Thursday, April 25, 2024
The Granbury City Council convened a special meeting Tuesday night to discuss priorities for the 88th Legislative session that is underway in Austin and to consider adopting a resolution spelling out those priorities for lawmakers.
Prior to the meeting, City Manager Chris Coffman provided materials to the mayor and council members that included copies of the North Texas Commission Advocacy Roadmap, the Texas Municipal League’s Legislative Update, and the North Texas Regional Chamber Coalition’s Legislative Priorities.
The Legislative Priorities list is “five simple points” that express a philosophy that “over-reaches many bills,” Coffman said.
One of the five bullet points supports legislation “that maintains local decision-making authority” — something that some Granbury city officials, including former council members, feel has been eroded by the Legislature over the past several years.
City officials want to advocate for bills that are in the city’s best interest and oppose those that aren’t, but with hundreds of bills having already been filed, it is a daunting task.
“It’s overwhelming,” Mayor Jim Jarratt said, adding that he has already traveled to Austin “five or six times” because of his involvement with the TEX-21 organization, which works to improve transportation in Texas.
After Coffman opened the discussion with a synopsis of the proposed resolution, which he called a “communication tool,” Mayor Pro Tem Trish Burwell asked how members of the council could travel to Austin “in a timely manner” and communicate appropriately with state lawmakers when members of the council “might not agree on everything.”
Coffman advised that the council determine during the council meeting whether there were any bullet points they didn’t agree with so that those bullet points could be deleted “upfront.”
“That way, there’s no argument later,” he said.
Coffman stated that once the resolution was adopted, it would be “a commitment” and that the council should speak “in one voice.” Personal opinions could be expressed to state lawmakers as long as council members clarified that they were expressing their own personal views, the city manager said.
As for trips to the Capitol to meet with lawmakers or to testify before a committee, Coffman said, “Who’s the messenger? It’s anybody that’s available, I think.” He added that traveling on behalf of city business would be a “legitimate expense.”
Council member Steven Vale expressed that what Coffman had prepared “mirrors what TML is doing.”
“I think they’re a great representative of the small cities,” he said.
Vale, who served on the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission before being elected to the City Council, said he feels that legislators sometimes pass a bill that is designed to address an issue in a certain city but the bill is then imposed on cities across the state.
“Some of those things were not in the best interest of Granbury,” he said of previous bills, adding that “one size does not fit all.”
After further discussion, the council agreed to simplify what is sent to lawmakers in a way that makes the council’s top priorities and “guiding principles” clear. Council member Eddie Rodriquez noted that in the military the BLUF method is used: Bottom Line Up Front.
Burwell suggested that the simplified resolution include a QR code to lead lawmakers to more detailed information if they care to read it.
The council agreed to allow Coffman to move forward with the resolution after implementing the changes that were discussed.
An overriding priority voiced by several on the council throughout the 45-minute discussion was that the city, not the state, should have the most control over Granbury.
“We want to maintain the ability to steer our own ship,” Vale said.
Burwell said that elected officials on the city level know the “pulse” of the community because they communicate one-on-one with those who live there.
She related a quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson: “The best government is that which is closest to the people.”
