HomeMy WebLinkAboutNarrative Town ServicesNarrative History &
Description of Town
of Westlake Services
1
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The purpose of this document is to provide in narrative form how the
Town of Westlake’s service configuration was begun, how it evolved, what
services are provided, and how and why our services exist as they do today (as
of the date of this report). This narrative can be used in conjunction with the 10
year financial tables that show expenditure growth for this same period as the
Town‟s population (both day time and permanent) has grown. Much of the
Town’s service delivery configuration is based on managing outsourced service
delivery contracts and inter-local agreements. Direct service delivery is used by
the Town to deliver two of its largest services in terms of cost; Fire/EMS and
Westlake Academy. While outsourcing Fire/EMS is explored in a document
separate from this one, outsourcing the Academy’s operation to an education
service provider has not been explored.
This report is organized by department as follows:
Page Nos.
Town Manager’s Office…………………………….
Planning & Development…………………………...
Municipal Court…………………………………….
Human Resources & Administrative Services…….
Fire & EMS…………………………………………
Police Services………………………………………
Town Secretary……………………………………..
Facilities Maintenance/Parks & Recreation………
Finance……………………………………………..
Public Works……………………………………….
Westlake Academy………………………………...
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The Town Manager is the Town‟s chief administrative officer. The Town Manager
is supported by the Assistant to the Town Manager. The Assistant to the Town
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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Manager position is designed to provide administrative support and assistance in
all areas of the organization to the Executive Manager. The information contained
herein is designed to provide an overview of the responsibilities and a brief
history of the development of the positions in this office.
HISTORY
In May 1999 the Westlake citizens approved in a local referendum the adoption of
the council-manager form of government for the Town of Westlake.
Subsequently, this form of government was adopted by ordinance by the Board of
Aldermen. In October 1999 the Town‟s first Town Manager, Mr. Trent Petty, was
hired by then Board of Aldermen (now Town Council). The Town pursued a State
charter for an open enrollment charter school with said charter being granted in
February 2002. The State approved charter designated the Town Manager as the
school‟s chief executive officer/superintendent. Mr. Petty served in both the
Town Manager role and CEO role for Westlake Academy until April 2006 when he
resigned from his role with Westlake Academy, but continuing serving as Town
Manager until November 2007. In April 2008 Mr. Tom Brymer was hired as the
Town‟s second Town Manager, serving in both the Town Manager and
CEO/Superintendent role for the Town‟s charter school, Westlake Academy.
The duties of Assistant to the Town Manager run the gamut from administrative
support to departmental liaison to economic development to Academy
organization type duties. The position was created when Ms. Mary Midgette was
hired in 2000. The original intent was to hire someone to assist the Town Manager
in the daily operations of the Town. She began to work with the manager on
issues such as attaining the charter for Westlake Academy, working with the
lobbyists in Austin, hiring personnel to fill the department management level
positions, assisting in hiring the Town‟s first Department of Public Safety officers
for the Town and working on items related to Texas Student Housing. She played
a vital role in every area of development for the municipality.
After Mary‟s departure, Mrs. Dawn Lenzie was hired due to her background in
public education, which was very beneficial as the focus of the position moved
toward the opening of the Academy. She assisted in implementing public
relations activities, meetings and receptions for the new school employees and
attaining visas for the teachers arriving from outside the United States. Dawn
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Description of Town
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worked with the Town Manager to organize the lottery system that was used to
select the first children admitted to the school. She also secured the locations and
organized the training sessions for the teachers who were new to the IB
curriculum.
The Assistant position is currently held by Ms. Ginger Awtry. She began her
career for the Town when then Town Manager, Trent Petty, persuaded her to
coming to work for him. At the time, she was working with Manhattan
Construction – the contractors who built the Academy. Ginger had an intimate
working knowledge of the construction process and developed vital contacts with
vendors and other contractors specific to the project while impressing the Town
leaders with her abilities. She was Manhattan‟s Office Manager and Job
Accountant for the Academy project, and quickly became adept at managing
business related issues and assisting in various organizational duties with job
crews, contractors, public relations, etc. while also working with the financial
aspect of the project. She had a unique perspective of watching the building of the
school from the ground up as her office was located at the jobsite rather than the
corporate facility.
Ginger also had a successful 12 year career with the Audit Division of the State
Comptroller‟s Department where she worked after graduating with a BBA degree
in accounting. While employed in this capacity, she served in every increasing
position of responsibility. Ginger audited many Fortune 500 companies, was
selected to serve as an Audit Reviewer in the State Processing Center , and
reviewed audits for accuracy in reference to the established policies and
procedures. She was also chosen to train new auditors in proper taxpayer
relations, service, and auditing policies, was selected to speak at various
professional organizations and represent Audit Division at career fairs, was
selected to work on several committees by both peers, local and Austin managers,
and was promoted to Supervisor Trainee and Audit Group Supervisor,
supervising 10-12 employees and multi-million dollars audits.
As indicated by the varying backgrounds and responsibilities, each of the
Assistant to the Town Managers had varying job duties and areas of emphasis
based on service demands at that time. Although Ginger did not have any
previous municipal government experience, her long history at the sta te level is
evidence of her dedication as a public servant. She is passionate about customer
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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service, especially as it relates to residents, visitors, employees and other
individuals who come into contact with the Town.
The current responsibilities handled by the Assistant have evolved as the Town‟s
projects, developments and internal organization has required. The following is a
partial list of job functions:
Maintains an open conduit of communication between department heads
and Town Manager
Assist in daily operations of the organization
Arranges meetings for the Town Manager, drafts correspondence, and the
Town Council Updates from the Town Manager
Proofs all newsletter copy for the Westlake Wire and CEO‟s letter for the WA
Communiqué
Works with developers, vendors and other customers of the Town
including local and State officials
Manages the Town Manager‟s calendar
Participates in departmental budget meetings
Serves as staff liaison to Town related advisory committees as directed by
the Town Manager
Assists residents on Town related issues
Liaison between Town Manager and Academy on numerous projects
Works closely with the Town attorney
Attends Planning & Zoning meetings and assists in related projects as
needed
Communicates regularly with Town Council and advisory board members
on behalf of the Town Manager
Serves as Town Secretary on „as needed‟ basis
Assists Town Secretary on agenda packet preparation as needed
Co-ordinates with department managers on agenda memo and
ordinance/resolution submittals
Provides background information and conducts research for Town
Manager on various projects
Serves as coordinator for the Town‟s neighborhood outreach and meetings
programs
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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Assists with organization and coordination of both internal and community
events
The Town Manager is the Chief Administrative Officer for the Town,
providing executive leadership and representation on all matters concerning
Town government. This position is responsible for planning, directing,
managing, and reviewing all activities and operations of the Town; coordinates
programs, services, and activities among all Town departments and outside
agencies; ensures the financial integrity of the municipal organization;
represents the Town‟s interests; as well as provides complex and highly
responsible policy advice and administrative support to the Mayor and Town
Council/Board of Trustees. The Town Manager exercises direct supervision
over management, professional and clerical staff. This position also serves as
the Chief Executive Officer/Superintendent of Westlake Academy, providing
executive leadership in addition to financial and managerial oversight on all
matters concerning its operations, subject to the policies and directives of the
Board of Trustees. The CEO/Superintendent provides advisement on policy
recommendations, administrative support, and executive-level guidance to the
Board President and Trustees.
Current Town Manager Tom Brymer has over thirty five (35) years of city
management experience in full service communities of all sizes including
communities of 85,000-125,000 population. When he assumed his first position
as a city manager at age twenty five he was the youngest city manager in the
state. Tom holds a bachelors degree in political science from Northern Illinois
University and a Master of Public Administration degree from the University
of North Texas. He has pursued continuing professional education through
public executive development programs offered by his state and national
professional organizations as well as those offered cooperatively through the
University of Virginia and the University of Texas.
FUTURE ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
Due to the demand for high quality services from all the Town‟s
stakeholder/customer groups, the major challenges and issues facing the Town
Manager‟s office are:
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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Delivery of high quality Town services (municipal and academic) as
well as maintenance of infrastructure in the face of major resource
limitations and financial sustainability issues
Limited staff resources which are asked to operate well beyond
reasonable capacity in order to carry out a multiplicity of roles so that
the Town can operate at a high quality level
Establishing a governance structure that clearly establishes management
and governance roles that comports with the council-manager form of
government adopted by Westlake voters, facilitates efficient high
quality service delivery, is transparent, accountable, sets strategic
priorities, and plans well to maintain Westlake‟s quality of life for all of
the Town‟s stakeholders.
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This report will provide a brief history of the Department, its services, a summary
of short term objectives, and an overview of current projects.
HISTORY
BUILDING INSPECTIONS AND CODE ENFORCEMENT - From 1984 to 2005,
the Town contracted for Administrative and Inspection services to operate the
Building Inspection Department. Upon determining that contracting was not a
cost effective method of handling plan review and inspection responsibilities, the
Town hired a full-time Inspector in 2005. He performed inspection duties with the
administrative functions shared by him and his supervisor, the Director of Public
Works. The Inspector unexpectedly passed away in August of 2006 and the duties
were contracted out to a third-party inspection company. In November of 2006,
the Town hired a Building Official to take over the inspection and administrative
duties.
PLANNING AND ZONING - The Town contracted for planning and zoning
services until Mr. Trent Petty was hired as the first professional town manager in
October 1999. Trent took on the planning and zoning responsibilities in addition
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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to town management. Trent resigned as the manager in November of 2007, at
which time the Building Official, Mr. Eddie Edwards, had his title changed to
Director of Planning and Development by the interim Town Manager. Eddie also
had extensive planning and zoning experience and these responsibilities were
added to his duties.
CODE ENFORCEMENT / FIRE CODE ADMINISTRATION – Enforcement of
all of the ordinances contained in the Town of Westlake Code of Ordinances is
either carried out directly by department staff or contracted out to other
governmental agencies with department staff acting as the liaison. For example,
Food Establishment Inspections are performed by the Tarrant County Health
Department but if voluntary compliance cannot be obtained by warnings,
department staff takes necessary legal action.
The Fire Marshal/Fire Inspector duties had been assigned to an on -shift firefighter
with appropriate certifications until he left in November 2007 and those
responsibilities were picked up by the Fire Chief. The full time Fire Chief position
was vacated in August 2009 and a portion of those responsibilities were assigned
to the on-shift Interim Fire Chief and the other responsibilities were taken over by
Eddie Edwards. Eddie also had extensive experience and training as a Fire
Marshal/Fire Inspector.
PERSONNEL
This is a one (1) employee department. On an intermittent basis, plan review and
inspection services for portions of specific projects are contracted out based on the
anticipated work load. Additional assistance is provided by other staff members
on an as-needed basis and one-third of a full-time clerical employee is charged to
this department in the annual budget.
BUILDING CODES AND RELATED ITEMS
The Town of Westlake has adopted the 2006 International Codes and the 2008
National Electrical Code along with the amendments recommended by the North
Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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The Department either performs or contracts for all plan review and inspections
related to residential and commercial construction with the exception of those
items specifically regulated by the fire code.
The enforcement and review of code requirements and development issues are the
responsibility of the Director of Planning and Development. The Director
schedules the Development Review Committee (DRC) meetings and
communicates staff comments to the applicants.
The Town currently has an ISO Building Code Effectiveness rating of 3 for
residential and 3 for commercial. The ratings are measured from 10 being the
lowest to 1 being exemplary. Our rating is equal to or higher than our
neighboring cities and equal to or higher than any other city our size in the state.
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The Municipal Court represents the judicial branch of the Town of Westlake and is
responsible for providing fair and impartial trials as well as a range of customer
service duties to defendants who are charged with a Class C misdemeanor or
town ordinance violations. The Court was established as a court of record in 2001
and has original jurisdiction over many of the offenses which occur within the
Town limits.
HISTORY
The Municipal Court, in its current form, began in November, 2001. The Board of
Aldermen adopted an ordinance to separate the conjoined Westlake and Trophy
Club court office and establish the judicial branch of our municipality.
Previously, the functions were handled by the Town of Trophy Club as they were
also providing our police services through an inter-local agreement. The first
employee of the Department, Amanda DeGan, was hired as the Court
Administrator. She worked with Judge Brad Bradley to establish a docket
schedule and obtain the items needed to open the office within six (6) weeks.
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The original intent was to operate the Department with one full-time employee, a
part-time Judge and a part-time administrative support employee. The Town had
anticipated the average number of citation filings, based on information received
from the Trophy Club court, at 400 individual cases per month.
During this initial start-up phase, the police services were provided by the
Trophy Club Police Department (TCPD). The TCPD patrolled both municipalities
and the offenses that occurred within each town‟s jurisdiction were filed in the
appropriate court office. For the first year of operation, the Administrator and the
part-time administrative support employee, Todd Wood, handled the customer
service duties, citation entry and court dockets. Mr. Wood was also responsible
for the accounting duties of the Town and functioned as the office manager.
It soon became apparent, that we were exceeding the estimated case load on a
monthly basis. The average filings were closer to 600 cases per month and could
not be efficiently processed at the then current staffing level. In order to reduce
the budgetary impact and increase the closure rate of the delinquent citations, a
full-time marshal‟s position was established to handle the dual duties of providing
office assistance and serving arrest warrants. The Westlake Marshal‟s Office was
established by ordinance in March of 2002 and is under the direct supervision of
the Court Administrator. The position was cross-trained to handle the defendants
at the service window, provide information via phone and operate the court
software to update the defendant database. The marshal also handled all court
bailiff duties and provided a visible security presence in the office.
In June of 2002, the agreement with Trophy Club was dissolved and the police
services contract was initiated with the Keller Police Department (KPD). The
coverage level remained consistent with two motor officers and a varying number
of patrol cars being assigned to Westlake.
As the number of citation filings rose to an average of 800 – 850 cases per month
and the outstanding arrest warrants remained static, an additional full-time
position was added as a deputy court clerk. The position was designed to take
over the front desk responsibilities and allow the marshal to focus on serving and
clearing the arrest warrants. The number of outstanding arrest warrants and the
backlog that existed in the warrant issuance function had become a pressing issue
for the office. The plan of action to reduce these numbers and increase efficiency
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Description of Town
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was addressed with the new deputy clerk position and the dedication of the
marshal to warrant duties on a full-time basis.
PERSONNEL AND CURRENT SERVICES
The staffing level in the Court office has been allocated in response to the number
of individual cases filed by the officers and initiated by the Judge through the
„failure to appear‟ offenses. We are currently staffed as follows:
Two (2) full-time Deputy Court Clerks
One (1) full-time Marshal
One (1) full-time Director of Municipal Court and Special Projects
One (1) part-time Municipal Court Judge
The Court procedures were designed to handle the majority of the customer
service duties by mail, the internet, telephone or via fax to reduce the number of
walk-in defendants who require service from the front office. A large percentage
of our defendants are commuters through the Westlake area and we have found
they appreciate having the ability to handle their violations without making a
personal appearance.
The configuration serves the dual purpose of allowing us to maintain a smaller
staff size in relation to other comparable municipalities. The average number of
individual cases handled by one deputy clerk is 250 -275 per month – we average
325 per front office employee.
In addition to the office procedures, the lobby hours are structured to allow the
deputy clerks to process the deposits, return phone calls, generate court notices,
verify insurance coverage and enter citations during the hours that the lobby is not
open to the defendants. The lobby windows are open from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
The majority of our defendants appear during the lunch hour and the clerks
generally remain in the office during this time period to assist those individuals
who walk into the lobby for assistance.
DEPUTY COURT CLERKS – The bulk of the front office activities are handled by
the deputy clerks in the front office. Sharon Wilson and Martha Solis have been
with the Department for several years and do an outstanding job processing the
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paperwork/case load while dealing with stressful situations each day. As
mentioned previously, the majority of the defendants handle their citations,
through the mail or the internet, prior to their assigned plea docket. This creates a
tremendous amount of case related paperwork that needs to be processed in order
for the office to continue to function in an efficient manner. The clerks handle the
following types of duties:
Customer service at the lobby window and via the telephone
Mail-in payments and reset requests; extensions and payment plan cases
Court docket processing
Database maintenance and input for the Court software program
Citation entry and case jacket generation
Filing of closed case files and all active pending cases
Daily deposits of all payments
There are times when defendants who contact the office, either in-person or by
phone, are not pleased to have received a citation and will be verbally abusive to
the clerks. Both clerks handle these situations with diplomacy and tact, as many
times the individuals would just like to “vent” their frustrations or have someone
listen to their “side of the story”. Both employees receive continuing court clerk
education throughout each fiscal year and try to attend local classes to reduce the
impact of out of town travel on the office and their families.
MARSHAL – The Westlake Marshal‟s office handles the duties associated with
serving the arrest warrants issued by the Judge. In 2006, Troy Crow was hired to
fill the position and has also done a tremendous job of reducing the number of
outstanding warrants and delinquent citations. His previous experience as a
police officer and as an accomplished sales manager enables Troy to work with
people while enforcing the law. He has experienced consistent success in clearing
the warrants and accomplishing our ultimate goal of closing the older case files.
Troy has also implemented a new program during the past six months that works
in conjunction with the Department of Public Safety to deny the renewal of a
driver license for defendants who have delinquent citations. He worked with the
software programmers to establish a remote connection so the information could
be transmitted via the internet and now reports and updates the clearances on a
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Description of Town
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bi-weekly basis. Overall the program has been successful in clearing case files, but
has been especially effective for those that are over three (3) years old.
DIRECTOR OF MUNICIPAL COURT AND SPECIAL PROJECTS – This
position processes the arrest warrants for the Judge and oversees all managerial
tasks associated with the office. This includes the following:
Annual staff performance appraisals
Report preparation for the Town Manager, finance department, state
agencies and the police department
Handles trial settings and jury notifications
Monitors the efficiency measures for the office to maximize case flow
Provides backup customer service duties for the deputy court clerks
Maintains the courtroom schedule
Processes all cash bond payments and refund requests
Works with multiple vendors for the office
Monitors the new laws, in conjunction with the Judge, to ensure compliance
Special projects as assigned by the Town Manager
In addition to working for the Town, Amanda is the past President of the North
Texas Court Clerks Association. She has worked with the Chapter for the past six
(6) years as a board member and committee chair of the educational training
programs for the local court clerks.
Amanda has also worked in the legal profession for over 12 years and has a
Bachelor‟s of Arts degree in Political Science. She completed her MPA degree at
the University of North Texas and graduated in May of 2009.
DOCKETS AND COURT SCHEDULES
With the case load handled by the office, we generally have a Court docket or
defendant settings four (4) times per month. The office is open to assist the
defendants between each setting and the Judge has issued certain guidelines for
processing the cases for the defendants at the window. The clerks handle deferred
disposition (probation) and driver safety requests, payments in full for fine
amounts, indigency motions, dismissal or „fix-it‟ type citations and reset requests
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for court dates. We do not handle extensions or defendants with an excessive
number of citations at the window. The Judge requires defendants in this
situation to appear at the plea docket and speak with him about their case(s).
PLEA DOCKETS – The office generally schedules two (2) plea dockets per month
to allow defendants charged with an offense to enter a plea of not guilty, guilty or
no contest. If a defendant enters a plea of not guilty – the case is set for a pre-trial
hearing, with the prosecutor, to review their options at trial, file any motions or
request subpoenas of witnesses. Approximately 50 – 75 individuals appear for
these hearings, which are held on Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m.
TRIAL DOCKETS – The Court conducts bench and jury trials on an as needed
basis. These dockets are generally held one Friday per month and last for the
entire day. The defendant has the right to either a trial that is heard by the Judge
or the jury. Unfortunately, we do not have a large number of jurors, so we
attempt to maximize their call for service by scheduling several cases at one
setting. The jury is selected from a pool of current residents, which is updated on a
semi-annual basis.
PRE-TRIAL AND ATTORNEY DOCKETS – Once a month, the prosecutor for
the State is in the office to conduct pre-trial hearings and speak to the attorneys
who are representing defendants with Westlake citations. The prosecutor is from
the Town attorney‟s office and the current individual holding this position is
Holly Fox. These dockets are also an all day event where approximately 100 cases
can be dismissed, negotiated or set for trial.
PHONE CALLS AND FAX REQUESTS – The deputy court clerks handle routine
questions about citations via phone and through the fax machine. The phone
system operates with a call tree that will answer the basic questions about the
location, hours, directions and other citation information. Those defendants that
are unable to locate their answers through this method are given the option to exit
the call tree and speak with a clerk. If any calls are missed, the defendant is asked
to leave a message and the clerks return these calls around the lunch hour and
again between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
The fax machine is available 24-hours a day and many defendants and attorneys
utilize this option to submit written requests for resets, extensions, insurance
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information, court settings and even payments. While we do not accept payments
over the phone, the defendant is given the option of faxing the payment
information, which can be run via in-house credit card processing.
MAIL PAYMENTS – Defendants are also given the option to pay their citations,
request a deferral or a driver safety class, submit documents for citation dismissal
and reset their case(s) via the US mail. The Court maintains a post office box at the
City of Roanoke mail center where the bulk of the citation related correspondence
is received. The mail is retrieved at least three (3) times per week by the Marshal.
The mail is then stamped with the received date and processed by the deputy
clerks for each citation.
INTERNET PAYMENTS – The Court has an additional component to the
software system that will allow individuals to pay their citation through the
internet. The violations are updated immediately upon the completion of the
transaction and the office is notified of the payments. We have received positive
feedback from this type of system as it allows them to pay their citations without
driving to the office.
COURT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR THE ACADEMY
The Marshal, in conjunction with the Court Administrator, processes the criminal
history background check for the school volunteers. The task is performed using a
Lexis/Nexis database geared for law enforcement personnel that the Court also
uses to track defendants with outstanding arrest warrants. A report is reviewed to
determine if the volunteer has a criminal history or if they have been convicted of
any sexually related offenses. The school is then notified of the status – either “no
criminal history found” or if a volunteer has negative information on their report
an explanation is forwarded to the Town Manager/CEO for review.
The majority of the volunteers submit their clearance documents at the beginning
of the school year. As expected, the simultaneous arrival of the applications can
result in a delay of the clearances as the process takes approximately 10 – 20
minutes to research each request.
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THE COURT’S FUTURE CHALLENGES
Over the past several years, the Court office has expe rienced significant changes
ranging from increases in the case load to actual relocation (twice in three years) of
the offices. We have also undergone staffing challenges, the most notable in the
warrant division. The current goals and challenges are to maintain the new cases
without any backlog in processing, support the current staff in dealing with
external conflicts and to always look for ways to increase the clearance rate of the
delinquent citations.
The office has dealt with backlogs in the warr ant issuance function, case archival
duties, insurance verification, citation entry and mail processing. The completion
of these tasks are directly related to the number of defendants who appear in the
lobby, the staffing level, and the number of new violations filed in the office. The
current staff is able to maintain most of the day-to-day functions, however, if one
person is out for more than a few days – the backlogs are exacerbated. In the last
year, use of a part-time temporary employee has helped mitigate this backlog.
The warrant issuance and clearance function has always been a high priority for
the Department. Even though we are a small municipality, our office processes a
relatively large case load, which results in the issuance of several thousand arrest
warrants on an annual basis. The failure to clear the delinquent cases results in
many individuals who are not required or do not comply with judicial orders.
The ability to locate these individuals and assist them with their court appearances
is a major component to the success of our office. We will continue to research
appropriate programs to clear the cases and work in the field to encourage
individuals to conclude their outstanding violations.
Finally, the Director of Municipal Court also handles many special projects for the
Town Manager covering numerous areas ranging from researching and drafting
Academy Board policies to strategic planning and various Town ordinances/
policies. Of late this position has helped the Town Manager with the management
of the Academy serving on the Academy‟s Leadership Team.
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The Human Resources & Administrative Services Department, as the name
indicates, is responsible for providing employee-related services for Town
employees as well as administrative support for Town services.
HISTORY
This Department‟s history and development corresponds with the growth of the
Town, both in its population and the services it has come to provide. Following
the Town voter‟s decision to adopt the council-manager form of government and
hire its first Town Manager (Trent Petty), Mr. Todd Wood was hired in 2001. In
his first years with the Town, Todd truly was the “jack of all trades” for the Town,
handling some municipal court related duties, payroll, bookkeeping, permitting,
IT, utility services, and other finance-related duties. As the Town staff grew,
particularly due to the employee growth of the Academy, the need for Todd to
focus on employee support and technology support resulted in his alignment into
the role of Director of Human Resources & Administrative Services, the role he
functions in today.
CURRENT SERVICES AND PERSONNEL
Employee-related services provided by the Human Resource aspect of this
department include:
new employee marketing and recruitment
employee on-boarding (hiring) in accordance with all State, Federal, and
local requirements and policies
employee off-boarding in accordance with all State, Federal, and local
requirements and policies
employee benefits administration (three retirement plans, three employee
health insurance plans, flex plans, 457 plans, employee life insurance, and
numerous other benefit programs)
employee orientations regarding employment guidelines, policies, and
benefit programs
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one-on-one employee information/counseling sessions on benefit program
questions, options, and choices
oversees the employee performance review system including performance
review instruments
compensation analysis and salary surveys
administers the Town employee pay systems
assists in consultation role regarding employee performance reviews and
coaching for employee performance improvement
contract administration for Academy faculty
oversees visa and other immigration law compliance for on-boarding
Academy international faculty
drafting and maintaining two sets of employee personnel manuals
maintaining a current and confidential data base with supporting files of
information on all employees
job analysis, including drafting and maintaining employee job descriptions
General support services for the organization provided by the Administrative
Services aspect of this department include:
risk management services related to all Town personnel, as well as
professional liability, property, and fire and casualty insurance for all Town
property and buildings
daily support of information technology hardware and software
requirements, including desktop and laptop computers, servers, and
printers
identifying and acquiring technology needs (hardware and software) for
the organization
troubleshooting and maintaining major hardware components of the
Town‟s technology system for all servers
maintenance of the telecommunications system for the Town offices and
Academy
procurement of goods and services, liquidation of surplus public property
assistance to designated legal counsel in required areas
These services are provided by the following personnel:
Director of Human Resources & Administrative Services (1)
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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Human Resources Assistant (one-third of this employee‟s time is allocated
to this department, the other two-thirds are allocated equally to Facilities
and Development Services in FY09-10)
IT Support position (10% allocated to support of municipal technology and
90% allocated to support of Academy technology)- this position was added
in FY 09-10
The Director, Todd Wood has a bachelor‟s degree from California Coast
University and a master‟s degree in business administration from Western
Governor‟s University, with a Certified MBA designation from the International
Certification Institute (ICI). In terms of continuing education, Todd also holds a
Senior Professional in Human Resources Certification, the highest level offered by
the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) in cooperation from the Society for Human
Resource Management (SHRM). Todd also holds the designation of Certified HR
Professional by the International Public Management Association for HR (IPMA-
HR). These certification programs offer HR professionals desiring to learn and
advance themselves through self or group study and examination programs.
Human Resources Assistant Trish Landers has two years of HR-related
experience, and over twenty years of progressive office and administrative
experience. Primary IT Support is provided by Jason Powers, who holds a
master‟s degree in music from TCU, and has twelve years of professional IT
experience.
FUTURE CHALLENGES AND GOALS
The chief challenge for this Department has been to adequately support the
growing demand for support services with one (1) employee. The addition of a
one-third time Human Resource Assistant as well as an IT Support position has
helped in this regard. It should be noted that the IT Support position was added
primarily due to increased student enrollment at the Academy and to mitigate the
higher costs of contracted labor utilized in previous years. The one-third HR
support position was added to assist with nearly one decade of continued increase
in demand for service, with no corresponding increase in department staff. The
day-to-day demands for IT support continue to demand much of the Director‟s
time, taking him away from many Human Resource responsibilities that are very
significant in their importance. Alternatives to this daily technology support,
including contract labor, will need to be investigated. Another major challenge for
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this Department is the inadequate funding for capital replacement of major
components of the Town‟s technology and telecommunications systems.
FFFIIIRRREEE &&& EEEMMMSSS (((FFFOOORRRMMMEEERRRLLLYYY TTTHHHEEE DDDEEEPPPAAARRRTTTMMMEEENNNTTT OOOFFF
PPPUUUBBBLLLIIICCC SSSAAAFFFEEETTTYYY)))
The Fire & EMS Department was formerly titled the Department of Public Safety.
This department is responsible for providing fire suppression, fire
prevention/education, fire code enforcement, rescue, and advanced life support
(ALS) emergency medical services to Westlake residents and businesses.
HISTORY
The rural nature and sparse population of the Town of Westlake has, in the past,
required little public safety response so the Department‟s history is relatively
new. The advent of for the need for public safety coverage began when the
Solana Complex was constructed in 1988 and the main tenant was IBM.
IBM requested public safety services from the City of Southlake and purchased the
necessary equipment, which enabled the city to handle the additional service
area. An aerial apparatus and ambulance were purchased for use in the area and
a contract was implemented to provide building inspections and fire marshal
activities.
In the early 1970‟s, the Trophy Club MUD #1 district was created and the service
responsibility for emergency response to Solana was eventually transferred to the
Town of Trophy Club. The jurisdiction was handled by the joint departments of
the Trophy Club/Westlake Department of Public Safety. During this time period,
an inter-local agreement had been created to provide police, fire and court services
for the entire Town of Westlake by the Town by the Town of Trophy Club. The
Trophy Club officers would patrol Westlake, issue citations, handle accidents, etc.
on both the highway and internal streets and their fire department covered the
service calls for both towns.
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Description of Town
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In June of 2002, the agreement was dissolved and the departments were separated
into the Town of Trophy Club Department of Public Safety and the Town of
Westlake Fire Department. At the same time, the Town of Westlake initiated a
contract with the City of Keller for law enforcement, jail, communications, and
animal control services.
The Town of Westlake relied on part-time firefighter/paramedics and EMTs to
provide services to the Town. They used equipment that was on loan from the
City of Southlake and Keller. The management of this intricate program was
coordinated by Chief Greg Tucker, who was the original Trophy Club Fire Chief
and later the Director of Public Safety. The fire personnel were housed and
responded out of the Town Hall offices located in the Solana Complex. This was
a short-term arrangement.
In late September 2002, Chief Tucker passed away as the result of a lengthy battle
with stomach cancer. This tragic event created the Department‟s first major
change – the hiring of a replacement Director and the first full time personnel.
Don Wilson, who had been working part-time under Director Tucker and was a
retired Deputy Chief from the City of Euless, was hired as the new Director along
with nine (9) firefighter/paramedics. The firefighter/paramedics were assigned
to shifts – working the typical three (3) platoon firefighter shifts – with one (1)
lieutenant per shift and two (2) firefighter/paramedics. Also in late 2002, the fire
department personnel were moved to the temporary station on Dove
Road.
In the summer of 2003, the Department began responding to all service calls
within the Town, including the Solana Complex, as well as inspection and fire
marshal duties. The Department also began work on obtaining their own
equipment. The Town purchased a MICU equipped ambulance from Frazier and
a Crimson manufactured Fire Engine. The fire engine purchase was made
possible through a grant from FEMA.
The transition to a fully integrated DPS department began in 2004. This public
safety concept rests on the notion of hiring, training, and using personnel that are
both certified firefighters/paramedics and licensed police officers. Fire personnel
enrolled in the Tarrant County College Police Academy and the certification
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Description of Town
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process continued for approximately two (2) years. The Town then had seven
personnel additionally trained as police officers. In January 2005, the transition
continued by the formal adoption of the current DPS ordinance (copy available).
The long-term goal was to cross-train an adequate number of
firefighter/paramedics as police officers, in order to assume law enfor cement
duties, and replace the services provided by the Keller Police Department (KPD).
It was anticipated that the contract would be modified to discontinue the use of
KPD officers and begin the patrol and enforcement duties with our own staff,
while continuing to contract for dispatch and animal control. The final move to an
integrated DPS department for the Town is an ongoing goal and has not been fully
reached at this time.
The tri-certified Westlake personnel also began assisting the Municipal Cour t by
providing field and office support to the Warrant Officer. These duties included
serving arrest warrants, transferring prisoners, and providing courtroom security.
These activities were performed on an „as needed basis‟ based on the staffing of
the warrant officer position, through the later part of 2007.
The public safety concept for Westlake was predicated on having a substantial
sales tax revenue stream from a shopping mall that never materialized.
Consequently, while the Town was incurring cost for cross-certification of its
firefighter/paramedics as police officers, it was not truly using them in that
capacity, yet at the same time the Town expending dollars for police services with
the City of Keller. A change in the Department‟s leadership took place in spring
2009 with Lieutenant Richard Whitten assuming duties as Acting Fire Chief. Since
that time the Department has moved away from the “public safety concept”
(combined police and fire) toward a service delivery concept more closely aligned
with its core service focus of providing fire suppression, fire prevention, and fire
code enforcement/inspection services as well as advanced life support (ALS)
paramedic level emergency medical services.
PERSONNEL AND CURRENT SERVICES
As mentioned, the Department provides Fire and EMS related services by utilizing
a three (3) platoon system. Personnel are all certified firefighter/paramedics and
the current staffing per shift is comprised of three (3) full-time personnel:
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One (1) Lieutenant
Two (2) firefighter/paramedics
One (1) part-time firefighter/paramedic
All Department personnel are state certified firefighters, many with advanced fire
certifications and paramedics – and many are nationally registered or state
licensed. We are fortunate to have such a broad base of knowledge for an agency
of our size and the Town assists the fire personnel by maintaining all continuing
education requirements and certifications within the Department.
In an additional effort to work with other agencies, the Department participates in
the North East Fire Department Association (NEFDA), which is a group of
thirteen Northeast Tarrant County departments that provide personnel and
equipment capable of responding to specialized and hazardous operations. The
group consists of the cities of Bedford, Colleyville, Euless, Grapevine, Haltom
City, Hurst, Keller, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Southlake and the towns
of Roanoke, Watauga, and Westlake. These jurisdictions provide the following
services:
HazMat response units – One (1) regional response unit and one (1) satellite
response unit. The regional response unit is stationed in North Richland
Hills and the satellite unit in Roanoke. All HazMat Departments, including
Westlake, provides a minimum of two (2) state certified Hazardous
Materials technicians per shift.
Explosive Response Unit (Bomb Squad) – One (1) regional response unit
stationed in North Richland Hills.
Mass Casualty Response Unit – One (1) regional response unit stationed in
Euless.
Technical Rescue Unit – One (1) regional response unit stationed in Haltom
City. This unit is mainly for trench and confined space rescues.
Heavy Rescue Unit – One (1) regional response unit stationed in
Grapevine. The unit is mainly for collapsed structures and other associated
heavy rescue activities.
Air and Light Unit – One (1) regional response unit stationed in Bedford.
This unit contains a breathing air compressor, additional Self Contained
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Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) bottles, a heavy generator and fixed and
portable scene lights.
Communications Unit – this unit is stationed in North Richland Hills and
has the capability of linking all radio frequencies utilized in the area as well
as Ham radio operators.
Mobile Incident Command Unit – One (1) regional unit stationed in
Bedford.
Along with these specialized units, the participating agencies provide
standardized operating procedures for each discipline. The participating
personnel routinely train together and in regional, state, and federal training
opportunities. Many members are or have been members of Texas Task Force
One, an emergency response task force. NEFDA maintains contracts with Tarrant
County College – Northwest campus for fire related continuing education, which
includes our annual live fire training as required by the National Fire Protection
Association (NFPA).
Along with NEFDA, the Department is a member of the South Denton County
Medical Control (SDMC) group. SDCMC consist of agencies from Argyle, Flower
Mound, Krum, Roanoke, Trophy Club, and Westlake. SDCMC is under the
direction of Dr. John Ansohn, an emergency room physician for Baylor Regional
Medical Center at Grapevine. Dr. Ansohn is also the medical director for the cities
of Grapevine, Colleyville, Watauga and Southlake. SDMC develops the protocols
for our paramedics and contracts with Tarrant County College – Northeast
campus for continuing education. Most of the patients that the Department
transports are transported to Baylor Regional Medical Center at Grapevine.
FIRE CODES AND RELATED ITEMS
The Town of Westlake is proactive in its code requirements and their
enforcement. The current codes for the Town consist of the 2006 International
Codes. The electrical codes conform to the 2008 National Electrical Code. While
the Town does amend the codes to address local fire sprinkler requirements, the
bulk of the amendments to the codes are those recommended by the North
Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG).
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The 2006 International Fire Code, as amended by the Town, requires all structures
in Westlake to be protected by fire sprinkler systems with few exceptions. Single
family residential occupancies 6,000 square feet or more are required to have a
system installed. Type U occupancies, 1500 square feet or more, are required to
have systems installed unless there is living space in the occupancy, in which case
the living space is protected regardless of the square footage.
Enforcement and review of code requirements and development issues is a shared
responsibility between the Fire Chief and the Director of Planning and
Development. The Director is a member of the Development Review Committee
(DRC) and provides comments for submittals to the Town and DRC. Inspections
are handled in two ways – either the Fire Chief performs the inspections for new
and existing construction projects or the personnel on duty perform the task via
in-company inspections. All crews participate in these inspections and they are
performed annually.
The Town currently has an ISO rating of 4 / 9. The split rating is due to the
undeveloped portions of the Circle T Ranch. The Ranch‟s undeveloped portion
carries a rating of nine (9) – leaving the remainder of the Town at a four (4).
FIRE/EMS SERVICE SUPPORT TO ACADEMY
The Fire & EMS Department is very active in many of the functions occurring at
Westlake Academy. These activities include:
Personnel provide standby coverage for medical and fire protection.
(includes sporting events and tournaments).
Assists in the development of the Academy‟s disaster and emergency plans.
Assists the Academy staff in providing safety and public education classes
and lectures.
Conducts CPR and first aid training for all staff members as required
and/or requested (including the use of AEDs).
Works with the Academy nurse on a variety of issues dealing with student
health and safety concerns.
Assists in providing public education and other community engagement at
the Academy such as fire prevention education
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Description of Town
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Performs fire drills and other emergency evacuation drills.
Assist in parking and other related duties during special events and in the
initial back-to-school time period.
Assists in the planning and implementing events occurring at the
Academy. For example, the annual Bandana Bonanza and Tree Lighting
Ceremony.
FUTURE GOALS AND CHALLENGES
As with any public safety entity, especially Fire and EMS, the main budgetary
expenditure is related to personnel. The Department dedicates 46.8% of their
annual budget to full-time and part-time personnel costs. Part-time positions are
utilized to not only increase the staffing levels but, also as a cost cutting measure
to reduce the overtime expenditures to the Town. This is a practice that is
anticipated to continue within the Department.
The revenues derived from delivery of the Department‟s services come from a
variety of sources. EMS revenue is derived primarily from the EMS fees. Other
sources of revenue for the Department are from inspection fees, fire lane parking
violations, fire sprinkler system permits, North Central Texas Trauma Regional
Area Council (NCTTRAC) grant funding, which is from the Texas Tobacco
Settlement fund, and local donations.
Throughout the history of the Department, there have been three (3) consistent
challenges: funding, rumors regarding the elimination of the department and the
increase in the number of service calls. As with many public safety departments,
funding issues are an on-going challenge with each fiscal year. The previous
purchase of the major apparatus and training assistance is or was covered in large
part by grants. The Department has received grants for radio equipment, HazMat
training, breathing air equipment, protective clothing, and fire and rescue
equipment. The total grant funding has been approximately $900,000.
The second challenge involves the disbanding of the Department and contracting
out all the public safety services or being absorbed by another jurisdiction. KPD
has continuously pursued the absorption of our Department into their service area
and the Town of Trophy Club has also expressed a desire to provide services to
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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both towns as in the past. This affects the Department‟s ability to recruit
employees.
The increase in the number of service calls is another challenge for the
Department. This issue has shown steady growth in all areas. The Department
not only assumed all inspection and fire marshal duties from Trophy Club, but we
have also broadened these activities. The First American Mortgage remodel was a
major project for the Department. First American gutted four existing office units
and connected them into one larger building. The project presented numerous
challenges with the alarm system, fire protection sprinklers, air handling systems
and evacuation plans. The inspection and fire marshal duties continued to
increase with the re-modeling and building addition of the Marriott Hotel, the
expansion of Fidelity Investments and the Academy expansions. The need for
these services will not abate in the near future, as we are anticipating additional
development in the years to come.
The primary challenges facing the Department are based on maintaining the
current service levels for Fire & EMS. In providing these services, the following
items will warrant further review:
Personnel staffing to comply with all NFPA (National Fire
Protection Agency) standards, Texas Fire Commission rules and
regulations, and area obligations must be reviewed. It is desired
to increase the current three (3) full-time personnel per shift to a
minimum of five (5) full-time personnel – assigning three (3) to
the fire engine and two (2) to the ambulance as is typically in this
area. However, part-time personnel can be utilized to bridge this
gap and provide „as needed backup‟ for scheduled vacancies.
Further implementation of the capital replacement program for
major Departmental expenditures and future equipment
requirements. The initial funds have been allocated in the most
recent budget; however the replacement measures have not been
completed.
Location of permanent facilities for the Department.
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of Westlake Services
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PPOOLLIICCEE SSEERRVVIICCEESS
While our Westlake Fire & EMS Department provides fire and EMS services to our
community, law enforcement activities are contracted with the City of Keller. This
contractual arrangement began in 2002. Keller Police Department is a nationally
accredited police agency which means they have met and maintained compliance
with over 300 national police service quality standards. The contract calls for
Keller Police Department (KPD) to provide one officer per shift - per district
(outlined in the contract) as well as the auxiliary services necessary for the
function and support of field units; Fire, EMS, or Police.
Pursuant to the contract, Westlake is divided into two (2) districts. These districts
are created by taking Pearson Lane and running this line to create a north – south
line of demarcation, thus creating an east - west district. Each district is relatively
the same size and contains equal portions of the City of Keller as well as the Tow n
of Westlake.
Two motor cycle officers are designed to work the highways (SH 114, 170 and 377)
and local street traffic on a split shift basis. The officers are assigned to a schedule
of Monday through Friday on 10-hour shifts. Usually, at least one motorcycle
officer is assigned to traffic enforcement in Westlake during the typical workday
hours. These officers also issue the bulk of the traffic citations. All citation
revenue from traffic citations issued in Westlake goes to the Town of Westlake
(note: this is only the municipal portion, a significant portion of dollars collected
by our Municipal Court goes to the State for their mandated fees (taxes) that we
collect for them).
The contract does provide for auxiliary and support services. These services
include:
Administrative fees and staff and personnel costs related to human
resource activities and payroll, etc.
Communications
Jail Facilities
Animal Control
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The communications and jail facilities provided by this contract are modern and of
high quality. The City of Keller‟s central dispatch center provides fully enhanced
911-communications services to Keller, Southlake and Westlake. The
communications center was expanded to provide them with the capability to
dispatch for multiple agencies.
The communications (radio and computer aided dispatch) system is a very
valuable asset to the Town. As an auxiliary member of the system – Northeast
Tarrant Communication Consortium (NETCO) – the Town participates in a three
site, duplex, 800 MHz trunked radio system. NETCO consist of the cities of
Bedford, Colleyville, Euless, Grapevine, Keller and Southlake. NETCO has
redundant tower sites in many of the member cities and the Town is provided
limited access to the system. The limitation is in the number of radio units – for a
total of ten (10) units – with the use of one (1) talk group. The Town has
maximized the number of radio units currently allowed under the agreement
which are utilized by the Westlake Fire & EMS personnel and the Town Marshal.
TTTOOOWWWNNN SSSEEECCCRRREEETTTAAARRRYYY
The Town Secretary‟s Office is the central record keeping function for the Town
and is responsible for all records (ordinances, minutes, etc) for the Town
Council/Board of Trustees, its various advisory boards, and the Texas Student
Housing Corporation, an instrumentality of the Town.
HISTORY
The Town hired its first Town Secretary in 1995, Ginger Crosswy, who was
followed in 2005 by Jean Dwinnell. In 2007 Ms. Kim Sutter was hired as Town
Secretary followed by the Town‟s current Town Secretary Kelly Edwards who was
hired in August 2009.
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
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PERSONNEL AND SERVICES
The Town Secretary‟s Office has been, and continues to be, a one (1) employee
operation. The Town Secretary is responsible for the following services:
recording and maintaining minutes from all Town Council and Board of
Trustee meetings
assembling and distributing Town Council and Board of Trustee agendas
and agenda packets, including placing these materials on-line on the
Town‟s and Academy‟s web sites
recording and maintaining minutes from the Planning & Zoning
Commission
assembling and distributing the Planning & Zoning Commission‟s agendas
and agenda packets
posting of all notices as required by the Open Meetings Act for the Town
Council/Board of Trustees, Planning & Zoning Commission, Zoning Board
of Adjustments, Texas Student Housing Corporation (TSHA), Historical
Preservation Board, Public Arts Society, and Westlake Academy
Foundation
preparing and distributing agendas and agenda packets for the TSHA
Board meetings
staff support for the administration of the TSHA student scholarship
program (note: approximately one-third of the Town Secretary‟s salary is
paid by THSA for these services)
recording and maintaining minutes from TSHA Board meetings
maintaining staff‟s agenda calendars for Town Council and Board of
Trustees‟ meetings
budget preparation and administration for the Town Secretary‟s Office
oversight and administration of all regular and special municipal elections
official records manager for all Town documents including minutes,
resolutions, contracts, proclamations, and ordinance
oversight of Academy records liaison
ensures proper codification of all adopted/amended Town ordinances
assembles and lays out the Town quarterly newsletter, The Westlake Wire
coordinate monthly meetings serving as Town liaison to Town‟s public
relations firm
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prepares and sends out bi-monthly email blast update on Town activities to
Town residents
processes with the assistance of the Town Attorney all Open Records
Requests received by the Town
Ms. Edwards joined the Town‟s Leadership Team with extensive municipal
experience as City Secretary for the City of Roanoke, Texas. She has the highest
level of continuing certification offered by the Texas Municipal Clerks Association
and holds her Certificate of Municipal Clerk (CMC) with the International
Institute of Municipal Clerks. In addition to an annual training requirement
necessary to maintain this certification level, Ms. Edwards must also have
continuing education in various legislative changes to State laws such as the
election code, Open Meetings Act, records retention, and the Open Records Act.
FUTURE GOALS AND CHALLENGES
The challenge for the Town Secretary‟s Office is the work load size handled by one
(1) employee. Over time, if the demand for this Department‟s services continues
to rise, additional staff support will be needed. Another major need is for a
comprehensive record management program including placement of all official
records into digital form for preservation and access.
FFFAAACCCIIILLLIIITTTIIIEEESSS MMMAAAIIINNNTTTEEENNNAAANNNCCCEEE///PPPAAARRRKKKSSS AAANNNDDD
RRREEECCCRRREEEAAATTTIIIOOONNN
The Facilities Maintenance program performs preventive maintenance on all
campus buildings and landscaping to protect the Town‟s investment in our
infrastructure and to avoid significant costs related to system failures due to a
lack of maintenance.
The Park and Recreation Department maintains open spaces and facilities for
recreational use by our citizens and the general public. The Civic Campus and
the park, located in the Glenwyck Farms subdivision, comprise the facilities
and park space that is available for use by residents and the public. The park
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at Glenwyck Farms and the Academy campus host the Arbor Day celebration,
Bandana Bonanza, the Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony and Decoration Day.
HISTORY
The Facilities & Recreation Department began in May of 2004 when a full time
Director, Mr. Troy J. Meyer, was hired. The responsibilities of the position
include invoice approval, contract negotiations for capital projects, lease
agreements, budget oversight and preparation, planning reviews for open
spaces and bids for all necessary supplies and capital projects. In addition to
the daily activities, special event planning and assistance to the residents on
projects such as Arbor Days, Decoration Day, and the employee Christmas
Party are also handled by the Department. The Director has heavy interaction
with the following groups and individuals:
Leadership of the Academy
School parent groups
House of Commons (parent, student, teacher association)
Westlake Academy Athletic Club
Westlake Academy Foundation
Westlake Historical Preservation Society
PROJECTS – PARKS, FACILITIES AND MAINTENANCE
PARKS - During the construction of the Glenwyck Farms subdivision, the
developer allocated 13.5 acres of park open space, off of Dove Road, to the
Town. The park has walking trails, which are accessible from within the
neighborhood and through the concrete sidewalks that run alongside Dove
Road. The park has frequently been the site of the annual Arbor Day
celebration that draws people from the Westlake community, children and
parents from the Academy and nearby residents to enjoy the games, fishing
and booths that are set up and manned by the volunteers of the event . The
Westlake staff, Academy student volunteers and fire department officers often
participate in the setup and breakdown of the event, as well as volunteers at
the booths.
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The Parchman house, located on JT Ottinger Road, was donated to the Town in
2006. The facility consists of six acres of open space, a 2,000 square foot home
and a small barn. We are currently using the property for miscellaneous
storage and parking events at the cemetery.
OPEN SPACE - These areas include the Parchman‟s six acres, the 13.5 acres
within the Glenwyck Farms subdivision and the street medians within the
Town. The medians are maintained by landscape and tree trimming
contractors. The cost associated with the maintenance of the 13.5 acre open
space is shared with the Glenwyck Farms HOA. All work completed within
the park is shared equally between the Town and the HOA. The Terra Bella
subdivision‟s first home was completed in summer of 2010. The subdivision
includes 28 residential lots and 22 acres of open space with trails connecting
the Solana business complex to Glenwyck Farms.
FIRE STATION FACILITY - Our first non-permanent facility was the
temporary modular building for the fire station that was leased in 2002. The
building was an interim solution to address the housing needs of the DPS
officers who had previously been operating and living out of the kitchen and
meeting room of the Municipal Court offices. The temporary facility includes a
three-bay metal building, to house the fire truck and ambulance, and had a 12
x 57 trailer. In December of 2006, the previous trailer was replaced with a 14 x
60 facility and a wood deck area was added for additional space.
CIVIC CAMPUS - The Town‟s initial permanent and largest building project
began with the Civic Campus space that is home to the Westlake Academy.
The Town purchased 23.5 acres from Hillwood development to build the
53,000 square foot civic campus. Until May of 2007, the campus housed both
the Town offices and Westlake Academy. This initial campus construction
consisted of two (2), one story buildings for classrooms and office space, as
well as a two (2) story gym with classrooms, a dining hall and performance
hall. The soccer/softball field was completed in the fall of 2004 and a second
field was added in the summer of 2007. The 8,400 sq. ft. Sam & Margaret Lee
Arts and Sciences Center was completed on August 2010 which includes two
science labs, art room with a kiln, offices, conference room and open space to
display student art. , The original design of the center, included a black box
theater and large art which was not completed due to funding. The project can
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Description of Town
of Westlake Services
33
in under budget by $267,000 which will be use to extend the parking area just
to the west of the Center. Total budget of the project was 5.1M.
CEMETERY - The ownership of the Roanoke I.O.O.F Cemetery was
transferred to the Town in January of 2008. This is an active cemetery that
averages eight (8) burials per year. The Department is in the process of
creating a master plan for the cemetery before the plan can be developed. A
ground scan was completed in 2008. One hundred and seventy four(174)
unmarked graves were located throughout the cemetery. The Town also hired
a surveyor to locate all six sections within the cemetery. In April 2010,
cemetery rules and regulations were presented to the Town Council, which
also included a suggested name change to The Town of Westlake Cemetery.
The Town Council would prefer that I.O.O.F. be included in the name. Staff
will request permission from the I.O.O.F. organization to use th e name. The
Town staff is now able to start selling grave spaces at the cemetery.
LEASED OFFICE SPACE - The Town‟s Municipal Court, Texas Student
Housing and Town Secretary offices relocated from the Civic Campus, in June
of 2006, to the Solana Business Complex. The move was necessary to
accommodate additional grade level expansion at the Academy. The new
location consisted of 4,000 square feet of offices and courtroom space. In the
spring of 2007, the remaining Town operations and staff relocated to adjacent
office suites in Solana. The total leased office and Court space is 9,400 square
feet and all of the maintenance is handled through the Solana complex. The
current lease agreement will expire in May of 2011.
MAINTENANCE - The Facility & Recreation Department also exists to carry
out the day-to-day operations and maintenance of the temporary fire station,
Westlake Academy, leased Town office space and engineering. The
breakdown of specific maintenance operations are as follows:
Fire Station
o Bay doors, septic systems, gravel drive and temporary trailer
o Lease on the trailer will expire in December, 2011.
Civic Campus
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o Doors, cameras, water fountains, soccer field and open space
upkeep, clean return air vents
o Repair furniture and floors
o Contracts are held for landscaping, web control for HVAC
and lighting, janitorial services, security cameras, 24-hour
monitoring of alarm systems, lighting, water treatment,
elevator service, HVAC units, irrigation systems, fire alarms
and sprinkler equipment
o Maintain and issue card keys to all Academy and Town staff
o Oversee all capital projects at the Academy
THE ACADEMY
As previously mentioned, the Department supports many tasks related to the
Academy. The basic activities completed for the school include minor repairs
for door adjustments, drinking fountains, desks and lockers, mill work,
flooring and lighting. Additional assistance is provided for AV equipment
usage, ordering paper supplies, IMP co-editor, various ball and debris removal
from drains and roofs, plumbing issues, student projects, mowing of the two
soccer fields, parents groups, HOC, WAAC and assisting with Academy
events.
The Town, in conjunction with a local Boy Scout Troop, recently constructed a
tree farm on the campus. The Department facilitated the location, volunteers
and planting of the trees and the project helped a local resident attain his Eagle
Scout badge.
FUTURE GOALS
The largest project for the Town in 2009 handled by the Department was the
construction of the Sam & Margaret Lee Arts & Sciences Center. The residents
approved a bond package to partially fund the building with the remainder of
the funds being raised through donations to the school. The facility has
undergone numerous plan revisions and the staff is wor king with contractors
and the Board to execute the construction of the facility in an efficient and cost
effective manner. The building was estimated at $5.1 million and was
operational in the fall of 2009.
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Another project involves the construction of a water well on the campus. The
well is needed to support the additional landscaping around the new Arts &
Sciences building, the new athletic field and the west parking lot. The cost is
anticipated to be $40,000 and the anticipated completion time is October of
2010.
The department applied for a Safe Route To School grant for TXDOT in the fall of
2009. The award announcement will be in summer of 2010. The department also
applied for an Energy Block for lighting and HVAC improvements to the Academy.
The grant notification will be in the summer of 2010.
LONG TERM GOALS
1. Increase funding for HVAC to replace aging units
2. Purchase land for new fire station and/or Town Hall complex
3. Plans for maintenance facility
4. Update master trail plan
FFFIIINNNAAANNNCCCEEE DDDEEEPPPAAARRRTTTMMMEEENNNTTT
The Finance Department is responsible for maintaining all accounting and
financial transactions, financial records, audits, and budgets administration in full
compliance with State and Federal law/regulations, local ordinances and policies,
and the customers, businesses, bond holders, and citizens of Westlake. As such,
this department holds an important stewardship role to ensure that the Town‟s
financial records are timely, transparent, accessible, and understandable for the
Town Council, Town/Academy management, and Westlake stakeholders.
HISTORY
Former Town Secretary Ginger Crosswy provided basic bookkeeping as the
Town‟s sole employee beginning in 1995. She was our first Town employee with
then Mayor, Scott Bradley, being the only signer on the checking account.
With the Town‟s first Town Manager Trent Petty on board, Mr. Todd Wood was
employed in October 2001 and quickly implemented a more sophisticated system
with Quickbooks. He performed all accounting and personnel related activities.
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As the Town‟s employment grew, the Town Manager realized the need to utilize
Todd in human resources and hire a Finance Director. In April 2003 Ms. Debbie
Piper was hired as the Town‟s first Finance Director to oversee this function of the
Town as well as oversee the audit process and all finance related activities. At one
time, Todd was under the supervision of the Finance Director, and was later
named a department head – Director of Human Resources and Administrative
Services.
During the same fiscal year in which the Finance Director was hired, a Finance
Assistant, Jaymi Ford, was also hired to handle all accounting related functions.
The Town‟s municipal accounting is performed in-house with Stw, Inc. software.
Because we do not have adequate staff to also provide all the Academy‟s
accounting functions, we contract with the State‟s Region XI Education Service
Center to provide accounting assistance for the general ledger and payroll.
In the early years of the Town‟s water system, the Town contracted with Aqua
Source to read meters and generate utility billing. In July, 2004, the Town
purchased and implemented Stw Utility software and is now maintaining all
account information. Our staff reads the meters and the information is uploaded
and sent to DataProse for the printing of the bills. We have found it is still more
cost effective to outsource this portion of the utility billing process. Our staff
receives and posts all water payments.
As the Academy and Town grew, it was determined that an additional staff
person would need to be added to the Finance Department. Sherry Whigham
began her employment with the Town in November of 2007.
Because the Town was run on a minimal staffing level, various policies and
procedures were not in place upon the arrival of the Finance Director. As time
permitted, the following documents have been written and implemented over the
past five years:
a. Written internal control policies and procedures
b. Investment Policy – reviewed and approved annually
c. Fiscal and Budgetary Policies
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DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL
Debbie Piper, current Finance Director, was employed in April of 2003 upon the
recommendation of Felix Lozano, a partner with Whitley, Penn, LLP, who was in
charge of the Town‟s audit at that time. Debbie‟s association with Felix began
when her previous employer and his firm entered into an agreement to train
Whitley Penn staff in school district auditing. At that time, she was performing
35-40 school and county audits annually and traveling all over Texas. She had
been auditing for 8 years and wanted to try something different than the audit
aspect of public accounting. The opportunity with Westlake appeared to be an
ideal situation because she would also be responsible for the Academy‟s financial
records, budget and audit. Her governmental experience would benefit both the
Town and the Academy. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration
degree from Texas Wesleyan and is a Certified Public Accountant.
As previously mentioned, Jaymi Ford was hired October 2003 in a newly created
position as Finance Assistant. The position would be responsible for front desk
duties, accounts receivable, accounts payable, banking and assisting in the budget
and audit processes, as well as various administrative functions. She worked for
15 years at Tandy Business Computer/Radio Shack division in the accounting
department and for 10 years with Cobblestone Golf as regional manager training
staff accountants at different locations across the US. However, the lure of
working for Westlake and the new charter school they had founded drew her in.
Her son, Nick, attends Westlake Academy and is in the 11th grade.
Sherry Whigham, the newest member to the Finance Department, was hired in
November 2007. Her position was created and budgeted for during FY 2007-2008
when we determined Jaymi was working an additional 400 hours annually,
equating to approximately $10,000 in overtime. Prior to commencing her
employment with the Town of Westlake, Sherry worked for a national not -for-
profit organization assisting in maintaining a central repository of formal actions
taken against physicians and providing different services to licensing and
disciplinary boards, the U.S. Armed Forces, the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human
Services, and other national and international regulatory bodies involved in the
employment and/or credentialing of physicians from 1999-2007. Business traits
that were displayed in dealing with the general public and private sectors enable
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Sherry to represent the Town of Westlake with the utmost professionalism. Her
daughter, Brooke, also attends Westlake Academy and is in the 7th grade.
CURRENT SERVICES
The Finance department is responsible for collecting, recording, summarizing, and
reporting the results of all financial transaction of the Town, Academy, and
Westlake Academy Foundation in a timely manner. These day-to-day functions,
along with preparing the budget document and working with the auditors on the
annual audits keep the staff extremely busy.
The Finance office personnel, Jaymi and Sherry, perform the following duties:
Switchboard duties
Accounts payable/receivable
Utility account set up and disconnection
Utility billing processing and accounts receivable
Banking and deposits
Month-end and year-end processes
This is, of course, in addition to working with the Finance Director on the budget
documents, preparing quarterly budget reports, and preparing for the audit
known as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).
The Department is also responsible for three checking and seven TexPool accounts
for the Town; one checking and one TexPool account for the Academy; and, one
checking and one money-market account for the Westlake Academy Foundation.
Invoices are received from the various Department Heads and verified for
completeness and accuracy. Accounts Payable is processed weekly. Check
signers, other than the Town Manager, are Debbie Piper, Finance Director and the
Mayor Pro-Tem. A facsimile signature of the Town Manager is used for all checks
and any check in excess of $10,000 must have a second signature.
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THE ACADEMY
As previously stated, the Finance Department is responsible for all finance related
aspects of the Academy. The Academy‟s general ledger, payroll, and accounts
payable and receivable are maintained by the Region XI Education Service
Center. The Academy staff reviews, codes and approves invoices and sends them
to the Department for final review by the Finance Director and verification of
proper documentation and coding. The invoices and check requests are then sent
to the Service Center to be keyed into the general ledger and to process checks.
The checks usually have a 1-2 day turnaround and are sent back to the
Department for mailing and distribution.
This department is responsible for all deposits and checks required by the school.
We have 1 general fund, 7 special revenue funds, and 29 trust and agency
accounts on the books with an estimated 361 annual deposits and 660 check
requests annually.
The Finance Director, Administrative Coordinator and certain staff have access to
the service center software via internet and provide the CEO/Superintendent with
various reports when requested. A quarterly report prepared and presented to the
Board of Trustees.
The Finance Director works closely with the CEO/Superintendent and
Administrative Coordinator in preparing the budget for approval by the Board of
Trustees.
While fluctuating somewhat over time, the Academy‟s fund balance has grown
from $12,000 in 2003-2004 to $504,653 as of the end of FY 08-09. A portion of the
fund balance was transferred to help pay for the new Arts & Sciences Center‟s
furniture, fixtures, and equipment.
Due to the increase of a grade-level annually, the Academy‟s operating budget for
Academic Services has increased from $1,368,113 in FY 03-04 to $4,057,713 in FY
09-10. This is with an increase from 195 students in FY 03-04 to approximately 490
in the current year.
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WESTLAKE ACADEMY FOUNDATION
The Westlake Academy Foundation was formed to raise funds and take other
actions in order to enhance the educational opportunities offered by the
Academy. The Department is also responsible for all financial related activities for
the Foundation, including the annual audit. Signers on this checking account are
Debbie Piper, Finance Director: Shelly Meyer, Executive Director, Leah Rennhack,
President, and Deborah Ziegler, Treasurer. Any check in excess of $1,000 must be
signed by two authorized signers.
A monthly report is prepared by the Finance Director and forwarded to the
Foundation‟s treasurer for monthly presentation to the Foundation Board.
Currently, the Foundation directs one fundraising campaign annually to
supplement the operations of the Academy named the “Blacksmith Annual
Fund”. Each family is asked to donate $1,800 per student enrolled to supplement
the funds received by the state. The Foundation is a 501(c) 3; therefore, the
donation constitutes a tax deduction for each family. Blacksmith Annual Fund
participation is not required, but strongly encouraged. Funds received range from
$10 to more than $1,800 per student as a “best gift” varies for each family.
Additionally, several families apply for matching gifts from their employers,
providing another source of campaign contributions. Blacksmith funds are
transferred to the Academy to support day-to-day operating expense payments.
The Foundation anticipates exceeding the $420,000 budgetary goal for FY 2009-
2010.
The funds received from the annual “Gallery Night” event are used to maintain
and operate the Foundation. Current year net earnings for this event equaled
$104,852. The Foundation will seek requests from the Academy to grant excess
funds raised at Gallery Night.
A new event in FY 2009-2010 was the Westlake Baja golf outing which netted
$261,000. The Baja is dedicated to raising designated funds for attracting,
retaining and developing high-quality teachers who exemplify, embody and
inspire the IB philosophy, principles and standards.
The Foundation led a capital campaign for the Arts & Sciences Center, raising $1.5
million in gifts from Academy families and area corporations. In addition to these
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pledges, Texas Student Housing has donated a total of $500,000 to this building
fund and Mrs. Margaret Lee donated $500,000.
THE BUDGET
The budget document, in terms of its presentation, has been a work in progress.
Each year we have increased its detail and format to better inform the public of
our financial policies, operations, and plans. Recently we received our third
“Distinguished Budget Presentation Award” from GFOA for the 2009-2010
municipal budget. We received our first such award for the Academy‟s Academic
Services Budget for FY 2009-10 as well.
We began implementing departmental goals and objectives in the 2005-2006
Municipal Budget and have worked towards substantiating our activity and
performance measures. The General Fund budget has hovered around $3.5
million to $4.1 million from FY 03/04 to present. This has been done, of course,
without implementation of a property tax. Our beginning FY 07-08 fund balance
of $3,096,299 looked deceivingly large due to the dissolution of 4A Economic
Development Fund during FY 2005-2006 and a transfer of $2,194,313 being made
to General Fund‟s fund balance. However, based upon current revenue forecasts
and expenditure levels tied to our current level of service, our financial forecast
shows that within two (2) fiscal years the Town‟s General Fund will be in a deficit
situation.
THE AUDIT
The Academy is included in the audit as a blended component unit of the Town
and Texas Student Housing projects are included as discretely presented
component units. We have verified that the non-compliance and non-payment of
debt on several of the projects will not affect the Town‟s bond ratings. The Town
of Westlake does not have any liability for the payment of debt of these projects as
the bonds are non-recourse to both the Town and Texas Student Housing
Authority.
Because of Debbie‟s background and expertise in auditing, the audit process has
become much more streamlined and efficient in the past 5 years. Upon her arrival
to the Town, 65 audit adjustments were proposed for the FY 02-03 audit. Only
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two (2) auditor proposed adjusting entries were made for the FY 09 -10 audit.
Jaymi, Sherry, and Debbie have all worked diligently in trying to keep these
adjustment minimal.
BONDED DEBT OF THE TOWN
All Town debt issued to date is related to the initial construction and expansion of
the Westlake Academy campus facilities as follows:
a. Certificates of Obligation– Series 2002 - $12,400,000; Current balance -
$7,329,913 payable through FY 2024. The Town saved approximately $30K
annually by refunding a portion of the 2002 Certificates of Obligation.
b. Certificates of Obligation – Series 2003 - $6,410,000; Current balance -
$9,355,890 payable through FY 2032.
c. General Obligation Refunding Bonds – Series 2007 - $7,465,000; Current
balance- $12,302,920 payable through FY 2032.
d. General Obligation Bonds –Series 2008 - $2,500,000; Current balance
$3,277,656 payable through 2028.
All debt for the Academy buildings is being paid by the Town as follows:
4B Economic Development Fund – these amounts have been committed to the
repayment of the debt incurred for the Town‟s Civic/Academy Campus
projects.
Property Tax Reduction Sales Tax Fund – Any excess debt payments
remaining will be paid from this fund.
Visitors Association Fund – Payment for the Series 2008 - $2,500,000 bonds is
expected to be made from this fund.
While all the Town‟s bonded indebtedness is currently being retired by sales
tax revenue as set out above, it is important to note that the bond covenant and
indenture requirements for all these bonds are ultimately “back stopped” by a
property tax pledge on all real and personal property in the Town limits
should sales tax revenues not be adequate to retire the bonds.
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This Public Works Department is responsible for maintaining, planning, and
overseeing the maintenance and construction of the Town‟s infrastructure
related to its street, drainage, duct bank, solid waste, and water/sewer
systems.
HISTORY
The Westlake Public Works Department, like many of the other
departments, is relatively new. Prior to its establishment, the City of Keller
provided a majority of Westlake residents with water service. However, the
construction of Fidelity, Daimler Chrysler and Vaquero necessitated the Town‟s
provision of utility services. The Town entered into a developer‟s agreement with
Hillwood for the construction of a pump station and transmission mains to service
their developments. During this period, the Town also initiated an aggressive and
proactive right-of-way (ROW) management program centered on a Town owned
telecommunication duct bank system. This created the need for utility
infrastructure management, so the Town solicited bids for services. AquaSource
(AquaTexas) was awarded the contract and began providing water/wastewater
operations maintenance in April 2001, which continued until June 2004. The
Town hired a Public Works Director in August 2003 to develop the Department
and to move the AquaSource duties to an in-house position. The intent was to
continue outsourcing labor intensive and specialized services and bring meter
reading/billing under the direct supervision of the Town.
PERSONNEL
The Public Works Department oversees several functions:
water/wastewater and telecommunication duct bank operations and
maintenance, meter reading/utility billing, streets, drainage, solid waste, and
engineering.
The Westlake Public Works Director is responsible for the overall
management of water, sewer, duct bank, drainage, streets, solid waste, and
engineering operations. The Director represents the Town on various boards and
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committees relating to water and sewer; monitors water quality and handles
reporting requirements set forth by the state; reviews and inspects all
infrastructure; manages water and wastewater SCADA operations and facilitates
water meter reading and billing.
Jarrod Greenwood holds the position of the Westlake Public Works
Director and has been in the public works profession for approximately 16 years.
He has served in the following municipalities: Oklahoma - Antlers; Texas - Blue
Mound, Keller and Haltom City.
Jarrod graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of
Business Administration and a minor of Public Administration. He holds a
Master of Public Administration degree from Troy University. Jarrod also has a
“Class A Water Operator” license and a “Class III Wastewater Collection” license.
Public Works and Facility Maintenance share a full-time maintenance
employee, Josheph Lopez. This position was created in FY08/09 to relieve both
Department Heads of a portion of the “field work” and allow them to concentrate
on administrative duties within their department and also to improve customer
service to the Town and Academy.
CURRENT SERVICES
WATER - Westlake has approximately 70,000 LF of water lines and
purchases treated water from the City of Fort Worth as a wholesale customer. We
also have a seat on the Water Advisory Committee with full voting privileges.
Fort Worth charges are based on volume and demand. The Town has historically
seen high demand charges as a result of the unique nature of Westlake.
We have one (1) – 1MG elevated storage, one (1) - .685 MG ground storage
tank, and one (1) pump station. The water tower (elevated storage) is a joint use
tower that is co-owned between Westlake and Keller and is maintained in
accordance with an inter-local agreement ( ILA).
Town staff handles the reading of the water meters and processes the
billing payments. Printing and mailing of water bills are outsourced to a third-
party; however, the Town retains access to view, print, and email PDF images of
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our customer‟s bills. Water meters consist of a combination of manual read meters
and radio read meters. The last rate analysis was conducted in 2008 and is
currently undergoing an update. We currently have three main water customers:
Daimler Chrysler, Fidelity, and Vaquero Golf Club, although Vaquero is installing
a reverse osmosis system to utilize ground (well) water for irrigation, so their use
of the Westlake water system should decrease greatly.
The Department has installed in the last two years a magnetic flow water
meter and electronically operated butterfly valve at the pump station. The
implementation of these items eliminated the Town‟s exposure of reliance of flow
signals from Fort Worth. Historically, the Fort Worth device responsible for
transmitting the signals failed; thereby, causing the ground storage tank to
overflow. These failures resulted in wasted water cost, increased peak charges
that had to be disputed, and increased demands for after hour call-outs.
Beginning in 2006, the Town hired Biggs & Matthews to develop a
feasibility study on the potential of a second water source. The Upper Trinity
Water District lies within Denton County and a different watershed. The intent
was to secure water for the Town, which would address our needs for the next
fifty years. The Town desired, and needed, a regional effort between Westlake,
Roanoke, and the Town of Trophy Club to achieve this source. Currently, there is
a lack of support for the project from the neighboring communities and the
concept has been placed on hold.
The City of Southlake plans to construct a 30” waterline through Westlake
along the future development of FM 1938. The proposed alignment is within an
easement owned by the Town and would require the Town‟s permission. In
return for Southlake‟s use of the Westlake easement. Westlake would like a
connection to the water line and the rights to 2 MGD. Westlake would pay for the
construction of a new meter and applicable facilities and appurtenances.
SEWER - The Town has approximately 39,000 LF of sanitary sewer lines
and contracts with Trinity River Authority (TRA) to treat wastewater. We also
have a seat on the Denton Creek Advisory Committee with full voting privileges.
The billing is based on the projected annual flow, which is determined by each
member city with a midyear adjustment.
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Westlake also has a unique arrangement with the City of Southlake for the
conveyance of wastewater through a jointly owned sewer line (N-1 Sewer Line).
Southlake reads a flow meter and charges us for the amount of flows they are
billed from TRA. The partnership originated with the development of our
Glenwyck Farms subdivision. Southlake provided water and sewer service to the
neighborhood, since Westlake did not have water or sewer infrastructure available
when the area was developed. The Town is now providing water and sewer
service to Glenwyck Farms.
The joint sewer line is known as “N-1” and was constructed in 1996. The
line serves both Westlake and Southlake. Westlake and Southlake entered into an
inter-local agreement (ILA) for the funding of construction, entitlement of flow
capacity, and maintenance responsibilities. Westlake paid a portion of the
construction costs and now has access to 48.5% of the line‟s capacity. The
maintenance is currently provided by Southlake and charged to Westlake
pursuant to the ILA. Westlake and Southlake are currently working with TRA to
transfer the ownership and maintenance of the N-1. Prior to the transfer of
ownership, the lines had to be tested and inspected for any structural deficiencies.
RJN, Group was hired to conduct an engineering analysis and prepare a
comprehensive report. The report by RJN indicated some significant inflow and
infiltration from Westlake. We hired a contractor and made numerous repairs and
RJN is now conducting additional wet weather flow monitoring for the Town.
Once TRA is satisfied with the condition of the N-1 line, Westlake and Southlake
will each construct a meter station to monitor our flows. The meters will be
constructed per TRA standards and dedicated to them.
TELECOMMUNICATIONS DUCTBANK - Westlake officials envisioned
a Town that controlled its own growth and desired to do so in a manner unlike
conventional practices. We chose to adopt an ordinance relating to the
construction and management of a duct bank - a series of pipes used to convey
telecommunication lines. The concept was intended to minimize the need for
telecom providers to dig in Westlake, which results in a disruption of other
services, property damage, and inconvenience to residents and property owners
(see Texas Town &Country article Feb. 2003). The opportunity to control right-of-
way and manage it responsibly is imperative for the protection and safety of all
citizens and utility providers. Westlake is in a unique position, since relatively
little development has occurred. The premise was/is that a developer is required
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to construct a duct bank just as they would be required to for water or sewer
lines. However, the Town has already installed approximately 11,000 LF and
funded them through 4A Economic Development funds and the General Fund. To
date approximately 49,000 LF of the duct bank has been constructed and is
occupied by AT&T and/or Verizon. The duct bank exists along all of the future
FM 1938, Solana Blvd., Sam School Road, Dove Road (between FM 1938 and
Pearson), Ottinger Road and all of the Vaquero and Terra Bella subdivisions. The
Town has not experienced a single damaged telecom line within the duct bank.
This is in large part due to the fact that the Town knows exactly where telecom
providers are (when located in the duct bank) and this information is
communicated to any contractor. Staff locates the duct bank and monitors any
excavation in or around the immediate area. This process ensures that any
damage is immediately repaired and documented. The Town is also a member of
DigTess and facilitates every „line locate‟ request for work within the Town.
STREETS – Approximately 10.8 miles of public streets, of which 2.8 miles
have been reconstructed within the last 6 years, exists within the Town limits.
Vaquero, Glenwyck, Paigebrooke, and Terra Bella subdivisions all have private
streets. Reconstruction of major roads is typically performed by Tarrant County
through an ILA, where Westlake only pays for the materials. Public roads within
our newer subdivisions must be constructed through competitive bidding by a
private contractor. Pothole/shoulder repair work is provided by a local contractor
on an “as needed” basis.
We have two “school zone” traffic signal flashers on Ottinger Road. The
school flashers were integrated into the Town‟s SCADA system to allow staff the
ability to monitor and operate them remotely. The signage is repaired and
replaced by staff. We adopted an ordinance requiring all the street signs to be
powder coated “green.”
SOLID WASTE – The trash and recycling services in Westlake are handled
by Allied Waste, formerly Trinity Waste. The Town receives a 12% franchise fee.
The current contract expires in 2011 and contains a provision for rate adjustments
based on Consumer Price Indexes. In late 2006, we experienced a reduction in
customer service levels due to a strike by Allied employees. In August 2008, the
Town automated residential solid waste collection, assumed the billing
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responsibilities for residential customers as indicated in the contract, and switched
residents to 96 gallon waste carts and 65 gallon recycling carts.
ENGINEERING - The Town utilizes an outside firm, Graham Associates,
to provide engineering services. The Department manages, coordinates, and
develops the budget for tasks related to engineering.
DEVELOPMENT REVIEW- The Public Works Department is centrally
involved in review of all residential and commercial development projects to
ensure that all the Town‟s development and infrastructure standards are met.
CAPITAL PROJECT ADMINISTRATION- This Department plays a key
role in the planning and construction of all capital projects for new or
reconstruction of existing streets, drainage, telecommunications duct bank, and
water/sewer infrastructure.
THE ACADEMY
The Department‟s interaction is somewhat limited. However, we do
provide backup assistance for the Facility and Recreation Director on an „as
needed‟ basis. One very important connection of the Public Works Department
and the Academy is the Department‟s use of joint computer server housed at the
Academy which is used in part for the Town‟s SCADA system which allows
remote monitoring and control of the Town‟s water pumps and elevated storage
system. A natural gas powered generator was installed in April 2009 to provi de
emergency backup power for the server room at the Academy.
INTER/INTRA AGENCY INTERACTION
The Department provides barricades and other traffic control devices
during emergency situations. The Town has a few street crossings that are prone
to flooding during heavy rainstorms, which has necessitated road closures. In
addition, we provide road sanding/salting and other traffic related re-routing due
to snow or icy weather. This year we experienced a heavy snowfall that resulted
in road closures and dangerous conditions due to the hills in and around the
Town.
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As previously mentioned, the Westlake and Keller Public Works
Departments share a water tower. This concept was the first “tower within a
tower” configuration known to exist in the world. Keller provides all
maintenance and inspections of the tower and bills Westlake according to the
ILA.
THE BUDGET AND CAPITAL PROJECTS
The Public Works Department oversees a General Fund budget that
finances street, drainage, and traffic maintenance operations. The Department
also oversees the Utility Fund which includes the water, sewer, and duct bank
operations. A water rate study conducted in 2008 indicated that the Town‟s
current water rates were not based on cost of service and were not meeting that
systems‟ revenue requirements. Thus, a rate increase was approved by the
Council and implemented in January 2009. We are currently reviewing the
current water and sewer rates. The Town‟s wholesale water provider, the City of
Fort Worth, will have their wholesale water contract up for renewal in December
2010. Staff is currently working with other customer cities on a new water
contract with the City of Fort Worth.
Additionally, in 2009-10 the Town put its first true five (5) year capital
improvement plan (CIP) in place for all funds. Unfortunately, due to the Town‟s
financial situation, most all the CIP‟s projects were pushed back at least 1 year, in
many cases 3-5 years.
In the past year the Department has managed capital projects of various
types that are in various stages of completion. The Stagecoach Hills Subdivision
received a major drainage improvement project that was recently completed. A
water distribution line project is now in the design phase for this project. The
Director has been heavily involved in the planning of the TxDOT funded FM 1938
(Precinct Line Rd) project that is about to begin construction. The Director has
also been involved in overseeing the formulation of a streetscape plan for the FM
1938 corridor in Westlake. We will also see the construction of a new SH 114 & SH
170 interchange in FY 10/11. While our involvement will be much more limited
than FM 1938, we will work with TxDOT to include streetscape enhancements in
the project.
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FUTURE GOALS AND CHALLENGES
One of the challenges currently facing the Department is the combination of
manual and electronic read meters. While the manual/automated mix is an
impediment to efficient meter reading and billing operations we are currently
working to replace existing manual meters with automated. Staff has investigated
the implementation of an alternative automated meter reading system, known as a
“Fixed Based Network”. This type of systems represents the most efficient means
of collecting meter readings and water usage data in real time for our customers.
A challenge arose in that the systems were not conducive to Westlake‟s rural
character, terrain, and electrical pole ordinance. Staff explored options ranging
from outright purchase of equipment to a lease agreement on cost per meter read
basis. For any option, the costs associated for this type of system makes it
financially unfeasible for Westlake‟s few number of water customers.
The Department relies on contractors to provide emergency water and
wastewater repairs, sewer stoppages, and road repair/construction. A more
efficient and cost effective alternative may be an ILA with the City of Keller for the
provision of public works services. The agreement would include water, sewer,
streets, and drainage work.
The proposed Deloitte training facility will be a valuable asset to the Town
and will also present unique water service challenges. The new facility will
increase the max MGD consumption by roughly 40%. This means the current
ground storage tank would be inadequate and that the Town should consider an
additional storage tank. Public Works and Engineering are working to determine
the overall impact of the proposed facility and the costs and benefits of the added
storage.
Overall, the largest challenge facing the Department is funding that can be
utilized on a regular basis for maintaining and improving the Town‟s
infrastructure through both its operating budget and the five year CIP. This in
effect creates a large unfunded liability for the Town in terms of sust aining its
infrastructure. One funding source that could help address drainage, and in some
cases trail, needs is a drainage utility. This is in the Town‟s strategic plan.
Narrative History &
Description of Town
of Westlake Services
51
WWEESSTTLLAAKKEE AACCAADDEEMMYY
Without question, Westlake Academy, the Town‟s largest operating department,
utilizes the largest portion of the Town‟s financial resources, both in a direct and
indirect fashion. Westlake Academy, a full spectrum K-12 International
Baccalaureate municipally owned open enrollment charter schools has a current
enrollment of approximately 490 students and 60 staff and faculty.
The Town‟s debt service costs are presently devoted entirely to the Academy (see
Finance Department section of this report for details). A significant amount of the
Town‟s municipal staff has a large amount of their time supporting the Academy‟s
daily operation in terms of:
finance and budgeting
accounting and auditing
payroll
official records keeping
Board meeting preparation support
risk management
human resources services (broad spectrum)
information technology/telecommunications systems support
general planning and management
strategic planning
communications
staff development
physical plant maintenance (buildings and grounds)
public safety services (fire, EMS, and police)
This support was intended from the Town‟s municipal organization for the
Academy from its inception as set out in the Town‟s charter application. As the
Academy has grown in enrollment and staffing, so has its demands on the these
municipal resources. This service demand growth reflects the needs of a school
that as it has grown in grades offered and enrollment, has by necessity, needed
more time, attention, and complex systems to ensure its proper management.
Narrative History &
Description of Town
of Westlake Services
52
FUTURE CHALLENGES AND ISSUES
While there are a number of issues facing Westlake Academy, the two major
issues that are most pressing are finances and facilities.
The Academy‟s expenditures, while expensed between two budgets (one
Municipal, the other Academy operating), total approximately $6.1 million in FY
09-10. Approximately $2.1 million or 34% of this total is expensed to the Town‟s
Municipal budget for campus maintenance, the campus‟ annual debt service
payments, and indirect cost related to administrative support of the Academy.
The remaining $4 million or 66% of this total $6.1 million budget is expensed to
the Academy‟s operating budget, called the Academic Services Budget. This
budget is funded by State public education funds, federal/state grants and
donations from the Westlake Academy Foundation‟s annual Blacksmith
Campaign.
The Town‟s finances are challenged and constrained by lack of sales tax growth
and the absence of other sustainable revenue sources, including a municipal
property (ad valorem) tax. While revenue challenged and constrained, the Town
has experienced increased operating costs as a result of operating the Academy
and increased debt service costs (from issuance of $2.5 million in bonded
indebtedness for construction of the Lee Arts & Science Center). Currently the
Town‟s Municipal Budget bears an annual cost of $249,000 related to the operation
and maintenance of Westlake Academy. Without growth in the Town‟s revenue
base that is sustainable or a reduction in costs, it is not possible to incur further
growth in expenditures for:
Academy campus routine physical plant maintenance caused by increased
use and aging of that physical plant
issuance of new bonded indebtedness for new facilities
major maintenance projects on existing facilities (roof, heating/cooling, etc)
major technology upgrades and replacements
major furniture and fixture replacement
continued increase in demands for additional indirect support for new
faculty and students