City Council - Regular Meeting

Welcome everybody to the City of Farmer's Branch City Council meeting for Tuesday, September 15th. Our first order of business this evening will be our invocation and our pledges, so if you would please join me. Almighty God, we thank you for bringing us together today. We ask for your wisdom and grace as we begin our work. Open our minds to new ideas, our hearts to one another, and guide our steps so that we all... so that all we do honors you. We ask for wisdom and discernment for the mayor, council members, and city staff as they make decisions for our community. Grant us patience to listen well, courage to do what is right, and a spirit of cooperation in our discussions tonight. May our work serve the common good and advance the peace and well-being of all our residents. Amen. If you would, please join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And now the Texas Pledge. In honor of the Texas flag, I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible. Next up will be our items of community interest.

Good evening. My name is Ariel Wallace, communications manager, and here are your items of community interest for the week. Now accepting applications for boards and commissions. Looking for a way to get involved and make a difference in Farmers Branch? Consider serving on one of the city's boards or commissions. Members share their time, talents, and perspectives while supporting programs and initiatives that help strengthen our community. Current vacancies include the Animal Shelter Advisory Committee, Arts and Culture Committee, Historical Preservation and Restoration Board, and the Sustainability Committee. Visit farmersbranchtx.gov slash boards dash commissions to apply. Safely dispose of household hazardous waste. The household hazardous waste collection event takes place on September 26th from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 13333 Sinlac Drive. Residents can drop off unwanted household chemicals, paints, cleaners, and automotive fluids for safe disposal. Review the full list of eligible drop-off items on the city's recycle webpage. Bark Park to host Spooky Pooch. Bring your pup out to Barneywood Bark Park for Spooky Pooch, a free community event filled with Halloween themed activities for dogs and their humans. Costumes for both pets and owners are highly encouraged. The event is set for Friday, October 2nd from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Barneywood Bark Park, 14090 Hartside Place. For full event details, visit FarmersBranchEvents.com. A new way to connect for National Night Out. National Night Out is getting a new look in Farmers Branch. Join us Tuesday, October 6th from 5 to 9 p.m. at City Hall for food, giveaways, touch-a-truck vehicles, and family-friendly activities. Neighborhood gatherings will continue throughout the community while public safety teams visit neighborhoods during the evening. Join us at City Hall, in your neighborhood, or both as we celebrate National Night Out together. And as always, you can sign up for City eNews at FarmersBranchTX.gov or by scanning the QR code on the screen. Thank you.

Thank you, Ariel. Appreciate it. Next up are our public comments. When I call your name, please come up and you will have three minutes to speak. Please come, when you do come up, please state your name and address for the record and remember that All speakers must adhere to the City of Farmer Springs speaker's policy, and please no deflammatory or inflammatory or demeaning remarks towards any member of the council, city staff, or any department. Our first speaker is Brenda Broderick.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council. My name is Brenda Broderick. I live at 13531 Rawhide Parkway. So a year ago, a little over a year ago, July 2025, the City Council did approve and acknowledge the Muslim month and Pride month on the social media calendar. So this does need to be addressed. My request is that you remove the Muslim American Heritage Month and Pride Month off our social media calendar and put this as an agenda item on October 7th, 2026 after the night out. I really believe that when this was put on the calendar that it opened a door for all this contention and strife that's going on. Y'all are really wonderful people and there's no reason for all this strife and anger and bitterness. So I really believe that that's what opened the door and I'll tell you why. I'm just going to give you a few scripture verses. This does have to do with Muslim Heritage Month, which the city council at that time did acknowledge. So it has to do with religion. So I'm going to bring the Bible into this because that's a religion. Christianity is a religion. Some people say don't speak about it in the city hall. Well, you all, the council at that time, opened that door for me to speak about this. Proverbs 16, 18, pride comes before a fall. 1 Corinthians 6, 17, run from sexual sin. Hebrews 13, 4, the marriage bed is holy and undefiled. 1 Thessalonians 5, 22, abstain from all appearance of evil. Leviticus 18, 22, men, don't lie with men as with women. It is abomination. Now, concerning the Muslim part, our Heavenly Father, we all love our Father who art in heaven. Holy is His name. He expects us to love Him with all our heart, our soul, our mind, and our strength. Not only is that in the New Testament, it's in the Old Testament. It's the first commandment. He says, don't honor idols. This is the first and greatest commandment. Second, Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So when we're honoring Allah, we're saying Allah, the mantra is that Allah has no son. We know that the Father has a son. His name is Jesus. He is to be worshiped. He's the only way to the Father. And if we are acknowledging Allah and Muhammad and the Quran, we're not acknowledging the Father, Jesus, and the Holy Bible. You can't have two. Elijah says it this way. He says, and this is in the Catholic Bible, Elijah appealed to all the people and said, how long will you straddle the issue? If the Lord is God, follow him. If Baal or Allah, follow him. We must make up our minds. We can't choose both. We can't straddle between both. We're either going to serve God and put him first place, or we're going to serve Allah and God, which doesn't work. That brings in confusion. It brings in, thank you.

Thank you. Next up is Max Broderick.

Max Broderick, 13531 Rawhide. I wanted to speak to D2 agenda item. I put that at the bottom. Should I wait till then?

Speak now and not later.

Yeah, go ahead and speak now. Yeah, because I don't know how the rest of the meeting's gonna play out.

Well, I'm going to play advocate with the innocent here. Obviously, the last meeting I was here, we had, I think it was an attorney that did some pretty good investigation and made some pretty good claims on one of the members' behavior towards another member here. And it was unacceptable behavior, obviously. And especially using the F word six times and premeditating physical assault had to be restrained by the police and brought out of the building. To me, the burden of that cost should not fall on the shoulders of our citizens or our families. That's unacceptable, totally. I think the one that proposed and defended the guilty ought to pay for it. Thank you. Thank you.

That is all the speakers I have signed up to speak this evening, so we will move on to our consent agenda.

Mayor, I'd like to pull J3 and J4, if I may. Say that again? I'd like to pull J3 and J4 from the consent agenda.

add it to the regular agenda okay so item j3 will become item l4 on the regular agenda i item j4 will become item l5 on the regular agenda we may not Okay. So moving ahead, the consent agenda is just J1, J2.

Mr. Mayor, I make a motion that we approve consent agenda with the aforementioned removal of J3 and J4.

I second.

Thank you.

We have a motion and a second. If you would, please indicate your vote. Consent agenda passes, thank you very much. Next up is public hearing. Item K-1, conduct a public hearing on the proposed fiscal year 2026-27 operating and capital improvement budget in accordance with Article IV of the city charter and take appropriate action.

Good evening, Mayor, city council members. My name is Jay Patel. I'm the finance director for the city. And before I jump into my presentation for today, I'd like to start off by playing our budget video to help set the stage for our discussions this evening.

Thank you. City budgets are about people and our shared priorities. Every year, the City of Farmers Branch undertakes a thoughtful and transparent process to develop the city's budget. This ensures that your tax dollars are invested wisely to meet community priorities set by the City Council. The City Council guides the City on where to spend money based on community needs. Each February, the City Council initiates the annual budget process by identifying strategic priorities and focus areas during its strategic planning session. The budget process is not completed in just one month. It's a comprehensive, year-long effort to develop and improve the City's budget. The budget sets out to accomplish four things. Captures the city's shared priorities. Explains where the money comes from and how it will be spent. Outlines the ways the city will provide services. And serves as a communication tool for informing the city council and the community while guiding city staff. Creating a budget is more than just numbers. It's about listening to the community and understanding its needs, which guides the City Council in developing a strategic plan with specific focus areas. In March and April, City departments begin working on their budgets to maintain or expand programs and services based on the focus areas outlined by our City Council. From here, the City Manager can begin building a strong, transparent budget, and by July 31st, the City Manager, following the City Council's guidance, prepares and submits the budget. At this stage of the process, the budget is transitioned to the City Council for review and adoption in September, as the City's fiscal year begins October 1st and runs through the following September. During the budget process, public engagement is key and residents can participate through city council meetings, workshops, and a town hall held in August. The city's budget is divided into several funds to ensure that every dollar is used for its intended purpose. The three main funds are the General Fund, the Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Fund, and the Capital Improvement Project, or the CIP Fund. Other funds like Hotel Motel, Revenue Stabilization, and Debt Service play supportive roles. Let's take a closer look at the General Fund. This is the City's primary operating fund. It covers most day-to-day services such as police, fire protection, water and road maintenance, parks, and more. General funds also include operating expenditure and departmental budgets. But where does the general fund money come from? The largest source of funding is from property taxes, with commercial properties contributing the majority of the property tax. Other key sources of revenue include sales tax, charges for services, and various miscellaneous revenues. As part of the budget review and approval process, the City Council sets a property tax rate. Your tax bill is shared among five different taxing entities, with only a portion coming to Farmers Branch. The general fund ensures that the city continues to deliver the high quality services that our residents rely on every day. The water sewer and stormwater fund operate differently as these are self supporting funds meaning It is funded entirely through the utility fees paid by our residents and businesses. Most of the fees collected for the essential services such as water, wastewater and storm drainage systems cover the direct cost from our partners, Dallas Water Utilities for the water provided and the Trinity River Authority for wastewater treatment. On a typical day, the city treats approximately 5 million gallons of wastewater and delivers up to 10 million gallons of clean, potable water to our residents. These funds are debt-free and financially independent. The next large fund contained in the budget is the Capital Improvement Project Fund, or CIP. The CIP is how we plan and pay for major infrastructure improvements around the city. The CIP Fund covers large projects which are funded through general obligation bonds, interest earnings, and available balances from the General Fund and the Water and Sewer Fund. These investments are essential to keeping our city moving forward with key priorities that include replacing aging utility lines, revitalizing and improving our streets, drainage improvement projects, Following this year's long process of evaluating the City's needs and priorities, the City Manager presents the budget and once approved, implementing those priorities will begin. At the City of Farmers Branch, we are committed to accountability, transparency, and delivering high-quality services. Every dollar is carefully considered and responsibly spent. As part of our commitment to transparency and to keep our residents and businesses informed on how their tax dollars are used, we've created a financial transparency website. Visit www.farmersbranchtx.gov to explore the budget process and learn more about our transparency efforts.

So tonight we'll be completing the final steps in the city's budget adoption process. And the state has very specific guidelines as it relates to which order we can consider each of the items. So I'm gonna do my best tonight to keep us all on track as it relates to each of the items we consider today. At a high level, we're gonna be looking at all the budget items first. So we'll conduct our budget public hearing. our vote upon our budget and adoption of our budget, and then ratifying the property tax revenue related with that is incorporated within the budget. Thereafter, we'll conduct our property tax public hearing, and we'll schedule the vote upon the property tax rate this coming Thursday on the 17th, which will be the final step for the budget and tax rate adoption process for this year. And council, it's been a long journey. And ultimately, this all started in the month of February, January, February. We met with each of you to determine the priorities to be incorporated within the budget for this upcoming year. In doing so, we determined the following priorities to be kept front of mind as we developed our budget as a staff, those being public safety, economic development, our public infrastructure, and our connected neighborhoods. In addition, council requested that we ensure financial resilience now into the future. We're not building a budget for just today. We're building a budget for today and the future of farmers branch. That was very important for us as staff to keep in mind as it relates to the long-term sustainability of our community. And lastly, we want to keep the process open, honest, and transparent. And that's something that we strided to do from the very beginning of this process through our various study sessions, town halls, and our continuous engagement efforts with the community, whether it be social media, online, et cetera. So just the key points that staff kept in mind as we developed the budget, which you have before you today for consideration. I know I've discussed this ad nauseum, the timeline as it relates to the budget process as a whole, but I think this slide does a great job showing that this is a continuous process. Our budget's a year-long process. Currently, we're at September tax rate deliberation and adoption. Here in the next few weeks, we'll kick off the next fiscal year in which our finance staff will go in and ensure that we're officially closing out the previous fiscal year, getting prepared for audit, which will be presented to you in the month of March. And before long, we'll be doing our strategic planning meetings and everything else for the fiscal year 2028 budget, which will be here before all of us know it. This slide really breaks down the steps going forward within the process. You'll see that a lot of our discussions took place from the months of February through August. Our town hall was conducted in the later part of August. We had end-of-year discussions with you all in the first council meeting in September. And currently we're at that September 15th mark. We'll conduct our public hearing on the budget today. We'll vote upon the adoption of the budget, and we'll conduct our tax rate public hearing today as well, which will leave one remaining item, which will be the vote upon adoption of the tax rate, which will take place this Thursday, the 17th. And the following slides are... are related to the motions that are required throughout as we discuss the three following agenda items. First and foremost will be the public hearing. So you'll see there on your screen the instructions related to open public comments and close the public hearing. And step four is the vote upon the adoption, which I did my best to provide the exact language that's required in regards to the passage of the budget itself. So, I'll do best to keep the relevant screen on your screen while each of these is being conducted. And then the last item will be the last item related to the budget adoption process will be ratification of the property tax revenue, which is required by state law as this budget is generating more in property tax revenue than the previous year. We're looking to keep the rate the exact same, but due to appreciation in property value and new construction in our city, you'll see a increase in revenue associated with property tax revenue within the budget, which is why this step is required. And that conducts all of the budget items, which I presented before you today, and I will go back to that. I'm happy to answer any questions you all may have, and I'll put the procedure screen just to start us off.

Thank you very much. This is a public hearing. I do have one person who has signed up to speak, so I'm gonna allow them to speak first, and then we'll come back for council questions. That speaker is Christy Diamond. I saw her out in the hallway.

The officer out there is getting her.

Yeah.

Okay. Okay.

Christy Diamond, come on down. I was going to my party or something.

Come on.

Hi, I'm Christy Diamond, and this is Lily Diamond. And I'm here to talk about the tax increase in the budget.

Address.

Oh, 3180 White Marsh Circle.

Thank you.

Anyway, I'm here to ask you to please... consider having a special meeting about voting on moving forward with the animal shelter. I know that you may think that's not part of the budget, but also that's not using taxpayer dollars. That's from a donation, a $2 million donation. So I'm asking if y'all could please have a special meeting, because October 6th is not going to be a city council meeting, and that's when Derek Hull was going to do his presentation. And he's done a great job moving the animal shelter forward, but I'd like to see it, to see y'all approve it and let it move forward. Because if we keep delaying it every two weeks, it's just not going to happen this year. So if you would please do that, I'd appreciate it. And as for the budget and for tax increases, I wish you would consider being more fiscally involved. responsible about how we spend our tax dollars. And I know you do try to do that, but what I'm thinking of is today I learned that diesel prices just went up to $10 a gallon. And when I talked to some of my farmer friends, the honeybee farmer said, well, I'm selling a jar of honey now for $17 and it's going to have to be $32 because I can't afford the gas prices. And then the cattle rancher friend of mine said, well, beef prices are going to have to go up. So the bottom line is we need to figure out how we're going to pay for everything and have all these fun programs that we're spending money on that maybe we could pull back a little bit. We don't have to do everything this year. Maybe we could save some money and put it into the water infrastructure. You know, the aquifer between Dallas and Oklahoma City is drying up, so one day we're not going to have water. And we need to think about how we're going to pay for all of this. So I prefer to have money spent on things we need. and to fix problems that we have currently, rather than having a lot of new adventures, you know, going forward. So that's just my two cents. If that makes any sense to any of you, I hope so. So that's it.

All right. Well, thank you.

Okay. But move forward with the animal shelter, please. All right.

Have a good evening. Thank you. Okay. That is all the speakers that I have signed up.

So... Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to close the public hearing. I'll second.

Thank you. We have motion and second to close public hearing. All in favor? Public hearing is closed. Now, council discussion. Councilwoman Gonzalez, we'll start with you.

Nothing for me, Mayor. Nothing for me, Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilman Reid. Nothing here.

Councilwoman Villafranca. I'd like to commend Jay and the entire team for an incredible job you did this year. I know it was tough decisions on not having sufficient raises for staff, and you've done a phenomenal job. Thank you so much.

Councilman Neill. Yeah, I want to thank you, Jay, and your team for all the hard work you do, as well as this council up here. We've had a lot of interaction over some many months now on this whole thing. So just thank you for that. I appreciate all that you do. That's all I have right now, Mayor.

Thank you. It's definitely a team effort. And Brian and Patrick could not have done without my team. So

I just want to say one. Thank you to staff. It's it's a group effort and times Over the last two, three weeks have been especially trying with all of the water main breaks that we've had around the city. The hot weather is causing the ground to move. And each time our staff has answered the call, whether it be during the week or on a Sunday morning or on a Saturday evening, staff has had to come in. And, of course, we pay for that. That's part of running a city. And those costs add up. And that's just a fraction of everything that we have to deal with. But I think as best I've been able to determine the city managers, has worked to have a very good budget presented to the council, and I'm happy that we're able to hold the rate as we have been. And I know times are tough for people. We hear a lot about property tax relief. And I believe most of us do have that discussion with our elected officials, our state representatives. I certainly do. And we're trying to put pressure on the county as well as the hospital district, the community college district, whatnot, for them to take action in terms of lowering their tax rates also. So, Jay, thanks to all the work you and your team has done.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, Council.

With that, Mr. Mayor, I move to approve Ordinance Number 4014 as presented.

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second. Hold on. You said 4-0-1-4, that's not the right item. It's K-1. I was going by. 26-572.

Ordinance for zero one four That's wrong, okay

Well, that's fine. We just rolled right into the next one. Oh. Okay. Okay. We have a motion. Was there a second?

Yeah, we added up on this.

Oh, okay. This will be a roll call vote. So we will start. Councilman Gonzalez. Yes. Yes.

Say it a little louder.

Yes. Thank you. Yes. Councilman Bennett, yes.

Yes.

Yes.

No.

Motion passes four to one. Okay, now moving to L2. Okay, consider approving resolution 2026-122, ratifying the property tax revenue increase reflected in the fiscal year 2026-27 budget and take appropriate action.

Okay, Mr. Mayor, I move to approve resolution number 2026-122 as presented.

Mayor, I'll second.

We have motion and second. Is there any further discussion? It's a roll call vote. Yeah. Okay. This is also a roll call vote. Councilman Gonzalez?

Yes.

Councilman Bennett?

Yes.

Councilman Reed? Yes. Councilman Villafranca?

Yes.

Councilman Neal?

No.

Okay. Motion passes 4-1. Thank you. Next up, is item L3, which was D2. I'm sorry, I'm going to change that. I'm going to go to L4, which comes from the consent agenda J3. which was consider approving resolution 2026-106, reaffirming the city manager's authorization to negotiate, execute, and amend an agreement for the purchase of desktop, laptop, and rugged workstations in the amount not to exceed $91,000 and take appropriate action.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Joey Brock, IT Director. Appreciate your interest in the item. Happy to answer any questions. Councilwoman, be upfront.

Sure, I just see in the wording is negotiate, execute, and amend. Was there a change to the previous contract? And if so, what? And where will this equipment be going, this $91,000 worth of equipment?

So we were actually able to negotiate it down a little bit. We were able to save about $50 per computer. As far as where it's going to go, I don't have those statistics in front of me, but there are some rugged computers that will go to public safety or public works because they need to be out in the field. Most of them are laptops, so they're going to be on positions that need to be mobile with a computer.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

Okay.

Any other questions, Councilman Gonzalez? Councilman Bennett? Councilman Reid? Councilman Neal?

No, I was just going to move to approve item L4. Is that?

Yes.

As presented.

I second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second. If you would, please indicate your vote. Motion passes. Thank you very much. Next up will be item L5, which comes from the consent agenda. Item J4, consider approving resolution 2026-127, affirming the appointment of a shared board member with City of Plano to serve on the Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority Board of Directors and take appropriate action.

Should I take this?

Okay. Council, we have... As you know, we share a representative board seat with the city of Plano. They have one and a half seats, and we have one seat right now. They have one and a half, we have a half seat, I'm sorry. And Plano has nominated Rick Grady to represent the city of Plano take over in that board seat position. We are set, city manager and I are set to meet with Mr. Grady, on Monday the 21st, so I'm sorry I haven't been able to get that done prior to having the vote, but he comes on very high recommendation from Mayor Munson Plano, so I don't think that they would steer us wrong, but my intention is City Manager and I, we will have that meeting with Mr. Grady, and then we will set a time for him to come and make a presentation to council also. so everybody can get to know him and hear from him directly. I think that's really important. So that's where things stand with that. Additionally, as you know, we're getting ready to head to legislative session and governance is part of the change that will be taking place at DART. Several mayors have advocated that when the governance issue gets approved by the legislature, then the whole DART board will probably get reconstituted again and probably start out as mayors being the city representatives on the DART board or the mayor's appointee. So know that that's heading. So Mr. Grady will be serving in, I guess, somewhat of a temporary capacity for maybe a year and a half or so until that gets approved with the legislature. So happy to answer any questions or provide more information.

I appreciate the clarity. I just wanted to make sure, were we going to have a say in the representative? How long would this person be here? And when will each city having their own representative, when would that take effect? But I appreciate that.

You bet. So this item is marked for action.

I'd like to make a motion to approve R2026-127. Mayor, I'll second.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. If you would, please indicate your vote. Motion passes unanimously. Thank you very much. I'll send Mr. Grady a note here in just a little bit. So next up is... Next item is going to be the second public hearing, item M1. And I apologize for jumping around a little bit tonight. But item M1, conduct a public hearing and schedule the adoption of a maximum property tax rate of 0.608512 cents and take appropriate action.

Good evening, mayor, city council members. My name is Jay Patel. I'm the finance director for the city. And the item before you today is a required public hearing for the adoption of our tax rate. No tax rate is being adopted tonight, but we are scheduling the adoption at the later day, which will come this Thursday on the 17th. This slide should look familiar. It's the same slide from August as it relates to the... voter approval rate calculated by the county, which was which council voted to consider as the maximum tax rate throughout this budget process of 0.608512. And you'll see the no new revenue rate for this budget year there at the bottom of your screen, 0.509250. And all of these rates have been published with our state requirements. So they've been published on our newspaper, our website, and all required posting areas. It is important to note that our budget, or the budget that has been proposed before you, is built on the current tax rate of 0.5435, and you'll see the distribution between the maintenance operating portion and the interest and sinking portion there on your screen. M&O at 0.490388, and then our debt service rate a little over five cents. And with that, I'd like to conclude my presentation for this evening. I'll leave there on your screen the procedures for this evening, which will be to conduct the public hearing, allow for comments, close the public hearing, and then schedule the adoption of the vote for this upcoming Thursday, the 17th.

Thank you, Jay. This is a public hearing. I do not have anybody signed up to speak to this point, so we entertain a motion to close the public hearing.

Mayor, I'd like to close the public hearing.

I'll second. We have a motion and a second to close the public hearing. Okay, public hearing is closed. So any discussion by the council? Councilman Gonzalez? Yes. Councilman Bennett? Councilman Fiafranca?

Jay, can you just talk a little bit about how this compares to the last two years? I've been seeing a lot of information about that may or may not be accurate, and I just want to clarify the record.

Absolutely. Your tax rate has remained consistent over the past, Gosh, at least two fiscal years. So we are keeping that tax rate consistent. The distribution differences you'll see is based on our debt service schedule for the upcoming year. So our INS rate is calculated based on the amount of debt service we have in any given fiscal year. The remainder of that tax rate is on the M&O side or the maintenance and operations side, which is what funds our general fund largely. Approximately 50% of that revenue is derived from property taxes, but no changes in the tax rate. Thank you. Yes, ma'am.

Councilman Neill.

Yeah, Jay, I'm just wondering if you have access to the notice of public hearing. Do you have that available to share on the screen that the rest of us here on council have? It's notice of public hearing on tax increase.

I do not. I could probably pull it up somehow. You're talking about the official legal notice for?

Yeah.

Yeah. I apologize.

That's okay. I know you probably weren't ready for that question.

I don't think I have that readily available. I can have it by our next discussion, certainly, before we vote upon the tax rate.

Okay. I guess we can wait. I just want to call your attention to the third paragraph. that says the proposed tax rate is greater than the no new revenue tax rate. That's the first sentence. The second sentence says this means that the City of Farmers Branch is proposing to increase property taxes for the 2026 tax year, and I just find that confusing.

That is the required language provided by the county. In accordance with any time that our property tax revenue will be increasing on a year-to-year basis, that verbiage is required. Although our tax rate is not increasing, the monies that we're receiving as a city is increasing on a year-to-year basis, which is why... And it's... And it's an interesting motion, which will be made on Thursday. But it's the primary reason that we incorporate on page four of our budget the calculation for how much our general fund revenue is going to increase. Because the state has a calculation for the required verbiage to be read upon adoption of a tax rate. We do our best to showcase why the general fund impact differs from that amount. That's in the required verbiage.

Thank you for that, Jay. Just the language reads, and I'm sure you understand why many residents look at this, and it clearly says this means farmers' branches proposing increased property taxes, and that causes a lot of discussion among the public. So I just want to point that out. Thank you for your clarification. Absolutely.

Okay. Councilman, I would agree. I think there's been a lot of confusion about this. It is something that does take place every year. The city does establish a maximum tax rate. and that is the .608512. So 60 cents basically per $100 valuation is the maximum tax rate. That is not what your tax rate is going to be. That was a procedural item, and the actual tax rate is gonna be 54 cents, which is where we are right now. And so... One, shame on those who put that incorrect information out there and got people all fired up. Please, please know that your city council, I assure you, is better stewards of your money than that. But it is important to know. So these are procedural steps that we have to go through as required by state law.

That poses another question. Does that mean we're required by the state to show the maximum rate of 0.60, or could it be something less? It could be less. It could be less.

Yes, that's the purview of the city council, but that is historically how we've conducted that process in the last couple years.

Great, thanks. Just can't be more. Yes.

Mayor, I'd like to make a motion to take action to schedule a vote to adopt the tax rate reflected in the budget during a meeting to be held on Thursday, September 17th at 6 p.m. at the City of Farmers Branch City Hall Council Chambers located at 13,000 William Dodson Parkway, Farmers Branch.

Mayor, I'll second.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. If you would, please indicate your vote.

I'm sorry, could you repeat the motion for me? I'm just mishearing what's on the screen versus what I think the motion I heard was.

Jay, can you bring that back? Yes, I have it here.

Oh, okay. I'd like to make a motion to take action to schedule a vote to adopt the tax rate reflected in the budget during a meeting to be held on September 17th, 2026 at 6 p.m. at the City of Farmers Branch City Hall Council Chambers located at 13,000 William Dodson Parkway Farmers Branch.

Thank you. Okay.

Motion passes. Thank you very much. Now, we will go to item L3 on the regular agenda, which was listed as item D2 in the packet. City Council convene. Pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas Government Code, legal advice to receive legal advice and consultation from the city attorney regarding a request for legal defense by a council member on a matter in which the duty of the attorney to the governmental body under the Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Contact of the State Bar of Texas clearly conflicts with Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code.

Mayor, I will have, and this is to the attorney as well, I will have comments that are confidential. So I don't know if we need to go ahead in motion to go into executive session for a little bit and then come out of executive session after that.

We can... Yeah, the council's prior vote was to remove it from executive session and conduct it in open session. We can go back into closed session, but that would require a motion, a second, and a vote. And because it's Robert's Rules of Order motion to reconsider, it would have to be made by somebody who was on the majority in the first motion.

Mayor, I'd like to make a... Point of order.

In the name of transparency, I really think that we need to discuss this in public.

We... We will be coming back out. Yeah, but we can't.

I think what I'm hearing is to reconsider the motion to have it in open session, to conduct a closed session, and then come back into open session for further discussion.

Mayor, I'd like to reconsider the motion and put it back into executive session so we can have some confidential. The information I have is confidential and cannot be stated in public.

Very good. Is there a second?

I'll second.

We have a motion and a second to go back to executive session. If you would please indicate your vote. Motion passes. We'll go back into executive session at this time and then come right back out. And we are back. Thank you very much for waiting. At this time, I'm going to turn the meeting over to Mayor Pro Tem Reid.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Item what was D2 slash L3 will now be considered in open session in accordance with the vote taken earlier this evening. The city attorney will lead the discussion regarding the charter code provisions being discussed.

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tem. Not necessarily charter code provisions, but let me frame the issue. A cease and desist letter has been issued.

Yeah, I'm sorry.

A cease and desist order was issued regarding Councilmember Lupe Gonzales dealing with a Facebook or a social media posting. The possibility of reimbursing or paying legal fees in her defense of a civil matter was raised, and we've decided it best for the council to make the judgment call as to whether that should happen. My function is to at least tell the council what the legal standards are. This was otherwise for the purposes of legal advice because the council has decided to do this in open session. The information is not... protected by the attorney-client privilege, but the privilege is just that. It's a privilege. It's not a requirement. And so with that in mind, the primary provisions that we need to be considering in determining whether or not to pay reimbursement or compensate a council member or any public official, for that matter, for defensive legal fees in connection with a civil matter are really outlined by the Texas Constitution, our charter, and our code of ordinances, and then the general law in Texas. Article 3, Section 52 of the Texas Constitution essentially prohibits the use of public funds for private gain or private benefit unless there is some public purpose to be served by it. In distinction, the general rule of thumb is that all cities will provide indemnification for legal fees and damages in the event that a public official not just council members, but city employees as well, are sued or claimed as brought against them for acts done within the scope of their official duties. Our charter contains a specific provision, 9.19, that provides protection for claims arising out of acts or omissions of public officials in the course and scope of their city duties. The general law is, and our code also provides in the employee liability plan, that the city will indemnify and defend and pay damages and legal fees for public officials if they've been, if a claim has been made against them in connection with acts performed or done within the course and scope of their official duties. and our insurance policy with the Texas Municipal League Intergovernmental Risk Pool contains a similar provision that the risk pool's liability coverage will cover legal defense for acts performed in public officials' official duties. So the issue that the council really needs to address this evening, and let me tell you, first and foremost, The law is also fairly clear that the city cannot reimburse or compensate a public official in the defense of a criminal action unless and until the criminal action results in a judgment of acquittal or is dismissed. And even only then, there still has to be some public purpose to be served for providing for that defense. This is not a criminal action. This is a civil matter, not a civil proceeding at this point, just a civil matter. And so the city council may decide that they want to or offer compensation for legal fees to Council Member Gonzalez if the council determines that the acts that she engages in were performed within the course and scope of her official duties and if the council also determines that there is some public purpose to be served for providing that reimbursement. Again, the issue that the council is addressing this evening is not the events that occurred on June 2nd. The issue is a social media posting that Councilmember Gonzalez put up dealing with the mayor's conduct that happened on June 2nd. And so with that in mind, those are your parameters.

Thank you, Mr. Berman. Now the council will discuss the matter. I will We'll go by district, starting to my right, District 2. Being the presiding officer, I will be responding last. The mayor will be responding after District 5, since there's a potential that he will be voting.

This is the first time I'm reading, seeing and reading the full cease and desist, just for the record.

I'm going to ask our city manager, can I ask you a question?

Sure.

Because you were sitting right there. When you spoke to the mayor about his putting his hand on Councilwoman Gonzalez, did you tell him at any point that he, because he had not put his hand on Councilwoman Villafranca, that if there was a person he should have touched, it should have been the person that was closer to him? As in friendship or colleague? It actually has very clearly to this, if this is not a true statement in and of itself,

My understanding was the issue is concerning a social media post and not any of the events that occurred on June 2nd, if that's what I understood from the city attorney. I'm sorry, read what? I was just handed that literally three minutes ago, so no, I have not.

I'm gonna leave it to the presiding officer how he would like me to move forward with this one and if you'd like me to respond or not.

Based on what the attorney had just said, the statement should be confined to whether Councilwoman Gonzalez was acting in her capacity as a member of the council.

Then I will reframe the question.

Maybe I can provide some guidance on this, and that may address the issue altogether. Liability coverage and our ordinances, and I guess common law of the state of Texas, in a civil proceeding, it doesn't matter if the claim is groundless or brought in bad faith. Coverage will still exist. So the The details of the letter, whether the cease and desist, whether the facts are completely false or the letter is groundless and brought in bad faith, that's not the issue. The issue is whether or not the conduct of Councilmember Gonzalez was done within the course and scope of her official duties and whether there's some public purpose to be served, even assuming that the allegations are groundless.

Okay, so then when Councilwoman Gonzalez was standing there, what was she there to ask questions of for the mayor, to the mayor?

The questions were related to a code enforcement topic from a resident in her district.

Had we signed, she and I both, because we had both asked for it, because we had both had complaints, did we sign disclosures about those specific topics for code enforcement?

Yes, you signed a confidentiality agreement in alignment with the special right of access for the City Council.

Thank you.

So I'm not really sure exactly where to start, but I can tell you that she made a post to a social media account that does not belong to the city. So I do not believe that she was acting in an official capacity when she made the statements about Mayor Lin to a social media post. I don't think that that was official duty. Now, we're always talking about being fiscally responsible. If we set this precedent, it will be very dangerous. I can tell you that I've had to hire an attorney, and if her legal fees will be paid, then I certainly, as the victim, will expect my legal fees to be paid. The mayor had to hire an attorney, and I'm sure, so we are setting a very, very dangerous precedent. I vote for things that are against my own best interests, because I have to see what is the common good, what is in the best interest of the city. The city should not have to pay for her legal fees. She could have stopped all of this at any moment. I don't know who's advising her. I don't know where she's getting her information. She could have stopped all of it. We are setting a very, very dangerous precedent if we allow this to happen.

Yes, I have several questions for the city attorney. Is it your opinion or belief that this is a civil matter between Terry Lynn and Ms. Gonzalez?

It's very clearly a civil matter. The cease and desist is a threat of libel and referencing the state.

Okay, so therefore you would consider it generally a private matter between the two?

Yeah, it is. Okay, thanks.

If the council were to approve such a thing, do you think our insurance carrier would approve or carry any assistance?

I reviewed the terms of the policy today. It's vague, but I stopped short of actually calling a claims specialist or one of the attorneys with the risk pool. But in reviewing the policy, it pretty much reprints exactly what our code and what state law already says. They'll provide coverage if done within the course and scope of official duties. Okay. And it is not likely that they would cover a claim like this.

Okay. So it's not likely, but it's still vague, right? That's what I heard here. And so, Mr. Berman, do you believe that the actions were part of an official duties with respect to the posting of the social media posting? In your opinion.

Although council members place posts on social media, it's not a part of their official duties. They can communicate with their constituents through social media, but it's not required. And just because you use the name or because you're referenced as a council member doesn't mean that you become acting within the course and scope of your official duties. She did not have an official duty to report that.

Okay.

The statement, the mayor touched my breast, or touched my chest, is not a part of our official duty. That's what I believe.

And then, do you or anyone here on the dais, can you explain to me what the public benefit would be by paying for the legal fees with public funds? Can somebody help me? What's the benefit to the city, if any? Anyone can answer. I just don't have an answer to that.

If nobody else is pushing their button, I'll go ahead and offer. In general, the provision of indemnification for the defense of civil actions for public officials kind of gives everyone a bit of confidence in their job, that they know that they're being protected. It's not that they would engage in criminal conduct, because that would never be covered. But if they're performing their jobs in good faith and doing what they're supposed to be doing, they should be able to do it free of fear of litigation.

Mr. Berman, are you familiar with the Attorney General's opinion, JC-0294, which discusses whether a city council may pay for an attorney if he is incurred and defined certain circumstances?

I am familiar with that opinion.

I am.

That's okay. No, I'm sorry. It doesn't reach all the way over. We need them to come longer. Yes, Roger, I am.

Okay, and so I wanted to ask a couple questions about that. It's my understanding, and I'm not an attorney, and I'll need your opinion on this, but as I read through that attorney general position, it seems to me that at a minimum, in order for the city to be able to pay the defense costs for a council member, that the payment of the legal fees serve a public interest is number one.

Yeah, that's the constitutional limitation that we talked about earlier.

Okay, and so I've not yet heard here yet what is the public interest served by paying the legal fees. That's number two. I'm sorry, number one. Number two, it also indicates that the council person was acting in good faith within the scope of his or her official duties. And from what you described a few minutes ago, you did not believe that she was acting in the scope of her official duties.

Yeah, keep in mind, that's my own...

Yes, I understand that's just your opinion, but you're the legal attorney. And again, I'm reading a legal opinion by the AG, so I'm just asking you to sort of concur that what I'm thinking is in alignment at least with that attorney general's opinion. ruling. And it's also my understanding that if council were to decide to pay for such legal fees, I think it's also in the same ruling that The payments, if any, would not be made until after the adjudication of the civil case?

No, that's a different matter. Civil versus criminal, the two are completely distinct.

Okay, this is civil according to your description.

In connection with a civil matter, the council could choose to pay legal fees on an ongoing basis up front. under whatever payment schedules I wanted to. If it were a criminal proceeding, the city cannot provide for legal defense of a criminal case of a public official unless and until that official is found not guilty.

Okay, I'll come back to a couple things in case council has any more questions. I just need to look at a couple things here in my notes.

Thank you. Mayor Pro Tem. I'll say first of all, it's unfortunate that I had to take the steps that I had to in order to protect myself. I'm not going to get into the events that took place on June 2nd, but I will say that on or about June 5th, Lupe Gonzalez posted on her social media site a post that I guess you could classify this as her attempt to defend her actions and state what happened that evening. Within that, I was mentioned. This is within the personal post that she put up online. And she accused me of doing something that I absolutely did not... Point of order. Okay. So my action is not against the city. My action is against Lupe Gonzalez. And the only thing I was seeking here was an apology, a... For her to pull down the post.

Again, point of order.

I think people need to know what the issue is.

No, they don't. What we're deciding upon is whether she was acting in the capacity as a council person.

Let me rephrase what I was going to say then. So Lupe chose to post something on social media herself. It was not her city email account. It was not posted through the city. It was posted through her own private account. So I believe that she was not acting as a council representative at the time that she was acting on her own accord to put her story out there. And she chose to do that on Facebook. And after speaking with her about it, and speaking with her husband, and nothing was done. I was left with no other choice.

All right. Yes, she did post it on Facebook. It was on her account. the Her Counsel Facebook page posted on Letterhead that named her as Councilwoman Gonzalez. I feel that part of your capacity as a councilperson is to communicate to your constituents, especially after an issue like that where she's getting questions on what happened, she's explaining in her words what she felt happened as and again, with on her council letterhead. Additionally, all the LEGAL DOCUMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN SENT TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ ARE ADDRESSED TO COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. IT'S NOT AN ACTION OF TERRY VERSUS LUPE. IT'S THE MAYOR VERSUS COUNCILWOMAN GONZALEZ. SO THE SUIT IS AGAINST HER AND NOT HER AS A It's against her as a council person, not her as an individual. And with that, I feel that she was acting in her capacity. She was notifying her constituents. She did it through the most formal means of notification that she has on letterhead. And again, with the cease and desist, it is against Lupe Gonzales, against Councilwoman Gonzales, not against Lupe Gonzales as an individual. Okay, we go back through, see if anyone else has any additional questions or statements.

I agree. It very clearly states council person Lupe Gonzalez via hand delivery, cease and desist defamation of Mayor Terry Lynn in making and publishing false statements.

Councilwoman Gonzalez and Lupe Gonzalez are the same person. When she put that email on her social media post, she put it on a mom's group, not in her own group, as far as I know. She did it not part of official duty. She didn't have a duty to report any of it. We are creating a very dangerous precedent, especially when you were the aggressor. I think that the audacity is...

Okay, that's immaterial.

Okay. We are setting a very dangerous precedent. And for the people watching on TV, for the people that are here, it has become very, very clear through the months that some of us have lost all sense of objectivity. It would be great if the city would pay for my leave.

That's immaterial.

If we have to pay, I mean, you're losing your sense of objectivity. It's so clear. If the city is going to pay for her legal fees, then they should be obliged to pay for my legal fees and the mayor's legal fees. And I don't think that that is right. As my mother used to say, you play, you pay. You want to make false accusations against people, then there is a price. You can go to legal aid or you can go down there with a monthly free legal service, but I don't believe the city should pay for these services for her.

I'd just like to wrap up my thoughts here. and most of which are based on our attorney's opinion. I think we need to rely on attorneys to interpret a lot of this legal stuff. First of all, it was his opinion, and I would concur that this is a civil matter, number one. Number two, he indicates and has the belief that it is a private matter between the two individuals. And thirdly, it's in his opinion that she was not acting in her official duties from what he was able to discern. And I like to take the advice of our city attorney because we hire him for those specific sorts of clarifications. But I think that the most trouble that I have for this is that there's no public benefit to the city for us paying for her legal defense And so, therefore, I don't think it's appropriate to use our city tax money without getting any benefit at all to the city that I've not yet heard up here.

Well, I think you're arguing about semantics here. And I just want folks to know that my action against her, against Lupe Gonzalez, is... as an individual, and I'm willing to waive all claims against the city. Additionally, I would ask staff if TML would cover a claim when all claims against the city were waived. I don't think they would continue to cover. So, again, My action is not against the city at all. My issue is purely a civil matter between Lupe Gonzalez and Terry Lynn. The fact that what it says here is really immaterial, the titles don't matter. It's the individuals that we're talking about.

Well, I disagree with that assessment. Titles do matter. If you're going to file something against an individual, you're filing it against the individual. If you're filing it against them as in their position, that matters. In my mind, that matters. Secondly, as far as... public benefit, or at least as the attorney had referenced earlier, it gives confidence to staff that the city will stand behind an individual who if acting in the capacity of their position has to undergo a civil lawsuit. So it's confidence building to the staff, confidence building to council, confidence building to all employees of the city that the city has their back.

That is a really important point. However, I don't think the spirit of that particular court of ordinances, that is not the spirit of the law. We're playing the game again of trying to find a technical, trying to get off on a technical. I'd like to read what we were required to place on our own Facebook page some months back. This page account is a personal account not funded or sponsored by the city or any governmental entity. The opinions, statements, and information in this page do not state the official policy or position of any government entity and are not made in an official capacity. The information, comments, and discussions should not be construed to be statements, positions, or policies of any government authority or its governing body. In other words, we are speaking as ourselves. Everywhere I go, I'm referred to as the honorable councilwoman, regardless of whether I'm... somewhere at an official capacity. I think our city attorney was very clear in telling us that this is a civil matter, a private matter. This is not part of her official duty to post that on her social media. There were other ways to fix this. On top of that, when the city attorney that was brought in to hear the case, there is no indication anywhere, and you've seen the evidence, there is no indication anywhere that anybody saw or heard that.

I'm sorry, saw or heard what?

What she said, what she's alleging.

That's not what was investigated.

Okay.

David, I'm Councilman Reed. I would agree with you generally that the public benefit would be to instill some confidence that employees would be protected. But the caveat to that is that when they're acting in the capacity of official business, and it was the opinion of our attorney just a few minutes ago that is his belief that this was not acting in an official business. So I don't think that you could then follow that there's any public benefit

Okay, then we'll just bring it to a vote. Can I call for a motion regarding L3?

Sure, I move to deny the court request of item L3 26-581.

I second.

Okay, a motion has been made and seconded. Let's go for a vote.

Confirm this is to deny the request, is that correct?

Okay, because Councilwoman Gonzalez is recused, we have a tie vote, so that means that the mayor votes to break the tie.

He has an interest in this?

Yeah, give us just a second.

Here comes Stacey.

Okay. Can we get the attorney's thoughts on what the next step is?

Yeah. Ordinarily, the mayor, by charter, gets to vote in the event of a tie, although I'm not sure yet. The sidebar that I just had with the mayor suggests that he may be inclined to abstain from participation because appropriately abstain from participation because he does have some interest in the outcome. He hasn't done that officially yet, but I think that's where he's going.

So if we were to then follow Robert's rules of order, that would indicate that the motion does not carry.

Two to two vote means the motion does not pass. That's all that it means.

Correct.

Is the mayor abstaining from voting?

Yes, I wish to abstain.

Okay, can I get another motion?

A motion was made that did not pass That doesn't mean that the council has resolved the issue so the presiding official can either a Call for another motion to see if a different motion is made be called for further deliberation Or see move on to the next agenda item Is there any further deliberation

Okay, I'll call for another motion on this topic.

I call to approve L3 and cover the legal expenses.

I will second. I'll call for a vote.

If I could interrupt, please, and make sure that you all are using your mics to have open conversation.

Thank you. If I'm going to have a sidebar, though, for the purposes of legal advice, I'm going to close my mic. I'm not going to share that with the world. So just so that you know.

All right. So you have an impasse.

Since there is an impasse and I doubt it's going to be resolved, there will be no action on this item.

No action or it doesn't pass?

No action.

Which is the same.

Which means the same thing.

All right.

You turn it.

Yeah.

At this time, I turn the proceeding back to the mayor.

Thank you very much, Mayor Pro Tem. We do not have any further action as a result of the other executive session item. So seeing no other action needing to take place this evening, we will adjourn at 8 o'clock. Thank you all very much.