[0:03] Good morning, everyone. To keep everybody on schedule, we're going to go ahead and get started.

[0:10] I'd like to introduce our mayor, Pete Kane. He has a few words for you this morning.

[0:17] Thank you, Kerry. Yes, very few words. If you see me make a speech, you know why it's not something I do.

[0:22] So I did want to come up, though, and first of all, I'd like to welcome all of our council members here today.

[0:28] Kevin Toten is here. Thank you Kevin.

[0:34] Seriously this, this what you're doing

[0:37] serving in these boards and commissions, this is one of the most important things

[0:41] you can do in a city. I know a lot of nonsense has talked and a lot of noise

[0:45] is made about the council, the mayor and all that, but you groups are what

[0:49] make the city function and run. You help us find out what we need to know.

[0:52] You show us the direction that you want to go and you're a good

[0:55] representation of the city of Annas. So I'm really thankful that you're willing to

[0:59] take time out of your schedules. I mean it's Saturday morning, right? I know

[1:02] there's things that you could be doing but you're up here and you're gonna be

[1:04] spending time with some really engaging information. I know when Clark gets up

[1:09] here, y'all get ready. It's a roller coaster ride, okay? So but again, thank

[1:14] you all for being here. We really, really appreciate you going forward. If

[1:17] there's a question that you have or something that you need that maybe your

[1:20] liaison can't help you with or staff, reach out to me. I probably won't

[1:24] be able to help you either, but I can help you find somebody that will.

[1:27] All right, so I'm going to leave here. I'm going to coffee with cops. Thank you again for being here.

[1:33] You guys have a great day.

[1:47] Computers froze up just a minute here.

[1:57] It froze up on my side.

[2:07] Okay.

[2:09] Today we're just going to talk about some priorities and updates from our city manager.

[2:16] We'll hear about the Commission's 101 Civic Clerk Overview, legal information, and we'll

[2:22] wrap up and have Commission conversations will break out into groups that meet with

[2:26] your liaisons.

[2:28] And next, I'd like to introduce you to our city manager, Ryan Henderson.

[2:39] Good morning, everybody.

[2:40] My name is Ryan Henderson.

[2:42] I have the privilege and pleasure to serve as a city manager for the city of Anna.

[2:47] Many of you have already met through Neighbor Academy, so thank you for taking the next

[2:51] step in your journey as a committed volunteer neighbor in this city to join a Boarding Commission.

[2:58] So I just want to run through a couple of slides, and some of this, if you have gone

[3:02] through Neighbor Academy, you will be somewhat familiar, it will just kind of be an organizational

[3:05] breakdown who we are and who represents you on staff.

[3:11] So a couple of years ago, this city council came up with a vision for this city, and that vision still holds today.

[3:19] It's the vision of the city of Anna being a vibrant, economically thriving community with a diversity of quality,

[3:25] transportation options, housing inventory, and destination attractions.

[3:30] Our world-class facilities, services, and infrastructure will attract residents, businesses, and visitors,

[3:35] and drive our financial stability and sustainability.

[3:38] I'm going to come back to this in a second because though this is the vision of the City

[3:42] Council, you all play a role in this as well as Board and Commission members.

[3:49] As you can see, this is a graphic.

[3:51] You'll see this throughout our city.

[3:52] You'll see these embedded, these key qualities as part of our vision for ANA, embedded through

[3:57] this organization, embedded through what we do as an organization, and this is just

[4:02] a reminder, a graphic reminder of our vision and all the vision, all the elements

[4:07] of the vision that we ask as you board and commission members to think about as you serve

[4:13] as you serve in your new role.

[4:17] Mayor Kane had the started kick this off and he introduced

[4:21] Council Member Kevin Toten. We have a seven member body as representing the City of Anna

[4:29] on the elected side. Mayor Pete Kane, Council Member Kevin Toten, Mayor Pro Tem Stan Carver,

[4:35] Council Member Jody Bills, Council Member Kelly Patterson-Herndon, Deputy Mayor Protome,

[4:40] Elden Baker, and Council Member Lee Miller.

[4:43] So these are your elected officials that serve as Council Members for the City of Anna.

[4:48] A couple of these individuals also serve as a Council Liaison to the Board and Commission.

[4:53] So what you'll find as serving on a Board and Commission, you have your staff liaison.

[4:58] We'll introduce the staff in a second.

[5:00] But you also have Council Liaisons.

[5:02] And the idea is that certain council members will come to your Board and Commission.

[5:07] They won't necessarily engage with the Board and Commission, but they'll be there to listen.

[5:12] They'll be there to answer any questions that you may have of the council, of the council's vision.

[5:17] Is the Board and Commission achieving what the council wants them to achieve, right?

[5:21] Or having the conversations and discussions that they want you to have.

[5:24] So we ask that you engage with your respective council member that serves as a Board and Commission liaison.

[5:32] And when you break off with your groups, they'll tell you who your council liaison member is

[5:39] and welcome you to have a relationship with them and kind of converse back and forth as to,

[5:45] if you feel that your board and your role in the board is meeting the needs of the council.

[5:53] So this is an organizational chart, and again, if you've done Neighbor Academy, this may

[5:56] be very familiar to you, but myself, city attorney, Clark McCoy, city secretary, Cary

[6:02] Land, and municipal court judge, Paul Liston, all have the pleasure of serving for the

[6:06] city council. We are appointed by the city council, and we serve the city council.

[6:13] The rest of this staff in this organization effectively reports up to me. So I'm in

[6:18] charge of the rest of the organization, the staff, but city attorney, city secretary,

[6:23] court judge, city manager all report directly to the mayor and the city council.

[6:29] So as you can see, this is just the breakup of the organization.

[6:34] We have two assistant city managers, Taylor Law, who is also a liaison to a board.

[6:41] And then assistant city manager Greg Peters, who if you are serving on the Plaining

[6:46] in Zoning Commission and the Parks Advisory Board, you'll get to meet Greg as he attends

[6:51] both those because Neighborhood Services, which is essentially our Parks Department

[6:56] report to Greg and the Department of Development Services, Planning Department report to Greg

[7:01] too.

[7:01] So you'll interact with him at those meetings as well.

[7:05] But essentially the, kind of put it in simple terms, our Assistant City Managers one

[7:10] oversees the internal services, the internal departments and one oversees the operational

[7:14] department, and then the budget manager, fire chief, police chief, and economic development

[7:19] director report directly to me. But this is the organizational chart. Again, you know,

[7:25] their positions and names, but hopefully over time you get to know them, you get to meet

[7:28] them, you get to develop a relationship with them, and certainly if they're your

[7:32] border commission staff liaison. So with that, we'll jump right into our staff

[7:37] liaisons for boarding commissions, and I'll ask our staff if you can just stand

[7:40] up or raise your hand. So we'll start with Planning and Zoning Commission. Development

[7:45] Services Director Stephanie Scott-Sams is in the back. That's Stephanie. And Planning

[7:50] Manager Lauren Mecky. So these are your two, these will be your two main contacts if you're

[7:54] serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission. They'll be the ones that will put together

[7:58] the agenda. They'll be the ones that present items. Again, you may see Greg Peters

[8:01] at some of these meetings, especially when it comes to infrastructure and engineering

[8:05] elements. But these are your main folks for Planning and Zoning Commission. And

[8:10] And then for Board of Adjustment, we have Nader Jerry. He's our building official. He

[8:14] works in under Stephanie Scott Sims and Development Services. Board of Adjustment meet very infrequently.

[8:20] But Nader will be the point of contact as variances come up or appeals for variances

[8:26] to our ordinances and building codes. Okay. Economic Development Corporation, Community

[8:31] Development Corporation. So Bernie Parker is our Economic Development Director. And

[8:36] Natasha Roach, our Economic Development Assistant Director, and Selena Tittle, our Economic

[8:41] Development Manager.

[8:42] So these are going to be your point of context if you serve on the EDC CDC board and get

[8:47] to know them, and again questions, concerns, comments, anything, go to them as staff liaisons

[8:54] to the boards.

[8:57] Okay, Neighbor Engagement Inclusion Advisory Commission, formerly known as our Diversity

[9:01] in Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Commission.

[9:05] Taylor Law, our Assistant City Manager,

[9:07] is the staff liaison to that board.

[9:11] Right now, she's just working solo as a solo liaison,

[9:14] but we'll have some staff,

[9:15] we'll introduce some staff to assist her on that board.

[9:18] And then Parks and Recreation Advisory Board,

[9:21] Mr. Mark Marchand, he's our Director

[9:22] of Neighborhood Services sitting in the back,

[9:25] and not here today, but you'll see him as well

[9:28] as Jeff Reath, he's our Assistant Director

[9:30] of Neighborhood Services.

[9:31] So you'll see both of those individuals work with both of those individuals if you're on

[9:35] our Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

[9:39] We have a lot of great information online and I encourage all of you, if you have not

[9:43] been online on our website, to take a look at our website and take a look at some key

[9:48] documents that we have out there.

[9:50] Many of you know Kim Wynarski as she's the lead neighbor academy.

[9:53] She's probably actually one of the first staff members you interacted with as you

[9:57] came into being involved in the city.

[9:59] She puts together, helps put together monthly reports that come out of the city manager's

[10:03] office.

[10:04] They're all housed online.

[10:05] They're wonderful documents, easy to flip through, you electronically flip through, but it gives

[10:10] a really good detailed account of what we are doing organizationally in this city every

[10:14] single month.

[10:15] We've got key data, we've got key resources, key information as to how our departments

[10:22] are progressing, who are hiring, all of that.

[10:25] And it's just a really good, don't need to go back and look at all the ones

[10:29] over the past 12 months, but maybe take a look at the ones over the past couple of months

[10:32] just to get a really good sense and a feel for what we're doing as an organization, as

[10:37] a city. And it is a lot of information. There's a lot of great information in there. We are

[10:41] very, very busy. And so it's hard to capture all of that, but Kim does a great job. And

[10:48] we're happy to be able to share that with our community.

[10:52] Also we have some previous community survey results. We'll be doing a new survey in

[10:56] in the next year, but we'll have some past survey results that we've done over the past

[11:02] two, three years. It's just a good way of kind of getting a sense for what this community

[11:05] is desirous of, what this community wants. Some of that stuff we've gone out and we've

[11:10] done. Some of that stuff we're still working towards. But it's just a good, getting a

[11:14] good sense of, okay, what is this community that now I serve as a Board and Commission

[11:19] member? What does this community want? What are they seeking? And how can my

[11:22] Boarding Commission, maybe help with that.

[11:25] And then we just have some plans on our website, our comprehensive plan, our parks master

[11:31] plan.

[11:31] You'll be familiar, you'll get familiar with those, serving as a Boarding Commission member.

[11:35] Our downtown master plan, if you're on our EDCCDC board, those are documents that we've

[11:40] worked with a consultant and our council and our staff over the past three, four

[11:45] or five years.

[11:46] Documents that still hold up today, they're online and it's a great way of familiarizing

[11:50] yourself.

[11:50] Okay, what what are the plans as we move forward? What are the some of the things that we're looking to achieve in the coming years?

[11:57] And then just some other documents on there could be some maybe dry reading, but but nonetheless important our city charter

[12:04] It's our city constitution. It talks about, you know, how we were incorporated what we what we uphold the laws that we hold

[12:12] ourselves to as an organization and as a city. Code of ordinances, those are rules and regulations

[12:18] that govern our city resolutions. Documents that have been approved by city council, agreements

[12:23] that have been approved by city council. Board bylaws, so how to act as a board, what is expected

[12:29] of you as a board member? Code of conduct. And then our governance guide. It's a guide that

[12:34] was put together by this city council about five years ago that just talked about, again,

[12:38] code of conduct, what we are expecting of elected officials, how elected officials are

[12:43] to interact with one another up at the dais, how Boarding Commission members, too, are

[12:47] to interact with one another up at the dais, kind of creating this collegiality and being

[12:54] cordial, right, being pleasant as Boarding Commission members, even when we're engaging

[12:58] on some maybe tough topics.

[13:01] And then these are our Boarding Commission.

[13:03] You know which Boarding Commission you serve on, but here are the other ones

[13:06] as we kind of ran through.

[13:07] They all serve a vital role.

[13:10] These are our Boarding Commissions today.

[13:12] They may increase in number in future years, but these are our Boarding Commissions today.

[13:17] And so again, thank you for serving in one of your capacities.

[13:22] Just also too, from time to time, we have kind of not necessarily a Boarding Commission,

[13:27] but we have other groups that get formed.

[13:29] We have City Task Force that work together that are put together sometimes to deal

[13:34] with a specific issue that doesn't necessarily need to go to a boarding commission. We have

[13:38] public workshops. I'll tell you right now, we actually have a joint task force that's

[13:43] working on an updated comprehensive plan. So if you're serving on our planning and

[13:46] zoning commission, you're going to be working with our city council on updating our comp

[13:51] plan. Very substantial. It's important. But that was a task force that was created

[13:57] to link our planning and zoning commission with our city council to work on, okay,

[14:03] how are we going to make changes to make our comprehensive plan more user-friendly, more

[14:08] developer-friendly, more community-friendly as we move forward in kind of clearing up

[14:12] some of the abstractions.

[14:16] Strategic projects and initiatives, again, we have our documents online, I encourage you

[14:21] to look at that, but I just want to emphasize that all of you really, as you've taken

[14:25] on this role as a Board and Commission member, are going to be a key member in those strategic

[14:32] projects and initiatives.

[14:33] They're linked together everything comes together. You know, I always I think of this as just we are one organizational team

[14:40] The staff our teammates with the city council board and commission members our teammates with the staff and with the city council

[14:46] I want you to think of that as as you're serving on this role that we're all here to

[14:52] represent our community

[14:54] Represent our neighbors and to help achieve those projects and initiatives that have been set out

[15:00] And before I kind of turn it over to Kerry Land and Clark McCoy to go over further information,

[15:08] I've been with the city for six years, not a huge time, not a long time, but long enough

[15:14] to have seen boards and commissions interact and to see what success looks like for a

[15:19] boarded commission. And I offer just two points of advice or two tips. As a boarded commission

[15:25] member, I encourage you not only just to be engaged and to show up to the meetings,

[15:28] But I encourage you to develop a relationship with the City Council.

[15:33] They're the ones that appointed you.

[15:35] They're the ones that interviewed you,

[15:37] that thought that you were going to bring something

[15:40] and you can bring something to our community

[15:42] by serving on a Board and Commission.

[15:45] So I just encourage you to have a relationship with the City Council.

[15:50] And have a relationship with your City Council liaison to your Board.

[15:55] Follow up with them.

[15:56] Ask them,

[15:57] Hey, is this board, am I as board member, is this board,

[16:00] are we doing what the city council wants?

[16:03] Are we on the right path?

[16:04] Are we aligned with the city council?

[16:07] Have those relationships.

[16:08] I think too often we take that for granted

[16:11] that our city council is here for you

[16:13] and they appointed you.

[16:16] You kind of almost work for them.

[16:17] You and I have something in common.

[16:19] We work for the city council.

[16:21] We're appointed by the city council.

[16:23] So have a relationship with them.

[16:25] Check in with them.

[16:26] And also develop a relationship with the staff liaison to your board.

[16:31] You know, we're here to help you, to help you meet the needs of this city council

[16:36] as you serve on a board of commission.

[16:38] But develop a relationship with our staff.

[16:41] They're the professionals.

[16:42] They've done this either in this organization or in another organization.

[16:45] As you get to know them, you'll see that they have a wealth of knowledge.

[16:48] Ask them questions.

[16:49] If you don't understand something, that's okay.

[16:51] Ask them.

[16:52] Ask our staff.

[16:53] I ask our staff all the time questions, right?

[16:55] because they have the institutional knowledge,

[16:58] they have the experience.

[16:59] So feel comfortable reaching out to them,

[17:02] emailing them, calling them,

[17:03] asking them questions about hey,

[17:05] how is this agenda put together and all of that.

[17:09] So just beyond just going to the meetings,

[17:12] be engaged with the staff liaisons

[17:15] and the council liaisons.

[17:16] And the other thing that I would just encourage you

[17:18] to think about is that nothing is too small.

[17:21] Nothing that you take on is too small.

[17:23] One of my favorite Chinese proverbs is that we plant the seeds of trees today so that the future generations can see comfort underneath the shade of its branches.

[17:34] Think about that as you do your role on a board of commission.

[17:38] Go to the meetings and you may say, well, this is a small item or this is a simple item.

[17:42] This doesn't necessarily elicit a lot of conversation or elicit a lot of thought, but it does because over time those little seeds that you guys plant as board of commissions will be trees one day.

[17:52] There'll be an impact in this community.

[17:55] When you walk in, you see our emblem, and you see 1913.

[17:58] That's when we were incorporated as a city.

[18:00] 111 years ago.

[18:02] In those 111 years, somebody like you,

[18:05] somebody like me, somebody like our staff,

[18:07] did some, came into this organization,

[18:09] came into this community, and did something small.

[18:11] But that small, that little seed that they planted,

[18:13] has become big, right?

[18:16] Park's board thought that there should be a park

[18:18] up there, and call it Slater Creek Park.

[18:21] We'll look at what Slater Creek Park is today as an example, or the home that you live in,

[18:26] the land that you live on, had to be re-zoned at one point, while our Planning and Zoning

[18:30] Commission in the past did that, right?

[18:32] So just think about that.

[18:33] Think about those, even if you think that they're small, they're big, and they'll

[18:37] make an impact in the future, so take it seriously, your role, take the meeting

[18:42] seriously, show up and participate, and more important than anything, have fun.

[18:47] This is meant to also be fun.

[18:49] It's a commitment.

[18:50] It's an important commitment, but we want you to have fun, we want you to engage, and

[18:55] we want you to feel like you are helping build out this community.

[18:57] So, with that, I am also going to join our mayor, coffee with cops, but thank you very

[19:01] much for this time and have fun.

[19:03] Give

[19:40] me just a second, I'm still trying to figure out why this isn't working for me.

[19:56] Okay.

[19:58] Today we're going to talk about, we're going to define the boards and commissions,

[20:03] your roles and responsibilities, parliamentary procedures, training resources, and code of conduct and ethics.

[20:12] So we'll try to keep this as exciting as we can, but we'll keep it going here.

[20:22] Yes, ma'am. Is it not working? What is going on?

[20:42] It's going now. It was froze up.

[20:45] Okay,

[20:57] I think we're back on track.

[21:01] Boards are defined as a group of individuals appointed to help the mayor and council make

[21:06] sound decisions in the city.

[21:08] Boards help the city council gain a comprehensive understanding of community stakes and impacts.

[21:15] So your role is very important, as Ryan said.

[21:22] Advisory boards make recommendations to council and include the P&Z, Parks, Advisory,

[21:28] and the new board, any and I, which used to be diversity and inclusion.

[21:35] Sovereign boards have authority to make decisions and include boards of adjustments and the EDC-CDC.

[21:48] You are considered a city official.

[21:51] We'll treat you as such.

[21:53] The public will treat you as such.

[21:56] Before you begin to serve on your board and commission, you must complete the oath of office,

[22:01] agree to comply with the Code of Ethics and agree to complete all required training within 90 days,

[22:07] which will be March 14, 2025. If you've already completed that training, you do not have to do it again.

[22:20] The training includes the Texas Open Meetings Act, and those certificates should be completed

[22:27] completed and sent back to me within that date of March 14th.

[22:36] You must attend 75 percent of regularly scheduled meetings during the 12-month period or forfeiture

[22:42] position and you must live inside the city limits at all times and you must comply with

[22:48] the Code of Ethics.

[22:54] Required training includes the Texas Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act.

[22:59] The TOMA is a state law and must be followed by all boards and commissions.

[23:04] The law includes all meetings, must be open to the public,

[23:08] agendas posted 72 hours prior to meeting, and a quorum must be present.

[23:13] That's four members of a seven-member board is a quorum.

[23:20] Board member duties,

[23:23] I'm sorry, Public Information Act.

[23:24] The Public Information Act or PIA allows public inspection or copies of government documents.

[23:32] As a city official, you may be a temporary custodian of public records and responsible to maintain the records.

[23:39] This applies to emails, text messages, and other information on your personal devices.

[23:46] A good solution is to send any city-related items from your personal account to the city secretary's office.

[23:53] And Clark will go over this more in detail.

[24:00] Board member duties, you have a duty to display a level of decorum, as expected from all city officials.

[24:07] Board member duties include being part of the team, being prepared before the meeting, attend the meetings and participate.

[24:18] The liaison duties, staff liaisons will post the agenda in packets and monitors attendance.

[24:24] They do much more, but that's kind of what we've got outlined.

[24:29] Council liaison encouraged the boards to remain with the city mission.

[24:37] The relationship with staff, you are a representative of the city council and your relationship

[24:43] with city staff should be a team effort working collaboratively.

[24:47] Staff may not be directed to perform work that has not been authorized by council

[24:52] and everyone is to be professional, courteous, and listen to each other.

[25:00] Parliamentary procedures is the accepted rules for meetings.

[25:07] It allows orderly deliberation, and it allows the governing body to arrive to the majority's desired action.

[25:14] You can review the parliamentary procedures in the detailed handbook you've been provided

[25:20] or online under the Boards and Commissions training page.

[25:28] When making motions, oh, I'm sorry, decorum,

[25:31] the council chairperson has discussions, keeps discussions

[25:35] focused. Only one member may speak at a time and

[25:39] must do so at a volume that can be heard by other members and attendees

[25:43] of the meeting when using a microphone speak directly into

[25:47] the microphone. There shall be no side discussion

[25:51] motion or debate during the meeting and

[26:02] all members shall observe a business casual dress

[26:05] code.

[26:12] Now making motions.

[26:14] The main motion is to clearly state the desired action of the board member.

[26:19] An example is board member states, I move to approved and I table or take no action.

[26:26] A second by another board member to the motion is required.

[26:32] Motion to table must set a definite date for reconsideration.

[26:40] Motion to take no action. A majority vote is required.

[26:48] Electing board officers is done annually.

[26:51] All boards elect a chair, a vice chair, and a secretary.

[26:55] Please be sure to review that parliamentary procedure for the roles of each officer.

[27:02] They are defined before you volunteer or before you make your appointments.

[27:11] Meeting minutes are required for all meetings and are to give the subject of each item and the vote.

[27:18] They are not to be a transcript of every word.

[27:22] They must give subject of agenda, item, decision, or other action taken.

[27:30] Approved and signed minutes are sent to City Council for review monthly.

[27:40] Notice of quorum announcements.

[27:42] A notice of quorum announcement is used for celebratory events and ribbon-cutting

[27:47] when a quorum of the Board may be present.

[27:50] Remember, events must be open to the public.

[27:52] If this is not possible, a quorum must not be present.

[27:58] Any events you are aware of send that information to the city secretary's office as quickly as you possibly can,

[28:06] but absolutely no later than 72 hours prior to the meeting or the event.

[28:16] A few other things to know.

[28:18] An individual member may not act in an official capacity except through action of the board majority.

[28:24] A board may not create a joint committee with another board unless directed by a city

[28:29] council in a formal action.

[28:32] Boards may adopt special rules and procedure as needed.

[28:36] Those rules may not be secret and must be available to the public.

[28:43] Different perspectives.

[28:45] Board commission members are passionate and typically considered experts in their fields.

[28:50] Remember to consider other points of view and don't immediately dismiss suggestions

[28:55] and never confuse your personal agenda with that that is best for the whole city.

[29:04] Additional resources and training materials you'll find on our city website

[29:09] under boards and commissions resources.

[29:13] Some items will be the guide for members of ANAS Board and Commission's strategic plans,

[29:21] city success statement, the parliamentary procedures, conflicts resolution, and the city code of ordinances.

[29:35] General website resources, you can find your agendas and minutes on our city website,

[29:41] budget, charter, land use maps, capital improvement programs, economic development,

[29:50] parks capital improvement plan. All this information is there for you. If you

[29:56] cannot locate it, contact your staff liaison. They'll help you get there.

[30:00] And

[30:04] again, here's your contact information for your staff liaison.

[30:10] If they're not on there,

[30:11] you'll meet them and they'll give you their information.

[30:17] Code of conduct and ethical standards.

[30:19] Here's some high points. We want to be a transparent and impartial government. Decision making free

[30:26] from gifts, bribes, or intimidation. Public confidence in the use of government resources.

[30:33] public faith in the fair administration of their city.

[30:36] And give attorney Clark McCoy, I will, I'm sorry, city attorney Clark McCoy will review this code of conduct and ethical standards in detail.

[30:48] Any questions so far?

[30:52] Okay.

[30:55] We're going to talk about Civic Clerk, you're going to hear Civic Clerk a lot.

[30:59] It is our gender management software.

[31:01] You will each use the software for voting.

[31:05] We'll do what's called a live vote at the meetings from here on out and we're

[31:10] going to start that in January. I am going to send you an email on Monday to

[31:17] set up your password in Civic Clerk and it does time out so if your email times

[31:24] out just shoot me another email and I'll resend it to you but you will

[31:29] need to go in set up a password and try logging in make sure everything

[31:37] This is the link to get to the boards portal where you will see the meeting agendas, packets, and minutes.

[31:49] You will go in and you will click Agenda Review.

[31:54] You can select your meetings and view the agenda and business packet.

[31:59] You're also able to make notes in the software that can only be seen by you, so they are confidential.

[32:10] And the biggest help I can give you is the Help Center.

[32:15] This is for training videos and information,

[32:19] and you can visit that at any time in the top right drop-down menu.

[32:28] Joining the meeting and roll call.

[32:30] To join the current meeting, you will select joint meeting,

[32:33] join meeting and present voting, present voting,

[32:37] and be sure you select save.

[32:40] Sometimes we forget to select save,

[32:42] and you're not actually joined.

[32:48] Voting, once voting is initialized,

[32:51] you will select yes or no and save.

[32:55] Your vote will be visible on the overhead screen

[32:57] once all votes have been cast.

[33:01] Signing in and voting is as easy as that.

[33:04] Any questions on that?

[33:09] We will make it even easier.

[33:11] We're going to have cheat sheets available for you

[33:13] up here at the Dias,

[33:14] so you can reference that

[33:17] and not have to memorize it right this minute.

[33:25] Any questions on anything right now?

[33:28] Okay, yes ma'am.

[33:32] Yes, the last page in your blue binder.

[33:35] Not everybody got a folder.

[33:36] That folder is for the newly appointed,

[33:40] but we will have the sheets laminated

[33:42] and nice and pretty at the board, at the diast.

[33:54] Yes, you will.

[33:59] That's correct.

[34:01] And you have to have your password to join the meeting.

[34:05] So however you can remember it, select something you can remember.

[34:10] Or you won't be able to vote at the meeting.

[34:13] And we'll massage through any issues we have going forward.

[34:23] Okay, we're going to take a quick 10 minute break.

[34:26] Let y'all get up, stretch your legs.

[34:28] Restrooms are down the hall here.

[34:30] We have refreshments that Kim has wonderfully went and picked up for everybody.

[34:37] and you can kind of mingle and get to meet people,

[34:39] and then later on we will separate out into the different boards and commissions

[34:43] and go to separate rooms so that you can meet your liaisons and get to know each other.

[34:50] Thank you. We'll be back in 10 minutes.

[35:02] It started. We're going to get back going, so we keep everybody on time.

[35:08] I know there's the Christmas Parade tonight to get us going.

[35:19] I'd like to introduce our city attorney, Clark McCoy.

[35:22] He's going to go over and give you the legal advisory and go into detail and ethics and conflicts of interest.

[35:56] Good morning.

[36:00] I'm Clark McCoy, and I'm the city attorney, and this is the legal advisory.

[36:07] First, congratulations to everyone on your appointments, and thank you for your service to the city of Anna.

[36:13] I'm

[36:19] just going to start off with a discussion about the general structure, the legal structure

[36:24] of the city.

[36:26] The city has a home rule charter.

[36:29] Like most cities in Texas, there are over 5,000 in population.

[36:33] The voters adopted a charter that essentially acts like a constitution.

[36:40] It's the legal framework for how the city operates, how things get done, how business

[36:46] is conducted. There's a lot of rules. It's detailed and there's some prohibitions. We're

[36:54] going to be going over some of those today in this presentation. The Charter has got

[37:00] the full effect of law, just like a city ordinance. The big difference is the council

[37:09] council adopts ordinances. But the charter is adopted by the voters. The council does

[37:16] some work along with staff putting together charter provisions. There's outreach to the

[37:22] community. There's a charter commission of the community that gets appointed to go over

[37:27] the charter every few years and make suggestions for changes. But none of those changes

[37:33] ever get adopted unless there's an election and all of the city's voters

[37:39] get an opportunity to accept or reject those changes.

[37:51] Anna has what's called the

[37:53] council manager form of government, composed of city manager Ryan Henderson

[38:00] who spoke earlier and the city council. The council adopts policies through

[38:09] ordinances, resolutions, and other actions that they take up here on the Dias.

[38:18] The City Manager executes those policies, and there's a chain of command.

[38:25] Council members form the overarching direction, goals, policies of the City of Anna, and

[38:37] And staff, under the city manager, executes those policies,

[38:44] and there's a clear division

[38:45] there.

[38:47] So the city manager, Henderson, does not have the authority to adopt the city's policies,

[38:57] and the council really doesn't have the authority to execute those policies.

[39:04] keep that division, counsel, adoption policies, but they don't reach down into the departments.

[39:14] The city has departments that are staffed by employees and there's a chain of command.

[39:19] And that chain of command goes up through workers, to managers, supervisors, department heads,

[39:26] and ultimately the city manager who makes employment decisions

[39:30] And other decisions that have to do with executing city policy and day-to-day operations of the city.

[39:37] Council members don't delve into that.

[39:40] That's a chain of command that goes up and ends with the city manager,

[39:44] and the city manager reports to the council.

[39:47] It's a good concept.

[39:50] It's important to understand that concept as the city official.

[39:55] Now that you've been appointed to serve on a board or a commission, the same sort of

[40:00] concept applies to you.

[40:03] So while you will have some discussions with some city employees, there are some rules

[40:15] and some prohibitions that we want to.

[40:24] We are going to start with the ethics code.

[40:29] This is Article 2.07 in the city code.

[40:32] The city code, by the way, it's online, you go to the city's website, you can navigate

[40:38] to the code of ordinances.

[40:40] If you ever need to reference the ethics code, it's there and it's available in full.

[40:48] We're going to go over some of the highlights.

[40:55] The first rule is as a city official, as a board or commission member,

[40:59] you cannot represent private interests before your board.

[41:03] You sit on the board, you're at the dais, but you're not coming up and representing anybody else, any third parties before the board.

[41:19] Confidential information is critical, especially for members of the development corporations, but also other boards on occasion.

[41:33] Development corporations are privy to confidential information on a regular basis in the course

[41:43] of their duties in evaluating business deals, economic development,

[41:53] folks that are proposing

[41:54] development to the city.

[41:59] sometimes they have that confidential information, they get supplied with before the city council does.

[42:07] It just depends on where the information is coming from and who's presenting that.

[42:15] It's critical that two things, that nobody uses their city position to get confidential information

[42:24] that they're not entitled to or that they don't need to execute their duties as a city official.

[42:31] If it goes beyond your need to know in order to do your job as a city official,

[42:37] then you shouldn't be asking for that information, you shouldn't be accessing it.

[42:43] Once you do have confidential information you gained through your duties as a city official,

[42:50] you cannot disclose that confidential information.

[42:53] And that's essentially any information

[42:55] that the general public does not have.

[42:57] And you have only because you've received it

[42:59] only because of your duties as a city official.

[43:04] As a practical matter, disclosing confidential information

[43:07] can have a lot of negative impacts,

[43:11] especially when it comes to business

[43:15] and development decisions

[43:18] that the city is trying to negotiate and it's not public information, it needs to stay private.

[43:29] Public property and resources of the city is exclusively for the purposes of the municipality

[43:41] and public purposes, but not private purposes, not for your own purposes.

[43:47] So, anything, any public resources, employees,

[43:54] property that's owned by the city can only

[43:58] be used for city purposes.

[44:06] Interaction with city staff, so you are going to act, you're going to interact with city

[44:12] staff from time to time, but normally it's limited to, typically it's the department

[44:19] head that is the employee liaison to your board or commission and again you

[44:26] want to avoid reaching beyond that. Under the ethics code the general rule is

[44:33] that city officials are not to have contact with city employees especially

[44:38] when it comes to city business. So you don't want to be reaching into a

[44:43] department talking to employees directing them to do things or not do

[44:48] things, trying to execute. You need to stay back in the policy position, and if you have

[44:55] to ask questions, if you need information, you go to the department head.

[45:00] For any reason, that's not available to city manager. So you want to keep those communications

[45:04] at a high level. There would be times, possibly, that a city manager might direct you to someone

[45:10] else to get information that you need. But you need to go through that process and stay

[45:15] with that chain of command and don't do it without their permission.

[45:26] There are exceptions

[45:27] in terms of communications with city employees. If you have advanced written permission from

[45:32] the city manager. Then you can communicate with the city employee during

[45:41] a public meeting.

[45:42] If you're sitting on a board or commission, of course the city employee may be at the

[45:48] podium presenting information to you and you can ask them questions and interact with

[45:53] them in a public meeting. If there are social or community events that you're attending,

[46:00] You can exchange pleasantries, you can get information,

[46:05] coffee with cops, be an example.

[46:08] You're going to be talking to the community in general,

[46:11] and you're not prohibited from being there and participating.

[46:17] And other examples include contacts with city staff

[46:21] that you would normally have just as a citizen.

[46:23] You come into the city hall, you pay your water bill, that sort of thing.

[46:26] But when it comes to your charge, your duties as a city official and the business that you're

[46:34] dealing with, again, you want to keep those communications at the high level.

[46:41] Not try to influence any city employees.

[46:53] A number of years ago, the council extended their harassment policy to include boards

[47:01] and commissions and that essentially includes harassment in general, sexual harassment,

[47:12] any act of violence or bullying in the workplace. So all of those provisions that are in the

[47:19] personnel manual do apply to board and commission members. Yes.

[47:29] Yes, I'm sorry. Is that better?

[47:30] Again,

[47:37] just be familiar with that set of policies as far as harassment and violence in the workplace.

[47:47] Kerry's got that, and I believe that may be in the general packet that is provided to Board and Commission members.

[47:57] We're going to move to state law conflicts of interest and start with Chapter 176, which pertains to vendors.

[48:09] Vendors being businesses or individuals who have contracts with or provide goods or services

[48:18] to the city or they're seeking to provide goods or services to the city.

[48:26] If you have a business relationship with anybody who's a vendor for the city,

[48:32] then you have to make a conflict disclosure statement in writing.

[48:37] That gets filed with Kerry's office, the city secretary, and it gets published on the website.

[48:44] The deadline to file that is seven business days after you become aware that you have a conflict,

[48:52] and both the city official and the vendor have to file a statement.

[49:01] That doesn't require you, though, to recuse from the matter.

[49:05] you can still participate. You can still vote. Let's just say, for example, it's your employer

[49:13] and they have a contract with the city. They also employ you. That would rise to the level

[49:20] of a 176 conflict. You'd have to file an affidavit, but when that employer, when your

[49:27] employer is here dealing with the city and the city council or your board is going

[49:32] to vote on whatever matter they have before the city, you can still participate, you can

[49:38] discuss it, you can vote.

[49:42] However, if you fail to timely file an affidavit,

[49:48] when you have

[49:49] some kind of relationship with a vendor, whether it be business or family, or you've

[49:55] received gifts from a vendor,

[50:01] and you don't timely file

[50:06] affidavit, there can be hefty

[50:11] fines up to $4,000, removal from office, and even jail time.

[50:19] So if you've got a business relationship or a family

[50:22] relationship with anybody who's got business before the city,

[50:30] if you have any doubts about that whatsoever,

[50:32] contact Kerry or Ryan or myself as soon as you possibly can.

[50:39] Don't wait.

[50:39] Don't wait until the date of the meeting.

[50:41] don't wait until seven days have gone by, do it as soon as you know because

[50:47] sometimes there will be additional elements that we have to address or

[50:50] advise you on. Sometimes it turns out you don't actually have a conflict, but

[50:55] we we have to run those down and the more time we have to do that the better

[51:02] so that we're less likely to miss something in the process. Yes,

[51:15] yes it's

[51:16] published on the website, on the city's website.

[51:23] Not unless somebody just chooses to mention

[51:25] it.

[51:30] They could find it on the city's website. They could make a public information request.

[51:36] And we're going to talk about public information requests as well.

[51:54] Moving to chapter 171, the

[51:57] local government code. This is also a state law conflict of interest. But this is

[52:04] somewhat different. This is if you have a special economic interest in the subject

[52:14] matter or decision that's before a councilor board. And if you have a

[52:24] special economic interest, which is essentially for a business you own 10% or

[52:31] the voting stock or shares, or 10% or more, or 15,000 or more of the fair market value

[52:37] of the company. Or if you receive an excess of 10% of your gross annual income over the

[52:45] previous year from that company, then you would have a special, you would have a business

[52:52] interest, a substantial interest in a business. Or if you own a real property in a value

[53:00] of more than $2,500 and that real property is the subject of the decision by the city

[53:09] or a board or your real property would be, the value would be influenced by a decision

[53:16] involving some other property or some other decision being made by the city, you would

[53:21] also have a substantial interest in real property.

[53:24] If you have a substantial interest in business entity or real property, then you'll have

[53:31] to decide whether the decision that's being made with respect to that property or that

[53:38] business has a special economic effect or it could have a special economic effect

[53:44] that could change the value or interest that you have, whether it might increase or decrease

[53:51] that interest.

[53:51] If those elements are present, then you have to file an affidavit.

[53:56] It's a little bit different than the disclosure state when we talked about chapter 176.

[54:02] But you would have to file an affidavit, and in this case, under 171, you would have to recuse yourself.

[54:10] So when the matter would come up, you would, generally speaking, stand,

[54:17] announced that you have a Chapter 171 conflict and then leave the room while

[54:23] that item is being addressed by the council or your commission. So in that

[54:30] instance it is announced as opposed to the Chapter 176 situation.

[54:39] And again, that

[54:40] has to be done quickly. Don't wait. Don't delay. Get with one of us as soon as

[54:46] Or if you even think you have any reason to doubt that you might have a conflict, take

[54:55] care of that early so that we have enough time to give you good advice on what your

[55:01] next steps would be.

[55:09] Same sort of penalties apply for failure to file an affidavit and it includes potential

[55:19] jail time and

[55:26] fines.

[55:27] and fines.

[55:39] We talked about state law conflicts of interest, there are also conflicts of interest contained

[55:44] in the city charter.

[55:48] As a city official, you cannot have any financial interest in a contract with the city or have

[55:54] business dealings with the city, direct or indirect.

[55:58] direct.

[56:01] If you have a conflict, you have to openly declare it. You have to not participate

[56:09] in the discussion and not vote on that item.

[56:18] Gifts under state law cannot accept any gift

[56:23] if it's going to have some type of influence on your decision making as a city official.

[56:32] And that's any type of benefit.

[56:38] A gift includes accepting employment.

[56:43] It includes any kind of tangible property or intangible value or benefit.

[56:54] Under the charter, you cannot accept any gift, service, favor.

[57:01] Again, employment, personal investments.

[57:05] You really have to avoid accepting anything of value at all while you're a city official.

[57:13] There are some exceptions.

[57:15] You can attend social functions, groundbreaking, exchange gifts with family relatives.

[57:23] You can receive campaign contributions if you're running for office.

[57:27] You can exchange gifts at church functions or receive a bonus from your full or part-time

[57:34] employer.

[57:35] But beyond that, under state law and the Charter, you are required to avoid accepting any gifts.

[57:46] Penalties, again, removal from office under the Charter, and if it's a violation of

[57:53] state law, there could be hefty fines.

[57:58] Beyond the scope of this are what may seem kind of obvious in terms of criminal violations, bribery,

[58:06] perjury, corrupt influence, obstructing government. Those are chapters in the penal code. You can

[58:13] look those up online and become familiar with them, but essentially those are crimes of moral

[58:18] that involved disonesty and

[58:27] governmental malfeasance.

[58:35] Questions on ethics, conflicts or gifts.

[58:50] Kerry covered some of this as far as the Open Meetings Act.

[58:57] This is really all about transparency.

[59:00] The public has the right to know how the government is working.

[59:05] It wasn't always like that.

[59:07] The Open Meetings Act was something that evolved over time.

[59:12] It's been amended many times, and the legislature is very focused on requiring local government

[59:21] and local government entities to act transparently to try to facilitate faith

[59:32] and good relations with the public and their public institutions.

[59:39] Carey mentioned the video. You've got to take the video training, both for Open Meetings Act and Public Information Act, the deadline is March 14th and next year.

[59:50] Generally speaking, the Act requires 72 hours notice.

[1:00:00] Making the subject matter of that agenda, the date, time, and place, where that meeting

[1:00:04] will take place. And if you don't have that duly noticed public meeting notice, then you

[1:00:10] cannot meet in numbers of more than a quorum. Quorum typically is going to be four persons.

[1:00:19] If you've got a seven-member board, it's just a majority. A simple majority of the

[1:00:23] board members is a quorum. Once you're meeting in groups of a quorum or more, that is a meeting

[1:00:31] under the Open Meetings Act. It's defined as a meeting. It's characterized by deliberation,

[1:00:37] debate, discussion on public business.

[1:00:43] But it can also happen outside of a meeting.

[1:00:49] And that's what it's sometimes referred to as a walking quorum.

[1:00:55] First, some exceptions

[1:00:56] where a quorum of the governing body or Board of Commission can meet is social functions,

[1:01:08] regional state conventions, ceremonial events, press conference.

[1:01:15] But that's only if no formal action is taken in any discussion about city business

[1:01:21] or your board or commission's business is incidental to whatever event you may be attending.

[1:01:30] The walking quorum can happen when there's a so-called daisy chain situation.

[1:01:39] There's not a quorum necessarily, together, physically in one place.

[1:01:44] A council member or a city official could speak with another official about city business

[1:01:50] or some item that's going to be coming up and one of those individuals could then email

[1:01:56] a third individual, that individual could pick up the phone and call a fourth individual

[1:02:01] on that board or commission and then you possibly have a walking quorum and that's a violation

[1:02:09] of the Open Meetings Act that can also result in prosecution, fines and jail time.

[1:02:20] You have to know at the time that you're conducting these communications that you're attempting to subvert the purpose of the Open Meetings Act.

[1:02:32] The prosecutor would have to prove that you were intentionally and knowingly having those communications to avoid having an open meeting transparent to the public.

[1:02:45] And

[1:03:05] these are the penalties that can result in fines, jail time, and I find these provisions

[1:03:15] somewhat interesting that if there's a jail sentence, it has to be not less than a month.

[1:03:23] So if somebody is convicted of a violation of the Open Meetings Act, they are going

[1:03:27] to prison for at least a month.

[1:03:31] The judge doesn't have discretion.

[1:03:32] It's not like the judge could find it.

[1:03:35] Well, the violation wasn't that blatant, so I'm going to commute the sentence.

[1:03:39] That's not how it works.

[1:03:40] So take it seriously.

[1:03:42] It's important to make sure that you're abiding by these state statutes.

[1:03:54] Any questions about the Open Meetings Act?

[1:04:05] Last but not least, the Public Information Act.

[1:04:10] I didn't use to say much about this at these orientation settings

[1:04:14] is because in the past, the Public Information Act is really something that city staff deals

[1:04:20] with. And they still do on an ongoing operational basis. There's a lot to it. It's very complex.

[1:04:29] You have the Public Information Act itself, which gets into a lot of detail about what's

[1:04:35] confidential, what must be disclosed if somebody requests information, what must be with

[1:04:41] held, but it's not just the act itself.

[1:04:46] Texas statutes are riddled with outside references

[1:04:51] to information that may or may not be public under the act. And so we spend a lot of time

[1:05:00] with staff, Carey's office sorting through all of those things. And it used to be that

[1:05:08] city officials didn't even really need to have training under the Public Information

[1:05:12] Act, but they amended it a few years back so that now you are potentially what they

[1:05:21] call a temporary custodian.

[1:05:25] If you have information that involves city business, your board or commission, and that

[1:05:32] could be an email from a citizen talking about city business, asking you questions

[1:05:38] about what's going on with your board or commission

[1:05:41] or an item that's coming up at a meeting.

[1:05:45] That's public information,

[1:05:46] and it doesn't matter where it resides.

[1:05:49] Whether it's on your phone, your personal phone,

[1:05:54] or your city email address if you have one,

[1:05:58] or your home computer,

[1:05:59] or another device that you have control over.

[1:06:03] If you have it, you're a temporary custodian,

[1:06:06] which makes you subject to all of the rules that Carrie and I normally have to deal with,

[1:06:13] sort through, and worry about in handling public information requests.

[1:06:19] And there are document retention schedules, deadlines, time periods within which we have to preserve materials.

[1:06:32] If you're a temporary custodian, you suddenly have to abide by all of those rules and regulations.

[1:06:39] And there's stiff penalties for failing to do so.

[1:06:44] So it's not easy to navigate that.

[1:06:52] It's a lot better to avoid becoming a temporary custodian.

[1:06:57] And I think the best way to do that is to send information to the city, whatever it

[1:07:04] may be, on a regular basis, then you're no longer the custodian.

[1:07:10] So if you get an email from somebody and it discusses city business, if you have your

[1:07:17] own city email address, just forward it to that address, now it's on the city servers

[1:07:23] and somebody else is the custodian because you're no longer the exclusive person who

[1:07:29] possesses it.

[1:07:33] If you don't have a city email address I think Kerry has or can set up a kind

[1:07:40] of a generic email address that is sort of a repository that you can send information,

[1:07:47] information, email, even text messages are included as far as public information is concerned.

[1:07:55] So if you have a neighbor and they've got an issue before you're bored and they text

[1:07:59] you at some point, ask questions about it or want you to get information, that text

[1:08:04] message itself is public information and parts or all of that might have to be disclosed

[1:08:13] to an individual requesting that information.

[1:08:15] Part of the reason why they changed the law

[1:08:17] is because there was too much out there

[1:08:20] that the city couldn't have access to,

[1:08:23] couldn't even know necessarily existed.

[1:08:27] And so that's why they transferred that responsibility

[1:08:31] onto individual, whether it be employees,

[1:08:36] city official, board, commission members.

[1:08:41] You now have that extra responsibility

[1:08:43] under the Public Information Act.

[1:08:45] So we strongly urge that you forward that information

[1:08:49] to the city in some form or fashion,

[1:08:52] and then you can walk away from that responsibility

[1:08:55] as being a temporary custodian.

[1:08:58] Yes.

[1:09:10] Yes, it is public information.

[1:09:12] Public information is really anything

[1:09:17] that involves city business

[1:09:21] and that the city has in writing.

[1:09:26] So social media would count.

[1:09:29] It's a written record.

[1:09:31] If it's spoken words that have not been recorded,

[1:09:35] that is not public information.

[1:09:38] It has to be in some shape or manner,

[1:09:40] either in writing or recorded on some kind of media.

[1:09:45] So a recording, an audio recording, video recording,

[1:09:48] that is public information.

[1:09:52] There's a series of exceptions that allow cities to withhold

[1:09:56] or require cities to withhold certain information that would otherwise be public. That's a big

[1:10:02] part of what we do is we assess when we get an information request to the extent there's

[1:10:09] content in those documents that must be withheld. So it's very common that we will

[1:10:16] be disclosing information, but sometimes it's redacted, parts of it are confidential, parts

[1:10:21] of it. We can't disclose people's driver's license. We can't disclose people's social

[1:10:27] security numbers. But there's hundreds of different exceptions that we have to keep

[1:10:34] up with. If you transfer information to the city, so now the city has an exact duplicate

[1:10:43] or whatever that is. Don't alter it. Don't do it partially because then you're altering

[1:10:49] a record. Send the whole thing. And then you've discharged your duty.

[1:11:03] Correct.

[1:11:10] That's

[1:11:11] a good example and it's a wise policy is to make sure somewhere or another it's getting

[1:11:18] into the city's files.

[1:11:25] Questions on Public Information Act or any other topics?

[1:11:34] Okay.

[1:11:35] Thank you very much for your time. Yes.

[1:11:42] If it's what?

[1:11:56] If you have concerns or questions

[1:11:59] or a citizen?

[1:12:02] Oh, okay.

[1:12:05] Yeah. Carrie would probably be the person that you would refer

[1:12:12] that too. If someone's just got a question, hey, how does this operate? When do these

[1:12:18] people meet? What's the normal procedure for whatever it may be?

[1:12:25] You can refer them to

[1:12:27] the city secretary. If it's something really specific toward your board or commission, then

[1:12:33] you might refer them to your liaison, your council liaison, or your department head

[1:12:39] liaison. But generally speaking, Kerry's office handles the flow of information and provides

[1:12:50] information when requested.

[1:12:57] Rule of thumb is,

[1:13:00] as a city official, it's usually better to

[1:13:05] make folks understand that you're only one voice or only one vote and that you're not

[1:13:13] speaking for the city in general and you're not providing

[1:13:19] Representations being made on behalf of the city. It's just I'm one person. I'm one vote if you need a more official answer

[1:13:28] Go talk to the city secretary or the city manager

[1:13:37] questions

[1:13:40] Concerns

[1:13:59] I know that was a lot of information that y'all have taken in today

[1:14:04] We have this beautiful new handbook

[1:14:08] that I'd like to introduce Kimberly Warnarski,

[1:14:11] and she's gonna go through this book

[1:14:13] since she put it together,

[1:14:14] and this is gonna be a great resource and tool for you.

[1:14:24] So just briefly, over the past five years,

[1:14:27] I'm sure y'all are aware

[1:14:28] that the city has grown quite a bit.

[1:14:31] With that, our boards and commissions

[1:14:32] have gone from a process in which you learn a lot

[1:14:35] because there are so few of you

[1:14:37] that you know the council, that you interact with them

[1:14:40] to something that's, you know,

[1:14:41] with so many more people, so many more boards,

[1:14:44] so many more action items that are going

[1:14:46] through the different boards that,

[1:14:47] there's a lot more information that you have to know.

[1:14:50] So in 2021, we created the Boards and Commissions Orientation.

[1:14:54] In the same year, we created Neighbor Academy,

[1:14:57] which is one of the,

[1:15:00] One way to get involved and learn a little bit more about the city as a whole.

[1:15:04] This year we added in a boards and commissions handbook because we know that being a boards

[1:15:09] and commissions member, we're giving you a lot of information, we're giving you a lot

[1:15:12] of resources. We're trying to put it all in one place so that you have what you need

[1:15:17] to refer to if you've got questions, if you've got general ideas, things like that

[1:15:25] to review and look through.

[1:15:27] So this is our first iteration of the handbook.

[1:15:30] It's broken into four parts.

[1:15:32] Parts one and two.

[1:15:33] One is on city information.

[1:15:34] So if you want to know a little bit more

[1:15:36] about the structure of the departments,

[1:15:40] what each department is responsible for,

[1:15:42] where the city puts out information.

[1:15:45] Sometimes we'll get boards and commission members

[1:15:46] who'll say, hey, I've never heard about that.

[1:15:48] And so I want to have all those things in one place.

[1:15:50] Where can you find that information?

[1:15:53] The second part is just a little bit of community information, so a little bit on some of our

[1:15:58] big community partners like TechSoc, Collin County, the school district, what they're

[1:16:02] responsible for, what the city's responsible for.

[1:16:05] Sometimes we'll get people coming in and say, hey, is this, you know, the city should

[1:16:08] do something?

[1:16:09] It's like, well, that's not necessarily within our jurisdiction.

[1:16:12] So it also gives you a little bit of information on, you know, some general community culture

[1:16:17] and events as well as background information on some demographics of the city population.

[1:16:26] The second and third or the third and fourth parts, excuse me,

[1:16:28] of this handbook are most relevant, but every part is something that,

[1:16:32] as a boards and commission member, something that you should know.

[1:16:35] But part three is general background information on our boards and commissions,

[1:16:40] so what each board and commission is charged with,

[1:16:44] with, what all the positions on a board do specifically, so whether it's the chair, the

[1:16:49] vice chair, potentially the secretary, the staff and the council liaison written out,

[1:16:55] broken down, talking about the intention of the minutes, the agendas, speaks a little

[1:17:01] bit about whether meetings are recorded and kind of why all these things are the way

[1:17:06] that they are.

[1:17:07] And then the last part of it is the Code of Conduct, and so there are a lot of

[1:17:11] different places where you can get information on how you are theoretically supposed to act

[1:17:15] as a Board of Commission member, so whether it's our Code of Ethics, whether it's our,

[1:17:20] you know, reference in our city charter, either a couple parts of our employee handbook that

[1:17:24] tie in, put as much of that information and reference it as we could in this handbook

[1:17:30] so that it's all in one place. It's not something you have to necessarily go

[1:17:33] and search, but it's there for you so that you understand, you know, okay. This

[1:17:39] This is my kind of one-stop shop in this document for understanding kind of the role of a Board

[1:17:46] and Commission member, all the important stuff.

[1:17:49] If you've got any questions about it, you know, feel free to let us know.

[1:17:54] But please take some time, read this, look through it, understand it.

[1:17:59] As a Board and Commission member, you are a public official, you are a leader in

[1:18:04] the community, and you should be one of the most informed neighbors going into your service.

[1:18:10] So take this document as a resource and a great platform for being able to do that.

[1:18:17] With that being said, I believe we're breaking out into the different boards and commissions

[1:18:21] now.

[1:18:23] So I will have the different liaisons if you could stand up and then kind of migrate

[1:18:31] together.

[1:18:32] Stephanie Scott Sims is in the back, so if you will, if you're with planning and zoning,

[1:18:37] if you will head, are you taking board of adjustments too?

[1:18:42] Got it.

[1:18:43] All right, so if you are, board of adjustments are planning and zoning, make note, Stephanie

[1:18:48] is this way, you'll be staying in this room.

[1:18:51] Mark Marshawn is back in the corner over there.

[1:18:55] Mark, do you know what room you're headed to?

[1:18:59] Got it.

[1:19:01] Sounds good. If you are in Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, if you'll meet Mark by the

[1:19:05] door over here. Bernie, hello. Alright, so if you are in Economic Development, the EDCCDC

[1:19:14] boards, if you'll meet Bernie right there. If you are in Neighbor Engagement and Inclusion,

[1:19:20] if you'll meet Taylor and you'll head that way, I don't think I'm forgetting anyone.

[1:19:34] Alright, thank you all so much.

[1:19:35] Real

[1:19:40] quick, if you did not sign in this morning, please come do so so you get credit for attending.

[1:19:45] Thank you. Y'all have a great day.

Dec 14, 2024 Boards and Commissions Orientation

Agenda

Transcript