Richardson City Council Work Session June 2nd, 2025
I am including an AI tool created using Google’s NotebookLM software. AI is not always accurate. This tool creates a podcast-style audio overview for your convenience. For this summary, here are the following corrections.
Erratum: At the 6-minute 30-second mark, the AI "host" states that the recommendation would require a candidate for Places 1-4 to live in the city for 12 months prior to the election date. It should instead state that this recommendation would require those candidates to live in their District for 12 months prior to the election date.
For an audio overview of the text in this report, click here: AI Podcast Summary Here
For your convenience, a brief bulleted summary of the meeting's key points is also provided below. The usual detailed report is still available below.
The Richardson City Council held a meeting where they received public comments on civic engagement and charter amendment suggestions. The meeting also included recognitions for UTD President Dr. Richard Benson and winners of the Traffic Signal Box Art Contest.
The main event was a joint meeting with the 2025 Charter Review Commission, where the Commission Chair, Bright, presented their recommendations for amendments to the home-rule city charter. The commission held 11 meetings, a public hearing, and received public comments throughout their process.
Key recommended changes include increasing Council pay to a monthly rate of $1,200, requiring a 12-month residency for candidates in certain Council Places, aligning Recall petition requirements with Initiative and Referendum, allowing members of boards and commissions to participate in the Home Improvement Incentive Program, adding new charter sections for Continuity of Government and a Code of Ethics, and allowing nonsubstantive corrections to the charter without an election.
The Commission did not recommend changes to Council term lengths, staggering terms, or extending term limits when a councilmember becomes mayor, preferring that these remain as they exist. This decision was influenced by the view that the mayor's seat should not be treated differently and a desire to avoid very long service terms.
Following discussions, including about Council liaison assignments and an executive session concerning "Project Rodeo", Council unanimously authorized the city manager to negotiate and execute an economic development agreement with Project Rodeo.
OPENING
All councilmembers are present as well as City Manager (CM) Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer.
CM Magner acknowledges one written public comment from Laurie Garvie regarding the Home Sweet Home workshop. Two speakers are also present. The first speaker is Lisa Kupfer. She asks Council to consider how they can foster civic engagement and increase opportunities for more diverse participation over the next term. The second speaker is me. I recognize the work of the 2025 Charter Review Commission and ask Council to consider some final suggestions for inclusion on the November Charter Amendment Election ballot.
RECOGNITIONS
The next item is presenting a proclamation to Dr. Richard Benson in recognition of his service as UTD president. Mayor Omar reads the proclamation and Dr. Benson shares his appreciation for the recognition. Council takes a picture with Dr. Benson and his team to commemorate the occasion.
Winners of this year’s Traffic Signal Box Art Contest are recognized next. This contest first started in 2021. It is now sponsored by the Richardson Rotary Club. Winners receive $100 from the city and $100 from the Richardson Rotary Club. Five winners were selected this year with the theme, “Butterflies”. The winning selection will be installed at these five intersections: Alma/Renner, Apollo/Plano, Arapaho/Floyd, Campbell/Owens, and Lookout/Plano.
CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION JOINT MEETING
Next up is tonight’s main event, a joint meeting with the 2025 Charter Review Commission. Chair Bright calls the commission’s meeting to order. Minutes of their last meeting on May 29th are approved unanimously. CM Magner notes that both the June 9th and June 16th meetings will have items reserved on the agenda for Council to deliberate charter amendment recommendations. A public hearing is also scheduled for June 23rd. More discussion will occur on July 21st. Council will need to make a decision about calling an election by Aug. 18th.
Chair Bright now presents the commission’s report to Council. He reminds Council of the commission’s charge, to make recommendations on necessary amendments to our home-rule city charter. Chair Bright highlights some of the most substantive recommendations and areas where they did not recommend any changes. Beginning with Sec. 3.01(a), regarding term lengths, Chair bright explains that the commission considered term lengths, staggering terms, etc. After months of deliberation, the commission recommends that these all remain as they exist today. Regarding Sec. 3.01(b), the commission considered a term extension or reset when a councilmember becomes mayor. After much deliberation, the commission also decided this section should remain as it exists, with no extension of term limits for a councilmember becoming mayor.
The commission does recommend changes to Council pay, which is Sec. 3.04. Chair Bright will elaborate on that in just a bit. The commission has also recommended changes to Sec. 18.01, the Personal Financial Interest section, to allow members of boards and commissions to participate in the Home Improvement Incentive Program.
Chair Bright notes that this commission held 11 meetings. Today counts as their 12th meeting. They also held a public hearing at the beginning of this process and ensured that each meeting allowed public comments. The presentation notes that 22 comments were received from a total of four residents. Chair Bright introduces each member of the commission. Chair Bright also recognizes the individual efforts of commissioners in conducting personal research and submitting comments into meetings that they could not attend in person.
Chair Bright rightly notes that the commission did not dismiss any ideas from the public or from each other. They deliberated all aspects of each suggestion and, after working through differences in opinion, came to a consensus on each recommendation. Chair Bright thanks staff for their research and help in clarifying questions from the commission. Chair Bright also recognizes the citizens who participated in each meeting. He notes that written comments were submitted at each meeting and almost every meeting also had comments given in person. Chair Bright recognizes me individually for showing up to every meeting and contributing my perspectives. (As I’ve said before, it feels good for public input to not just be allowed but also welcomed, valued, and appreciated.)
Chair Bright explains that the commission is recommending a change to Sec. 3.04 to increase Council pay to a monthly rate of $1,200. The reasoning behind this recommendation includes recognizing the time that Council spends outside of meetings and official duties. A comparison with other cities also indicates that this pay level is in line with other cities. In Sec. 4.02 and 4.04, the commission recommends a change to require a 12-month residency requirement before the date of an election for anyone who desires to run in the geographically designated Places 1 – 4. Sec. 5.02 is being recommended for a change to align the specificities of petition requirements for Recall with Article 14 requirements for Initiative and Referendum.
The recommended amendment to Sec. 18.01, the personal financial interest section, would allow Council the flexibility to enact an ordinance allowing members of boards and commissions to participate in the Home Improvement Incentive Program. The commission included an option to consider that did not receive full consensus to also allow employees to participate. Two new sections are also recommended for addition. Sec. 18.09 would be titled Continuity of Government and would allow the Dallas County Judge to appoint a commission to govern the city and call the next city council election if a disaster were to ever occur that incapacitates councilmembers. Sec. 18.10 would include a requirement in the city charter for Council to always maintain a Code of Ethics and defines the purpose of such a code. Finally, Sec. 19.06 is being recommended for a change to add spelling and punctuation corrections to the list of nonsubstantive changes the city could make to the charter without requiring an election. This would still not allow any substantive changes to be made.
Councilwoman Justice asks Chair Bright to elaborate on the decision to recommend no change to Sec. 3.01(b) regarding the consideration of extending term limits when a councilmember becomes mayor. She thinks that a community would want a councilmember to potentially run for mayor. Vice-Chair Quirk explains that the commission didn’t want to treat the mayor’s seat any differently than the other Council seats. All seven are members of Council. The commission also thought that creating the possibility for someone to serve on Council for 18-20+ years just wasn’t desirable.
(As I recall, when compared to other cities, Richardson has one of the longest term limits. Part of the consideration was that, if we have such long term limits, a councilmember should have plenty of opportunity after a few terms to run for mayor. We also have consecutive term limits, not absolute term limits. So, a councilmember could still step off for a term and then run for mayor.)
Councilwoman Justice also asks for elaboration on the Council pay increase recommendation. It seems high to her. Chair Bright explains that they benchmarked against other cities and wanted to recognize the time councilmembers spend outside of meetings. Councilwoman Justice also asks about the juxtaposition of requiring a Code of Ethics in the charter and amending the personal financial interest sections to allow members of boards and commissions to participate in the Home Improvement Incentive Program. She is concerned about creating an appearance of impropriety and asks for elaboration on this recommendation. Chair Bright notes that the only program that this would apply to would be the Home Improvement Incentive Program, which includes no subjectivity on who qualifies. This amendment would also only create flexibility for Council to enact an ordinance allowing their participation. It wouldn’t require it. Atty Gorfida confirms this.
Councilman Corcoran asks how members of the Civil Service Appeals Board are appointed. Sec. Nemer clarifies that it consists of members of the Civil Service Board (CSB). It is a three-member commission created from the membership of the CSB. Mayor Pro Tem Hutchenrider asks about the difference between Public Officials Liability Coverage and a Surety Bond. CM Magner explains that Public Officials Liability Coverage is analogous to Errors & Omissions Insurance. Atty Gorfida explains that the liability coverage would apply in situations where an act was not intentional. A surety bond would protect the public account from any intentional acts. CM Magner clarifies that the distinction is that Errors & Omissions Insurance would not cover an intentional act. A surety bond would provide the city with an additional layer of coverage.
Councilman Hutchenrider states that there may be an existing level of risk exposure without having a surety bond requirement for certain other positions beyond just the city manager. Councilwoman Justice remarks that it might be helpful to have a comparison of the two types of coverage at next week’s meeting. Atty Gorfida will provide that comparison.
Councilman Barrios asks for an elaboration on the recommendation to leave the signature requirements for Initiative and Referendum the same. Currently, a number of signatures equal to 10% of registered voters is required to exercise these powers. CM Magner first confirms that the changes to this section regarding specifying what is required on a petition relates to consistency with other sections and state law. Chair Bright explains that the commission analyzed the options presented from public input and concluded that the current 10% threshold is not out of line with what other cities require. Vice-Chair Quirk adds that they wanted to avoid a threshold that created instability by allowing a low amount of voters to recall an elected official.
(Just to clarify, a petition effort only puts a question on the ballot. An election would still be required for anything exercised by petition under the powers of Initiative, Referendum, or Recall. My recommendation is now to align it with a number equal to a majority of votes in the last city council election to ensure that we don’t require a number that is greater or less than the number of votes that would enact whatever the proposition entails in an election.)
Councilman Shamsul and Mayor Omar express their gratitude to the commission for their work. Chair Bright adjourns the Charter Review Commission’s meeting, and Council takes a short recess to allow the commission to leave.
COUNCIL LIAISON ASSIGNMENTS & CLOSING
Council reconvenes to discuss how Council committee and board liaison assignments will take place. CM Magner explains that there are three committee assignments, five liaison assignments, and several regional assignments to consider. A sheet is provided to councilmembers so they can express their interest in assignments.
Council discusses a visit to the 34th Independence Day of Eritrea Community Picnic, a Community and Business Engagement event, and several local businesses, and Council convenes into executive session to “deliberate commercial or financial information received from a business prospect or deliberate the offer of an incentive to a business prospect” regarding something the agenda calls “Project Rodeo”.
Council reconvenes after roughly 45 minutes to unanimously allow the city manager to negotiate and execute an agreement on behalf of the city with Project Rodeo to provide economic development incentives in accordance with the directions provide during executive session, including any amendments or instruments related thereto. Meeting adjourned.