[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6677432,"mediaKeyId","2178714-ebcae1f3cf6e62c28cee23a8ab82ad68","parentId",2178714,"title","Council asks staff to expand how incentives consider company labor practices","audioSeconds",1937,"startMs",1037000,"endMs",2974000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2178714-ebcae1f3cf6e62c28cee23a8ab82ad68&start=1037&end=2974","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2178714-ebcae1f3cf6e62c28cee23a8ab82ad68/thumbnail_1037000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6677432/San-Marcos-City/Hays-County/Texas/Council-asks-staff-to-expand-how-incentives-consider-company-labor-practices","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6677432-b2ab3db50da078891880b90049f35baf/orig.mp4?Expires=1773695814&Signature=Fu0NaKPUx~~IWf5d8Gl1HM7EpaD1gkDyRk1AGiLnZU2~fUEUdDBzZIZBpqzrNwJjFhCb4LFUdh71jWLAJbowthyxqavBTzf68gPrDrv8pNxUWHcbHKgz97NolOVVRXVGoTw1Ucd6SFNgioNRsJweCG~J7fCGdkRy4EVdlKmy9lnGV5yaNOEpgGrQSaF3GNMQU4iWdQerKUpexpRMyyDikamnBtNQmIEb17MXgQ410uLKIMEXXq7VZCuG3xt0M3vcbCTqVi~CDYbvRRiEVMUZ2-mMZ7MdccQlc9yFdkcGxlgco~K38mqqlVk-PHK9VyWq5L4YX2jDVHZ7I1zO9VgpBw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","San Marcos","date","2025-01-31T08:29:00Z","article","City Council members asked staff on Jan. 31 to clarify and strengthen how the city’s economic development incentives consider workplace conditions and labor practices for companies seeking public support.

Why it came up: Council members said they want the city to avoid handing public dollars to employers with poor labor records and to use the incentive process to promote higher‑quality jobs. Assistant City Manager Joe Pantone told the council the city’s economic development policy, revised in 2022, already includes scoring criteria and that staff will bring recommendations if council wants deeper changes.

What staff said: Pantone explained that many companies do not ask for incentives; the policy’s screening tools apply only to applicants who request public incentives. He also cautioned that cities in Texas operate under state statutory limitations and that some local attempts to regulate employer practices have been preempted by the state. He said the city can research options and that the Hays‑Caldwell Economic Development Partnership (the city’s contractor for recruitment) can provide more detailed reports for large applicants.

Council direction: Members asked staff to develop methods — and to return with recommended policy language — that would better capture employer labor practices in incentive evaluations. Council did not change the policy at the workshop; it directed staff to research options and present draft language for council consideration.

Context: Pantone noted that the council’s scoring mechanism already awards points for labor practices in incentive requests; council members proposed increasing emphasis or adding new screening questions for incentive applicants.

Ending: Staff said it will prepare recommendations that are mindful of state legal limits and return to council for policy direction and possible ordinance or contract amendments.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","San Marcos - City Council on 2025-01-31 8:30 AM - City Council Visioning Session - Day 2 - Jan 31, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Council directed staff to research or develop methods to factor employer labor‑force practices into incentive scoring; staff noted legal guardrails and that the policy applies only to companies requesting incentives.","taxTitle","San Marcos City, Hays County, Texas","taxId",9292,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6677437,"San Marcos officials outline permit‑review fixes, aim to speed watershed reviews and notify applicants",602,998000,1600000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2178714-ebcae1f3cf6e62c28cee23a8ab82ad68&start=998&end=1600","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2178714-ebcae1f3cf6e62c28cee23a8ab82ad68/thumbnail_998000.jpg","/articles/6677437/San-Marcos-City/Hays-County/Texas/San-Marcos-officials-outline-permitreview-fixes-aim-to-speed-watershed-reviews-and-notify-applicants","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6677437-987414784737e5e374180b39d1b2fbcd/orig.mp4?Expires=1773695814&Signature=HckLF~wMXCBOsULchH6Xj0UJ4FMh9EKB1dbtdW2o9bes~SDssXyNpeg1lqsV5lu7bc6lS-v4su8qs2y-IkvrM3H~rEOlyYFUgGHV8N3Og4tkCTljL5QtgSNMV770yP3Jvs~TdBb3-RIDo3GbMSYtTAAcUQ2uVNyXCxzRxDFAxTcEQiOHYldFNiLC9mToxFZSxYQ1C~z6BAIZ5N5AC8UM2MhVZHWgAPuA0Z79a-IhuqqRbfzqhqU55y09IheX~Uvy-HCC4WWXqUYu009DDIWZseXzCxstAx25kP-Jq6OKIjREVrmXJiqEfTybmcM4RQER9RsDOsRnOBE3A6M93HVRWA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","San Marcos city staff told the City Council on Jan. 31 that they have added personnel and are pursuing technology changes to shorten the time it takes to process development permits and watershed protection plan reviews.

The comment came during the council’s fiscal‑year visioning workshop when members asked how the city will make permitting “easier” for applicants while retaining careful environmental review in the city’s sensitive floodplain areas. Assistant City Manager Joe Pantone said the city overhauled its economic development policy in 2022 and has recently added staff to support development review capacity; he told the council “we are literally a week or 2 away from hiring that position” for business retention and small‑business support that he said will also help coordinate permitting needs.

Why it matters: Developers and small business owners repeatedly raise permitting timelines as a barrier. Council members said applicants need clearer expectations and faster, repeatable responses when city reviews run beyond target times.

What staff described: Planning and engineering managers told the council they now do more in‑house reviews that previously were outsourced, and that they added reviewers on watershed protection plans. Staff said watershed reviews are complex and can take many hours—one staff explanation noted those reviews “take days to do” and that the queue can include dozens of reviews. Staff also described an internal review‑tracking list that flags near‑due items yellow and overdue items red, and they said they are working to integrate that tracking into the MyPermitNow online portal so applicants can see where their submittal stands.

Customer communication and escalation: Council members pressed staff on what happens when a review exceeds the stated 30‑day goal. Staff said managers review the queue, shift workloads when needed, and are exploring an external platform feature that would allow applicants to see queue position. Staff also raised the idea — not yet adopted — of permitting options where applicants may pay for an expedited third‑party review; they said this is under consideration for some utility agreement processes. No final policy changes were adopted during the workshop.

Context and constraints: Council and staff repeatedly returned to the city’s environmental constraints — San Marcos has extensive floodplain and watershed protections linked to FEMA and state standards — which staff said necessarily lengthen review in some cases. Staff cautioned that inspectors and licensed reviewers are hard to recruit because private firms often pay higher wages, and that some delays reflect market constraints as well as process issues.

Next steps: Staff committed to continue operationalizing permit‑improvement tools, to pursue the MyPermitNow visibility upgrades within the next year, and to brief council when they have specific proposals that require policy or budget action.

Ending: Councilmembers said improved notifications to applicants (for example an email at day 25 explaining a projected completion date) would reduce constituent calls to the mayor’s office and improve customer experience while preserving environmental review standards.","City staff told the council they have added reviewers and plan software improvements to reduce backlog for permits and watershed protection plan reviews, and will create better applicant notifications when reviews exceed target timelines.","actionData","errors"]

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Council asks staff to expand how incentives consider company labor practices

San Marcos officials outline permit‑review fixes, aim to speed watershed reviews and notify applicants