Here are the headlines Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe read on-air this weekend:
When governance doesn’t fit the strategic plan
During a retreat last weekend, the City Council hammered out another iteration of Denton’s strategic plan. The document helps both the city staff and council members themselves keep their eyes on the ball as they draft the budget and allocate valuable staff time.
But council members also talked about handling issues that come up along the way. About five years ago, they started what they now call the 2-minute pitch, where individual members test the waters for new agenda items. The practice emerged after some council members began to shift how they responded to constituents and the continuing fallout from the citizen petition to ban fracking.
The staff proposed a change to the 2-minute pitch that would send accepted items through committees and commissions, giving both the staff and the community more time to research matters.
Several council members pushed back on the change: what’s old had become new again. Council member Brian Beck said that good business practices don’t always work for government, and at the local level—especially in a community that is growing and changing rapidly—many constituents expect their council member to be responsive or they will simply vote them out.
After Mayor Gerard Hudspeth questioned whether some pitches were performative politics rather than a community need, council member Brandon McGee asked city manager Sara Hensley whether the staff proposal to send items to committee was meant to save staff time or make for better governance.
Hensley said it was the latter.
Sara Hensley: “This was not an attempt to reduce staff time whatsoever. This was not an attempt to railroad the council. This was an attempt—because you all have asked me on many occasions, ‘why aren’t we getting better people to run, to go and volunteer to be on your boards and commissions?’
“And so our staff—the three city managers and the two ‘A2s’ [assistants to the city manager]—came up with a suggestion. We worked it through our team. Mack [Reinwald, city attorney] was in the room. We tweaked it, tweaked it, tweaked it, put some back up to it to give you a little more picture, and then we brought forward something that actually takes longer, but it involves commissions and committees that could give you their perspective on it.”
McGee said he understood his responsibility to the taxpayers, but he still had to listen to the community.
Brandon McGee: “There are times that it does or does not fit in the narrow box, and that’s ok. We, as elected officials, we get to do that. I just want to be clear and say that we should do the best that we can, but when we don’t want to, we don’t have to. That’s it: two things can be true.”
Council member Vicki Byrd said that she wasn’t happy where the conversation ended up and that she hoped they could talk some more about improving the process.
More information at cityofdenton.com
Next hearing on public improvement district for tourism
Next month, the city will hold its second public hearing on the launch of a special taxing district that will boost tourism. Area hotel owners petitioned for the tourism public improvement district, which will assess an extra tax on each night’s stay in the city’s larger hotels. The new fund will pay for local projects that promote tourism.
During the public hearing scheduled for July 16, city leaders will also consider the service plan for the district, its management structure and how taxes are assessed and at which hotels. More information at cityofdenton.com.
Second-chance help for those with criminal histories
Goodwill of North Central Texas is hosting an expunction clinic Monday morning, July 15. They will help up to 100 people review their arrest and criminal records, and help those with qualifying cases fill out the paperwork and scrub information from the internet for free. For more information, email lfaulkner@goodwillnct.org.
In addition, the municipal court is holding a safe harbor event for residents to clear tickets and misdemeanor cases without fear of arrest, including finding alternatives to payment. More information by calling 940-349-8331 or click here.
For your calendar
Next Thursday, the post office and other federal, state, county and city buildings will be closed for Independence Day. The city pool and water parks will be open. Crews will run Thursday routes for yard waste, garbage and recycling on Friday.
Monday is the beginning of Plastic-Free July, a chance to cut back on your use of plastic at home. Get tips on how to get started at plasticfreejuly.org.
Local News currently airs each Wednesday at 10 a.m. on KUZU 92.9 FM-LP in Denton, Texas, with rebroadcasts airing at 3 p.m. Thursday, and 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. Friday. The Weekend Edition of Local News airs each Saturday at 4 p.m., with rebroadcasts at 9 p.m. and midnight; and 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. Sunday.
Send news tips by email to newsonkuzu@protonmail.com or by calling 940-241-7531.
On air since 2017, KUZU is Denton’s only volunteer-run, nonprofit community radio station. You can learn more and listen online at kuzu.fm.
Local News and Weekend Edition scripts are published on Substack. Subscribe for free at peggyheinkelwolfe.substack.com and follow live microblogging of Local News on Mastodon @phwolfe940@denton.social. Peggy is an award-winning, veteran journalist and a Denton County resident since 1993.