23-1431FILE REFERENCE FORM @qr
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TI- 1839
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ORDINANCE NO. 23-1431
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF DENTON AMENDING CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE II,
SECTION 2-30 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF DENTON (CITY COUNCIL REQUESTSFOR INFORMATION OR AGENDA ITEMS), TO REQUIRE A CONSENSUS OF ASUPERMAJORITY OF COUNCILMEMBERS FOR A REQUEST FOR A RESOLUTION ORORDINANCE TO BE PLACED ON AN AGENDA PRIOR TO A WORK SESSION ON THE
REQUEST; PROVIDING A REPEALER CLAUSE; PROVIDING A SEVERABILITYCLAUSE, PROVIDING A SAVINGS CLAUSE; 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, on September 28, 2021 by Ordinance No. 21-1837 the City Council amended
the City Council request procedures to increase the time for the requesting councilmember to speak
from one minute to two minutes and change the section title to more accurately reflect the response
types may include agenda items; and
WHEREAS, the City Council now desires to amend the City Council request procedures
to require a 3/4 supermajority consensus to have a request go directly to a resolution or ordinance
on a future City Council agenda; NOW THEREFORE,
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DENTON HEREBY ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. The findings and recitations contained in the preamble of this Ordinance are
incorporated herein by reference to the body of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein.
SECTION 2. Chapter 2, Article II, Section 2-30 of the City of Denton Code of
Ordinances, entitled “City Council Requests for Information or Agenda Items,” is hereby
amended in its entirety to now read as follows:
Chapter 2 - ADMINISTRATION
ARTICLE II. – 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 made 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.
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A consensus of six (6) Council Members is required for a resolution or ordinance to be
placed on a future City Council agenda prior to a City Council work session on the
request.
SECTION 3. Ordinance No. 19-2026 and Ordinance 21-1837 are hereby repealed and
replaced by this Ordinance. 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 shallbe 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. It is hereby declared to be the intention of the City Council that the phrases,
clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this Ordinance are severable, and if any phrase,
clause, sentence, paragraph, or section of this Ordinance shall be declared unconstitutional by the
valid judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality shall not
affect any of the remaining phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs, and sections of this Ordinance,
since the same would have been enacted by the City Council without the incorporation in this
Ordinance of any such unconstitutional phrase, clause, sentence, paragraph, or section.
SECTION 5. The City Secretary is hereby directed to record and publish the above
regulations in the City’s Code of Ordinances.
SECTION 6. This Ordinance shall become effective immediately upon its passage and
approval.
Th, m,ti,„ t, ,pp„,, thi, O,di„,„„ w„ m,d, by BuM F<eJtzef ,„d „,,„d,d
by CArl's bjaH S ; this Ordinance was passed and approved by the
following vote A - Z :
Aye
1/r
Nay
V‘a
Abstain Absent
Mayor Gerard Hudspeth:
Vicki Byrd, District 1 :
Brian Beck, District 2:
Paul Meltzer, District 3 :\/
P/Joe Holland, District 4:
Brandon Chase McGee, At Large Place 5 :1/
Chris Watts, At Large Place 6:br
PASSED AND APPROVED this the as+k day of J.\ V , 2023.
IZ#„„ M„„"
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ATTEST:
JESUS SALAZAR, INTERIM CITY SECRETARY At1111111/
APPROVED AS TO LEGAL FORM:
MACK REINWAND. CITY ATTORNEY
'-
BY:
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