City Council - Regular Meeting

I WILL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER. THIS IS OUR REGULAR MEETING FOR SEPTEMBER THE 9TH, 2026. IT'S 6 P.M. AND WELCOME, EVERYONE. THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE. AT THIS TIME, I WILL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER AND ESTABLISH A FORUM, WHICH IS DORA BARRETA-CANTU, COUNCILWOMAN DORA BARRETA-CANTU, COUNCILMAN MARIO BORONES, MAYOR POTEN FRANCIS DORES, COUNCILPERSON Felix Cantu, and on Zoom is Mr. Councilperson Lambert. We will start with an invocation followed by a pledge of allegiance. So if everyone would stand, please. Heavenly Father, we come to you today asking for your guidance, wisdom, and support as we

Mayor, is there a way that we can move my item, so we can just keep the discussion going on this? Hold on. Not right now. Let me finish the citizens' comments.

Mayor, is there a directive that we can give up and allow them more time?

Let me ask my question, legal. What why I know that the meeting, but why can't my item and my item was also. Misinterpreted and I'm hoping that y'all will come up with that. We can't talk about. Danny, because on the on the thing that I sent in, I don't know if you reviewed it or not. On my item, there's a paper there where I just wanted to talk about in case we needed more time. It's just a discussion. The thing that the damage has already been done. But for us to cover up and keep covering up things is not right. We moved the agenda around and all of a sudden we just can't move it around bec

Thank you. Moving on to public hearing. Do I have any more citizen comments? Moving on to public hearing. and it's 6-13, hold a public hearing to discuss and consider requests for Maior II, LLC for the approval of a zoning change from R-1 residential to B business for a 0.544 acre tract of land located at 105 Sparrow Lane, being all of blocks five, six, and seven, block two riding subdivision and take necessary action. Do I have any public comments on this? Okay. On the second, well, that ended at 614. On the second one, it's 614, public hearing on proposed property tax rate.

Okay, and we just need to go. okay uh the proposal is for to move the this item for september 28th for our next meeting do you have a motion it's going to be i'm asking for a special meeting on september 28th special meeting that will be on monday do i have a motion for this and we're talking about item b correct

Here, I'll go ahead and make a motion to postpone. Item being public on proposed property tax rate. September the 28th for a special meeting.

No, the 2nd. Motion made by miss Francis 2nd, by Ms. on favor. Motion passes by 4. Presentation and discussion. Public CPI. This is our Refuge Republic.

And I noticed that they just sent this, what did they send this?

I'm going to ask. Can you review the contract piece? AND WHAT HAPPENS IF WE REJECT THE .

Yeah, because it's a five-year contract, and you can also check and see when it expires, because every year it seems to be going up in my WE'LL PROVIDE AN ANALYSIS OF THE BRANCHES AGREEMENT THAT HAS BEEN ENTERED INTO THE GOVERNMENT. THANK YOU.

MOVING ON TO HEALTH, INSURANCE AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS PROGRAM.

And at the same time, and I don't want you to learn that new word. You have to order more because that's what you want 1 day. I'm going to keep going because you have to know what point of order is before you call it. But my thing is. You my main thing. Here in Floresville to the citizens and taxpayers is. That if we can keep something local, I want local. I'm not saying that Mr. Talley should stay on. You have that right. You're the city manager. You do as you please, like I told you. But to come and call him out, to say, when I asked you clearly that you talked to Mr. Talley, and you told me

That's not what I wanted. It's just that you get off of the subject.

You have every... You could have gone and asked him. You can find your... You're just here putting it out in public. You can... Easily.

Did you listen to the statement, Mr. Talley? How did you call me? I didn't call you. You didn't call me. We didn't talk or nothing. Did we?

There's a conversation going on. I can't hear it.

We just come up to the podium. You don't mind, Mr. Talley?

For point of clarification when I'm sorry, go ahead. I'm sorry. I have a question for the city attorney city attorney. I just want to know by having this conversation out loud. I get it. Things happened. I, you know. What have you, but is this creating any kind of risk or liability? For the city to discuss it right now.

And what I want to say, no, what I want to ask the citizens should know is how much was the savings since the finance knows or because on the packet that I got and I know you're going to tell me, oh, he didn't show up to the budget meeting and this was all done. But not one thing On that item, when that man came and presented, I asked him, the only thing I asked him was, are you from here? And he lied to you. Because according to, your timing seemed like he said from Idaho somewhere. Okay? My thing is, I'm only asking the questions, and I know y'all hate to say the questions, for me to come ou

Mayor, point of inquiry, this is not an agenda item to be voted on or take action.

It's important. And also, I'm not going to say what I don't care. I'm not going to, there's not no point in the words, nothing like that. I'm talking about the tally. We want to get back on that track. I'm asking you a question. No, no, that's me, the city, nothing. I'm not going to stop. You can call it all you want. I'm not going to stop. I don't care. That's a new word in the world. What is the point of order? When I'm speaking, when I'm speaking I'm not going to stop. I'm not going to stop. No, I'm not going to be removed. That's what y'all want. Y'all remove me, y'all going to see. Okay?

I will make a motion to pause the meeting, take a recess for at least five minutes.

Y'all are wrong, man. Y'all are wrong. Y'all are asking this question. We can pause for five minutes.

I didn't receive so many comments in one place. On the paper?

And off the record, if I had to go down there and speak as a citizen, off the record you need to show these people what point of order is. when I'm asking a question, a serious question for the taxpayers and the citizens of Florida.

I'd like to see you. No, man, I'm tired of this. I'm always trying to cover for the people. Get away with a lot of things. No, I ain't gonna talk to nobody. Y'all want to take me in? Y'all take me in. Well, go ahead. Y'all have a big office. Bring it in. People elected me to protect them.

I'll make a motion to return from recess at 6.30 p.m. Do I have a second?

Motion made by Mayor Co-Chair Francis Flores, second by Councilperson Barrera Cantu. All in favor? Motion passes. All against? And then one on the same. Moving on, consider agenda. All items listed below are considered to be routine by the city council and will be enacted with one motion. There will be no separate discussion of the item unless the council member requests in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in its normal sequence. Approval of the consent agenda authorizes the city manager to implement each item in accordance with staff recommendation.

i have a question that would be i guess would be the second um regarding the last of my agenda because i didn't have a chance to ask a question and i just had

It's referring to the health insurance and employee benefits program.

Yes, ma'am. Would I have to make this an agenda item to move forward, or would I be allowed to ask the questions?

We're on item A, consideration and action to approve limited meetings for regular council meeting August 26, 2026.

Mayor, I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve meeting minutes for regular council meeting August 26, 2026. Do I have a second?

I'll second. Motion made by Mayor Pro Tem Francis Flores, seconded by Councilperson Barrera Cantu. All in favor? Motion passes 5-4, 0 against. new business, consideration, discussion, and possible action to approve Proclamation 2026-020, Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month.

Now therefore, I, Gloria Morales-Canto, Mayor of the City of Arizona, Texas, do hereby proclaim the month of September, 2026, as Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month in the City of Arizona, Texas, and encourage all residents to increase awareness of mental health and suicide prevention, promote community education, recognize the warning signs of emotional distress, support individuals and families affected by mental health challenges, and connect those in need with available resources, including Cabino Real Community Service and the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day,

We truly appreciate everything you do, all the help you give our citizens. We truly are grateful. Thank you so much.

Mayor, you want me to make a motion first?

All right. Yes, Mayor, I'll make a motion to approve Proclamation 2026-020, Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month.

All in favor? Jake, are you voting for us? Five, four, zero against. So, thank you so much. MOVING ON TO ITEM B, NEW BUSINESS CONSIDERATION AND ACTION TO APPROVE TEXT ORDER NUMBER 01 WITH TRC ENGINEERS FOR THE CITY HALL PARKING LOT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT IN NEVADA 46,750 AND AUTHORIZE THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTS.

Do I have any citizens' comments on this? Council comments? All in favor?

Is it going to take care of the hole back there? Yes. Thank you.

mayor i'll make the motion to approve task order number zero one with trc engineers incorporated for the city hall parking lot improvement project in the amount of forty six thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars and authorize the city manager to execute the necessary documents do i have a second i'll second motion made by miss uh may approach in francisco second by council person

DORA BARRETA-CANTU, ALL IN FAVOR? FIRST OF ALL, DO I HAVE ANY CITIZEN'S COMMENTS? NO. ALL IN FAVOR? 5-4-0 AGAINST. MOVING ON TO ITEM C, CONSIDERATION AND ACTION TO APPROVE SCHUMEN, 3 PLATS BEING OF 6.628 ACRES OUT OF THE S&J ARORTA GRANT ABSTRACT 1 IN WOLFSTOWN COUNTY, TEXAS. and also being that certain 4.92 acre tract reported in doc number 151576 of the official public record of Wilson County, Texas, and that certain 1.71 acre tract reported in doc number 152783 of said public records.

Do I have any citizens' comments? Any council comments?

i do have a question um mr mcginnis or maybe it's for the city secretary item 9c i mean the documents that are in the back have to do with 105 sparrow lane is this the same property that's what the development department gave me so i'm not sure if that's So, the documents attached in our agenda item, the actual documents, the 1st, well, actually all of them, except for the last page on the summary report, it talks about 105 Sparrow lane, which is changing it from residential R1 to business. So is this the same property, 105 Sparrow Lane, to the stew-in re-plat? No, it's two different sites.

So these are two different properties, but right now on the agenda, I just want to be clear, we're approving the replat for the Stuman property, the 6.62 with eight acres.

I'll tell you what. What we can do is go ahead and make a motion to table it to our next agenda meeting, just to ensure that we have the correct paperwork and that it's written correctly. So, Mayor, I'm going to go ahead and move that we postpone, or I'm sorry, table it to the

DO I HAVE A SECOND? MOTION MADE TO TABLE BY MS. MERRICK-PUCHIN-FLORID. DO I HAVE A SECOND? I'LL SECOND, MA'AM. MOTION MADE BY MS. MERRICK-PUCHIN-FLORID, SECOND BY COUNCILPERSON PEDRO GANTU. ALL IN FAVOR? MOTION PASSES, 5-4, 0 AGAINST. MOVING ON TO ITEM D, DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE CITY, STAFFING, AND COMPENSATION FOLLOWING RECENT BUDGET REDUCTIONS INCLUDING NEW OR VACANT POSITIONS, HIRING AND EMPLOYMENT CHANGES, SALARY INCREASE, PROMOTION, AND THE FINANCIAL IMPACT OF THESE CHANGES ON THE CITY ADOPTED BUDGET. I HAVE A QUESTION FOR LEGAL ON THIS ITEM. SO ATTORNEY i need clarit

I mean, I guess my question is which staffing and compensation decisions fall under the city manager's administrative authority versus council authority?

Thank you. I request this again item because council approved the budget production of the understanding they were necessary to protect the city's financial position. But since then questions have arisen regarding new or vacant positions, interviews, hiring decisions, promotions, increases in salary, and other employment changes. Council and the public deserve a clear Telling you how these decisions affect the adopted budget and whether they were properly authorized. So my question. I guess to the, uh, to the city manager, you know. When we went through these budget cuts, what exactly was what

Okay, gotcha. I mean, so from what I gathered, since the budget reductions, I know we got rid of two or three employees and then since then hired three or four more. I could be totally wrong on that number. That's just an example that I'm giving. Were we using, I guess, the salaries from those vacated positions to be able to account for the positions that we hired?

So I guess my question is pretty clear here. Are we going through budget cuts currently?

just give some clarification uh because there's a lot of constituents that are they're curious because they you know it's a small town and they hear that oh well this person got let go this person got let go we're in the middle of the budget cuts and then here we go the next week we're hiring four more people so just for clarification you know if there's any way i would like to know you know financially are we going through much are we Are we going to continue? Are we on track? Are we on track to hiring more people and succeeding in these positions? So if you could just keep up with me on that

$1.3 million and then, you know, there's money that's heating up our general fund. How are we able to sustain, you know, adding on, you know, new positions and new health and, you know, new job openings?

gotcha sir um you know thank you for that again and so do we currently have human resources to be able to hire a human resources officer or do we already have that on staff

Yes, sir. Before, I guess, is our current acting HR associate, is she certified to be an HR associate? She's currently working on that. Okay, but she's not certified though, right?

Gotcha. Gotcha. Does that put the city in any liability to be able to hire employees? I'm sorry.

Gotcha. This is the next meeting, thank you. We can move on, Mayor, thank you.

Moving on to item E, consideration, discussion, and possible action to approve ordinance number 2026-024, adopting the tax rate and levying and valerian taxes for fiscal year 2026-2027.

Mayor, I'll go ahead and make a motion to postpone Organs number 2026-024 adopting the tax rate and levying at . I'm sorry. It just needs to be.

Okay, no action. And the same for F. Okay, so we'll do ENF, that's going to be full. We won't have to vote on that.

on these fees and everything. I just want to make sure that nobody's going to move the fees without the approval of the city council, right?

so moving on to item g this is consideration discussion and possible action to approve the proposed tax rate for uh fiscal year 2026 and 2027.

And the proposed tax rate is the 0.44? Correct. And so, I know the mayor mentioned it earlier, so it's going up two cents, correct? 2.5. 2.5.

But we're not voting for that. Is this a state required?

But it sounds like two cents You're saying like $58 to $100 or over there? Correct, yes, an increase. But it just depends on the amount of your house. An average house is probably $58, but somebody that has a home that's $300,000, $400,000.

Just for clarification, if we do not pass the proposed test, will we have to make additional cuts? Correct.

but this is where all this comes in with it that bracket that we supposedly i didn't pass it was passed with the mids and all this so i guess this might not be the time to ask but might be the financial but my thing is

And to me, I might be on topic, but like I say, if. The more we raise things, the more we spend. We never go back and say, OK, let's buy half instead of buy the whole. And to me, I know everything goes up. And people always say, oh, Morones don't want to advance. But we went up on their water rate. My neighbor said, man, I paid $201. And we told the people here, hey, Oh, that's not the way to treat her. But anyways, I'll leave it at that.

That rate has never, that rate is not on yet. It's not on yet. So it won't be on until the next one. Okay. So do we need to make a motion? Correct. And then the motion can be to approve the proposal. This is just a proposal, correct? It's not a proposal that we have to deploy.

But we actually need to vote now. I mean, if we did with the other two.

Okay. Mayor Mann. I'll go ahead and make a motion to approve the proposed tax rate for the fiscal year 2026 through 2027.

Okay, but we have to vote individually. An individual vote. Okay, so.

Okay. we need a second do i need it i need a second second by mr all in favor council member no And this is just to put it in the paper? Yes. Yes. Put it in the paper and advertise. Councilmember Ambrose? No.

And again, this is just to advertise it. This is just so we can put it on the paper so that people will know. Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Cindy. Okay. Moving on to executive session. The city council will meet in closed session pursuant to section 551.071 and section 1.05 TEXAS DISCIPLINARY RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT TO CONSULT WITH THE LEGAL COUNCIL TO DELIBERATE ABOUT A CITY COUNCIL MEMBER AS FOLLOWED. EMBER FIELDS, GRIEVANCE FOLLOWED BY MICHELLE TACKETT, MAINTAINING CONFIDENTIAL BY CITY COUNCIL, GRIEVANCE FOLLOWED BY CITY MANAGER.

MAY I MAKE A MOTION TO GO AHEAD AND MEET IN CLOSED SESSION PURSUANT TO SECTION 551 point zero seven one in section one point zero five Texas disciplinary rules of professional conduct to consult with the legal counsel to deliberate about a city council matter as follows. Arbor Fields grievances maintain confidentiality by council members and another grievance at nine at seven twelve p.m. Do I have a second?

MOTION MADE BY MAYOR COACH IN FLORIDA, SECOND BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT FELIX CANTU. ALL IN FAVOR?