Nov 01, 2016 City Council on 2016-11-01 2:00 PM

Good afternoon. I wanted to welcome everybody to this meeting of the Denton City Council on Tuesday November the 1st 2016. It is 2 p.m. We do have a quorum. We'll move to our first item on the agenda which is citizen comments on consent agenda items. We do have one card wishing to speak. Mr. Willie Hutzpeth you'll come up state your name and address. Your time will begin. My name is Willie Hutzpeth. I live in 623 Newton and this is what happens when you say no to your wife. I got something for you buddy. Anyway, no, carpal tunnel just in case you want to know what happened. I had to go for carpal tunnel surgery. I want to talk about the addition or the alternates to the ethics committee. Ethics to committee. I would suggest you move that to discussion. Don't put that in with something where you just vote and no discussion is taking place here. And with that in mind, the closed session that you have listed, you're talking about according to what you've written, you're talking about the selection of the city manager. Just like I think if you're talking about that in open session, which should be, you're not talking about that in open session and you should talk about that in your own talk method in the open session. So the closed session that you're having, so I'm my discussion today is about the selection of the alternates for the ethics committee. When you have closed session meetings, if you're just talking about the things that you listed, I'm going to make be aware, look to see who's left in here and if they have anything to do with that discussion. And you don't need that discussion, I don't think, you don't need them in here to talk about that nor the acting city manager if you're talking about the selection of that person. It's only when you're talking about his or her individual information. These closed sessions are not done properly. These, all of these people shouldn't be in here for that. None of them again, unless you're talking about something specific to the issue that you have there and you need to be talking about. They don't need to be in here just listening to you talk. So I'm going to monitor, take a picture, who all is in here and then see how you justify that they were in here for this discussion that you have listed. Thank you. Thank you. All right we'll move on to agenda item number two, which is request for clarification of agenda items listed on the agenda for today, November the 1st, 2016. Yes, Councilmember Briggs. Item A, agenda item A. Okay. Is that a, on the consent agenda? Oh yes, okay. You wanted clarification. Clarification. Okay. Mr. Cimino, who's got agenda policy, investment policy regarding funds for the city. Let me call on Chuck Springer, our director of finance. I'm just wondering if, why are we doing this? Are we, do we need more yield or can you kind of explain that to me a little bit? The investment policy under state law, the City Council's required to adopt an investment policy and every year we adopt. So we bring it back to the City Council every year and propose any type of changes that we think are necessary. We went to the audit finance committee and the only really substantive change to the investment policy is the amount of commercial paper that's invested in the portfolio. Right now we have authority of 5% of the portfolio in commercial paper. We want to change that up to 15% in commercial paper with 5% maximum in any one issuer. In terms of what commercial paper is, it can be issued by a municipality or a business for a short-term financing, a maximum of 270 days. Some of the names on the business side is like ExxonMobil, GE, Walmart, some very large companies. The reason we're recommending that is there's been some changes at the federal level, SEC changes for money market funds and the money market funds because of these changes are buying less commercial paper so the yields on commercial paper have become attractive. We're seeing yields of upwards for shorter paper of upwards about half a percentage point above what they were before those changes were implemented. We would just buy A1P1 commercial paper which is the next highest rating kind of like AA+ or AAA in terms of that and we use our outside financial advisors to monitor those and recommend the list. So that's the only substantial change but the investment policy does require action by the City Council every year under state law. Okay so our our advisors are doing their job. It's just a request that we had. Is it a benchmark that we're trying to reach? Not really a benchmark. What we've set forth in the investment policy is maximum amounts of different types of securities that we can purchase to kind of diversify the city's portfolio and really commercial paper is the only one we're recommending changing to be able to buy a little bit higher percentage of the portfolio for those short-term investments because of the changes in the marketplace and the availability of a higher yield with the same type of security. What is that percentage? Well right now the maximum of the portfolio that can be invested in commercial papers five percent. Okay. We're recommending that go from five percent to fifteen percent maximum and then also adding in no more than five percent in any one commercial paper issuer. Okay. Thanks. Okay. Any other clar ifications of agenda items? Seeing none. Staff has been requested to move to remove consent items for A, B, C, and G. Okay. A and B for informational purposes, C for a separate vote, and G for conflict. Okay. All right. They're in regular session. Would you repeat those again? A, B, C, and G. And it's yes Madam Chair, you turn it. The Mayor and Council we have passed out some some substitutes on the agreements related to 5B and 5C excuse me that's not true it's 5C and 5D and so if you would act on those substituted agreements please it's a simply a change in the signature line for the other party as it concerns the general partner so that's the change. And I just have one it's really not it's just more of just the desire of the council. 5G is the wireless ordinance and I know we've had some memos passed out on that through legal and and some other things so we're just is there a desire to have that discussion here we could have a here at clarification we just have it out there as well so it sounds like there wasn't any decision to clarify it here so we probably just will have it in the open meeting. Is that correct? All right. Yes Council Member Hawkins. Mayor Mr. Martin so we are not voting on consent agenda items A and B tonight. No we are. We're pulling those off for individual. Yes. Okay so those A, B, C, and G. That's correct. Okay thank you. Yes Mayor Pro Tem. Is that is that staff initiated on on those? I just know the gentleman is here for one of these items the one relating to I think it's C and just he probably wants to know what's this is being pulled for who's asked to be pulled or what what the purpose are we seeking? Council Member McG arry has asked these items to be pulled. For a separate vote? For a separate vote. Okay thank you. Yes Council Member Riggs. Mr. Mayor on 5G that we discussed since it's the last one is it possible to move it I'm not sure if there's going to be people in the audience that are willing to listen to that or want to speak to it is it possible to move it to the beginning or or do you just want to leave it in the place that it is? Let's leave it in place for now and see where we are when we get out there in the meeting and then if the council so inclines we can we can do that. Any other questions for agenda item 2 which is clarification of agenda items? Seeing none we'll move on to our closed meeting closed meeting 1A. I will convene the closed session at 2 10 p.m. on November the 1st 2016. We will consider the following items consultation with attorneys under Texas Government Code section 551.071. Do we have we got more than one closed meeting? Okay and deliver deliberations regarding real property under Texas Government Code section 551.072. you you you