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TODAY IS AUGUST 14TH, AND I'M CALLING TO ORDER THE LEGISLATIVE AD HOC COMMITTEE.
WE HAVE, UM, SEVERAL ITEMS. THE FIRST ITEM IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 12TH, 2023 AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING.
IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVE SECOND.
THERE'S A MOTION AND A SECOND.
ANY CHANGES OR CORRECTIONS? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, PLEASE SAY AYE.
SO WE HAVE THREE BRIEFING ITEMS IN ONE BRIEFING BY MEMORANDUM BECAUSE WE HAVE GUESTS.
UM, I WAS THINKING WE WOULD GO AHEAD AND TAKE THE BRIEFING BY MEMORANDUM FIRST, IN CASE Y'ALL DON'T WANNA SIT THROUGH THE REST OF THE MEETING.
UM, AND REALLY WHAT WE WERE ASKING IS FOR, UM, THE MEMBERSHIP ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO SOME OF OUR ADVOCACY WITH US, UM, TO REALLY JUST SHARE WITH US, UM, WHAT SORT OF THINGS THAT THEY DID THIS PAST SESSION SINCE WE'VE ALREADY AT THE LAST AD HOC GONE THROUGH, UM, HOW THE SESSION WENT SO FAR,
AND, AND THEN IF ANYBODY HAD COMMENTS ABOUT THE ORGANIZATIONS OR QUESTIONS, UM, MANY OF THE REPRESENTATIVES ARE HERE.
SO WITH THAT, UM, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT, OR FOR TEXT 21, DALLAS REGIONAL MOBILITY COALITION, NORTH TEXAS COMMISSION OR METROPLEX MAYORS, THERE WAS A MEMO ATTACHED TO THE, TO THIS AGENDA.
WELL, THANK YOU GENTLEMEN FOR BEING HERE.
THERE DON'T SEEM TO BE ANY QUESTIONS.
LET'S MOVE TO OUR BRIEFING ITEMS. ITEM B IS THE STATE LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, AND WE HAVE CLIFFORD SPARKS HERE TO PRESENT THAT ITEM.
ALRIGHT, THANK YOU MR. CHAIRWOMAN.
AND WE'LL GET THE PRESENTATION PULLED UP.
AND IF YOU COULD MOVE THAT MICROPHONE CLOSER PLEASE.
I'M GONNA BE DOING A, UH, BRIEF OVERVIEW OF WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, THIS PAST TIME, UH, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WENT WELL, AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT DIDN'T GO SO WELL.
BUT OVERALL, WE HAD A VERY GOOD SESSION, UM, TO SAY THE LEAST.
UH, PRIOR TO SESSION, THE COUNCIL PASSED A LEGISLATIVE AGENDA THAT HAD ABOUT 34 ITEMS OF BILLS AND BUDGET REQUESTS.
AND WE ACCOMPLISHED 25 OF THOSE 34 ITEMS, WHICH, UH, IS A VERY GOOD FEAT.
IS THIS BETTER? UH, NOW I CAN HEAR MYSELF.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, WE HAD ABOUT, UH, 25 OF, UH, THE 34 ITEMS WERE PASSED THIS PAST SESSION, WHICH WAS A REALLY GOOD SESSION FOR US.
AND, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, THE LEGISLATURE WAS VERY GENEROUS.
UM, BUT THE LEGISLATURE GIVEN AND THEY TAKE IT AWAY.
THERE WAS SOME, DEFINITELY SOME THINGS THAT HAPPENED THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN.
UH, SO WE'LL HAVE TO GO BACK AND TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN RECTIFY SOME OF THOSE THINGS AND MOVE FORWARD, SEE IF WE CAN WORK WITH THEM AND GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE LONG TERM, UH, OUTLOOK THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE DOING.
SO, UH, AS YOU SEE DURING THE PUR ON THE PURPOSE SLIDE HERE, UH, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS AGAIN I JUST MENTIONED THAT WE'RE GONNA BE GOING OVER.
SO WE'LL GET TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
AND THESE WERE JUST SOME OF THE STATS THAT HAPPENED.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE ABOUT SEVEN, OVER 700 BILLS THAT WE WERE TRACKING THAT AFFECTED THE CITY.
UM, AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO GO DOWN AND EITHER TESTIFY, UH, WRITE UP, UH, RESPONSE LETTERS, AND DO SOME SORT, SOME SORT OF INTERVENTION TO GET THESE PIECES OF LEGISLATION BACK INTO A GOOD FAVOR FORCE OR KEEP GOOD LEGISLATION IN GOOD FAVOR, FORCE MOVING FORWARD.
OVERALL, WE HAD ABOUT 44 PEOPLE COME DOWN AND TESTIFY.
THAT INCLUDED COUNCIL MEMBERS, STAFFERS, AND ELECTED OFFICIALS.
AND LET ME JUST SAY THIS, YOU KNOW, WITHOUT ALL OF THAT INPUT, WITHOUT ALL OF THAT HELP, UH, THE SESSION COULD HAVE WENT VERY DIFFERENTLY.
UM, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A TEAM TO GET THIS DONE.
IT WASN'T JUST US AND THE LOBBY TEAM.
THE LOBBY TEAM DEFINITELY DID THEIR PART.
BUT WHEN WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, THE CHAIRPERSONS COME DOWN, WHEN WE HAVE COUNCIL FOLKS COME DOWN, WHEN WE HAVE DIFFERENT STAFF PEOPLE COME DOWN AND TESTIFY ON OUR BEHALF, THAT REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE.
AND IT'S ALSO BEEN SAID NOT FROM OTHER CITIES THAT WE TESTIFY MORE THAN ANY OTHER CITY.
SO THEY WOULD AGREE THAT WE PRETTY MUCH CARRY THE WATER FOR THE ENTIRE STATE WHEN IT COMES TO, YOU KNOW, LEGISLATION THAT AFFECTS MUNICIPALITIES.
SO THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THAT.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO DO.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE STAFF AND TO SHOW UP SOME THINGS FROM THIS PAST SESSION.
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SO LET'S GET INTO SOME, SOME OF THE FAVORABLE LEGISLATION.UH, WE HAD A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT THINGS THAT HELPED OUT THE CITIZENS OF THE, OF, OF THE CITY, OF DALLAS IN PARTICULAR.
UM, YOU KNOW, HB 2071, WHICH IS WORKFORCE HOUSING.
UH, THAT WAS A HUGE, HUGE, UH, STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
THAT LEGISLATION KIND OF GOT AWAY FROM THIS THERE, FROM THE, IN THE BEGINNING.
BUT WE WERE ABLE TO USE ONE OF OUR COUNCIL FOLKS, UH, TO GET IT BACK INTO A GOOD PLACE.
UH, SO AGAIN, I'M STRESSING, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE COMING DOWN TO GET INVOLVED IS A VERY HUGE THING IN THE LEGISLATURE.
'CAUSE WHEN THEY DON'T HEAR FROM Y'ALL, UH, THEY THINK THAT WHATEVER'S GOING ON IS OKAY.
BUT IF THEY SEE YOUR FACE AND YOU TAKE THE TIME TO COME DOWN, IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
UH, WE DEFINITELY HAVE SOME THINGS ON OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA, LIKE, UH, HB 32 90, THE 9 1 1 FUNDING BILL.
UM, THE MONICA'S LAW BILL, HB 52 0 2, AND THE OD MAPPING BILL, WHICH WAS A HUGE WIN FOR US, UH, THIS PAST SESSION, ALL AGAIN, WHICH WAS COORDINATED, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST BY THE LOBBY TEAM, BUT BY WORK THAT THE STAFF AND COUNCIL FOLKS HERE DO AT THE CITY.
SO, AGAIN, I WANNA THANK EVERYBODY, UH, FOR COMING DOWN AND HELPING WITH THESE.
UH, THIS IS ONLY JUST A FEW OF THINGS.
LIKE I SAID, WE HAD OVER ABOUT 25 ITEMS, UH, THAT WE GOT DONE, NOT INCLUDING, UH, A LOT OF BUDGET APPROPRIATIONS, WHICH YOU'LL SEE LATER.
HERE'S SOME OF THE BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS.
UH, ONE OF THE BIG ONES IS THE 9 1 1 FUNDING.
UH, THIS ONE GOES SPECIFICALLY TO OUR 9 1 1 CENTER, WHICH I KNOW IS IN, UM, UH, NOT WHERE WE NECESSARILY WOULD LIKE IT TO BE.
UH, WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GAIN A LOT MORE FUNDING FOR THIS.
UM, IT MADE IT ALL THE WAY TO CONFERENCE COMMITTEE.
THE FUNDING GOT STRIPPED OUT AND WE GOT LEFT WITH THIS.
UM, THAT'S NOT A BAD THING, BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER.
AND SO WE LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING WITH THE LEGISLATURE AND SENATOR HANCOCK OUT, TARRAN COUNTY, WHO'S BEEN A ONE MAN WRECKING CREW ON THAT.
UH, SO WHEN YOU SEE HIM OUT AND ABOUT, DEFINITELY, UM, GIVE HIM A HIGH FIVE FOR ALL THE WORK THAT HE'S BEEN DOING, BECAUSE HE'S BEEN DOING A YEOMAN'S JOB OF JUST MAKING SURE THAT HE KEEPS THAT ON THE FOREFRONT OF EVERYBODY'S AGENDA DOWN IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND I REALLY TRULY APPRECIATE HIS HELP WITH THAT.
WE ALSO WENT DOWN TO GET SOME FUNDING FOR OUR REGIONAL TRAINING FACILITY AT U N C DALLAS.
WE WERE ABLE TO GARNER $20 MILLION, UH, WHICH IS A HUGE HELP.
UH, WE WERE ASKING FOR MORE, BUT YOU KNOW, LIKE I SAID, THE LEGISLATURE GIVES AND THEY TAKE IT AWAY.
UH, SOUTHERN GATEWAY DECK PARK, UH, FOR THE, UH, $5 MILLION FOR THAT, OUR REENTRY PROGRAM.
UH, WHICH EVEN THOUGH IT SAYS PILOT PROGRAMS, IT'S ACTUALLY GOING TO, UH, TURN INTO A PERMANENT PROGRAM.
STATE REP TONY ROSE HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP WITH THAT.
WORKING WITH THE CITY OF HOUSTON, UH, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO BUMP THAT UP, LIKE, UH, AS YOU SEE HERE, ABOUT $4 MILLION TO HELP PEOPLE COMING HOME FROM PRISON.
AND THAT'S, THAT PROGRAM'S GONNA CONTINUE TO EVOLVE TO HELP FOLKS OUT.
AND SO WE'RE REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF THE WORK THAT SHE'S, SHE DID THERE.
THE CLOSED CIRCUIT TVS FOR NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY PROGRAM.
I CAN'T SPEAK ENOUGH ABOUT OUR DELEGATION, OUR STATE DELEGATION, AND ALL THE HELP THAT THEY'VE BEEN TO US.
UH, TOO MANY DOLLARS FOR THAT PROGRAM FROM, UH, REPRESENTATIVE NEVY CARRADO.
UH, SHE CAME TO US, TOLD US SHE WANTED TO HELP US DO SOMETHING.
WE GOT HER WITH THE POLICE CHIEF, AND THIS IS WHAT WE CAME UP WITH.
SO THIS WAS A HUGE WIN FOR US.
AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST THE COMMUNICATION, KEEPING THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN, UH, BETWEEN US AND OUR DELEGATION.
THINGS LIKE THIS HAPPENED MOVING ON.
NOW, OUT OF ALL THE GOOD STUFF THAT HAPPENED, UH, THERE WAS SOME THINGS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP FROM HAPPENING.
UH, THESE ARE A LIST OF THE UNSUCCESSFUL BILLS, MEANING THAT THEY DID NOT REACH THE GOVERNOR'S DESK TO BE SIGNED, OR THEY DID REACH THE GOVERNOR'S DESK AND THEY WERE VETOED.
UM, THE ONE THAT I REALLY DO WANNA POINT OUT, THAT WAS A HUGE WIN, UH, TO GIVE YOU GUYS OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT YOU DID, WHICH WAS WITH THE SHORT TERM RENTALS.
UH, WE WERE ABLE TO KEEP THAT BILL AT BAY TO ALLOW YOU GUYS TO MAKE THE DECISION LOCALLY.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, FOR SOME OF THE NEW MEMBERS ON THE COUNCIL, WE'VE HAD A HUGE, UH, BURDEN OF TRYING TO ALLOW YOU TO KEEP YOUR ABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS HERE LOCALLY.
AND SO BILLS LIKE THAT, THAT WOULD, UH, THWART YOUR ATTEMPT TO EVEN BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME DECISIONS THAT YOU'VE MADE RECENTLY, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE PROBLEM.
NOW, HERE'S SOME OF THE LEGISLATION THAT DID MAKE IT TO HIS FINAL DESTINATION AND GOT SIGNED BY THE GOVERNOR.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE, YOU KNOW, FOUGHT AS BEST WE COULD, AS THEY SAY.
BUT SOME OF THE THINGS LIKE THEY JUST WANTED TO GET DONE.
UM, IN PARTICULAR, UH, THE PARKLAND DEDICATION FEE, HB 1526, THIS PARTICULAR PIECE OF LEGISLATION, UH, RESTRICTS THE AMOUNT OF, UM, THE FEES THAT WE CAN CHARGE TO BE ABLE TO BUILD, PARK, UH, PARK LAND AROUND CERTAIN DEVELOPMENTS THAT WE HAVE.
SO, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T SOMETHING THAT WE WANTED TO GET DONE.
WE ACTUALLY WORKED THE BILL INTO A LITTLE BIT BETTER PLACE TO WHERE IT'S MORE FAVORABLE FOR US.
UH, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY, UH, TRIED TO STALL OUT AND UNFORTUNATELY,
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UNFORTUNATELY MADE IT TO THE FINISH LINE.UM, OTHER THINGS LIKE, UH, 1860 WHERE, WHERE THEY'RE KEEPING US FROM PUTTING CERTAIN THINGS IN OUR CHARTER, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER THINGS GO INTO OUR CHARTER, IT HAS TO BE VOTED ON BY JOHN Q PUBLIC.
UM, I JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT THIS BILL TO SHOW TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY'RE GOING TO, TO KEEP LOCAL DECISIONS FROM BEING MADE LOCALLY.
THEY'RE STARTING TO PULL THOSE DECISIONS DOWN TO AUSTIN AND SAYING THAT, HEY, EVEN IF YOUR PEOPLE VOTE ON THEM, WE, IF WE DON'T AGREE WITH IT, WE'RE GONNA TAKE THAT RIGHT AWAY.
SO I JUST WANT TO HIGHLIGHT S SB 1860 SO THAT YOU UNDERSTAND LIKE WHAT IT IS THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, LIKE TO THE EXTENT THAT THE STATE IS TRYING TO, UM, PLAY AROUND IN LOCAL POLITICS, IF YOU WILL.
SO, WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, LET ME JUST GIVE A, A WRAP UP OF WHAT'S NEXT TO COME.
UM, YOU KNOW, THIS PAST SESSION WE HAD A REGULAR SESSION, WHICH WAS INTENSE, FIVE MONTHS.
UH, BUT WE ALSO HAD TWO SPECIAL SESSIONS THAT CENTERED AROUND THE PROPERTY TAX, UH, LEGISLATION.
I'M SURE YOU ALL HEARD THAT, ALL SEEN THAT IN THE NEWSPAPERS.
UM, WE PLAN, OR THEY PLAN ON HAVING ANOTHER SPECIAL SESSION, UH, PRESUMABLY IN OCTOBER.
IT HASN'T BEEN CALLED YET, BUT IT'S GONNA CENTER AROUND EDUCATION.
UM, AND IN PARTICULAR THE VOUCHERS.
UM, AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE THE, WHAT WE UNDERSTAND IS THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT IS EDUCATION.
BUT LET ME JUST SAY THIS, ANYTIME THEY HAVE A SPECIAL SESSION, IT'S TREATED LIKE A REGULAR SESSION, MEANING, WELL, WE TREAT IT LIKE A REGULAR SESSION BECAUSE IF A BILL GETS HOT ON US THAT WASN'T ON THE CALL AND IT MAKES IT TO THE GOVERNOR'S DESK, WE WANT TO AT LEAST HAVE SAID OUR PEACE ABOUT IT BEFORE IT GETS TO THAT POINT SO THAT WE CAN MODIFY IT AND MAKE CHANGES.
SO THE REASON WHY I SAY THAT IS THAT IF SOMETHING COMES UP THAT'S IN YOUR WHEELHOUSE, YOU WANNA TESTIFY ON IT, PLEASE DO REACH OUT TO ME, LET ME KNOW.
KEEP ME INFORMED SO THAT THAT WAY WE CAN GET YOU INVOLVED AND WE CAN GET YOU IN FRONT OF THE DECISION MAKERS BECAUSE WE TREAT IT AS A REGULAR SESSION.
'CAUSE THE LEGISLATION THAT THEY PASSED IS STILL REAL AND THAT HAVE REAL EFFECTS.
SO THAT BEING SAID, WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE INTERIM CHARGES.
WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK OUT FOR AGENCY DECISIONS, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE AND MAKE SURE THAT WE GET OUR PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THAT.
BUT ALL IN ALL, UH, WE HAD A PRETTY GOOD SESSION.
THINGS COULD HAVE WENT BETTER, THINGS COULD HAVE WENT A LOT WORSE.
BUT OVERALL WE HAD A VERY GOOD SESSION.
I'M PROUD OF ALL THE WORK THAT EVERYBODY PUT IN.
SO AGAIN, THANK EVERYBODY FOR ALL THE WORK THEY DID.
UM, AND THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.
UM, SO I WANNA ADD ON TO THAT JUST WITH THAT LOOKING FORWARD PIECE THAT IN ADDITION TO MONITORING WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE DIFFERENT AGENCIES, UM, THAT WE'LL START WORKING ON OUTREACH WITH OUR, UH, DELEGATION.
AND ALSO WE'RE GONNA START IDENTIFYING PRIORITIES FOR THE 89TH SESSION A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THIS TIME.
AND WHAT I'D LIKE TO PROPOSE TO YOU IS THAT, UM, WE ACTUALLY LOOK AT THIS IN A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT WAY.
SO WE'VE HAD, UM, YOU KNOW, THESE, THESE SORT OF GREAT CARDS OF WHAT OUR PRIORITIES ARE.
UM, BUT REALLY THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT MORE OF POSITION AS OPPOSED TO A VERY SPECIFIC PIECE OF LEGISLATION.
AND WHAT I'M HOPING WE'LL DO IS WE'LL KIND OF HAVE TWO DIFFERENT COLUMNS AND ONE COLUMN WILL BE, UM, ACTUALLY OUR VERY STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT WE WILL DEVELOP A PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH.
AND THE OTHER SIDE WILL BE SORT OF JUST THE GENERAL LEGISLATIVE POSITION.
AND SO ONCE THE COMMITTEES ARE SET, UM, IT'S REALLY JUST NOT EVEN TOO EARLY TO START GETTING THAT TOGETHER SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WE'RE ACTUALLY FILING THE BILLS WE WANT AS OPPOSED TO WAITING TO SEE WHAT GETS FILED AND TAKING A POSITION.
WHAT YOU SAID, THE SCHOOL CALL WHERE WE DID, UM, ON TRYING TO PROCESS THAT EACH DEPARTMENT THEY GO AND SAY, HERE IS, LET'S GO ON THE SCORECARD.
SO WHAT ARE EXACTLY YOU SAYING? THE THE DEPARTMENT WILL NOT BE DOING THAT AGAIN? UH, I MEAN, UH, WHAT I, WHAT I, OKAY.
NO, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA ASK ALL THE CITY DEPARTMENTS TO DO THAT.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA ASK THE COMMITTEES AS WELL.
BUT I'M LOOKING FOR OUR LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE TO SORT OF WHITTLE IT DOWN TO SORT OF A TOP 10 ITEMS THAT WE'VE GOTTA GET DONE.
NUMBER ONE, BY THE WAY, WILL BE THE PENSION.
UM, THAT IS GONNA BE OUR NUMBER ONE THING WE HAVE TO GET DONE.
WE'RE REQUIRED BY, UM, BY THE LEGISLATURE TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER ONES WILL BE THINGS THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN AND WE WANNA TAKE A POSITION ON, BUT WE'RE NOT NECESSARILY COMING UP WITH AN ENTIRE LEGISLATIVE PLAN TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO THIS IS A LITTLE BIT MORE LIKE THE HOUSTON MODEL, WHERE THEY HAVE A VERY, THEY HAVE A, A, A LIMITED
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NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT THEY GO AFTER.SO WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THOSE ITEMS WE'RE GIVING A HUNDRED PERCENT AND THE OTHERS AS A ITEMS COME UP, WE'LL TAKE A POSITION.
NOT TO BE REDUNDANT, I'M KIND OF PRO I'M TRYING TO PROCESS EVERYTHING 'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING NEW.
UH, WE GO TO THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEY KNOW WHAT ITEMS THAT THEY WANT TO ILLUSTRATE FOR, THEN WE GO TO COMMITTEES, THEY DO IT AND THEY DECIDE TO DO THAT.
AND WE ALSO LOOK BACK WHAT IS ON THE DOCKET DOWN IN AUSTIN THAT WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET DONE.
WE ALREADY DOING THAT PROCESS.
I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT IS DIFFERENT FROM THAT PROCESS.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, ARE WE CHANGING THE PROCESS OR WHAT? NO, ALL THOSE BITS WILL STILL HAPPEN, BUT I THINK WHAT I'M SAYING IS THAT WE DIDN'T IDENTIFY MAYBE A TOP 10 LIST OUT OF THIS, THIS PILE OUT OF THIS LIST.
AND SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA DO THAT.
WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH, THESE ARE 10 ITEMS THAT, OR LESS THAT WE HAVE TO GET DONE AND WE'RE GONNA LAY IT OUT IN ADVANCE A STRATEGY ON HOW TO DO THAT BEFORE.
NOT AGAIN, MY UNDERSTANDING, WHEN WE DID THAT LIST THAT WE HAD THE TOP 10, WE HAD, THIS WAS WHAT WE'RE GOING AFTER.
IT WAS ALREADY PREDICATED WE DIDN'T CHANGE IT.
THIS WHAT THE DEPARTMENT AND THE COMMITTEE GAVE US, AND THIS IS WHAT WE WENT TO AUSTIN TO ATTACK, SAID, HERE'S A BILL.
THEY, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, LIKE THE DART BILL.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT WAS ONE ISSUE THAT WE ATTACKED THE CROWN BILL.
THERE WAS AN ORDER THAT WE SAID WHAT BILL WAS THERE BEFORE, BUT I THERE TRYING TO GET A BASELINE THAT NOT TO OVERHAUL EVERYTHING.
IF YOU ADD WE'RE NOT OVERHAULING, IF YOU ADDING SOMETHING TO IT, THEN I'M TRYING TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE CLEAR THAT, THAT WE ARE THE COUNCIL.
UM, UH, WHEN THE COMMITTEE ARE YOU SAYING THAT WE ARE GOING TO CHANGE THAT WHAT EVERYBODY DONE DID THEIR WORK, YOU KNOW, THE COMMITTEE DONE DID THE WORK, THE, THE, THE DEPARTMENT THAT DID THEIR WORK.
NOW WE GONNA COME AND GONNA SAY, OH, IT'S NOT WORK.
NO, THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M SAYING.
WHAT I'M SAYING IS WE'RE GONNA COME UP WITH OUR LISTS AND THEN, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA GET INPUT ABOUT THE PRIORITIES.
AND YES, WE, THE ENTIRE COUNCIL WILL VOTE ON THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM AS WE ALWAYS DO.
AND IT WILL INCLUDE A TOP 10 LIST.
SO THE COMMITTEE GONNA COME UP WITH A LIST AND WHAT WE JUST SAID, YOU SAID WE'RE GONNA TAKE FROM THE INPUT WE GET FROM THE DEPARTMENTS OKAY.
AND THEN WE'RE GONNA SAY THESE ARE WHAT OUR TOP 10 ARE R OKAY.
AND IT'LL COME BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL TO VOTE ON.
AND I WAS GONNA ADD, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE HAVE TWO, UM, NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS HERE AND GIVE SOME COLOR TO HOW WE DEVELOPED THE LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM LAST SESSION.
UM, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
BUT JUST FOR, UM, CLARITY'S SAKE.
SO LAST YEAR IN UM, 2022, WE DID A CALL FOR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES FROM THE CHAIRMAN TO HIS COLLEAGUES.
AND THEN WE DID A CALL TO THE DIRECTORS FROM CLIFFORD AND I TO OUR PEERS IN THE DEPARTMENTS TO LOAD IT UP, TELL US, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S ON YOUR HEART AND MIND, WHAT WOULD YOU LOVE TO SEE CHANGE DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION? AND I THINK WE RECEIVED OVER 170 PRIORITIES.
AND THEN THROUGH THAT PROCESS, WE BROUGHT THAT BACK TO COMMITTEE TO THEN START CALLING IT DOWN.
IT STARTED GETTING SLIMMER AND SLIMMER.
AND WE, UM, PARSED THOSE OUT BY THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT ARE DEFINED IN YOUR BUDGET.
SO GOVERNMENT, PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT, PUBLIC SAFETY, WE STARTED IDENTIFYING THEM IN THAT WAY.
AND THEN THAT IS WHAT WAS BROUGHT FORWARD.
I THINK THERE ARE 37 ITEMS HERE.
SO I THINK IF I, FOR STAFF CLARITY, SO YOU'RE SAYING WE'LL STILL GO THROUGH THAT SAME PROCESS, BUT PERHAPS FOR A VISUAL AID OR, OR MORE REFINED MARCHING ORDERS TO THE LEGISLATIVE TEAM.
THE 37 MAY HAVE THE HOT 10, SO YEAH, I DON'T, SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES.
YEAH, WE'RE GONNA SAY HOT 10, BUT YEAH.
BUT JUST FOR THE BACKGROUND OF HOW WE ENDED UP, UM, IDENTIFYING WHAT THOSE PRIORITIES ARE, AND WE DID LAST YEAR, WE STARTED IT IN MAY.
AND I THINK WHAT, WHAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IS THE INTERIM IS NOW.
AND SO WE'LL PROBABLY START DOING THAT CALL FOR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND THE DIRECTORS SOONER, MUCH SOONER.
UM, SO, SO ARE IS Q AND A IS ON EVERY, ON THE WHOLE BRIEFING.
ARE WE OKAY WITH THAT? ARE WE STILL DISCUSSING THE ITEM THAT YOU HAD BROUGHT UP JUST NOW ABOUT THAT? NOPE.
THIS IS ALL THE SAME BRIEFING ACTUALLY.
I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I DIDN'T WANT TO JUMP INTO SOMETHING ELSE.
SO, UM, FIRST I'LL START OFF WITH WHERE THAT LEFT OFF.
UM, I THINK I UNDERSTAND BETTER NOW.
AT FIRST I WAS LIKE, AH, UM, 'CAUSE I WAS WORRIED IF WE'RE WEANING IT DOWN TO A TOP 10, THEN IT WAS LIKE THAT'S ALL THEY'RE GONNA FOCUS ON.
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I GET WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS YOU TAKE THOSE DIFFERENT GROUPS AND THEN SAY THIS IS THE OVERARCHING PRIORITY OF IT.AND OH BY THE WAY, HERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS INSIDE OF IT, KIND OF GETTING THE GAME PLAN ON HOW TO DO IT.
UM, AND I WILL DEFINITELY, UM, HAVE TO SAY MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT OUR DELEGATION TRULY DOES APPRECIATE US HANDING THEM THAT LIST.
UM, EVERY TIME I TALK TO ANY OF OUR DELEGATION R OR D, THEY'RE ALWAYS LIKE, THANK YOU SO MUCH DALLAS FOR SENDING US THIS.
WE WISH MORE MUNICIPALITIES WOULD, UM, SHARE THIS LIST WITH US.
UM, SO WE KNOW WHAT YOU ALL WANT SO THAT WE CAN GET TO WORK.
SO, UM, SO I THINK I GET IT NOW.
UM, JUST ADDS CLARITY I THINK IS WHAT WHAT WAS BEING SAID.
AND SO, UM, THE THING I WANTED TO ASK WAS ON THE SPECIAL SESSION COMING UP, UM, YOU SAID IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE ON SCHOOL DISTRICTS, IT'S PROBABLY GONNA BE VOUCHERS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, I'M NOT SURE IF IT'S IN OUR JURISDICTION OR NOT TO MAYBE GATHER OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT, THAT ARE INSIDE OF THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO D I S D RICHARDSON, PART OF PLANO, UM, LITTLE SNIPPET OF IRVING, UM, CAPEL, UM, THERE'S OTHERS, BUT, AND ASK THEM AND GET WITH THEIR GRS AND FIND OUT WHAT THEY'RE WORKING ON.
IT'S, BUT IT AFFECTS US IN A HUGE WAY, UM, PUBLIC EDUCATION.
SO, UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE COULD DO CHAIR OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD ASK? UM, THAT WAY WE, IF, IF WE CAN HAVE THE ABILITY TO SUPPORT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
'CAUSE I, I KNOW, UH, CHAIR, YOU'RE A HUGE ADVOCATE FOR, UM, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SO, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN SUPPORT THEM.
'CAUSE I KNOW OUR SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS WOULD, UM, HAVE MENTIONED LIKE, HEY, WHEN WE'RE ABOUT TO NEED SOME HELP, DO YOU THINK THE COUNCIL COULD HELP? AND I WAS LIKE, UH, WELL LET'S WAIT AND SEE WHAT WE CAN DO AS A CITY OR NOT.
DID YOU WANNA ANSWER THAT? UM, YES.
UM, SO WE DO HAVE, I THINK 13 SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT WHOSE BOUNDARIES EXTEND INTO THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND WE HAVE ONGOING COMMUNICATION WITH THEM.
WE'VE DONE A FEW ROUND TABLES IN THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, UM, VIRTUAL AND IN PERSON.
BUT I WOULD SAY YES, THEY WOULD BE ONE OF THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT WE COULD PROBABLY, I'M THINKING OUT LOUD, BUT GET THEM TOGETHER.
MAYBE HAVE CLIFFORD AND LEADERSHIP COME IN AND SAY, HEY, LET'S HAVE A LEGISLATIVE DISCUSSION.
WE DID THAT PRIOR TO THE START OF THIS SESSION, BUT IT WAS SORT OF THE FIRST OUT OF THE GATE.
AND THE, THE ONES WE DON'T WORK AS OFTEN WITH WE'RE KIND OF LIKE, HEY, WHAT, YOU KNOW, SORTING IT OUT.
BUT YES, I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN DO.
AND CLIFFORD, DO YOU THINK THAT, WOULD YOU, BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, BUT SCHOOLS ARE SO IMPORTANT TO, NOTHING HAPPENS IN THE CITY WITHOUT OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, SO, NO, I AGREE.
AND YOU KNOW, TO CARRIE'S POINT, BECAUSE OF THE COMMUNICATION THAT WE'VE HAD WITH THEM, UM, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, I DON'T SEE A REASON WHY WE COULDN'T MEET WITH THEM AND GIVE A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO SAY, HEY, LOOK, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD APPRECIATE THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IF YOU ADVOCATED FOR X, Y, Z.
YOU KNOW, IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT THEY HAVE TO DO IT, BUT AT LEAST THEY UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE COMING FROM SO THAT THEY CAN UNDERSTAND WHERE THEIR SUPPORT IS FROM US AS A COUNCIL.
SO, YEAH, I MEAN, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT AT ALL.
AND THE NEXT THING I JUST WANTED TO SAY WAS, UM, UM, THAT THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK Y'ALL DID.
I MEAN, THIS WAS, I THOUGHT THE SESSION BEFORE WAS WILD.
UM, AND SO I KNOW THAT WE DIDN'T WIN ON EVERYTHING, BUT, UM, UM, CLIFFORD IS ABSOLUTELY ACCURATE.
UM, I'VE HEARD IT FROM MANY LEGISLATORS FROM ACROSS THE STATE THAT I'M, UM, AN ACQUAINTANCE WITH OR HAVE CONVERSATIONS WITH THAT SAID, IF IT WASN'T FOR DALLAS, THINGS COULD HAVE BEEN A HECK OF A LOT WORSE BECAUSE WE WERE SHOWING UP AS COUNCIL MEMBERS.
WE HAD OUR DE YOU KNOW, NOT JUST OUR DELEGATION, BUT YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS AND THEN, YOU KNOW, OUR, UM, CHIEF OF POLICE AND OTHER FOLKS HERE IN THE CITY WERE GOING DOWN TO TESTIFY.
AND THAT, THAT MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT YOU PUT ON THE SUCCESS.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY WE DID FALL SHORT ON CERTAIN THINGS.
UM, BUT THAT'S THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION, RIGHT? AND SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR TIRELESS WORK DURING THE SESSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU'RE GETTING PHONE CALLS FROM 15, I'M SURE 15 DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAT SIT ON THIS BODY ASKING WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THIS, OR WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THAT AND DA DA DA.
AND YOU'RE HAVING TO EXPLAIN IT AGAIN AND WHATNOT.
'CAUSE THINGS ARE MOVING SO FAST.
AND I DID WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT ABOUT FENTANYL.
I KNOW IT WAS ONE OF OUR LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES OF THE, THE BIG LIST.
AND WE DID HAVE SOME SUCCESS THERE AND JUST WANTED TO, UM, POINT OUT THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, BLACKMAN, YOU KNOW, WAS KIND OF WHO LED THAT CHARGE, BUT WE HELPED SHAPE THE STATE ON FENTANYL AND WHAT WE WERE DOING.
SO THAT WAS A REALLY BIG VICTORY.
AND I JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT, UM, UM, TO OUR PAST CHAIR.
UH, THANK YOU CHAIRMAN ATKINS FOR EVERYTHING YOU DID DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, I, I KNOW HE WOULD GET A LOT OF PHONE CALLS FROM ME AS WELL, UM, ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON.
AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING WHAT WE CAN DO AND GET DONE IN THE NEXT, UH, LEGISLATIVE SESSION, UM, AT THE CONGRESSIONAL AND THE, UM, STATE LEVEL, UM, WITH YOU CHAIRMAN MENDELSON.
[00:25:01]
YES.OKAY, CLIFFORD, THANK YOU, UH, FOR ALL THE WORK YOU'VE DONE.
UM, I ALSO CARRY FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT, UH, THE, THE FAVOR ADMINISTRATOR THAT WE'VE DONE, CLIFFORD, IS ANYTHING WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT IN ORDER TO, UM, GAIN MORE FAVOR LEGISLATION.
I MEAN, QUOTE, QUOTE, WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENT.
WELL, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE MONDAY MORNING QUARTERBACK, YOU CAN ALWAYS SAY, WHAT IF? UM, BUT IN ORDER TO GET LEGISLATION PASSED, THE INFORMATION HAS TO BE OUT THERE.
THE COUNCIL HAS TO BE IN ONE ACCORD.
I SHOULDN'T SAY ONE ACCORD, BUT THE COUNCIL HAS TO AT LEAST AGREE THAT IT'S A PRIORITY AND THEY HAVE TO BE ENGAGED.
SO WHEN YOU GO BACK AND LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT COULD HAVE WENT DIFFERENTLY, I MEAN, SOMETIMES LEGISLATION FALLS PREYED TO THE PROCESS.
SOMETIMES YOU JUST RUN OUTTA TIME.
UM, AND IT'S, IT'S JUST LITTLE THINGS LIKE THAT.
SO FROM WHERE I SIT, THERE WAS NOTHING THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE WE HAD ALL THE SUPPORT FROM THE CITY.
I MEAN, THERE WAS NEVER A TIME WHERE I FELT LIKE, HEY, I CAN'T GET SOMEBODY TO COME DOWN AND TESTIFY ON THIS BILL.
YOU KNOW? UM, OR I CAN'T GET THE LETTERS THAT I NEED OR THE INFORMATION THAT I NEED TO HELP GIVE TO THE MEMBERS SO THAT THEY CAN GO FIGHT AND ADVOCATE FOR US.
I MEAN, WE DO THAT VERY WELL AS A CITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF TIMES IT'S JUST, IT'S JUST THE PROCESS OF, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN, THAT THINGS DON'T GO THE WAY THAT YOU WANT.
I MEAN, THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD LEGISLATION THAT DIES DOWN THERE ALL THE TIME.
THERE'S A LOT OF LEGISLATION THAT LEADERSHIP WANTS, MEANING LIEUTENANT, GOVERNOR, GOVERNOR AND SPEAKER THAT THEY WANT THAT DIES ON THE VINE ALL THE TIME.
SO, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD PROBABLY SAY THE SAME THING AS ME IS, YOU KNOW, YEAH, YOU PROBABLY COULD SAY YOU COULD HAVE DONE SOMETHING DIFFERENTLY, BUT THEN YOU MIGHT HAVE RAN INTO SOME OTHER TRAPS THAT YOU DIDN'T SEE COMING ANYWAY.
SO THERE'S NOT ONE PARTICULAR THING I CAN SAY, HEY, WE SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS DIFFERENTLY OTHER THAN WE JUST HAVE TO STAY THE COURSE.
AND ALSO IF WE REALLY MEAN IT, IF WE REALLY WANT IT, YOU KNOW, THE THE MONIKER DOWN IN AUSTIN IS THAT IT TAKES ABOUT TWO OR THREE SESSIONS TO GET SOMETHING DONE ANYWAY.
SO YOU SHOULDN'T FEEL SLIGHTED IF YOU, IF IT'S THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE TAKEN SOMETHING DOWN AND IT DIDN'T GET DONE.
'CAUSE I MEAN, IT LITERALLY DOES TAKE TWO OR THREE SESSIONS.
I MEAN, YOU LOOK AT THE STREET RACING BILL THAT WE DID LAST, THE PRIOR SESSION, THAT WAS A VERY GOOD BILL, BUT IT ONLY GOT US ABOUT 70, 80% OF WHERE WE WANTED TO BE.
WE HAD TO COME BACK THIS SESSION AND GET THE OTHER AND GET ANOTHER 20% OF THAT DONE.
BUT WE'RE STILL NOT FULLY THERE.
SO, YOU KNOW, SO YOU CAN ALWAYS SAY, HEY, I WISH WE'D HAVE DONE THIS BETTER.
I WISH WE COULD'VE DID THAT BETTER.
I WISH WE COULD'VE GOT A HUNDRED PERCENT OF WHAT WE WANTED.
BUT ANYBODY IN AUSTIN WILL TELL YOU NOBODY GETS A HUNDRED PERCENT OF WHAT THEY WANT.
AND YOU HAVE TO PIECEMEAL IT EVERY SINGLE TIME YOU GET DOWN THERE.
BUT, SO TO WRAP IT ALL UP, I DON'T KNOW WHAT WE COULD HAVE DONE BETTER.
I, I KNOW SOME THINGS THAT I'LL TRY DIFFERENTLY, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT WE'LL HAVE A DIFFERENT OUTCOME.
BUT TO TRY TO AVOID THE PITFALLS WE HAD BEFORE, WE DEFINITELY WON'T DO SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID TO THAT, TO SOME OF THE LEGISLATION THAT DIDN'T MAKE IT.
WE WON'T GO THROUGH THAT SAME PATH AGAIN EXPECTING A DIFFERENT RESULT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
UH, NUMBER ONE, UM, JUST LOOKING AT THE STRUCTURE, THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF DALLAS AND, AND LOOKING AT THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF HOUSTON OR SOME OTHER CITIES THAT ARE DOWN THERE.
UM, I THINK THAT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE NEED TO BE BEEF UP A LITTLE BIT.
YOU NEED TO PUT MORE INVESTING IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE BECAUSE AS ME GOING BACK AND FORTH, BACK AND FORTH, YOU KNOW, HOPPING UP AT THAT MORNING, FLYING DOWN, COMING BACK, TALKING TO CARRIE, TALKING TO TAMMY, TRYING TO GET PEOPLE BACK AND FORTH, TRYING TO GET ATTORNEYS TO, TO MAKE SURE THEY GET THE, THE BRIEF OUT CORRECTLY.
TRYING TO GO OVER ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER SIDE.
YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT A PARTISAN, YOU KNOW, FROM A REPUBLICAN TO DEMOCRAT.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE GOT TO BE FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
IF WE ARE GONNA BE A GREAT LEGISLATOR AT DALLAS, WE DOING GREAT, BUT OUR INFRASTRUCTURE, WE NEED TO PUT MORE MONEY IN INFRASTRUCTURE.
WHAT I DID IS A WHOLE LOT OF TIME CONSUMING WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE BACK AND FORTH ON A PLANE.
AND, AND I WORE MYSELF COMPLETELY OUT ON A WORKAHOLIC.
AND I GOT BURNT OUT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, I SAID, TAMMY, YOU KNOW, I NEED SOMEONE ANSWER TODAY WITHIN 24 HOURS AND I CAN'T GET IT BECAUSE IT MAY BE THE SATURDAY, IT MAY BE THE SUNDAY SHE GOTTA CONTACT SOMEBODY.
AND TO ME, THAT'S NOT, EXCUSE TO ME IT'S 24 7.
IF WE NEED SOMETHING RIGHT THERE, IT'S HOT.
YOU KNOW, IF I GOTTA GO TALK TO THE SENATOR RIGHT NOW, I NEED SOME IN MY HAND.
TWO OR THREE DAYS AFTER THAT THEY DONE MET.
AND YOU KNOW, YOU DONE MISSED THE WINDOW, RIGHT? BECAUSE WE HADN'T HAD THE INFORMATION IN FRONT OF US.
WE GET READY TO MEET WITH THE SENATOR OR THE STATE REPRESENTATIVE OR WHOEVER, EVEN THOUGH WE MET WITH THE GOVERNMENT.
I'M JUST SAYING THAT THAT IS A
[00:30:01]
BIG ISSUE TO ME.WE GOTTA BE FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE.
NOW, DID YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO DO THAT FOR ME? MM-HMM.
YOU KNOW, I GOTTA WAIT TILL MONDAY, BUT I'M TALKING TO SOMEBODY ON FRIDAY NIGHT, SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY NIGHT.
OKAY KARA, I NEED SOMEONE GET DOWN THERE.
WE GOTTA MAKE SURE THAT WHO IS GOING TO, UH, TESTIFY, TESTIFY GOTTA BE READY AND GO.
AND THEY GOTTA BE BRIEF, READY TO GO.
AND WE GOTTA GET SOMEBODY TO DEBRIEF THEM.
EVEN THOUGH YOU BRIEF THEM SAY, HERE IS THE BILL.
NOW IF WE GOTTA DEBRIEF THEM TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE ON THE SAME PAGE, 'CAUSE WE HAVE HAVE RESIDENT, I MEAN, PEOPLE WHO TESTIFY GOT BRIEFED, THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN THERE WAS WRONG BRIEF AND THEY GOT THERE.
SO, SO IT'S INFRASTRUCTURE AND SO ANYTHING I WOULD SAY DIFFERENT.
LET THE CITY DOWN BEAT FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND BEAT UP A PROCESS.
YOU KNOW, CHECK-IN BALANCE, YOU KNOW, CHECK-IN BALANCE, YOU KNOW, WE GOTTA HAVE A CHECK-IN BALANCE.
I DON'T KNOW HOW WE DO IT, BUT THAT'S MY SUGGESTION.
COULD WE USE MORE PEOPLE DOWN IN AUSTIN? SURE, I WOULD, I WOULD NOT TELL YOU THAT WE DON'T, UM, OTHER CITIES DEFINITELY HAVE MORE PEOPLE DOWN.
SO TO BE ABLE TO MATCH THAT INTENSITY, AS YOU SAY.
'CAUSE YES, WE DID HAVE TO GET YOU ON A LOT OF EARLY MORNING FLIGHTS TO BE ABLE TO HELP ME OUT.
'CAUSE WE WOULD HAVE TO GO IN TWO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS A LOT OF TIMES AND CANVAS THE ENTIRE, UH, BUILDING AND SOMETIMES GO OFFSITE.
SO A LOT OF TIMES WE HAD SOME OFFSITE MEETINGS TOO.
SO IT, IT WOULD REALLY HELP THAT WHEN I HAVE TO DO THAT WITH THE CHAIR OR THE COUNCIL MEMBER OR A STAFF PERSON TAKING 'EM OFFSITE MEETING TO HAVE SOMEONE BACK IN THE CAPITOL STILL RUNNING THE TRAPS, MAKING SURE THINGS ARE STILL GOING SMOOTHLY.
I MEAN, THAT WOULD HELP OUT TREMENDOUSLY.
I I WAS GONNA ADD WHAT I THINK I HEAR YOU SAYING IS A DEEPER BENCH OF REPRESENTATIVES.
AND WE'VE TALKED SEVERAL TIMES ABOUT, UM, LEVERAGING OUR CITY COUNCIL LEADERSHIP SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST A LIFT THAT THE CHAIRPERSON IS HAVING TO CARRY, IS ACCESSING THOSE RELATIONSHIPS, UM, THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, WITH MEMBERS AND SO ON.
SO WHAT I'M HEARING IS A DEEPER BENCH FULLY LEVERAGING THE TEAM, UM, SO THAT IT'S NOT A LIFT THAT A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL, 'CAUSE I KNOW THE VOLUME JUST FROM STAFF, UM, FROM CLIFFORD'S PERSPECTIVE AND STAFF, THE VOLUME OF BILLS THAT COME IN AND THAT HAVE TO BE REVIEWED IS ENORMOUS.
UM, WELL, MAYOR PROAM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO JUST SAY THAT, UM, YOU INSTITUTED A NUMBER OF REALLY STRONG, UM, PROCESSES WHILE YOU WERE CHAIR, INCLUDING THE FRIDAY NIGHT PREP.
AND, UM, WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THAT OFFLINE.
WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE THAT, SO THANK YOU IT FOR THAT'S ON SATURDAY MORNING TOO,
YEAH, WELL I THINK THAT'LL END UP, UP HAPPENING, BUT WE'RE REALLY GONNA SHOOT FOR FRIDAY NIGHT AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M A LATE NIGHT GIRL, SO WE'LL PROBABLY DO THAT, UM, FOR THE DISCUSSION ABOUT SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND, UM, THE VOUCHER BILLS.
I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER NVAS FOR BRINGING THAT UP.
UM, AND WHILE WE DO HAVE LOTS OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS THAT HAVE PART OF THEIR ATTENDANCE BOUNDARY WITH THE CITY OF DALLAS, IT'S BEYOND, UM, DALLAS, I S D.
WE HAVE A LOT OF SCHOOLS FROM RICHARDSON, I S D.
WE HAVE FIVE SCHOOLS FROM CARROLLTON FARMERS BRANCH, AND THREE FROM PLANO, I D THAT ACTUALLY HAVE THEIR PHYSICAL LOCATION WITHIN THE CITY.
AND, UM, AND LARGE ENROLLMENT, OF COURSE, MORE THAN HALF OF RICHARDSON I S D IS ACTUALLY IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
SO, UM, I DO THINK WORKING WITH THEM IS IMPORTANT.
UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE A MEETING TODAY WITH PLANO, I S D AND UM, WOULD BE HAPPY TO, UM, BE ABLE TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS AS THE NEW SESSION COMES.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I'M SURE THERE WILL BE ADDITIONAL REFINEMENTS BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S GOT DIFFERENT STYLES FOR THINGS.
BUT I WILL SAY I'M VERY GLAD TO HAVE THIS GROUP TOGETHER.
I KNOW THAT, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM ATKINS WAS VERY APPRECIATIVE OF THE COMMITTEE HE HAD AS WELL.
UM, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S GOT A DIFFERENT STYLE, BUT, UH, MY PLAN WOULD BE THAT AS WE DEVELOP THIS, THAT ALL COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD BE ABLE TO GIVE INPUT ON ISSUES THAT ARE OF IMPORTANCE TO THEM SO THAT THEY COULD, UM, MAYBE TAKE A LARGER ROLE ON THOSE PARTICULAR ISSUES AND WE MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT GOOD MATCH.
AND CERTAINLY THAT HAPPENED WITH, UM, THE FENTANYL ISSUE.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, CLIFFORD.
UM, YOU, I DO THINK YOU WORK 24 7
AND, UM, MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE SAID TO ME OVER THE YEARS
[00:35:01]
I SAW IN A DIFFERENT WAY THIS TERM.AND SO, UM, I THINK APPRECIATION GROWS FOR YOU AS YOU SEE IT IN ACTION.
AND SO I DO WANNA SAY THANK YOU AND THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WHO DOES PROVIDE SO MUCH BACKGROUND AND YOU KNOW, CARRIE, YOU AND YOUR GROUP, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE WRITING THAT STUFF OVER THE WEEKENDS FOR FOLKS AND, UM, SO IT IS ALL APPRECIATED AND MORE TO COME ON THAT.
SO WE HAVE A NEXT BRIEFING THAT IS PRETTY LONG, BUT EXTREMELY IMPORTANT.
AND THIS IS THE IMPACT OF THE STATE LEGISLATION ON THE CITY.
SO HOLD ON AND LET'S HAVE TAMMY GIVE US THE BIG BRIEFING, EXCEPT I SEE TWO GUYS HERE WHO ARE PROBABLY GONNA DO IT.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MADAM CHAIR.
I DO ALSO WANT TO THANK THE ATTORNEYS THAT ACTUALLY VOLUNTEER, UM, THEIR, THEIR SERVICES, UH, ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT THEY'RE REGULARLY DOING, UM, DURING THE SESSION TO GET THOSE BILLS ANALYZED AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.
AND I DON'T THINK I, HE'S NOT IN THE ROOM, BUT I'LL SAY IT AGAIN TO HIM.
I DON'T THINK I EVER SAID NO TO
ANYWAY, UM, AFTER THE REGULAR SESSION, UM, SOME ADDITIONAL WORK HAS TO HAPPEN WHERE OUR OFFICE LOOKS AT ALL THE BILLS THAT CLIFFORD HAS, UM, DETERMINED THAT MAY AFFECT THE CITY.
WE PROVIDE A SUMMARY OF THOSE BILLS, UM, THE EFFECTIVE DATE.
WE LOOK AT WHAT IMPACT IT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE ON THE CITY, AND WHETHER OR NOT THE CITY HAS TO TAKE ANY ACTION INCLUDING CODE AMENDMENTS.
SO WHAT I ASKED CASEY BURGESS AND, UM, BURT VANDENBERG TO DO TODAY IS JUST GIVE YOU THE TOP 10 HIGHLIGHTS OF ABOUT A 79 PAGE ANALYSIS.
SO WE'LL ASK THEM TO GO AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE, BUT JUST GIVE YOU THE HIGHLIGHTS OF WHAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE COMING UP.
AS, AS MS. PALOMINO MENTIONED, UH, WE TOOK, UH, TIME OVER THE JULY BREAK TO GO THROUGH THOSE, UH, OVER 150 BILLS THAT MR. SPARKS MENTIONED THAT WERE IN PARTICULAR INTEREST TO THE CITY.
UH, WE LOOKED THROUGH THOSE TO SEE WHAT THE EFFECT, UH, WOULD BE ON THE CITY.
AND WE'RE NOT GONNA GO THROUGH ALL 150 OF THOSE BILLS.
WE'RE GONNA DRILL DOWN INTO JUST A FEW THAT WE THINK YOU GUYS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT.
UM, SO LIKE I MENTIONED, THERE WERE OVER 150 THAT WE LOOKED AT.
A NUMBER OF THOSE, UH, ENDED UP BEING VETOED BY THE GOVERNOR.
UH, THE ONES THAT REMAINED THE GOOD NEWS IS THE VAST MAJORITY DON'T REQUIRE US TO DO REALLY ANYTHING AS A CITY.
THEY'RE JUST THINGS THAT, UM, ARE OF INTEREST TO THE CITY OR THEY'RE THINGS THAT WE WERE ALREADY DOING.
SO THEY'RE DON'T REALLY REQUIRE US TO CHANGE ANYTHING.
UM, OUT OF THOSE THOUGH, THERE ARE 15 THAT WILL REQUIRE A CODE AMENDMENT THAT WILL BE COMING BACK TO COUNCIL SOMETIME HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND THERE ARE 14 OF THOSE BILLS THAT WILL REQUIRE SOME SORT OF POLICY CHANGE AT THE STAFF LEVEL, BUT NO CODE AMENDMENT.
SO THE FIRST BILL WE'LL LOOK AT THIS MORNING IS HOUSE BILL 14.
UM, THIS IS ONE THAT I, I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF CONFUSED ON, UH, BUT I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF OVERVIEW ON THIS ONE.
UH, THIS ADDS PROVISION TO THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE THAT IF THE CITY DOESN'T APPROVE A PLATT PLAN OR A DEVELOPMENT PERMIT BY THE 15TH DAY AFTER REQUIREMENT THAT'S IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, THAT THE REVIEW CAN BE CONDUCTED BY SOMEONE WHO IS NOT THE APPLICANT OR A PERSON WHOSE WORK IS SUBJECT TO THE APPLICATION AND IS AN EMPLOYEE OF THE REGULATORY AUTHORITY, WHICH WOULD MEAN, UM, ANOTHER ONE OF OUR EMPLOYEES, AN EMPLOYEE OF ANOTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE WE COULD SUB THIS OUT TO ANOTHER CITY OR A LICENSED ENGINEER.
AND, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S REALLY CONFUSING ON THIS ONE TOO IS, IS THE ONLY THING IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE THAT WE CAN FIND THAT REALLY HAS A DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DENIAL IS PLATS, UH, IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE, A PLAT HAS TO BE APPROVED OR DENIED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF ITS SUBMISSION.
AND IF IT'S NOT, IT'S CONSIDERED AUTOMATICALLY APPROVED, UH, JUST BY OPERATIONAL LAW.
SO IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THERE'S REALLY ANY INSTANCE WHERE THIS 15 DAYS THING WOULD KICK IN.
UM, THERE'S ALSO ANOTHER PROVISION FOR INSPECTIONS, UH, THAT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE ONE FOR APPROVAL OF PLANS AND PLANS THAT REQUIRES THAT IF AN INSPECTION IS NOT, UM, DONE BY THE 15TH DAY AFTER A DATE THAT'S PRESCRIBED IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE FOR THE INSPECTION.
BUT THE INSPECTION CAN BE CONDUCTED BY SOMEONE WHO, AGAIN, IS NOT THE OWNER OF THE LAND, IS SUBJECT TO THE INSPECTION,
[00:40:01]
OR SOMEONE WHO'S SUBJECT TO THE INSPECTION AND IS A CERTIFIED BUILDING INSPECTOR AND EMPLOYEE OF THE REGULATORY OR AUTHORITY, OR AN EMPLOYEE OF ANOTHER POLITICAL SUBDIVISION.AND AGAIN, THIS ONE IS KIND OF CONFUSING BECAUSE THERE'S REALLY NOTHING IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE THAT SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO DO AN INSPECTION BY ANY CERTAIN TIME PERIOD.
UH, SO AGAIN, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHEN THIS ONE WOULD NECESSARILY KICK IN, BUT THAT THAT BILL IS OUT THERE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IS REALLY KIND OF TROUBLING IN THIS BILL THOUGH IS THAT IT MAKES, UH, DECISIONS ON DEVELOPMENT DOCUMENTS AND INSPECTIONS APPEALABLE TO CITY COUNCIL.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT COULD MEAN THAT YOU GUYS COULD GET A LOT MORE BUSY HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND AGAIN, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS ALSO CONFUSING BECAUSE THERE'S AN APPEALS PROCESS IN THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE FOR APPEALS TO GO TO THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT.
SO WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW EXACTLY THAT WORKS.
DO THEY HAVE A CHOICE TO GO TO THE BOARD OR TO YOU GUYS OR HOW WILL THAT PROCESS WORK? UH, AND WE WILL PASS SOME CODE AMENDMENTS TO CHAPTERS 51 A AND 52 COMING FORWARD IN THE NEAR FUTURE TO INCORPORATE THOSE CHANGES.
AND I'M GONNA TURN IT OVER TO MR. VANDENBERG TO SPEAK ABOUT HB 7 83.
ALRIGHT, UH, BUR VANDERBERG, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE, UH, HB 7 83, UH, DEALS WITH CEMETERIES.
CURRENTLY, THE CITY DOES NOT ALLOW ANY NEW CEMETERIES OTHER THAN ONES RELATED TO THE MILITARY, THE NATIONAL CEMETERY.
UM, THIS NEW STATE LAW CAME THROUGH AND ESTABLISHED, OR WAS IT'S GOING TO HAVE US ESTABLISH A PROCESS WHEREBY ORGANIZATIONS, BUSINESSES, UH, ASSOCIATIONS OR INDIVIDUALS CAN APPLY AT THE, TO THE CITY TO CREATE A CEMETERY IN THE CITY.
UM, THE STANDARD FOR IT IS PUBLIC SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE, WHICH IS THE ZONING STANDARD.
IT'S, IT'S HOW WE DO OUR ZONING.
SO WE WILL, WE HAVE BEEN TALKING TO, UH, PLANNING AND URBAN DESIGN TO SEE HOW WE SHOULD DO THAT.
CURRENTLY, THERE ARE CEMETERIES IN THE CITY.
THEY'RE ALLOWED BY SS U P PERHAPS WE'LL JUST HAVE TO EXPAND THAT AND THAT CAN BE COME PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS.
UM, WE WILL HAVE TO AMEND CHAPTER 11 TO ALLOW NEW CEMETERIES.
IT'S ACTUALLY A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD ONE AND ONTO HB 1526.
WHILE THAT, UH, LAST ONE WAS ONE THAT WAS FAIRLY STRAIGHTFORWARD, UNFORTUNATELY THIS ONE IS NOT, UH, THIS IS A BILL THAT ESTABLISHED SOME REALLY COMPLICATED RULES FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION.
I KNOW THIS IS A PROCESS THAT WE WORKED THROUGH JUST A, A FEW YEARS AGO TO COME UP, UH, WITH OUR INTERNAL PROCESS HERE AT THE CITY FOR DOING THAT.
AND THIS BILL CHANGES THOSE RULES UP COMPLETELY.
UM, SO THE BILL PROHIBITS PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES FOR ANY COMMERCIAL USES EXCEPT MULTIFAMILY OR HOTEL AND MOTEL.
FORTUNATELY, UNDER OUR CODE, THOSE ARE THE ONLY USES, UH, COMMERCIAL TYPE USES THAT WE DO REQUIRE ANY TYPE OF PARKLAND DEDICATION FEES FOR.
UM, AND THE BILL DOES NOT AFFECT OUR PROCESS FOR SINGLE FAMILY AND DUPLEX.
SO, LIKE I SAID, THIS ONE IS A COMPLICATED ONE.
UH, SO THE BILL, UH, SAYS THAT IF A CITY, UH, WANTS TO CHARGE A PARKLAND DE DEDICATION FEE, IT HAS TO HOLD A PUBLIC HEARING WHERE IT DIVIDES THE CITY UP INTO THREE DIFFERENT AREAS.
UH, A CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT AREA, A SUBURBAN AREA, AND AN URBAN AREA.
UH, THE ONLY WAY THAT THESE AREA LINES CAN CHANGE IS THROUGH AN AMENDMENT TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
IT ALSO REQUIRES, UH, APPRAISAL DISTRICTS TO CALCULATE THE AVERAGE LAND VALUE IN EACH OF THOSE THREE AREAS EVERY 10 YEARS AND SUBMIT THAT INFORMATION TO THE CITY.
AND THEN THE INTERVENING YEARS, UM, WHERE THE APPRAISAL DISTRICTS AREN'T DOING THE CALCULATION, THE CITY CALCULATES THOSE VALUES BASED ON A C P I INFLATION RATE AND THE DATA THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT.
UH, THE CODE ALSO REQUIRES CITIES TO DESIGNATE A DWELLING UNIT FACTOR.
AND THIS IS THE AMOUNT OF PARKLAND ACRES THAT IT CONSIDERS NECESSARY FOR EACH DWELLING UNIT.
AND CAN I PAUSE AND ASK YOU A QUESTION THERE? YES.
UM, SO IT WAS VERY INTERESTING TO ME ABOUT THIS WHOLE IDEA OF DIVIDING UP THE CITY BY CENTRAL BUS BUSINESS DISTRICT, SUBURBAN AND URBAN.
AND THERE'S A NUMBER OF CHALLENGES I THINK, THAT WE HAVE FACED AS A CITY COUNCIL WHERE, UM, THERE'S AN IDEA WHERE WE'RE LOOKING FOR A UNIFORM
[00:45:01]
SOLUTION, BUT REALLY A UNIFORM SOLUTION DOESN'T FIT BECAUSE WE ACTUALLY ARE THOSE THREE DIFFERENT AREAS.AND EVEN TODAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STARTING TO TALK ABOUT PARKING REFORM AND WHAT'S NEEDED IN THE CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT IS PERHAPS VERY DIFFERENT THAN WHAT'S NEEDED IN OUR MORE SUBURBAN AREAS.
AND I THINK YOU CAN FREQUENTLY HEAR THAT TENSION AS WE TALK ABOUT IT.
UM, IS THERE AN EFFORT FOR US TO GO AHEAD AND START THAT PROCESS TO DELINEATE THOSE THREE KINDS OF AREAS? YEAH, THAT'S COMING UP, UH, FURTHER IN THE BRIEFING.
THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE, WE'RE GOING TO NEED TO GET ON TOP OF HERE PRETTY QUICKLY.
AND HAVE WE TALKED WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS WHERE THIS COULD BE AN APPLICABLE ISSUE? I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE WHEN WE HAD TALKED ABOUT SHORT-TERM RENTALS, HAD WE HAD THAT IN PLACE, WE MIGHT'VE HAD A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.
SO RIGHT NOW THE CONVERSATION IS, UH, WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT PRIMARILY 'CAUSE IT, THIS MAINLY AFFECTS THEM, BUT THIS IS SOMETHING WE COULD DISCUSS WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS POTENTIALLY GOING FORWARD.
WELL, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE IT DISCUSSED AS SORT OF A, A, AN ONGOING ABILITY FOR US TO REFER TO THAT WHEN WE START TALKING ABOUT POLICY WHERE WE MIGHT TAKE A POLICY AND LET'S JUST USE PARKING AS AN EXAMPLE SINCE IT'S SORT OF AT THE FOREFRONT.
UM, BUT PERHAPS EVEN ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS OR OTHER THINGS LIKE THAT WHERE WE SAY, WELL, THIS TYPE OF PART OF OUR CITY, THIS IS HOW WE WILL TREAT IT, AND THIS PART IS HOW WE WOULD TREAT IT AND THIS IS HOW WE TREAT IT.
BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, TO LIVE DOWNTOWN IS A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE THAN TO LIVE IN MANY OF OUR OTHER DISTRICTS.
AND SOMETIMES WE NEED DIFFERENT MEASURES.
ONE SIZE REALLY DOESN'T FIT ALL.
SO ANYHOW, I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO EXPAND THAT BEYOND JUST THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT, WHAT THE POINT OF MY COMMENT IS.
AND I, I THINK, UH, PLANNING NEEDS TO PLAY A BIG ROLE IN THIS BECAUSE THERE IS, UH, SOME COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING THAT GOES INTO ALL OF THIS.
AND, AND ALSO, IF I MAY ADD, I KNOW OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT IS, UM, HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER CITIES FOR A LOT OF THE SAME SITUATIONS THAT YOU POINTED OUT, CHAIRWOMAN.
SO IT'LL BE GOOD TO HEAR WHAT THEY COME BACK WITH, UM, AS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT JUST TALKING WITH OTHER BIG CITIES AND SOME OF THE STRUGGLES AND SOME OF THE, UH, ACCOMPLISHMENTS THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT DOING, OR RESOLUTIONS I SHOULD SAY, THAT THEY'VE COME UP WITH.
SO, WELL, LOOK, SOMETIMES THESE BILLS ARE REALLY COMPLICATED, BUT THIS ACTUALLY MAKES, UM, LOOKING AT THE CITY IN A VERY SIMPLE WAY COMPARED TO, I THINK WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIKE ALL THIS PLACEMAKING AND NO ONE REALLY UNDERSTANDS WHAT PLACEMAKING IS AND SOME OF THE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF IT.
I I THINK OUR PLANNING DEPARTMENT HAS MADE IT MORE COMPLICATED IN SOME WAYS WHERE IT'S LIKE, WOW, IF YOU COULD JUST MAKE IT THESE THREE, EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS WHAT THESE THREE WORDS MEANS, AND AT LEAST HAS A GENERAL IDEA OF WHAT THAT'S GONNA BECOME.
AND SO ANYHOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I'M LIKE, WOW, THIS IS ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT SIMPLER THAN WHAT WE'RE DOING.
UH, IT ALSO REQUIRES THE, THE CITY TO DESIGNATE A DENSITY FACTOR.
THIS IS A NUMBER THAT REPRESENTS THE DIMINISHING EXPECTATION OF PARKLAND ACRES PURGE WELLING UNIT AND INCREASINGLY URBAN ENVIRONMENTS.
UM, IT HAS A MINIMUM DENSITY FACTOR THAT WE CAN IMPOSE, UH, A 40 IN THE C B D AREA IN FOUR SUB IN SUBURBAN AREAS AND ONE IN URBAN AREAS.
THE BILL ALSO ESTABLISHES TWO WAYS TO CALCULATE THE PARKLAND DEDICATION REQUIREMENTS.
IT GETS INTO SOME REALLY COMPLICATED MATHS, SO I'M GOING TO SPARE YOU GUYS THAT, BUT WE DO HAVE ALL THE FORMULAS LAID OUT IN THE MEMO THAT YOU RECEIVED.
THEN A TIMELINE FOR THIS ONE, UH, UNDER THE BILL, UH, REQUIRES THE CITY TO DESIGNATE THE ENTIRE CITY AS ONE OF THOSE THREE AREAS BY DECEMBER 1ST.
UH, SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING THAT WILL BE COMING FORWARD TO CITY COUNCIL HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
UH, ONCE THOSE AREAS ARE DESIGNATED, THE APPRAISAL DISTRICT IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE CITY WITH THE AVERAGE VALUES IN THOSE AREAS BY JANUARY 1ST.
UM, AND THE REQUIREMENTS FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION APPLY TO ANY NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE CITY, UH, THAT BEGIN AFTER JANUARY 1ST.
AND, UH, WE WILL BE BRINGING, UH, CODE AMENDMENT, UH, TO YOU GUYS INCORPORATING THAT NEW METHODOLOGY HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
ANOTHER BILL THAT'S OUT THERE, THAT'S, THAT, UH, IS GOING TO REQUIRE SOME CHANGES.
HB 1707, UH, THIS ONE ADDRESSES OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOLS, UH, AND IT BASICALLY SAYS THAT WE HAVE TO TREAT AN OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL THE SAME AS A SCHOOL THAT'S OPERATED BY AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ZONING AND PERMITTING PURPOSES.
IF THEY PROVIDE US WITH A CERTIFICATION THAT SAYS THAT NO ONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHARTER SCHOOL WILL RECEIVE ANY
[00:50:01]
TYPE OF FINANCIAL BENEFIT FROM A REAL ESTATE TRANSACTION WITH THE OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL.SO AGAIN, THAT WILL REQUIRE AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 51 A AND, UH, I BELIEVE A BIGGER COMPREHENSIVE CODE AMENDMENT INVOLVING SCHOOLS WILL BE COMING FORWARD HERE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
AND I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO MR. VANDENBERG TO SPEAK ON HB 1750.
HB 1750 DEALS WITH, UH, AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS.
UM, CURRENTLY WE ALLOW, UH, CROP PRODUCTION LIVESTOCK ALMOST EVERYWHERE, UH, WITHIN, WITH CERTAIN REGULATIONS FOR THE AMOUNT OF LAND, ET CETERA.
THE BILL ACTUALLY ADDED SEVERAL THINGS TO AGRICULTURAL OPERATION, ONE OF WHICH IS FORAGE FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT, WHICH I, I I'M A CITY BOY AND COULD NOT TELL YOU WHAT FORAGE FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT IS.
UM, IT ALSO, UH, TALKS ABOUT RAISING LIVESTOCK AND POULTRY.
I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT WHEN WE GET A LITTLE FURTHER INTO IT.
IT LIMITS THE CITY'S ABILITY TO REGULATE AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS UNLESS THERE'S A CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE.
UH, YOU GUYS MIGHT REMEMBER THAT FROM OUR IG RECENTLY.
IT HAS TO HAVE CLEAR AND CONVINCING EVIDENCE THAT THE GOALS OF THE OR THE REQUIREMENT CANNOT BE ADDRESSED THROUGH LESS RESTRICTIVE MEANS, AND THAT IT IS AFFECTED BY THESE, THAT IT AFFECTS THESE PARTICULAR SPECIFIC, UM, THREATS TO, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE.
SOME OF WHICH I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY THEY'RE IN THE AGRICULTURAL CODE, UH, IF A FARM IS PRODUCING RADIATION THAT LITERALLY THEY ADDED THE WORD RADIATION.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF FARMING YOU'RE DOING.
UM, BUT THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO LOOK AT.
UM, YOU GOT THE, THE CITY COUNCIL TO BE ABLE TO KEEP OF THE LIMITS WE HAVE AND TO BE ABLE TO IMPOSE NEW ONES WILL NEED TO REQUI.
IT'LL REQUIRE A, A STUDY BY EITHER THE, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICER OR THE CITY HEALTH OFFICER OR A CONSULTANT.
IT'LL PROBABLY BE A CONSULTANT.
AND WE'LL DO A RESOLUTION EXPLAINING WHY THOSE FACTORS THAT ARE LISTED IN THE ACT, UM, ARE, UH, ARE AFFECTED BY OUR RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UM, WHAT IT REALLY DOES IS PLACE LIMITS ON THE CITY'S ABILITY TO REGULATE, UH, VEG, THE HEIGHT OF VEGETATION FOR AN AGRICULTURAL OPERATION.
IF IT'S WITHIN 10 FEET OF THE PROPERTY LINE, WE CAN STILL REGULATE IT, BUT BEYOND 10 FEET, IT STILL ALLOW ROW CROPS TO BE GROWN.
UM, IT ALSO, UH, LIMITS OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL ANIMALS, UH, SPECIFICALLY DOGS THAT ARE USED IN LIVESTOCK, UH, OPERATIONS.
AND WHAT WE WILL HAVE TO DO IS AMEND SECTION 1813, UH, REGARDING THE, THE HEIGHT OF WEEDS AND THE, UH, MEN'S SECTION, UH, SEVEN 3.1, UH, REGARDING THE ANIMALS USED IN LIVESTOCK OPERATIONS.
HOWEVER, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO GET THE REPORT FROM THE CONSULTANT.
UH, WE WILL HAVE TO COME UP WITH A RESOLUTION.
SO THAT'LL BE COMING BACK TO YOU GUYS.
AND WE WILL HAVE TO LOOK AT A COUPLE SECTIONS OF THE CODE A LITTLE CLOSER, INCLUDING SOME OF THE STUFF IN 51 A REGARDING, UH, CROP PRODUCTION, URBAN FARMING, ET CETERA.
AND THE KEEPING OF ROOSTERS ACTUALLY, WHICH IS NOT PERMITTED CURRENTLY.
THE SORT OF THE RUB ON ALL THIS THOUGH IS MOST OF THE RULES ARE CONTINGENT ON TEXAS A AND M PRODUCING A MANUAL REGARDING THE BEST PRACTICES.
THEY HAVE NOT PRODUCED THIS MANUAL YET.
IT SAYS IN THE ACT THAT THEY WILL DO SO.
SO WE CAN'T REALLY BASE OUR REGULATIONS ON ANYTHING BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE MANUAL YET.
UM, SO THAT IS, UH, 1750 AND I'LL NOW TURN IT OVER TO MR. BURGESS FOR HB 28 78.
SO I, I DO HAVE A QUESTION BECAUSE THE ROOSTERS ARE REALLY ALL THE TALK OF THIS BILL, RIGHT? AND SO ARE WE JUST GONNA NOT ENFORCE IT? IF THERE'S A ROOSTER, I WOULD SAY AT THIS POINT, WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA TALK TO CODE ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN ENFORCE IT.
AGAIN, I'M A LITTLE CURIOUS WHAT THE MANUAL SAYS.
I DON'T THE MANUAL COULD SAY THAT ROOSTERS ARE NOT, SHOULDN'T BE IN URBAN AREAS.
I, I DON'T KNOW, BUT I SUSPECT VERY LOTS OF CHICKENS IN DISTRICT 12.
NOT A LOT OF ROOSTERS IN DISTRICT 12, BUT I THINK, WELL, MAYOR PROTE HAS A DIFFERENT STORY.
ROOSTERS IN DISTRICT EIGHT, AND Y'ALL KNOW CASEY AND, AND THOUSAND THOUSAND OF ROOS CAUGHT FIGHTERS IN DISTRICT EIGHT IS A NUMEROUS, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UM, ILLEGAL.
YOU GOT, YOU KNOW, GAMBLING GOING ON, PEOPLE GETTING KILLED GOT A BIG PROBLEM, ESPECIALLY IN CLEAVER RIDING IN P CROW.
SO WHEN YOU SAID, ARE WE GONNA ENFORCE THAT NOW, ARE WE NOT ENFORCING IT?
[00:55:01]
WELL, THE BILL DOES NOT TAKE EFFECT TO WHEN, UNTIL SEPTEMBER.AND THEN I WOULD SAY THAT WE NEED TO TALK TO CODE.
BUT, UM, IF, IF, UM, IF THE RULES DON'T CHANGE UNTIL WE GET A REPORT, THERE MAY BE SOME INTERIM TIME FOR ENFORCEMENT.
SO WE'LL NEED TO LOOK AT OUR STRATEGY ON THAT.
WELL, I'M CONCERNED WITH THE RESIDENT AND THE CITIZEN, ESPECIALLY IN MY DISTRICT.
YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONGOING FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND YEARS.
YOU KNOW, HOW MANY RAISES WE NOT HAVE.
BUT THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO GET A, YOU KNOW, AN ANSWER TO IMMEDIATELY.
I MEAN, MADAM CHAIRMAN, I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, POLICY CODE OR TO ENFORCE THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS SOMETHING, THIS IS SOMETHING RIGHT NOW, WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING TODAY, STARTING TODAY.
FIND OUT WHAT IS THE, THE, THE, THE PLAN.
WHAT IS THE PROCESS? THE GOOD NEWS IS WE HAVE CODE COMPLIANCE STANDING RIGHT OVER IN THE CORNER.
UM, AND THEY'RE SMILING BROADLY.
SO I THINK THEY KNOW THAT THEY NEED TO HUDDLE UP AND HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
AND I'M ASSUMING YOU'LL LET THE WHOLE COUNCIL KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THIS.
WELL, YOU KNOW, I, REAL QUICK, I'M SERIOUS.
IT'S ABOUT ARE YOU GONNA DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT? BECAUSE RIGHT NOW THEY'RE DOING IT.
AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE MANY, MANY PROBLEMS. YOU KNOW, IT'S ON THE BOOKS, YOU KNOW, ALL THE COMPLAINTS THAT'S THERE, YOU KNOW, GAMBLING'S GOING THERE, PEOPLE THAT GOT KILLED.
I MEAN, IT'S ON THE BOOKS RIGHT NOW IN MY DISTRICT.
IT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS. WE GOT ROOSTERS IN THE DISTRICT PRESIDENT, PRESIDENT GLOBE AND CLEVELAND RIDING.
DALLAS ANIMAL SERVICES REGULATES ROOSTERS, NOT CODE COMPLIANCE.
OKAY, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY AGAIN, THE BILL DOES NOT TAKE EFFECT UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1ST.
SO RIGHT NOW THEY ARE ENFORCING AGAINST THAT.
AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IT'S COMMUNICATED TO COUNSEL THE PLAN GOING FORWARD.
CHAIR, MAY I ASK A QUESTION? UM, SO JUST TO BE CLEAR, IS WE HAVE NO IDEA UNTIL WE GET THIS MANUAL FROM TEXAS A AND M.
SO HOW DO WE CREATE A POLICY OR A, A MEANT CODE OR ANYTHING UNTIL WE GET THIS MANUAL FROM TEXAS A AND M? IS THAT, DID I UNDERSTAND CORRECTLY? THE MANUAL, I THINK WILL GIVE A LOT OF, WILL PROVIDE A LOT OF ENLIGHTENMENT ON WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
SOME OF IT, I, I THINK WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
WE DO NEED TO CHANGE THE CODE REGARDING THE VEGETATION.
WE PROBABLY WILL NEED TO CHANGE THE CODE REGARDING ROOSTERS.
UM, AND WE DO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR REGULATION OF CROP PRODUCTION IS, IS ALLOWED EVERYWHERE.
THOSE THINGS WE KNOW PRETTY CLEARLY THE STUFF WHERE, WHERE IT SAYS THAT YOU HAVE TO USE, UH, NORMAL AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES AND WE HAVE TO ALLOW THAT, THOSE ARE THE THINGS I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'RE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR ON YET.
UM, BUT THE BIGGER PICTURE, I THINK WE CAN START THE PROCESS.
SO THERE'S CERTAIN THINGS THAT WE KNOW, 'CAUSE IT'S IN THE ACTUAL BILL THAT WE KNOW, OKAY, WE GOTTA CHANGE THIS, THAT, AND THAT.
UM, BUT THEN THERE'S THESE CERTAIN THINGS LIKE A ROOSTER, UH, YOU KNOW, I KNOW WE'RE GETTING, YOU KNOW, MINUTE INTO SOME OF THE CODE, BUT ROOSTERS IS A HUGE DEAL TO A LOT OF RESIDENTS IN THE CITY.
UM, SO ARE THOSE THINGS THAT WE WOULD WAIT ON OR, UM, 'CAUSE I, I REALLY DON'T WANT TO AMEND CODE AND THEN AMEND CODE AND AMEND CODE BECAUSE ALL OF A SUDDEN TEXAS A AND M DECIDES, YOU KNOW, OH, IT MIGHT TAKE THEM THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS, THREE YEARS.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, UM, THE STATE IS REQUIRING IN ORDER FOR TEXAS A AND M TO GET THIS STATEWIDE MANUAL OUT.
SO IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE WAIT ON OR THOSE PARTS OR I GUESS THAT'S WHAT I'M ASKING.
'CAUSE I KNOW THE, THE, THE BILL'S GONNA BECOME LAW ON SEPTEMBER ONE, BUT HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO OUR WORK IF WE DON'T HAVE ALL THE TOOLS THAT THE STATE HAS PASSED IN THIS, UM, HOUSE BILL? I THINK WE WILL GET, WE WILL BE WORKING WITH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS TO HAVE EVERYTHING TEED UP AND IF WE THINK WE NEED TO TAKE THE ACTION WE WILL.
COUNCILOR STEWART? THANK YOU MADAM CHAIR.
UM, ON THE TOPIC OF ROOSTERS, I THINK WHAT I SEE HERE IS ROOSTERS FOR TWO DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
ONE COULD BE FOR AN AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE AND WITH AN FOR AN AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE.
I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE PROBABLY NOT GOING TO BE PROHIBITED, BUT I THINK WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ATKINS IS TALKING ABOUT IS NOT AGRICULTURAL.
IT'S A WHOLLY DIFFERENT KIND OF USE.
AND I WOULD ENCOURAGE US TO FIND A WAY TO DISTINGUISH THAT AND TO CALL THAT OUT AND TO SAY THAT USE IS NOT PERMITTED AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE NOT PERMITTED IN THE CITY OF DALLAS.
AND I BELIEVE I APPRECIATE YOU DOING THAT.
[01:00:01]
UH, WHAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ATKINS IS TALKING ABOUT IS ALREADY ILLEGAL, UM, UNDER THE PENAL CODE AND THAT'S NOT GONNA CHANGE.AND THEN THE LAST ITEM ON THE AGRICULTURE, UM, THE OTHER BIG DISCUSSION THAT'S REALLY BEEN HAPPENING AROUND THIS BILL IS THAT IT ALLOWS YOU TO DO THIS IN YOUR FRONT YARD, CORRECT? LIKE YOU COULD, UM, HAVE A CHICKEN COOP IN YOUR FRONT YARD.
YOU COULD BE RAISING, UM, VERY TALL PLANTS THAT MAYBE WOULDN'T CONFORM WITH A NEIGHBORHOOD.
UM, IS THAT CORRECT? WE BELIEVE THAT IS CORRECT.
AND THEN HOW WOULD THAT AFFECT HOAS? SO IF I CAN JUMP IN, UM, WE'RE NOT TOTALLY SURE.
WHEN WE TRIED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH THE MEMBERS, UH, THIS WAS ONE OF THOSE BILLS THAT FLEW THROUGH.
WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF CHANCE TO HAVE THE BACK AND FORTH WITH THEM AND THERE WEREN'T, UH, THE H O A, UH, REPRESENTATIVE DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO GET THAT CLARIFIED EITHER.
SO, I MEAN, IT'S A GREAT POINT, BUT THE BILL MOVED THROUGH SO FAST WE DIDN'T HAVE A LOT OF Q AND A AND BACK AND FORTH ON THIS ONE.
I MEAN, IT JUST SAILED THROUGH THE LEGISLATION.
ALRIGHT, SO PICK BACK UP WITH HB 28 78.
THIS IS A BRACKETED BILL THAT, UH, APPEARS TO ONLY AFFECT DALLAS COUNTY AND TARRANT COUNTY.
UH, IT APPLIES TO A COUNTY WITH A POPULATION OF 2.1 MILLION OR MORE THAT HAS AN AIRPORT THAT'S OPERATED BY A JOINT AIRPORT BOARD, UH, WHICH WOULD BE D F W AND ALSO HAS AN AIRPORT THAT'S OWNED BY THE PR PRINCIPAL MUNICIPALITY IN THE COUNTY THAT DOES NOT OFFER COMMERCIAL AIR SERVICE, WHICH IS EXECUTIVE AIRPORT.
UH, AND THIS BILL ADDRESSES FOOD TRUCKS AND IT SAYS THAT COUNTIES THAT MEET THAT DESCRIPTION, WHICH WOULD BE DALLAS COUNTY, ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PERMITTING AND INSPECTING FOOD TRUCKS.
UM, SO, UH, THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT IT LOOKS LIKE WE CAN GET TOTALLY OUT OF THE PERMITTING BUSINESS FOR FOOD TRUCKS THOUGH, BECAUSE IT WOULDN'T APPLY TO THE OTHER COUNTIES, NAMELY DENTON AND COLLIN.
'CAUSE THEY DO, DO NOT MEET THAT BRACKET.
UH, SO MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE CODE DEPARTMENT IS IN CONVERSATIONS WITH DALLAS COUNTY TO FIGURE OUT A JOINT MAY, BUT POTENTIALLY A, A JOINT PERMITTING, UH, METHOD WITH THEM.
AND, UH, IF WE NEED ANY CODE AMENDMENTS, WE WILL BE BRINGING ONE FORWARD.
I WILL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MR. VANDENBERG FOR SB 5 77.
SB 5 77 CONTROLS, UH, FOOD ESTABLISHMENTS.
IT, UH, TAKES AWAY THE CITY'S AUTHORITY TO LICENSE.
UH, I BELIEVE THEY'RE CALLED CITY, UH, FOOD MANAGERS, UH, IN THE KITCHENS.
UH, MUCH LIKE WE HAD TO DO WITH PLUMBERS SEVERAL YEARS AGO, IT NOW DEFAULTS TO THE STATE LICENSING.
THE, IT ALSO DOES NOT ALLOW US TO CONTROL U UH, UTENSIL PACKAGING.
I THINK IT'S THE STRAWS IS REALLY WHAT THEY WERE GOING AFTER.
AND WE WILL HAVE TO CHANGE CHAPTER 17, UH, TO TAKE AWAY THE REQUIREMENT FOR STATE LICENSED FOOD MANAGERS TO GET A LOCAL LICENSE.
THE OTHER SORT OF, UH, THING THAT THE CITY WILL HAVE TO COMPLY WITH IS ANY OF OUR FOOD ESTABLISHMENT, UH, ORDINANCES.
WE WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT TO THE STATE TO BECOME PART OF A STATEWIDE STATE REGISTRY OF FOOD ORDINANCES.
SO SB 9 29 IS A BILL THAT AFFECTS HOW WE DO OUR NOTICE FOR ZONING CASES AND ALSO AFFECTS NON-CONFORMING, UH, USES.
SO THIS BILL REQUIRES US TO PROVIDE A WRITTEN NOTICE OF ANY PUBLIC HEARING REGARDING A PROPOSED ZONING CHANGE THAT HAS A POTENTIAL TO CREATE A NON-CONFORMING USE.
UH, IT SAYS THAT WE HAVE TO SEND THAT NOTICE TO EACH OWNER OF REAL OR BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY, UH, WHERE THAT POTENTIAL NON-CONFORMING USE COULD BE LOCATED.
AND ALSO EACH OCCUPANT OF THE PROPERTY.
UH, IT SAYS IT HAS TO CONTAIN THE TIME AND PLACE OF THE HEARING AND IT HAS TO HAVE SOME SPECIFIC LANGUAGE, WHICH WE HAVE LAID OUT HERE ON THE SLIDE.
UH, THE BILL ALSO PROVIDES THAT IF A NOT THE OWNER OF A NONCONFORMING USE IS ACQUIRED TO CEASE OPERATIONS, THAT THEY HAVE A CHOICE OF REMEDY.
UH, SO THEY CAN EITHER CHOOSE TO AMORTIZE THEIR PROPERTY, THAT'S THE NORMAL BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT PROCESS THAT'S IN PLACE RIGHT NOW.
OR THEY CAN CHOOSE TO BE PAID THEIR COST OF SHUTTING DOWN AND RELOCATING THEIR BUSINESS.
SO THIS IS ONE THAT WE WILL BRING, BE BRINGING SOME CODE AMENDMENTS FORWARD, UH, TO YOU GUYS.
[01:05:01]
51 8.IT'S 4.701 TO AMEND OUR NOTICE PROVISIONS AND ALSO AMENDING SECTION 51 8 AS 4.704 TO ADDRESS REMEDIES.
UM, IF THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT ORDERS A NON-CONFORMING USE TO CEASE OPERATION, I'LL TURN IT BACK OVER TO MR. VANDENBERG TO TALK ABOUT SB 10 17.
SSB 10 17 WAS PARTICULARLY AIMED AT, UH, PROSPECTIVE ACTIONS INCLUDING THE LEAF BLOWER ORDINANCE THAT WE'VE BEEN CONTEMPLATING.
IT LIMITS THE, PROHIBITS THE CITY FROM CONSIDERING FUEL SOURCES FOR ENGINES FOR THEIR USE, THEIR SALE.
UM, WHILE THIS DOESN'T REQUIRE THIS TO COME BACK TO THE COUNCIL FOR ANY ACTION, IT WILL STOP THE FUTURE LEAF BLOWER, UH, CONVERSATION 'CAUSE WE'RE NOW PREEMPTED SPECIFICALLY ON IT.
SB 2038 IS ANOTHER ONE OF THE, OF THE MORE COMPLICATED, UH, BILLS.
THIS ONE AFFECTS OUR E T J OR EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.
UH, WE HAVE A LOT OF IT IN COLLIN COUNTY.
THIS ALLOWS THE, THE RESIDENTS OF THE E T J TO REQUEST TO BE REMOVED FROM THE E T J.
THEY PETITION THE CITY, THE CITY HAS, I BELIEVE IT IS, UH, 30TH DAY, I THINK IT'S 40TH, FIFTH DAY AFTER RECEIVING THE PETITION TO TAKE ACTION.
UH, THEY CAN CALL AN ELECTION FOR THE NEXT UNIFORM ELECTION DAY, WHICH IS MAY OR NOVEMBER.
AND IF THEY DON'T, THE AREA IS DEEMED REMOVED FROM THE E T J BY THE OPERATION OF LAW.
SO A RESIDENT IN THE AREA CAN DO THE PETITION AND THEY HAVE TO GET AT LEAST 5% OF THE REGISTERED VOTERS RESID IN THAT AREA.
A CITY SHALL ORDER THE ELECTION, UM, UH, FOR THE NEXT UNIFORM ELECTION DAY.
OF COURSE, WE HAVE TO CALL THE ELECTION, I BELIEVE IT'S 78 DAYS AHEAD OF TIME.
SO THERE ARE A FEW MATHEMATICAL REQUIREMENTS.
AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE VOTE IS, IS CANVASSED.
WE ARE REQUIRED TO, UH, LET THE RESIDENTS KNOW IF THEY HAVE, UH, IN FACT BEEN REMOVED FROM THE E T J IF THEY ARE REMOVED FROM THE E T J.
THEY CANNOT BE SCOOPED UP BY ANY OTHER CITY.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE ON THEIR OWN IN THE COUNTY AT THAT POINT, HB 1819.
SO JUST TO CLARIFY, THE WAY THIS AFFECTS THE CITY IS THAT IF THE DENTON COUNTY OR COLLIN COUNTY FOLKS WANTED TO LEAVE THE CITY OF DALLAS, THIS IS THE METHOD THAT THEY COULD DO THAT THAT WOULD BE CORRECT IF THEY ARE IN THE E T J.
AND AS A FOLLOW UP TO THAT, IF THERE IS A PARTICULAR PART OF THE CITY THAT IS DALLAS THAT WISHED TO NO LONGER BE A PART OF DALLAS, WOULD THIS ALSO APPLY TO THAT? THAT IT WOULD NOT, THAT WOULD, THAT WOULD REQUIRE DIS ANNEXATION.
THAT IS, THAT IS AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PROCESS AND, AND MORE COMPLICATED PROCESS.
ALL HB 1819, UH, PROHIBITS CITIES FROM, OH, I'M SORRY, PROHIBITS CITIES FROM HAVING A CURFEW FOR JUVENILES.
IT DOES ALLOW IT DURING RIOTS AND OTHER EMERGENCIES, BUT IT GENERALLY SAYS WE CANNOT JUST HAVE A CURFEW, THEREFORE WE'LL BE HAVING TO REPEAL THE CURFEW WE HAVE ON THE BOOKS.
AND THAT WILL BE COMING TO COUNCIL CAN ANSWER.
WE WE DID HAVE A CURFEW ORANGE IN THE PAST, RIGHT? MM-HMM.
IT'S CURRENTLY ON THE BOOKS RIGHT NOW AND IT IS ON THE BOOKS NOW.
SO AS A EXCEPTIONAL ONE, IT GO AWAY, RIGHT? CORRECT.
AND, AND, AND ONLY TIME YOU CAN FORCE THAT UNLESS IT'S A RIOT GOING ON, UM, IS THAT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU'RE GONNA FORCE IT? THAT IS CORRECT.
WE HAVE THE MEANS TO DO THAT THROUGH SECTION 14 VIA THE CODE WHERE WE HAVE OUR EMERGENCY REGULATIONS.
AND THERE'S ALSO FOUR 18 OF THE STATE GOVERNMENT CODE, WHICH HAS IT.
RIOT DEFINED RIOT IS ANY OTHER EXCEPT BESIDE RIOT.
I WOULD SAY IT'S ANY EMERGENCY, UH, UH, CATASTROPHIC EMERGENCY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS BRIEFING? OKAY, WELL, YOU CAN SEE THAT ALL THE ITEMS THAT ARE ON THE AGENDA ARE STATE FOCUSED, UM, REALLY BECAUSE OF THIS BRIEFING.
AND I WANTED EVERYONE TO BE ABLE TO ASK EVERY SINGLE ROOSTER QUESTION, UM, AND EVERY SINGLE THING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, REALLY WHAT WAS A VERY, UM, CONSEQUENTIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
I, I, WE STARTED GOING AFTER EACH ONE AND THIS ONE WAS BEFORE WE STARTED DOING THAT.
SO, UM, THIS WAS HOUSE BILL 1707 IN REGARDS TO THE CHARTER SCHOOLS.
UM, IT SAYS REQUIRES THAT AN OPEN ENROLLMENT CHARTER SCHOOL BE TREATED THE SAME AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL
[01:10:01]
OPERATED BY, BY AN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT FOR ZONING, PLATTING AND PERMITTING PURPOSES.UM, SO ON HERE, SINCE IT'LL BE TREATED THE SAME, DOES THAT MEAN THAT, UM, ON A CHARTER SCHOOL THAT WE CAN NOW REQUIRE TRAFFIC PLANS, UM, TR UM, PARKING REQUIREMENTS, UM, USE OF QUEUING LANES THAT WE WOULD DO WITH THE INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, THAT WE ARE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS? IS THAT BECAUSE WE HAVE TO TREAT THEM THE SAME FOR ZONING? IS THAT, UM, YOUR UNDERSTANDING? I THINK WE ALREADY DO THAT RIGHT NOW.
I THINK THE, WHAT THIS BILL MAY BE TALKING ABOUT IS, UH, IN CERTAIN PARTS OF OUR CODE, UM, AND S U P MIGHT BE REQUIRED, UM, OF A CHARTER SCHOOL.
AND THAT'S WHAT THEY'RE REALLY FOCUSED ON, I BELIEVE.
UM, BUT WE ALREADY DO RIGHT NOW REQUIRE ALL THE OTHER, UM, THINGS THAT WE ASK OF AN I S D.
RIGHT? BUT THE, THE ISSUE IS, IS THAT THE CHARTER SCHOOLS HAVE DIFF THEY GET AWAY WITH DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THE ISDS DON'T GET AWAY WITH.
SO, UM, MAYBE THAT'S JUST REGULATION THAT WE'RE NOT PART OF FROM, UM, I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, BECAUSE IT SAYS TO TREAT IT THE SAME FOR PLATTING ZONING AND, UM, THE OTHER THINGS.
SO, SO THIS WOULD ELIMINATE OUR SS U P PROCESS, IS THAT, IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING OR NOT? NO, I, NO.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO GET TO.
YEAH, THE ISCS HAVE AN SS U P UM, THEY DO, UNFORTUNATELY.
I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD, BUT YES.
THEY DO HAVE SS U P BUT WAS THERE ANOTHER BILL TRYING TO STATE THAT A CHARTER SCHOOL WOULD NOT HAVE THE SAME REQUIREMENT AS, UH, INDEPENDENT SCHOOL? I, THERE WAS A DIFFERENT, IF I RECALL, THERE WAS SOME DIFFERENT, CORRECT.
THIS BILL IS NOT THAT BILL, BUT THERE WAS ANOTHER BILL THAT WHAT IS THAT? WHAT? THAT THIS BILL? WHAT? THE OTHER BILL.
SO, SO YEAH, THE, YEAH, SO THE OTHER BILL WOULD HAVE BASICALLY STRIPPED AWAY YOUR ZONING SUVS AND JUST ALLOW THEM TO SAY, HEY, IF I WANNA GO HERE, BUILD IT THERE, DO THINGS AT CERTAIN TIMES OF THE DAY.
LIKE IT WAS THE WORST CASE SCENARIO THAT YOU COULD IMAGINE FOR ANY ZONING.
WHAT, HUH? PARDON? THAT BILL DID NOT GET PASSED, RIGHT? CORRECT.
BUT IF THAT BILL COULD, THAT BILL COULD BE PART OF THE VOUCHER BILL THAT COMING UP.
AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY I SAID WE HAVE TO STAY VIGILANT, RIGHT.
WELL, VOUCHER, THAT'S WHAT I'M THINKING.
IT COULD BE PART OF THAT BILL BECAUSE IT IS RELATED, YOU KNOW, TO THE SAME, UH, UNLESS THE GOVERNOR RESTRICTS IT TO JUST DEALING WITH THE MONETARY SIDE OF IT, THE WAY ME AND THE LOBBY TEAM WOULD LOOK AT IT IS THAT IT'S OPEN TO EVERYTHING.
AND BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN THAT BILL COME UP TWO SESSIONS IN A ROW, THAT'S WHERE OUR MENTALITY IS REALLY LEADING.
LIKE, HEY, WE GOTTA MAKE SURE WE STAY VIGILANT ON THAT FRONT TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE NOT SLIDING SOME OF THAT STUFF IN DEALING WITH ZONING.
UH, 'CAUSE THAT'S, THAT, THAT WOULD BE A HUGE PROBLEM TO COMPLETELY ERADICATE OUR ZONING DEALING WITH CHARTER SCHOOLS.
WELL I JUST WANT WANT TO JUST WANNA MAKE SURE MOUNT SURE THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THAT THAT COULD BE PART OF THE SPECIAL LEGISLATION BECAUSE VOUCHERS DO COVER THE WHOLE GAMUT.
SO WE NEED TO HAVE OUR EYES, YOU KNOW, ON THAT ISSUE.
WELL AS IT TURNS OUT, I'VE BEEN FOLLOWING VOUCHERS FOR ABOUT 20 YEARS, SO PRETTY UP ON THAT TOPIC.
UM, OKAY, SO, UM, ARE WE READY FOR OUR NEXT ITEM OR ARE THERE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? OKAY, SO THE NEXT ITEM IS ABOUT OUR LOBBYING CONTRACTS.
UM, AND WE HAVE CLIFFORD DOWN TO PRESENT THE ITEM, BUT I'M HOPING WE'LL ACTUALLY HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT THIS.
AND SO IF YOU WANNA START US OFF.
SO IN SHORT, UM, OUR LOBBY TEAM, UH, A COUPLE OF MEMBERS OF OUR LOBBY TEAM HAVE BEEN WITH US NOW FOR ALMOST TWO DECADES.
SO RANDY KANE AND KWAME WALKER, UH, WE'VE ADDED ON SOME, UH, NEW FIREPOWER IN LNA CAMPOS AND, UM, AND ADAM AND THEY'VE BEEN VERY HELPFUL TOWARDS US.
UM, BUT WITH THAT BEING SAID, UH, WHEN YOU COMPARE THEIR, UH, ANNUAL PAY TO OTHER CITIES, UH, THEY'VE JUST BEEN LACKING IN THAT DEPARTMENT.
AND SO ONE OF THE CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE WANTED TO AT LEAST BRING TO THE COUNCIL IS THAT, UH, THAT WE CONSIDER, UM, THEIR REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL PAY.
UH, I AM IN RECEIPTS OF THOSE, UM, OF THEIR REQUESTS.
I'LL BE, BE ABLE TO SEND THOSE TO YOU AND THE COUNCIL.
UH, BUT YOU KNOW, THESE GUYS HAVE DONE A YEOMAN'S JOB OVER THE YEARS.
UH, WE HAVE, UH, INFORMATION, EXCUSE ME, THIS SHOWS HOW MUCH MONEY THEY BROUGHT IN.
I MEAN, IT'S UPWARDS OF ALMOST A BILLION DOLLARS OVER THE PAST TWO DECADES.
UH, SO YOU KNOW, THEY'VE, YOU KNOW MORE THAN BROUGHT IN HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, COMPARATIVELY SPEAKING TO WHAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY, UH, ARE GETTING PAID
[01:15:02]
AND ALSO COMPARATIVELY TO OTHER CITIES.OTHER CITIES HAVE KEPT UP WITH CERTAIN INDEXES, WHETHER IT'S INFLATION, C P I, YOU NAME IT.
UH, BUT UNFORTUNATELY CITY OF DALLAS' BUDGET HAS STAYED CONSTANT OVER THE PAST, UH, TWO DECADES.
AND AT THIS TIME WE'RE JUST ASKING FOR CONSIDERATION DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS TO INCREASE THEIR PAY.
AND SO WHERE ARE YOU AT, UM, IN THIS FISCAL YEAR? 22, 23.
AND WHERE IS IT SLATED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE DOLLAR AMOUNTS? UM, WHEN YOU SAY WHERE WE HAD, AS FAR AS THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, YOU MEAN? RIGHT.
SO YOUR FORECAST IS UM, JUST OVER HALF A MILLION DOLLARS, RIGHT? CORRECT.
I THINK THE, UH, PROPOSED OR THE PAST BUDGET ACTUALLY PUT IT AT UNDER HALF A MILLION.
BUT I THINK YOU ENDED UP AT LIKE FIVE 30 SOMETHING, CORRECT? UM, 530,000.
UM, AND THEN IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, WHAT IS THE AMOUNT FOR LOBBYING? DO YOU KNOW? SO IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE WERE GOING TO HAVE THIS DISCUSSION.
UM, WELL PREVIOUSLY WE WERE GONNA HAVE THIS DISCUSSION NEXT BUDGET SESSION, BUT I KNOW EVERYTHING GOT PULLED INTO THIS ONE.
SO THERE WASN'T A BUDGET REQUEST THAT WAS SUBMITTED, UM, IN THE CITY MANAGER'S BUDGET REQUEST.
SO THAT'S WHY WE WANTED TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION NOW, PER SE.
AND I THINK THAT'S UNDER, UM, CARRIE, IS IT UNDER YOUR BUDGET, THE LEGISLATIVE, YOUR BUTTON'S NOT PUSHED? THE LEGISLATIVE TEAM IS FUND OUT OF NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
AND SO DO YOU KNOW WHAT THAT LINE ITEM IS? I DO NOT.
BUT I CAN HAVE THAT FOR YOU IN JUST A MOMENT.
I MEAN, I HAVE MY BUDGET BOOK BEHIND ME, BUT I THOUGHT IT WAS ALREADY INCREASED IN THERE, BUT I DIDN'T GO BACK AND DOUBLE CHECK.
UH, THE AMOUNTS THAT ARE IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL ARE FOR THEIR EXISTING CONTRACTS, THE DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR THEIR EXISTING CONTRACTS FOR BOTH STATE AND FEDERAL.
SO WHATEVER THEIR CURRENT CONTRACTS ARE, THAT'S WHAT HAS BEEN REQUESTED BE ALLOCATED IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL FOR THE UPCOMING YEAR.
I'M TRYING TO DIGEST, UH, THE BUDGET.
UH, THE LOBBY TEAM HAVE A BUDGET.
UM, WE HAVE THE FEDERAL, WE HAVE THE STATE, AND WE HAVE TAMMY OFFICE ATTORNEYS, WE GOT CARRIER OFFICE TRYING TO DELEGATE.
SO TO ME THAT'S FOUR DIFFERENT POCKETS.
SO HOW DO THOSE FOUR DIFFERENT POCKETS SHOW ON THE BUDGET? BECAUSE WHAT I'M HEARING RIGHT NOW, I'M LOOKING AT RALPH FOR EXAMPLE.
HE'S IN, HE'S A FEDERAL CARRIE STILL HELPED THERE PART THE BUDGET.
ALSO TC, THE CITY MANAGER USED THAT LOBBIES SAME AS THE STATE.
YOU KNOW, TAMMY HAVE HER BUDGET WITH, WITH LEGAL CARRIED, STILL HAVE A BUDGET TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE GET DOWN THERE.
THEN ALSO TC HAD A BUDGET FOR HIS PEOPLE TO GET DOWN THERE DIRECTLY.
SO THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF DIFFERENT POCKETS.
SO I'M TRYING TO RULE OUT WHAT MONEY GO DIRECTLY TO THE LOBBYISTS AND WHAT MONEY THAT YOU GOT ALL THE SUPPORT BEHIND THAT.
SO IS THAT REFLECT IN THE CITY MANAGER BUDGET? SO CARRIE, DO YOU WANT TO ANSWER THAT? I CAN SEE YOU'RE LOOKING EAGER TO DO SO.
UM, WHAT I WILL TELL YOU I THINK, AND I'M OPEN TO CORRECTION, IS SO IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL OF COURSE ARE THE LOBBYIST CONTRACTS FOR STATE AND FEDERAL.
UM, ALSO IN JUST SPEAKING TO THE SUPPORT STAFF AND SO ON, ALSO IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL IS LEGISLATIVE TRAVEL.
SO AS AN EXAMPLE, WHENEVER YOU CHAIRMAN WENT DOWN TO AUSTIN TO TESTIFY OR CHAIRWOMAN MENDELSSOHN THAT ALSO CAME OUT OF NON-DEPARTMENTAL, THERE IS NOT, UM, A, A LEGISLATIVE DE DEDICATED BUDGET IN THE OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT AFFAIRS FOR IF WE GO DOWN THERE TO SUPPORT.
THERE IS NOT A DEDICATED LINE FOR LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT FOR THE DEPARTMENTS IN THEIR BUDGET.
UM, AND I WOULD GUESS THE SAME ALSO FOR THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE.
SO EVERYTHING FOR LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT, UM, IS IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL IS MY UNDERSTANDING.
UNLESS JACK RUNS DOWN HERE AND CORRECTS ME.
OTHER THAN, UM, CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE IS ABSORBING THE STAFFING TO DO THAT WORK AND CARRIE, YOUR DEPARTMENT IS ABSORBING THE STAFFING TO DO THAT WORK.
SO TO YOUR POINT ABOUT THERE'S, UM, RESOURCES THAT ARE SPREAD ACROSS, THAT'S TRUE.
BUT I DO THINK ALL THE CENTRALIZED TRAVEL AND LEGISLATIVE CONTRACTS
[01:20:01]
ARE COMING OUT IN NON-DEPARTMENTAL.BUT ALSO, UM, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS THAT RALPH, LET'S SAY HIS CONTRACT IS LET'S SAY $200,000 AND SAID CLIFF CONTRACT 200,000 BUCKS.
SO IS THAT BUDGET GO OVER, DO IT STAY, HAVE TO STAY WITHIN THE MEANS OF THAT, THAT RE IF SO, HOW DO IT GO THERE? HOW DO WE MONITOR AND SAY IS THAT IT'S AN ADEQUATE AUDIT TO THAT BUDGET BECAUSE IT, IT IS NOT, IT NEED MORE REVENUE OR NEED LESS REVENUE.
SO I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE IT OUT.
YOU KNOW, I'M JUST TRYING TO LOOK AT, IF I WAS A LOBBYIST, YOU KNOW, DOING THIS, YOU KNOW THAT HOW MUCH TIME ON DOING IT, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT WOULD IT TAKE TO GET IT DONE AND HOW MUCH SUPPORT BACK, BACK, THE BACK SUPPORT I GOT TO GET IT DONE IS, IS THAT COUNTING IN, IN OUR LOBBYISTS AND WITH RALPH AND ALSO WITH CLIFF.
SO SINCE I HAVE BEEN HERE, THE WAY WE PAY OUR LOBBYISTS, LIKE YOU SAID, OUR CONTRACT LOBBYISTS, THEY ARE PAID OUTTA NON-DEPARTMENTAL AND WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO PAY THEM, IT HAS TO BE CONFINED TO THAT PARTICULAR ITEM, TO THE NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
SO I HAVE NOT SEEN, SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE, PEOPLE PAID OUT OF OTHER POTS, POTS OF MONEY THAT ARE ON CONTRACT UNLESS A DIFFERENT DEPARTMENT IS PAYING FOR IT OUT OF THEIR BUDGET, WHICH IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT.
BUT OUT OF THE CONTRACT LOBBYISTS THAT WE DEAL WITH THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT NOW, THEY ARE PAID OUT OF NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
SO CAN I JUST ANSWER THIS ONE PART? 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT TO ANSWER A STAFF QUESTION, BUT, UM, I THINK WHAT I HEARD YOU ASKING IS HOW COULD IT BE, UM, OVER BUDGET WHEN IT'S A CONTRACT? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE REALLY GETTING AT? YEAH, SO I THINK THE LOBBYIST GOT PAID THE CONTRACT AMOUNT, THE OVER BUDGET WAS FOR TRAVEL.
SO I I I, THAT'S WHAT MY UNDERSTANDING IS FROM JUST READING IT.
AND SO, UM, I THINK, LET ME JUST MAKE SURE I'M UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE ASK IS.
THE ASK IS TO INCREASE THE CONTRACTS, THE AMOUNT OF THE CONTRACTS FOR THE CONTRACTED LOBBYISTS.
IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR? CORRECT.
SO, UM, WHAT IS THE CURRENT CONTRACT AMOUNT FOR EACH OF OUR LOBBYISTS? I THINK THEY ALL GET THE SAME AMOUNT, IF I CAN, IF I RECALL.
NO, UH, ACTUALLY MAYBE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
YEAH, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, RANDY KANE, UH, IS CURRENTLY SET AT 71,000.
UH, KWAME WALKER'S CURRENTLY SET AT 69,000.
LORENA CAMPOS IS CURRENTLY SET AT 60,000.
AND I'LL HAVE TO DEFER TO CARRIE ON THE FEDERAL TEAM AND WHAT THEIR EXACT AMOUNTS ARE, BUT THAT'S THE STATE TEAM.
BUT YOU'RE JUST ASKING FOR THE STATE? CORRECT.
SO, UM, AND, AND ON THE CONTRACTS WE TYPICALLY AWARD THEM BASED ON THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS WHAT, YOU KNOW, AND OBVIOUSLY THERE'S WORK BEFORE AND AFTER, BUT ARE YOU, IS THIS BECAUSE OF THE FACT THAT LAST SESSION, THIS SESSION WE'RE HAVING ALL THESE EXTRA SPECIAL SESSIONS THAT TYPICALLY IT'S OUT OF THE NORM FOR, UM, THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT IT'S BECOMING THE NORM? IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE SAYING IS THAT THEY'RE STARTING TO HAVE TO WORK MORE IN ORDER TO TAKE CARE OF THESE SPECIAL SESSIONS THAT ARE COMING UP? THAT TOO, THAT IS ALSO WHAT I'M, UH, STRESSING.
UH, THE OTHER THING THAT I WANNA STRESS IS THAT DURING THE INTERIM, I KNOW IT'S NOT AS, UH, HIGH PROFILE AS THE SESSION, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT HAPPEN THAT STILL AFFECT US.
LIKE WHEN LEGISLATION GOES INTO EFFECT, THERE ARE AGENCY RULES THAT HAPPEN.
WE STILL HAVE TO GET INVOLVED IN THAT.
UM, THE WAYFAIR DECISION, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HAPPENED RIGHT BEFORE COVID WENT DOWN.
WE LOBBYING THE HECK OUTTA THE COMPTROLLER TRYING TO PUT THAT BILL, TRYING TO PUT THE AGENCY DECISION IN A BETTER PLACE.
THAT TAKES A LOT OF LEGWORK FROM THE CONTRACT LOBBYISTS.
SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE.
JUST BECAUSE SESSION ENDS DOESN'T MEAN ALL WORK ENDS WITH THE, WITH THE CONTRACT LOBBYISTS.
AND, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE CONSTANTLY WORKING.
WE'RE CONSTANTLY STILL MEETING WITH PEOPLE.
UM, EVEN WHEN WE'RE FIGURING OUT OUR LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM, WE HAVE TO GO GIVE IT A LITMUS TEST.
AND SO WHEN WE'RE DOING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL MOVING AND SHAKING, STILL TRYING TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.
SO AGAIN, THE INTERIM MAY NOT HAPPEN AS FAST AS SESSION, BUT IT'S STILL HAPPENING AT A PRETTY GOOD CLIP.
AND SO WE STILL UTILIZE THEIR SERVICES YEAR ROUND EVEN THOUGH WE'RE NOT IN SESSION.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR CLEARING THAT UP.
SO MY, MY, UM, QUESTION THEN WOULD BE IS YOU HAD MENTIONED EARLIER THAT,
[01:25:01]
UM, LOBBYISTS FROM OTHER CITIES ARE GETTING PAID MORE THAN OUR LOBBYISTS.SO CAN WE GET A, UM, SET OF DATA TO SEE WHAT THOSE LOBBYISTS ARE DOING IN COMPARISON TO OUR LOBBYISTS, WHICH WOULD MAYBE HELP US GET A BETTER IDEA OF MAYBE THEY NEED A RAISE? I, I, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
I'M JUST SAYING I DON'T MIND PAYING PEOPLE FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING 'CAUSE WE WANT TO BE FAIR.
IT'S JUST, I, I JUST CAN'T, I DON'T WANNA JUST PULL OUT MY HAT AND GO, OH, GIVE THEM EACH $10,000 MORE.
DOES THAT SOUND FAIR? WELL, OF COURSE.
AND, AND NOBODY'S GONNA TURN DOWN 10 GRAND, BUT IS THAT FAIR? IS THAT THE RIGHT AMOUNT? RIGHT.
UM, AND THEN FOR WHAT THEY'RE ACTUALLY DOING AND FOR A CITY THE SAME SIZE AS OURS AND, UM, THERE, I, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SEE MORE, I'M, I'M HAVE ZERO I I'M NOT AGAINST GIVING, UM, PEOPLE THE RIGHT AMOUNT FOR WHAT THEY'RE GET, WHAT THEY'RE GETTING, UM, THE WORK THEY'RE DOING.
AND THEN INSIDE OF THE CONTRACTS, ARE SPECIAL SESSIONS INCLUDED OR ARE THEY NOT? AND SO IT MIGHT BE PART OF THE CONTRACT THAT'S LIKE, OH, IF THERE'S A SPECIAL SESSION YOU'RE GONNA GET, UM, THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY EXTRA.
I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER.
JUST SAYING, I DON'T KNOW WHAT, WHAT'S IN THESE CONTRACTS EXCEPT FOR WE APPROVE, YOU KNOW, THEIR CONTRACTS.
THAT'S, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WHAT WE DO.
AND I'M, I DON'T SIT AND I JUST TRUST YOU TO, THEY'RE GETTING THE WORK DONE BY THE BRIEFING YOU GAVE US EARLIER.
THEY'RE GETTING THE WORK DONE.
SO IT'S, I I JUST NEED MORE INFORMATION, UM, THAN JUST, UM, THE ASK.
I JUST NEED THE INFORMATION IN ORDER TO GET, IF WE CAN, TO GET TO WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE AT.
WE JUST NEED SOME MORE INFORMATION.
SO I'M WONDERING, COULD YOU ANSWER THE QUESTION? THEY PROPOSED AN AMOUNT TO YOU, CORRECT? YES.
I, I I HAVE THEIR AMOUNTS, UM, IN HAND.
I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T HEAR WHAT THAT I, I SAID YES, I DO HAVE THEIR REQUEST.
AND COULD YOU SHARE THAT WITH US OR YOU DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW? UH, I HAVE 'EM.
WELL IN THE MEANTIME, MAYOR PRO TEM HAS A QUESTION FOR YOU.
I GUESS, UH, TAMMY, UM, THE, THE LOBBY'S, UH, BUDGET, DO THEY COME OUTTA YOUR BUDGET? NO, IT DOES NOT.
UM, THE CONTRACT, HOW IS A CONTRACT WRITTEN IF YOU GOT SPECIAL SESSION? IT IS, IT'S, UH, YEARLY OR WHAT? UM, THANK YOU.
UM, CHAIRMAN, THE QUESTION, THE CONTRACTS ARE YEAR ROUND.
IT IS NOT SPECIFIC TO SESSION.
SO PRESUMING THAT THEY ARE RENEWED EVERY YEAR, THEY ARE YEAR ROUND, SPECIAL SESSION WORK, INTERIM WORK, WHATEVER IT IS, THEY ARE YEAR ROUND UNDER CONTRACT.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT I WAS GONNA MENTION TOO, AND I'VE SEEN THIS DONE WITH OTHER ENTITIES, IS THEY DO THEIR CONTRACTS FOR THEIR LOBBY TEAM ON A TWO YEAR BASIS.
SO THEN YOU HAVE YOUR LOBBY TEAM ALREADY IN PLACE FOR THE INTERIM WHERE MUCH OF THE WORK HAPPENS AS CLIFFORD INDICATED, AND THEN THROUGH THE NEXT SESSION.
AND THEN YOU'RE ABLE TO EVALUATE THEM AFTER THE SESSION FOR THE DURATION OF THE PRIOR SESSION AND ALL THE INTERIM WORK THEY DID.
RIGHT NOW THEY'RE ONE YEAR, WE'RE DOING THEM EVERY YEAR, ONE YEAR, ONE YEAR, ONE YEAR.
SO, SO THEREFORE WHEN YOU DO A ONE YEAR CONTRACT, THE FIRST YEAR IS READY DOING WORK FOR THE SECOND YEAR INDIRECTLY MM-HMM.
IF THEY DO THAT ONE YEAR AND THEY GO AWAY, WE GET SOMEBODY ELSE THEN YOU LOST THAT YEAR.
SO RANDY KANE IS, UH, LIKE I SAID, HE'S CURRENTLY SITTING AT 71, UH, THOUSAND.
HE'S REQUESTING TO BE BROUGHT UP TO 126,000.
UM, KWAME WALKER IS, UH, CURRENTLY SITTING AT 69,000.
HE'S REQUESTING TO BE BROUGHT UP TO 120,000 AND, AND LORENA'S.
AND LORENA'S CURRENTLY AT 60,000 AND SHE'S REQUESTING TO BE BROUGHT UP TO 93,000.
AND THEN WE HAVEN'T TALKED ABOUT THE WATER LOBBYIST.
SO ADAM BERKLAND, UM, HE'S ALSO, UH, SUBMITTING A REQUEST AS WELL.
UM, AND LIKE YOU SAID, HE IS PAID OUT OF THE, UH, WATER BUDGET.
UM, SO THAT'S, UH, SO EVEN THOUGH HE'S A PART OF THE STATE TEAM, HE IS NOT PAID OUT OF NON-DEPARTMENTAL.
HE'S ACTUALLY PAID OUT OF, UH, THE WATER, UM, DW BUDGETS MONEY.
[01:30:01]
HE ALSO NOW WHEN I HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON NO PROBLEM.OKAY, WELL THANK YOU FOR SHARING THAT INFORMATION.
UM, IS THERE, HEARING THOSE NUMBERS, ARE THERE ANY THOUGHTS AMONGST THE COMMITTEE OR YOU NEED TO DIGEST THAT WE'LL BE SOON DISCUSSING BUDGET? YES, KATHY? YEAH, I, I THINK THAT JUST BRINGS IT BACK TO THE POINT WE REALLY NEED TO SEE WHAT THE OTHER CITIES ARE PAYING, KIND OF WHAT THE MARKET IS AT THIS POINT.
I DON'T THINK WE WANT TO BE BELOW MARKET.
WE'RE CERTAINLY ASKING A LOT OF THEM.
UM, BUT IT'S JUST A NUMBER AND IF WE DON'T, I DON'T HAVE CONTEXT, IT'S HARD TO TELL.
AND IN, IN ADDITION TO THAT, UH, JUST BE CURIOUS TO SEE HOW OTHER CITIES ARE, UH, MEASURING SUCCESS.
THIS SOUNDS GREAT, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, IS IT MEASURED BASED ON, UM, THE NUMBER OF ITEMS WE WERE WATCHING AND THE NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT PASSED, PLUS THE TIME, THE WORK AND ALL OF THAT, BUT HOW DO YOU ACTUALLY MEASURE SUCCESS FOR THESE TYPE OF, OF ROLES AND JOBS, UH, AS WELL? YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
SO, UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT, WELL REALLY YOU HAVE TO KINDA LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF LOBBYING.
UM, THERE WAS A TIME WHERE, YOU KNOW, I CONSIDER IT, UH, IT WAS A LOT EASIER FOR US TO LOBBY 'CAUSE THE LEGISLATURE WASN'T SO ANTAGONISTIC TOWARDS US.
UM, SO THERE WERE DIFFERENT PARAMETERS OR DIFFERENT MEASURING STICKS PLACED AT THAT TIME.
UM, SINCE THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE PAST DECADE, THOSE MEASURE, A LOT OF CITIES HAVE GOTTEN RID OF THOSE PREVIOUS MEASURING STICKS.
AND SO, UH, YOU SEE IN A LOT OF THE LOBBYING CONTRACTS, INCLUDING OUR OWN, UM, IS SIMPLY THE, THE BIGGEST THING THAT MEMBERS OR THE COUNCILS HAVE WANTED TO SEE IS JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE NEED TO GET IN TO TALK TO PEOPLE, WE HAVE ACCESS.
BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND THAT, LIKE YOU SAW IN THE PRESENTATION THAT THERE IS A LOT OF ATTEMPT FROM AUSTIN TO USURP A LOT OF YOUR AUTHORITY.
SO TO GO DOWN AND SAY, HEY, WE NEED YOU TO LOBBY TO CHANGE THIS PARTICULAR BILL, WHEN THAT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT WHAT THE LEGISLATURE'S INTENDING.
I MEAN THAT, THAT, THAT ABILITY IS, IS NOT AS PREVALENT AS IT USED TO BE.
SO TO HOLD SOMEONE TO THAT IS, IS NOT REALLY FAIR, FOR LACK OF A BETTER TERM.
SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, YOU'LL SEE IN A LOT OF THE CONTRACTS, AND THAT'S SOMETHING I CAN PROVIDE TO THE COUNCIL, UM, ACROSS THE STATE AND REALLY ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT THE METRICS HAVE SHRUNK, HAVE REALLY SHRUNK TO JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ACCESS SO THAT WE CAN AT LEAST PLEAD OUR CASE.
'CAUSE AT THIS TIME, THAT'S REALLY BEEN THE BEST THAT WE CAN DO OR BEST THAT WE CAN ASK FOR AT THIS POINT.
WELL THE ONLY OTHER THING I WAS GONNA SAY ABOUT THE DOLLARS IS THAT I DO THINK IT MIGHT BE WISE TO LOOK AT A TWO YEAR CONTRACT SO THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH THE WHOLE SESSION, BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN, UM, LOOKING AT PAYMENTS SO THAT IF YOU TOOK THE TWO YEARS AND THAT EQUALED X, SO I, I DON'T WANT TO REALLY WEIGH IN ON WHAT THAT NUMBER SHOULD BE, BUT LET'S SAY IT'S X THAT PERHAPS YOU GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT A WHEN IT'S NOT IN SESSION AND YOU GET A CERTAIN AMOUNT B WHEN IT IS IN SESSION.
AND THAT WE WOULD INCLUDE SPECIAL SESSIONS TO BE THE NOT IN SESSION SINCE THEY'RE USUALLY SO SHORT AND WHILE THEY'RE SHORT AND FURIOUS, UM, YOU'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE SAME SORT OF STAMINA AND, UM, INTENSITY THAT YOU HAVE TO HAVE DURING SESSION.
AND SO WHAT I WOULD, UM, REALLY HATE TO SEE IS IF SOMEBODY WAS WITH US FOR, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE INTERIM AND THEN, OH, WE GOT TO SESSION AND THEY DUCKED OUT, RIGHT? SO WE WOULD WANNA INCENTIVIZE STAYING WITH US THROUGH THAT SESSION PERIOD AND THEN EVERYONE COULD REEVALUATE.
UM, SO I WOULD LOVE TO LOOK AT THE TWO YEAR WITH SORT OF THE DIFFERENCE IN PAY, EVEN IF IT ENDS UP AT THE SAME NUMBER JUST SO THAT WE'RE REALLY, UM, INCENTIVIZING THE BEHAVIOR WE NEED.
SO, AND THEN, OH YES, CHAIRMAN, UM, I, I KIND OF GO BACK TO WHAT CARRIE, MR. ROGER WAS TALKING ABOUT, HOW STRONGLY YOUR BENCH IS.
UM, I WOULD, IF YOU DO ANALYSIS, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IF YOU'RE GONNA COMPARE IT TO HOUSTON, SAN ANTONIO AND AUSTIN.
HOW MANY PEOPLE IS ON OUR LOBBY TEAM IN DALLAS? DO YOU, HOW SO CURRENTLY, UH, WHEN YOU INCLUDE ADAM ON THE WATER SIDE, UH, JUST FROM A CONTRACT LOBBYIST STANDPOINT, WE HAVE FOUR PEOPLE.
WHAT ABOUT ON HOUSTON SIDE AND THAT? SO HOUSTON, THE WAY THEY CONTRACT, THEY CONTRACT WITH THEIR FIRM AND THEN THEIR FIRM SUBCONTRACTS OUT.
[01:35:01]
SO THEY TYPICALLY, THEY HAVE ABOUT EIGHT TO 10 PEOPLE CONTRACT LOBBYISTS.AND THAT NUMBER CAN EBB AND FLOW THROUGHOUT THE SESSION DEPENDING ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
UM, AUSTIN DOES THE SAME THING.
UM, AUSTIN TYPICALLY HAS ABOUT, THEY PROBABLY HAVE THE MOST JUST BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE LEADERSHIP RIGHT THERE IN THEIR BACKYARD.
SO THEY HAVE PROBABLY ABOUT, UH, ANYWHERE FROM SEVEN TO 12, UH, AGAIN, DEPENDING ON WHAT IT IS THAT'S GOING ON.
UH, SAN ANTONIO, THEY'RE PROBABLY MORE COMPARABLE TO US.
UH, THEY HAVE ABOUT SIX CONTRACT LOBBYISTS, UH, FORT WORTH.
THEY EBB AND FLOW AS WELL, BUT THEY KEEP, UM, I KNOW THEY KEEP TWO ON FULL-TIME AND THEY, AND THEN THEY STAFF UP THROUGHOUT SESSION DEPENDING ON WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE.
SO THEY CAN GO FROM TWO TO, YOU KNOW, EIGHT.
I'M JUST TRYING TO GET A COMPARISON WHAT COUNCILWOMAN STOOD WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, HOW DO YOU COMPARE THAT? BUT IT'S, IT IS REALLY NOT COMPARING TO APPLE WITH APPLES, YOU KNOW, IT'S KIND OF APPLE TO ORANGES, YOU KNOW, AND WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY, WHAT OTHER CITY DOING IS IT'S DIFFERENT, YOU KNOW, SO I KNOW HOW TO DO THE COMPARISON.
SO I, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE MARKET AND BECAUSE, UH, YOU HAVE HOUSTONS WHO MIGHT HAVE EIGHT, NINE, YOU KNOW, CORPORATION, I, I I MEAN AN A FIRM TO DO IT.
YOU GOT SAN ANTONIO DIFFERENT, UH, NUMBERS AND YOU GOT YOURS.
AND UH, WHEN YOU COME, WHEN YOU COUNT ON BODIES, THAT MEAN THAT'S MORE MONEY 'CAUSE YOU GOT MORE BODIES.
YOU THROWING THAT OUT AS, UH, MS. ROGERS SAID YOU'RE PASTOR ON YOUR BENCH HERE.
SO, SO THEREFORE IT IS, IF WE GONNA LOOK AT THIS TWO YEAR CONTRACT, WE ALSO GOTTA LOOK AT HOW STRONG YOUR BENCH IS.
ARE, ARE YOU PLAYING TWO POSITION, RIGHT? YOU KNOW, YOU PLAYING QUARTERBACK AND RUNNING BACK AT THE SAME TIME, YOU KNOW, AND, AND LITTLE LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT BE PAYING PLAYING TWO POSITION, YOU KNOW, AT, AT TIME AND YOU AIN'T GETTING PAID FOR TWO POSITION OR YOUR STAFF NOT GETTING PAID FOR TWO POSITIONS.
BUT THIS TIME WITH WATER, WATER TOOK ON THAT RESPONSIBILITY BECAUSE YOU COULD NOT TAKE A RESPONSIBILITY 'CAUSE THEY HAVE MONEY 'CAUSE THEY NEED A LIBRARY DIRECTLY FOR D W.
AND YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE BENCH, UM, THE TEAMS, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE IN-HOUSE FOR OTHER CITIES, UH, THEY AVERAGE ANYWHERE FROM THREE TO FOUR PEOPLE, UH, THAT DO WHAT I DO FOR YOU GUYS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN HAS ABOUT FIVE PEOPLE.
HOUSTON HAS THREE, UH, SAN ANTONIO HAS FOUR AND I THINK THEY'RE ADDING THE FIFTH.
UM, AND COME TO THINK OF, I TALKED TO AUSTIN A COUPLE WEEKS AGO, THEY'RE ACTUALLY ADDING ANOTHER PERSON.
SO THEY'LL HAVE SIX, UH, FORT WORTH HAS TWO, MAYBE THREE.
I THINK THEY'RE GETTING, THEY'RE TRYING TO, UH, INCLUDE ANOTHER PERSON BECAUSE AGAIN, THE THE, THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF WHAT YOU DEAL WITH IN AUSTIN AND HOW YOU CAN GET BOGGED DOWN ON ONE ISSUE, UH, YOU DON'T WANT JUST ONE PERSON, YOU KNOW, IN AUSTIN.
LIKE YOU NEED SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY GET BOGGED DOWN, OTHER PEOPLE ARE STILL RUNNING TRAPS AND DOING THINGS, WORKING LEGISLATION, HELPING PEOPLE TESTIFY.
UH, AND YOU FIND THAT WHENEVER, YOU KNOW, WHENEVER WE HAVE DALLAS DAY, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, WHEN I HAVE TO STOP AND DEAL WITH DALLAS DAY, I LOVE SEEING Y'ALL, BUT SESSION IS NOT OVER
AND SO WHEN I HAVE TO COME SPEND TIME WITH YOU GUYS, THAT MEANS SOMETHING ELSE IS NOT BEING HANDLED OVER HERE.
NOW WE'VE BEEN EXTREMELY FORTUNATE THAT WE'VE BEEN KEEPING THIS, UM, UH, VERY TIGHT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WITH MY EFFICIENCY, THE EFFICIENCY THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE HAS BEEN MONUMENTAL IN THAT.
BUT AT THE SAME TIME, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE BENCH, UM, YEAH, THEY, WE, OTHER CITIES, YOU WILL SEE OTHER CITIES NOT JUST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS BUT AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT RUN WITH MORE THAN JUST ONE PERSON.
AND AND THAT'S WHY WE'RE GETTING TO THE POINT, YOU KNOW, SINCE OUR FIRST HAND, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCED THIS AND, AND, AND, AND GOING BY MS. STEWART, THANK YOU COUNCIL STEWART TO BRING IT UP, TRY AND GET A COMPARISON.
TO ME IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO SAY, HEY, GO MS CAR, GO GET A PARA COMPARISON.
YOU GOTTA LOOK AT WHAT IS THE JOB, RIGHT? WHAT IS THE SCOPE OF WORK? YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU KNOW, KINDA LIKE A QUARTERBACK, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GET HURT, YOU KNOW WHO'S THE NEXT QUARTERBACK, YOU KNOW? RIGHT? AND YOU DO WANT, TO YOUR POINT, YOU DO WANT SOMEONE THAT CAN REPLACE ME BECAUSE LET'S FACE IT, IF I GET BOGGED DOWN AND IF YOU HAVE ANOTHER PERSON DOING MY JOB, IF THEY'RE NOT DOING IT UP TO MY LEVEL, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
YOU KNOW, IF THEY'RE NOT DOING IT TO THE CHAIRMAN OR THE COUNCIL'S DESIRES, THAT'S A PROBLEM.
SO BASICALLY WHAT OTHER CITIES HAVE DONE IS THEY HAVE THREE OR FOUR OF ME DOWN THERE IN AUSTIN SO THAT NO MATTER WHAT THE ISSUE IS, THEY'RE UP TO DATE, THEY'RE ABLE TO TAKE THE PHONE CALLS LATE AT NIGHT, THEY'RE ABLE TO BRIEF COUNCIL MEMBERS, THEY'RE ABLE TO STEP IN AND REPLACE, LIKE EVERYONE BECOMES INTERCHANGEABLE SO THAT NO MATTER WHAT, YOU'RE
[01:40:01]
NOT LOSING SLACK ANYWHERE.UM, WELL ARE THERE ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LOBBYING? I THINK, UM, WE'LL GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
WE'LL FIND OUT, YOU KNOW, SORT OF A SALARY SURVEY, UM, THAT WE CAN SHARE PROBABLY BY MEMO.
AND WE'LL PROBABLY END UP DISCUSSING THIS EITHER AT OUR NEXT AD HOC, WHICH WILL BE A LITTLE BIT MORE CENTERED ON THE FEDERAL SIDE.
UM, BUT MAYBE WE CAN BRING BACK THIS DISCUSSION IF WE DON'T END UP HAVING IT, WHICH I THINK WE WILL.
UM, THEN WE CAN CERTAINLY HAVE IT AS A FULL COUNCIL AS WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE BUDGET.
AND, UM, SO I APPRECIATE YOUR TIME ON THIS.
ARE THERE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON THIS ITEM? NO.
WELL THEN IT IS 1143 AND THIS MEETING'S ADJOURNED.