Item 4B - AttachmentCity of Southlake
2019 Legislative Agenda
86th texas LegisLative session
2
GENERAL LEGISLATIVE POLICY
STATEMENT OF PRESERVATION
As a general policy, the City of Southlake seeks to work
productively with the Texas Legislature to serve local resident
and business constituents. The City believes strongly in its
authority and effectiveness to govern at the local level under the
concept of home rule authority and its voter-approved City
Charter, and urges State elected officials to focus attention on
key policy issues with statewide implications that cannot be
effectively addressed at the local level.
Home Rule Authority/Local Control
In 1912, Texas voters approved the concept of autonomous home rule governance.
Article XI, Section 5 of the Texas Constitution affords municipalities the right and
opportunity to adopt any regulation not “inconsistent with the Constitution of the State, or of
the general laws enacted by the Legislature of this State.” The concept of home rule was
developed to address the difficulty faced by the Legislature in resolving complex local
issues – such as an increasing demand for public services – arising out of non-rural, more
dense and geographically remote areas of the state. Local autonomy allows for truly local
representation and accountability; and the concept creates a favorable climate for direct
governance of cities by their citizens.
On Saturday, April 4, 1987, Southlake voters
approved the home rule Charter of the City.
The v oters, by and through the Charter,
bestowed upon the City “all powers of local
self-government and all other powers which,
under the Constitution and laws of the State of
Texas it would be competent for this Charter
specifically to enumerate.” (Southlake, Tex.,
Charter §1.07 (adopted Apr. 4, 1987).)
The desire of state and local voters in
approving the constitutional notion of home
rule governance through a municipal charter is
testament to the fact that the public favors
3
strong local control. Legislative preemption of local control is antithetical to the will of the
people, ignores a century of precedent favoring local self-governance, and constitutes a
legislative referendum on measures approved by public vote. The elimination of local
control would have the effect of preventing the City of Southlake from addressing the needs
of their citizenry, including the immediate and ongoing need to establish and maintain the
public health, safety, morals, and general welfare.
For the reasons described, the City Council of the City of Southlake hereby strongly
opposes any curtailment of local control by the legislature and advocates for the self-
evident merits of continued robust local governance and accountability.
It is the position of the City of Southlake that members of the Legislature should carefully
study any initiative that could have a negative impact on municipal operations.
Further, the City would strongly encourage State elected officials to seek the opinions and
consider the point of view of local elected officials on any legislation that could impact
municipal operations.
POSITIONS OF SUPPORT
The City of Southlake provides services that directly impact the quality of life for its
residents, businesses, and visitors.
These services are customized to the unique desires of the
people who invest in the community and include basic services
such as police protection, fire suppression, garbage collection,
provision of high quality drinking water, and disposal of
sewage.
The City also provides customized services as desired by the
community, including parks and recreation facilities and
programs, land use management, and others.
Through local elected officials, members of the community are
able to directly impact the character of their city and plan for its
future. In Southlake, a robust planning process is used to
identify and memorialize a vision for the City’s future, a vision
achieved through careful management of resources and
strong, inclusive decision-making.
The City supports any legislation viewed as advancing the
City’s strategic goals; or that improves the health, safety, and
welfare of its citizens; or that responsibly increases revenues;
or that advances the City’s authority to conduct the public's
business. In summary, the City welcomes the Legislature’s
support in helping local elected officials meet the needs of the
residents and businesses that call Southlake home.
4
Southlake residents attend a Land Use Plan development meeting.
Southlake elected officials respectfully request the members of the Texas Legislature
recognize the value of local governance and decision-making. City leaders support State
legislative actions that:
1. Improve the health, safety, and welfare of Southlake citizens;
2. Support or advance the principles of local control, or the ability of local elected
officials to govern communities to meet unique needs, limiting preemption on key
policy issues;
3. Protect a local municipality’s ability to manage municipal revenues (such as property
taxes, sales taxes, right-of-way revenues and court fines) as a means of conducting
the public’s business;
4. Simplify and accurately notify taxpayers of the levy and impacts of adopted property
tax rates, including property taxes meant to support State of Texas objectives;
5. Require mandatory disclosure of real estate sales prices or substantially improves
the real estate appraisal process including the appeals process;
6. Improve the City’s ability to attract economic development, or improve the City’s
ability to recruit and retain a quality workforce;
7. Increase state funding for transportation projects or creates local-option funding for
transportation projects or that discontinues the diversion of transportation revenues
to non-transportation purposes;
8. Provide funding for water projects;
5
9. Protect the City’s previous and future investments in the Texas Municipal
Retirement System or creates non-retroactive and flexible cost-of-living (COLA)
adjustments;
10. Appropriate funds for or directly benefits public parks, recreation, open space, and
trails;
11. Appropriate funds for or directly benefits tourism;
12. Clarify and improve the disclosure and filing requirements regarding the City’s and
the State’s process of contracting with business entities; and/or,
13. Improve the City’s ability to provide public services or reduces the costs of providing
services by optimizing the use of technology.
POSITIONS OF OPPOSITION
The City will oppose any initiatives that seek to erode municipal authority or that otherwise
have a negative impact on municipal operations, including but not limited to legislation that
would:
1. Erode the authority of the City to govern municipal affairs or diminishes the
authority of the City to provide municipal operations;
2. Undermine the principles of home rule and local control or seeks to unnecessarily
preempt or prohibit the City from regulating an activity or business entity that
directly affects the public’s health, safety, and well-being;
3. Applies a one size fits all solution to complex local policy issues;
Southlake residents attend a public meeting on school safety.
4. Detrimentally affects the health, safety, and welfare of our citizens;
5. Nullifies or undermines the City’s existing charter, ordinances, resolutions , or
master plans;
6
6. Damages the City’s financial position by reducing revenues or negatively impacts
potential revenue growth including legislation that:
a. Imposes a:
i. revenue cap of any type, including a rollback rate below eight (8)
percent,
ii. mandatory tax rate ratification election,
iii. lower rollback petition requirement,
iv. limitation on overall municipal expenditures, or
v. requirement to exclude new property in the effective rate
calculations;
b. Negatively lowers the homestead appraisal cap or expands the appraisal
cap to non-homestead properties or otherwise erodes the basic concept
that appraisals reflect true market values of property;
c. Creates property or sales tax exemptions or “freezes” that unfairly shift the
tax burden to other taxpayers;
d. Limits the use of hotel occupancy taxes or requires additional reporting;
e. Erodes the overall tax base or ability to fairly generate revenue;
f. Restricts the ability of the City to issue debt through either General
Obligation or Certificates of Obligation bonds or cause unnecessary
complex public notification requirements;
g. Imposes a mandate without a commensurate level of compensation; or
h. Requires the City to generate revenues for the State including additional
state fees on municipal court convictions.
7. Impairs economic development tools including but not limited to:
a. Economic Development Corporations (EDCs),
b. Property tax abatements,
c. Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones (TIFs or TIRZ),
d. Chapter 380 agreements,
e. Texas Enterprise Fund,
f. Skills Development Fund,
g. Texas Enterprise Zones,
h. Event Trust Fund; and,
i. Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program.
7
8. Diminishes the City’s authority to regulate development through:
a. land use and zoning regulations (including billboard regulations, tree and
landscape regulations, and short-term rentals),
b. building codes,
c. planning requirements,
d. impact, building permit, or other fees,
e. annexation, or
f. eminent domain.
Southlake residents regularly speak at public hearings, like this hearing on short-term rentals.
9. Establishes a requirement for compensation resulting from regulatory actions or
expands vested permits;
10. Imposes mandatory water conservation measures or a “tap fee” or any other state
fee on municipal water systems;
11. Exempts any entity from paying municipal drainage fees;
12. Allows special districts to form inside the City or ETJ without the City’s permission;
13. Erodes the City’s authority to manage and control public rights -of-way and publicly
owned land or limits the City’s ability to receive fair market compensation for use
of public rights-of-way or erodes municipal authority to require companies to pay
for the costs of relocating their facilities;
14. Erodes the City’s original jurisdiction over certain utilities and certain utility rates or
erodes the City’s authority to participate in utility rate cases;
15. Erodes the City’s previous and future investments in the Texas Municipal
Retirement System;
16. Imposes expanded collective bargaining rights or expands the current meet and
confer laws or expands the scope of the current disease presumption law or
detrimentally amends civil service laws;
8
Metroport Cities Partnership
Data
Members of the Metroport Cities Partnership represent many
cities, counties, and employers in the northeast Tarrant and
southern Denton County areas.
17. Expands the open meetings and public information laws;
18. Requires the reporting of lobbying activities beyond the current requirements or
limits or prohibits the City to use funds to communicate or advocate with
legislators or limits or prohibits the authority of the Texas Municipal League to use
any revenue to communicate with legislators;
19. Erodes municipal governmental immunity;
20. Repeals or limits red light camera authority generally; or
21. Erodes the City’s ability to enter into franchise agreements.
PARTNERSHIPS
The City may form strategic partnerships
with cities, political subdivisions, and
private sector entities that share common
goals with the City of Southlake.
Additionally, the City will work in
coordination with organizations such as the
Texas Municipal League when their
adopted positions are in line with the
legislative objectives and goals of the City,
and other agents who are formally
authorized to represent the City’s
legislative interests, as defined by this
legislative agenda. The City’s staff and its
governmental relations team are
authorized to act accordingly and work
within the Texas legislative process to
actively advocate for the passage or defeat
of legislation according to these positions
adopted by the City Council.
The formation of strategic partnerships and
coordinated efforts is intended to provide
the City with a stronger presence in the
legislative process. For example, the City
of Southlake is part of the Metroport Cities
Partnership, a group of cities, counties, and
businesses that meet regularly to discuss and act upon critical quality of life issues. This
partnership ensures strong communication and collaboration.
9
GOALS OF CITY LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES
The fundamental goal of all City of Southlake legislative activities is to produce positive
outcomes for the citizens of the City of Southlake and to preserve the legislative
authority of the governing body of the municipality. Numerous proposals in the Texas
Legislature have the potential to seriously impact the ability of the City to carry out its
overall mission. By taking a proactive role in monitoring and commenting on proposals
in the Texas Legislature, we are working to ensure that the citizens of the City of
Southlake can continue to enjoy the quality of life they have come to expect and
deserve.
The City of Southlake has formally adopted strategic priorities and objectives as
outlined in a Strategy Map, shown below. This Map will guide the City Council in the
ongoing process of evaluating legislative positions on the key issues of the 86th
Session of the Texas Legislature. If a legislative issue arises that is not specifically
addressed in this agenda, the City will rely on adopted strategic priorities to guide the
formation of an opinion.
10
LEGISLATIVE ISSUES
Local Budgeting Authority, Revenue Sources, and City Debt
As a municipal government which provides important and essential services to its
citizens, the City of Southlake will monitor any legislation that would unduly restrict the
ability of the City Council to set its own budget or raise the necessary revenue to
provide services to City residents and businesses.
Additionally, the City of Southlake will closely monitor State t axation (e.g., the use of
local property tax dollars for school finance) since local taxpaye rs are impacted by the
use of this revenue source as well.
As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that:
Simplifies the effective tax rate calculation for notice purposes only, provided the
legislation would have no effect on the underlying effective tax rate and rollback
tax rate calculations themselves, nor upon the hold harmless exemptions to
those rates;
Provides additional tools to local authorities for providing tax relief to the
community, as appropriate for local conditions; or
Improves the approach for state funding of education.
Carroll ISD – Historical Chapter 41 Recapture Payments
Oppose legislation that:
Establishes a State-mandated municipal revenue cap;
Further restricts or caps annual appraisal increases;
11
Imposes a State-mandated tax freeze or tax cap;
Imposes any unfunded mandates;
Restricts a municipality’s ability to impose and collect municipal impact fees from
new developments;
Imposes any requirement to raise current state fees on local fines;
Imposes new fees that result in the City collecting funds on behalf of the State;
Lowers the rollback threshold or the rollback rate at which an election is
triggered;
Establishes new exemptions from or diminishes the City’s ability to collect sales
or property taxes, or municipal fees;
Results in a significant reduction to the City’s tax base; or,
Restricts the City’s ability to issue debt as a means of funding its capital
improvement program, or imposes unnecessary and costly burdens on the
taxpayers to issue debt.
FY 2019 Tax rate distribution for Southlake residents living within Carroll Independent School District.
Local Control of Land Use Planning, Zoning and Development Regulation
The ability of most cities to manage growth and development is based on the Texas
Constitution’s home rule provisions. Cities are allowed to amend charters and pass
ordinances as long as they do not conflict with the Constitution or general laws enacted
by the State Legislature. The bottom line means that each home rule city can make its
own decisions about what planning tools and techniques are most appropriate to its
situation unless those tools have been proscribed by the Texas Legislature.
Insert
updated
chart
12
In Southlake, growth, development, and all of the related issues are a top priority to
residents who interact with Council frequently on these matters. This, and transportation
related issues, are the subjects of the most active citizen engagement in our
community.
As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that preserves local land use, zoning and development regulatory
authority.
Oppose legislation that:
Erodes local land use authority by restricting the ability of cities to zone or
rezone properties;
Restricts a city’s ability to adopt or amend zoning regulations, or otherwise
create a property right in a zoning classification;
Preempts a city from adopting development regulations it deems necessary
for the preservation of the community’s quality of life (e.g., tree preservation);
and/or,
Is detrimental to the existing vested rights statute.
2017 Citizen Satisfaction Survey response to “What is most important issue facing Southlake today?”
13
Transportation Infrastructure and Systems
The City of Southlake believes that the ability of the North Texas region to work
cooperatively is essential to the viability of this communi ty and that of the entire region.
A primary element of regional cooperation is a transportation system that seamlessly
allows movement of people and goods throughout the area.
The City’s partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation is also a vital
aspect of addressing the ongoing need for additional roadway capacity and intersection
improvements.
Working with various transportation partners, the City has been able to methodically
provide congestion relief to local residents and commuters whose trips originate in
Southlake or who are simply passing through the community during peak travel periods.
Projections provided by the North Central Texas Council of Governments present a
sobering picture of the region’s congestion for the future. See the figure below.
Projected congestion affecting Southlake and the north Texas region.
Traffic management is a high priority for the City of Southlake, including capacity
enhancements, traffic control, public information, and implementation of alternative
14
modes of transportation. This is particularly true as the growth of the region has
impacted traffic counts on all of the City’s primary roadways.
Traffic volume growth on key Southlake roadways.
The City of Southlake is committed to finding transportation solutions to facilitate
movement to, from, and through Southlake and the surrounding area. As it relates to
this position, the City will:
Support legislation that:
Allows for greater flexibility by cities to fund local transportation projects; amend
or otherwise modify state law to help cities fund transportation projects; or
provide municipalities with additional options and resources to address
transportation needs that the State and/or Federal government are unable or
unwilling to address;
Provides additional funding to the Texas Department of Transportation for
transportation projects that would benefit cities, so long as existing funding
formulas are followed.
Protection of Local Economic Development Authority
Over the years, the City of Southlake has utilized many different economic development
tools and efforts to bring new investment to Southlake. During each legislative session
these varying tools are the subject of much consideration and debate. It is in the City’s
interest to closely monitor these discussions and legislative activities as it potentially
impacts our ability to use resources in building effective economic development
15
programs and offer incentives to attract community investment. As it relates to this
position, the City will:
Support legislation that provides local governments the ability to expand local economic
development efforts.
Oppose legislation that would eliminate or limit current authority to participate in local
economic development projects, including but not limited to, the ability to provide tax
abatements and Chapter 380 economic development agreements.
TD Ameritrade Regional Headquarters, recently constructed in Southlake.
Texas Municipal Retirement System
The City of Southlake desires that an appropriate retirement system be provided to its
current and former employees through the Texas Municipal Retirement System, one in
which the needs of retired employees are balanced with the needs of taxpayers. To
achieve this end, the City supports legislative changes which will provide cities
participating in the Texas Municipal Retirement System with the flexibility needed to
adequately balance these needs. As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that:
Creates additional, flexible, cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) options under the
Texas Municipal Retirement System that are not retroactive to a retiree’s date of
retirement, such options to possibly include one-time increases tied to increases
in the consumer price index or flat percentage increases.
Water
The City of Southlake understands that access to long-term, adequate water supply is
essential to the health and vitality of the community. Recent challenges related to
drought conditions underscored the need for long-term planning related to supply and
distribution, not only for Southlake, but for the region and the State. Ensuring that we
16
have an adequate supply of clean, affordable water protects public health and the
economy. As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that advances the implementation of the State Water Plan.
Collective Bargaining
The City of Southlake believes that the decisions affecting the employment relationships
between employers and employees are best made at the local level by the elected
officials who represent the citizens of the local governments in which these individuals
work, and not at the State and Federal level. As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that ensures that decisions related to the use of collective
bargaining, meet and confer, and other employment processes are made at the local
level.
Oppose legislation that mandates specific employment processes for municipalities by
the State or Federal government.
Public Notices
In Texas, the Local Government Code requires municipalities to publish public notices
in the local newspaper. With the use of the internet the City would be interested in
providing this same service in a more efficient, less expensive, and well organized way.
As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that allows a municipality to publish legal notices on a city’s website
versus the existing newspaper publication, which costs taxpayers unnecessary money.
Public Safety
The City of Southlake has a few major traffic corridors within its boundaries such as
State Highway 114, Farm to Market Road 1709, and Farm to Market Road 1938. The
City also seeks to have a safe and secure roadway system and as such the City would
support legislation that enhances this goal. For example, the use of red light camera
technology has provided the City with a safer and more efficient means of enforcing
traffic laws. It also improves safety at key intersections. Fine revenue has been used to
enhance traffic safety, such as making improvements in school zones and with
crosswalks.
17
As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation that:
Authorizes local decision-making for law enforcement; and
Improves school safety.
Oppose legislation that erodes or repeals red light camera authority.
Red light cameras assist local law enforcement by optimizing
the use of technology to improve roadway safety.
Parks and Recreation
Open space and recreational opportunities are a key quality of life component.
As it relates to the advancement of parks, recreation, and open space development, the
City will support legislation that appropriates funds for, or directly benefits public parks,
recreation, open space, and trails.
Aircraft Noise and Air Space Utilization
The City of Southlake has historically worked with the Federal Aviation Administration
and DFW Airport to minimize negative consequences or compatibility issues arising
from the close proximity of the City to the airport. In the late 1980s, the City worked with
airport planners to identify the best methods of addressing land use incompatib ility
issues, resulting in the development of Air Corridor Utilization Zones to clearly identify
areas of over flight impact to minimize noise compatibility issues. This agreement has
guided the City’s land use regulations.
Recent changes in usage characteristics on runway 13R/31L have resulted in aircraft
flying over the City outside the established corridors. This, along with the City’s
18
understanding that the FAA is moving forward with a program called Next Gen, has
prompted the City to establish a legislative position on aircraft noise and air space
utilization. As it relates to this position, the City will:
Support legislation and/or regulatory policies that protect the City’s previously agreed
upon method for using airspace over its city limits within the well-established corridors
that have guided our City’s development and investment.
CONCLUSION
City of Southlake elected officials and professional staff work to meet the needs of the
local population by enacting and implementing local policies to meet quality of life goals
for the community. Using data obtained through formal surveys, public hearings, and
other citizen interactions, the City offers a high value service palette, designed
specifically for the Southlake community. The legislative agenda has been prepared to
focus attention on successful governance and the need to preserve local options.
2017 City of Southlake Citizen Satisfaction Survey