* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:03]
          GET STARTED. 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
UH, GOOD AFTERNOON, EVERYBODY. 
          I'M MAYOR PRETEND AT TASHA HARPER, MADISON. 
          WE ARE MEETING ON WEBEX AND AUSTIN, TEXAS ON MONDAY, JULY 19TH, 2021. 
          THE TIME IS NOW 2:07 PM. 
          AND OUR FIRST ITEM 
          [1. Approve minutes of the April 26, 2021 meeting of the Public Safety Committee.]
IS APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING. 
          UH, FROM MONDAY, APRIL 26TH, 2021. 
          IS THERE A MOTION TO PASS? THOSE MINUTES LOOKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY MAKES THE MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER CASA. 
          UM, ALL IN FAVOR APPEARS UNANIMOUS THAT ITEM PASSES MOVING FORWARD. 
          ITEM NUMBER TWO ON 
          [2. Discussion with Austin EMS Association regarding City emergency medical services operations and response related to the February 2021 Winter Storm event (Winter Storm Uri).]
OUR AGENDA FOR TODAY. 
          UH, A DISCUSSION WITH US AT EMS ASSOCIATION REGARDING CITY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, OPERATIONS, AND RESPONSE RELATED TO THE FEBRUARY DEGREE 21 WINTER STORM EVENT, UH, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS WINTER STORM ORI. 
          AND WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED WITH THAT, UM, PRESENTATION. 
          I BELIEVE I SEE SELENA HERE AND ESSENTIALLY AS YEP. 
          OUR PRESENTATION. 
          IS IT IN WHICH CASE, FEEL FREE TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          WE'LL ASK QUESTIONS. 
          OKAY, AWESOME. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR HAVING ME, UM, GOOD TO SEE ALL YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, AND GIVING ME A MOMENT, UM, AND REALLY MY MEDIC STRESS, A LITTLE BIT OF SPACE TO SHARE WHAT IT WAS LIKE DURING THE ICE STORM. 
          I KNOW THAT MANY OF Y'ALL HAD SEEN MY, MY OWN PERSONAL ACCOUNTS. 
          UM, BUT THAT WAS JUST ONE OF SO MANY. 
          AND I REALLY THINK, UM, OUR MEDIC STORIES, UM, REALLY SHOULD BE HEARD, UM, A, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT ANYTHING LIKE THIS TO EVER HAPPEN AGAIN. 
          UM, AND ALSO, UM, JUST BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU ALL DESERVE TO KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A FIRST RESPONDER IN THE CITY, UM, WITH THE THINGS THAT WE ARE FACING. 
          UM, AND I'M GETTING A LITTLE FEEDBACK. 
          I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT MY VOLUME IS OKAY BEFORE I KEEP GOING. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO BASICALLY MY PRESENTATION IS GOING TO, UM, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE SOME REALLY SHOCKING QUOTES FROM MY MEDICS. 
          AND SO I REALLY WANT TO LAY OUT, UM, JUST A LITTLE TIMELINE AND GIVE SOME CONTEXT. 
          UM, I'M SORRY. 
          I, I'M JUST MAKING SURE THAT SOMEBODY IS NOT TELLING ME THAT I NEED TO BE DOING SOMETHING. 
          I KEEP HEARING SOME OTHER FEEDBACK. 
          ANYBODY WHO'S NOT SPEAKING, IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND MUTING YOUR AUDIO, I DON'T HEAR THE FEEDBACK ON OUR END SELENA, BUT IT MIGHT JUST BE ME. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND SO I'M GOING TO JUST START WITH A LITTLE CONTEXT OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE OVERALL FOR OUR MEDICS AND THEN, UM, SHARE, UM, A FEW WEEKS AFTER, OR ALMOST A WEEK AFTER THE ICE STORM. 
          UM, WE SENT OUT A SURVEY TO GET, UM, JUST FEEDBACK FROM OUR MEDICS. 
          AND SO I'LL SHARE WITH YOU ALL WHAT THAT SURVEY WAS AND THEN SOME, UM, QUOTES, UM, SOME THEMES FROM THAT SURVEY AND THEN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THAT SURVEY. 
          UM, CAN WE GO TO THE NEXT ONE PLEASE? SO THIS GRAPH, UM, COMPARES, YOU'LL SEE THESE BLUE LINES ARE OUR CALL VOLUME. 
          UM, AND THEN THE ORANGE LINE AND THE GRAY LINE, THESE ARE TEMPERATURES. 
          UM, AND THEN THAT BLACK HORIZONTAL LINE IN THE MIDDLE RIGHT THERE. 
          THAT'S UM, FREEZING POINT. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE FROM FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH IS REALLY WHEN, UM, MEDICS STARTED REALLY TALKING A LOT TO EACH OTHER ABOUT THE ICED OVER OVERPASSES AND HOW BEST TO EXTRICATE PATIENTS AND ACTUALLY MANEUVER AMBULANCES UP THESE OVERPASSES. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE THAT ON FEBRUARY 11TH, UM, THROUGHOUT THAT WHOLE WEEK. 
          SO WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, UM, IT STARTED GETTING REALLY BAD. 
          UM, IF Y'ALL REMEMBER WE HAD THAT 26 CAR PILE UP. 
          UM, AND THEN ON FEBRUARY, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN FEBRUARY 11TH AND 12TH, WE ACTUALLY STARTED SEEING SOME WARNINGS, UM, TO THE PUBLIC, I THINK AT ALL LEVELS. 
          UM, THE STATE, UM, AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, WE WERE ALL SENDING WARNINGS TO TELL PEOPLE NOT TO DRIVE BECAUSE OF HOW DANGEROUS IT WAS. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU'LL ACTUALLY SEE ON THE 12TH AND THE 13TH, OUR CALL VOLUME GOES DOWN A LITTLE BIT, UM, BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE HEATING THOSE WARNINGS ON THE 14TH. 
          UM, AND THE NIGHT OF THE 14TH, THAT'S WHEN, UM, ALL TEMPERATURES WERE BELOW FREEZING. 
          UM, AND WE STARTED SEEING THE POWER OUTAGE AND YOU'LL SEE FROM, UM, YOU KNOW, THE 13TH TO THE 15TH, OUR CALL VOLUME, UM, MORE THAN TRIPLES, AND THEN YOU'LL SEE IT SLOWLY DROPS DOWN. 
          UM, AND THEN IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SO THIS IS A COMPARISON OF OUR CALL VOLUME TO LAST YEAR, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF I TELL YOU WE RAN 600 CALLS IN A DAY, YOU DON'T REALLY KNOW HOW THAT COMPARES TO A NORMAL DAY FOR US. 
          SO THE BLUE LINE IS OUR CALL VOLUME, UM, EACH DAY OF THE ICE STORM. 
          AND THEN THAT ORANGE LINE IS THE EXACT SAME DAY LAST YEAR. 
          SO, 
          [00:05:01]
UM, FEBRUARY 13TH, LAST YEAR, THE CALL VOLUME WAS ABOUT THE SAME AS IT WAS THIS YEAR. 
          AND THIS WAS ALSO BEFORE WE CANCELED SOUTH BY THIS WAS, UM, BEFORE WE REALLY STARTED SEEING THE PANDEMIC LOCALLY. 
          UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY TO ME, IT'S STILL A VALID COMPARISON. 
          UM, ON THE 14TH, YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR CALL VOLUME STARTS GOING UP, UH, DRAMATICALLY ABOVE WHAT WE SAW LAST YEAR. 
          AND THEN, UM, ON THE 15TH, YOU'LL SEE LAST YEAR, UM, OUR CALLBACK WAS AT 500 AND, UM, OUR CALL VOLUME ON FEBRUARY 15TH THIS YEAR WAS 1500. 
          SO IT TRIPLED, UM, AND AT ABOUT 500 CALLS, UM, I MEAN THAT'S A PRETTY HEAVY CALL VOLUME FOR US ANYWAY. 
          UM, AND SO FOR IT TO TRIPLE IS, IS JUST, IS BASICALLY UNTHINKABLE AND WE'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT. 
          UM, WE'D NEVER HAVE CALLS HOLDING AND WE SAW THAT QUITE A BIT. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY WE SAW THAT, I MEAN, 40% OF AUSTINITES LOST POWER FOR DAYS. 
          UM, BUT CALLS WE WERE EXPERIENCING WERE RELATED TO BEING STRANDED, UH, MEDICAL COMPLICATIONS FROM LOSING POWER. 
          UM, OR A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE JUST SIMPLY AT THEIR LIMIT FROM BEING COLD. 
          UM, EVEN IF THEY WEREN'T HAVING, UM, A MEDICAL EMERGENCY. 
          UM, SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, I WANTED TO SHARE WITH Y'ALL BIG QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED OUR MEDICS. 
          UM, SO WE ASKED EIGHT QUESTIONS. 
          WE ASKED, UM, IF WE HAVE ANOTHER EXTREME WINTER EVENT, WHICH I THINK WE WILL HAVE, UM, WHAT DO YOU THINK SHOULD HAPPEN NEXT TIME WE ASKED, WHAT WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE DURING THIS ICE STORM? WHAT DID THE DEPARTMENT DO? WELL, WHAT COULD THE DEPARTMENT HAVE DONE BETTER? WHAT DID THE ASSOCIATION DO? WELL, WHAT COULD WE HAVE DONE BETTER? UM, IS THERE ANYBODY THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHOUT OUT FOR KUDOS? WE HAD A TON OF PEOPLE WHO DID REALLY AMAZING WORK, UM, AND REALLY TOOK CARE OF OTHER PEOPLE IN THE FIELD AND TOOK CARE OF PATIENTS. 
          AND WE SENT ALL THOSE KUDOS OUT TO PEOPLE TO LET THEM KNOW. 
          AND WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A MEDIC WHO HAS NEVER EXPERIENCED AN ICE STORM IN AUSTIN? SO, UM, THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE SOME COMMON THEMES THAT WE FOUND. 
          UM, AND THEN WE ALSO WANT TO SHARE WHAT STRENGTHS WE DISCOVERED AS WELL. 
          SO NEXT LINE, SO OUR MEDICS FACED EXTREMELY AUSTERE CONDITIONS. 
          UM, IT WAS VERY, VERY CHALLENGING FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS TO ACCESS PATIENTS. 
          UH, MANY OF THE ROADS, THE INCLINE JUST WAS IMPOSSIBLE FOR AN AMBULANCE TO MAKE IT UP. 
          UM, WHEN WE GO OUT INTO THE COUNTRY, UM, AND THOSE ROADS ARE MUST LESS TRAVELED. 
          UM, WE HAD QUITE A FEW MEDICS ACTUALLY GO INTO THE DITCHES, UM, BETWEEN THE EMBANKMENTS BETWEEN THE TWO ROADS, JUST BECAUSE, UH, THEY HAD NO IDEA WHERE THE ROAD ACTUALLY WAS. 
          UM, WE LEARNED THAT WE HAD SUCH A LARGE, UH, MEDICALLY VULNERABLE POPULATION IN AUSTIN THAT HAVE OH, TO DIALYSIS METHADONE, UM, AND OTHER POWER NEEDS, UM, THAT KEEP THEM HEALTHY AND ABLE TO BE OUTSIDE OF THE HEALTHCARE, UM, HOSPITAL SYSTEM. 
          SPEAKING OF HOSPITALS, UM, WE SAW SOME HOSPITALS CLOSE, SOME ER, CLOSE TO US. 
          UM, THEY EITHER COULD NOT GET THE STAFF TO COME IN. 
          UM, UH, SOUTH AUSTIN, THEY RELY ON WATER PRESSURE FOR THEIR HEAT IN THEIR BUILDING. 
          AND WHEN THE WATER PRESSURE DROPPED, THEY ACTUALLY CLOSED TO US. 
          UM, WE STARTED HEARING THAT DELL SETON W WAS THE ER WAS EVEN GONNA POTENTIALLY CLOSE TO US. 
          UM, BUT, UH, I THINK THAT WE WERE ABLE TO AVOID THAT. 
          UM, WE HAD OBVIOUSLY INCREASED FLEET ACCIDENTS. 
          UM, OUR AMBULANCE HAD TO BE, UH, PULLED OUT OF A DANGEROUS SITUATION AND WE GOT STUCK MANY TIMES AND MANY OF OUR MEDICS EXPERIENCED THE SAME THING. 
          UM, WE LOST POWER TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE AND WE LOST WATER TO CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UM, WE ABSOLUTELY HAD MEDICS WHO WERE, UM, GOING TO THE BATHROOM, UM, AND USING THE KITTY LITTER THAT THE FIREFIGHTERS, UM, TO PUT ON TOP OF THAT, UM, WE KNOW THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE GENERATORS ON A LOT OF OUR, UH, EMS FIRE STATIONS AND THOSE FAILED. 
          AND SO, UM, FOR US, WHAT THAT MEANT IS WE COULDN'T CHARGE OUR RADIOS. 
          WE COULDN'T CHARGE OUR MONITOR BATTERIES AND OUR MONITOR BATTERIES ARE THE ONES THAT PROBABLY PERFORM THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, WHICH IS DIFFERENT RELATE PATIENTS. 
          UM, AND SO THAT WAS DEFINITELY, UM, VERY, VERY CHALLENGING TO OVERCOME NEXT SLIDE, SOME STRENGTHS THAT WE SAW, UM, LAST YEAR WE SAW RE-IMAGINING OF PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UM, AND A LOT OF THAT DID HAVE TO DO WITH EMS AND HOW DO WE RETHINK, UM, HOW WE DO EMS? AND I THINK A LOT OF THESE CONVERSATIONS ALSO CAME OUT OF THE PANDEMIC. 
          AND SO IN THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY CONVERSATION, UM, WE SAW OUR C4 LINE. 
          THIS IS OUR PARAMEDIC HOTLINE BE FULLY FUNDED. 
          UM, AND THEY WERE ACTUALLY INSTRUMENTAL IN OUR ICE STORM RESPONSE. 
          THEY ACTUALLY DIVERTED OVER 800 CALLS, UM, WHICH IS AWESOME. 
          SO IT'S 800 TIMES THAT, 
          [00:10:01]
UM, OUR AMBULANCES DIDN'T HAVE TO GO OUT IN THE ICY CONDITIONS, UM, AND KEEP SOMEBODY ELSE WAITING. 
          UM, SO THEY DID A LOT OF REALLY EXCELLENT WORK AND, UM, THEY HELP COORDINATE CARE FOR PEOPLE. 
          UM, AND IT WAS, IT WAS REALLY IMPRESSIVE. 
          UM, OUR AQUA RESPONSE, UM, THIS IS A NEW OFFICE OFFICE OF CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, UM, THAT WAS SPEARHEADED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR. 
          UM, THEY WERE ALSO INSTRUMENTAL IN PROVIDING ADAPTABILITY, UM, FOR THE TYPES OF EMERGENCIES THAT WE WERE SEEING. 
          UM, SO SPECIFICALLY THEY WERE ABLE TO USE THE EXPANDED COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS. 
          UM, THIS WAS ANOTHER OUTCOME OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UM, IF THESE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS COULD BE GIVEN A DIFFERENT SCOPE TO BE USED IN THE FIELD. 
          SO WHAT WE SAW IS THAT MANY OF THE DIALYSIS CENTERS CLOSED OR PEOPLE COULDN'T GET TO THEIR DIALYSIS CENTERS. 
          SO BY ALSO CENTERS, THEY ALSO COULDN'T GET STAFF. 
          THEY ALSO LOST POWER. 
          THEY LOST WATER. 
          UM, IF YOU MISS DIALYSIS MORE THAN THREE TIMES, TWO OR THREE TIMES, UM, DEPENDING ON YOUR LEVEL OF RENAL FAILURE, UM, IT CAN BE ABSOLUTELY DEADLY. 
          UM, WE DID HAVE ONE PERSON DIE FROM MISSING DIALYSIS, UM, BECAUSE WE RECOGNIZE THIS RELATIVELY EARLY, UM, OUR MEDICAL DIRECTOR ALLOWED OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS TO CARRY KAYEXALATE. 
          UM, KAYEXALATE IS A DRUG THAT, UM, FORCES YOUR ELECTROLYTES TO GO INTO THE RIGHT PLACE. 
          I WON'T BORE YOU ALL WITH PET SOFAS, BUT IT CAN BE LIFESAVING FOR PEOPLE WHO NEED DIALYSIS AND BUY THEM MAYBE A WEEK AT MOST, BUT JUST BY DOING THAT, THEY WERE ABLE TO BUY THEMSELVES TIME UNTIL THEIR NEXT DIALYSIS APPOINTMENT. 
          UM, SO THAT WAS REALLY, REALLY AWESOME TO SEE. 
          THEY ALSO, UM, HELPED GET UP, UH, A FACILITY THAT JUST WOULD PROVIDE POWER SO THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE, WHO JUST NEED POWER, UM, COULD, COULD HAVE A PLACE TO GO. 
          UM, OUR DEPARTMENT DID HAVE SOME RESPONSE TO ALTERATION. 
          UM, THERE WAS EXCELLENT TEAMWORK WITH THE FIRST RESPONDER ORGANIZATIONS, UM, INCLUDING OUR, UM, APV A F D UM, AND MANY OF OUR ESTS, UM, OUR DEPARTMENT DID PROVIDE PREPARATION PAY, WHICH ALLOWED MEDICS TO COME IN THE NIGHT BEFORE THEIR SHIFT, UM, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY COULD GET THERE SAFELY. 
          UM, UH, MANY OF OUR EXECUTIVES WENT OUT AND PICKED UP PATIENT OR PICKED UP MEDICS TO BRING THEM IN IF THEIR CARS WERE STUCK. 
          UM, OUR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP DID AMAZING WORK AND I HAVE A QUOTE FROM THEM LATER ON. 
          UM, AND WE ALSO HEARD MANY TIMES THAT STAR FLIGHT DID IT NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UM, THE WEEK WAS VERY, VERY TRAUMATIC FOR OUR FOLKS. 
          UM, IT WAS TRAUMATIC FOR ME. 
          I'M SURE IT WAS TRAUMATIC FOR ALL OF Y'ALL AS WELL, BECAUSE Y'ALL WERE LISTENING TO ALL YOUR CONSTITUENTS, UM, DURING THE ICE STORM, UM, I'M GOING TO SHARE JUST SOME THEMES THAT CAME UP FROM THEIR CONCERNS AS WELL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO IT WAS VERY DANGEROUS TRAVELING TO WORK. 
          THE DEPARTMENT WAS TELLING PEOPLE TO KEEP TRYING WHEN THEY WERE STUCK, SLIDING ON ICE, UM, IS NOT ACCEPTABLE OR APPROPRIATE OR SAFE. 
          IF MEDICS ARE STUCK OR CAN'T GET TO WORK, DON'T PUSH THEM INTO DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. 
          THEY ARE NOT EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH THAT RESULT IN LONG-TERM DAMAGE, SUCH AS LOSS OF VEHICLE OR BODILY HARM. 
          WE HAVE ONE MEDIC WHO GOT IN AN ACCIDENT ON THE WAY TO WORK. 
          UM, HAD A CONCUSSION IS STILL NOT BACK AT WORK. 
          SO WE STILL SEE, UM, SOME THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          I KNOW ANOTHER MEDIC HAS BEEN OUT FOR THE LAST MONTH, UM, BECAUSE OF AN INJURY THAT THEY SUFFERED, UM, DURING THE ICE NEXT SLIDE, IT WAS DANGEROUS TRAVELING ON ICE, DRIVING ON ICE. 
          UM, I SINCERELY CONSIDERED LETTING THE TRUCKS SPIN OFF OR EVEN TIP INTO A SHALLOW DITCH BECAUSE THE RISK OF A DEADLY COLLISION WAS GETTING TOO REAL. 
          WE WERE SO CLOSE TO SLIDING OFF ROADWAYS AND EVEN OVER A GUARD RAILS ON OVERPASSES, MOST OF WHICH WOULD HAVE ENDED IN OUR DEATHS. 
          WE OFTEN HAD VERY LITTLE CONTROL OVER OUR AMBULANCE. 
          I HAD A CONVERSATION IN MY HEAD ABOUT WHAT MY LAST WORDS WOULD BE OVER THE RADIO. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE WERE HELD OVER FOR HOURS AND THEN NOT RELEASED. 
          I WAS NEVER CALLED BY MY COMMANDER TO BE RELEASED. 
          ONCE I CALL THAT NOON ASKING ABOUT AN UPDATE, I WAS TOLD, OH YEAH, YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELEASED A WHILE AGO. 
          NOBODY CALLED YOU EXHAUSTING. 
          I ENDED UP GETTING OFF SIX, SIX AND A QUARTER HOURS LATE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE HAD NO BREAKS OR FOOD. 
          UM, SO THIS IS FROM OUR COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION. 
          I SET UP MY COMM CONSOLE. 
          I WAS ON THE RADIO THREE OF THE DAYS TAKING ONE BREAK A DAY TO GO TO THE RESTROOM, FEELING GUILTY THE WHOLE TIME, BECAUSE I KNEW HOW MUCH OF A STRAIN IT PUT ON MY COWORKERS TO HAVE SOMEONE OUT OF THE ROOM. 
          EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES. 
          UM, FROM THE FIELD I WORKED 29 PLUS HOURS ON A SHIFT. 
          WE WERE SENT LITERALLY ALL OVER THE CITY FROM FAR NORTH TO FAR SOUTH BACK TO BACK, NO FOOD, WATER RELIEF WAS TOLD. 
          COULDN'T USE THE HOSPITAL BATHROOMS. THE OTHER STATIONS, BATHROOMS WERE UNUSABLE DUE TO NO, WE LITERALLY HAD NO RELIEF. 
          WE WERE EXHAUSTED. 
          RUN RAGGED, NO NUTRITION OR BASIC NEEDS. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          I'M FEMALE. 
          [00:15:01]
I PEED IN THE BACK OF MY TRUCK IN A VOMIT BAG BECAUSE THEY'RE ALREADY TOOK FOUR HOURS JUST TO STOP THE TRUCK, NOT KNOWING WHEN I'D SEE A BATHROOM. 
          I ALSO HAD ABDOMINAL CRAMPS AND OPTED TO SWALLOW THE PAINKILLERS DRY BECAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO CONSUME WINE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, THIS IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN MEDICS FELT LIKE, UH, OUR EXECUTIVES WERE INVISIBLE. 
          UM, CHIEF RODRIGUEZ HAS RETIRED, UM, BUT I DON'T THINK HE WAS OUT THERE, UM, VISIBLE OR SENDING OUT COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UM, THE ENTIRE ICE STORM. 
          I ACTUALLY BEGGED CHIEF BROWN TO ASK, UM, CHIEF RODRIGUEZ TO SEND OUT AN EMAIL TO THE CREWS, JUST TO BUCK THEM UP, JUST TO LET THEM KNOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND THIS IS AN EMERGENCY. 
          UM, WE SUPPORT YOU. 
          UM, UH, WE, WE DIDN'T GET ENOUGH COMMUNICATION. 
          UM, OUR MEDIC SAID WE ARE ONLY A FOUR-DIGIT NUMBER TO THE DEPARTMENT AND CITY BEING EXPECTED TO WENT OVER 30 CALLS WITH NO BREAKS AND NO RESPONSE FROM THE DEPARTMENT. 
          THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE FREQUENT COMMUNICATION FROM EXECUTIVE TO THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT CHANGES AND EXPECTATIONS. 
          THIS EVENT SHOULD HAVE HAD SEVERAL PER DAY, NOT ONE PER DAY, STARTING A FEW DAYS IN IN FACT, THE FIRST TIME WE EVEN HEARD ABOUT A DEPARTMENT WIDE PLAN WAS WHEN I SAW, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS SENT OUT TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT WHAT THE DEPARTMENT WAS DOING, BUT NOBODY IN THE FIELD RECEIVED THE SAME MESSAGE. 
          AND SO IT SEEMED LIKE THE DEPARTMENT HAD A PLAN, BUT WE HADN'T HEARD OF IT. 
          AND DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HALF THE THINGS THAT WERE DISCUSSED IN THAT PLAN. 
          UM, I DID IMMEDIATELY CALL CHIEF BROWN AND HE PRINTED IT AND SENT OUT TO THE FIELD. 
          UM, BASICALLY WHAT THE SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS SAID, BUT IT JUST SHOWS THAT IT FELT LIKE THE PRIORITY WAS ON, UM, EXTERNAL AS OPPOSED TO FOCUSING ON THE WORKFORCE. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, UH, AN OVERWHELMING FEELING THAT OUR MEDICS HAD IS THAT THEY WERE ALONE AND HELPLESS. 
          AND I THINK HONESTLY, THAT THIS FEELING CONTINUES TO THIS DAY. 
          I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, IN SOME WAYS THERE WAS, UH, YOU KNOW, WOLF FROM, FROM THE EYES. 
          UM, WE ALWAYS FEEL LIKE IF WE GET IN TROUBLE, WE CAN ALWAYS CALL A COMMANDER. 
          WE CAN, YOU KNOW, KEEP GOING UP OUR CHAIN IF WE NEED, UNTIL WE GET AN ANSWER UNTIL WE GET SUPPORT. 
          AND I THINK PEOPLE REALIZE THAT, UM, WE JUST NEVER FELT THAT, OH, ACTUALLY, UM, WE'RE REALLY ALL THAT WE HAVE AND, AND IT, THE BUCK STOPS WITH US. 
          UM, AND THAT'S JUST A VERY SCARY FEELING TO FEEL FOR THE FIRST TIME. 
          UM, UH, A MEDIC SAID WE WERE ALONE IN THIS. 
          LIKE I SAID, INDIVIDUALS MADE THIS WORK, BUT APARTMENTS DID BY SILENTLY WHILE WE STRUGGLED, NOT ONLY WITH WORK, BUT WE TOO WERE GOING THROUGH THE SAME DAMN STRUGGLES AT HOME. 
          IT FELT LIKE THE DEPARTMENT DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THEIR OWN PERSONNEL, JUST COME TO WORK AND RUN CALLS, WHO CARES, IF YOU'RE WITHOUT POWER, FOOD, HEAT, WATER, OR GAS AT HOME, THEN THE STATIONS, POWER, WATER, ET CETERA, STARTED GOING OUT AS WELL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO THOSE WERE ALL REALLY HARD TO HEAR. 
          UM, AND I JUST, YOU KNOW, I NEEDED TO SHARE THEM TO BEAR WITNESS TO WHAT OUR MEDICS EXPERIENCE, UM, BECAUSE THEY DESERVE TO BE RECOGNIZED. 
          AND I REALLY THINK, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, ALTAR AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASARA FOR, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, GIVING, UM, DECLARATIONS FOR EMS, UM, IT REALLY DID MEAN A LOT TO OUR FOLKS, UM, AND I'M GLAD TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THEIR STORIES. 
          UM, SO THAT Y'ALL KNOW WHY I'M SO GRATEFUL FOR THOSE THINGS TOO, TO SHOW WHAT THEY WENT THROUGH. 
          UM, WE AL WE DID SHARE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON ALL THIS FEEDBACK TO THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, AND IF YOU CAN MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, UM, SOME DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE DISCUSSED IMPROVE PREPAREDNESS TO COLD WEATHER EVENTS. 
          UM, IN THE PAST WE USED TO HAVE THESE ICE STORM BOXES THAT HAD, UM, D ICER FOR OUR AMBULANCE, UM, HAD THESE CHAINS THAT WOULD CONVERT OUR SHOES INTO CLEATS, UM, HAND WARMERS, UM, REALLY SIMPLE THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          AND WE GOT RID OF THEM A FEW YEARS AGO. 
          UM, AND THE DEPARTMENT HAS AGREED TO BRING THOSE BACK, WHICH IS A REALLY POSITIVE STEP. 
          UM, WE'D LIKE TO SEE IMPROVE PREPAREDNESS, THE LACK OF POWER FOOD WATER. 
          UM, I WAS TOLD THAT A LOT OF THE FIRE STATIONS DID HAVE GENERATORS, BUT THEY DIDN'T WORK FOR WHATEVER REASON. 
          UM, AND SO I KNOW I'VE HEARD THAT THOSE GENERATORS ARE ALL BEING LOOKED AT AND THAT THERE ARE PLANS FOR, UM, UH, REDUNDANCY OF POWER. 
          UM, OUR DEPARTMENT DID HAVE A PALLET OF MRAS. 
          THEY DIDN'T REALLY GET TO THE FIELD. 
          THIS IS WHERE THE ASSOCIATION REALLY TOOK OVER. 
          AND WE FED OUR MEDICS THREE HOT MEALS STARTING WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. 
          UM, WE WENT TO FIVE DIFFERENT HOSPITALS, THREE TIMES A DAY, UM, GETTING OUT HOT MEALS. 
          UM, BUT THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT IN THE FUTURE. 
          UM, WE HAD SOME COMMANDERS THAT WENT OUT AND PURCHASED MEALS ON THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK, UM, AND THEY WERE REIMBURSED, UM, BUT HAVING A, UH, A WIDER PLANNER OR SOMEBODY TO REALLY THINK ABOUT THAT, UM, MORE VISIBLE EXECUTIVE STAFF DURING HIGH-PROFILE MULTI-DAY EVENTS, MORE COMMUNICATION, UM, QUICKER STAFFING ALTERATIONS. 
          SO GOING TO AB, UM, THIS IS ALL KIND OF INSIDE BASEBALL, SO I'LL JUST RUN THROUGH THE REST. 
          UM, WE REALLY WANT TO SEE SOME REST DURING THE SHIFT, UM, USE ALL EMS 
          [00:20:01]
VEHICLES. 
          UM, WE DIDN'T, WE PROBABLY DIDN'T HAVE THE STAFF TO USE ALL VEHICLES, BUT THIS WAS A GOOD RECOMMENDATION BROUGHT FORWARD BY OUR MEDICS THAT WE DO HAVE ATS AND SPRINTERS AND OTHER TYPES OF VEHICLES THAT WE COULD HAVE PULLED OUT, UM, MODIFIED CHARTING. 
          UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF PAPERWORK THAT WE HAVE TO DO IN EMS AND DURING THE ICE STORM, IF WE COULD HAVE MODIFIED THAT MODIFIED RESPONSE, WE STILL SAW OURSELVES. 
          UM, LIKE ONE MEDIC SAID GOING, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I, MYSELF, UM, WAS DISPATCHED. 
          I WAS AT PARMER AND MOPAC AND I GOT DISPATCHED TO SLAUGHTER AND MOPAC. 
          UM, AND SO JUST REALLY THINKING ABOUT IF THOSE TYPES OF RESPONSE DECISIONS MAKE SENSE AND HOW WE CAN IMPROVE THAT, UM, TREAT PROLONGED INCIDENTS LIKE DEPLOYMENTS. 
          WE HAD SOME MEDICS WHO JUST LIVED AT THE STATION FOR LIKE FIVE DAYS. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, THINKING ABOUT IF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO STAY AT STATION BECAUSE THE, THEIR WAY HOME IS IMPOSSIBLE. 
          UM, HOW DO WE TREAT THAT MORE LIKE A DEPLOYMENT? UM, AND THEN WE CAN ALSO UTILIZE THAT STAFF AS WELL. 
          UM, OUR AMBULANCES ARE NOT FOUR BY FOUR OR ALL WHEEL DRIVE. 
          AND SO CONSIDERING MOVING TO A FOUR BY FOUR NEXT SLIDE, UM, SINCE I'M TALKING TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, I WANTED TO SHARE, UM, SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR YOU ALL. 
          UM, PART OF OUR BIG BUDGET ASK THIS YEAR, AND THIS WAS ALSO A REQUEST FROM THE DEPARTMENT IS THAT WE MOVE OUR AMBULANCE STAFFING, UM, TO PARODY. 
          SO RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE ADD AN AMBULANCE, UH, WE ADD 12 MEDICS PER AMBULANCE. 
          UM, BUT BEFORE, WHEN WE WERE ON A DIFFERENT SCHEDULE, MANY OF OUR AMBULANCES ARE STAFFED AT EIGHT MEDICS PER AMBULANCE. 
          AND SO WHAT WE'VE ASKED TO DO IS SHORE THAT UP TO 12 PER AMBULANCE SO THAT WE HAVE IT MORE STANDARD, UM, IN A PRACTICAL SENSE, WHAT THIS DOES IS THIS ALLOWS US TO, UM, WHEN WE DO HAVE EMERGENCIES LIKE AN ICE STORM, UM, WE'RE NOT FORCING PEOPLE TO COME IN, WHO ARE HAVING DEVASTATING THINGS HAPPEN AT THEIR HOUSE, UM, WHO CAN'T REALLY MAKE IT IN. 
          UM, ALSO IF WE CAN GET THE STUFF IN, IT ALLOWS US TO OVERSTAFF. 
          SO WE COULD HAVE PUT ON ALL OF OUR RESERVE AMBULANCES, WE COULD HAVE PUT ON ALL THESE ADDITIONAL AMBULANCES. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WILL BE REALLY CRUCIAL. 
          UM, IN THE COMING YEARS, WHEN WE LOOK AT HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS AFFECTING, UM, UH, WEATHER PATTERNS AND JUST REALLY, REALLY EXTREME WEATHER, UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE A POLICY THAT MANDATES AT MINIMUM, A 45 MINUTE FOOD RATE, EVERY 12 HOURS. 
          AND I SAY FOOD BREAK, I'M REALLY TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO DO THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO DO WHEN YOU'RE RUNNING CALLS. 
          SO WE HAVE A LOT OF STATION DUTIES LIKE CLEANING THE STATION, CLEANING THE BATHROOMS. UM, WE'RE ALWAYS BEHIND IN CHARTING. 
          UM, AND I KNOW THAT POLICE, I, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT POLICE OFFICERS GET A MANDATORY 45 MINUTE LUNCH BREAK. 
          UM, BUT OUR PARAMEDICS DO NOT. 
          AND SO, UM, WE'D LOVE TO SEE A BREAK, UM, EVERY 12 HOURS. 
          AND, UM, THIS IS FOR DAY AND NIGHTTIME. 
          UM, UM, WE WOULD ALSO LOVE TO SEE A POLICY THAT, UH, HAS EXECUTIVE STAFF SPEND TIME WITH THE FRONTLINE STAFF, 12 HOURS A MONTH OR A QUARTER, UM, JUST TO SEE WHAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING AND TALK TO THEM. 
          UM, I THINK THIS WOULD GO A REALLY LONG WAY IN COMMUNICATION AND ALSO VISIBILITY. 
          UM, AND A LOT OF THIS HAS TO DO WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, CHIEF RODRIGUEZ WAS NOT OUT IN THE FIELD, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC, I DON'T THINK HE CAME AT ONE TIME AND HE HAD HIS OWN REASONS FOR DOING THAT. 
          UM, BUT I DO THINK MOVING FORWARD, UM, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE A MUCH MORE VISIBLE EXECUTIVE STAFF LAST SLIDE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S WHAT I HAVE TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY. 
          I'M DEFINITELY AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS. 
          UM, AND OF COURSE YOU'LL ALL KNOW HOW TO REACH OUT TO ME. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT GREAT PRESENTATION. 
          IT'S VERY HELPFUL. 
          I SEE THAT MANY OF OUR COLLEAGUES HAVE JOINED US. 
          WELCOME EVERYBODY. 
          THANK YOU FOR JOINING US THIS AFTERNOON. 
          ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY? WELL, FIRST I WANT TO SAY THANK YOU SELENA FOR COMING TO OUR COMMITTEE AND BRINGING THESE DIFFICULT SITUATIONS AND COMMENTS TO LIGHT SUFFICE TO SAY I'M CONCERNED AFTER HEARING IT, NOT JUST FOR EMS, BUT OUR OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS, INCLUDING FIRE AND APD. 
          I'M WONDERING IF THEY MAY HAVE GONE THROUGH SIMILAR SITUATIONS AND I BELIEVE IT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED AMONG OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS. 
          SO I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST OUR COMMITTEE THAT WE ADD THOSE DISCUSSIONS FOR FUTURE TOPICS, PROCEED, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBA. 
          UH, THANK YOU, SHARON. 
          I DON'T SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE. 
          SO IF COMMISSION, IF COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE, WHO DO SERVE ON THE COMMITTEE, HAVE QUESTIONS, I'LL DEFER MINE. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, BUT I HAVE, I HAVE, UM, THANK YOU. 
          I WANNA, UH, THANK YOU TOO, FOR THE, BOTH FOR ALL THE SERVICE AND THE WORK, UM, AS WELL AS YOUR COLLEAGUES, BUT ALSO FOR BEING HERE TODAY, JUST TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION. 
          AND I, I WANNA DELVE INTO IT IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL PROBABLY OUTSIDE OF THIS SESSION, BUT I ALSO AM CONCERNED. 
          UM, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS INFORMATION 
          [00:25:01]
IS MAKING ITS WAY INTO THE AFTER ACTION REPORT. 
          AND SO, UM, MISHA, CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT HOW, HOW THE ASSOCIATION, HOW SOME OF THE MEDICS HAVE BEEN CONSULTED IN TERMS OF, UM, PROVIDING INFORMATION FOR THAT AFTER ACTION REPORT, AS WELL AS FOR THE EXTERNAL AUDIT? I'M SORRY, THE AUDIT THAT'S BEING DONE, NOT AN EXTERNAL AUDIT, BUT THE AUDIT THAT THE AUDITOR IS DOING. 
          SO HAVE YOU BEEN CONSULTED, HAVE YOU, HAS ANY OF THIS INFORMATION MADE ITS WAY INTO EITHER OF THOSE PROCESSES? UM, I'M NOT AWARE. 
          THIS IS PROBABLY A BETTER QUESTION FOR CHIEF BROWN, BUT I HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY REQUESTS FOR, UM, A CITY FOR A CITY WIDE AUDIT, UM, OR DEPARTMENT AUDIT. 
          UM, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS A HOMELAND SECURITY, UM, QUESTIONNAIRE THAT ONE OF MY MEDICS LIKE FOUND IN SURREPTITIOUSLY SENT TO ME, AND THEN I SENT IT OUT TO THE FIELD TO RESPOND TO IT, BUT, BUT THE FIELD WAS NEVER ASKED BY THEM TO DO IT. 
          AND SO, UM, I HAVE NOT PERSONALLY BEEN ASKED IN, IN, YOU KNOW, IN TALKING TO MY BOARD. 
          I DON'T THINK THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED ANY COMMUNICATION, UM, FROM ANYBODY IN THE CITY OR THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT AN AFTER. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S A, THAT'S A REAL CONCERN. 
          AND I WOULD LIKE TO ASK OUR EMS LEADERSHIP, UM, HOW THEY ARE, HOW THEY ARE COLLECTING THIS INFORMATION. 
          I THINK THIS ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE PART OF THE AFTER ACTION REPORT. 
          I KNOW THAT WHEN WE DID OUR COUNCIL REVIEW OF DIFFERENT, UM, AREAS, IT DIDN'T UNCOVER, UM, ALL OF WHAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING HERE TODAY. 
          WE DID REALLY EARLY ON SHARE. 
          UM, SO BASICALLY THE PRESENTATION THAT I GAVE IS, UM, A VERY BRIEF RUNDOWN FROM OUR FORMAL AFTER ACTION REPORT, WHICH WE HAD A TOWN HALL WITH CHIEF BROWN AND GAVE HIM ALL THOSE CONCERNS. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S WHAT THEY TOOK FROM IT, OR IF THEY REACHED OUT TO INDIVIDUALS OUTSIDE OF THAT. 
          UM, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET THAT FULL PRESENTATION? IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE SHARING WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS? UM, AND JUST TO CLARIFY, THE AUDIT I WAS TALKING ABOUT IS THE AUDIT IS THE WORK THAT THE AUDITOR IS DOING IN RESPONSE TO THE RESOLUTION THAT COUNCIL PASSED. 
          AND SO THIS MAY OR MAY NOT, YOU KNOW, SHE'S, UH, SHE AND HER TEAM ARE FOCUSING THAT AUDIT ON CERTAIN, ON CERTAIN AREAS. 
          AND SO IT MAY OR MAY NOT RELATE TO, TO WHAT, UM, HER AREA SCOPE IS, BUT FOR SURE, FOR SURE, THE CITY'S AFTER ACTION REPORT NEEDS TO CONSIDER THINGS SUCH AS, AS WHAT YOU'RE DESCRIBING THE LACK OF AVAILABLE FOOD, THE LACK OF RESTROOM BREAKS, UM, THE EQUIPMENT THAT'S, THAT WAS NOT ON THE TRUCK THAT HAD BEEN IN PREVIOUS. 
          I MEAN, AND SO MANY OF THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS YOU'VE MENTIONED, SO TARA, WHEN IT'S APPROPRIATE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO HEAR FROM OUR EMS LEADERSHIP ABOUT HOW THEY ARE, HOW THEY ARE, UM, HEARING AND ACCUMULATING THESE CONCERNS AND TAKING THEM INTO ACCOUNT WITH THE APP WITH THE OFFICIAL AFTER ACTION REPORT THAT THEY'RE PREPARING, HELLO, THIS IS CHIEF BROWN. 
          UM, AS SELENA SAID, UH, SHORTLY AFTER THEY DEVELOPED THEIR AFTER ACTION REPORT, I MET WITH SELENA AND WE DID A TOWN HALL WHERE WE ANSWERED ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS AND THEY PUT ALL THAT INFORMATION TO US. 
          UM, WE'RE TAKING ALL THAT INFORMATION THEY PROVIDED AND INCORPORATING IT INTO THE DEPARTMENT AFTER ACTION REPORT AND THAT FOLDS INTO THE CITY AND, UM, THE OVERALL ACTION REPORT. 
          SO, UM, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE NOT WAITING FOR AFTER X REPORT, AS SELENA SAID, UM, WE'RE ALREADY IN PROCESS OF, UH, UH, DEVELOPING THOSE WINTER BOXES. 
          UM, AS SHE MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, THE, THE, THE ACT TRACKS, THAT'S THE LITTLE SHOE COVER THAT YOU PUT OVER YOUR SHOES, THAT'D BE ABLE TO WALK BETTER ON ICE, UM, AND ALL WHAT WILL BE BACK IN THE WINTER BOX. 
          SO THOSE WILL BE COMING ALREADY BACK LONG BEFORE THE ACTION PLAN, EITHER FOR THE CITY OR OTHERS DEVELOPED OR FINALIZED. 
          UH, WE RE WE, UH, HAVE ALREADY RECOGNIZED THAT SOME OTHER THINGS THAT IS, UM, UH, WHILE, YOU KNOW, SWITCHING OVER TO A FOUR BY FOUR AMBULANCE IS A MUCH BIGGER AND, UH, UM, ARGUOUS PROCESS SINCE WE ONLY PURCHASE SO MANY AMBULANCES PLACE, THE HOPEFULLY MAY NOT BE PRACTICAL. 
          WE ARE IN THE PROCESS ALREADY PURCHASING, UH, SNOW ARCH AIMS, UM, WITH THAT WILL COME SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR OUR STAFF. 
          UM, AND ACTUALLY, UH, EVEN IN FOUR BY FOUR UNITS, YOU KNOW, WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, ALSO, UH, ARE SLOWER. 
          UM, BECAUSE ON THOSE, YOU JUST CAN'T TRAVEL AT HIGH SPEEDS ON THEM. 
          NOT THAT ANY OF OUR FOLKS ARE HIGH HIGH-SPEED, BUT EVEN 30 MILES AN HOUR IS PRETTY FAST. 
          AND, UH, WITH SNOW CHAINS OR EVEN A FOUR BY FOUR. 
          SO WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF THE INPUT THAT SHE HAS ALREADY PROVIDED TO US, AND THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR STAFF. 
          AND, UM, AS ALWAYS WE'LL WORKING ON COMMUNICATION WITH THE STAFF, I JUST HELD FOUR TOWN HALLS FOR THE SHIFTS. 
          I'M DOING A COUPLE MORE ON OUR COMMUNICATION STAFF, ALL OF IT'S TO HEAR DIRECTLY FROM THEM, WHAT'S GOING ON. 
          UM, UH, WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATIONS. 
          I THINK THAT'S ALWAYS A, A BIG POINT FOR ANY ORGANIZATION OF OUR SIZE IS COMMUNICATION. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST 
          [00:30:01]
FOR EVERYBODY. 
          AND WE'RE TRYING TO COMMUNICATE BETTER WITH THE STAFF THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          IT'S VERY HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU, CHIEF. 
          I THINK I SAW A COUNCIL MEMBER CASALS AND, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY AND DISORDERED THAT'S CALLED COUNCIL MEMBER CASA, AND SOME OF HER ALTAR AND THE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MY FIRST QUESTION WAS WHAT WAS JUST, UH, FOLLOWED UP ON BY THE CHIEF AND THANK YOU FOR THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO ABOUT WINTER, UM, AND WHAT THINGS WE CAN START DOING IMMEDIATELY, UH, REGARDLESS OF THE AFTER-AFTER ACTUAL REPORTS, BUT I AM INTERESTED IN, UM, BOTH, UM, FROM THE UNION PERSPECTIVE, AND THEN ALSO HERE AT EMS HAS, YOU KNOW, SO MANY OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'VE BROUGHT UP REALLY COULD, UH, APPLY AND BE EMERGENCIES THAT EMS NEEDS TO HANDLE IN A HEAT WAVE OR IN A WILDFIRE, YOU KNOW, IN SITUATIONS WHERE THERE'S WIDESPREAD POWER OUTAGES AND, AND HUGE INCREASES IN CALLS, RIGHT? THE PERSON WHO'S, UM, WHO NEEDS METHADONE OR THEY'RE, UM, OR THEY NEED POWER IN THEIR HOUSE TO BE ABLE TO SURVIVE OUTSIDE OF A HOSPITAL SETTING. 
          AND ALL OF THE THINGS THAT MEDICS HEROICALLY WENT AND ADDRESSED, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE, COULD HAPPEN IN A WINTER EVENTS, BUT THEN OTHER KINDS OF EVENTS THAT MAY EVEN BE MORE COMMON. 
          AND SO WHAT ARE WE TAKING AWAY FROM THIS, UH, THAT PREPARES US FOR THOSE SORTS OF EVENTS, OF COURSE, BEING ABLE TO ADDRESS ICE AND SNOW IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT SOUNDED LIKE A LOT OF WHAT YOU'RE DEALING WITH IS JUST WHAT HAPPENS IF THERE ARE TONS OF MEDICAL CALLS ALL AT ONCE. 
          YEAH. 
          AND SO I THINK THAT'S WHAT, UM, THE MOVING US TO, AS A PAR OF 12 MEDICS FOR AMBULANCE DOES, IS I KNOW RIGHT NOW THAT WE'RE HAVING A STAFFING CRISIS RIGHT NOW. 
          I MEAN, WE WERE QUITE A FEW SHORT, UM, BUT IF COUNCIL WOULD COMMIT TO GETTING US UP TO THAT 12 MEDICS PER WHEN WE DO HAVE PANDEMICS, WHEN WE DO HAVE ICE STORMS, WHEN WE DO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, RETIREMENTS AND SEPARATIONS AT THE LEVEL THAT WE'RE HAVING, UM, WHEN WE GET FALL BEHIND A LITTLE BIT ON STAFFING, WE WON'T BE IN A CRISIS LIKE THIS. 
          UM, FURTHERMORE, WHEN WE ARE WELL-STAFFED AND WE DID HAVE 12 MEDICS PER AMBULANCE, UM, THEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO UP STAFF. 
          SO HISTORICALLY WHEN WE'VE HAD REALLY BAD FLOODING, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO PUT ON A, YOU KNOW, A FEW EXTRA RESCUE UNITS OR, UM, JUST A FEW OPENINGS. 
          WE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND SO I WOULD LOVE US TO SEE US BE IN A BETTER PLACE SO THAT WE COULD BE ABLE TO UPS STAFF, UM, BECAUSE SO MANY OF THESE THINGS ARE GOING TO BE UNFORESEEN EXACTLY LIKE YOU WERE SAYING ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT, AS FAR AS HOW, WHAT WE'RE TAKING AWAY FROM THIS, HOW THAT MIGHT APPLY IN A, IN A HEAT WAVE SITUATION OR SOMETHING THAT ISN'T A WINTER STORM, BUT SIMILARLY KNOCKS OUT POWER AND PUTS A LOT OF PEOPLE IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION CITYWIDE. 
          SO IT'S, UH, PENNSYLVANIA S UH, MS. SHE SAID, UH, UH, PUBLIC WORKS AND IS ALREADY GOING THROUGH AND DOING A LOT OF GENERATOR SERVICING AND MAKING SURE THAT DIFFERENT ARE UP AND RUNNING AT THE STATIONS THAT HAVE THEM A LOT OF OUR, UM, REMODELS AT, UH, SOME OF THE STUFF FROM THE BOND ELECTION AT OUR STATIONS WILL HAVE GENERATORS IN THE FUTURE. 
          UM, IT DOESN'T HELP US THIS INSTANT, BUT, UH, AS SOON AS WE CAN GET THEM IN THERE, WE'RE ADDING THEM INTO THOSE STATIONS. 
          WE'RE ALSO, UM, UM, MAKING SURE WE HAVE AVAILABLE WATER ON HAND AND IN THE STATIONS, UM, THAT FOR A HEAT EVENT, ANYWAY, THAT WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, UH, THE NUMBER ONE THING, WE ALSO HAVE THE MRAS, THE METAL, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, MEALS READY TO EAT, UM, THAT, UH, MS. SHE SPOKE ABOUT, WE HAVE ON HAND AND, UH, UH, IN A EVENT LIKE THIS, WE'D HAVE A BETTER DISTRIBUTION PLAN. 
          THE, UH, OBVIOUSLY THE WINTER, THE ROADS IS IN THERE ICE AND IN SNOWS, WHAT, UH, IMPEDED OUR ABILITY TO DO, UM, REALLY GET OUT AND DELIVER. 
          UM, AND ALSO IT REALLY CRIPPLED EVERYBODY FROM BEING ABLE TO COME IN AND DO VERY MUCH, EVEN IN THE, UM, UH, PUBLIC SECTOR. 
          AND THEN HOW DO WE DO AS FAR AS KNOWING WHERE THE, A LOT OF THESE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE FOLKS ARE. 
          I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY SOME PEOPLE ARE VERY SCATTERED, BUT YOU ALL, YOU ALL HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF WHERE FOLKS WERE CONCENTRATED, THAT YOU WERE GOING TO HAVE TO BE RUNNING CALLS TOO, YOU KNOW? UM, AND, AND I THINK COUNSELOR, BECAUSE I THINK THE POINT THAT, UM, IS SO HARD IS THAT, LIKE YOU WERE SAYING, WE JUST, WE JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEXT EMERGENCY IS GOING TO BE. 
          SO WE CAN ONLY KIND OF, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE WATER, MAKE SURE THAT, UM, OUR STATIONS ARE, HAVE REDUNDANT POWER. 
          UM, I DO THINK THAT FOCUSING ON MEDICALLY VULNERABLE POPULATIONS IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND I KNOW THAT THE STATE IS TRYING TO START A REGISTRY. 
          UM, I'VE ALSO HAD SOME LIMITED CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, UM, HAVING A REGISTRY TEST. 
          I MEAN, WE, AS A COMMUNITY SHOULD, UM, HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR HIGH POPULATIONS OF WHERE NURSING HOMES ARE. 
          UM, I'LL, I'LL TELL YOU ANOTHER QUICK ANECDOTE. 
          UM, WE HAD A NURSING HOME, UM, IN COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, KELLY'S DISTRICT 
          [00:35:01]
LOSE POWER, UM, AND THEY WANTED ALL 150, UM, UH, UH, UH, PEOPLE IN THE NURSING HOME, UM, EVACUATED TO A HOSPITAL AND THEY CALLED THE HOSPITAL. 
          THEY WERE LIKE, THERE'S NO WAY. 
          UM, AND SO OUR MEDICS AND SOME FIREFIGHTERS ACTUALLY MOVED ALL 150 PEOPLE INTO LIKE THE GRAND HALL WHERE THERE HAPPENED TO BE A FIREPLACE, AND THAT'S HOW WE TROUBLESHOT THAT ISSUE. 
          UM, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE A GOOD LIST OF WHERE EMERGENCY, UM, HOMES ARE THAT THAT MIGHT BE VULNERABLE. 
          UM, AND I WOULD LOVE IT IF PEOPLE COULD SELF-REPORT, UM, ANY NEEDS. 
          AND I THINK AUSTIN ENERGY DID ACTUALLY HAVE A PROGRAM LIKE THAT, BUT IT'S JUST VERY, VERY OUTDATED. 
          AND SO IT ONLY HAD, UM, A COUPLE OF DOZEN PEOPLE. 
          UM, BUT IT, IT KIND OF GOES INTO, YOU KNOW, RIGHT NOW, IF I GO TO A HOUSE, WE CAN TAG THAT HOUSE WITH LIKE, HEY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, THIS PERSON HAS REALLY SPECIALIZED, UM, PART EQUIPMENT. 
          UM, AND SO, YOU KNOW, YOU SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH IT BEFORE YOU GO INTO THE HOUSE. 
          UM, AND SO PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY PROVIDE THESE TYPES OF TAGS SO THAT, SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY RUN REPORT OR KNOW. 
          UM, AND I TALKED TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, HARPER, MADISON ABOUT AN IDEA ABOUT ALSO LIKE, THERE'S SOMEBODY IN THIS HOUSE WITH SPECIAL NEEDS, WHO'S AUTISTIC. 
          UM, AND THEN THAT INFORMATION CAN BE SENT TO POLICE, FIRE, AND EMS. AND SO WE CAN HAVE THIS AWARENESS, UM, BEFORE ANY OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES GO IN AND HAVE JUST A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF, OF THE TYPES OF NEEDS THAT WE MIGHT BE EXPERIENCING. 
          WELL, THANK YOU. 
          OH, GO AHEAD, CHIEF. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT AS MISHA SAID, THE STATE DOES HAVE A REGISTRY, UM, BUT IT IS A SELF, YOU KNOW, REPORTINGS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO GET PEOPLE TO REGISTER FOR THAT. 
          AND OTHERWISE WE WON'T KNOW THROUGH THE STATE, I KNOW AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS AWARE OF A LARGE NUMBER OF OUR POPULATION AND OUR COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS ARE AWARE OF A LARGE POPULATION. 
          AND IF WE WERE TO GET AN EXTENDED, UH, SITUATION LIKE THIS, I KNOW WE COULD TAP INTO SOME OF OUR LOCAL RESOURCES. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE ARE AWARE AND KNOW THE PEOPLE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE, UM, MEALS ON WHEELS, THEY'RE WELL AWARE OF WHERE THEY'RE DELIVERING TO THEIR POPULATION. 
          WE CAN PULL THOSE RESOURCES IN IF WE NEED TO DELIVER MEALS TO THOSE AREAS AS A CITY OR ANYTHING ELSE LIKE THAT. 
          SO WE DO HAVE THE RESOURCES ON SOME OF THEM THOUGH, DOES TAKE THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO SELF-REPORT MUCH LIKE, UH, SELF REPORTING INTO THE REVERSE NINE 11 SYSTEM. 
          YOU KNOW, WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO REGISTER INTO THAT SYSTEM SO THEY CAN GET ALERTS, BUT, UM, IT, IT DOES TAKE SOME, UH, CAMPAIGNING TO GET THOSE FOLKS, UH, TO, UH, UH, REPORT BEST. 
          WELL, UH, AGAIN, THANKS. 
          I APPRECIATE THIS. 
          I KNOW THERE'S LOTS OF MORE QUESTIONS TO BE HAD, BUT I WANT TO, UH, SAVE OUR TIME. 
          BUT I KNOW THAT OBVIOUSLY ALL OF OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, POLICE, FIRE, AND EMS DID SO MUCH WORK AS DID THE PEOPLE FIXING THE WATER LINES AND THE POWER LINES, BUT I JUST WANT TO, UH, THANK OUR MEDICS IN PARTICULAR, BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF LIFE-SAVING WORK YOU, YOU DID THEN, AND CLEARLY THERE IS A LOT WE NEED TO CHANGE TO BE PREPARED FOR, FOR THE, FOR THE NEXT DISASTERS. 
          UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I THINK OUR APPRECIATION HAS TO EXTEND TO, TO LEARNING FROM THIS AND DOING BETTER, REMEMBER ALTAR, THANK YOU. 
          I'M WANT TO JOIN MY COLLEAGUES AND THINKING MISHA AND OUR MEDICS FOR THE INCREDIBLE WORK, UM, DURING THE WINTER STORM AND ALL THROUGH, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF WITH COVID. 
          UM, I THINK, YOU KNOW, THIS COUNCIL HAS DEMONSTRATED WITH THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE MADE PARTICULARLY, UM, LAST AUGUST. 
          AND I WAS PROUD TO LEAD ON THE OCIO AND THE PARAMEDIC HOTLINE THAT YOU MENTIONED EARLIER, UM, YOU KNOW, THE IMPORTANCE. 
          AND SO I, I JUST WANT TO UNDERSCORE THAT PIECE OF IT. 
          UM, THANK YOU ALSO FOR RAISING THE, THE NEED FOR THE REGISTRY AND THAT INFORMATION AND HAVING THAT, UM, THAT WAS CERTAINLY ONE OF MY BIG TAKEAWAYS, AND I BELIEVE WE'VE PROVIDED SOME DIRECTION TO THAT EFFECT, UM, ALREADY TO THE CITY MANAGER IN THE AFTER ACTION PIECE, BUT I THINK IT'S, IT'S IMPORTANT. 
          UM, I WANTED TO ASK IT, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS A QUESTION FROM THE ASSOCIATION OR FOR CHIEF BROWN, BUT WHAT WERE THE PROTOCOLS FOR EXTREME COLD GOING INTO THIS SUMMIT? UM, AND HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND HOW PREPARED WE WERE, YOU KNOW, EVEN TO BEGIN WITH, YES, THIS WAS EXTREME, BUT I GOT THE SENSE THAT WE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE A PLAN IF THERE WAS ICE ON THE ROAD ALMOST SOMETIMES. 
          AND SO, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT PROTOCOLS WERE WERE IN PLACE, UM, TO BEGIN WITH? AND THEN I'VE GOT A COUPLE OTHER QUESTIONS. 
          UM, I, I WILL SAY FROM THE FIELD PERSPECTIVE, UM, WE, YOU KNOW, IT HAS ICED OVER IN THE PAST. 
          I REMEMBER DIVING OVER AN ICE PASS IN OUR AMBULANCE LOST TRACTION, AND OUR LUG NUTS WERE ON THE GUARD RAIL. 
          AND I ALSO THOUGHT THAT IT WAS NOT GONNA HOLD OUR WEIGHT. 
          UM, AND I DON'T THINK THAT WE REALLY HAVE, UM, REALLY HOW TO HANDLE WHEN IT BECOMES ICY LIKE THAT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD A MEDIC SEND OUT LIKE, HERE'S WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO. 
          THE FIRETRUCKS 
          [00:40:01]
ARE WEIGHTED IN A WAY THAT THEY CAN GO UP. 
          THESE OVERPASSES, UM, UH, COP CARS ARE WEIGHTED IN A WAY THEY CAN GO UP THESE OVERPASSES. 
          SO THEY GO UP THERE, YOU SET A PLAN WITH THEM, THEY EXTRICATE THE PATIENT, BRING THEM DOWN TO YOU. 
          LIKE WE ARE, WE WERE ACTUALLY CREATING OUR OWN PLANS IN THAT. 
          UM, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOMETHING MORE FORMALIZED TRAINING. 
          UM, I KNOW THAT THE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, THAT THEY, THAT WE HAD, UM, UH, THE ADDITIVES FOR DIESEL SO THAT THE DIESEL WOULDN'T WOULDN'T FREEZE, UM, AND, AND THAT CAME OUT TO, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC FIRST, BEFORE IT CAME TO US. 
          UM, BUT THERE ARE SOME PLANS THAT WE, I DON'T THINK THAT I'VE SEEN ANYTHING FOR EXTREME WEATHER, UM, QUITE LIKE THAT. 
          I MEAN, I THINK WE TEND TO DEVELOP EMERGENCY PLANS THAT SHOULD WORK FOR ALL EMERGENCIES, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T ALWAYS PREDICT HOW AN EMERGENCY WILL WORK, BUT WE DON'T HAVE THEM FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEATHER. 
          AND I MEAN, THAT WOULD GO THE SAME FOR WILDFIRES. 
          ALTHOUGH I KNOW THAT OUR RESCUE FOLKS, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY HAVE THE MOST TRAINING, ADVANCED TRAINING, UM, IN THE ASSOCIATION ACTUALLY JUST PURCHASED, UM, SOME WILDFIRE, UM, SPECIALTY PACKS FOR THEM TO WEAR WHEN THEY ARE, UM, FACING WILDFIRES. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STARTING THERE, BUT I THINK JUST GENERALLY IT'S, IT'S HARD BECAUSE YOU CAN'T REALLY PREDICT HOW AN EMERGENCY WILL GO, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE TRAINING ON THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF THINGS THAT WE'LL SEE THEM MORE AND MORE. 
          SO I WOULD LOVE TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION PARTICULARLY ON THE, ON THE, UM, WILDFIRE. 
          BUT I GUESS PART OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO ASK IS I'VE SEEN A PATTERN IN SOME OF OUR, UM, PLANS AND STUFF THAT WE DO ACCOUNT FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF EXTREME COLD. 
          SO, SO CHIEF BROWN, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHETHER EMS EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED EXTREME COLD AS ONE OF THE, YOU KNOW, HAZARDS THAT WE GOT TO BE PLANNING FOR? YES, MA'AM. 
          UH, THANK YOU, MS. SALTER. 
          UM, I BELIEVE WE DO ADDRESS IT, UM, BOTH THE, UH, EXTREME HEAT, EXTREME COLD BY TRYING TO HARDEN OUR STATIONS WITH A GENERATION AND ALTERNATE GENERATION, IF THE POWER GRID DOWN, UM, WE DON'T HAVE ALL STATIONS YET UP ON THAT ALTERNATIVE POWER SOURCES, BUT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS THAT. 
          UM, ALSO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WORKED WITH IN THE, UM, EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER, UH, PRIOR TO EVEN TESTING, UH, WE KNOW WHAT STATIONS, UM, ARE ON, UH, SLOPE DRIVEWAYS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          AND SO WE PLANNED FOR THE SANDING TRUCKS AND THE PRETREATED, UH ICERS TO COME AND DO THOSE AREAS, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE A HISTORY OF KNOWING WHERE IT'S GOING TO BE CHALLENGING. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY IT WAS PROBABLY WORSE THAN ANYBODY THOUGHT OR PREDICTED. 
          UM, AND WE EVEN HAD SOME OF THE, UM, PERSONNEL THAT DRIVE THOSE TRUCKS WEREN'T ABLE TO GET IN AND WORK THEMSELVES. 
          SO THAT JUST, YOU KNOW, MORE OF A CHALLENGE. 
          AND THEN OBVIOUSLY THE LOSS OF WATER, UM, WAS, WAS SOMETHING I THINK, BEYOND MOST PEOPLE'S, UM, CURRENT PLANS. 
          SO THAT, THAT CREATED ADDITIONAL CHALLENGE, BUT AS FAR AS CALL VOLUME, UM, MICHELLE ALSO MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE A, UH, AND WE DEVELOPED THIS TO GO, UH, IT'S REALLY SET UP FOR ANY TYPE OF SITUATION. 
          DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S HEAT COLD, UM, LARGE DISASTER FROM OUR TORNADO OR HURRICANE IS THE ABILITY TO TRIAGE CALLS AND NOT, UM, SEND TO ALL CALLS ARE AMBULANCES. 
          UM, SO WE, WE WORK WITH THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND IN THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, OUR MEDICAL DIRECTOR, WE ALREADY HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE THAT WE WILL START TO ONLY SEND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO THE LOWEST PRIORITY CALLS. 
          THEY CAN ALSO TRANSPORT IF NECESSARY. 
          THEN WE START SENDING THE LOWEST PRIORITY CALLS TO OTHER RESOURCES. 
          WE ALSO HAVE ALL THE FRANCHISE PROVIDERS AS PART OF THE FRANCHISE AGREEMENT THAT WE CAN PULL THEM IN AT ANY TIME, UM, WHICH WE DID IN THE ICE STORM. 
          WE PULLED THEM IN AND UTILIZED THEM IN DIFFERENT WAYS. 
          SO WE HAVE PLANS IN PLACE, UM, TO, UH, HANDLE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. 
          AND IT'S NOT JUST NECESSARILY HEAT OR COLD OR A, LIKE I SAID, TORNADO EVENT OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I APPRECIATE ABOUT, UM, THE EMS LEADERSHIP AND THE ASSOCIATION LEADERSHIP IS A WILLINGNESS TO REALLY FOCUS ON TRYING TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND, AND BE CREATIVE AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY FOCUSED ON, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WELL-BEING OF OUR RESIDENTS WHILE ALSO BEING COGNIZANT OF THE IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY WE HAVE TOWARDS OUR MEDICS. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST, I WANT TO UNDERSCORE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE INNOVATIONS OF THINGS LIKE THE PARAMEDIC HOTLINE AND THE OSIMO FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, WITH THE PARAMEDIC, UM, PRACTITIONERS, ET CETERA, YOU KNOW, HOW DO, HOW DO WE BEST DELIVER THE SERVICE AND HOW DO WE DO THAT? AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, THE AMBULANCE IS NOT THE ANSWER, UM, AND KNOWING WHEN WE HAVE TO MODIFY THINGS, UM, IT DOES SOUND LIKE THAT WE CAN DO MORE TO IMPROVE THE COMMUNICATION, UM, ACROSS THE MEDICS AND THE LEADERSHIP. 
          UM, I KNOW GIVEN MY EXPERIENCE 
          [00:45:01]
OF HOW MUCH THESE IDEAS ARE EMBRACED AND, AND, AND THE WILLINGNESS KIND OF WORK TOGETHER TO DO THESE, I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY EXCITING AND INTERESTING TO SEE, UM, SOME INNOVATIONS ON THE COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE WARNING STUFF, YOU KNOW, JUST TO SAY, OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO SEND EMAILS TO MEDICS, YOU KNOW, IN THIS KIND OF EMERGENCY SITUATION, THEY'VE GOT TO BE, TO COMMUNICATE OUT, UM, IN BOTH DIRECTIONS THAT SOME TECHNOLOGY, EVEN, YOU KNOW, AN APP THAT ONLY GETS USED IN THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY. 
          SO YOU CAN COMMUNICATE MEAN THERE WERE SO MANY INSTANCES WHERE PEOPLE HAD TO BE CREATIVE AND PROBLEM SOLVE, LIKE WHAT ONE PERSON WAS PROBLEM SOLVING THIS GUY OVER HERE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, AND THIS IS A TRUE ACROSS THE CITY, BUT I THINK THAT EMS IS IN A POSITION TO, UM, BE ABLE TO LEARN AND TO PROBLEM SOLVE AND FIGURE OUT SOME MECHANISMS TO DO THAT. 
          AND THEN MAYBE THAT WOULD ALSO BE SOMETHING WE CAN BORROW, UM, ELSEWHERE. 
          SO I JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE AND APPLAUD THE WILLINGNESS TO WORK TOGETHER. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S GOOD THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS AND SOME OF THE STEPS ARE ALREADY HAPPENING EVEN BEFORE THIS HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO LIGHT TO, TO US AND TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. 
          AND HOPEFULLY YOU CAN PRODUCTIVELY WORK TOGETHER ON THE NEXT STEPS SO WE CAN SUPPORT YOU MORE IN THE BUDGET. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY WAS NEXT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          EARLIER COUNCIL MEMBER, TOVA ASKED FOR A COPY OF THE PRESENTATION AND IT REMINDED ME THAT THERE WAS NO PRESENTATION IN THE BACKUP FOR THIS AGENDA ITEMS. SO IN THE INTEREST OF TRANSPARENCY, I'D LIKE TO REQUEST A COPY IS PLACED ONLINE SO THAT WE CAN ACCESS IT IN THE FUTURE. 
          UM, ALSO CHIEF BROWN, COULD YOU TALK TO US ABOUT THE STAFFING NEEDS THAT YOU HAVE CURRENTLY AND HOW YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS FOR THE FUTURE? MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT YOU CURRENTLY HAVE VACANCIES AND THAT YOU'RE ALLOTTED TO HIRE MORE MEDICS, BUT I'D LIKE CLARITY ON HOW YOU PLAN TO ADDRESS THIS WITH THE HIRING PROCESS. 
          YES. 
          WHAT I'M THINKING, MS. KELLY. 
          UM, SO CURRENTLY WE HAVE 110 VACANCIES. 
          UM, WE JUST STARTED A CLASS OF 33, UM, UH, MEDICS TODAY. 
          SO THEY WON'T FILL ANY OF THOSE VACANCIES. 
          SO THEY GRADUATE ON OCTOBER 9TH, UM, PREVIOUS TO THIS CLASS, UH, WE DID TWO CLASSES DURING, I WOULD CALL THEM THE COVID PERIOD. 
          WE WERE KIND OF RESTRICTED TO 20, UM, PERSONNEL PER CLASS BECAUSE OF SOCIAL DISTANCING AND THE ROOM SIZE WE HAD. 
          SO IT WAS A LITTLE SMALLER THAN WE WOULD HAVE LIKED. 
          UM, AND WE HAD SOME PEOPLE WAITING ON THE LIST TO HIRE AND WE HAD TO, UH, HAVE THEM WAIT. 
          SO THAT, THAT PUT A LITTLE, UH, SLOWNESS IN OUR ABILITY TO BRING IN FOLKS. 
          BUT THIS IS OUR, A LARGE CLASS WE'RE BRINGING IN. 
          WE'RE ALREADY HAVE A PROCESS OPEN AND IT CLOSES IN AUGUST AND WE'LL BE HIRING FOR OUR JANUARY ACADEMY. 
          AND WE'RE LOOKING TO PUT ANOTHER 30 SOMETHING FOLKS INTO THAT ACADEMY. 
          SO WE HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE. 
          WE HAVE MEDICS COMING IN FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES. 
          UM, OUT OF THE 33 MEDICS, UH, 16 OF THEM ARE, UM, UH, MINORITY OF COLOR. 
          AND SO I'M REALLY PROUD THAT WE ARE GETTING SOME DIVERSITY INTO THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, THAT'S BEEN A CHALLENGE FOR US AS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, AND, UH, AGAIN, THEY'RE COMING FROM ALL OVER THE UNITED STATES TO COME WORK HERE, WHICH IS A GOOD SIGN. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT UPDATE. 
          REMEMBER ALEX, THANK YOU, CHAIR. 
          UM, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. 
          UM, I'M SITTING IN ON THE COMMITTEE. 
          I'M NOT, I'M NOT ACTUALLY ON IT, UM, BUT I'VE BEEN ATTENDING FOR A WHILE AND I'M SO CURIOUS TO, UM, BE ABLE TO SEE THIS PRESENTATION AND TO SEE THE RECOMMENDATIONS COMING OUT OF THE WINTER STORM. 
          UM, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT PARTS OF THESE REQUESTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS COULD BE HANDLED, UM, WITHOUT US NEEDING TO DO CHANGES INTO THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS FUNDING THAT'S CURRENTLY AVAILABLE IN THE DEPARTMENTAL BUDGET AND WHAT WOULD NEED TO BE ADDRESSED MOVING FORWARD TO TRY TO SUPPLEMENT WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO YOU CURRENTLY? SO WE ARE HANDLING, UM, WITHIN OUR CURRENT BUDGET, ALL THE, UH, I GUESS THE LOWER LEVEL ITEMS SUCH AS I SAID, THE WINTER BOXES OR GETTING CHAINS FOR THE, ALL THE AMBULANCES THAT'LL BE HERE. 
          UM, PRIOR TO THE NEXT WINTER STORM, UM, ANYTHING RELATED TO, UM, STATION GENERATION NEEDS OR ARE ALREADY BEING ADDRESSED AS PART OF A PLAN. 
          UH, THE ONLY THING THAT'S CURRENTLY NOT IN THE, UH,  BUDGET WOULD BE ANY ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, UM, THAT MS SHIA SPOKE OF TO, UM, BRING OUR STAFFING LEVELS TO A PAR. 
          UM, SO THAT, THAT'S THE ONLY THING I WOULD SEE IN THERE, THE REST OF IT, UM, COMMUNICATION, UM, UH, WE COULD ALWAYS IMPROVE ON COMMUNICATION AND, UH, W WE'RE GOING TO STRIVE TO DO THAT. 
          AND IF THERE'S SOME TECHNOLOGICAL NEED, UH, THAT WE COME ACROSS AND MIGHT NEED SOME FUNDING FOR, UM, I THINK WE COULD PROBABLY TAKE CARE OF IT INSIDE 
          [00:50:01]
THE DEPARTMENT AND UNLESS IT'S, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S LARGER THAN WE COULD POSSIBLY PURCHASE. 
          AND DO YOU HAVE A BALLPARK ESTIMATE OF HOW MANY ADDITIONAL STAFFERS MIGHT BE NEEDED, UM, TO GET US UP TO THAT 12 PER AMBULANCE NUMBER? SO WE WERE LOOKING AT, UM, AND TALKED ABOUT IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING THAT, UH, THERE'D BE 40 MEDICS NEEDED, AND TO BRING US UP TO THAT STAFFING LEVEL 40 MORE. 
          AND THEN IF, IF YOU, IF WE WERE TO BE ABLE TO BUDGET FOR THAT, WOULD YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO TRAIN PEOPLE UP, UM, IN ORDER FOR US TO MEET THAT GOAL IN A RELATIVELY SHORT TIMELINE, JUST GIVEN, YOU KNOW, THE, THE EMERGENCIES NEVER STOPPED COMING IN A CITY LIKE OURS AND, YOU KNOW, IN A, IN A WORLD LIKE OURS, QUITE HONESTLY. 
          UM, SO IT, TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST, I WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO HIRE THEM ON DAY ONE OF THE FY 22 BUDGET, UH, WITH OUR CURRENT, UH, EXISTING HOLES. 
          UM, BUT I REALLY SEE US CLOSING THAT GAP NEXT YEAR. 
          UM, AND, AND IF ANYTHING, I WOULD BUDGET HIM LATER IN THE YEAR TO GIVE US TIME TO FILL OUR CURRENT VACANCIES AND THEN BRING THEM ON AT THE END OF A FYI 22 UNTIL THE FOLLOWING YEAR. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE MOST PRUDENT THING IF YOU WERE TO DO THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I, I AM QUITE INTERESTED IN THAT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE RELY ON OUR EMS SO MUCH AND YOU ALWAYS, YOU AND YOUR DEPARTMENT ALWAYS GO ABOVE AND BEYOND. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE COULD EVEN FIND FEASIBLE AS, AS NORMAL HUMANS. 
          UM, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I THINK OVER, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, AS WE LOOK AT OUR BUDGET, WE DO NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE RESILIENT IN OUR EMS STAFFING AND THAT WE'RE SETTING OURSELVES UP FOR SUCCESS IN THE YEARS TO COME. 
          UM, SWITCHING TOPICS A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ANY CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY GOING ON ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER EMERGENCIES THAT FOLKS HAVE TALKED ABOUT TODAY, LIKE POTENTIAL FOR WILDFIRE OR FLOODING? UM, I'M SURE WITH TRAINING, YOU GO THROUGH ALL THE SCENARIOS, BUT DO YOU KIND OF KEEP UP TO SPEED ON WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE IF A WILDFIRE OR A FLOOD HAPPENED PRETTY QUICKLY? HOW DOES, HOW DOES THAT COMMUNICATION WORK BETWEEN YOUR DEPARTMENT AND OTHER DEPARTMENTS? SO WE WORK PRETTY HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, UH, ESPECIALLY IN WATER RESCUES, WE BOTH HAVE RESOURCES AND BOATS, UH, AVAILABLE TO US. 
          UM, AND, UH, OUR FO OUR FOLKS GO THROUGH TRAINING AS FAR AS BEING BOAT OPERATORS IN, IN, IN, IN, FOR SWIFT WATER, THOSE TYPE THINGS. 
          UH, WE SEND THEM TO, UM, WE SENT THEM TO OKLAHOMA MOST RECENTLY, AS WE HAVE TO SEND THEM TO TENNESSEE. 
          THESE ARE AREAS THAT HAVE SPECIALIZED TRAINING, THAT WE CAN GET THE BOATS IN AND DO SOME, UH, TRAINING WITH OTHER PARTNERS. 
          AND, UM, AS FAR AS WILDFIRE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WORK WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND, AND IN WORKING AS FAR AS, UM, REHAB WITH THEM. 
          AND THEN OUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE PROBABLY IS GOING TO BE, UM, NOT EXTRICATION, BUT, UM, AN EXIT PLAN FOR RESIDENTS IN THOSE AREAS. 
          UM, FIRE, I KNOW THAT'S CERTAINLY VERY HIGH PRIORITY AND OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO MANY FOLKS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, I KNOW ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, WE HAD A MIDSTREAM WILDFIRE AT OAK HILL. 
          AND SO I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, AS A COMMUNITY CAN BE PROACTIVE TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR FOLKS CAN BE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE, GIVEN THESE EXTREME EVENTS. 
          YES. 
          AND ONE OF THE THINGS WITH THE WILDFIRES WHEN THE OUTDOORS, THE LAKEWAY AREA, AND, UM, UH, WHAT WE DID IS, YOU KNOW, THE ESTS EMERGENCY SERVICES CAUSE THEY RUN ALL EMS CALLS. 
          THEY WERE SO TAXED DEALING WITH THE FIRE. 
          WE PUT ADDITIONAL UNITS OUT IN THEIR AREA TO MAKE SURE THEY HAD ADDITIONAL COVERAGE FOR MEDICAL CALLS. 
          UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE WORK WITH THEM, UM, ANY TIME THAT'S NEEDED. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND WE CERTAINLY LOOK FORWARD TO THE TRAVIS COUNTRY, FIRE AND EMS STATION OPENING. 
          SOON. 
          WE ARE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          REMEMBER CASA BEFORE VICE-CHAIR CASA, WHERE I RECOGNIZE YOU. 
          UM, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO A QUICK TIME CHECK IT'S 3 0 1 AND WE STILL HAVE A COUPLE OF PRESENTATIONS TODAY. 
          SO, UM, IF FOLKS COULD BE, UH, MINDFUL OF THE TIME, PLEASE BAIL WRAP UP, UM, JUST CLARIFYING QUESTION CHIEF, UM, THE, FOR IT TO GET THOSE 40 EXTRA STAFF YOU MENTIONED, WE WOULD NEED TO LOOK FOR MONEY IN THE BUDGET ABOVE AND BEYOND THAT WE HAVE TO GET TO THAT POINT. 
          YES, SIR. 
          THEY'RE NOT CURRENTLY BUDGETED IN THE, UM, MANAGERS PLAN. 
          UM, THE STATION ON LOOP 360 IS BUDGETED ALONG WITH CONVERTING SOME OVERTIME DOLLARS. 
          THE COUNTY GIVES US INTO REAL MEDICS. 
          UM, SO THAT'S NOT REALLY AN ADDITION. 
          IT'S MORE ACTUALLY SECURING THE PEOPLE INSTEAD OF JUST OPERATING AT OVERTIME COSTS. 
          AND THEN AS FAR AS THE KNOCK, SOME OF THE NON-MONETARY THINGS, UH, THAT, UH, WERE BROUGHT UP, UH, SUCH AS, UH, LUNCH OR FOOD BREAKS, UM, OR, OR 
          [00:55:01]
HAVING EXECUTIVE TEAM MEMBERS, UH, BEING OUT IN THE FIELD, INTERMITTENTLY THOSE THINGS THAT DON'T COST US MONEY. 
          ARE WE AT, UH, AT A PLACE WHERE, UH, UH, STAFF HAVE CONSIDERED WHAT TO PUT IN PLACE AND WHAT NOT TO WE'RE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND INFORMATION AND HOW WE CAN DO IN A FATIGUE MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
          WHEN DO WE EXPECT THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS WILL BE COMING BACK UP? UM, AND THAT'LL BE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT'S AFTER ACTION REPORT. 
          UM, AND, UH, I BELIEVE, UH, MS. SHE HAS ALSO NOT JUST TALKING ABOUT IN A CRISIS LIKE THIS, BUT JUST ALSO ON DAILY OPERATIONS. 
          SO, UM, THOSE TWO THINGS HAVE TO BE WEIGHED, UM, ALONG WITH OUR RESPONSE TIMES. 
          THANK YOU FOR CHECKING IN ON THAT. 
          AND THEN OF COURSE, IF IT ENDS UP COSTING US, IT SOUNDS LIKE COULD POTENTIALLY BE NON-MONETARY, BUT IF IT DOES END UP COSTING US, PLEASE DO RAISE THAT TO US BECAUSE I DO THINK WE WANT EVERYBODY TO BE ABLE TO TAKE A BREAK, UH, AT WORK, UH, JUST NOT JUST FROM A LABOR RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE, BUT ALSO TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DELIVERING THE BEST SERVICE WE CAN TO PEOPLE, WHICH MEANS FOLKS GETTING UP SOME FOOD AND A LITTLE BIT OF REST. 
          SO PLEASE DO KEEP US IN THE LOOP. 
          THANKS. 
          THAT'S MY BATHROOM. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A EFFICIENCY STUDY FOR AFD EMS THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE OUT BY NOW. 
          I, IT HAS A FANCY NAME, UM, BUT I STILL THINK OF IT AS THE EFFICIENCY STUDY. 
          UM, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE THAT IS AT AND WHAT SORT OF RECOMMENDATIONS ARE COMING FORWARD? SO THE DISPATCH EQUITY AND OPTIMIZATION STUDY, UM, I, I SAW THE FIRST DRAFT OF IT. 
          UM, IT'S BEING, UH, KIND OF, UM, UH, SPEARHEADED BY THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER'S OFFICE, UH, WHERE WE'VE PROVIDED FEEDBACK. 
          THERE WAS SOME, UH, INFORMATION THAT WAS INACCURATE AND WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE AND GIVE THEM SOME ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON SO THAT THEY CAN, UM, UH, POTENTIALLY MODIFY RECOMMENDATIONS OR, UH, UPDATE THEM. 
          I DON'T HAVE A TIMELINE OF WHEN THEY WOULD, UM, POSSIBLY BE FINISHED. 
          UH, WE PROVIDED OUR INPUT, UH, BOTH WRITTEN AND VERBAL JUST AS LATE AS TODAY WITH THE, UH, VENDOR GROUP. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          AND, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON THE QUESTION. 
          I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS WAS ASKING, YOU KNOW, WITH THE TIMING, IF YOU HAVE 110 MEDICS WHO ARE GOOD SEAS AND YOU'RE FILLING THEM AT, YOU KNOW, 30 EACH, UM, IF WE WERE TO GIVE YOU THE ADDITIONAL 40 MEDICS THAT NOT BE ABLE TO BE FILLED THIS FISCAL YEAR UNDER, I MEAN, I JUST DON'T, I'M NOT, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE I, I, I HEARD, UM, SHE TALK ABOUT OUR COMMITMENT TO DOING THAT AND, AND, AND I JUST DID THEIR VARIOUS PERMUTATIONS. 
          I JUST WANT TO BE CLEAR, I DON'T WANT US, WE'VE, WE'VE GOTTEN IN SITUATIONS IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS BEFORE WHERE THERE'VE BEEN VACANCIES AND THERE'S BEEN EXPECTATIONS ABOUT HOW THOSE WILL BE FILLED, THAT DON'T MATCH UP, EVEN IF WE'RE COMMITTED TO FILLING THOSE. 
          AND SO I WANT TO, I JUST, IF I HEARD CORRECTLY AND I HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO EITHER OF YOU YET ABOUT THE NEEDS, BUT I, THIS IS NOT A QUESTION ABOUT THE NEEDS, BUT A QUESTION OF THE TIMING. 
          UM, BECAUSE I, I WANNA, I WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT THOSE, BUT THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE EVEN IF WE DID THEM THIS FISCAL YEAR, IT WOULD BE HIRED THIS FISCAL YEAR, EVEN IF WE WANTED TO MAKE A COMMITMENT TOWARDS THEM. 
          THAT IS WHAT I STATED EARLIER. 
          UH, WE ABSOLUTELY NEED, UM, IT'S NOT A MATTER OF, UM, DO WE NEED THEM, IN MY OPINION, UH, WE DO NEED THEM, BUT, UM, TO BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, I MEAN, WE ARE GOING TO WORK OUR BEST TO FILL VACANCIES WE HAVE NOW. 
          UM, AND I W I WOULD, YOU KNOW, SEE HIM EITHER POSSIBLY FUNDED IN THE LAST QUARTER OF THE FISCAL YEAR 22, UM, SO THAT WE HAVE THEM ON THE BOOKS GOING INTO FISCAL YEAR 23. 
          UM, AND AT ONE 10 VACANCIES IS BEFORE THIS CLASS STARTS TODAY, ACTUALLY. 
          SO WE'LL BE DOWN 60, UM, AND, YOU KNOW, REALLY, UH, DOWN ONLY 30 TECHNICALLY, UM, WITH THE CLASS IN JANUARY. 
          SO, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          THAT'S WHAT I WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE THOSE NUMBERS TO TRY TO KIND OF UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT YOU BUY WHEN, AND YOU KNOW, WHAT THE FULL COSTS ARE OF, OF WHAT THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE 60 NEW PEOPLE ON BOARD COMING BY APRIL, UH, WITH THESE TWO CLASSES, THE ONE STARTING NOW, AND THE ONES STARTING IN JANUARY, THAT DOESN'T ACCOUNT FOR ANY ATTRITION. 
          UM, SO WE WILL LOSE SOME DURING THAT TIMEFRAME. 
          AND, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE ALL HAVE ALREADY HAVE ANOTHER CLASS COMING IN IN THE SUMMER WITH ANOTHER 30. 
          SO, UM, THAT'S WHY 
          [01:00:01]
DOMESTIC WE'LL FILL THE VACANCIES. 
          UM, BUT I WOULD, I WOULD PUT THEM FOR THE LAST QUARTER FOLLOWING THE FISCAL YEAR OF 22. 
          OKAY. 
          I THINK I'M, I THINK I'M SCHEDULED TO SPEAK WITH EACH OF YOU AND I'LL, I'LL ASK MORE DETAILED QUESTIONS THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT ARE, UM, IN THOSE MEETINGS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SURE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND IF I MAY, IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ALONG THOSE LINES, I THINK IT'S TOTALLY APPROPRIATE, ESPECIALLY GIVEN THE NATURE OF THE CONVERSATION, WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, HOW THINGS MANIFESTED SO MUCH OF, IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME OF IT IS OPERATIONS, BUT SOME OF IT IS, YOU KNOW, STAFFING LOGISTICS. 
          AND SO I THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR US TO ADD ANOTHER TIME, UH, HAVE AN ADDITIONAL MEETING WITH THIS COMMITTEE ABOUT STAFFING FOR EMS SPECIFICALLY. 
          UM, AND SO THAT SAID, I'LL, I'LL DISCUSS WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE AND MAYBE EVEN JUST, UH, OFFER FOR FUTURE TOPICS. 
          IN ADDITION TO THE RECOMMENDATION MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THAT WE HAVE AN ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION ABOUT EMS AND STAFFING. 
          UM, CAUSE I THINK THAT'S AN ADDITIONALLY IMPORTANT CONVERSATION I'D LIKE TO THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, THE RESOUNDING THANK YOU FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND I FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          UM, I THINK WE CAN PROBABLY SAFELY SAY APPLIES TO ALL OF OUR COLLEAGUES AND ALL OF OUR CITY. 
          WE ABSOLUTELY APPRECIATE YOUR CARE, YOUR SERVICE TO OUR COMMUNITIES. 
          AND WE ARE AT A TIME THOUGH. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT TOPIC AND I'LL SAY AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME THIS AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU COUNSEL. 
          WE'RE GOING TO MOVE ON SO 
          [3. Discussion and possible action on process and timeline for the evaluation and appointment of Austin Municipal Court Judges.]
WE CAN MAKE SURE TO SQUEEZE IN SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS, ESPECIALLY OUR NEXT ITEM FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION. 
          UM, ON PROCESS AND TIMELINE FOR THE EVALUATION AND APPOINTMENT OF BOSTON MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES. 
          UM, I'M NOT CERTAIN WHO'S OFFERING US OUR PRESENTATION ON THIS ITEM. 
          IT'S NOT IN MY NOTES, BUT I DON'T SEE ANYBODY ON THE LINE, BUT AS, UM, ACM MARIANNA, ARE WE GETTING A PRESENTATION ON THIS, UH, ON THIS ITEM OR YES, YOU ARE. 
          AND I SEE A REBECCA, UM, HERE TO GIVE THAT PRESENTATION. 
          FANTASTIC. 
          THANK YOU. 
          MAY PART-TIME I'M GOING TO, UM, SIGN OFF. 
          I WANT IT TO BE IN THERE FOR THE EMS. I'M NOT ON THE COMMITTEE. 
          JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANKS FOR JOINING US. 
          HAVE A GOOD ONE. 
          HELLO, MY NAME'S REBECCA KENNEDY. 
          UH, JUST WANNA MAKE SURE YOU CAN HEAR ME OKAY. 
          PERFECT. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS TIME, THIS AFTERNOON, TO WALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS. 
          UM, IF WE COULD GO TO THE FIRST SIDE, PLEASE, UM, OUR MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES ARE APPOINTED FOR FOUR YEARS AND THEREFORE YOUR TERM, UM, EXPIRES ON DECEMBER 31ST. 
          SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANTED TO TALK WITH THE COMMITTEE ABOUT TODAY IS WHAT OUR PROCESS IS GOING TO BE TO REAPPOINT OR POINT ANY NEW MUNICIPAL COURT JUDGES. 
          UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR OUR JUDGES, THEY MUST LIVE IN THE CITY LIMITS. 
          UM, FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS PRIOR TO APPLYING, THEY HAVE TWO YEARS EXPERIENCE, UM, PRACTICING LAW IN TEXAS, UH, BE IN GOOD STANDING WITH THE STATE BAR AND ALSO US CITIZENS. 
          SO THAT'S FINE. 
          SO, YES. 
          UM, AND I'VE WORKED WITH, UM, OUR PRESIDING JUDGE STATMAN, UH, TO TALK THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UH, WE WILL RECEIVE LETTERS OF INTEREST OR INTENT FROM THE CURRENT SITTING JUDGES, UM, TO, TO HAVE THEM PROVIDE QUALIFICATIONS AND THEN, UH, TO GET WHAT POSITION THEY PREFER, WE'LL EVALUATE ANY POTENTIAL VACANCIES. 
          AND THEN WORKING WITH THE, UH, WITH JUDGE STOCKMAN, WE'LL IDENTIFY MEMBERS FOR A JUDICIAL REVIEW PANEL. 
          AND, UM, I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT IN THE NEXT SLIDE, THAT WHAT THAT PANEL IS, UH, WE'LL POST ANY VACANCIES WE MAY HAVE. 
          AND THEN THAT PANEL WILL REVIEW THE LETTERS OF INTEREST, ANY APPLICATIONS FOR THE VACANT POSITIONS. 
          AND THEN WE'LL EVALUATE THOSE INDIVIDUALS TO PROVIDE A RECOMMENDATION TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. 
          UM, AFTER THAT OCCURS, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE RECOMMENDS THE JUDGES TO THE CITY COUNCIL, AND THEN THOSE INDIVIDUALS ARE APPOINTED FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEAR TERM FOR A NEW FOUR YEAR TERM, DEPENDING ON WHO IT IS. 
          SO NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO THE JUDICIAL REVIEW PANEL WILL WORK WITH, UM, OUR PRESIDING JUDGE TO, AND SHE WILL CONTACT PEOPLE THAT FIT INTO THESE CATEGORIES. 
          SO IT'LL INCLUDE INDIVIDUALS FROM, UM, THE MISDEMEANOR PROSECUTOR, LOCAL ATTORNEY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, LAW ENFORCEMENT, UH, LAW REFORM, ADVOCATES, STAFF ATTORNEYS, AND THEN WE'LL SHOW ALSO LOOK AT SEVERAL ATTORNEY ASSOCIATIONS AND BOARDS TO GATHER A DIVERSE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS TO SIT ON THE PANEL. 
          AND THIS IS A SIMILAR PROCESS TO WHAT WE DID THE LAST TIME WE APPOINTED JUDGES. 
          UM, AND SO THIS REPLICATES 
          [01:05:01]
THE PUTTING THAT SET THAT PANEL TOGETHER. 
          NEXT SLIDE, THIS SLIDE IN THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, WE OUTLINED THE TIMEFRAME FOR THE PROCESS BECAUSE IT DOES INVOLVE, UH, COUNCIL CONFIRMATION. 
          WE TRIED TO WORK BACKWARDS, MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE, UM, INDIVIDUALS, UH, READY TO GO TO COUNCIL, UM, IN DECEMBER. 
          SO IT STARTS TODAY WITH THIS PRESENTATION. 
          UH, ONCE WE HEAR FEEDBACK FROM THIS BODY, WE WILL START WORKING ON THE NEXT STEPS, WHICH IS GATHERING LETTERS, ASSEMBLING THE PANEL, LOOKING TO DO FORMAL ADVERTISEMENT. 
          AND THEN ALONG THE WAY, WORKING TO, UH, COME BACK TO THIS, THIS COMMITTEE, UH, TO PROVIDE YOU STATUS UPDATES AS WE PUSH FORWARD. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND SO THIS IS JUST THE, THE SECOND PART OF THAT, WHERE AS WE LOOK INTO SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, THAT'S WHERE WE'RE REALLY DOING THE SCREENING PROCESS. 
          WE'RE DOING INTERVIEWS AND THEN NOVEMBER WE BRING, UH, THOSE NAMES BACK. 
          AND THE ONE POINT WE DO WANT TO, WE DO WANT TO TALK ABOUT IS ONCE THIS IS DONE, UM, AND WE BRING, WE BRING CANDIDATES BACK TO THE COMMITTEE. 
          YOU CAN ACCEPT THE JUDICIAL REVIEW, PANEL'S RECOMMENDATION, OR IF THERE'S SOME OTHER, UM, ITEM YOU WANT US TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT, WE CAN DO THAT AT THAT TIME AS WELL. 
          THE NEXT SLIDE, SO THAT JUDICIAL REVIEW PANEL, WE WILL CHARGE THEM WITH DESIGNATING CANDIDATES AS NOT QUALIFIED, QUALIFIED, OR HIGHLY QUALIFIED. 
          WE WOULD MOVE THOSE QUALIFIED AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED CANDIDATES FOR, TO THE INTERVIEW PANEL. 
          AND, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE WOULD RECEIVE COPIES OF ALL APPLICATIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE JUDICIAL REVIEW PANEL. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO THAT JUDICIAL REVIEW PANEL WILL ALSO SERVE AS OUR INTERVIEW PANEL AND THEY'LL USE A MATRIX TO RANK CANDIDATES BASED ON THEIR LEGAL KNOWLEDGE, FAIRNESS, UM, JUDICIAL TEMPERAMENT, AND THEN THEY'LL RANK THOSE CANDIDATES, PROVIDE COMMENTS AND THEN PROVIDE THE RECOMMENDATION TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. 
          EXCELLENT. 
          AND THIS IS WHERE, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE RECEIVES THAT RECOMMENDATION AND THEN THEY CAN ACCEPT IT TO MOVE FORWARD OR THEY CAN CONDUCT ADDITIONAL INTERVIEWS. 
          SO LAST SLIDE. 
          SO I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS ARE ANY DIRECTION YOU WISH TO PROVIDE. 
          THANK YOU, MS. KENNEDY FOR THE PRESENTATION AND MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ANY QUESTIONS IS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I WAS WONDERING HOW YOU DECIDED THE MAKEUP OF THE REVIEW PANEL. 
          THIS WAS BASED ON HOW WE WORKED WITH THE PRESIDING JUDGE. 
          LAST TIME WE DID THIS TO HAVE AN, UH, AN IMPARTIAL, UH, BALANCED GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS TO COME IN FROM THE PROSECUTION SIDE TO THE DEFENSE SIDE, TO THAT THOSE PEOPLE TOGETHER. 
          UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE IT SEEMED TO WORK VERY WELL LAST TIME TO GET THEIR FEEDBACK, UM, ON THE BEST PEOPLE TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          I JUST HAVE ONE UP QUESTION AND THEN I'LL BE FINISHED. 
          UM, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO ASK FOR SOMEONE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO BE ON THAT REVIEW PANEL, TO POSSIBLY HELP WITH SELECTING THE MUNICIPAL JUDGES SINCE THEY'RE THE ONES WHO ARE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS THAT GETS SOMEONE IN FRONT OF THEM? WE CAN CERTAINLY ADD THEM IF, IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE COMMITTEE WOULD LIKE US TO DO. 
          I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA. 
          I'M NOT SURE WHAT MY COLLEAGUES THINK. 
          I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND WEIGH IN. 
          I'D LIKE VERY MUCH FOR US TO, AS A BODY, BE ABLE TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION ABOUT, UM, WHAT THE COST BENEFIT IS THERE BY SHEER. 
          DID YOU HAVE ANY THOUGHT ON THAT? YEAH, I DO. 
          UM, AND I DON'T MIND US HAVING, UH, A GOOD AND BALANCED AND INCLUSIVE COMMITTEE. 
          I WAS TRYING TO REOPEN THE PRESENTATION TO GET A SENSE OF WHO IS, UH, CAUSE I REMEMBER FROM LAST TIME, BUT, UH, BUT I'M HAVING TROUBLE OPENING THE BACKUP PRESENTATION. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE CAN PULL THAT SLIDE BACK UP. 
          I THINK IT'S THE S IT'S LIKE FIVE, NO, THEY'RE NOT LABELED RIGHT THERE. 
          [01:10:02]
AND DO WE HAVE A CURRENT BALANCE BETWEEN DEFENSE AND PROSECUTION? THAT WAS ONE THING THAT JUDGE STOCKMAN SAID SHE WOULD ENSURE. 
          AND THEN, I MEAN, I HAVE, AGAIN, I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH US HAVING, UM, WITH US HAVING, UH, A MEMBER OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UH, THAT INTERFACES WITH THE MUNI PORT AS PART OF THE, UM, AS PART OF THE PANEL, I WOULD JUST COUNT THAT ON THE PROSECUTION SIDE OF THE, OF THE BALANCE. 
          AND SO WE WOULD JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THAT, THAT BALANCE STRUCK, BUT JUDGE DIAMOND LAID OUT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES? I CAN'T REMEMBER KELLY. 
          THANKS. 
          I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THIS PRESENTATION IS ALSO UPDATED ON OUR WEBSITE WITH THE AGENDA ITEMS. ALL RIGHT. 
          IF THERE ARE NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, I PERSONALLY DON'T HAVE ANY KENNEDY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. 
          THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US THIS AFTERNOON. 
          THANK YOU. 
          ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, MOVING ON TO THE FINAL 
          [4. Discussion on Austin Code Department uniforms. (Part 1 of 2)]
ITEM, EXCUSE ME. 
          DISCUSSION ON AUSTIN CODE DEPARTMENT UNIFORMS. UM, I HAVE A QUESTION, SORRY THAT GOT WORKED INTO MY AGENDA. 
          UM, BUT YEAH, SO THAT, THAT DISCUSSION, I BELIEVE WE HAVE ACM ARIANO HERE. 
          OH, AND THEN I SEE YOUR LANE. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU, MS. GARRETT FOR JOINING US THIS AFTERNOON, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          I CAN'T TELL IF YOU'RE SPEAKING. 
          IF SO, I BELIEVE YOU'RE HAVING AUDIO ISSUES. 
          WE CAN'T HEAR YOU. 
          I'LL GIVE YOU A THUMBS UP WHEN WE CAN HEAR YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          LADIES, 
          [Future Items]
IF YOU'RE COMFORTABLE WITH ME DOING SO I THINK THE FINAL ITEM ON OUR AGENDA TODAY IS TO DISCUSS FUTURE ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION. 
          MAYBE WE CAN OFFER MS. GARRETT AND OPPORTUNITY TO FIX UP HER AUDIO AND WE CAN SKIP TO THAT AND THEN COME BACK. 
          ARE YOU ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT BY SHARING? REMEMBER KELLY? OKAY. 
          I THOUGHT I WAS SO TWO THUMBS UP. 
          I HOPE I DIDN'T. 
          UH, SO THE, THE FINAL ITEM IS, UH, ARE THERE ANY PROPOSED ITEMS TO DISCUSS IT? FUTURE MEETING, UH, MEETINGS AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY. 
          I KNOW THAT YOU MENTIONED ONE DURING HER CONVERSATION WITH EMS, IF YOU WANT IT TO RE REITERATE WHAT THAT WAS FOR THE RECORD, AND THEN I HAVE A FEW. 
          AWESOME. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT HOW FIRE AND APD WERE IMPACTED BY THE WINTER STORM, MUCH ALONG THE SAME LINES OF HOW EMS WAS IMPACTED SO THAT WE CAN LEARN FROM ALL SPECTRUMS OF PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          AND JUST DISCUSS THAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND I KNOW YOU ASKED FOR A COUPLE OTHER THINGS YOU ASKED FOR, THERE WAS A BACKUP ITEM THAT YOU WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN WAS, UM, PUBLIC STATUS. 
          AND THEN WE ASKED FOR THE PRESENTATION, CORRECT? JUST FOR THE RECORD. 
          YES, I ACTUALLY, AFTER DOING IT TWICE TODAY, I WOULD LIKE TO MOVING FORWARD THAT ALL OF THE PRESENTATIONS FOR THIS COMMITTEE ARE POSTED ONLINE FOR TRANSPARENCY PURPOSES AND ALSO ACCESS TO THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO SEE THEM. 
          UM, SO THAT WAS FOR ITEMS TWO AND THREE SPECIFICALLY, I'M ANTICIPATING I'M. 
          I NEED TO ASK FOR ITEM FOUR AS WELL. 
          UM, DURING THE COURSE OF OUR CONVERSATION, I RECEIVED THE PRESENTATIONS. 
          I WONDER IF EVERYBODY ELSE DID AS WELL. 
          I CAN CHECK AND SEE IF THEY'RE ONLINE. 
          UM, I ALSO WOULD LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THE HIRING PROCESS WITH EMS AND STAFFING FOR A FUTURE DISCUSSION ITEM. 
          AND WE ARE DEFINITELY IN ALIGNMENT THERE, THE ITEMS THAT I HAVE FOR FUTURE DISCUSSION, OUR STAFFING FOR EMS, UM, UM, SPECIFICALLY LIKE TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT THE WAY I UNDERSTAND IT, IT'S ONE OF OUR PUBLIC SERVICE SECTORS THAT HAS THE LEAST LONGEVITY FOR PROFESSIONALS WHO PERFORM THE JOB. 
          I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN DO ABOUT THAT. 
          I THINK FROM A RECRUITMENT PERSPECTIVE, IT'S KIND OF A DIFFICULT, UM, DIFFICULT PROSPECT TO, 
          [01:15:01]
TO GO INTO A FIELD THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE A LONG CAREER IN, IN WHICH CASE, BUT TO TALK ABOUT THAT, I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT STAFFING IN GENERAL. 
          I'D ALSO LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE DISCUSSED, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, VICE CHAIR, CASA. 
          I THINK YOU BROUGHT UP, UM, US HAVING A DATABASE OF SORTS WHERE WE CAN LOCATE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS OF PEOPLE. 
          UM, I WOULD LIKE TO VERY MUCH TALK ABOUT HOW WE AVOID ANOTHER SITUATION LIKE A MOUNT CARAMEL IN MY DISTRICT. 
          AND I BELIEVE YOU HAVE ONE ALSO MULTIFAMILY COMPLEXES THAT HAVE SORT OF COMPROMISE INFRASTRUCTURE, ESPECIALLY THOSE. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS A COMBO BETWEEN THIS COMMITTEE AND OUR HOUSING AND PLANNING COMMITTEE, BUT A REAL GOOD RUNNING LIST OF OUR AGING MULTIFAMILY HOUSING STOCK, AND THEN SORT OF FLAG ANYTHING THAT MIGHT MAKE IT PARTICULARLY TRICKY IF SOMETHING SHOULD GO AWRY. 
          SO WITH NOT CARMEL AND MY DISTRICT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE FACT THAT THEY ARE CONSIDERED A SMALL OPERATION SYSTEM MEANS THAT TEXAS GAS IS ONLY RESPONSIBLE UP UNTIL RIGHT AT THE PARKING LOT. 
          BASICALLY EVERYTHING ELSE IS THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, WHICH IS THE STATE. 
          AND SO THAT MADE THINGS, A TRICKY CONVERSATION WHEN WE'RE TRYING TO GET, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I'D LIKE VERY MUCH TO AVOID THAT MOVING FORWARD. 
          AND IF WE HAVE ANY OF THOSE OTHER SORT OF AGING HOUSING STOCK THAT MIGHT HAVE THAT, I CALL IT FRANK AND MANAGEMENT KIND OF A SITUATION WHERE IT'S JUST PATCHWORK AND IN AN EMERGENCY, THERE'S JUST NO QUICK FIXES. 
          AND SO I I'D LIKE TO ADD THAT. 
          UM, UH, UM, AND THEN I GET A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER BROUGHT UP WHAT SHE CALLED AN EFFICIENCY STUDY, BUT I BELIEVE CHIEF CALLED THE DISPATCH EQUITY AND OPTIMIZATION STUDY, UM, THAT WAS, UH, REQUESTED BY OUR OFFICE OF MEDICAL DIRECTOR. 
          I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WHAT THE RATIONALE WAS FOR THE COLIN, FOR THE STUDY, WHAT IT IS THAT WE HOPE TO EXTRACT FROM IT, HOW SOON WE ACTUALLY ANTICIPATE THAT WE'RE GOING TO MANIFEST ANYTHING. 
          THAT'S THE RESULT OF THE GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT STUDY. 
          UM, AND THOSE, THOSE ARE MINE, UH, QUESTIONS FOR FUTURE ITEMS, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, DO YOU MIND IF WE OFFER VICE CHAIR PASSAT AN OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER FUTURE ITEMS AND THEN I'LL COME BACK TO YOU, TARA. 
          I THINK THAT FOR THE FUTURE ITEMS DISCUSSION, I'M HAPPY TO JUST EMAIL YOU THOUGHTS US ITEMS BECAUSE I'M JUST UP. 
          THAT WAS GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THAT'S MARGARET KELLY. 
          YES, CHAIR. 
          I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, I CHECKED THE WEBSITE AND NONE OF THE PRESENTATIONS ARE ON THERE, SO YOU GUYS COULD PUT THEM UP. 
          THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES, MA'AM FOR JIM. 
          I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM FOR THE COMMITTEE THAT WE WILL POST THOSE PRESENTATIONS FOR YOU AND ALSO BE HAPPY AT WHATEVER POINT YOU FIND CONVENIENT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT OF A BACKGROUND FOR THE DISPATCH EQUITY AND OPTIMIZATION STUDY. 
          THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          IN FACT, I THINK, UH, MY STAFF IS LISTENING IN, SO IF THEY COULD OFFER ME THE OPPORTUNITY TO, TO BEND YOUR EAR FOR AS LONG AS YOU THINK IT TAKES, UM, JUST TO GET A LITTLE MORE BACKGROUND. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I APPRECIATE IT, MS. GARRETT. 
          I THINK I HEARD YOU. 
          I THINK I'M ON. 
           AWESOME. 
          ALL RIGHT, FOLKS. 
          SO WE'RE GONNA BACK UP, 
          [4. Discussion on Austin Code Department uniforms. (Part 2 of 2)]
UM, TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR AND DISCUSS, UM, AUSTIN CODE DEPARTMENT UNIFORMS. OKAY. 
          I APOLOGIZE FOR THE AUDIO, UH, BUT UH, I'M READY TO PRESENT TO YOU THE INFORMATION THAT DOLL REQUESTED REGARDING THE AUSTIN CODE DEPARTMENT UNIFORM. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          AND I LOST SOME TIME HERE. 
          UH, THE OVERVIEW THAT I WANT TO PROVIDE TO YOU, UH, EVERYONE HERE TODAY IS BASICALLY, UH, TO TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT, BECAUSE THAT PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE OF HOW THE EVOLUTION OF THE UNIFORMS CAME ABOUT. 
          UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE SEEN AND CONCERNS, UH, WITH THE USE OF A UNIFORM, BUT THEN HOW WE'RE MEETING A LOT OF THOSE CHALLENGES THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          OKAY. 
          THIS TIMELINE HERE, UH, WAS ADDED JUST SO I CAN PROVIDE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF, UH, AN EFFECT OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS GONE THROUGH. 
          AND SOME OF THE, THE SERVICES YOU CAN SEE HOW THE EVOLUTION IS. 
          IT REALLY BEGAN IN 2002, UH, AND IT WAS NOT A STANDALONE DEPARTMENT, BUT IT SAT, UH, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND IT UTILIZED STAFF FROM BOTH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, AS WELL AS DSD ORIGINATING WITH BUILDING INSPECTORS WHO ACTUALLY WENT OUT AND CONDUCTED INSPECTIONS FOR PERMITTING. 
          UH, THOSE INSPECTORS, UH, STARTED OUT OBVIOUSLY IN THE FIELD WEARING BASICALLY, YOU KNOW, PLAIN CLOTHES, A T-SHIRT OR POLO SHIRT WITH JEANS OR SLACKS. 
          AND AS YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE TIMELINES 
          [01:20:01]
HERE, UH, THERE WERE A LOT, THIS TIMELINE WAS REALLY DESIGNED TO INDICATE THAT WE ADDED PROPERTY ORDINANCES, LAND, USE ORDINANCES, STRUCTURAL CONDITIONS, AND THEN THE LICENSING SUPPORT ALL AS NEW ADDITIONS TO OUR ENFORCEMENT. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THIS TIMELINE IS ACTUALLY GOING TO GO THROUGH, UH, LETTING YOU KNOW, HOW WE EVOLVE. 
          BASICALLY, AS I SAID, THE 2002 WAS THE EVOLUTION. 
          HOWEVER, IN 2004, THE DEPARTMENT AT DSD ADDED ADDITIONAL INSPECTORS TO HELP WITH THE INSPECTION OF ZONING INSPECTIONS. 
          IT WAS ALSO AT THIS TIME THEY CREATED LIKE A POLO SHIRT, UH, THAT, THAT WENT, UH, WITH THE SLACKS AND HAD A CITY EMBLEM. 
          WE'LL SEE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT IN ANOTHER SLIDE, UH, IN 2005, THOUGH, THE DEPARTMENT WAS ACTUALLY MOVED TO ANOTHER DEPARTMENT THEN KNOWN AS SOLID WASTE SERVICES TODAY KNOWN AS AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY THAT INCLUDED SANITARIANS AND CODE INSPECTORS NOW KIND OF SEPARATED THE BUILDING INSPECTOR, UH, PERSPECTIVE AND MADE IT INTO THE CODE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, IN 2006 THOUGH, THE FIRST FORMAL UNIFORM WAS IMPLEMENTED, UH, FOR THE DEPARTMENT. 
          AND THAT WAS UNDER SOLID WASTE SERVICES AGAIN AT THE TIME. 
          SO EVERYTHING WAS BRANDED, UH, UNDER SOLID WASTE SERVICES IN 2009, THOUGH, THE DEPARTMENT BECAME AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT, STILL UTILIZING ALL OF THE, THE BRANDING FROM SOLID WASTE. 
          UH, IT WASN'T UNTIL 2014, THAT AUSTIN CODE STARTED TO REBRAND AND, AND IT, UH, INCORPORATED THE CURRENT UNIFORM THAT YOU SEE NOW WITH THE CURRENT LOGOS. 
          UH, THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, THIS LIGHT IS KIND OF SHOWING YOU THE EVOLUTION. 
          THE, AS YOU SEE, THE, THE GENTLEMAN ON THE, ON THE FAR IN THE BLUE SHIRT IS THE ORIGINAL POLO SHIRT THAT THEY HAD AND THEY WORE IN THE FIELD. 
          THE LEFT-HAND SIDE POCKET HAS A CITY OF AUSTIN'S A LOGO ON IT ONLY. 
          AND OF COURSE THEY UTILIZE THEIR CITY IDEAS. 
          WE ALL USE TODAY. 
          UM, AND THEN THE, THE, THE UNIFORM TO THE RIGHT, WITH THE WHITE, UH, DRESS OXFORD SHIRT, THE KHAKI PANTS AND THE UTILITY BELT WAS THE ONE DESIGNED UNDER SOLID WASTE SERVICES, ACTUALLY THE FIRST FORMAL UNIFORM. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO THIS SLIDE I ADDED, BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO JUST KIND OF INDICATE THAT THIS IS WHEN THE AUSTIN CODE DEPARTMENT, UH, STARTED TO BEGIN ITS REBRANDING AFTER IT WAS AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT IN 2009, WE STILL HAD SO MUCH, UM, BRANDING FROM SOLID WASTE AND THEY THEMSELVES WERE CHANGING INTO AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY. 
          SO A LOT OF, UH, OUR, UM, BRANDING WAS ALL OUR HIT, UH, LETTERHEADS OR OUR BUSINESS CARDS. 
          EVERYTHING WAS BRANDED STILL UNDER SOLID WASTE SERVICES. 
          UH, SO AT THIS TIME THE DEPARTMENT, THE CODE DEPARTMENT BEGAN A REBRANDING OF PHASE. 
          AND IN THIS, IF YOU CAN SEE IN PHASE FOUR, THE UNIFORMS WERE ACTUALLY THE LAST PORTION OF THAT PHASE. 
          UH, SO IT STARTED OFF MAKING SURE THAT WE, WE BEGAN WITH THE INTERNAL BUSINESS CARDS. 
          UH, THEY STARTED TO LOOK AT A VEHICLE WRAP AND DETERMINING THE VEHICLE WRAP. 
          AND THEN THE LAST PHASE OF THE UNIFORM ACTUALLY WAS FROM AN INPUT OF AN INTERNAL COMMITTEE THAT WE HAD HERE WITH THE CODE DEPARTMENT. 
          THEY COULD CONDUCTED AN ASSESSMENT OF OTHER DEPARTMENTS IN THE STATE, UH, AND THEY JUST COMPILED ALL THE INFORMATION. 
          THEY HAD AN INTERNAL SURVEY HERE FROM THE EMPLOYEES AT THAT TIME FOR INPUT. 
          UH, AND AS YOU SEE THAT PATCH THERE, UH, ACTUALLY THERE WAS A CONTEST ACTUALLY INTERNAL CONTEST TO COME UP WITH THE INDEPENDENT PATCH THAT THEY WOULD UTILIZE FOR OUR DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS WHAT WE USE TODAY. 
          UH, NEXT LINE, UH, THIS IS A RESULT OF THE REBRANDING. 
          AND SO I KIND OF WANTED TO EMPHASIZE ON THIS IS THAT OUR, OUR STAFF WENT FROM WHAT YOU CALL A LIKE A FIELD UNIFORM. 
          THE GENTLEMEN WITH THE CAMERA HAS A DARK NAVY, BLUE POLO, UH, IT'S AN EMBROIDERED BADGE AND THEN THE KHAKI PANTS WITH THE UTILITY PANTS AND A UTILITY BELT. 
          AND THEN ON THE FAR RIGHT, UH, THAT'S MORE OUR FORMAL, UH, DRESS. 
          AND THEN THE OTHER INSPECTOR HAS A POLO WITH THE, UM, UTILITY PANTS, DARK UTILITY PANTS. 
          ONE OF THE OTHER EMPHASIS I WANTED TO SAY WAS THE VEHICLE. 
          IF YOU LOOK AT THE COLORATION ON THE VEHICLE, WE'VE TRIED TO, UH, WHEN WE WERE REBRANDING, THEY, YOU KNOW, WORKING WITH OUR CEO DEPARTMENT, WE HAD, UH, WE, THEY WERE LOOKING FOR NEUTRAL COLORS, UH, SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE FIRE OR EMS 
          [01:25:01]
OR APDS COLORS, BUT IT WAS MORE OF A NEUTRAL BRANDING THAT WE, UH, THAT WAS ESTABLISHED FOR THE CODE DEPARTMENT AND THE BAD YOU SEE THERE IS ACTUALLY, IT'S KIND OF A GENERIC BADGE THAT COMES FROM OUR, UM, CONTRACTORS OBVIOUSLY, OR W WHEREVER WE CONTRACT FOR THE UNIFORM CONTRACTORS, SEVERAL OF THE CITY DEPARTMENTS UTILIZE THIS, THIS BADGE WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE FACT THAT IT HAS THEIR DEPARTMENT OR NAME, UH, THAT'S AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH INSPECTORS, UH, ANIMAL CONTROL. 
          UH, SO WE ALL HAVE VERY SIMILAR BADGES. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE COMMITTEE DID SEE, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY DID THEIR ASSESSMENT AND OUT OF THIS ASSESSMENT, UH, WHAT CAME ABOUT FROM, FROM THEIR FINDINGS WERE THEY HAD THE PROS AND THE CONS OF THE USE OF THE UNIFORM. 
          AND, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, THE PRIMARY PRO WAS SAFETY. 
          UH, THEY FELT THAT HAVING AN UTILIZE ON A UNIFORM IN THE FIELD, UH, HELP WITH, UH, AN AMOUNT OF SAFETY FOR THE INSPECTORS, ALSO A UNIFORMITY IN APPEARANCE. 
          THERE ARE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS, CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT YOU CAN RECOGNIZE AND SAY, OH, THAT'S THE, THAT'S A E THAT IS, UH, ANIMAL CONTROL. 
          SO THE UNIFORMITY OF APPEARANCE WAS ANOTHER, A MAJOR FACTOR IN, IN PROMOTING THE UNIFORM, ALSO EASY IDENTIFICATION AS A CITY EMPLOYEE WHEN WE'RE OUT THERE IN THE FIELD. 
          AND WE ARE REPRESENTING OURSELVES AS A CITY EMPLOYEE, AND WE'RE HAVING, UM, CONNECTABILITY WITH THE COMMUNITY EVERY DAY, UH, RECOGNITION AS A PUBLIC OFFICIAL WHILE PERFORMING YOUR DUTIES. 
          UH, MANY STAFF MEMBERS FELT, UH, THAT IT WAS ALSO INDICATING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE THERE AS PART OF A SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY, BUT PART OF THE CITIES, UH, PERFORMING THAT DUTY, UH, ANOTHER IMPORTANT FACTOR IS THE IDENTIFICATION DURING SPECIAL EVENTS THAT PROBABLY SHOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SAFETY ISSUE. 
          UH, WE WORKED THE PACE TEAM, WHICH IS THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLY CODE ENFORCEMENT TEAM DURING SPECIAL EVENTS. 
          AND MANY TIMES DURING THESE SPECIAL EVENTS, WHAT WE FIND IS BECAUSE OF THE CROWDED CONDITIONS, UH, GOING INTO THE BARS AND, AND, UH, LOOKING FOR OCCUPANCY WITH AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, OR WHEN WE'RE OUT ON THE, ON THE, ON THE, UH, GATORS, UM, IF YOU SEPARATE, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO FIND YOUR GROUP. 
          SO IT REALLY IS ASSISTANT IDENTIFICATION. 
          AND THEN, UH, ANOTHER FACTOR WAS THAT WHEN STAFF GOES OUT IN THE FIELD, THEY'RE EXPOSED TO A LOT OF ELEMENTS MANY TIMES. 
          AND SO THAT WAS ONE OF THE CONCERNS, TOO, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE WERE RESPONDING TO COVID COMPLAINTS, UH, THEY DIDN'T WANT CROSS-CONTAMINATION OF ANY SORT. 
          SO THAT REALLY, UH, HELPS THE EMPLOYEES MAKING SURE THAT THEY KEEP THEIR FAMILIES SAFE AS WELL. 
          THE CONS, UM, OF COURSE, MISTAKEN IDENTITY FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
          UH, WE HAVE SEEN THAT AS A CHALLENGE SOMETIMES. 
          UM, AND THEN SOME OF THE THINGS WE HAVE NOTED, OR SOMETIMES SOME OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE DO SERVICE, THERE IS SOME FEAR IN SOME COMMUNITIES. 
          WE SEE THAT MAYBE AS A, UH, SOMETIMES IT'S THE LANGUAGE BARRIER BARRIER. 
          UH, SOMETIMES IT'S JUST NOT, UH, MAYBE NOT A TRUST AND THEY FEEL LIKE WE MAY BE LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
          SO THAT ISN'T, THAT WAS ANOTHER CONCERN. 
          OF COURSE, BUDGETARY IMPACTS ALWAYS ARE IMPACTED THERE. 
          AND THEN, UH, SOME IN SOME INSPECTOR SAID THAT HE COULD BE UNCOMFORTABLE DURING CERTAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS. 
          OUR FIRST, UH, UNIFORMS ACTUALLY WERE PRETTY HOT. 
          THEY WERE TOTAL POLYESTER, AND THAT WAS KIND OF CHANGED. 
          UH, NEXT, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO WITH UNDERSTANDING THAT, UH, WE DO HAVE THESE CHALLENGES, UH, WHAT, ONE OF THE THINGS OUR DEPARTMENT HAS DONE THOUGH, UH, WE'VE DEFINITELY MADE STRIDES AND WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND GAINING THE TRUST AND CONFIDENCE OF THE COMMUNITIES THAT WE SERVE, UM, THAT IS GOING TO OCCUR. 
          YOU KNOW, THERE ARE TIMES WHEN WE MAY BE MISTAKEN FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
          THERE MAY BE TIMES WHEN WE S UH, SENSE THERE'S UNCOMFORTABLE, UH, IN COMMUNICATING WITH OUR STAFF, BUT, UH, WE DO IMPROVE A LOT OF IT BY WE'VE INCREASED OUR PRESENCE IN COMMUNITY EVENTS. 
          I WOULD SAY WE PROBABLY ATTEND MAYBE TWO TO THREE EVENTS A MONTH. 
          UH, WE ARE PART OF A MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS MEETINGS THAT WE HAVE EVERY MONTH, UH, SPECIFICALLY GEARED WITH MANY OF THE REPEAT OFFENDER PROPERTIES, WHERE WE DO ENCOUNTER SOME OF THESE CHALLENGES. 
          AND, UH, WE WORK WITH THE STAKEHOLDERS AND THEN THE ADVOCATES THAT HELP THE STAKEHOLDERS MANY TIMES THEY WILL MEET US OUT THERE IN THE FIELD TO HELP, UH, BE THE MIDDLE PERSON FOR US. 
          UH, WE ARE ALSO IN ATTENDANCE AT SPECIFIC NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS, AND WE'VE BEEN ADDED TO THEIR MONTHLY, UH, MEETINGS. 
          SO WE DO GIVE UPDATES AND SEVERAL OF THOSE ASSOCIATIONS, UM, WE HAVE LANGUAGE ASSESSABILITY AND TRANSLATION SERVICES 
          [01:30:01]
AFFORDED TO ALL OF THE INSPECTORS, UH, AND THAT HAS BEEN A, A REALLY HELPFUL, UH, DEAL FOR US BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY WE RUN IT AND IT'S VARIOUS LANGUAGES, BUT AUSTIN IS SO DIVERSE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE WE REACH EVERYONE OUT THERE. 
          THE IMPLEMENTATION OF VIRTUAL INSPECTIONS HAS ASSISTED US IN BUILDING A, UH, STRENGTH WITH THE COMMUNITY AS WELL, MANY, ESPECIALLY DURING COVID, UH, WHERE PEOPLE WANTED TO REMAKE REPORTS, BUT DIDN'T QUITE FEEL COMFORTABLE. 
          UH, THE VIRTUAL INSPECTION ASSIST. 
          UH, OF COURSE WE PROVIDE EDUCATION MATERIALS. 
          UH, WE HAVE A WEB WEBPAGE, A MULTI-LINGUAL, UH, WE HAVE NOW THE OPEN DATA PORTAL FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO VIEW THEIR CASE STATUS. 
          UH, THAT WAS VERY ESSENTIAL FOR US DURING THE INCLEMENT WEATHER CONDITIONS. 
          AND WE HAVE A CODE CONNECT LINE. 
          SO WE'RE CONSTANTLY, CONSTANTLY TRYING TO IMPROVE THAT. 
          AND WE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY AS OFTEN AS WE CAN TO BUILD THAT GAP AND GAIN THAT CONFIDENCE. 
          AND WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN AN INCREASE OF REQUESTS FOR US IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, UH, THIS LAST SLIDE BASICALLY IS JUST THE CONCLUSION OF IT, BUT I JUST WANTED Y'ALL TO SEE THE DIVERSE LOOK THAT WE HAVE IN THE FIELD. 
          UM, WE HAVE THE BLUE POLOS WITH THE KHAKI PANTS. 
          WE ALSO HAVE THE FORMAL UNIFORM YOU SEE ON THE BOTTOM AS WELL AS THE ONE I'M WEARING, BUT OUR STAFF REALLY, UH, I KNOW, UM, SEVERAL OF THESE PEOPLE, UH, IN THESE, SEVERAL OF THESE PICTURES, YOU DO NOT SEE A UTILITY BELT. 
          WE DO UTILIZE A UTILITY BELT FOR WHAT'S REQUIRED FOR OUR DUTY. 
          UH, JUST LIKE SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS. 
          OUR GUYS, YOU KNOW, THEY STAY IN TOUCH BY HAVING A CELL PHONE. 
          UH, WE ALSO HAVE A HANDY TALKIE THAT THEY CARRY, BUT THEY ALSO HAVE EVERYDAY DAILY TOOLS THAT THEY KEEP ON THAT BELT, YOU KNOW, MEASURING TAPES TO MONITORS, UH, FOR MEASURING. 
          UM, SO, UM, IT'S THE ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT THAT THEY NEED. 
          AND WITH THAT, I'LL, I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION HAS BEEN VERY HELPFUL. 
          I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE GOT YOUR AUDIO WORKING AGAIN. 
          I CERTAINLY HAVE A HOST OF QUESTIONS, ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING I WAS THE ONE WHO WANTED TO HAVE THIS PRESENTATION AND HAVE THIS DISCUSSION. 
          UM, BUT I'LL DEFER TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR NOW. 
          COLLEAGUES. 
          DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY. 
          I CAN'T SEE OUR VICE CHAIR, SO I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND GET IT STARTED. 
          AND THEN IF HE HAS QUESTIONS HE CAN FOLLOW UP. 
          YOU DON'T HAVE TO PULL THE SLIDE BACK UP, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE IMPLICATIONS OF A COUPLE OF THINGS. 
          YOU SAID. 
          THE THING ABOUT CROSS-CONTAMINATION LET ME SCRATCH IN MY HEAD. 
          I DON'T QUITE KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. 
          SO FOR EXAMPLE, IF MY HUSBAND, A FIREFIGHTER, IF THEY'RE EXPOSED TO, LET'S SAY, UM, SOME SORT OF BLOODBORNE ILLNESS OR BEDBUGS THAT HAPPENS OFTEN, UM, THEY WASH THE UNIFORMS AT THE STATION. 
          HE DOES, HE WON'T BRING THAT HOME. 
          UM, BUT WITH COVID CONCERNS, THEY DID THE SAME THING I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT. 
          IS THERE, DOES CODE HAVE THE ABILITY FOR ITS, UM, WORKFORCE TO WASH AT A STATION OR ARE THEY STILL TAKING THOSE THINGS HOME? IN WHICH CASE? I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE CROSS CONTAMINATION, RIGHT? YES. 
          MA'AM. 
          UH, NO, WE DO NOT HAVE ASSESSABILITY FOR ANY OF THAT. 
          UH, UH, THEY TAKE THEIR CLOTHES HOME. 
          UH, MANY OF THE STAFF, THEY, UM, BASICALLY HAVE SAID, YOU KNOW, THEY EITHER STRIPPED DOWN IN THE GARAGE AND TAKE THAT OFF AND, AND WASH THE CLOTHES SEPARATELY FROM THEIR FAMILY'S CLOTHES. 
          SO WE DO NOT HAVE THAT. 
          SO I GUESS I JUST DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND HOW THE FORMAL UNIFORM OFFERS ANY ASSISTANCE IN THE WAY OF AVOIDANCE OF CROSS-CONTAMINATION. 
          UH, YES. 
          SO THE FORMAL UNIFORM IS JUST UTILIZED FOR PRESENTATION PURPOSES, UH, PRETTY MUCH GOING TO, UH, NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION MEETINGS. 
          UH, IT'S JUST A MORE FORMALIZED ONE. 
          THE, I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT MAYBE 85 TO 90% OF OUR STAFF UTILIZE THAT FIELD, THE GUARD, UH, POLO UTILITY. 
          UM, BUT I'VE ALSO HEARD, UH, FROM STAFF THAT, YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES THEY FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE WITH THE BUTTON-DOWN SHIRT AND THERE'S JUST A SLIGHT DIFFERENCE WITH THAT TYPE OF MATERIAL. 
          AND SOME OF IT, SOME OF IT STRETCHES A LITTLE BETTER. 
          SO I THINK IT'S RIGHT NOW, OUR POLICY, DOESN'T SAY, YOU MUST WEAR THIS SPECIFIC ONE. 
          IT JUST, UH, IT'S THEIR CHOICE. 
          IT'S THE EMPLOYEE'S CHOICE. 
          AND I APPRECIATE THAT. 
          AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHEN WE ORIGINALLY STARTED THIS CONVERSATION, IT WAS THE DIRECT RESULT OF ME TALKING TO A RELATIVELY LARGE NUMBER OF Y'ALL'S WORKFORCE AND HAVING THEM EXPRESS TO ME ANECDOTALLY, THAT THEY WANT TO LOOK LIKE LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN THEY'RE IN THE FIELD, THAT IT IMPEDES THEIR ABILITY 
          [01:35:01]
TO DO THEIR JOBS. 
          AND SO WHEN YOU SAID THE THING ABOUT SAFETY, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE TWO, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A CONTRADICTION. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO SEE WHAT WOULD BE THE BEST WAY FOR US TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF WHERE THE WORKFORCE IS, YOU KNOW, DO THEY FEEL MORE OR LESS SAFE WHEN THEY GO INTO COMMUNITIES AND ARE PERCEIVED AS LAW ENFORCEMENT? CAUSE I CAN SEE THE RATIONALE BEHIND, YOU KNOW, LOOKING OFFICIAL AND MAYBE EVEN SOMEHOW PSEUDO LAW ENFORCEMENT. 
          YEAH. 
          I CAN SEE HOW THERE ARE SOME FOLKS WHO MIGHT FEEL MORE SECURE OR SAFE, BUT I CERTAINLY, THAT WAS NOT MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE FOLKS THAT I TALKED TO. 
          AND SO I JUST, I WANT TO, BUT I DON'T WANT TO HAVE YOU SAYING WHAT YOU THINK THE PERCEPTION IS OR ACM AND SEEING WHAT HE THINKS THE PERCEPTION IS, OR ME, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LIKE TO GET A MORE SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT OF WHERE THE WORKFORCE IS ON THE UNIFORMS. AND I WONDER IF THAT'S A SURVEY THAT WE COULD CONDUCT OR IS THAT YES. 
          MA'AM SO, UH, MAY I APPROACH HIM? WE ARE ACTUALLY WORKING ON A SURVEY PUTTING TOGETHER RIGHT NOW. 
          UH, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING IT SHOULD BE OUT BY SEPTEMBER, SO THAT'S THE TIMELINE I HAVE RIGHT NOW. 
          SO, UM, BUT, UM, YES, DEFINITELY. 
          WE'RE ALL WE'RE ALREADY WORKING ON THAT. 
          AWESOME. 
          THAT'S HELPFUL. 
          WE'RE ON THE SAME PAGE THAT, AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION, BECAUSE I THINK YOU SORT OF ANSWERED, UM, I THINK YOU SORT OF ANSWERED ONE OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS THAT I HAD. 
          ONE OF MY LAST QUESTIONS IS ABOUT BUDGETARY IMPACT FOR THE DEPARTMENT AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          UM, IS THERE SOMETHING COMPREHENSIVE THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT INDICATES WHAT THE COST FOR UNIFORMS ARE? UM, WHAT, WHAT'S THE IMPACT COMPARATIVELY FROM WHERE WE WERE TO, WHERE WE LANDED WITH THE TRANSITION TO THE MORE, YOU KNOW, I KEEP SAYING FORMAL AND I THINK, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, WHEN I SAY THE, THE, NOT A REGULAR BUTTON UP IN CACTUS. 
          SO AS WE MADE THAT TRANSITION, WHAT WAS THE BUDGETARY IMPACT TO THE DEPARTMENT AND TO THE CITY AND CONTINUES TO BE? UM, AND THEN I GUESS I JUST I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT THE DIFFERENCES I'D LIKE TO SEE A COMPARISON IN COST. 
          I CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE YOU. 
          I WILL GET THAT FROM OUR FINANCE, THE ORIGINAL COST FOR THE INITIAL ONE, THE INITIAL INPUT AND THE, THE INITIAL ONE WITH A WHITE SHIRT AND THE CARGOES. 
          AND THEN WHEN WE DID OUR REBRANDING TO SEE THAT DIFFERENCE IN COST, I CAN PROVIDE YOU THAT NOW. 
          I THINK THAT'D BE VERY HELPFUL. 
          AND THEN IF WE COULD ALSO SEE, YOU KNOW, AS WE APPROACH, AS WE ARE APPROACHING THE BUDGET SEASON, IT WOULD BE, IT WOULD BE GOOD TO SEE WHAT ARE THE FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF OUR INVESTMENT IN THIS PARTICULAR ITERATION OF THE UNIFORM. 
          AND THEN I THINK I'LL ASK SOME OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNIFORMS THAT THEY PURCHASE FOR THE WORKFORCE AND SEE IF THERE'S, UM, C SEE JUST HOW THEY COMPARE. 
          THAT'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE THAT AS WELL. 
          AND I THINK ALL-IN-ALL, THAT WAS THE LAST OF MY QUESTIONS. 
          I, I GOT THE, I GOT THE IMPRESSION WHEN YOU ORIGINALLY SAID UNIFORMITY AND APPEARANCE. 
          I THINK I MISUNDERSTOOD YOUR, THE RATIONALE THERE, BUT AS YOU WERE SPEAKING, I THINK I FOUND MY WAY BACK TO, TO UNDERSTANDING WHAT IT IS THAT YOU WERE ATTEMPTING TO ACCOMPLISH HERE. 
          YES, MA'AM. 
          AND IF THERE AREN'T ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, WE MIGHT'VE ACTUALLY GOTTEN OURSELVES BACK ON TRACK AND MAYBE FINISHING EARLY, UM, STILL DON'T SEE OUR VICE CHAIR. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, IF YOU DON'T HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, I THINK WE'RE GOING TO, OH YEAH, I'VE BEEN HERE. 
          I JUST HAD TO HAVE MY CAMERA OFF, BUT NO, I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTIONS. 
          YOU ALL COVERED IT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, EVERYBODY GETS TO RECLAIM 15 MINUTES ON THEIR MONDAY. 
          WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT? IT JUST STARTED RAINING. 
          SO ANYBODY'S GOT TO GET IT HOME FROM CITY HALL. 
          TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY. 
          I KNOW YOU HAVE A LONG DRIVE TO GET BACK UP NORTHWEST. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, EVERYBODY. 
          I APPRECIATE IT. 
          IF THERE ARE, OH, I'M SORRY. 
          THERE WAS ONE LAST THING THAT I FORGOT TO ADD. 
          UM, AS A POINT OF CONSIDERATION, UH, IT WAS ABOUT, UM, CHIEF BROWN TALKED ABOUT, UM, THE, THE VOLUNTARY REGISTRATION FOR REVERSE NINE 11. 
          I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT SOME MORE AND SEE WHAT IT IS THAT WE CAN DO ON OUR END TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND ALL THE OPTIONS THAT THEY HAVE TO BE AS INFORMED AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO IF WE COULD BRING THAT UP AGAIN LATER, THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          THAT WOULD BE USEFUL CHAIR. 
          YOU KNOW, I, UM, UM, HAD A FRIEND WHO RECENTLY WENT TO SEE FAMILY IN CALIFORNIA AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS AS SOON AS THEY LANDED, THEY GOT A TEXT ABOUT COVID-19 THERE. 
          UH, I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THAT KIND OF A SYSTEM AND THAT KIND 
          [01:40:01]
OF A SYSTEM, IF IT'S NOT AUTOMATIC, THAT AS SOON AS THEY WERE IN THAT COMMUNITY, THEY COULD GET A TEXT, THOSE SORTS OF SYSTEMS THAT, UM, COULD BE PARTICULARLY USEFUL, ESPECIALLY IN SOMETHING LIKE THE WINTER STORM WE EXPERIENCED OR OTHER, UH, CATASTROPHES, OH, RUN IT THROUGH THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO SEE THE BEST WAY TO POST THAT ON OUR AGENDA. 
          BUT THAT'S SOMETHING I'D LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT. 
          UM, ALSO FOR THOSE SAME REASONS, I THINK WE'VE MISSED SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO INFORM MORE PEOPLE, UM, MORE EFFICIENTLY AND MORE QUICKLY THAT'S REMEMBER KELLY. 
          I WAS JUST GOING TO SAY BACK WHEN I WORKED IN EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AT THE TECHNOLOGY WAS SO DIFFERENT, IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE HOW IT'S CHANGED OVER THE YEARS AND HOW WE CAN BETTER HELP PROTECT OUR RESIDENTS. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THAT UP. 
          ALL RIGHT, GANG, IF THERE'S NOTHING ELSE I I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND WRAP IT UP. 
          SO IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, UH, WE ARE ADJOURNED AT 3:48 PM AND THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR TIME. 
          HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT REST OF YOUR DAY. 
          BYE EVERYBODY, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. 
           BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. 
          .
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.