December 06, 2016 Minutes A.M.
CITY OF DENTON CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
December 6, 2016
After determining that a quorum was present, the City Council convened in a Work Session on
Tuesday, December 6, 2016 at 11:43 a.m. in the Council Work Session Room at City Hall.
PRESENT: Council Member Hawkins, Council Member Briggs, Council Member Wazny,
Council Member Gregory, Mayor Pro Tem Roden, Council Member Bagheri, and
Mayor Watts.
ABSENT: None.
1. Work Session Reports
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A. ID 16-1384 Receive a report and hold a discussion regarding the 114 Congress and
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outlook for the 115 Congress to include Budget and Tax Issues, Municipal Bonds,
Surface Transportation, the Marketplace Fairness Act, and other topics impacting local
government.
Lindsey Baker, Intergovernmental Relations/Public Information Officer, introduced Ralph
Garboushian and Joy Grewatz with Capital Edge.
Garboushian provided a quick overview of the past year successes which included preservation
of the language that protected the City’s ability to charge rent for the use and management of
City rights-of-way in the Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act; increased sub-allocation of
Surface Transportation Block Grant funds to metropolitan areas in the FAST Act, including
growing Denton-Lewisville Urbanized Area funding from $6.4 million in FY 2015 to $7.9
million in FY 2020; preservation of the Transportation Alternatives Program and the federal
transit program; and removal of language from a Senate wireless communications spectrum bill
that would have preempted local zoning authority over cell phone facilities; turning back a
Bureau of Land Management mineral lease proposal on land next to Lake Lewisville;
preservation of the Contract Tower Program; turning back Senate efforts to preempt local
government regulation of drones; preservation of core local government programs in the face of
austerity, including CDBG, HOME, Homeland Security and local law enforcement assistance;
and preservation of the Urban Area Security Initiative, which provided the Metroplex with $14
million annually for disaster and terrorism preparedness and response efforts.
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Garboushian reviewed key issues for the 115 Congress - budget, tax, infrastructure, local
control, public safety, and regulations regarding clean air, clean water, fair housing, and
workplace issues. He stated they would continue to monitor Congressional and FCC action on
communication policy; implementation of HUD’s Fair Housing rule; regulatory repeal and
reform (clean water, ozone, clean power, labor, etc.); SEC implementation of Dodd-Frank re:
municipal finance and payday lending; and all grant opportunities of potential interest to the
City.
Garboushian stated that the bottom line and what it would mean for cities included the following:
preserving the tax exemption for municipal bonds would be the biggest challenge for local
governments; preserving funding for core local government programs would be the second
biggest challenge for local governments; the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, entitlement
reform, and cuts to other social service programs could create long-term challenges for local
City of Denton City Council Minutes
December 6, 2016
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budgets; and local governments would have to closely track regulatory reform, keeping an
especially close eye on the FCC.
Council discussed major infrastructure packages, aviation programs, HUD programs, and
compiling a list of projects to have on hand to submit for federal funding.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 12:33 p.m.
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CHRIS WATTS
MAYOR
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS
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JANE RICHARDSON
ASSISTANT CITY SECRETARY
CITY OF DENTON, TEXAS