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Farmers Branch council debates decorum rules after months of internal conflict; attorney says draft lacks enforcement teeth
Summary
Council held a prolonged debate over proposed rules of procedure and decorum after multiple members read examples of alleged misconduct. The city attorney said the draft contains guidelines but no penalties; council discussed linking violations to the code of ethics or pursuing a charter-review process to add enforcement.
A lengthy and often contentious discussion over council decorum dominated the Dec. 10 meeting as members reviewed a draft of rules and procedures prepared by the city attorney and exchanged specific complaints about conduct at public meetings and in public life.
City Attorney Nicole Coore presented a draft intended to clarify expectations for meeting conduct, parliamentary procedure and member interactions. Several council members urged that the draft include enforceable penalties; "as currently drafted, no" penalties exist, Coore said, and added that violations could be given the same effect as a code-of-ethics breach or encoded into the ethics policy if council wished.
Council members then spoke at length. Mayor Witten read a list of expected behaviors (including not giving staff direction, maintaining confidentiality for executive-session topics and treating staff with respect) and said, "You don't own your district," urging members to act as representatives for the whole city. Councilman Reid and others cited specific incidents they described as inappropriate and asked for a process that would both set standards and allow for enforcement. Councilman Roman and Councilman Jackson urged reconciliation and a clean-slate charter review to address systemic problems.
Council did not adopt penalties or a final code. Coore recommended options: retain the rules as guidelines, add penalty language to the rules, or amend the city—s ethics code to make procedural violations subject to ethics enforcement. Several members suggested reconvening the charter-review committee to address structural issues, a process that would take months under state law.
Next steps: staff and the city attorney will consider edits and options (including linking rule violations to the ethics code) and return a revised draft for council consideration. Some members recommended a longer-term charter review to formalize conduct and enforcement standards.
