Oct 27, 2021 Audit and Finance Committee

NOT ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES WOULDN'T WANT TO COUNCIL MEMBER TOBA MOVES APPROVAL.

DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER SPEAKERS YOU SIGNED UP LATE? OKAY, GREAT.

WELL, THANK YOU.

UM, I WILL

[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of October 27, 2021.]

I HAVE A SECOND COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY SECONDS.

UM, I WOULD JUST ASK THAT WHEN WE PASS THIS, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF TINY, UM, GRAMMAR AND IT'S APOSTROPHES AND S'S THAT MY STAFF WILL LET YOU KNOW IF WE CAN APPROVE THE MINUTES, UM, CONTINGENT ON THAT.

I THINK IT SHOULD BE COUNCIL MEMBER TAVAS WITH AN APOSTROPHE S IN ONE OF THE ITEMS. AND THEN ANOTHER ITEM, THERE'S AN EXTRA COMMA THAT CHANGES SOMEONE'S TITLE, UM, NOTHING MAJOR.

SO IF WE CAN PASS IT WITH THOSE, UM, CHANGES, UM, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS?

[2. Briefing on City pension systems.]

SEE NO OBJECTIONS.

WE PASS THOSE MINUTES.

UM, WE WILL NOW MOVE TO ITEM TWO, WHICH I MENTIONED EARLIER.

WE ARE GOING TO POSTPONE, UM, AT STAFF'S REQUEST THAT'S THE PENSION BRIEFING.

UM, SO IF THERE COUNCIL MOTTO, OKAY.

THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

WE JUST POSTPONE IT.

DO YOU HAVE A SECOND COUNCILMAN POOL SECONDS SEEING NO OBJECTIONS THAT WILL PASS? UM, WE

[Executive Session]

ARE NOW GOING TO MOVE TO CLOSE SESSION AND I WILL READ THE SCRIPT FOR THAT.

AGAIN, WE WILL BE VIRTUAL FOR CLOSE SESSION.

UM, WE WILL TAKE WHATEVER TIME IS NECESSARY FOR US TO REVIEW WITH, UM, CITY STAFF, THE CANDIDATES FOR THE KILLERS AND APRS BOARD, AND THEN COME BACK OUT HERE.

SO THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP ONE ITEM PURSUANT TO SECTIONS 5 5 1 0 7 4 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE.

THE COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM THREE PENSION SYSTEM, COERCE, APRS, TRUSTEE, CANDIDATES, EVALUATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GOING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE ITEM ANNOUNCED HEARING NONE, THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, SO I WILL SEE YOU IN A FEW MINUTES.

THIS IS THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

[4. Discussion and possible action regarding Pension Systems (COAERS/APRS) Trustee Candidates]

UM, WE ARE OUT OF CLOSED SESSION IN CLOSED SESSION.

WE TOOK UP AND DISCUSSED PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM THREE.

UH, WE'RE NOW BACK IN OPEN SESSION AT 9:46 AM.

I WANT TO TAKE UP ALL ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING PENSION SYSTEM TRUSTEE CANDIDATES.

UM, AND I WILL MAKE A MOTION, UM, IN A MOMENT, BUT FIRST I JUST WANT TO THANK ALL OF THE CANDIDATES, UM, WHO PUT IN THEIR NAME AND WERE WILLING TO SERVE THE CITY AS TRUSTEES OF THESE PENSION SYSTEMS. WE HAD A VERY OUTSTANDING POOL OF CANDIDATES, AND I WANT TO THANK YOU FOR APPLYING AND THANK STAFF, UM, FOR REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY.

UM, WE ARE REALLY FORTUNATE IN AUSTIN TO HAVE SO MANY VERY QUALIFIED PEOPLE WHO WANT TO HELP US SERVE, UM, THE CITY AND, UM, TO HELP US DO IT IN A FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE WAY.

SO THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE APPLICANTS.

UM, THIS WAS A TOUGH DECISION.

UH, I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE HIGHEST QUALITY POOLS THAT WE HAVE SEEN.

SO I WOULD LIKE TO LONG AS NOBODY OBJECTS TO ME, CONTINUING WITH EMOTION NOW, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MOTION THAT WE, UH, MOVE TO APPROVE MICHAEL GRANT OFF AS THE APPOINTEE FOR THE APRS BOARD AND DICK LEVINE FOR THE COERCE BOARD FOR WHEN THOSE SEATS ARE OPEN.

UM, AND I WOULD ASK AS PART OF MY MISSION THAT, UM, STAFF WORK TO GET THIS APPOINTMENT, THESE APPOINTMENTS ON ONE OF THE NOVEMBER AGENDAS AND ADVANCE IT AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.

DO HAVE A SECOND COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA SECONDS, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS ON THE DYESS WITH MAYOR ADLER, ABSENT, UM, STAFF.

DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS WITH THAT MOTION? THAT'S FINE.

OKAY, GREAT.

SO WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM FIVE, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE CITY TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES AUDIT.

[5. Discussion and possible action regarding the City Technology Purchases Audit.]

UM, SO THIS AUDIT WAS MANAGED BY PATRICK JOHNSON.

SO CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME OKAY.

WE CAN.

EXCELLENT.

AND,

[00:10:01]

UM, HENRY KATOOMBA WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR AND, UM, WE HAVE ANDREW SCOGGIN WHO I THINK IS THERE IN FRONT OF YOU.

I CAN'T ALWAYS SEE THE FULL ROOM, BUT I THINK HE'S RIGHT THERE.

UM, AND HE'S GOING TO DO OUR PRESENTATION THIS MORNING, SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO ANDREW.

HI, UH, GOOD MORNING.

UH, AS COREY MENTIONED, MY NAME'S ANDREW SCOGGIN, UH, AND I'M A MEMBER OF THE TEAM ON THIS AUDIT.

UM, UH, WE APPRECIATE YOUR, YOUR TIME, UH, THIS MORNING, UH, AS WE TELL YOU MORE ABOUT OUR AUTO PROJECT ON HOW THE CITY BUYS TECHNOLOGY, UH, FIRST ON THE NEXT SLIDE HERE, UH, JUST SOME BACKGROUND ON THE CITY'S PROCESS.

UH, THIS CHART IS A SIMPLIFIED VERSION OF THE ONE THAT APPEARS ON PAGE TWO OF OUR REPORTS.

UH, FIRST, UH, ONE IS ONE OF THE CITY'S MANY DEPARTMENTS, UH, PLANS, A TECHNOLOGY PURCHASE.

UH, THEY THEN SEND A PURCHASE REQUEST TO THE CITY'S COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT OR CTM, WHICH THEN DOES FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL REVIEWS.

THE CITY'S PURCHASING OFFICE THEN DOES ITS REVIEW, UH, BEFORE THE REQUEST GETS FINAL APPROVAL AND GETS DELIVERED ON THE NEXT SLIDE HERE.

UH, WE HAD ONE FINDING IN OUR REPORTS, WHICH WAS THAT THE CITY'S PROCESS TO BUY TECHNOLOGY ISN'T WORKING EFFECTIVELY TO MEET CITY NEEDS IN THE REST OF THIS PRESENTATION.

I'LL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ABOUT, UH, THE AREAS HIGHLIGHTED HERE ON THE RIGHT, IN TERMS OF OVERSIGHT, PLANNING, UH, REVIEWING AND TRACKING AND GETTING AROUND THE PROCESS.

AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE ON OVERSIGHT, WE FOUND OVERALL THAT'S THE CITY'S OVERSIGHT OF TECHNOLOGY IS NOT EFFECTIVE AS SHOWN HERE.

THE CITY DOES NOT KNOW WHAT TECHNOLOGY IT OWNS, NOR HOW MUCH IT SPENDS.

WE ALSO FOUND THAT KEY IT ROLES ARE UNCLEAR AND GOVERNANCE IS NOT OPERATING EFFECTIVELY TO ENSURE PURCHASES ALIGN WITH CITY GOALS.

THE CITY LISTS THREE GROUPS THAT OVERSEE TECHNOLOGY, BUT ONLY ONE IS CURRENTLY FUNCTIONING.

THERE ALSO DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY GROUP FOSTERING COLLABORATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS, UH, ON THE NEXT SIDE ON PLANNING HERE, UH, WE FOUND THAT DEPARTMENTS GENERALLY DO THIS ON THEIR OWN USING THEIR OWN PROCESSES, INFORMATION ON THEIR DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE DURING PLANNING, UH, SUCH AS A JUSTIFICATION FOR WHY THEY NEED THE TECHNOLOGY IS GENERALLY NOT TRACKED IN A CENTRAL PLACE FOR VIEWERS TO SEE.

WE ALSO NOTE HERE THAT MANY PURCHASES DON'T CONSIDER LONG-TERM BEADS.

WE INTERVIEWED STAFF IN 13 DEPARTMENTS AS PART OF A SURVEY IN ABOUT 85% SAID THAT THE CITY DOESN'T UNDERSTAND ITS TECHNOLOGY NEEDS.

ALSO STAFF SAID THAT SEE TECHNOLOGY DOESN'T KEEP PACE WITH CHANGES IN THE INDUSTRY.

ADDITIONALLY, THERE IS A LACK OF COORDINATION BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS AND CITYWIDE.

WHEN PLANNING FOR PURCHASES, WE SAW EXAMPLES OF PURCHASES WHERE THE CITY COULD HAVE MADE BETTER USE OF ITS RESOURCES ON THE NEXT SLIDE HERE ON REVIEWING AND TRACKING.

UH, WE FOUND THAT THE CITY'S REVIEWS OF TECHNOLOGY PURCHASES AND ITS TOOL, UH, FOR TRACKING PURCHASE REQUESTS, AREN'T WORKING AS INTENDED REVIEWS ARE MEANT TO MAKE SURE THAT TECHNOLOGY IS SECURE AND WE'LL WORK WITH WHAT THE CITY ALREADY USES.

UH, HOWEVER, THESE REVIEWS AREN'T DONE CONSISTENTLY AND WHAT REVIEWERS FIND IS NOT DOCUMENTED, UH, THIS PUTS THE CITY AT RISK OF BUYING TECHNOLOGY THAT IS UNNECESSARY DOESN'T WORK AS EXPECTED OR MAY MAKE THE CITY VULNERABLE.

UM, MORE SPECIFICALLY ON SECURITY VIEWS.

UH, THESE ARE OPTIONAL AND NOT ALWAYS DONE, AND NO ONE DEPARTMENT APPEARS TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR DOING THEM.

WE TALKED TO SOME OF THE LARGER DEPARTMENTS WITH THEIR OWN IT STAFF, UH, WHO REPORTED DOING THEIR OWN SECURITY REVIEWS.

UH, ALSO, UH, THE TOOL THAT'S USED TO TRACK PURCHASE REQUESTS, UH, WHICH HAS CALLED SERVICE.

NOW DOESN'T INCLUDE ALL KEY INFORMATION, PARTICULARLY FROM THE PLANNING OF PURCHASES.

UH, FINALLY, UH, THIS SLIDE HERE ABOUT BUYING, BYPASSING THE PROCESS, UH, WE NOTE, UH, SOME WAYS THAT, UH, PEOPLE CAN GET AROUND THE CITY'S PROCESS FOR BUYING TECHNOLOGY IN OUR DEPARTMENT STAFF SURVEY, UH, ABOUT 60% SAID IT TAKES TOO LONG TO GO THROUGH THE CITY, THE CITY'S PROCESS, THIS MAY DRIVES DRAGGED STAFF TO BYPASS THE PROCESS ALTOGETHER.

UH, STAFF NOTED THAT THERE, THERE'S NO WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL PURCHASES THAT SHOULD GO THROUGH, UH, THIS TECHNOLOGY BY PROCESS ACTUALLY DO.

UH, AND TWO WAYS THAT, THAT WE KNOW HERE, UM, THAT, UH, THE PROCESS CAN BE BYPASSED ARE BY USING CITY PURCHASE CARDS, UH, AND SIGNING

[00:15:01]

UP FOR FREE TRIALS.

UH, WE MADE, UH, FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS AS, AS PART OF OUR AUDITS, UH, TWO ON THE LEFT HERE TO THE CITY MANAGER AND TWO ON THE RIGHT, UH, TO THE CITY'S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, UM, MANAGEMENT, AGREE WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT'S THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION.

UH, WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, I ALSO THINK THAT, UH, STAFF IS HERE AS WELL.

AS SOMEONE FROM CTM OR I THINK CHRIS STEWART AND ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER.

ARIANA ON.

I DON'T KNOW WHICH OF YOU, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU IF YOU'RE SPEAKING.

UH, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES.

UM, GOOD MORNING, UH, CHAIR, UM, UH, ALTERNATIVE, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBERS JUST WANTED TO SAY ON BEHALF OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, OBVIOUSLY TECHNOLOGY, UH, PURCHASING INVESTMENT DECISIONS ARE SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO COORDINATE, UH, AND AN ENTERPRISE WIDE LEVEL, UH, AND APPRECIATE THE AUDITORS, UH, LOOK INTO HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, TO IDENTIFY, I GUESS, THE GAPS AND FOR US TO BE ABLE TO TAKE ACTIONABLE STEPS TOWARDS CLOSING THOSE GAPS.

UH, WE HAVE STARTED, UH, FIRST OF ALL, WE AGREE WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.

UH, AND IN FACT HAVE STARTED WORKING WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO INCLUDE, UM, FIRST TO, AND OUR CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER, FIRST OF ALL, TO, TO REALLY PIN DOWN AND DECIDE, UH, AND DECIDE UPON THE ROLE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER FOR THE ENTERPRISE, UH, FROM THERE THEN FLOWS ALL THE OTHER THINGS IN TERMS OF GOVERNANCE AND HOW WE MAKE TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS AND THEN ON A SEPARATE, BUT PARALLEL TRACK CERTAINLY IS GOING TO BE HOW WE CAN BEST TRACK OUR INVESTMENTS.

AND SO WITH THOSE COMMENTS AND PASSING TO CHRIS, TO CPS IN THE COMMENTS AS WELL.

THANKS.

RIGHT? YEAH.

GOOD MORNING, CHRIS STEWART, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER.

SO LIKE WE SAID, WE ARE UNDERWAY WITH REALLY TRYING TO FIND WHAT THE ROLES RESPONSIBILITIES ARE, AND THAT'S THE VERY FIRST RECOMMENDATION FROM THE AUDIT IS TO HAVE A CLEAR DEFINITION OF ROLES, RESPONSIBILITIES.

I THINK WHAT WE SEE IS IT HASN'T BEEN CLEARLY DEFINED.

SO A LOT OF DEPARTMENTS WERE, WERE TAKING, THEY WERE DOING WHAT THEY COULD TO GET THEIR WORK DONE, GET THEIR WORK ACCOMPLISHED, EVERYONE'S DOING WHAT THEY THOUGHT WAS THEIR RESPONSIBILITY.

UM, BUT THIS IS GOING TO MAKE IT VERY CLEAR WHERE THEIR RESPONSIBILITY LIES.

WE'RE GOING TO WORK WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS WORK WITH PURCHASING, OF COURSE, CMS HAVE A BETTER DEFINITION.

AND THEN FROM THE CTM SIDE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS REALLY FOCUSED ON GIVING MORE INFORMATION TO OUR DEPARTMENTS ABOUT WHAT SERVICES WE DO OFFER WHAT OUR STANDARDS.

UM, SO THEY HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF HERE'S WHAT'S AVAILABLE TO US.

SO INSTEAD OF GOING OFF AND IF I NEED SOMETHING, I JUST GO FIND IT.

THE FIRST PLACE I GO IS TO CTM.

I GO TO A CENTRALIZED PLACE TO SAY, HEY, WHAT DO WE HAVE? UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO MAKE IT MUCH EASIER FOR US TO CONTROL THESE THINGS.

THEN OF COURSE, THE GOVERNANCE PROCESSES ON TOP OF THAT.

SO WE'RE, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE UNDER WAY.

AND A LOT OF THAT WORKS.

WE'RE EXCITED TO GET THAT WORK DONE AND TO MOVE FORWARD.

UM, MS. MORGAN, DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK AS WELL, OR ARE YOU JUST HERE TO, UM, I'M HERE TO JUST SUPPORT CHRIS AND RAY, THANK YOU FOR JUMPING ON.

UM, AND COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH HAPPY, SO HAPPY TO HAVE CHRIS STEWART AT THE HELM OF CT AND HIM NOW.

AND HE'S REALLY TAKEN A LEAD IN A CLEAR AND DIRECT FOCUS TO HAVE THIS, UH, BE TOP AND CENTER TO HELP US MOVE FORWARD TO, TO DO A BETTER JOB OF COORDINATING THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

SO I APPRECIATE IT.

THEN, UM, COMMUNICATED OUT, UM, THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE, UM, ORGANIZATION WITH THE END GOAL, HOPEFULLY OF MAKING IT EASIER AND FASTER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE FOR US AS WE, AS WE NAVIGATE HOW CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND HOW TO DO THINGS.

UM, SO JUST BEFORE WE JUMP INTO DISCUSSION, UM, I WANT TO REMIND THOSE WHO ARE WATCHING THAT THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL AUDITS THAT THIS COMMITTEE AND THE COUNCIL HAVE REQUESTED WITH RESPECT TO, UM, TECHNOLOGY.

UM, WE HAVE BEEN FOCUSED IN PARTICULAR ON CYBERSECURITY.

WE HAVE AUDITS IN OUR PLAN, UM, ALSO WITH RESPECT TO CLOUD COMMUNITY, UM, AND HAVE BEEN ASKING A LOT OF QUESTIONS, UM, TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE CAN DO BETTER, UM, WITH RESPECT TO THE DELIVERY OF TECHNOLOGY.

UM, THIS IS NOT A PARTICULARLY FLATTERING AUDIT, AND I THINK WE NEED TO, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, MY HOPE IS THAT IT WILL BE USEFUL IN, IN HIGHLIGHTING THE GOVERNANCE QUESTIONS THAT NEED TO BE RESOLVED AND THAT NEED TO BE RESOLVED AT A HIGH LEVEL, AND

[00:20:01]

UM, THIS AUDIT, I THINK, COVERS TO SOME DEGREE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE HARDWARE, THE SOFTWARE AND THE CLOUD PIECES.

WE ALSO HAVE ANOTHER AUDIT COMING UP ON, ON THE CLOUD.

UM, BUT THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE.

I'M GOING TO OPEN IT UP FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO WANT TO MAKE, UM, COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS.

AND THEN I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.

COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.

UM, SINCE NOBODY SEEMS TO HAVE QUESTIONS AND I'LL ASK MINE, UM, OKAY.

SO, UM, WE HAD FOR A LITTLE WHILE A CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER, AND WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THAT, UM, THAT IS, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY ONE ROLE THAT COULD BE HELPFUL IN THIS GOVERNANCE STRUCTURE.

UM, WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THAT, UM, POSITION AND THE ROLES THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE PERFORMED BY THAT PERSON? SO WE DID TAKE A GOOD LOOK WHEN I GOT HERE WITH THE EXECUTIVE TEAM PRISSY, TIM AND WE RESTRUCTURED THE EXECUTIVE TEAM INTO THREE DEPUTY CIO, A CHIEF OF STAFF AND OUR SECURITY, UM, FUNCTIONAL REPORTING TO THE CIO.

SO WE DID CHANGE UP SOME OF THE TITLES, SOME OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE EXECUTIVE TEAM, UH, TO MAKE IT MORE CLEAR.

SO A LOT OF THE, THE FUNCTIONS OF THE CTO HAVE BEEN SPLIT UP INTO THE DEPUTIES.

UM, AND MOST OF IT RELIES DEFINITELY ON THE CIO ROLE, UM, INSTEAD OF SPLITTING THAT RESPONSIBLE AND DECENTRALIZED RESPONSIBILITY INTO ONE PERSON WHO WAS MANAGING THIS FOR THE DEPARTMENT.

UM, THANK YOU.

AND THEN I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW, I'M HOPING THAT ONE OF YOU CAN ANSWER THIS, BUT WE HAVE RECENTLY HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT AN UPDATE TO OUR PROCUREMENT POLICY MORE GENERALLY.

UM, I WANTED TO GET A LITTLE MORE DETAIL ABOUT HOW THE TECHNOLOGY PURCHASING IMPROVEMENTS WOULD BE CONNECTED TO THAT OVERALL PROCUREMENT POLICY UPDATE.

ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE DOING AT CTM IS WE'RE GOING TO CREATE A CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TEAM.

A PREVIOUS AUDIT HAD DETERMINED THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF CONTRACTS FOR CITY-WIDE OR ENTERPRISE WIDE, IT CONTRACTS SHOULD BE MANAGED CENTRALLY AT CTM.

THAT'S A NEW FUNCTION FOR C TIM.

WE'RE BUILDING THAT TEAM.

WE'RE WORKING WITH, UH, OUR PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT GROUP AND, AND IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO DETERMINE WHAT IS THE, WHAT ARE THE ROLES THERE? WHAT SIZE TEAM DO WE NEED WITH THE RIGHT PEOPLE, THE RIGHT TITLES TO DO THAT.

SO FOR THEIR PROCUREMENT SIDE, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CONTRACT MANAGEMENT IS WORKING WELL.

AND THEN OF COURSE THE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE HAVE, WHAT WE'RE BUYING THE GOVERNANCE AROUND, THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT.

SO THERE'S ALL THE GOVERNANCE THAT WE NEED TO DO.

THAT'S DEFINITELY ON OUR ROADMAP TO GET DONE.

AND THIS IS PATRICK JOHNSON WITH THE AUDIT OFFICE.

WE DID SPEAK WITH, UH, JAMES SCARBOROUGH, THE PURCHASING OFFICER KIND OF THROUGHOUT THIS AUDIT, UH, AFTER THE AUDIT.

UH, I KNOW THAT, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, I THINK JUST THE STRUCTURE, UH, THAT MANAGEMENT IS LAID OUT DOES ALIGN WITH, I THINK SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT THE PURCHASING OFFICE IS TRYING TO MOVE FORWARD.

SO, UM, AND I KNOW THE PURCHASING OFFICER WILL OFFICER WILL BE INVOLVED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF KIND OF REDESIGNING, UH, IDENTIFYING OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT TO THE PROCESS AND GETTING THOSE IMPLEMENTED.

THEM, REFRESHING THEM, GETTING THEM READY FOR THE COMMUNITY.

UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS STRUCK WITH, AND I THINK IT WAS IN THE AUDIT AND NOT JUST IN THE BRIEFING THAT I HAD WAS SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGY THAT WAS PURCHASED AND NOT REALLY USABLE BY THE DEPARTMENTS.

UM, AND IT, AND, AND I'VE BEEN FOCUSING IN, ON SORT OF DIGITAL EQUITY PROGRAMS AND, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE ISSUES WE HAVE IS, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY.

AND SO, UM, AND ALSO BEEN ACTIVE IN THE AUSTIN, UM, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

AND SO I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THE CITY'S E RECYCLING AND DIGITAL EQUITY PROGRAMS INTERSECT WITH TECH PURCHASING AND, OR THE RETIREMENT IS STILL USABLE HARDWARE.

I CAN SPEAK TO THAT, THAT THAT PROGRAM IS RUN THROUGH TELECOMMUNICATIONS REGULATORY'S AFFAIRS.

UM, WE WORK WITH THEM VERY CLOSELY AND HAVE FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW.

SO THE, THE TECH IS ONE OF OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM.

WE DEFINITELY MAKE SURE THAT, UM, OUR TECHNOLOGY, THE CITY REFRESHES EACH YEAR GOES THROUGH THAT PROGRAM.

THEY HAVE BROUGHT IN LIKE AN INTERN LEVEL, UM, FOLKS TO LEARN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PC THAT AND REPAIRING

[00:25:01]

UM, AND THEN THERE'S A PROGRAM THEY USE TO SUPPORT, UM, LOCAL CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.

AND I BELIEVE THEY EVEN HAD SOME DIRECT, UM, THROUGH ANOTHER CHARITIES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE KIDS GOING HOME LAST YEAR, EVERYBODY REFRESHED SOME OF OUR COMPUTERS FOR THAT USE.

SO THERE IS AN EXTENSIVE PROGRAM RUN BY TARA THAT'S, IT'S BEEN AROUND FOR SEVERAL YEARS.

I THINK IT'S VERY SUCCESSFUL.

AND I GUESS WHAT I'M ASKING IS THERE'S A, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE REDOING THE GOVERNANCE, I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T FORGET THAT PIECE.

IT'S NOT IN THE MAP THAT'S HERE.

UM, BUT I THINK BOTH THE ABILITY TO DEPLOY OLD HARDWARE AND ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN REDEPLOY, UM, FOR DIGITAL EQUITY AND TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RECYCLING SOMEHOW NEEDS TO BE IN THIS GOVERNANCE CYCLE.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE TALK ABOUT THIS IN, IN OTHER PLACES WHERE, YOU KNOW, IF YOU REALLY LOOKING AT SUSTAINABILITY, YOU HAVE TO PLAN IT INTO YOUR LIFE CYCLE.

UM, AND HERE WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, DEPLOY THIS FOR FOLKS WHO DON'T NEED AS SOPHISTICATED MACHINES, BUT FOR WHOM THAT BASIC MACHINE WILL WORK.

UM, SO I W I WOULD ASK THAT AS YOU ARE COMING UP WITH YOUR GOVERNANCE SYSTEM, THAT THERE'S A STEP ALONG THE WAY FOR THAT THAT'S, THAT'S PART OF THE CONVERSATION APPROPRIATELY.

UM, SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR THE AUDITOR.

UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I READ THIS THROUGH IT, IT SEEMED FAIRLY HARDWARE FOCUSED THAT MAY HAVE BEEN JUST MY BIAS OF WHAT TECHNOLOGY MEANS.

UM, BUT I UNDERSTAND THERE HAS ALSO BEEN SITUATIONS WHERE, UM, VENDORS MAY HAVE DELIVERED APPLICATIONS THAT DIDN'T WORK, UM, OR WE HAD OUTSOURCING FAILURES.

AND I DIDN'T REALLY SEE THAT SORT OF REFLECTED IN HERE.

AND I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN SPEAK TO THOSE THINGS AND WHAT YOU LEARNED.

OH, SURE.

GO AHEAD.

AND I THINK WITH THIS AUDIT, I THINK WE, WE STARTED TO GET IN AND TRY TO DIG INTO, UM, VERY SPECIFIC EXAMPLES, UH, FOUND THAT THERE WASN'T A LOT OF INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

I THINK WE THEN STEPPED BACK AT A HIGHER LEVEL KIND OF GETTING INTO THE GOVERNANCE PIECE AND SEEING THAT WHAT NEEDS TO BE FIXED THERE.

UM, THE AUDIT ITSELF KIND OF STAYED BACK AT A, AT A BIT OF A HIGHER LEVEL, AND WE DIDN'T DIG IN, UH, AS DEEP ON SPECIFIC, UH, PIECES OF THE, OF THE PROCESS.

SO AS YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT THIS AUDIT, IT IS MUCH MORE ON THAT HIGHER LEVEL GOVERNANCE PIECE, AS OPPOSED TO DIVING INTO SPECIFIC INSTANCES OF, I THINK, I THINK WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE GOVERNANCE, BUT WE ALSO LOOKED AT SORT OF THE HIGH LEVEL PROCESS AND NOT ANY PARTICULAR KIND OF INSTANCE THAT WENT THROUGH THE PROCESS.

WE DID LOOK AT INSTANCES.

WE JUST DIDN'T GO AS DEEP ON, ON SOME OF THOSE INSTANCES.

UM, THERE WAS DISCUSSION OF THESE OVERSIGHT GROUPS, UM, THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICERS COUNCIL, AND THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTORIES ADVISORY COUNCIL.

UM, AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THOSE ARE DEFUNCT.

IS THAT ACCURATE? UH, YEAH.

UM, I THINK, UM, SO THE CIO COUNCIL, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHEN THE LAST TIME THAT WAS THAT THEY MET, I THINK THE DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR ADVISORY COUNCIL, UH, LAST MET AND IN 2018.

UM, UH, BUT, BUT CHRIS MIGHT BE MORE FAMILIAR, UM, WITH THAT ASPECT.

THE, THE D DECK, UM, PROCESS HAS NOT HAPPENED FOR A WHILE WHERE THE DIRECTORS GOT TOGETHER TO REALLY TALK ABOUT TOP TECHNOLOGY NEEDS.

UM, SINCE THEN, WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED ON JUST THE REFRESH OF EQUIPMENT AND THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF OUR SKIPPY DOLLARS ARE GOING ARE REALLY JUST THE PROGRAMS OF MAINTAINING WHAT WE HAVE, THE, THE COC ITS FUNCTION HAS CHANGED SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ITS INCEPTION.

SO WE'RE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT BECAUSE THAT'S GOING TO BE PART OF THIS GOVERNANCE PROCESS.

IT'S ALL GOING TO START WITH THE IT STEERING COMMITTEE, WHICH IS STILL IN PLACE AND STILL MEETS.

AND THAT STEERING COMMITTEE IS REALLY AWARE.

WE STARTED THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND THE ROLE OF THE CIO.

AND ONCE WE HAD THAT DETERMINED, THAT'S GOING TO HELP US DETERMINE THIS TOP DOWN GOVERNANCE APPROACH TO SEE WHERE WE NEED TO TAKE GOVERNANCE.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE ARE GOING TO DO IS MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING AT WHAT IS THERE RIGHT NOW.

THERE IS LOTS OF POCKETS OF GOVERNANCE, BUT WE MADE, WE MAKE SURE IT HAS A STRUCTURE.

WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS SOME AUTHORITY TO THESE, TO THESE TEAMS AS THEY MAKE DECISIONS THAT THEY CAN ACTUALLY MAKE THAT THEY'RE EMPOWERED, UM, THAT THE OVERALL STRATEGY IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT SO THAT WE HAVE MIT STRATEGY FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON.

AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF THAT STRATEGY, AND AS PART, AS YOU KNOW, WE DO THIS INVENTORY OF OUR TECHNOLOGY AND WE FORMALIZE THE PURCHASING GUIDELINES AND

[00:30:01]

THE GOVERNANCE.

UM, I REALLY WANT TO UNDERSCORE THE NEED TO SEIZE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO OPTIMIZE OUR TECHNOLOGY, WHAT SYSTEMS WE USE AND HOW WE CAN BE EFFICIENT AND INNOVATIVE AND SAFE AS WE MODERNIZE OUR TECHNOLOGY, UM, THAT CAN HELP US DO OUR JOBS BETTER AND SERVE AUSTINITES BETTER.

UM, SO AS YOU'RE APPROACHING THESE NEXT STEPS, YOU KNOW, I I'VE HAD OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH YOU, CHRIS AND I, AND I UNDERSTAND THIS IS HOW YOU THINK ABOUT THINGS.

UM, BUT I JUST DON'T WANT US, YOU KNOW, TO TAKE SOMETHING THAT'S AN AUDIT AND, AND PRESENTED IN AUDIT SPEAK AND FORGET THE OPPORTUNITY HERE TO REALLY BE THINKING ABOUT, UM, OPTIMIZING OUR TECHNOLOGY AND THE USE OF IT, UM, YOU KNOW, AND NOT GET LOST IN THAT, NOT GET LOST IN THE GOVERNANCE AND FORGET THAT PIECE, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S, IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT.

AND, YOU KNOW, THE HOPE OF THESE SERIES OF AUDITS IS TO GET US TO A BETTER PLACE RECOGNIZING THAT WE'RE NOT WHERE WE'RE WE NEED TO BE.

UM, AND TO CHART THAT COURSE, UM, WHICH INVOLVES THE GOVERNANCE, BUT IT ALSO MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN DO BETTER IN DELIVERING THAT TECHNOLOGY.

UM, AND THAT GOVERNANCE OR LACK OF GOVERNANCE IS AN OBSTACLE, UM, TO ACHIEVING THOSE, THOSE MILESTONES WITH RESPECT TO TECHNOLOGY USAGE, UM, COLLEAGUES, DOES ANYONE HAVE TOUGH QUESTIONS? OKAY.

UM, I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE AUDIT OF SOME OF OUR TOVA.

I MEAN, IT WAS APPROVAL OF THE AUDIT OR ACCEPTANCE OF THE AUDIT.

I'M NOT SURE WHICH ONE WE'RE DOING TODAY AND COUNCIL MEMBER FULL SECONDS.

IT, UM, THERE ARE ANY OBJECTIONS OKAY.

WITH THAT.

THE, THE AUDIT IS APPROVED.

UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ITEM IS ITEM SIX, WHICH IS ACTUALLY DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE PROPOSED DRAFT AUDIT PLAN.

APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE AND LOOK FORWARD, UM, TO UPDATES ON THIS PROCESS, UM, MOVING FORWARD.

UM, THANK YOU.

SO THE NEXT

[6. Discussion and possible action regarding the Fiscal Year 2022 Proposed Draft Audit Plan.]

UM, THIS IS THE DISCUSSION FOR THAT ITEM.

THE NOVEMBER MEETING IN TWO WEEKS, WE'LL INCLUDE AN ITEM FOR RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL.

UM, UNLESS WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING TODAY, UM, I'LL INVITE MS. STOKES TO INTRODUCE THAT.

AND AS PART OF THAT, IF YOU CAN ALSO MAKE CLEAR THE NEXT STEP WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPUTER TECHNOLOGY, THAT'S ALSO PART OF THIS PLAN.

SORRY.

I THINK, I MEAN, I MISS THAT LAST STEP, THE KIND OF NEXT PIECE OF WHAT WE'LL BE LOOKING AT FROM A KIND OF IT PERSPECTIVE.

YES.

I CAN DO THAT.

SO, UM, IF WE CAN ACTUALLY PULL UP THE PDF DOCUMENT, THAT'S THE EASIEST WAY I THINK, TO, TO TALK THROUGH THIS.

UM, SO JUST, JUST A COUPLE OF THINGS I KNOW MOST OF, YOU KNOW, BUT, BUT FOR THE PUBLIC AND, AND ANYONE ELSE, NOT THIS ONE, UM, THIS IS THE PDF FOR THE AUDIT PLAN.

THIS ONE'S FOR ITEM SEVEN.

UM, SO I, YOU ALL KNOW THIS, BUT, BUT FOR EVERYBODY ELSE, UM, CERTAINLY THERE ARE REQUIREMENTS IN CITY CODE AND SECTION TWO, THREE, AND SEVERAL DIFFERENT PLACES RELATED TO THE AUDIT PLAN.

SO I PRESENT THE AUDIT PLAN TO THE AUTO FINANCE COMMITTEE AND THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE, UM, MAKES A RECOMMENDATION TO FULL COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL.

SO THAT THAT'S HOW IT'S LAID UP OUT IN THE PLAN.

UM, THE WAY THAT WE DO THIS IS WE, WE COLLECT IDEAS FOR WHAT SHOULD BE ON THE PLAN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR.

UM, THOSE COME FROM CITIZENS, THEY COME FROM AUDIT STAFF, THEY COME FROM OTHER INTERESTED PARTIES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

UM, WE COLLECT THAT INFORMATION AND TRY TO PRIORITIZE, UH, WE ALSO KIND OF SURVEY NEW SOURCES AND WE TRY TO PRIORITIZE KIND OF A RISK BASED LIFT.

SO WE START WITH A LONGER LIST.

AND THEN FROM THERE, UM, WE'RE KIND OF WHITTLING IT DOWN, PRIORITIZING BASED ON IMPACT, BASED ON TIMING, BASED ON COVERAGE.

AND SO THAT, THAT'S WHAT YOU HOPEFULLY SEE IN FRONT OF YOU, OR WE'LL SEE IN FRONT OF YOU SOON.

UM, OR MAYBE SOME OF YOU ALREADY HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, IT'S THE BACKUP FOR, FOR THIS ITEM.

UM, BUT SO THEN WE, FROM THERE WE GO AND WE DISCUSS IT WITH COUNCIL OFFICES, UM, AND WITH CITY MANAGEMENT, AND THEN, UM, TRY TO COME UP WITH KIND OF THE DRAFT LIST WITH THE REFLECTING KIND OF SUPPORT FOR PROJECTS.

BUT ALSO, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, ARE WE CONSIDERING TIMING? ARE WE CONSIDERING IMPACT, ARE WE CONSIDERING AUDIT COVERAGE? SO, UM, THE, FOR, FOR THE DRAFT LIST AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTERNATE MENTIONED, UH, WE BRING THAT TO YOU AND THEN ASK FOR THAT, THAT FULL COUNCIL RECOMMENDATION, UM, DO, CAN Y'ALL SEE THE DRAFT LIST AT THIS POINT.

[00:35:03]

IT IS NOT ON THE SCREEN.

I HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, CGM.

I MAY, YOU CAN SLASH ALL OF THAT.

CAN YOU HELP ME OUT HERE? WE'RE TRYING TO GET IT UP.

IT'S NOT LOADING AT THE MOMENT.

SO I THINK IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'LL JUST WALK THROUGH THE SECTIONS REAL QUICK.

UM, HOPEFULLY MOST OF YOU CAN SEE IT IN FRONT OF YOU, UM, AS BACKUP FOR THE ITEM.

UM, THE, THE MAIN THING IS, SO WE, WE REMIND YOU OF WHAT IS ALREADY UNDERWAY, UM, SO THAT WE DON'T PUT THINGS ON THE PLAN, UM, THAT WE ALREADY DOING.

UH, SO THAT'S KIND OF THE FIRST SECTION THINGS THAT ARE COMING SOON.

AND THIS KIND OF OVERLAPS WITH OUR LAST ITEM WHERE WE TALK ABOUT UPCOMING ITEMS. UM, BUT WE DO EXPECT TO HAVE, UM, WORK COMPLETED ON OUR DISASTER RESPONSE AUDIT.

UM, FOR THE NOVEMBER MEETING, WE ALSO HAVE, ARE COMPLETING WORK RELATED TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY FUNDS.

SO THOSE ARE TWO TOPICS THAT WILL COME BEFORE THIS PLAN WOULD EVER TAKE EFFECT.

ALSO OUR LOBBYISTS COMPLIANCE WORK, WHICH WE'RE REQUIRED BY CODE TO DO ANNUALLY, UM, COMING SOON, UH, WE HAVE A COUPLE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU'LL PROBABLY SEE THIS CALENDAR YEAR.

SO, UM, IT WON'T JUST BE THOSE TWO AUDITS AND THOSE INCLUDE SOME RESULTS FROM OUR COST SAVINGS INITIATIVE, UM, WHICH IS, WHICH IS AN ONGOING INITIATIVE, BUT, BUT SPECIFIC PROJECTS DO COME OUT OUT OF THAT.

AND WHEN WE COMPLETE THEM, WE PRESENT THEM TO YOU, EXAMPLES FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR WHERE THE SOFTWARE LICENSES WORK, UM, AS WELL AS THE PAGERS WORK.

SO, UM, THERE WILL BE MORE FROM THAT MOST LIKELY THEN WE HAVE, UM, THEN WE HAVE FOLLOW-UP PROJECTS.

UM, THOSE, WE, WE DO FOLLOW PROJECTS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, AS YOU ALL MAY RECALL, WE STARTED IN 2021, WE STARTED DOING THEMATIC FOLLOW-UP.

UM, SO WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO, UM, BRING OUR FOLLOW-UP KIND OF IN, IN MORE CHUNKS OF INFORMATION.

UM, AND THEN THE, SO THAT'S ALL KIND OF WHAT'S HAPPENING AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR MENTIONED, WE HAVE A CYBERSECURITY SERIES, SO WE'RE ALWAYS PROPOSING A PERFECT TIMING.

WE HAVE A CYBER SECURITY SERIES, SO WE'RE ALWAYS PROPOSING, UM, WORK IN THAT WE HAVE A PROJECT THAT WE'RE, WE'VE CURRENTLY STARTED RELATED TO CLOUD COMPUTING.

UH, AND SO WE'LL BE, UM, THAT THAT WILL BE CARRIED OVER, WHICH MEANS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT COMPLETING IT BY THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR, SO IT'LL CARRY OVER INTO NEXT YEAR.

AND THEN, UM, WE ALSO HAVE PROJECTS ON DATA RELIABILITY AND THEN A SPIN OF OUR DISASTER RESPONSE WORK SPECIFICALLY FOCUSED ON EMERGENCY SHELTER.

SO WE DID SOME LARGER WORK THAT YOU'LL SEE NEXT MONTH.

UM, BUT THAT'S A PROJECT THAT WE FELT NEEDED A LITTLE MORE TIME AND ATTENTION, UH, THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.

SO IN ADDITION TO THOSE THREE CAREGIVERS, THEN WHAT YOU GET TO THIS BLUE LIST, WHICH IS THE REST OF THE THINGS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING FOR NEXT CALENDAR YEAR.

AND I DID NOTICE ON THE AGENDA, IT SAYS FISCAL YEAR, SORRY, I DIDN'T NOTICE THAT UNTIL THIS MORNING, BUT THIS IS ACTUALLY A PLAN WE ARE SHIFTING TO THE CALENDAR YEAR AUDIT PLAN.

UM, AND SO THIS LIST, I WON'T GO THROUGH THEM ONE BY ONE, BUT THIS IS THE LIST OF PROJECTS THAT WE ANTICIPATE DOING.

YOU'LL SEE, ON THERE.

THE CYBERSECURITY SERIES IS CONTINUING.

UM, THAT'S ONE THAT WE FEEL LIKE THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS A TOPIC THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THERE.

WE'LL ASSESS.

UM, JUST LIKE WITH THE CLOUD COMPUTING, UM, AUDIT THAT WE IDENTIFIED THIS YEAR, WE WILL ASSESS WHAT, WHAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE GOING FORWARD.

AND THEN, UM, ANOTHER KIND OF ALONG THOSE SAME LINES, THE COST SAVINGS INITIATIVE, GIVEN VARIOUS THINGS, TAX GAP CITY IN GENERAL, UM, LOTS OF PRESSURE, UM, ON CITY SPENDING.

UH, WE WANT TO KEEP THAT SERIES UP AND WE DO HAVE SOME TOPICS THAT WE'RE LAYING OUT THERE AS POTENTIAL TOPICS FOR THAT INITIATIVE.

SO WHILE RIGHT NOW IT LOOKS KIND OF LIKE A, A BROAD INITIATIVE.

UM, WE WILL HAVE MORE SPECIFIC, UM, PROJECTS THAT COME OUT OF THAT.

SO, AND THEN THERE'S ALWAYS, WE ALWAYS TRY TO KEEP IT PAGE TWO.

SO THERE IS A PAGE TWO, WHICH IS POSSIBLE PROJECTS TO CONSIDER.

UM, RIGHT NOW WHAT I'M PROPOSING TO YOU GUYS IS THIS LIST HERE AS OUR AUDIT PLAN FOR CALENDAR YEAR 22.

UM, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? YEAH, I, I DO GO AHEAD COUNSEL, MY PRO.

UM, ON THE FOLLOWUP AUDITS AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE ONE.

THANKS COREY.

THANKS SO MUCH FOR, FOR THIS LIST OF AUDITS.

IT'S A REALLY STRONG LIST.

UM, I MEAN, IT ALWAYS IS, UH, ON PAGE TWO FOR THE POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVE.

IF, IF WE HAVE TIME, YOU'LL SEE THE ANIMAL SERVICES AUDIT.

AND, UM, I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH THE CITY AUDITOR AND MY TEAM, AND WE, WE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO, UM, TEE THAT PARTICULAR AUDIT UP FOR 2023, BECAUSE WE HAVE FOLLOW UP ON PREVIOUS ANIMAL SERVICES AUDITS, UH, LISTED AT THAT,

[00:40:01]

SO I THINK DURING THE FOLLOWUP AUDIT ON ANIMAL SERVICES THIS YEAR, WE'LL THEN GET US IN A GOOD PLACE FOR DECIDING WHAT THE, UM, PARAMETERS WILL BE FOR AN ANIMAL SERVICE OFFICE AUDIT NEXT YEAR, NOT IN 2020, BUT IN 23.

SO I, I, UM, I THINK THAT WILL WORK REALLY WELL.

WE DO NEED TO BE FOCUSING ON OUR FOLLOW-UPS AND THEN TAKE THAT INFORMATION FORWARD AND BUILD ON IT THAT'LL WORK REALLY WELL IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE.

SO MY THANKS TO, UH, TO COREY AND HER TEAM.

THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, TOVA COUNCIL MEMBER POLL.

I'D LIKE TO VISIT WITH YOU ABOUT THAT SHIFT.

UM, OUTSIDE OF THE MEETING WE HAVE, AS, YOU KNOW, CAUSE WE'VE BEEN IN, IN SOME SIMILAR MEETINGS, HEARD SOME CONCERNS FROM INDIVIDUALS ABOUT THE LEVEL OF DATA THAT'S BEING PRESENTED TO THE ANIMAL COMMISSION, TO OUR VOLUNTEERS ON THE ANIMAL, UM, COMMISSION.

AND I WONDER IF, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER THAT'S WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THE UPDATE, BUT IT SURE COULD BE IN THE SCOPE OF THE NEW ONES.

SO, YOU KNOW, IN SUPPORT OF SOME OF THE OTHER REQUESTS THAT OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS HAVE MADE IN ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU SPONSORED, I'M WONDERING IF, IF, UM, THAT SHIFT IS, IS WHAT WE WANT TO DO NOW, BUT MAYBE YOU AND I CAN TALK ABOUT IT OUT.

WE DON'T NEED TO NECESSARILY TALK ABOUT IT TODAY, UNLESS YOU'D LIKE TO.

UM, BUT BEFORE IT COMES TO COUNCIL, I'D LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR REASONING ON THAT.

WHEN I WOULD JUST THAT THERE DID NOT SEEM TO BE ROOM TO PUSH IT ONTO PAGE ONE.

UM, I COULD NOT MYSELF IDENTIFY AND AUDIT THAT I WOULD, UH, LOWER PRIORITY ON TO PULL THIS ONE UP AND SEEING THAT IT IS, UM, LISTED FOR FOLLOW-UP ON PREVIOUS AUDITS.

I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA TO SEE WHERE WE ARE WITH PREVIOUS, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS, SEE HOW STAFF HAVE RESPONDED TO THOSE AND ALSO TO GIVE THE NEW, UM, THE NEW COMMITTEE ON THE ANIMAL ADVISOR TO COMMISSION AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF GET THEIR ARMS AROUND THE ISSUE OF DATA SINCE, UM, WE VERY CLEARLY HEARD THEIR CONCERNS ON THAT, ON THAT TOPIC.

SO I, I AGREE, UH, THESE ARE ISSUES THAT ARE, UM, LARGE AND NEED OUR ATTENTION.

AND SO IN MY ATTEMPT TO FIT IT IN WITH THE OTHER PRIORITIES AND ALSO RECOGNIZING SOME WORK THAT WAS ALREADY GOING TO BE HAPPENING IN CALENDAR 22, I THOUGHT THERE WAS A CERTAIN KIND OF SEQUENCE TO IT THAT SOUNDED, UM, FEASIBLE.

UM, BUT OF COURSE WE CAN, WE CAN CERTAINLY TALK ABOUT THAT FURTHER.

WE WOULD HAVE TO IDENTIFY AN AUDIT THAT WE WOULD WANT TO, UM, TAKE OFF THE LIST IN ORDER TO MAKE A RELATIONSHIP WITH THIS ONE AT A HIGHER, YEAH, THAT'S THE CHALLENGE.

AND THERE MAY BE OTHER WAYS TO, TO ADVANCE, UM, ADVANCE THE NEED FOR DATA TO BE PRESENTED SINCE YOU'VE ALREADY DONE A RESOLUTION ON THAT, AND THAT'S ALREADY PASSED.

THAT MAY BE SOMETHING WE CAN, THAT OUGHT TO BE SOMETHING WE DON'T NEED TO DO A FURTHER ACTION ON OR AN AUDIT ON FOR, FOR IT TO HAPPEN.

THANKS.

SO JUST TO CLARIFY, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, YOU WERE SUGGESTING THAT THE ONGOING FOLLOWUP FOR PRIOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ANIMAL SERVICES, IT'S ALREADY ON THE LIST FOR FOLLOW-UP.

I DID TALK WITH THE CITY AUDITOR ABOUT PRIORITIZING THAT FOLLOW UP AMONG THE LIST OF FOLLOWUPS.

SO, UM, AT THE RISK OF WAITING INTO SOMETHING THAT I DON'T KNOW AS MUCH ABOUT AS MY TWO COLLEAGUES, UM, WOULD THE DATA RELIABILITY AUDIT THAT'S UNDERWAY, HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT THE ISSUE WITH RESPECT TO ANIMAL SERVICES? I THINK AS CURRENTLY SCOPED PROBABLY NOT.

UM, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GETTING READY TO START THAT WORK.

SO, SO IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE WOULDN'T, BUT I THINK IT WAS MORE ABOUT PUBLIC FACING DATA AND I KNOW OUR COMMISSIONS ARE PUBLIC FACING, BUT THAT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, CITY DEPARTMENTS, GIVING INFORMATION TO COMMISSIONS AND LESS WHAT THE CITY IS PUTTING FORWARD, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC TO SEE MORE BROADLY.

SO I WOULD SAY AS CURRENTLY KIND OF SCOPED, NO, IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE CAN CONSIDER.

IT IS USEFUL FOR THAT WORK AND NOT, UM, I THINK WE'VE RECOGNIZED THAT WE'VE DONE A POOR JOB IN CERTAIN WAYS, UM, THERE, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT HOWEVER WE'RE STRUCTURING THAT IT IS USEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT WE ARE LAUNCHING WITH RESPECT TO THE, TO THE RESILIENCE HUBS AND NOT, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST SO THAT IT COULD BE USEFUL.

UM, MAYBE I'M NOT SURE IT'D BE COUNCIL MEMBER TOBER POOL, WHO, WHO WHO'S FAMILIAR WITH THE NITTY GRITTY HERE, BUT MAYBE THEY CAN TALK WITH THE AUDIT TEAM.

SO AT THE VERY LEAST THEY'RE AWARE OF THE CONCERNS.

SO THAT MIGHT RAISE QUESTIONS THAT WOULD WANT TO BE PART OF THAT AUDIT, EVEN IF THEY'RE NOT SPECIFICALLY APPLIED TO ANIMAL SERVICES, IF WE'RE AWARE OF A CHALLENGE IN THAT REGARD, SO THAT THAT'S NOT CHANGING THE SCOPE OF THE AUDIT, BUT SIMPLY INVITING A CONVERSATION.

IF ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES WANTS TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, UM, I HAD A QUESTION FOR THE DISASTER RESPONSE EMERGENCY SHELTERS WHEN, UM, HOW HAS THAT BEING COORDINATED WITH THE RESILIENCE HUB WORK, UM, SO THAT

[00:45:01]

I THINK SO, SO TWO THINGS THERE, ONE, I THINK THAT'S A, THAT'S A QUESTION THAT WE MIGHT HAVE DISCUSSED AFTER WE PRESENT THE DISASTER RESPONSE WORK, BECAUSE PART OF THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION ABOUT EMERGENCY SHELTERS.

UM, AND, AND, BUT WE ARE AWARE OF THE RESILIENCE EFFORTS AND WE ARE INCLUDING THOSE AS PART OF OUR WORK.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT'S BEEN PASSED BY COUNCIL AND WHAT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

AND THAT'S REALLY A PIECE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, AS WE DO THAT WORK.

SO WE ARE KEEPING THAT IN MIND AND WE ARE TALKING TO THE, THE FOLKS THAT ARE INVOLVED IN THOSE EFFORTS, UM, WITHIN THE CITY.

BUT I THINK PROBABLY WE CAN HAVE A MORE FRUITFUL DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT AFTER WE PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE REST OF OUR DISASTER RESPONSE WORK, THAT'S FINE.

AND I'M VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO, TO THAT PRESENTATION.

UM, BUT JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT HOW THAT AUDIT COULD BE MOST CONSTRUCTIVE, UM, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE ONGOING WORK, BECAUSE SOME OF THAT MAY HAVE BEEN DONE OR, OR JUST, UM, THERE MAY BE SOME OPPORTUNITY WHERE WE'RE, THERE'S A PARTICULAR PIECE OF IT THAT THAT GROUP NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND BETTER WHERE THE AUDIT CAN REALLY MOVE THAT WORK FORWARD.

UM, WHICH IS IMPLIED IN THE QUESTION.

I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS.

ABSOLUTELY.

UH, MEMBER KELLY, DID YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO NOT.

I WAS ABLE TO REVIEW THE PLAN WITH COREY AND HER TEAM AHEAD OF TIME, AND I GOT ALL MY QUESTIONS ANSWERED, BUT THANK YOU FOR RAISING THOSE POINTS.

I THINK THAT IT ADDED TO THE CONVERSATION AND I'M GLAD TO HAVE LESSENED THINGS.

UM, OKAY, SO WE DO NOT NEED, IS THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD? MS. STOKES? OKAY, GREAT.

SORRY, I COULDN'T TELL IF I WAS UN-MUTED SO WE KNOW, UM, WE'LL COME BACK IN, IN NOVEMBER OR AT OUR NEXT OPPORTUNITY AND ASK FOR THE RECOMMENDATION TO FULL COUNCIL, BUT I THINK FOR TODAY, UM, THIS IS WHAT WE HAVE.

TO ITEM SEVEN, WHICH IS DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION ON THE HOMELESS SPENDING SPECIAL REQUEST.

SO WE DO NOT NEED TO TAKE ACTION ON ITEM SIX THIS WEEK.

UM, SO WE WILL MOVE ON

[7. Discussion and possible action on the Homelessness Spending Special Request.]

UM, AND I'D INVITE MS. STOKES TO SPEAK ABOUT THIS.

UM, THIS IS ON OUR AGENDA, UM, TODAY AT THE REQUEST OF COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY AND COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, WE DON'T USUALLY PRESENT, UM, FINDINGS FROM SPECIAL REQUESTS.

UM, AND I THINK, UH, MS. STOKES IS GONNA CLARIFY WHAT A SPECIAL REQUEST IS VERSUS AN AUDIT, UM, AS WELL AS SHARE SOME OF THE FINDINGS THAT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST.

ABSOLUTELY.

SO, SO, UM, THE TEAM ON THIS INCLUDED I'LL GO HAVE TRINKO AS THE MANAGER AND KATHY HARRISON IS THE LEAD.

CATHERINE'S GOING TO GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ABOUT THE FINDINGS FROM THIS OR THE, THE RESULTS I SHOULDN'T SAY FROM THIS.

CAUSE IN FACT, TO TELL YOU WHY WE DON'T REALLY HAVE FINDINGS, UM, BUT, BUT TO KICK US OFF AND, UM, I'M NOT SEEING THE PRESENTATION, BUT Y'ALL MIGHT SEE IT IS THE, HERE IT COMES.

MANAGEMENT TO PROVIDE COMMENTS ON THE, ON THE FINAL DRAFT, BUT WE DON'T HAVE, BECAUSE WE DON'T MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO TO KICK US OFF, I JUST WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT BEFORE TURNING IT OVER TO KATHY ABOUT AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR MENTIONED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AUDITS AND SPECIAL REQUESTS.

SO, UM, Y'ALL HAVE SEEN AUDITS.

WE JUST HAD ONE ON TECHNOLOGY EXPERIMENT, THE CONCEPT OF AN AUDIT.

WE HAVE VERY CLEAR, UM, RULES IN OUR AUDIT STANDARDS ABOUT WHAT WE CAN AND CAN'T DO WITHIN AN AUDIT.

AND WHAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH AN AUDIT, UM, AUDITS ARE DESIGNED TO ANSWER WHATEVER OBJECTIVE WE SET OUT TO ANSWER, TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS, TO USE OUR, YOU KNOW, TO COLLECT EVIDENCE AND USE OUR PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT, TO DRAW CONCLUSIONS, UM, AND THEN TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS, TO ADDRESS ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING, PARTICULARLY THE CAUSE OF ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING.

AND WE DO REQUIRE A MANAGEMENT RESPONSE.

SO IT'S ACTUALLY REQUIRED BY THE STANDARDS.

WE WOULD PROBABLY HAVE IT ANYWAY.

UM, BUT TO SAY, HEY, HERE'S OUR RECOMMENDATION? WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO WITH THIS? OR WHAT IS YOUR PLAN TO ADDRESS THIS? SO THAT'S KIND OF THE AUDIT AND THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL SEE MOSTLY SEE FROM US.

A SPECIAL REQUEST IS REALLY WAY MORE, UM, FOCUSED THE IDEAS TO BE ABLE TO GET THINGS DONE A LITTLE QUICKER.

UH, AND SO WE FOCUS IN, WE GET SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, WE TRY TO GET THOSE QUESTIONS.

YOU KNOW, WE CAN'T ANSWER 17 QUESTIONS IN A SPECIAL REQUEST BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO IT IN A MORE TIMELY MANNER THAN AN AUDIT.

SO WE TRY TO NARROW IT DOWN.

UM, IN THIS CASE, UH, WE NARROWED IT DOWN TO JUST A FEW QUESTIONS AND, AND KATHY, WE'LL TALK ABOUT WHAT THOSE ARE.

UM, IN A SPECIAL REQUEST, WE DO NOT DRAW CONCLUSIONS.

WE DO NOT MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE DO ALLOW

[00:50:01]

WE'RE NOT ASKING THEM WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT THIS? SO IT REALLY IS A DIFFERENT FORMAT IT'S DESIGNED TO GIVE, TO KIND OF CREATE, UM, A PROCESS THAT LEVERAGES MY TEAM'S EXPERTISE.

SO OUR ABILITY TO LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES, OUR ABILITY TO COLLECT INFORMATION FROM THROUGHOUT THE CITY, UM, OUR ABILITY TO VALIDATE EVIDENCE.

THOSE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE, I BELIEVE OUR TEAM EXCELS AT.

AND SO THE SPECIAL REQUEST FORMAT IS DESIGNED TO KIND OF LEVERAGE THAT.

UM, UNFORTUNATELY, AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THIS INTERNALLY, BUT SPECIAL REQUESTS ARE OFTEN CONFUSED WITH AUDITS AND THAT'S WHY I'M GOING THROUGH THIS FIELD TODAY IS BECAUSE THIS WAS A SPECIAL REQUEST.

UM, WE ANSWERED THE QUESTIONS WE WERE ASKED.

WE DID NOT DO THE OTHER PIECES.

IT WAS NOT A DEEP DIVE.

UM, ALTHOUGH IT DID TAKE US AWHILE.

UM, BUT, UM, WE DO, WE DO TRY TO ZERO IN ON THESE IN ORDER TO GET YOUR INFORMATION FASTER, THAT CAN HELP YOU WITH POLICY MAKING.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE INTENT OF THIS SPECIAL REQUEST.

UM, THE ONE MORE THING ON, ON THIS TOPIC, NOT ON THE SLIDE NECESSARILY, BUT JUST THE HISTORY OF OUR WORK IN THIS TOPIC.

SO THIS, THIS SPECIAL REQUEST IS ABOUT HOMELESSNESS SPENDING, UM, FROM 2017 TO 2019.

AND WE DID FOUR AUDITS SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.

WE LOOKED AT POLICIES.

UM, WE LOOKED AT THE KIND OF ASSISTANCE EFFORTS.

WE LOOKED AT HOW THE CITY ALLOCATES RESOURCES, AND WE LOOKED AT OUTCOMES FROM CONTRACTS, UH, RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.

WE HAD MULTIPLE OR NUMEROUS, I WOULD SAY RECOMMENDATIONS.

I THINK IT WAS 10 OUT OF THOSE FOUR AUDITS.

UM, WE ALSO HAD SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS ON OUR SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACT AUDIT WORK BECAUSE THEY ARE SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACTS.

UM, AND THEN WE FOLLOWED UP ON THOSE IN MARCH, 2021.

SO EARLIER THIS YEAR, UM, AND, AND CONCLUDED THAT WE'VE MADE PROGRESS ON MANY OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THAT SOME OF THEM WERE ON HOLD, UM, BECAUSE OF RESPONSE REALLY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC.

SO I'M LAYING THAT OUT THERE JUST AS A KIND OF CONTEXT FOR, THIS IS NOT THE ONLY HOMELESSNESS WORK WE HAVE DONE.

THESE ARE NOT THE ONLY IN OUR PRIOR WORK.

WE HAVE HAD FINDINGS AND WE HAVE HAD RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, AND MANAGEMENT IS WORKING ON THOSE.

SO THAT'S MY, A LITTLE BIT LONG PREFACE.

AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO CATHY TO TALK US THROUGH WHAT WE SAW IN THIS PARTICULAR SPECIAL REQUEST PROJECT.

THANK YOU, COREY AND I GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS KATHY HARRISON.

I'M THE AUDIT LEAD ON THIS PROJECT AND I'LL BE GIVING THIS PRESENTATION.

NEXT SLIDE AGAIN, PLEASE.

THIS PRESENTATION WILL FOCUS ON THE WORK COMPLETED TO ANSWER THE THREE QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBER, MCKINSEY, KELLY AND COUNCIL MEMBER, LESLIE POOL.

AND IN REGARDS TO HOW HOMELESSNESS SPENDING HAWAIIANS WITH COUNCIL DIRECTION AND CITY AGREEMENTS.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, TO GIVE SOME BACKGROUND, THE CITY BUDGETED $179 MILLION FOR HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE FROM FISCAL YEAR 2019 TO FISCAL YEAR 2021, THERE WERE ABOUT 15 CITY DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED IN THE HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE EFFORTS.

DURING THIS TIME, 93% OF HOMELESSNESS SPENDING WAS MANAGED BY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, HOUSING AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT AND DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT.

WE NOTED THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IS THE PRIMARY DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE.

AND IN 2020, THE CITY CREATED THE HOMELESS STRATEGY DIVISION IN THIS DEPARTMENT TO COORDINATE HOMELESSNESS EFFORTS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS AND WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS IN 2021, THE CITY HIRED A PERMANENT HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER TO ENSURE THERE WAS A SEAMLESS APPROACH AND RESPONSE.

FIRST COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKED WHICH RESOLUTIONS OR OTHER DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS CITY COUNCIL ISSUE 47 RESOLUTIONS ORDINANCES AND OTHER DIRECTION RELEVANT TO HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE.

OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, MOST RESOLUTIONS AND OTHER DIRECTION ARE TRACKED BY THE RELEVANT CITY DEPARTMENTS WHILE SOME DIRECTION IS TRACKED BY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

BE FULLY DETERMINED DUE TO LIMITATIONS WITH AVAILABLE DATA.

SECOND COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKED WHICH AGREEMENTS RELATE TO HOMELESSNESS.

THE CITY'S MANAGEMENT OF HOMELESSNESS AGREEMENTS AS SPREAD ACROSS MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS, WHICH MEANS THERE IS NO SINGLE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR TRACKING ALL IT BRING THAT'S RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE.

AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THERESA THE DEPARTMENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR MANAGING MOST OF THE SPENDING RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.

WE FOCUSED OUR REVIEW ON AGREEMENTS MANAGED BY THESE DEPARTMENTS.

WE FOUND THAT THESE DEPARTMENTS ENTERED INTO AT LEAST 101 AGREEMENTS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.

HOWEVER, WE ALSO FOUND THAT THERE WAS NO COMPLETE INVENTORY OF AGREEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED SPENDING, AND THE NUMBER OF THESE AGREEMENTS CANNOT

[00:55:01]

THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

THIRD COUNCIL MEMBERS ASKED POWER FUNDS SPENT.

AND HOW DOES SPENDING ALIGN WITH DIRECTION FROM CITY COUNCIL OR LANGUAGE AND AGREEMENTS? I'LL DISCUSS THE FIRST PART OF THIS QUESTION ON THIS SLIDE.

AND THE SECOND PART, UH, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, AS MENTIONED EARLIER, THE STUDY BUDGET AT $179 MILLION FOR HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE FROM FISCAL YEAR 2019 TO FISCAL YEAR 2021.

DURING THIS TIME ON AVERAGE, 59% OF FUNDING WAS FROM THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND FROM LARGELY SOCIAL SERVICES OR CASE MANAGEMENT AGREEMENTS.

27% OF FUNDING WAS FROM FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDS.

THAT WAS MAINLY USED FOR HOUSING PROJECTS AND, AND THE REMAINER FUNDING WAS FROM CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM AND ENTERPRISE FUNDS.

ALSO, WE FOUND THAT SOME AGREEMENTS HAVE MIXED SOURCES OF FUNDING AND SOME DEPARTMENTS CONTRIBUTE MONEY TO AGREEMENTS THAT OTHER DEPARTMENTS MANAGE STUDIES STAFF WAS SPECKED TO RECEIVE AN INCREASE IN FUNDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2022, DUE TO THE FEDERAL COVID 19 STIMULUS PAYMENTS TO THE CITY MAXIMIZED PLEAS.

FOR THE SECOND PART, THIS QUESTION, WE REVIEWED A SAMPLE OF FIVE RESOLUTIONS FROM COUNCIL AND TRACE THEM TO THE RELEVANT AGREEMENTS AS ENDING MANAGED BY AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH.

WELL, NOT ALL SPENDING PASSION RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS ASSISTANCE CAN BE DIRECTLY TRACED TO SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM CITY COUNCIL.

ALSO PUBLIC HEALTH SPENDING GENERALLY ALIGNS WITH COUNCIL DIRECTION AND STATE OF PRIORITIES.

NO RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ISSUED SINCE THIS WAS A SPECIAL REQUEST.

I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY? YES.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THIS ON TO, TO GIVE US INFORMATION.

I THINK IT'S VERY HELPFUL FOR HOW THE COUNCIL WILL MOVE FORWARD IN OUR POLICY MAKING.

I KNOW THAT THERE'VE BEEN A LOT OF QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY.

AND SO I JUST HAVE TWO QUESTIONS THAT MAYBE YOU ALL CAN ADDRESS IN REGARDS TO THAT.

THE FIRST ONE IS, UM, ARE YOU ALL AWARE OF ANY FUTURE PLANS TO TRACK AGREEMENTS AND ASSOCIATED SPENDING IN REGARDS TO HOMELESS SPENDING? I KNOW THAT WE'VE RECENTLY BROUGHT ON THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICER.

AND SO I WANTED TO KNOW IF THAT OFFICE SPECIFICALLY WOULD BE IN CHARGE OF THIS MOVING FORWARD.

I THINK THAT IS A REALLY GREAT QUESTION.

I BELIEVE THAT DIANA GRAY IS, UM, ON-SITE.

IS THAT CORRECT? I'M SORRY.

I CAN'T SEE.

I THINK SHE'S ON THE SCREEN.

THIS IS DIANA JOINED VIRTUALLY.

SORRY.

I WAS A LITTLE SLOW THERE.

SO WE'VE BEEN IN A CONVERSATION WITH FIRST WITH, UH, THE, OUR, OUR CONTRACT MANAGEMENT UNIT OR WITHIN APH.

UM, AND AT, UH, APH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE WITHIN OUR PARTNER GRANT SYSTEM, WE CAN AND DO TRACK THOSE CONTRACTS, UM, VIA A REPORTING CODE IN ORDER TO GET THAT CITYWIDE, WE NEED TO HAVE DISCUSSIONS WITH PROCUREMENT ABOUT APPLYING THE CODE AT THE TIME.

UM, THE CONTRACTS ARE MADE AND THE DOS ARE CREATED.

UH, BUT WE THINK THAT, UM, THE MAJORITY OF THE CONTRACTS OF COURSE SIT WITHIN APH, THE NEXT OTHER, THE OTHER TWO DEPARTMENTS ARE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, COMMUNITY COURT AND HPG, UH, DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COURT ALSO USES PARTNER GRANTS.

SO WITH THAT, I THINK WE GET TO SOMETHING LIKE 85% OF CONTRACTS THAT WE COULD GENERATE REPORTS FROM.

WE'LL BE WORKING WITH THEM TO SEE IF WE CAN GET THE CODE APPLIED TO THEIR CONTRACTS, WHICH ARE FAR FEWER THAN APH SOON, BUT CITYWIDE IS A, PERHAPS A LONGER PROCESS, UH, AND NEED TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH PROCUREMENT ABOUT WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING WE CAN DO GOING FORWARD OR WHETHER, UH, ANY RETROACTIVE APPLICATION OF THAT CODE IS POSSIBLE.

BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXPLAINING THAT.

UM, MY NEXT QUESTION IS SPECIFICALLY FOR THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IN THE REPORT.

I THINK THERE'S A NEED FOR MORE CLARITY AROUND WHERE YOU STATE THAT NOT ALL SPENDING CAN BE DIRECTLY TRACED TO SPECIFIC GUIDANCE FROM COUNCIL, FOR SOMEBODY WHO'S ON THE OUTSIDE OF COUNCIL.

THEY MIGHT NOT REALLY UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT MEANS AND IT COULD CAUSE SOME CONFUSION.

COULD YOU MAYBE GIVE US MORE CLARITY OR TALK ABOUT THAT AND WHAT IT MEANS? ABSOLUTELY.

AND SO THERE IS SOME GUIDANCE THAT IS GENERAL, OR THEN PROVIDING SOME TYPE OF INSTRUCTION FOR, FOR CITY STAFF

[01:00:01]

TO DO.

UM, AND SO THAT CAN NOT BE DIRECTLY TRACED TO ANY TYPE OF AGREEMENT IT'S JUST REALLY INSTRUCTIONS OR THE NEXT STEPS ON THEN WHAT THEY CAN DO NEXT.

RIGHT.

AND, AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING, NOT EVERY SINGLE CONTRACT COMES BEFORE COUNCIL GENERALLY, BUT IF IT ALIGNS WITH COUNCIL DIRECTION AND IT'S BELOW A CERTAIN AMOUNT, THEN IT CAN BE TIED TO THIS TYPE OF SPENDING.

CORRECT.

AWESOME.

THAT'S ALL I HAVE.

THANK YOU AGAIN FOR ALL YOUR WORK RELATED TO THIS.

I REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

AND I KNOW COUNCIL MEMBER FOOL DOES AS WELL.

YOU'RE WELCOME.

I WANTED TO THANK THE TEAM FOR DIGGING IN ON TRYING TO TRACE BACK ALL THE PAPERWORK WITH, UM, AND, UH, UH, BODY AS BIG AS THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS, AND THE MANY, MANY YEARS IN THE CAMP THAT WE'VE BEEN IN PLACE AND THE COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUES THAT WE WORK WITH, IT IS SOMETIMES A CHALLENGE TO KEEP TRACK OF, OF EVERY PIECE OF PAPER.

AND THIS GAVE US A REALLY GOOD SENSE OF HOW WELL WE ARE DOING AND WHERE THERE MAY BE SOME MISSING BITS THAT WE CAN NOW GO BACK AND FIND THEM, AND ALSO TO, UM, STRENGTHEN OUR COMMITMENT, TO ENSURING THAT WE'RE ALWAYS ABLE TO REACH BACK AND FIND DOCUMENTATION.

I WAS ALSO REALLY, UM, HEARTENED TO KNOW THAT THE, UM, INTENTIONS OF THE COUNCIL AS, UH, BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE STAFF, UM, ARE IN ALIGNMENT.

AND I'M NOT THAT I EVER WONDER ABOUT THAT.

I, I REALLY DON'T QUESTION IT.

UM, BUT THIS WAS ANOTHER INDICATION THAT WE HAVE REALLY STRONG, UM, RESPECT FOR AND IMPLEMENTATION ACTIVITY BEHIND THE D THE DIRECTION, THE GUIDANCE FROM COUNCIL ON OUR POLICIES.

AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO REAFFIRM THAT THIS WAS A SPECIAL REQUEST ASKING THREE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.

IT WASN'T AN AUDIT.

I KNOW THAT SOME FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT THIS AS AN AUDIT.

AND, UH, I WANTED TO LIKE MY COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UH, REAFFIRMED THAT THIS WAS, UM, THREE QUESTIONS IN A SPECIAL PROJECT.

AND WE HAD PROCEEDED THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, HAVING THE ABILITY TO TAKE ON THESE KINDS OF SPECIAL PROJECTS BECAUSE, UM, IT'S AN OBJECTIVE OFFICE AND THEY REALLY HAVE THE TOOLS AND THE EXPERTISE TO DIG IN AND UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT.

SO MY THANKS AS WELL, AND ALSO FOR MAKING, UH, THE EXCEPTION TO MAKE THIS PRESENTATION TO EVERYBODY HERE TODAY.

REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

APPRECIATE EVERYONE BEING HERE FROM APH AS WELL.

UM, WE WILL, I DON'T THINK WE NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTIONS AS A SPECIAL REQUEST.

UM, SO WE ARE, WE'LL TAKE UP OUR FINAL ITEM, WHICH IS IDENTIFYING ITEMS TO BE DISCUSSED AT FUTURE MEETINGS.

UM, WE DO HAVE BEFORE R R I DID HAVE SOME, OH, I'M SORRY.

I DID HAVE SOME, UM, MORE OR LESS COMMENTS FOR OUR AUDITOR WHO, WHO MAY NOW BE OFF NO CAFFEINE STU THERE.

ONE THING THAT WAS CURIOUS, I APPRECIATE THE INFORMATION AND THOUGHT IT WAS USEFUL.

I, I THINK WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN I INITIALLY SAW IT, I WAS REALLY STRUCK BY, BY THE CALCULATIONS.

UM, AND I WANTED TO POINT OUT THAT THE 101 AGREEMENTS, MY GUESS IS LIKELY SOME OF THOSE ARE WITH THE SAME ORGANIZATION.

SO IT'S NOT NECESSARILY, UM, THOSE ARE NOT NECESSARILY 100 AGREEMENTS OR 101 AGREEMENTS WITH 101 DIFFERENT ENTITIES.

AND SO THERE'S, I GUESS I WANT TO REALLY JUST ENCOURAGE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO ARE APPROACHING THIS INFORMATION TO REALLY READ THE REPORT.

I THINK JUST LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS REALLY DOESN'T BEGIN TO GET A QUANTIFICATION OF THE, OF THE DATA.

DOESN'T REALLY GET TO THE HEART OF, UM, HOW THIS FUNDING IS BEING INVESTED IN THE COMMUNITY IN IT, AS I STARTED TO HEAR, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT WAS PUBLISHED AND IT WAS AWHILE AGO NOW, SO IT'S, IT'S NOT AS CLEAR IN MY MIND, BUT I DID GET QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS FROM PEOPLE.

AND IT SEEMED TO BE AROUND THAT THERE'S JUST THIS, YOU KNOW, THE HIGH NUMBER OF RESOLUTIONS, THE HIGH NUMBER OF CONTRACTS.

UM, SO THAT'S REALLY MORE OF A COMMENT THAN A, THAN A QUESTION, BUT I GUESS I WOULD LOOK TO OUR AUDITOR JUST TO CONFIRM THAT THAT'S THE CASE.

THAT IS CORRECT.

AND SO, UM, WHEN IT COMES TO AGREEMENTS, UM, AS SHOWN, I THINK IT WAS ON TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE END, UM, DURING OUR SAMPLE, THERE WERE MULTIPLE CONTRACTS WITH, UM, ENTITIES SUCH AS AN, A GOAL PARENT, UM, AS, AS WELL AS SALVATION ARMY.

AND SO THEN YOU CAN HAVE MULTIPLE AGREEMENTS WITH ONE AGENCY AND SO YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.

IT ALSO SOUNDS, IT SOUNDS LIKE MORE DISPARATE ACTIONS THAN, THAN MIGHT THEN THAN ARE REALLY TAKEN.

AND I, AND I THINK THE OTHER IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THERE WERE NOT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE NUMBER OF ACTIONS,

[01:05:01]

AND SO, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IF WE EVER DID AN AUDIT OR A SPECIAL, A SPECIAL REPORT AT HOW MANY ACTIONS WE TOOK ON CONTRACTING MATTERS, THE NUMBER WOULD BE HUGE.

YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M OF COURSE OF ANY OF ANY COUNCIL AGENDA, THERE ARE MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE CONTRACTING, UM, ISSUES OR PURCHASING AGREEMENTS.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST, AGAIN, I, I THINK THAT'S JUST, UH, A POINT I WANTED TO BE SURE OUR AUDIENCE UNDERSTOOD TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS AN AUDIENCE, UM, FOLLOWING THIS CONVERSATION.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND CERTAINLY WE, I MEAN, THERE'S A TOPIC WE TALKED ABOUT IN, IN DIFFERENT AREAS, NOT JUST IN, IN HOMELESSNESS, UM, WHERE, WHERE WE DO HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF COUNCIL ACTION AND SOMETIMES, UM, STAFF ACTION IN A PARTICULAR AREA CAN COVER MULTIPLE OF THOSE COUNCIL ACTIONS, OR WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF AGREEMENT, UM, THAT COVER MAYBE ONLY A FEW RESOLUTIONS.

AND SO, SO THERE IS THAT MATCHUP AND MY, I MEAN, THERE ARE APPENDICES IN THIS REPORT, WE WERE TRYING TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS AS PRESENTED, BUT THERE ARE A PEN DISEASE IN THIS REPORT THAT KIND OF LAY OUT, UM, WHO THOSE VENDORS ARE AND, UM, HOW MUCH, YOU KNOW, TO WHAT EXTENT THEY ARE PART OF THIS.

BUT I ABSOLUTELY AGREE THAT THE, THE RAW NUMBERS CAN BE, UM, ARE BIG.

UM, BUT IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN, UM, THAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, 101 ENTITIES INVOLVED, UM, IN CITY CONTRACTING FOR THIS.

ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS FUTURE ITEMS AT FUTURE MEETINGS.

THANKS.

THANKS AGAIN.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS? THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE.

UM, WE'LL MOVE TO

[8. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]

UM, OUR NOVEMBER MEETING WILL BE FAIRLY PACKED.

WE HAVE OUR AUDIT, UM, WITH THE STORM AFTERMATH FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.

UH, WE WILL ALSO BE HAVING, UH, A CONVERSATION WITH CHIEF BROWN WITH RESPECT TO EMS BILLING, WHICH COMES OUT OF MY, UH, BUDGET WRITER THAT I THINK A FEW OF YOU WERE CO-SIGNED ON WITH RESPECT TO, UM, REVAMPING THE EMS BILLING SYSTEM.

AND WE WILL DISCUSS THE CALENDAR AND I BELIEVE WE WILL TRY TO GET THE PENSION BRIEFING IN ON THAT AGENDA.

UM, DID I MISS ANYTHING STOKES? I DIDN'T HEAR THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY FUNDS AUDIT.

UM, I DO THINK THAT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY FUNDS ON IT AND THE PENSION BRIEFING ARE A LITTLE MORE FLEXIBLE ON TIMING.

UM, AND THEN YEAH, APPROVAL OF THE AUDIT PLAN.

AND WE DO HAVE OUR ANNUAL, UM, INTEGRITY UNIT REPORT, BUT LIKE THE, I THINK THE PENSION, UM, BACK THAT CAN HAPPEN IN DECEMBER.

I THINK THAT SIMMER CALENDAR IS PRETTY OPEN AND THE NOVEMBER IS PRETTY PACKED.

SO I THINK WE'LL HAVE TO KIND OF SORT THAT OUT.