEIVED ONE, AND THAT'S THIS FIRST ONE THAT WE'LL GO OVER.
UH, THIS WAS FROM, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS. IT'S ARTICLE ONE, SECTION TWO, SUBSECTION K OF THE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
AND THIS IS A NEW SUBSECTION, UH, FOR EACH REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
THE CITY SHALL PROVIDE A SPANISH LANGUAGE SPEAKING INTERPRETER AND A ASSIGNED LANGUAGE COMMUNICATOR FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED.
UM, AND THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION OF, UM, COUNCILMAN UH WILLIAMS, UM, TO ADD TO Y'ALL'S POLICIES.
AND IT'S UP TO Y'ALL'S DISCUSSION.
OKAY, MR. WILLIAMS, YOU THANK THANK, THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, MR. MR. CITY ATTORNEY FOR, FOR, FOR, FOR BRINGING THIS FORTH.
MY RATIONALE FOR, FOR THIS RECOMMENDATION IS, UH, FOUR WE, 44% OF OUR CITY'S POPULATION IS, IS HISPANIC, SPANISH SPEAKING.
AND WE'VE HAD INSTANCES, NUMEROUS THIS SESSION AND REGULAR MEETINGS WHERE WE'VE HAD NOT JUST WITNESSES, BUT WE'VE HAD, UH, APPLICANTS OR DEVELOPERS, HOWEVER, WHATEVER TERM YOU WANT TO USE, WHO, UH, WERE SPANISH SPEAKING ONLY AND NEEDED TO, WE NEEDED TO ELICIT HELP FROM SOMEONE IN THE AUDIENCE OR SOMEONE WHO, UH, UH, WAS WITH THEM.
THERE WERE, WE HAD SEVERAL IN INSTANCES WHERE NOBODY WAS WITH HIM.
AND, UH, THE MAYOR HAD TO SOLICIT, ASK FOR RATHER, UH, SOMEONE FROM THE AUDIENCE TO COME UP AND HELP THEM.
AND I, I, SO THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY REASON FOR, FOR, UH, FOR, UH, RECOMMENDING, UH, THAT WE, THAT WE ADOPT THIS POLICY.
THE SECOND ONE, UH, WE HAVE, I DON'T HAVE NUMBERS, BUT WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF OUR POPULATION IN OUR CITY WHO ARE, UM, VISUALLY WHO HAVE IMPAIRMENTS AND, UH, BUT WHO LIKE TO WATCH COUNCIL MEETINGS AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND, UH, WE CANNOT COMMUNICATE WITH THEM.
AND I THINK, UH, WITH THE SPIRIT OF MOVING OUR CITY FORWARD, I THINK THOSE ARE TWO ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE, THAT WE ARE ACCESSIBLE AND AVAILABLE TO OUR ENTIRE POPULATIONS, UH, THAT, UH, TO PARTICIPATE IN, IN OUR, IN OUR ACTIVITIES AND THE DECISIONS THAT WE MAKE.
SO THAT'S MY RATIONALE FOR MAKING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I KNOW I'VE GOT TWO FOLKS IN THE QUEUE, BUT I BELIEVE MITCH HAS INFORMATION THAT THAT IS YET TO COME.
SO, MAYOR AND COUNSEL ON THIS, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO.
THE, THE, THE QUESTION FOR US MOVING FORWARD IS JUST MAKING SURE WE UNDERSTAND THE FULL CONTEXT AND, AND I THINK I HAVE IT.
UH, BUT FROM A SPANISH STANDPOINT, UH, WHETHER WE HAVE STAFF AVAILABLE OR SOMEBODY CONTRACT, AS, YOU KNOW, AS YOU GET INTO THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS THAT ARE MORE, AND USUALLY WHEN WE HAVE SOME KIND OF LANGUAGE BARRIER THERE, THE, THE, THE DEVELOPER OR THE, THE, THE SOMEBODY FROM THAT TEAM IS ALREADY ASKING OR PROVIDING SOMEBODY THERE.
UM, BUT WE, WE NEED TO HAVE MORE THAN JUST A STAFF MEMBER WHO SPEAKS SPANISH WHEN IT'S ON THE TECHNICAL TYPES OF THINGS.
'CAUSE THERE, THERE, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE THERE.
UH, THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THIS BETWEEN STAFF MEMBERS, CONTRACT
[00:05:01]
SERVICES.UH, I KNOW COUNCIL'S FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF ONE OF THE, THE, THE PHONE SERVICES THAT WE HAVE, VOYANCE, THE LANGUAGE LINE SERVICE THAT WE HAVE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND OUR OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO USE THAT IN CASUAL CONVERSATIONS.
BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO, UH, BASED ON COUNSEL'S DIRECTION ON THIS, WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, BE ABLE TO COME BACK TO YOU OR PROVIDE YOU WITH WHAT THE SOLUTIONS MAY BE.
I THINK IT'S GONNA BE A COMBINATION OF THINGS, UH, ON THE SIGN LANGUAGE FOR, FOR OUR HEARING IMPAIRED AND HEARING CHALLENGED.
ONE OF THE THINGS, I WAS TALKING TO MIKE BETTS TODAY, AND HE LET ME KNOW, WE DO HAVE CLOSED CAPTIONING AVAILABLE FOR OUR MEETINGS AFTERWARD.
BASICALLY, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON, AND I THINK WE'RE CLOSE TO, IS IT'S BASICALLY LIVE CAPTIONING, WHICH SHOULD ALSO HELP.
'CAUSE WE COULD EVEN HAVE THAT TURNED ON IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO WE NEED TO LOOK AT HOW THOSE TWO, WHETHER IT'S A SIGN LANGUAGE PROFESSIONAL THAT'S TRAINED, THAT CAN DO IT FOR THE ENTIRE MEETING OR NOT.
UH, AND THEN WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, DOES THE, DOES THE LIVE CAPTIONING HELP IN THAT REGARD? I THINK WE CAN GET SOME MORE, UH, FEEDBACK ON THAT, UH, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT ARE GONNA BE THE BEST SOLUTIONS FOR, FOR EACH OF THESE THAT COME UP.
THE WAY THIS IS DRAFTED BY SAYING SIGN LANGUAGE, COMMUNICATE, THAT'S, THAT DOESN'T SAY A PERSON.
SO IF, IF WE HAVE A TECHNOLOGY THAT'S BECOMES AVAILABLE TO US WHERE WE CAN DO THAT LIVE, THEN IT WILL FIT THE POLICY IF THAT, IF WE HAPPEN TO GET THAT IN THE NEXT YEAR.
I CERTAINLY, UH, I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, CITY MANAGER AND, AND MITCH, LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
LOOK AT ALL THE OPTIONS WE HAD.
WE HAVE, UH, NO TECHNOLOGY IS REALLY TRAVELING FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF LIGHT NOW.
AND IF WE CAN DO THIS, USE TECHNOLOGY TO DO IT, THAT THAT'S FINE TOO.
I'M NOT, UH, I'M NOT FOR A, IF A LIVE BODY, IF, IF THAT'S NOT, IF THAT'S NOT, IF WE'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT WILL MORE EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THAT POPULATION, THEN I'M GOOD WITH IT ON EITHER SIDE.
I JUST THANK YOU FOR, LOOK FORWARD TO, TO YOUR, UH, UH, LOOKING INTO IT AND COMING BACK TO US WITH RECOMMENDATION OF, OF HOW WE, HOW YOU THINK WE BEST DO THIS IN TECHNOLOGY.
I'M AWARE OF SEVERAL OTHER CITIES WHO USE THE CLOSED CAPTION, UM, TO, TO, SO I DON'T, AND THAT'S, UH, AND MANY OF OUR, OUR COMMERCIAL CABLE COMPANIES USE CLOSED CAPTION.
NOW, MANY OF OUR NEWS OUTLETS USE, USE CLOSED CAPTION.
SO I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO WHATEVER TOOLS THAT YOU ALL BRING BACK.
BUT MY THING IS, AS I SAY, UH, IT'S A, IT'S A PART OF OUR POPULATION THAT WE, WE, WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD AND WE NEED TO ADDRESS THEM TO ENSURE THAT, THAT, UH, THERE ARE NO LIMITS TO THEIR PARTICIPATING IN THIS PROCESS AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
AND YEAH, COMMUNICATION AND MAKING COMMUNICATION ACCESSIBLE IS, IS AND WILL REMAIN A TOP PRIORITY.
A FEW YEARS AGO, THIS COUNCIL APPROVED US, UH, CLOSED CAPTIONING, ALL OF OUR, ALL OF OUR VIDEOS, OUR MEETINGS AND ALL THAT.
BUT LIKE MITCH POINTED OUT, THAT ISN'T A LIVE REAL TIME, UM, WHICH IS THE NEXT STEP, AND ONE THAT I THINK WE DEFINITELY NEED TO DO.
WE ALSO DID IN THIS LAST YEAR, UM, PUT IN PLACE A POLICY THAT ALL OF OUR TELEVISIONS, UH, PUBLIC FACING TELEVISION SHOULD ALL BE CLOSED, CAPTIONED AND LEFT ON FOR OUR DEAF AND HEART OF HEARING, UM, POPULATION.
ONE THING I WOULD ADD IS I'M PRETTY FAMILIAR WITH THE, UH, THE DEAF POPULATION IN GARLAND, WHICH IS, UM, FAIRLY SMALL, BUT, UM, GROWING.
UM, BUT ALONG WITH SPANISH, OUR SECOND LARGEST SPANISH, I MEAN, AFTER ENGLISH, OUR, OUR THEN THIRD LARGEST ENG UH, LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN THE CITY IS VIETNAMESE.
SO IF WE'RE GOING THIS ROUTE, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE SHOULD, UH, TAKE IT BY AMOUNT OF POPULATION.
WE HAVE ALSO HAD VIETNAMESE SPEAKERS COME IN WHO WERE NOT ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITHOUT HELP FROM A, A FRIEND IN THE AUDIENCE.
AND AT SOME POINT, THIS ALSO TRANSLATES TO DOLLARS AND CENTS.
SO I WOULD, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME, UM, MORE, SOME KIND OF REALISTIC, UM, ESTIMATES FOR THE COST.
THIS, THIS WILL BE, AND FOR, IF WE COULD HAVE ARRANGE SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, UM, EVERY ONE OF OUR AGENDAS SAY THAT YOU CAN ARRANGE, YOU CAN REQUEST AN INTERPRETER, BUT IT'S, I THINK IT'S 48 HOURS, I BELIEVE, UM, THAT'S PRINTED WITH EVERY ONE OF OUR AGENDAS THAT THAT CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE.
[00:10:01]
IF YOU DON'T PLAN AHEADSO WHATEVER WE CAN DO TO MAKE THIS MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR OUR, UM, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING, UM, CITIZENS, OR FOR OUR NON-HEARING CITIZENS, UM, I WOULD CERTAINLY BE SUPPORTIVE OF THAT.
I JUST THINK WE NEED TO TAKE A, A BIG LOOK AT THE WHOLE PICTURE, AND I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT THAT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION QUESTIONS? SO, WE'LL, WE WILL, UH, WELL, WE'LL COME BACK WITH AND PROVIDE COUNSEL WITH OPTIONS ON THIS.
UM, I, SO I GUESS MY QUESTION, I THINK MOST, NOT ALL, BUT MOST OF THE PUBLIC INPUT IS ON TUESDAY NIGHTS AT REGULAR SESSIONS WORK SESSION.
THERE IS AN OPTION AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK SESSION TO HAVE THAT.
IT'S NOT OFTEN THAT WE HAVE THAT ISSUE.
I'M JUST POINTING THESE THINGS OUT.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME OF THE OTHER MEETINGS OUT THERE.
SO AS WE TALK THIS THROUGH, I THINK PRIMARILY THE ISSUE IS THE TUESDAY, NOT REGULAR SESSIONS.
SO FROM A, UH, FROM A, A SOLUTION AND COST BOTH STANDPOINT, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
UH, THAT IS THE BULK OF WHEN YOU HAVE THAT KIND OF INPUT COMING IN FROM COMMUNITY, THAT'S THE BULK OF THE TIME WHEN YOU GET THAT.
AND, AND I AGREE THAT, I MEAN, WE ALREADY ARE TRANSLATING ALL OF OUR, OUR POSTINGS AND EVERYTHING, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, INTO SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE.
I THINK VIETNAMESE SHOULD BE ADDED TO THAT AS WELL.
I MEAN, WE'RE ALREADY, WE, WE'VE ALREADY TAKEN THAT STEP FORWARD THERE.
SO INCLUDING IT IN THIS, I THINK IS, IS JUST SORT OF A NATURAL THING.
UM, I GUESS MY, UH, DO WE AMEND THE POLICY NOW OR DO WE WAIT FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION? I, I, I, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US ARE AGAINST AMENDING THE POLICY, BUT WHAT THAT ENTAILS, I, I DON'T, IT DOESN'T MATTER.
UM, QUITE FRANKLY, IF WE AMEND IT LATER, UM, I THINK IF MITCH IS GONNA COME BACK WITH SOME NUMBERS FOR Y'ALL AND SOME DATA, WE MIGHT JUST GO AHEAD AND JUST AT THAT SAME TIME, JUST AMEND THE POLICY.
UM, YEAH, MITCH COVERED, UM, MOST OF WHAT I WAS GONNA ASK ABOUT, WHICH WAS THE LIVE CAPTIONING.
UM, BECAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE, IF THEY GO BACK AND WATCH IT, THEY CAN SEE THE CLOSED CAPTIONING.
BUT OF COURSE, IF THEY'RE ATTENDING A MEETING AND THEY'RE HEARING IMPAIRED AND THAT'S, HEARING IMPAIRED ISN'T JUST DEAF, RIGHT? IT'S ALSO PEOPLE WHO ARE GETTING ON, GETTING OLDER IN AGE.
OUR, OUR BODIES DON'T WORK AS WELL AS THEY USED TO.
AND THE HEARING'S ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS TO GO.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT, THAT WE HAVE THAT.
AND, UM, YEAH, SO I'M DEFINITELY INTERESTED IN THE, UH, LIVE CAPTIONING.
UM, AS FAR AS THE, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING AN INTERPRETER, IT IS, UH, SOMEWHAT ADDRESSED AS, UH, DEBORAH WAS SAYING.
IT'S ALREADY SOMEWHAT ADDRESSED IN THE TOP OF EACH AGENDA.
MAYBE NOT SPECIFICALLY ENOUGH, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD STILL THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, PER REQUEST, NOT SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE AND WE'RE WAITING ON FOR THE NEED TO ARISE.
I WOULD, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IT STILL AS, AS AN ITEM THAT SOMEONE REQUESTS AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING WE AUTOMATICALLY PROVIDE.
UH, CAN YOU GIMME ANY KIND OF TIMEFRAME ON YOUR END OF WHAT YOU'RE GONNA BE LOOKING AT TO COME BACK? ARE WE TALKING 30 DAYS, 60 DAYS? UM, I WOULD LOVE TO SAY NEXT WORK SESSION, PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE READY FOR THAT, BUT PROBABLY TWO WORK SESSIONS OUT, WE CAN HAVE OPTIONS.
WE WILL PLAN ON THE, WHATEVER THAT MEETING IS, THE SECOND WORK SESSION IN FEBRUARY, WE'LL BRING THIS BACK UPDATE.
THE NEXT ONE IS ARTICLE ONE, SECTION THREE, AND THAT WE DISCUSSED THIS LAST TIME.
UM, THIS WAS BROUGHT UP, UM, I BELIEVE BY, UM, COUNCIL, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HEDRICK.
UM, THE, THE ORDER OF EVENTS AT WORK SESSIONS WAS A LITTLE OUT OF ORDER, AND SO I WENT BACK THROUGH AND JUST MADE, UM, SOME CHANGES WITH THAT.
DIDN'T CHANGE ANYTHING SUBSTANTIVELY, UM, OTHER THAN TO ADD PUBLIC COMMENT.
I ADDED PUBLIC COMMENT IN THERE.
'CAUSE WE DIDN'T USE TO HAVE THAT WITH WORK SESSION, BUT WE DO NOW.
UM, SO I ADDED THAT AND I PUT IT BACK IN THE CORRECT ORDER.
UM, Y'ALL AGREED TO THAT LAST TIME.
I'M ASSUMING LESSON BASE CHANGED THEIR MIND.
UM, THE NEXT ONE Y'ALL ALSO AGREED TO, AND THIS IS THE, UM, UM, UM, ADDING SECTION 14 TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE PUBLIC'S RIGHT TO ATTEND AND PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC MEETINGS, BUT ALSO TO, UM, PUT ON PAPER WHAT WE ALREADY DO, DESCRIBE WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEBODY DISRUPTS A PUBLIC MEETING.
[00:15:01]
AND THAT'S BASICALLY, THEY'LL BE ASKED TO SIT DOWN AND IF THERE'S, IF THEY CONTINUE TO DISRUPT, THEY CAN BE ASKED TO LEAVE.AND Y'ALL GAVE ME THE CONSENSUS ON THAT LAST TIME AS WELL.
AND THEN THE FINAL ONE YOU'LL GIVE CONSENSUS ON AS WELL IS THE, UM, STANDING OP, UH, STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES FOR AND HOUSEKEEPING RULES FOR ASSISTANCE TO NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS FOR SPECIAL EVENTS.
AND, UM, UM, THE MA THE BIG CHANGE IN THAT WAS REMOVING, UM, ADDING AND REMOVING CERTAIN OPERATIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES, AND ALSO INCLUDING THEIR APPROVAL OF EVENTS AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, AND SO, UM, UM, I'M ASSUMING THOSE THREE THAT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY APPROVED, THEY REMAIN.
AND SO THE ONLY ONE THAT ARE GONNA BE OUTSTANDING AT THIS POINT WILL BE THE, UM, INTERPRETER.
YES, THAT'S ALL I HAVE, MAYOR.
[5. Audit Committee Meeting Report]
MOVING ON TO ITEM FIVE, AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING REPORT.DEPUTY MAYOR PRO TIM MOORE, YOU WANNA START US OFF AS THE CHAIR OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE? THANK YOU, MR. MAYOR.
AND COUNSEL, UH, THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MET ON DECEMBER THE 20, THE 19TH, 2023.
AND THERE WERE THREE ITEMS THAT WE DISCUSSED THAT WE WANNA BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION TONIGHT FOR INFORMATION AS WELL AS ACTION.
THOSE ITEMS WERE THE BOND PROGRAM AUDIT ATRIUM, FACILITY RENTAL PROGRAM AUDIT, AND THE AUDIT CONTRACT THAT WE HAVE WITH WEAVER.
AND THEY DID A PRESENTATION FOR US AT THAT MEETING.
SO, WITH THAT, MR. MAYOR, I'M GONNA TURN OUR MEETING OVER TO OUR AUDIT DIRECTOR, MR. JETSON JOHNSON.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCIL, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO OVER THE AUDIT COMMITTEE REPORTS WITH YOU.
UH, AS THE CHAIRMAN INDICATED, WE, WE COVERED THREE DIFFERENT ITEMS. THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE COVERED WAS THE OR EXTERNAL AUDITOR PRESENTATION.
THIS WAS REQUESTED BY COUNCILMAN UH WILLIAMS. BASICALLY, WE WANTED TO HAVE THEM COME OVER AND GO OVER THE AUDIT PROCESS.
SO, UH, OUR PARTNER WAS THERE, THE AUDIT MANAGER WAS THERE FROM WEAVER.
THEY PRETTY MUCH COVERED HOW THEY UTILIZE THIS, THE RISK-BASED APPROACH TO CONDUCT THEIR FINANCIAL STATEMENT AUDIT, HOW THEIR MATERIALITY IS CALCULATED, WHAT KIND OF TEST OF CONTROLS THAT THEY DO PERFORM, AND THE DATA ANALYTICS THAT THEY PERFORM, AND ALSO HOW THEY USE THE INTERNAL AUDIT IN DEPARTMENT.
IN PERFORMING SOME OF THESE TESTS.
THEY ALSO COVERED SOME OF THE COMMUNICATION REQUIREMENTS PER GOVERNMENT STANDARDS AND, UH,
SO OVERALL, THEY WENT OVER THE PROCESS ITSELF, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT WAS THE REQUIREMENT AND COMMITTEE DID NOT HAVE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS.
SO THAT, THAT'S THE FIRST ITEM THAT WE COVERED.
THE SECOND ITEM THAT WE COVERED WAS THE ATRIUM FACILITY RENTAL PROGRAM.
THIS AUDIT WAS REQUESTED BY THE DEPUTY MAYOR, UH, PRO MOORE CHAIRMAN OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
THE FIRST ONE WAS TO VERIFY THAT THE RENTAL FEES ARE CHARGED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS THAT ARE, UH, STATED IN THE APPROVED FEE SCHEDULE.
SECONDLY, WE WANTED TO SEE IF THE APPROVED CARRIERS WERE COMPLYING WITH THE AGREED UPON PROCEDURES AND CONDITIONS.
LASTLY, WE WANTED TO VERIFY IF THE INTERNAL CONTROLS OVER THE COLLECTION AND DEPOSIT PROCESS WAS WORKING AS INTENDED.
OVERALL, UH, GOOD NEWS, UH, THE INTERNAL CONTROLS WERE WORKING.
THEY WERE ASSISTING FEES ACCURATELY AND COMPLETELY.
UM, SO KUDOS TO, UH, TO THE ATRIUM STAFF.
I DO WANNA APPRECIATE AMY AND KELVIN, UH, FOR, FOR ALL THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE DONE WITH US.
UM, THEY, THEY WERE WONDERFUL AUDIT CLIENTS.
UM, THEY PROVIDED, UH, ALL THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEEDED IN A TIMELY MANNER.
SO VERY MUCH APPRECIATE THEIR COOPERATION DURING THIS AUDIT.
AS PART OF THE AUDIT, WE ACTUALLY DID A SURVEY OF SEVEN, UM, MUNICIPALLY OWNED AND AFFILIATED VENUES IN NORTH TEXAS.
UM, BASICALLY, AND TO, BASED ON THAT SURVEY, UH, WE IDENTIFIED THAT OUR ATRIUM IS WAY MORE AFFORDABLE FROM A RENTAL FEE FACILITIES, WHICH IS A VERY GOOD NEWS.
UM, SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT ONE OF THE ITEMS, UM, REVEALED.
UM, WE ALSO, UH, ASKED SOME ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS.
UM, UH, BASED ON THE SURVEY, UM, MAJORITY OF THESE, UH, OTHER FACILITIES, THEY DID NOT CHARGE A CATERING FEES, UH, TO USE THE FACILITY.
SO THAT WAS ONE THING THAT CAME UP.
THERE WAS ONE, UH, ONE CITY, WHICH DID, BUT THEIR COST WAS COMPARED TO OURS WAS MINIMAL.
UM, SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS, UM, THAT WE IDENTIFIED.
AND NONE OF THE OTHER FACILITIES HAD AN APPROVED CATER LIST, WHICH WE DO.
UM, THERE ARE PROS AND CONS, AND SO THERE ARE MANY REASONS WHY WE HAVE A DIFFERENT
[00:20:01]
SET UP COMPARED TO SOME OF THE OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.UH, AND MITCH WENT OVER THOSE DETAILS AS, AS WE MET DURING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
THERE'S HISTORY BEHIND HOW WE CAME UP WITH THIS FEE STRUCTURE AND EVERYTHING.
BUT I BELIEVE THE COMMITTEE, UH, AFTER LISTENING TO EVERYTHING, UH, AGREED THAT, UH, WE MAY BENEFIT FROM DOING FURTHER REVIEW OF THE FEE STRUCTURE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
AND AMY AND HER TEAM, OF COURSE, WITH THE BLESSING OF MITCH AGREED, UM, THAT THEY WILL BRING TO THE COUNCIL.
AND THEY WANTED TO FURTHER, UH, GET YOU ALL'S INPUTS, UM, REGARDING THE PURPOSE STATEMENT, UH, FOR THE USAGE OF ATRIUM.
UM, THEN THEY'RE GONNA COME UP WITH THE PRICING STRATEGY, UH, AND, UH, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THAT STUFF.
MITCH, DO YOU WANNA ADD SOMETHING ELSE? SURE.
UM, MAYOR COUNSEL IS, AS, AS YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY WITH FEE STRUCTURES, WE BRING THOSE TO YOU AT AN OPERATING BUDGET TIME.
UH, WE DO REVIEW THOSE ON A REGULAR BASIS AS WE GO THROUGH.
AND AS J HAS SAID, WE, WE, WE DIDN'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBERS, BUT WE KNOW WE'RE AT THE LOW END OF THE MARKET WHEN IT COMES TO FEES.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID LOOK AT AS WELL, THE, THE, WE DO CHARGE A, AN EXTRA FEE FOR CATERERS WHO ARE NOT ON THE APPROVED CATERERS LIST.
UM, THERE WAS MUCH DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AT THE COMMITTEE LEVEL, BUT TYPICALLY WE DO THAT, YOU KNOW, THE REPUTATION OF THE ATRIUM IN THE CITY IS ON DISPLAY WHEN YOU DON'T HA WHEN YOU HAVE A NEW CATERER THAT MAYBE HASN'T DONE IT.
AND OUR TEAM OVER THE YEARS HAS DEALT WITH SOME WHO JUST THOUGHT THEY WOULD BE EXPERIENCED AND HANDLE A LARGER EVENT WHEN THEY DON'T.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT CHANGING IT MAYBE TO A FLAT FEE, BUT JUST KNOW AS WELL A NEW CATERER CAN GET ONTO THE APPROVED CATERER.
TYPICALLY, IT'S ONE TIME THEY GO THROUGH, THEY SHOW THAT THEY CAN DO IT, THEY CAN HANDLE THE VOLUME, THEY CAN HANDLE THE EVENT ITSELF.
AND WE DO WANT MULTIPLE TYPES OF CATERERS ON THERE FOR ALL THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF FOODS.
WE HAVE A VERY, NOT ONLY DIVERSE COMMUNITY, BUT OTHERS FROM OUTSIDE OUR COMMUNITY THAT, THAT RENT OUR SPACE.
SO WE LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE THINGS AS WE GO THROUGH.
I KNOW AMY AND KELVIN AND OF COURSE TIFFANY NOW, AND THE WHOLE TEAM.
THEY LOOK AT THAT ON THE REGULAR BASIS ON WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS? WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS? YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE OUR FEES WITHIN THE MARKET? WE KNOW WE'RE AT THE LOWER END.
CITY FACILITIES AREN'T ALL EXACTLY THE SAME, AND JUDGE TEAM KNOWS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT.
WE CITIES HAVE FACILITIES, BUT THEY DON'T ALWAYS DO THE EXACT SAME TYPE OF THING.
BUT THAT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS WE LOOK AT AS A MANAGEMENT TEAM.
WHAT'S THE BEST WAY, UH, TO PROVIDE, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE WE, WE RENT SPACE AND THEN THEY'RE ALLOWED TO BRING IN A CATERER THAT HANDLES WHATEVER THAT EVENT IS.
AND WE'VE GOT, I DON'T REMEMBER, JED 20, 21, 21, UH, APPROVED CATERERS ON THE LIST RIGHT NOW.
AND OCCASIONALLY WE'LL HAVE SOMEBODY ELSE COME IN THAT'S NOT ON THE LIST.
THEY TYPICALLY DO IT ONE TIME, SHOW THEY CAN DO IT, AND THEN THEY NO LONGER HAVE THAT EXTRA FEE.
THERE ARE SOME AGENCIES, UH, SOME LOCATIONS OUT IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT AREN'T EXACTLY CITY FACILITIES THAT DO THE SAME TYPE OF THING.
SO ANYWAY, IT WAS A, IT WAS A LOT LONGER DISCUSSION THAT THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING HERE.
UH, BUT A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION THAT JUDGE'S TEAM HAS HELPED US WITH, UH, CERTAIN LITTLE PROCEDURAL THINGS AND OTHER THINGS THAT WE CAN ALWAYS DO A LITTLE BIT BETTER ON DOCUMENTATION AND SOME OTHER THINGS.
UH, BUT THEN IT REALLY GOT US INTO THE, YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE CHARGE? WHAT DO WE DO? AND HOW, HOW DO WE FIND THAT BALANCE? A LOT OF OUR EVENTS ARE, ARE, UM, CITY TYPE SPONSORED EVENTS.
WE WE'RE DO, WE'RE HOSTING EVENTS OR MEETINGS THERE OURSELVES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF NON-PROFITS AS YOU KNOW, THAT USE THOSE.
SO WE TRY TO FIND THAT BALANCE IN WHAT OUR FEES ARE.
UM, MITCH SUMMARIZED IT VERY WELL.
AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ON, UH, HOW WE CAN DO A BETTER JOB WHEN IT COMES TO, UH, PUBLICIZING HOW TO BECOME MM-HMM.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO GO OVER OUR POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
SOMETIMES WE MAKE EXCEPTIONS AND WHAT'S THE AUTHORITY LEVEL WHEN WE MAKE EXCEPTIONS, STUFF LIKE THAT, CANCEL REFUNDS, UM, IN THE POLICY PERSPECTIVE.
AND LIKE I SAID, MITCH, AMY AND THE ENTIRE TEAM WAS VERY COOPERATIVE, AND THEY WILL BE WORKING THIS.
AND WE'LL BRING BACK TO THE, TO THE, TO THE FULL COUNCIL AS PART OF THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET PROCESS.
THIS SUMMER, IT'LL BE COMING BACK.
SO THAT, THAT WAS THE SUMMARY OF THAT AUDIT.
ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK ONE SECOND.
UM, SO I'VE ACTUALLY HAD SOME ONE RESTAURATEUR COMPLAINT ABOUT NOT BEING ABLE TO GET ON THE CATERING
[00:25:01]
LIST.SO, UM, WHAT'S HAS THAT PROCESS CHANGED SINCE DIRECTORS HAVE CHANGED OR WHAT? UM, WITHOUT, YOU KNOW, UM, YEAH, GOING BACK FURTHER, UH, COULD HAVE BEEN SOME DIFFERENT PROCESSES, BUT THAT'S HOW WE DO IT NOW.
AND AS JED JUST TALKED ABOUT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IS TO MAKE SURE FOLKS KNOW THAT, MAKE SURE CATERERS OR RESTAURANTS OR WHOEVER KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE, WHAT THE PROCESS IS TO GO THROUGH THAT TO GET ON THE APPROVED CATERERS LIST.
SO, UH, I ANTICIPATE THERE'LL BE, UH, MORE INFORMATION AND THEN MORE DISCUSSIONS AS, AS CATERERS RESTAURANTS AND THOSE THAT ARE INTERESTED.
AND MAYBE, MAYBE YEARS IN THE PAST THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO DO IT, BUT THERE IS AN OPTION TO GET THERE.
SO, AND, AND WE DO STRUGGLE WITH HOW FAR RIGHT, HOW MANY 21 RIGHT NOW.
YOU KNOW, COULD WE, DO WE NEED SOME ADDITIONAL, UH, ESPECIALLY TYPES OF FOOD THAT ARE OUT THERE THAT ARE, UH, CULTURAL, UNIQUE TO DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS? ABSOLUTELY.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT NUMBER IS.
YOU KNOW, IS A HUNDRED TOO MANY IS 75, TOO MANY IS 50.
I'M NOT SAYING WE GET TO THAT POINT.
THERE'S A POINT OUT THERE, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
SO I THINK RIGHT NOW IT'S ALL ABOUT COMMUNICATION.
REGARDLESS OF WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IN YEARS PAST.
UH, I THINK WE'RE THERE AND, AND HAVE A PRETTY GOOD PROCESS IN PLACE NOW.
IT'S JUST GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT.
UM, AND JUST WITH COMMUNICATION, UH, WHENEVER WE SETTLE INTO, HOWEVER THIS IS GONNA BE PRESENTED AND EVERYTHING, IF WE CAN PLEASE HAVE THAT ON OUR CITY WEBSITE WHERE PEOPLE CAN USE A SEARCH TERM AND OR EASILY FIND IT.
I'VE GOTTEN THE SAME KIND OF, UM, COMMENTS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER LUCK HAS GOTTEN.
AND THEY HAVE SEARCHED OUR WEBSITE AND THEY'RE, THEY'VE JUST THROWN UP THEIR HANDS IN DESPAIR.
SO IF, IF WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE IT ENDS UP THERE AND IT'S FINDABLE, THAT WOULD BE AWESOME.
UH, THE NEXT AUDIT THAT WE COVERED WAS THE BOND PROGRAM AUDIT.
UH, AS MANY OF YOU REMEMBER, WE DID AN AUDIT BACK ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO.
DURING THAT TIME, UM, WE FOUND, IDENTIFIED SOME SIGNIFICANT, UM, AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT, UM, ESPECIALLY IN THE AREAS OF PROGRAM MONITORING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITY PROCESSES, SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATIONS FOR PAY APPLICATIONS.
AT THAT POINT, WE IDENTIFIED THAT SOME OF THOSE PAYMENTS DID NOT HAVE THE SUPPORTING EVIDENCE.
WE MADE SOME, UM, PAYMENTS, DUPLICATE PAYMENTS MADE, SALES TAX PAYMENTS WHEN WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO.
UM, SO, UH, COUNCIL ASKED ME TO GO BACK AND DO ANOTHER AUDIT, UH, WITHIN, WITHIN THE NEXT FEW YEARS THAT THAT'S WHY WE DID THE AUDIT.
WE HAD THREE OBJECTIVES, OBVIOUSLY.
WE WANTED TO VERIFY THE EFFECTIVENESS OF PROJECT MONITORING.
NUMBER TWO WAS TO ENSURE THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRIOR RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, NUMBER THREE, UH, WANTED TO SEE IF THE PROGRAM MANAGER IS PERFORMING AND BEING COMPENSATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AGREED UPON PROCEDURES.
HAPPY TO REPORT, UM, SINCE WE ISSUE THAT AUDIT AND COMPARED TO TODAY'S A BLACK AND WHITE, COMPLETELY OPPOSITE KUDOS TO CRYSTAL, UH, PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, UH, AND MAINLY CITY ADMINISTRATION.
I DO REMEMBER RIGHT AFTER THE AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING TWO YEARS AGO, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE CALLED A MEETING AND CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WAS VERY INVOLVED.
SO HAPPY TO REPORT THAT, UH, SINCE THE ISSUANCE OF THIS, THAT REPORT, UM, THEY HAVE WENT OVER BACKWARDS AND PROCESSES THAT OUTLINED THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF CONSTRUCTION MANAGERS, ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, PROGRAM MANAGERS, PROJECT MANAGERS, AND OFFICE OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT, THEY ALL WERE DEVELOPED.
UM, SO IT WAS A THOROUGH PROCESS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT PAY APPLICATION CHECKLIST FOR ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTATION WAS CREATED.
AND THEY WERE USING THAT AS WE CHECKED, UH, AS WE DID THE AUDIT.
THIS TIME, TRACKING SPREADSHEETS WERE DEVELOPED AS IF ITEMS WERE MISSING.
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE WERE DOCUMENTING THAT AND WAS COMMUNICATING BACK TO THE THIRD PARTIES ALSO.
UH, WE WANTED TO ENSURE THAT NONE OF OUR VENDORS WERE DELINQUENT IN PAYING THE CITY ITSELF.
AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE IDENTIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL AUDIT.
LIKE I SAID, HAPPY TO REPORT THAT OUR PROJECT, UH, MONITORING IS VERY EFFECTIVE.
A LOT OF CREDITS TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE DID IDENTIFY THAT THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE IS MONITORING, UH, COMPLIANCE OF OUR PROJECT MANAGER, UM, AND MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE IN COMPLIANCE.
WE, THEY'RE DOING A GREAT JOB.
AND THEY ALSO ENSURE THAT, UH, WE COMPENSATE THEM FOR THE WORK THAT THEY HAVE BEEN DOING.
THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE ALSO ENSURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER, UH, THEY, THE PUBLIC FACING WEBSITE
[00:30:01]
AND THE LICENSES THAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO PROVIDE TO THE CITY WAS BEING PROVIDED.SO OVERALL, IT WAS A VERY POSITIVE OUTCOME AFTER DOING THIS AUDIT.
SO I'M EXTREMELY HAPPY TO REPORT THAT, UM, REPORT BACK TO YOU MAYOR.
AND SO THAT, THOSE ARE THE THREE ITEMS WE COVERED DURING THE AUDIT COMMITTEE.
UM, SO I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
I HAVE NOBODY IN THE, NOBODY IN THE QUEUE.
CHAIRMAN MOORE, YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO ADD? YOU'RE ALREADY ON.
I THINK THAT, UM, THE ONLY, WELL, BEING THE CHAIR OF THE COMMITTEE, OF COURSE,
AND I THINK THAT THAT'S THE GREATEST THING THAT CAN HAPPEN THERE.
I DO AGREE THOUGH THAT, UH, I THINK THAT OUR AUDIT COMMITTEE AND OUR AUDIT DEPARTMENT DO A WONDERFUL, A GREAT JOB IN THE MANNER BY WHICH THEY GO ABOUT, UH, DEALING WITH THESE VERY DELICATE SITUATIONS.
AND THEY JUST WANT TO CONTINUE TO GIVE, UH, JED KUDOS IN THE MANNER BY WHICH HE AND HIS DEPARTMENT GO ABOUT DOING THAT.
SO, THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, MS. MAYOR.
[6. Discussion of the 2024 Proposed Capital Improvement Program]
ITEM SIX, DISCUSSION OF 2024, PROPOSED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, NOT ME.SO WE HAD, UH, CIP SATURDAY AND, UH, GREAT PRESENTATIONS AND COUNSEL.
I BELIEVE ALL OF THE QUESTIONS FOLLOW UPS THAT WERE GENERATED ON SATURDAY HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED TO EVERYONE.
UM, AND I TALKED TO ALLISON EARLIER.
I DON'T BELIEVE ANYTHING ELSE HAS BEEN GENERATED SINCE SATURDAY.
UH, SO, UH, I DON'T KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S STILL TIME PENDING TO, TO LOOK OVER THE ANSWERS THAT HAVE COME BACK.
UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS THAT HAVE COME UP SINCE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO PUT ON THE TABLE TONIGHT? COUNCILOR REMORSE, THIS ISN'T REALLY A QUESTION THAT'S COME UP SINCE, BUT HAVING RECEIVED NOW THE STORM WATER MANAGEMENT, UH, LOCATION MAP FOR THE DUCK CREEK EROSION CONTROL PROJECT, THE, THE HOME THAT IS, UM, IN MY DISTRICT UP CLOSE TO CENTRAL PARK IS NOT ON THIS MAP OF POTENTIAL AREAS THAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S POSSIBLE TO ADD THAT THESE ARE THINGS I HAVE, I HAVE REPORTED, UM, THE, THERE'S A HOME THERE THAT'S NOT ELIGIBLE, UH, LIKE FOR THE, UM, FLOOD PROJECT, THE, UH, YOU KNOW, PURCHASING A HOME BECAUSE THEY AREN'T HAVING FLOOD WATERS ENTER THEIR HOME.
THEY'RE JUST GRADUALLY GETTING CLOSER AND CLOSER TO THE CREEK BANK.
SO I WOULD JUST LIKE TO, TO REQUEST IF WE CAN LOOK AT ADDING A ANOTHER AREA TO THIS, UM, PLAN.
I'M GOING TO SAY YES, AND I'M OKAY PULLING CRYSTAL UP TO ASSIST ON FIELDING THIS.
SHE MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE.
SO IT ACTUALLY DEPENDS ON WHETHER OR NOT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, UM, PUBLIC PROPERTY OR PRIVATE PROPERTY.
IF IT'S PRIVATE PROPERTY AND SOMETIMES THE HOMEOWNER OWNS TO THE CENTER LINE OF THE CREEK OR MAYBE TO THE, EVEN TO THE OTHER SIDE OF THE CREEK, THEN THAT PROPERTY WOULD ACTUALLY QUALIFY AS PART OF THE EROSION PROTECTION PARTICIPATION PROGRAM.
BUT NOT AS PART OF THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW.
'CAUSE THIS IS SPECIFICALLY FOR PUBLIC, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO THAT DOES NOT APPLY FOR, SO FAR.
I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING THAT DOES APPLY TO IT, EVEN THOUGH THEY ARE EDGING EVER CLOSER TO THE CREEK.
SO IF IT DOESN'T APPLY TO THIS, THEN THAT ANSWERS MY QUESTION.
UH, ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION THIS EVENING? UH, OBVIOUSLY AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SCREEN, WE HAVE, UH, SOME, UH, SOME ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.
UH, TOMORROW NIGHT, WE'LL HAVE A PUBLIC HEARING.
UH, CURRENTLY WE HAVE A SPECIAL MEETING ON THE CALENDAR FOR TUESDAY THE 30TH.
UM, THE QUESTION TONIGHT IS, UH, DO WE SEE ANY NEED FOR THAT MEETING? UM, I, I THINK WITH THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT HAVE BEEN GENERATED
[00:35:01]
THUS FAR, I DON'T SEE THAT.AND IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND CLEAR THE CALENDAR ON THAT, I THINK IT'S, YEAH.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND CLEAR THE JANUARY 30TH MEETING.
UH, THEN, UH, WE HAVE THIS WILL COME BACK TO US ON FEBRUARY 5TH AT THE WORK SESSION, AND THEN BE SCHEDULED FOR ADOPTION ON FEBRUARY 6TH.
OTHERWISE, UH, AND, AND AGAIN, I KNOW EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL HAVE TIME TO, TO ABSORB THE ANSWERS THAT, THAT WE'VE RECEIVED.
UH, WE'LL ALSO STILL HAVE TIME TO GENERATE FURTHER QUESTIONS, UH, FOR ANSWERS.
UH, AND WITH THAT WE WILL MOVE FOR GO, WE WILL MOVE FORWARD TOMORROW FOR A PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE OUR NEXT STEP.
IF I MAY SAY REAL QUICK, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO RECEIVE THOSE VIA EMAIL AND IF YOU, UM, HAVE ANY CHANGES YOU ANTICIPATE PROPOSING ON FEBRUARY 5TH, IF YOU, IF POSSIBLE, PROVIDE THOSE TO STAFF IN ADVANCE SO WE CAN COME PREPARED WITH RECOMMENDATIONS OF HOW THEY MIGHT BE FUNDED OR THE IMPACT OF THAT REQUEST, IF THERE IS ONE OUT THERE.
[7. Charter Review Council Discussion]
ON NOW TO ITEM SEVEN, UH, CHARTER REVIEW, COUNCIL DISCUSSION AND COUNCIL, YOU'VE ALSO, UH, IN, YOU KNOW, IN OUR PACKET, UH, AT OUR LAST WORK SESSION, WE HAD, UH, THE PRESENTATION ON THE FINDINGS OR RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE.UH, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DO TONIGHT IS, IS SORT OF HAVE A FINAL READING, IF YOU WILL, OF, OF THE, UH, THE, I BELIEVE 16 OR SO ITEMS THAT WERE PUT FORTH.
UM, AND SORT OF A, A LAST CHANCE, YOU KNOW, SPEAK NOW FOREVER, HOLD YOUR PEACE, KIND OF A, A DECISION.
UM, AND THEN AT THE END OF GOING THROUGH THESE, IF THERE, I, I KNOW THERE'S AT LEAST ONE ADDITIONAL ITEM OR AMENDMENT.
UM, AND THEN IF THERE'S ANY OTHERS, WE WILL ADDRESS THEM THEN.
SO, UH, I'M SORRY, THE, OH, MAYOR, THAT'S, I MEAN, THAT WORKS FOR US.
WE HAD PUT TOGETHER A, A SLIDESHOW PRESENTATION THAT IS ALSO, AT LEAST IN THE BACKUP AND ON THE INTERNET WEBSITE.
IT'S GOT A LITTLE PROCEDURE THAT WE'VE ALREADY BEEN THROUGH MULTIPLE TIMES, BUT THEN JUST GOES THROUGH EACH OF THE SECTIONS AS WELL, SO WE CAN FOLLOW ALONG WITH Y'ALL AS YOU DISCUSS.
AND THEN THE IDEA WOULD BE WE GET DIRECTION FROM COUNSEL AS TO WHICH ONES YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED TO CALL A VOTE ON.
AND THEN BASED ON THAT, WE WILL DRAFT THAT ORDINANCE TO COME BACK AT THE FIRST MEETING IN FEBRUARY WHEN WE ALSO CALLED THE GENERAL ELECTION FOR THE COUNCIL POSITIONS.
AND WE DO HAVE CHAIRMAN ROBERTS WITH US AGAIN THIS EVENING.
SO, UH, I'M JUST GONNA GO THROUGH THESE JUST AGAIN, JUST SORT OF AS A FINAL READING, READ THROUGH, UM, COUNCIL, UH, THE ITEM ONE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TERM LENGTH, UH, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED NO CHANGE.
COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS. THANK YOU MAYOR.
MY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT WE LET THE, UH, VOTERS DECIDE ON THIS ONE, UH, THE JURORS LET THEM, LET THEM MAKE THE CALL ON THIS.
I THINK THIS IS, THIS IS IMPORTANT AND, UH, I WOULD WANT TO HEAR FROM, FROM OUR, OUR VOTERS ON THIS ONE.
I THINK IT'S THAT, THAT IMPORTANT.
UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS' POINT, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR SOME OF THE LEGAL IMPLICATIONS OF CHANGING FROM A TWO TO THREE YEAR TERM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THOSE ARE PRETTY, UH, PRETTY CONSTRICTIVE AND, AND WOULD CHANGE QUITE A BIT OF, OF HOW WE DO THINGS.
SO DO YOU GUYS HAVE THAT INFORMATION READILY AVAILABLE? WELL, IF YOU'RE, I MEAN, JUST GENERALLY SPEAKING, UH, WE WOULD'VE TO COME UP WITH A TRANSITION PLAN THAT WE, WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE TO TRANSITION FROM TWO YEARS TO THREE YEARS.
UH, THE LARGEST DIFFERENCE THOUGH IS THAT THE FULFILLING OF VACANCIES, IF YOU GO TO A TERM LONGER THAN TWO YEARS, THEY MUST BE DONE THROUGH ELECTION, NOT, NOT APPOINTED.
THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE MAIN DIFFERENCE THERE.
I THOUGHT THERE WERE SOME OTHER, OTHER, UH, IMPLICATIONS IN SWITCHING FROM A TWO TO THREE.
UH, OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, THAT'S THE MAIN ONE.
I, IF YOU'VE GOT A SPECIFIC ONE, I'M HAPPY TO, I, I, I DON'T, I JUST, WASN'T THERE A, A POTENTIAL CONFLICT WITH THE REAPPORTIONMENT? WELL, IT, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY A LEGAL PROHIBITION.
IT WOULD JUST CAUSE MORE PRACTICAL ISSUES THAN ANYTHING ELSE.
IS THAT UNDER THE, UNDER THE NEW STATE REAPPORTIONMENT WHERE WE WOULD HAVE TO REDRAW THE DISTRICT BOUNDARIES EVERY 10
[00:40:01]
YEARS, THAT'S GONNA THROW OFF THE PRAC, PRACTICALLY SPEAKING, THE THREE YEAR CYCLE EVERY TIME IT COMES UP.UH, WITH RESPECT TO COUNCILMAN WILLIAMS ON THIS, I THINK THAT THE VOTERS ALREADY HAVE A SAY, AND IT'S THE ELECTION WHERE THEY CAN VOTE SOMEONE EVERY TWO YEARS IF THEY WISH AND REELECT THEM.
SO I DON'T SEE A REASON TO NECESSITATE A CHANGE WHEN THE VOTERS ALREADY HAVE A, A METHOD OF ENACTING THIS THROUGH, THROUGH THEIR VOTE FOR THE PERSON DIRECTLY RATHER THAN CHANGING OUR CHARTER.
AND COUNCILLOR WILLIAMS. THEN WE'LL WRAP THIS ONE UP.
NOT TO DEBATE THIS, BUT I REMEMBER, AND SO DOES, I ILLUSTRATES CHAIRMAN SITTING THERE AT ONE TIME.
IT WAS THREE YEARS IN GARLAND.
AND, UH, UH, THAT CHANGE WAS, WAS, WAS MADE.
WE DIDN'T HAVE ARMAGEDDON, THINGS DIDN'T COLLAPSE.
WELL, ACTUALLY WE DID HAVE SOME ISSUES WITH IT.
WELL, WE HAD SOME ISSUES, BUT THE ISSUES WERE NOT, WERE NOT CAUSED BY THE ITEM.
THE ISSUES WERE CAUSED BY SOME THINGS THAT WE'D RATHER NOT DISCUSS HERE TONIGHT.
UH, BUT I REMEMBER THOSE, SOME OF THOSE, BUT IT WAS REVERTED BACK, UH, THE FOLLOWING CHARTER.
SO, SO IT WAS, BUT MY POINT ON THIS IS, AND LISTENING AT OUR ATTORNEY THERE, AND, AND, AND I CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT COUNCILMAN, UM, HENDRICK IS, IS SAYING, BUT WITH, WITH THE MODIFICATIONS, WE DON'T KNOW HOW IT'S GONNA GO, BUT WITH THE MODIFICATIONS.
BUT I THINK WHEN YOU START TALKING ABOUT THINGS LIKE, UH, TERM LIMITS AND THINGS LIKE THAT ARE CHANGES.
IF, IF, IF THE VOTERS SAY NO, THEN THAT'S IF THE END OF THE DEAL.
BUT, BUT, UH, I'VE GOTTEN, I'VE RECEIVED SOME SUGGESTIONS AND SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, AND I BROUGHT THIS UP OUTTA RESPONSE TO, TO SOME SUGGESTIONS, UH, WITHOUT APPLYING ANY MERIT TO AND WITHOUT KNOWING THE LEGAL ISSUES OR THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT'S WHY I FEEL RATHER THAN US MAKE THAT DECISION, UM, IF, LIKE ANYTHING ELSE, IF THE VOTERS MAKE THE DECISION, THEN, THEN, THEN WHOMEVER'S SITTING AROUND THIS HORSESHOE WILL HAVE TO ADJUST TO, TO THE, ADJUST OUR POLICIES AND PRACTICES THOSE DECISIONS.
YOU AGREE, MR. CITY ATTORNEY, MR. MR. ATTORNEY? OH, I DIDN'T MEAN TO PUT, OH, HE, YOU CAN ASK HIM TOO.
YOU AGREE? I MEAN, WHATEV, WHATEVER THE OUTCOME IS HERE, THEN, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO GOVERN OURSELVES ACCORDINGLY.
DOING THOSE THINGS THAT YOU POINTED OUT ALREADY.
IT WOULD, IT WOULD IMPACT THOSE THINGS.
BUT, UM, GENERALLY SPEAKING, RIGHT, IF IT WAS PUT TO THE VOTERS AND THEY VOTED TO GO WITH IT, WE WOULD HAVE TO COMPLY EX.
AND, AND MY POINT ON HERE IS THAT I THINK SHOULD THAT, I THINK SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT SHOULD BE A VOTER'S CHOICE.
THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY FINAL SAY.
WITH THAT, UH, OBVIOUSLY THESE ARE GONNA MOVE THROUGH ON CONSENSUS.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS, UH, IS, IS MOVING IN FAVOR OF MOVING THIS FORWARD.
UM, IS THERE ANYONE ELSE? I SEE NONE.
SO WE WILL NOT MOVE FORWARD WITH ITEM ONE.
AND, UH, WE ALL KNOW THE HISTORY OF IT.
SOME OF US KNOW IT A LITTLE MORE THAN OTHERS.
TIME BETWEEN SERVICE IN ONE ELECTED ROLE AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER OFFICE.
UH, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED NO CHANGE.
AND JUST MAYOR ON THIS ONE QUICKLY.
UM, HAPPY FOR COUNCIL TO DISCUSS THAT TYPE OF CHANGE BEING MADE TO THE SECTION.
UM, AS YOU SAID, THEY RECOMMENDED NO CHANGE BASED ON THE WAIT TIME, RIGHT? THERE IS A CHANGE TO BE DISCUSSED, AND IT'S LATER IN THE POWERPOINT REGARDING THE DEFINITION OF TERM OF THIS SECTION.
NOW, WE'VE BROUGHT BACK A COUPLE OF MORE POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF TERM BASED ON OUR DISCUSSION LAST TIME.
BUT THAT'LL, THAT'LL BE TAKEN UP LATER.
BUT FOR NOW, Y'ALL CAN, Y'ALL ARE HAPPY TO DISCUSS THE, THE ISSUE OF THE WAIT TIME BETWEEN SERVICE AND ONE ELECTRIC ROLE AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER OFFICE.
SO WE ARE CHANGING THE WORDING FROM ONE YEAR TO SAY THE TIME BETWEEN ANNUAL STATUTORY UNIFORM ELECTION DATES IN MAY.
THAT WAS THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE AT THE TIME, RIGHT? BASED ON OUR CONVERSATION LAST TIME ABOUT DO WE WANT IT LIMIT IT TO MAY, WE MAY NOT WANT TO, THERE'S ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE IN THE POWERPOINT LATER THAT WOULD SAY, UH, BASED ON THE MONTH OR EVEN IF WE WANTED TO SIMPLIFY IT AND SAY 13 MONTHS.
[00:45:01]
A, THAT'S A CHANGE BASED ON A LATER DISCUSSION TOPIC.SORRY, THAT'S MAKING THIS COMPLICATED, BUT
SO DO, WHEN WE GET, I GUESS THE, THE FIRST QUESTION WOULD BE FROM US IS, DO Y'ALL WANT TO PROCEED WITH ADDING A WAIT TIME BETWEEN ONE ELECTED ROLE AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER OFFICE FOR THE CITY ON THAT ISSUE? THAT WAS A CHART THAT WAS A SPECIFIC CHARGE.
TOPIC FROM COUNCIL TO THE CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE.
CHARTER REVIEW COMMITTEE ON THAT TOPIC SAID, WE DON'T, WE, WE DON'T RECOMMEND A CHANGE.
JUST TO SIMPLIFY THE LANGUAGE.
UH, THE IDEA WOULD BE THAT A PERSON WHO WAS APPOINTED TO FILL A VACANCY COULD SERVE UP UP TO 13 MONTHS, BECAUSE THAT WOULD GIVE THEM BETWEEN THE TWO STATE DESIGNATED DAYS IN EITHER MAY OR NOVEMBER WITH SOME WIGGLE ROOM DES SPARE.
THAT WOULD JUST BE THE EASIEST WAY WE COULD THINK OF TO SAY IT, OR IN AN ATTEMPT TO COUNT TO, UH, I GUESS CAPTURE THE COMMITTEE'S INTENT BEHIND IT IS JUST ELECTION DATE TO ELECTION DATE, WHETHER THAT BE MAY OR NOVEMBER.
UH, SWITCH TO THE OTHER ONE, PHIL, PLEASE, SIR, IS THAT WE TOOK OUT MAY AND IT WOULD JUST BE THE ANNUAL STATUTORY UNIFORM ELECTION DATES AS SET BY THE STATE OF THE SAME CALENDAR MONTH AND APPLICABLE CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
SO IT'S A LITTLE WORDY, BUT I THINK THAT CAPTURES THE INTENT WITHOUT LIMITING IT TO MAY
I LIKE THE WORDING NUMBER TWO BETTER BECAUSE THAT IS BETWEEN ELECTIONS.
IF YOU HAVE 13 MONTHS, YOU CAN GET INTO A SITUATION WHERE YOU HAVE SOMEONE RUNNING FOR THEIR POSITION.
AGAIN, THAT'S NOT QUITE TO 13 MONTHS BECAUSE THEY'RE SHORT, THEY'RE 12 MONTHS IN A DAY, BUT THAT'S NOT YET 13 MONTHS.
SO I, I LIKE THIS A SECOND DEFINITION BETTER.
UH, ANY ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS ON, I GUESS THE, UH, PROPOSAL TWO, UH, THAT SEEMS, UH, TO BE MORE IN LINE WITH WHERE EVERYBODY WAS HEADED, KIND OF CLEANS UP KIND OF AN ALL ENCOMPASSING CLEANUP.
SO, SO WHERE DOES THAT LEAVE ITEM TWO? SO WE GO BACK NOW, SO THAT, SO YOU GO BACK TO ITEM TWO NOW, AND THAT, AND THEN RIGHT.
YOU CAN, YOU CAN DISCUSS WHETHER YOU WANT TO ADD A WEIGHT PERIOD BETWEEN THE ROLE.
THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT COUNCIL WANTED TO DISCUSS OR WANTED THE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS.
SO LIKE WE, WE WANTED TO GIVE CREDENCE TO Y'ALL HAVING A SPECIFIC TOPIC OF DISCUSSION.
AND THAT SPECIFIC TOPIC RESULTED IN A RECOMMENDATION OF NO CHANGE, BUT THERE WERE SEPARATE CHANGES NOT ON THAT DISCUSSION TOPIC TO THE SAME SECTION.
SO THE DEFINITION TERM ONLY COMES INTO PLAY IF YOU DECIDE TO OPT FOR A CHANGE? I THINK, NO, NO.
THEY CAN PUSH THAT ONE FORWARD BUT STILL DECIDE TO AGREE WITH Y'ALL ON NO CHANGE BASED ON THE DISCU, THE TOPIC OF A WAIT PERIOD.
EVEN I'M CONFUSED AS EVERY, IS EVERYBODY.
WE JUST AGREED TO SOMETHING, RIGHT? THAT WE DEFINE TERM.
COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS, GO AHEAD.
WE TO WHAT WE JUST AGREED TO AND HELP ME.
WELL, IF I, IF I CAN ASK A QUESTION, IF THEY OPT, NOT IF THEY OPT TO KEEP THE TIME, YOU KNOW, TIME BETWEEN THE SAME, DO WE STILL NEED TO CHANGE THE VERBIAGE IN THE EXISTING CHARTER FOR THE WORD TERM? YES.
WE RECOMMEND STAFF RECOMMENDS THE CHANGE MADE TO TERM THAT YOU'VE AGREED UPON NOW.
JUST THE TOPIC FOR DISCUSSION WOULD BE IF YOU WANTED TO ADD TO THIS SECTION A WAITING PERIOD BETWEEN SERVICE AND ONE ELECTED ROLE AND RUNNING FOR ANOTHER ELECTED ROLE.
AND THEN THE NEW LANGUAGE FOR TERM WOULD BE INSERTED.
RIGHT? THE NEW LANGUAGE FOR TERM WOULD BE PART OF THAT PROPOSAL TO THE VOTERS.
[00:50:01]
EITHER WAY.CAN I, CAN I, CAN I, CAN I GIVE YOU AN, AN EXAMPLE AND YOU EXPLAIN IT BACK TO ME? MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING HERE.
I'M GONNA GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
WE'VE GOT AN INDIVIDUAL WHO COMPLETES AN UNFINISHED TERM.
OKAY? COMES ON AND THAT PERSON SERVES ONE YEAR.
THERE'S ONE YEAR LEFT ON SOMEONE'S TERM.
THE COUNCIL APPOINTS THAT PERSON.
ALRIGHT? UH, AND CURRENTLY THAT THERE'S, THERE WAS A WAITING PERIOD BEFORE THAT PERSON WANTED TO SEE.
THAT'S A DIFFERENT, THAT'S THE NEXT ITEM.
WE NOT THE THERE YET, RIGHT? ALRIGHT.
SO THIS TELL ME SUCCINCTLY WHAT WE JUST APPROVED HERE, RIGHT? AND YOU MENTIONED WAITING PERIOD.
HOW DOES, SO WE'RE NOT, WHAT WHAT YOU'VE APPROVED IS A, A CLEANING UP OF THE LANGUAGE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO HANDLE, DEFINE A TERM NOT LIMITED TO A STATUTORY DATE IN MAY BECAUSE WE'VE, WE'VE, THERE'S A CHANGE IN ANOTHER SECTION THAT WE'RE NOT GONNA LIMIT OUR ELECTIONS TO.
JUST MAY BECAUSE OF THINGS THAT HAPPENED WITH COVI, THINGS THAT HAPPENED BEYOND OUR CONTROL.
WE MAY, OR THE STATE EVEN DECIDING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA DO MAY ELECTIONS ANYMORE.
NOW WE'RE GONNA DO 'EM IN NOVEMBER.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO CLEAN UP THE, THE CHARTER LANGUAGE TO SAY WHEREVER THE STATE DECIDES TO DO IT, YOUR TERM WOULD BE THE SAME MONTH.
SO WHETHER IT'S MAY, IT WOULD BE MAY TO MAY OR NOVEMBER TO NOVEMBER IN CONSECUTIVE YEARS.
IT JUST STILL, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU TELL ME WHENEVER THE STATE DECIDES TO DO IT, IT MAKES ME A LITTLE NERVOUS.
BUT FOR ANOTHER NUMBER OF REASONS.
ALRIGHT, BRINGING IT BACK AROUND, UH, ITEM TWO, UH, WAIT, TIME BETWEEN SERVICES SERVICE IN ONE ELECTED ROLE IN RUNNING FOR ANOTHER OFFICE.
UH, THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED NO CHANGE ANY OP.
EVERYBODY'S GOOD WITH THAT AS, OKAY.
COUNCIL ITEM THREE OR ITEM THREE.
UH, WAIT TIME BETWEEN SERVICE IN AN ELECTED ROLE AND APPOINTMENT.
UM, AND THE COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED NO CHANGE THERE.
AND ARE WE GOOD WITH THAT? I SEE ENOUGH TO BE GOOD WITH THAT.
I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THIS, BUT I WANNA LOOK AT TERM DEFINITION ONE MORE TIME JUST BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO YEAR TERMS RATHER THAN ELECTION TO ELECTION.
SO WE'RE DEFINING IT AS BETWEEN STATUTORY ELECTIONS.
I'M JUST THINKING THROUGH, IF WE HAVE SOMEONE REPLACING SOMEONE, IF THEY'RE FOR LESS THAN ESSENTIALLY A YEAR OR ELECTION.
ELECTION, THAT IS NOT A TERM, THEN THEY COULD RUN AGAIN WITHOUT WAITING.
BUT IF YOU'RE, THERE'S LANGUAGE 14 MONTHS, RIGHT? THE IDEA WOULD BE LOOKING TO WHEN, WHEN DO YOU TERM OUT, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
IF YOU SERVE LESS THAN FIVE YEARS, THEN YOU HAVEN'T TERMED OUT YET.
SO YOU COME IN, RIGHT? AND THE TERM YOU'VE SERVED IS LESS THAN A YEAR.
THAT DOESN'T COUNT TOWARDS YOUR TERM LIMIT TERMS. MM-HMM.
IF YOU HAVE SERVED OVER A YEAR WHEN YOU FILLED IN, THAT WILL COUNT TOWARDS YOUR TERM LIMIT.
BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW IF, BRING THIS UP AGAIN.
I'M GOING TO INVOKE THE COUNCIL POLICY OF HAVING YOU REMOVED
IF WE END UP BACK IN THIS CIRCLE ONE MORE TIME, I WILL HAVE THE SERGEANT AT ARMS REMOVE YOU FROM THIS ROOM.
I THINK I'M GONNA BE THAT PERSON THAT JUST, UH, IT'S JUST GONNA HAVE TO BE MADE A LITTLE BIT MORE SIMPLER FOR ME.
SO A PERSON WHO TURNS OUT THIS TERM, THIS COMING ELECTION, WANTING TO RUN FOR MAYOR, LET'S SAY THERE'S A CITY COUNCIL PERSON AND THEY WANNA RUN FOR MAYOR.
IF THE MAYORAL RACE WERE TO BE THIS YEAR, WOULD THAT PERSON BE ABLE TO RUN? WHEREAS BEFORE I THOUGHT THAT THAT PERSON WOULD HAVE TO WAIT A YEAR.
SO AT THIS, SO THAT'S THE NO CHANGE WE'RE SPEAKING OF, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
YOU CAN GO STRAIGHT FROM COUNCIL TO MAYOR AT ANY TIME, I BELIEVE IS THE WAY IT'S, OR IF A PERSON WERE ON COUNCIL AND THEY WERE TURNING HIM OUT THIS YEAR AND WE WANTED TO APPOINT THEM TO, UH, THE
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PLANNING COMMISSION, THAT PERSON WOULD BE ABLE TO BE APPOINTED WITHOUT WAITING THE YEAR.AND THAT'S ANOTHER, THAT'S ANOTHER ITEM TO DISCUSS.
I'M SORRY, BUT I'M, I I'VE GOTTA GET RIGHT.
SO THERE ARE NO CHANGES TO THAT, CORRECT? YES SIR.
I'M SURPRISED WE GOT THROUGH THIS.
AND I HOPE I DON'T GET THROWN OUT
SO, UM, THIS, THIS DOESN'T INVOLVE SOME HYPOTHETICAL SITUATION.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, MY FIRST TERM WAS, MY FIRST TERM WAS ONE YEAR.
I'VE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD I WILL TERM OUT IN FIVE YEARS, NOT SIX.
SO THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THIS, CORRECT? RIGHT.
'CAUSE IT CONFUSED ME WHEN YOU WERE TALKING TO DI OKAY.
I'M LIKE, AM I GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT A CALENDAR AND SEE HOW MANY DAYS THAT FIRST YEAR WAS? BUT OKAY.
ITEM FOUR, UH, COMPENSATION TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS CHANGES RECOMMENDED.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THE RED LINE CHANGES AND, UH, I HAVE TO SAY EACH TIME I LOOK AT THIS, JUST GLANCING AT IT, UM, WHEN IT SAYS THAT, UH, THE MAYOR SHALL RECEIVE A BASE AMOUNT IN THE TERM $5,675 A MONTH IS HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU JUST GLANCE AT IT.
UM, BUT, UH, WELL, A CITY ATTORNEY ALMOST HAD 35 YEAR CONTRACTS AND THE SAME KIND OF TYPING
YOU CAN SEE, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE RECOMMENDATION HERE IN THE RED LINE OF THE, UH, RECOMMENDED COMPENSATION, UH, CHANGE.
UM, AND ALSO, UH, THE ADDITION OF THE FOUR SPECIAL MEET CALLED SPECIAL MEETINGS AND THE LIMITING IT TO A MAXIMUM OF 52 IN A CALENDAR YEAR.
ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THAT ITEM? COUNCIL MEMBER WILLIAMS? YES, CHAIRMAN? YES, SIR.
HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH, NOT YOU PERSONALLY, BUT YOUR COMMITTEE, UH, COME UP WITH THE NUMBERS? WELL, THERE'S A GENTLEMAN WHO LOVES SPREADSHEETS.
DON'T DROP ANY NAMES, PLEASE, PLEASE.
AND WHO'S PROBABLY WATCHING US HAVE, HE'S PROBABLY WATCHING TONIGHT, SO WE'RE NOT GONNA CALL YOU NAMES.
IT'S KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE INFLATION WISE.
SO THERE'S NO MASSIVE HIKE OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT GOING ON.
IT'S JUST INFLATION AND RECOGNITION OF THE EXTRA MEETINGS AND, AND BE AWARE OF THAT IN ORDER TO GET PAID, YOU HAVE TO BE AT THE MEETING.
YOU KNOW, JUST BECAUSE A MEETING'S SCHEDULED DOESN'T MEAN YOU'LL GET PAID IT'S ATTENDANCE.
SO, UH, COMMITTEE WANTED SOME ACCOUNTABILITY IN THAT RESPECT, AND