Jun 02, 2025 Work Session

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WELL, GOOD EVENING AND WELCOME TO THE MONDAY, JUNE 2ND, 2025 WORK SESSION FOR THE GARLAND CITY COUNCIL. FIRST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA THIS EVENING IS PUBLIC COMMENTS ON WORK SESSION ITEMS.

[ CONSIDER THE CONSENT AGENDA Council may ask for discussion or further information on any item posted in the consent agenda of the next Regular Meeting. Council may also ask that an item on the consent agenda be pulled and considered for a vote separate from the consent agenda at the next Regular Meeting. All discussions or deliberations are limited to posted agenda items and may not include new or unposted subject matter.]

[1. Bond Refunding - Water and Wastewater Commercial Paper Notes Council is requested to consider refunding water and wastewater commercial paper notes to long-term debt. Unless otherwise directed by the Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the June 3, 2025 Regular Meeting.]

[2. Agreement Regarding City Pension Obligation Bonds Council is requested to consider a resolution approving and authorizing an agreement with the Texas Municipal Retirement System Pertaining to the City of Garland, Texas, General Obligation Pension Bonds. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the June 3, 2025 Regular Meeting.]

[3. General Obligation Improvement Bonds Council is requested to consider the issuance of General Obligation Improvement Bonds to fund 2004 and 2019 Bond Program projects. Unless otherwise directed by the Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the June 3, 2025 Regular Meeting.]

[4. Garland Housing Agency - Annual Performance Update and Administrative Plan Council is requested to consider approval of the Garland Housing Agency's Annual Performance Update and the Administrative Plan revisions, so that the City of Garland Housing Agency can continue to receive funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and provide rental assistance to low-income families. Unless otherwise directed by Council, this item will be scheduled for formal consideration at the July 8, 2025 Regular Meeting.]

[5. Federal Grant Budget Amendments for the 2025-26 Program Year Council is requested to consider accepting the final 2025-26 program year HUD entitlement allocations (CDBG, HOME, ESG), approve corresponding budget reductions, and authorize the use of existing CDBG Library Outdoor Learning Kiosk Program funds with an expedited Request for Qualification Notice posting for the South Garland Library Outdoor Learning Program design ahead of the anticipated July 8, 2025 adoption. Council considered this at the April 14 and May 5, 2025 Work Sessions. Unless otherwise directed by Council, staff will bring these adjusted amounts forward for formal approval at the July 8, 2025 Regular Meeting.]

[6. City Manager Preview of the June 21 City Council Workshop City Manager, Jud Rex, will provide a preview of some of the materials to be covered at the June 21 City Council workshop.]

MR. REX. ALL RIGHT. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. IT'S THAT TIME AGAIN. IT'S BUDGET SEASON. AND I'M HERE TONIGHT TO GIVE YOU A PREVIEW OF OUR UPCOMING JUNE 21ST PRE-BUDGET WORKSHOP. THIS ANNUAL SESSION KICKS OFF OUR OUR FORMAL BUDGET PLANNING PROCESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 AND GIVES US THE SPACE TO STEP BACK, LOOK AT THE BIG PICTURE, A FRAME IMPORTANT DECISIONS THAT ARE COMING AHEAD. AS ALWAYS, THIS WORKSHOP IS DESIGNED TO ALIGN OUR LONG TERM GOALS WITH THE REALITIES OF OUR CURRENT FINANCIAL OUTLOOK, AND TO START IDENTIFYING WHERE WE WANT TO FOCUS OUR LIMITED RESOURCES FOR MAXIMUM COMMUNITY IMPACT. AND THAT'S KIND OF THE BIG PICTURE OVERVIEW THERE IF YOU WANT TO FLIP TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO HERE'S A QUICK LOOK AT WHAT WE'VE DRAFTED SO FAR FOR THE JUNE 21ST AGENDA AND WHAT THAT WILL LOOK LIKE. WE'LL BEGIN BY REVISITING OUR TEN STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS, WHICH YOU'LL BE ASKED TO EVALUATE AGAIN THIS YEAR. LIKE LAST YEAR, WE'LL ASK YOU TO RANK THEM IN THREE WAYS. AND LETITIA IS GOING TO GO THROUGH THE SURVEY TOOL THAT WE'LL SEND OUT NEXT WEEK HERE SHORTLY. BUT IN SHORT COUNCIL, WE ASK YOU T TO RANK THOSE TEN STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS BY IMPORTANCE, ESSENTIALLY RANKING THEM 1 TO 10 BY FUNDING NEED. MEANING HOW MUCH WOULD YOU ALLOCATE TO EACH OF THE TEN AREAS. AND THEN NUMBER THREE, BY HOW WELL WE'RE DELIVERING ON EACH OF THOSE FOCUS AREAS. AND THIS GIVES US SOME GUIDANCE AS WE START TO PUT THE BUDGET TOGETHER. AND THAT AND BEFORE WE STSTART TO FINALIZE IT LATER THS SUMMER, WE'LL ALSO REVIEW OUR LONG TERM FINANCIAL OUTLOOK, SPECIFICALLY HOW WE MANAGE OUR SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE AND FACE OF INCREASING LIMITED REVENUES. AS WE'VE SAID BEFORE, AND AS YOU'VE EXPERIENCED IN YOUR TIME ON COUNCIL, WE HAVE ENDLESS OPPORTUNITIES AND ENDLESS NEED, BUT VERY LIMITED RESOURCES TMAKE ALL THAT HAPPEN. AND SO THAT'S WHY WE MUST BE INTENTIONAL AND REALLY BE FOCUSED IN OUR EFFORTS TO OVERCOME GARLAND'S CHALLENGE. FOR BUDGET SUSTAINABILITY. WE'LL TALK SPECIFICALLY AND SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME ON THE GENERAL FUND TALKING ABOUT NEW REVENUES, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT SIGNIFICANT OPERATIONAL PRESSURES THAT EXIST ON THE ON THE GENERAL FUND. AND THIS YEAR, SPECIFICALLY, WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT OUR FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WHAT THE WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE THIS COMING YEAR AND INTO THE FUTURE. AND THEN ALSO SPECIFICALLY OUR OPERATION, THE OPERATIONAL IMPACT OF SOME OF THE NEW FACILITIES THAT ARE GOING TO BE OPENING UP AS A PART OF THE 2019 BOND PROGRAM. WE STILL HAVE SEVERAL LARGE FACILITIES THAT ARE TO BE COMPLETED OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS. AND OF COURSE, THEY'LL NEED TO BE STAFFED AND OPERATED IN ACCORDANCE WITH OUR OUR COMMUNITY EXPECTATIONS. AND SO WHERE WE'RE SEEING A LOT OF OPERATIONAL PRESSURE IS ON THE GENERAL FUND, AND THAT'S WHERE WE'LL SPEND QUITE A BIT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT CREATING SOME SUSTAINABILITY IN THE IN THE GENERAL FUND OVER THE OVER THE NEAR TERM AND LONG TERM. ALL OF THIS WILL KIND OF LEAD UP TO WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT BEFORE, WHICH IS THE POTENTIAL FOR A 2026 TAX RATE ELECTION, WHICH WOULD BE IN NOVEMBER OF 2026. THIS IS WHERE WE WOULD LOOK TO SWAP SOME TAX RATE BETWEEN OUR

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AND THAT'S BY DESIGN TO PROVIDE SOME CONSISTENCY IN OUR PLANNING. AND HERE IN A MINUTE LETITIA IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE SURVEY THAT WILL GO OUT HERE SHORTLY TO HELP US BETTER UNDERSTAND THE STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS AND WHERE COUNCIL WANTS TO PROVIDE EMPHASIS THIS UPCOMING BUDGET YEAR. THE NEXT SLIDE IS ABOUT GARLAND'S PATHWAY TO SUCCESS. THE GPS THAT WAS ADOPTED EARLIER THIS YEAR. AND I SHARE THIS PYRAMID HERE. AGAIN, NOT BECAUSE IT'S A PYRAMID SCHEME, BECAUSE IT ABSOLUTELY IS NOT. IT IS A REAL LIVE THING, AND WE ARE WORKING HARD TO BRING BOTH THE MISSION AND VISION AND THE TEN STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS TO LIFE, NOT JUST THROUGH THE DESTINATIONS AND ACTIONS THAT ARE IN THE GPS, BUT MORE INCREASINGLY, THIS BUDGET YEAR, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT THAT OUR DEPARTMENTS HAVE BASED THEIR GOALS FOR THE YEAR ON THE DESTINATIONS AND ACTIONS WITHIN THE GPS, AND THEN NEXT YEAR, WE'RE TAKING THIS AS AN INCREMENTAL APPROACH. DEPARTMENTS WILL BE PUTTING TOGETHER DEPARTMENT WORK PLANS THAT WILL ALIGN AGAIN, THE MISSION AND VISION AND OUR OUR STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS WITH THE WITH THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE IN EACH DEPARTMENT. AND SO AS WE CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT THE GPS OVER THE NEXT YEAR, YEAR AND A HALF, YOU'RE GOING TO YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE PYRAMID AGAIN. I'LL KEEP DISPLAYING IT AND KEEP IT FRONT OF MIND. BUT THIS IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE WE'RE USING TO ALIGN THE DIRECTION OF CITY COUNCIL WITH THE WORK THAT'S GOING ON BY TEAM GARLAND. AND WITH THAT, I THINK IT'S LETITIA'S TURN FOR THE SURVEY.

YES, YES IT IS. GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL. AND AS JED MENTIONED, ABOUT THIS TIME NEXT WEEK, WE'LL BE SEEKING YOUR INPUT AND GUIDANCE ON PRIORITIZING THE STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS. SO IF YOU'LL RECALL, MOST OF YOU, YES, ALMOST ALL OF YOU, AROUND THIS TIME LAST YEAR WENT THROUGH THIS EXERCISE FOR THE FIRST TIME, WHERE WE REALLY LOOKED TO COUNCIL TO DEFINE THE PATH FOR THE CITY'S FOCUS, OUR FUNDING AND EXECUTION. AND SO WITH THAT, YOU'LL BE LOOKING AT THESE FOCUS AREAS AND REALLY RANKING THEM FROM MOST IMPORTANT TO IMPORTANT THROUGH THREE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. AND WE'RE JUST GOING TO QUICKLY RUN THROUGH WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE IN THAT SURVEY NEXT WEEK. THAT FIRST PERSPECTIVE BEING, AS JED MENTIONED, JUST REALLY A SIMPLE RANKING OF THE FOCUS AREAS BY PRIORITY FROM MOST IMPORTANT TO IMPORTANT.

SECONDLY, LOOKING AT HOW EFFECTIVE WE ARE IN ACHIEVING PROGRESS TOWARDS THOSE STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS AS A CITY. AND THEN LASTLY WHERE THOSE RESOURCES SHOULD BE ALLOCATED. SO USING THE SAME TOOLS LAST YEAR, MENTIMETER WILL BE SENDING OUT THIS SURVEY. AND HERE'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF QUESTION NUMBER ONE. SO THIS IS WHAT YOU'LL SEE ON YOUR SCREEN. YOU'LL SIMPLY DRAG AND DROP EACH FOCUS AREA TO REORDER IT IN TERMS OF IMPORTANCE TO YOU AND YOUR CONSTITUENTS. THE SECOND QUESTION WILL THEN PROMPT YOU TO EVALUATE THOSE FOCUS AREAS AS FAR AS CURRENT PERFORMANCE. SO YOU'LL USE THE SLIDER OR THIS LITTLE COLORED DOT ON YOUR SCREEN TO GO FROM RIGHT TO LEFT. AND REALLY GAUGE WHERE WE ARE AS FAR AS PROGRESS IN EACH OF THOSE

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THAT WILL COME FROM OUR OFFICE, AND THEN HAVE THAT WINDOW OPEN FOR YOU TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY THROUGH THE NEXT SEVEN DAYS. AND WITH ALL OF YOU SHARING YOUR RESPONSES BY MONDAY, JUNE 16TH, WE'LL BE IN A GOOD SPOT TO SUMMARIZE ALL OF THAT INFORMATION AND HAVE A REALLY GOOD DISCUSSION ON JUNE 21ST. AND OBVIOUSLY, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR RUN INTO ANY HICCUPS ALONG THE WAY, WE'LL BE THERE TO SUPPORT YOU. HOWEVER. ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.

LETICIA I'LL NOTE TOO THAT WE'RE WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE SURVEY VERY SIMILAR EACH YEAR OR REALLY THE SAME SO THAT FROM YEAR TO YEAR WE CAN ALSO NOTICE TRENDS IN ANY OF THOSE THREE AREAS WHERE WE'RE WHERE WE'RE WHERE YOU ARE RATING AND RANKING THE TEN STRATEGIC FOCUS AREAS. SO WE'LL BE ABLE TO DO KIND OF A YEAR TO YEAR COMPARISON AS WE TO SEE HOW THAT CHANGES OVER TIME. SPEAKING OF TIME, THIS IS THE SOME KEY DATES FOR THE FISCAL 26 BUDGET CALENDAR. AND SO BEGINNING WITH THE PRE BUDGET WORKSHOP ON JUNE 21ST, WE'LL KICK THAT OFF AND THEN REALLY JUNE AND JULY FOR STAFF IS HEAVY INTO BUDGET PREPARATION. IN FACT THIS WEEK CITY MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET AND FINANCE ARE MEETING WITH ALL THE DEPARTMENTS TO LOOK THROUGH THE REQUESTS, START TO GATHER INFORMATION AND START TO PIECE TOGETHER SOME OF THE EARLY CONCEPTS AND REQUESTS IN THE BUDGET THAT WILL CULMINATE TO REALLY WHEN WE, ESPECIALLY FOR THE GENERAL FUND, WE GET OUR OUR FINAL CERTIFIED VALUES BACK FROM DCAD IN LATE JULY. AND THAT'S REALLY JUST RIGHT BEFORE WE ACTUALLY PRESENT THE BUDGET. AND SO WE GET ESTIMATES AND SOME SENSE OF WHAT OUR TAX RATE OR OUR TAX BASE IS DOING. BUT UNTIL WE GET THE CERTIFIED VALUES, WE REALLY NEVER KNOW FOR SURE. A LOT OF PROTESTS HAPPEN MORE FREQUENTLY NOW. AND SO WE GET INFORMATION RIGHT UP TO THE LAST MINUTE THERE. WE'LL PRESENT THE BUDGET ON AUGUST 4TH IN PREPARATION FOR WHAT WE CALL OUR SPECIAL BUDGET WORKSHOP ON AUGUST 16TH, AND THEN THAT FOLLOWING MONDAY HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME MORE COUNCIL DISCUSSION AND DELIBERATION. PUBLIC HEARING WILL BE HELD AS WELL ON THE BUDGET AND TAX RATE. AND THEN AGAIN, WE HOLD A A SPECIAL MEETING, POTENTIALLY AT LEAST ON THE CALENDAR FOR TUESDAY, AUGUST 26TH. IF IT'S NEEDED, WE CAN HOLD THAT MEETING AND THEN FINAL BUDGET, FINAL BUDGET AND TAX RATE, PUBLIC HEARINGS AND ADOPTION WOULD BE ON SEPTEMBER 2ND. SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU A KIND OF HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE FLOW OF THINGS AND WHAT TO EXPECT OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AS WE WORK ON OUR OPERATING BUDGET. AND WITH THAT, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS. ALL RIGHT. WELL, I HAVE NO ONE IN THE QUEUE. AND COUNCIL JUST KNOW THAT THIS ALL KICKS OFF FOUR DAYS AFTER I WILL DEPART THIS SEAT. SO JUST KNOW THAT ON SATURDAY, JUNE THE 21ST, I WILL BE HERE WITH YOU IN SPIRIT. ONLY THE REST OF THE TIME YOU YOU'RE YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN. I MIGHT, I MIGHT IF ALL MY OTHER CHANNELS ARE BROKEN, I MIGHT TUNE IN TO SEE WHAT YOU GUYS ARE UP TO AND JUST KNOW THAT. OBVIOUSLY THE ELECTION WILL CONCLUDE THIS WEEKEND AND, AND JUDD AND I ARE ALREADY IN DISCUSSIONS ON HOW TO GET TO GET THE NEW MAYOR UP TO SPEED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE THEY'RE GOING TO BE BEHIND A LITTLE BIT AS FAR AS TIMING IS CONCERNED. BUT THERE YOU GO.

THANK YOU SIR. ALL RIGHT. THAT WAS OUR ONLY VERBAL BRIEFING THIS EVENING. NEXT UP IS ANNOUNCED FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. ARE THERE ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS LURKING OUT THERE? ALL

[ EXECUTIVE SESSION]

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