Richardson City Council Work Session December 18th, 2023
OPENING
All councilmembers are present as well as City Manager Don Magner and City Secretary Aimee Nemer.
One written public comment card is acknowledged thanking the Richardson Police Department. Four public speakers are present. The first speaker wishes the city a happy holiday season. The second speaker also acknowledges the holiday season and reminds Council that Bethlehem is in Palestine. She continues to say that, while the rest of the world celebrates the holiday season, Bethlehem is experiencing war. She asks Council to consider passing a ceasefire resolution on the War in Gaza. The third speaker is a former Denton City Councilmember. She also asks Council to pass a ceasefire resolution. The fourth speaker also asks Council to discuss adopting a ceasefire resolution.
Parks Maintenance Asst. Supt. Chris Rasbury is recognized for winning the Parks Professional of the Year award for the Texas Recreation and Parks Society’s North Region.
SOLID WASTE MASTER PLAN
Three items are responsive to Council’s tactics on tonight’s agenda. The first discussion item is on the Solid Waste Master Plan. Public Services Director Eric Robison presents. Eric states that the purpose of this plan will be to analyze current operations, routes, and staffing levels for efficiency improvements. The last Solid Waste Master Plan occurred ten years ago. Richardson utilizes the North Texas Municipal Water District’s solid waste system. The city also partners with the city of Plano through Texas Pure, a composting facility that turns compostable waste into mulch, turf, and compost mix. Republic Services, also in Plano, handles the city’s recycling needs. For household chemicals, the city partners with the Dallas County Home Chemical Collection Center.
Scott Pasternak, a consultant with Burns & McDonnell, continues the presentation. Scott states that Council will have two additional briefings at future meetings on this plan. After the consultants get an understanding of what questions staff and Council want, a customer survey and open house are planned for early Summer 2024. Councilwoman Justice thanks the consultants for including public feedback in the process. Councilman Dorian asks if the consultants will look at battery disposal options for the future. Scott states that the plan will address their proper management.
SHORT-TERM RENTALS
The second discussion is an update on short-term rental regulation efforts. Community Services Administrator Lindsay Turman presents. Richardson’s ordinance requires short-term rental owners to register their properties for a fee of $75. This registration includes requirements to provide certain contact and safety information to the city and post the information onsite for renters. This process allows the city to revoke the registration of any property with repeated issues. The city has contracted with GovOS to identify and regulate short-term rental properties. This year, the city registered 71 properties and issued 18 citations for registration noncompliance. Richardson Police have received ten calls this year regarding issues at short-term rental properties. The Community Services Department received 28 complaints resulting in three citations. This year, the city will expand enforcement efforts to include short-term rentals in multifamily developments.
Councilman Barrios asks how the city guarantees that the required postings are indeed properly posted. Lindsay answers that the applicant must swear that they posted it, but they do not conduct regular compliance inspections. Councilman Barrios asks if these properties pay an occupancy tax. Lindsay confirms they do not. Councilman Barrios asks if GovOS offers tax/fee collection services. Lindsay confirms they do. Councilman Barrios expresses a desire to further specify where the required postings must be located. He also states that, since short-term rentals compete with local hotels, he would like to see that tax revenue pursued.
Councilman Hutchenrider asks for specifics on the ten police calls. First Asst. Chief Michael Bussiere acknowledges that there may be some reporting errors because they got these numbers from performing word searches. He explains that a few calls were in response to parties. At least two were in response to the owners calling. Most of the calls were for disturbances. One call was regarding noise from renovations. Councilwoman Justice suggests tracking short-term rental police calls to monitor the effectiveness of the existing ordinance. Mayor Pro Tem Shamsul asks if the city is seeing an increase or decrease in short-term rentals. Lindsay answers that the numbers are going down. Councilman Barrios asks how residents should report nuisance that doesn’t rise to the level of safety issues. First Asst. Chief Bussiere answers that if it’s just trash being left out, residents can email Community Services or use the 24-hour complaint line. For anything currently in progress, residents should at least contact the police nonemergency line. Though Councilman Barrios wants to explore collecting occupancy taxes via GovOS, the rest of Council favors not pursuing it since the current regulations seem to be having the desired effect. Mayor Dubey suggests providing contact information to neighbors of short-term rentals so they can contact the owners directly when issues arise.
YEAR-END BUDGET REPORT
Next, Budget Officer Bob Clymire presents the year-end financial report for the 2022/23 budget. General Fund revenues finished $12M above budget. This is due to franchise fees recovering, conservative budgeting, and increased interest earnings. General Fund expenses were roughly $5M less than projected, mostly due to vacancies. With these savings, $12M will be used for projects already planned and $3M will be set aside for future needs. Bob reports that DART has also experienced a surplus and is redistributing funds to member cities. Richardson will receive $14M which will be used for roads and some pedestrian and ADA enhancements.
Water & Sewer Fund revenues finished $9M above budget. While interest earnings and late fees contributed, water and sewer sales are the biggest reason for the surplus. (JN: I continue to worry about increased water usage. We need to find ways to reduce water use now before we are forced to in 2036. Looking at the graph on slide 52 of the handouts, it appears residential and commercial users used over 1 billion gallons of water in September alone. I’d love to see a breakdown of commercial vs. residential use. The graph notes that irrigation and increased manufacturing activities are to blame.) Expenses finished $1.6M below projections, again due to vacancies. Due to the fund’s performance, $12M will be used to supplement Custer Rd. utility costs, 825 pressure zone improvements, and planned debt issuance.
Solid Waste Fund revenues finished on target. Solid Waste expenses totaled $780K less than projected due to vacancies and lower disposal and processing costs. $650K of surplus will be set aside for future needs.
Golf Fund revenues finished $340K above budget thanks to higher-than-projected usage. (Three cheers for that.) Expenses amounted to $200K less than projected due to a deferred $295K capital project. The fund balance finished $640K above budget which should help eliminate the planned transfer in from the General Special Projects Fund for Course #2 renovations.
Hotel/Motel Fund revenues finished $2M above budget as the industry appears to not only be recovering but thriving after the pandemic. Expenses finished $500K above projections, mostly from the professional services category. The fund balance finished $500K higher than projected. $900K will be transferred to a capital fund to support stage floor, curtain, and fire panel replacements.
Bob also presents next year’s budget calendar. The budget workshops will now take place in early August after the tax rolls are certified. Public hearings for next year’s budget will take place in September.
Councilwoman Justice asks about potentially refunding some surplus to residents since several fees were raised this year. Staff advises that it would be best to use surplus to supplement debt issuance. Council supports the budget calendar and recommendations for excess revenues. Mayor Dubey asks if late fees are necessary with the positive performance of the budget. Bob states that late fees were raised four years ago and that could be contributing to some of the increased revenue. City Manager Don Magner states that most late fees end up being charged to accounts with recurring issues that don’t seek assistance. CFO Kent Pfeil confirms Don’s statement and adds that the city regularly works with homeowners who don’t have recurring issues with late payments.
POTHOLE POLICY & CLOSING
The final discussion is on the pothole repair policy. Public Services Director Eric Robison again presents. Eric states that residents can report potholes via the 24-hour response line, the My Richardson app, and the city website. The city uses cold-mix asphalt, hot-mix asphalt, and concrete depending on the severity of the damage. Councilman Dorian recommends exploring newer self-leveling materials introduced to the industry that might be more resilient than asphalt. Eric says they will look into it.
Council discusses a tour of a PGA facility, the Boys & Girls Club Holiday Party, a recent Eisemann Center performance, the Mayor’s Christmas Party, criticisms of the Mayor’s Christmas Party, and Santa’s Village. Councilman Corcoran reminds everyone that the 2024 Point In Time Count will take place on Jan. 25th. Volunteers are still needed to assist Housing Forward with tracking how many individuals are experiencing homelessness in Collin and Dallas Counties.
Meeting adjourned.
The next city council meeting will be Jan. 8th at 6 pm.
Meeting footage is available at richardsontx.swagit.com
(And, save for a CPC meeting that I will report on next week, that’s a wrap for 2023. Between CPC and Council meetings, I was able to report on roughly 130 hours of city business this year. I hope you found it informative and helpful, and I hope you are encouraged to get even more involved next year. There are no boring meetings. Every week, something you care about is being discussed and acted on. If you are comfortable, I invite you to share your feedback and favorite moments to make next year’s coverage even better. Thank you for taking the time to read these reports every week. Happy Holidays and Happy 2024!)