[00:00:04]
I THINK WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
SO A QUORUM OF THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, IS OUR CITY COUNCIL, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE IS PRESENT.
[CALL TO ORDER]
SO WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.UM, SO AT 2:05 PM, UH, WE ARE AT AUSTIN CITY HALL.
UM, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER MAY PRETEND TO TOUCH UP MADISON.
UM, WE ARE IN, WE ARE NOT IN CHAMBERS.
WE ARE VIRTUALLY MEETING AT THREE OH ONE WEST SECOND STREET, AND, UM, WE HAVE A GOOD SIZE AGENDA TODAY, INCLUDING SOME BRIEFINGS THAT I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO.
UM, COLLEAGUES, I'M GOING TO TRY TO GET US OUT OF HERE ON TIME.
I KNOW EVERYBODY'S GOT A BUSY DAY AHEAD OF THEM.
[1. Approve minutes of the March 10, 2021 meeting of the Public Safety Committee.]
UM, IT LOOKS LIKE THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS APPROVE OUR MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 10TH MEETING.IN WHICH CASE I'M LOOKING FOR A MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES.
IT LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MOTIONS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH 10TH MEETING WITH VICE CHAIR, CASA SECONDING.
CAN WE TAKE A VOTE ON APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM MARCH 10TH? IT'S LIKE, WE'RE ALL IN FAVOR.
UM, WITH MAYOR ADLER, UM, NOT PRESENT CURRENTLY, WE DO HOWEVER, HAVE THE BENEFIT OF HAVING COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS FOR THIS THIS AFTERNOON.
[2. Briefing and discussion on the Austin-Area Wildfire Hub. in response to the Wildfire Preparedness Audit Report, October 2019.]
UM, SO IT LOOKS LIKE OUR FIRST ITEM AFTER OUR AGENDA, UM, IS A BRIEFING.SO BRIEFING AND DISCUSSION ON THE AUSTIN AREA, WILDLIFE HUB, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THE WILDLIFE PREPAREDNESS AUDIT REPORT FROM AUGUST, 2019.
UM, AND SO I'M ASSUMING WE HAVE STAFF ALL LINED UP.
OKAY, SO WHO'S GOING TO BE RUNNING THE SHOW FOR THIS ONE.
MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M A ASSISTANT CITY, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF DELAROSA WITH, UH, THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE WILDFIRE.
AND YOU TAKE A FEW MINUTES OF YOUR TIME TODAY, AND WE'RE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE LATEST TOOL CREATED TO HELP SUPPORT THE MISSION OF FIRE RESILIENCE AND, UH, HOW THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE HELPING EACH OTHER GAIN THAT RESILIENCE.
WE'RE GOING TO DO A TAKE FIVE TO 10 MINUTES, AND WE'RE GOING TO COVER THE FEW, THE WHY AND THE WHAT OF THE AUSTIN WILDFIRE UP WHEN IT PASSED THE MIC OVER TO DIVISION CHIEF, CARRIE STEWART, WHO WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT DATA.
I AM CURIOUS TO READ THE DIVISION CHIEF FOR THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, AND IT HAS BEEN A DEFINITE LEARNING EXPERIENCE TO LEAD THE WILDFIRE DIVISION FOR THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF.
AND TO UNDERSTAND THE FOUNDATIONS OF THE DIVISION, THE WILD PART OF BEGAN IN 2012 AFTER THE LOCAL WILDFIRES IN 2011, AND WORKS TO IDENTIFY RISK IN OUR AREA AND ALSO TO REDUCE THAT RISK IN COMMUNITY EDUCATION, WHICH IS OUR FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITIES, MISSION FIELDS MITIGATION, WHICH IS OUR FIRE RESILIENT LANDSCAPES MISSION, AND FEEL EFFECTIVE BLEEDS, MITIGATE WILDFIRES, WHICH IS OUR EFFECTIVE FIREFIGHTING RESPONSE WITH OUR OPERATIONS DIVISION.
THOSE THREE PIECES ARE THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE DIVISION.
AND THE DIVISION IS MADE UP OF UNIFORMED AND CIVILIAN STAFF TO ACHIEVE THESE GOALS WHILE PARTNERING WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY TO MEMBERS THAT ARE FOUNDATIONAL TO THE MISSION OF THE DIVISION ARE JUSTICE JONES AND NATE CASE SPEAR JUSTICE AS OUR WELFARE MITIGATION OFFICER AND HAS BEEN WITH THE DIVISION SINCE ITS INCEPTION AND HAS EXPERIENCE ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS A FIELD COORDINATOR AND WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE COORDINATOR COORDINATOR BEFORE JOINING AFD, NATE IS OUR DIVISIONS G I T GIS ANALYST, AND HAS BEEN WITH THE DIVISION FOR FOUR YEARS.
NATE ORIGINALLY JOINED AS A FORESTER.
AND SO HE UNDERSTANDS THE PRACTICAL APPLICATION OF THE GIS WORK HE'S CURRENTLY DOING FOR US AND IS GOING TO HELP DEMONSTRATE TODAY.
SO THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW EVERYBODY THE HUB AND HOW IT CAN HELP US POSITIVELY AFFECT SOME POSITIVE CHANGE FOR THE COMMUNITY AS WE ADDRESS THE WELFARE RISKS TO THEM TOGETHER.
AND NOW WE'RE GOING TO HAVE JUSTICE JONES, WHICH YOU JUST MENTIONED.
HE'S GOING TO TELL US WHY WE HAVE GONE IN AND CREATED THE HUB.
UM, WE'RE EXCITED AND HONORED TO BE HERE WITH YOU TODAY AND THANK YOU FOR THAT OVERVIEW FROM CHIEF STEWARD ON OUR STRATEGY.
AS YOU MENTIONED, I'M THE WILDFIRE MITIGATION OFFICER AND I HELP PROVIDE STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP TO THE LA PART DIVISION AND ASSIST CHIEF STEWARD AND IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR STRATEGIC
[00:05:01]
PLAN.UM, THE HUB HAS ORIGINATED, UM, BECAUSE WE NEEDED A WAY TO COMMUNICATE OUR COLLECTIVE EFFORTS AS A DIVISION OF THE CITY, UM, TO THE PUBLIC, TO OUR LEADERSHIP AND TO OUR PARTNERS.
AND WE WANTED TO, UH, BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING TO PREPARE AUSTIN FOR ALL FIRE, BUT WE ALSO ARE NOT THE ONLY PLAYERS AT THE TABLE.
AND WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANT ROLES THAT OUR PARTNERS PLAY IN OUR ARC AWARENESS.
THE HUB IS A RESULT OF THAT NEED AND, UM, A NEED IDENTIFIED IN OUR RECENT WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS AUDIT.
AND SO WE DECIDED ON A PLATFORM THAT WE FELT ADDED THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITY FOR COLLABORATION AND COALITION BUILDING.
I MEAN, YOU CAN PUT IT THE INFORMATION THAT YOU NEED IS A CITY LEADERSHIP AT YOUR FINGERTIPS.
WE LOVE TO TELL YOU THE STORY ABOUT, UM, WILDFIRE AND GREAT WORK THAT WE'RE DOING, BUT WE ALSO WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW YOU THAT GREAT WORK ANYTIME THAT YOU NEED TO SEE IT OR THAT IN THE HUB IS DESIGNED TO BE ABLE TO DO JUST THAT.
UM, IT PROVIDES SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF, AS I MENTIONED, OR ONGOING MITIGATION ACTIVITIES, YOU CAN SEE WHERE FUELS MITIGATION IS HAPPENING ACROSS THE CITY.
AND, AND TO SOME EXTENT ACROSS THE COUNTY, BECAUSE MUCH OF OUR WILD LAND, URBAN INTERFACE IS OWNED BY PARTNER AGENCIES.
SO WE HAVE A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY.
UM, IT CAN GIVE YOU A, UH, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS OF WHAT'S HAPPENING FROM A FIRE DANGER AND A FIRE CURRENT STANDPOINT.
UM, OUR WILDFIRE ACTIVITY, IT IS ACCESSIBLE THROUGH THE WILDFIRE HUB.
SO THAT'S USEFUL FOR BOTH THE PUBLIC AND OUR FIREFIGHTING AND EARTH RESPONDING COMMUNITY TO HAVE THAT ONE ACCESS POINT SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.
IMAGINE, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST RISK MEDIA MUNICIPALITIES IN THE COUNTRY.
UM, THE HIGHEST OUTSIDE OF CALIFORNIA HAD AN ON THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU USE.
AND THE HUB IS ALSO A GREAT WAY TO COMMUNICATE TO THE PUBLIC.
THE FIRST STEP IN TAKING ACTION OR PREPARING FOR WILDFIRE IS UNDERSTANDING WHAT THAT RISK IS, AND THIS MAKES THAT VERY ACCESSIBLE, UH, MEAN AND INDIVIDUALIZED.
SO YOU CAN ENTER YOUR ADDRESS AND FIND OUT WHAT YOUR RISK IS.
AND THEN THAT IS COUPLED WITH SOLUTIONS THAT YOU CAN USE TO PREPARE YOURSELF, YOUR COMMUNITY, YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD, AND THE CITY AND COUNTY.
ALSO, IT CREATES VERY CONTINUITY AND COLLABORATION ACROSS MANY OF OUR PARTNERS AND STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, IT ALSO HOSTS, UH, UH, CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES CALENDAR.
SO YOU CAN SEE WHAT SCHEDULED OUT INTO THE FUTURE RELATED TO WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
AND WE'RE GOING TO OPEN THAT UP FOR OUR PARTNERS AND OTHERS TO BE ABLE TO ACCESS AND COMMUNICATE THEIR STORY.
I'LL HAND IT BACK TO YOU AND, UM, BE PREPARED FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UH, SO THAT'S THE WHO WE ARE AND WHY WE STARTED THIS.
AND HE KIND OF TAUGHT THE TOUCHING ON SOME OF IT I'M GOING TO GO IN AND I'M GOING TO SHOW YOU THE, WHAT IT IS AN OUTWARDLY FACING BLOG LIKE THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT.
IT'S A WEBSITE THAT SHOWS YOU EVERYTHING AS OUR RISK HAS BECOME MORE EDUCATED TO OUR COMMUNITY.
WE WANTED TO GIVE THEM THE TOOLS TO KNOW.
SO WE STARTED OFF AS ALWAYS WITH SITUATIONAL AWARENESS, AND THIS IS THE HOME SPLASH PAGE.
YOU GO DOWN, YOU CAN SEE THE ENTIRE STATE WITH THE CURRENT, UH, CURRENT OBSERVED, AS WELL AS THE FORECAST.
IT ALSO LINKS IN AND TELLS YOU THE CURRENT STATUS OF ALL THE COUNTIES BURNED DOWN WHAT OUR FIRE DANGER RATINGS ARE AS THEY GO.
THIS WILDFIRE, SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IS ACTUALLY LINKEDIN, NOT ONLY WITH WHAT WE HAVE REPORTED, BUT ALSO WITH SATELLITE MAPPING.
SO YOU CAN SEE THESE LITTLE RED SPOTS HERE AND ACTUALLY ZOOM IN OUR HEAT MAPS THAT WERE FOUND THROUGHOUT, UH, THROUGH A SATELLITE PAGE.
IT LINKS INTO OUR ACTIVE INCIDENT PAGE, AND YOU CAN SEE EVERYTHING BEYOND WILDFIRE AND JUST WHAT'S GOING ON.
SOMETIMES THINGS START OFF AS A CAR FIRE THAT LEADS INTO THAT.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT IN THERE AS WELL.
LOTS OF IN HERE, I'M GIVING YOU THE VERY TOPICAL 10,000 SQUARE FOOT OR 10,000 FOOT VIEW.
IT'S GOT LINKS TO ALL THE HISTORICAL DATA THAT SHOWS THAT WE ARE THE FIFTH HIGHEST WILDFIRE RISK INTONATION.
AND IT'S GOT, UH, MANY OF THE APPLICATIONS AND LINKS TO OUR PARTNERS OF OTHER CITY AGENCIES, BESIDES BESIDES THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT ARE HELPING WITH THE FIGHT ENGAGED WILDFIRE PANTING INCREASE THE PREPAREDNESS.
YOU HAVE THE UPCOMING, UH, EVENTS, CALENDAR THAT JUSTICE MENTIONED, AND YOU'LL SEE, FRONT AND CENTER IS THE WELFARE SYMPOSIUM THAT WE HOPE SOME OF YOU ALL WILL BE JOINING US ON WEDNESDAY, SHAMELESS PLUG, GOING BACK UP TO THE TOP.
YOU'LL SEE, WHAT'S MY WILDFIRE RISK.
THIS IS A VERY EASY TOOL THAT WE LIKE TO SHOW BECAUSE IT ALLOWS OFTEN THE QUESTION WE HAVE IS, WELL, HOW ARE WE IN THE CITY? THIS ALLOWS YOU TO BRING IT UP AND YOU CAN EITHER USE THE MAP FUNCTION TO GO IN AND GET DOWN TO THE GRANULAR VIEW OF WHAT YOUR RISK IS FOR.
YOU CAN ACTUALLY PUT IN YOUR ADDRESS IN THE ADDRESS BAR, AND IT'LL SHOW YOU WHETHER YOU'RE A HIGH, MEDIUM, OR LOW RISK.
AND WHAT IS YOUR IN THAT AREAS AROUND YOU
[00:10:01]
THAT YOU SHOULD BE CONCERNED WITH? THE RESILIENT LANDSCAPE IS WHAT HE WAS TALKING ABOUT.THIS IS, UH, JUSTICE MENTIONED, THIS IS OUR FUEL MITIGATION PROJECT BY OUR PARTNERS AND THIS, AND THROUGHOUT THE CITY TALKS ABOUT BROADCAST PRESCRIBED FIRE.
WHAT IT IS THE SHADED FUEL BREAKS THAT MANY OF YOU ALL HAVE IN YOUR DISTRICTS OR IN YOUR NAME AND WHAT IT IS BEFORE.
AFTER LITTLE QUICK, LITTLE, A FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION SECTION, AS WELL AS THE HOMES BY RISK AND THE VALUES THAT WE'VE, WE'VE, UH, PROTECTED IN THE PAST.
WELL, THIS IS, UH, IN THE PAST YEAR OR SO, YOU CAN GET PRETTY GRANULAR ON HERE.
THIS WILL ALSO SHOW YOU THE SCHEDULED PROJECTS, THE IN PROGRESS PROJECTS OR THE ONES THAT HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN COMPLETED, AND YOU CAN CLICK ON EACH ONE OF THESE AND COME UP WITH A LITTLE FLY OUT THAT TELLS YOU MORE ABOUT EACH ONE.
IT'S A GREAT TOOL THAT SHOWS YOU WHO IS DOING WHAT AND WHERE THE THERE'S MORE DIVE IN HERE THAT WILL LET YOU GO ALL THESE LINKS AND IS ALL LIVE RIGHT NOW.
SO EACH OF YOU ALL CAN DO A BETA OR GO AND EXPLORE IT AS YOU WILL.
THE FIREWISE COMMUNITY SECTION IS THE LEADING THE STATE.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE SYDNEY, BOSTON WITH RECOGNIZED FIREWISE COMMUNITIES.
IT'S THE BIGGEST BANG FOR OUR BUCK IS SHOWING HOW OUR RESIDENTS AND PEOPLE WHO ARE LIVING OUT THERE OR COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN HARDEN THEIR OWN HOMES.
THERE THAT'S THE VERY FIRST STEP IN MAKING OUR CITY THE BEST PREPARED FOR THE EVENT OF A WILDFIRE.
WE ALL HAVE OUR PART TO DO THE CITIZENS AS WELL AS THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND OUR DIFFERENT CITY AGENCIES.
SO AT THE VERY LAST, UM, YOU'LL SEE MORE ABOUT THAT AND IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO GET INVOLVED WITH THE COMMUNITIES IN CASE YOU'RE NOT ALREADY A FIREWISE, A COMMUNITY, IT SHOWS YOU HOW TO GET THERE.
AND IT'S GOT A CONTACT US, AND I'M AN ABOUT US THAT GOES MORE INTO THIS.
IT IS A GREAT TOOL THAT IS VERY MUCH, UH, AVAILABLE AND IS WHAT WE MOST PROUD OF IS IT'S A LIVING DOCUMENT THAT ALLOWS US TO CUSTOMIZE IT AS THE NEEDS CHANGE, OR, UH, NOT ONLY CITY LEADERSHIP, BUT OF OUR COMMUNITY AS WELL.
SO WE CAN GIVE THEM THE TOOLS THEY NEED AT THEIR FINGERTIPS.
WE HAVE THE WHOLE TEAM HERE OR ANY THAT.
I'VE LOST MY ACTUAL SCREEN, UH, FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL MAY HAVE.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT THERE WERE A COUPLE OF FOLKS WHO ARE NOT HERE.
I SEE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERNATES JOINED US AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBER.
I KNOW THEY WERE WANTING TO BE PRESENT FOR THIS, IN WHICH CASE I MOVE OVER TO MY COLLEAGUES QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
COUNCIL MEMBER, KEVIN, THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU ALL PUT INTO GETTING THAT HUB PUT TOGETHER.
I KNOW THAT SITUATIONAL AWARENESS IS VERY IMPORTANT IN THE COMMUNITY, AS WELL AS EDUCATION.
I KNOW THAT DISTRICT SIX AND DISTRICT 10 HAVE THE HIGHEST RISK OF WILDFIRES.
MY FIRST IS I NOTICED THERE WASN'T A SPANISH LANGUAGE OPTION ON THE WEBSITE.
AND SO I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WERE LOOKING INTO MAYBE ADDING THAT.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS MORE ABOUT HOW YOU'RE EDUCATING THE COMMUNITY ON HOW TO BECOME FIREWISE.
I KNOW THAT RIVER PLACE IN PARTICULAR IS A FIREWISE CERTIFIED COMMUNITY, BUT I'D LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT OTHER EFFORTS GOING ON.
SO IF YOU COULD ANSWER THOSE TWO, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UH, FOR THE QUESTION ABOUT UPCOMING FEATURES AND ENHANCEMENTS AND BILINGUAL STATUS OF THAT, I WILL DEFER OVER TO NATE CASE BEAR WHO IS ACTUALLY THE ARCHITECT AND GENIUS BEHIND IT.
NATE, THANK YOU, CHIEF TAYLOR RAISA.
I'M A MEMBER OF STAFF WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I MENTIONED THAT, UM, PERHAPS I COULD SHARE MY SCREEN.
WELL, MAYBE NOT, BUT IF YOU GO TO THE WILDFIRE HUB, YOU'LL SEE A LITTLE LINK ON THE LEFT SIDE OF YOUR SCREEN.
IT'S A TRANSLATE BUTTON AND IT'LL TRANSLATE THE ENTIRE HUB TO ANY LANGUAGE NOW, UH, LETTING PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THAT FUNCTIONALITY IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON TO MAKE THOSE FEATURES, UH, CAPABLE.
AND I'LL LET JUSTICE JONES OUR FIRE MITIGATION OFFICER TALK ABOUT OUR FIREWISE PROGRAM TO, UM, ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO ADOPT THE FIREWISE PROGRAM THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, GREG AND I, WE'RE VERY PROUD TO BE, UM, ONE OF THE COMMUNITIES WITH THE MOST ACTIVE FIREWISE PROGRAM IN THE COUNTRY AND CERTAINLY IN THE STATE.
AND WE LEAVE THE STATE WITH A NUMBER OF NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED FIREWISE COMMUNITIES.
UH, ONE OF THE MECHANISMS WILL BE YOU TO FACILITATE THE EXPANSION OF THAT PROGRAM IS WE'VE FORMED AN ALLIANCE.
SO ALL OF OUR 20 FIREWISE COMMUNITIES IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN,
[00:15:01]
UM, AND THEY EACH HAVE AMBASSADORS THAT HELP SHARE INFORMATION AND CREATE A MULTIPLIER EFFECT BETWEEN THE EXISTING COMMUNITIES.AND WE INVITE ALL OF OUR NEW AND PROSPECTIVE FIREWISE COMMUNITY THINKS THAT ALLIANCE.
UM, SO THEY'RE NOT REINVENTING THE WHEEL.
THEY CAN LEARN FROM OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE EXPERIENCE AND, UM, ENSURING THEIR COMMUNITIES THAT ARE FIRE ADAPTED, BUT WE DON'T STOP THERE.
UM, MECHANISMS LIKE OUR ANNUAL WILDFIRE SYMPOSIUM ARE A GREAT WAY FOR US TO RENEW, UH, RECRUIT AND MENTOR NEW ENGLAND, PROSPECTIVE FIREWISE COMMUNITIES.
UH, WE WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS AT TEXAS A AND M FOREST SERVICE AND TRAVIS COUNTY TO INCLUDE OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE COUNTY AND OUR FIREWISE ALLIANCE.
AND SO WE'RE ACTUALLY HELPING OUR NEIGHBORS AND ADJOINING COMMUNITIES MITIGATE WILDFIRE RISK AS WELL.
UM, AND WE, UH, TRAIN THOSE COMMUNITY REPRESENTATIVES OF OUR FIREWISE ALLIANCE TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT HOME RISK ASSESSMENTS FOR NEIGHBORS AND OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT CREATES A MULTIPLIER AND A LEVERAGING EFFECT.
IT'S ONE OF THE ONLY FIREWISE ALLIANCES IN THE NATION, AND IT'S BEEN A REALLY EFFECTIVE GRASSROOTS APPROACH, BUT ALSO, UM, RELIED HEAVILY ON THE FEEDBACK OF COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP.
AND, UM, MANY OF OUR REQUESTS ARE AT THE BEHEST OF COMMUNITY LEADERS LIKE YOURSELF, IDENTIFYING A NEED AND A COMMUNITY THAT'S WILLING AND WANTING TO TAKE ACTION TO REDUCE WILDFIRE RISK.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER COLLEAGUES.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
UM, THIS IS A REALLY, UH, EXCITING HUB.
THERE'S LOTS OF GOOD INFORMATION TO BE DIGESTED ON IT.
UM, CAN YOU TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, YOUR GROUP'S INVOLVEMENT WITH SOME OF THE, UM, RUSH DEBRIS PICKUP FROM THE STORM? UM, I KNOW WE'D BEEN TALKING TO RESOURCE RECOVERY JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT STILL HAVE PILES OF DEAD BRUSH.
ARE YOU COLLABORATING WITH THEM OR CAN YOU PROVIDE ANY INSIGHT, UM, FOR PEOPLE WHO MAY BE WORRIED ABOUT THIS, ESPECIALLY AS TEMPERATURES ARE ALREADY HITTING 90 DEGREES.
UM, CAN YOU TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? YES, MA'AM, UH, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH ALL OUR CITY PARTNERS, UH, FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
WELL, WE WERE A LITTLE BUSY DURING THE EVENT ITSELF, BUT WE WERE RIGHT AFTER IN THAT REMEDIATION AND RECUPERATION AFTERWARDS, WE'VE BEEN MEETING WITH THEM IN A DIFFERENT ADVISING CAP, ASSAY INFORMATION CAPACITY.
SO, UH, LAST MONDAY WE HAD AN ADDITIONAL MEETING THAT WAS WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, AUSTIN WATER HARD, AS WELL AS AUSTIN ENERGY.
AND WE'RE ALL WORKING IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY.
THE WAY THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IS MOST EFFICIENT AND BEST ABLE TO HELP IS WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR, WHEN THEY IDENTIFY AN AREA THAT HAS A BIG, UH, UH, AREA OF CONCERN, YOU DO PERHAPS A LOT LARGE AMOUNT OF DEAD AND DOWN.
WE'LL GO OUT THERE AND THEY'LL SHARE THE ADDRESSES WITH US AND WE'LL GO OUT AND EVALUATE THAT TO SEE THE CRITICALITY OF THAT CONCERN.
ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE ALSO KEEPING UP WITH THE SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR ALL OUR PARTNERS, AS WELL AS OUR CITIZENS RESIDENTS, WITH WHAT WE CALL THE DEAD FUEL MOISTURE.
WE HAVE THE LIVE FUEL MOISTURE FOR THINGS THAT ARE STILL GROWING IN THERE.
WHAT WE DID SEE DURING THE WINTER STORM, LOTS OF OUR FUEL FELL DOWN ON THE GROUND AND BECAME DISCONNECTED.
WE HAVE A WAY OF TAKING OUR RA'S, IT'S A WEATHER STATION AND, UH, CALCULATING, UTILIZING THE TOOLS WE HAVE IN THAT SYSTEM TO HA SEE HOW PROBABILITY, HOW HIGH THE PROBABILITY OF THE CONDITION OF THOSE DIFFERENT FUELS ARE, ARE THE BIGGER BRANCHES, OF COURSE.
SO IT'S MUCH LIKE FIREWOOD WHEN YOU CUT IT DOWN.
WE'RE KEEPING AN EYE OUT ON THAT, SHARING THAT CONCERN WITH OUR PARTNERS SO THAT WE CAN, SINCE EVERYONE HAS A LIMITED AMOUNT OF RESOURCES, WE'RE HELPING PRIORITIZE ON THOSE AREAS AND KEEP A SITUATIONAL AWARENESS FOR OUR RESPONDING, UH, OUR STATIONS IN THAT AREA AND THE COMMUNITIES IN CASE IT STARTS TO BECOME RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE STILL VERY MOIST AND WE'RE, UH, WE'VE GOT SOME TIME TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE BEFORE IT BECOMES CRITICALITY.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM IN THE IDENTIFIED RISKS TO KEEP EVERYONE AWARE AS WELL AS WHERE WE CAN, WE, WE GO IN AND HELP OUR DIFFERENT LANDOWNER PACK.
OF COURSE, MAN, COUNCILMEMBER ALTAR.
UM, BEFORE I ASK MY QUESTION, I JUST WANTED TO FLAG, UM, FOR COUNCIL MEMBER ELLISON FOR ANYONE ELSE.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD ON THIS ISSUE TRYING TO ADDRESS THE DOWN DEBRIS FROM THE STORM.
UM, WE WORKED WITH ARR TO CONVENE THAT MEETING ON MONDAY.
UM, AND IF YOUR STAFF WANTS TO CONNECT UP WITH MY STAFF, WE WELCOME, UM, YOUR ENGAGEMENT AND INVOLVEMENT, UM, IN THAT
[00:20:01]
PROCESS, UM, WE'VE ALSO BEEN WORKING WITH AUSTIN ENERGY, UM, AS WELL.UM, THERE WERE A LOT OF, UH, DOWN LIMBS AND STUFF FROM THE WORK THAT HAPPENED DURING THE STORM THAT DID NOT GET PICKED UP AND WE'VE WORKED OUT A MECHANISM FOR GETTING THAT DEBRIS PICKED UP, UM, AND SOME PROTOCOLS FOR HOW TO GET THAT, UM, INFORMATION OUT TO FOLKS APPROPRIATELY, UM, UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
AND, UM, JUST BROADLY, I WAS REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THE TEAMS WORKING TOGETHER AND FOCUSING ON IT.
UM, AS THE CHIEF MENTIONED, UM, THE ASSUMPTION AT THE MOMENT IS THAT WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL, BUT I WILL SAY THAT AS YOU HAVE, LIKE THERE WERE IN YOUR DISTRICT, IT'LL BE SIMILAR TO MINE.
THERE IS STILL A LOT OF DEBRIS IN OUR GREENBELTS AND OUR PARKS AND ELSEWHERE, MAYBE NOT AS MUCH AS WE FEARED, BUT STILL QUITE A BIT THAT, UM, HAS THE POTENTIAL TO TURN INTO A POWDER KEG IF WE DO NOT ADDRESS THE SITUATION.
UM, AND SO WE'RE TRYING ON MANY FRONTS, UM, TO DO THAT.
AND I WOULD INVITE YOU TO CONNECT UP WITH MY OFFICE IF YOU WANNA HELP US FINANCE THOSE EFFORTS.
UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF MY QUESTION ON THE HUB, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF PREVENTING WILDFIRE IS AWARENESS AND PREPAREDNESS.
AND SO I APPRECIATE, UM, THIS WORK, I WAS WONDERING IF YOU COULD GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON HOW YOUR, UH, FUELS MITIGATION EFFORTS ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, REFLECTED ON THE WEBSITE AND, YOU KNOW, JUST ANY MORE UPDATES THAT YOU CAN PROVIDE ABOUT THOSE EFFORTS MORE GENERALLY.
YEAH, WE CAN DO A DEEPER DIVE INTO THE, UH, MITIGATION AND FIRE RESILIENT LANDSCAPE SECTION.
NATE, IF YOU WANT TO KIND OF TALK ABOUT IT, I'LL DRIVE THE HUB, LET ME TRAIN, UH, I'LL START SHARING MY SCREEN AND TRANSLATE IT BACK TO ENGLISH.
I TRIED DOING THAT WELL, WE HAD THEM TALKING, BUT THERE'LL BE ANOTHER WAY TO SHARE THAT TRANSLATION.
SO A BIG PART OF THE, UH, THE CATALYST FOR US CREATING THE HUB IS FOR US TO BE ABLE TO CREATE A MECHANISM FOR OUR PARTNERS TO BE ABLE TO SELF REPORT ON THEIR EFFORTS.
AS YOU KNOW, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T ACTIVELY MANAGE ANY LAND, BUT WE HELP OUR PARTNERS WITHIN THE CITY TO MANAGE PUBLICLY ON PROPERTY.
AND SO WITHIN THE RESILIENT LANDSCAPES TAB OF THE HUB, WE'VE CREATED A ROBUST DATABASE THAT OUR PARTNERS WHO DO MANAGE, UM, AUSTIN PUBLIC LANDS CAN SELF-REPORT ON THEIR MITIGATION ACTIVITIES.
SO IT'S NOT ONLY THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO MANAGES THE DATA THAT GOES INTO THIS HUB.
AND SO ON THE MAP THAT YOU PAY, THE RAISIN IS SHOWN.
YOU CAN SEE, UM, MITIGATION PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
NOT ONLY ARE IMPLEMENTED BY THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT BY BOSTON WATER, UTILITY PARKS AND REC PUBLIC WORKS, AUSTIN ENERGY AND OTHER PARTNERS HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY IN FIRE.
AND SO I'VE EMPOWERED THEM WITH THEIR GIS ANALYST GROUPS WITH, UH, THE, UH, OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, INPUT DATA INTO THIS SYSTEM.
WE HAVE A ROBUST MECHANISM FOR IDENTIFYING AREAS THAT NEED TREATMENT.
AND OVER THE PAST YEAR, OUR FUELS CREW HAS GONE OUT AND ACTUALLY WITH BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ASSESSED MANY OF THESE AREAS, UH, OVER 843 AREAS FOR ITS, UM, ITS DEPTH OF FUEL AND ITS UH, ABILITY TO BE TREATED.
AND SO OUT OF THE 843 THAT WE'VE ASSESSED IN THE PAST YEAR, WE'VE FOUND 525 SITES THAT COULD BENEFIT FROM A FUELS REDUCTION TREATMENT.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE GRAPH, YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE ARE POTENTIAL TREATMENT ZONES WITHIN EACH OF THE 10 COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
AND I SHOULD ALSO MENTION THAT WE MANAGE A CITY OF AUSTIN LAND OUTSIDE OF COUNCIL DISTRICTS THAT WE'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR.
SO WE FINALLY HAVE THIS MECHANISM TO REPORT OUT REPORT OUT ON OUR PROGRESS AND TO MAINTAIN A LIVING DOCUMENT OF THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE IN REAL TIME.
AND, UM, CAN YOU ALSO SHOW THE PART WHERE IT RANKS THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS BY BRISK AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF THE SAME PAGE TALKS ABOUT THE PROPERTY THAT'S AT RISK PEOPLE.
HERE'S THE TREATABLE ACRES BY COMP BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
AND THEN UP HERE IS THE ACRES TREATED BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
UM, SO YOU'LL SEE THAT THESE ARE THE DIFFERENT AREAS THAT ARE THE POTENTIAL TREATMENT ZONES.
AND SO YOUR TOTAL IN THE BOTTOM AND WHAT WE'VE DONE SO FAR, AND THEN THOSE ARE THE ACTIVE, THE GRAPHICAL INTERFACE OF THERE.
IS THAT, UH, IS THERE ANOTHER ASPECT
[00:25:01]
THAT YOU, UH, WHEN IT CLARIFYING THEM? UM, I THINK IT WAS JUST, UH, THE, UH, STATEMENT WAS MADE EARLIER ABOUT THE COUNCIL DISTRICTS WITH ICE RISK AND I THOUGHT IT WAS DISTRICT EIGHT AND THEN 10 AND SIX AND I JUST PLAY SO THAT THERE'S THE TREATABLE ACRES HERE, UH, BY, UH, THE POTENTIAL TREATMENT ZONES.AND THEN IT'S EIGHT TO 10, ONE, FIVE AND SIX.
AND IT GOES DOWN HERE AGAIN, I'M TALKING ABOUT THE MAPS THAT YOU USED TO HAVE ABOUT WHERE THE RISKS WERE AS OPPOSED TO THE TREATABLE LAND, BECAUSE WE MAY NOT HAVE A LOT OF TREATABLE LAND, BUT WE MAY BE AT HIGH RISK FOR WILDFIRE.
AND SO, UH, CHIEF TAYLOR, IF YOU EVER GO TO THE ABOUT US SECTION, THERE ARE RESOURCES AT THE BOTTOM.
UM, AND 2019, WE'D CREATED A VERY ROBUST, UH, WILDFIRE RISK REPORTS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
AND THOSE ARE AVAILABLE WITHIN THIS HUB FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE THIS THERE ON THE RIGHT, UM, TUESDAY, THE RESIDENT, OH, BY DISTRICT.
AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER IS RIGHT.
UH, DISTRICT EIGHT IS RANKED HIGHEST AMONG THE 10 DISTRICTS FOR WILDFIRE RISK FOLLOWED CLOSELY BY DISTRICT SIX AND DISTRICT 10 AND DISTRICT ONE AND TWO ARE CLOSELY BEHIND THEM.
SO WE'VE QUANTIFIED WILDFIRE RISK BY WHAT WE CALL COMMUNITY RESPONSE AREA.
AND THIS HELPS US PRIORITIZE, UM, OUR TREATMENT WORK AND IN OUR COMMUNITY WORK THROUGHOUT THE CITY AND HELPS US BETTER STRATEGICALLY PLAN AND PREPARE FOR WILDFIRE.
BUT THERE IS SIGNIFICANT POCKETS OF RISKS SCATTERED THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WHICH ARE WILDFIRE RISK MAP OR HIGH RESOLUTION WELFARE RISK MAP CAN SHOW, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM, MAYBE, UM, IN A FUTURE PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING AT AN APPROPRIATE TIME WHEN WE HAVE TIME ON THE AGENDA THAT, UM, THEY CAN DIVE INTO SOME OF THESE RISKS BY DISTRICT.
I HAD ASKED ON MULTIPLE TIMES TO GET THIS PRESENTED TO COUNCIL AND WE NEVER REALLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY AND THERE'S A HUGE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THERE.
UM, IT WAS DISTRIBUTED, I THINK ONLY AS KIND OF BACKUP.
AND IT WAS, UM, BROUGHT UP WHEN WE MADE SOME INCREASES TO THEIR, TO THEIR BUDGET.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAVE IS THAT WE HAVE NOT COMMUNICATED THE THREAT AS WELL AS WE MIGHT.
UM, AND PART OF THAT IS COMMUNICATING THAT THREAT, UM, TO COUNSEL AND UNDERSTANDING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE RISK AREAS ALL AROUND THE CITY.
THERE'S KIND OF LIKE A RING AND THEN IT'S ALSO CONCENTRATED IN ONE, TWO, EIGHT, SIX, AND 10.
UM, BUT IF ANY OF THOSE DISTRICTS WERE TO CATCH ON FIRE, IT CAN EASILY SPREAD AND ALL SORTS OF DIRECTIONS.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I HAVE BEEN REPEATEDLY, UM, ASKING IS, YOU KNOW, ARE WE PREPARED? HAVE WE DONE ENOUGH TO MITIGATE THE RISKS? UM, GIVEN WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE RISKS THAT ARE OUT THERE AND WHAT IS AT STAKE, BOTH IN TERMS OF PROPERTY AND PEOPLE, UM, AND HOW THIS COULD IMPACT, UM, OUR CITY.
SO I APPRECIATE THIS STEP OF THE TRANSPARENCY.
I WOULD INVITE MY COLLEAGUES TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION OUT, UM, WITH YOUR CONSTITUENTS.
I HAVE SEVERAL MEMBERS OF MY DISTRICT WHO WERE VERY ACTIVE IN FIREWISE AND ARE LEADING SOME OF THAT ALLIANCE WORK.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN WORKING TO SUPPORT THEIR EFFORTS.
UM, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT TOOL.
IT'S AN ALL HANDS ON DECK SITUATION WITH RESPECT TO WILDFIRE.
AND, UM, I THINK THE TOOLS THAT ARE PROVIDED FOR FIREWISE ARE, UM, ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
UM, WE HAD AN AUDIT A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO OF WILDFIRE ISSUES, UM, THROUGH THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
UM, AND IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, WE'LL BE ASKING THEM TO REPORT ON, UM, IN AUDIT AND FINANCE.
WE'LL BE ASKING THEM TO REPORT ON THE PROGRESS I'VE MADE IN FULFILLING THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE IN THAT AUDIT.
UM, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE, WE ENTER INTO OUR DISCUSSIONS ABOUT STORM YURI AND ITS AFTERMATH, THAT STORM YURI WAS A LOW PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENTS AND WHY A FIRE IS A HIGH PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENT.
AND SO WE NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN, UM, TO PREPARE AND YOU KNOW, OTHER WHO ARE INTERESTED IN, UM, PUSHING ON THIS ALONG WITH ME, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU AND ENGAGE.
UM, WE'VE MADE SOME GOOD PROGRESS, BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE TO BE DONE.
[00:30:01]
YOU SAID THAT IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT, UM, I SHOULD PROBABLY LET A COUNCIL MEMBER FLOOD THIS AND HER STAFF KNOW TO, TO WATCH THE PRESENTATION WE JUST GOT, BUT IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE FOR ME TO HAVE, UM, TO HAVE A FOLLOW-UP THAT'S A DEEPER DIVE.UM, SO WE'LL GET IN TOUCH WITH YOUR OFFICE AS WE'RE PLANNING THE NEXT AGENDA.
UM, AND I WILL ADD THAT THE LIST OF CONSIDERATIONS FOR FUTURE ITEMS. I BELIEVE I SAW YOUR HAND.
ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER CASA? I KNOW WE'RE TIGHT ON TIME, BUT I DO WANT A SECOND.
WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER HAS SAID, AND THE MORE THAT THE STAFF OR THE MANAGER CAN PRESENT ALSO WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE FOR OUR CITY TO EXPERIENCE WHAT IS, AGAIN, NOT HIGH PROBABILITY HIGH IMPACT EVENTS, JUST BECAUSE, UM, IT'S BETTER FOR US TO HAVE THAT INFORMATION UPFRONT AND FOR COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO START HEARING MORE ABOUT IT THAN FOR US TO BE FIGURING IT OUT, UH, IN THE, IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT KIND OF A DISASTER.
SO, UM, SO I SECOND THAT IT WOULD BE JUST USEFUL IN A MORE PUBLIC SETTING FOR, FOR Y'ALL TO WALK PEOPLE THROUGH, UM, WHAT, WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE IN THAT, IN THAT MOMENT.
AND AGAIN, OF COURSE, ALL THE PREVENTATIVE WORK IS REALLY CRITICAL, BUT FOR PEOPLE TO, TO, TO BETTER HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT THAT WOULD BE LIKE AND WHAT OUR PLANS WOULD BE.
CAUSE JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, YOU SIT IN A MORE PUBLIC SETTING.
ARE YOU SUGGESTING THIS COMMITTEE OR THE COUNCIL I'LL, I'LL LEAVE IT TO, TO Y'ALL TO, TO THINK THROUGH THE BEST SETTING FOR THAT CONVERSATION.
I APPRECIATE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.
I JUST WANT TO SAY IF THE WILL IS TO DO IT IN A FULL COUNCIL.
I CERTAINLY THINK THAT THE ISSUE MERITS THAT IT'S JUST BEEN REALLY HARD TO GET IT ONTO, UM, THE AGENDA, BUT IF MY COLLEAGUES ALSO SEE THE VALUE IN THAT, I JUST THINK WE REALLY DO HAVE TO CONTINUE TO RAISE AWARENESS AND HELP PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND THE RESOURCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR THEM SO THAT THEY CAN BEST PREPARE AND PROTECT THEIR OWN FAMILIES AND THEIR COMMUNITIES, UH, COUNCIL NUMBER ELLIS, AND THEN MAYBE ROSLYN.
I WOULD ALSO BE INTERESTED TO KNOW ABOUT PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES.
I KNOW WE ALL HAVE DIFFERENT DISTRICTS AND DIFFERENT NEEDS, AND I THINK, UM, IF YOU COULD REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE, IF THE OTHER OFFICES WOULD BE INTERESTED, I KNOW I HAVE CONSTITUENTS THAT WOULD REALLY LOVE TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOW TO PROTECT THEMSELVES IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND THAT COULD BE ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE GET THE MESSAGE OUT FARTHER AND, UM, TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION, BECAUSE WE KNOW, UM, YOU CAN'T HEAR EVERY BIT OF UNDERBRUSH YOURSELVES, BUT WE DO HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT ARE VERY INVESTED AND, UM, VERY EAGER TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IT.
OUR FIRE ADAPTED COMMUNITY AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENTS LINK UP.
MAY I ADD THE CHAIR AND CATCH MEMBER ALTER OUR WORK WITH YOU TO GET THIS IN FRONT OF THE FULL COUNCIL COUNCIL FREQUENTLY? DID I SEE YOUR HAND? I JUST SAID ME TOO.
I'D BE HAPPY TO HELP WITH THAT.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS I'M HEARING? NONE.
I HAVE JUST A COUPLE OF BRIEF QUESTIONS.
UM, I WONDER WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM ARE.
IS THAT A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO DO A MORE SORT OF COMMUNITY Y EDUCATION EFFORT OR IS THAT, UH, UH, CAN YOU TALK TO ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT SYMPOSIUM AND, AND WHAT THE GOAL IS? YES, MA'AM THE SYMPOSIUM SYMPOSIUMS AN ANNUAL EVENT THAT'S OPEN TO ANYONE AND ALL, WE HAVE A LARGE, UH, MAILING LIST THAT GOES OUT MANY OUT TO MANY OF Y'ALL'S OFFICES AS WELL.
AND THAT'S IN HOUSING IS EXTENDED BY A MULTITUDE OF THE RECIPIENTS.
THERE IS AN ONLINE ONE AND I WILL PASS IT TO JUSTIN'S IS KIND OF RUNNING THAT THE SYMPOSIUM SIDE, AND HE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE MORE OF THE DETAILS OF WHO'S CURRENTLY ATTENDED AND HOW WE, WE SPREAD THEM, SPREAD THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COUNTRY.
UM, AND THIS IS THE NINTH GEAR FOR US.
UM, PUTTING ON A WILDFIRE SYMPOSIUM, WE'VE COMMITTED TO BE NIMBLE WHEN WE'VE PLANNED THESE EVENTS, UM, TO ADDRESS CURRENT ISSUES THAT ARE ARISING IN OUR COMMUNITY OR ISSUES WE WANT TO MAKE ARE AWARE OF THIS YEAR.
WE'RE GOING TO FEATURE A NATIONAL LEVEL SPEAKERS TO TALK ABOUT OUR NATIONAL COHESIVE STRATEGY AT THE STATE LEVEL OF PARTNERS, TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE STATE IS ASSISTING IN WORKING WITH COMMUNITIES TO BECOME FIRED AFTER OUR MUNICIPAL LEVEL, THAT THE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR AND MYSELF, AS WELL AS FROM GRASSROOTS OVERVIEW, FROM A COMMUNITY PERSPECTIVE.
[00:35:01]
TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE CONTINUITY OF OUR EFFORTS FROM THE NATIONAL LEVEL DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL RESPONSIBILITY.UM, AND AS A FOLLOWUP IN THIS NEW VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE WE'RE PLANNING A SERIES OF LUNCHTIME LECTURES AS AN EXTENSION OF THE SYMPOSIUM, WE CAN HOST KEYNOTE SPEAKERS, RELEVANT TOPICS.
THAT'S A LOT MORE BEAUTIFUL THAN OUR ANNUAL SYMPOSIUM, WHICH WE PLAN LONG IN ADVANCE.
NOW TO GIVE US THE FLEXIBILITY TO TALK ABOUT ISSUES AS THEY ARISE LIKE STORM, YOU ALREADY THAT'S CHANGED THINGS AND WE'RE GOING TO PIVOT BECAUSE OF THAT.
SO IT GIVES US THE ABILITY TO HAVE THAT ONGOING DIALOGUE WITH, IN ADDITION TO MANY OTHER MECHANISMS WE USE, THAT'S JUST ONE OF THEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, I SORT OF WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THOSE TO ALIGN WITH OUR, YOU KNOW, WE ALL HOST A SERIES OF MEETINGS FOR OUR CONSTITUENTS.
SO I WONDER IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE THAT EFFORT ALIGNED WITH SOME OF OUR TOWN HALLS, UM, THAT'S MEMBER ALTAR.
SO I TOTALLY ENCOURAGE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS AND MAYOR PRO TEM ON THOSE IDEAS AND BRINGING IT OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AND TRYING TO ENCOURAGE THEM TO DO THAT WHEN COUNCIL FOR A LONG TIME AND THAT WE CAN BE PARTNERS.
SO I LOVE THAT YOU GUYS ARE VOLUNTEERING THAT AS WELL.
UM, I WANTED TO LET FOLKS KNOW THAT MAY 1ST IS NATIONAL WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS DAY.
I'M DOING A PROCLAMATION FOR THAT, UM, AT THE SYMPOSIUM, BUT IT IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO AMPLIFY, UM, WHAT YOU CAN IN THE COMING WEEK.
UM, ABOUT WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
I HAVE A NEWSLETTER, THAT'LL PROBABLY BE GOING OUT TOMORROW ON STUFF AND YOU CAN BORROW FROM THAT IF YOU LIKE.
UM, BUT IT IS, UM, NATIONAL WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS DAY.
AND AS WE MOVE INTO THIS HOTTER SUMMER AREA REALLY DO WELCOME EVERYONE AND JOINING THEIR VOICES AND THIS EFFORT TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY BE, UM, PREPARED COME IN, BUT I'M ON CAMERA.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALL RIGHT.
WELL, YOU GUYS HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION THAT YOU BROUGHT FORWARD, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING YOU AGAIN SOON.
[3. Update on Joint Memorandum from the Austin Police Department and Office of Police Oversight on improvements to police misconduct investigations and processes.]
RIGHT.AND SO NEXT STEP, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A BRIEFING ON, UH, OR AN UPDATE RATHER ON THE JOINT MEMORANDUM FROM, UH, THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT ON IMPROVEMENTS TO POLICE MISCONDUCT, INVESTIGATIONS AND PROCESSES.
AND SO I DON'T HAVE MY HANDY LIST IN FRONT OF ME AT THE MOMENT, BUT MY ASSUMPTION IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, INTERIM CHIEF CHICONE AND, UM, OPPOSITE POLICE OVERSIGHT DIRECTOR, FARRAH MUSKEGON.
UM, LET ME SEE, ARE THERE OTHERS? YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE THAT'S, THAT'S WHO WE HAVE TO PRESENT FOR US THIS MORNING.
THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM AND COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
UH, JOSEPH CHUCK ON THE INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE.
I'M HAPPY TO BE HERE WITH DIRECTOR MUSKET AND PRESENTING ON THE JOINT MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN APD AND THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT.
UH, DIRECTOR MUST GET IN AND I, UH, WORKED ON THIS TOGETHER AND ISSUED IT LATE, LATE LAST WEEK AND ALL MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE SHOULD HAVE A COPY.
THE MEMO WAS REQUESTED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER COSAR DURING THE MARCH 25TH COUNCIL MEETING IN WHICH I WAS CONFIRMED AS THE INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE WITH THE ASS BEING THAT OUR TWO DEPARTMENTS REVIEW OUR WORKING RELATIONSHIP AND DETERMINE IF THERE WERE AREAS WHERE WE COULD RENEW OUR COMMITMENT TO FAIR, UNBIASED, AND COMPLETE INVESTIGATIONS OF COMPLAINTS AGAINST APD OFFICERS.
UH, THIS REQUEST RESULTED IN A SERIES OF MEETINGS BETWEEN THE OPO AND APD TO VERIFY EACH DEPARTMENT'S NEEDS FROM THE OTHER AND WHERE THAT COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP COULD BE STRENGTHENED.
SO, SO THAT IN THE END, UH, WE ACHIEVED THE GOAL OF COMPLETE AND UNBIASED INVESTIGATIONS.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT STEPS IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A JOINT SET OF STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES BETWEEN OUR TWO DEPARTMENTS.
UH, THIS DOCUMENT IS STILL IN DRAFT FORM AND WE CONTINUE TO COLLABORATE ON THE FINAL PRODUCT, BUT IT WILL DO MANY OF THE THINGS, UH, THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, INCLUDING LAYING OUT THE ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR EACH DEPARTMENT IN THE COMPLAINT PROCESS, THE TIMELINES THAT EACH DEPARTMENT MUST ABIDE BY AND IMPORTANTLY, A PROCESS FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION WHEN THERE IS DISAGREEMENT ON THE DIRECTION OF COMPLAINTS SHOULD TAKE.
IF THE TWO DEPARTMENTS CANNOT INITIALLY AGREE, I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT THIS WILL, UH, IMPROVE THE OVERALL WORKING RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE TWO DEPARTMENTS AS WELL AS THE WORK PRODUCT PRODUCED BY THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS DIVISION AT THE END.
[00:40:01]
ANOTHER SPECIFIC QUESTION ASKED BY COUNCIL MEMBER COULD DURING THE MARCH 25TH MEETING WAS IF WE WERE WILLING TO RE IF I WAS WILLING TO REAFFIRM A COMMITMENT TO ASK A RELEVANT QUESTIONS THAT ARE POSED BY THE OPO DURING INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATIONS.UM, THIS IS REALLY A MATTER THAT'S DICTATED BY THE 2018 APDA APA MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT, AND ONE TO WHICH WE SHOULD BE ABIDING.
AND SO THIS IS CONFIRMED IN THIS MEMORANDUM AS WELL.
THE PROCESS FOR DETERMINING WHETHER A QUESTION IS RELEVANT OR NOT IS GOING TO BE SPELLED OUT IN THAT JOINT SOP.
ADDITIONALLY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UH, 2020, UM, POST SIX 11 ZERO NINE FIVE, WHICH DIRECTED THE LPO TO HAVE INPUT INTO GENERAL ORDERED RELIGIONS RELATED TO USE OF FORCE MATTERS AND OVERALL INTERNAL INVESTIGATIONS, I'VE COMMITTED IN THE MEMORANDUM TO HAVING COLLABORATIVE REVIEW, UH, COLLABORATIVE REVIEW WITH THE OPO ON THESE REVISIONS.
AND, UH, WE HAVE ACTUALLY ALREADY BEGUN THAT PROCESS.
ALL OF THESE THINGS, UM, WERE, ARE BEING COMMITTED TO BY BOTH DEPARTMENTS FOR THE PURPOSE OF CREATING GREATER TRANSPARENCY WITH THE PUBLIC THAT WE SERVE.
AND THIS WILL RESULT IN GREATER ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRUST WITH THAT COMMUNITY.
I WILL, OF COURSE BE STAYING ON TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, BUT I WANTED TO TAKE A QUICK BREAK HERE TO ALLOW DIRECTOR MUST GET INTO PROVIDE ANY OPENING COMMENTS THAT SHE MIGHT HAVE AS WELL.
UM, MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M AGAIN ALSO HERE, HAPPY TO PRESENT THIS JOINT, UM, MEMORANDUM WITH CHIEF CHICAGO.
AND I HOPE THIS SIGNALS TO YOU A NEW DIRECTION THAT WE'RE GOING IN THAT WILL, UM, HOPEFULLY SUSTAINABLY BE MORE, UM, MORE COLLABORATIVE IN THE LONGTERM.
UM, FROM THE OPO PERSPECTIVE, THIS IS A WELCOMED COLLABORATION.
UM, WE'VE HIT SEVERAL BRICK WALLS, UM, THROUGH OUR WORK.
UM, AND SO I DO THINK THAT PARTICULARLY WITH THE TYPE OF WORK THAT WE DO COLLABORATION WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS, UM, IS A BENEFIT TO, TO US ALL.
AND SO AS MUCH AS THAT DOOR CAN REMAIN OPEN AND BE OPENED AND THAT WE WORK COLLABORATIVELY TOGETHER, NOT TO THE POINT WHERE WE AGREE ON EVERYTHING CAUSE WE WON'T, BUT FUNDAMENTALLY HAVING A FOUNDATION OF COLLABORATION I THINK IS IMPORTANT FOR THE GREATER GOAL OF, YOU KNOW, EQUITABLE POLICING FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I, I DO, I AM VERY MUCH APPRECIATIVE OF THIS JOINT MEMO AND THE NEW LEADERSHIP WITH, TO CHICAGO.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, DIRECTOR MUST GET IN AND TEACH JACOME COLLEAGUES.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER CASA? WELL, THANK YOU BOTH FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS AND THANK YOU CHIEF, BECAUSE IT WAS, UH, AN EARLY, UH, QUESTION THAT, THAT DAY OF YOUR CONFIRMATION.
AND, UH, AND I APPRECIATE YOU GETTING BACK WITH US.
SO, SO QUICKLY ON IT, GIVEN ALL THE THINGS YOU HAVE GOING ON, UM, AS FAR AS THOSE JOINT STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, WHAT IS THE TIMELINE ON THOSE? SO THE TIMELINE THAT WE'VE LAID OUT IN THE MEMOS TO HAVE THOSE DONE THIS WEEK, I AM CERTAINLY HOPEFUL THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO MEET THAT DEADLINE.
UM, OF COURSE, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVE A NUMBER OF ISSUES THAT ARE, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND, AND I KNOW THAT, UH, DURESS DIRECTOR MUSCADET AND HER OFFICE HAVE A NUMBER AS WELL.
SO, UM, I WANT TO BE ABLE TO GET BACK TOGETHER WITH HER, UH, THIS WEEK TO KIND OF NAIL DOWN THE FINAL THINGS IN THAT JOINT SOP THAT WE NEED.
BUT I WOULD SAY THAT THE MAJORITY OF IT IS DONE AND WE FEEL VERY GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE ARE, UM, JOINTLY ON, ON THAT.
AND OF COURSE, ONCE WE, UH, BOTH, UH, FINISH IT AND, UM, AND HAVE HAD SOME INPUT FROM, UH, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, THEY'RE COMFORTABLE WITH EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE DOING, UM, THAT WILL BE SHARED, UM, THROUGH I'M SURE THAT, UH, DIRECTOR MUSCULAR IS GOING TO PUT IT ON HER WEBSITE AND IT'LL BE SHARED DIRECTLY WITH A MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
WELL, I REALLY APPRECIATE, UH, THE COMMITMENT, UH, TO ASKING THE QUESTIONS AS LAID OUT IN THE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENTS AND, UH, AND THOSE OTHER ISSUES REALLY, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THE CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND THE STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES WHERE A LOT OF IT REALLY HAPPENS.
AND SO ONCE Y'ALL ARE DONE WITH THAT, UM, AND I UNDERSTAND IF YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR TIME TO GET IT DONE RIGHT, ONCE YOU'RE DONE WITH IT, IF THERE ARE ANY SIGNIFICANT, UH, DIVERGENCE BETWEEN EITHER OF YOU, IF YOU ALL WOULD LET US KNOW ABOUT THAT, THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
UH, I'M NOT LOOKING FOR THIS FOR DISAGREEMENT, BUT IT'S HELPFUL TO KNOW WHERE ANY, HOW ANY DISAGREEMENTS IS RESOLVED, BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ALL ARE IN FULL AGREEMENT HERE ON THE ISSUES IN THE MEMO.
UM, AND THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY PROMISING.
[00:45:01]
ANY SENSE QUITE YET ON WHEN A QUESTION IS WHEN THERE'S A DISPUTE ABOUT WHETHER A QUESTION IS RELEVANT OR NOT, HOW THAT MIGHT BE, HOW THAT MIGHT BE HANDLED IN THE WAY TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T MISS OUT ON A RELEVANT QUESTION IN TERMS OF AFFAIRS INTERVIEW.I DIDN'T KNOW IF I THOUGHT I WAS JUST EXPLAINING WHAT I SAID, A QUESTION THAT WAS KIND OF VAGUE, BUT YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, WHEN, WHEN IN AN INTERNAL AFFAIRS INVESTIGATION, THE OPL HAS THAT ADDITIONAL QUESTION OR TWO THAT THEY WOULD LIKE ASKED, BUT IT'S UNCLEAR WHETHER THAT QUESTION IS DETERMINED TO BE RELEVANT.
AND THERE'S A DISPUTE ABOUT WHETHER IT'S RELEVANT.
DO WE HAVE YET A PROCESS COMING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ASKING ALL THE RELEVANT QUESTIONS? SO THERE IS GOING TO BE A PROCESS THAT'S LAID OUT IN THE JOINT SOP FOR THAT VERY ISSUE, DETERMINING THE RELEVANCY OF QUESTIONS.
AND, UM, AND THEN IF THERE IS, UH, BECAUSE AGAIN, AS, AS A DIRECTOR MUSCULAR AND ACTUALLY, UH, ALLUDED TO, THERE'S NOT ALWAYS GOING TO BE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO OFFICES, THERE WILL BE A PROCESS FOR KIND OF APPEALING IT UP THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
SO THAT ULTIMATELY, UM, EVEN, UH, EVEN IF WE NEED TO GO TO THE DIRECTOR LEVEL, WHICH WOULD BE MYSELF AND FARRAH TO, UM, DETERMINE WHAT THAT RELEVANCY IS THAT WE HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND THEN, UH, AND THEN MAKE A DECISION.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I REALLY WELCOME, UM, THIS RENEWED COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION, UM, TO THANK YOU, DIRECTOR MUSCADET AND CHIEF CHECON FOR TAKING THIS ON AND, UH, THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER CASAR, UM, FOR OPENING THE SPACE FOR THOSE CONVERSATIONS TO HAPPEN QUICKLY, UM, IN, IN THIS TIME PERIOD.
SO I'M THINKING COLLEAGUES, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNCILMEMBER, CASA, AND THEN I ALSO APPRECIATE THE THANK YOU FOR THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR AND THAT CHIEF, I ALSO APPRECIATE THE COMMITMENT HERE ON TRAINING TO TREAT EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL COMPLAINTS, UH, EQUALLY AS EQUALLY AS POSSIBLE.
ARE THERE PARTICULAR SHIFTS THAT WE'RE CONTEMPLATING MAKING TO ENSURE THAT THOSE EXTERNAL COMMUNITY COMPLAINTS, UM, ARE VETTED AS THOROUGHLY AS POSSIBLE? AND I'LL, I'LL, I'LL GO AHEAD AND KICK THAT OFF IF YOU LIKE.
AND THEN, AND THEN DIRECTOR MUSCADET CAN KIND OF TALK ABOUT HER PROCESS AS WELL, BUT, YOU KNOW, THE, THE INITIAL VETTING OF THE COMPLAINTS ACTUALLY COME IN THROUGH THE OPO AND THEN SHE ADVANCES THOSE THAT SHE STILL HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT.
AND ONES THAT SHE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO RESOLVE IS EITHER, UM, YOU KNOW, NOT HAVING SOME MERIT, UH, YOU KNOW, MAYBE SHE HAS REVIEWED A BODY-WORN CAMERA VIDEO FROM THE OFFICER AND CAN DETERMINE THAT, UM, THAT THE INCIDENT DID NOT OCCUR AND SHE WOULD, AND THEN SHE WOULD CLOSE THOSE OUT DIRECTLY WITH A COMPLAINANT.
UH, BUT THOSE THAT, UM, THAT SHE STILL HAS QUESTIONS ABOUT ARE, ARE GOING TO BE ADVANCED.
AND WHAT THE, WHAT THE SOP ULTIMATELY IS GOING TO SAY IS THAT, UM, THAT INVESTIGATIONS ARE PRESUMED UNLESS THERE IS, THERE ARE MITIGATING FACTORS THAT, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE BROUGHT UP THAT WOULD INDICATE THAT WOULD BRING WHATEVER THE ALLEGATION IS INTO QUESTION.
AND SO I THINK THAT IS A WAY THAT WE'RE REALLY LOOKING AT IT TO SAY THAT WE, UM, ARE PUTTING THE SAME, UH, TIME AND EFFORT INTO EVERY COMPLAINT, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER IT'S AN EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL COMPLAINT AND MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S CONCURRENCE FROM BOTH DEPARTMENTS ON THAT.
AND WHAT I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS THAT, UM, THE PRELIMINARY REVIEW IS SOMETHING THAT IS NEW, THAT WE INSTITUTED.
UM, WE STARTED IN 2019 AND PRIMARILY IT WAS TO ENGAGE OUR COMPLAINTS STAFF ON THE FRONT END OF ALL, COMPLAINTS THAT COME INTO THE OFFICE.
AND SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE MAY GET 50 CALLS, EMAILS, OR SOME SORT OF COMPLAINTS THAT COME INTO OUR OFFICE ON A MONTHLY BASIS AND ONLY FORWARD ABOUT MAYBE 10 NOTICE NOTICE AS A FORM OF COMPLAINTS.
SO COMPLAINTS THAT SHOULD INITIATE AN INVESTIGATION.
AND SO IT IS THAT 10 THAT WE WANT TO SEE INVESTIGATED BECAUSE HISTORICALLY WHAT WE'VE SEEN, UM, THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IS THAT ONLY ABOUT 20% OF THOSE HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATED.
AND SO I THINK THE PRESUMPTION IS APPROPRIATE.
UM, I CAN GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE WHERE WE RECEIVED A COMPLAINT ABOUT A SPECIFIC OFFICER.
WE SENT IT DOWN FOR A COMPLAINT WHEN INTERNAL AFFAIRS LOOKED INTO IT FURTHER, THAT PARTICULAR OFFICER WORKED FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
IT DID NOT MOVE FORWARD INTO ANY FURTHER INVESTIGATION.
I PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION TO US AND THEN IT WAS DONE.
SO THAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHERE ADDITIONAL
[00:50:01]
INFORMATION, UM, WOULD, WOULD SHOW THAT, UH, AN INVESTIGATOR FULL ON INVESTIGATION WOULD NOT BE WARRANTED AND WE UNDERSTAND THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT WE FEEL VERY STRONGLY THAT COMPLAINTS FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, PARTICULARLY AFTER THEY'VE GONE THROUGH A PRELIMINARY REVIEW OF OUR OFFICE SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED.AND THAT GETS COMMITTED TO HERE IN THE SPINOFF, ESSENTIALLY.
THANK YOU BOTH JUST REAL QUICK, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
I'M GONNA, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T WRITE THIS WRONG, UM, DIRECTOR MUST GET IN.
DID YOU SAY 20%? IT'S ROUGHLY BEEN BETWEEN ABOUT 20 TO 25%.
UM, AND THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THIS UPDATE TO US.
I'M JUST WONDERING HOW IT'S BEEN COMMUNICATED TO THE OFFICERS THAT THIS CHANGE HAS HAPPENED.
AND IF YOU'VE GOTTEN ANY FEEDBACK FROM THEM ABOUT THAT CHANGE, UM, YES, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST STEP OF COURSE, IS COMMUNICATING IT DIRECTLY WITH OUR INVESTIGATORS SO THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE FOCUS OF THE MEMO.
UM, I THINK, UH, WHERE THE CONFUSION CAN BE FOR OUR OFFICERS IS THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE A WHOLESALE CHANGE INTO THE WAY THAT WE DO THINGS.
AND I WANT TO, I WANT TO KIND OF BE CLEAR THAT THIS IS REALLY A REAFFIRMATION OF THE COMMITMENT THAT WE, THAT WE HAVE MADE THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT'S LAID OUT BY MEET AND CONFER AND BY CHAPTER ONE 43.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN NOT GO OUTSIDE OF THE CONTRACT.
WE CANNOT GO OUTSIDE OF STATE LAW WHEN IT COMES TO THE INVESTIGATIONS.
HOWEVER, I THINK A LOT OF THE CONTENTION HAS BEEN AROUND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS AND HOW SOME OF THOSE DECISIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AFTER OPO INPUT AND WHETHER OR NOT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S FOR INSTANCE, RELEVANCY TO QUESTIONS.
UH, MANY TIMES THAT THAT DECISION WAS MADE AT, UH, KIND OF AT THE, AT THE INVESTIGATION LEVEL.
AND, AND IT DIDN'T GO ANY FURTHER THAN THAT.
AND THAT HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, THAT HAS BEEN A COMPLAINT.
AND SO IN THE JOINT SOP, FOR INSTANCE, THIS WOULD GIVE A KIND OF AN APPEAL PROCESS, UH, FOR THE OPO TO SAY, UM, WELL MAYBE THIS INVESTIGATOR DOESN'T THINK IT'S RELEVANT, BUT DOES THE SUPERVISOR THINK IT'S RELEVANT? AND TO, TO ESCALATE THAT A LITTLE BIT, TO SEE WHETHER THERE IS GOING TO BE MERIT TO ASKING A QUESTION, UM, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT I, THAT I TALKED ABOUT, THOSE ARE ALL, UH, THINGS THAT EITHER HAVE BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY BEEN DOING AND WE'RE REAFFIRMING, UH, ON THE, ON THE PART OF THE, UM, THE INPUT INTO OUR GENERAL ORDER REVISIONS.
THAT WAS A, UH, THAT WAS ACTUALLY A 2019 RESOLUTION.
AND, UM, OR MAYBE I'M SORRY, A 2020 RESOLUTION.
AND SO THOSE ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE, WE ARE SIMPLY PUTTING INTO PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE DOING WHAT HAS BEEN ASKED OF US AND, AND CONTINUE TO DO THOSE THINGS.
THANK YOU FOR EXPLAINING THAT.
I WANT TO ENSURE THAT WHENEVER WE DO MAKE A CHANGE, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET POSITIVE BUY-IN FROM THE OFFICERS SO THAT THEY DON'T FEEL LIKE THEY'RE BEING MISMANAGED OR HAVING SOMETHING PULLED OUT FROM UNDER THEM WITH A CHANGE.
I JUST WANT TO, THAT WE GO ABOUT IT THE RIGHT WAY.
SO THEY'RE FULLY EDUCATED ON WHY THE CHANGE IS HAPPENING.
IF I COULD JUST ADD, I ALSO THINK THAT IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO REEDUCATE OFFICERS, BUT HOW, YOU KNOW, KIND OF OUR ROLE IN WHAT WE DO, BECAUSE I DO THINK THAT THERE IS A LOT OF MISINFORMATION THERE.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I OBVIOUSLY WELCOME THAT OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO OFFICERS BEFORE THE PANDEMIC.
SO, UM, I, I DO HEAR THAT AS WELL.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES? OKAY.
IN THAT CASE, I DO HAVE A FEW OF MY OWN, UM, THE QUESTION AROUND COMMUNICATION WITH OFFICERS FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UM, PIQUED MY INTEREST, IN WHICH CASE, I SORT OF WONDER WHEN THAT COMMUNICATION HAPPENS.
I'D LIKE TO GET SOME SORT OF DISTINCTION BETWEEN, UM, WHAT COMES FROM APD AND WHAT COMES FROM APA IN TERMS OF INFORMATION AROUND, UM, ACCLIMATING TO NEW PROCESSES.
SO, UM, THE APA KIND OF WORKS ON THEIR OWN SCHEDULE AND WILL, UM, DETERMINE BASED ON THEIR LEADERSHIP AND KEN CASSIDY, WHEN HE WANTS TO, UH, DELIVER MESSAGES TO HIS, UM, TO HIS MEMBERSHIP.
WE DON'T REALLY DICTATE THAT AT ALL.
UH, WE'D LIKE TO BE KEPT IN THE LOOP AND AT THE SAME TIME, WE KEEP THEM IN THE LOOP WHEN WE ARE GETTING READY TO COMMUNICATE THINGS OUT AS WELL.
SO I ACTUALLY HAD A CONVERSATION LAST WEEK WITH, UH, WITH KEN TO
[00:55:01]
DISCUSS THE ISSUANCE OF THIS MEMO AND WHAT WAS GOING TO BE IN IT.UM, THE MEMO WAS SHARED WITH INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UH, WORK GROUP LAST WEEK.
UM, ONCE THE, ONCE THE MEMO HAD, HAD ISSUED TO GO AHEAD AND HAVE SOME DISCUSSION AND MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTOOD, UH, WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN'T.
AND, AND THEN FOR THE GENERAL MEMBERSHIP, UM, THAT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING PROCESS.
AND, UH, SINCE I KIND OF STARTED A MONTH AGO, I'VE BEEN GETTING IN FRONT OF GROUPS OF OFFICERS ON A VERY CONSISTENT BASIS TO TALK ABOUT ALL TYPES OF THINGS RELATED TO, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND, AND, YOU KNOW, NOT TO MENTION, UH, THE ISSUES AROUND, AROUND STAFFING AROUND, UH, THESE TYPES OF ISSUES RELATED TO INTERNAL, UH, UM, AND JUST OTHER THINGS THAT, UH, CAN REALLY WEIGH ON THE ROUTE AND, AND TRYING TO ANSWER THOSE, TRYING TO HAVE GOOD, UM, OPEN FORUMS WHERE PEOPLE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, AIR THEIR OPINIONS AND, AND PERHAPS CRITICISMS, UH, WITHOUT ANY KIND OF FEAR OF RETALIATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
SO W THAT HAS BEEN ONGOING AND WILL CONTINUE.
UH, AND I WAS JUST TALKING TO KEN TODAY ABOUT ADDRESSING THE MEMBERSHIP, UM, NEXT WEEK.
IT WAS, IT'S ONE OF MY GREATER REGRETS, UM, AS DURING THE COURSE OF THIS RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY CONVERSATION.
SO MANY THINGS WERE TAKEN OUT OF CONTEXT.
AND SO MANY THINGS WERE, A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS WERE MADE, AND FRANKLY, THE ISSUE OF, OF RE-IMAGINING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY IT'S LIKE AT SOME POINT WE WERE ONLY TALKING ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT IT'S AS THOUGH WE FORGOT THAT WE HAVE OTHER AGENCIES THAT, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES.
AND THEN IT ALSO BECAME EXTREMELY POLITICIZED TO THE POINT WHERE, I MEAN, JUST TO THINK ABOUT SOME OF THE ABSURDITIES, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, ONE DAY I GOT CALLED UP A BOOT LICKER AND TOLD, I HATE COPS.
IT'S LIKE, HOW CAN YOU BE BOTH? AND ONE DAY.
AND SO REALLY I THINK A LOT OF FOLKS BY WAY OF A LACK OF CLEAR COMMUNICATION WERE PUT IN A POSITION TO WHERE THEY HAD TO PICK A SIDE AND PICKING SIDES, YOU KNOW, BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
AND SO I HAD ASKED HER TO LEON DURING THE RE-IMAGINING PROCESS, IF I COULD ADDRESS THE BODY AND FOR WHATEVER REASON, AND THEN EVENTUALLY IT WAS COVID, IT JUST NEVER HAPPENED.
AND IN HINDSIGHT, I REALLY DO WISH THAT WE HAD HAD MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE COUNCIL MEMBERS ADDRESS THE GENERAL BODY, AS OPPOSED TO THE MESSAGES TRICKLING DOWN, BECAUSE INEVITABLY IT BECAME A GAME OF TELEPHONE WHERE, WHAT WAS TOLD TO RANK AND FILE.
UM, AND SO I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO, AS WE CONTINUE TO EVOLVE THESE PROCESSES, I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LEADERSHIP AND HELPING, UM, MYSELF AND MY COLLEAGUES DO A BETTER JOB OF HAVING CLEAR COMMUNICATION WITH RANK AND FILE.
UM, I THINK IT'S SO IMPORTANT FOR THEM DIRECTLY TO UNDERSTAND EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING ON.
I, I KEEP GETTING THESE CALLS AND EMAILS FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS THAT SAY X INTEL IS HAPPENING IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND EVEN THOUGH IT'S ILLEGAL WHEN I TALKED TO THE POLICE OFFICER, SO, AND SO THEY TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE COUNCIL CUT THEIR BUDGET, WHAT I NEEDED TO DO WAS CALL THEM AND COMPLAIN.
UM, AND I, WHILE I CAN IMAGINE THAT THERE ARE SOME OFFICERS WHO ARE SORT OF NEEDING TO MAKE SOME EVOLUTIONS AROUND THAT PROFESSIONALISM, UH, AND HOW THEY INTERACT WITH OUR CONSTITUENTS, MY GUESS IS THAT MOST AREN'T SAYING THOSE THINGS.
AND SO I THINK A LOT OF OUR ABILITY TO REALLY JUST BRING EVERYBODY BACK TOGETHER FOR THE CONVERSATION, AS OPPOSED TO THESE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL WE'VE FRAGMENTED, SO TO SPEAK.
AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WHERE US BEING TRANSPARENT AND HONEST AND LETTING PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THE PROCESS IS AS WE GO THROUGH, IT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, SO AGAIN, I LOOK FORWARD TO YOUR LEADERSHIP AND ACM ARIANO AND HELPING US MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COMMUNICATING WELL BOTH ON OUR END AND, UM, LEADERSHIPS, AND, AND THAT'S BOTH APD LEADERSHIP AND APA LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND ALONG THOSE LINES, I JUST WONDER HOW OFTEN, OR IF IT'S POSSIBLE FOR YOU ALL TO COORDINATE YOUR EFFORTS, TO BRING NEW INFORMATION TO THE MEMBERS.
UM, AS A MATTER OF FACT, THAT MEETING THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT NEXT WEEK IS GOING TO BE, UH, IN FRONT OF THE APA MEMBERSHIP.
SO WE ARE, WE ARE COORDINATING OUR EFFORTS A LITTLE BIT AS FAR AS PROVIDING OPEN FORUMS FOR OFFICERS TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT DIRECTLY WITH THE CHIEF AND EXECUTIVE STAFF AND TO ASK WHATEVER IT'S UNSCRIPTED, WHATEVER QUESTIONS THEY WOULD LIKE TO ASK OR THE ISSUES THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO BRING UP, WE MAKE OURSELVES
[01:00:01]
AVAILABLE.UM, A LOT OF TIMES WE DON'T SEE EYE TO EYE ON SOME OF THE MESSAGING THAT IS BEING PUT OUT BECAUSE, UM, I THINK THAT EACH, UH, OF THE TWO DEPARTMENTS, YOU KNOW, OR WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT APD AND APA, UH, HAVE THEIR OWN ROLE.
AND, AND SO FOR US, IT IS, YOU KNOW, THE, UH, THE, UM, THE GOOD ORDERLY, UH, RUNNING OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
AND FOR THE APA, IT IS VERY MUCH IN THE VEIN OF ADVOCATING FOR THEIR MEMBERSHIP AND MAKING SURE THAT WHAT THEY SEE AS, AS RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES ARE NOT, ARE NOT LOST.
AND, UH, SOMETIMES THOSE CAN RUN IN CONFLICT WITH ONE ANOTHER.
SO, UM, I, BUT I WILL SAY THAT I ENJOY A VERY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LEADERSHIP AT THE APA.
WE TALK ON ALMOST A DAILY BASIS ABOUT VARIOUS ISSUES THAT ARE GOING ON.
AND, UM, THE VAST MAJORITY ARE, ARE RESOLVED AT OUR, AT OUR LEVEL WITH NO PUBLIC COMMENTARY OR, UM, OR ANY KIND OF DISSENSION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
UH, WE CAN USUALLY, UH, UH, ADDRESS AND USUALLY THEY'RE AROUND PERSONNEL ISSUES THAT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, UH, TO ADDRESS FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UM, BUT, BUT TO YOUR POINT, A MAYOR PRO TEM, I THINK THEY WOULD LOVE TO, TO SEE YOU AND FOR YOU TO GET IN FRONT OF, UH, THE OFFICERS, WHETHER, UH, ON, YOU KNOW, AS, AS AN APD, UH, EVENT WHERE AN APA EVENT, I KNOW THAT THEY WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO, TO TALK TO YOU.
AND I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD, IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE SHOULD OFFER ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR, I GUESS, I SUPPOSE IT'S, COVID, UM, RELATED, BUT MY ATTEMPTS TO DO RIDE ALONGS WITH BOTH PD AND FD WERE CANCELED.
UM, AND SO I THINK THIS MIGHT BE THE NEXT BEST WAY FOR US TO REALLY GET SOME, SOME ONE-ON-ONE TIME IN WHICH CASE THAT MEETING NEXT WEEK, IT, YOU SAID IT'S OPEN TO, TO APD LEADERSHIP.
IS IT ALSO OPEN TO COUNCIL OR IS THAT SOMETHING WE SHOULD CONSIDER, UM, OFF, OFFLINE AS TO THE PROPRIETY? YEAH, BECAUSE IT'S NOT OUR MEETING, I'D SAY WE TAKE IT OFFLINE AND, AND, UH, BUT YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UH, THEY WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM ME.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO JACOME, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
INSTEAD, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, I HAVE PLANS TO ATTEND THE MEETING ON THE SIXTH, AND IF YOU'D LIKE, I CAN SEE IF, IF IT WOULD BE GOOD FOR ALL OF US TO GO WE'LL WORK ON THAT.
YEAH, I'D BE HAPPY TO JOIN YOU.
AND I THINK AS WE WERE SPEAKING, I GOT AN INVITATION TO ATTEND THE JUNE MEETING AND I'LL ACCEPT THAT INVITATION AS WELL.
COLLEAGUES, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR? SO, UM, TWO TOOK ON, I THINK, UM, BEFORE YOU START TALKING ABOUT SORT OF MEETING WITH OFFICERS VIA THAT APA MEETINGS, YOU WERE ALSO TALKING ABOUT GOING OUT, UM, AND TALKING MORE TO TWO GROUPS OF OFFICERS.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK TO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE DOING IN THAT REGARD AND, AND, AND THE CHANGE THAT'S INVOLVED IN THAT? UM, AND I, AND I'M ASKING, BECAUSE I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HEARD FROM SOME OFFICERS OVER TIME WAS A DESIRE TO HAVE MORE OF THOSE INTERACTIONS AND TO HEAR MORE FROM, FROM LEADERSHIP.
SO I APPRECIATE YOU DOING IT AND WOULD LIKE TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT CERTAINLY.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THAT I MADE A COMMITMENT TO THE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR OFFICERS OF ALL RANKS WAS TO BE A VERY GOOD COMMUNICATOR.
AND, UH, TO THAT END, I HAVE BEEN, UM, SENDING OUT CONSISTENT MESSAGING, UH, RELATED TO BIGGER ISSUES THAT OUR DEPARTMENT MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING.
UH, THE REIMAGINATION PROCESS IS OF COURSE, UH, ONE OF THE ISSUES THAT THEY HAVE A GREAT INTEREST IN ARE, UM, STAFFING REALLOCATIONS THAT WE'RE BEING FORCED TO DO DUE TO STAFFING SHORTAGES IS ANOTHER AREA THAT THEY HAVE A LOT OF INTEREST IN.
AND, AND OF COURSE THAT IS THAT'S THE EMAIL COMMUNICATION, WHICH TO ME IS IT'S THE LEAST EFFECTIVE.
UM, BUT IT IS A FORM WHERE I CAN GET A MESSAGE TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON.
I DO VIDEO MESSAGING ON A VERY REGULAR BASIS.
AND THEN, UM, I'M ALSO MEETING WITH INDIVIDUAL GROUPS OF OFFICERS IN WHETHER IN A, IN A SHIFT SETTING FOR A, YOU KNOW, A, UH, PATROL SHIFT AS THEY'RE GOING OUT, OR, UM, I JUST MET WITH THE HOMICIDE UNIT NOT TOO LONG AGO TO DISCUSS, UH, THE WORK THAT THEY'D BEEN DOING.
AND THEN, AND THEN ANSWER THESE TYPE OF QUESTIONS AND JUST HAVE SOME GOOD DISCUSSION, UH, I'M MEETING WITH THE ROBBERY UNIT NEXT WEEK.
UM, SO THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M TAKING ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT I CAN, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR OFFICERS THAT ARE WORKING REALLY, REALLY HARD RIGHT NOW, UH, ON THE, ON THE ISSUES THAT ARE AFFECTING OUR CITY AND PUBLIC SAFETY TO, UH, NOT ONLY ANSWER QUESTIONS, BUT TO OFFER MY GRATITUDE, UH, BECAUSE WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS, UH, JUST INCREDIBLE WORK THAT GOES ON BEHIND THE SCENES, UH, WHERE WE ARE, UH, WE HAVE ONE OF THE HIGHEST HOMICIDE SOLVE RATES IN THE COUNTRY.
[01:05:01]
ARE PUTTING A LOT OF EFFORT INTO WORKING WITH OUR STATE, UH, LOCAL STATE AND FEDERAL PARTNERS ON CASES INVOLVING, UH, GUN VIOLENCE, WHICH, UM, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR A LITTLE WHILE NOW TO, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE START TO DRIVE THOSE NUMBERS DOWN.SO THERE'S LOTS OF GOOD WORK GOING ON.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THOSE PEOPLE AND COME AND VISIT WITH THEM, BUT ALSO JUST OPEN IT UP TO ANYONE THAT WANTS TO SHOW UP AND JUST TALK ABOUT THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND THAT THE FEEDBACK THAT I'VE BEEN GETTING HAS BEEN VERY GOOD.
THEY'VE BEEN VERY APPRECIATIVE, RIGHT? THERE'S NOTHING ELSE I BELIEVE YOU ALL CAN GET BACK TO YOUR DAY.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY, ACTUALLY.
I HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION THAT I MEANT TO ASK EARLIER.
UM, YOU AND DIRECTOR, MUSCADET BOTH ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, YOU KNOW, IDEOLOGY WILL BE DIFFERENT.
THERE WILL BE DIFFERENCES OF OPINION, BUT I DID WANT TO FIND OUT, UM, WHETHER OR NOT GENERALLY EVERYBODY'S ON THE SAME PAGE ABOUT THE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THIS, UM, CONSIDERATION AND HOW TO BEST GO ABOUT MAKING THE TRANSITION.
I, WHILE I RECOGNIZE THERE WILL BE SOME, SOME DIFFICULTY WITH GETTING THERE.
I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE THAT WE NEED TO GET THERE.
AND I, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER DIRECTOR MUST GET IN HIS, HAS LEFT THE MEETING OR NOT, BUT I CAN CERTAINLY SPEAK FOR MYSELF AND SAY THAT, UM, I'VE APPRECIATED.
YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH DIRECTOR MUSKETT FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS NOW IN HER ROLE AS THE, AS, UM, THE DIRECTOR OF A POLICE OVERSIGHT.
UM, I SEE A, UH, A NEED AND VALUE IN, IN POLICE OVERSIGHT.
AND I AM GLAD TO SAY THAT I FEEL LIKE WE ARE MOVING IN A, IN A GOOD POSITIVE DIRECTION TO KIND OF MAKE IT SO THAT WE DON'T, WE'RE NOT HAVING THESE CONFLICTS.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT HAS, HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BIGGEST ISSUES IN MOVING THE EFFORT FORWARD HAS BEEN IN TRYING TO RESOLVE, UH, EACH ROLE FOR EACH DEPARTMENT, UH, THE TIMELINES INVOLVED, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT, THAT WE'RE GOING TO LAY OUT IN THE JOINT SOP THAT WILL BE, UH, THAT WILL BE SO IMPORTANT TO, TO MOVE THE EFFORT FORWARD.
SO FROM MY PART, I WOULD AGREE THAT, UM, I'M, I'M VERY GLAD TO BE HAVING THIS CONVERSATION RIGHT NOW.
AND, UM, AND THEN I'LL, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DIRECTOR MUSCULAR.
AND I SEE HER NOW, UH, TO BE ABLE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND, UM, AND PROVIDE HER COMMENTS AS WELL.
YEAH, NO, I, I, I AGREE WHOLEHEARTEDLY IN 2018 WHEN I HAD TO DO ALL THE RESEARCH ON OVERSIGHT AND I SPOKE TO ALL THE OVERSIGHT DIRECTORS.
ONE KEY DIFFERENCE WAS THOSE, MY COLLEAGUES HAD HAD A GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CHIEFS AND THOSE THAT DID NOT.
UM, AND IT WAS VERY OBVIOUSLY BENEFICIAL IN THE WORK.
UM, AND IN, IN REACHING THE OUTCOMES THAT COMMUNITIES OBVIOUSLY WANTING TO SEE WHEN THAT WAS THERE, THERE WAS A MORE COLLABORATIVE, UM, COMMUNICATION AND UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE OVERSIGHT LEAD AND, UM, THE CHIEF OF POLICE.
AND SO ALREADY IN THIS MONTH, THAT INTERIM CHIEF HAS BEEN THERE.
I MEAN, WE'VE COMMUNICATED PRETTY MUCH WEEKLY.
I SPEAK TO HIM DIRECTLY AND HIS APPROACH IN TERMS OF RESOLVING CONFLICTS AND COMMUNICATING WITH ME DIRECTLY.
AND I APPRECIATE HIS APPROACH.
UM, OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO DISAGREE.
IT'S, IT'S THE NATURE OF, OF THE WORK, BUT I THINK WHAT IS DIFFERENT IS, UM, SHOULD COMES APPROACH TO THE DISAGREEMENT AND REALLY COMING FROM A PLACE THAT I'VE ALREADY SEEN ALREADY IS A PLACE OF COMPROMISE.
UM, WHICH I THINK IS KIND OF WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE'RE, WE, JOE AND I, WHEN HE WAS, UH, AC OVER, WE DISAGREED ABOUT CASES ALL THE TIME, BUT WE LEFT OUR DISAGREEMENT THERE.
WE UNDERSTOOD OUR PERSPECTIVES AND WE KEPT IT MOVING.
AND SO I THINK BETWEEN US, WE ALREADY HAVE THE FOUNDATION FOR THAT RELATIONSHIP, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE, UM, WORKED CLOSELY WHEN HE WAS THE AC OVER INTERNAL AFFAIRS.
AND SO I THINK WE'RE TAKING THAT FORWARD, UM, INTO REALLY KIND OF WIPING THE SLATE CLEAN AND STARTING IN A MORE POSITIVE DIRECTION BETWEEN OPO AND, UM, APD.
I APPRECIATE THE COLLABORATIVE APPROACH, UM, AND THE CANDOR.
UH, AND I REALLY THINK IT'S AWESOME THAT Y'ALL ARE PROVIDING THAT REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE FOR EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO HAVE COURAGEOUS, DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS, BUT MOVE FORWARD, UM, UNDER THE GUISE OF DOING WHAT'S BEST FOR OUR COMMUNITY.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
HAVE A GOOD REST OF YOUR DAY ARE ACTUALLY TEETH CHECK ON.
I THINK YOU'RE, I THINK YOU'RE UP AGAIN
[4. Update on the Austin Police Department's District Representative program.]
NEXT.OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM IS A DISCUSSION ABOUT AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAM.
UM, I'M CERTAIN, YOU ALL HAVE HEARD
[01:10:01]
FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS.LIKE WE HAVE HEARD FROM OUR CONSTITUENTS QUESTIONS, CONCERNS, COMMENTS, ET CETERA.
AND SO WE REALLY JUST WANTED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO GET A GOOD HANDLE ON WHAT'S GOING ON.
WHO'S WHO WHAT'S, WHAT, UM, IT LOOKS AS THOUGH SERGEANT DAVIS HAS JOINED US.
AND ALL RIGHT, SO SERGEANT D OH, THERE'S SOMEBODY ELSE BACK THEN? I DON'T KNOW WHO THAT IS.
SOMEBODY NOT IMPORTANT IS WHAT I WAS TOLD I WANT TO DO IS JUST KIND OF KICK IT OFF A LITTLE BIT, AND I'LL INTRODUCE, UH, LIEUTENANT DAVIS, UH, IN JUST ONE MOMENT.
BUT, UM, THIS IS, THIS IS REALLY TO PROVIDE THE COMMITTEE UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAM.
UM, I AM VERY PLEASED ONCE AGAIN, TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THIS, ON THIS VERY WORTHWHILE EFFORT.
YOU KNOW, I WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL DISTRICT REPS WITH OUR DEPARTMENT IN THE LATE 1990S.
UH, AND SO I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE VALUE THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS FOR THIS PROGRAM.
THE FEEDBACK THAT I RECEIVED THEN, AND WHICH I CONTINUE TO RECEIVE IS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS FEEL THAT THE DRS ARE THEIR PERSONAL POLICE OFFICERS BECAUSE OF THE VERY CLOSE WORKING RELATIONSHIP THAT THEY HAVE WITH OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO LIEUTENANT, UH, LEE DAVIS, WHO WILL BE PROVIDING AN OVERVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATE OF RDR PROGRAM, INCLUDING CHANGES THAT WERE REQUIRED BY OUR INITIAL REAPPLICATION, UH, THAT OCCURRED IN, IN, UH, LATE JANUARY TO ADDRESS STAFFING SHORTAGES.
I WILL STAY ON, UM, FOR, UH, THE DURATION OF THE PRESENTATION AND WE'LL BE AVAILABLE TO HELP ANSWER ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AT THE END.
BEFORE I BEGIN, ARE, ARE THEY GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN OR WILL THEY BE CONTROLLED IN POWERPOINT? OKAY.
IT'S TECHNICALLY UP TO YOU IF YOU WOULD RATHER DRIVE THE PRESENTATION.
I'D RATHER JUST SHARE MY SCREEN.
THE WAY WE USE AUDIO IS A FAN, SO WE CAN SEE NOW.
I NEED TO PULL THIS OVER HERE.
SO WHAT SCREEN ARE THEY? CAN YOU GUYS SEE MY SCREEN? WE'RE GETTING SOME FEEDBACK.
IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU MIGHT HAVE TWO MICROPHONES ACTIVATED OR MAYBE YOUR MIC IS JUST TOO CLOSE TO THE SPEAKERS.
ARE WE GOOD NOW? YES, THAT SOUNDS BETTER.
WHAT I'M TRYING TO DO IS SEE THAT'S MINE.
SO FIRST OF ALL, UM, I'M FROM THE OLD SCHOOL.
SO GIVING HONOR TO THE, UH, MAYOR ADLER, UH, MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, T UH, HOPPER, MADISON, UH, TO COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, UM, GREETINGS AND GOOD AFTERNOON TO EVERYONE, UH, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT I HAVE NOT YET HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO MEET.
I AM LIEUTENANT DAVIS, I'M THE SUPERVISOR OF THE NORTH BUREAU DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, WHICH IS MAINLY PARTS CENTRAL AND NORTH AUSTIN.
UH, I JUST WANT TO SAY THAT I'M WONDERFULLY DELIGHTED AND DEEPLY HONORED TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM.
UM, WHAT MY GOAL IS, I JUST WANT TO ACCOMPLISH FOUR THINGS.
ONE IS I WANT TO GIVE AN OVERVIEW OF THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM.
NUMBER TWO IS I WANT TO SHOW HOW THE DRS, UH, AND DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES I'LL USE THAT INTERCHANGEABLY, HOW THEY CAN BE USEFUL TO YOU.
AND OF COURSE, TO OUR COMMUNITY, I'M GOING TO TALK JUST BRIEFLY ABOUT OUR STAFFING.
AND THEN I WANT TO SHOW YOU HOW TO FIND YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
SO I'M JUST GOING TO JUMP EXCUSE ME AND I IS THE SCREEN CHANGING.
THIS IS THE SCREEN THAT WE'RE SEEING.
WE'RE STILL ON THE FIRST SLIDE.
[01:15:02]
WAIT A MINUTE.SO I'LL JUST JUMP RIGHT IN WHILE VRS ARE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, UM, OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, WE ARE ENGAGED WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY MISSION, AND, BUT IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE TASKED WITH A MYRIAD OF OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES.
UM, BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL THING THAT YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT WE SOLVE PROBLEMS AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL.
SO WE DO THAT BY ATTENDING COMMUNITY MEETINGS, WE FORM STAKEHOLDER GROUPS AND HOMEOWNER ASSOCIATION MEETINGS.
WE DO THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH MEETINGS AND TOWN HALL MEETINGS, BUT WHAT WOULD BE MORE FAMILIAR TO YOU IS WHAT IS HOW WE HANDLE CAST THOSE CITIZEN ASSISTANCE FORMS. AND THAT WILL SOUND SOMETHING LIKE CITIZEN X COMPLAINTS, OR HAS A GRIEVANCE AND SAYS, HEY, THERE'S SOME, SOME CRIMINAL ACT OR SOMETHING OF CRIMINAL RATES ARE GOING OR LONG SYSTEMIC PROBLEM IN MY COMMUNITY.
AND I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU AND YOUR POLICE DEPARTMENT ARE DOING ABOUT IT.
THAT INFORMATION THROUGH PROCESS WILL MAKE ITS WAY TO THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES AND THAT WE RECOGNIZE YOU NEED TO PROVIDE, UH, IN A TIMELY MANNER, A REASONABLE IMPROVEMENT RESPONSE.
MOST OF THE TIMES, WE'RE EITHER ALREADY WORKING ON THAT ISSUE AND WE HAVE SOME DEGREE OF EXPERTISE OF WHAT'S GOING ON, AND WE TRY TO GET THAT INFORMATION INFORMATION BACK TO YOU IN A TIMELY FASHION.
SO YOU CAN RESPOND TO THOSE CONSTITUENTS, UM, EXCUSE ME, AND A GREAT EXAMPLE.
AND THIS IS ONE OF THE THINGS I'M EXCITED ABOUT, UM, THE DIRECTION OUR PROGRAM IS GOING ON.
AND I CERTAINLY WHOLLY INVITE YOU GUYS TO BE PARTICIPANTS.
WE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY, WE PUT THINGS IN BUCKETS.
LIKE THERE ARE CERTAIN TIME THEIR CRIME PANICS, UM, THEIR CRIME SPIKES AND THEN THEIR BULLET FIVE LONG-TERM CRIMINAL, UH, UM, UH, CRIME ISSUES.
AND SO, UH, UH, AND WHAT WE DID IS LIKE, UH, I'M JUST USING AN EXAMPLE.
THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENED, UH, MAYBE A YEAR AGO, UM, FORMER COUNCILMAN FLANAGAN'S OFFICE.
WE HAD AN INCIDENT THAT WAS A HUGE CRIME PANIC, AND HIS OFFICE WAS GETTING INUNDATED WITH CALLS.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH HIM.
AND WHAT WE DID WAS WE SIMPLY AGREED THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETING.
AND SO WE HAD A TOWN HALL MEETING WHERE WE FACILITATED THAT MEETING.
WE WERE ABLE TO, UM, UH, W I HEARD COUNCILMAN MARK HARPER SAY EARLIER, UH, EARLIER THAT MISINFORMATION GETS OUT THERE.
WELL, WE ALL KNOW MISINFORMATION BREEDS FEAR.
SO WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO IS DISCREET THING WAS THAT THIS WAS SIMPLY A CRIME PANIC.
THERE'S NO FURTHER HARM TO THE PUBLIC, BUT WHAT WE ALSO WERE ABLE TO DO IS UPDATE THE PUBLIC ON A PRIZE DEMO, THE EFFORTS THAT WERE BEING MADE AND LET THEM KNOW WHAT THEY CAN EXPECT IN THE, IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE.
SO, AS I, UM, JUST TO GO FOR OUR, THE, UH, DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAM, IT WAS CREATED IN 1998.
THE PURPOSE OF IT WAS TO BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
AND THAT WOULD ALSO IN TURN ENHANCE OUR COMMUNITY POLICING MISSION.
SO I WANT TO FOCUS ON AND HIGHLIGHT THOSE THREE THINGS.
CAUSE THOSE WOULD BE, UH, THOSE WOULD ENCOMPASS THE FULLNESS OF WHAT I CALL COMMUNITY POLICING.
SO THE BUILDING, THE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS, HANG ON, EXCUSE ME, THE BUILDING, THE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP PART POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP IS NOT A SINGLE EVENT.
UH, IT, IT REQUIRES DOING THE RIGHT THING CONSISTENTLY OVER TIME.
WHAT THAT DOES IS THAT BUILDS PUBLIC TRUST AND PUBLIC CONFIDENCE.
UM, WE RECOGNIZE, UH, WE DON'T POLICE IT A MICROCOSM AND ANY SINGLE ACTION ON GOOD INTERN FRACTURE, SEVERELY FRACTURED THAT PUBLIC TRUST AND PUBLIC CONFIDENCE.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE UNDERSTAND OUR COMMUNITIES.
WE BUY THAT'S IMPORTANT BY ITS VERY NATURE.
WE'RE GOING TO INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH COMMUNITIES.
WE'RE IN THEIR HOMES, WE'RE IN THEIR LIVES.
AND PARTICULARLY WE'RE IN THEIR HOMES AND THEIR LIVES AT BOULEVARD, EXCUSE ME, WHEN IT'S VULNERABLE, WHEN THEY ARE VULNERABLE.
SO IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, UH, MOVE TOWARD BUILDING THOSE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BY DOING THE RIGHT THING CONSISTENTLY OVER TIME THROUGH ENGAGEMENT.
SO WHEN I TALK ABOUT ENGAGEMENT, WHAT I'M REALLY TALKING ABOUT IS HAVING MEANINGFUL, REWARDING AND ENGAGING DIALOGUE.
I RECENTLY TALKED TO, UM, UH, DOCTOR, UM, DR.
BRADY WHO AUTHORED OUR MATRIX REPORT AND THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DID FIVE, UH, IDENTIFIED DEFICIENCIES.
AND WHEN HE DID THAT, I ASKED HIM, I SAID, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP IN COMM AND COMMUNITY POLICING? AND HE SAID, MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY POLICING.
AND I WAS REALLY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT BECAUSE THAT'S THE DIRECTION WE WERE GOING.
SO WE HAVE TO HAVE MEANINGFUL, REWARDING, ENGAGING DIALOGUE SO THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT PEOPLE ARE ASKING, WHAT THEY WANT.
AND WE FOUND OUT THAT PEOPLE WHO WANT TO BE HEARD, THEY WANT TO BE VALIDATED AND THEY WANT US TO DO SOMETHING.
SOMETHING THAT WE DO HAS TO BE THE RIGHT THING CONSISTENTLY
[01:20:01]
OVER TIME.SO IT'S SDRS OR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, IT'S UP TO US AND TO FIND OUT WHERE PEOPLE ARE IN THAT PARADIGM.
AND THEN WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO MEET THEM THERE.
NOW THE, WHEN I TALK ABOUT COMMUNITY POLICING, THAT PORTION OF IT, IT'S IMPORTANT, UM, TO UNDERSTAND A COUPLE OF THINGS, COMMUNITY POLICING IS NOT THE UNIT, SO WE'RE NOT PEOPLE SAY, HEY, THAT'S THE COMMUNITY POLICING UNIT.
AND I WANT TO STRESS THAT COMMUNITY POLICING IS, SHOULD BE WOVEN THROUGH THE FABRIC OF THE ORGANIZATION AND NOT HOUSED IN A UNIT.
NOW, WHEN YOU, I SAY THAT TO SAY THAT WHEN YOU SPEAK TO A COMMUNITY POLICING OR A DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE OFFICER, THEY DO IN FACT HAVE A UNIQUE SKILLSET.
AND, UH, THEY, WE WORKED SO CLOSELY WITH SO MANY OTHER ENTITIES AND AGENCIES, UM, THAT WE DEVELOP A UNIQUE, UH, WE'RE, WE'RE LEARNING OTHER MEASURES OF LOSS.
SO WHEN YOU TALK TO A DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, BRINGING SOLUTIONS AT THE, AT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LEVEL, WE HAVE TO BE, UH, HAVE INFUSED IN US CODE ENFORCEMENT, HEALTH DEPARTMENT, SOLID WASTE SERVICES, TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND WE NEED TO KNOW THE WHOLE, UH, A HOST OF OTHER RESOURCES FOR PEOPLE, WHETHER WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH RESOURCES, WHERE WE TALKING ABOUT ECHO, CAUSE WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO GO IN AND BRING THOSE RESOURCES, RESOURCES FOR US, UH, EXCUSE ME.
SO WHAT, UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF, UM, UH, JUST A, UH, AN OVERVIEW, UH, KIND OF, OF HOW OUR PHILOSOPHY MOVES TOWARD BUILDING THOSE TRUSTING RELATIONSHIPS THAT IT, SO I JUST WANT TO GO READ, UH, SHARE WITH YOU WHAT COMMUNITY POLICING MEANS TO AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND IT'S BUILDING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS, ONE CONTACT AT A TIME BY BEING PRESENT, ENGAGED AND VISIBLE IN OUR COMMUNITY THAT WE WANT TO ADDRESS CRIME.
UM, WE WANT TO IMPROVE THE WELLBEING OF BOSTON RESIDENTS AND VISITORS.
AND THE REASON I SAY FEAR OF CRIME, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KNOW THAT VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES AND PARTICULARLY ELDERLY COMMUNITIES, IF THEY'RE HAVE THE FEAR OF CRIME, IT'S, IT'S IMPACTING THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE.
THEY GO THROUGH THE SAME EMOTIONAL SPECTRUM AS IF THEY ACTUALLY EXPERIENCED THAT CRIME.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT WHILE WE'RE IN THESE COMMUNITIES THAT, UM, THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GIVING THEM A CUSTOMIZED EXPERIENCE WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
NOW, WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMUNITY POLICING, THERE ARE SOME CHALLENGES.
AND, AND I JUST LOVE THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE I LOVE TO EAT, BREATHE, EAT, SLEEP, AND BREATHE, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
UM, UM, THE, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES ARE THE VARIATIONS AND DEFINITIONS OF WHAT COMMUNITY POLICING IS.
SO WHETHER YOU ASK A PRACTITIONER AND EDUCATOR, A PHILOSOPHER, A SOCIAL JUSTICE ACTIVIST, BOOTS ON THE GROUND, ACADEMICS OR EXECUTIVES, OR EVEN COMMUNITY MEMBERS THEMSELVES, YOU'RE GOING TO GET A VARIATION OF DEFINITIONS OF WHAT COMMUNITY POLICING IS.
THE CONSTANT IS NO MATTER HOW MANY DEFINITIONS YOU GIVE.
THE ONE THING IS FOR CERTAIN, AS PEOPLE KNOW IT, WHEN THEY SEE IT, THE, UM, UH, THE PHILOSOPHERS TEND TO SAY COMMUNITY POLICING IS A PHILOSOPHY.
THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT TAKES IT TO THE NEXT STEP AND SAID, COMMUNITY POLICING IS NOT ONLY A PHILOSOPHY.
UM, I WANT TO JUST GIVE, UH, I DON'T, I KNOW WHERE WE'RE WE HAVE TO, WE HAVE SOME TIME CONSTRAINTS.
SO THE, THE, THE UNIVERSITY, THE UK COLLEGE OF POLICING, ITS DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS THE PROCESS OF ENABLING CITIZENS AND COMMUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE IN POLICING AT THEIR CHOSEN LEVELS.
SO WHEN I SAID, WE HAVE TO FIND WHERE THEY ARE AND MEET THEM.
THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
THAT'S KNOWN AS COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND THIS RANGES FROM PROVIDING INFORMATION, UH, UH, SURE.
IT'S TO EMPOWER THEM, TO IDENTIFY AND IMPLEMENT SOLUTIONS TO LOCAL PROBLEMS AND INFLUENCE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND DECISIONS.
SO I'M GOING TO MOVE ON AND I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR, OUR STAFFING AND I HOPE, HOPE Y'ALL FOUND SOME VALUE IN THAT.
AND BEFORE I MOVE ON, I STRONGLY WANT TO ENCOURAGE YOU AND INVITE YOU TO REACH OUT, TO OFFERS TO OUR OFFICES, A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
WE WOULD LOVE TO PARTNER WITH YOU.
AND SOMETIMES IT'S BENEFICIAL TO JUST TOUCH BASES, TO SEE WHAT YOU'RE HEARING, SEE IF WE'RE HEARING THE SAME THING SO WE CAN OFFER A BETTER PRODUCT TO OUR CITY.
SO BEFORE REALLOCATIONS, UM, WE, UH, IF YOU FOLLOW ALONG, WE HAD, THERE WERE FIVE SERGEANTS AND 37 OFFICERS, AND THEY WERE SPREAD ACROSS, UH, ROUGHLY, UH, FOUR REGIONS AND THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
SO THE ADVANTAGES OF THAT IS WE JUST HAD A BUNDANCE OF OFFICER OFFICERS TO ATTEND COMMUNITY EVENTS.
AGAIN, I HAVE TO STRESS THAT ATTENDING A COMMUNITY POLICING ISN'T AT THE EVENT ITSELF.
UM, I KNOW WE'RE STRESSED ON TIME, BUT I WOULD JUST WANT TO SHARE A QUICK STORY TO HELP BRING THAT TOGETHER.
UM, MANY YEARS AGO I HAD A ROOKIE OFFICER ATTEND AN EVENT THAT I WAS AT, AND THEN I ALSO HAD ONE OF MY BUDDIES.
AND DURING THAT, UM, EVENT THAT WE WERE ATTENDING, UM, I HANDED OUT A, I DON'T KNOW, A STICKER OR A BALLOON TO A KID.
[01:25:01]
THAT'S GREAT.SO WE CAN DO COMMUNITY PLACES.
AND MY BUDDY WAS ACTIVIST SAYS, HEY, THAT'S TERRIBLE.
AND BOTH OF THE MISSED ALL OF THE WORK THAT LED TO THAT POINT, I'D SAY COMMUNITY POLICING.
IT'S, UM, HARD TO DESCRIBE, UH, IT'S EASY TO MISS, BUT PEOPLE KNOW IT WHEN THEY SEE IT.
SO, SO, UM, TH THE DISCOUNT OF ALL THE INTENSE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION AND MEETINGS, AND THAT WAS THE DAY I CAME UP WITH IT, I SAID, THE VERACITY OF OUR COMMITMENT MUST BE PREDICATED ON A FIERCE BELIEF THAT SAFE, VIBRANT, HEALTHY, AND THRIVING COMMUNITIES ARE NOT ACCIDENTAL.
NOW THAT IS THE WORK OF CO MULTI-AGENCY COLLABORATIVE COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
AND WE SHOULD HAVE A PARTNERSHIP PARTIAL PARTNERSHIP FOCUSED ON A UNIFIED VISION OF A SUSTAINABLE, ACCEPTABLE QUALITY OF LIFE.
UH, THAT, THAT, THAT WAS CAME OUT OF THAT.
SO AGAIN, BEFORE REALLOCATION, WE HAD, UM, WE HAD, UH, I WENT THROUGH THIS FIVE SERGEANTS AND 37 OFFICERS POST REALLOCATIONS MOVED, MOVED TOWARD THREE SERGEANTS, 18 OFFICERS, AND WE SUPPLEMENTED THOSE OFFICERS WITH WHAT WE CALL IT, NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISONS.
I JUST WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISONS.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANTED TO DO IS PARTICULARLY A D DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE TO SAY, HOW CAN WE IMPACT NOT ONLY POLICE SUBCULTURE, COMMUNITY CULTURE AND IN OUR HANDS AND WHAT POLICING IS GOING TO LOOK LIKE IN THE COMMUNITY? WELL, THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISONS ARE, ARE, ARE FOLKS WHO ARE SIGNED UP TO GO TO THE POLICE ACADEMY IS, IS THEY'RE ASSIGNED TO OUR OFFICE WHERE WE'RE IMMERSING THEM IN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMMING BEFORE PARTICIPATING IN THE ACADEMY.
SO WHEN, WHEN THEY'RE TRAINED, THEY WILL BE THE FUTURE.
AND THEN THE OFFICERS THAT WERE, THAT WERE, THAT WERE THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE, WE FLED, WE'VE PUT SOME OF THOSE BACK ON THE STREETS.
SO THAT, THAT, THAT CULTURE, UH, THOSE RESOURCES CAN ALSO BE A BENEFIT, GET THE BENEFIT ON THE PATROL OFFICERS.
UH, SO WE'RE MOVING TOWARD RETRAINING, ALL OF OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A UNIFORM RESPONSE.
NOW THERE'S NO COOKIE CUTTER BECAUSE DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES, RIGHT? DIFFERENT CONCERNS AND DIFFERENT ISSUES THAT NEED TO BE RESOLVED.
UH, NOW, UM, THIS GREEN UP HERE THAT THE, UH, THE ELEMENTS OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THOSE.
I, UM, I, BUT I JUST NEEDED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE OF PARTS ABOUT THAT WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT COMMITTEE HUMANITIES.
SO, UM, SO ONE OF THE OFFICERS SAW THAT AND HE SAID, THAT'S A NO BRAINER.
OF COURSE, YOU HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE COMMUNITY.
WELL, WHAT'S MISSING IS CAMINO COMMUNITIES ARE NOT JUST GEOGRAPHIC LOCATIONS.
PEOPLE CAN BELONG TO MORE THAN ONE COMMUNITY.
THERE COULD BE COMMUNITIES WITHIN COMMUNITIES.
FOR EXAMPLE, I I'M PART OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT COMMUNITY, BUT I ALSO LIVE IN EAST AUSTIN.
SO I'M PART OF THE EAST AUSTIN COMMUNITY.
WELL, IT TURNS OUT I'M AN AFRICAN AMERICAN I'M PART, I'M PART OF THAT COMMUNITY.
I'M A MEMBER OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS AND MANY OF THOSE GROUPS THAT ARE IN MY COMMUNITY.
SO MY TURNS OUT, MY DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE IS OFFICER PARRISH.
AND WHEN HE SHOWS UP, I EXPECT HIM TO WEAR THE RIGHT HAT, TO WEAR A BUNCH OF HATS AND ADDRESS THE COMMUNITY, THESE SPEAKING TO.
SO THAT, THAT ONE THAT SAYS, IDENTIFY COMMUNITY OR COMMUNITIES PRESENT AREA.
THERE'S A, THERE'S A LITTLE THOUGHT WITH IT.
AGAIN, WE WANT TO WORK WITH THE COMMUNITY.
WE WANT OUR APPROACHES TO BE COMMUNITY LED AND US TO BE A LINK IN THE CHAIN AND NOT THE LEAD.
UM, WE HAVE TO FIND, UH, W W ONE OF THE BYPRODUCTS OF THAT IS WHEN WE'RE NOT, WHEN WE'RE IN A LINK OF THE CHAIN AND NOT THE LEAF, WHEN CRISIS HAPPENS, WE HAVE A BUILT IN CRISIS MANAGEMENT TEAM, AND WE ALREADY HAVE ACCOUNTABILITY AND EXPECTATIONS AND THROUGH RELATIONSHIP DOING THE RIGHT THING CONSISTENTLY OVER TIME, WE BUILT SOMETHING THAT WE CAN MOVE THE NEEDLE FORWARD.
SO, UM, THE OTHER ONE, I WANT TO JUST COMMENT ON, WHEN WE SAY AN POWER POLICE SHOULD MAKE DECISIONS AND ACT, THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, OUR HARM INDEX AND WHAT I SAY.
IT'S NOT WE'RE GIVING, WE'RE NOT GIVING OFFICERS THE GO GIVING THEM ALL POWER.
WHEN I SAY, UM, WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT IS DISCRETION TO DO.
UM, SO, UM, WE WOULD, SO THAT YOU'RE NOT YOU'RE IN, WELL, IN A NUTSHELL, YOU'RE INVOKING THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.
SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PART AND THE FINAL SCREEN.
SO THE STRATEGY THAT WE USE, IT'S CALLED HARM FOCUSED POLICE, AND IT'S CALLED THE HIGHT MODEL.
SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE WE'RE HARMED FOCUSED WHERE, AND THAT JUST, JUST AS IT SOUNDS BEFORE EVERY OPERATION OR INITIAL INITIATIVE, WE ACT HAVE TO ASK OURSELVES WHAT HARM COULD BE DONE AND HOW CAN WE AVOID THAT HARM? SO THE INTELLIGENCE, UH, INTELLIGENCE LED PART OF IT, AND THAT'S GOING BEYOND THE DATA.
AND WE WANT TO INCLUDE, INCLUDE THE HUMAN ELEMENT.
AND THAT'S IMPORTANT BECAUSE DATA DOES NOT ALWAYS REFLECT COMMUNITY SENTIMENT.
AND SO WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF THE COMMUNITY AND INVITE THE, UH, THE
[01:30:01]
HUMAN ELEMENT IN THERE.AND THEN WE HAVE TO BE PROBLEM ORIENTED.
UM, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING THE UNDERLYING ISSUES, UM, SURROUNDING THOSE PROBLEMS. THE LAST STORY IS I, I ATTENDED A COMMUNITY POLICING OR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND THEY, AND YOU GUYS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY SAW IT.
THERE'S A VIRAL VIDEO OF A LADY THAT CALLS NINE 11, BECAUSE SOME KIDS WERE PLAYING BASKETBALL IN THE STREETS.
THE OFFICER SHOWS UP AND YOU KNOW WHAT HE DOES.
HE SHOOTS A COUPLE OF HOOPS AND EVERYBODY CALLED THAT COMMUNITY POLICING.
I SAID, THAT'S NICE THAT HE DID THAT.
RIGHT, BUT THAT PAT THAT, BUT I THINK THAT'S JUST BEING WHAT EVERYBODY SHOULD BE.
THAT WAS NOT THE UNDERLYING ISSUE.
THE UNDERLYING ISSUES WAS NOT THAT THE KIDS WERE PLAYING THE BASKETBALL IN THE STREETS, THE UNDERLYING ISSUES THAT THE KIDS DIDN'T HAVE A SAFE PLACE FOR THE PE BASKETBALL.
SO THAT'S HOW WE TRAIN THE RS TO BE, TO BE A PROBLEM ORIENTED, DRIVEN, AND TO MAKE SURE WE'RE ADDRESSING UNDERLYING IDENTIFYING AND ADDRESSING UNDERLYING ISSUES.
AND THE LAST ONE IS JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING USING EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES.
WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO USING DATA AND RESEARCH.
AND WHAT WE WANT TO DO IS WE WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT WORKED, WHAT DIDN'T WORK AND WHAT'S PROMISING AND MAKE SURE WE'RE USING BEST PRACTICES.
NOW, I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YOU'RE SAYING LIEUTENANT DAVIS, YOU HAVE SAID ALL THESE WONDERFUL AND PROMISING THINGS.
SO HOW DO I FIND MY DISTRICT REP? AND I'M HERE TO SAY, I'M GLAD YOU ASKED.
SO THE ATLAS ONE APP IS A, A NATIONAL, UM, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY TOOL.
AND LET ME SEE IF I GO, I'M GOING TO GO HERE.
I'M GOING TO GO FORWARD AND THEN GO BACK.
WE HAVE A QR CODE, AND THERE'S THE APP, THE QR CODE.
EVEN IF YOU DO IT RIGHT NOW, PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN.
IT SHOULD TAKE YOU TO THE APP.
AND IT'LL, IT WILL TAKE YOU TO A WEBSITE.
UM, EXCUSE ME, THE APP WILL OPEN UP AND HAVE A LOT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, PARTICULARLY THE COMMUNITY.
AND I'M FOND OF THE COMMUNICATION PORTION THAT WILL LEAD YOU TO YOUR FINDING YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
IF I CAN JUST PAUSE, I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO OFFICER GABRIELSON, JUST TO EXPLAIN THAT TO YOU REAL QUICK.
IT SHOULDN'T TAKE MORE THAN A FEW SECONDS.
LIEUTENANT DAVIS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS AND, AND, UH, MAYOR PRETEND MAYOR EVERYBODY WELCOME.
AND THANKS FOR GIVING THIS OPPORTUNITY.
I JUST REALLY QUICK WANT TO FOCUS ON THE FINDING YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
WE'VE CURRENTLY UPDATED THE WEBSITE.
UH, SO IT'S EASIER TO FIND US.
AND SO WHEN YOU NOW GO TO THE CITY MAIN WEBPAGE, UH, WHICH I HAVE SHOWN THERE, AND YOU CLICK ON THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, YOU'LL GET THAT SCREEN, WHICH EXPLAINS WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT LIEUTENANT DAVIS JUST EXPLAINED THAT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE, THEY PUT IT IN BIG BOLD WORDS.
FIND MY DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
IF YOU CLICK ON THAT, IT TAKES YOU TO A LINK WHICH NOW HAS A MAP OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
AND IT HAS ALL 18 OF US ON THERE WITH WHAT REGION WE'RE ASSIGNED TO.
AND YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A PICTURE AND IT TELLS YOU WHERE WE'RE ASSIGNED.
SO YOU KNOW WHO YOUR DR LOOKS LIKE AND WHERE THEY'RE ASSIGNED, BUT LET'S SAY YOU DON'T MAYBE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT AREA WE'VE MADE IT EVEN MORE USER-FRIENDLY.
YOU CAN HIT A FOND IN MY VR, AND IT ACTUALLY HAS A PLACE TO ENTER YOUR ADDRESS.
ONCE YOU ENTER YOUR ADDRESS, IT'LL THEN TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT THE R'S FOR THAT AREA.
SO THERE'S REALLY TWO WAYS TO FIND US.
BUT THEN AS LIEUTENANT DAVIS MENTIONED, WE HAVE THE NEW APP, THE ATLAS ONE APP, WHICH IS A GREAT APP, AND I'VE BEEN MESSING AROUND WITH IT AND PLAYING WITH IT.
AND I'VE REALLY FOUND IT VERY USEFUL.
AND WHAT I DID FOR PURPOSES OF THIS PRESENTATION WAS WENT AHEAD AND PUT UP THE QR CODE.
AS LIEUTENANT DAVIS SAID, YOU CAN ACTUALLY TAKE YOUR, YOUR PHONES RIGHT NOW AND SCAN THAT QR CODE.
AND IT'LL TAKE YOU TO THE APP AND YOU CAN CREATE AN ACCOUNT WHICH IS COMPLETELY ANONYMOUS, AND YOU CAN START, START FINDING ALL OUTTA DATA.
THIS APP REPLACED THE OLD APD APP, UH, THAT WE HAD.
AND I BELIEVE IT WAS A LOT MORE USER-FRIENDLY FOR EXAMPLE, YOU GO TO THE ABOUT AP PAGE AND YOU CAN MAKE CONTACT WITH THE ADMINISTRATION.
YOU CAN LOOK AT POLICY NEWS RELIEF, UH, NEWS RELEASES, CHIEFS, MONTHLY REPORT.
WE EVEN HAVE AN INSTANT REPORT DATABASE WHERE YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO FIND A REPORT.
SO IF YOU WERE A VICTIM OF A CRIME AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE THE STATUS OF YOUR REPORT IS THAT THAT PAGE ALLOWS YOU TO DO THAT.
IT ALSO ALLOWS YOU TO CONTACT REPORT SALES, CENTRAL RECORDS.
UM, AND I THINK A REALLY COOL FEATURE IS IT GIVES YOU ACCESS TO TWITTER, FACEBOOK, UH, ALL OF OUR SOCIAL MEDIA.
SO EVEN IF YOU DON'T SUBSCRIBE OR HAVE THOSE ACCOUNTS, PERSONALLY, YOU CAN STILL FOLLOW AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT ON THOSE PLATFORMS THROUGH, UH, THIS APP.
WE ALSO HAVE A RECRUITING PORTION OF THE APP, WHICH LINKS YOU TO EVERYTHING YOU NEED.
UH, FOR THE, FOR THE, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT BECOMING AN OFFICER POLICE OFFICER, WE HAVE THE WHOLE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT SECTION.
TO ME, THAT IS A REALLY GOOD SECTION BECAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF PROGRAMS ON THERE, LIKE THE COMMUNITY BIKE PROGRAM, WHICH MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT A WAY TO ACTUALLY ENTER YOUR BIKES A NUMBER INTO A DATABASE.
SO IF IT WERE TO GET STOLEN, WE HAVE A WAY TO ACTUALLY
[01:35:01]
FIND THE BICYCLE AND FIND IT THROUGH A PAWN SHOP BY GIVING IT TO OUR POND UNIT, UM, WHICH MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THAT WE ALSO HAVE THE FINDER JUST RECORD.WE FIND YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE ON THERE, WHICH YOU CLICK ON THAT, AND IT GIVES YOU THE SAME MAP.
THAT'S ON THE WEBPAGE THAT I JUST SHOWED YOU.
AND THE SAME FEATURES TO BE ABLE TO ENTER YOUR ADDRESS AND FIND AND CONNECT AN EMAIL OR CALL YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
YOU ALSO CAN GO AND FIND POLICE EXPLORERS, RIDE ALONG PROGRAMS, THE WHO, THE APD SAFE PLACE PROGRAM, WHICH IS OUTSTANDING.
ALL OF OUR DIFFERENT THINGS ARE ALL LOCATED IN ONE AREA UNDER THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TAB, ALONG WITH APD SUBSTATIONS, CONTACT US CITY AND STATE RESOURCES.
UM, WE'VE GOT ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT WE HAVE THERE, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT PEOPLE CAN'T UNDER THE FACTS AND QUESTIONS YOU CAN, UH, FIND OUT IF YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET A CRASH REPORT, WE GET A LOT OF PHONE CALLS INTO OUR OFFICE.
HEY, HOW DO I GET A CRASH REPORT? THIS APP IS A WAY FOR THEM TO FIND THAT AS WELL.
THEY CAN ALSO GET SEX OFFENDER INFORMATION.
THEY CAN GET ALL KINDS OF THINGS ON YOUR NOISE COMPLAINT, INFORMATION, HOW TO FILE A NOISE COMPLAINT, UH, DOWNTOWN AT THE MUNICIPAL COURT.
UM, IT JUST, THEY CAN GET A PULL OF THE FINANCIAL CRIMES UNIT.
I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND I'LL HOLD YOU UP RIGHT THERE.
UH, I APPRECIATE THE, UH, THE PRESENTATION BY YOU AND, AND LIEUTENANT DAVIS.
I DO WANT TO GIVE, UH, THE COMMITTEE A FEW MINUTES TO ASK QUESTIONS.
I APPRECIATE THAT CHIEF CHECK HOME AND THANK YOU BOTH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
IT WAS GOOD AND ENTHUSIASTIC, AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO PULL IT.
SO KEEP LISTENING AT THIS TIME TO OFFER MY COLLEAGUES AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS, ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR GUESTS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER TBA.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT NO, MY OFFICE IS REALLY A VERY BENEFICIAL, UM, RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES AND THAT I'M IN BAKER AND, UM, INSTITUTES ARE REALLY BIG FANS OF THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAM.
UM, I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT, UM, I WANTED TO, FIRST OF ALL, MAKE SURE THAT THE, UM, FIND YOUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE WAS UPDATED WITH RESPECT TO CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.
AND THEN WHAT HAPPENS? AND THIS MAY BE A QUESTION I'M NOT SURE WHO THIS IS A QUESTION FOR, OR IF THIS IS THE APPROPRIATE FORUM.
SO LET'S SAY WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE CADET ACADEMY.
WE SCHEDULED TO START IN THAT ACADEMY.
WHO'S GOING TO THOSE ROLES, WHICH WERE FILLING THE ROLES OF OTHER OFFICERS.
SO, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, I'LL GO AHEAD AND, UH, I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE YOUR QUESTION.
UM, I THINK THAT WE DO NEED TO LOOK AT THAT TO DETERMINE IF WE HAVE, UM, THE ABILITY TO, TO BACKFILL THOSE POSITIONS.
YOU KNOW, THOSE ARE A CIVILIAN POSITIONS WHEN WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT, I THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE FLEXIBILITY, UH, WITH THOSE, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT YOU RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF GETTING THOSE, THOSE, UM, THOSE FOLKS INTO OUR CADET ACADEMY AND, AND, UH, THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT BACKGROUND FROM HAVING BEEN, UH, YOU KNOW, AND, AND PERFORMING THE, THE, THE ROLE OF THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.
AND THEY'RE COMING IN WITH AN EVEN BETTER IDEA OF, OF, UH, OF THAT SERVICE, THAT, UH, ORIENTATION THAT WE REALLY WANT FROM OUR OFFICERS.
BUT, UM, BUT I THINK THAT WE DO NEED TO LOOK AND SEE HOW WE'RE GOING TO, AND I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER RIGHT NOW.
SO APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR HONESTY IN THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I TALKED WITH YOU BEFORE YOU WERE APPOINTED, UM, THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE PROGRAM WAS ONE OF THE PROGRAMS THAT I EXPRESSED, UM, A DESIRE TO SUPPORT AND TO, UM, TO PUT BACK TO RE ET CETERA.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS MAY NOT BE THE TIME TO HAVE THAT FULL DISCUSSION.
I APPRECIATED, UM, YOUR COMMITMENT AT THAT POINT, UM, TO THE PROGRAM.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT YOU DO EVERYTHING YOU CAN TO PRIORITIZE, KEEPING THIS PROGRAM INTACT, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THOSE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES NEED TO BE FOUND TO PUT BACK INTO IT.
UM, IT REALLY IS INVALUABLE IN OUR EXPERIENCE, UH, BOTH FOR THE ACTUAL AND PERCEIVED SAFETY IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND, UM, MY DISTRICT HAS BEEN FORTUNATE TO HAVE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES TO HAVE BEEN OPERATING IN
[01:40:01]
THOSE AIRY AREAS SOMETIMES MORE THAN A DECADE, AND YOU CANNOT EASILY REPLACE THAT, UM, EXPERIENCE.SO I HOPE THAT WE MOVE THROUGH THIS PROCESS THAT YOU WILL COMMIT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIZING THIS AREA FOR INVESTMENT.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I'VE HEARD FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY FROM COUNCIL, I'VE HEARD FROM, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND I'VE HEARD FROM OUR OWN, OUR OWN OFFICERS AND THAT ALL SEE THE GREAT VALUE IN THE DR PROGRAM.
AND SO WE ARE CERTAINLY, UH, LOOKING AT HOW WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE PRIORITIES AND ARE TAKING THAT INTO ACCOUNT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? OH, I'M SORRY.
COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
AND THANKS TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
I THINK I DON'T HAVE, I HAVE FAR FEWER QUESTIONS I DID IN THE BEGINNING.
MINE WERE SOME OF THE SAME, SO I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST UNDERSCORE, UM, HOW VALUABLE MY OFFICE HAS FOUND, UM, OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES THROUGH THE YEARS, THEY ARE TREMENDOUSLY HELPFUL, UM, IN ALL THE WAYS WHO SUGGESTED LIEUTENANT DAVIDSON.
I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR THAT PRESENTATION THAT REALLY PUTS, PUTS THAT WORK IN A FULLER CONTEXT THAT IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL.
UM, AND I, AND I REGARD IT AS A HIGH PRIORITY TO ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE WELL STAFFED.
I LIKE THE I'D LIKE THE ARRANGEMENT OF HAVING, UM, INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE IN QUEUE FOR THE POLICE ACADEMY SERVE IN THAT CAPACITY.
THAT SEEMS TO BE REALLY BENEFICIAL.
I WOULD THINK THAT THAT'S BEEN BENEFICIAL, NOT JUST FOR THEM, BUT ALSO FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO I'D BE INTERESTED IN JUST UNDERSTANDING WHETHER THAT'S A MODEL THAT YOU WOULD WANT TO CONTINUE.
UM, EVEN IF THE STAFFING ALLOWED FOR EVEN IF THE STAFFING HADN'T NECESSITATED THAT, IS THERE A VALUE TO THAT IN TERMS OF THE MODEL? UM, AND I ALSO WANTED TO, YOU KNOW, ONE THING I'VE NEVER REALLY FULLY UNDERSTOOD IS WHETHER DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, WHETHER YOU'VE CONTACT, WHETHER THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CONTEMPLATED HAVING DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE CYCLE OUT OF THAT ROLE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME AND BE PATROL OFFICERS AND THEN CYCLE BACK AND THAT, UM, HAVE, YOU KNOW, HAVE THAT, UH, EXPERIENCE IN DIFFERENT ARENAS ON A REGULARIZED BASIS.
I GUESS THAT'S A QUESTION FOR YOU LIEUTENANT DAVIS, UM, WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I CAN, I'LL ANSWER THE FIRST PART OF YOUR QUESTION, AND THEN I'LL GO TO LIEUTENANT DAVIS FOR THE SECOND PART.
UM, SO I DO, I THINK WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW IS IN, IN, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW WE ARE CHANGING THE, UM, THE CURRICULUM AND DOING THE CURRICULUM REVIEW TO SEE HOW THAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THEY HAVE GAINED FROM, FROM, UM, HAVING DONE THAT EFFORT FOR A LITTLE WHILE, THERE'S ALSO THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PIECE THAT WE'RE INSTALLING AT THE BEGINNING, UH, POTENTIALLY THAT IS GOING TO BE VERY HEAVILY FOCUSED ON THIS TYPE OF WORK FOR ALL OF OUR CADETS.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME AREAS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT DOING THAT IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO COME, THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THE REVIEW PROCESS AS WE GO THROUGH THIS KIND OF, UH, YOU KNOW, RE-IMAGINED CLASS AND HOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS.
AND THEN I'LL GET TO LIEUTENANT DAVIS TO ANSWER YOUR SECOND QUESTION.
I'M SORRY, CAN YOU GUYS HEAR ME? OKAY.
UM, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSCORE WHAT CHIEF WAS SAYING AND, AND, AND YOUR, UM, AND YOUR CONCERNS AND IDEAS.
I TH I THINK THAT THIS WILL BE A VALUABLE TEACHING, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US AND TO ACTUALLY IMPACT, UH, POLICE SUBCULTURE.
AND THAT'S JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION.
I THINK WITH ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON IS NOT ONLY JUST ARE YOU GOING THROUGH THE TRAINING, WE'VE MET WITH THEM AND SAYS, WHILE YOU'RE GOING THROUGH THE ACADEMY, WE NEED YOU TO GIVE US FEEDBACK AND, AND KEEP YOUR MOST OF WHAT YOU'RE HEARING IS WHAT WE'RE TEACHING CONSISTENT WITH.
WHAT'S BEING, WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU'RE BEING TAUGHT OR WHAT YOU'RE FEELING AROUND YOU.
AND IF WE'VE MADE SOME ERIC COME BACK TO US, SO WE CAN GET CLARIFICATION OR CONTEXT TO HOW, HOW, WHAT WAS SAID TO YOU OR WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU BELIEVE AND LET US KNOW THAT THE OTHER PORTION OF THAT IS WE ARE CREATING A PRO UH, A, UH, TRAINING, UM, UH, OFFICER GABRIELSON, WHO YOU JUST HEARD FROM CREATED A 40 HOUR CP COMMUNITY POLICING TRAINING CURRICULUM FOR THOSE OFFICERS WHO THOSE NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON, UM, COMPLETED.
AND WE HOPE TO KEEP IN PLAY FOR FOLKS, MAYBE, UH, CONSERVE SEATS FOR FOLKS THAT ARE INTERESTED IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
HEY, IF YOU COMPLETE THIS NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON TRAINING, THEN MAYBE THAT WILL GIVE SOME FAVOR AGAIN, THAT'S I I'M AT THE IMPLEMENTATION LEVEL LEVEL.
SO, UM, SO I DON'T PARTICIPATE THAT HIGH UP.
UM, THOSE WERE JUST SOME OF THE IDEAS THAT WE FLOATED AROUND FROM OUR EXPERIENCES AS ACTUALLY DEALING WITH THE NEIGHBORHOOD LIAISON, AND THEY ASK QUESTIONS, UM, ABOUT HOW THINGS MAY CHANGE WHEN THEY GET IN THE ACADEMY.
[01:45:01]
AND WE, AND I, AND TO BE QUITE FRANK, WE HAVE OPEN AS A MEANINGFUL AND AS TRUTHFUL DIALOGUE.AND, AND WE EXPRESS THE STAKES ARE HIGH AND THE IMPORTANCE OF THEM UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO TEACH THEM, AND THAT THEY CARRY IT WITH THEM, BUT IT'S NOT SOMETHING WRITTEN ON A WALL, BUT YOU INSCRIBE THAT IN YOUR HEART AND THIS, AND BE THE PERSON THAT WE'RE TRAINING YOU AND CARRY THESE VALUES WITH YOU WHILE YOU'RE, WHILE YOU STARTING THE ACADEMY AND THROUGH YOUR CAREER.
AND THEN WE WILL BE A SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR YOU.
SO, UM, THE, THE, THE THING ABOUT CYCLING DER'S OUT, WELL, I JUST WANT TO TALK ABOUT DRS ARE PATROL OFFICERS AND THEY DO DO POLICE ACTIVITIES, RIGHT? UM, IT TAKES A GREAT DEGREE OF SKILLSET.
I DON'T WANT TO, UM, UM, UM, WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL BASED.
SO WHEN YOU STARTED THE, UM, A LOT OF OFFICERS FIND OUT REALLY QUICKLY, HOW STRESSFUL AND HOW, HOW YOU'RE, YOU'RE DRINKING FROM A YOU'RE DRINKING FROM A WATER HOSE OF HOW IT, HOW IT, HOW MUCH INFORMATION IS COMING AT YOU AND HOW QUICKLY, HOW YOU GOTTA BE ON TOP OF IT IN TERMS OF BRING LEARNING WHAT THE RESOURCES ARE, WHERE ARE THEY LOCATED AND DEVELOPING CONTACTS.
SO ARE, YOU MENTIONED, YOU HAVE DRS THAT HAVE BEEN VRS FOR 10 YEARS, AND THEY HAVE A WEALTH OF KNOWLEDGE AND CONTACTS WITHIN OTHER AGENCIES.
AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, W IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE ROTATING THEM OUT, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT ROTATING NEW RELATIONSHIPS IN THAT MAY NOT.
UM, THAT TOOK TIME TO BUILD, UH, I HAVE A, I HAVE RELATIONSHIPS ALL OVER AUSTIN FROM ME BEING ADR 17 YEARS AGO.
SO ALL THOSE RELATIONSHIPS SPOKE STEEL, CALL ME WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS, THEY SAY, HEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THIS? OR WHAT ARE YOUR STANCE ABOUT THIS? AND SO THOSE ARE THE, THEY'RE NOT, THEY'RE NOT JUST WORK RELATIONSHIPS, THEY'RE TRUE RELATIONSHIPS THAT WE WORK TO BUILD.
SO, UM, I HOPE ANSWERED YOUR QUESTION, BUT AGAIN, PLEASE, ALL OF YOU, UM, UTILIZE OUR OFFICE, UM, WHEN WE GET THINGS THAT HAVE CALVES THAT COME FROM THE COM, UM, WE WANT TO INVITE YOU TO SOME OF THOSE COMMUNITY MEETINGS AND I, AND I, AND I IMPLORE YOU MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, WE CERTAINLY DON'T GET IN THE POLITICS OF ANYTHING WHEN, WHEN WE INVITE YOU TO A MEETING, WE'RE, WE'RE THERE FOR THE COMMUNITY COMMUNITY TO BRING CALM AND SHOW THAT WE'RE A UNIT, A CITY UNIT AND ORGANIZATION.
AND SO I, I USUALLY, UM, TRY, WE TRY TO HAVE AS BEST WE CAN TO HAVE YOU PREPARED.
I'M SURE YOU'RE, YOU'RE PREPARED AS YOU CAN BE, BUT WE WANT US TO, WE NEED TO SEE YOU SUCCEED BECAUSE WHEN YOU SUCCEED, IT MAKES IT SO MUCH EASIER FOR US.
SO, UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I IMPLORE YOU TO, UM, UM, UH, TO REACH OUT TO US.
THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH, LIEUTENANT, THANK YOU, LIEUTENANT DAVIS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN.
AND, UH, MY APOLOGIES TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR BEING LATE TO THIS MEETING, I HAD ANOTHER MEETING I HAD TO BE AT, BUT, UM, JUST SAY THIS ABOUT THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
I WANT TO ECHO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, UH, THAT, THAT IS A PROGRAM THAT IS, UH, WELL, WELL RESPECTED IN THE COMMUNITIES THAT I WAS, THAT I, UH, REPRESENT AND THERE'S, UM, A STRONG INTEREST IN SEEING THEM, UH, CONTINUE.
AND, UM, AND I JUST WANNA GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO A COUPLE OF THE FOLKS THAT, THAT, UM, UM, HER CONSTITUENCY AND DISTRICT HAVE WORKED WITH AND JUST BEEN VERY PLEASED WITH THE RELATIONSHIPS AND THAT'S OFFICER, UH, PHILLIP KELLY AND JEFFERY BINDER AND JUST BUSY.
AND THEN YES, AND THEN OF COURSE, UH, OFFICER ROSIE PEREZ JUST HAS BEEN FABULOUS WORKING WITH US ACROSS, UH, ACROSS BOUNDARIES.
AND SO JUST WANTED TO ADD MY, UM, AND MY WORDS FROM DISTRICT FIVE ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS PROGRAM.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, KITCHEN COLLEAGUES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? I THINK THAT, I THINK MY QUESTIONS AT THIS POINT ARE FOR, UM, KEEP CHECK HOME AND THAT'S JUST, I THINK AS MUCH AS PEOPLE REALLY WANT IT TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF ROBUST PRESENTATION ABOUT WHAT THE DISTRICT REP PROGRAM IS AND WHY, WHAT THE RATIONALE IS AND WHAT THE MISSION IS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, LIEUTENANT'S, UM, DESCRIPTION, YOU KNOW, IT, IT SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WHAT PEOPLE ENVISION, AND LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE, BUT YOU KNOW, IT, WHEN YOU SEE IT.
UM, AND SO I THINK IN ADDITION TO THAT, THOUGH, FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS.
AND SO AS WE ARE GOING THROUGH THIS PROCESS AND SORT OF CLEARING UP MISCONCEPTIONS AND CONFUSION, I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT TO SORT OF START WITH HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHAT IT IS WE INTEND TO DO MOVING FORWARD.
SO I APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES QUESTION ABOUT WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE ADJACENT TO OUR, UM, TO DEBT PROCESS.
AND THEN, YOU KNOW, COLLEAGUES, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY SAW THAT THE CRO REPORT
[01:50:01]
CAME BACK TODAY ALSO.SO THERE'S A LOT FOR US TO CONSUME.
AND IN THAT I WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE'RE ALL MOVING IN THE APPROPRIATE DIRECTION, MEANING THAT WE DID TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY WHEN WE COULD TO REALLY BRING OUR CONSTITUENTS ALONG HOW WE GOT HERE.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I REALLY LOOK TO YOUR PREDECESSOR TO ESTABLISH, UM, TO CHECK HOME, NO PRESSURE, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I LOOKED TO HIM TO ESTABLISH WAS JUST A LITTLE MORE CLARITY AROUND, UM, PEOPLE THOUGHT FOR A WHILE THAT WE WERE ENTIRELY DISBANDING THE DR PROGRAM, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THIS PRESENTATION AND SOME OF WHAT YOU SAID, UM, AND YOUR TIME AND YOUR ROLE SO FAR HAS PROVEN THAT TO BE AN INACCURATE ASSUMPTION.
I DID HEAR THAT WE ARE REDUCING STAFFING.
UM, AND, AND THAT'S GONNA, I THINK THAT'S PROBABLY GOING TO BE DEPARTMENT WIDE, ESPECIALLY AS WE ARE TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO ALLOCATE RESOURCES IN WAYS THAT MAKE, YOU KNOW, WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT QUALITY OF LIFE THAT MAKE, YOU KNOW, OUR OFFICERS, UM, QUALITY OF LIFE, BETTER PROFESSIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE BETTER BECAUSE THEY'RE GETTING TO FOCUS ON THESE THINGS THAT THEY SHOULD BE FOCUSING ON AND NOT SO MUCH ON OTHER THINGS, WHAT I DON'T THINK THEY UNDERSTAND.
AND I HONESTLY, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT I EVER FULLY UNDERSTOOD WHY THAT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST AREAS THAT WE PULLED RESOURCES FROM.
UM, I MEAN, LONG BEFORE THERE WERE ANY EFFECTS FROM OUR BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS AROUND POLICE BUDGET, WE WERE PULLING DRS AND I, I NEVER UNDERSTOOD THAT RATIONALE.
AND I, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO SORT OF UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED THERE AND THEN IN RELATION TO WHERE WE'RE HEADED.
UM, THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM, I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, THE BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS REALLY DID IMPACT THAT DECISION.
AND IT WAS SPECIFICALLY THE REALLOCATION THAT WE WERE FORCED TO MAKE BECAUSE OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE STAFFING SHORTAGES THAT WE HAD ON PATROL.
AND, UM, AND THEN WE HAD A STOP OF OUR ACADEMY CLASSES AND THEN, UM, AND THEN LOSS OF A NUMBER OF POSITIONS, UM, THAT WERE, THAT WERE, UH, ELIMINATED FROM THE BUDGET.
AND SO WE HAD TO LOOK AT ALL OF OUR POSITIONS AND AT THAT TIME, OBVIOUSLY ENTER CHIEF MANLEY.
UM, WE ALL HAD INPUT INTO THAT.
UM, AND, AND ULTIMATELY THE DECISION WAS MADE AROUND WHICH UNITS THAT WE WOULD, THAT WE WOULD REALLOCATE.
UM, I CAN TELL YOU, WE CONTINUE TO BE VERY THOUGHTFUL IN THAT PROCESS.
AND, UM, I'VE HEARD, AS I SAID, UH, LOUD AND CLEAR THAT THE COMMUNITY, OUR OWN DEPARTMENT, THE OFFICERS TRULY VALUE WHAT THE DRS DO.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE A PART OF THAT PLAN AND WE HAVE TO MAKE A DETERMINATION OF WHERE ULTIMATELY IF WE HAVE TO MAKE FURTHER REDUCTIONS, AT WHAT POINT IS THAT GOING TO BE, AND IN WHAT PRIORITY IS THAT GOING TO HAPPEN? AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST THROUGH THE CONTINUE ATTRITION THAT WE HAVE ON OUR DEPARTMENT, UM, YOU KNOW, I HAVE A, I HAVE A COMMITMENT, UH, TO MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE PUTTING THE RIGHT STAFFING IN PATROL RIGHT NOW THAT THAT HAS GOT TO HAPPEN BECAUSE, UM, THAT IS, THAT'S JUST THE PUBLIC SAFETY NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MAINTAINING OUR RESPONSE TIMES TO, TO THE HIGH PRIORITY CALLS INVOLVING VIOLENCE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, GUN VIOLENCE, UM, AND THAT WE HAVE ENOUGH OFFICERS OUT THERE TO ADEQUATELY RESPOND.
AND SO THAT WE'RE KEEPING THE PUBLIC SAFE, AND I'M ALSO KEEPING THE OFFICER SAFE AND WE HAVE ENOUGH TO, TO DO THAT.
SO, UM, SO WE ARE DISCUSSING THAT RIGHT NOW.
THOSE ARE ONGOING DISCUSSIONS THAT, UH, COMMAND AND EXECUTIVE STAFF CONTINUE TO HAVE, UH, IN COORDINATION WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ON, ON WHEN THOSE WILL HAPPEN.
I JUST WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR, HOWEVER, THAT WE'VE ALREADY HAD A REDUCTION OF OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
UM, TO ME, THEY ARE A HIGH PRIORITY RIGHT NOW FOR OUR DEPARTMENT AND OUR COMMUNITY.
AND ALTHOUGH THEY WILL RESIDE SOMEWHERE IN THAT PLAN, UM, I, I'M VERY CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT I KNEW THAT THEY'RE VERY IMPORTANT TO FOLKS.
I DON'T THINK IT QUITE GOT TO WHAT IT IS THAT I WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD ESTABLISH, BUT MAYBE I'LL FIGURE OUT A BETTER WAY TO ARTICULATE THAT.
AND, AND, UM, AND REFRAME THE QUESTION.
UM, I, I THINK WHAT I'M ATTEMPTING TO ANSWER IS WHEN PEOPLE ASK WHY, BECAUSE IT FELT VERY MUCH TO OUR COMMUNITY, LIKE THAT WAS THE FIRST RESOURCE TO BE PULLED.
UM, AND SO I JUST TRYING TO FIGURE THAT OUT IS WHAT I'M GETTING AT.
SO, UM, I'LL, I'LL REFRAME MY QUESTION AND POSE IT TO YOU DIRECTLY.
UM, AND MAYBE I'LL GET A CLEARER PICTURE OF, OF THE RATIONALE FOR THAT BEING ONE OF THE FIRST RESOURCES TO BE POOLED, UM, AND,
[01:55:01]
UH, MAYOR ANTHEM, JEREMY, THANK YOU.UM, RATHER THAN TO WHAT YOU JUST SAID, CHIEF, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, AS YOU MAKE SURE THAT, UH, YOU CAN, UH, PLATOON AND STAFF IN A WAY THAT KEEPS CITY SAFE AND KEEPS OUR OFFICERS SAFE, BUT, UH, IF, UH, UH, YOU NEED SOMETHING ELSE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN, MAKE SURE THAT YOU'VE COME BACK TO US, UH, IN THE WORK THAT WE DID, UH, DURING THE BUDGET LAST YEAR, WE LEFT OPEN IN A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT PLACES, UH, THAT IMITATION, UH, FOR, FOR YOU TO COME BACK.
UH, I WAS CONCERNED THAT THERE ARE A COUPLE DIFFERENT TOPIC AREAS.
SO PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU, THAT YOU, THAT YOU DO, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE MAY BE, IF THEY'RE WORKING WITH THE OPTIONS THAT ARE MOST IMMEDIATELY IN FRONT OF YOU, THAT WAS ALSO COVERED IN THE WORK THAT WE DID LAST, UH, BUDGET SESSION.
UH, SO, UH, MAKE SURE THAT YOU INVOLVE US, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, TO WHATEVER DEGREE IS NECESSARY FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE THOSE SAFETY ISSUES.
COLLEAGUES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WE HAVE ONE MORE BRIEFING THIS AFTERNOON.
WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING ALL THAT INFORMATION FOR US.
YOU'RE MUTED AGAIN, LIEUTENANT DAVIS, THAT YOU WERE MUTED AGAIN, YOU WERE SMILING.
SO I THINK YOU SAID SOMETHING NICE TO US.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING GRACIOUS.
I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH ALL THE PROTOCOLS AND RULES OF ORDER, BUT IF I MADE A MISTAKE, IT WAS A MISTAKE OF CHARGE IT TO MY MIND AND NOT MY HEART, BUT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN GRACIOUS.
AND I THANK Y'ALL FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
SO MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION,
[5. Briefing and discussion on diversity in the Austin Fire Department recruitment process.]
I BELIEVE WE HAVE, UM, A COUPLE OF FOLKS FROM AUSTIN FIRE WHO ARE GOING TO COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT, UM, UH, DIVERSITY IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS.AND THEN JUST SORT OF MY HOPE IS GENERALLY TO BE ABLE TO EXTRACT EVERY DOING THINGS, RIGHT.
I MEAN, IS THERE SOME SUPPORT THAT, UM, THAT COUNCIL COULD OFFER TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE GETTING THE MOST, UM, WELL-TRAINED DIVERSE, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY PROFESSIONALS POSSIBLE? SO, UH, I SEE ACM ADRIANO.
HE, HER, I SEE, UH, CHIEF NICK'S CHIEF BANKER DAVIS.
IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE READY TO GET STARTED.
MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, HARPER MADISON IS HUMOR RAY ARIANO AND THE REST OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE FOR ALLOWING US TO PRESENT.
UM, ALSO WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK CHIEF BAKER OR SUPPORT FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENTS UNIVERSITY INITIATIVE.
I'M RICHARD DAVIS, ASSISTANT CHIEF FIRE CHIEF OF THE RECRUITING SECTION.
ALSO HAVE LIEUTENANT AARON NUNEZ HERE WHO WILL BE GIVING THE COMMITTEE.
THE DIVERSITY PRESENTATION, LIEUTENANT NUNEZ IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING THE DAY TO DAY RECRUITING OPERATION.
NOW WE HAVE 2064 APPLICATIONS CONFIRMED FOR THE POSITION OF FIRE CADET, AS IT STANDS.
NOW, OUR APPLICANT POOL IS CURRENTLY 71% DIVERSE.
UH, THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING PERCENTAGE, AND HOPEFULLY THIS WILL TRANSLATE INTO A SUCCESSFUL APPLICANTS.
LIEUTENANT NUNEZ WILL BE UP NEXT TO PRESENT TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE FIRE RECRUITING DIVERSITY INITIATIVE.
ONCE AGAIN, ONCE AGAIN, THANK YOU.
AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME, UM, CHIEF DAVIS, AND IT'S ALL, UM, JUST, UH, WHILE I CAN APPRECIATE THE TIME AND EFFORT THAT WENT INTO PREPARING THIS PRESENTATION, WE'RE A LITTLE OVER TIME.
UM, BUT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PRESENTATION FOR US.
SO JUST WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE KEEP IT AS CONCISE AS POSSIBLE.
UM, I'M LIEUTENANT AND JEZ WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, WANT TO GO AHEAD AND THANK YOU ALL FOR ALLOWING US TO GIVE YOU THIS PRESENTATION ON, UH, WHERE ARE WE STANDING RIGHT NOW IN OUR RECRUITING, UH, EFFORT? UH, BEFORE I BEGIN, I WANT TO THANK CHIEF BAKER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S BEEN ANOTHER LIEUTENANT IN CHARGE OF RECRUITING THAT HAS HAD THE SUPPORT FROM THE EXECUTIVE LEVEL THAT CHIEF BAKER HAS GIVEN US.
AND OF COURSE, CHIEF DAVIS AND CHIEF DRUNKER HELPING US OUT FOR THAT MENTORSHIP AS WELL.
DIVERSITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US IN AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, BOTH IN TERMS OF THE SERVICE THAT WE GIVE TO THE COMMUNITY AND
[02:00:01]
THE REFLECTIVITY OF, OF FIREFIGHTERS WITHIN AUSTIN.UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING REALLY HARD THIS PAST RECRUITING CYCLE TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY AND AFD.
AND I THINK YOU'LL SEE THAT IT'S, IT'S REALLY PAID OFF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE.
UM, THE HIGHER, THE, UM, COVID-19 HAS BEEN DIFFICULT ON THE ALL, AND THAT'S BEEN THE CASE FOR US AS WELL.
UH, WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THE IN-PERSON EVENTS THAT WE'RE USUALLY DOING.
UM, WE USUALLY, WHEN WE RECRUIT WE'RE RECRUITING PERSON, UH, FACE-TO-FACE IN FRONT OF FOLKS AT COMMUNITY THAT'S AT SCHOOLS, UM, TALKING TO FOLKS AND WE'VE JUST NOT BEEN ABLE TO DO THOSE SORTS OF THINGS.
UH, WE'VE BEEN SHIFTING OVER TO A MORE DIGITAL CENTRIC, UM, WORK, AND THAT'S REALLY KIND OF PAID OFF FOR US AND WE'VE DONE WELL WITH THAT.
UM, REAL QUICK, BEFORE WE GET INTO THE NUMBERS, I WANT TO DEFINE WHO'S A CANDIDATE AND WHO'S NOT, WE CAN TALK ABOUT TARGET AND NON-MARKET A LOT THROUGH THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I TARGETED, SO OUR TARGET CANDIDATE IS SOMEONE WHO IS IN A MINORITY GROUP OR A WOMAN, UM, WHO IDENTIFIES AS THOSE IN ONE OF OUR KENNEDY INFERENCE CARDS.
OTHER PEOP UH, THE FOLKS WHO HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED AS SUCH, AREN'T GOING TO BE THE TARGET FOR OUR PRESENTATION IN 2021 HIRING PROCESS.
WE HAD 25% OF OUR CIC AS TARGET, WHICH IS PRETTY REMARKABLE IN, IN COMPARISONS TO OTHER, UM, HIRING PROCESS THAT WE'VE HAD BEFORE.
IT'S A 13 POINT INCREASE OR A 33% INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN, UH, IN OUR RECRUITING CIC ARE 15.4%, UH, I'M SORRY, 14.4% OF THE TOTAL MAKEUP OF OUR KENNEDY INTEREST CARDS.
THESE CANDIDATE INTEREST CARDS ARE CARDS THAT SOMEONE BUILDS OUT WHEN THEY'RE EXPRESSING INTEREST IN AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND HAVING THESE CARDS.
UM, IT JUST STARTS THE FIRST STEP THAT THE RECRUITING PROCESS LAST NIGHT PITCHING OUT WITH THE PRESENTATION.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE ON SLIDE FOUR OR FIVE.
IF WE COULD GO, UH, BOARDED THE SLIDES FALL INTO LET'S LET THEM KNOW NEXT SLIDE WHEN YOU NEED THEM GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
GO ON TO THE NEXT, OKAY, ONE MORE SIDE, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
FOR OUR CANDIDATE INTEREST CARD POLL, WE'VE GOT 15.4% OF THAT KENNEDY INTEREST CARPOOL IS AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
THAT'S A 10% INCREASE OVER OUR HIRING PROCESS.
UM, OUR HISPANIC GROUP IS 44% OF OUR CSCS.
UM, THIS WAS BY FAR THE LARGEST DEMOGRAPHIC, UM, GROUP AND A 21% INCREASE OVER HIRING PROCESS.
19, LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DIDN'T MENTION THAT FOR THOSE LAST SLIDES AND IT'S TALKING ABOUT THE DEMOGRAPHICS, UM, WHEREAS THE EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND OF ALL THE DIFFERENT CANDIDATES, UM, THOSE, THOSE, THE EDUCATION BACKGROUND ON THOSE CANDIDATES IS ALL, ALL OF THEM HAVE A HIGH DEGREE OF EDUCATION, THEIR COLLEGE GRADUATES OR, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC MAKEUP.
UM, SO, UH, AS FAR AS THE APPLICATIONS TO DATE RIGHT NOW, UM, LIKE CHIEF DAVIS WAS SAYING 71% OF THE CANDIDATES THAT WE'VE HAD SUBMIT APPLICATIONS SO FAR ARE IN THAT TIGHT TARGET.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING RIGHT NOW, WE'VE GOT OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN GROUP, UH, AND 14.6% DIVERSITY.
I THINK THESE NUMBERS ARE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT YOU HAVE WHEN WE SPRING AND THAT'S BECAUSE THEY'RE UPDATED AS OF THIS AFTERNOON.
[02:05:01]
SO WE'VE GOT 14.6 AFRICAN-AMERICAN, UH, DIVERSITY IN OUR CURRENT SLIDES.UM, WHAT DO YOU, 2.6 HISPANIC, UM, AND ALL OF THESE ARE AT, OR AT THE TOP OF, UM, OUR HISTORICAL NUMBERS.
UH, WE'VE NEVER HAD A NUMBER THIS HIGH FOR HISPANICS.
THIS IS THE SECOND HIGHEST, UM, PERCENTAGE WE'VE HAD FOR AFRICAN-AMERICANS.
THIS IS A REALLY DIVERSE CROWD OF CANDIDATES, AND WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO, WE'VE NOT HAD SOMETHING NUMBERS ON THIS BEFORE.
LET'S GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO ON THE TOP SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE, UM, OUR TOTAL NUMBERS IN COMPARISONS TO HIRING PROCESS.
AND OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS, WHILE THE NUMBER OF, OR THE 21 CLASS, IT SEEMS A LITTLE SMALL IT'S BECAUSE IT'S ONLY HALFWAY THROUGH THE PROCESS.
THESE ARE NUMBERS BASED UPON LAST THURSDAYS, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE PERCENTAGE OF ALL THESE CLASSES, WE'RE OUTPERFORMING THEM IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE.
AND I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT'S THE POOL OF CANDIDATES FROM WHICH WE'RE GOING TO END UP HIRING.
AND IT DOESN'T MATTER IF WE HAD A WHOLE BUNCH MORE CANDIDATES AND ONE PARTICULAR CLASS, OUR HIRING PROCESS, IF WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT REFLECTIVITY OUT IN THE CANDIDATES AT THE END.
SO THAT'S IT HISTORICALLY, THESE ARE REALLY GOOD NUMBERS FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
IN FACT, IN MOST CASES, THESE ARE NUMBERS THAT WE'VE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REACH BEFORE.
AND I'LL ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT Y'ALL HAVE ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THIS OFFICE.
I SEE A COUPLE OTHER FOLKS HERE AND MAYBE WHAT WE COULD DO IS CONSOLIDATE AND HAVE ALL OUR QUESTIONS COME AT THE END.
UM, WAS THERE ANY OTHER INFORMATION THAT YOU ALL WANTED TO PRESENT? IF NOT, I'D LIKE TO TURN IT OVER TO CHIEF NIX FOR A BIT.
IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, I KNOW THAT YOU AND I HAD A BRIEF CONVERSATION ABOUT THIS AND YOU SENT ME OVER SOME INFORMATION AND IT SEEMED LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THAT INFORMATION, MY COLLEAGUES WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN A LOT OF IT WAS COMPELLING IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND SHARING AND THEN WE'LL ROLL INTO QUESTIONS.
SO ANYWAY, WHILE I'M GETTING THIS READY, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT, UH, I'D ALSO LIKE TO THANK CHIEF BAKER AND THE RECRUITING SECTION, I'VE LOOKED AT THESE NUMBERS.
THESE ARE THE BEST NUMBERS WE'VE HAD SINCE 2013 AND RECRUITING, UH, 2015, 17, 19, NOT SO GREAT.
AND YOU REALLY HAVE TO HAVE ALL THINGS WORKING ON ALL CYLINDERS, THE RECRUITING PROCESS, THE HIRING PROCESS, AND EVERYTHING KIND OF IN BETWEEN ORDER TO HAVE A, UH, YOU KNOW, A GOOD RESULT.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COUPLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO, AND TO HELP DIVERSITY IN THE CONNECT CLASS, I WOULD REQUEST THE FOLLOWING RECOMMEND THE FOLLOWING THAT WE LOOK BACK TO THE LAST THREE TO 400 PROJECTS AND REQUESTS THAT WE STUDIED, THE EFFECT THAT A BACKGROUND CHECK, INITIAL DISQUALIFIERS AND THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DISQUALIFICATION APPEALS PROCESS HAS ON PEOPLE OF COLOR.
I WOULD FURTHER RECOMMEND THAT IF ANY OF THESE PROCESS SHOW AN ADVERSE IMPACT OR THE SPIRIT IMPACT THAT RE REVIEW THE PRACTICES, UM, THAT SHOULD BE UNDERTAKEN AT APPROPRIATE CHANGES SHOULD BE MADE AT THESE PROCESSES.
AND I WOULD HOPE THAT A, IF THEY COULD BE A PART OF THIS REVIEW AND I THINK IT'D BE APPROPRIATE, UM, HAVING A GROUP, UH, SUCH AS THE RE-IMAGINED PUBLIC SAFETY GROUP, BE A PART OF THAT PROCESS TO MY ASSESSMENT.
I BELIEVE THESE, THESE, UH, BACKGROUND CHECKS AND DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL AND INITIAL DISQUALIFICATION MAY BE HARMING PEOPLE OF COLOR, BUT I THINK WE SHOULD DO THE STUDY AND THEN LET THE RESULTS OF THAT STUDY INFORM US AND SEE IF WE NEED TO MAKE THE APPROPRIATE CHANGES.
AND IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE FROM A F D OR A F A, THEN I'LL GO AHEAD AND OPEN IT UP FOR MY COLLEAGUES.
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, CAN YOU QUITE SEE EVERYBODY? OH, COUNCIL MEMBER
AND THANK YOU, MR. NUNEZ, AND EVERYBODY AT RECRUITING FOR THE STRONG NUMBERS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT WORK.
UM, 10 PER PERSON AT AFD, SORT OF SPEAK TO YOU THIS NEXT STEP IN THE PROCESS AFTER RECRUITMENT, UM, ABOUT, ABOUT, ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO WHAT WE CAN DO UNDER STATE
[02:10:01]
LAW, AS FAR AS SORT OF FAIR CHANCE HIRING AND, AND NOT LOOKING REALLY FAR BACK INTO SOMEBODY'S, UH, CRIMINAL HISTORY.HOW FAR BACK ARE WE LOOKING, OR HAVE WE SEEN ANY IMPACT ON THAT? IS THAT A CONVERSATION THAT WE SHOULD HAVE AS CHIEF NICK'S RAISED HERE AND TO THE, UM, TO WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS IN THE PROCESS? UM, AS WE CONVERT NOW, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF CONVERTING ALL OUR CICF AND INTO APPLICANTS.
SO ALL THOSE CANDIDATES THAT EXPRESSED INTEREST IN AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND NOW GETTING THEM TO ACTUALLY FILL OUT THE APPLICATION, UH, ONCE THEY BECOME AN APPLICANT AND THEN MOVE ON TO THE QUALIFIED PORTION.
AND THAT'S KIND OF SPECIFICALLY WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE REFERRING TO, RIGHT? THEY'RE THERE, THEY HAVE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, UM, FOR THEIR, THE LEGALITY OF, UM, OF WHAT'S REQUIRED, WHAT WE ACCEPT AS FAR AS, UM, CRIMINAL BACKGROUND AND NOT, I THINK THAT PROCESS IS SET FOR THIS HIRING PROCESS.
NOW WE WANT TO LOOK AT THAT AND GO FORWARD INTO THE NEXT TIME IN PROCESS.
UM, WE CAN OPEN THAT, OPEN IT UP AND LOOK AT THAT, UM, PROCESS THEN, BUT FOR THIS PROCESS, THAT THAT'S SET.
UM, AND I KNOW YOU'RE ALREADY SORT OF ON TRACK WITH THIS PROCESS, UM, WHEN WOULD BE THE APPROPRIATE TIME FOR US TO LOOK AT SOME OF THOSE DISQUALIFICATIONS FOR THE NEXT PERSON I'M GONNA LET CHIEF DAVIS, UH, TAKE THIS QUESTION.
SO, SO CURRENTLY ARE DISQUALIFIERS FOR THE CURRENT PROCESSES ARE ONLY RECRUITING WEBSITE AND A COUNCIL MEMBER.
YOU'D ASK THE, HOW FAR BACK DO WE GO BACK WHEN IT COMES TO SOMEONE THESE FALL APART? AND IT DEPENDS ON DISQUALIFIER ITSELF.
SOME GO BACK TWO YEARS, SOME THEY'LL GO BACK 36 YEARS.
UH, THERE'S ALSO SOME THAT, THAT GOES BACK FIVE YEARS, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE ISSUE AT HAND IS, UM, BECAUSE OF THE, UH, CERTIFICATION, UH, REQUIREMENT, WHEN IT COMES TO THE EMT, BECOME AN EMT, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN.
INDIVIDUALS CAN NOT HAVE ANY FELONIES ON THEIR RECORDS.
SO THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO CONTEND WITH AS WE PROCESS INDIVIDUALLY THROUGH OUR, OUR, UH, APPLICATION PROCESS.
AND SO CHIEF, THE, THE IDEA WOULD BE FOR US TO LOOK AT WHAT STATE LAW IS.
AND WE OBVIOUSLY CAN'T DO SOMETHING THAT WE WOULDN'T WANT TO PUT SOMEBODY THROUGH A WHOLE PROCESS IF UNDER STATE LAW, THEY CAN'T GET CERTIFIED.
BUT I GUESS THE QUESTION WOULD BE, WERE WE DOING SOMETHING ABOVE AND BEYOND STATE LAW AND ARE ANY OF THOSE THINGS THAT WOULD POTENTIALLY NEED A REVIEW? BECAUSE AS WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT SO MUCH IN THE LAST YEAR, BUT FRANKLY FOR YEARS, WE KNOW THAT IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR HISTORIC, UM, HISTORIC LEVELS OF SOMETIMES OVER POLICING, UH, COULD RESULT IN US KNOCKING FOLKS OUT OF THE PROCESS, MAYBE FOR SOMETHING THAT THEY SHOULDN'T, WE MIGHT ALL LOOK AROUND AND SAY THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT FOR.
UH, I'D BE REALLY INTERESTED IF THERE ARE ANY OF THOSE INSTANCES WHERE YOU HAVE A REALLY GOOD APPLICANTS, UM, THAT MR. NUNEZ JUST DESCRIBED TO US.
AND IF YOU GO, MAN, I WISH WE HADN'T HAD TO KNOCK THEM OUT FOR THIS OR THAT THING.
I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING THE MANAGER AND THE FIRE CHIEF CAN HANDLE ON YOUR OWN, OR IF THERE'S ANY NEED FOR THE COUNCIL TO, TO BE INVOLVED.
I JUST THINK THIS IS SOME, THIS IS A PLACE WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD AS A WHOLE COMMUNITY.
AND IF THERE'S THE APPETITE FOR IT AT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, I THINK THERE LIKELY WOULD BE THAT A DESIRE IN THE COMMUNITY TO, TO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT.
I DON'T KNOW, UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF OR, OR MR. NIX, IF, EITHER OF Y'ALL HAVE SEEN ANY INSTANCES OF THIS, UM, THAT WOULD BE WORTH HIGHLIGHTING OR DESCRIBING SO THAT WE KNOW, YOU KNOW, TODAY'S, WE'RE REALLY TALKING ABOUT HERE.
SO, I MEAN, NO, I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY, I KNOW SOME EXAMPLES.
I DON'T WANT TO TAKE TOO MUCH OF EVERYBODY'S TIME, BUT I COULD WRITE SOME NOTES, SEND TO COUNCIL, BUT THERE'S ARE SOME EXAMPLES WE'VE DISQUALIFIED PEOPLE THAT, UH, THAT DOES NOT SUPPORT WITH STATE LAW.
ALL I'M SUGGESTING IS, IS THAT WE, IT'S PRETTY EASY TO DO THE STUDY.
YOU CAN LOOK AT YEAR BY YEAR AND SEE THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF THE PEOPLE THAT WERE KNOCKED OUT, BUT THAT PARTICULAR STEP IN THE PROCESS AND SEE IF IT'S A BIGGER IMPACT ON PEOPLE, CALL IT, IF IT IS, LET'S SEE WHAT KIND OF ADJUSTMENTS WE CAN MAKE TO INCLUDE THOSE PEOPLE IN THE PROCESS.
AND I, AND I WOULD DISAGREE THAT WE NEED TO WAIT TOO MUCH PROCESS BECAUSE WE'RE MAKING IT MORE LENIENT.
AND SO WE'RE EXPANDING THE POOL.
SO IF WE WERE TO TAKE AWAY, LET'S SAY JUVENILE CRIMES, IF THEY'RE OVER SEVEN YEARS OLD, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD DO IN THIS PROCESS.
WE COULD DO THE STUDY AND WE COULD DO IT IN THIS PROCESS, IN MY OPINION, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHY WE NEED TO WAIT.
WE GOT A, WE GOT A TWO YEAR PROCESS OF ALREADY START.
WE COULD MAKE CHANGES RIGHT NOW THAT MAKE DIVERSITY BETTER.
[02:15:01]
THINK WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THIS PROCESS.CAN I SMELL? CAUSE I HAVE MADE SOME OF THE PROCESS A BIT MORE SIMPLIFIED, FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, MY FIRST GUY HERE, WE WERE LOOKING AT DOING CREDIT SCORES.
I REMOVED THE CREDIT SCORE REQUIREMENT OR MOVED TO A REQUIREMENT THAT YOU MUST HAVE 15 CARS CREDIT HOURS.
AND WHEN I MEET WITH THE TEAM, UH, WE DO LOOK AT, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UH, THEY MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE INDIVIDUAL, REGARDLESS OF THEIR DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, FOR NOW HOW LONG AGO DID THEY SMOKE MARIJUANA? YOU KNOW, WE GIVE A BREAK FOR ADULT USE MARIJUANA TO HIGH SCHOOL.
WE DON'T HOLD THAT AGAINST THEM.
SO THAT ON SOME THINGS WE HAVE DONE TO TRY TO IMPROVE THE HIRING PROCESS FOR ALL, WELL, I WOULD BE REALLY INTERESTED IN FOLKS, WENT AND TOOK A LOOK AND SEE WHAT, WHAT HAD KNOCKED PEOPLE OUT RECENTLY.
AND, UM, AND FOR Y'ALL TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AS A, AS A GROUP OR, OR BRINGING BACK HERE, BUT THAT WE WE'VE CERTAINLY SEEN THAT IMPACT.
UH, AND OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT END UP THAT'S BEEN HEAVILY ADDRESSED OFTENTIMES, AND, AND I'M GLAD Y'ALL ARE WORKING WITH IT.
AND WE'LL, WE'LL GO BACK THE, UH, THE RECOMMENDS RECOMMENDATION FROM THE UNION LOOK AT A THREE TO FIVE, THREE TO FOUR YEARS HIRING PROCESS AND SEE WHAT IMPACT HAS THE, UH, PEER PROCESS BROKE GROUND AND SITE TESTING, AND THEY SHOULD HAVE HAD ON THE APPLICATION POOL.
AND HOPEFULLY I WILL CIRCLE BACK, YOU KNOW, WITH US, WE WOULD CERTAINLY LIKE TO BE A PART THAT PROCESS AND HAVE THAT INFORMATION TO COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, I WAS CURIOUS, UM, WHAT KIND OF DATA WE HAVE IN TERMS OF DIVERSITY AND GETTING THROUGH THE ACADEMY? UM, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE A LOT OF NUMBERS, UM, FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND LOOKING AT THE ACADEMY WHERE, UM, YOU MAY HAVE RECRUITED A DIVERSE CLASS, BUT THEN WE'RE SEEING DISPROPORTIONATE DROP OFF ALONG THE WAY.
UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO CAN ADDRESS THAT.
UH, I DON'T HAVE THE FORMAT, BUT I'LL HAVE, PAUL'S MAYBE LIEUTENANT TO DAVID'S ON THE TUNE.
THAT'S HOW I WAS MAKING HIM AROUND THROUGH THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS ON MY SHOULD WE MADE IT TO THE OFFICES NOW, BUT WE DO HAVE THAT DATA.
WE HAVE THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE MEMORY, WHAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER.
SO I DO HAVE THE NUMBERS GOING BACK TO OUR HIRING PROCESS BACK TO 2011.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW FAR YOU WANT TO GO BACK A COUNCIL MEMBER, BUT I'LL GIVE YOU THE MOST RECENT, UH, UH, CRIMINAL CLASS IS 2019 2017.
SO FROM CLASSES ONE 23 TO ONE 27, AS FAR AS INDIVIDUALS HIRED VERSUS GRADUATION, SAY THE AFRICAN-AMERICANS, UH, NUMBERS WERE AT 5.6%.
UH, THE GRADUATE 3.6% OF THAT, THAT A PARTICULAR GROUP THAT GRADUATED AND WENT ON TO, UH, PEOPLE WITH POWER PRODUCTS.
UM, I'LL JUST HIT SOME HIGHLIGHTS.
IT HISPANICS, WE HIRED A, UH, 22.7%.
AS FAR AS THE ASIAN AMERICANS, WE HAD 1.5% OF THOSE, UH, HIRED.
AND THAT ONE ALSO WAS LIKE ROUGHLY ABOUT 1%.
DID YOU SAY THAT WAS ONLY FROM 2017? YES.
NOW GOING BACK TO 2017 OR DOES THAT MEAN IT'S, YOU'RE JUST GIVING ME THE NUMBER FOR 2017 OR DOES THAT GO THROUGH 2021? OKAY.
I'M GIVING YOU A NUMBER FOUR FOR 2017, AS FAR AS THE, THE GRADUATION RATIOS FOR THE ART CLASSES THAT WE HAVE NOW.
UM, WE, ONE CLASS HAS HASN'T GRADUATED ONE CLASS WITH GRADUATE, UH, MADE THE SEVEN.
SO SOME OF THESE CLASSES ARE DIVERSE MORE SO THAN OTHERS.
UH, WE BOSS, UH, PARTICULARLY INDIVIDUALS, UH, DUE TO ACADEMICS, SOME DUE TO PHYSICAL ASPECTS OF THE JOB.
UH, SO IN A LOT OF INSTANCES, UM, IT'S THE APP OR THE, UH, UM, ACADEMICS THAT THEY GET PEOPLE OUT OF THE PROCESS, UH, BASICALLY FOR THE EMT OR THE POWER ASPECT FOR THEM.
THEY'RE NOT SOME OUT OF THE PROFITS, NOT SOME OUT OF CLASS CUSTOMER.
WHEN WE CIRCLE BACK WITH YOU ALL TALK ABOUT THE LAST FOUR YEARS, HIRING A PEER PROCESS AND THE IMPACT IT HAD HAD ON PEOPLE OF COLOR.
WE CAN GIVE YOU THE INFORMATION, WE CAN GO BACK AND FORTH.
AND I THINK WE CAN GO BACK 2011.
I HAD A, I GUESS I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, I KNOW THAT I RECALL AT ONE POINT ON COUNCIL, THERE WAS A PERIOD WHERE WE WERE HAVING HEAT STROKE AND OTHER THINGS, AND THERE WAS ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE JUST SEEMED REALLY STARK EVIDENCE OF ISSUES OF MAKING IT THROUGH THE ACADEMY THAT NOT
[02:20:01]
OBVIOUS TO ME THAT THEY'RE NOT CHANGES WE COULD MAKE, YOU KNOW, BUT I DON'T, I DON'T, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT'S A CHALLENGE FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.AND IT'S HARD FOR ME FROM THE DATA THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING TO US TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
SO I THINK FIRST WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE CHALLENGES FROM WHAT WE CAN TELL, UM, FROM THE DATA AND THE MORE RECENT THE DATA, THE BETTER, AND THEN SEE IF THERE IS SOME WAY TO ADDRESS THAT, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH EXIT INTERVIEWS OR LOOKING AT PATTERNS.
AND I THINK THAT'S PART OF WHAT LED TO OUR IMPETUS AND REDOING THE POLICE ACADEMY.
AND, AND SO TAKING THAT LESSON THERE AND JUST ASKING THE QUESTION AGAIN, I DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA IF THERE'S A PROBLEM, UM, PER SE, UM, OTHER THAN THE DATA YOU JUST GAVE ME, UM, BUT I'D LIKE TO ADD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN THE LAST THING I'LL JUST KIND OF THROW IT OUT THERE.
I DON'T THINK WE'RE GOING TO COVER IT TODAY IS, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S ONE THING TO RECRUIT.
IT'S ANOTHER THING TO PROMOTE.
UM, AND SO I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HEAR FROM CHIEF BAKER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW WELL WE'RE DOING ON THE PROMOTION, UM, WITH RESPECT TO DIVERSITY, UM, BOTH FOR PEOPLE OF COLOR AND FOR WOMEN, UM, YOU KNOW, AND EVEN, UM, AND I KNOW CHIEF AND I HAVE TALKED ABOUT IT, EVEN THE ASSOCIATION NEEDS TO HAVE MORE IN ITS LEADERSHIP.
UM, AND SO I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT YOUR PLANS FOR ADDRESSING THOSE ISSUES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DOING VERY WELL IN PROMOTING UP THE, UH, MINORITY RANKS WITHIN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND ONE OF THE PROBLEM IS WE HAD TO GET THEM ON BOARD EARLY THROUGH THE HIRING PROCESS.
SO WE'RE CAN HAVE THOSE NUMBERS ON BOARD TO PROMOTE, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IF I'M NOT MISTAKEN AND NOW BATTALION CHIEF RANKS, WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY, UH, MAYBE 11 LATINO, HISPANIC BATTALION CHIEF, AND THOSE 11 ABOUT NINE OR 10 ARE ELIGIBLE TO RETIRE WITHIN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO WITHIN THE BATTALION CHIEF, UH, I THINK WE HAVE ONE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FRATERNITY AND DIVISION CHIEF RANK.
WE HAVE, UH, NO AFRICAN-AMERICAN DIVISION CHIEF RANK.
HOWEVER, I DO HAVE TWO ASSISTANT CHIEF THAT ARE AFRICAN-AMERICAN AND I HAVE ONE FEMALE THAT IS A DIVISION CHIEF, UH, IN, IN, IN DIVISION SHEET RANK ONE WHITE FEMALE.
UH, BUT ON THE INTRO ON LIEUTENANT CAPTAIN LEVEL, WE'RE NOT DOING VERY WELL AS, AS MINOR PROMOTION AND SOME OF THE COSTS, WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH MINORITIES WHO ARE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE TEST, AND THEY'RE NOT ALLOWED TO TAKE THE TEST BECAUSE WE DON'T HIRE ENOUGH MINORITY TO BEGIN WITH.
SO HOPEFULLY THE MORE AND MORE MINORITIES WE CAN HIRE, WE CAN INCREASE OUR PROMOTIONAL POOL.
UH, BUT THERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT WE MAY BE ABLE TO DO IF I NEED TO LOOK AT THE IMPACT AND SEE HOW, WHAT THE IMPACT WOULD HAVE.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE COULD PROBABLY HAVE DISCUSSION ON WHETHER OR NOT, UH, AS A FIREFIGHTER THAT YOU NEED TO BECOME A FIRE SPECIALIST IN ORDER TO TAKE THE GOALTENDER TESTS THAT MAY OR MAY NOT HELP, BUT THAT'S MORE DEEP DISCUSSION I NEED TO HAVE ON THAT AND LOOK AT THE NUMBER OF, TO SAY, WHAT IMPACT WOULD IT HAVE BECAUSE WE CHANGE IT FROM JUST GOING FROM FIREFIGHTER TO THE 10TH.
UH, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN YOU'LL GET MORE, A DIVERSE POOL OF LIEUTENANT.
YOU SHOULD HAVE MORE PEOPLE TAKING THE TEST, WHICH INCLUDE EVERYONE.
SO THAT MAY EVEN MAKE IT WORSE, OR IT MAY HELP.
I DON'T KNOW, THERE'S SOME INFORMATION I NEED TO JUST REALLY DIVE INTO, UH, WITH THE UNION AND WITH THE STAFF AND WITH THE CITY MANAGER, OFFICER, BILL, AND EVERYONE ELSE TO MAKE SURE, UH, BUT WE HAVE ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
I THINK WE'RE SCRIBING THE SCRIBING TO GET THERE, BUT I REALLY NEED TO GET, UH, MORE MINORITY HIRE ON THE FRONT END AND THAT WILL INCREASE THE OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO GET THEM PART OF FIVE TO MAKE THE RANK OF LIEUTENANT AND CAPTAIN.
BUT I CAN'T MAKE CHIEFS PHONE HELP MINORITIES AS CAPTAIN.
AND WE DON'T REALLY HAVE A LOT OF MINORITIES AS KEPPRA.
I DON'T HAVE THAT EXACT NUMBER FOR ME, BUT I CAN GET THAT INFORMATION FOR SURE.
SO I THINK IN THE HIRING PROCESS, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, YOU, YOU ASKED FOR SOME INFORMATION COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, THAT WAS A GREAT FORMAT.
MY OPINION, IT SHOWED WHO WAS, WHO WAS APPLIED FOR THE DEPARTMENT WHO GOT INTO THE DEPARTMENT WITHIN THE CONE OF INFLUENCE.
IF WE WOULD ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO HIRE, WE ACTUALLY GRADUATED FROM THE CLASS.
AND SO I ASKED THE CHIEF DAVIS TO UPDATE THAT.
AND WHAT YOU SEE IS YOU SEE, THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS, OCCASION'S DOING A LITTLE BIT BETTER AND PEOPLE OF COLOR HAVE BEEN A LITTLE BIT WORSE.
AND THAT'S WHAT GAVE ME THIS NOTION THAT WE PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK AT OUR DISQUALIFIERS AND WE PROBABLY NEED TO LOOK AT OUR PSYCHOLOGICAL DISQUALIFIERS AND SEE IF THOSE ARE HAVING DISPARATE IMPACT.
IF THEY ARE, THEN I THINK WE SHOULD REVIEW THOSE NUMBERS.
AND AGAIN, WE CAN DO A STUDY ON THAT.
WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT STATISTICALLY AND DETERMINED THAT WE SHOULD DO ADVERSE IMPACT ON OUR PROMOTIONAL, UH, PROCESS CHIEF BAKER, MAYBE.
BUT MY GUT TELLS ME THAT IT HAS VERY LITTLE IF NO ADVERSE IMPACT ON THE PROMOTION, BUT I DON'T KNOW.
I'D LIKE TO DO THE STUDY AND THE ASSOCIATION WILL PAY FOR THAT STUDY.
[02:25:01]
WE COULD GET A DUTCH PSYCHOLOGIST TO DO IT.IF THE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T HAVE THE RESOURCE WOULD BE HAPPY TO DO THAT, ESPECIALLY WITH BARGAINING COMPANY NEXT YEAR, WE NEED TO REALLY SEE WHERE OUR OPPORTUNITIES ARE, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, REALLY STUDY IT, STATISTICALLY, SEE WHAT THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE AND THE PROBLEMS ARE AND MAKE CHANGES.
SO, UM, WE, UH, FULLY WANT TO BE A PARTNER IN THAT MANIFESTS.
THANKS, PAUL CHEAPNESS ON TOP OF THE, THE, THE THREE TO FOUR YEARS OF PR PROCESS AND BACKGROUND, I THINK WE'LL ALSO BE LOOK AT THE WRITTEN TEST AND THE ORAL, UH, SCRATCHER EXAM TO SEE HOW MUCH THEIR WRITTEN TESTS AND AN ORAL TEST IS HAVING AN IMPACT ON MINORITY HIRING.
UH, THERE MAY BE SOME GOOD MAY NOT BE NOTHING THERE, BUT WHY WE'RE LOOKING AT THE BACKGROUND CHECK, UM, UH, THE FLIGHT TEST.
WE SHOULD LOOK AT ALL ABOUT TESTING PROCESS TO SEE HOW THAT WORKS.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT EVERY LITTLE INCREMENTAL STEP, SEE WHAT WE CAN DO, BURN HOT LEADS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, SO ALONG THOSE LINES, UM, CHIEFS, I WONDER WHAT NEXT STEPS NEED TO LOOK LIKE HERE? DOES IT LOOK LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL GET TOGETHER AND, AND ROPE US BACK IN LATER, DO WE ALL GET TOGETHER? DO WE BRING IT BEFORE THE WHOLE COUNCIL, CHIEF BAKER? WHAT'S YOUR SUGGESTION FOR HOW WE MAKE SURE THIS ISN'T ANOTHER THING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT, BUT THEN NEVER DO ANYTHING ABOUT, WELL, I THINK SINCE THE, UH, CHIEF NITS, UH, HAS, HAS OFFERED THE UNION SUPPORT SUPPORT, I THINK WE CAN SIT DOWN AND DISCUSS WHAT WE NEED, BUT WE NEED TO DO, BECAUSE AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE MAY AGREE OR DISAGREE ON THINGS, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
I THINK, UH, WE CAN COME TO THE TABLE AND SIT DOWN AND BEGAN THERE.
I WANT TO SAY, I APPRECIATE CHEATING.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD STARTING POINT FROM US.
UH, I, I LIKED THE IDEA OF GOING BACK THREE OR FOUR YEARS, LOOKING AT ALL OF THE HIRING PROCESS AND LOOKING AT THE STEPS, WHAT HAPPENED, THE HIRING PROCESS AND SEE WHAT WE CAN PROVE.
IT THERE'S ALWAYS ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT, AND I NEED TO IMPROVE MYSELF AS IF I CHANGED.
SO I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT.
SO, UH, COUNSEL, YOU CAN GIVE US, UM, I GUESS, BUT, UH, I WAS GOING TO SAY TWO WEEKS WHERE WE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HIRING PROCESS RIGHT NOW, ABOUT 32 DAYS, CAUSE THAT'S NOT TOO LONG TO TRY TO GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.
I DON'T WANT TO DISRUPT THE BACKGROUND RECRUITMENT TEAM RIGHT NOW, SUCH THAT THE APPLICATION AND ON APRIL 30TH, GOING TO HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF WORK TO DO AFTER THAT, TO GET THESE TOPICS FROM PROCESS.
AND I DON'T WANT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THEM, BUT I DO NEED THE RESOURCES THEY HAVE.
SO ANOTHER THING WHEN YOU LOOK AT TO THIS HIRING PROCESS, LOOKING AT THE PROMOTION TO ME IN THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS IS REBUILDING BACKGROUND'S TEAM.
AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF REBUILDING ANIMAL PERSONNEL RECRUITMENT SESSIONS, BUT I THINK IT'S GOING TO HELP OURSELVES.
SO THE THIRD DAYS, UH, MAYOR PROTIUMS THAT'S APPROPRIATE FOR YOU AND YOUR TEAM, YOU KNOW, UM, ACM, ARIANA HAD HIS HAND UP AND I'D LOVE TO HAVE MY COLLEAGUES BE ABLE TO WEIGH IN.
IT SOUNDS APPROPRIATE TO ME, BUT, UM, I'LL HAVE MY CA I'LL HAVE MARIANNA SPEAK AND THEN OUR, OUR COLLEAGUES WEIGHING IN AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT WHEN'S THE NEXT PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING.
CAUSE THAT MIGHT BE A GOOD OPPORTUNITY TO, TO, UH, CIRCLE BACK ON THIS ITEM.
AND THEN AT THAT POINT YOU CAN DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST IN TERMS OF CHALLENGING WRITING FOR AN AGENDA ITEM AT YOUR NEXT PUBLIC AT THE NEXT AVAILABLE PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING.
NOW I'M NOT QUITE SURE I SEEN ME IN 30 DAYS.
I'M NOT SURE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE APPEAL PROCESS.
UH THAT'S BUT IT MAY TAKE LONGER, UH, IT MAY TAKE SOME OUTSIDE RESOURCES TO HELP WITH THAT, BUT, UH, WE'LL DO OUR BEST, BUT IT MAY TAKE LONGER GOOD TO GO THROUGH THE PO PROCESS FOR THAT THREE TO FOUR YEARS.
NOT THAT I KNOW IT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN 30 DAYS, BUT WE GET AS MUCH INFORMATION WE CAN GET AND ASK THEM IF WE DON'T HAVE WELL, WE'LL BE ABLE TO JUSTIFY WHY WE DIDN'T HAVE IT.
AND JUST KEEPING US IN THE LOOP AS HELPFUL.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT WE CAN DO ON OUR END TO SUPPORT THOSE EFFORTS IN COLLECTING THAT DATA, THAT'D BE, UM, YOU KNOW, SOMETHING WE'RE OPEN TO AS WELL.
SO COLLEAGUES, IF YOU WILL, DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I HAVE ONE OR TWO, AND THEN, UM, WE CAN LET EVERYBODY GO FOR THE, FOR THE DAY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? WELL, THAT'S MY LAST COMMENT MALWARE.
YOU PASS IT ON TO YOUR COLLEAGUES.
I JUST WANT TO THANK MY A WILDFIRE DIVISION TEAM FOR THE HARD WORK THEY'VE BEEN DOING TO GET THIS HUB UP.
AND I WANT TO THANK LIEUTENANT NUNEZ AND HIS TEAM FOR THE RECRUITMENT EFFORT THEY'VE BEEN DONE.
SO IN THIS, IN THE CONSIDERATIONS AROUND US, FOLLOWING UP HERE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WANT TO MAKE SURE WE DO IS HAVE SOMEBODY FROM THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION PRESENT.
UM, I THINK THAT MIGHT'VE BEEN ONE AREA WHERE WE WERE REMISS THIS AFTERNOON AND NOT HAVING THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DIALOGUE.
AND IN THAT IT OCCURRED TO ME.
[02:30:01]
ALSO INCLUDE, UM, SOMEONE FROM LGBTQ, A PLUS, UM, ASSOCIATION, AND IF THERE IS A SEPARATE ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN, A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THERE AS WELL.I MEAN, WE HAVE, RIGHT NOW WE DO NOT HAVE A WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION PER SE.
A FEW YEARS AGO, THEY BROKE DOWN AND ASKED THE ASSOCIATION REPRESENT THEM, BUT CHIEF BAKER KIND OF RECONSTITUTED ONE RECENTLY.
WE ALSO HAVE A LULAC ORGANIZATION WITHIN THE BAR DEPARTMENT THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED.
I HAVE TALKED TO LULAC AND THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION ABOUT THESE ISSUES ABOUT PARTICIPATING, AND I KNOW THEY WANT TO, SO YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK IT'S GOOD.
I THINK WE NEED TO ASSEMBLE THE DATA, THEN MAKE PRESENTATIONS, ALL THESE GROUPS AND REALLY SPITBALL SOME IDEAS ON HOW WE CAN MAKE THESE PERMANENT ROOMS APPROPRIATE, WHERE MORE PEOPLE OF COLOR CAN GET THE ROOM.
AND I THINK THE ONE THING THAT I SAID, I ALWAYS SORT OF LEAD THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH IS FEELING LIKE I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT NEXT STEPS LOOK LIKE.
AND SO I WILL RESIST THE URGE TO TRY TO CONTROL THIS PROCESS BECAUSE THIS IS NOT MY AREA OF EXPERTISE, BUT I REALLY WOULD LIKE TO HAVE SOME PRETTY CLEAR, AND I DON'T KNOW, CHIEF, IF I'M ASKING YOU FROM THE AFS PERSPECTIVE OR IF I'M ASKING, UH, CHIEF DAVIS, UM, FROM A FDS PERSPECTIVE, BUT WHAT SPECIFICALLY CAN WE LOOK FORWARD TO IN OF A TIMELINE AND, YOU KNOW, LOOK BACK AND CHECK BACK IN.
I'D REALLY LOVE TO HAVE SOME SOMETHING TANGIBLE.
IF YOU CAN GET HIM, UH, UM, UH, UH, BASE AND PUT TOGETHER IN JENNIFER UNNECESSARY.
THEY MEAN AFTER I MEET WITH THE ADULTS GROUP, WE JUST NAMED ALL THAT LGBTQ AND CELLAR AFRICAN-AMERICAN ASSOCIATION, THE UNION AND ME TO THE MATH OFF, WE CAN PUT TOGETHER A ROPE UP A GYM BEFORE THE MEETINGS, UH, THAT YOU COULD LOOK AT.
AND IF YOU CAN MAKE AN ADJUSTMENT TO THE JUMP AND JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME TO REALLY PUT TOGETHER A EXHIBIT AGENDA OR A PROPER AGENDA TO SPEAK ON THE, I DON'T WANT TO JUST, JUST BE TALKING.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE I GOT THE RIGHT STEP AHEAD AND I NEED TO KIND OF SPEAK WITH EVERYONE TO MAKE SURE I GET INPUT FROM ALL PARTIES TO PUT TOGETHER THIS STEP AHEAD PROCESS.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S THE CONSIDERATION THAT I WAS HOPING FOR THAT THE NEXT TIME WE TALK THAT Y'ALL HAVE ALREADY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO EVERYBODY, UM, THAT I THINK THAT WAS THE LAST OF MY QUESTIONS.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR YOU ALL? ALL RIGHT, THANKS.
Y'ALL IT LOOKS LIKE COLLABORATION WAS THE, WAS THE WORD OF THE DAY.
SO, UH, THANK YOU FOR HOW SOME FIRE DEPARTMENT, CHIEF CHIEF DAVIS, LIEUTENANT NUNEZ.
IS HE STILL BACK THERE AND THEN, UH, CHIEF NEXT, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON.
WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE REMEMBER TOPO, DID I SEE YOU HERE? YEAH, I APOLOGIZE FOR, FOR COMING IN LATE WITH A QUESTION AND I HAD TO STEP OFF THE DICE FOR A BRIEF PERIOD.
SO I MAY HAVE MISSED THIS INFORMATION.
I WONDER IF ANY OF YOU SPOKE TO WHAT IMPACT, IF ANY, UM, THE FIRE ACADEMY HAS ON RECRUITMENT.
I KNOW CHIEF NIXON, I HAVE DISCUSSED THAT THROUGH THE YEARS THAT PROGRAM AND, AND THE WAY IN WHICH IT'S, UM, COULD BE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE RECRUITMENT EFFORTS.
AND JUST WONDERED AGAIN, IF YOU'VE ALREADY ANSWERED THAT, I'LL GO BACK AND WATCH THE TAPE, BUT IF NO ONE ADDRESSED THAT, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND RECRUITMENT T DAVID'S GONNA ADDRESS IT AGAIN, TALK ABOUT THE, THE AIRPORT, IF HE ADDRESSED IT, I'LL GO BACK AND LISTEN TO THE TAPE UNLESS ANYBODY HAS AN ADDITIONAL COMMENT ABOUT IT.
WELL, SO, SO, SO, SO THE IMPACT ON THE POWER ACADEMY, UH, AS FAR AS, UH, DIVERSITY RECRUITMENT, UM, I THINK THAT, UM, I WOULDN'T THINK OF IT THE IMPACT AS BEING DIVERSITY IN GENERAL, BUT I THINK IT'S BASED ON THE INDIVIDUAL, NOT BEING PREPARED TO GO THROUGH THE FIRE ACADEMY.
WE TAKE A GREAT STRIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT EACH INDIVIDUALS HAVE MENTORS AND, AND, AND ARE PREPARED, UH, TRYING TO GO THROUGH THE ACADEMY.
UH, BUT LIKE I MENTIONED BEFORE, A LOT OF ISSUES HAVE TO DO WITH, UH, PHYSICAL CONSTRAINTS, UH, BEING INJURED AND IN SOME THINGS, IN SOME CASES, ACADEMIC ACADEMICS, WELL, JUST, I DON'T MEAN TO INTERRUPT YOU.
I THINK I WASN'T CLEAR IN MY QUESTION.
I WAS REALLY TALKING ABOUT THE ACADEMY THAT WE HAD FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS, UM, AT THE CITY, THE CITY SPONSORED, UM, HIGH SCHOOL ACADEMY THAT THEN SHIFTED TO THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND EXISTED JUST THE LBJ ACADEMY.
YES, THE, THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT DOESN'T OWN IT, THE, UH, LBJ ACADEMY THAT'S STRICTLY WITH AISD.
SO, YOU KNOW, OTHER THAN THAT, WE HAVE, UH, SOME FIREFIGHTERS WHO WORKED FOR AISD, THE ORTHO-PARA DEPARTMENT THAT REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A, UH, AN IMPACT AS FAR AS THAT RELATES TO THAT PROGRAM.
MAYBE THIS IS A CONVERSATION FOR ANOTHER DAY, BUT I, YOU KNOW, AT, AT ONE POINT THERE WAS WHEN IT WAS SHIFTING, THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW TO BETTER EMBED, EVEN IF IT'S, UM, AN AISD PROGRAM, HOW TO REALLY ENCOURAGE THOSE WHO ARE PARTICIPATING IN THAT PROGRAM TO CONSIDER CAREERS IN, UH, WITHIN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND WHETHER THERE WERE POLICY CHANGES OR OTHER
[02:35:01]
KINDS OF SUPPORT THAT, THAT COULD HELP FACILITATE THAT CLOSE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE COMPLETING THAT PROGRAM AT LBJ AND, AND OUR OWN FIRE DEPARTMENT, ALONG WITH THE NEXT STEP PROCESS, LOOKING AT THE SUMMIT, THAT ACADEMY THAT PASS THE TORCH ACADEMY AND THE FIVE CORE PROGRAM, WE CAN LOOK AT OUR GOALS PROGRAM THAT DID WITH YOU.AND WE CAN ADD A TYPE OF NETSCOUT PROCESS AND SEATS, UH, AS IN A WAY WE CAN, UH, ENHANCE THOSE PROGRAMS AS A RECRUITMENT TO LOOK INTO THAT AS WELL AS A PART OF THAT PROCESS, BUT CONSTANTLY HAVE TROUBLE REAL QUICKLY.
I THINK I TALKED TO YOU AND SOME OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, DURING THE LAST BARGAINING CYCLE THAT THE ASSOCIATION IS COMMITTED TO AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.
WE'D LIKE TO HELP NEGOTIATE THAT, TO MAKE SURE IT'S APPROPRIATE, BUT THAT'S A WAY WE COULD BRING IN PEOPLE FROM LBJ ACADEMY.
IF WE DID HAVE AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, WE COULD USE THAT AS ONE OF THE QUALIFIERS TO GIVE THEM KIND OF THAT NEXT STEP UP.
OF COURSE, THAT'S JUST VERY HIGH LEVEL TALKING, BUT WE ARE COMMITTED TO, UH, TO WORKING ON THAT.
AND WE COMMITTED TO THAT OUTSIDE OF THE CONTRACT.
WE COMMITTED TO IT WITHOUT TRYING TO LEVERAGE ANYTHING FOR IT, WHERE WE WANT TO WORK IN THAT REGARD, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THE CHIEF AND THE COUNCIL WOULD PREFER.
NEXT I KNOW YOU AND I HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK ABOUT THIS AND OVER THE YEARS, AND, AND, UH, AT VARIOUS TIMES, AND I, I APPRECIATE YOU REMINDING ME OF THAT INTERNSHIP POSSIBILITY THAT IS OF, OF, UM, I'M REAL INTERESTED IN THAT.
AND WE'D LOVE TO, WOULD LOVE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT IT OR, OR LOVE TO SUPPORT IT.
IF IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING THAT, UM, HAS THE SUPPORT OF, OF THE FIREFIGHTERS AND, AND THE LEADERSHIP.
AND IT ACTUALLY INSPIRED ONE LAST QUESTION OR TWO LAST QUESTIONS FOR ME.
NUMBER ONE WOULD BE, UM, IS THERE AN ACTIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS? UM, I KNOW THAT THEY ARE EXPANDING OUTSIDE OF, YOU KNOW, GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ABOUT WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.
I KNOW THAT THEY'RE EXPANDING INTO REALLY DIALING INTO, YOU KNOW, SORT OF OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, WHAT WOULD THEY OTHERWISE WOULDN'T BE FOCUSING ON? SO I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S ANY SPECIFIC FOCUS ON PUBLIC SAFETY WITH OUR WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS FOLKS, BUT IF NOT, I DON'T SEE WHY THERE.
UM, AND THEN THE OTHER QUESTION I WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU ALL MAY NOT KNOW THIS, BUT I TRY TO BE A FIREFIGHTER.
AND SO BACK WHEN I DID THAT, I DID REALLY WELL ON MY, UM, UM, A WRITTEN EXAM.
I DID REALLY WELL ON MY BEAT PAD, BUT WHERE I KNEW I WAS GOING TO STRUGGLE WAS WITH THE C-PAP.
AND SO I WAS ABLE TO TAKE WHAT THEY CALL FIREPOWER.
IT WAS A KINESIOLOGY, YOU KNOW, PROGRAM AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY BEING ABLE TO FOCUS ON SOME OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, IT WAS UPPER BODY STRENGTH AND A LOT OF WAYS LIKE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, SOME FOLKS WEREN'T GOING TO BE ABLE TO DO.
SO I JUST WONDER IF ONE, IF THERE'S A, STILL A FORMAL, UM, PROCESS FOR HELPING CADETS REALLY DEVELOP THE SKILLS NECESSARY TO PASS THAT PHYSICAL PART OF THE TEST AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S A FORMAL, UM, SORT OF TRAINING OPPORTUNITY, MENTORSHIP OPPORTUNITY, TUTORING OPPORTUNITY FOR THE, UM, FOR THE WRITTEN PART OF THE EXAM PROCESS AND ALONG, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, I'M THINKING ALONG THE SAME LINES AS LIKE AN INTERNSHIP, BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, MORE I'M THINKING IN MY MIND GEARED TOWARDS, UM, PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF HIGH SCHOOL, WHO'VE ALREADY GRADUATED THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE DO NOT OFFER A FORMAL, UH, TUTORING PROCESS FOR THE WRITTEN OR EXAM.
ELLA PUTS THE CANDIDATE, THIS ABILITY TEST TO SEE PAT, WE DO HAVE A MENTORING PROGRAM.
I THINK IT'S FOR SIX WEEKS UP TO HOW LONG IT IS, BUT STUDY HAS SHOWN IF YOU PARTICIPATE IN THE MENTORING PROGRAM FOR THE C-PAP, YOU CAN GET MORE CHANCES OF PASSING SEED PACK IS VERY HIGH, BUT YOU MUST PARTICIPATE IN THE MENTORING PROGRAM TO GO THROUGH THE EVOLUTION TO THE PRACTICE, BECAUSE IT'S ABOUT SKILLSETS VERSUS ABOUT, IT'S NOT TOTALLY ABOUT STRENGTH, BUT IF YOU GO THROUGH THE MENTORING PROGRAM, SEE THAT IT REALLY ENHANCE A PERSON'S CHANCE OF PASSING, BUT YOU REALLY NEED TO GO MORE THAN JUST ONE DAY OF THE MENTORING PROGRAM.
THE PERSON NEEDS TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE POOR.
UH, FOR SIX WEEKS, I FORGOT HOME.
I MEAN, WE SEE THIS, BUT THE PERSON WHO READY TO GO EVERY DAY, UH, TO PASS IT BACK.
I SEEN PEOPLE WHO, WHO, WHO, UH, COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYERS WHO THOUGHT THEY WAS IN SUCH GOOD SHAPE, WHO DID NOT GO TO MENTORING FOR THE SEED PACK AND FAIL THE TESTS.
AND I SEEN PEOPLE WHO WEIGHED A HUNDRED POUNDS WITH THE GEAR ON, THEY GO THROUGH THE MENTORING PROGRAM AND PASS THE TEST, BUT WE DO NOT HAVE A FORMAL WRITTEN ORAL PROCESS.
WELL, I THINK IT BE, THAT WAS THE, YOUR COMMENTS THERE MIGHT'VE BEEN THE CON THE COMMERCIAL WE NEED.
IT SOUNDS LIKE MAYBE WE SHOULD, UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE, WHAT THE BARRIER IS FOR THAT.
SO, UH, MY HOPE IS THAT WE CAN EVOLVE THAT CONVERSATION AS WELL, AND SEE IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN HAVE.
I MEAN, IN MY MIND, IF THAT'S ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET THE BEST POSSIBLE RECRUITS
[02:40:01]
AND MAKE SURE THEY ARE AS PREPARED AS POSSIBLE, I DON'T SEE WHY WE WOULDN'T MAKE THAT INVESTMENT.AND THERE ARE SOME WAYS TO MENTOR ON THE WRITTEN TEST AND THE ORAL TEST, SOME IDEAS I'VE HAD OVER THE YEARS.
SO I KNOW YOU GUYS HAVE HAD A LONGER, MAYBE EIGHT, BUT THERE ARE SOME WAYS TO DO IT.
COGNITIVE SKILLS CAN BE BROUGHT UP OVER TIME TO DO THE RIGHT TRAINING.
UM, AND ANYWAY, I'VE GOT SOME IDEAS ON THAT.
I'D LOVE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL.
AND I'M SURE CHIEF BAKER, AND I COULD WORK ON THAT TOO.
IF THAT'S THE PLEASURE OF COUNCIL, I LOOK FORWARD TO THAT IN FACT, THAT WE CAN JUST MAKE SURE TO GIVE YOU MORE TIME.
UH, THE NEXT TIME YOU'LL COME TO, TO TALK TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
AND THE ASSOCIATION COULD DO, UH, KINDA MORE, MORE SPECIALIZED IN THAT DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO DO IT FAIR TO EVERYBODY.
SO TARGETED FOLKS CAME TO THE UNION HALL AND WE COULD DO SOME SORT OF CLASSES ON THAT.
WE'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT FOR A THING THAT WOULD PROBABLY PROBABLY HELP THE RECRUITING EFFORT.
IT MIGHT BE, UH, IT MIGHT, YOU KNOW, SATISFY CERTAIN LEGAL CHALLENGES, SOME WAY SOMETHING I'M ABSOLUTELY WILLING TO DO AND TALK ABOUT.
I SEE THAT YOU, THAT YOU JOINED US AGAIN.
DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE WE ADDRESS HER? ALL RIGHT, FOLKS.
SO WITH THAT, UH, WE APPRECIATE ALL YOUR TIME.
UH, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT BAKER, UH, LIEUTENANT NUNEZ, CHIEF.
WHO ELSE DO WE HAVE? A CHIEF DAVIS IS HERE TO AND CHIEF NEXT.
AND SO AT FOUR 46, WE'RE GOING TO ADJOURN THIS MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU, EVERYBODY FROM MY COLLEAGUES,