July 23 - Agenda Questions & Responses July 23 - Agenda Questions & Responses smartsheet
07/20/24 Mayor Pro Tem Meltzer Work Session B. 24-226 Solid waste Work Session: A.Approximately 45%of our commercial/multi-family customers have submitted a diversion plan to the City.While we
A.How is commercial/multifamily recycling going?Are there any are seeing an increase in volume in to the MRF,it it still a too early to determine the complete impact this program is
efficiencies to be gained in how we administer this whole annual plan having.We anticipate having hard,defendable data on CDA impacts by the end of the calendar year.The remaining
idea? 55%of commercial customers yet to file a plan will be visited by SWR staff over the next month to finalize thier
submittals.
B.How is the composting trial going?Is any scaling up planned?
B.Please refer to ISR 2024-26 in the July 12 Friday Report.The Organic Diversion Pilot has been completed and
converted to an fully integrated program within the SWR suite of services.The program's future involves completing a
similar pilot with DI SD and local universities. Following that review,over the next few years,we will be extending the
program to all commercial businesses and implementing a residential drop-off service.
07/20/24 Mayor Pro Tem Meltzer Work Session B. 24-226 DIME: For FY 2020-21,DME's budgeted FTEs were 169 or 20 less from the previous fiscal year.Since that time,DME has
Why are all these positions needed seemingly all of a sudden?What added positions based on affordabilityy and workload to serve customers.DIME added 4 FTEs in FY 2021-22,11 FTEs in
changed? FY 2022-23 and 4 FTEs in FY 2023-24.For FY 2024-25,DIVE is proposing to add 16.5 FTEs although the net increase
is 8.5 FTEs since 4 FTEs are being transferred to the 311 Operation and 4 FTEs will be transferred to the Finance
Department in the General Fund.The total proposed FTE count for DIVE in FY 2024-25 is 196.5.This FTE count
2 compares to DME's FY 2016-17 count in which Div had 197 FTEs.So,while DME's FTE count has remained flat over
that 7-8 year period,the operating budget has grown from$173 million($878,172 per FTE)in FY 2016-17 to$396 million
($2,015,267 per FTE)in FY 2024-25.Personnel costs in the Electric Fund are less than 10%of the overall operating
budget.Finally,of the 16.5 FTEs requested:3 are in the Energy Management Division to bolster staffing for energy
trading activities;1 is an Engineer for the Denton Energy Center to assist with technical matters;7 are needed to directly
service customers;and 5.5 are support personnel.Only two of those positions are supervisors:Construction(Crew)
Supervisor and Tech Ops Manager.
07/20/24 Mayor Pro Tem Meltzer Public Hearing C. DCA23-0002g A.What is the sequence and timing of all the provisions taking effect? A.August 1,2024 has been the proposed effective date.Staff is agreeable to pushing the effective date to September
1,2024 to allow for additional time since Council delayed final action on this DOC amenment.Staff is prepared for
B.Would the registration and enforcement of collections phase come implementing this program on August 1,2024.
3 first so we know more accurately where we stand on STIR unit count
and STIR locations? B.The goal is to have all STIR operators registered seeking compliance and not concerned with immediate enforcement
activities.
C.How much of an interval would staff recommend between that
phase and enforcement of the other provisions? C.30 days after the effective date of the ordinance;again the goal is to get all operators into compliance.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session A. 24-1351 A.The to
of ordinances that are not enforced has come up lately.Is A.The City Auditor's Office could review ordinance enforcement consistency as part of an audit of the City's code
this something that can be audited and recommendations brought enforcement activities.Given that the City has several methods of enforcement(e.g.,Community Improvement Services,
back? Police,Fire,Animal Services,etc.)an audit of this area would likely require 500-600 hours.If Council would like to move
forward with an audit of these activities,more clear objectives could be developed and presented before the audit plan
B.How many hours does the average audit follow up require? ordinance is adopted in August.
C.Please share your thoughts with assigning 7%of your time...I want B.On average,completed follow-up reviews since FY22 have taken about 54 hours each.
4 to make sure that is enough time.
C.The time it takes to conduct an audit follow-up is generally correlated with the number of recommendations included in
the review.Based on time tracking data,Audit budgets 25 hours for a small review(1-9 recs.),50 for a medium(10-15
recs.),75 for a large(19-19 recs.)and 100 for an extra-large(20-29 recs.).Based on this,425 hours are budgeted to
review 100 recommendations divided up between three small,two medium,two large,and one extra-large review.
The time needed for to perform follow-up reviews promptly(i.e.within 18-36 months)has been increasing from about 275
hours for 77 recs in FY23 to an estimated 325 hours for 94 recs in FY24.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:Solid waste A.The$150,000 Baseline adjustment is submitted to fully fund the Ready-to-Work program,a partnership with Our Daily
A.What is the$150K spending related to? Bread to provide training and Temporary Labor for the SWR Department
B.I thought the software was recently updated...what is this attributed B.The Supplemental Request for Software is for an additional program(Samsara),which will complete several tasks;
e to? integrate the onboard cameras with the Rubicon Product to help support route accountability,better monitor vehicle
external cameras to reduce risk due to accidents and near-misses,and support a virtual,robust pre/post trip tool for
C.How much time are cars in cue(are average)waiting to enter the landfill personnel to use with heavy equipment.
landfill?
C.In June 2024,the average wait time for a landfill customer in queue to reach the scale house was between 10 and 25
minutes,depending on the time of day.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:DIME The services are to maintain and operate a cloud environment.DME's GIS platform is being moved from an on-promise
s Please list what'service'falls under GIS budget line item. solution to a cloud hosted solution.The Electric ESRI GIS platform was recently updated from the Geometric Network to
the Utility Network.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:Customer service A.The price increase for Engage Denton is based on the recent contact extension that ends March 2027.The contract
A.Engage Denton price increase-What is the cause for the includes a 7%annual increase for the maintenance and support of the software as well as licensing.
increase?
B.Once the app is converted to a new software,the extended contract will be terminated.
B.When is the full software renewal?
C.The last Credit and Collection process review was completed in August 2019.
7 C.Credit and collection process review-when was the last time it
was review. D.The analysis will include recommended updates and changes.
D.Does the engagement include action steps or just analysis? E.Yes,we anticipate hiring an external firm to evaluate the current operation and make recommendations for
implementation.
E.Will the operational review be done by a consultant?
F.We anticipate the operational review will include both action items and recommendations regarding staffing,processes
F.Does it include action items orjust recommendations? and policies affecting the operation.This review will be similar to other done in Solid Waste and DME.
8 07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:Water The software licenses include Innovyze,Cityworks,and ArcGIS Business Analyst Pro for the Asset Management team,
Software licenses for which software? and Civil 3D,Bluebeam,and ArcGIS for the Engineering team.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:Wastewater A.The cybersecurity consulting will include action items based on the analysis of the consultant.
A.Does the cybersecurity consulting included action items or just
s recommendations? B.In the past 2 years chemical costs have nearly doubled so this supplemental request represents a 100%increase in
cost.
B.What is the percentage increase on Chemical expense?
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Re:Drainage All vehicle repairs are coordinated through the City's Fleet Services department.Fleet Services assesses departments
to Is the vehicle repair a transfer to a city department?If not,please for maintenance and repair work through an hourly rate,and projected expenditures are reflected in the Drainage
explain/provide more details. operating budget.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session B. 24-226 Roadway maintenance A.The City does not perform maintenance on County or State roads,and the annual operating budget does not include
A.Does the city do work that is repaid(ex.County or State work)?If reimbursement for maintenance performed on City roadways.
t 1 so,what was total reimbursement last year.
B.The budgeted amount for roadway maintenance in the Drainage budget is for pavement restoration following the
B.Does the budgeted amount include any work that will be repair of drainage assets underneath city roads.The amount does not include reimbursements from other entities.
reimbursed?
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FEE?-�- Submitted By Type =�- �Question/Comment Staff Response
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Work Session C. 24-1193 Committee on the Environment-same nominations.DCBHLT-same Nominations and interests are noted.
12 nominations.DCH&HLT-Same nominations.Discover Denton-
Same nominations.RTC-Support Jester&I remain alternate.I listed
all the positions I am interested in.
13 07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Consent B. 24-498 1 plan to pull this item for a separate vote.
07/21/24 Mayor Hudspeth Public Hearing C. DCA23-0002g A.To better capture revenue did staff consider requiring those that A.No;the proposed DDC amendment does not require STIR operators to use a third party for their rental.Remittance of
use AirBNB&other services to use that service to withhold HOT HOT Taxes is a current requirement of STR operators and is not proposed to change with the new amendments.
taxes and remit to the city? Operators may choose to submit HOT Taxes monthly or quarterly.
B.Why does staff suggest a limit on multi family? B.The proposed requirement that no more than 10%of the units within a given development may be registered as a
Short-Term Rentals was to address the concern that entire multi-family developments may turn into Short-Term Rentals
C.Is there an application renewal requirement?If so why?Example units.
business do not have to renew there Cos.
C.It is a current requirement that applicants renew their Short-Term Rental Registration on an annual basis,and the
D.Please provide data supporting 100 ft and 1000 registration limit. proposed amendments do not contemplate a change to this requirement.The purpose of the renewal requirement is to
verify that the Short-Term Rental operator is intending to continue operation,and that the requirements of registration are
E.Does the ordinance require an applicant to have a working met.
business?Example.If I do not want my neighbor to have an STIR I
can get together with my neighbors and submit an application to D.The Short-Term Rental Preference Survey sought input on density limitations regarding STRS in residential areas.As
trigger the 100 ft mle. seen in Question 11(Page#50)of Exhibit 4—Short-Term Rental Survey Results,which asked respondents"out of 100
14 residential dwelling units,how many residential units should be allowed as STRS?"Results varied greatly,with answers
F.What staff suggestions changed as a result of the community ranging from 0-100,with heavy concentrations between 0-10.To address the density concerns surrounding Short-Term
meeting?I believe I read in the backup the answer was none but I'm Rental uses and protect the character of established residential neighborhoods,the proposed 1,000-unit cap was
seeking to confirm I read that correctly. suggested to limit the number of STRS which may take place in residential neighborhoods.1,000 units is approximately
3%of all residentially zoned parcels in the City of Denton.The 1 00'separation requirement was proposed to limit
clustering of STRS within residential zoning districts.
E.There is no requirement that the applicant must have a working business to register as a Short-Term Rental.The
prospective applicant would be required to submit all required registration information,the application fee,and
demonstrate compliance with all registration requirements.
F.No changes have been proposed as a result of the meeting with staff and representatives of the Greater Denton/Wise
County Association of Realtors(Association)held on June 20,2024.Representatives of the Association agreed to
provide a written summary of their concerns,which has been provided to staff and is included in Exhibit 6. In short,the
written summary states that the Association prefers the City's current adopted regulations and is not in support of the
proposed Code amendments.
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session A. 24-1359 "Homeless Response;Page 2(Packet page 16)— Yes.This audit scope is intended to include a review of all enforcement and support activities including the Ambassador
15 Q:will this include unintended/ancillary consequences Program,the Homeless Outreach Team and other calls for service that cannot be diverted to them,and encampment
Related expenditures included?Ambassadors?Uptick in response to removal and cleanup costs.
shelter calls?Police calls,solid waste removal from camps?"
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session A. 24-1359 Volunteer management;Page 3(Packet page 17) When auditing for equity,Audit generally considers four areas to potentially develop audit objectives-or questions-
16 Ensure equity?What do we mean by that? including access,quality,procedural fairness,and outcomes.For this project,Audit intends to consider developing
objectives related to procedural fairness(e.g.,are the procecures of the program fair for everyone?).
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session A. 24-1359 Language Accessibility;page 3(Packet page 17) Audit estimates this will take about 300 hours because it is expected to have a very narrow focus compared to other
Can we get more information about why this is 300 hours? anticipated audit projects.Specifically,new audit projects generally require about 100 hours of admin.overhead for
17 project initiation,report drafting and presentation,and ongoing communication with management.The remaining hours
are driven by the number of objectives-essentially questions-the audit is intended to answer,which require about 75
hours each.I anticipate this project will have two,maybe three objectives.For previous reference,the Electric System
Operations audit presented to Council in June had 8 objectives and was budgeted for 600 hours.
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session A. 24-1359 Tourism Initiatives;page 3(Packet page 17)—equity? When auditing for equity,Audit generally considers four areas to potentially develop audit objectives-or questions-
18 including access,quality,procedural fairness,and outcomes.For this project,Audit intends to consider developing
objectives related to access(e.g.does everyone have equal opportunity to use and benefit from the program)and
procedural fairness(e.g.,are the procecures of the program fair for everyone?).
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session A. 24-1359 City Auditors Lines of Service Sec.2-274 of the Code of Ethics currently requires the City Auditor'4o provide staff and clerical support to the Board of
Board of Ethics support—why not city attorney's office Ethics to assist in the implementation and enforcement of the Ethics Ordinance."Sec.2-275 requires the City Attorney to
"provide legal support to the City Auditor and the Board of Ethics in the administration of the Ethics Ordinance,"except
19 outside legal services are engaged when action is taken by the Board regarding any council member or to avoid a
conflict of interest.I believe this decision was made in 2018 when the Ordinance was first adopted after a 2017 charter
election where residents 1)approved a charter amendment to require the City Council to adopt an ethics ordinance and
2)approved a charter amendment that required the City Auditor position"to be held on a continuous,filltime basis."
20 07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session B. 24-226 Solid Waste—plan to pay debt funding down? Debt is structured to be paid over the life of the asset(5,10,or 20 year terms).Debt service requirements are budgeted
annually and included in the cost of service.
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session B. 24-226 DME— These expenses are generally included in the Technology Services Fund budget and allocated out to major funds.The
21 Where do security costs get captured in these budgets?I see allocated costs are reflected in DME's transfer out to Technology Services Fund.
Cybersecurity Consulting in the Wastewater Budget Request
Packages(page 42(Packet page 68).
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Work Session C. 24-1193 How often do Council Committees(other than the Agenda Committee)Committee on the Environment-ad hoc
meet and when do they report back to council?Quarterly?Ad Hoc? Community Partnership Committee-monthly
Mobility Committee-monthly
Development Code Review Committee-ad hoc
Economic Development Partnership Board-monthly
22 TIRZ#1 Board-every other month
TIRZ#2-ad hoc
Board and Committee reporting to Council occurs as related items are presented to Council through Work Sessions
Reports,presentations during Council meetings,and Agenda Information Sheets.Background of an item is listed in the
"Prior Action"section on the Agenda Information Sheet.
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Consent E. 24-177 Agenda Information Sheet,Funding Summary by Funding Source GF-Adminstration includes salary and benefits for eight employees,materials/supplies,operational costs,and interfund
General Funds—Administration$2,066,014.00(Packet page 134) transfers for$1,357,713 and the Ambassador Program for 708,301.
Explanation of where that goes?
$703,450 in homeless initiatives?Can this be broken down further? The$703,450 in Homeless Initiatives is broken down as follows:$80,000 Barriers Funds,$400,000 Denton Community
GF—Development Fee Grant of$225,000.00 Shelter,$80,000 Homelessness Initiatives,$128,450 Street Outreach,and$15,000 Homeless Management Information
23 System.
The purpose of the Development Fee Grant,provided as a reimbursement grant,assists eligible nonprofit organizations
and building projects with a grant to asssit with the cost of building permits and development fees,including utility,road,
water and wastewater impact fees that are associated with 1)development and preservation of affordable housing and 2)
construction or renovation of nonprofit facilites.
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Im-ff. =�- �Question/Comment Staff Response
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Consent E. 24-177 2023-2027 City of Denton Consolidated Plan for Housing& The 24,494 number reported is specific to Public Facility Projects over the 3 years of the previous 2020-23 Consolidated
Community Development;2024 Action Plan Plan and is reported here as evaluation of our past performance(PA).The"estimate of the number and type of
Are the 24,494 persons assisted all in the community shelter?What households that benefit from the proposed activity'is broken down by each activity starting on P.26 of the 2024 Action
24 does this include Plan.For Public Facility Projects,the entire neighborhood is included in the public benefit as required by HUD.This
2024 Action Plan proposes Public Facility Projects will benefit 7,735 residents(Carl Young Splash Pad=1,770+Dents
Park Improvements=5,865 residents).While we do share how the City also contributes general funds to leverage with
federal funding(P.24),the Action Plan goals focus only on activities using federal funding.The Denton Community
Shelter number assited is not included in the Action Plan.
07/22/24 Council Member Jester Consent E. 24-177 Packet page 144—only 61 responses to surveys out of 150K? The City of Denton utilizes a variety of methods to encourage ongoing participation from residents,social service
providers and community development organizations.In order to broaden the citizen participation process during the
Action Plan,residents were able to access a brief survey regarding the use of CDBG,HOME,and other funding targeted
25 to assist low and moderate-income individuals and households.The survey was promoted via Constant Contact email
blasts,social media,the City's website,flyers posted in libraries and recreation centers and an ad in the local paper.The
survey was available October through November 2023,and the City received sixty-one responses(61).The number of
responses to the annual survey varies.Outreach efforts are reviewed annually to determine changes.
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