Watauga City Council Workshop Meeting Summary - September 14, 2026

The Watauga City Council held a workshop meeting on Monday, September 14, 2026, beginning at 5:30 PM in the City Hall Council Chamber at 7105 Whitley Road. All council members and the mayor were present. No members of the public spoke during the public comment period. The meeting was informational, with presentations on municipal court fines/fees and proposed personnel policy updates. The meeting adjourned at 6:33 PM, and the regular council meeting was scheduled to begin at 6:45 PM.

Municipal Court Fines and Fees Presentation

• Jennifer Dorsett presented an overview of Municipal Court revenue. She explained that defendants often assume the city keeps all fines, but the city remits a significant portion to the State of Texas each quarter.
• For a sample speeding citation (41 mph in a 25 mph zone) paid at the window, the total payment is $214; the city retains $85 in unrestricted funds, and the state receives $112 (52%). In a defensive driving example, the defendant pays the city $144, with $115 (80%) going to the state, $15 to city unrestricted funds, and $14 to restricted funds.
• Restricted funds include court security/technology, a local truancy prevention fund (used for juvenile case manager and teen court), and a municipal jury fund. Court security/technology and other restricted funds are audited by the state controller's office.
• Councilman Mark Taylor asked about state remittances. The presenter estimated quarterly remittances of $50,000 to $60,000, on average. She said state-consolidated fees fund items such as police officer training and crime victims compensation, among 20-25 different funds.
• Councilman Taylor and Councilman Dunn criticized state-imposed, unfunded mandates and argued that cities function as collection agencies for the state. The presenter noted that the Texas Municipal League revenue manual describes the city as a collection agency for the state. Dunn also mentioned a 2011 effort to require state reimbursement for unfunded mandates, which he said went nowhere.
• Councilman Andrew Neal asked whether state fees set a floor for fines. The presenter responded that fines have statutory minimums and maximums set by the judge, but state court costs are set by the legislature and must be collected; judges can waive fines and costs for indigent defendants.
• Councilman Can Hill asked whether court revenue covers court operations. The presenter said it is close, but if officer time writing citations is counted, the city is in the hole.
• Police Chief Barkley addressed the idea that the recent speed limit reduction to 25 mph was for revenue. He reported that traffic stops were nearly identical in the four months before and after the change (3,304 before vs. 3,303 after). Citations dropped from 627 to 508, and warnings rose from 488 to 719. He noted that speeding is a factor in 29% of traffic fatalities and 8-18% of crashes, depending on data.

Proposed Personnel Policy Updates

• Juliet Rodriguez, Human Resources and Civil Service Director, presented proposed personnel policy revisions intended to take effect October 1, 2026. She said the changes respond to updated guidelines, employee retention needs, and requests made during meet-and-confer negotiations with the Watauga Police Officers Association.
• ADA policy (2.02): Expand policy statement to cover Title I and Title II obligations; update definitions of disability and essential job function; expand procedures to include citizens and patrons; add employee ADA accommodation request steps, interactive process, verification of disability, and confidentiality/responsibility updates.
• Performance evaluation policy: Encourage supervisors to meet with staff more than once a year, align the policy with evaluation form scoring, and clarify that appeals are placed in personnel files.
• Classification and compensation policy (6.04): Allow cost-of-living adjustments at an alternate date rather than only at the beginning of the fiscal year; add monthly field training officer pay for police officers training new officers/cadets; create a one-time cost savings incentive of up to $1,500, subject to department head verification and city manager approval, split among teams if applicable. Rodriguez noted the slide incorrectly listed the policy number as 6.06.
• Workers' compensation policy: Remove the five-day election window for salary continuation so injured employees are not blocked if the need for leave is discovered later.
• Vacation leave policy: Allow employees at the maximum accrual (240 hours for 8/10-hour employees; 360 hours for 12/24-hour shift personnel) to accrue up to 60 or 80 additional hours until the last pay period in September, with balances then reduced back to the cap. This addresses staffing-related difficulty taking leave and does not increase year-end leave liability. The policy also adds pay period accrual amounts and allows the city manager to withhold vacation payout for employees appealing indefinite suspension until the appeal is resolved.
• Sick leave policy: Clarify misuse of sick leave; update definitions of spouse, child, and parent; require employees to report absences before shift start, with family members allowed to report for them; add pay period accruals; allow withholding sick leave payout for appealing civil service employees; clarify that department heads must request sick leave donations; and update the well pay conversion form to include shift personnel.
• Artificial intelligence policy (14.05): New policy covering city officials, employees, contractors, temporary staff, and volunteers; includes permitted/restricted uses, prior IT approval for new AI tools, data security, human verification of AI output, transparency/disclosure for public-facing AI-generated materials, ethical responsibility, mandatory compliance training, and retention under the Public Information Act. An approved-tools sample list from IT is included.
• Employee safety policy (16.01): Update objectives and responsibilities, clarify immediate injury reporting, add hazard reporting, revise PPE language, and add a safety recognition section.
• Inclement weather policy (18.01): Clarify guidelines; add an option for the city manager to grant special weather compensatory time for employees working on inclement weather days, with no payout at separation; add payroll reporting and accrual process language.
• Rodriguez said the travel and reimbursement policy listed on the consent item was pulled and will come forward later after additional edits.

Council Discussion on Personnel Policies

• Councilman Taylor questioned why periodic performance discussions are only highly encouraged rather than required. Rodriguez cited time constraints, about 14 city vacancies, and recent supervisor training; Taylor maintained that periodic reviews should be required.
• Taylor also questioned the cost savings incentive, asking whether a small saving would trigger a $1,500 award. Rodriguez clarified the policy allows up to $1,500 and requires department head and city manager approval.
• Taylor raised concerns about vacation accrual, saying vacation is important for stress reduction and warning against allowing employees to bank leave when time off is available. He also asked if the city had considered a combined PTO system; Rodriguez said it had been researched previously and was not a fit, partly because Watauga is a civil service city. Mayor Artline noted that the prior leave liability was significant but not to the point of bankrupting the city.
• Councilwoman Hale described a prior city's experience with sick leave donation abuse, where donations switched to vacation time and abuse declined. Rodriguez said Watauga sick leave donations are uncommon and unused donations are returned.
• Councilman Neal supported keeping separate sick leave and vacation pools rather than combined PTO, noting that combined PTO can hurt employees who get sick. He asked about reporting mechanisms for questionable AI-generated output; Rodriguez and Chief Barkley said employees should escalate concerns through their chain of command and supervisors.
• Councilman Welch suggested requiring employees to project their leave use so supervisors can manage balances and prevent employees from losing leave.

Key Outcomes

• No formal votes were taken during the workshop.
• The Municipal Court presentation and traffic stop data were informational; no action was requested.
• Personnel policy revisions were presented for council feedback; no formal adoption occurred, with proposed changes expected to be effective October 1, 2026, if approved later.
• The travel and reimbursement policy was pulled from the consent item and will return at a later date.
• The meeting adjourned at 6:33 PM; the regular council meeting was scheduled to start at 6:45 PM.