North Richland Hills City Council Meeting - March 23, 2026

The North Richland Hills City Council held a work session at 5:30 PM and a regular meeting at 7:05 PM on March 23, 2026, at City Hall. The work session included a presentation of the Information Technology Operational Efficiency Audit final report by Matrix Consulting Group, discussion of future agenda items, and the city manager's report. The regular meeting saw unanimous approval of the consent agenda and Resolution No. 2026-020 establishing an Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs Subcommittee and Legislative Task Force. No public comments were made.

Consent Calendar

• B.1: Approved minutes of the March 9, 2026 City Council meeting.
• B.2: Approved minutes of the February 18, 2026 City Council meeting.
• B.3: Authorized purchase agreements with multiple vendors for NRH2O food service products for resale not to exceed $300,000.
• B.4: Approved an agreement with Clearent, LLC dba Xplor Pay for a one-year term with annual renewals for credit card processing services as part of the NRH2O Gatemaster Point of Sale System.
• B.5: Authorized a three-year agreement with LinkedIn Corporation for job posting services not to exceed $113,318.50 through December 31, 2028. (During work session, it was clarified that an annual $100,000 allotment from United Healthcare will offset the cost.)

Discussion Items

• IT Operational Efficiency Audit Presentation: Alan Pennington and Bill Haight of Matrix Consulting Group presented the final report. Key findings included: the IT department (12.5 positions supporting ~800 employees and over 1,900 software applications) receives high marks for responsiveness but struggles with timely service due to resource constraints. Recommendations included: establishing an IT steering committee, developing an IT master plan and continuity/disaster recovery plans (noting a COOP plan was already completed), formalizing project management, increasing cross-training to reduce single points of failure, and adding a network engineer, business analyst, IT project manager, and an additional systems analyst over multiple years. Staff will review and bring forward implementation recommendations.
• Future Agenda Items: Mayor McCarty requested an item to explain recently approved charter amendments on term limits; the council agreed to place it on a future agenda.
• City Manager Report: Paulette Hartman updated that the Facilities and Utility Billing efficiency audits will be awarded in April, and the Planning and Inspections audit recommendations will be presented in April or May. Staff changes include two vacancies in Purchasing and a new finance director to be introduced at the April 13, 2026 meeting.
• Executive Session: The council convened in closed session from 6:36 PM to 7:00 PM to discuss pending litigation (Jessie Goodfellow v. City; Travis Scott Gray v. City; CGC General Contractors, Inc.) and economic development opportunities (Northeast Corner of Boulevard 26 & Harwood Road; EZ Streets Empowerment Zone). No action was taken as a result.
• Resolution G.1: Approval of Resolution No. 2026-020 establishing an Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs Subcommittee (composed of Mayor McCarty, Councilmember Roberts, and Councilmember Parks for a two-year term May 2026 to May 2028) and a nine-member Legislative Task Force (appointments to be brought forward in April). The resolution passed 7-0.

Key Outcomes

• Consent Agenda Approved: Motion by Mayor Pro Tem Deupree, seconded by Councilmember Goetz, approved 7-0.
• Resolution 2026-020 Approved: Motion by Councilmember Blake, seconded by Councilmember Delaney, approved 7-0.
• Future Agenda Item Scheduled: Staff to prepare a presentation on charter amendment term limits for a future meeting.
• IT Audit Next Steps: Staff will review recommendations and incorporate priorities into the budget; some implementation has already begun (e.g., project management training, involving NRH Links and Green Belts for business analysis).