OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - April 21, 2026

City Council — Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BodyIdaho Falls, Idaho
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, April 21, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 36:05

Transcript — Verbatim
0:02

All right.

0:03

Welcome as I call the order to order the April 21st regular city council meeting.

0:08

Time is 6 p.m.

0:10

Rise with me as I offer the invitation to leave by the least.

0:17

Privately father.

0:19

Bless us as we consider the agenda in front of us tonight.

0:21

Give us the wisdom to act with compassion and vision for what's best with community.

0:25

Bless and watch over our public safety officers and the community they serve.

0:29

In your name we pray.

0:30

Amen.

0:32

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

0:36

And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God.

0:46

All right, I'll turn the time over to the Secretary of Roll Call and Certification of Quarum.

0:50

Mayor Scott Bradley?

0:51

Mayor Pro Tim and Elizabeth Abraham?

0:53

Here.

0:54

Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Janae Butler?

0:56

Here.

0:56

Councilmember Place 2, Scott Smith.

0:58

Here.

0:59

Councilmember place three, Andrew Chase.

1:02

Councilmember place for Ken Oldman?

1:04

Here.

1:05

Councilmember place five Laura Deal?

1:07

Here.

1:07

Mayor certified the presence of a quorum.

1:09

Very good.

1:11

All right.

1:13

With that, we're going to move on to public comments.

1:16

Oh.

1:17

Yeah.

1:17

This is the time we set aside on the agenda.

1:19

It allows residents to address council and item not on the agenda this evening.

1:25

I have one public comment form.

1:28

Mr.

1:28

Little, you want to come down and talk to us today.

1:38

Welcome and I hope you're staying dry.

1:41

Thank you.

1:42

Maynard Little, 1004, St.

1:45

Mark Drive.

1:47

Good evening.

1:51

In four of the previous or four previous council meetings, I have requested a meeting with each of you so you can explain the critical thinking and data used to support your approval of the stormwater fee increase.

2:04

Only one of you has contacted me and met with me.

2:08

I've requested a meeting with the city manager and the finance director to no avail.

2:14

The absence of a response from most of you confirms of lack of transparency.

2:19

Two council members, Ms.

2:20

Deal and Mr.

2:21

Chase are running for re-election and have opposition.

2:24

Neither of you have agreed to meet with me.

2:28

Mr.

2:28

Chase, you have never responded to any of my numerous emails that I've sent you.

2:36

Please explain why a resident should vote for either of you.

2:40

Isn't addressing concerns of residents one of the responsibilities of a council member?

2:46

Isn't being transparent regarding any city matter a responsible of a member?

2:54

I believe that none of you can justify your approval of the fee increase because none of you did any due diligence regarding it.

3:04

The increase is simply not needed.

3:06

Isn't it another council member responsibility to evaluate each and every tax or free increase to ensure that all data used is reasonable?

3:19

Perhaps you recall that at the June 17th, 2025 council meeting, I questioned the stormwater fee study that was presented to council in May.

3:30

I noted that the estimates used for the study contained inflated up unstamped substantiated expenses while emitting additional future revenue and the fund balance.

3:43

One line in particular was very anomalous, drainage improvements.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Racial Profiling█████████████████████28%
Engineering And Infrastructure████5%
Fiscal Sustainability███4%
Community Engagement███4%
Summary of Proceedings

Murphy City Council Regular Meeting - April 21, 2026

The City Council of Murphy, Texas, held a regular meeting on April 21, 2026, at 6:00 PM. The meeting included a prayer, pledge of allegiance, roll call, public comments, proclamations, a racial profiling report, city manager updates, consent agenda approval, and an executive session. No action was taken in executive session.

Proclamations

  • Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month: Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Abraham read the proclamation. Dan Powers, CEO of the Children's Advocacy Center of Collin County, reported that in 2025 there were 47 cases from Murphy. He described the center's work in restoring children's voices after abuse.
  • National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week: Councilmember Scott Smith read the proclamation. Chief Gibson praised dispatchers as the vital link between the public and first responders.
  • National Animal Control Appreciation Week: A council member read the proclamation. Chief Gibson highlighted the animal control officers' service to Murphy and the City of Parker, and their role in promoting pet responsibility.

Public Comments

  • Maynard Little (1004 St. Mark Drive) addressed the council. He stated that for four previous meetings he had requested meetings with council members to discuss the stormwater fee increase, but only one council member responded. He criticized Councilmembers Deal and Chase for not meeting with him and for not responding to emails. He argued the fee increase was not needed, citing budget discrepancies: drainage improvements were budgeted at $160,000 for FY25 but actual spending was only $5,259.54, and similar overspending appeared in prior years. He questioned the transparency and due diligence of the council regarding the fee increase.

Consent Calendar

  • The consent agenda was approved unanimously without discussion or removal of items.

Presentations

  • Racial Profiling Report: Eric Fritz of Justice Research Consultants presented the 2025 annual report. The Murphy Police Department is fully compliant with the Texas Racial Profiling Law. Key findings: 8,900 traffic stops; officers knew the race/ethnicity of the driver prior to the stop in only 1.1% of stops. Post-stop outcomes were consistent across racial groups. Searches occurred in 4.6% of stops (state average 4.4%); 54% of searches found contraband (state average 45%), primarily drugs. Consent searches were 1.3% of stops (state average 1.1%). Councilmember Oldman asked about search-related arrests; Fritz noted that when contraband was discovered, an arrest was made 22% of the time.

City Manager Reports

  • City Manager Refa provided updates: Early voting is underway (closed April 21 for election holiday, resumes April 22, ends April 28; election day May 2). Drug Take Back event this Saturday at the police department. Murphy's Backyard Barbecue on April 25 at Central Park. Moonlight Movies (adults only) on May 15 at Central Park. Sounds at Sundown concert series begins June 5.

Executive Session

  • The council recessed into executive session at 6:34 PM under Texas Government Code Chapter 551 to discuss litigation, land use, service lines, and code enforcement. The session ended at 7:19 PM with no action taken.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent agenda approved unanimously.
  • Proclamations were read and recognized.
  • No votes or policy decisions were made on the racial profiling report or city manager updates.
  • No action was taken following executive session.
  • The meeting was adjourned at 7:20 PM.

Meeting Transcript

All right. Welcome as I call the order to order the April 21st regular city council meeting. Time is 6 p.m. Rise with me as I offer the invitation to leave by the least. Privately father. Bless us as we consider the agenda in front of us tonight. Give us the wisdom to act with compassion and vision for what's best with community. Bless and watch over our public safety officers and the community they serve. In your name we pray. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God. All right, I'll turn the time over to the Secretary of Roll Call and Certification of Quarum. Mayor Scott Bradley? Mayor Pro Tim and Elizabeth Abraham? Here. Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Janae Butler? Here. Councilmember Place 2, Scott Smith. Here. Councilmember place three, Andrew Chase. Councilmember place for Ken Oldman? Here. Councilmember place five Laura Deal? Here. Mayor certified the presence of a quorum. Very good. All right. With that, we're going to move on to public comments. Oh. Yeah. This is the time we set aside on the agenda. It allows residents to address council and item not on the agenda this evening. I have one public comment form. Mr. Little, you want to come down and talk to us today. Welcome and I hope you're staying dry. Thank you. Maynard Little, 1004, St. Mark Drive. Good evening. In four of the previous or four previous council meetings, I have requested a meeting with each of you so you can explain the critical thinking and data used to support your approval of the stormwater fee increase. Only one of you has contacted me and met with me. I've requested a meeting with the city manager and the finance director to no avail. The absence of a response from most of you confirms of lack of transparency. Two council members, Ms. Deal and Mr. Chase are running for re-election and have opposition. Neither of you have agreed to meet with me. Mr.

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