Dripping Springs amends Emergency Management Commission ordinance

DRIPPING SPRINGS  — At its Feb. 20 meeting, the Dripping Springs City Council unanimously approved amending the current Emergency Management Commission (EMC) ordinance.

At the request of Emergency Management Coordinator Roman Baligad and council member Geoffrey Tahuahua, the amendments were made in an effort to condense the membership and allow more flexibility in meetings.

EMC meetings are considered to be sensitive in nature, as they entail crucial safety and recovery functions of the city. Because of this, city staff believes that such discussions may not be open to the public for general consumption. Members of the public are invited; however, when sensitive discussions are occurring, the public can be excused and a closed session is not required.

“There’s a lot of sensitive information that is discussed, [like] our active shooter plans [and] drills that the city does to stay safe from an outside threat,” said City Secretary Andrea Cunningham. “Those are the kinds of things we don’t want for general consumption of the public. We want to make sure and keep those private as much as possible.”

As one of the amendments to the ordinance, the commission is being changed to a committee, which would undergo the following necessary changes.

• No longer required to have a quorum to meet and no longer required to comply with the Texas Open Meetings Act

• Mayoral appointment of a city council member to the meeting body

• Elimination of subcommittees — all work is done by committee which can be completed regardless of quorum

• No longer tied to a specific meeting place; the committee can meet at alternate locations

“When you think about the original purpose of the commission, and what it is really now doing, it’s now a lot more like the transportation committee in the sense that it’s a coordination point to get everybody together on a regular basis,” Tahuahua explained, adding that the EMC does not typically go before city council with recommendations, as opposed to some other boards and commissions.

Currently, 12 members sit on the EMC. However, upon staff’s recommendation, the amendment to the ordinance will now reduce the membership to nine.

This will include reducing the At-Large membership from three members to one and they must reside in Hays County. Also, the emergency management coordinator will be eliminated as a member, but will still serve strictly as a liaison. The nonprofit/VOAD representative will also be removed, as for the past few years, the position was rarely filled and when filled, the member would attend the meetings infrequently.

The nonprofit/VOAD representative seat will be kept, but changed to a Hays County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) member.

Because the EMC is now a committee, there will be a member of the city council appointed to serve on the meeting body. The appointed council member will serve as a non-voting member — this allows the membership to stay at nine, but ensures that the council has oversight.

For more information about the now-committee, visit bit.ly/4bRlzMf.

Canceled election

The city council also approved canceling the 2024 municipal elections for mayor, council member place 2 and council member place 4. The election was set to take place on Saturday, May 4.

All candidates were unopposed, and the mayor and city council seats will remain the same.

Per the Texas Election Code, the following candidates have been certified as unopposed and are elected as follows:

• Mayor: Bill Foulds, Jr.

• Council Member Place 2: Wade King

• Council Member Place 4: Travis Crow

The mayor and council members will be sworn in for their terms on May 7, 2024.

For more information regarding elections, contact the city secretary at [email protected] or (512) 858-4725.