09-20-2005 (City Council) Agenda Packet Message Page 1 of 2
Carole Ehrlich
From: Rebecca Brewer[rbrewer@ABERNATHY-LAW.com]
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2005 3:43 PM
To: Carole Ehrlich
Cc: Betty Cooper
Subject: RE: Budget amendment
Importance: High
Attachments: ARBJ-#409490-v1-Ordinance Amending_Budget_2004-2005_(CASA_and_others).DOC
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41tachedp(,ease fndtlie proposed ordinance regarding the Befou -referenced mat ter. 'You 'urillneed-to fiffin
as appropriate. %1(so, please pass on the foffoulrig information to ‘_:11aif regarifing earmarkifig funds for
these entities:
Sections51 and 52of,4riicfcrI/Iofthe'7c.Vas Constitution require that (ity_frnidsmust he used for'puhlic
purpose. 1/oa'ever,1_5"I aiu[ 52 do not preclude the('ity from making an e..penditlire of public f tends that
happens to benefit a private person or entity if the City (ouiicif'1')determines in good fail(r ilia! t(rc
expenditure serves a public purpose and(2)plices.suffic cent controls on the transaction to insure that the
public purpose is carried.ried out."(Iev. %I.(j. Opinion`No. ,7C-011$ at 2.
In mkt-to use ( ity funds to support the entities (( ithout umfitirlg the7e_{psConstitution, a CO rail must
be entered into (I'hic/l: (I)(really states the public purpose to he_f rrt tiered, and(it)contains terms which give
the(pity sufficient control orer performance of the contract to insure that the public purpose for uli cli the
funds are Being doilated is carried out for the benefit of the City and its residents. .Pfeasc contact us so (CC
may assist you in dra fling a public purpose statement that could a it listarid constitutional-scrutinv.
:Ifome rule cities hall' f lit'fuff porr'Cr of focaf.cefrgov ern men t. '7ir. fora(car't (ode_0.51.072. `I/oti crcr, the
Constitutional(imitations regarding the use of public funds for public purposes apply. 'There/ore, u'liile
/useless dealings tt'ith private!entitles, such as the entities, are permitted the City may not use its funds
simpfy to obtain /or the community and it.c citizens the general henefits resulting front the operation of
the entities. (rtvof(oipusChristi r /3ayfrront ,Issociates, L.id., 81-1.5.'11:'2d98, 105(`ley, Epp. —
Corpus(hrist 199 Olen lug‘Rarringion c ( oOtios, 338,5. f 1'.2d1.3.3, /40(`7c.v, 1960). `Thus, an e ienditlire
for the direct acconipfishment ofa legitimate pubfic arldciiy purpose is not rendered unlawful-simply liy the
fact that a pro atCry on'edhusiness may lie hene ittea-thereliy. ld.
C enerafly, cities may not cow nhute puhfic lards as charitable donalionc or gifts to private entities 'le va.s
Constitution,_i4rt. III, 1152. _11onctarysupport for the entities must he appropriately.structured toauoold
rriotiling the'7e aslontitution. if fundsare used to support the entities, a contract siumg he entered into
which clearly states the public purpose to lie furthered, and contains terms which give the ('itv sufficient
controloverperformance of the contract to insure t/iat 1/ie puhfic purpose_for'which the funds are being
donated is Carriedout for the Benefit of the t'ity and its residents. ,See`1cvas,1.(j. Opinion;f 11-158, 1984.
Thanks and let nee I now if you Bove any questions. I hare to femme the office ce at .3'50 foram appointment,
hut my legal-assistant can interrupt me if necessary. 'Ilc'rname is:!/city and she is at 214. 544.4011.
Ila ve a great rt'ee/end,
ehecc a
9/16/2005
C
MAYOR DAVID E.DORMAN
CITY OF MELISSA,TEXAS
September 16,2005
Mayor John Mondy
And City Council
City of Wylie,Texas
2000 Highway 78 North
Wylie,TX 75098
RE: Increased Support of CASA; CCCAC and CITY House
Dear Mayor and Council:
This program consists of supporting,initially,three entities,CASA(Court Appointed Special
Advocates); CCCAC (Collin County Children's Advocacy Center)and CITY House, for a total
of$.50. Their budgets consist of$2,000,000 for CCCAC; CASA-$500,000 and CITY House-
$500,000. We have earmarked,based upon these budgets, $.25 for CCCAC; $.125 for CASA
and$.125 for CITY House. However, at the discretion of your council,you may increase
portions of your commitment to these three entities above the amounts described. The City of
Melissa will be contributing$.35 for CCCAC, $.125 for CASA and$.125 for CITY House with
the balance proportioned out to various non profit entities within our county. The balance of the
$1.00 per resident would be decided by the Council of other nonprofits that serve the public
needs, such as The Samaritan Inn,Meals on Wheels,The Food Pantry,The Women's Shelter,etc.
The City of Plano has already opted in for$2.00 per resident,the City of McKinney-$1.00,the
City of Melissa- $1.00, and the City of Lowry Crossing-$1.00. I do know that the Cities of
Frisco and Allen have it on their agendas for$1.00 per resident.
We,as municipalities,must take the lead to ensure that our obligations to these venues are funded
in part from our budgets. Our goal is to petition the County to do likewise on a 2 to 1,county to
municipality funding. When we spend million of dollars on animal control, should we not be
spending likewise on abused and neglected children and displaced individuals?
I urge your support in joining with the other cities that have already opted into this program.
Sincerely,
David E.Dorman
Mayor,City of Melissa
City Of.
Wylie
Mer110
To: Mark B. Roath
From: Brandy BrooK"
Date: September 14,2005
Re: CASA/CCCAC
Mark,
Per your request, I asked Chief Butters and Lynn Fagerstrom about the Children's Advocacy
Center, which is the main focus of the materials you provided to me. I have attached a summary
of what I found out.
On the first page of back-up information, Mayor Dorman stated that each municipality would be
allocating $0.50 per citizen, which would amount to approximately $14,900. I do not have the
information on the budget to know if we have enough money to cover this added expense under
the current plan. However, it should be noted that the letter at the back of the information states
that the CCCAC only receives$100,000 from cities out of their$2,000,000 budget. However, this
amount does not include the money that I know Wylie pays ($30,000) towards an investigator's
salary.
2000 Highway 78 North • Wylie,Texas 75098 • (972)442-8100 • Fax 972 442-4302
Collin County Children's Advocacy Center
The Advocacy Center was started 10-12 years ago for the following reasons:
• Cities were working independently on cases
• Children weren't receiving counseling
• Police Investigators were taking statements
Currently, the Advocacy Center does the following for abused or neglected children:
• Forensic Interviewers that are trained counselors interact with and obtain
statements from the children.
• Rooms set up to ease children's minds and allow them to feel comfortable in the
interview process.
• Provide needs for children that aren't met- i.e. clean clothes, doctor's visits,
haircuts, healthy environment.
Benefits to Wylie:
• Wylie currently pays $30,000 for a Collin County Investigator to handle our
cases.
• According to Chief Butters, we are almost at the point in our number of cases that
we could have a full-time position to handle our child abuse and neglect cases,
which would cost$60,000, and we are currently getting those services for
$30,000.
• Better cases prosecution. With the testimony of forensic investigators holding up
better in court than a police investigator, as well as a district attorney at the
Advocacy Center specializing in the cases, more victims are being justly
represented.