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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 24, 2001 Agenda AGENDA A~enda Ite~ CITY OF DENTON CITY CO~CIL Date H ' ~ ~1 _ April 24, 2001 After det~nmg ~t a quo~ ~s present ~d eonvemng ~n ~ Open Meeting, the C~ty Co~cd w~ll cony me ~n a Closed Meeting of ~e C~ty of Denton City Co~cd on Tuesday, April 24, 2001, at 5 15 p m ~n ~e C~W of Denton Co.ed Work Session Room, Denton C~ty Hill, at 215 East Mci i~ey, Denton, Texas to consider speeffic ~tems when ~ese ~tems ~e hsted below ~der ~e Closed Meeting section of ~s agenda ~en ~tems for consideration ~e not hsted ~der the Closed Meeting section of ~e agenda, the C~ty Co~cd will not conduct a Closed Meeting 5 15 p m ~d ~11 convene at ~e t~me hsted below for ~ts regulm or specml called meeting ,The City Co~e]l rese~es ~ n~t to ad3o~ into a Closed Meeting on ~y item on ~ts Open Meeting agenda consistent Wl~ Chapter 551 of ~e Texas Gove~ent Code, as ~ended, as set fo~ below 1 Closed Mee~ng [**Before ~e Denton C~ Co~cfl may dehberate, vote, or t~e final acuon on each of ~e agenda ~tems posted as a competitive maRer m a Closed Meeting ~der ~e prows~ons of TEX GOV'T CODE Secuon 551 086(c), the Cay Co~ml must first m~e a good fm~ dete~mat~on, by majority vote of ~ts members, ~at ~e p~mul~ agenda ~tem ~s a competitive ma~er ~at satisfies the r~qmrements of Section 551 086(b)(3) The vote shall be t~en d~mg ~e Closed Meeting ~d shall be included ~n ~e cemfied agenda of ~e Closed Meeting If · e C~ty Co~exl fails to dete~me by a majority vote that the p~cul~ agenda xtem satisfies ~e reqmr~ments of Sectmn 551 086(b)(3), ~e C~ty Co~c~l may not dehberate or ~e ~y ~er action on that agenda ~tem ~n the Closed Meeting ] A, Dehb~rat~ons Regarding Ce~n Pubhe Power Utflmes Competmve MaRers Under TEX GOV'T CODE Section 551 086 **Consultation w~th A~omey Und~rTEX OOV'T CODE Seet~on 551 071 (1) Recexve a confidentml compet~txve electric utility presemat~on from Staff, recexve competxt~ve electric market ~nformat~on from Staff and outside experts, d~scuss, dehberate, consxder, prowde Staff w~th d~rect~on, vote, and take action as necessary regardxng future wholesale power purchase strategms including, but not hmxted to the replacement of resources, and the possible sale, transfer, assignment, or other dxvest~mm of the C~ty of Denton's electric utxhty system, ~nclud~ng, w~thout hmxtat~on the Spencer generation facthty located on Spencer Road ~n Denton County, Texas, and the two hydroelectric facfl~tms owned by the C~ty located m Demon County, Texas Conduct a consultation w~th the C~ty's attorneys m order to obtmn the adwce and recommendations of the Cxty's attorneys concermng the above-referenced ~ssues, where to d~scuss such ~ssues and matters ~n a pubhc meeting would conflxct wah the attorney's duties and professional respons~bthtms to thexr chent under the Texas D~sc~phnary Rules of Professional Conduct ANY FIBIAL ACTION, DECISION, OR VOTE ON A MATTER DELIBERATED IN A CLOSE]) MEETING WILL ONLY BE TAKEN 1N AN OPEN MEETING THAT IS HELD IN COMPLIANCE WITH TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 551, EXCEPT TO THE City of Dimton City Council Agenda April 24, 2001 Page 2 EXTENT SUCH FINAL ACTION, DECISION, OR VOTE IS TAKEN iN THE CLOSED MEETING iN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF SECTION 551 086 OF THE TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE (THE "PUBLIC POWER EXCEPTION") THE CITY COUNCIL RESERVES THE RIGHT TO ADJOURN INTO A CLOSED MEETING OR EXECUTIVE SESSION AS AUTHORIZED BY TEX GOV'T CODE, SECTIONS 551 001, ET SEQ (THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT) ON ANY ITEM ON ITS OPEN MEETING AGENDA OR TO RECONVENE iN A CONTINUATION OF THE CLOSED MEETING ON THE CLOSED MEETING ITEMS NOTED ABOVE, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE TEXAS OPEN MEETINGS ACT, INCLUDiNG, WITHOUT LIMITATION SECTIONS 551 071- 551 086 OF THE TEXAS OPEN MEETiNGS ACT Work Session of the City of Denton City Council on Tuesday, April 24, 2001 at 6 00 p m in the Council Work Session Room in City Hall, 215 E McKlnney Street, Denton, Texas at which the following items will be considered NOTE A Work Session is used to explore matters of interest to one or more City Council Members or the City Manager for the purpose of giving staff direction into whether or not such matters should be placed on a future regular or special meeting of the Council for citizen input, City Council deliberation and formal City action At a Work Session, the City Councd generally receives informal and preliminary reports and ~nformat~on from City staff, officials, members of City committees, and the individual or organization proposing cotmcfl action, ~f ~nvlted by City Council or City Manager to participate in the session Participation by lndlwduals and members of organizations invited to speak ceases when the Mayor announces the session ~s being closed to public input Although Work Sessions are public rneettngs, and citizens have a legal right to attend, they are not pubhc hectrlngs, so citizens are not allowed to participate in the session unless invited to do so by the Mayor Any citizen may supply to the City Cotmcd, prior to the beginning of the session, a written report regarding the c~tlzen's opinion on the matter being explored Should the Council direct the matter be placed on a regular meeting agenda, the staff will generally prepare a final report defining the proposed action, which will be made available to all citizens prior to the regular meeting at which citizen input is sought The purpose of this procedure is to allow citizens attendmg the regular meeting the opportunity to hear the views of their fellow citizens without having to attend two meetings 1 Receive a staff report, hold a discussion, and give staff direction regarding a proposed revision to Section 20-1 of the Code of Ordtnances regulating no,se 2 Receive a report, hold a discussion, and g~ve staff d~rect~on concermng cable television rates for Charter Communications 3 Receive a briefing and demonstration from staff regarding the Building Inspections Division's recently implemented permit tracking software and onhne interface 4 Receive a report, hold a discussion and give staff direction regarding amending the Tax Abatement Pohcy to include additional conslderatmns for expanding businesses 5 Receive a report, hold a discussion and give staff direction on proposed changes to City Ordinance - Chapter 26 - Utilities Th~s proposal reflects changes ~n operations, technology, and customer needs, and are m preparation for deregulation C~ty of Denton C~ty Council Agenda April 24, 2001 Page 3 6 Receive a report, hold a d~scuss~on, and g~ve staff d~rect~on regarding changing the CouncWs roles to allow d~scuss~on and consideration of ~tems pulled from the consent agenda prior to the pubhc heanngs 7 New Busmess Th~s ~tem prowdes a section for Council Members to suggest ~tems for future agendas 8 Possible Continuation of Closed Meeting under SecUons 551 071-551 086 of the Texas Open Meetings Act 9 Officml Action on Closed Meeung Item(s) under SecUons 551 071-551 086 of the Texas Open Meetings Act CERTIFICATE I cert~fythattheabovenouceof.m_eqtlngwaspostg41, on.tl~e ,2001 q/ (-/-~ o'clock(am)  Denton, Texas, on the ~O~ day of ~ bulleUn board aI, thv C~ty Hall of the ~CITY SECRETAR NOTE THE CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION ROOM IS ACCESSIBLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT THE CITY WILL PROVIDE SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETERS FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED IF REQUESTED AT LEAST 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE SCHEDULED MEETING PLEASE CALL THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AT 349-8309 OR USE TELECOMMUNICATIONS DEVICES FOR THE DEAF (TDD) BY CALLING 1-800- RELAY-TX SO THAT A SIGN LANGUAGE INTERPRETER CAN BE SCHEDULED THROUGH THE CITY SECRETARY'S OFFICE AGENDA DATE: April 24, 2001 DEPARTMENT: Pohce / ACM: Jon Fortune ~ SUBJECT Receive a staffreport, hold a dlscnsslon, and glve staffd~rectlon regarding proposed rexaslons to SecUon 20-1 of the Code of Ordinances regulating no]se BACKGROUND: On January 23, 2001, Staffpresented a report to Council outlining several proposed revtslons to the current nmse ordinance Following that report, Staffrecewed several comments from interested part]es regarding their problems and concerns wtth the proposed revisions Many of these comments surrounded the potentud problems w~th the "d~stance standards" Other concerns were voiced about the vagueness of what constituted a wolaUon under the rewstons Final!y, several comments were made suggesting that the ordinance was written m a manner to "coddle" the businesses that were creating the no[se violations Given these comments, Staffcontmued to research possible solutions to the no~se nmsance issue Staffhad been opposed to lnoludmg decibel levels due to the complemty revolved m using th~ standard Staffhad considerable concerns as to whether or not the value of the decibel level standard was worth bringing m such complemty to the ~ssue After looking at add~ttonal ordinances, Staffeame to the conelumon that the use of decibel levels was the only way to estabhsh a clear-cut standard for nome vtolat~ons Staff completed the recommendations and dehvered copies of the recommendations to eight individuals who were exther complainants of noise problems, or who owned businesses that were commonly targeted for noise complaints A final copy of the ordinance was sent to Bill Stonebumer, President &the Fry Street Development Corporation Staffmet w~th the Mum¢lpal Court Judge and Prosecutor and rewewed the ordinance The following is a rewew of the proposed changes to the ordinance and the comments fi.om these cmzens 20-1-1 Declaration of Intent Tins clause heads the new proposed ordinance It clearly states that the ordinance ~s designed to protect the qna!~W ofhfe of our clUzens However, the ordmance ~s desxgned to be fatr to all revolved pames, allowing for it to w~thstand legal semtmy 20-1-2 Sound Measurement Criteria The "loudness" of sound ts relative, It depends on the mdlwdual perceiving the sound Sound travels m compression waves, and ts measured by a sound level pressure meter The meter measures the rate of the sound pressure waves and proxades a reading based on the reference sound pressure (0 dba) There are two scales that may be used to measure sound - the A-weighting and the C-welghtmg scales The A-weighting scale ~s intended to approxnnate the response of the human hearing system, winle the C-weighting scale ts more responsive to low frequency sounds The declhel-hased ordinances researched by Staff utilized the A-weighting scale Staffrecommends using the A-weighting scale for sound measurements Staff also recommends using a mm~mum measurement tune of 2 minutes, and that the measurement be reclusive of ambient noise 20-1-4 (a) and (b) General Noise Violations Staffrecommends that the original clauses from our eurrem ordinance be lef~ intact The intent of these clauses ts to protect against noise nuisances not hsted under the enumerated acts (Sectxon C) Examples would mcinde macinnery, yard eqmpment, power tools, and others not specrfically mentioned Violations under these clauses do not require the use of decibel measurements Staffbeheves that these clauses are needed as a "catch-all" for those instances where there is a complaint regarding noise, but not from a commonly identified source 20-1-4 (e) (1) and (2) Enumerated Aets Staff took the exastmg notse wolat~ons under tins section and expanded ~t m several areas The prnnary change revolves the estabhshrnent of specrfic decibel levels for noise violations under subsections I and 2 In these subsections, Staffrecommends that the noise in question should be clearly audible at the complainant's residence, as that follows the stated intent of the ordinance Where the no,se ts audible, Staffrecommends that a measurement of the noise level be taken from 50 feet from the source of the noise Tins measurement, mcluslve of ambient no,se, would determine ifa vlohtion had occurred Staffrecogruzes that multi-family dwelhn~s reqmre a modrfied approach for noise Staff suggests that the decahel level he lowered to 50 decibels m an adjacent resldentml umt during the daytune, and the standard for mghttune be further lowered to "clearly audible" Staff found that most ordinances that use dec~hel levels set a violation as occurring anywhere between 5 to 15 dec~hels above an estabhshed aminent noise level for specrfic types of neighborhoods (residential use, commercial use, industrial use) Staffrecommends that we use an ordinance that ts adjustable to any given aminent noise at the tune oftbe complaint Tlus recommendation ~s based on the fact that any ambient noise is part of the given complaint, and should he mcluded at the tune ofmeasurement Staffrecommends that 85 decibels be estabhehed for daytune noise Stafftook tbas level directly from Penal Code section 42 01 (Disorderly Conduct), winch states that a noise m excess of 85 decibels ts unreasonable Staffrecommends that a mghttune level of 70 decibels be used Staff spent two weeks taking decibel level readings at 7 locations m the city The locations that were used were commonly targeted for norse complaints The measurements (mcludad in tins packet as an attachment) were taken from the 50-foot dtstance, and indicated that ambient noise and the noise produced by the g~ven location averaged 65 2 decahels The baghest recorded medmg was 70 decahels, and the lowest reading was 50 declhels No complaints were called m to the pohee department for any of these locataons during,the measurement tmaes Staffheheves that using the highest recorded nome level, w~thout receiving complaints, ~s sufficient as a measurement mark 20-1-4 (e) (3) Enumerated Acts Staff melnded m the enumerated acts a sectaon on bass reverherataon and wbrataon. The majonBt of noise complaints receaved regarding nome from businesses revolve bass reverberal~ons These vibrations, by thetr nature, cannot he read on a declhel meter m the same mannar as other nome levels The complainants who contact the pohce normally refer to hemg able to "feel" the wbrat~on, or see the wbrat~on on material objects Staff behevas that this type ofwbrataon, insade a person's home, as unreasonable Staff recommends that the pereeptmn, as hsted m the defirataons under 20-I-2, of such ,abrauons La. sade a complainant's home be a wolataon of the ordinance 20-1-4 (e) (4) Enumerated Acts In the January 23~ meeting, Staffexpressed that there was a need for the ordmanee to speeLfieally address nome emanating from motor vehicles Staffrecommends that the ordinance provide that music coming from a motor vebaele should not he clearly audible from more than 35 feet from the vebaele 20-1-~ Outdoor Music FeatlVals The final area where Staff made recommendataous for change concerns the ereataon of a seetaon to address outdoor music festavals Staffheheves that hve musac performances that have more than 200 persons m attendance, or requtre prod adnuss~on, and that use amplified sound, and are not completely w~thm a permanent, enclosed structure should be held to a mayamum sound level of 70 decabels at the perimeter of the event Tbas perimeter ~s the fence around the event, or the natural bamers of the locauon (ff there ~s no fence) Staffrecommends that Council, m consadermg the ~ssuance cfa vananee to fins sectaon, determine Lfthe vananee includes the nozse level allowed and/or the tmae frame of such nome levels Citizen Comments Staffreceaved responses bom most of the eat~zens who receaved the proposed ordinance reeommendataoas Several eat~zens stated that the recommendataons were a good start, and they beheved the cbamges would go a long way m curbing the nome problems Several had questions about how the decahel levels were estabhshed Most of these c~Uzens agreed vath the levels, when at was explained how the number was reached One eiuzen was ad_amantly opposed to the dec~hel levels, saying that he heheved the levels were too high One eit~en stated that the old ordinance was suflieaent One of the business owners responded that the ordmanee struck a fatr balance between protecting the neaghborhoods and proxqdmg hun vath the means to momtor bas nome levels on las own Once he revaewed the proposed changes, he lured sound consultants, added baffling and other nome control dewees, and purchased a deeabel meter to momtor nome levels Since that tune, there had been a reduetaon m noise complaints at bas business One cat,zen stated that he heheved that the standard for a v~olatmn should he whether or not he calls the pohee Has xaew ~s that ffthe nome bothers lama enough to call, at must he too loud Staff understands 3 tim point, but does not beheve that such an orchnanee would be able to stand up to legal challenge Final .ly, another citizen stated that the decibel levels seemed to be set too low consldenng the mclumon of ambient noise m the measurement OPTIONS 1 The Courted can &rect staffto place the ordinance on a future Council agenda for adoption. 2 The Courted can direct staff to make rewsions or prowde further mformat~on and present additional revision options for consideration at a later date 3 The Council can choose not to consider any revmons to the current ordinance RECOMMENDATION: Staffrecommends Council consder adoption oftbe ordmance as written PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW: Council Work Session January 23, 2001 Staff reviewed current ordinances fi'om more than 30 c~ties tn Texas and New Memco The proposed ordinance was wrmen by the Cay Legal staff, m consultation wth the Pobee Department FISCAL IMPACT: The creation of such an ordmance will not revolve any additional costs to the City Respectfully submitted, Gary L Matheson Chef of Pohee Prepared by F~eld Operations - East ORDINANCE NO AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS AMENDING CHAPTER 20 RELATING TO NOISE VIOLATIONS BY AMENDING SECTION 20-1 IN ITS ENTIRETY, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOP- A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $500 FOR VIOLATIONS OF THIS ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS HEREBY ORDAINS SECTION 1 That Chapter 20 "Nu~mces" of the Code of Ordinances of Denton, Texas is hereby mended by replacing Section 20-1 titled "Nome" m its enUrety to read as follows Section 20-1. Noise. 1. Declaration of Intent. It is hereby declared to be thc pohcy of the City to rmmm~ze the exposure to clUzens to the potentml physlolog~eal and psychological harm of excessive noise and to protect, promote, and preserve the pubhe health, comfort, convemence, safety, and welfare It ~s the express intent of the City Council to control the level of noise m a manner that promotes commerce, protects the sleep and repose of ctUzens, promotes the use, value, and enjoyment of property, and preserves the quality of the envtronment 2. Sound Measurement Criteria. For purposes oftlus ordinance, sound measurements will be made usmg the A-weighting scale on un approved sound-level meter, based on the reference sound pressure (0 dba) Measurement tunes will be no less than 2 nunutes m length, and wolaUons will be determined based on the highest registered reading m that measurement period All measurement levels will be reclusive of any ambient nome that exists at the tune of the measurement 3. Defimt~ons and standards. The following defimUons shall apply m the mterpretaUon and enforcement of the section .4pproved Sound-Level Meter' An instrument sensitive to pressure fluctuations and meeting the standards of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI S1 4-1983) Type 1 or Type 2 or those of the IntemaUonal Electrotechmcal Comnuss~on (IEC) PubhcaUon 651, or those of the latest respecuve revisions thereof A;Welghted Sound Pressure Level: The sound pressure level as measured on an approved sound-level meter using the a-weighting scale Clearly Audible Any sound for which the ~nformatlon content of that sound IS unambiguously commumcated to the listener, such as, but not hm~ted to, understandable spoken speech winch need not be wholly dlscernable, or comprehension of whether a voice is rinsed or noml, bass reverberations, or comprehensible musical rhythms Daytime From 7 00 a m to 10 00 p m. Estabhshed Perimeter The established peruneter of an event will be the permanent or temporary fencmg m place for the event, or the natural boundaries of a speeffie location or ~drcss Motor Vehicle Any veincle propelled by mechamcal power, such as, but not hmlted to, any passeager car, truck, truck-trmler, serm-trafler, camper, motorcycle, mmxb&e, go- cart, dune buggy, or racing veincle Ntghttlme From 10 O0 p m to 7 O0 a m Noise Any sound winch is unwanted or winch causes, or lends to cause, an adverse psychological or physiological effect on human beings Outdoor Music Festival Any form of musical entertainment prowded by hve performances ff (1) More than 200 persons are m attendance at any one performance, or (2) The event reqmres prod adnusslon, and (3) Any of the performers or performance are not within a permanem, enclosed structure, and (4) Any of the performance revolves the use ofamphfied sound Sound Amplifytng Equipment Any machine or device for the sound amplification of the human rome, music, musical equipment, or any other sound "Sound amphfymg equipment" shall not include warning devices on authorized emergency veincles or horns or other warning devices on any velucles used only for traffic safety purposes Vibration (Bass Reverberation) A temporal and spatial oscillation of displacement, velocity, or acceleration m a solid materml created by the use or operation ora stationary loudspeaker, amplifier, musical instrument, or any other sound amphfymg equipment Any ground or structure-borne wbratlonal motion that m perceptible by sensation by touch, visual observation of movmg objects, or means other than through the sense of bearing 4. General noise violations. (a) It shall be unlawful for a person to make or cause any unreasonably loud, disturbing, or u~neeessary no,se, wluch causes materml distress, discomfort or injury to persons of ordinary sensibilities m the immediate vicinity thereof (b) It shall be unlawful for any person to make or cause any noise of such character, mtanslty and continued duration as to substantndly mterfere w~th the comfortable enjoyment of private homes by persons of ordinary senslbflales (c) The following acts, among others, are declared to be nmse nuisances m violat~on of flus Code, but such enumeratmn shall not be deemed to be exclusive (1) The playmg of any phonograph, television, radio, or any musical mstmmant m such manner or w~th such volume, so as to be clearly audible to a person tn their residence, and (a) Dunng the daytime, measure more than 85 dba on the A-weighting scale on an approved sound-level meter at more than 50 feet from th~ soUrce, or (b) Durmg the mghtttme, measure more than 70 dba on the A- weighting scale on an approved sound-level meter at more than 50 feet from the source, or (c) Durtng the daytime, tn a multi-family dwelltng, measure more than 50 dba on the A-weighting scale on an approved sound-level meter m any adjacent umt, or (d) Durmg the mghtt~ne, m a multl-fannly dwelling, be clearly audxble wahm any unit that is not the source on the sound (2) The use of any stationary loudspeaker, amphfier, musical instrument, or sound amphfymg equipment m such a manner or with such volume so as to be clearly audible to a person m thexr residence, and (a) During the daytune, be of such intensity and volume so as to measure more than 85 dba on the A-scale on a sound-level measurmg dewce at more than 50 feet fi.om the source, or (b) During the mghttnne, be of such mtens~ty and volume so as to measure more than 70 dba on the A-scale on a sound-level measuring device at more than 50 feet fi"om the source, or (c) During the daytime, tn a multi-famdy dwelling, measure more than 50 dba on the A-welghttng scale on an approved sound-level meter tn any adjacent unit, or (d) Durtng the mghtttme, tn a multl-famdy dwellmg, be clearly au&ble within any umt that ~s not the source on the sound, or (e) At any tmae on Sunday, (0 Provided, however, that the cay council may make exceptions upon application for sound levels or hours of operation when the pubhc mterest will be served thereby, (3) The creation of vibration or bass reverberations at any tune that is perceptible mside a complatntng person's residence, through the sense of touch, visual observation ofmovtng objects, or through a means other than the sense of hearing (4) The use of any radao, stereo, amplifier, sound amphfytng equipment, or other musical dewce tnstalled or contained m a motor vehicle at a volume such that it ~s clearly audible to any person from more than 35 feet from the vehicle (5) The blowtng of any steam whistle attached to any stationary boiler or the blowtng of any other loud or far~reaching steam whistle within the city lmuts, except to give not,ce of the tune to begin or stop work or as a warmng of danger, (6) The erection, excavation, demoht~on, alteration, or repmr work on any bmldmg at anytmae other than between the hours of 6 00 am and 8 30 pm Monday through Friday from June 1 to September 30, between 7 00 am and 8 30 pm Monday through Friday fi'om October 1 to May 31, between 8 00 am and 8 30 pm on Saturday, and between 1 00 pm and 8 30 pm on Sunday, provided, however, that the city council may issue special permxts for such work at other hours tn case of urgent necessity and tn the Lnterest of public safety and convemence, (7) The creatton of any loud and excessive norse in connection with the loading or unloadtng of any vehicle or the opening or destruction of bales, boxes, crates or containers, (8) The use of any drum, loudspeaker, or other mstrument or device for the purpose of attracttng attention by the creation of noises to any performance, show, theatre, motion picture house, sale of merchandise, or d~qplay winch causes crowds or people to block or congregate upon the sidewalks or streets near or adjacent thereto 5. Outdoor Music Festivals. (a) At any outdoor music festival, it shall be unlawful for any person or group sponsoring the event to make, cause, allow, or penmt any noise that (1) Exceeds 70 dba on an approved sound-level meter when measured at the established peruneter of the event (2) Proxaded, the city council may make exceptions upon apphcat~on for sound levels or hours ofoporatlon when the public interest will be served thereby 6, Criminal Penalty. (a) A person commits an offense if he wolates or attempts to vtolate a promsion of this chapter applicable to Into A culpable mental state Is not reqmred for the commission of an offense under tins chapter unless the prov~sion defining the conduct expressly reqmres a culpable mental state A separate offense is committed each day m which an offense occurs An offense comrmtted under flus chapter is pumshable by a fine of not more than $500 (b) Prosecution for an offense under Subsact~on (a) does not prevent the use of other enforcement remedies or procedures apphcable to the person charged w~th or the conduct revolved m the offense SECTION 3 If any section, suhseetlon, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word m this ordinance, or apphcatlon thereof to any person or e~rcumstances is held mvahd by any court of competent junschctlon, such holding shall not affect the vahdlty of the remaining portions of flus ordinance, and the C~ty Council of the C~ty of Denton, Texas hereby deolares it would have enacted such remaining port~ons despite any mvahdity SECTION 4 Save and except as amended hereby, all the prowslons, sections, subsections, paragraphs, sentences, clauses, and phrases of the Code of Ordinances shall remain m full force and effect SECTION 5 This ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby dh-coted to cause the caption of flus ordinance to be published twice m the Denton Record-Chroracle, the officml newspaper of the C~y of Denton, Texas, witinn ten (10) days of the da~e of its passage PASSED AND APPROVED th~ the , , day of ,2001 EULINE BROCK, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY BY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY BY Noise Ordinance Research Decibel Measurements Locatl0n Date Time High Measurement 2000 Leshe 02-10 11 45 pm < 50 dbl (residentml) 02-15 10 26 pm 57 dbl 02-16 10 45 pm 58 dbl 02-16 11 00 pm < 50 dbl 1131Ft Worth 02-10 11 40pm 60dbl (Groovy Mule) 02-15 10 40 pm 65 dbl 02-16 11 00 pm 65 dbl 02-17 12 00 am 63 dbl 02-17 11 30 pm 61 dbl 113 Avenue A 02-10 12 42 am 61 dbl (Muther's) 02-15 11 00 pm 59 dbt 02-16 11 35 pm 62 dbl 02-17 12 43 am 55 dbl 119 S Elm 02-10 11 10 pm 59 dbl (Dan's Bar) 02-15 11 16 pm 62 dbl 02-16 11 39 pm 57 dbl 02-17 12 52 am 56 dbl 02-17 10 30 pm 60 dbl 1109 Dallas Dr 02-10 11 23 pm 62dbl (Jonathan's) 02-15 I1 40 pm 65 dbl 02-16 11 15 pm 58 dbl 02-17 12 22 am 64 dbl 02-17 10 50 pm 53 dbl 1776 Teasley #102 02-10 11 30 pm 64 dbl (Leon's) 02-15 11 53 pm 70 dbl 02-16 11 09 pm 66 dbl 02-17 12 07 am 58 dbl 02-17 11 00 pm 57 dbl Bernard/I35 02-10 12 00 am 70 dbl (Commercml/ 02-15 10 29 pm 72 dbl Traffic) 02-16 10 55 pm 72 dbl 02-16 11 56 pm 67 dbl Decibels http J/nrls uccc edu/EMS/Musm/tech_back, ground/TE-O6/te cos_06 html DECIBELS A tenth of a Bel? The decibel (abbrevutted dB) must be the most rmsunderstood measurement since the cubit Although the term decibel always means the same thing, decibels may be calculated m several ways, and there are many confusing exphnatlons of what they are The decibel ts not a umt m the sense that a foot or a dyne ts Dynes and feet are defined quantities of force and dtstaace. (You can go to the Natxonal Bureau of Standards and look at a foot or a dyne ffyou want to They never change ) A decibel ts a RELATIONSHIP between two values of POWER Decibels are des~ned for tallong about numbers of greatly different magmtude, such as 23 vs 4,700,000,000,000 With such vast dffi'erences between the numbers, the most difficult problem ts getting the number o£zeros right We could use sc~entrfic notation, but a companson between 2 3 X 10 and 4 7 X 10 to the 12th ~s sttll awkward For convemance, we find the RATIO between the two numbers and convert that into a loganthr~ Tlus gives a number like 11 3 As long as we are going for snnphcaty, we maght as well get rd of the decumtl, so we multiply the number tunes ten. If we measured one value as 23 hp and another as 4 7 tnllon hp, we say that one ts 113dB greater than the other power Power difference In dB -- 10 log The usefulness of all thts becomes becomes apparent when we thmk about how the ear perceives loudness Ftrst of all, the ear ts veer senstt~ve The softest andlble sound has a power of about 0 000000000001 watt/sq meter and the threshold of para ts around 1 watt/sq meter, g~wng a total range of 120dB In the second place, our judgment of relative levels oflouduess is somewhat loganthn~c If a sound has 10 tunes the power ora reference (10dB) we hear ~t as twice as loud If we merely double the power (3dB), the d~fferenec will be just notaceable [The calculations for the dB relat~onslups I just gave go hke tins, for a 10 to one relatlonslup, the log of 10 ts 1, and ton roues 1 ts 10 For the 2 to one relat~onstup, the log of 2 ts 0 3, and 10 tunes that ts 3 Incidentally, ffthe ratio goes the other way, w~th the measured value less than the reference, we get a negative dB value, because the log of 1/10 ts -1 ] Converting voltage or pressure ratios to decibels Remember that the dB ~s used to describe relat~onslups of POWER Power ts not often convemently measured, especuflly m electrome dexaces. Most often we measure voltage and use the formula P=E squared over R to get power Squanng a value doubles ~ts logarithm, so our dB formula becomes Power difference In dB = 20 log Voltage Voltage Power of sound vanes as the square of pressure, so thts formula is also appropriate for SPL (sound pressure level) calculations Reference Levels 1 of 3 4/11/2001 8 27 AM Decibels httpdlaits ucsc edu/EMS/Mus{c/tech~background/TE-O6/teccs_06 html The final confusion comes fi.om the concept of RELATIVE power The question "relative to what?" has no smgle answer The standard level (0dB) ts chosen to be some convement value for the apphcat~on For acoustics, 0dB ofien means the threshold of hearing, 0 0002ubar (IVhcrobars a bar ts the "normal" pressure of att) Aeoust~cmns deal w~th positive values and call tbe~r measurements dB SPL Elecmeal engmecrs use Several meanmgs for 0dB They sometmaes remember to add a letter to the dB symbol to re&cate wbach is mtended 0 dBj = 1 imlhvolt 0 dBk = 1 kfllowatt 0 dBm = 1 mflhwatt at 600 ohms 0 dBv = 1 volt There are many more The power calculations must also take spectrum into account ~t is not vahd to compare a noise signal to a sine wave w~thout some correction factor The snnple rule ~s to always compare snralur signals dBVU The reference encountered most ox%n m electromc music ~s 0 dBVU dBVU are calculated just hke dB w~th some extra restncttons on bandwdth and balhstics of the meter used The VU (or Volume Umt) system is a hangover from early racho usage when 0 VU meant 100% of the legal modulation for the particular ra&o station The level meters were all marked w~th percentage numbers as well as dBVU, and the numbers above 0 were m red When tape recorders were invented, the same meters were used, and 0 dBVU came to mean the recommended operatmg point for the tape m use The tape manufacturer supphed cahbratlon tapes, and the mechmes were adjusted to give a 0 dBVU reading on the meter when those tapes were played 0 dBVU on tape recorders has been creeping up over the years The old Ampex standard was 185 nanoWebers/meter (a measurement of magnetic field on the tape), the most common today ts 250 nW/m, and people are talking of the advantages of 500 nW/m The cassette standard ts 160 nW/m 0 VU ts not the mayamum allowable signal on analog tape recorders Most tape decks w~ll cope w~th +6 or even +15 for brief tunes (such levels nught damage the VU meters ff sustained) and other dewces will go up to +25 Any operating area above 0 VU ts called the headroom 0 Vid ~s the mayamum allowable signal on digital tape recorders Exceedmg that level will usually cause gross &stortion m such devices The mmmaum useful signal ~s lm~ted by the level of the ever present system notse Tbas ts the NOISE FLOOR, and may be as lugh as -40 VU on a cassette deck or as low as -100 VU on a digital recorder Peter Elsea 1996 2of3 4/11/2001 828AM Decibels htrpJ/arts ucsc edtffEMS/Mustc/tech_background/TE-06/tcces_06 html 3 of 3 4/11/2001 8 28 AM Sound http//www comptons oom/encyclopedm/ARTICLES/0150/01708032_A h/anl SOUND. Every kind of sound is produced by vibration The  sound be vwhn, an automobile horn, or a barking source may a o e dog Whatever it is, some part of it is vtbrating while it is Guy_~ productng sound The vtbrations from the source disturb the a~r m such a way that sound waves are produced These waves travel out in all dtrecttons, expanding m balloonhke fashion from the source of the sound If'the waves happen to reach someone's ear, they se~ up vibrattons that are perceived as sound (see E~r) Sound, then, depends on three things There must be a vibrating source to see up sound waves, a medium (such as mr) to cany the waves, and a receiver to detect them Sound waves cannot travel through a vacuum There is an age-old question concerning the defimtwn of sound ifa tree falls In a forest far from any sound deeector (such as a human ear or a microphone), does the tree's crash make any noise9 The answer, of course, depends on how sound is defined If it is thought of as the waves that are camed by the air, the answer is yes--wherever there are sound waves there ts sound However, if sound is defined sub. lacttvely, as a sensation tn the ear, for example, the answer must be no In that case sound does not exist unless there ts a receiver present to deeect it The two defimtlons are equally correct How Sound Is Produced and Carried It is easy to detect the wbrations of many sources of sound A radio loudspeaker, for example, vibrates strongly, especially when the volume is turned up If'you lightly touch the speaker cone, you can feel Its wbrations as a kind oftwkhng sensation in your fingertips If you touch your throat while singing a low note, you can feel the wbrat~ons of the vocal cords A common experiment in physics classes is to strike a tumng fork and dip the end of it in water The vabratmg fork splashes the water and sets up little waves that are easy to see Sound waves are often compared w~th water waves but are actually a very different sort of wave What they are can be seen by considenng what happens when an object vibrates in the air Suppose someone stakes a gong, as In the diagram As the gong vibrates, it alternately bends outward and inward very rapidly This movement pushes and pulls at the air next to the surface of the metal A~r ts made up of troy molecules, bllhons of them to every cubic inch (vee Atr) Therefore, when the metal gong bends outward, it crowds together those air molecules that are close to its surface These molecules push outward against other molecules, and they in turn push against still others Thus a compresston wave ts set ~nto motton The wave travels outward 1 of 6 4/11/2001 8 59 AM Sound http//www comptom com/encyclopedia/ARTICLESlOlSO/O 1708032_A html from the gong, becoming weaker and weaker until it dies away A single sound wave such as this does not actually produce a sound, of course As the gong continues to vibrate, each outward bending of the metal sets up a new compression wave Between each pair of compression waves is an area in which the molecules of air are spread apart more widely than normal Such a wave of rarefaction corresponds to a moment in which the gong is bent inward, pulling instead of pushing the molecules The whole series of compression and rarefaction waves traveling outward from the gong make up what is heard as sound The sound waves travel in all directions from their source The Speed of Sound Sound waves travel at a constant speed, regardless of the loudness spell, rato of moron or softness ora sound Temperature, however, does affect their ~ speed At room temperature (70°F) sound travels in air at a speed of 1,129 feet a second With each nsc of one degree Fahrenheit, T~aoeratur~ the speed increases by more than one foot a second Air pressure has httle or no effect Humidity has a slight effect, the speed of ~ sound boing somewhat greater in humid air than in dry air Since Velocity 1,129 feet is about one fifth ora mile, sound waves travel one mile m about five seconds Thus you can tell how far away lightning is by counting seconds between its flash and the thunder and dividing by five Many other substances are better conductors of sound than air Like all gases, air is a poor medium for sound waves Liquids, such as water, are better, and rigid solid substances, such as iron and stone, sro best of all Sound waves travel in much the same way in liquids and solids as in air The molecules ora liquid move about less freely than do molecules ora gas, and the molecules of a solid less freely still Compression waves, however, are formed and transmitted in them just as in air In a good conductor, sound not only travels faster but also travels farther before it dies away A few solids are much poorer conductors of sound than air Rubber, cork, cotton, and felt, for example, tend to absorb sound waves rather than transmit them For that reason such substances are oP~en used for soundproofing to deaden unwanted noises 2of6 4/11/2001 859AM Sound http J/www comptons com/encycloped:edARTICLES/O150/O1708032_A html The Pitch of Sounds Doppler ¢ff~ot Some sounds are high and others are low, some are loud and others barely audible, some are pleasant and others harsh The ~'-- three basic properties of any pure sound are its pitch, its intensity, ~ and its quality ~- - Pitch is simply the rate at which vibrations are produced This is usually expressed as the number of Hz (hertz, or cycles per When a locomo'av~ ~s second) One cycle Is a complete vibration back and forth The staudm_~ stall., number of Hz Is the frequency of the tone The h~gher the frequency of a tone, the higher its p~tch When a saxophone is sounding the note A above middle C, the reed in its mouthpiece is vibrating at a frequency of 440 Hz Twice that frequency (880) gives a note an octave higher, and half the frequency (220) produces a note an octave lower (see Music) Another way to define the pitch of a tone Is to give its wavelength The wavelength of a particular tone is equal to the velocity of sound divided by the frequency of the tone Suppose the frequency is 440 This means that 440 compression waves are formed every second Since sound travels at about 1,100 feet a second, the distance between waves is 1'100/440, or about 2 1/2 feet This is the wavelength of the tone ff a source of sound is moving, sound waves are shortened m one direction and lengthened in the opposite Such shortening and lengthening change the pitch of the tone This is called the Doppler effect, from the name of the Austrian physicist who first expl~uned it The Ability to Hear Sounds The human ear cannot hear all possible frequencies Very few people can hear any fewer than 16 Hz or any more than about 20 kHz (kllohertz--I kHz equals 1,000 Hz) Music rarely makes use of this whole range ofandlble frequencies The lowest note on a piano has a frequency of 27 HZ and the highest note a little more than 4 kHz Frequency-modulation (FM) radio stations broadcast notes up to 15 kHz These can be heard through hi-fi receivers Frequencies greater than the human ear can hear are called supersonic or ultrasonic waves A silent dog whistle is pitched at supersonic frequency A dog hears these waves as sound though a human being does not Extremely high frequencies of 100 to 500 kHz can cause strong physical and chemical reactions They can force water and oil to emulsify, dust to collect, and gases held in liquids or molten metals to bubble out They destroy certain types 3 of 6 4/11/2001 8 59 AM Sound httpd/www comptons com/encyclopedm/ARTICLES/0150/01705032_A html of bacteria Intensity and Tone Quality Amphtud~ The intensity ora sound has nothing to do with its pitch A high tone can be either loud or soft, and so can a low tone Intensity ~ depends upon the strength, or amplitude, of the vibrations producing the sound A piano stnng, for example, vibrates gently ]De~lb©J~ if the key is struck softly The string svongs back and forth In a narrow arc, and the tone 11 sends out is soft If the key is struck forcefully, however, the string swings back and forth in a w~der arc The stronger vtbratlon then produces a louder tone The explanation of this IS that a vibration of greater amplitude compresses the molecules of the mr more forcefully and gives them greater energy When a series of such strong compression waves enters the ear, the bratn interprets it as a loud tone The loudness of sounds is measured in decibels (db) On the scale used, 0 Indicates the softest audible sound The rustle of leaves is rated as 20 db, average stree/t noise as 70, and nearby thunder as 120 Above this level sound beglus to be painful, and prolonged exposure to sound at such levels may damage hearmg The quality, or timbre, cfa sound is more complicated than plteh or intensity The tone cfa flute has a pleasant quality while the screech cfa bluejay has an unpleasant one Neither sound is a simple tone The flute may be sounding, say, A above middle C In addmon to the frequency of 440 Hz, however, the flute is producing higher frequencies as well These softer and higher tones are called overtones In the example of the flute, the main overtones heard are the octave and the 12th For A, these notes are the next A above and the E above that note These overtones harmonize well with the pnnclpal note (or fundamental) and account for the sweet tone of the flute Other instruments sound different combinations of overtones, whtch give them their special tone quality The human voice and stnnged instruments such as the vlohn and piano are very rich in overtones Overtones that harmonize better than others are notes of the same scale Sounds thought of as harsh are combmat~ous of tones that do not harmonize If the raucous call cfa blueJay were analyzed, it would be found to be a combination of extremely discordant notes All noises are miscellaneous combinations of tones, unpleasant because they are unrelated 4 of 6 4/11/2001 8 59 AM Sound http/Avww comptons eom/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/0150/01708032_A Reflecting and Focusing Sound Waves S~thosc, ooo Ltke hght waves, sound waves can be reflected and focused An - echo is simply a refle~lon of sound (see Echo) Aflat surface, like that ofa chffor wall, reflects sound better than an irregular surface, which tends to break up sound waves Echoes are useful In many ways In a fog, a ship's captain can ot~en tell whether he Is near a hilly shoreline by listening for echoes of the ship's whistle Underwater sonar equipment uses echoes of a supersonic signal similarly to detect submarines The dewce automatically times the echo from the submanne's hull and computes the distance (see Submarine) Depth finders use echoes from the ocean bottom to measure the depth of the water A band shell focuses the sound of the band mjust the same way an automobile headlight reflector focuses light The headhght reflector and many band shells are in the shape of a parabolic curve This curve has the property of reflecting spherical waves in such a way that they form a beam The band shell concentrates the sound on the audience, preventing it from being dissipated in all directions Spherical surfaces inside buildings may form "whlspetang galleries" If someone whispers at one spot in such a chamber, he can be clearly heard at another spot yards away A megaphone and a stethoscope focus sound in different ways The s~des cfa megaphone hold the sound waves ~n and allow them to escape in only one direction, thus lntensl~mg the waves A stethoscope Is a megaphone in reverse It funnels sound waves from a relatively w~de area into a small area Sound waves show other properties that resemble those of light One Is the phenomenon called interference (see Light) If an identical tone Is produced by two sources, the sound waves may get "out of phase", that Is, the compression waves from one source may amve at the hstener's ear along w~th the rarefaction waves from the other source If so, they cancel out one another, and no sound is heard Interference helps ~n the formation of sound beats If two organ pipes, for example, are tuned a few whratlons apart, they produce a throbbing tone when sounded together If the difference Is three vibrations per second, the waves voll be out of phase three times In each second and v~ll be in phase an equal number of t~mes When they are out of phase, there ~s a moment of comparative silence When in phase, however, they reinforce each other and increase the intensity of the tone 5 of 6 4/11/2001 8 59 AM Sound httpdhvww oomptom corn/encyclopedia/ARTICLES/0150/01708032_A html Production of Musical Sounds  There are four classes of musical instruments--string, w~nd, percussson, and electronic (see Musical Instruments) Each produces tones m a different way Strings are perhaps simplest to understand The pitch of a string fingerboard..., depends upon two things--its tension (the pull that is put upon 10 and its length The greater the tension on a string, the higher 1ts pitch A violin stnng, practically speaking, 11 under constant tension The xqohnrst raises 1ts pitch by shortemng the wbratlng length oftt w~th the fingers of the left hand When a string rs bowed, plucked, or struck near one end, it may xqbrate in several ways at once It v~brates as a whole, sounding the fundamental tone It may also vibrate in two or more parts at the same time, sounding falntly heard overtones Most of the volume ora vlohn is due to resonance W~thout the body of the vtohn, the strings would produce only very soft tones The body, howover, is constructed to vtbrate m sympathy with the strings Vibrations from a string are transmitted to the body of the mstrumant Both the body and the air inside It then vibrate at the same frequency as the string Because the wood ~s so much more massive than the stung, it sends out more intense sound waves than the stnng alone can The tones of piano strings are s~mllarly relnfercod by the piano's sounding board (See also Stnnged Ins~n~m~nt~ ) 6 of 6 4/I 1/2001 8 59 AM DECIBEL http//otto emr fsu edu/~ele¢4mus/toplcs/declbel html DECIBEL, or dB - excerpt from Audio Dictionary by Glenn Whtle Literally, one tenth of abel The bel ts named after Alexander Graham Bell, and the number ofbels is defined as the common logarithm of the ratio of two powers Thus, two powers, one ofwluch is ten times the other, will dtffer by 1 bel, 10 WATTS are 1 bel htgher m level than 1W A 360-horsepower car ts 1 bel more powerful than a 36-horsepower motorcycle Any power ratto may be expressed in bels, and it is unportant to note that only power ratms are allowed Abel ~s a pure number with no dunenslons The bel had tts ongtn m the Bell Telephone Labs, where workers needed a convement way to express power losses m telephone lines as power ratms Because the bel ts a power ratio of 10, and this is a rather large rat~o, it is convement to d~vide xt rote tenths ofbels, or decibels, abbr dB. Ten dB ~s 1 bel, thus the DECIBEL ~s ten times the common log of the ratm of two powers The DECIBEL was originally called the "transrmss~on umt," or TU, by the Bell Labs people Because of the properttes of logarithms, ~t is easy and convement to form some "rules of thumb" about decibels. The common log of 2 ts 0 301, so a power ratto of 2 ~s 3 01 dB, normally taken as 3 dB. Therefore, any two powers differtng by a factor of 2 will be 3 dB apart, and tins apphes to any type of power whatever, so long as tt ts power Two hght bulbs of 100W and 50W d~ffer by 3 dB, just as electric motors of 1 horsepower and 2 horsepower dtffer by 3 dB So, any tune a power ts doubled, tt ts increased by 3 dB An increase of 6 dB represents two doublings of power, or a power ratm of 4 If an orchestra increases its SOUND PRESSURE LEVEL by 3 dB, tts acousttc power output will be doubled Another nde of thumb that is useful to remember ts that 10 dB ~s a power ratio of 10 Any time a power ~s increased tenfold, ~t ts increased by 10 dB, thus, a 200W power amphfier wtll put out 10 dB more electrical power than a 20W amphfier, and its sound power output wall also increase by 10 dB Another way to think of dembels is to think m terms of percentages We all know what 10 percent means, and nobody thinks of percentages as being quantities of anything A DECIBEL is nothing more than a power change of 27 percent, 3 dB ~s a power change of 100 percent, and 10 dB is a power change of 1,000 percent Dectbels have caused untold confuston among AUDIO people, and most ofttus is due to the failure to reahze that decibels are not quanttties of anything and can represent only power ratios The trouble starts when we measure audio stgnals m volts rather than watts If we note that power ts proporttonal to the square of VOLTAGE, then a power ratio would be the same as a ratto of two squared voltages Then, because the log of a squared 1 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL http//otto cmr fsu odu/~¢lee4mus/topics/dec~l html ratio ~s twice the log of the simple ratio, we can see that the number of declbels is twenty tunes the log of the voltage ratto between two signals Therefore, we can still measure m volts and express power ratios m decibels sunply by multiplying the log of the voltage ratio by 20 instead of 10 Thus, dB = 10 lOgl0 (P1/P2) = 20 logl0 (E~/E2) some examl~les Because we usually measure voltages in audio ctrcmts mstead of power, we need some more rules of thumb for voltage ratios Here they are a doubling of voltage is a 6dB increase, or a power factor of 4 A tenfold increase m voltage ~s a 20dB increase, or a power factor of 100 In the DECIBEL equation, we could replace the power m the denominator wtth a fLxed amount of power Then, dB would represent the power m relation to tins reference For mstance, ~fP2 m the equation above m always 1 nulhwatt, then the DECIBEL level will represent a specific amount of power In other words, 3 dB would be 2 mW, 10 dB would be 10 mW, etc. Tins ~s commonly done, and ~fthe reference power ~s 1 mW, the measured quantity xs m dBm, dBm = 10 log (P~/0 001) W The reference power could be any value, and somettmes chfferent values are used, for m_stance dBW uses a reference of 1 W Thus X dBW ~s X dB above 1W, and 3 dBW is 2W, etc Decibels are also used m measuring SOUND PRESSURE Because sound pressure squared ~s proportmnal to sound power, sound pressure m decibels ~s equal to 20 tunes the pressure ratio Ifa reference pressure is chosen, then we can measure actual sound levels m dembels, and this ~s done The reference pressure xs 20 rmcropascals, 1 Pa being a pressure of I newton per square meter, 20gPa ~s about the threshold of hearing at 1,000 Hz for most people, so ~t ~s a convement reference In any case, ~t has been agreed upon by all international standards A sound pressure level m decibels is always referred to tins standard pressure The GAIN of an AMPLIFIER commonly ~s expressed m dembels, and this can lead to further confusion an amphfier with 3 dB of gain literally means ~t doubles the power m the signal, and an amphfier w~th 60 dB gain would be expected to increase the power one mflhon tunes Tins would be true ffthe IMPEDANCE of the mput and output of the amplifier were the same, but tins ~s seldom the case in practice For mstance, a power amphfier typically has a ingh INPUT IMPEDANCE and a very low OUTPUT IMPEDANCE for driving a LOUDSPEAKER The true power gain of such an amphfier Is very high because the input sagnal has essentmlly no LOAD and thus supphes almost no CURRENT or power Th~s power gain could be correctly expressed m decibels ffthe actual mput and output powers were taken into cons~derataon Tins, however, as rarely 2 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL httpJ/ot~o cmr l~u odu/~elec4mus~oplcs/dec~bel html done, it works out correctly only if the two impedances are the same, as ts sometmaes the case m amplifiers used m broadcasting and some sound systems The mapedance of such umts is usually 600 OHMS When amplifier gains are expressed m decibels, what is almost always meant is VOLTAGE GAIN, and as we have seen, a stmple voltage ratio cannot be expressed m decibels by the defimtion of the DECIBEL The formula used to calculate amplifier gain dB (gain) = 20 log [V(output)/V(mput)] and again, it would be correct only if the tmpedances at the input and output were the same It Is small wonder that decibels cause so much confi~on~ dB see DECIBEL dBF Literally, decibels referred to 1 femtowatt, or 10 to the minus fifteenth power watts The dBF are used to specify SIGNAL levels at the RF inputs to FM tuners dBk The s~gnal level in DECIBELS referred to 1,000 watts dBk is most often used m radio and television transmittmg stations dBm Literally, decibels referred to 1 rmlhwatt Strictly speaking, the lmW must be dissipated m a LOAD of 600 OHMS. The dBm is used m stating power levels of signals m broadcast and recording consoles and m tape recorders 1 dBm into 600 ohms will result m 0 775 VOLTS RMS This causes some confusmn. The dBm is a power level and only results m 0 775 V when the LOAD IMPEDANCE is 600 oluns See also DECIBEL, dBm 3 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL httpJ/otto cmr f~u edu/~ele¢4mu~/top~¢s/dec~bel h~ml dB[ The signal level m DECIBELS referred to 1 microwatt dBV Literally, decibels referred to 1 volt RMS This is an unfortunate usage because decibels cannot properly refer to snnple voltages See also DECIBEL dBW Literally, decibels referred to 1 WATT Power amplifier output levels are sometimes specffied m dBW, a 100-W AMPLIFIER is then 20 dBW Power rating m dBW is numerically equal to ten ttmes the common logarithm of the power output m watts See also DECIBEL Dynamic Range The dynamic range ora sound is the ratio of the strongest, or loudest, part to the weakest, or softest, part, it is measured m DECIBELS A full orchestra may have a dynamac range of 90 dB, meamng the softest passages are 90 dB less powerful than the loudest ones Dynarmc range is a power ratio, and has nothing to do with the absolute level of the sound An AUDIO signal also has a dynarmc range, winch is somettmes confused with SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO Rarely is the dynamic range of an audio system as large as the dynamic range of an orchestra becanse of several factors The inherent NOISE of the recording medium determines the softest possible recorded sound, and the maxtmum SIGNAL, capacity of the system (CLIPPING level) lmmts the loudest possible sound Many tunes an extremely wide dynamic range is not desirable (e g, m radio broadcasting for listening m cars) and broadcasters frequently use COMPRESSORS and LIMITERS to reduce the dynarmc range of the signals before they are transmitted Tlus type of SIGNAL, PROCESSING distorts the music m a more or less noticeable way, symphomc music being the most sensitive to xt The dynamic range of recorded signals can be increased by VOLUME EXPANDERS, such as the ones made by the dbx Company. 4 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL httpd/otlo omr tim edu/~eloc4mus/toplcs/docibel html Signal-to-Noise Ratio Signal-to-noise ratio is the ratio of the signal power at a certain reference point m a CIRCUIT to the noise power wtueh would exJst there if the signal were removed ratio is expressed in DECIBELS For m. stance, ifa tape recorder has a signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio of S0 dB, the signal power at the output is 50 dB above the noise power Measurement of S/N ratio is comphcated by several factors In a tape recorder, for example, a signal is recorded at a high level, approaching the onset of audible DISTORTION, and its VOLTAGE is measured with a voltmeter Usually the signal is a SINE WAVE Then the signal is removed from the input, and the remaining noise conslstmg of tape noise, HUM, electromc noise, etc, is measured with the voltmeter. Because the noise will be mostly random in nature, the voltmeter should be a tree RMS meter The ratio of these two measurements expressed tn dB is the signal-to-noise ratio Tlus measurement ignores any type of noise wbach ~s present only when the signal is present, such as modulation noise The subjective audibility of the measured noise will not be well correlated to the mas measurement of it because of our ears' varying senslUwty to different frequencies Therefore, a FILTER or WEIGHTING NETWORK is usually placed tn the meter's input The characteristics oftlus weighting network are not umversally agreed upon, so when comparing noise specifications, as between European and American eqmpment, care must be taken to see that the measurements were smularly made In DIGITAL audio systems, the signal-m-noise ratio is defined as the ratio of the maximum possible sine wave signal power to the QUANTIZATION noise power, also expressed m dB This is an unambiguous measure in LINEAR PCM systems; but in all other PCM schemes, the quantization noise depends strongly on the level of the signal being encoded. See PCM for a discussion of NONLINEAR PCM systems See also DYNAMIC RANGE. Sound, Pressure, Sound Pressure Level A sound wave progressing through air causes the instantaneous mr pressure at any given point to vary above and below the barometric pressure tn accordance with the WAVEFORM of the sound Tbas variation m pressure is used as a quantitative measure of the strength of the sound, and is called sound pressure Tim is the quanttty wtuch a PRESSURE MICROPHONE. measures, and if it is expressed on a DECIBEL scale and referred to a pressure of 20 rmcropascals, it is called sound pressure level The reference pressure is 0 dB on the scale, and corresponds to the threshold of beartng at 1,000 HERTZ for a normal human ear (20 micropascals). Sound pressure level is what is measured by a sound level meter See also LEVEL. $ of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL httpJ/otto cmr ~u edu/~elec4mu~oplcs/d¢ctbel h~nl (end of quotation ~om the book) Decibel Calculation Examples Decibel difference between 60W (PO and 120W (P2) = 10 log (Pi/P2) = 10 log (60/120) = 10 log 0 5 = 10 x (-0 3) = -3 (dB) ( log X implies logl0 X ) Tlus reads: 60W is 3dB below (since actual value is negative) 120W, or 120W is 3dB above 60W Amplifier A has a voltage gain of 10 (i.e. 0.1V input comes out as IV), and amplifier B has a voltage gain of 100. If we connect A and B m series, what is the total gain m Decibel? The decibel gain of amp A = 20 log 10 = 20 x 1 = 20 (dB) The decibel gam of amp B = 20 log 100 = 20 x 2 = 40 (dB) Total gain = 20 + 40 = 60 (dB) or Total voltage gam A and B = 10 x 100 = 1000 The decibel eqtuvalent of voltage gain 1000 = 20 log 1000 = 20 x 3 = 60 (dB) What is the voltage equivalent of the signal level -40dBm? Assume that the value we seek is X volts. Then -40 = 20 log (X / 0.775) (see dBm) Therefore, log (X / 0 775) = -40 / 20 = -2 i e X / 0.775 = 10.2 = 0 01, so X = 0.01 x 0 775 = 0 00775 (V) = 7 75 (reV) 6 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48 AM DECIBEL http.//otto cmr fsu edu/~elec4mus/top~cs/dec~bel html ( log A = B ~s eqmvalent to A = ] OB ) 7 of 7 4/11/2001 8 48AM Agenda AGENDA IN¥ORiVIATION SHEET AGENDA DATE. April 24, 2001 DEPARTMENT General Government CM/DCM/ACM: Howard Martin, Interim City Manager SUBJECT Receive a report, hold a dlscusmon, and give staff direction concerning cable television rates for Charter Communications BACKGROUND' The C~ty is certffied to regulate cable television rates for basra cable service, eqmpmant, changing tiers, and the hourly service charge Under the current franchise agreement, Charter Communlcatmns has agreed to file for new rates only once per year The mty received the appropriate FCC Forms (1240 and 1205) on March 2, 2001 The City has one year from that date to issue a rate order establishing the maximum permitted rates that Charter Communications may charge In their fihng, Charter Commumcatlons indicates that the new rates are the result of "certam external costs, 0 e, programming), inflation, true-up adjustments and increased cost associated with dehvenng cable servme as allowed by the Forms 1240 and 1205" FCC Form 1240 calculates the maximum permitted rate for basic cable service Form 1205 calculates maximum permitted rates for eqmpment, changing tiers, and the hourly service charge A comparison of the cable operator's ex~stmg maximum permitted rates follows Item Current Proposed Basic Cable $9 90/month $9 78/month Converter (addressable) $4 13/month $1 19 or $3 96/month* Converter (non- $1 19/month $1 19 or $3 96/month* addressable) Digital converter $8 80/month $1 19 or $3 96/month* Remote Control $0 18/month $0 20/month Changing tiers $2 00 $2 00 Hourly service charge $20 35/hour $23 89/hour *Charter'$ fihng proposes that a customer that subscribes to basra service only will be charged a monthly rental rate of $1 19 for any converter However, if the customer subscribes to any services above basic only 0 e, expanded basic, premium service channels, and pay-per-view servmes), they will be charged a monthly rental rate of $3 96 ADA/EOE/ADEA www c~tyofdenton com (TDD 800-735-2989) April 24, 2001 Council WS Agenda Cable Rates Page 2 of 3 Charter's ,latest fihng ~ndlcates that they intend to lower the basic cable service rate $0 12 per month ($9 90 to $9 78) Their filing also contmns a decrease for the digital converter rental ($8 80 to $1 19/$3 96) The $1 19 rate is for basic only subscribers that elect to rent any converter, and the $3 96 rental rate is for subscribers to any servmes above basra only Their rate for changing t~ers remmns the same, while their remote rentals w~ll increase $0 02 ($0 18 to $0 20), and the hourly service charge will increase $3 54 ($20 35 to $23 89) Regarding the hourly service rate, ~t should be noted that Charter has set certatn t~me standards for certain types of installations whmh we asked our rate consultant to examine Also, last year Charter began to phase out all addressable and advanced analogue converters, however council dec~ded to set these rates anyway This year Charter again does not intend to offer these converters and ~n fact did not even file a rate for these items Connie Cannady, of C2 Consulting, has analyzed the cable operator's proposed rates for basic cable servme, converters, remote controls, changing tiers, and the hourly servme charge Her final report was not finished in time to attach to this agenda ~tem I have instead attached her interim report I anticipate that she w~ll provide a final report at the May 15, General Meeting There is a pubhc hearing scheduled for the May 1, Regular Council Meeting Notfficat~on of this meeting has been posted on our website, on Channel 26, and a press release was sent out to area media OPTIONS: 1) Direct staff to prepare a resolution approving Charter Communications' rates as filed 2) Direct staff to prepare a resolution approving rates as detenmned by C2 Consulting 3) Take no official action prior to June I, 2001 and Charter Communications may implement their filed rates on June I, 2001 If Charter Commumcations ~mplements their filed rates on June 1, 2001, and if Council approves lower rates after June 1, 2001, then Charter Communications must implement the lower rates immediately Charter Communications may attempt to obtmn an order by the FCC or a court staying the effectiveness of the C~ty's rate order and thus allowing ~mplementat~on of the filed rates However, if the FCC or the courts uphold the lower rates, Charter Commumcations would have to rebate the difference to subscribers or factor the overcharges ~nto next year's calculations RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends option #2, direct staff to prepare a resolution approving rates as determined by C2 Consulting PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (Counell~ Boards~ Commission). None FISCAL INFORMATION: Higher rates would impact subscribers C~ty receives 5% of Charter Commumcatlons gross revenues as franchise fees ADA/EOE/ADEA www cttyofdenton com (TDD 800-735~2989) Aprd 24, 2001 Council WS Agenda Cable Rates Page 3 of 3 Respectfully submitted D~rector of Management and Pubhc Information Prepared by J~n Cabrales Jr ~ Pu"bhc Information Officer Attachments 1 FCCForm 1240 2 FCCForm 1205 3 Report from C2 Consulting ADA/EOE/ADEA www mtyofdenton corn (TDD 800-735-2989) ATTACHMENT t ^ MAR 2 200] Veb 2S, 2001 MANAGER'S OFFICE Mr John Cabrales, Public Information Officer City of Denton 215 E McK]nney Denton, TX 76201 Dear Mr Cabrales Enclosed, please find Charter Commumcation's ("Charter") Form 1240 end Form 1205 filing for 2001 Charter is hereby submitting flus filing pursuent to the Federal Commumcatlon Commission's ("FCC") rate-se~ng methodology Upon recetpt of this letter, the City is notified of Charter's updated maximum permitted rate effective June 2001 Please refer to the "Additional Information Attachment", following th~s cover letter, for the rate to be implemented for the Basic Serwce T~er Eqmpment/lnstallatton rates can be found on the last page of the Form 1205 These chenges are the result of certmn external costs (~ e, programming), inflation, true-up adjustments end increased costs associated with dehvenng cable servme, as allowed by the Forms 1240 and 1205 Please be adwsed that all customers will be notified of rate chenges, m accordance with FCC rules If you have eny questions about the fihngs, please feel free to call me at (214) 523-8529 Respectfully submitted, ,.' I Demse Jones Director of Regulatory Compliance and Planning Enclosures cc Pat Morrow 2911 Turtle Creek Boulevard * Suite 600 * Dallas Texas · 75219 www chartercom corn · tel 214 521 7898 fax 214 526 2154 Charter Communications Farm 1240 Filing - Additional Information Attachment Denton 1 Bas~e Rate Structure Charter Commumcatlons plans to nnplement the foilowmg rate structure ~ New Rate Basic Service T~er $9 90 $9 78 2 Basic Channel Activity Tree-up Period 6/00 QVC moved from Expanded Basic to Basic 1/01 Ammal Planet replaced TV Grade on Basra Projected Period None 3 The foilovnng schedule details programming costs per customer for the true-up & projected periods Basic Service T~er Beg~mung of the tree-up pertod 1 $0 3319 End of the true-up permd 1 $0 2752 Begmmng of the projected period $0 2752 End of the projected period $0 3067 4 The following schedule detmls franchise related casts per customer for the true-up & projected periods Basic Service Tmr True-up period $0 0000 Projected period $0 0000 Type n/a Calculauon n/a Federal Commumcau0ns Commission Approved by OMB 30600685 Washington DC 20584 FCC FORM 12~0 UPDATING MAXIMUM PERMITTED RATES FOR REGULATED CABLE SERVICES Cable Operator Name of Cable Operator Charter Comm~mIo~lnn~ Mailthg Address Of Cable Operator 2911 Turtle Cre~k Boulevard State City ]]Texas ZIP Code 75219 Dallus YES NO Does this filing involve a single franchise authority and a single community unit? It yes complete tile Irancluse authority mtormatlon I below and enter the associated CUID number here ] TX~80 YEb NO Does this filing involve a single franchise authority but multiple community uaits? If yes, enter the assocutted CUIDs below and complete the franchise authority mformanon at the bottom of this page Do~ thl~ ~ing involve multiple fran¢lflse anthoritlas'/ If yes, attach a separate sheet for each franeluse authority and include the following franchise authority reformation with ds assoctated CUID(s) lh'anehise Authority I~formation Name of Local Franeinsmg Authority Mail~ng Addraaslof Local Franchising Authority 215 E 1 City I. ~te ]ZIP Code Denton 76201 ~4o) so-ss09 For what purpose is tide Form 1240 being filed? Please put an "X" in the appropriate box Original Form 1240 for Basic T~er [ X Amended Form 1240 for Basic Tier Original Form 1240 for CPS T~er Amended Form 1240 for CPS T~er TO Indicate the one year time period for which you are setting rates (the Projected Period)I 06/01/01 [ 05/31/02 [ (mm/yy) TO Indicate the time period for which you are performing e true-up ] 03/01/00 [ 02/28/01 ] (mm/yy) Status of Previnu~ Filing of FCC Form 1240 (enter an "x" in the appropriate box) YES NO Is tins the first FCC Form 1240 filed m any jurtsdlCt~On? Has an FCC Form 1240 been filed previously w~th the FCC? If yes enter the date of the most recent filing [ ] (mm/dd/yy) YES NO Has an FCC Form 1240 been filed prewously with the Franclusmg Authority9 I x ] If yes, enter the date of the most recent filing [ 03/01/00 J (mm/dd/yy) 8 Status of Prevloda Filing of FCC Form 1210 (enter an "x" in the appropriate box) yES NO a Has an FCC Form 1210 been previously filed with the FCC? If yes, enter the date of the most recent filing I J (mm/dd/yy) FCC Form 1240 Page I M~crosoi~ Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcations Comusssmn Approved by OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20554 YES NO b Has an FCC Form 1210 been previously filed with the Franelusmg Authority? I I I If yes, enter the date of the most recent film~g [ [ (nunJdd/yy) 9 Status of FCC Form 1200 Filing (enter an "x" in the appropriate box) YES NO a Has an FCC Form 1200 been previously filed vath the FCC? [ [ [ If yes, enter the date filed [ [ (mm/dddyy) YES NO b Has an FCC Form 1200 been prevtously filed with the Francinsmg Authorgy? [ [ [ If yes eater the date filed [ [ (mm/dd/yy) 10 Cable Programmillg Servlce~ Complaint Status (enter an "x" in the appropriate box) YES NO a Is this form being filed m response to an FCC Form 329 eomplamt? If yes, enter the date of the complaint I [ (mm/dd/yy) YES NO 11 Is FCC Form 1201~ Being Included With Th~ Filing ] X [ [ 12 Selection of "Going Forward" Chmmel Addition Methodology (enter an "x" in the appropriate box) I----]Check here if you are using the original roles [MARKUP METHOD] ['~Check here tf you are usmg the new, alternative rules [CAPS METHOD] If using the CAPS METHOD, have you elected to revise recovevj for YES NO channels added during the period May 15, 1994 to Dec 31, 19947 [ [ X [ 13 Hendend Upgrade Methodology *NOTE Operators must cent)~ lo the ¢ommtss~on their eltgtbthty to use thts upgrade methodology and attach an equipment hst and deprectaaon schedule ~---~Check here if you are a qushfying small system using the streamlmed haadand upgrade methodology Part I: Preliminary Information Module A: Mammum Pernutted Rate From Previous Filing a b e d e Line l)e~riptlon Module B: Subscmbershlp moth!l~ C' InflatiOn Inform_re'ion FCC Form 1240 Page 2 M~crosofl Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcat~ons Commtsslon Approve~ by OMB 3060-0fi85 ModMe D: C~cMa~g ~e B~e ~te a b c d e L~ L~e ~n ~c T~r 2 TI~ 3 ~er 4 ~r 5 DI ~nt Headend Up~ad~ ~t D2 Cu~ent ~xte~ Cbs~ ~gm~t ~ 3319 D4 Cu~ent M~p M~ ~en~ ~ 03~ D6 Curr~t T~e Up ~nt ~ ~94 D8 ~ ~ IAI DI D2 D3 D4 D5 II: Tru Uo Period Module E: T~ Info~aflon Number of Mon~s ~ ~e Tin. Up Pen~ 1 N~r of Mon~s Tree-Up Pen~ 2 ~hg~ble for ~terest Module F: Mn~im~m Pe~t~d ~te For T~Up Pe~od 1 a b c d e ~ L~e ~bn B~ ~er 2 ~ 3 ~er 4 ~er 5 FI Caps Me~ Segment For T~O Up F3 ~ Mv~t Delem Seg~nt For ~e Up Perl~ I ~ 4/~ (~ 3~) F4 T~e Up Pen~ 1 ~te Ehl~le For Inflation [D8+~I +~+~ $9 2~41 ~6 Heade~ Upgrade Segm~t For ~8 T~e Up Segm~t For Tree Up Period 1 Module G: ~n~m~m Pe~ed Rate For T~Up Period 2 a b c d e ~e L~e D~n ~sic ~er 2 Tier 3 Ti~ 4 Tier 5 31 Caps Me~ ~g~ent For Tree Up Pert~ 2 ~ 2] 32 M~p Me~ S~nt For T~e Up Pen~ 2 ~ 3] ~5 lnflat~on Segm~t for T~e Up g6 H~n~ Upg~e ~n~nnt For Tree Up Pen~ 2 ~k~ 6] ~7 Ex~ Cos~ ~ment For T~ Up FCC Form 1240 Page 3 Mtcrosoff Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commum~t~ons Commtsston Approved by OMB 3060~0685 Weshmgton, DC 20554 Module H: True-Up Adjustment Calculation a b c d e ~ Line De~ri~inn Basic Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier ~,,m.,~.t For True-Up ~ 1 -I1 Revenue From Period I $2,184 833 94 ~2 Revenue From MaX Permitted Rate for Period 1 $2 169 605 9712 t3 Trae Up Period 1 Adjustment [H2-HII ($15 227 9688 -14 l~terest on Period I A~ustment ($1 308 9510) ~,.~m~p~ For True-Ut) Period -15 Revenue From Period 2 Ehglble for Intsren -16 Revenue From MaX Perm Rate for Period 2 Eligible For Inter, -17 Period 2 Adjustment l~i8ibie For Interns! [H6-H$] -18 Interest on Period 2 Adjustment (See mstmetmns for formula) -19 Revenue From Period 2 Inohgibla for Interest -110 Revenue From Mun Perm Rate for Period 2 Inehglble for Inte: -111 Period 2 AdlustmeOt IneligtMe For Interest iH 10-Hg] ~'ofal True-Up -112 Previous R~matmn~ True Up Ad~n~m~nt ~13 Total True Up AdJ?atm~m [H3 +H4+H7 +H8 + HI 1 +H12] ($165369198) ~14 Amount of Tru~ Up cqMmod For Tln~ Projected Period ($16 536 9198) -I15 Remaining Tree U~ Adjustment [El3 HI4] $0 0000 Part III: Proiected Period Mo_d_~!~ I: New Maximum Permitted Rate a b c d e ~9 Line ]Deecrl~flon B~sie Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier I Caps Method S%~n~n~ For Projected Period DVks 2] $0 0000 [2 Markup Method S0gment For Projected Period DVks 3] $0 0300 [3 Chan Mvmnt Detain ~%~m~m For Projected Period DVIcs 4/5] ($0 36041 14 Proj Period Rate l~ligthla For Inflation [Dg+FS+(55+I1 +12- $9 3919 [5 tnfla~lc~n Segment for Projeetod Period [04'C5)-14] $0 1521 [6 H,*~n~...t Upgrade Segment For Projected Period [Wks 6] $0 0000 [7 External Costs Segment For Project~ Period DVks 7] $0 3067 [8 True Up Segment For Projected Period ($0 0719', 19 Max Permitted Ra~e for Projected Period [I4+15 +16+17+18] $9 7788 [10 Operator Selected Rate For ProJected Period $9 7800 Note The maximum permitted mte flgures do not take rote account any ~fund llabthty you may have If you have prevwusly been ordered by the Comnusston or your local franchtstng agthartty to make r~funds you are not relun, ed of your obligatwn to make such refunds even tf the permt~ed rate rv higher than the contested rate or your current rate Certification Statement WILLFUL FALSE STATEMENTS MADE ON THIS FORM ARE PUNISHABLE BY FINE AND/OR IMPRISONMENT ~U S CODE TITLE 18 SECTION 1001') AND/OR FORFEITURE CU S CODE TITLE 47 SECTION 503] i certify that the! n;~;~i~i~a made m this form are trlle/l~d cfsrregt to the hegt of my knowledge and hehef, and are made m ~oo I faith Date Name and Tttle of Peraen Completing this Form Demee M .lones, Director of Regulatory Comphance & Planning Telephone number Fax Number 214~ S21-7898 (214~ $22-6830 FCC Form 1240 Page 4 M~crosofl Excel 5 0 Verswn July 1996 Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Worksheet 1 - True-Up Period Inflation of Instructions For FCC Form 1240 Line Period FCC Inflation Factor 101 Ma~h 3 00% 102 April 2 40% 103 May 2 40% 104 June 2 40% 105 July 1 62% 106 August I 62% 107 September I 62% 108 Oetob~ I 62% 109 November ! 62% 110 D~./~,rab~r 1 62% 111 January 1 62% 112 Fobmmy I 62% 113 Average Inflst~on Fair for 10193 Tin. Up P~nod 1 114 Month 13 115 Month 14 116 Month 15 117 Month 16 118 Month 17 it 19 Month 18 t20 Month 19 t21 Month 20 [22 Month 21 123 Month 22 [24 Month 23 ~25 Month 24 126 Average Inflation Fao~r for True-Up Pened 2 FCC Form 1240 M~crosoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcat~ons Coratmsawn Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20~54 Worksheet 3 - Markup Method True-Up Period, Basic Tier For ~nsirucuons, s~ Appen&x A of Instructions For FCC Form 1240 TrUepenodUP Projected period Que~on I Indloate the period for which thls worksheet is being u~ed (Put an "X" m the appropriate box ) X Question 2 Indicate tho tier for which th~s worksheet ~s being used. (Put an "X" m the appropriate box ) Question 4 How long Is the second period, m months, for which rates are being set with this worksheet? 0 I 2 3 4 $ 6 7 Sum of Previous Sum of Current Average Per Channel Channels Total Cumulative Period Regulated Regulated Chnnnels AdJustment Added Adjustment Adjustment Channels Channel ~ev~ous $0 03 Month March 26 26 26 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 303 April 26 26 26 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 304 May 26 26 26 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 305 June 26 27 26 5 $0 01 I $0 00 $0 03 306 July 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 307 Augtmt 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 308 Septembtrr 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 309 Octolmr 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 310 November 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 311 Decgmber 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 312 January 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 February 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 O0 $0 03 H5 H6 Month 14 H7 Mortth 15 H8 Month 16 H9 Mol~th 17 120 Moqth 18 121 Motlth 19 122 Month 20 t23 Month 21 }24 Month 22 Month 23 Month 24 FCC Form 1240 Page 1 Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcatlom Commission Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20~$4 Worksheet 3 - Markup Method Projected Period, Basic Tier For mstructmns, se~ Appendix A of i'nstructmns For FCC Form 1240 Tme-UPPened Proje~t~ Punod Question 1 Indicate the ported for which this worksheet is being used (Put an "X" m the appropriate box ) Question 2 Indicate the tier for which this worksheet is being used (Put an "X" In tho appropriate box ) Question 4 How long ~s the second period m months, for which rates mo being set w~th th~s worksheef? 0 I 2 3 4 ~ 6 7 Sum of Previous Sum of Current Average Per Channel Channels Total Cumulative Line Period Regulated Regulated Channels A~Justment Added A~justment A~Juswaent Channels Channel t02 Jur~ 27 27 270 $001 0 $000 $003 ~03 July 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 104 August 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 O0 $0 03 t05 September 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 ½06 October 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 ~07 November 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 308 December 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 309 Sanuary 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 310 Febnmry 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 511 March 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 512 April 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 03 513 May 27 27 27 0 $0 01 0 $0 00 $0 0~ I II/ FCC Form 1240 Page I Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcattom Cormmssion Approved By OMB 3060~685 Washington DC 20554 Worksheet 4 - Residual True-Up Period For Instructions, see Appendix A oflnstmctlons For FCC Form 1240 Quesuon 1 Indicate the period for which thru worksheet Is being used (Put an "X" m the appropnate box ) Tme-UxP Period Projected peno~ I a b c d e Line Line Description Basic Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier Period One ¢01 Average Permitted Charge $9 7850 ¢02 Average External Costs $0 2752 Average Total Per Channel Adjustments after 403 5/14/94 for Ch~,~!~ Added Usm~ Caps Method $0 0000 404 Average Tier Residual [401-402-403] $95098 405 Average Channels per Regulated T~er 26 5000 406 Average Caps Method Channels per Tier 0 000G 407 Average Remaining Chennels [405-406] 26 g000 408 Average Period 1 Per Channel Residual [404/407] $0 3589 Period Two 409 Average Penmtted Charge 410 Average External Costs Average Total Per Channel AdJustments after 411 5/14/94 for Chartnels Added Ustn~[ Caps Method 412 Average Tier Residual [409-410-4 11 ] 413 Average Channels per Regulated T~er 414 Average Caps Method Chennels per T~er 415 Average Remaining Channels [413-4 14] 416 Average period 2 Per Chennel Residual [412/415] FCC Form 1240 Page 1 Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcatlons Comtmss~on Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 2051f4 Worksheet 4 - Residual Projected Period Que~uon 1 Inthcath the period for wh:ch th~s worksheet ns bmng used (Put an 'X" m the appropriate box ) Tree-Up Ponod Project~ Period Line Line I)~a'l[~tlon Basic Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier Period One ~01 Average Pertmtted Charge $9 9067 ~02 Average External Costs $0 3067 ~03 Average To~al Per Channol Adjustments after $0 5/14/94 for I'~h~r~nala Added Usln~ Caps Method ~04 Average T~er Rce~dual [401-402-403] $96000 ~05 Average Channels per Regulated T~er 27 0000 ¢06 Average Caps Method Channels per T~er 0 0000 ~07 Average Remaining Channels [405-406] 27 0000 ¢08 Average Period 1 Per Channel Residual [404/407] $0 3556 FCC Form 1240 Page 2 M~crosoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumeatlons Comn~ss~on Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20554 Worksheet 5 - Channel Movement and Deletion True-Up Period, Basic Tier For instructions, see Appendix A of Instmchons For FCC Form 1240 Question I lnd~eat0 the period for which this worksheet ~s bvmg used (Put an "X" m the eppropnate box ) Question 2 lnthcat~ the t~r for which th~s worksh~t ~s being used (Put an "X" in the appropriate box ) Ba~c I Tier2 Qeest~on 4 }Iow long is the ,ocond p~nod, m month~, for whwh rate~ are bom8 set w~th th~s work,beet? 0 1 2 3 4 Residual of Channels Residual of Cha~anele Moved Net Per-Channel Cost Cumulative Net Per- Adjustment [Column 2 - Channel Cost A~]uetment Ltoe Period Deleted From Tier (added) to Tier Column 1] ~01 Previous l%nod {$0 3604) ~02 March ~03 April ;0 0000 $0 ~ $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~04 May ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~05 Ju~e ) 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~06 July ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~07 August ~0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~08 September ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 509 October ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 510 November ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) S ! 1 December ;0 0(~0 $0 0000 $0 00O0 ($0 3604) 512 January ;0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 513 February ;0 0000 $0 iX}00 $0 0000 ($0 3604) Deletion A ustment mill ($o 3604) 5 14 A~ and 515 Month 15 516 Month 14 517 Month 15 518 Month 16 519 Month 17 520 Month 18 521 Month 19 522 Month 20 523 Month 2 ! 524 Month 22 525 Month 23 526 Month 24 527 A~ement and DeleflonA ustment FCC Form 1240 Page I Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcat~ona Commission Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Waslungton, DC 20~$$4 Worksheet 5 - Channel Movement and Deletion Projected Period, Basic Tier For mslrueuons, see Appenthx A of Ins~ructtons For FCC Form 1240 Question 1 Inthcate tho period for which this worksheet is being used (Put an "X" m tho appropriate box ) Questaon 2 Iedicate~tbe tier for which this worksheet Is being used (Put an "X" in the appropriate box ) Question 3 How Io~lg ~s the first t~nod, m months, for which r~t~ ~ being ~ot w~th tht~ wo~ksheeff I 12 QucstJon 4 How long ~s the ~ond period, m month~, for which mlo~ ar~ bern8 ~t with th~ work,beet? 0 I 2 3 4 Rl~ldual of Channel~ R~ldual of Channels Moved Net Per-Channel Cost Cumulative Net Per Channel A~justsnent [Column 2 - Cut AdJm~nent Line Period Deleted From Tier (added) to Tier Column 1] 502 lune $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) ~03 Suly $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 504 August $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 505 September $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 506 October $0 0000 $0 0000 SO 0000 ($0 3604) 507 November $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 508 December $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 509 Sanuary $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 510 February $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 511 March $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 512 Aprd $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 ($0 3604) 513 May $0 0000 $0 0000 $0 0000 514 A~ Movement and Del~inn A ustment FCC Form 1240 Page I Microsoft Excel 5 0 Verslon July 1996 Federal Commumcatlon~ Commission Approved By OMB 30604)685 Washington DC 20554 Worksheet 7 - External Costs True-Up Period For instructions, see Appendix A of Ins~uct~ons For FCC Form 1240 I Tree-Up Period Projected Period Questmn I For which time permd ar~ you fithng out this worksheet? [Put an "X" m the appropnate box ] X QuesOon 2 How long ~s tho first penod, In months, for which rates sro being set with this worksheet? 12 Queatmn 3 How long ~s tho eecond period, In months, for which rates a~ being set with this worksheet? 0 Line Line D~erlptlon Bssle Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier Period 1 External Costs ~llo?h~e for Markup Cost of Programming For Channels Added Prior 701 to 5/15/94 or After 5/15/94 Using Markup $28,200 7~ Method For period 702 Retransmlsamn Consent Fees For Porlod $0 0( 703 Copyright Fees For Period $28,959 9.~ 704 External Coats Ebgthle For 7 5% Markup $57,160 7( 705 Marked Up External Costs $61,447 7525 External Costs Not Eligible for Markup 706 Cable Specific Taxes,For Period $0 0( 707 Franch~s~ Related Costs For Period $0 0( 708 Comm~ssmn Regulatory Fees For Ponod $0 0( 709 Total External Costs For Pmod $61,447 7525 710 Monthly, Per-Subscriber External Costs For $0 2752 Period 1 Period 2 External Costs ~.lt~ihle for Markup Cost of Programrmng For Channels Added Prior 711 to S/15/94 or After S/15/94 Usmg Markup Method For Period 1712 Retransm~saton Consent Fees For Period Il 3 Copyright Fees For Period I14 External Costs Ebgthle For 7 5% Markup 715 Marked Up External Coats External Costs Not I~.!l~ihle for Markup ? 16 Cable Specific Taxe~ For Period I17 Franchise p ~lat~l C~sts For Period ~19 To~al External Costs For Punod 720 Monthly Per Subseflber External Costs For Penod 2 FCC Form 1240 Page I Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcatlom Comrmss~on Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20554 Worksheet 7 - External Costs Projected Period For instructions, see Appen&x A of Instructions For FCC Form 1240 I Tm~-Up period ProJected Penod I Question I For whtch t~me penod am you filling out tNs worksheet? [Put an "X" m the appropnote box ] X Question 2 How long is the first period, m months for which rates are being set with th~s worksheet? 12I Question 3 How long ~s the *~cond period, m months, for which rate~ am being sot w~th this worksheet? 0 I Lirie Line Description Basic Tier 2 Tier 3 Tier 4 Tier 5 Period 1 External Costs l~JIglh!e for Markup Cost of Programming For Channels Added Prior 701 to 5/15/94 or After 5/15/94 Using Markup $35,784 83 Method For Period 703 Copyright Fees For Period $29,828 41 704 External Costs Ehg~b!e For 7 5% Markup $65,613.3( 705 Marked Up External Costs $70,,534.1975 External Costs Not l~.l!n°ihle for Markup 706 Cable Specffi¢ Taxes For Punod $0 0( 707 Franchise Related Costs For Punod $0 0( 708 Commission Regulatory Fees For Period $0 0( 709 Totsl External Costs For Period $70,S34 2975 710 Monthly Per Subscnber External Costs For $0.3067 FCC Form 1240 Page 2 Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 Federal Commumcattons Commission Approved By OMB 3060-0685 Washington DC 20~54 Worksheet 8 - True-Up Rate Charged For mstrucnons, see Appendix A of Instructions For FCC Form 1240 Quest,on I How 10ng Is the True-Up Period 1, m months? [ 12 Question 2 How long IS the True-Up Period 2, in months? 0 a b c d e L]]~9 Line Descrt~on Basic Tiaa' 2 Tier 3 ~/~ier 4 Tier 5 801 March $9 4400 802 Aprd $9 4400 803 May $9 4400 804 June $9 9000 805 July $9 9000 806 August $9 9000 807 September $9 9000 808 October $9 9000 809 November $9 9000 810 December $9 9000 811 January $9 9000 812 February $9 9000 813 Period I Average Rate $9 7850 814 Month 13 815 Month 14 816 Month 15 817 Month 16 818 Month 17 819 Month 18 J20 Month 19 t21 Month 20 122 Month 21 123 Month 22 ]24 Month 23 ]25 Month 24 ~26 Pcnod 2 Average Rate FCC Form 1240 Page I Microsoft Excel 5 0 Version July 1996 ATTACHMENT 2 FORM 1205 la A~nuatCapflalCm~s ICom~oondml[eoh~i~mmSdTe~OCrL~eK] S4,.~7~S~6~ · ...........-....,. ......... Explanations To FCC Form 1205 Schedule C Line B Total Malntpnance/Servlce Hours The hours listed on Line B of Schedule C represents annual maintenance and service hours for each equipment category These hours include both ~n house hours arid third party contractors hours ScheduleD Average Hours Per Installation 04/19/01 THU 13 35 FAX 9727260212 C2 CONSULTING ~002 ATTACHMENT 3 ILTING SERVICES, INC. 7801 Panerema Ln Tel (972) 725-7216 Dallaa, Texas 75248 Fax (972) 7260212 April 19, 2001 Mr John Cabrales Pubhc Information Officer City of Denton 215 E McKmney Denton, Texas 76201 Dear Mr Cabrales Pursuant to yom request, C2 Collsullmg Services, lac ("C2'9 provides the following preltmmaw findings vath respect to tho FCC Form 1240 and Form 1205 fried w~th the City of Denton ("City") by Chatter Commumcat~ons ("Charier" or the "Company") Based on the annlys~s to date, C2 has ldenufled the following issues w~th respect to Chertcr's proposcd basic service and eqmpment and installation rates Form 1240 - Basle Servi~ Rate Charter proposes to lowar the basic se~'aco rate Dom $9 90 to $9 78 per month per subscriber The primary reason for tho proposed decrease is that Char~er &d not move the "residual costs" for a channel addmon (QVC) m Jane 2000 These costs w~e included in the projected parred of the $9 90 rate computation, end the hue-up period for the instant tlhng dui not include th~s cost component Based on the Form 1240 formulac~ the result ~s a negauve hue-up (m essence a refund) that lowers the overall 2001 rate computaUon The only Issue w~th respect to Charter's propossd Form 1240 computa~on is that the February 2001 hue-up components are, tn £an~ esmnat~d In C2's op~mon, any asUmates used m the trna- up ealculat~ons are not m complm~ce wnh the rq~latmns More specifically, the Form 1240 methodology incorporates a senes of calonlat~ons that revolve an a~countmg of the actual costs pre~aously projected for the prior rate year and an allowance for projecting certain cost mcreesss/decrenses for the upcoming rate year In each shin;mi Form 1240 flhng, the projections from the prior compotatmn are to be "t~aed-up' to actual costs/subscribers, end any ovar/ander-collect~ons ar~ taken rote account m the development of the new rates In the Thlrt~nd~ Order on Re¢on$~derotm~. the FCC noted ]~ecatlse the tlll~-up wl~ e~mllml~ whet cos[s w~e a~tiRllly mCUAT~(~ It Can oaly ~xamme COSTS as of tho date the Form 1240 ~s filed. As a result, and I~causc the Form 1240 must bo filed at least 90 days beforv ~ho proposed morease ~s sehednled to take vffent end the pro~ections are mad~ for the year begmmng vath the proposed nnpl~mentat~on date, the p~nod apphoable for rite Irue up vail not exactly come,de with the prewous year's projectmns For example, If an operator i]les annually on October 1 for rates to take 04/19/01 THU 10 57 FAX 9727260212 C2 CONSULTING ~002 Mr,I John Cabrales April 19, 2001 Pa~e 2 effect on Jmmary 1, the trae-up wall cover the pe~od from the pre. cos October through September, but the pro]acuons will ~pply to the period January to December ' Wxth the instant filing, Charter has used eatimated data for the last tnonth of the true-up penod (February 2001) Even the Form 1240 fihn8 is dated February 28, 200, the last day of the true. up period This is scarcely enou/h time to asounulate the actual data for the close of the month In C2's opunon, only actual data from the once month of February 2001 should be used m the true-up period The impact of changing the subscriber and external cost data from the estimates filed to the actual data has a do mtmmus impact on the basic servxce rate tn tins fihng However, m future fihngs, the Company should be m~ndated to follow the FCC regnlat~ons with respect to data used m the ~ruO.up period computations Form 1205 - Equipment and Instullaflon Rates The~ are two key issues with respect to the Form 1205 rates · Charter mco1TCCtly included costs that were not previously unbundled from the programnim~ rates · Charter inappropriately a68regated eqmpmant costs for converters 1. Inappropriate Costs Included in Schedule A In C2's opnoon, Charter has a~em mcorreedy included a m~mficant amount of capttahzod overhead and labor tn its determma~on of Schedule A costs to be included m the Hourly Serwee Charge ("HSC") Based on requests for mformattim, Charter states that these amounts are only for the increase that has occurred since the 2000 rate fflmg AS you may recall, during the 2000 review of the Form 1205 costs, C2 noted that Charter had mapproprmtely included capitalized overhead and labor that had not been "unbundled" from the pro~l'mmmng service rates By not unbundllng these costs fi:om the programming sconce rates, inclusion m the eqtupment rates would result m a double recovery However, Charter xmphcnly argues that by m~luthng only tho mereruentul increase tn such capltahzed costs for this year's filing, a double recovery would not occur A/tar examining the supporting documentation prowded by Charter, C2 noted that a sximficant amount of the increase was due to acqulmtmns made during the 2000 fiscal year The bulk of the ac~qmsmons included systems prewously owned by Falcon and Bresnan Based on numerous reviews of Form 1205s m Falcon system.s, C2 notes that such Falcon systems thd not pr~wously unbundle these capitalized labor costs Therefore, C2 has removed that pomon xdenttfiable w~th the 2000 ecqmmtions 3 ~ Soo paragraph ?9, footnote 15 I, FCC 95-397, rel~ed September 22, 1995 : Again, the argument is that ff such costs were not previously unbandled, including them m the ~qmpment and mstallst~on rates would result m a double recovery a Charter provuled mfermatlou that specufically Ment~fied the gross hook amount related to such a~mstttons C2 assumed that due to purchase accoummg, ~here was no accumulated deprecuatmn assocmted wsth tho gross book Deprec~st:oe expense was esumsted based co a five yasr araort~zauco of the gross book costs 04/19/01 TItU 10 57 FAX 9727260212 C2 CONSULTING ~003 Mr John Cabrales Apnl 19, 2001 Page 3 The nnpact of removing these capltahzed labor costs is to reduce the HSC proposed by Charter from $23 89 to $21 73 Applying this HSC to the Company's proposed mstallaUon tune frames results m mstellat~on rates es shown on Exlublt A 2. Improper AB~regation of Equipmant In 1996, the FCC issued a p~hn~ that allowed cable operators to a~regate eqmpmont and mstallat~on costs at alevelhlgharthanthe systems Adtht~onally, cableoperatorsconldegff~regate the costs of eqmpmant as follows Customer eqmpmant may matead bo hsted ut broad categories, prowdad that each category includes only eqmpmcnt of the same typo, regardless of the levels of funct~ouehty of the eqmpmant vntlun each broad category Further. customer eqmpmant which is us0d by subscribers who rocowc only a rate regulated basle somco t~ar, shall not be ag~regatad rote broad cost cat.genes vnth the costs of eqmpment used by subscribers who receive pro[~rnmmlllg services in addltloll to the basle tter An altoruetwe approach to allocatm$ costs to basic.only subscribers ~s to assume that all such custome~cs are using the lowest coSt model of ~qmpmant m service regardless of whe~her that is actually true and thus to charge all basic-only subscnbors based on the loweSt cost eqmpmont models 4 In the mst~t fflm~, Charter has aggregated all types of converters rote one converter category However. the Company has provided a separate rate for the basic-only customer by merely rostamtg the rate astebhshed last year by the City As you recall, the City adopted last yesr's $1 19 rate based on the pnor year's filing that actually provided a computatton for thts rate Again, the Company has not provtdad any data that supports tho proposed $1 19 except that tlus was a prowously approved rate for a non-addrassablo convc~ter In C2's opmton, it ~s meppropnato for the Company to continue to propose a rate with flus lumted justification WltholR adth~ollal mfonnatton, C2 cannot provide an at. orate computation for the lowest loyal of conv~gter However, unless tho Comp~my is continuing to acquire such non.~addressable boxes, it seems logical that the costs would de. linc (as more boxes are fully depreciated) $ Another issue with respect to the basic-only converter rate is whether basic-only customers wdi b~ able to have somctlung other than a uon-addrassable converter at the $1 19 monthly rate Based on tbe fl!rog, It appears thug any conwrter t~e (mcludm$ thgttal) would be leased at the $1 19 rate as long as the cuStomer only subsenbad to basic sennce However based on mformatton provided by the Company. It apples that Charter Is maintaining an mvantory of non- addressable cottvertors for use by basic-only customers If the Company intends only to provide non-addressable converters to basic-only customers, then the $1 19 rate appears to be inflated If the Company wdl allow the beslc.only customer to choose, than the $1 19 may be reasonable m hght of the fact that the proposed $3 96 ($3 94 as adjusted) ~s a blended rate of all types of converters, including thc lesser valued non-addrassable boxes Form 1205 Instn~ctton for Schedule C Capital Costs of Leased Customer Eqmpmont Other operators m the metreplex that coatmue to prowde a separate rate for non-addressable converters lmvo shown a de,hue m tho rate 04/19/0t THU 10 58 FAX 9727260212 C2 CONSULTING ~004 Mr John Cabrales April 19, 2001 Page 4 A~am. the above is based on C2's analysis of the data that has been prowded to date Any fin--~thn-~s and recommenda~ons are prelmnnary and may need to be r~nsed tn the event Chatter provides sufficient supporting documentaiuon and/or .lusl~fication Please call me if you have any ques~ons or need further mformaUon concermng the analyses Very Iruly yours, Comt~ne~ T C~mn~Ay ~} Att~hment 04/19/01 THU 10 58 FAX 9727260212 C2 CONSULTING ~005 Aoenda Item,, I AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET ~ate ~] AGENDA DATE: April 24, 2001 DEPARTMENT: Planm~,~ & Develo~pa~ment C~C~ACM: Dave Hall, 349-8314~ SUB.CT Receive a briefing ~d demons~at~on from s~ rcg~dmg ~c Bmld~ng Inspections D~wswn's recently ~mplcmented pe~t Wac~ng so~e ~d onhne Interface BACKGROUND In August of 2000, ~e CiW Co~c~l approved ~c p~chasc of ~ automated pe~ts m~agcmcnt system, project ffac~ng ~d code enforcement so~c The p~c~e ~d ~mplementat~on of this so~w~c m~cs ~c C~W of Denton a leader ~ong o~cr c~t~es m pc~mg tcc~ology Thc system ~lows c~W s~ to consistently ffack development pe~ts ~d other act~wty ~oughout ~c c~ty Fut~c ~mplcmen~t~on ~11 ~nclude ~e abd~ to a~ch d~g~ bmldlng elevation ~d s~tc pl~s as well as tracing of he~ pe~ts for all food se~cc es~bhs~cnts, ~d health c~ds of food sc~ce employees At ~e bcg~ng of ~e ye~, s~ beg~ wor~ng to ~mplement ~ add~aon~ mod~c that wall allow con.actors to rewew pe~t s~tus Conffactors wdl also bc able to schedule ~nspcct~ons ~d check ~nspectlon ms.ts, e~cr ~ough ~ ~nte~ated voice response system or ~ Interact s~te D~mg a recent conffactor's l~cheon, held by the Braiding Inspections D~ws~on, st~f gave a presentation rcg~d~ng ~c so~e ~d onhnc capabd~t~cs ~erc were approximately 1~0 con.actors m a~cnd~ce, ~d ~e feedback received w~ exffemely favorable O~ers t~t ~11 be able to check inspection h~sto~ vm ~e Interact ~nclude prospective homeo~ers, developers, ten.ts ~d o~cr ~nterested s~eholders, consistent ~ c~ent open records pohc~cs Th~s ~tcm w~ placed on thc Co.ell agenda to demonsffate ~c capabd~acs of ~e system ~c dcmons~at~on wdl se~e ~o p~oses (1) ~o show how development da~ ~s being recorded ~d used, ~d (2) to show how o~ne customer se~ccs w~ll bc ~mproved for both ~c gcncr~ pubhc ~d budders / con.actors ESTI~TED PRO.CT SCHEDULE ~c voice response system ~d Interact access ~s estimated to be ~lly operational by May 1, 2001 Full Intemet ~cess, ~nclud~ng hm~ted o~ne pe~ng, ~s estimated to be operational by July 1, 2001 P~OR ACTION~VIEW Ordm~cc 2000-192 aw~ded a con~t to p~chasc ~c automated pe~ts m~agemcm system, project ~ack~ng ~d code e~orcement so~w~e FISCAL INFO~ATION A con. act wi~ CRW Systems w~ executed on J~c ~, 2000, ~n ~e ~o~t of $214,0~0, to ~nstall ~d ~mplcment developmen~ ~d pe~t ~ackmg so~w~c The project ~s approximately 60 percent complete ATTACHMENTS None Respec~lly submitted Douglas S Powell, AICP D~rector of Pl~ng ~d Development 1 ^g~nda No ~ AGENDA INFORMATION SHEET AGENDA DATE April 24, 2001 ~ DEPARTMENT Community Development ACM: David Hill, Assistant City Manager for Development Services SUBJECT RECEIVE A REPORT, HOLD A DISCUSSION AND GIVE STAFF DIRECTION REGARDING AMENDING THE TAX ABATEMENT POLICY TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR EXPANDING BUSINESSES BACKGROUND The City Council approved the current Tax Abatement Policy in June 2000 The policy addressed special consideration for abandoned buildings in an attempt to more aggressively market the Texas Instruments building and others facilities that qualify The Joint Tax Abatement Committee recommends that the policy be amended to include language that provides similar consideration for the retention of existing businesses with planned expansions Specifically, the recommendation allows the City Council and Denton Independent School District Board to analyze projects on a case-by-case basis and waive both the $5 million threshold and maximum percentage of fifty percent Two clauses have been inserted into the attached policy The highlighted text on page 5 of your backup addresses the intent of the amendment The hlghhghted text on page 6 defines professional positions ESTIMATED SCHEDULE OF PROJECT Should Council direct staff to proceed with the amendment, we would return with a resolution and amended policy for your adoption at the next agenda opportunity The amendment will require a super-majority vote for approval OPTIONS Direct staffto proceed as presented 2 Provide direction on alternative wording for amendment 3 Deny permission to proceed with amendment to Tax Abatement Policy -1- PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW At their April 9th meeting, the Joint Tax Abatement Committee recommended approval of the proposed amendmem FISCAL INFORMATION N/A EXH[BTS Draft Tax Abatement Pohcy Respectfully Submitted, Llnd[a ~.atilff, D~rector - f' f/ Commumty Development Department -2- DENTON POLICY FOR TAX ABATEMENT I GENERAL PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES The City of Denton (City) and the Denton Independent School District (DISD) are committed to the promotion of high quality development in all parts of the city and to an ongoing improvement in thc quality ofhfe for its citizens Insofar as these objeettves are generally served by the enhancement and expansion of the local economy, the City and DISD vall, on a case-by-case basis, give consideration to providing tax abatement as a stimulus for economic development in Denton It is the pohcy of the City and DISD that said consideration will be provided m accordance vath the procedures and criteria outhned m this document Nothing herein shall imply or suggest that the City or DISD are under any obhgatton to provide tax abatement to any apphcant Denton County ad valorem taxes also may be abated, however, applications vail be considered separately under the guidehnes of the Denton County tax abatement pohcy All applicants shall be considered on a ease-by-ease basis Abatements vall be considered only as inducements to generate development that otherwise would not occur Abatements will not be considered if construction of a project already has begun Tax abatements, as described in this pohcy, will be available for new and/or existing facilities and structures and for businesses wanting to locate, expand or modernize basic industries, corporate office headquarters or distribution centers, except as this policy may be hmlted for property described in Section 312 21 l(a) of the Texas Property Tax Code (Vemons Texas Civil Statutes Annotated, hereinafter referred to as "Tax Code ") II JOINT TAX ABATEMENT COMMITTEE Requests for tax abatement shall be reviewed by the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement, smd Committee being comprised of two elected officials each from the City, the DISD and Denton County One adchtlonal staff person from each jurisdiction shall be appointed to serve as a nonvoting, ex officio member of the committee The Joint Committee on Tax Abatement serves as a recommending body to the taxing entitles regarding whether economic development incentives should be offered in each Individual case Its recommendation shall be based upon an evaluation of' information submitted in the tax abatement application and any additional reformation requested by the Committee or presented to the Conumttee The Tax Abatement Application is presented as Exhibit A of this policy All meetings of the Joint Committee shall be held In comphance w~th the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code Tax Abatement Poh¢y Draft4 01 - 3 ~ III VALUE OF INCENTIVES The criteria outhned ~n the Apphcat~on will be used by the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement ~n determ~mng whether or not ~t ~s ~n the best interests of the affected taxing ent~t~es to recommend that tax abatement be offered to a particular project Specific considerations will anclude the degree to wluch the ~nd~wdual project furthers the goals and objectives of the commumty as described in the Denton Comprehensive Plan, as well as the relative ~mpact of the project New, expanding and modermzmg businesses may be considered for abatement if the minimum threshold, as described m Table 1 below, ~s met Once a determination has been made that tax abatement should be offered, the value and term of the abatement may be determined by referencing the following table TABLE 1 Estabhshes a framework for cons~denng the length of abatement according to assessed real property value of ~mprovements and of tangible personal property located on the real property VALUE OF STRUCTURE AND PERSONAL PROPERTY YEARS OF PERCENTAGE OF IN MILLION DOLLARS ABATEMENT ABATEMENT 100 10 15-25% 80 9 15- 25% 65 8 15- 25% 50 7 15- 25% 35 6 15-25% 20 5 15- 25% 15 4 15- 25% 10 3 15- 25% 5 2 15-25% To qualify, compantes must meet the m~mmum threshold of the pohcy ~n the first 24 months from the execution of the agreement or as specified m the tax abatement agreement If upon ~mt~al apphcat~on a project quahfies for tax abatement under the gmdehnes set forth ~n flus pohcy, the taxing ent~t~es may consider granting an addmonal 5% abatement for each one of the following factors provtded, however, that the total tax abatement does not exceed 50% annually or continue for a period of more than ten years No apphcant may receive credit for more than five of the following factors · The project will occupy a building that has been vacant for at least two years, · The project will create h~gh-skllled, h~gh-pay~ng jobs as documented by the applicant, (A breakdown of number of jobs per job classfficat~on and entry level wage per classfficat~on will be used to determine ehgIbfl~ty), Tax Abatement Policy Draft 4-01 - 4 - · The project wall involve a significant relatlonsbap wath one of the two umvers~tles ,n Denton, · At least 25% of the new jobs created by the project wall be filled by Denton res,dents, · The project wall prowde knowledge-based jobs (at least 25 percent of.lobs reqmre college bachelors degree at entry level), · The project wall donate s~gmficant pubhc art to the community (To qual,fy, donat,on must be approved by Greater Denton Arts Council and City Cotmcfl), · The project wall donate s,gmficant matenals/eqmpment to the pubhc schools (To quahfy, donat,on must be approved by DISD and C~ty Council ), · The project wall create ,mprovements to the Denton Central Business D~stnct, · The project wall result m the format,on of a business park, · The project ,s an ,ntemat,onal or nat,onal headquarters faclhty The total tax abatement may not exceed 50% annually for ten years All abatements are subject to final approval of the C,ty Council and DISD Board of Trustees, or the County Commissioner's Court. Even though a project may meet the crlterm as set forth m this pohcy, an apphcataon may be denned at the d~scret,on of the C~ty Couned and/or DISD Board of Trustees Tax abatement shall not apply to any portion of the land value of the project The thresholds as described m Table 1 are considered guldehnes for estabhshmg the Tax Abatement Agreement terms However, the C,ty and DISD may determme that a lower or h,gher percentage and/or a shorter or longer term of abatement may be more appropriate for an lndlv,dual project If abatement ~s approved, the C~ty and DISD may consider apply,ng all or a portion of the abatement m the first year or durmg any shorter period Wlthm the term of the tax abatement agreement For example, an approved abatement of 25 percent for four years may be apphed as 100 percent abatement for one year To receive tax abatement from the C,ty, the owner of the project must enter into a contract w~th Denton Mumc~pal Electric Utfl,t~es to prov,de electr,c servme for a per,od of not less than five years and mmntaln performance of contractual obhgatmns for the full per, od of the contract, unless located in an area ,n wh, ch the Denton Mtmtc~pal Electrm Ut,ht~es ,s not certified to serve Upon recommendatmn of Denton Munn,pal Electric Ut,htles, this reqmrement may be wmved When the C,ty of Denton and Denton Independent School D,stnct determ,ne that abandoned property may reqmre addlt,onal ~ncentlves to promote economm development that generally satisfies the reqmrements of ttus pohcy, the tax,ng ent,t,es may wa, ve the m,mmum threshold and/or exceed fifty percent (50%) ,n tax 1 ax Abatement Pohcy Draft 4 01 - 5 - abatement, or consider other tax incentives for special projects to redevelop abandoned buildings consistent with existing law For the purpose of this policy, an abandoned building is defined as a braiding that has been identified as being statable for commercial or Industrial development, has been vacant for a minimum of five years or has substantially declined in appraised value Abatement would only be considered on the mcreased valuation of the improvements in each year covered by the tax abatement agreement over the value of the property for the year ~n which the tax abatement agreement is executed The City of Denton and Denton Independent School D~stnct may also consider other tax incentives authorized by law Definltmns Prebm~nary. Apphcatlon IV PROCEDURAL GUIDELINES Any person, organization or corporation desmng that the City or DISD consider prowdmg tax abatement to encourage location or expansion of facilities within the limits of the jurisdictions shall be required to comply with the following procedural guidelines Nothing within these gmdebnes shall ~mply or suggest that e~ther the City or DISD is under any obbgat~on to prowde tax abatement to any appbcant. A Applicant shall complete the attached "Application for Tax Abatement" B Applicant shall prepare a map or other documents prowdmg the following · precise location of the property and all roadways within 500 feet of the site · existing uses and conditions of real property · proposed improvements and uses · any proposed changes in zomng · compatibility with the Denton Comprehensive Plan and applicable buildmg codes and City ordmances C A complete legal description shall be provided Applicant shall complete all forms and information detailed in the Application and submit all information to the City Manager, City of Denton, 215 E McKmney, Denton, TX 76201 Tax Abatement Pobey Draft 4 01 - 6 - D All information in the application package detmled above will be reviewed for completeness and accuracy Additional information may be requested as needed E The apphcatlon will be distributed to the appropriate City and DISD departments for internal review and comments Addltaonal lnformatton may be requested as needed F Copies of the complete application package and staff comments will be provided to the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement G Fiscal agents of the City, DISD and County will review the apphcation for comments and recommendation Additional information may be requested as needed Consideration of the Apphcatlon H The Joint Committee on Tax Abatement will consider the application at a regular or called meeting(s) Additional information may be requested as needed The recommendation of the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement will be forwarded, w~th all relevant materials, to the ctuef admimstratlve officer of each taxing entity J If the City Council of Denton decides to grant a tax abatement, it shall call a public heanng to consider establishment of a tax relnvestment zone in accordance with Section 312 201 of the Tax Code The relnvestment zone must meet one or more of the criteria of Section 312 202 of the Tax Code K The City Council of Denton shall hold a pubhc heanng and determine whether the project is "feasible and practical and would be of benefit to the land to be included within the zone and City after the expiration of the tax abatement agreement in accordance with Section 312 201" Special consideration shall be given to policies noted in the Denton Comprehensive Plan when designating a tax relnvestment zone L The City Council of Denton may consider adoption of an ordinance designating the area described in the legal description of the proposed project as a commercialhndustnal tax abatement zone M The City Council may consider adoption of an ordinance or resolution approving the terms and conditions of a contract between the City and the applicant governing the provision of the tax abatement and the commitments of the applicant, lncludang all the terms reqmred by Section 312 205 of the Tax Code and such other terms and conditions as the City Council may require Should the commitments subsequently not be satisfied, the tax abatement shall be null and void (unless the tax abatement agreement prowdes for a recapture of the property tax revenue lost proportionate to a partial failure to meet the minimum thresholds set forth in the agreement) and all abated taxes shall be prod lmmedmtely to the City of Denton and all other taxing jurisdictions partm~patmg in the tax abatement agreement Provisions to this effect shall be incorporated into Tax Abatement Pohcy Dra~ 4 01 - 7 - the agreement N The govermng bodies of Denton County and DISD may consider ratification of and participation ~n the tax abatement agreement between the C~ty of Denton and the applicant O The C~ty and DISD reserve the authority to enter ~nto tax abatement agreements at d~ffenng percentages and/or terms as set forth m the gu~dehnes of this pohey, consistent vath the reqmrements of the Tax Code Any tax abatement agreement will address various ~ssues, including but not hm~ted to, the following 1 General description of the project, 2 Amount of the tax abatement and percent of value to be abated each year, 3 Method of calculating the value of the abatement, 4 Duration of the abatement, including commencement date and termmat~on date, 5 Legal description of the property, 6 Kind, number, location and timetable of planned ~mprovements, 7 Specific terms and cond~tmns to be met by applicant, 8 The proposed use of the facdlty and nature of construction, 9 Contractual obhgatlons ~n the event of default, v~olat~on of terms or conditions, dehnquent taxes, recapture, admm~strat~on and assignment Annual Evaluation Upon completion of construction, the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement shall receive from the City Manager an annual evaluat:on of each abatement to insure comphance w~th the agreement and to report possible v~olat~ons of the agreement to the taxing entrees After new tax base numbers are received ~n July of each year, the C~ty Manager and his staff will have ninety (90) days to rewew and prepare a breakdown of those figures Transfer or Assignment A contract for tax abatement may be transferred or assigned by the original apphcant to a new owner upon approval by the various taxmg jurisdictions after such a recommendation ~s made by the Joint Committee on Tax Abatement Local Businesses and Minorl .ty Business Enterprises In per£ormmg this Agreement, OWNERS agree to use &hgent efforts to purchase all goods and serwces from Denton businesses whenever such goods and serwces are comparable m avmlabfl~ty, quality and price As a matter ofpohcy w~th respect to CITY projects and procurements, CITY also encourages the use, ff apphcable, of quahfied contractors, subcontractors and supphers where at least fifty-one percent (51%) of Tax Abatement Pohcy Draft 4 01 - 8 - the Ownershxp of such contractor, subcontractor or suppher is vested xn racial or ethnic mxnonties or women In the selection of subcontractors, suppliers or other persons or organizations proposed for work on this Agreement, the OWNERS agree to consider this pohcy and to use their reasonable and best efforts to select and employ such companies and persons for work on this Agreemem Job Recruiting from Low-Moderate Income Census Tracts OWNER, lessee or assignee of OWNER agrees it will endeavor to make avmlable, or endeavor to cause lessees or assignees to make avmlable, full-time or part-time employment with on-the-job trmmng for Denton cmzens In thts effort, OWNER, lessee or assignee agrees to recruit from the low-moderate income Census tracts as further defined in the Concentration of Low/Mod Income by Block Groups shown below Tax Abatement Pohcy Draft 4 01 - 9 - AGENDA INFO~ATION SHEET AGENDA DATE. April 24, 2001 Questions concerning th~s acqmsmon may be d~rected DEPARTMENT. Utility Customer Service to (Susan Croff/349-8199) CM/DCM/ACM: Howard Martm, Interim C~ty Manager SUBJECT Receive a report, hold a d~scussmn and g~ve staff direction on proposed changes to C~ty Ordinance - Chapter 26 - Utdmes Thru proposal reflects changes ~n operations, technology, and customer needs, and are m preparation for deregulation BACKGROUND Changes to flus ordinance are needed to reflect current customer servme operational needs The specffic changes relating to customer service ~tems include · Incentives for prompt payment · ReducUon of the ~nterval between the payment due date and term~natlon of service · Flexibility m the determination of deferred payment plans (past due financing) · Recovery of costs · ANhty to adapt to new technology to prowde new services RECO ,I~MENDATION Staff recommends the acceptance of the proposed ordinance changes For tmplementaUon as of October 1, 2001 PRIOR ACTION/REVIEW (Council, Boards, Commissions) Several changes were made to C~ty Ordinance - Chapter 26 m July of 1994 In September of 1998, the impact fee port,on (Section* 26-210 through 26-231) was added On February 18, 2001, the proposed changes were presented to the Public Utility Board On March 27, 2001, the changes were presented to Council for dmcusmon and Council requested add~honal mformatmn and cons~derahon FISCAL INFORMATION The proposal changes the parameters m whmh utility customer service can prowde serwce It also allows for additional recovery of costs for these services and the use ofclty funds These proposed costs will be controlled by the annual rate ordinance approved by the Pubhc Utility Board and the C~ty Council, and the utility mmew committee Respectfully submitted (Susan Croft) ~ (Manager - Utdlttes Customer Service) Requested Information on Proposed Changes ' Ordinance 26 - Utlhties Following ~s the mformat~on requested by Council on March 27, 2001 F~rst, is a hst of the data for the calculations presented Descrlptlon Dollars % of Billed % of Total Item Amount bdled over 3 month $42,300,000 100% period All past due $ 4,200,000 10% R~s~dent~al port~on $ 1,155,000 3% 28°A Past due greater than 30 days $ 2,500,000 6% Residential por'aon $ 845,000 2% 33°3 No Ftnanctng (6,600 customers) $ 3,290,000 8% R~s~dentml port~on $1,205,000 3% 29~ Ftnanced amounts 0,899 customers) $ 910,000 2% R~s~dentlal port~on $ 767,000 <2% 84°/~ Q1 Can we termmat~on for non-payment between 30 and 35 days~ Yes, see Attachment A A modified d~sconnect cycle shows the reduction of the cycle by 11 days Tlus will allow us to use the bill as a disconnect not,ce and w~th IVR technology we can prowde both a reminder call and a courtesy call prior to d~sconnect Th~s effectively g~ves the customer approximately 37 days and up to 3 notifications before services are d~sconneeted Q2 What ~s the expected revenue from shortening the disconnect procedure~ The modified d~sconnect procedure (See Attachment A) shortens the contact period by 11 days On the current month's past due amount of $4,200,000 and a rate of 6%, the interest lost ~s approximately $104,000 annually In addmon, the change m process will ehmmate $26,000 m postage and paper and allow d~vers~un of $46,000 m resources to be used to provide other services. The total reduction m cost ~s estimated at $176,000 Q3 What ~s the current status of accounts in deferment or financed through the C~tyO As of March 26, 2001, there are 1,899 accounts (less than 5%0 ofcustorner base) for $910,000 financed through the city Of this amount 21% ~s financed past 90 days and 84% of the total ~s residential financing Q4 What would be the affect of the penalty If it were put m place today~ The penalty using the modified thsconnect model (Attachment A - 45 days), and without modified behavior would be as follows Currently there are 6,600 customers that pay after the 30 days past due without seeking financing This represents approximately $2,500,000 A .5% rate applied at the second due date would represent an annual amount of $125,000 Of th~s amount the res~dentml would be $42,000 annually (represents 2% of total btlled) A 2% rate apphed at the second due date would represent an annual amount of $$0,000 Ofth~s amount, the residential port,on would be $17,000 Note It ~s hkely that customer payment behavior will adapt and th~s penalty w~ll not be ~ssued nor received m the dollar amounts presented Again, th~s reformation is based on the current process m which customers are not contacted until 45 days after bllhng Q5 What would be the affect of interest based on current act~wty? The ~nterest would be apphed at the time the balance becomes past due (15 days from b~ll date) W~thout behavior modification, the interest amount at 6% would be $252,000 The residential portion ofth~s annual amount would be $69,000 If ~nterest were calculated at current prime rate +2% or 10%, the annual amount received would be $420,000 The res~dentml portmn of this annual amount would be $115,000 Q6 What is the cost of the current terminat~on process (45 days) versus the modified process (37 days)? The process costs that could be ehmmated are postage, printing and paper at a total of $26,000 In addition, $46,000 in resources could be d~verted to provide other services such as phones, cash receipts or collections The estimated annual sawnes ~s $72~000 (See Attachment }5) Q7 What are other utility providers policies on penalty and interest within the City's service area? This mformatton ts bemg researched and wtll be avatlable at the meetlng Service Penalty Interest TXU Gas None None TXU Electric CoServ Gas CoServ Electric City of Denton Proposed Agenda No ~~ AGENDA DATE. April 24, 2001 DEPARTMENT: Caty Manager's Office CM/DCM/ACM. Howard Martan, Interim C~ty Manager SUBJECT: Receave a report, hold a d~scussaon and give staff &rect~on regarding changing the Council's rules to allow d~scuss~on and consideration of ~tems pulled from the consent agenda prior to the pubhc heanngs BACKGROUND: On September 24, 1994, the Clty Council adopted Ordinance No 94-183 relating to the Rules of Procedure for the C~ty Council The rules of procedure have been amended several times, and cop~es of the original ordananee and the amending ordmances are attached Or&nanee No 96- 257 which was adopted on November 5, 1996, amended Section 2 6 of the rules of procedure of the C~ty Council by authorizing the consent agenda to be approved by one mouon of the C~ty Council However, the amendment d~d not provide gmdance concermng the proper handhng of the consent agenda ff an atem was pulled for further consideration Roberts Rules of Order mdmates that matters placed on a consent calendar, ff objected to, are restored to the ordmary process by wtueh they are placed m hne for consideration on the regular agenda Thus, in the past, pulled consent agenda ~tems have been consadered under atems for mdlvldual eonmderataon Under sectton 6 1 (amended by Ordinance No 96-085), the C~ty Manager w~th preparing an agenda for each meetang that ~s revaewed and approved by the Agenda Committee This prowsaon seems to Indicate that the Caty Manager, w~th the approval of the Agenda Committee, could change the order of the agenda so that pulled consent agenda ~tems could be taken up right after the consent agenda Further rewew of the Roberts Rules indicates that a would be approprmte to seek the consent of the Council to the change the order of the agenda Because of the Increased development actlwtles, numerous public hearings are being considered at each council meeting Many times the pubhc hearings can be quite lengthy and result an a number of the staff wmtlng to be available to answer Council questions when the pulled consent agenda atems are considered under atems for lndlvadual consideration It would seem more efficient that pulled consent agenda ~tems be taken up right after the consent agenda OPTIONS. 1 Gave no dlrect~on and continue to consider pulled consent agenda ~tems under ~tems for mdivldual consideration 2 Allow the Mayor to seek consem of the rest of the Council to take up items pulled from the consent agenda prior to the pubhc hearing portion of the agenda at each meeting 3 Direct staff to prepare an ordinance amending the Rules of Procedure to change the order of the agenda and allow the consideration of pulled consent agenda prior to the pubhc heanngs RECOMMENDATIONS: Staff recommends Option #3 Respectfully submitted ]~-6tty W~ihams D~rector of Management & Pubhc Information S \Our Documents\Ordmanccs\OO~Specml Meetings Of Council doc ORDINANCE NO ~ AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AMENDING SECTION 4 2 OF ORDINANCE NO 94-183 AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL TO ALLOW THE MAYOR, CITY MANAGER OR THREE COUNCILMEMBERS TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING, RATIFYING MEETINGS AND ACTIONS OF THE MAYOR, CITY MANAGER OR THREE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS CALLING A MEETING AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION, AND TO DESGINATE A LOCATION FOR A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING, PROVIDING A REPEALING CLAUSE, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAiNS SECTION 1 Ordinance No 94-183, Section 4 2 is amended to read as follows 4 2 Special Meetings' Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager, or by any three members of the Council The call for a special meeting shall be filed w~th the City Secretary in written form, and he or she shall post notice thereof as provided by the Texas Open Meetings Act, Tex Gov't Code Ann §351 001, et seq (Vernon 1994, as amended) The Mayor, City Manager, or three of the council members may designate a location for the special meeting as long as the location is open to the pubhc SECTION 2 All previous meetings and all actions by the Mayor, City Manager or three members of the council ~n calling a meeting at a location other than c~ty hall are hereby affirmed, ratified and approved, SECTION 3 All ordinances that conflict with this ordinance, including Section III of Ordinance No 97-220, are hereby repealed SECTION 4 That this ordinance shall become effective on November 1, 2000 PASSED AND APPROVED thm the ~.~ dayof ~v'er~e_r ,2000 EUL1NE BROCK, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY S \Our Documents\Ordmances\OO~Spec~al Meehngs Of Council doc APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM O ANCE NO g AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 98-415 BY CORRECTING THE DESCRIPTIVE CAPTION OF THE ORDINANCE AND SECTIONS I AND III TO CHANGE THE REFERENCE TO ORDINANCE NO 96-014 TO 94-183, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $500 00, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, Orthnance No 98-415, which amended the Council's Rules of Procedure to preserve order, decorum, and security dunng City Council meetings, needs to be amended due to an incorrect reference to Ordinance No 96-014, which needs to be changed to Ordinance No 94- 183, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS ~ That Ordinance No 98-415 is hereby amended by changing the references in the caption of the ordinance and Sections I and III from Ordinance No 96-014 to Ordinance No 94-183, as amended ~ That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word in this ordinance, or application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent junsdicUon, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remmmng portions of this ordinance, the City Council of the City of Denton hereby declares that they would have enacted such remmmng portions despite any such invalidity ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all of the sections, clauses, and phrases of Orthnance No 98-415, as amended shall remain in full force and effect ~ That any person violating any provision of Ordinance No 98-415, as amended, shall, upon conwcUon, be fined a sum not exceeding $500 00 Each day a provision of this ordinance is violated shall constitute a separate and distinct offense SECTION V. That this ordinance shall become effective fourteen (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City Secretary is hereby d~rected to cause the following descriptive caption of Ordinance No 98-415, as amended, to be pubhshed twice in the Denton Record- Chromcle, a dmly newspaper published in the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of the passage of this ordinance AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL, BY PROVIDING CERTAIN RULES ESTABLISHING DECORUM, BEHAVIOR, AND SECURITY REGARDING CITIZENS' BEHAVIOR AND CONDUCT AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $500 00, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE ~ACK MILI./L~, M~OR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY ,/ Page 2 THF~ RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL, BY PROVIDING CERTAIN RULES I~STABLISHING D£CORUM, BEHAVIOR, AND SECURITY REGARDING CITI- ZF~NS' BEHAVIOR AND CONDUCT AT CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOR A PENALTY NOT TO EXCEED $$00 00, AND PROVIDING FOR AN !~FFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the CLty Council deems it in the public interest to amend its Rules of Proce- dure to preserve order and decorum and secunty dunng City Council meetings, wluch will help preserve the ahihty of the City Council to effectively and efficiently conduct its pubhc meetings, NOW, TI-IFREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF TH~ CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS ~ That Ordinance No 96-014, as amended, is hereby amended by amending SecUon 3 3 "C~t~zens" of Sectiun 3 "Code of Conduct", to read as follows. 33 Cmzens a. Citizens and other vis~tors are welcome to attend all pubhc meetings of the City Council, and wtll bo adrmttad to the City Council Chamber or other room tn which the City Council is meeting, up to the fire safety capacity of the room b All meeting attende~ shall conduct themselves with propriety and decorum Conversations between or among an&ence members should be conducted outside the meeting room Attendees will reft-am from excessively loud private conversa- tions while the Coullcll IS m sassoon c. Unauthorized remarks from the anihence, stamping of the feet, applauding, whis- tles, yells, and suntlat demousmmons shall not be penmttad. d. Placards, bannei, s, or signs w~ll not be p~,uatted m the City Council Chamber or in any other room m which the City Council is meetmi[. Exhibits, ~splays, and visual aids used m colmection with presentations to the City Council, however, e. Audience members may not place thetr feet on any chairs m the City Council Chamber or other room m which the City Council ~s meelmg f Only City Council mambers and City staff may step on to the dais. g All peoplo wlshmg to address the City Council shall first be reco~mzed by the presiding officer and shall 1rout their remarks to the matter under chacussion h All remarks and questions addressed to the C~ty Council shall be addressed to the City Council as a whole and not to any lndlwdual members Any person addressing the City Council in the City Council Chamber shall do so from the lectern unless physically unable to do so People addressing the City Council shall not be permitted to approach the dais If they wish to hand out pa- pers or other materials to the City Council, they should express that desire to the presiding officer, and the City Manager shall chrect a staffmember to hand out the materials j When the time has expired for a presentation to the City Council, the presiding of- ricer shall direct the person speakang to cease A second request from the presid- ing officer to cease apeakmg shall be cause of the removal of the speaker if that person contmuas to speak k Equipment, apparatus, or paraphemaha such as camera tnpods, easels, or wheel- chan's shall not obsti'uct' block, or othorvase be located m the doorway, enlrance- way, or walk-ways of the City Council Chamber or of any other mom m which the City Council may choose to meet Representatives of the electromc mecha may set up cameras and other equipment only m the back of the worn It is penmssl- ble for televmon camera operators to film for short penods of tune (several nun- utes) from the entr~ceway to thc City Council Chambers using hand-held cam- eras only Any radio station, which broadcasts the regular City Council meetings live may hook their equipment up at the front of the mom as long as it remains out of sight and out of the way I There vail be a uniformed City of Denton pohce officer present at all regular meetings of the City COUIlcll. This pohce officer shall act m the capacity ora se- curity officer/sergesnt-at-arms, and shall enforce the meeting rules and act upon the direcaon of the presiding officer m. Any person making Im~onal, impertinent' profane, or slanderous remarks, or who becomes boisterous while addressing the City Councd or who other~se violates any of the above-mentioned niles while attending a Czty Council meeting shall be removed from the mom at the chrect~on of the pras~dmg officer, and the person shall be barred from further auihence before the City Council during that session of the City Counofl. If the presiding officer fads to act' any member of the City Counofi may move to requtre the offending person's removal, and the affirmative vote of a majority of the City Council shall require the pr~dln$ officer to act The sergeant-at-aims, if so directed by the presiding officer or an affirmative vote of the malonty of the City Council, shall remove the offending person from the meeting. Page 2 SECTION II. That any person v~olating any provision of tlus ordinance shall, upon conv~c- tlon, be fined a sum not exceeding $500 00 Each day that a provision of flus or&nance is wolated shall constitute a separate and obstruct offense SECTION II/. That save and except as amended hereby, all of the remmmng sections, subsections, paragraphs, and sentanees of Ordinance No 96-014, as amended, shall remain m full force and effect SEC~ON W. That if any section, subseeUon, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word ua flus ordinance, or apphcanon thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid by any court of competent juns&ct~on, such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining pomons of th~s ordmence, the City Council of the City of Denton hereby declares that they would have enacted such remam!ng portions despite any such invalidity ~ That this ordinance shall become effective fourtecn (14) days from the date of its passage, and the City S~retsry is hereby d~rected to catme the captlun of tlus or&- nance to be pubhshed twice in the Denton Record-Chronicle, a dally newspaper pubhshed in the City of Denton, Texas, within ten (10) days of the date of its passage PASSED AND APPROVEDtlusthe ~-~'~ dayof~ 1998 ATTEST. JE~ WALTEI~, CITY SECRETARY ' {] . APPlier r~ AS TO LEGAL FORM. HERBF. RTL. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY Page 3 ORDINANCE NO q ~ -~(~' AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, THE RULES AND PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF TIIE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY ESTABLISHING THE TIME FOR REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council deems it m tile public interest to establish rules to change the times of regular City Council meetings, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE C1TY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS ~ That Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, Is hereby amended by amending Secllon 4 1 "Regular Meetings" to read as follows 4-1 Regular Meetings The Council shall meet al six o'clock p m oil the first and tlnrd Tuesday of each month, with executive sessions (closed meetings) of the Courted commencing at five fifteen o'clock p m, or at any other time set by the Coullcll, uuless the meeting is postponed or cancelled for valid reasons All regular meetings of the Council will be held m the Municipal Budding at 215 East McKlnney Street, or at such other location as Ihe City Cotmcd may, by motion, resolution or ordinance from tmle to time designate ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all of the sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, shall renlam m full force and effect ~ That Ilus ordinance shall become effective mlmediately upon its passage and approval PASSED AND APPROVED thls the 6~ dayof dQ~)~) ,1998 JAC~ILLER, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM HERBERT L PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY BY ~/ PAGE 2 O DINANCE NO AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NOS 94-183 AND 96-085, AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 2-29(d) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY FOR CITIZENS TO SPEAK BOTH ON REGULAR AGENDA AND CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council deems It m the public interest to amend its roles of order to prowde for the opportumty for citizens to speak both on regular agenda and consent agenda items; NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS SEC~ON I. That Ordlmmce Nos. 94-183 and 96-085 are hereby amended by amenchng Sectien 6.40))"Pre, sentations by Citizens" and amending Section 2-29(d) "City Council Proce- dures Order of Busmeas - Presentations by Citizens" of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, Texas to read as follows. Sec 6 4('0) Presentations by Cmzens Sec 2-29(d). City Council Procedures Order of Business - Presentations by Citizens Soeslan~ on Remllar Ar, enda and Consent A~,~nda Items. Any person who wishes to ad- dre~s the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's agenda for a regular or spe- cial meeting, shall complete a "request to speak" form asking to speak regarding the item and return It to the City Secretary before the Council considers the Item The Mayor will call upon the ¢ltiZOll to Speak for no longer than three (3) minutes as that particular agenda Item is considered by the City Council The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to pelsons eppoarmg at a pubhc heanng in response to an official agenda notice or pubhcat~on. The provisions of tlus paragraph do not apply to workshop mectmgs, and a citizen's right to speak and provide input at those mectmgs shall be lmuted and controlled by Section 4 3 "Workshop Meetings" of tlus ordinance ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all of the sections, clauses, and phrase~ of Ordiv. aa~ Nos. 94-183 and 96-057 and Section 2-29 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton shall r~nam m full force and effect ~ That this ordinance shall become effective ~mmedlatoly upon ItS passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED tlus the /t~ day of~~..~ 1998 JAC~LER, MAYOR ATTEST JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRI~TARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM. HERBERT L. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY Pago2 ORDINANCE NO ~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, BY AMENDING SECTION 2 6 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL BY AUTHORIZING THE CONSENT AGENDA TO BE APPROVED BY ONE MOTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE, PROVIDING FOR RETROACTIVE EFFECT; AND DECLARING ANEFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, because of the Cxty Councxl's desire to more effectively and efficiently serve the public through the medium of public meetings, the Council deems it in the public interest to amend the Rules of Procedure, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS: ~ That Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, is hereby amended by amending Section 2.6 "Questions to Contain One Subject" to read as follows: 2 6 All questions submitted for a vote shall contain one subject, except the City Council may approve all items which are on the consent agenda in one motion, regardless of how many subjects are contained in the consent agenda, so long as all items have been properly posted in accordance with the Texas Open Meetings Act and have not been removed from the consent agenda by a councilmember If two or more points are involved, any member may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all the sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 94-183, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect ~ That this ordinance take effect from and after October 1, 1996, immediately upon its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~-~ ~day of ~ 1996 ATTESTs JENNIFER WALTElq~, CITY SECP~TARY I'ffiltBgR? L. PROU'~, ~ITY ~TYORNgY BY: ~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183, AS AMENDED, AND SECTION 2-29 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING CERTAIN RULES ESTABLISHING THE ORDER OF BUSINB$$ANDCLARIPYING TIME LIMITS ON PRESENTATIONS BY CITIZENS BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREA~, the Attorney General has ruled that the Texas Open Meetings Act does not entitle the public either to choose the items to be discussed before the Council or to speak about Items on the agenda; and WHEREAS, the City Council deems it in the public interest to establish rules providing citizens the right to ~peak at Council meetings within certain time limits and under certain rules which will preserve the ability of the Council to effectively and efficiently conduct its public meetings, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS. ~ That Ordinance No 94-183 is hereby amended by amending Section 6 "Order of Business", sections 6.1 through 6 7, inclusive, and amending Section 2 29 "City Council Procedures Order of Business" of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Denton, to read as follows: 6. OP~IH OP B~BIN~B~ 6.1 Acenda= [2-29(a)] The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the agenda prepared by the City Manager, which shall be reviewed and approved by an Agenda Committee composed of the Mayor, one other member of the City Council selected by the Council, and the City Manager The agenda shall be a listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council Placement of items on the agenda shall be governed by this Section and Se~tion 6.3; provided that if a Councilmember has an "emergen~m item that the Councilmember believes should be placed on the next regular or special meeting agenda, the placement must be approve~ by two members of the Agenda Committee. Conduct of business at special meetings and Council committees and subcommittees will likewise be governed by an agenda and the rules of procedure contained herein. 6 2 Pled=e o£ Alleaiance [2-29(b)] Each agenda shall provide an item for the recital of the ,,Pledge of Allegiance" at the regularly scheduled City Council meetings. This item shall begin with the recital of the pledge of allegiance for the United States flag and shall follow with a recital of the pledge of allegiance for the Texas state flag in accordance with article 6139(b) of Vez~ons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes 6 3 Presentations bv Members of the COU~] [2-29(c)] The agenda shall provide a time when the Mayor or any Councllmember may bring before the Council any business that he or she feels should be deliberated upon by the Council These matters need not be specifically llsted on the agenda, but d~scussion and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting ;thy member may suggest an ~tem for d~scuss~on at a future work session The City Manager or C~ty staff shall only respond preliminarily on thls ~tem at the work session If the C~ty Council believes the item requires a more detailed review, the Council will give the City Manager or City staff direction to place the item on a future regular meeting agenda and advise staff as to the background materials to be desired at such meeting 6.% Presentations bv Citizens. [2-29(d)] (a) ~. Any person who wishes to place a subject on the Council agenda at a regular City Council meeting shall advise the City Manager's office of that fact and the specified subject matter which he or she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at which he or she wishes the designated subject to be considered. A time for such citlzen reports shall be provided on the agenda after the pledge of allegiance, approval of the minutes, and the presentation of proclamations. ~y speaker prov~dlng a citizen report shall speak for no longer than five (5) minutes on all items that he or she may bring before the Council at each meeting, unless the Mayor or the majority of the Council grants an extension of tame. No citizen may flll out a "request to speak" for~ or have an opportunity to speak or comment on another citizen's report which is given at the same Council meeting (b) SDeakina on Regular Aaenda Items: Any person who wishes to address the Council regarding an item that is on the Council's non-consent agenda for a regular or special meeting, shall complete a .request to speak,, form asking to speak regarding the item and return it to the City Secretary before the Council considers the item. The Mayor wlll call upon the citzzen to speak for no longer than three (3) m~nutes as that particular agenda ~tem is considered by the City Council. The provisions of this para- graph do not apply to persons appearing at a public hearing ~n response to an official agenda notice or publication, nor shall any person have a right to speak or provide input on consent agenda items, unless such items are removed from the consent agenda and placed on the reqular agenda by the City Council. The provisions of this paragraph also do not apply to workshop meetings, and a citizen's right to speak and provide ~nput at those meetings shall be limited and controlled by Section 4.3 "Workshop Meetings" of this ordinance. (c) ~neakina at Public Hearinas. Any person who w~shes to address the Council at a public hearing shall complete a Page 2 "request to speak" form and return it to the Cmty Secretary before the applicable hearing. The Mayor will call upon the citizen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes 6.5 ~. [2-29(e)] Speakers before the Council shall limit themr remarks to five (5) minutes or less for public hearxng items and citizen reports. C~tlzens speaking to a non- public hearing agenda item shall limit their presentations to three (3) minutes or less. 6.6 Oral Presentatmons bv City Manaaer. [2-29(f)] Matters requiring the Council's attention or action which may have developed after the deadline for delivery of the written communication to the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager. If formal Council action on a subject is required, such actlon may be taken only if the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Law have been satisfied. 6.7 Presentation of Proclamations. [2-29(g)] The agenda may provide a time for the presentation of proclamations. The Mayor or presiding officer may deliver and present proclamations upon the req~/est of citizens. Proclamations may encompass any activity or theme except that proclamations with a theme religious or partisan in nature shall not be presented Moreover, proclamations shall not be used for any commercial or advertising purpose ~ That save an except as amended hereby, all of the sections, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No. 94-183, as amended, shall remain in full force and effect ~ That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~ day of ~, 1996 ATT~ST~ ~ JENNIFE~ WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY BY:~ A~P~9~ED AS 'TO LEGAL FO~M~ HERbeRT L. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY Page 3 ORDINANCE NO ~ -__..~_~_~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183 RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF TEE CITY COUNCIL OF TEE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING THAT TEE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE WILL INCLUDE BOTE A RECITAL OF THE PLEDGE TO TEE UNITED STATES FLAG AND TO TEE TEXAS FLAG, AND PROVIDING FOR AN EFFECTIVE DATE WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Denton has determined that it would be in the public lnterest to begln each meeting with a pledge of allegiance to both the Un,ted States flag and to the state flag of Texas, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS ~ That Ordinance No. 94-183 is hereby amended by amending Section 6.2 "Pledge of Allegiance', to read as follows Section 6 2. Pledge of Allegiance Each agenda shall provide an ~tem for the recital of the "Pledge of Allegiance. at the regularly scheduled Council meetings. This item shall begin with the recital of the pledge of allegiance for the Unxted States flag and shall follow with a recital of the pledge of allegiance for the Texas state flag in accordance with article 6139(b) of Vernons Annotated Texas Civil Statutes. ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all the sections, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No 94-183 shall remain in full force and effect. ~ That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~&~ day of ~, 1996 ATT~ST~ ~ SECRETARY JENNIFE~WALTERS,~I7 HERBERT L. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY ORDINANCE NO ~ AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO 94-183 RELATING TO THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE CI~ COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, BY PROVIDING THAT EVERY MEMBER OF THE CITY COUNCIL WILL HAVE AT LEAST ONE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ONEACH ITEM BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL, AND PROVIDING FOR ANEPFECTIVE DATE THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS ~ That Ordinance No 94-183 is hereby amended by amending section ?.6 Demand for Roll Call to read as follows Seotion 7.6. D~-~d for ~oll Call. Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for yeas and nays upon any question before the Council, with the exception of those circumstances set forth in Section 7.1~. The Previous Oueetion. It shall not be in order for members to explain their vote during the roll call. ~ That Ordinance No 94-183 is hereby amended by amending section 7.12 The Previous Question to read as follows Section 7.12. The Previous ~uestion. When the previous question is moved and seconded, shall be put as follows, "Shall the main question be now put?" There shall then be no further amendment or debate, excent that nothina herein shall allow the nrevious ~uesti0n ~o called nrior to a least one opportunity for each member o~ Council to sneak on the auestion before the Co~n~.] Any pending amendments shall be put Ln their order before the main question. If the motion for the previous question is lost, the mainquestion remains before the Council An affirmative vote of 3/5 of the Council shall be required to move the previous question. To demand the previous question eq~ivalen~ in effect to moving, "That debate now cease, and the Council shall immediately proceed to vote on the pending motion." In practice, this is done with the phrase, "Call for the q~eetion" or simply saying, "Question" ~ That save and except as amended hereby, all the sections, clauses, and phrases of Ordinance No. 94-183 shall remain in full force and effect. ~ That this ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~6~ day of-'~ '~, 1996 BOB CASTLEBERRY, MA~ ~ ATTEST: JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LE(}AL FO~M: HERBERT n. PROUTY, CITY ATTORNEY BY: ~~ PAGE 2 NOTE Amended by Ordinance No. 96-045 Amenaec oy vr~znance mo. Amended by Ordinance No. 96-057 Amended by Ordinance No. 99-028 Amended by Ordinance No. 96-085 Amended by 0rd]nance No 2000-420 Amended by Ordinance No. 96-257 Amended by Ordinance No. 98-246 Amended by Ordinance No. 98-325 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 90-026 RELATING TO RULES OF PROCEDURE FOR THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, AND REPEALING O]LDINANCES 93-073, 92-115, AND 90-150; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the Constitution and Laws of the State of Texas, and Section 2.07 of the city Charter of the city of Denton, Texas, authorize the city Council of said City to promulgate and establish rules of procedure to govern and conduct meetings, order of busi- ness, and decorum, while acting as a legislative body representing said city; and WHEREAS, because of its desire to more effectively and effi- ciently serve the public through the medium of public meetings, it has become necessary to amend the rules of procedure, NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS, HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION I. Ordinance Numbers 93-073, 92-115, and 90-150 are hereby repealed, and Ordinance Number 90-026 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1. AUTHORITY 1.1 Charter: Pursuant to the provisions of Section 2.07 of the Charter of the city of Denton, Texas, the City Council hereby enacts these rules of procedure for all meetings of the City Council of the city of Denton, Texas. During any meeting, a reasonable opportunity shall be given for citizens to be heard under these rules. These Rules of Procedure are enacted as guidelines to be followed by all persons in the Council Chamber including the city administrative staff, news media, and visitors. 2. 2.1 Meetings to be Public: All official meetings of the Council and Council committees and subcommittees, except closed meetings permitted by the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX. GOV'T. CODE ANN. (Vernon 1994), as amended, shall be open to the public. 2.2 Q~orum: Four members of the Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. (Charter, Section 2.06) 2.3 Compellln~ Attendance: No member shall be excused from attendance at a Council meeting except for good and valid reasons. 2.4 ~/~= The Council may punish its ow~members for misconduct. 2.5 Minutes cf Meetina~= An account of all proceedings of the Council shall be kept by the city Secretary and shall be entered in a book constituting the official record of the Council. A certified agenda shall be prepared for all closed meetings and shall be approved by the Mayor in accordance with Chapter 552, TEX. GOVtT. CODE ANN. (Vernon 1994), as amended. 2.6 Ouesticns to Contain One Sub4~: All questions submit- ted for a vote shall contain only one subject. If two or more points are involved, any me~ber may require a division, if the question reasonably admits of a division. 2.7 ~L~~ Any member desiring to speak shall be recognized by the Chairperson, and shall confine his or her remarks to the subject under consideration or to be considered. No member shall be allowed to speak more than once on any one subject until every member wishing to speak shall have spoken. 2.8 ~= The City Manager, or Acting City Manager, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused. He or she may make recommendations tot he Council and shall have the right to take part in all discussions of the Council, but shall have no vote. (Charter, Section 5.03 (d)) 2.9 ~_~~ The City Attorney, or Acting City Attorney, shall be available upon request for all meetings of the Council unless excused and shall, upon request, give an opinion, either written or oral, on questions of law. The City Attorney shall act as the Councilte parliamentarian. 2.10 ~~ The City Secretary, or Acting City Secretary, shall attend all meetings of the Council unless excused, and shall keep the official minutes and perform such other duties as may be requested by the Council. 2.11 Of~ere and~sBlove~,= A~y officer or employee of the City, wher~re~llestedbythe City Manager, she11 attend any meeting of the Cott~l~L1. If requested to do so by the City Manager, such employee mmy present information relating to matters before the Council. 2.12 ~~ These rules govern the proceedings of the COunCil in all cases, except that whsre theserules are silent, the most recent Edition of Robert's Rules of Order revised shall goverll. 2.13 Susnension of Rule~: Any provision of these rules not governed by the City Charter or Code may be temporarily suspended PAGE 2 by the affirmative vote of four members of the council. The vote on any such suspension shall be taken by yeas or nays and entered into the minutes of the Council. 2.14 Amendment of Rul~: These rules may be amended, or new rules adopted by the affirmative vote of four members of the Council, provided that the proposed amendments or new rules shall have been introduced before the City Council at a prior Council meeting. (a) During Council meetings, Counoilmembsrs shall preserve order end decorum and shall neither by conversation or otherwise delay or interrupt the proceedings nor refuse to observe the rules of the council. (b) A Councllmember, once recognized, shall not be interrup- ted while speaking unless called to order by the Mayor or presiding officer, unless a point of order is raised by another member or the parliamentarian, or unless the speaker chooses to yield to ques- t~?~s ~rom a~ot~.er member. If a Councilmember is called to order wnLle ne or She ls speaking, he or she shall cease speaking immedi- ately until the c/~estion of order is determined. If ruled to be in order, he or she shall be permitted to proceed. If ruled to be not in order he or she shall remain silent or shall alter his or her remarks so as to comply with rules of the Council. 3.2 Administrative Staff: (a) Me~ers of the Ad~inistrative staff and employees of the City shall observe the semerules or procedure and decorum applica- bls to me~bsrs of the Cotilloil, and shall have no voice unless and until recog~lized by the Chair. (b) While the presiding officer shall have the authority to preserve dNortt~ in meetings as far as staff members and City em- ployees a~e concerned, the City Manager also shall he responsible fort he ord~ly conduct and decorum of all City employees under his or her dire~ion and control. (c) The Ci=y Manegsr shall take such disciplinary action as may be necessary to insure that such decorum is preserved at all times by City employees An Council meetings. (d) All remarks and questions addressed to the Council shall be addressed to the Cou~lcil as a whole and not to any individual member thereof. PAGE 3 (e) No staff member, other than a staff member having the floor, shall enter into any discussion either directly or indirect- ly without permission of the presiding officer. (a) Citizens are welcome and invited to attend all meetings of the Council, and will be admitted to the Council Chamber up to the fire safety capacity of the room. (b) All citizens will refrain from private conversations in the Chamber while the Council is in session. (c) Citizens attending Council meetings shall observe the same rules of propriety, decorum, and good conduct applicable to the administrative staff. Any person making personal, impertinent, or slanderous remarks or who becomes boisterous while addressing the Council or while attending the Council meeting shall be removed from the room if the Sergeant-at-Arms is so directedbythe presi- ding officer, and such person shall be barred from further audience before the Council during that session of the Council. (d) Unauthorized remarks from the audience, stamping of feet, applauding, whistles, yells, and similar demonstrations shall not be permitted by the presiding officer, who shall direct the Sergeant-at-Arms to remove such offenders from the room. In case the presiding officer shall fail to act, any member of the Council may move to require him or her to act to enforce the rules, and the affirmative vote of four (4) members of the Council shall require the presiding officer to act. (e) No placards, banners or signs of any kind will be permitted in the Council Chamber except exhibits, displays and visual aide used in connection with presentations to the Council, provided that such exhibits, displays and visual aids do not disrupt the meeting. 3.4 ~X~ The City Manager, in the absence of a designate~law enforcement officer, shall act aa Sergeant-at-Arms for the Cotmcil, and shall furnish whatever assistance is needed to enforce the rules of decorum herein established. 3.5 Seetin~A~ran=ement: The City Secretary, city Manager and City Attorney shall occ%tpy the respective seats in the Council Chamber assigned to t he. by the Mayor, but any two or more members of ~he Council may exchange seats, 4.1 ~~ The Council shall meet at seven otclock p.m. on the first and third Tuesday of each month or at any PAGE 4 other times set by the Council, unless postponed or canceled for valid reasons. Ail regular meetings of the Council will be held in the Municipal Building at 215 East McKinney Street, or such loca- tion as the City Council may by motion, resolution or ordinance designate. 4.2 ~: Special meetings may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager, or by any three members of the Council. The call for a special meeting shall be filed with the City Secre- tary in written form, and he or she shall post notice thereof as provided by law. 4.3 Workshop Meetinas: Workshop meetings or work sessions may be called using the same procedure required for special meet- ings. (See Sec. 4.2) The purpose of the workshop meeting is to discuss or explore matters of interest to the City, to meet with a City Board, Commission, or Committee Members, city staff or officers of civic organizations, governing bodies or individuals specifically invited to the session by the Mayor, Council or City Manager. These meetings are informational and normally, no final action shall be taken unless the posted agenda indicates otherwise. Citizens or other interested persons attending the work session will not be allowed to participate in the session unless invited to do so by the Mayor. citizens should be advised of the nature of the work session and that their input may bm received and consid- ered at a regularly scheduled council meeting where the agenda pro- vides for final action to be taken on the matter. The purpose of this procedure is to allow the citizens attending the regular meeting the opportunity of hearing the views of their fellow citizens in a more formal setting. Any citizen may supply the City Council a written statement or report regarding the citizen's opinion on a matter being discussed in · work session. If the Mayor invites citizens to participate in a work session, their participation will cease at the point the Mayor closes the session to public input to allow the Council to give City staff direction as to needed information for the possible future meeting without distracting comment from the audience. 4.4 ~meruenav Mestinoe~ In case of emergency or urgent public ne~eeeity, which shall be expressed in the notice of the meeting, alt emergency meeting may be called by the Mayor, the City Manager or ~ three me~bers of the Council, and it shall be suf- ficient if the notice is posted two hours before the meeting is convened. 4.5 ~_~~ The Council may meet in a closed meeting pursuant to the requirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551, TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. (Vernon 1994), as amended. PAGE 5 4.6 Recessed Meetinus: Any meeting of the Council may be recessed to a later time, provided that no recess shall be for a longer period than until the next regular meeting. 4.7 Notice of Meetinas: The agenda for all meetings, inclu- ding Council Committee or Subcommittee meetings, shall be posted by the City Secretary on the City,s official bulletin board and notice of all meetings shall be given by the City Secretary pursuant to the re~uirements of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. (Vernon 1994), as amended. 5.1 Presidina Officerl The Mayor, or in the absence of the Mayor, the Mayor Pro-Tam, shall preside as chairman, or presiding officer at all meetings of the Council. In the absence of both the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tam, the Council shall elect a temporary preei- ding officer. (Charter, Section 2.03) 5.2 ~: The meetings of the Council shall be called to order by the Mayor, or in his or her absence, by the Mayor Pro-Tam. In the absence of both the Mayor and the Mayor Pro- Tam, the meeting shall be called to order by the City Secretary, and a temporary presiding officer shall be elected as provided above. 5.3 Preservation of Qr~er: The presiding officer shall preserve order and decorum, and confine members in debate to the question under discussion. The presiding officer shall call upon the Sergeant-at-Ar~s as necessary to enforce compliance with the rules contained herein. 5.4 ~~ The presiding officer shall determine all points of order, subject to the right of any member to appeal to the Council. If any appeal is taken, the question shall be, "Shall ~e deoieion of ~he presiding officer be sustained?". If a majority of the men, ers present vote "No", the ruling of the chair is overrule~ o~herwise, it is sustained. 5.5 Ousetions to be Stated: The presiding officer shall state alXq~Aestione eub~itted for a vote and announce the result. A roll call vote shall betakenuponthe re~uast of any member, and upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions. 5.6 Substitution for Preeidina Office~ The presiding officer may call any o~her member to take his or her place in the chair, such substitution not to continue beyond adjournment. 5.7 ~~ The presiding officer may call for a recess of up to fifteen (15) minutes at regular intervals of PAGE 6 approximately one hour at appropriate points in the meeting agenda, or ~f requested by any two members. ORDn OF BUHZNNS~ 6.1 Aaenda: The order of business of each meeting shall be as contained in the agenda prepared by the City Manager. The agenda shall be e listing by topic of subjects to be considered by the Council. Placement cf i~ms on the agenda shell be governed by this Section and Section 6.3, provided that if a Counoilmember has an "emergency" item that the Councilmember believes should be placed on the next regular or special meeting agenda, the placement must be approved by two members of the Agenda Committee. Conduct of business at special meetings and Council Committees and subcom- mittees will likewise be governed by an agenda and rules of pro- cedure contained herein. 6.2 Pledae of AlleaiancA~ Each agenda shall provide an item for the recital of the "Pledge of Allegiance. at the regularly scheduled city council meetings. 6.3 Preseneations bv M~m~ers of Counc~]~ The agenda shall provide a time when theMayor or any Councilmember may bring before the Council any business that he or she feels should be deliberated upon bythe Council. These matters need not be specifically listed on the agenda, but discussion and formal action on such matters shall be deferred until a subsequent Council meeting. Any member may suggest an item for discussion at a future work session. The City.Manager or cityetaff shall only respond preliminarily on this itemiat the work session. If the City Council believes the item requires a more detailed review, the Council will give the City Manager or City Staff direction to place the itmmon a future regu- lar meeting agenda and advise staff as to the background materials to be desired at such meeting. 6.4 Presen~ationbvCitizen~ (s) A~ly person who wishes to place · subject on the Council agend& ~ regular City Council meetings shall advise the City Manager ~ office of ~hat fact and the specified subject matter whic~ ho cE she desires to place on the agenda no later than 5:00 p.m. 'Wednesday prior to the Council meeting at which he or she wishes the designated subject to be considered. (b) Any person who wishes to address the council regarding an item that is on the Council,s agenda for a regular or special meeting, shall complete a "request to speak# form asking to speak rega~ding the item and return it to the-City Secretary before the Coun~l considers the item. The Mayor will call upon the citizen to sgeak for no longer than three (3) minutes as tha~ particular PAGE 7 agenda item is considered by the City Council. The provisions of this paragraph do not apply to persons appearing at a public hearing in response to an official agenda notice or publication. (¢) Any person who wishes to address the Council at a public hearing shall complete a "request to speak" form and return it to the City Secretary before the applicable hearing. The Mayor will cell upon the citizen to speak for no longer than five (5) minutes. 6.5 ~9_~: Speakers before the Council are requested to limit their remarks to five (5) minutes or less except for citizens speaking to a non-public hearing agenda item, for which presentations shall be limited to three (3) minutes or less. 6.6 Oral Presentations by City Manac-~: Matters requiring the Council0e attention or action which may have developed after the deadline for delivery of the written communication to the Council may be presented orally by the City Manager. If formal Council action on a subject is required, such action may be taken only if the provisions of the Texas Open Meetings Act have been satisfied. 6.7 Presentation of ProclamatioDa~ The agenda may provide a time for the presentation of proclamations. The Mayor or presiding officer may deliver and present proclamations upon the request of citizens. Proclamations may encompass any activity or theme except that proclamations with a theme religious or partisan in nature shall not be presented. Moreover, proclamations shall not be used for any com~ercial or advertising purpose. 7. CONBXD~Z~TXO~OF O~DT~NB, m~sOLUT~Mm, a~MOTXONB 7.1 Printed or TVoawritten Form~ All ordinances and resolu- tions shall be presented to the council in printed or typewritten fo~. The Council ~ay, by proper motion, amend any ordinance or resolution presented to it and direct that~he amended ordinance be placed on ~he nex~ Council Agenda for adoption. 7.2 city Attorney to AuDrey-: All ordinances, resolutions, and con~r&~'cm and amendments thereto, shall be approved as to form and leg&l~tyby the City Attorney, or he or she shall file a writ- ten Opi~lo~tom ~he legal~t¥ of such ordinance, resolution or con- trac2prio~ to suh~ssion to the Council. (Charter, Section 6.02). 7.3 Distribution of Ordinances and ~esolutio-~: The City Manager shall prepare copies of all proposed ordinances and resolutions for die~ribution to all members of the Council at the mee2ing at which the ordinance or resolution is introduced, or at such earlier time as is expedient. PAGE 8 ?.4 Recordina of Vot~: The yeas and nays shall be taken upon the passage of all ordinances and resolutions and the vote of each member shall be recorded in the minutes. (Charter, section 2.06 (b)). 7.5 Majority Vote Resulted: An affirmative vote of four (4) members is necessary to repeal any ordinance or take any official action in the name of the City except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by the laws of the State of Texas. (Charter, Section 7.5.1-~: Matters voted on by the City Council which end in a tie-vote shall automatically be placed on each subsequent Counoil meeting agenda until a full Council is present. 7.6 Demand for Roll Cai]: Upon demand of any member, the roll shall be called for yeas and nays upon any question before the ~°~in~hseharlollln~al~. in order for members to explain their 7.7 Personal Privileq-~ The right of a member to address the Council on a question of personal privilege shall be limited to cases in which hie or her integrity, character, or motives are assailed, questioned, or impugned. to e-7--~:ss ~i:::n~s-and Protest-: Any member shall have the right . _.~ n: ~rom or pro:est against any ordinance or reso- · u=xon of ~he Counoil and have the reason therefore entered upon the minutes. Such dissent or protest may be filed ln writing, and presented to the Counoil not later than the next regular meeting following the date of passage of the ordinance or resolution objsote~ to. 7'? ~: NO member shall be excused from voting excep= ~or lSoK of infor~&tion and except on matters involving the consideration of his or her own official conduct, or where his or her personal interests are involved, and in these instances he or ~h? eha~l.ab~ain. Any member prohibited from voting by personal n~res=_~llmAA announoe at,he commencement of consideration of the ma==er a~t~sh&11 not enter into discussion or debate on any such ~ ~n~_" shall leave ?h.s meeting room. The member having briefly ~F~. ~nl ~e&s~ z~r ~s or nar request, the excuse from voting 7.10 Ords~ of P~s~nas of Motion-: (a) The following motions shall have priority in the order indicated: 1. Adjourn (when unqualified) and is not debatable and may not be amended; PAGE 9 2. Take a recess (when 9rivileged); 3. Raise a question of privilege; 4. Lay on the table; 5. Previous question (2/3 vote required); 6. Limit or extend limits of debate (2/3 vote re- quired); 7. Postpone to a certain time; 8. Commit or refer; 9. Amend; 10. Postpone indefinitely; 11. Main Motion. (b) The first two motions are not always privileged. To adjourn shall lose its privilege character and bee main motion if in any way qualified. To take a recess shall be privileged only when other business is pending. (c) A motion to adjourn is not in order= 1. When repeated without intervening business or dis- cuseion; 2. When made as an interruption of a member while speaking; 3. While s vote is being taken. ,(d) Only certain motions may be amended es provided in the most ClL~rOntedition o£ Robortee Rules of Order, revised, A motion to amend shall be undeiMtable when the question to be amended is ~ndeba~bla. 7,1~ ~~B~ A motion to reconsider any action of the council can bo made not later than the next succeeding official meeting of~ha Council. Such a notion can only bo mmda bye member who voted wi~h ~ho prevailing side. It can be seconded by any member. In order to comply wi~h the Texas open Meetings Act, any Councilmenber who wishes to make such a motion at a meeting suc- ceeding tho meeting where the action was taken sh&11 notify the City lManagor to place the item for reconsideration on the Council agenda. No quastion shall bo twice reconsidered, except by unani- moue iconsent of the Council, except that action related to any PAGE 10 contract may be reconsidered at any time before the final execution thereof. A matter which was not timely reconsidered in the manner provided by this section or was reconsidered but the action origin- ally taken was not changed by the Council cannot be reintroduced to the Council or placed on a Council meeting agenda for a period of six (6) months unless this rule is suspended as provided for in these Rules of Procedure. 7.12 The Previous ouestion: When the previous question is moved and seconded, it shall be put as follows~ "Shall the main question be now put?". There shall then be no further amendment or debate; but pending amendments shall be put in their order before the main question. If the motion for the previous question is lost, the mainquestion remains before the Council. An affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Council shall be required to move the previous question. To demand the previous question is equivalent in effect to moving "that debate now cease, and the Council immed- iately proceed to vote on the pending motion". In practice, this is done with the phrase "Call for the Question-, or simply saying "Question". 7.13 With~rawal of Motion-: A motion may be withdrawn, or modified, by its movant without asking permission until the motion has been stated by the Presiding Officer. If the movant modifies his or her motion, the seconding councilmember may withdraw his or her second. After the question has been stated, the movant shall neither withdraw it nor modify it without the consent of the Coun- cil. The subject different from that under consideration shall be admitted under color of amendment. A motion to amend an amendment shall be in order, but one to amend an amendment to an amendment shall not be in order. 7.14 ADnroDri&tione of Money: Before formal approval by the Council of motions providing for appropriation of money, informa- tion must be presented tc the Council showing purpose of the propriation. In addition, before finally acting on such an ap- propriation, the Council shall obtain a report from the City Manager am to,he availability of funds and his or her recommenda- tions as to the desirability of the appropriation. 7.15 Tranmfe~ of Auurouriatio-~: At the request of the City Manager, an~within the last three (3) months of the budget year, the Council may by resolution transfer an unencumbered balance of an appropriation made for the use of one department, division, or purpose; but no transfe~ shall be made of revenues or earnings of any non-tax supported public utility to any other purpose. 8. ~tTX~OF t'~MxT~m~, ~mens AND 8.1 Council Committee~: The Council may, as the need ariseS, au~/lorize the appointment of the "ad hoc" Council commit- PAGE 11 tees. Any committee so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created or when abolished by a majority vote of the Council. 8.2 Citizen Boards. Commissions. and Comm{tte~= The Council may create other Committees, Boards and Commissions to assist in the conduct of the operation of the city government with such duties as the Council may specify not inconsistent with the City Charter or Code. Memberships and selection of members shall be as provided by the Council if not specified by the City Charter or Code. Any Committee, Board, or Commission so created shall cease to exist upon the accomplishment of the special purpose for which it was created, or when abolished by a majority of the vote of the Council. No Committee so appointed shall have powers other than advisory to the Council or to the City Manager, except as otherwise specified by the Charter or Code. s.3 (a) Individual City Councilmembers making nominations for members to citizen boards and commissions will consider interested persons on a citywide basis. (b) The city Council will make an effort to be inclusive of all segments of the community in the board and commission appoint- ment process. City CoUncilmembers Will consider ethnicity, gender, socio-economic levels, and other factors to ensure a diverse representation of Denton citizens. (c) The City Council will take into consideration an individ- ualgequalifications, willingness to serve, and application infor- mation in selecting nominations for membership to each board and commission. (d) In an effor~ to ensure maximum citizen participation, City Counoilmembers will continue the general practice of nominat- ing new citizens to replace board members who have served three consecutive~ full term~ on the same board. (e} Ba~h City Councilmember will be responsible for making nominat~one for board and commission places assigned to him or her, which may correspond to,he City councilmember~s place. Individual City Counoil~e~bers will make nominations to the full City Council for the gove~lling body's approval or disapproval. 8.4 Rules of Proaedure~ Board and Commission members shall comply with the provisions of Article III of Chapter 2 of the Code of Ordinances. Bach Board shall be provided a copy of these rules of procedure and each advisory board shall adopt rules of procedure goverllingthe operation of its board, incorporating Sections 2, 3, 5, and 7 hereof insofar as is possible. PAGE 12 Questions on which the voting requirement is varied by the Charter, State Statutes and these rules are listed below= 9.1 Charter and State Statutory Reauirements= (a) Charter Amendment - Five Votes= Ordinances submitting proposed Charter amendments must be adopted by a two-thirds vote of the Council. (Article XI, Section 3, Texas Constitution and Arti- cle 1165, Revised Civil Statutes). For a seven member Council, this means five members must vote affirmatively. (b) Lewina Taxes - Five Vot~: Ordinances providing for the assessment and colleoticn of taxes require the approval of two- thirds of the members of the Council. (Article 1033, Revised Civil Statutes). (o) Chanaina Pavina Assessment Plans - Five VoteA= Changes in p~ans for paving assessment require a two-thirds vote of the Counoil. (Article 1105b, Section 10, Revised Civil Statutes). (d) : of a wr tten protest of a change in a zoning regulation or In cases zoning classification by the owners of twenty (20%) percent or more either of the area of the lots included in such proposed change, or of the lots immediately adjoining the same and extending two hun- dred feet (200~) therefrom, such amendment shall not become effec- tive except by the favorable vote of three-fourths (3/4) of all members of the City Council; six (6) votes of the City Council is required to override the decision of the Planning and Zoning Com- mission that a zoning change be denied. 10. S~T~H~BXLXT~ C~Sm That if any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause, phrase or word in ~hie ordinance, or application thereof to any pereQn or ~ircumetalloee is held invalid by any court of competent Jurisdiotio~, sum holding shall not affect the validity of the remainin~po~cions of ~his ordinance, and the City Council of the City of D~lto~, Texas, hereby declares it would have enacted such rema~ningpor~ions despite any such invalidity. PASSED AND APPROVED this the ~day o~ 1994. PAGE 13 ATTEST: JENNIFER WALTERS, CITY SECRETARY APPR~ED AS~O LEGAL FORM. DEBRA A. D~AYOVITCH, CITY ATTORNEY PAGE 14