19-2866ORDINANC� NO. 19-2866
AN ORDINANCE OF' THE CITY Ol� DENTON AMENDING THE CITY OF DENTOI�
CUI�F. O� ORDINANC�S (CODE) SECTION 2-83 (C) TO REVISE THE ABSENCFS
PROVISION FOR BOARD, COMMISSION, AND COMMITTIEES I3Y ESTABLISHING
PR�:��"�I��:DURES AND DEFINITIONS TO DETERMINE IF AN ABSENCE IS EXCUSED OR
UNCXCUSED; PROVIDING FOR A SEVERABILITY CLAUSE: AND PROVIDING FOR
nN ET'FECTIVC DATE.
WI IEREAS, the City Councii of the City of Denton creates various boards, commissions,
and committees to participate in the City's �overnmental process, and give input on topics of
community importance; and
WHEREAS, the City Council recognizes that board, commission; and committee
membership is a signii�icant time commitment for llenton residents; ai�d
WNEREAS, the City Council understands that there will be instances where board,
commission, and committee rnembers will be unable to attend every meetin�; oi'their respective
board, commission, or committcc; and
WHEREAS, the City Gouncil desires to establish a fair prncess to determine if absences
of' board, commission, and committee inembers should be classified as excused or uncxcused;
and
WHERE�IS, Rules and Procedures for Boards, Commissions, and Committees are
conclucted in accordance with Section 2-83 of the Denton City Code of Ordinances; NOW
THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DF,N'ION HEREBY ORDAINS:
SEGTION l. That Section 2�83 Subsection (c) of the City Code is hereby amended t6
read as follows:
(c) .4bseraces. Every board, commission, and committee me�nber shall attend all regular
scheduled meetings of the board, conunission, or committee of which he or she is a member.
I�or p�n-poses of section 2,83(c), the ��hrase "board, cornmission, or committee" includes
subcommittees, patlels, ad hoc groiips and task forces. Members wha cannot attend the meeting
must contact the chairperson or an ap�ropriate staff liaisan to report his or her absence before
tlle sta.rt of'the tneeting and provide the reason why he or slie is unable to attend the meeting.
(l) Ail absences wi}1 be cate�orized as either excused ox unexcused, accordin� to the
follo�ving criteria:
a. Excused Absences: An excused absence of any board, commission, commiuee
me»�ber shall include the following: perso��al or family iliness, death of a family
member, .jury duty, service in the armed forces, testifying before the le�islature,
attending a seininar involving rnunicipal matters of ►mportance to the member's
duties, or an absence necessary for the membcr's business or employ�nent. Members
should submit documeniation i'oi• the excused absence to tlie City Secreta►-y for
approvaL It� the event the City 5ecretary tinds it is n�t clear whether an absence
meets the criteria above, she shall promptly notiEy the member in writing, that if the
membcr wants the absencc e:�cuscd thcy will be x•equired to go through the proccss
outlined in Section 2.83(c)(1)(b).
b. Request for Absence to be Excused: In the event the absence does not meet any of the
above notcd criteria for an excused absence, the nlembcr may submit a request to
have the absence excused io the City Secretary'S Oftice in writing no later than ten
business days after the date the absence occurred_ The City Secretary will then place
an item on the next available city cotincil a�enda for their consideration, in
accordancc with thc Tcxas Open Mectings Act.
c. Unexcused Absences: Any absence which does not qual�fy as an excused absence
under another subsection 1lerein shall be considered an unexcused absence.
(2) Calculatin� Ten Business Days: For putposes of calculating tei� business days, the
"computation of time" provision in Sectian 1-2 of the Denton Code of Ordinances shall
apply.
(3) Absences Resulting in Cause for Removal: An uneacused absence of any board,
commission, coinmittee, member fi•om more than three (3 j regularly called and scheduled
meetin�s of w�hich he or she is a rnember in any o11e ( i) year, or lack of attendance at fifty
(50) percent of the number of regular/scheduled meetings in a year , shall be considered
"cause," as that term is used in section 14. I b af the Charter, for removal by the city
council. An ofiice that has been vacated under the provisions ot this section shall be filled
for the remainder of the term using the standard appointment process.
(4) Reporting and Violations: Attendance reports will be provided by boards, commissions,
committees, subcommittees, or panels to the city council �ria the City Secretary's Of��ice
on a quarterly basis. The staff liaison shall immediately notify the City Secretary's
Ofiice of any menlbei•'s violation of the attendance requirements and shail not wait until
the quarterly repoi•ting process. Copies of this ordinance shall be 1'orwarded to existing
members of all of the stancling boards, commissions, comn�ittees, subcammittees, or
panels and to s�s��° meinbers as they are appointed.
S�:C"1'ION 2. The provisions of this Ordinance are severable, and the invalidity of any
phrase, ctause, or part af the Ordinance shall not affect the validity or eff'ectiveness of the
z•emainder of the Ordinance.
SECTION 3. This ordinance shall become etfective immediately upon its passage and
approval.
The �i�otion to a ptove this c�rdinance was made by _��.��-_ ���.r�.�_
approved byahe iollo i g� ote��W ��-����� ^ the ordinance was passed and
Chris Watts, Mayor:
Gerard Hudspeth, I�istrict 1
Keely }3ri�gs, District 2:
.Iesse Davis, Dist�°�ct 3:
John Ryan, Dist�•ict 4:
Deb Ar7nintor, At Large Place 5:
Paul Meltzer, At Large Place 6:
Aye Na,y
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Abstain Absent
PASSED �1ND nPPROV�D this the —��� day of ���iG� 20.
CHRIS TTS, MAYOR
ATTEST:
ROSA R10S, CITY SECRETARY
BY:
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
AARON L�AL ITY �1TTORNEY
BY: