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20-1253ORDINANCE NO.20- 1253 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON APPOINTING TYLER ATKINSON AS PRESIDING JUDGE FOR THE CITY OF DENTON MUNICIPAL COURT OF RECORD; ESTABLISHING TWO-YEAR TERMS OF OFFICE FOR THE PRESIDING JUDGE COMMENCING ON THE 13TH DAY OF JULY 2020 TO FILL THE UNEXPIRED REMAINDER OF THE TERM VACATED BY THE PRECEDING PRESIDING JUDGE, AND EXTENDING THROUGH THE IsT DAY OF JANUARY 2022; AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR TERM OF OFFICE; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. WHEREAS, the City Council desires to appoint TYLER ATKINSON as Presiding Municipal Judge to preside over the judicial functions of the Municipal Court of Record for the City of Denton, to establish two-year terms of office for Presiding Judge, and commencing for on the 13th day of July 2020 to fill the unexpired remainder of the term vacated by the preceding Presiding Judge and ending on January 1, 2022; and WHEREAS, TYLER ATKINSON desires to be appointed as Presiding Municipal Judge, to preside over the judicial functions of the Municipal Court of Record for the City of Denton; and WHEREAS, Sections 6.03 of the Charter of the City of Denton and Chapter 19 of the City Code for the City of Denton authorize the City Council to appoint a Presiding Municipal Judge to preside over the judicial functions of the Municipal Court of Record for the City of Denton; and WHEREAS, Chapter 30 of the Government Code, the Uniform Municipal Courts of Record Act (specifically Section 30.00006) provides that a governing body shall appoint one or more Judges to preside over a municipal court of record; and WHEREAS, Chapter 30.0007 of the Government Code requires that, if there is more than one municipal judge in the municipality, the governing body of the municipality shall appoint one of the judges as the presiding judge; and WHEREAS, under Article VI, Section 6.03 of the Denton City Charter, as well as Article II, Section 19-36 of the Code of Ordinances for the City of Denton, the Presiding Municipal Judge shall be appointed in even-numbered years. WHEREAS, Chapters 29 and 30 of the Texas Government Code requires that the Council shall establish two (2) year Terms of Office; NOW, THEREFORE, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS: SECTION 1. That TYLER ATKINSON is appointed as the Presiding Judge for the Municipal Court of Record for the City of Denton to fill the unexpired remainder of the term vacated by the preceding Presiding Judge beginning on the 13th day of July 2020, and continuing through 1 st day of January 2022, or as further provided herein. SECTION 2. The City of Denton therefore appoints and designates TYLER ATKINSON as Presiding Municipal Judge and Magistrate for, and under the laws of the State of Texas, with all the powers, rights and duties of said appointment for two (2) year Terms of Office. As provided in Section 29.005 of the Texas Government Code, the Presiding Municipal Judge shall be reappointed by the 91st day following the expiration of the term of office shall, absent action by the City Council for the City of Denton, Texas, and shall continue to serve for another term of office beginning on the date of the previous term of office expired. SECTION 3. The Mayor is herein authorized to execute on behalf of the City an Employment Agreement, with the Presiding Municipal Judge for the City of Denton Municipal Court, providing for the terms of employment and compensation for the Presiding Municipal Judge for the City of Denton Municipal Court, as the Council deems appropriate. SECTION 4. Should any portions or provisions of the City Code or City Charter for the City of Denton conflict with state law, Chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code shall be the controlling authority regarding the terms of appointment, re-appointment, qualifications or removal of a municipal court judge as appointed herein. SECTION 5. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and approval. The motion to approve this Ordinance was made by This OrdinancebyLa lg vote U - L]follq h [Fiedar1 and seconded by the Aye IZ 1// ,/ ,/ IZ L/ ,// Nay Abstain Absent Mayor Chris Watts: Gerard Hudspeth, District 1 : Keely G. Briggs District 2: Jesse Davis, District 3 : John Ryan, District 4: Deb Armintor, At Large Place 5 : Paul Meltzer, At Large Place 6: Page 2 PASSED AND APPROVED this the g)nay 20204# eiRrfmHa–Y–m ATTEST: ROSA RIOS, CITY SECRETARY APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM: AARON LEAL. CITY ATTORNEY Page 3 STATE OF TEXAS § COUNTY OF DENTON § EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT This Employment Agreement (“ Agreement”), is made and entered into effective the 13th day of July, 2020 by and between the City of Denton, Texas, a Texas municipal corporation, hereinafter called “Employer,” and Tyler Atkinson, hereinafter called “Presiding Judge,” both of whom agree as follows: WHEREAS, Employer desires the employment of the services of said Tyler Atkinson as Presiding Judge of the City of Denton Municipal Court; and WHEREAS, it is the desire of Employer to (1) secure and retain the services of Presiding Judge and to provide inducement for him to accept employment with the City of Denton such employment, (2) to make possible full work productivity by assuring Presiding Judge’s morale and peace of mind with respect to future security, and (3) to act as a deterrent against malfeasance or dishonesty for personal gain on the part of the Presiding Judge; and WHEREAS, Presiding Judge desires to accept employment as Presiding Judge of said City of Denton, Texas Municipal Court and start his duties as Presiding Judge on July 13, 2020; and WHEREAS, the parties acknowledge that Presiding Judge is a member of the State Bar of Texas (“State Bar”) and that Presiding Judge is subject to the Code of Professional Responsibility of the State Bar and shall comply with all conditions and restrictions as set forth for municipal judges under all applicable state statutes and as required under the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct; NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants herein contained, the parties agree as follows: SECTION 1. DUTIES Employer hereby engages the employment services of Tyler Atkinson as Presiding Judge of said Employer to perform the functions and duties specified by the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Denton City Charter, the City Code, Chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, the laws of the State of Texas, and all other applicable laws, and to perform other legally permissible and proper duties and functions as Employer shall from time to time assign. Such duties include court sessions, workday arraignments, in-house training, office hours, and other services of the Municipal Court Judge (or Statutory Magistrate) for the City of Denton. SECTION 2. TERM. A.Presiding Judge shall be appointed for terms of two years, commencing on July 13, 2020 to fill the unexpired remainder of the term vacated by the preceding Presiding Judge, and ending on January 1, 2022. Presiding Judge shall start his duties as Presiding Judge on July 13, 2020. Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of Employer to terminate the services of Presiding Judge at any time, subject only to the provisions set forth in Section 3, paragraphs A and B of this Agreement. B.Nothing in this Agreement shall prevent, limit or otherwise interfere with the right of the Presiding Judge to resign at any time from his position with the Employer, subject only to the provision set forth in Section 4, paragraph B, of this Agreement. C.Presiding Judge agrees not to accept other employment nor to become employed by any other employer until this Agreement is terminated by either party as provided herein. SECTION 3. SEPARATION A. Upon Involuntary Separation occurring during any term of the Agreement, Presiding Judge shall be entitled to those benefits paid other City of Denton non-civil service employees upon termination pursuant to policy in effect at the time of separation. B. In the event Presiding Judge voluntarily resigns his position with Employer before expiration of the aforesaid term of his employment, then Presiding Judge shall give Employer 30 days’ notice in advance, unless the parties otherwise agree. SECTION 4. SALARY A Employer agrees to pay Presiding Judge for his services rendered pursuant hereto an annual base salary of One Hundred Thirty Thousand and No Cents ($130,000.00), payable in installments at the same time as other employees of the Employer are paid. All provisions of the City Charter, City Code, and Rules and Regulations of the City adopted by the City Council relating to vacation and sick leave, retirement and pension system contribution, holidays, and other fringe benefits and working conditions as they now exist or hereafter may be amended, shall apply to Presiding Judge as they would to other employees of the City, which benefits include health insurance, long-term disability insurance, retirement under the Texas Municipal Retirement System, and other benefits as provided to other Council appointees of the City. B In addition, Employer agrees to increase said base salary and/or other benefits of Presiding Judge in such amounts and to such extent as the Council may determine within the approved budget that it is desirable to do so on the basis of an annual 2 performance review of said Presiding Judge made at the same time as similar consideration is given other Council appointees. C.The Presiding Judge, as one of several appointed magistrates for the City of Denton, may be required to serve as an assigned “Jail Magistrate” to perform magisterial duties related to persons arrested by, and in the custody of the Denton Police Department. In addition to the annual base salary referenced herein, the Presiding Judge shall be paid Three Hundred Twenty-Five Dollars and No Cents ($325.00) for each day of service as designated or assigned “Jail Magistrate” when such services are required on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday as designated by the City. SECTION 5. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION A.The Council shall review and evaluate the performance of the Presiding Judge at least once annually during the time set aside each year for the performance review of other Council appointees. Said review and evaluation shall be in accordance with specific criteria developed jointly by Presiding Judge and Employer. Said criteria may be added to or deleted from as the Council and Presiding Judge shall agree B.The Council and Presiding Judge shall define annually such goals and performance objectives which they determine necessary for the proper operation of the City of Denton Municipal Court, and in the attainment of the Council’s policy objectives and shall further establish a relative priority among those various goals and objectives. C.In effecting the provision of this Section, the Council and the Presiding Judge mutually agree to abide by the provisions of applicable law. SECTION 6. HOURS OF WORK It is recognized by both Employer and Presiding Judge that the duties of Presiding Judge require a great deal of time outside of normal office hours. It is also recognized by the parties that Presiding Judge is required to devote the amount of time and energy necessary to carry out those duties with the highest amount of professionalism possible. That being the case, the parties recognize that Presiding Judge may choose to take personal time off during business hours when it is appropriate and when his duties allow. Although this personal time off is not considered vacation, neither is it to be considered as compensatory time for time spent by Presiding Judge in carrying out his duties outside of normal office hours, as the parties agree that the Presiding Judge must devote the amount of time necessary to fulfill those duties. The Council will consider, in correlation with any applicable Federal and state law, the Presiding Judge’s use of personal time off during the performance evaluation. 3 SECTION 7. AUTOMOBILE. The Presiding Judge is required to be on call for 24-hour service, so therefore, must have access to a vehicle for City business. Employer shall grant to the Presiding Judge a car allowance of Three Hundred Dollars and No Cents ($300.00) per month for providing such vehicle. The Presiding Judge shall be responsible for the purchase, maintenance, insurance, taxes, etc. for said vehicle. The monthly allowance will be considered for increase during the performance evaluation process. The Employer also agrees to reimburse Presiding Judge for mileage for out-of-county travel associated with City business at the current IRS rate for mileage reimbursement in accordance with the then current City Travel Reimbursement Policy for City employees with car allowances. SECTION 8. RETIREMENT A.Employer agrees to pay the percentage of the cost of Presiding Judge’s participation in the TMRS retirement program, in accordance with Employer’s current policy for other City employees. B.If the Presiding Judge retires pursuant to a qualified retirement plan, or is permanently disabled during the term of this Agreement, the Presiding Judge shall be compensated for vacation leave, holidays, and other benefits then accrued or credited to the Presiding Judge in accordance with Employer’s current policies for compensation for these benefits, and, at the Presiding Judge’s option, shall be permitted to continue to participate in the City’s health insurance plan on the same basis as other retirees from the City are permitted to do so, or, if such other retirees are not permitted to do so, at the cost of the Presiding Judge. SECTION 9. DUES, MEMBERSHIPS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS. Employer agrees to budget and to pay for the professional dues, memberships, and subscriptions of Presiding Judge necessary for his continuation of full participation in national, regional, state and local associations and organizations necessary and desirable for his continued professional participation, growth and advancement as Presiding Judge, and for the good of the Employer in amounts that are approved by the City Council in the annual budget for the City’s Municipal Court Judge – Administration. SECTION 10. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Employer hereby agrees to budget for and to pay the full travel, participation, and subsistence expenses of Presiding Judge for professional and official travel, meetings and occasions adequate to continue the professional development of Presiding Judge, and to adequately pursue necessary official and other functions for Employer, including such national, regional, state and local groups and committees thereof which Presiding Judge serves as a member in the amounts approved by the City Council in the annual budget for the City’s Municipal Court Judge - Administration. 4 SECTION 11. BONDING. Employer shall bear the full cost of any fidelity or other bonds that may be required of the Presiding Judge under any law or ordinance. SECTION 12. OTHER TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EMPLOYMENT A.The City Council, upon recommendation of the Council Appointee Performance Review Committee and in consultation with the Presiding Judge, shall fix any such other terms and conditions of employment as it may determine from time to time, relating to the performance of Presiding Judge, provided such terms and conditions are not inconsistent with or in conflict with the provisions of this Agreement, the City Charter, Chapter 30 of the Texas Government Code, or any other law, and are memorialized by a written amendment to this Agreement. B.All provisions of the City Charter and Code, and regulations and rules of the Employer relating to vacation and sick leave, retirement and pension system contributions, holiday, and other fringe benefits and working conditions as they now exist or hereafter may be amended, shall also apply to Presiding Judge as they would to other employees of the Employer, in addition to said benefits enumerated specifically for the benefit of Presiding Judge. SECTION 13. RELOCATION Employer agrees to provide Employee with reimbursement for Employee’s relocation expenses up to an amount not to exceed Two Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($2,500). The employee will receive three (3) bids from bonded and licensed moving companies and present these bids to the City. The Employee will select the lowest bidder for his moving company and must take this benefit within six months of initiation of employment. The City’s Relocation Expenses policy (No. 101.05) will apply in all other respects. SECTION 14. GENERAL PROVISIONS A. B. C. The text herein shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties. This Agreement shall be binding upon and inure to the benefit of the heirs at law and executors of Presiding Judge. If any provision, or any portion, thereof, contained in this Agreement is held unconstitutional, invalid, or unenforceable, the remainder of this Agreement, or portion thereof, shall be deemed several, shall not be affected and shall remain in force and effect. D The venue of any litigation involving this Agreement shall be in a court of competent jurisdiction sitting in Denton County, Texas. 5 SECTION 15. APPROPRIATIONS. The Employer has appropriated, set aside and encumbered, and does hereby appropriate, set aside, and encumber available and unappropriated funds of the City in an amount sufficient to hInd and pay all financial obligations of the City pursuant to this Agreement, including, but not limited to the severance pay, salary and benefits set forth and described herein IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Mayor as duly authorized by the City Council and on behalf of the City of Denton, has signed and executed this Agreement and the Presiding Judge has signed and executed this Agreement, both in duplicate, the day and year first above written. CITY OF DENTON r/,minIm ATTEST: ROSA RIOS, CITY SECRETARY BY: aa APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM C IY TI NG JUDGE