[00:00:06]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ALISON ALTER AND A MAYOR PRO TEM AND I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.IT IS 9:34 AM ON FEBRUARY 23RD, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONVENE THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
WE'RE JOINED VIRTUALLY BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO AND ON THE DAYAS WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
I WANT TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER OF ONE DOES FOR HER FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND THANK THE MAYOR FOR SERVING ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, A GREAT YEAR WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO START TODAY, UM, WITH, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND THEN WE WILL DO, UH, THE MINUTES AND WE WILL DO THE FOLLOW-UP AUDITS, UM, THE BOARD AND COMMISSION ITEMS AND THEN THE BRIEFING.
SO, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER ON THE LINE, UM, STEVE JACOBS ITEM TO WHEN YOUR ITEMS. OKAY.
IF YOU'RE ONLINE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES CHAIR.
I WAS INFORMED OF THEIR NUMBER AND I DO NOT SEE THE NUMBER THAT WAS, I WAS INFORMED OF ON THE LINE SET A NOTE THERE ON, BUT I WILL UNMUTE ALL THE NUMBERS I HAVE AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE HAVE, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ON RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS THE AAV TICKET CITY HALL.
IS THERE STEPHEN JACOBS ON THE SHARE? I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ON RIGHT NOW.
DO YOU KNOW? OKAY, WELL, UH, WE'LL CHECK BACK IN THEN.
UM, I WILL TEXT HIM AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
[1. Approve the minutes of the January 19, 2022 Audit and Finance Committee meeting.]
AND SEE IF WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES NEEDED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS ON THE DYESS.SO WE ARE GOING TO FIRST TAKE UP THE FOLLOWUP AUDITS, UM, AND WE WILL, UM, START WITH THE, HOLD ON.
DID WE, SORRY, MY NOTES GET OUT OF ORDER HERE.
UH, DOUBLE-SIDED NOT OUT OF ORDER.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TODAY, WE HAVEN'T DONE IT A LITTLE WHILE.
SO I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO PAUSE, TO, TO EXPLAIN OR IF THAT'S WHAT MS. STOKES IS GOING TO DO.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A SERIES OF FOLLOW-UP PROJECTS AND WE'LL TAKE EACH IN TURN SO WE CAN HAVE WHATEVER CONVERSATION WE WANT TO HAVE.
UM, BUT I WANT TO EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF THESE FOLLOW-UP PROJECTS.
AUDITS ARE NOT A VALUE IF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NOT IMPLEMENTED.
AND SO THIS KIND OF FOLLOWUP WORK IS ONE MECHANISM.
WE HAVE TO REVISIT TOPICS THAT WERE AUDITED A FEW YEARS AGO AND MAKE SURE THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ON TRACK SO THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET.
IF WE NEED TO, THESE ARE DONE PERIODICALLY AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, OR THEY CAN ALSO BE BY THE INITIATIVE OF A COUNCIL REQUEST TO THE AUDITOR TO TAKE A LOOK UP AT THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS, THE THREE THAT WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT, TAKE PARTICULAR ISSUE AREAS.
SOME OF THEM HAVE, UM, RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MORE THAN ONE AUDIT, AS YOU'LL HAVE NOTICED OVER TIME, WE DO TAKE UP TOPICS SOMETIMES IN SERIES.
LIKE WE'VE DONE A LOT OF STUFF ON HOMELESSNESS.
WE'VE DONE A LOT OF STUFF ON CYBERSECURITY ON POLICE ISSUES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO THAT'S THE CASE, I THINK FOR THE, THE TRAFFIC ONE IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UM, WE WILL START
[2. Workforce Development Follow-up Project.]
WITH ITEM NUMBER TWO.AND LET ME JUST, UM, I WILL CHECK WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THE PRESENTATION FOR MR. JACOB'S ONLINE, CAUSE THIS IS AN ITEM HE WANTED TO SPEAK TO.
UM, BUT I WILL LET, UM, MS. STOKES GET US STARTED.
THAT WAS A AMAZING INTRODUCTION.
[00:05:02]
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT.AND WE HAVE A NAO SHARMA WAS THE MANAGER OF THIS AUDIT.
HE'S GOING TO BE DOING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
THIS IS FOLLOWING UP ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAD, I THINK IN 2017, BUT MIKE, SAM WILL TELL YOU MORE.
MY NAME IS MIKE SIM AND I WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS PROJECT.
AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO FOLLOW UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE MADE TO THE CITY MANAGER, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IN OUR 2017 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT ON NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WE ISSUED, UH, THREE FINDINGS IN THE 2017.
UH, WE FOUND THE CITY DID NOT HAVE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DATA TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND TO NOT PRIORITIZE CONTRACTS, TO MEET CITY GOALS OR THE NEEDS OF LOCAL EMPLOYERS TO ADDRESS THESE FINDINGS.
WE ISSUED ONE RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY MANAGER OR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER, OVERSEEING COURSE DEVELOPMENT, AND ONE RECOMMENDATION TO AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO THROUGH OUR WORK ON THIS FOLLOWUP PROJECT, WE DETERMINED THAT THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED SIX RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEANINGFUL RECOMMENDATIONS.
EXCUSE ME, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO ABOUT THE CONNECTION BECAUSE OUR SPEAKER IS FADING IN AND OUT.
I UNDERSTAND I NOTICED IT TOO.
AND, UM, YES, MA'AM SIR, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PRESENTATION AND WORK ON WHAT'S CAUSING THE STUTTER AND WHATNOT.
UM, SO JUST AS I WAS SAYING, UM, CITY MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTED, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION TO NAME A LEAD DEPARTMENT BY NAMING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AS THE CITYWIDE LEAD AND TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES WITH DATA QUALITY.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ENHANCE THEIR CONTRACT MONITORING PROCESS, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLEMENTED THIS RECOMMENDATION BY CREATING A TOOL THAT TRACKS AND DEFINES PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND BY TRAINING CONTRACTORS ON HOW TO USE THIS TOOL.
AND THEY ALSO USE BACKUP DOCUMENTATION IN COMBINATION WITH THIS TOOL TO VERIFY THE ACCURACY OF REPORTING PROGRAM OUTCOMES.
SO FOUR REMAINING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SIMILARLY TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ENHANCE THEIR MONITORING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE.
WHILE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS TAKEN STEPS, LET'S NOT MEET CITY STANDARDS.
WE ISSUED THREE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER.
HE'S INVOLVED CREATING CITY-WIDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, ENSURING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, TRAIN INDIVIDUALS IN HIGH DEMAND AREAS AND CREATING PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT ACCURATELY MEASURE PROGRAM IMPACTS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TOOK SOME STEPS TO ADDRESS THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER THE AUDIT AND IN 21, THEY BEGAN DRAFTING THREE-YEAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
THE STRATEGY INCLUDES STEPS THAT WILL ADDRESS THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, WE ALSO HAD ONE ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IN THIS PRODUCT.
SO IN THE 2017 AUDIT, WE NOTED SOME ISSUES WITH THE INFORMATION CONTRACTOR HAS PROVIDED THE CITY AND THEIR PERFORMANCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, CONTRACTORS WERE REPORTING INFORMATION ON PEOPLE THEY'VE SERVED OUTSIDE OF TRAVIS COUNTY.
THERE WAS ALSO INCOMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUTCOMES, SUCH AS WEATHER, AND NOW WE'RE REALLY LOSING I'M IN AND OUT.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING I'M THERE AND I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ON THIS END, BUT I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
COULD WE MAYBE JUST GO TO SORT OF LIKE THE FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS BEING LESS THAN EFFICIENT FOR EVERYBODY AUDITOR, RIGHT.
I THINK WE CAN WRAP UP HERE THEN.
[00:10:01]
IS OUR ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IS THAT THIS ISSUE STILL HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED, UH, DEPARTMENTS NOTED THAT THIS IS BECAUSE CONTRACTORS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDING.UM, AND YOU CAN HEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE THAT SHOULD WRAP UP THE PRESENTATION.
IF Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME, I CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE OTHERWISE.
WE GOT TO LOVE TECHNOLOGY SOMETIMES AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T LIKE IT SO MUCH.
UM, SO IS THERE ANYONE FROM ANY OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WANTED TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? IT LOOKS LIKE SOME OLIVIA'S ON SYNOVIA.
CAN YOU HEAR US VERSUS DONNA? NEVER.
DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THE AUDIT? A FOLLOW-UP WE CONCUR AND WE ARE MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS, UH, UM, ADDRESSING THE FINDINGS.
I WANTED TO AT THE RISK OF HAVING ANOTHER TECHNICAL ISSUE, UM, MAYBE WE SEE IF MR. JACOBS IS ON THE LINE AND IF YOU COULD TELL ME HOW HE UNMUTES TO MAKE SURE THAT HE'S UN-MUTED CAUSE I THINK HE WAS ON THE LINE BEFORE.
HI, THIS IS STEVE JACOBS, SOMEBODY ON THE LINE.
IT'S A LITTLE DISTRACTING TO WATCH THE VIDEO AS WELL SINCE HE WAS A 10 OR 15 SECOND LAG.
SO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO PROVIDE YOUR, YOUR COMMUNICATIONS.
SO, AND I PROVIDED A, UH, EXHIBIT, UH, FOR MS. GARDETTO COULDN'T WE SHOW IT IT'S A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE FINAL GRADUATE FROM OUR 2014, UH, COHORT OF NURSING STUDENTS THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE AUDIT REPORT.
UH, UH, MY, MY COMMENTS, THEY DEAL NOT WITH THE CENTRAL THRUST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE UP, BUT WITH A FOOTNOTE, BUT AN IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE TO THE REPORT, WHICH WAS, UH, ZEROING IN, ON THE, UH, SPECIFIC EXPENDITURE OF SOME FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPORT A SPECIAL GROUP OF STUDENTS, UH, IN THE NURSING PROGRAM AT ACC WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO INTO NURSING.
UM, IT WAS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE CAPITAL IDEA HAD THE CONTRACT FOR THE FULL COST OF THE NURSING PROGRAM.
THERE WAS NO, NO CONTRIBUTION BY ACC, NO SUBSIDY.
UM, THIS IS, UH, , UH, HE IS ONE OF 18, UH, STUDENTS IN THAT GROUP WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE DROPPED OUT THE FUNDING, ENABLED US TO HIRE TWO INSTRUCTORS AT ACC AND TO PROCEED WITH THEIR EDUCATION.
NUMBER ONE, IT WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT GRADUATION ALL GRADUATED TO, AS YOU CAN SEE A BLONDE SIGNIFICANTLY DIVERSE DIVERSIFIES THE WORKFORCE AS DID THE COHORT AS A WHOLE, BOTH IN TERMS OF HIM BEING A GUY AND, UH, BEING BLACK.
UM, THE COHORT WAS MAJORITY OF COLOR, UH, INCLUDED, UH, UH, FOLKS FROM ALL ETHNIC RACIAL BACKGROUNDS.
UM, THERE WASN'T EVALUATION THIRD-PARTY BY AN ECONOMIST TO, UH, WEIGH THE COST BENEFITS, WHICH WAS NOT COVERED BY THE AUDIT, UH, WHICH FOUND BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN EARNINGS OF THESE FOLKS, AS WELL AS THE PERMANENT EXPANSION OF THE ACC PROGRAM IN 800 AND 950% RETURN ON INVESTMENT TO THE CITIES, UH, DOLLARS.
THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT IN BEING ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN, BUT THROUGH ACC, UM, BY REQUEST THAT, UH, FOR A RESOLUTION OR OTHER EXPRESSION OF THE COUNCILS, UH, UM, INTEREST IN SEEING THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DOUBLE THE NURSING PROGRAM, IT'S A MUCH MORE COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS THAN WHAT WE NORMALLY HAVE, WOULD HAVE TO DO.
UH, RECENTLY YOU APPROVED A FUNDING FROM THE ARPA.
THAT'LL ENABLE US TO TRANSFER 30 STUDENTS, UH, TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES.
WE WOULD HAVE LIKED THEM TO HAVE CONTINUED AT ACC, BUT ACC WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO EXPAND.
[00:15:01]
WITH CONCORDIA TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATION.SO I WILL STOP THERE AND SEE WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD, I THINK IT WAS THE, NOT THE LAST MEETING, BUT THE PRIOR MEETING WHEN WE PASSED THE ARPA, UM, I DID ASK STAFF IF WE COULD BE WORKING WITH ACC TO HAVE THAT EXPANDED.
UM, MY OFFICE CAN WORK WITH, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER A RESOLUTION IS NECESSARY TO FOLLOW THAT UP OR WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, UM, FOR THE CITY TO, UM, ENCOURAGE ACC TO DOUBLE THE NURSING PROGRAM.
I THINK IT FITS VERY MUCH WITH THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR STAFF, UM, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S NEEDED.
AND, AND IF WE DON'T NEED A RESOLUTION TO ENCOURAGE THAT BEYOND THE DIRECTION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN GIVEN, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE B BE APPROPRIATE.
UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, MR. JACOBS, UM, ON THIS FOLLOWUP, I WANT TO, UM, UM, JUST COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC HAS REALLY HIGHLIGHTED HOW IMPORTANT A THRIVING AND SUPPORTED WORKFORCE IS TO THE OVERALL HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR ECONOMY AND SOME OF THE, UM, WORKFORCE AREAS AND SKILLS THAT WE HAVE TARGETED.
UM, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN WELL-SERVED IF WE HAD HAD MORE PEOPLE WHO WERE ABLE TO CARRY OUT THOSE PROFESSIONS, PARTICULARLY THE HEALTH WORK, UM, THAT WE HAVE TARGETED.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY CAN AND SHOULD TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DEVELOPING OUR WORKFORCE.
AND I'M PLEASED TO SEE STAFF MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT THE AUSTIN METRO AREA COMMUNITY WORKFORCE PLAN, UM, IS FROM 2017 AND IT HAD A GOAL OF HELPING 10,000 ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS, SECURE MIDDLE SKILL JOBS BY 2021.
UM, NOW IN 2022, WE ARE OPERATING IN A SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT WITH THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 AND A RAPIDLY EVOLVING ECONOMY.
UM, I BELIEVE IT MAY BE TIME FOR US TO REVISIT THAT PLAN, OUR GOALS AND OUR STRATEGIES.
UM, AND, AND IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO GET MORE OF AN UPDATE FROM EDD ABOUT THE TIMING OF WHEN YOUR WORKFORCE STRATEGY WILL BE IN PLACE.
SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT NEXT STEPS WE MAY NEED TO TAKE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THAT.
UM, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER, TOVO HAD HER HAND UP AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE COUNCIL MEMBER HEPPER MADISON WHO'S JOINED US AS WELL.
YES, WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF, UH, DEVELOPING THE THREE-YEAR STRATEGY AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT, UH, FINALIZED, UM, BY THE Q4 OF THIS YEAR AND MY OWN MUTE.
DO YOU HEAR ME? UM, YEAH, NO, WE HEARD YOU.
I WAS JUST, UM, I MAY WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, BUT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOPA, GO AHEAD.
THE MOMENTS PASS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR WHAT MR. JACOBS ENCOURAGED AND WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THE RESULTS, SHARE OF YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH EDD.
I, I AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE AACC EXPAND THE NURSING PROGRAM AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO EXPRESS ENTHUSIASM FOR THAT.
I AM, I AM ON BOARD WITH DOING THAT.
SO JUST LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN ASSIST.
AND I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA, YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THE 2017 PLAN LAUNCH AS WELL, AND WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS, COUNCILMEMBER FLAT DESK.
I GUESS MY QUESTION IS FOR EDD AND JUST TRYING TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE DELAY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE FIRST PRESENTED IN 2017.
I SEE THAT IN THE BACKUP THAT, UM, THE 2017 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT ISSUED SIX RECOMMENDATIONS WITH IMPLEMENTATION DUE DATES OF MAY OF 2018.
UM, SO IF YOU COULD ELABORATE AS TO, UM, THE DELAY IN IMPLEMENTING ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, ANY, UM, OBSTACLES OR CHALLENGES THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF.
AND THEN OF COURSE, CERTAINLY, UM, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO NOW THAT WE'RE IN 2022, UM, AMIDST THE PANDEMIC, UM, ANY, ANY, YOU KNOW, UM, INSIGHT THERE THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF, OF, OF THE PANDEMIC AND HOW, UM, WE SHOULD ANTICIPATE ANY EFFECTS ON THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
YES, WE, UH, WE'RE IN TRANSITION OF OUR TEAM,
[00:20:01]
WE HAD SOME TRANSITION WITHIN OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STAFF THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE CONTRACTS.AND NOW THAT WE ARE PERMANENTLY STAFFED, WE, AGAIN, HOST PENDANT AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING A RELOOK AND A THREE YEAR STRATEGY, UH, TO ADDRESS THOSE DEFINITE, UM, NEEDS AROUND HEALTH CARE.
AND SO BY Q4 OF THIS YEAR, WE WILL HAVE A FINALIZED PLAN AND COME BACK, UM, THE, A MEMO OF HOW WE WILL BE ADDRESSING, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
HOW CAN WE, CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I KNOW IN, IN THE, IN THIS TYPE OF WORK WITH CITY GOVERNANCE, THERE IS CERTAINLY ALWAYS TRANSITIONS HAPPENING, TAKING PLACE.
WE AS A CITY, WE'RE COMBATING, UM, THE ISSUE OF HOW MANY VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE ACROSS NOT ONLY OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SECTOR, BUT ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
I MEAN, IT IS AFFECTING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS AN INSTITUTION.
SO HOW WILL WE BUILD OUT A PLAN THAT TAKES, UH, THAT FACTORS IN THAT THERE MIGHT BE, THERE WILL LIKELY BE, UM, TRANSITIONS HAPPENING EVERY FEW YEARS WITH STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING ON TO, UM, JOBS THAT MAY OFFER A MORE COMPETITIVE PAY OR, UM, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE ARE AN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS IN THAT IT MIGHT BE CHALLENGING TO HAVE STAFF, UH, BE ABLE TO LIVE IN AUSTIN AND WORK IN AUSTIN.
AND SO, UM, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, WHAT TYPE IS IT A WAY ARE Y'ALL CONSIDERING AS YOU DO THIS Q4 UPDATE, UM, A PLAN THAT, THAT FACTORS IN THOSE EBBS AND FLOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT REDUNDANCIES DO WE HAVE, UM, IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CARRIED OUT, BUT THAT OUR STRATEGY IS COHESIVE, UM, REGARDLESS OF WHO, UM, IS IN OR OUT ON, UM, ON OUR, ON OUR TEAM.
YES, WE'RE DEFINITELY ADDRESSING THAT, UH, AREA, BUT ALSO DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS, STAFF DID A GREAT JOB OF CROSS, UH, COLLABORATION ON THE NEW PROGRAMS WE HAD TO ADDRESS AROUND COVID AND THE ARPA FUNDING.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING ON CROSS TRAINING, UH, DEVELOPING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, AND I'VE CHALLENGED MY HR COORDINATOR TO FILL OUR POSITIONS, AT LEAST AS MANY AS WE CAN BY, UH, AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE NOW HAVE BASICALLY WRAPPED, UM, ARPA AND COBIT WITHIN OUR WORK PLAN.
AND SO ONCE WE ARE FULLY STAFFED, WE EXPECT TO, AGAIN, MOVE FORWARD ON ADDRESSING ALL THE WORKFORCE CONCERNS, BUT DEFINITELY CROSS TRAINING, UM, AS WELL AS STANDARD SOP.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT MANY OF US ARE, ARE WORKING THROUGH AND HAVE BEEN BUBBLING UP IN THE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING.
BUT I DO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, MUCH TO THE EFFECT THAT WE HAD A STAFFING PLAN THAT COUNCIL SUPPORTED LAST WEEK LED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, UM, STAFFING PLAN AND OUR, UH, ON EMS, FIRE AND POLICE.
I THINK WE, AS A COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE A BROADER CONVERSATION ABOUT THE VACANCIES THAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH DIRECTOR FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I THINK I'M, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE WORKFORCE PLAN, CERTAINLY IT'S AN ISSUE FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT PLAN THAT, THAT WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR.
UM, BUT IS USUALLY THIS PLAN IS USUALLY CONCEIVED OF AS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.
UM, JUST, I THINK YOU, UM, UNDERSTOOD THAT IN WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE, WHO ARE WATCHING SINCE WE'RE HAVING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE NOT, W W WE'RE CONTINUING CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT BE ENGAGED IN, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON WORKFORCE ISSUES.
I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A QUIP, IN FACT, UH, I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER FOR, UH, FOR RAISING SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE HAD, BUT THANK YOU.
UM, DO WE NEED TO ACCEPT THESE OR TAKE ANY ACTION ON THESE? NO.
UM, SO WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THANK YOU STAFF FOR, FOR JOINING US AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY EFFORTS TO SPEED THAT PROCESS UP.
I DO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS, UH, INDICATED IN THE FOLLOWUP THAT IT'D BE MUCH SOONER AND WOULD MUCH PREFER A FASTER TIME, A TIMEFRAME ON THAT.
[3. Street Cuts Follow-up Project.]
NOW MOVE TO THE STREET, CUTS UP[00:25:01]
PROJECT.UM, FRANCO MANAGE THIS PROJECT AND HENRY KATOOMBA WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS AUGUST GOING TO DO THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD MORNING, WAITING FOR THE SLIDES TO APPEAR WELL, WHAT CAN I JUST TEST IF WE CAN HEAR YOU, I GUESS.
SO, UH, THIS IS ANOTHER AUDIT IN THE SERIES OF THE FOLLOW-UPS THAT WE WERE DOING THIS YEAR.
CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? UM, FOR THE AUDIT OF THE UTILITY STREET CUTS THAT WAS ORIGINALLY CONDUCTED INTO SALT 2017, UH, THE ORIGINAL, UM, REASON FOR THE AUDIT WAS THAT THOSE STAKEHOLDERS HAD SO MANY CONCERNS WITH, UH, TEMPORARY, UH, TEMPORARY PATCHES AND THE PERMANENT PATCHES, THE BACKLOG, AND THE QUALITY OF THEM PATCHES GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE HAD TWO FINDINGS IN THE SOD IT'S, UH, ONE WAS ABOUT, UM, UM, LARGE BACKLOG FOR THE PERMANENT PATCHES AND THE OTHER ONE WAS THE INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR THE, UH, UH, MANAGING OF ALL THE PATCHES.
AND WE ISSUED FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AND ALL GOOD NEWS HERE, ALL FOUR OF US WERE IMPLEMENTED.
ONE WAS TO AUSTIN WATER, AND I'LL GO IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO FOR THE RECOMMENDATION TO PUBLIC WORKS ON ELIMINATING THE BACKLOG, UH, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES WERE USED, AND THE BACKLOG WENT DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ABOUT 3000 TO UNDER A THOUSAND, UH, CORPORATES, UM, NEGATIVELY IMPACTED THE TREND A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE, UM, PROCESS AROUND IT WAS MUCH IMPROVED.
THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION WAS ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, WHICH WERE ALSO UPDATED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND PUT IN PLACE SOME OF THE MONTHLY TARGETS WERE ESTABLISHED.
AND SO IT WAS LIKE A GIS TOOL.
AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC WORKS AND AUSTIN WATER DATABASES WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED TO HELP MANAGE THE PROCESS.
AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE, UH, LAST RECOMMENDATION FOR PUBLIC WORKS WAS ABOUT COST EFFECTIVENESS BASED ON THE BETTER DATA, UH, THAT WAS ESTABLISHED WITH THE JS TOOL AND THE CONNECTION OF THE SYSTEM.
SO NOW WE HAVE AN, UM, FINANCIAL REVIEW AND THIS RECOMMENDATION IS CONSIDERED IMPLEMENTED AS WELL.
UM, ONE RECOMMENDATION TO AUSTIN WATER WAS ABOUT THE TEMPORARY PATCHES AND THE AUSTIN WATER IS NOW USING ADDITIONAL QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESSES.
AND THE QUALITY HAS BEEN IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY TO WHERE WE CAN SAY THAT ALL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IMPLEMENTED AND THAT COMPLETES MY PRESENTATION.
UM, I SEE MR. MENDOZA IS IN THE ROOM.
DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS BRIEFLY? GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, RICHARD MENDOZA, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
UM, I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU A APPRECIATION TO THE AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT.
OUR STAFF WERE ABLE TO WORK AND COORDINATE, UH, A LOT CLOSER THAN WE HAD IN THE PAST AND, UM, AND SHARED OUR SENSE OF URGENCY TO GET THIS CRITICAL COMPONENT OF OUR SHARP COMING IN, IN OUR STREETS, UM, UH, SALT.
AND I WANT TO THANK THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
OUR GOAL GOING FORWARD IS TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 90 DAY BACKLOG.
SO KEEP THAT BACKLOG DOWN, UM, UNDER ABOUT UNDER 800, ACTUALLY WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT OVER 800.
WE TICKED UP DUE TO COVID, UH, BUT THAT'S OUR PLAN GOING FORWARD.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND MR. MENDOZA, WHEN WILL THAT 800, I'M SORRY.
WHEN WILL THE REMAINING BACKLOG BE RESOLVED? SO WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE A BACKLOG COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, WE GENERATE AROUND 200 AND 300 EACH MONTH, UH, EITHER FOR NEW UTILITY TAPS OR FOR, UH, EMERGENCY REPAIRS.
[00:30:01]
IN OUR PLAN IS TO MAINTAIN THAT BACKLOG LESS THAN 90 DAYS, UH, THAT WAS RECOMMENDED IN THE ORIGINAL REPORT.UH, WE'VE GOT RESOURCES IN PLACE.
UH, WE'VE AUGMENTED SOME OF OUR CREWS AUGMENTED SOME OF OUR CONTRACT, UH, CAPACITY.
SO WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND NOT LET THE BACKLOG, UH, GROW OUT OF CONTROL AGAIN.
YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? GREAT.
[6. Traffic Safety Follow-Up Audit.]
ITEM IS THE TRAFFIC SAFETY FOLLOW-UP AUDIT.THAT IS ITEM SIX, AND THIS BRINGS TOGETHER I THINK, THREE DIFFERENT AUDITS.
AND, UM, KATE MURDOCH IS ON THE LINE.
UH, SHE WILL BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
PATRICK JOHNSON WAS THE MANAGER HE'S HERE IN THE ROOM.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S COMING UP NOW AND KATE, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KATE MURDOCH AND I'LL BE PRESENTING THE RESULTS OF THIS SPECIAL REPORT TO FOLLOW UP ON RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE ISSUED IN THREE AUDITS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SAFETY.
WE LOOKED AT THE STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION EFFECTIVENESS, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND TRAFFIC SAFETY DESIGN AND EDUCATION AUDITS SPANNING FROM 2016 TO 2019.
WE CONDUCTED THESE AUDITS TO RESPOND TO CONCERNS ABOUT AUSTIN'S GROWING TRANSPORTATION, CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS ABOUT TRAFFIC SAFETY AND THE RISE OF SEVERE AND FATAL CRASHES.
NEXT SLIDE, WE FOUND SEVEN OF THE EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS WE ISSUED HAD BEEN IMPLEMENTED, AND ONE RECOMMENDATION IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE DUE TO A CHANGE IN STATE LAW.
NEXT SLIDE, WE ISSUED THREE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE TRANSPORTATION EFFECTIVENESS AUDIT THE FIRST TO ADDRESS ISSUES WITH TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PLANNING.
WE RECOMMENDED THE CITY AND THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DEVELOP BETTER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS.
AND THIS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN SEVERAL WAYS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY COLLABORATED WITH THE REGIONAL PARTNERS IN DEVELOPING THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
THIS 20 YEAR PLAN INCLUDES INDICATORS FOR MONITORING COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION TO ENSURE THEIR ONGOING PRIORITY.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT WORK WITH PARTNERS TO CLOSE RESOURCE GAPS, VOTERS APPROVED MOBILITY BONDS IN 20 16, 20 18 AND 2020 AMOUNTING TO ABOUT 1.3 BILLION IN FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAFFIC SAFETY PROJECTS AND THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
AND THE CREATION OF THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE WILL HELP TO GUIDE THE USE OF THESE FUNDS.
THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION IN THIS AUDIT WAS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SAFETY.
WE FOUND THE CITY HAD NOT FULLY UTILIZED CRASH INFORMATION TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND DID NOT SEE COORDINATED EFFORTS TO EXPAND CRASH DATA ANALYSIS IN ORDER TO BETTER TARGET ENGINEERING ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION EFFORTS.
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND MUNICIPAL COURT TO IMPROVE CRASH DATA.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS HOW THE DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER TO CHANGE THE WAY THAT INJURY CRASHES RESULTING FROM A DRIVER'S FAILURE TO YIELD ARE DOCUMENTED.
THIS INITIATIVE IS ONGOING AND BOTH DEPARTMENTS CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE POLICE OFFICERS RECEIVE THE NECESSARY TRAINING IN THIS AREA.
NEXT SLIDE IN THE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AUDIT, WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO THE CITY'S USE OF RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
IN 2019, A TEXAS BILL WAS PASSED, WHICH BANNED LOCAL AUTHORITIES FROM USING RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
SO THIS RECOMMENDATION IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE.
WE HAD THREE FINDINGS AND FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE TRAFFIC SAFETY DESIGN AND EDUCATION AUDIT.
WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES BE CONSIDERED WHEN MAKING TRAFFIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENT DECISIONS.
THE DEPARTMENT CREATED A COST SCALE, WHICH ENABLES STAFF TO MORE EASILY COMPARE THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES AT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEY ARE ABLE TO BETTER PRIORITIZE PROJECTS BASED ON THIS INFORMATION.
THEY ALSO RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT WORK WITH PARTNERS, SUCH AS THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT TO IMPROVE THE COLLECTION AND QUALITY OF DATA.
IN ADDITION TO CHANGING THE WAY FAILURE TO YIELD WITH BODILY INJURY CRASHES ARE DOCUMENTED.
THE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO GATHER DATA ON THE VOLUME OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE TRAFFIC TO BETTER DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF SAFETY AND TROOP IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED AND WHERE ALSO THE DEPARTMENT'S CRASH DATABASE IS NOW UPDATED DAILY AND SEVERE AND FATAL INJURY CRASHES ARE EACH CHECKED BY STAFF TO ENSURE THE CRASH IS ACCURATELY IDENTIFIED AND LOCATED TO BETTER DOCUMENT TRAFFIC, SAFETY IMPROVEMENT DECISIONS.
THE DEPARTMENT DEVELOPED A PRIORITIZATION PROCESS TO GUIDE HOW 2018 VISION ZERO BOND FUNDS ARE SPENT.
THIS PROCESS WILL HELP STAFF TO DETERMINE WHEN, WHERE, AND WHAT
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TYPE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY TREATMENTS TO INSTALL PROMISINGLY.THE DEPARTMENT'S DATA SHOWS THAT LOCATIONS RECEIVING SAFETY AND TREATMENTS HAVE SEEN A REDUCTION IN CRASHES.
FINALLY, WE RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT EXPAND EDUCATION EFFORTS TO BETTER TARGET, DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS THAT MOST OFTEN RESULT IN CRASHES.
THEY CREATED THE VISION ZERO COMMUNICATIONS PLAN WITH TAILORED MESSAGING TO SPECIFIC SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE MOST DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS FATAL FOR, UM, THE FATAL FOR DRIVING BEHAVIORS THAT THEY ADDRESSED ARE SPEEDING, DISTRACTED, DRIVING IMPAIRED DRIVING AND FAILURE TO YIELD.
THESE MESSAGES ARE PROMOTED ACROSS MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND THE DEPARTMENT USES VARIOUS METRICS TO GAUGE HOW WELL THEY ARE REACHING RESIDENTS NEXT, PLEASE.
DESPITE THE CITY'S MANY EFFORTS AND SUCCESSES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN, TRAFFIC FATALITIES INCREASED BY 26% IN 2021.
WHILE THERE ARE MANY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS TREND IN AUSTIN AND NATIONWIDE DATA COLLECTED BY THE CITY'S VISION.
ZERO PROGRAM SHOWS THAT SPEEDING IS A PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
IN ONE QUARTER OF FATAL TRAFFIC CRASHES MANAGEMENT FROM BOTH THE TRANSPORTATION AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS SAID THE CITY IS FALLING SHORT ON ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.
THIS WAS ATTRIBUTED PRIMARILY TO STAFFING CONSTRAINTS.
OUR ANALYSIS IS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE FOUND THE NUMBER OF SPEEDING CITATIONS ISSUED IN AUSTIN EACH YEAR HAS FALLEN SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 2018.
THIS IS ONE OF MANY FACTORS FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER AND HOW TO BEST ADDRESS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONCERNS MOVING FORWARD.
IN ADDITION, THE VISION ZERO PROGRAMS, EQUITY ANALYSIS, SAFE FOR ALL SUGGESTS SYSTEMIC CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IS EQUITABLE.
THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND WE WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, MR. SPILLER, DID YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOW-UP AND SHARING AND, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS.
NO, UH, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT THIS AUDIT AS, AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE HAD FRESH EYES ON OUR PROGRAM, AND I THINK IT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN POINTING OUT AREAS WHERE, UH, WE NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN OUR CAPABILITIES CLEARLY, UH, OUR, UH, SPEEDING AND, UH, OTHER PERSONAL BEHAVIORS THAT LEAD TO FATALITIES AND CRASHES ARE A CONCERN.
AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THAT WE ARE, UH, TALKING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO EXPAND THE POOL OF REGISTERED OFFICERS THAT WE CAN DRAW ON TO DO, UH, QUALIFIED TRAFFIC, UH, ENFORCEMENT, YOU KNOW, THE BEHAVIORS THAT THAT ARE MOST OF NEED OF ENFORCEMENT, UH, ARE NOT JUST MUNICIPAL ISSUES, THEY'RE STATEWIDE AND STATE LAWS AS WELL AS A COUNTY ORDINANCES.
AND SO, UH, WE THINK IN INCREASED, UM, FOCUS ON, UH, ON TARGETED ENFORCEMENT WHERE DATA SHOWS THAT WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE SPEEDING, UH, CAN RESULT IN BETTER OUTCOMES ALL AROUND.
SO THANK YOU, MR. SPELLER, UH, COMES FROM ARTICLE IT.
AND I ALSO HAVE STAFF, I BELIEVE WATCHING THAT MAY BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE HARD TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WE ALL ARE, UM, NOT HAPPY ABOUT THE INCREASE IN, UH, INJURIES AND DEATHS FROM TRAFFIC, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE FOLKS OUT THERE WHO ARE DRIVING, WHO PROBABLY AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY REALLY SHOULD.
SO I WAS WONDERING WHAT, UM, IN THE CATEGORY OF HOW THE CITY CAN HELP REMIND PEOPLE THAT SPEED KILLS.
UM, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH OF THOSE SPEED DETECTION, UM, UH, THAT SPEED DETECTION EQUIPMENT THAT WE PUT OUT, LIKE ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING.
AND IT'S USUALLY RIGHT NEXT TO THE, THE SPEED LIMIT SIGN THAT SAYS 30 MILES AN HOUR OR WHATEVER, AND THEN YOU CAN TRACK HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING SO THAT YOU CAN BE SPECIFICALLY REMINDED TO SLOW DOWN.
UM, I KNOW THEY'RE EXPENSIVE, BUT I, I'M JUST SORT OF WONDERING, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO STEP UP THEIR PRESENCE AROUND THE CITY? WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL? MAYBE? SURE.
WHO'S JUST JOINED US RESPOND TO THAT, BUT YES, WE ARE DEPLOYING THOSE AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER LOUIS LEFT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OFFICER WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION.
WE DO USE THOSE DYNAMIC SPEED DISPLAY DEVICES DSDS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE'VE TYPICALLY USE THOSE ON MORE COLLECTOR RESIDENTIAL STREETS JUST RECENTLY, WE'VE INSTALLED 14 OF THOSE DEVICES AT HIGH PRIORITY VISION, ZERO LOCATIONS, PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN SEVERE CRASHES OCCUR REPETITIVELY.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS IS UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT
[00:40:01]
OF THOSE TYPES OF DEVICES ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR.SEE WHAT THE SPEEDS ARE CONSISTENTLY, AND IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMING DOWN CONSISTENTLY, TYPICALLY THOSE DEVICES ARE VERY EFFECTIVE UPFRONT.
AND THEN WE SEE THAT KIND OF EFFECTIVENESS LEVEL OFF, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH THE HIGHEST END SPEEDERS, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE AFTER.
SO IF WE CAN GET THE MAJORITY OF THOSE EGREGIOUS SPEEDERS TO COME DOWN CLOSER TO THOSE POSTED SPEED LIMITS, WE'LL SEE THAT THAT EFFECTIVENESS WILL PLAY OUT IN CRASH DATA OVER TIME.
SO WE JUST INSTALLED THOSE A FEW WEEKS AGO AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THOSE OVER THE NEXT SIX TO 12 MONTHS, AND HOPEFULLY GET SOME MORE OF THOSE ON THE GROUND.
THANKS MR. LEFT, WILL YOU BE MOVING THEM AROUND THE CITY, THOSE 14 SPEED DETECTORS, OR WILL THEY STAY STATIONARY OR HOW, HOW DO YOU DEPLOY THOSE? THERE'LL BE IN PLACE FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST SIX MONTHS WHILE WE EVALUATE THE DATA THAT COMES OUT OF THOSE, WE'LL HAVE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR COLLEAGUES OVER AT APD TO SEE IF WE NEED REAL DEDICATED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IN THOSE AREAS.
WE'LL MONITOR THE CRASHES AT THOSE LOCATIONS AND SEE IF THEY CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMATIC AT THAT POINT.
WE'LL DETERMINE WHETHER THAT, UH, THEY'VE SERVED THEIR PURPOSE OF THAT LOCATION.
WE CAN ROTATE THOSE TO OTHER LOCATIONS.
WE ALSO DID JUST GO THROUGH A COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS TO SEE IF WE CAN INCREASE THE PROCUREMENT OF THOSE DEVICES AND ADD MORE TO THE OVERALL FLEET.
SO WE'LL BE MONITORING THAT AND HOPEFULLY REPORTING BACK IN THE NEXT SIX TO 12 MONTHS, THE LAST ISSUE THAT I WANTED JUST TO KIND OF TOSS OUT THERE TO YOU, DIRECTOR SPILLER, AND JUST TO KIND OF EXPLORE, UM, PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE HAD A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WITH THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY WAS TO TRY TO SHIFT OUR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AWAY.
OFFICERS WITH WHO ARE ARMED TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT.
AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE INHERENT, UM, UH, SAFETY CONCERNS FOR WHOEVER THOSE ENFORCEMENT, UH, PEOPLE MAY BE.
BUT HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD OF THINKING IN TERMS OF HAVING MORE OF A, UH, NON-UNIFORM NON-SWORN OFFICER, UM, CADRAY AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH, UM, TICKETING OR ENFORCEMENT SO THAT, UM, WE COULD MAYBE INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO HELP US, AND WE HAVE A STAFFING ISSUE THERE, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK MORE, UH, CIVILIAN NON-SWORN, UM, SUPPORT FOR THAT INFANT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, LET ME GIVE A BRIEF ANSWER AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR APD AND, AND TO LOUIS, UH, AS REPRESENTATIVES, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT ACTIVITIES WHERE WE CAN SHIFT, UM, EFFORT OFF OF ABD, NOT NECESSARILY SPEEDING, CAUSE WE THINK THAT'S STILL REQUIRES, UH, AN OFFICER TO RESPOND BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY RELATED ISSUES THERE.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY IN TERMS OF ABANDONED VEHICLES AND, AND SOME OF THE MORE MUNDANE ACTIVITIES, PERHAPS IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT, IF WE CAN TAKE THOSE OFF OF, OFF THE PLATE OF SWORN OFFICERS, THEN THAT OPENS UP SPACE WITHIN THEIR DAY.
UH, AS I SAID TO DO SOME OF THESE OTHERS, WOULD YOU ALL LIKE TO SPEAK TO ANY OF THAT? AND I WONDERED IF THERE MIGHT BE SOME STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE A SWORN OFFICER IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES.
YES MA'AM AND THAT EXACTLY IS THE ISSUE, BUT THAT'S OPENED UP A DISCUSSION OF, WELL, WHAT CAN WE TAKE OFF EXCELLENT.
LEGITIMATELY OFF THE PLATE AND I GUESS MR. LEF WAS GOING TO, OR MR. DALE.
AND I SEE ASSISTANT CHIEF MASON IS ON AS WELL WITH APD AND, UH, WE ARE LIMITED IN A LOT OF WAYS BY STATE LAW.
UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN THEIR TRAFFIC SAFETY EFFORTS USING AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT, PARTICULARLY AROUND SPEED.
AND SO WE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT ABILITY AND UNDER CURRENT STATE LAW, THAT WOULD BE PART OF SOME LEGISLATIVE AGENDA ACTIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN.
UH, THE OTHER PIECES, I THINK THE STATE LAW IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT MOVING VIOLATIONS LIKE SPEEDING WOULD BE DONE BY A SWORN POLICE OFFICER.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME CHALLENGES WITH OUR CURRENT STATE LAW, BUT I'LL, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF MASON.
HE CAN SPEAK MORE DEPTH ON THAT.
EVERYBODY'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'D HAVE TO DEAL WITH STATE LAW OFFERS TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THAT, TO BE A BILL, TO PUT IT INTO A CIVILIAN TYPE OF FORMAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE WORKED WITH, WITH, UH, EVERYBODY, UH, WITH, WITH LOUIS AS WELL, AS WELL AS TRANSPORTATION, AS WELL AS, UH, CODE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT COULD BE DONE, UH, FOR LIKE ABANDONED VEHICLES AND STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY REQUIRE A UNIFORM OFFICER TO BUILD TO COME OUT.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE THAT SO FAR.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO AND MOVE THOSE FORWARD.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE WHOLE, UH, RE-IMAGINING THING.
AND IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING, COUNTS MEMBER POOL, I JUST DISCOVERED SOMETHING COOL IN MY CAR.
MY CAR HAS AN IN VEHICLE GPS MAPPING SYSTEM, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN ON A, UH, A FUNCTION THAT TELLS YOU WHEN YOU'RE FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT.
AND I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO DO THAT.
IT HAS MADE ME MUCH MORE AWARE, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE DON'T SPEED PURPOSELY, BUT, UH, JUST KEEPING UP WITH TRAFFIC AND HAVING THAT EXTRA REMINDER THAT UPS YOUR FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT, UH, IS VERY EFFECTIVE IN MAKING ME AWARE OF WHAT THE SPEED LIMITS ARE.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PUT ONE OF THEIR OWN, UH, SPEED NANNIES IN THE CAR.
[00:45:01]
THAT'S WHAT I CALL MY SPEED REMINDER, UH, IS SOMEBODY THAT COMES ON WHEN I HIT FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT.SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO USE THE TOOLS.
IN FACT, IT SHOWS THE LITTLE S SPEED AND IT TURNS IT RED WHEN YOU'VE GONE A LITTLE BIT OVER AND, AND YEAH, IT IS REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT THERE.
AND IT ALSO PUTS THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE INDIVIDUAL SO THAT WE ALL LEARN BETTER HABITS, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS RATHER THAN ENFORCING EVERYBODY TO PROPER BEHAVIOR.
IT REALLY IS MUCH, UM, MORE SUSTAINABLE IF WE ALL TAKE.
AND THAT REALLY IS OUR GOAL IS TO EDUCATE AND HAVE PEOPLE WILLINGLY DRIVE.
THE CORRECT SPEEDS ARE SAFE SPEEDS, RIGHT? NOT TO NECESSARILY GIVE TICKETS.
THAT'S NOT THE INTENT IT'S TO EDUCATE AND GET PEOPLE AGREE WILLINGLY, DO THE RIGHT THING.
UM, ON THAT NOTE, MR. SPELLER, I THINK YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UPDATE THE SPEED LIMITS THAT WE CHANGED, WHERE WE REDUCED THEM.
THOSE ARE NOT, THOSE ARE NOT UPLOADED INTO GIS.
SO FOR MANY PEOPLE IT'S TELLING THEM FIVE MINUTE, FIVE MILES MORE THAN THEY CAN DO.
UM, SO IT'D BE GREAT IF I DON'T KNOW THAT PROCESS, BUT I THINK THAT'S ON THE BACKEND.
SOMETHING YOU GUYS CAN WORK, UM, WORK WITH, UM, GIS OR WHOEVER YOU NEED TO WORK WITH ON THAT, BECAUSE I'VE NOTICED THAT IN MY CAR THAT IT'S NOT MATCHING, IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR THEM TO UPDATE.
AND SOME OF THE OLDER SYSTEMS WHERE YOU STILL HAVE TO GO INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM.
AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR SPILLER AND YOUR TEAM FOR THIS IMPORTANT WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU HAD MENTIONED A LITTLE EARLIER WORKING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ABOUT INCREASING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ABILITY TO HAVE MORE OFFICERS AVAILABLE FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
AND I KNOW THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT PROGRAM BECAUSE YOUR TEAM BRIEFED ME AND I I'M GUESSING MY COLLEAGUES ARE AS WELL, BUT COULD YOU MAYBE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO THE PUBLIC'S AWARE OF WHAT MIGHT BE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
UM, SO WE USE, UH, TRANSPORTATION DOLLARS, UH, TO PAY POLICE OFFICERS OVER TIME TO HELP ENFORCE CRITICAL TRAFFIC LAWS LATE AT NIGHT WHEN OUR FATALITIES ARE THE HIGHEST.
UH, AND THEY ARE TYPICALLY LOOKING FOR RED LIGHT RUNNING, UH, DRUNK DRIVING AND SPEEDING.
AND THOSE ARE THE THREE, UM, MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES THAT, THAT LEAD TO SERIOUS CRASHES AND FATALITIES.
UH, AND SO WE'VE DONE THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS, UH, BUT AS, UM, UH, THE STAFFING SHORTAGES HAVE HIT ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, WE'VE BEEN UNABLE TO FILL MANY OF THOSE CRITICAL ENFORCEMENT TIME PERIODS THAT WE NEED.
AND SO, UH, WE'VE UM, PREVIOUSLY ONLY USED AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, STAFFS WARRANT OFFICERS THAT, THAT SIGN UP FOR THOSE OVER TIME, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LATE AT NIGHT.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS EXPAND THIS TO, UH, PARTNER WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT WHO HAS JURISDICTION THROUGHOUT TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, AND THEN THE PRIEST AND THE CONSTABLES POTENTIALLY WHO COULD ALSO DO, UM, ENFORCEMENT.
NOW WHEN WE, WE PARTNER WITH THE SHERIFF, HOPEFULLY, AND WITH, UH, CONSTABLE, THEY CAN ONLY ENFORCE STATE LAWS, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICERS, BUT IN FACT, THE BEHAVIORS WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, UH, IMPROVE ON OUR STATE REGULATED LAWS, NOT JUST MUNICIPAL ISSUES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION THERE AND EXPANDING UPON THAT PROGRAM.
COULD YOU MAYBE TALK ABOUT WHEN THAT TIMELINE, WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT COME BEFORE COUNCIL OR WHEN WE CAN EXPECT IT, UM, LOUIS, DO YOU WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON TIMING? SURE.
AS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE ARE BRIEFING ALL THE COUNCIL.
WE'VE SET UP ALL THE MEETINGS AND HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE'LL HAVE COMPLETED EVERYBODY'S OFFICES FOR THE BRIEFINGS.
UH, OUR NEXT STEPS WOULD BE TO REACH BACK OUT TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY STAFF WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, AND APD HAS BEEN HELPING TO SET UP SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND CONSTABLES, AND WE'VE HAD ONGOING ON AND OFF CONVERSATIONS FOR A WHILE NOW TO SEE WHAT A PROGRAM LIKE THIS LIKE THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
SO OUR NEXT STEP IS TO FINISH THOSE COUNCIL BRIEFINGS AND MAKE SURE WE'VE GOTTEN ALL THE FEEDBACK AND INPUT, GO BACK TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY STAFF, WORKING WITH THEIR, UM, BOTH THEIR PEACE OFFICERS AND THEIR BUDGET AND PLANNING FOLKS, AND THEN START TO CRAFT WHAT AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THAT AGREEMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEIR POLICY BOARD IS BRIEFED AS WELL.
AND THEN START TO COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL AND MAYBE THROUGH A MOBILITY COMMITTEE OR THROUGH, UM, A COUNCIL BRIEFING IN ANOTHER SETTING TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS WHAT THAT LOCAL AGREEMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH THAT.
BECAUSE AS DIRECTOR SPILLER SAID, WE'VE GOT A CRITICAL NEED, PARTICULARLY IN THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD ON THE WEEKENDS RELATED TO SPEEDING AND IMPAIRMENT ON THE ROADWAYS, TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO ADDRESS THAT LACK OF PROACTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, APD HAS BEEN, UH, BRAINSTORMING WITH US AND FACILITATING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR TRAVIS COUNTY PARTNERS.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE SOMETHING COME FORWARD IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, RIGHT.
AND I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANYONE WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT TRAFFIC LAWS ARE NOT BEING ENFORCED NOW.
THEY ARE IN FACT, AND, AND, UH, BOTH THE SHERIFF
[00:50:01]
AND, AND, UH, THE CONSTABLE, I SEE THEM OCCASIONALLY OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, GIVING TICKETS AS I DO, APD GIVES TICKETS, UH, AND THEN ALSO DPS, UH, I'VE SEEN THEM ON THE BIGGER STATE ROADS.UM, WE'VE ALSO REACHED OUT TO THEM AND ASK THEM FOR EQUAL HELP.
UH, ALL THOSE AGENCIES HAVE THE SAME CHALLENGE AS I THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES IN TERMS OF STAFFING AND PRIORITIZING WHERE, UM, THOSE RESOURCES GO.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO AND COUNCIL MEMBER FONTAS.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL ILA AS WELL.
UM, AS I UNDERSTAND DIRECTOR SPILLER, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL PATROLS THAT ARE, THAT ARE REALLY PART OF THE VISION ZERO EFFORT AND WERE BEING FUNDED THROUGH, THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
MA'AM WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING IS PAYING THE OVERTIME COSTS FOR THOSE.
BUT THESE WERE, THESE WERE SORT OF, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL TO THE REGULAR, UM, TO THE REGULAR COURSE THAT WE HAVE OUT ON THE STREETS.
THERE, THERE STAFF FROM, IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS WORKING OVERTIME DURING SHIFTS, WHERE WE HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A REAL NEED IN THE INABILITY TO STAFF NORMALLY.
WELL, I THINK THE IDEA OF HAVING, UH, OF WORKING WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IS A REALLY GOOD ONE.
I KNOW MY OFFICE HAS BEEN BRIEFED AND WE EXPRESSED OUR SUPPORT FOR THAT PROGRAM.
AND I WOULD, I, I APPRECIATE, UM, MR. LEFT, THE, THE SCHEDULE YOU OUTLINED FOR DECISION-MAKING, BUT MY GUESS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WILL BE CERTAINLY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE.
I KNOW IN OUR BRIEFING, UM, SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AROSE AND YOU HAD GOOD RESPONSES TO WHAT KIND OF TRAINING AND PROTOCOLS THEY WOULD USE.
UM, BUT I WOULD REALLY SUGGEST DIRECTOR'S FILLER THAT YOU CONSIDER SPEEDING UP THE TIMETABLE ON, ON THIS, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN GOING TO COUNCIL, ASKING CITY MANAGER TO HAVE A WORK SESSION BRIEFING ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN ALL LEARN, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVEN'T YET HAD A BRIEFING CAN HEAR ABOUT IT.
AND PERHAPS POTENTIALLY WE CAN FAST-TRACK THIS.
I, I THINK IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY, IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT SAYING IT FILLS A NEED AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS A STEP WE, WE CAN TAKE SOONER, UM, TO KEEP OUR STREETS SAFER.
WELL, I WOULD SAY LET'S, LET'S ESCALATE THE TIMETABLE ON THAT.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WOULD NEED COUNCIL ACTION TO, TO KIND OF ALTER THAT TIME TIMEFRAME ON? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU, THAT YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO THE MANAGER? UM, IF MY COLLEAGUES AGREE, IF YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO THE MANAGER AND ASK, ASK ABOUT WHETHER WE CAN PROCEED ON A, ON A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED COUNCIL ACTION TO ENCOURAGE US JUST HEARING THE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM YOU.
AND I SEE SEVERAL OTHER HEADS SHAKING.
UM, UH, WE'LL TAKE THAT AS ENCOURAGEMENT TO GO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN I DID ALSO JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND THE VISION ZERO STAFF, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID RECENTLY TO, TO ENCOURAGE SAFER DRIVING THROUGH ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.
UM, IN DISTRICT NINE, WE NOW HAVE TWO MURALS THAT ARE PART OF THE VISION ZERO, THE VISION ZERO PLAN.
THERE'S ALSO A MURAL AND COUNCIL MEMBER AND THREE HIS DISTRICT.
AND THERE WAS A REALLY NICE LITTLE VIDEO THAT YOU ALL JUST RELEASED LAST WEEK, TYING THESE TOGETHER AND TALKING ABOUT JUST WHAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED HERE, HOW WE ALL CAN BE, UH, THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO BE SAFER ON THE STREETS.
BUT I THINK THE MURALS ARE REALLY A GOOD WAY TO ADD A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT KIND OF VENUE IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY ALSO FOR MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT DISTRACTED, THEY'RE NOT ON THEIR PHONE TEXTING OR NOT DOING OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT MAKE THE STREETS SAFER FOR THAT MAKE THE STREETS UNSAFE, UM, FOR EVERYBODY AROUND THEM.
OKAY, ERIC, AND THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO DO IS TALK ABOUT SAFETY AND TALK ABOUT SPEEDING AND TALK ABOUT, WOW, WE REALLY DO NEED TO STOP AT STOP SIGNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE IF PEOPLE ARE TALKING AND THAT'S TOP OF MIND, THANK YOU FOR FLAGGING THAT I'D LOVE.
IF SOMEONE CAN SEND ME A LINK, I'D LOVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT VIDEO.
UM, AND WE'D LOVE TO TALK ABOUT GETTING A MURAL IN, IN SOUTH AUSTIN AND HELP BRING THAT MESSAGE TO OUR SOUTH AUSTINITES.
UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, I GUESS MY COMMENTS, I HAVEN'T HAD MY BRIEFING YET.
I KNOW IT'S SCHEDULED FOR LATER THIS WEEK.
YOU KNOW, WHAT I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IS EXACTLY, UM, WHAT, UM, WHAT THE STATE LAW SAYS AND LIKE WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE FOR WHAT PEACE OFFICERS ARE NEEDED TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
UM, ALSO A LIST OF WHAT ARE THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY BRING OTHERS TO HELP ASSIST WITH.
YOU MENTIONED VEHICLE ABATEMENTS, UM, AS ONE, BUT WE'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT ELSE, UM, COULD BE THAT WE SHOULD BE RECONSIDERING, UM, IN THE SPIRIT OF RE-IMAGINING.
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TO THANK YOU DIRECTOR SPILLER FOR, UH, FOR CONFIRMING THAT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IS HAPPENING.YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT THAT IS TAKING PLACE.
UM, AND THAT THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING IS FOR, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAT, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ALWAYS CONDUCTED.
IT'S JUST THAT MATTER OF THE STAFFING SHORTAGES OF WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO FIGURE OUT HERE.
UM, AND, UM, AND THE LAST THING FOR THE BRIEFING THAT I HAVE LATER THIS WEEK, IF WE CAN ALSO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW OTHER CITIES HANDLE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND PERHAPS THERE'S SOME INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES OUT THERE THAT WE CAN PULL FROM, UM, ANY TYPES OF MODELS, UM, THAT WE CAN LOOK AT FROM OTHER CITIES OR OTHER COUNTRIES I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT.
UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S PROBABLY A BETTER HANDLE THAN A ONE-ON-ONE.
AND SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR VISION ZERO DEPARTMENT DOES, OR DIVISION DOES VERY WELL IS COORDINATE WITH OTHER CITIES AND, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED GOOD IDEA, NO MATTER WHERE IT COMES FROM, WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BORROW AND REUSE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THE CREDIT FOR GOOD IDEAS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO BUILD ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, ROB TO A CUSTOMER, GREAT QUESTIONS.
WE'LL BE PREPARED FOR THOSE, WITH THE BRIEFING, BUT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THIS DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE LOOKING AT RESEARCH THAT UNDERSTANDS WHERE, HOW ENFORCEMENT HAS DONE TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
UH, THERE'S A GREAT STUDY OUT OF A CERTAIN CITY BECAUSE NORTH CAROLINA THAT SHOWED THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A REALLY POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOME OF THOSE OTHER GOALS THAT WE'VE GOT FROM IN THE SPIRIT OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TO REDUCE THOSE RACIAL DISPARITIES AND TRAFFIC STOPS BY FOCUSING ON THE BEHAVIORS THAT ARE GOING TO CREATE SAFER STREETS FOR EVERYBODY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT SPEEDING AND IMPAIRMENT ON OUR FREEWAYS ON OUR MAJOR ARTERIALS.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE A DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTCOMES, I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD AND A LOT OF OUR POLICY GOALS, IF WE CAN REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE BEHAVIORS AND MAKE THE STREETS SAFER FOR EVERYBODY.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON.
AND IF WE CAN BE QUICK, WE'VE GOT TO KEEP MOVING ON.
I APPRECIATE YOU RECOGNIZING ME.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, UM, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY HAVING MEETINGS AS WELL.
I JUST HAD ONE RECENTLY, UH, JUST THINKING THROUGH, UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLINT, THAT'S HIS POINT ABOUT WHAT IS IT EXACTLY THAT WE SHOULD BE ASKING TO GET DONE AT THE LEGISLATIVE LEVEL? I'D REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING THAT INFORMATION.
SO I'LL ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO MY BRIEFING AND I'M WONDER IF THIS IS AN ITEM WE SHOULD BRING FORWARD, UM, WITH THE COMMITTEE THAT I CHAIR THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
UM, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, TO FOLLOWING UP MR. LIFT, THANK YOU.
UM, I WANT TO COME BACK TO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, BUT I FIRST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO THESE FOLLOW-UP AUDITS AND, YOU KNOW, THE HOPE IS THAT THE WORK OF THE AUDIT TEAM IS HELPFUL IN HELPING US IMPROVE AND THAT IT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMITTEES.
AND SO I REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE GOOD WORK THAT WAS DONE AS A RESULT OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS AND, AND, AND THE COMMUNICATION AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPENED RELATED TO THAT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU DEVELOPED WAYS TO BETTER COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS, UM, BY CREATING THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY, REALLY WELL DONE DOCUMENT THAT HAS A LOT OF CLARITY AND REALLY IS, UM, HELPING TO GUIDE OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
UM, YOU LAUNCHED THE DATA AND PERFORMANCE HUB, THE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER, AND CREATED THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE.
UM, YOU'VE ALSO OPTIMIZED THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING, AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE ARE DEVELOPMENTS THAT COME FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS AND, UM, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN SURFACED AS WELL, OBVIOUSLY OF THE PLANNING AND THE, AND THE HARD WORK OF YOUR DEPARTMENT.
SO I WANT TO, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, COME TO MY RIPPLE MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE REIMAGINE THIS AREA? UM, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I LAUNCHED THE MOBILITY OFFICER'S PROJECT.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHERE THAT IS AT, AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO TAKE SOME OF THE TASKS OFF OF OUR OFFICERS THAT CAN BE UNDERTAKEN, UH, BY OTHER FOLKS AND WE'RE ABLE TO PAY FOR IT WITH PARK.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, WHEN I ALLUDED TO THAT, THAT, UH, UH, IN RESPONSE TO COUNSELOR, POOL'S QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF HAVING NON-SWORN OFFICERS DO SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES? I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE CONVERSATION HAS EXPANDED IS AS WE ADD, OR AS WE MOVE TOWARDS MOBILITY OFFICERS, WHICH WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS TO ACTUALLY CREATE THE POSITIONS, DEFINE THEM THROUGH, UH, WHAT'S REQUIRED AND SO FORTH, UM, IS TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH APD AND OTHER ENFORCEMENT TO FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN TAKE OFF LEGITIMATELY OFF
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THE PLATE THAT GETS BACK TO, UM, UH, BETTER OUTCOMES.I THINK, UH, UH, COUNSELOR HARPER, MADISON MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK? I THINK ONE OF THE AREAS OF INTEREST IS HOW DO WE INCREASE THE USE OF THESE NEW MOBILITY OFFICERS OR NON-SWORN OFFICERS IN TERMS OF MANAGING SPECIAL EVENTS, MANAGING BARRICADES AND STUFF TO FREE UP OFFICERS DURING THOSE SIGNIFICANT TIMES WHEN OFTEN OVERTIME IS REQUIRED AT THOSE OFFICERS SORT OF EATING INTO THEIR CAPACITY TO DO OTHER THINGS.
AND SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, UM, IT IS A STEEP CLIMB TO WORK ON THAT, UH, ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY HURDLES WE'VE GOT TO UNDO AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AROUND WHETHER THEY BE STATE LAW OR, UH, JUST STAFFING AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES.
SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT.
UH, I CAN GET YOU MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, UM, SEPARATELY FROM THIS, IS THERE ANYTHING LEWIS, DO YOU OR JIM THAT'S REALLY THROUGH OUR PARKING DIVISION? AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE I'LL NEED TO BRING THEM BACK TO YOU.
I, I WOULD APPRECIATE AN UPDATE, BUT I AM EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF BEING ABLE TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE THINGS OFF THE PLATE.