OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Denton City Council Special Called Meeting – July 14, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, July 14, 2026
BodyAustin, Texas
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, July 14, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:18:41

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Thank you.

0:00

Welcome everybody to the special call meeting of the Denton City Council on July the 14th, 2026.

0:05

It's about 1.02 p.m.

0:07

I want to thank all my colleagues for being here and staff for the first real uh long meeting of the the new council since all the elections and the runoff elections have been completed.

0:16

So thank you all and uh look forward to it.

0:19

Uh we first have on the agenda uh I believe it's people who are here to comment on consent agenda item.

0:27

Do we have any comments for consent agenda items?

0:30

Seeing none, all right.

0:35

And then any comments from the council on consent agenda items.

0:38

I have a couple or any ones that are needed.

0:40

I think we're gonna pull agenda item O.

0:43

I think staff wants to pull agenda item P.

0:46

Now P is not going to have a presentation, it's being postponed to uh another okay.

0:51

And then agenda item H uh will be postponed, uh uh pulled for individual consideration.

0:58

Um that's a utility rate consent agenda item, which I just wanted to have a very brief presentation under IC.

1:06

Uh also I need to uh disclose that I will be recusing myself from an agenda item 2B.

1:14

And so at that time, uh the then mayor pro Tim Stevens will take the chair for that agenda item only.

1:19

All right.

1:20

So any clarifications from agenda items?

1:22

Yes, Councilmember Jester.

1:24

And I probably misheard you.

1:26

Um you mentioned that item H has been pulled for an independent vote.

1:31

And H is the renaming of a oh okay.

1:34

Which one, Mac was the the utility H.

1:40

Oh, H on the cons.

1:41

Well okay, H on the consent agenda, yes.

1:45

Yeah, H on the you're correct, Councilmember Jester, H on the individual items for consideration is the renaming.

1:52

But I was meaning H on the consent agenda.

1:54

And thank you for the clarification.

1:58

I think that was me, so thank you very much.

1:59

No, no, no worries.

2:00

You bet.

2:02

Any other comments or questions from council on any of the agenda items?

2:07

All right, then we'll move on to our work sessions, which are agenda item 3A, ID 26-0967.

2:16

Receive report, hold discussion, give staff direction regarding the nominations of council members to standing and ad hoc committees and other internal external groups and associated nomination appointing process.

2:27

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

2:29

Christy Fogel, Chief of Staff and Interim City Secretary, here to review the city council member appointments for the boards and commissions that you all sit on as city council members.

2:39

A little bit of background.

2:41

Uh, this process to internal and external boards, committees, and commissions occurs annually following each municipal election cycle.

2:49

There are three types of committees generally that council members serve on, the internal council committees consisting of only Denton City Council members that operate internally, internal hybrid committees, which include council members and residents, and then the external boards commissions and committees of regional and county entities where city council members serve as representatives of the city of Denton.

3:14

And while several of the external boards dictate a two-year term, committee membership and assignments are reviewed by council annually to allow for participation by new council members and to adjust assignments as needed.

3:29

The process, there are two different nomination paths.

3:33

The mayor does nominate members to the committee on the environment, which is then confirmed by council vote.

3:39

And then nearly all the other committees, any council member can put staff can put forward their nomination.

3:45

Um and then there are some where uh the bylaws of those external organizations require that it be typically the mayor who serves on that board.

3:54

We issued an informal staff report a couple of weeks ago requesting council members submit their preferred assignments.

4:00

We received all of those assignments.

4:02

Um so today, council is discussing preferences and providing direction on the formal nominations to bring forward.

4:09

The please note the community partnership committee nominations that we receive today will be on tonight's council agenda for approval.

4:18

This is to accommodate a tight meeting turnaround for their Friday, Thursday, Friday meeting this week for hot funds.

4:26

So, and all of the other nominations received today will be considered at next week's council meeting on July 21st.

4:35

So these are the three internal council committees.

4:39

They're authorized by the council rules of procedures.

4:42

They consist of three members serving at the pleasure of council.

4:45

The committee chairs are selected by the committee, typically at their first meeting following appointments, and they provide policy recommendations to council.

4:54

As you can see, the agenda committee is always uh the mayor, mayor pro tem and city manager.

5:00

So that requires no action today.

5:02

The committee on the environment nominations are received by the mayor and then confirmed by resolution by the full council.

5:09

And the community partnership committee, which is three council members.

5:18

The internal hybrid committees, these are council, these are committees that council members hold seats on, but they're also residents involved.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Fiscal Sustainability███████████████████████████████31%
Land Use and Zoning██████████████████18%
Procedural██████████████14%
Personnel Matters████████████12%
Engineering And Infrastructure██████████10%
Parks and Recreation██████6%
Economic Development████4%
Community Engagement█1%
Workforce Development█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Denton City Council Special Called Meeting – July 14, 2026

The Denton City Council held a special called meeting on July 14, 2026, beginning at 1:02 PM and reconvening after a closed session at 6:12 PM. The meeting included work sessions on committee assignments, the fiscal year 2026–27 budget, the 2023 bond program, and recruitment for city manager and municipal judge. The council also heard two-minute pitches on ethics and development policy, conducted public hearings on a tax abatement policy update and a controversial zoning request, and approved multiple ordinances and resolutions.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved, with items H (electric rate schedule), O (tennis contract), and P (postponed) pulled for individual consideration.
  • Consent items included routine approvals and were adopted 7–0 after pulling the noted items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Zoning Case (Z2518 – Denton Duplexes): Seven neighbors spoke in opposition to rezoning 0.74 acres from R3 to R7 for duplex development. Opponents cited concerns over density, parking, traffic, tree removal, and quality of life. The applicant’s tenant and a supporter spoke in favor, emphasizing affordable rental options for students. The applicant clarified the project would be market-rate, not deed-restricted affordable housing.
  • Tax Abatement Policy (2A): One speaker from the Economic Development Partnership Board expressed support for the updated policy and targeted sectors.

Discussion Items

  • Committee Assignments (3A): Council discussed and finalized nominations to internal and external committees, including the Committee on the Environment, Community Partnership Committee, Economic Development Partnership Board, and others. Staff will formalize appointments at subsequent meetings.
  • Budget Overview (3B): Amy Castlick (Chief Strategic Officer) presented the fiscal year 2026–27 budget landscape, highlighting revenue pressures (property tax, sales tax, ROI) and rising costs (staffing, animal services, EMS). The preliminary general fund budget assumes no increase in the property tax rate for operations, a one-time $1,500 COLA for employees (pending salary savings), and a 2% merit increase effective January 2027. Council requested more detailed ROI forecasting for the next utility budget discussion.
  • 2023 Bond Program (3C): Seth Garcia (Capital Projects) and Matt Hamilton (CFO) reviewed the bond program’s status, including projected tax rate impacts. The debt service rate is forecast to increase to $0.27087 per $100 valuation. Council directed staff to prepare scenarios for extending the bond program timeline and for co-locating the South Branch Library and Active Adult Center to explore potential cost savings.
  • City Manager Recruitment (3D): Megan Gilbreath (HR Director) presented options. After debate, council voted 4 in favor to proceed with a national executive search (Option 1), with the recruitment process to begin in August or September to avoid overlap with budget deliberations.
  • Municipal Judge Recruitment (3E): Council opted for an in-house recruitment (Option 3) after discussion, with plans to review resumes from current associate judges before making a direct appointment.
  • Two-Minute Pitches (3F):
    • Mayor Pro Tem Stevens: Proposal for a policy requiring council members to disclose private meetings with developers. Received consensus to advance to a work session.
    • Councilmember Ferry: Proposal to amend the city ethics ordinance to strengthen protections for employees reporting misconduct by council members. Received high priority consensus.
    • Mayor Watts: Proposal to consider a temporary moratorium on new multifamily permits. Received high priority consensus after discussion.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Agenda (excluding H, O, P): Approved 7–0.
  • Electric Rate Adjustment (Item H): Approved 7–0. The large-load energy cost adjustment increased from 6.06¢ to 6.96¢ per kWh; native load and transmission cost recovery factors unchanged.
  • Tennis Contract (Item O): Approved 7–0 after clarification that the not-to-exceed amount is based on actual revenue from services.
  • Rollins Annexation (3A): Approved 7–0 (second reading).
  • General Obligation Refunding and Improvement Bonds (3B): Approved 7–0.
  • Certificate of Obligation Bonds Series 2026 (3C): Approved 7–0.
  • Tax Abatement Policy Update (2A): Approved 7–0.
  • Zoning Case Z2518 (2B): Mayor Watts recused; council voted 6–0 to deny the rezoning to R7.
  • TMPA Board Appointment (3D): Approved 6–1 (Councilmember Ferry dissented) to reappoint Billy Cheek.
  • Community Partnership Committee Appointments (3E): Approved 7–0; councilmembers Holland, Ferry, and Villarreal appointed.
  • Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (3F): Approved 7–0 (not-to-exceed $7 million over five years).
  • DENCO 911 Board Appointment (3G): Approved 7–0 to reappoint Jim Carter.
  • Congress Street Park Naming (3H): Approved 7–0.
  • Hercules Park Naming (3I): Approved 7–0.

No official action was taken during the closed session.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Welcome everybody to the special call meeting of the Denton City Council on July the 14th, 2026. It's about 1.02 p.m. I want to thank all my colleagues for being here and staff for the first real uh long meeting of the the new council since all the elections and the runoff elections have been completed. So thank you all and uh look forward to it. Uh we first have on the agenda uh I believe it's people who are here to comment on consent agenda item. Do we have any comments for consent agenda items? Seeing none, all right. And then any comments from the council on consent agenda items. I have a couple or any ones that are needed. I think we're gonna pull agenda item O. I think staff wants to pull agenda item P. Now P is not going to have a presentation, it's being postponed to uh another okay. And then agenda item H uh will be postponed, uh uh pulled for individual consideration. Um that's a utility rate consent agenda item, which I just wanted to have a very brief presentation under IC. Uh also I need to uh disclose that I will be recusing myself from an agenda item 2B. And so at that time, uh the then mayor pro Tim Stevens will take the chair for that agenda item only. All right. So any clarifications from agenda items? Yes, Councilmember Jester. And I probably misheard you. Um you mentioned that item H has been pulled for an independent vote. And H is the renaming of a oh okay. Which one, Mac was the the utility H. Oh, H on the cons. Well okay, H on the consent agenda, yes. Yeah, H on the you're correct, Councilmember Jester, H on the individual items for consideration is the renaming. But I was meaning H on the consent agenda. And thank you for the clarification. I think that was me, so thank you very much. No, no, no worries. You bet. Any other comments or questions from council on any of the agenda items? All right, then we'll move on to our work sessions, which are agenda item 3A, ID 26-0967. Receive report, hold discussion, give staff direction regarding the nominations of council members to standing and ad hoc committees and other internal external groups and associated nomination appointing process. Good afternoon, Mayor and Council. Christy Fogel, Chief of Staff and Interim City Secretary, here to review the city council member appointments for the boards and commissions that you all sit on as city council members. A little bit of background. Uh, this process to internal and external boards, committees, and commissions occurs annually following each municipal election cycle. There are three types of committees generally that council members serve on, the internal council committees consisting of only Denton City Council members that operate internally, internal hybrid committees, which include council members and residents, and then the external boards commissions and committees of regional and county entities where city council members serve as representatives of the city of Denton. And while several of the external boards dictate a two-year term, committee membership and assignments are reviewed by council annually to allow for participation by new council members and to adjust assignments as needed. The process, there are two different nomination paths. The mayor does nominate members to the committee on the environment, which is then confirmed by council vote. And then nearly all the other committees, any council member can put staff can put forward their nomination. Um and then there are some where uh the bylaws of those external organizations require that it be typically the mayor who serves on that board. We issued an informal staff report a couple of weeks ago requesting council members submit their preferred assignments. We received all of those assignments. Um so today, council is discussing preferences and providing direction on the formal nominations to bring forward. The please note the community partnership committee nominations that we receive today will be on tonight's council agenda for approval. This is to accommodate a tight meeting turnaround for their Friday, Thursday, Friday meeting this week for hot funds.

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