21-1837ORDINANCE NO. 21-1837
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON AMENDING SECTION 2-30 OF THE CODE
OF THE CITY OF DENTON TO CHANGE THE TITLE AND INCREASE THE TIME FOR A
REQUESTING COUNCILMEMBER TO DESCRIBE THE REQUEST; PROVIDING A
SEVERABILITY CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; PROVIDING FOR
CODIFICATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on August 27, 2019 by Ordinance No. 19-2026, the City Council adopted
Section 2-30 of the City of Denton Code of Ordinances to provide procedures to ensure there is a
consensus of the City Council regarding the use of staff time when responding to requests from
elected officials; and
WHEREAS the City Council now desires to amend the City Council request procedures to
change the section title to more accurately reflect the response types and to increase the time for
the requesting councilmember to speak from one minute to two minutes; NOW THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-30 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of
Denton shall now read as follows:
Chapter 2 - ADMINISTRATION
ARTICLE IL — ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION
Sec. 2-30. - City Council Requests for Information or Agenda Items.
(a) Definitions.
(1) For purposes of Section 2-30 the following definitions apply:
a. "Request for Information" — Requests made by a member of the City Council
to seek clarification on Board, Commission, Committee or City Council agenda
items; address perceived service issues, infrastructure maintenance, or
construction concerns caused by or impacting City operations and/or the quality
of life for Denton residents; and requests for policy -related research to evaluate
policies implemented by other agencies and/or assess the impact a new policy
or potential program may have if implemented by the City of Denton.
b. "City Staff' — Includes employees of the City of Denton consisting of or
reporting to, the City Manager or the City Attorney.
(b) City Council Requests for Information from City Staff.
(1) All City Council requests for information from City Staff, must be submitted to the
City Manager's Office via email and include at a minimum, the following details:
a. Request Type;
b. Purpose;
c. Time Sensitivity; and
d. Preferred Response Format.
(2) The City Manager's Office and/or the City Attorney's Office will estimate the amount
of time required to respond to each request.
(3) Requests estimated to take more than a total of two hours to complete will be brought
forward within the next 30 calendar days, to a City Council work session to seek
consensus from the full City Council regarding the use of City Staff time to fulfill the
request. Requests for information referred to a work session will follow the procedures
provided in sub -section (b) of Section 2-30.
(c) City Council Requests for Information Referred to a Work Session.
(1) A standing work session item will be added to each City Council agenda for City
Council requests to be considered.
a. The requesting Council Member will be required to provide a clear, written
explanation describing the reason for the information requested. This
description will be included as an attachment to the work session agenda
materials and must be provided to the City Secretary in time to fully comply
with Texas Open Meeting Act requirements.
(2) During the work session, the requesting Council Member will have a maximum of two
minutes to describe and justify their request.
a. Remaining Council Members will then have a maximum of one minute each to
provide feedback and indicate their support for the use of City Staff time to
respond to the request.
(3) Staff will respond to all requests where a consensus of at least four elected officials is
established. To the extent possible, responses will be make in the requested format
including Informal Staff Reports, Legal Status Reports, City Council work session
topics, or ordinances and resolutions to be considered on future City Council agendas.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and
approval.
SECTION 3. To the extent not otherwise provided, this ordinance shall repeal every prior
ordinance in conflict herewith, but only insofar as the portion of such ordinance shall be in conflict;
and as to all other sections of the ordinance not in direct conflict herewith, this ordinance shall be
and is hereby made cumulative except as to such prior ordinances or portions thereof as are
expressly repealed hereby.
SECTION 4. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance is held invalid by any court, such invalidity shall not affect the validity of the
provisions or applications, and to this end the provisions of this ordinance are severable.
SECTION 5. The City Secretary is hereby directed to record and publish the above
regulations in the City's Code of Ordinances.
The motion to approve this ordinance was made by�sse_
and seconded by ?)<-, !e, the ordinance was passed and
approved by the following vote
Aye Nay
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth:
Vicki Byrd, District 1:
✓
Brian Beck, District 2:
.f
Jesse Davis, District 3:
Alison Maguire, District 4: 1/
Deb Armintor, At Large Place 5: ✓�
Paul Meltzer, At Large Place 6: f
Abstain Absent
PASSED AND APPROVED this the ��+h day of Sep*ePAM ae C , 2021.
GERARD H SPETH, MAYOR
ATTEST:
ROSA RIOS, CITY SECRETARY
BY:
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
CATHERINE CLIFTON, INTERIM CITY ATTORNEY
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