A couple of consent items on Town Council’s agenda for Nov. 4 were updating former Town Ordinances.
First, a change at the State level to S.B. 476– regarding the Texas Health and Safety Code– has resulting in the repealing of the town’s 2016 Code of Ordinances related to dogs on outdoor patios.
The folks down in Austin are pro-pooch, so restaurants no longer need to pay $50 for a permit to allow dogs on their outdoor patios.
The Town’s Environmental Health Services division will now apply the standards established in the amended Texas Health and Safety Code, include: requiring the posting of a sign stating dogs are permitted; requirements for access to the patio; leash requirements; and limits on where a dog is allowed.
Bottom line, if you aren’t a fan of sharing a meal with a canine, you might need to take your tail inside.
Another update became effective Sept. 1 regarding allowing governmental bodies to adopt a method(s) by which request(s) for public information (PIR) can be made.
SB 944, Government Code, Section 552.234, will insure the town is complying with the rules of the Public Information Act and the process for submitting a request is clearly defined.
The most prominent change in the proposed method is that requestors will be directed to one email that has been created for this purpose ([email protected]) and the removal of facsimile transmission as an option.
Requestors will continue to have the following additional options for submitting Public Information Request (PIR): the website– www.flower-mound.com/252/Public- Information-Requests.com or by mail or in-person to: Town Secretary Office, 2121 Cross Timbers Rd Flower Mound, Texas 75028.
Another component of SB 944 is the introduction of a Texas Attorney General (AG) form that provides a requestor the option of excluding from a request information that the governing body determines is: (1) confidential; or (2) subject to an exception to disclosure that the governmental body would assert if the information were subject to the request.
.jpg)
