The Mayor and Sachse City Council request that all cell phones be turned off or set to vibrate. Members of the audience are requested to step outside the Council Chambers to respond or to conduct a phone conversation.

BACKGROUND

The City Council conducts a performance review of the City Secretary every six months from the date of hire. The mid-year review is currently conducted in March, and the annual review is conducted in September.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Conduct Executive Session as appropriate.

BACKGROUND

The City Council requested this item be brought back for discussion.

OVERVIEW

The City Council may discuss possible amendments to the Code of Ethics for City Officials.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Discuss and provide feedback to staff.

Please note: These items are for discussion purposes only and no City Council action will be taken. The workshop session is for City Council and staff discussion. Citizen input is not permitted on this agenda.

The Mayor and Sachse City Council request that all cell phones be turned off or set to vibrate. Members of the audience are requested to step outside the Council Chambers to respond or to conduct a phone conversation.

BACKGROUND

During the winter storm, Chase Oaks Church and 5 Loaves Food Pantry provided Sachse and residents of surrounding areas aid and relief. They were instrumental in their assistance and coordination with the City.

OVERVIEW

The City would like to recognize Todd Baughman and Audrey Wallace for their efforts during this time. They will be in attendance virtually to receive the Proclamation.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Mayor Felix to issue Proclamation to Chase Oaks Church and 5 Loaves Food Pantry.

BACKGROUND

During the winter storm, CERT provided the City, and it's residents aid and relief. They were instrumental in their assistance and coordination with the City.

OVERVIEW

The City would like to recognize the CERT team for their efforts during this time. Tricia Lindsey will be in attendance virtually to receive the proclamation on behalf of the CERT team.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Mayor Felix to issue proclamation to CERT.

BACKGROUND

The Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award is selected annually by a committee of members from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association.  The winning libraries must demonstrate excellence in each of the following categories: Provide services to underserved populations, provide enhanced services to the public during the past year, provide current marketing materials, provide cultural, topical, and educational programs for adults and families, provide literacy support for all ages, conduct a Summer Reading Program, invest in collaborative efforts with community organizations, support workforce development, support digital inclusion, and establish professional staff training for staff at all levels. 

Out of 568 public library systems in Texas, only 56 qualified for the Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award this year, placing the Sachse Public Library in the top 10% of public libraries in Texas. This is the third straight year that the Sachse Public Library has received the Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award. 

OVERVIEW

Mayor Mike Felix will read a congratulatory letter from the Texas Municipal Library Directors Association and recognize the Sachse Public Library for the receipt of the 2020 Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Recognize the Sachse Public Library for the receipt of the 2020 Achievement of Excellence in Libraries Award.

BACKGROUND

The Heart Safe Community Program is designed to recognize the efforts a community makes to its citizens in protecting them from the effects of heart disease and sudden cardiac death by evaluating different aspects of the system as a whole. Recognition requires a multi-disciplinary team approach to review and complete the components of the Heart Safe Community Program. Communities that successfully complete the application process are eligible to display the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council (NCTTRAC) Heart Safe Community street signs throughout their communities. 

OVERVIEW

Below is an example of the signs that may be placed around town. Casey Rauschuber, Chair of the NCTTRAC Cardiac Committee, will be in attendance to present the item to the City Council.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Recognize the City of Sachse as a Heart Safe Community.

Citizens who wish to speak may fill out a form or email to the City Secretary prior to the meeting.

BACKGROUND

Minutes of the March 1, 2021, combined meeting.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Approve the minutes of the March 1, 2021, combined meeting.

BACKGROUND

The Finance Department prepares a report each month to update the City Council regarding revenues and expenditures for the City.  Included in the report are unaudited summaries for the General Fund, Utility Fund, Debt Service Fund, Sachse Economic Development Corporation, and the Sachse Municipal Development District, as well as an analysis of year-to-date sales tax revenue.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

The City Charter requires that the City Manager submit a monthly report covering revenues and expenditures.

RECOMMENDATION

Accept the monthly revenue and expenditure report for the period ending January 31, 2021.

BACKGROUND

It is necessary for the City to maintain licensing for all computer network servers, Exchange email services, user authentication, firewall-security, workstation operating systems, and productivity software that each end-user utilizes on a daily basis. In addition to these licensing requirements, the City has to maintain licensing for anti-spam and anti-virus protection. The Microsoft Enterprise agreement and licensing renewal is proposed for purchase through SHI Government Solutions, which is the City’s current Microsoft software vendor. The company is a licensed contract vendor of the State of Texas, Department of Information Services. The attached quote covers the first year of a three-year period.

OVERVIEW

The current Microsoft Enterprise software licensing agreement expired February 28, 2021, and has a 90-day grace period. The original agreement includes licensing for 165 combined devices/users. The updated agreement will add the following:

• The City will increase the overall number of licenses to 180 devices/users to reflect new staff growth.
• The City is also upgrading the server licensing to reflect new capability requirements for operations and public safety.
• Finally, the City is adding upgrades to functionality as well as cybersecurity protections to the Microsoft licensing agreement.

The approved FY 20-21 budget includes $75,000 for these services. The quoted price of the first year of this agreement is $88,436.00. This cost difference is primarily from increased cybersecurity services for telecommuting. For FY 20-21, this difference will be covered by funding earmarked in the CARES Act distributions from Dallas and Collin County for telecommunications upgrades. The IT budget will absorb the cost differences in FY 21-22 and FY 22-23.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

This agreement covers the required licenses needed to operate the Microsoft platform on City devices.

RECOMMENDATION

Authorize the City Manager to execute a renewal of the Microsoft Enterprise Software Licensing Agreement through the State of Texas' agreement with SHI Government Solutions.

BACKGROUND

In February 2021, a near record-breaking winter storm struck the State of Texas. The region was faced with frozen water lines, electrical power outages, hazardous road conditions, and more. The Cty of Sachse was one of many cities impacted.

OVERVIEW

This item is to provide the City Council with an update on the City's planning and actions related to the anticipated and realized winter storm threat.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

There is no staff recommendation affiliated with this item. This is a presentation only. 

BACKGROUND

As a result of the winter storm experienced the week of February 14, 2021, many water utility customers were forced to continuously run water in their homes to prevent major damage to the plumbing systems.  Extremely low temperatures lasting several days required continuous use of water for an extended period of time, creating a potential hardship situation for customers that were also unable to work due to the inclement conditions.

OVERVIEW

An analysis of residential usage during the month of February shows that a higher than normal percentage of customers used water outside their normal usage patterns.  Average household consumption was up almost 1,000 gallons over February 2020.  Staff is proposing a temporary change to the rate table allowing the first 2,000 gallons of water to be eliminated from the billing calculation in March, since the February billing has already been calculated. Residential customers using more than 2,000 gallons in March will not be billed for the first 2,000 gallons; customers using less than 2,000 gallons will not be billed for volume charges.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

The rates used to calculate water, sewer and solid waste bills are set by City Council at the beginning of each fiscal year.  Changes to the legally adopted rates must also be approved by City Council.

RECOMMENDATION

Approve a resolution authorizing a one-time credit up to 2,000 gallons of water per residential water account on all utility bills issued by the City in March 2021.

BACKGROUND

The budget approved by City Council for the 2020-2021 fiscal year included $172,175 from the General Fund and $13,029 from the Utility Fund for mid-year pay adjustments and $24,967 for the reclassification of three Firefighter/Paramedic positions to Driver/Engineer.  Ordinarily, revisions to the pay plan and authorization for tenure and step plan adjustments take effect at the beginning of the fiscal year, but due to economic uncertainties related to COVID-19, these adjustments were postponed to mid-year to allow for review of budget to actual revenues.

OVERVIEW

As of January 31, General Fund revenues are at 76% of budget, which is exactly the same as the previous year.  Utility Fund revenues stand at 32% of budget, which is consistent with normal patterns.  Expenditures within both funds are below the expected 33%, at 27% and 26% respectively.

RECOMMENDATION

Approve a mid-year cost-of-living/step plan adjustment for City staff and the reclassification of three positions in the Fire Department.

BACKGROUND

Governor Abbott recently announced several changes regarding COVID-19 restrictions. 

OVERVIEW

Staff will present an overview of current operations and discuss a proposed re-opening plan for City facilities. 

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

There are no policy considerations affiliated with this item.

RECOMMENDATION

Discuss a re-opening plan for City of Sachse facilities including City Hall, the Public Safety building, the Animal Shelter, the Sachse Public Library, the Laurie Schwenk Senior Center, and the Michael J. Felix Community Center.

BACKGROUND

This item was originally discussed by the City Council at its January 19, 2021, regular meeting. It was requested that this item return for further discussion at a later date.

OVERVIEW

The City Council requested this item return for further discussion.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

The Sachse Economic Development Corporation is one of the City's boards and commissions. 

RECOMMENDATION

Discuss and consider amendments to the Sachse Economic Development Corporation's Bylaws. 

BACKGROUND

City staff has presented a series of major capital projects to the City Council on several occasions in the last year. Corey Nesbit, Director of CIP and Public Works, will present a brief overview of those projects as well as some important considerations from the City's Bond Counsel. In light of these projects and with the Council's recent appointment to the Bond 2021 Committee, the following charge is recommended:

“Make a recommendation to the City Council regarding the need and size of a bond package to submit to Sachse voters in a November 2, 2021, referendum in light of:

• The condition of residential, collector, and arterial streets citywide;
• The condition of drainage systems citywide;
• The condition of select city facilities;
• The condition of select screening walls;
• The tax rate impact of various bond package amounts; and,
• The potential for a successful election outcome."

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS
The scope of these projects exceeds the City's ability to pay for them as they are needed. In these situations, it is typical for cities to evaluate the potential of a General Obligation bond as a means to pay for such projects. 

RECOMMENDATION

Review the list of projects and issue a charge to the Bond 2021 Committee as appropriate.