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Home My WebLink About24-1725ORDINANCE NO. 24- 1725 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE II, SECTION 2-30 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF DENTON (CITY COUNCIL REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION OR AGENDA ITEMS), TO PROVIDE FOR A REVISED POLICY MAKING PROCESS THAT PROVIDES BETTER INFORMATION, INCREASED COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, ELEVATED INVOLVEMENT OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, AND BUDGET ALIGNMENT; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, on August 27, 2019 by Ordinance No. 19-2026, the City Council adopted Section 2-30 of the City of Denton Code of Ordinances to provide procedures to ensure there is a consensus of the City Council regarding the use of staff time when responding to requests from elected officials; and WHEREAS, on September 28, 202 1 by Ordinance No. 21-1837 the City Council amended the City Council request procedures to increase the time for the requesting councilmember to speak from one minute to two minutes and change the section title to more accurately reflect the response types may include agenda items; and WHEREAS, on July 25, 2023, by Ordinance No. 23-1431, the City Council amended the City Council request procedures to require a 3/4 supermajority consensus to have a request go directly to a resolution or ordinance on a future City Council agenda; and WHEREAS, on September 17, 2024, by Ordinance No. 24-1725 the City Council now desires to amend the City Council request procedures to provide for a revised policy making process that provides better information, increased community engagement, elevated involvement of boards and commissions, and budget alignment; NOW THEREFORE. THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. The findings and recitations contained in the preamble of this Ordinance are incorporated herein by reference to the body of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein. SECTION 2. Chapter 2, Article 11, Section 2-30 of the City of Denton Code of Ordinances, entitled “City Council Requests for Information or Agenda Items,” is hereby amended in its entirety to now read as follows: Chapter 2 - ADMINISTRATION ARTICLE II. – ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION Sec. 2-30. - City Council Requests for Information or Agenda Items. (a) Definitions. (1) For purposes of Section 2-30 the following definitions apply: a. “Request for Information” – Requests made by a member of the City Council to seek clarification on Board, Commission, Committee or City Council agenda items; address perceived service issues, infrastructure maintenance, or construction concerns caused by or impacting City operations and/or the quality of life for Denton residents; and requests for policy-related research to evaluate policies implemented by other agencies and/or assess the impact a new policy or potential program may have if implemented by the City of Denton. b. “City Staff’ – Includes employees of the City of Denton consisting of, or reporting to, the City Manager or the City Attorney. (b) City Council Requests for Information from City Staff. (1) All City Council requests for information from City Staff, must be submitted to the City Manager’s Office via email and include at a minimum, the following details: a. Request Type; b. Purpose; c. Time Sensitivity; and d. Preferred Response Format. (2) The City Manager’s Office and/or the City Attorney’s Office will estimate the amount of time required to respond to each request. (3) Requests estimated to take more than a total of two hours to complete will be brought forward within the next 30 calendar days, to a City Council work session to seek consensus from the full City Council regarding the use of City Staff time to fulfill the request. Requests for information referred to a work session will follow the procedures provided in sub-section (b) of Section 2-30. (c) City Council Requests for Information Referred to a Work Session. (1) A standing work session item will be added to each City Council agenda for City Council requests to be considered. a. The requesting Council Member will be required to provide a clear, written explanation describing the reason for the information requested. This description will be included as an attachment to the work session agenda materials and must be provided to the City Secretary in time to fully comply with Texas Open Meeting Act requirements. (2) During the work session, the requesting Council Member will have a maximum of two minutes to describe and justify their request. Page 2 of 5 a. Remaining Council Members will then have a maximum of one minute each to provide feedback and indicate their support for the use of City Staff time to respond to the request. (3) Staff will respond to all requests where a consensus of at least four elected officials is established with an Informal Staff Report (ISR) and/or Legal Status Report (LSR), determined by the City Manager and the City Attorney, that outlines, as it was presented, the estimated cost to implement, the estimated timeline for implementation of, and a determination of the strategic alignment of, the request. (4) Upon receipt of the ISR and/or LSR, the Council Member who initiated the request will inform the City Manager if their request has been satisfied. If the requesting Council Member’s request is satisfied by the ISR or LSR, the request is concluded with no further action. If the Council Member who initiated the request is not satisfied by the information provided in the ISR or LSR, or otherwise requests a City Council work session, ordinance, resolution or other action on the request, they may submit it to the Agenda Committee to enter the Council Committee Process as defined in Sec 2- 30(c)(5). If there is a consensus of six (6) Council Members, a resolution or ordinance may be placed on a future City Council agenda without going through the Council Committee Process defined in Sec 2-30(c)(5). (5) The Council Committee Process is the procedural movement of a request through the steps outlined in this subsection. a. The Agenda Committee will use the ISR or LSR to determine if, to the extent possible, there are any existing committees, boards, or commissions whose defined scope includes the request. If any such committee, board, or commission exists, the Agenda Committee will direct the staff liaison(s) for any appropriate committees, boards, or commissions to find the soonest feasible date and add the request to agenda for the for committees, boards, or commissions for consideration and feedback b. After review by committees, boards, or commissions, if funding is available to implement the request, as determined by the City Manager, the request will proceed to a City Council work session. c. After review by committees, boards, or commissions, a request without available funding will be scheduled for discussion by the City Manager at the next City Council Budget Workshop or Strategic Retreat. The request will either be included in the City Manager’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year or concluded with no further action, at the direction of City Council. A request that is funded in the budget will proceed to a City Council work session. Page 3 of 5 (d) City staff time will not be allowed to work on any request that is concluded with no further action in accordance with the procedures of Sec 2-30(c) unless the request is resubmitted in accordance with Sec 2-30(c). SECTION 3. Ordinance No. 23-1431 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Ordinance. To the extent not otherwise provided, this Ordinance shall repeal every prior ordinance in conflict herewith, but only insofar as the portion of such ordinance shall be in conflict; and as to all other sections of the ordinance not in direct conflict herewith, this Ordinance shall be and is hereby made cumulative except as to such prior ordinances or portions thereof as are expressly repealed hereby. SECTION 4. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this Ordinance are severable, and if any phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this Ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this Ordinance, since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this Ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, or section. SECTION 5. The City Secretary is hereby directed to record and publish the above regulations in the City’s Code of Ordinances. SECTION 6. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. t:'"'tZ_Fi’E:/Tithi, O,di„,„„ w„ m,d, by (i,rhr2 H. Jsp, IL ,„d „,,„d,d; this Ordinance was pasbed and approved by the follv Aye P/ ,/ / Nay Abstain Absent Mayor Gerard Hudspeth: Vicki Byrd, District 1 : Brian Beck, District 2:I Paul Meltzer, District 3 : Joe Holland. District 4:IZ / 17tl. Brandon Chase McGee, At Large Place 5 :/ Jill Jester, At Large Place 6: PASSED AND APPROVED this the day of sCp+CMb,/_, 2024. #:PJ/C.~ Page 4 of 5 ATTEST: LAUREN THODEN, CITY SECRETARY ,hpAI APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: MACK REINWAND. CITY ATTORNEY Page 5 of 5