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Minutes May 24, 1994233 CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES May 24, 1994 The Council convened into a Special Call Session of the City of Denton City council on Tuesday, May 24, 1994 at 5:15 p.m. in the Civil Defense Room. PRESENT: Mayor Castleberry; Council Members Chew, Cott, Perry, Miller and Smith. ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Brock following: The Council convened into the Executive Session to discuss the Legal Matters -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.071 1. Considered legal advice regarding a contract between the city of Denton and the Texas Municipal Power Agency. B. Real Estate -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.072 C. Personnel/Board Appointments -- Under TEX. GOV'T CODE Sec. 551.074 2. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding the Quarterly Financial Reports. Kathy DuBose, Acting Executive Director for Finance, stated that the back-up materials included comparisons of revenues and expenditures for the current year to date to the prior year at the same point in time. These figures were also compared to the budget and indicated the amount of revenue collected to date and whether that was over or under the prior year to date. When the major budget issues and proposed budget were presented, a forecast for the year would be included. The ad valorem tax was very close to last year and the sales tax was 11% over last year. Last year the Council repealed the exemption on the sales tax on utilities which was effective January 1. Part of the increase over the first three months of the prior year had that sales tax. Franchise taxes were close to prior years while other taxes had a 5% variance. Revenue fees were 31% over last year. Ambulance service fees were increased. Council Member Cott asked if the City received any part of the lotto. DuBose replied no. council Member Perry asked about the difference between the swimming pool fees and the airport fees as there was an $8,000 difference between the two. 234 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 2 DuBose replied that the swimming pool fee was a seasonal revenue which would increase in the summer months. Council Member Perry asked about the ambulance service fees and subscription fees. DuBose replied that the subscription fee was a service enacted in prior years where individuals could subscribe to ambulance service and not be charged any balance billing. In the fines and fees category, the mowing fees had increased this year over the prior year while municipal fines were below last year. Mayor Castleberry noted that the TWU police fines were up and the UNT fines were down. Sandra White, Municipal Judge, stated that a meeting was scheduled with UNT regarding the decline and usage of the City court for cases. She had been told that UNT was using the County for penal code offenses but she noticed that traffic cases were going there as well. UNT stated that only Class C cases were being filed with the County but her impression was that other cases were being filed with the County Court as well. Council Member Perry asked about swimming pool inspection fees. DuBose stated that that was a seasonal inspection which would increase in the summer months. Mayor Castleberry asked why parking fines were down. DuBose indicated that she would research that information for the Mayor. Sandra White, Municipal Judge, indicated that last year there was a warrant roundup which included parking fines. There was an increase in parking tickets being paid due to that program which might be affecting the numbers for this year. City Manager Harrell stated that parking fines would not make budget projections. Last year, the budget anticipated that the parking fine schedule would be adjusted and multiple offenses would have a higher fine. That program had been delayed until the move into the Court of Record. When that decision was made, a short fall was evident in that category. Mayor Castleberry asked staff to check to see if the same type of enforcement on parking was being done as last year. He also questioned restaurant inspections. 235 city of Denton city Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 3 Dubose indicated that last year the account ended with $35,000 collected and that appeared to be a seasonal revenue as well. Mayor Castleberry asked staff to research why that revenue was down. DuBose stated that zoning permits and building permits had increased over last year. Certificates of occupancy were up from last year as were landscaping permits. Those areas were growth related and were up from last year. In the miscellaneous revenues category, interest income was down from the prior year due to lower interest rates over the past 9 months. The majority of tax money came in in December and January and the city was just now investing that money. Transfers were on schedule for this year. Figures indicated that total revenue was 3% over last year. City Manager Harrell stated that the City had a good year last year revenue wise and anticipated an equally good year this year. Council Member Miller asked about the delinquent ad valorem tax figure. DuBose stated that the City had a shrinking base for taxes and what was being turned over to the collection agency was smaller. Expenditures were within a 1% variance for overall expenditures for the general fund over last year. Reasons for the overages included vacant positions last year which were now filled, increased maintenance costs, payouts for employees who left the City, and vehicle maintenance. Council Member Cott asked about expenses which were most likely to increase and ones most likely to decrease. DuBose stated that in the past few years there had been many unmet needs such as capital items and reduction of staff. She reviewed the utility accounts which were on target for budgeted amounts. 3. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding policies and procedures affecting the permanent part-time municipal judge position and terms of office for the judges of the Court of Record. Joseph Portugal, Assistant to the City Manager, stated that he would review the Municipal Judge's questions for Council consideration. Question 1 dealt with the salary for the part-time judge. The recommendation was to place the position in a grade 10 at $17 per hour. 236 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 4 Consensus of the Council was to follow that recommendation. Portugal stated that Question 2 dealt with the annual evaluation for the position. Council had requested additional information and Legal review of this question. Mayor Castleberry stated that Council had discussed the possibility of having the Court Subcommittee handle the evaluation and report to Council. Council Member Perry stated that as Council was a small group, he felt that the entire Council rather than a subcommittee could participate in the evaluations. The Council reviewed their current employees and he wanted to be consistent with all their employees. This was a Charter responsibility and considering the number of the Council, would not be a difficult task. Council Member Smith agreed that the Council was a small body and she would like to be able to be involved with the appraisals. Sandra White, Municipal Judge, stated that the Human Resources Department had done a survey of local entities regarding these issues. She had conducted her own survey and it appeared that there were some differences in the information from the same cities. Her information was from the judges in the cities surveyed. Few cities had a permanent part-time judge as most were contract judges. With the evaluation process, most cities used the system for the contract/part-time judge evaluation which went through the full-time judge with input to the Council. There was no clear answer from any of the cities. Council Member Cott asked if under the State Bar, the results of the judge came back to the Council. If a judge made a mistake, did it come back to the Council. White replied no that there was judicial immunity unless a judge was grossly not following the law. Council Member Cott stated that as the Council had the responsibility of working with the permanent judge, they should have the same responsibility working with an associate judge. Tom Klinck, Director of Human Resources, stated that some of the terminology was confusing. The Charter provided that Council would appoint the judges whether they were regular full-time or contract ' judges and if the Council appointed th~a judges, %hey had to enter into a contract with them. Whether those judges received half-time benefits depended on what that employee would be called. Currently 237 city of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 5 the special agreement judges were paid $25 per hour. With the benefits and recommended salary there would be a 25% additional cost to the organization for recommended benefits for a part-time employee. It was a Council choice whether to hire a part-time employee paid at $17 per hour with part-time benefits or do a special agreement position at $25 per hour. The Council would still appoint, select and enter into a contract with the individual. City Attorney Drayovitch reminded Council that there were Charter and statutory provisions for the appointment of judges which were not items which could be delegated. In Austin, the municipal judge was evaluated by whether or not the individual was reappointed or not. In Garland, the municipal judge did not know the salaries of the associate judges. Most cities did not give raises based on performance. The evaluation process was whether or not the judge would be reappointed to an additional term. Council Member Perry stated that he wanted a first class Court of Record and felt that a specific part-time permanent position was needed which would be tied to the Court of Record. He felt that the position should be treated with the same respect as the permanent judge's position. Council Member smith felt that part of the problem was the word ,'evaluation". If there was a contract and Council discussed renewing that contract, that was not an evaluation. The Council was not equipped to evaluate a judge. Renewing a contract was a less specific situation than a formal evaluation and did not require expertise as a formal evaluation. Council Member Miller asked how many judges were currently involved with the Court. White replied that there were two contract judges and one permanent judge. Council Member Miller asked how that would change with the Court of Record. White replied that there would be a pool of the two contract judges and a part-time judge. Council Member Miller stated that there would be three judges in addition to the full-time judge. White replied correct. The Council could decide to add the extra hours to the time for the two current contract judges. 238 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 6 Council Member Miller stated that the decision was how the Council wanted to run the Court of Record. He felt that there needed to be contracts with the judges and to determine the terms of those contracts. The evaluations should take place either annually or every two years. He questioned the need for a permanent part-time judge. White replied that she had proposed a regular part-time position as she had been under the impression that if the individual were scheduled for 20 hours per week, by law, that person was a regular part-time employee. She now knew that that was not necessarily so. The current contract judges could be scheduled for 20 hours per week if she were gone on vacation. It was not always known how long a docket would last. If there were a set number of hours per week and the dockets went over that set number, there would be no other money budgeted for those hours. Most of the additional hours were night-time hours for the new Court of Record° Council Member Miller asked if the current contract judges would be available for those hours. He felt that the Council had been operating under one set of assumptions and now those assumptions might not be correct. With a contract judge, it would be easy to move into a permanent part-time judge later. It would be difficult to go the other way around. He questioned if it would be better to go with a contract judge who would be available for certain hours, responsible to Council, etc. Mayor Castleberry indicated that Council had taken two consensus to have a permanent part-time municipal judge. Did Council want to add to that that the employee would be appointed and evaluated by the Council. Council Member Smith felt that there should be a term limitation and at the end of the term, there would be a review and/or evaluation. She asked what hours the current contract judges worked. White replied that Judge Ramsey did weekend jail arraignments and a night docket twice a month dealing with juvenile traffic and alcohol violations. He did some special assignments during the day and normally worked 10 hours per week. Council Member Smith asked if Judge Ramsey came in early or stayed late to complete paper work associated with the night dockets. White replied no. Council Member Smith asked about Judge Cooper. 239 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 7 White replied that Judge Cooper worked the juvenile penal code docket for 7 hours and the paper work associated with that court. That docket was scheduled for twice a month until the Court moved into its new facility. After that it would be held four times a month. Judge Cooper also worked at the jail on Tuesday mornings. Seven hours per week was what the Council had budgeted for for Judge Cooper. Council Member smith asked if the Court of Record would increase the need for additional dockets and judges. White replied that additional dockets would be created for the Court of Record such as two attorney dockets, three night-time adult dockets plus there was an increase in jail activity with video arraignments. Council Member Chew stated that since, by Charter, the Council had to appoint the judges, it should do the evaluation. He felt that the current arrangement of judges should be used on a part-time basis until the Court of Record was started to see what was needed. Council Member Cott asked if there was a significant backlog of cases. White replied that currently there was no backlog of cases. Some of the new dockets had to be cancelled but she was keeping up with the dockets anticipating the volume once the Court of Record began. Mayor Castleberry summarized that Council had decided to hire a part-time permanent municipal judge. The appointment would be made for a specific period of time and the individual would be evaluated by the Council. Council Member Miller felt that there had been a change of circumstances and questioned the need for a permanent part-time judge. He felt that the Court could continue with the current judges. The prior understanding was that the Court had to have another judge and he felt that that preliminary recommendation might not now apply. Council Member Perry stated that by the time an individual were appointed and Council was through the budget process, the extra position would be needed. He felt that there was a need for such a position. Council Member Cott stated that he would rather have the extra appointee going into the new court and reduce a position later if necessary rather than not have the proper amount of people. 240 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 8 Council Member Smith felt that Judges Cooper and Ramsey were relief judges and were not permanent positions. She felt that a permanent part-time position was needed and that the other judges could fill in when needed. She did not want to be short-handed with the new court. White asked if the position would be paid hourly or by salary. Mayor Castleberry summarized again that there would be a permanent part-time position which would be evaluated by Council. The position would have a definite time period for term of office. Council Member Miller felt that the Council was operating under previous information. Other cities with a court of record operated without a permanent part-time judge and he felt that the process was being complicated by adding this position. He felt it was not necessary. Consensus of the Council was to hire a permanent part-time position with Council evaluation of that position. Portugal stated that Question 3 dealt with allowing the permanent part-time judge to engage in employment outside city hours. Previous consensus of the Council was to allow such employment and Council had considered that a reasonable request. Consensus of the Council was that outside employment would be allowed. Portugal stated that Question 4 dealt with providing additional benefits in addition to the normal part-time position benefits. Those included bar dues, occupational tax, Denton County Bar Association dues, Municipal Court Association dues, continuing education and deferred compensation. Consensus of the Council at the last meeting was that additional information was needed and no decision was made regarding such benefits. Mayor Castleberry asked which of those benefits were given to other permanent part-time employees. City Attorney Drayovitch stated that currently there was no other employee in a similar situation. Mayor Castleberry stated that as other employees did not have deferred compensation as a benefit this position should not either. He asked about a legal continuing education course which was approximately $600 per year for mandatory course work. 241 city of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 9 Council Member Miller stated that the $600 was for the mandatory course work. Portugal replied yes. White felt that Council had agreed that an evidence course was a good training course for the individual and was willing to pay for a portion of that $300 course but had not decided an amount. Mayor Castleberry asked if there were any permanent part-time employees who received payment for course work. Klinck stated that' other part-time employees could receive educational course work paid within the departmental budget. Every department director could pay non-mandatory fees at his discretion. Consensus of the Council was to pay the $600 for the mandatory education and follow the regular personnel policy for any additional courses. Mayor Castleberry asked about the payment of bar dues. He asked if the City paid any dues to organizations. City Attorney Drayovitch stated that the City paid bar dues for every full time attorney but not for any contract attorneys. White suggested that if the individual had outside employment, the City not pay the dues. If the individual did not have outside employment, the City would pay the dues. Mayor Castleberry suggested paying half of the dues if the individual had outside employment. If not, the entire amount would be paid. Consensus of the Council was to pay half of the dues if the individual had outside employment. If the individual were retired or not a practicing attorney, all of the dues would be paid. Mayor Castleberry asked about the occupational tax. He felt that if the individual were a practicing attorney, he should pay his own occupational tax. Consensus of the Council was to not pay for the occupational tax. Mayor Castleberry asked about the payment of a portion of the Denton County Bar Association dues. Klinck stated that the City normally paid dues for one association. 242 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 10 Council Member Chew stated that as the Council was paying for the bar association dues, would that not be the one association dues which the City paid. Mayor Castleberry agreed. Consensus of the Council was to not pay for any of the Denton County Bar Association dues. Council Member Chew stated that the bar dues were necessary to practice law and really was not considered dues. Consensus of the Council was to pay the dues for the Texas Municipal Court Association. Portugal stated that Question 5 dealt with the selection process of the part-time judge. Prior Council discussion determined that the Council would have the Municipal Court Committee review the applicahts and forward three for Council consideration. Mayor Castleberry summarized that the Subcommittee would handle reviewing the applicants and bring a recommendation to the entire Council. Consensus of the Council was that the Subcommittee would recommend three applicants to the entire Council. Portugal stated that Question 6 dealt with advertising for the position. Council decided at the prior meeting to follow the procedures used by Human Resources for other City positions. Council Member Miller asked what the normal procedure was for considering individuals within the organization before going out- of-house. Klinck stated that it would be the discretion of Council whether to post the job internally or post it out-of-house. Normally special agreement individuals were contract employees and were not considered city employees. A contract employee could not apply for an in-house position. Council Member Miller asked if it were legal to first post the position in-house. city Attorney Drayovitch stated that the contract judges were not currently city employees. 243 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page ll Klinck stated that the contract judges were appointed by Council. As the Council appointments were different from the City Manager appointments, the Council could define the selection process in any way it wanted. The contract judges and any assistant city attorney would be the only individuals who could apply in-house. Council Member Cott did not want to have any perception of wrong doing and suggested posting out-of-house. Council Member Chew felt that the position should be posted in- house as it was a legal position and any current contract judge or assistant city attorney could apply for the position. Klinck suggested that the Subcommittee look at the internal applicants and if they had no recommendation to Council, the job could then be posted out-of-house. Mayor Castleberry suggested posting the position in-house first and then p6st out-of-house if there were no applicants. Council Member Perry felt the position should be posted out-of- house in ensure that there was no question regarding the position. Mayor Castleberry stated that the first proposal was to post the job internally and if there were no applicants, the job would be posted out-of-house. Consensus of the Council was split with Council Members Smith, Perry and Cott wanting to post out-of-house and Council Members Miller and Chew and Mayor Castleberry wanting to only post in- house. Mayor Castleberry stated that this item would be deferred until a later time. Portugal stated that Question 7 dealt with a judicial robe. The Council decided to provide a robe for a part-time judge and discussed but did not make a decision regarding robes for the contract judges. Consensus of the Council was to buy robes for all judges. Portugal stated that Question 8 dealt with term limitations for the judges. City Attorney Drayovitch stated that Judge White had advised her of a statute which indicated that if there was no term of office specified for a municipal judge, it would be the same as the term 244 City of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 12 of office for the mayor which was two years. As a home rule city, the City could specify a different term. However, there was a constitutional limitation of going past two years. Mayor Castleberry asked if the Council wanted one or two year terms. Council Member Smith suggested staggering the terms such as was done with the Council. Council Member Perry asked if the chief judge would have a two year term. Council Member Smith replied yes and the part-time judge would start with a one year term and then have a two year term. City Attorney Drayovitch stated that that could be done with the appointment terms of the office. Mayor Castleberry asked if the Council would like to stagger terms of office for the judges. Consensus of the Council was to stagger the terms of office. The chief judge would have a two year term and the part-time judge and contract judges would have staggered terms. 4. The Council received a report, held a discussion and gave staff direction regarding an In Fill Financing Policy. Lee Allison, Director of Electric Utilities, stated that there were a few areas in the City where there were no utility services. A policy had been developed which would follow the economic development policy. It would be funded with economic development funds and would not require any additional funds. The Public Utilities Board had requested that only the annual allocation, $250,000 for water and $250,000 for wastewater be available in the third quarter. This would be available to any developer and would have reduced qualification requirements. The developer would be required to pay for the first 500 feet of offsite improvements of the size needed by the developer. Because the policy was promoting compact growth, the maximum footage would be 2500 feet of offsite improvements. There would be a preapproved list of six areas to develop and consider, a candidate list, neighborhood cooperation, a master plan, and marketing potential. Council Member Perry asked if the amount put into the plan was always left over from the budgeted amount. 245 city of Denton City Council Minutes May 24, 1994 Page 13 Allison replied that the economic development policy allowed for $250,000 per year. Anything not spent at the end of the year went into a reserve of up to $1 million. This proposal was an amendment which used any unspent money of the annual allocation of $250,000 during the third quarter. Council Member Perry asked where Council was in the process. Allison replied that Council budgeted for the money on an annual basis. Council would determine the six preapproved sites and any eventual contract. Bob Nelson, Executive Director for Utilities, stated that the policy was intended to use any left over money from the original $250,000 for water and wastewater during the third quarter. As a result, there probably would not be any money left for a reserve fund. Currently there was approximately $1.7 million available as an obligation for use. City Manager Harrell stated that if there were a big development, a large amount of the funds would be used. Consensus of the Council was to proceed with the proposal. 5. The Council received a report and held a discussion regarding various drainage projects. Lee Allison, Director of Water Utilities, presented a slide presentation regarding specific drainage complaints received during the CIP hearings. Most of the drainage problems were a result of the development of the area and not due to the city channels. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:50 p.m. CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS BO~~ CASTL~~ CITY OF DENTON, TEXA~ ~ ACC001D6