OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE MARCH 21 VOLUME CVIII NUMBER 3 TEXAS TOWN & CITY • 1 • MARCH 2021 City of Bellaire City Hall + Civic Center City of College Station Police Headquarters City of Allen Central Fire Station City of Seguin Library LEGACY. DESIGN. SERVICE. PARTNERING WITH TEXAS MUNICIPALITIES SINCE 1946 architecture alexandria hoboken engineering atlanta houston interiors austin las vegas planning boca raton los angeles chicago salt lake city dallas/fort worth san diego denver pgal.com CONTENTS H FEATURES Official Publication of the Texas Municipal League. 13 32 This publication assumes no responsibility Texas Municipal League Institute The Hotel Tax “Two-Step” for statements made by contributors Recognizes Elected City Officials in signed articles. It is not operated for 34 pecuniary gain. 20 The Future of Retail The Texas Economy: The Road Editor Christina Corrigan Ahead After a Crisis Year 36 Creative Manager Jennifer Stamps Census Delay and the Change in Designer Will Bowling 24 Administrations Will Affect Redistricting Gray Bulman Advertising Sales Fiscal Conditions Survey Reveals Printing Publication Printers Corp. Pandemic’s Fiscal Impact Texas Town & City (ISSN 1084-5356) is 28 published monthly except October for $30 per year ($3.00 per single copy) by the What if Certificates of Obligation Texas Municipal League, 1821 Rutherford Go Away? Lane, Suite 400, Austin, Texas 78754-5101. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Texas Town & City, H 1821 Rutherford Lane, Suite 400, Austin, CONTENTS IN EACH ISSUE Texas 78754-5101. Section 305.027, Government Code, requires legislative advertising to disclose certain information. 5 Message from the President 14 Small Cities’ Corner 6 TML News 16 Legal Q&A A person who knowingly enters into a contract or other agreement to print, publish, 8 Risk Pool News 40 Career Builder or broadcast legislative advertising that does not contain the required information 10 Health Pool News 41 Instagram Highlights commits a Class A misdemeanor offense. Texas Town & City contains material which 12 City Lights is legislative advertising as defined by law in the state of Texas. Mr. Bennett Sandlin has entered into an agreement with Publication Printers Corp. for the printing of Texas Town & City magazine. Mr. Sandlin represents the ABOUT THE COVER member cities of the Texas Municipal League. Businesses throughout downtown Corpus Christi are taking advantage of the new outside seating and patio trend which accelerated during the pandemic. TEXAS TOWN & CITY • 3 • MARCH 2021 ABOUT H TML BOARD OF DIRECTORS H TML The Texas Municipal League exists solely TEXAS MUNICIPAL LEAGUE BOARD OF DIRECTORS to provide services to Texas cities. Since its formation in 1913, the League’s mission PRESIDENT 14-Andy Brauninger, Mayor, Huntsville Jennifer Bozorgnia, Court Services Karen Hunt, CMO, Mayor, Coppell 15-Shelley Brophy, Mayor, Nacogdoches Coordinator, Irving has remained the same: to serve the needs Texas Court Clerks Association 16-David Rutledge., CMO, Mayor, and advocate the interests of its members. PRESIDENT-ELECT Bridge City Membership in the League is voluntary Martha Castex-Tatum, Jimmy Chew, Fire Chief, Stephenville Texas Fire Chiefs Association and is open to any city in Texas. From the Vice Mayor Pro Tem, Houston AFFILIATE DIRECTORS original 14 members, TML’s membership has Lee Battle, Director of Community Amanda Campos, City Secretary, grown to more than 1,150 cities. Over 16,000 IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Enhancement, Allen Burleson Holly Gray-Moore, Mayor Pro Tem, American Planning Association Texas Municipal Clerks mayors, councilmembers, city managers, Roanoke Texas Chapter Association, Inc. city attorneys, and department heads are Lisa Norris, Human Resources/ member officials of the League by virtue of Marissa Ximenez, Councilmember, PAST PRESIDENTS Civil Service Director, Grand Prairie their cities’participation. Floresville Mary M. Dennis, CMO, Mayor, Live Oak Texas Municipal Human Resources Association of Hispanic Municipal Jungus Jordan, Mayor Pro Tem, Association Officials The League provides a variety of services Fort Worth Maria Redburn, Library Director, Bedford to its member cities. One of the principal Leonard Reed, CMO, Mayor, Willis Selso A. Mata, Director of Building Texas Municipal Library Directors Inspections, Plano purposes of the League is to advocate Henry Wilson, Mayor, Hurst Association Building Officials Association of Texas municipal interests at the state and federal Dock Jackson, CMO, Councilmember, Michael Thane, Director of Utilities, levels. Among the thousands of bills Bastrop Clifford Blackwell, CGFO, Assistant Round Rock Terry Henley, Board of Adjustment City Manager, Bedford introduced during each session of the Texas Texas Municipal Utilities Association Member, Meadows Place Government Finance Officers Legislature are hundreds of bills that would Association of Texas Brian Frieda, City Manager, Ballinger affect cities. The League, working through its DIRECTORS-AT-LARGE Texas Police Chiefs Association Legislative Services Department, attempts Robin Mouton, Councilmember, Jeff Williams, Mayor, Arlington Beaumont Timothy Slifka, Purchasing Manager, to defeat detrimental city-related bills Steve Adler, Mayor, Austin Texas Association of Black City Council Southlake and to facilitate the passage of legislation Paulette Guajardo, Mayor, Corpus Christi Members Texas Public Purchasing Association designed to improve the ability of municipal Eric Johnson, Mayor, Dallas James C. Brown, Chief Information governments to operate effectively. Claudia Lizette Rodriguez, Erin Hart, Assistant Director of Parks, Officer, Lubbock Arts and Recreation Department, Representative, El Paso Texas Association of Governmental Grand Prairie Betsy Price, Mayor, Fort Worth Information Technology Managers The League employs full-time attorneys who Texas Recreation and Parks Society are available to provide member cities with Martha Castex-Tatum, Vice Mayor Pro Tem, Houston Steve Rockey, Councilmember, information on municipal legal matters. On a Friendswood EX-OFFICIO NON-VOTING INVITED Ron Nirenberg, Mayor, San Antonio daily basis, the legal staff responds to member Texas Association of Mayors, REPRESENTATIVES cities’ written and oral questions on a wide Councilmembers and Commissioners TML Health Benefits Pool REGIONAL DIRECTORS Blake Petrash, Mayor Pro Tem, variety of legal matters. The League annually Steve Killen, Director of Development 2-Doyle Robinson, CMO, Mayor, City of Ganado Services, Stephenville conducts a variety of conferences and Panhandle training seminars to enhance the knowledge Texas Association of Municipal Health 3-Latrelle Joy, Councilmember, Officials TML Intergovernmental Risk Pool and skills of municipal officials in the state. In Lubbock Jeffrey Snyder, City Manager, Plainview addition, the League also publishes a variety 4-Veronica Baca, Councilmember, Will Hampton, Communications of printed materials to assist member cities Pecos City and Marketing Director, Round Rock Texas Association of Municipal 5-Bill Lindenborn, Commissioner, in performing their duties. The best known Information Officers of these is the League’s monthly magazine, Burkburnett Texas Town & City. Each issue focuses on a 6-Robert Brown, Alderman, Menard Kristina Ramirez, Planning and 7-Suzanne de Leon, CMO, Mayor, Development Director, Harker Heights variety of contemporary municipal issues, Texas Chapter of American Public Works Balcones Heights including survey results to respond to Association 8-Tito Rodriguez, Councilmember, member inquiries. North Richland Hills Charles E. Zech, City Attorney, 9-Ray O’Docharty, Mayor, Groesbeck Pflugerville, Bee Cave, Wimberley, Prairie For additional information on any of 10-Connie Schroeder, CMO, Mayor, View, Rollingwood, Santa Fe, Leon Valley, and Fair Oaks Ranch these services, contact the Bastrop Texas City Attorneys Association Texas Municipal League at 512-231-7400 11-Patrick R. Rios, CMO, Mayor, Rockport or visit our website, www.tml.org. 12-Vacant Hugh R. Walker, Deputy City Manager, 13-Rick Grady, Councilmember, Plano Bryan Texas City Management Association TEXAS TOWN & CITY • 4 • MARCH 2021 BOARD OF DIRECTORS H TML MESSAGE H FROM THE PRESIDENT KAREN HUNT MAYOR, CITY OF COPPELL TML PRESIDENT This month’s magazine addresses topics that are very important to me as a mayor— city revenue and economic development. As a city located in a relatively dense urban area and bordering an international airport, economic development to us means shipping logistics, warehousing, corporate headquarters and related activity. Developing a diverse business base generates healthy tax revenues that can relieve some of the pressure from our homeowners. I suspect economic development means different things in each of your cities. To a small town, it can mean redevelopment of a downtown square or a first retail store. Though the size and prospects differ, your goal is likely the same as mine—diversify our local economies so our citizens can prosper. To that end, this month you’ll read about economic development tools, infrastructure debt financing, the future of retail post-COVID, and much more. Some of these important tools, certificates of obligation for example, will be threatened at the Capitol this session. Please know the League is monitoring these bills, but we each need to tell stories to our delegation about how these tools have been useful in making Texas