HomeMy WebLinkAbout24-2525ORDINANCE NO. 24-2525
AN ORD[NANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON RATIFYING A CONTRACT FOR ELECTION
SERVICES WITH DENTON COUNTY FOR VERIFICATION OF A RECALL PETITION FOR
BRANDON CHASE MCGEE, AT LARGE PLACE 5, AT A TOTAL COST OF $7,153.55; AND
PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on December 2, 2024, a recall petition was received by the City Secretary for
the purpose of recalling Brandon Chase McGee, at Large Place 5 and;
WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4.13 of the Denton City Charter in part provides “Within
seven (7) days after a petition is filed, the city secretary shall determine whether each paper bears
the names of five (5) electors who constitute a committee of the petitioners, and the required
affidavit of the circulator thereof, and whether the petition is signed by qualified voters of the
constituency of the councilmember whose removal is sought equal in number to at least twenty -
five (25) percent of the number of the votes cast for that councilmember and all of his opponents
in the last preceding general municipal election in which he was a candidate. As used herein
"constituency" shall mean the qualified voters eligible to vote for the councilmember whose
removal is sought, either by geographical district or at large, as the case may be.”; and
WHEREAS, The City Manager endorsed the contract for election services on December
3, 2024 in order to comply with the seven day timeframe required under Article IV, Section 4.13
of the Denton City Charter; and
WHEREAS, under the contract, the Denton County Election Administrator was
responsible for performing certain verification duties as set forth under the Election Code and
Denton City Charter; and
WHEREAS, it is the desire of the City Council to continue contractual services with
Denton County Election Administrator for the administration of election related services as done
in the past; and
WHEREAS, the City Council deems it is in the public interest to enter into the above
referenced contract with Denton County Election Administrator; 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.
SECTION 2. The signature of the City Manager, or designee, is hereby ratified and
authorized by the Council for the Election Services Contract with Denton County Election
Administrator in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 1 and made part of this ordinance for all
purposes.
SECTION 3. This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and
approval
The motion to approve this ordinance was made by Brian Beck and
seconded by Joe Holland, the ordinance was passed and approved by
the following vote [ 7 - 0 ] :
Aye Nay Abstain Absent
Gerard Hudspeth, Mayor:
Vicki Byrd, District 1 :
Brian Beck, District 2:
X
X
X
Paul Meltzer. District 3 :
Joe Holland. District 4:
Brandon Chase McGee, At Large Place 5: X
Jill Jester, At Large Place 6: X
PASSED AND APPROVED this the 17th day of December, 2024.
X
X
GERARD HUDSPETH, MAYOR
ATTEST
LAUREN THODEN, CITY SECRETARY
Cyau@n JbdLL
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
L \ \ \ \ it ! ! I f / I /
MACK REINWAND, CITY ATTORNEY
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THE STATE OF TEXAS
COUNTY OF DENTON
CONTRACT FOR ELECTION SERVICES BETWEEN THE DENTON COUNTY ELECTIONS
ADMINISTRATOR AND THE CITY OF DENTON
THIS CONTRACT for election services is made by and between the Denton County Elections
Administrator, hereinafter referred to as “Elections Administrator” and the City of Denton, hereinafter
referred to as “City."
This contract is made pursuant to Texas Election Code 31.092(a) for the verification of an “RECALL
ELECTION” petition to be submitted to the City pursuant Texas Municipal Election Law 15.03.
RECITALS
The City received the submission of the petition on December 2, 2024 and desires assistance from the
Elections Administrator in verifying the petition.
The County owns an elections management/voter registration system that facilitates the tracking and
verification of petitions, and the County Elections Department has expertise in checking petitions.
NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants, agreements, and the benefits to the
parties, IT IS AGREED as follows:
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS
The City shall receive the petition filings as required by Texas Municipal Election Law 15.03. The City
shall provide to the Elections Administrator a photocopy of the submitted petition pages to facilitate the
verification process. The City shall retain the original copies of the filed petition.
The Elections Administrator shall check the names of the signers of the petition in accordance with
Texas Election Code 277.002 to determine whether the signers are qualified voters of the City and otherwise
eligible to sign the petition. The City agrees to pay the Elections Administrator for the equipment, supplies,
services, and administrative expenses as provided in this agreement. The Elections Administrator shall provide
advisory services in connection with decisions to be made and actions to be taken by the officers of the City as
necessary
The City asks the Elections Administrator, upon delivery of the petition, to verify 100% of the required number
of signatures included on the filed petition plus 150 signatures. The City is responsible for determining the
minimum number of signatures required for the petition to pass and will specify such number at the time of
the delivery of the petition to the Elections Administrator. In accordance with Texas Election Code 277.004, it
is agreed that the City should follow any requirements for the validity or verification of petition signatures in
addition to those prescribed in Chapter 277 of the Texas Election Code that are prescribed by a home-rule city
charter provisions or a city ordinance are effective only if the charter provisions or ordinance was in effect
September 1, 1985.
Upon completion of the verification process, the Elections Administrator shall certify to the City the number of
qualified voters signing the petition.
11.LEGAL DOCUMENTS
The City shall be responsible for the preparation, adoption, and publications of any required election
orders, resolutions, notices, and any other pertinent documents required by the Texas Election Code and/or
the City’s governing body, charter, or ordinances.
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Preparation of the necessary materials for the notices and official ballots shall be the responsibility of
the City, including translation to languages other than English.
The City shall be responsible for making the submission, if any is required or desired, to the United
States Department of Justice, pursuant to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.
III. CONTRACr EXPENSES AND ALLOCATION OF COSTS
The City agrees to reimburse the Elections Administrator for the actual costs of verifying the petition
including, but not limited to, the actual cost of supplies, printing, programming, and temporary personnel.
The City agrees to reimburse the Elections Administrator for the wages paid to Elections Administrator’s
employees for duties performed during normal business hours. The City further agrees to pay the Elections
Administrator an administrative fee equal to ten percent (10%) of its total billable costs in accordance with
Section 31.100(d) of the Texas Election Code.
The Elections Administrator shall deposit all funds payable under this contract into the appropriate
fund(s) within the county treasury in accordance with Texas Election Code Section 31.100.
The Elections Administrator agrees that, in an effort to reduce costs, the City may provide one or more
City employees to assist with the verification process at the Elections Administrator’s office.
IV. RECORDS OF THE VERIFICATION PROCESS
The Elections Administrator is hereby appointed general custodian of the photocopied petition pages
and all records of the verification process as authorized by Section 31.096 of the Texas Election Code.
Access to the election records shall be available to the City as well as to the public in accordance with
applicable provisions of the Texas Election Code and the Texas Public Information Act. The County wiI
immediately inform the City of any TPIA requests received for petition verification records of the City. The
County will redact all confidential information contained within any City verification record in accordance with
the TPIA. The petition verification records shall be stored at the offices of the Elections Administrator or at an
alternate facility used for storage of county records. The Elections Administrator shall ensure that the records
are maintained in an orderly manner so that the records are clearly identifiable and retrievable.
Petition verification records of the election shall be retained and disposed of in accordance with the
provisions of Section 66.052 of the Texas Election Code. If the records of the election are involved in any
pending election contest, investigation, litigations, or open records request, the Elections Administrator shall
maintain the records until final resolution or until final judgment, whichever is applicable. It is the
responsibility of the City to bring to the attention of the Elections Administrator any notice of pending election
contest, investigation, litigation, or open records request which may be filed with the City.
V. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS
1. The Elections Administrator shall file copies of this document with the Denton County Treasurer and
the Denton County Auditor in accordance with Section 31.099 of the Texas Election Code.
2. Nothing in this contract prevents any party from taking appropriate legal action against any other
party and/or other election personnel for a breach of this contract or a violation of the Texas Election
Code
3. This agreement shall be construed under and in accord with the laws of the State of Texas, an all
obligations of the parties created hereunder are performable in Denton County, Texas.
4. In the event that one or more of the provisions contained in this agreement shall for any reason be
held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable in any respect, such invalidity, illegality, or enforceability
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shall not affect any other provision hereof and this agreement shall be construed as if such invalid,
illegal, or unenforceable provision had never been contained herein.
5. All parties shall comply with all applicable laws, ordinances, and codes of the State of Texas, all local
governments, and any other entities with local jurisdiction.
6. The waiver by any party of a breach of any provision of this agreement shall not operate as or be
construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach.
7. Any amendments of this agreement shall be of no effect unless in writing and signed by all partied
hereto
VI. COST ESTIMATES AND DEPOSIT OF FUNDS
The total estimated obligation for the City under the terms of this agreement is $1589.90, see Exhibit A
for the estimate breakdown. The exact amount of the City’s obligation under the terms of this contract shall
be calculated after the completion of the petition verification. After the Elections Administrator delivers the
final invoice to the City, the City shall pay the balance due to the Elections Administrator within 30 days.
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XVII. PETITION CONTRACr ACCEPTANCE AND APPROVAL
IN TESTIMONY HEREOF, this agreement has been executed on behalf of the parties hereto as follows, to-wit:
(1)
(2)
It has on the 2'd day of December, 2024 been executed by the Denton County Elections
Administrator pursuant to the Texas Election Code so authorizing;
It has on the 3rd day of December, 2024 been executed on behalf of the City of Denton pursuant
ratification of the City of Denton City Council to so authorize at the December 17, 2024 City
Council meeting;
ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO BY DENTON COUNTY ELEcrioNS ADMINISTRATOR:
APPROVED:
a
Frank Phillips, CERA
ACCEPTED AND AGREED TO BY THE CITY OF DENTON
APPROVED:ArrESTED:
DocuSlgned by:
CITY SECRETARYCITY MANAGER
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Exhibit A
Cost estimate based on 1 staff member for a total of 16 hours. A 10% administration fee is
included.
Hourly Payrate:
$107.585 * 8 hours = $860.68
$73.086 * 8 hours = $584.688
$1445.368 + 1.1 = $1589.9048
Total Estimated Cost: $1589.90