[00:00:01]
[CALL TO ORDER 4:00-4:05pm]
PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION MEETING.WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CALL THE ORDER, UM, AND START WITH ROLL CALL.
UM, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, UH, UH, REQUEST THAT EVERYONE THAT IS JOINING IN ORDER TO, TO, TO KEEP QUORUM, WE NEED COMMISSIONERS TO KEEP THEIR CAMERAS ON.
UM, THAT WILL BE VERY HELPFUL.
UM, IT'S ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF BEING ABLE TO KEEP CONDUCTING VIRTUAL MEETINGS IS THAT WE CAN SEE EVERYBODY'S FACES.
UM, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL JUST GET STARTED WITH A ROLL CALL.
UM, TRIGON SOLACE, PRESENT, UM, COMMISSIONER WEBBER HERE, COMMISSIONER HOUSE, AND FUCK, I SEE HER ERIC, UM, COMMISSIONER AUSTIN, COMMISSIONER CURE, COUGH RESIDENT COMMISSIONER LEWIS HERE, COMMISSIONER LANE.
COMMISSIONER SIERRA RAVELLO, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT, AND COMMISSIONER HALL MARTIN HERE.
AND WITH THAT, UM, MS. JACKSON, DO WE HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? OKAY.
WE HAVE NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, SO WE'LL GO AHEAD
[1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – March 7, 2011 4:20pm-4:25pm]
AND MOVE ON TO THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN UPDATED MINUTES FOR OUR MARCH 7TH MEETING.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY CHANGES FROM ANYONE? OKAY.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DEEM THOSE APPROVED AND WE WILL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO GET STARTED WITH OLD
[2.a. Update from Austin Police Department on actions from the Kroll Report and potential recommendation (sponsored by Commissioner Bernhardt and Ramirez) 4:25pm-4:35pm ]
BUSINESS.UM, FIRST UP IS GOING TO BE AN UPDATE FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT ON ACTIONS FROM THE CROLL REPORT AND POTENTIAL RECOMMENDATIONS.
I BELIEVE WE ARE NOT GOING TO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION TODAY.
UM, AND WE HAVE CHIEF CHICONE JOINING US, UM, TO GO OVER THE PRESENTATION.
WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS, JOSEPH CHACO AND CHIEF OF POLICE.
I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO JUST BRIEFLY GO OVER SOME OF THE UPDATES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, UM, AND GIVE A REPORT OUT A LITTLE BIT OF THE, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR CRO REPORT AND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE BECAUSE, UM, THERE WAS 10 MINUTES SET ASIDE FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
WE KEPT IT PRETTY SHORT HIGH LEVEL.
UH, JUST KIND OF TRYING TO HIGHLIGHT THE, UH, WHAT I THINK ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECES OF IT.
UM, AND ALSO TO JUST BRIEFLY TALK ABOUT, UH, THE THINGS THAT ARE STILL IN PROGRESS, AND THEN OBVIOUSLY, ANY QUESTIONS THAT THE COMMISSIONERS MIGHT HAVE.
WELL, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT TODAY IS, UM, PARTICULARLY THE USE OF FORCE, UM, THE PUBLIC INTERACTIONS, UH, AND THEN, UH, LOOKING BACK AT THE ACADEMY ON OUR RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND PROMOTIONAL PROCESSES.
UH, SO IF WE CAN GET THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, I'M GOING TO KIND OF START WITH THAT THIRD POINT AND WE'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE RECRUITMENT SELECTION AND, UM, AND PROMOTIONS.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, WHAT I'LL BE DOING IS KIND OF HIGHLIGHTING WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION WAS AND THEN WHAT APD HAS, HOW WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO RESPOND TO IT.
UH, THE RECOMMENDATION INCREASING RECRUITMENT AND HIRING TO REPRESENT THE DIVERSITY OF AUSTIN, PARTICULARLY FOR HISPANICS AND FEMALES.
UH, IN ADDITION TO APD ACHIEVING A HIGHER THAN PROPORTIONATE REPRESENT REPRESENTATION OF BLACKS IN APD AS COMPARED TO THE GENERAL POPULATION.
SO I'M GOING TO BE TALKING TODAY ABOUT THE CLASS THAT JUST BEGAN, UH, JUST OVER A WEEK AGO, OUR 145TH CADET CLASS, UH, AND THEN HIGHLIGHTING A LITTLE BIT WHAT WE DID IN THE ONE 44TH, THE DEMOGRAPHICS, UH, CONTINUE TO BE INCREDIBLY DIVERSE.
UH, SO WITH THE HISPANIC REPRESENTATION IN THIS CLASS BEING 48% OF THE CLASS IS HISPANIC, UH, AND ACTUALLY REPRESENT A MAJORITY BY CLASS OF THE, UH, OF THE DIFFERENT, UH, RACES THAT ARE IN THE CLASS.
OUR, UH, FEMALE REPRESENTATION IS 17%, UM, AND APD, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST AS A POINT OF REFERENCE APDS, UH, OVERALL REPRESENTATION AS AN ORGANIZATION, UH, FOR OUR SWORN RANKS IS 11%.
SO OBVIOUSLY ACHIEVING A MUCH HIGHER PERCENTAGE RATE THERE.
UH, THE BLACK REPRESENTATION IN THIS CLASS IS 10%, WHICH IS A GREATER RATE THAN THE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK RESIDENTS
[00:05:01]
IN AUSTIN, WHICH IS LESS THAN 8%.HOWEVER, IT'S STILL NOT AS HIGH AS WE WOULD LIKE.
AND IN THE 1 44, IF THE CLASS HAD JUST FINISHED, WE HAD A HIGHER, ACTUALLY A HIGHER REPRESENTATION, BUT I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, WE ARE ACTIVELY, UH, WORKING TOWARDS INCREASING THAT, THAT DEMOGRAPHIC, UH, BLACK APPLICANTS ACTUALLY COMPRISED 18% OF THE APPLICANTS THAT WENT INTO THIS CLASS, WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE PROPORTIONAL RATE OF BLACK RESIDENTS IN AUSTIN'S GENERAL POPULATION.
SO, UM, WITH REGARD TO, UH, THE OVERALL DEMOGRAPHICS, UM, SO I, I MENTIONED THAT WE HAVE, UM, AND THIS JUST ACTUALLY BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE IN THE ACADEMY.
41 OF THE CADETS ARE HISPANIC, 29 ARE WHITE, EIGHT ARE BLACK, UH, FIVE ARE ASIAN, AND THEN ONE COULD, DID NOT NEATLY FIT INTO ANY OF THOSE CATEGORIES.
AND SO AS CLASSIFIED AS OTHER, UM, I DID WANT TO HIGHLIGHT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I DID WITHIN THE LAST MONTH, MONTH AND A HALF WAS TO SIGN THE 30 BY 30, UH, INITIATIVE PLEDGE.
UH, THE 30 BY 30 INITIATIVE IS TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF WOMEN IN OUR RANKS, UH, UP TO 30%, UH, BY THE YEAR 2030.
SO AS I SAID, WE'RE AT 11% RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT WE'VE JOINED A NUMBER OF OTHER CITIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE JOINED THIS INITIATIVE AND ARE ACTIVELY WORKING TO BOTH TO INCREASE THE DIVERSITY, NOT JUST OBVIOUSLY BY RACE, BUT BY GENDER.
AND THAT WAS A VERY STRONG, UM, YOU KNOW, INDICATION OF OUR COMMITMENT TO, UH, BRINGING MORE WOMEN INTO THIS PROFESSION AND, AND SEEING MORE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP ROLES WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT.
WE'RE ALSO WORKING RIGHT NOW WITH, UM, THE, UH, JOYCE JAMES CONSULTING GROUP ON CA ON, UH, WORKING TO IMPLEMENT A SIMILAR PROGRAM THAT WOULD BE FOR OUR BLACK APPLICANTS TO, UH, TO ASSIGN METRICS AND DETERMINE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, TO WHAT LEVEL WE WANT TO ASPIRE.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT, UH, THAT IS HIGHER THAN THE REPRESENTATION THAT IS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO, UM, I'M JUST GOING TO READ THE RECOMMENDATION.
CROWELL AGREES WITH APDS PLANS TO RE-INSTITUTE AND EXPAND THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AS HISTORICALLY.
THIS PROGRAM HAS ATTRACTED A DIVERSE POOL OF APPLICANTS, PROVIDES AN OPPORTUNITY FOR APD AND THE INTERN TO MUTUALLY EVALUATE THE FIT AND HELPS PREPARE INTERNS FOR THE SELECTION PROCESS.
APD SHOULD ALSO CONTINUE EXPANDING PARTNERSHIPS WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS, COLLEGES, AND UNIVERSITIES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, FAITH BASED ORGANIZATIONS, AND SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, PARTICULARLY THOSE WITH A FOCUS ON HISTORICALLY UNDERREPRESENTED POPULATIONS.
SO, UM, WE HAD TO, UM, SUSPEND OUR EXPLORER PROGRAM.
THIS WAS AN EARLY ENTRY POINT FOR, UM, OUR YOUNG PEOPLE TO GET INTERESTED TO KIND OF HAVE THEIR OWN EVALUATION OF, OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND WHETHER IT MADE SENSE POTENTIALLY FOR THEM TO, UH, TO, UH, APPLY SOMEWHERE DOWN THE ROAD.
AND WE WILL RE-INSTITUTE THAT PROGRAM ONCE OUR STAFFING, UM, PROBLEMS KIND OF A BAIT.
UM, HOWEVER, WE CONTINUE WITH OUR INTERNSHIP PROGRAM AND, UH, THE INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, UH, PARTS OF IT SPECIFICALLY TARGET, UH, LOOKING AT STUDENTS THAT ARE IN, UH, HBC USE, INCLUDING, UH, HOUSTON TILLOTSON UNIVERSITY, UH, AS WELL AS PRAIRIE VIEW A AND M AS WELL AS OUR HISPANIC OR LATINO POPULATION.
UM, AND TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS A SCHOOL THAT, UH, THAT REALLY HAS GOOD OUTREACH AND GOOD STUDENT POPULATION THAT ARE LATINO.
AND WE ALSO HAVE A PARTNERSHIP WITH THEM.
UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, APD SHOULD RETAIN AN INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT TO CONDUCT A FORMAL VALIDATION STUDY OF ITS PHYSICAL FITNESS REQUIREMENTS AT PRE HIRE, UH, DURING THE ACADEMY AND IN THE JOB OF A POLICE OFFICER, TO ENSURE THAT THE PRE HIRE PHYSICAL ABILITY TEST MEASURES THE CORRECT LEVEL OF PHYSICAL FITNESS WHILE MINIMIZING DISPARATE IMPACT AGAINST WOMEN AND PERSONS OF COLOR.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT APD ACTUALLY, UH, REALIZED, UH, BEFORE THE CROWELL RECOMMENDATIONS CAME OUT AND HAD BEEN WORKING TOWARDS, AND WE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED THE CHANGES STARTING WITH THE 145TH, UH, CADET CLASS.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, REDONE AND I CAN, I HAVE, UH, DR.
JONATHAN KREEGAN IS ON THE LINE AND CAN TALK ABOUT IT.
IF THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT ACTUAL CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE AND WHAT THOSE LOOK LIKE.
BUT, UH, PARTICULARLY WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS PREPARE PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO GET INTO THE ACADEMY, TO NOT HAVE A DESPERATE IMPACT ON PERSONS OF COLOR OR ON FEMALES, AND TO HELP THEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL AS THEY CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH, UH, THAT
[00:10:01]
ACADEMY CLASS.SO, UM, WE'RE, AS I SAID, WE'RE WORKING THE RECRUITING DIVISIONS, WORKING WITH THE RESEARCH AND PLANNING DIVISION, UM, TO MODIFY.
AND WE RECENTLY PUT THOSE MODIFICATIONS INTO PLACE, UM, FOR FITNESS TESTING, UH, PROCESS AND QUALIFICATION CRITERIA.
AND THOSE QUALIFICATIONS WERE BASED ON NATIONAL PERFORMANCE DATA AND THEN FIVE YEARS WORTH OF PERFORMANCE DATA FROM OUR ACADEMY CADETS, UM, THEIR AGE AND GENDER SPECIFIC, UH, NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
SO WITH REGARD TO OUR USE OF FORCE AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF, OUT OF THAT SECTION OF THE REPORT, THERE WERE A NUMBER OF POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE MADE.
AND WHAT I'M GOING TO BE DOING IS, IS KIND OF TALKING ABOUT WHERE THOSE POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED AND WHICH ONES ARE STILL IN, UM, KIND OF IN PROCESS, OR WE'RE STILL WORKING ON.
SO STARTING WITH A 2 0 2 0.1 0.3, WHICH IS A SHOOTING AT MOVING VEHICLES.
UM, WHAT IT DID WAS TO FURTHER CLARIFY THE LANGUAGE ABOUT, UM, THE, WHEN IT IS APPROPRIATE, UM, WHICH IS IN A VERY SMALL NUMBER OF CASES, IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO DISCHARGE A FIREARM AT A MOVING VEHICLE AND, UH, TO ADD LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT CERTAINLY, UM, MADE IT CLEAR TO OFFICERS THAT WHEN A FIREARM IS DISCHARGED AT A MOVING VEHICLE, IT IS UNLIKELY TO STOP THE VEHICLES MOVEMENT.
UM, AND SO THAT MAKING SURE THAT THAT PART WAS IN OUR POLICY, SO THAT OFFICERS HAVE THAT IN MIND.
AND THEN, UM, AS WE, UH, MOVE OUT TRAINING IN THE FUTURE AROUND THAT ISSUE AND OTHER ISSUES WE'RE ABLE TO, UM, INCORPORATE THE NEW POLICY ADJUSTMENTS IN THERE.
SO THAT POLICY HAS BEEN, UH, PUT IN PLACE.
UH, THE NEXT ONE IS, UM, 2 0 2 0.1 0.1 FIREARM DISCHARGED SITUATIONS.
UM, AND THIS REALLY, SO PART OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE COMING FROM THE CRO REPORT.
UH, BUT MANY OF THEM ARE COMING FROM THE ACCOUNT, WAIT, UM, THE, THE, UH, THAT, THAT LITERATURE, AS WELL AS THE REPORT THAT WAS AUTHORED BY THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, UM, AROUND THESE ISSUES THAT HAD SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND HOW WE'VE IMPLEMENTED THOSE, THIS PARTICULAR POLICY RECOMMENDATION CAME FROM THE OPO REPORT.
AND IT WAS REALLY ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT WE REINFORCED WITHIN THE, THE, UM, THE FIREARM DISCHARGED SITUATIONS POLICY, UH, THE SANCTITY OF LIFE.
AND WE ADDED LANGUAGE IN THERE THAT SAID THAT, UH, THE PROTECTION OF LIFE IS THE PRIMARY CORE VALUE AND GUIDING PRINCIPLE OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
ALL EMPLOYEES WILL STRIVE TO PRESERVE HUMAN LIFE WHILE RECOGNIZING THAT DUTY MAY REQUIRE THE USE OF DEADLY FORCE AS A LAST RESORT AFTER OTHER REASONABLE ALTERNATIVES HAVE FAILED OR, OR BEEN DETERMINED AND PRACTICAL.
SO THAT WAS, UM, UH, A STRONG MOVE FORWARD TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE COMPORTING AND, AND MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CERTAINLY, I THINK OUR COMMUNITY WANTS TO SEE AROUND THESE ISSUES.
UM, THERE, THERE WAS ALSO, UM, A PART THAT WAS ADDED IN THIS SECTION ABOUT GIVING WARNINGS, IF DEADLY FORCE IS GOING TO BE USED WHEN WHENEVER THAT IS FEASIBLE, THE NEXT ONE IS A RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE TO HUNDRED 0.3.
AND THIS HAD TO DO SPECIFICALLY WITH CHOKE HOLES AND NECK RESTRAINTS.
UM, IT WAS IMPORTANT FOR A WHILE.
WE HAD ALREADY, UH, RESTRICTED THEIR USE TO LETHAL FORCE SITUATIONS ONLY.
UM, WE DID NOT ADD DEFINITIONS OF EXACTLY WHAT CONSTITUTED A CHOKE HOLD, A STRANGLEHOLD OF VASCULAR NECK RESTRAINT, OR A CAROTID NECK RESTRAINT.
SO THOSE DEFINITIONS HAVE BEEN ADDED TO OUR POLICY TO MAKE SURE THAT OFFICERS KNOW EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WHEN WE PROHIBIT THEIR USE TO THOSE TIMES ONLY WHEN DEADLY FORCE WOULD BE AUTHORIZED THE NEXT POLICY, 200.2 0.1 ASSESSMENT AND DEESCALATION.
UM, THIS WAS REALLY ABOUT ADDING, UH, THE LEVELS OF FORCE, UM, INTO THE POLICY TO MAKE SURE, UH, THAT THE RESISTANCE LEVELS WERE CLEARLY DEFINED, UH, IN POLICY AS WELL AS ADDING, UM, A PART IN THERE THAT, UH, THAT SPOKE ABOUT, UM, COMMUNICATION AND WHETHER COMMUNICATION COULD BE ACHIEVED WITH A PERSON AND, AND HOW THAT MIGHT FIGURE INTO THE OVERALL ROLE OF DEESCALATION.
AND THEN FINALLY, UH, THE LAST ONE, 200.1 0.3 DUTY TO INTERVENE.
UM, AND THIS REALLY HAS TO DO WITH, UH, SOME OF THE POLICY CHANGES THAT WERE SUGGESTED, UH, AGAIN BY THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND, AND BY CROLL, UM, CHANGING THE WORD OUR PREVIOUSLY OUR POLICY ACTUALLY SAID DUTY THE INTERCEDE AND CHANGING THE WORD TO DUTY, TO INTERVENE, UH, VERY DELIBERATE WORD CHANGE, UH, TO MAKE SURE, AND AS WELL AS PUTTING IN, UM, WHILE, LIKE I SAID, WHILE
[00:15:01]
WE HAD A POLICY ALREADY IN PLACE THAT, THAT SAID THAT THAT OFFICERS HAVE THIS DUTY, IF THEY SEE UNLAWFUL FORCE BEING USED TO, TO INTERCEDE THAT TH THAT THEY WILL INTERVENE, THAT THERE WILL BE AN INTERVENTION.AND WHAT THAT INTERVENTION ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE AND GIVES EXAMPLES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO VOICE COMMANDS AND PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE OFFICER THAT'S USING FORCE.
IT ALSO CLARIFIES THAT REGARDLESS OF RANK, IF AN OFFICER OF A LOWER RANK SEES AN OFFICER OF A HIGHER RANK, UM, USING UNREASONABLE FORCE, THAT THERE IS STILL A DUTY TO, TO INTERVENE.
UM, AND THIS IS KIND OF THE LAST SLIDE, AND THEN I'LL OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS, BUT THERE WAS, UM, QUESTIONS REGARDING, UM, THE SPECIFIC USE OF FORCE CASES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY CROLL IN THE PHASE B REPORT.
UM, THERE WERE 20, UH, CASES THAT WERE HIGHLIGHTED IN THAT REPORT, FOLLOWING THE REPORTS ISSUANCE, UM, APD REQUESTED THE SPECIFIC CASE NUMBERS THAT WERE, UH, THAT WENT WITH THOSE SO THAT WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THEM AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAD BEEN REVIEWED.
SO ALL 20 HAD GONE THROUGH THE REVIEW PROCESS, AND I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CLEAR THAT THEY HAD BEEN REVIEWED.
UM, ONE WAS A, UH, WHAT ARE OUR HIGHEST LEVEL OF FORCE IS A LEVEL ONE.
UM, AND ABOUT 80% OF OUR, UH, USE REPORTED USE OF FORCE FALLS IN THAT VERY LOWEST CATEGORY.
IS IT THE HIGHER YOU GO? THE SMALLER, THE NUMBER OF CASES THAT, THAT WE HAVE? SO ONE OF THE 20 WAS, UH, CLASSIFIED AS A LEVEL ONE AND LEVEL ONES, UH, ALWAYS ARE REFERRED TO THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT FOR REVIEW BY THAT UNIT AND BY THE DA'S OFFICE.
THE OTHER 19 WERE REVIEWED THROUGH THE, UM, UM, THE IRP PROCESS OR INCIDENT REVIEW PRO UH, PACKET PROCESS BY THE INDIVIDUAL CHAINS OF COMMAND WE SENT ALL 19 OF THOSE BACK THROUGH, THROUGH OUR NEW FORCE REVIEW UNIT, UH, TO BE RE REVIEWED, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT THE CHAINS OF COMMAND HAD NOT, UM, HAD NOT MISSED SOMETHING OR, UM, KIND OF MISS EVALUATED THE USE OF FORCE.
IT WAS DETERMINED THAT ALL WERE OBJECTIVES REASONABLE AND WITHIN LAW AND POLICY BASED ON THE TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO, TO NOTE THAT, UM, MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES THAT CROLE MENTIONED IN THE REPORT WERE, WERE HIGHLIGHTED AND, AND WERE CAUGHT IN THAT INCIDENT REVIEW PROCESS.
AND SO THEY HAD BEEN, UM, DEALT WITH THROUGH EITHER FORMAL OR INFORMAL TRAINING OR COUNSELING.
UM, AND, AND SO IT, I WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT IT'S NOT LIKE WE DIDN'T SEE THE SAME THINGS THAT CROLL DID.
IT'S THOSE, THOSE WERE HANDLED AT THE TIME THROUGH THAT PROCESS, THREE OF THE 19 CASES WERE REVIEWED BY THE FORCE REVIEW BOARD.
UM, WE NO LONGER HAVE A FORCE REVIEW BOARD, BUT WHAT IT WAS AT THE TIME WAS, UM, THE TRAINING COMMANDER.
WE HAD A MEMBER OF CITY LEGAL, UH, THE POLICE, UH, THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT HAD A MEMBER ON THAT BOARD, AS WELL AS SEVERAL OTHER COMMANDERS THAT WOULD INDEPENDENTLY REVIEW, UM, THESE USE OF FORCE CASES OUTSIDE OF THE CHAIN OF COMMAND.
WHAT WE DO NOW, AND I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT IS, IS WHAT I'M GOING TO CALL MY, OUR FORCE REVIEW UNIT.
THE FR YOU IS, WAS JUST STOOD UP IN 2021.
AND, UM, WHAT IT DID WAS TAKE ALL OF THE USE OF FORCE REVIEWS OUT OF THE CHAINS OF COMMAND THAT, UM, THOSE OFFICERS RESIDE IN.
AND IT NOW GOES TO A CENTRALIZED LOCATION, A GROUP OF SPECIALIZED AND, AND TRAINED, UH, INVESTIGATORS THAT ARE AT THE RANK OF SERGEANT TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW THOSE CASES, INDEPENDENT OF THE CHAINS OF COMMAND WHO MIGHT FEEL DIFFERENTLY, OR MIGHT, YOU KNOW, THERE MIGHT BE A PERCEIVED BIAS BECAUSE THAT'S THEIR OFFICER.
IN MANY CASES, THE SERGEANTS DON'T KNOW THE OFFICER, ALL THEY DO IS THEY LOOK AT THE CONDUCT AND, UM, AND THEN THAT IS OVERSEEN BY A LIEUTENANT.
UH, WE, WE, UH, SEND THOSE, UH, INVESTIGATORS TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF TRAINING, UM, AND HAVE FOUND THAT IT IS A MUCH BETTER PROCESS.
AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE'VE DONE IS CREATED A FORCE REVIEW BOARD THAT LOOKS AT EVERY CASE, NOT JUST A SAMPLING OF CASES.
SO, UM, SO LIKE I SAID, WE SENT ALL OF THOSE CASES BACK THROUGH THE FORCE REVIEW UNIT, AND THEY WERE DETERMINED TO BE WITH THEM LAW AND POLICY, UH, LAST SLIDE.
AND THIS IS, UM, I'M CERTAINLY GLAD TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, UH, THAT THE COMMISSIONERS MIGHT HAVE.
AND I DO HAVE, UM, CHIEF, UH, KATHERINE JOHNSON, UH, WHO OVERSEES OUR, UM, OUR ACADEMY AND OUR TRAINING AND RECRUITING.
JONATHAN KREEGAN IS ALSO ONLINE.
[00:20:01]
A QUESTION ABOUT THE DATA, UM, AND HOW WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE THAT BETTER OR ANYTHING THAT I SPECIFICALLY SPOKE ABOUT JUST NOW.THANK YOU FOR GETTING THE COMMISSIONERS BACK UP ON THE SCREEN.
UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE QUESTIONS? OKAY.
I SEE COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT, COMMISSIONER WEBBER.
UM, WE'LL TAKE THOSE IN THAT ORDER AND LET'S, UM, AND WE ARE A LITTLE SHORT ON TIME, SO LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE GIVE EVERYBODY A CHANCE TO ASK QUESTIONS.
SO COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT, STARTING WITH YOU.
I CAN'T SEE ON MY SCREEN ANYMORE.
IT'S UM, IT'S GOOD TO VIRTUALLY SORT OF SEE YOU, UM, THERE YOU ARE.
UH, UM, I, I JUST WANTED TO BACKTRACK A LITTLE, I NOTICED, UM, I THINK WE DIDN'T REALLY TALK ABOUT STOP AND FRISK AT ALL.
AND IS THAT RIGHT? NO, I DID NOT MENTION STOP AND FRISK.
JUST CHECKING, UM, TO GO BACK TO THE, UM, THE, THE RECRUITMENT, UM, HAVE YOU ALL EVER THOUGHT ABOUT RUNNING A RECRUITMENT CLASS THAT WAS ALL FEMALE WITH ALL FEMALE TRAINERS.
UM, NO, I DON'T THINK THAT THAT THOUGHT, WELL, I CAN'T SAY WE'VE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT, BUT I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD AS AN OPTION, UH, SIMPLY BECAUSE WE DON'T RECEIVE ENOUGH FEMALE APPLICANTS TO BE ABLE TO PUT A CLASS TOGETHER LIKE THAT NOW WOULD THAT DRUM UP MORE INTEREST POTENTIALLY.
UM, BUT THEN I'D HAVE TO HAVE AN ALL FEMALE, UH, TRAINING CADRE AND, UM, AND DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT NOW.
SO, LIKE I SAID, RIGHT NOW, OUR DEPARTMENT IS 11% FEMALE.
UH, WE DO HAVE A HEALTHY PRESENCE OF WOMEN AT THE ACADEMY.
UH, AND IT'S ACTUALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, IT RESIDES UNDER, UNDER A FEMALE LEADERSHIP OUT THERE.
SO, UH, BUT NO, THAT WE'VE NEVER REALLY GONE DOWN THAT ROAD.
IT MIGHT NOT BE LEGAL, SO MIGHT NOT BE THE BEST IDEA, BUT, UH, JUST THE THOUGHT COMMISSIONER, WHATEVER.
UH, YES, CHIEF, THANK YOU FOR COMING.
MY QUESTION IS ABOUT YOUR LAST SLIDE BEFORE THE QUESTIONS.
UM, SLIDE, WE ALL, PLEASE PUT THAT BACK UP IF YOU CAN.
SO IT'S A LITTLE CONFUSING, THE POOREST REVIEW UNIT VERSUS FORCE REVIEW BOARD VERSUS INCIDENT REVIEW PROCESS.
UM, I THINK MAYBE THAT NEEDS A LITTLE MORE CLARITY AROUND IT.
WHAT HAS, WHAT HAS CHANGED? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
SO LET ME JUST GIVE, HOPEFULLY I CAN HELP CLARIFY FOR YOU COMMISSIONER AND, AND, UH, UH, TALK ABOUT, UH, THE CHANGES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE.
UM, SO PREVIOUSLY, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF AN OFFICER WAS INVOLVED, ANYTHING, UH, STARTING AT A LEVEL TWO OR BELOW FROM TWO, THREE OR FOUR, THOSE WOULD BE REVIEWED BY THE CHAINS OF COMMAND BY THE INDIVIDUAL CHANGE THE COMMAND.
IT WOULD GO THROUGH A PROCESS WHERE THE SERGEANT WOULD LOOK AT IT.
THE LIEUTENANT WOULD LOOK AT IT, THE COMMANDER WOULD LOOK AT IT DEPENDING ON WHAT KIND OF CASE IT WAS.
WE MIGHT HAVE A SECONDARY COMMANDER THAT LOOKS AT IT.
UM, AND WHAT WE SAW OVER TIME WAS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE OFFICERS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ENGAGED IN VERY SIMILAR CONDUCT.
UM, BUT YOU HAD CHAINS OF COMMAND THAT WERE LOOKING AT THAT DIFFERENTLY.
YOU MIGHT HAVE ONE CHAIN OF COMMAND THAT, THAT SAID, UH, YES, THIS IS REASONABLE AND A DIFFERENT CHAIN OF COMMAND THAT WAS, MAYBE HAVE PROBLEMS WITH PARTS OF IT OR, OR ALL OF IT.
AND IT JUST WAS NOT A CONSISTENT PROCESS.
THE FORCE REVIEW BOARD WAS A PART OF THAT.
AND WHAT HAPPENED ON THOSE WAS THE LEVEL TWOS OR THE HIGH, BASICALLY THE HIGHEST LEVEL INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED, UH, WITHIN A CHAIN OF COMMANDS PURVIEW, UH, WENT TO THE FORCE REVIEW BOARD.
AND THAT WAS AN INDEPENDENT BOARD.
UH, I SAY INDEPENDENT, INDEPENDENT OF THAT CHAIN OF COMMAND, UM, TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW IT.
AND IT HAD A MEMBER, LIKE I SAID, OF CITY LEGAL, IT HAD THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND HAD THE TRAINING COMMANDER, UH, THE INTERNAL AFFAIRS, UH, COMMANDER WAS IN IT TO BE ABLE TO REVIEW THE FORCE AND TO PROVIDE, UH, FEEDBACK ON IT.
SO WHAT WE DID WAS WE GOT RID OF THE IRPS AND THE FRB.
NOW THE IRP IS, UH, THE ONLY THING THAT STILL HAPPENS IN THAT PART IS THAT THERE'S AN ON-SCENE, UH, INVESTIGATION THAT OCCURS AT ANY, UH, USE OF FORCE INCIDENT OR RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE INCIDENT.
AND, UM, AND THAT WE HAVE INTERVIEWS THAT ARE CONDUCTED, BUT ALL THAT INFORMATION THEN IS REFERRED TO OUR FORCE REVIEW UNIT.
IN 2021, WE ACTUALLY STARTED A UNIT.
UM, I BELIEVE IT HAS NINE SERGEANTS AND A LIEUTENANT THAT ALL THEY DO IS REVIEW FORCE FOR
[00:25:01]
OUR DEPARTMENT.UM, W LIKE I SAID, WE'RE SENDING THEM TO TRAINING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY HAVE, UM, THE BEST TRAINING IN THE FIELD.
UH, AND, UH, FROM A CONSISTENCY STANDPOINT, UH, EVERYTHING NOW IS FUNNELING THROUGH ESSENTIALLY ONE LIEUTENANT WHO HA, WHO IS REVIEWING THE ACTUAL INCIDENTS ARE REVIEWED BY THE SERGEANTS.
AND THEN THAT GOES TO THE LIEUTENANT WHO DOES, UM, TO WHO DOES A REVIEW AND, AND CAN BRING ANY ISSUES IF THEY SEE ANY ISSUES THAT THERE'S A VIOLATION OF POLICY OR LAW, THEN THAT IS SENT BACK TO THE CHAIN OF COMMAND WITH THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS TO GO AHEAD AND FORWARD THEM ON.
AND THEN THEY ARE FORWARDED ONTO INTERNAL AFFAIRS OR TO THE SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT.
THANKS FOR CLARIFYING THE UNIT.
I THINK THAT'S A REALLY POSITIVE CHANGE.
SO THANK YOU FOR THAT REALLY QUICK CHAIR.
ONE MORE QUESTION IS JUST THE LAST BULLET POINT SAYS THAT MANY OF THE ISSUES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE INTERNAL PROCESS.
MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT WERE IDENTIFIED BY THE OUTSIDE AUDITOR WERE ALSO IDENTIFIED IN THE INTERNAL PROCESS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY, THEY WEREN'T IDENTIFIED THE FIRST TIME AROUND, RIGHT.
WHEN THEY WERE REVIEWED, THEY WERE ONLY IDENTIFIED AFTER THOSE CASES WERE FLAGGED BY CROWELL AND THEY WERE RE REVIEWED.
IS THAT CORRECT? UM, NOT ENTIRELY.
UH, MOST OF THE ISSUES WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE ORIGINAL REVIEW AND WERE ADDRESSED BY THE CHAIN OF COMMAND AS BEING, YOU KNOW, THEY NEEDED ADDITIONAL TRAINING.
MAYBE IT WAS, YOU KNOW, UM, A DEESCALATION ISSUE OR, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
UM, I THINK WE DID HAVE ONE OR TWO THAT, UH, WERE ADDITIONAL ISSUES THAT WERE CAUGHT IN THE FIU REVIEW, UM, THAT WERE NOT CAUGHT BY THE ORIGINAL CHAIN, BUT, UM, BUT IT WAS A SMALL NUMBER, COMMISSIONER GONZALES.
I TEACH CON THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, UM, COMING TO SPEAK TO US.
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR TIME.
UM, SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I HAVE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT STUCK OUT FROM THE CRO REPORT WAS, UH, SUPERVISORY ISSUES, RIGHT.
AND ISSUES AND CHAIN OF COMMAND.
UM, I DON'T REALLY, I, I LOVE ALL THE OTHER STUFF YOU'VE REPORTED ABOUT THE, UH, THE TRAININGS AND WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
AND I THINK THAT'S A HUGE ISSUE IN BRINGING THE FORCE UP TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE TO SEE IF THERE IS OTHER, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE SLOWLY ROLLING THESE THINGS OUT.
IT'S A LONG REPORT WITH LOTS OF STUFF, BUT I REALLY WOULD LOVE THERE TO BE A MECHANISM FOR YOU TO REPORT BACK TO US, UH, ON A MONTHLY BASIS ON WHAT'S HAPPENING.
BECAUSE I THINK A LOT OF THE THINGS, THE KROLL REPORT, UM, POINTED OUT ARE NOT GOING TO BE SOLVED SO SIMPLY, AND I WOULD LOVE TO REQUEST THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THIS ON OUR TIME AND CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT THIS BECAUSE THESE THINGS ARE VERY IMPORTANT AND WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ASSISTING YOU IN GETTING WHAT YOU NEED TO GET YOUR JOB DONE.
AND THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT AND SUPER TIMELY, AND WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THOSE MECHANISMS IN PLACE.
SO I JUST REQUEST THAT YOU KEEP THESE UPDATES COMING AS YOU'RE TACKLING THE STOP AND FRISK AND THE, THE CHAIN OF COMMAND ISSUES, WHICH I THINK THOSE GO HAND IN HAND, I WOULD LOVE TO GET MORE, UH, UPDATES FROM YOU.
I APPRECIATE THAT COMMISSIONER.
ONE THING THAT I DO WANT TO JUST HIGHLIGHT, UM, AT LEAST PART OF THE CRO REPORT WHEN IT CAME TO SUPERVISORY ISSUES WAS THAT, YOU KNOW, SUPERVISORS SAW THIS AND THEY DIDN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT.
UM, AND, AND SO, YOU KNOW, I JUST, AGAIN, KIND OF POINTED OVER TO OUR FORCE REVIEW UNIT, WHICH WE HAVE TAKEN THOSE, UH, REVIEWS OF EVERY SINGLE RESPONSE TO RESISTANCE OR USE OF FORCE IN OUR DEPARTMENT IS NOW GOING TO A CENTRALIZED UNIT THAT, YOU KNOW, FROM MY PERSPECTIVE REALLY DOESN'T HAVE SKIN IN THE GAME.
YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY, UH, THIS IS NOT THEIR OFFICER.
THIS IS, THEY'RE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT PARTICULAR AREA OF TOWN NECESSARILY.
ALL THEY'RE THERE TO DO IS RE IS TO REVIEW THE FORCE.
AND SO TO US, IT'S A MUCH CLEANER PROCESS, UH, MAKES A WHOLE LOT MORE SENSE, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY SEEING A BETTER RESULTS, UH, FROM A, FROM A CONSISTENCY STANDPOINT.
THANK YOU, CHIEF CHICKEN WITH THAT.
UM, WE ARE OUT OF TIME FOR THIS ITEM.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
[3.a. Public Safety Organizations Quarterly Report – Austin Fire Department (sponsors: Commissioner Hausenfluck and Gonzales) 4:35pm-4:50pm ]
OUR AGENDA IS NEW BUSINESS AND WE ARE GOING TO BE GETTING OUR QUARTERLY REPORT FROM THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT FROM CHIEF WADE.ALRIGHT, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONERS FOR, UH, ALLOWING ME TO HERE.
I AM THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF OPERATIONS FOR THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, CHIEF VIARS IS OUT OF THE OFFICE TODAY, SO I AM FILLING IN FOR HIM.
SO I'M GLAD TO BE DOING THIS AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY WE'RE GOING TO BE GOING OVER THE, UM, FIRST QUARTER FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020, AND ALSO HAVE A
[00:30:01]
LITTLE BIT OF THE SECOND QUARTER INVOLVED IN THIS REPORT AS WELL.SO YOU'LL SEE THOSE NUMBERS ON DIFFERENT SLIDES FROM THE FIRST QUARTER.
AND SOME OF THEM WILL HAVE BOTH FROM THE FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER, IF, UM, WE COULD PULL THE PRESENTATION UP FOR THIS ALL RIGHT.
AND YOU CAN MOVE ONE SLIDE FORWARD, PLEASE.
THIS IS A GRAPH SHOWING OUR REQUEST FOR SERVICE AND OPERATIONS, UH, FOR THE FIRST QUARTER.
UH, IT IS A COMPARISON FROM THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2021 TO FISCAL YEAR 2022.
THE BLUE IS THE HIGHLIGHT FOR 21.
AND THE GOLD YOU WILL SEE IS FOR THIS CURRENT QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 2022, ACROSS THE BOARD, THERE IS A RISE IN INCIDENTS, AS YOU CAN SEE, THIS IS BROKEN OUT BY COUNCIL DISTRICT AND EACH DISTRICT DID HAVE A RISE IN INCIDENTS THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT DID RESPOND TO.
AND THIS COVERS ALL PRIORITIES FROM PARTY ONES TO THE LOWEST PRIORITY IN WHICH WE COULD BE RESPONDING CODE ONE TO A SERVICE CALL, SUCH AS AN ALARM ACTIVATION AT A BUILDING SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS FURTHER BREAKS DOWN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD.
YOU CAN SEE ON THE LEFT, THE BREAKOUT OF CALLS, THE BLUE REPRESENTS THE MEDICAL, WHICH IS ROUGHLY 70 SOMETHING PERCENT OF OUR INCIDENTS.
UM, AND THEY MAKE UP A VAST MAJORITY.
AS YOU LOOK AT 2022, WE RAN ALMOST 16,000 OR ALMOST 17,000 MEDICAL INCIDENTS IN THE QUARTER AND ALMOST 1500 FIRE INCIDENTS.
UH, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE THE OTHER IN GRAY, WHICH IS TRADITIONALLY ARE LOWER PRIORITY INCIDENTS, SUCH AS, UH, SMOKE INVESTIGATION OR POSSIBLY ALARM ACTIVATIONS OR JUST PUBLIC SERVICE.
AND THEN WE HAVE THE BREAKOUT FOR HAZARDOUS MATERIALS AND, UM, THE RESCUES SUCH AS VEHICLE RESCUES OR RESCUES OUT IN GREEN BELTS, THAT, THAT WE WERE RESPOND TO SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS BROKEN OUT, UH, AS THE SLIDE OR THE FIRST SLIDE THAT WE LOOKED AT WITH THE GRASS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT WITH THE SAME TIME PERIOD OF BLUE REPRESENTING THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2021 AND THE GOLD REPRESENTING, UH, 2020 TWOS FIRST QUARTER, THIS IS FOR ACTUAL EMERGENCY INCIDENTS.
SO THIS IS A HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS, UH, PRIORITY ONE FIRES, UM, PARTY ONE MEDICAL CALLS, PARTY TWOS, AND YOU CAN SEE THE HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS ARE ALSO INCREASING, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, AMONGST ALL DISTRICTS IN THE CITY.
AND I THINK IS A REPRESENTATION OF A GROWING CITY AND A GROWING DEMAND ON OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES THAT, THAT WE RESPOND TO SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS THE SAME TYPE OF BREAKDOWN FOR THOSE INCIDENTS IN WHICH YOU WILL SEE THE, THE MEDICAL CALLS AGAIN ARE, UH, UH, HIGH NUMBER OF CALLS.
UM, BUT THE FIRE INCIDENTS THAT WE WERE GOING TO AS WELL ARE THE HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS, WHICH ARE CAR FIRES, BUILDING FIRES, UH, IN MANY INHABITED STRUCTURES.
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT HERE IS THE RESPONSE TIME COMPARISONS FROM THE FIRST QUARTER OF LAST YEAR AND TO THIS YEAR, UM, YOU WILL SEE MAINLY ACROSS THE BOARD OF OUR RESPONSE TIMES GOING DOWN, WHICH IS A GOOD THING, UM, EXCEPT IN ONE DISTRICT DISTRICT NINE, THE RESPONSE TIME ACTUALLY INCREASED JUST A BIT.
AND AS YOU'RE PROBABLY VERY FAMILIAR, DISTRICT NINE IS THE DOWNTOWN REGION, WHICH AS THE COMMUNITY ENGAGES BACK INTO ENTERTAINMENT, DISTRICT AND FESTIVALS AND GOING OUT MORE, IT IS, UH, A LOT MORE TROUBLESOME TRYING TO GET AROUND THE STREETS IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.
SO THAT'S WHY WE SEE THAT INCREASE, UH, WHERE IT GETS A LITTLE MORE CONGESTED IN THIS DISTRICT.
UM, ALTHOUGH THE RESPONSE TIMES DID GO DOWN, UH, WE ARE STILL A LITTLE BIT OFF OUR GOAL.
WE SEEK TO ARRIVE, UH, WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES FROM THE CALL OF, UM, OUR CALL-TAKERS RECEIVE IT TO THE FIRST UNIT GETS ON SCENE ARE EIGHT MINUTES IS OUR GOAL.
AND WE TRY TO DO THAT 90% OF THE TIME.
SO WE ARE JUST OFF, MOVING INTO SOME OF THE COVID NUMBERS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, TODAY YOU'LL SEE THE, UH, QUARTER ONE, WE WERE HAD 107
[00:35:02]
POSITIVE CASES IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.UM, THAT WAS AS THE, THE, UH, UPTICK THAT WE SAW AMONGST THE COMMUNITY AND THE NATION.
AND THEN AS WE BROKE INTO THE QUARTER TO, AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR, UM, THERE WAS A DRASTIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF, UH, POSITIVE CASES IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHICH SHOWS 396, UH, THAT WAS DURING THE TIME OF THE OMNICON VARIANT.
AND, UH, WHILE IT DID, IN FACT, MANY OF OUR MEMBERS, WE WERE FORTUNATE NOT TO HAVE ANY SERIOUS, UM, HOSPITALIZATIONS OR ILLNESSES WITH IT.
MANY OF OUR WORKERS WERE TESTED POSITIVE, BUT CAME BACK TO WORK FAIRLY QUICKLY.
UH, TODAY WE'VE HAD 909 OF OUR MEMBERS, UH, TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE VACCINE REACTIONS AND THEN DOWN AT THE BOTTOM AS OF MARCH 24, WHICH THE NUMBERS APPROXIMATELY I THINK WE'VE HAD ONE OR TWO COME BACK.
WE HAD FIVE OFF AROUND MARCH 24TH.
THIS IS ANOTHER CHART JUST SHOWING THE, UH, THE PEAK THAT WE EXPERIENCED IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND DURING THAT PEAK, THAT 396 AS IT ROSE TO THAT, UM, I WANT TO COMMEND THE, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT CHOW.
IT WAS CHALLENGING STAFFING DURING THAT MANY VACANCIES, BUT THE, UH, THE MEMBERS, UH, CAME TO WORK EVERY DAY AND WORKED HARD TO FILL THOSE VACANCIES AND KEEP THE TRUCKS ON THE STREET.
HERE'S A REPRESENTATION OF THE VACCINE EFFORTS.
THIS IS ALL JUST FROM THE PUBLIC SAFETY WELLNESS CENTER.
UM, THEY HAVE DELIVERED 2,185 SHOTS TO THE MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
EMS AND APD IS, IS SHOWN UP THERE AS WELL AT 1200 AND 3000.
UM, AGAIN, THESE ARE JUST WHAT WELLNESS HAS DONE, AND YOU CAN SEE THE NUMBERS DOWN BELOW OF OUR SWORN AND CIVILIAN PERSONNEL WHO ARE VACCINATED.
UM, THIS NUMBER COULD BE HIGHER AS, UH, SOME MEMBERS HAVE GONE OUT TO THEIR OWN PRIVATE, UM, PHYSICIANS, OR THEY MAY HAVE GOTTEN A VACCINATION AT ANOTHER SITE.
THIS IS JUST WHAT WELLNESS HAS, UH, TABULATED WITH WHAT THEY'VE GIVEN.
UH, CURRENTLY WE JUST STARTED A SECOND CLASS, UH, THAT BEGAN ON, UH, IN MARCH.
AND THAT WAS THE LAST WEEK WE STARTED WITH 48 CADETS OUT OF THAT CLASS.
UM, WE ALSO HAVE CLASS 1 33 THAT IS ALSO IN SESSION.
THERE ARE APPROXIMATELY 11 TO 12 WEEKS IN THEIR ACADEMY.
UM, SO WE HAVE TWO CADET CLASSES GOING ON AT THIS TIME.
1 33 HAS 44 CADETS, AND THEN 1 34 AS OF TODAY STILL HAS 48 CADETS WITHIN THE CLASS.
AND THEN YOU CAN SEE THE DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN, UH, AMONGST THE TWO CLASSES, UH, AT HAND.
WELL, WE WERE THINKING OF LIKE, UM, THIS IS, UH, SOME NEW SLIDES THAT WE'RE PUTTING IN.
UM, THE OFFICE OF THE FIRE MARSHAL, THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS A BIG PART OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE GREATER COMMUNITY HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS, UH, THE GROWTH AND THE DEVELOPMENT, UH, OCCURS ALL OVER THE CITY.
THE FIRE MARSHALL OFFICE HAS A PIECE OF THAT AT EVERY STEP.
AND, UH, THIS JUST SHOWS SOME OF THE, UH, THE PLANS REVIEWS.
WE TRY TO REVIEW, UM, UH, ALL THE PLANS.
OUR GOAL IS 85% OF THE PLANS TO BE REVIEWED ON TIME.
AND YOU CAN SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THE HISTORICAL DATA WITH THAT.
WE HAVE INCREASED IN EFFICIENCY.
UM, SOME OF THAT HAS BEEN DUE TO POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE RECEIVED THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS, WHICH IS, WAS, WE WERE VERY THANKFUL TO GET, UH, AND SOME OF THAT WAS HAVING TO REARRANGE, UH, POSITIONS WHEN THE OFFICE TO TRY TO MEET THAT GOAL, WHICH CAN BE EXTREMELY CHALLENGING AT TIMES, JUST AS OUR CITY CONTINUES TO GROW.
UM, THE COMPARISON NUMBERS OVER TO THE RIGHT 4 21 AND THE QUARTER WAS 78.
AND THIS PAST QUARTER, AS I PUT SOME FOCUS ON IT IS 84.7%.
YOU'LL SEE THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF INSPECTIONS THAT HAS BEEN PERFORMED OUT OF THE OFFICE FOR THE QUARTER, UM, IN QUARTER ONE OF 2020 TO 7,520.
AND THAT IS INSPECTIONS THAT COVER, UH, WHAT WE CALL MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS, WHICH IS, UH, OCCUPANCIES THAT ALREADY OPERATING.
WE HAVE HAZMAT INSPECTIONS AND INSERVICE INSPECTIONS.
SO THAT COVERS THE FULL RANGE OF IT, UH, DOWN BELOW THE NUMBER THAT SAYS TECHNICAL INSPECTIONS, THOSE ARE ALL NEW, UM, CONSTRUCTION, UH, AND NEW BUILDS THAT ARE INSPECTORS GETTING OUT.
AND IN THE FIRST QUARTER THEY HAD 2,782
[00:40:02]
INSPECTIONS ON NEW CONSTRUCTION.SO QUITE THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT HERE IN THE CITY, THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE IS A TOOL THAT THE FIRE MARSHALL'S OFFICE USES TO MONITOR, UM, FIRE MAINTENANCE OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS. UH, WE PUT THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE INTO PLACE AROUND THE FISCAL YEAR 18, AND THAT IS WHERE YOU CAN SEE A LARGE JUMP IN OUR ABILITY TO KEEP TRACK OF OPERATING FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS WITHIN THE CITY.
PRIOR TO THAT, IT WAS, UM, EITHER PAPER OR BY KNOWLEDGE OR WHAT WAS REPORTED.
AND THIS PROGRAM IS, IS MORE AUTOMATED WHERE OCCUPANCIES GET ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEM AND WE GET REGULAR AND TIMELY UPDATES.
UH, WHILE WE DON'T HAVE A HUNDRED PERCENT IN THE SYSTEM, YET WE, WE WORK EVERYDAY TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
UH, EVERY NEW CONSTRUCTION AS THEY COME IN, GETS PUT INTO THAT SYSTEM.
UM, BUT WE HAVE A HIGH RATE OF, UM, ENROLLEES INTO THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE.
THIS CAME INTO PLAY DURING THE WINTER STORM URI.
UM, WHEN WE SAW MANY FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS GO DOWN TO TWO WATER BREAKS AND GO OFFLINE, UH, THIS ALLOWED US TO TRACK AND FOLLOW UP TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS DID GET PUT BACK IN PLACE, UH, TO DO WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO DO AND PROTECT THE OCCUPANTS OF THOSE BUILDINGS.
ANOTHER BIG SECTION OF THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS A THEY'RE PART OF THE SPECIAL EVENTS, AND THEY DO THE PERMITTING AND INSPECTIONS FOR THE MANY SPECIAL EVENTS THAT OCCUR HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, THERE WAS, AS WE ALL KNOW, A SMALL HIATUS OF SPECIAL EVENTS, UH, ONCE THE PANDEMIC HIT, BUT WE ARE NOW GETTING BACK INTO FULL SWING OF SPECIAL EVENTS.
YOU CAN SEE IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 20, 20 TO 218 SPECIAL EVENTS THAT THE FIRE MARSHALL'S OFFICE WAS INVOLVED IN, UH, AND YOU HAVE EVERYTHING FROM THE LARGE SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND NASCAR TO SMALLER VENUES AND, UH, SETTINGS FROM THE, UH, UH, FRATERNITY HOUSES AND SORORITY HOUSES.
OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS INVOLVED IN ALL OF THOSE, MAKING SURE THAT THE, UH, EVENT IS SET UP APPROPRIATELY AND TO CODE FOR EVERYBODY'S SAFETY.
ANOTHER PIECE THAT KIND OF ROUNDS OUT OUR FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE IS THE FIRE INVESTIGATIONS.
AND THAT IS OUR, UH, ARSON DIVISION.
AND THAT IS OUR TEAM OF INVESTIGATORS THAT GO OUT TO FIRES.
THEY HELP WITH CAUSE DETERMINATION.
IF OUR INCIDENT COMMANDERS CANNOT DETERMINE WHAT THE CAUSES, UH, OR IF THERE IS A, THE POTENTIAL THAT THEY THINK IT WAS A CRIMINAL ACT, THEN THE FIRE MARSHALL'S OFFICE THROUGH THE ARSON INVESTIGATORS WILL COME OUT.
UM, WE HAVE BEEN QUITE BUSY AS, AS WE'VE HAD A NUMEROUS FIRES, AS YOU SAW FROM THE OTHER REPORTS OF OVER A THOUSAND FIRES IN THE QUARTER.
AND THE OFFICE HAS IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 61% CLEARANCE RATE FOR ARSON FIRES IN THE SECOND QUARTER, 44%.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE NATIONAL CLEARANCE RATE ACROSS THE COUNTRY BEING 22%, UM, THAT IS JUST FROM THE, THE HARD WORK DEDICATION OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OVER IN OUR ARSON DIVISION, UH, BEING WELL-TRAINED BEING DEDICATED.
THEY GET TO OUR INCIDENTS AS EARLY AS POSSIBLE TO START THE PROCESS OF CAUSE DETERMINATION, UH, AND THEN SEEKING TO CLEAR THOSE CASES OUT.
THEY'VE DONE EXCEPTIONALLY WELL FOR US WITH OUR WILDFIRE DIVISION.
UM, BELIEVE THOSE NUMBERS SHOULD BE, INSTEAD OF FYI, 21 SHOULD BE F Y 22.
AND I APOLOGIZE, THE FIRST QUARTER WE HAD 656 ACRES TREATED, UH, IN THE SECOND QUARTER, 435, UM, THAT IS DONE THROUGH TWO DIFFERENT WAYS.
SOME OF IT IS THROUGH ACTUAL WHAT THEY CALL MECHANICAL THINNING, OR THAT IS GOING OUT WITH CHAINSAWS CLEARING BRUSH AND CREATING WHAT WE CALL SHADED FUEL BREAKS AMONGST, UH, LIKE LINES FROM GREEN SPACES TO WHERE HOMES OR COMMUNITIES COULD BE.
UH, THE OTHER IS THROUGH PRESCRIBED BURNS, AND WE HAVE DONE A NUMBER OF PRESCRIBED BURNS HERE, BUT WE'VE ALSO ASSISTED, UH, OTHER, UM, CITY AGENCIES THAT ARE LANDOWNERS WITH PRESCRIBED BURNS AS WELL, UH, TO, TO TREAT SOME OF THE LAND WE'VE ALSO IMPLEMENTED RECENTLY, UM, A HIGH FIRE DANGER KIND OF STEP UP PLAN.
AND WHAT WE DO WITH THAT WHEN WE ARE, UM, HAVE WEATHER CONDITIONS THAT SHOW US TO HAVE A SEVERE OR HIGH FIRE DANGER ALONG WITH RED FLAG DAYS, UM, WE HAVE A STEP-UP PLAN IN WHICH WE GET THE FIRE REPORTING, UH, THERE'S RECOMMENDATIONS THAT COME WITH IT.
THE WILDFIRE DIVISION WILL STAFF ADDITIONAL BRUSH TRUCKS AND, UH, UM, SPECIAL EXPERTISE PERSONNEL WITHIN THE DIVISION.
AND THEN WE WILL ALSO INCREASE OUR BRUSH TRUCK STAFFING ACROSS THE
[00:45:01]
CITY, UH, TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND MORE, UH, EFFICIENTLY AND EFFECTIVELY IF GRASS FIRES START.WE WILL ALSO ON ANY DAYS THAT THAT IS DEEMED VERY HIGH OR RED FLAGS, OUR DISPATCH CENTER WILL TAKE CALLS AND THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY UPGRADE AND ALARM BY ONE.
SO IF IT IS A GRASS FIRE, UH, INSTEAD OF RESPONDING JUST ONE ENGINE TO A GRASS FIRE, THEY WILL AUTOMATICALLY UPDATE IT TO, UM, A LIGHT BRUSH ALARM, WHICH CAN GET YOU A BRUSH TRUCK AND TWO ENGINES.
UH, SO WE TRY TO INCREASE THE RESPONSE TO EACH ONE OF THOSE DURING THE HIGH WILDFIRE DANGER DAYS, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH.
UH, NOW THAT WE HAVE HAD A, UM, SOMEWHAT OF A LULL WITH SOME OF THE PANDEMIC, THEY'RE LOOKING TO GET BACK OUT INTO THE PUBLIC AND IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, WHILE WE TOOK A, UH, HAD TO TAKE A BREAK ON SOME OF THE SMOKE DETECTOR CANVASSING DRIVES, WHERE WE WOULD GO OUT IN NEIGHBORHOODS AND KNOCK ON DOORS AND, AND WORK TO INSTALL SMOKE DETECTORS, UH, THAT WAS PUT ON PAUSE DURING THE PANDEMIC.
WE'RE LOOKING TO START THAT BACK UP.
UH, WE NEVER FULLY STOPPED INSTALLING SMOKE DETECTORS, UH, INSIDE HOMES AS THAT IS ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIFE SAVING DEVICES WE CAN HAVE IN, IN THE OCCUPANCIES.
UH, IT WAS JUST DONE WHEN OUR, UM, UH, SOMEONE FROM THE COMMUNITY WOULD ASK SPECIFICALLY FOR A SMOKE DETECTOR, WE WOULD GO OUT AND HELP INSTALL ONE.
OR IF OUR CREWS WERE INSIDE A HOME AND SAW THAT THEY NEEDED TO PUT ON UP, THE CREWS WOULD PUT ONE UP.
SO WE WERE STILL INSTALLING SMOKE DETECTORS WHERE NEEDED.
WE JUST HAD TO PUT A PAUSE ON THE CANVASSING.
UH, WE STILL HAVE A TARGETED, UH, 2,500 SMOKE ALARM INSTALLED.
SO, UH, WE WILL DO BE DOING OUR BEST TO TRY TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.
AS WE PROGRESSED THROUGH THE YEAR TWO PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE LOOKING NOW TO BRING BACK AND WE'VE ACTUALLY STARTED IT BACK UP, THEY BOTH WERE PUT ON A PAUSE AGAIN FOR THE SAME REASONS IS AS MENTIONED BEFORE, IS, ARE PASSED THE TORCH ACADEMY.
THE PASS, THE TORCH ACADEMY IS A PROGRAM WHERE, UM, FOLKS FROM THE AGES OF 18 TO 35, THEY ENROLL IN THE PROGRAM AND THEY MEET ABOUT EVERY TWO WEEKS.
UH, THEY GET TO COME DOWN TO THE TRAINING FACILITY, THEY GET TO EXPERIENCE KIND OF WHAT THE JOB OF AN AUSTIN FIREFIGHTER IS, AND, AND TO TRY TO PEAK INTEREST, UH, AMONGST THE COMMUNITY.
SO THEY USE, AS YOU SEE IN THE PICTURE THERE, THEY GET TO USE, UH, VEHICLE RESCUE TOOLS WE USE TO, TO, UM, EXTRICATE PEOPLE FROM AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS, THEY PUT ON THE GEAR, UM, AND IT IS I THINK, A VERY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM TO JUST BROADEN THE SCOPE AND GET THE WORD OUT THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE SERVICE IS A GREAT CAREER TO BE IN AND VERY REWARDING.
THIS PAST SATURDAY, WE JUST HAD AN INTERVIEW PROCESS FOR THE CANDIDATES THAT WANTED TO APPLY.
WE HAD 65 APPLICATIONS, BUT WE ONLY HAD 42 AVAILABLE SLOTS.
THAT'S A GOOD PROBLEM TO HAVE WHEN YOU HAVE MORE CANDIDATES THAN SLOTS.
SO WE HAD AN INTERVIEW PROCESS, SO IT IS COMPETITIVE TO GET IN, AND WE'RE EXCITED TO GET THAT PROGRAM STARTED.
WE ALSO HAVE STARTED OUR EXPLORER PROGRAM AGAIN.
SO FIRE EXPLORER, POST THREE 70, THE AGES FOR THE EXPLORERS FROM 14 TO 20, THEY MEET TWICE A MONTH.
AGAIN, IT'S LEARNING ABOUT THE CAREERS AT A YOUNGER AGE, UH, AND, AND WHAT IT IS TO BE PART OF A FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, WITHIN THE COMMUNITY.
AND AGAIN, MANY OF THESE ARE, UM, UH, RESIDENTS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO IT'S GREAT FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO INTERACT WITH FIREFIGHTERS.
UH, FIREFIGHTERS ARE THERE AS THE, UH, THEY'RE NOT JUST TEACHERS, BUT THEY'RE ALSO MENTORS, UH, TO THE EXPLORERS TO, TO HELP THEM ALONG AND, UH, IN THEIR CAREER PATH, UH, WITH THAT, WE ALWAYS HAVE JOINED AFD.COM.
AND I, I BELIEVE PRETTY SOON WE WILL BE DOING ANOTHER RECRUITING PROCESS, UH, STARTING THIS SPRING.
SO IF YOU WERE, OR KNOW ANYONE THAT IS INTERESTED IN THIS CAREER, UH, WE WOULD HOPE YOU PUSH THEM TOWARDS THE JOINT AFD.COM WEBSITE, UH, TO START ENROLLING.
AND, UH, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO A NEW PROCESS COMING UP IN THE SPRING.
UH, AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES THE QUARTERLY REPORT.
UM, BUT TO ROUND IT OUT, I JUST, UH, WANT TO SAY THAT THE, THESE PAST COUPLE MONTHS HAS BEEN EXTREMELY BUSY AS YOU SAW, AND, UH, COULD NOT BE MORE PROUD.
UH, AND I HOPE YOU ARE TWO OF THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
WE'VE HAD SOME, UH, VERY CHALLENGING INCIDENTS FROM FIRES, UH, TO ACCIDENTS.
AND WE HAVE WORKED, UH, UH, VERY WELL WITH OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PARTNERS HERE THAT ARE TO THE LEFT AND RIGHT OF ME, AND DOING A LOT OF GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY AND, UH, HAVE SAVED LIVES AND TO SAVE PEOPLE'S HOMES.
SO I AM PROUD TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH THE, UH, THE MEN AND WOMEN OF THE DEPARTMENT AND REPRESENT THEM HERE TODAY.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, UM, COMMISSIONERS.
WE CAN GET THEM BACK UP ON THE SCREEN, OR
[00:50:01]
I THINK WE DON'T HAVE THAT ABILITY, RIGHT.IF ANYBODY HAS QUESTIONS YOU CAN JUST CHIME ON IN.
I CAN'T SEE YOU RIGHT NOW, SO, OKAY.
LET ME GIVE IT ONE MORE ROUND OF, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AND IF NOT,
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ARIANA JUST STEPPED IN FOR IT.
UM, YOU GOT YOU GUYS ON THE SCREEN, SO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS THOUGH.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
[3.b. Public Safety Commission Officer Elections (sponsors: Commissioner Gonzales and Ramirez) 4:50pm-5:05pm]
AND MOVE ON TO OUR NEXT AGENDA ITEM, WHICH IS OUR OFFICER ELECTIONS.IT IS TIME FOR OUR NEXT ROUND OF OFFICER ELECTIONS.
WE ARE GOING TO BE ELECTING A VICE CHAIR AND A CHAIR.
UM, SHOULD WE START WITH VICE CHAIR FIRST OR CHAIR FIRST? OKAY.
SO CHAIR FIRST, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR? IS THAT HOW WE DO THAT? I'M ASSUMING.
SO IF WE'RE GOING TO TAKE ANY NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR.
I KNOW MANY YOU NELLY, I, UM, RESPECTFULLY DECLINE.
UM, BUT I WILL NOMINATE, OH, I HAVE CHAIRED GONZALEZ.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO NOMINATE COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT TO REPLACE ME AS CHAIR FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, SO WITH THAT, UM, IF WE HAVE ANY MORE NOMINATIONS FOR CHAIR.
SO I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING TO DO A VOTE AND WE'LL GO.
SO WE'RE GOING TO THE REBECCA BERNHARDT NOMINATION.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WEBER.
SO WE'VE GOT, UH, A SECOND, UM, AND WE'LL DO A VOTE.
I'LL JUST GO THROUGH, UM, LIST COMMITTEE, UM, CHAIR GONZALEZ, UM, COMMISSIONER WEBBER.
AND I WILL REGISTER A YES FOR MYSELF AS WELL.
CONGRATULATIONS, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.
YOU WILL BE OUR CHAIR MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO DO VICE-CHAIR NEXT.
UM, AND FOR THAT, I MEAN, CAN I NOMINATE MYSELF? OKAY.
SO I'M GOING TO NOMINATE MYSELF FOR VICE CHAIR AND IF I CAN GET A SECOND, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER WEBER.
I WANT TO TAKE A MINUTE TO THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE THE PAST YEAR AND A HALF TO SUPPORT ME.
IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL WORKING WITH YOU.
UM, OKAY, SO WITH THAT, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND DO A VOTE FOR VICE CHAIR.
COMMISSIONER HOUSE AND FUCK IT.
AND I'LL BE A YES FOR MYSELF AS WELL.
AND SO FISHER, DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? YES.
UM, IT'S AN ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER.
THERE'S AN ADDITIONAL COMMISSIONER.
OH, COMMISSIONER HALL, MARTIN.
DID I CALL YOUR NAME FOR THE PRE FOR CHAIR? I DON'T THINK SO.
MARTIN, CAN I GO AHEAD AND JUST REGISTER YOUR VOTE FOR OUR CHAIR? YES.
THANK YOU FOR CATCHING THAT COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.
I'M LOOKING AT TOO MANY PIECES OF PAPER.
SO WITH THAT, WE'VE GOT OUR NEW CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR THAT WILL START NEXT MONTH.
UM, THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT FOR JOINING ME, UM, AND LOOKING FORWARD TO ANOTHER YEAR.
UM, SO THAT'S DONE AND WE SHALL MOVE ON.
CAN WE JUST LIKE, THANK YOU SO MUCH, REBECCA GONZALEZ FOR BEING, YOU KNOW, A GREAT CHAIR.
WE ARE JUST, WE'VE BEEN SO LUCKY TO HAVE YOU.
I'VE LEARNED A LOT TO THANK YOU SO MUCH.
[00:55:09]
THERE'S MY MIC.[3.c. Review of Employee Diversity metrics from all three organizations (sponsors: Commissioner Bernhardt and Ramirez) 5:05pm-5:35pm]
THE AGENDA IS THE REVIEW OF EMPLOYEE DIVERSITY METRICS FROM ALL OF OUR ORGANIZATIONS.AND WE ARE GOING TO HAVE CHAIR GONZALES, GET THIS STARTED.
UM, SHE'S PULLED TOGETHER ALL OF YOUR NUMBERS INTO A NICE LITTLE SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW EVERYBODY'S DOING.
UM, AND THEN WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO JUST MORE DISCUSSION AND YOU GUYS CAN LET US KNOW, UM, SOME MORE FROM THERE AND WITH THAT TRUE GONZALES, IF WE CAN GET THAT PRESENTATION UP.
I WILL TAKE A MINUTE TO KIND OF SET THE STAGE.
SO, UH, BACK IN 20 14, 20 15, EH, I HAD JUST JOINED THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION AND WE HAD STARTED THE CONVERSATION AROUND DIVERSITY OF WORKFORCE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF HAVING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, ORGANIZATIONS REFLECT OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, SO BACK IN 20 14, 20 15, WE PULLED TOGETHER THE NUMBERS OF DIVERSITY ACROSS.
YOU'LL SEE THAT THERE'S A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT CATEGORIES WOULD CATEGORIZE THINGS DIFFERENTLY SEVEN YEARS LATER.
UM, BUT WE FIRST COMPARED IT TO, UH, THANK YOU.
SO THE FIRST, WHEN WE FIRST, UM, YEAH, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PULL UP THE, YEAH, YOU'VE GOT IT.
SO WE FIRST COMPARED, UM, IF YOU DON'T MIND DOING THAT IN FULL SCREEN SO WE CAN SEE YEAH.
THAT SOME OF THE NUMBERS ARE SMALL.
SO BACK IN 2014, SINCE WE DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO COMPARE IT TO WHAT WE DID IS WE COMPARED WHAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S NUMBERS WERE COMPARED TO EACH ONE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS.
SO YOU'LL SEE EACH ONE, SOME OF THEM ARE VERY SMALL, SMALL NUMBERS, AND IF ANYONE'S INTERESTED, I'M HAPPY TO SEND YOU THE DATA THAT WE USE IN THE BACKGROUND.
UM, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO COMPARE IT TO.
SO THE FIRST COMPARISON I DID WAS, UH, THE POPULATION OF EACH ONE OF THE ORGANIZATIONS COMPARED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S, UH, DIVERSITY MAKEUP.
AND THEN THE NEXT THING I DID WAS I COMPARED IT TO WHAT, WHAT EACH ORGANIZATION HAD TO DO TO MATCH RIGHT, UH, INCREASE HISPANIC REPRESENTATION, INCREASE AFRICAN-AMERICAN REPRESENTATION OR WHATNOT.
I DIDN'T DO THAT THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF THE FACT IS WE HAVE THE NUMBERS FROM 2014 TO COMPARE IT TO.
SO IF ANYONE WANTS THE ACTUAL DATA, SINCE, YOU KNOW, JUST LOOKING AT NUMBERS ON THE SCREEN, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU ALL SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT MORE REPRESENTATIVE.
SO THE SLIDE WE'RE LOOKING AT, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, ALL THREE ORGANIZATIONS WERE REALLY OVER-INDEXED ON CAUCASIAN EMPLOYEES ON WHITE EMPLOYEES WITH OVER 75% IN EMS, OVER 75% IN AFD.
AND I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 72 OR 73% IN APD WHERE THE POPULATION OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS LESS THAN 50% WHITE.
THEN IF YOU GO DOWN TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN, YOU'LL SEE THAT, UH, THERE WAS A LARGER PERCENTAGE IT'S STILL WAS AROUND.
IT WAS STILL AROUND SEVEN OR 8% BACK THEN.
IT MIGHT'VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT BIGGER.
CAUSE I THINK WE DID HAVE A DIP IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN POPULATION.
AND SINCE 2014, UH, AS YOU CAN SEE, EMS WAS LESS THAN HALF OF THAT.
UM, AAPD WAS ACTUALLY OVERREPRESENTED AND AFRICAN AMERICANS BASED ON THE, JUST THE COMPARISON OF THE PERCENTAGE OF THE POPULATION AND AFD WAS ABOUT PATH.
UH, AND AS WE MOVE ALONG TO THE RIGHT, WE HAVE HISPANIC WHERE THE CITY OF BOSTON WAS MORE THAN 25% AND ALL OF THE OTHER THREE ORGANIZATIONS WERE LOWER.
IF YOU LOOK AT, UH, THE ASIAN POPULATION ALL AGAIN, SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER, AND YOU CAN SEE AMERICAN INDIAN, WHICH IS ONE OF THE, UH, UH, THE TRACKING, SOMETIMES THERE WAS NOT TRACKING OR NO RESPONSE ON SOME OF THESE.
UH, BUT THOSE NUMBERS ARE OBVIOUSLY VERY SMALL.
YOU CAN SEE THE JUST TINY LITTLE LINES.
AND THEN OTHER WAS SOMETHING THAT WAS TRACKED BACK IN 2014, IT'S CHANGED A LITTLE BIT THIS YEAR.
AND THEN MULTI-RACIAL, UH, THEY TRACKED IT AS NON-HISPANIC BACK IN 2014.
NOW WE DO CALL IT, JUST CALL IT MULTI-RACIAL MORE THAN ONE.
UH, SO ALSO VERY SMALL NUMBERS.
AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF THE ORGANIZATIONS ACTUALLY ASKED FOR MULTI-RACIAL, UH, DESIGNATE DESIGNATION AND ETHNICITY.
AND HERE'S WHAT WE LOOK LIKE IN 2020.
SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UH, ON THE NUMBERS, IF WE LOOKED AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN OR THE AUSTIN MSA.
SO THESE NUMBERS THAT I USE RIGHT NOW WHERE AUSTIN MSA AND I WAS A LITTLE BIT SURPRISED PERSONALLY, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS WHAT I GOT FROM THE, UH, REPORTS, UH, OVER 80%, UH, CLOSE TO 80% OF THE CITY OF BOSTON MSA, WHICH IS THE FIVE COUNTY, UH, METRO AREA BASICALLY FOR AUSTIN IS OVER 80% WHITE.
AND THEN YOU SEE THE OTHERS, UM, THE
[01:00:01]
WAY THEY'VE GONE.AND, UM, I ALSO DO ON THE NEXT FEW SLIDES, I DO A COMPARISON OF WHERE THEY WERE THEN AND WHERE THEY ARE NOW BY, UM, BY DEPARTMENT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE, I WON'T TAKE A WHOLE LOT OF TIME.
I EXPLAINED TO YOU WHAT THESE MEAN, UH, FROM THE FIRST SLIDE, BUT IF YOU LOOK ACROSS, THERE'S DEFINITELY BEEN SOME STRIDES MADE IN THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN THE HISPANIC REPRESENTATION, ASIAN REPRESENTATION.
REPRESENTATION IS ALSO, I BELIEVE, GONE UP IN GENERAL.
WE ALSO NOW TRACK AMERICAN INDIAN, NATIVE HAWAIIAN, AND MULTI-RACIAL, AND I LEFT THE TAG NON HISPANIC.
IT SHOULD JUST SAY MULTI-RACIAL.
SO HAVE YOU SEEN THERE'S LITTLE SMALL BUMPS IN MULTI-RACIAL AND IN NATIVE HAWAIIAN, WHICH DIDN'T EXIST BEFORE? UM, A COUPLE OF REASONS WE WEREN'T TRACKING THAT.
AND, UM, AND, UH, THE MULTI-RACIAL ISSUE IS NOW A QUESTION WHERE THEY W IT WAS NOT A QUESTION IN THE PAST FOR THE, UH, THE TEAMS, ANY QUESTIONS RIGHT ON THESE FIRST TWO SLIDES BEFORE I GO INTO THE CASE BY CASE, UM, REVIEW, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT ALL THREE DEPARTMENTS ALSO SUBMITTED THEIR NUMBERS TO US INDIVIDUALLY.
THOSE ARE ALL UPLOADED IN OUR BACKUP DATA.
IF ANYBODY WANTS TO SEE ALL THE NUMBERS THAT REBECCA USED TO PUT THIS GRAPH TOGETHER.
SO I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY THAT.
YEAH, AND WE, WE DO WANT, UH, THE REPRESENTATIVES TO SPEAK, AND WE DO WANT THEM TO, YOU KNOW, UH, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I WANTED TO PULL IT ALL TOGETHER.
CAUSE I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HOLISTIC VIEW, NOT JUST EACH ORGANIZATION ON THEIR OWN, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
SO, UM, SOME OF THESE NUMBERS ARE VERY SMALL, BUT I WANTED TO MAKE IT AS BIG AS POSSIBLE SO YOU COULD SEE THEM.
SO THIS IS EMS ONLY THE BLUE NUMBERS REPRESENT 2014.
THE RED NUMBERS REPRESENT, I SAID 20, 22 BECAUSE WE IN THE YEAR, BUT IT'S ACTUAL LAST YEAR'S NUMBERS, THE CLOSE OUT OF LAST YEAR.
SO AS WE CAN SEE, UM, WE, THEY WERE AT 80%, 80, 80.5% ACTUALLY, UH, LIKE, UH, POPULATION.
IF YOU LOOK AT AFRICAN-AMERICAN REPRESENTATION IN EMS, THEY'VE GONE UP 0.8% HISPANIC POPULATION HAS ALSO GONE UP APPROXIMATELY 4%, LITTLE LESS THAN FOUR.
UH, ASIAN REPRESENTATION HAS GONE UP 0.8 IS 0.08.
I DO NOT BELIEVE, I DON'T REMEMBER EXACTLY EITHER EMS WAS ZERO OR IT WAS NOT REPORTED IN 2014.
UM, OTHER EYES, IT WAS 0.4, FOUR IN A PERCENT IN 2014, BUT WE DON'T TRACK THAT ANYMORE.
OTHER IS NOT JUST USES IT, BUT I WANTED TO KEEP THAT IN THERE FOR COMPARISON, A NATIVE HAWAIIAN HAS GONE UP AS WELL AS MULTI-RACIAL, UH, HAS GONE UP.
SO, UM, THIS IS, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN KIND OF AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT EMS LOOKED LIKE IN 2014 VERSUS NOW IN 20 21, 20 22.
UH, THEN WE HAVE APD, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, SAME, SAME SETUP.
RED NUMBERS ARE, UH, THIS LAST YEAR, 2021.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UM, THE NUMBER OF, UH, WHITE, UH, BUT THIS IS BOTH SWORN AND CIVILIAN, BY THE WAY, PULLED ALL TOGETHER IN, IN EVERY CASE, UH, HAS GONE DOWN FROM 68.8 TO 61.74, STILL A VAST MAJORITY, OBVIOUSLY, OF, OF THE POPULATION OF, OF APDS OFFICERS, BOTH SWORN AND CIVILIAN.
IF WE LOOK AT AFRICAN-AMERICAN, THEY LOST A SLIGHT PERCENTAGE POINT TOO.
UM, THEY INCREASED THEIR HISPANIC REPRESENTATION BY 5% INCREASE THEIR ASIAN POPULATION BY 0.5%.
UM, AMERICAN INDIAN IS DOWN A SLIGHT, TINY BIT.
WE DON'T TRACK OTHER ANYMORE, UH, NATIVE WINE.
I DON'T BELIEVE APD TRACKS AND MULTI-RACIAL, THEY DID NOT TRACK IN 2014, BUT THEY DO TRACK NOW.
I WILL ALSO POINT OUT IF YOU LOOK AND YOU SAY REBECCA, THIS MATH IS A MAPPING.
UM, THERE ARE SOME POINTS WHERE THERE IS A, DID NOT REPORT OR DID NOT DISCLOSED.
UM, SO, SO THERE WAS SOME TIMES THAT THERE WAS, DO NOT RE UH, DO NOT REPORT AND THAT'S IN THE DATA THAT WE HAVE.
I JUST DIDN'T, I DIDN'T WANT TO MUDDY THE WATERS BY PUTTING, UH, DID NOT DISCLOSE IN THESE NUMBERS.
AND THE FINAL SLIDE WHEN AFD, PLEASE.
UM, SAME SET UP 2014 IS IN BLUE, 2021 IS IN BREAD.
UM, THERE'S BEEN A DECREASE IN WHITE EMPLOYEES FOR, UH, FIREARMS AND FIRE INCREASE IN AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
THIS IS ACTUALLY, IF WE SEE, I KNOW THIS WILL SEEM LIKE IT HAS BEEN SEVEN YEARS AND WE'RE GOING UP 0.1 0.5.
BUT HAVE YOU SEEN THAT, UM, AFTS DIVERSITY IN AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAS GONE UP ALMOST ONE FULL
[01:05:01]
PERCENTAGE POINT THAT'S IF YOU LOOK AT ALL THE REST, THIS IS, THIS IS GREAT PROGRESS.UH, IN MY OPINION, UM, FROM HISPANIC REPRESENTATION OF 4%, FROM 16 TO 20, UH, 20 16% TO 20%, UH, ASIAN REPRESENTATION UP TO TWO FROM 1.8, UH, AMERICAN INDIAN PERCENTAGE WENT DOWN FROM 0.4 TO ZERO.
UM, OTHER, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE NOT TRACKING IT THIS YEAR.
THEY TRACKED IT BACK IN 2014 AND BOTH, UH, NATIVE HAWAIIAN AND MULTI-RACIAL ARE AT ZERO.
AND I, I THINK THAT MIGHT BECAUSE THEY'RE, THEY JUST ARE NOT TRACKING OR DIDN'T DIDN'T HAVE NUMBERS AT THIS POINT.
SO OVERALL, LIKE I SAID, SEVEN YEARS, IT'S SMALL CHANGES, BUT CHANGE, BUT CHANGES LIKE THIS DON'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT.
AND I WANT TO BE, UH, COGNIZANT THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN THOUGH WE WANT THINGS TO, TO IMPROVE OVERNIGHT, THEY DON'T, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE, UM, MOVING BIG POPULATIONS AND I'M ASKING FOR CHANGE IN BOTH HIRING AND RECRUITING.
AND I THINK, UM, I WAS REALLY, UH, I WAS REALLY HAPPY.
I WASN'T, THERE WAS NOTHING THAT REALLY SURPRISED ME EITHER WAY.
UH, BUT I THINK ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS ARE, ARE DOING ARE DOING A GOOD JOB.
AND WOULD WE LIKE IT TO BE BETTER, OBVIOUSLY? YES.
BUT, UM, YEAH, I THINK WE'RE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
SO ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME? AND THEN, THEN IF NOT, WE CAN, UH, OPEN IT UP TO OUR, UH, OUR CHIEFS AND OUR SPEAKERS, IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR, UM, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? OKAY.
SO WITH THAT, UM, WE'LL JUST MOVE ON TO CHIEF ANDERSON, CHIEF WAGE, CHIEF GARDENER.
IF YOU GUYS HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL COMMENTS, ANYTHING YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT, THAT'D BE GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY.
UH, MS. TOXIN, IF YOU CAN JUST PULL UP OUR SLIDE DECK.
UM, IF WE JUST WANTED TO KIND OF REVIEW THOSE NUMBERS, WE WENT AHEAD AND PROVIDED JUST A GRAPH, A PIE GRAPH TO SHOW OUR CURRENT STAFFING RIGHT NOW.
AND WE'RE GOING TO START WITH OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL AND JUST WANT TO THANK OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
THEY ARE EXCEEDINGLY HELPFUL IN HELPING US DO OUR JOBS EVERY SINGLE DAY AND VERY SUPPORTIVE OF US.
SO JUST WANT TO THANK OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
AND SO IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AND THIS IS BREAKING OUT OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL WITH S ETHNICITY AND GOING THROUGH THOSE, THE BREAKDOWN, UM, THERE'S A GRAPH DOWN AT THE BOTTOM.
IN ADDITION TO, WITH THE PIE CHART, YOU CAN SEE THE ACTUAL PERCENTAGE RATES OFF TO THE SIDE.
AND SO GOING THROUGH OUR LARGEST DEMOGRAPHIC OF COURSE IS WHITE.
AND THEN FROM THERE WE GO TO HISPANIC AND THEN FROM THERE WE GO DOWN TO, UH, BLACK, AND THEN ALSO OUR, WE ONLY HAVE ONE NATIVE AMERICAN AND THAT IF WE GO TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, IT'S A BREAKOUT WITH OUR GENDER.
AND SO WE HAVE 371 FEMALES, WHICH MAKES UP 69% AND THEN 170 MALES, WHICH MAKE UP 31% OF OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
AND SO WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 541 OF OUR CIVILIAN PERSONNEL.
AND THAT IF WE GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, THIS IS GOING TO BE A BREAKDOWN OF OUR SWORN PERSONNEL.
AND SO FOR OUR WHITE, UH, ETHNICITY, WE HAVE 1066, WHICH MAKES UP 65%.
AND FROM THERE WE GO TO HISPANIC WITH 375, WHICH MAKES UP 23%.
AND THEN FROM THERE WE HAVE 127, WHICH MAKE UP OUR AFRICAN-AMERICANS THEN FROM THERE, UM, WE HAVE PACIFIC ISLANDER, I'M SORRY.
WE HAVE CHOSE NOT TO DISCLOSE.
AND THEN FROM THERE, IT'S OUR PACIFIC ISLANDER.
AND SO FOR A TOTAL, WE HAVE A 1,631 AND UNDERSTAND THESE NUMBERS FLUCTUATE ON A, ESSENTIALLY A MONTHLY AND WEEKLY BASIS.
SO AT THE TIME THE REPORT WAS READ, THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE AS A 1631, AND THEN GOING TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
THIS IS JUST A BREAKOUT FOR OUR GENDER.
AND OF COURSE FOR THE MALES, WE HAVE 1,441.
AND, UM, AS CHIEF DAKOTA SPOKE TO, WE ARE STARTING AN INITIATIVE 30 BY 30 WITH THE INTENT OF HIRING 30% OF OUR WORKFORCE BY THE YEAR 30, 33 REPRESENTED BY FEMALES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CHIEF GARDENER.
I'LL LET YOU GO NEXT SINCE YOU HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO TOUCH.
UM, I THINK WE HAVE THOSE, I THINK IT'S IN A
[01:10:01]
PDF FORMAT FOR OUR PRESENTATION AS WELL.AND CHAIR GONZALEZ, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
I REMEMBER OUR CONVERSATIONS BACK IN 2014, 15, AND, UH, UM, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE THAT PROGRESS.
UM, AND THIS FIRST SLIDE, JUST AGAIN AS A, UH, PERSONAL ETHNICITY THAT, UH, CHAIR GONZALEZ WENT THROUGH.
SO WE CAN ADVANCE TO THAT NEXT PAGE, WHICH IS OUR, UH, BREAKDOWN BY THE SWORN PERSONNEL GENDER.
UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY AROUND 70, 74, 70 5% MALE, UH, 25% FEMALE.
UM, AND THEN WE ALSO BROKE DOWN BY AGE.
SO YOU CAN SEE, UM, ON THE NEXT PAGE, UM, BY AGE, AND OF COURSE THE MAJORITY ARE FALLING WITH THAT 25 TO 44 AGE RANGE.
UM, AND THESE ARE THE AGE RANGES THAT ARE CAPTURED BY OUR HUMAN RESOURCES SECTION.
AND THAT THE, PROBABLY FOR THIS CONVERSATION, I WANTED TO INCLUDE THE INFORMATION ON THE NEXT TWO PAGES.
UM, SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE FACE IN EMS, UM, IN RECRUITING AND DIVERSITY, WE GET TO THAT AND WE CURRENTLY HIRE ONLY EMS CERTIFIED LOSE AUDIO.
IS IT JUST ME? NO AUDIO, NO AUDIO.
I THINK I SAW A THUMBS UP FROM COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT.
ARE YOU GUYS HEARING STUFF NOW? WE HEAR YOU, BUT I DON'T HEAR CHIEF GARDENER.
CAN YOU HEAR ME CHECK, CHECK, CHECK.
UM, OH, WELL, AS WE GET INTO THE EMS DIVERSITY CHALLENGES, WE CURRENTLY HIRE ONLY PEOPLE WHO ARE ALREADY CERTIFIED IN EMS, MEANING THEY ALREADY HAVE AN EMT CERTIFICATION AT A MINIMUM.
AND THAT CREATES PROBLEMS FOR US JUST IN TERMS OF THE POOL OF APPLICANTS THAT WE CAN HIRE FROM.
THIS IS AN INDUSTRY WIDE PROBLEM.
UM, WE KNOW THAT NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MTS HAS ESTABLISHED A SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM SPECIFICALLY TO ADDRESS DIVERSITY AND I'VE LINKED TO DIFFERENT, UM, RESEARCH PAPERS IN THIS AREA.
MOST RECENTLY THAT HAVE IDENTIFIED, UM, THAT MINORITIES AND WOMEN ARE CONTINUING TO BE UNDERREPRESENTED IN EMS CERTIFIED PERSONNEL.
AND IF YOU CAN SEE IN THE CONCLUSION OF THAT LAST ONE, THE OUTLOOK BASED ON THE LAST 10 YEARS IS NOT EXPECTED TO IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY, UH, BASED ON, ON THAT RESEARCH THAT THEY DID.
UM, SO IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR ME, SO ALL OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS HAVE BEEN DIRECTED TO CREATE AN, UH, VACANCY STAFFING PLAN, UM, TO PROVIDE TO COUNSEL WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH.
AND AS PART OF THAT, THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO ADDRESS BOTH THE VACANCIES AND OUR DIVERSITY AND LOOK AT DIFFERENT WAYS TO ADDRESS IT, UM, WHICH MAY INCLUDE CREATING NEW RECRUITMENT STRATEGIES TO DRY, TO ATTRACT MORE, UM, DIVERSE, CERTIFIED PERSONNEL AND TARGETING COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UM, IDENTIFYING INDUSTRY CONFERENCES, TRADE SHOWS, OTHER OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT TO IMPROVE THAT, THAT, UH, APPLICANT POOL.
THE OTHER THING IS TO EXPLORE HIRING DIRECTLY FROM THE COMMUNITY, MUCH LIKE OUR PARTNERS AT AFD AND APD DO.
UM, WE DO HAVE AN EXPLORER POST PROGRAM THAT, UH, WE HIRE FROM OCCASIONALLY.
UM, BUT THERE ARE OTHER COMMUNITY GROUPS AND ASSOCIATIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO PARTNER WITH TO SEE IF THERE ARE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES TO GET PEOPLE INTERESTED IN THIS CAREER FROM, FROM THAT DIVERSE GROUP AGAIN.
UM, COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE NUMBERS IN THE GRAPH UP THERE.
WE ARE, I'M EXCITED THAT WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR DIVERSITY NUMBERS, UH, AS WAS REFLECTED IN THE GRAPH.
AND THAT GOES BACK TO THE HARD WORK OF OUR RECRUITING DIVISION.
UM, THEY'VE BEEN DOING A LOT OF DIFFERENT, UH, METHODS TO TRY TO ATTRACT, UH, INDIVIDUALS TO THE JOB, UH, FROM ONLINE EFFORTS TO GOING OUT TO THE COLLEGES
[01:15:01]
AND THE COMMUNITY AND REALLY EXPRESSING WHAT THE FIRE SERVICE IS AS A CAREER AND THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT IT AFFORDS, UM, PEOPLE AS THEY GO THROUGH, UH, SEEKING OUT A CAREER FOR THEIR FUTURE.UM, OUR NUMBERS JUST TO GO BACK OVER IS ROUGHLY 70% CAUCASIAN, UH, 20% HISPANIC, UH, 5% AFRICAN-AMERICAN.
UM, AND AS THE COMMISSIONER POINTED OUT, UM, WHILE IT LOOKS LIKE SMALL, UH, SMALL PERCENTAGE INCREASES, THESE ARE LARGE ORGANIZATIONS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND, UH, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN, YOU CAN PUT 50 TO 60 INDIVIDUALS ON IT MAY ONLY REPRESENT 1%.
UM, BUT IT DOES NOT GO WITHOUT SAYING THE HARD WORK OF, OF THE RECRUITING EFFORTS.
UM, THERE'S BEEN FOR US, UM, OPPORTUNITY TO EVEN GROW MORE WITH OUR DIVERSITY AS WE'RE GETTING INTO LARGER YEARS OF RETIREMENT.
AND THAT AFFORDS US AS WE HAVE IN THE CURRENT CADET CLASS, UM, AND DEMOGRAPHICS SUCH AS, YOU KNOW, 23% HISPANIC, IT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING IN NEW INDIVIDUALS, WHETHER FROM THIS COMMUNITY OR OTHER COMMUNITIES THAT OUR RECRUITERS GO OUT TO, UH, WHEN THEY'RE VISITING PLACES LIKE SAN ANTONIO, UH, AND GOING DOWN THERE.
SO A WHOLE BUNCH OF EFFORT GOING INTO, UM, BRINGING ON NEW EMPLOYEES AND RECRUITING FOR DIVERSITY.
AND, UM, IF WE CAN GET THE COMMISSIONERS BACK UP ON THE SCREEN, I'M SURE THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS.
AND WHILE WE DO THAT, I JUST HAVE A QUICK QUESTION JUST IN TERMS OF, UM, JUST RECRUITING AND STUFF.
DO, HOW DO THE PUBLIC SAFETY ORGANIZATIONS INTERACT WITH THE ACC TRAINING PROGRAMS? LIKE DO THOSE FUNCTION AS FEEDERS AT ALL? CAUSE I KNOW THEY HAVE AN EMT PROGRAM.
THERE'S I BELIEVE THERE'S A PO LIKE A POLICE FUNNELING PROGRAM.
SO HOW ACTIVELY ARE THE DEPARTMENTS WORKING WITH ACC? I'LL GO FIRST.
I BEAT HIM, I BEAT HIM, SAID THE BUTTON.
UM, WE ARE ACTIVE WITH THE ACC PROGRAM.
WE HAVE OUR RECRUITERS AND OUR EMPLOYEES WHO VISIT THOSE CLASSES ON A REGULAR BASIS.
UM, BOTH AT THE EMT LEVEL AND THE PARAMEDIC LEVEL THERE'S CAREER FAIRS.
THERE'S A NUMBER OF WAYS THAT WE CONNECT WITH THEM.
THEY ALSO, UM, RIDE OUT WITH US FROM TIME TO TIME.
SO WE'RE ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH THAT.
UM, I CANNOT SPEAK FOR HOW MANY TIMES OUR RECRUITERS GO INTO THE CLASSROOM.
UM, THE FIRE ACADEMY FOR ACC IS THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY TRAINING CAMPUS.
SO THEY'RE RIGHT DOWN THERE AND THEY'RE ABLE TO SEE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TRUCKS AND STAFF AND FIREFIGHTERS.
UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF RIGHT THERE NEXT TO THEM.
AND I THINK THAT PROVIDES A GREAT OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO KNOW THAT THE OPPORTUNITY FOR AFD IS RIGHT AT THEIR DOORSTEP.
AND I HAVE A CHIEF JOHNSON ON THE LINE AND SHE'S OVER OUR RECRUITING DIVISION AND SHE COULD HIGHLIGHT WHAT WE DO WITH ACC, KATHERINE JOHNSON, STILL ON THE LINE CROSSING FINGERS.
SHE WAS THERE EARLIER AND SHE COULD ALSO SPEAK TO OUR WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH, UM, HOUSTON TILLOTSON.
AND ALSO WE'RE WORKING ON AN ILA WHAT TEXAS STATE RIGHT NOW.
SO SHE COULD PROBABLY GIVE JUST A FEW MORE DETAILS ON WHAT WE'RE DOING.
I DON'T THINK SHE'S ON ANYMORE.
SO YES, WE ARE ACTIVELY WORKING WITH THEM.
I WAS JUST HOPING SHE COULD PROVIDE A BIT MORE FINER DETAILS AS TO THE SPECIFICS OF THE PROGRAM.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS.
THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ FOR PULLING THAT TOGETHER, THAT WAS REALLY HELPFUL AS WELL, TO HELP KIND OF WRAP OUR BRAIN AROUND ALL THE NUMBERS I'M IN.
IT'S NICE TO SEE SOME IMPROVEMENT THERE.
AND WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD AND CLOSE THAT ONE OUT, UH, NEXT.
[3.d. Reimaging Public Safety (sponsors: Commissioner Gonzales and Ramirez) 5:35pm-5:50pm ]
UM, WE HAVE, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, ARIANA JOINING US, UM, TO TALK ABOUT RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY.AH, SO BY CHAIR SHARE RAMIREZ CHAIR GONZALEZ, AND THE COMMISSIONERS, AND I GUESS, PERSPECTIVE CHAIR BARNHART AGAIN, IT'S GOOD AFTERNOON.
AND THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, UH, TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE.
AGAIN, MY NAME IS RAY ARIANO, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OVER THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.
IF I COULD FIRST DO A LITTLE BIT OF A CONTEXT SETTING, UH, AND THEN, UH, THEN SHIFT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING CURRENTLY.
IF ALL OF YOU WILL RECALL THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE THAT REALLY AT THE CORE OF IT, UH, WAS AROUND THE CITY COMMUNITY REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY
[01:20:01]
TASK FORCE.AGAIN, I WANT TO GIVE A NOD TO COMMISSIONER LEWIS WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THAT TASK FORCE.
UH, EFFORT WAS CERTAINLY A SIGNIFICANT ONE THAT WASN'T LOST CERTAINLY ON MYSELF PERSONALLY.
AND SO IN TERMS OF THE EFFORT THAT WAS THERE, UH, AND MAKING SURE THAT IT JUST DOESN'T SIT ON A SHELF, UH, WE CERTAINLY ARE COMMITTED TO MAKING SURE THAT THERE ARE ADVANCEMENTS TO ADDRESS THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO IF COMMISSIONERS WILL RECALL BACK IN, UM, APRIL, 2021 COMMISSION, THE, UH, UH, TASK FORCE, UH, PUT TOGETHER THEIR REPORT AND DELIVERED THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL.
AND THAT STARTED A SERIES OF, UM, EFFORTS, FIRST OF ALL, UH, THE CITY STAFF PUTTING TOGETHER REVIEW TEAMS IN ORDER TO TAKE A LOOK AT ALL OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND FIRST OF ALL, PARSE OUT WHICH ONES MIGHT BE, UH, SUITABLE FOR MOVING FORWARD IN THE FYI 21, UM, FYI 22, EXCUSE ME, FYI 22, UH, PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, THERE WERE NINE AREAS THAT WERE LOOKED AT AND AS A RESULT OF ALL OF THAT WORK, AND AGAIN, UH, THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM EACH OF THOSE REVIEW TEAMS WERE MADE TO THE CITY MANAGER AND THERE WERE A NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, THAT THEN ENDED UP IN THE PROPOSAL, BUT THROUGH THE WORK OF THE COUNCIL, UH, IN LOOKING AT THOSE PROPOSALS AND MAKING ADDITIONS, UH, THE CURRENT FYI 22 BUDGET INCLUDES $36.5 MILLION, UH, TO ADVANCE THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVE, UH, THAT MAINTAINS, UH, 27.2 MILLION IN FUNDING THAT WAS STARTED IN
UH, ALL OF THIS INFORMATION WAS SUMMARIZED IN MY MEMO OF OCTOBER 1ST, UH, BACK IN 2021.
AND CERTAINLY, UH, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT AS PART OF BACKUP NOW AS DO CURRENT EFFORTS, UH, SHORTLY AFTER THE HOLIDAY SEASON, I, WE COMMENCED, UH, RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY LEADERSHIP TEAM MEETINGS.
THE LEADERSHIP TEAM REALLY CONSISTS OF MYSELF, THE ACM, THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER OVER GOVERNMENT THAT WORKS FOR ALL, UM, THE, UM, ACM OVER HEALTH ENVIRONMENT AND COMMUNITY, UH, LEARNING, UH, WHICH IS, UM, SO REBECCA IT'S A, UM, RONICA
NOW COME FOR MY REVIEW AND HOPE WITH THE INTENT OF BEING ABLE TO PUBLISH AN UPDATE TO THE DASHBOARD HERE, THIS COMING A MONTH OF APRIL.
THE OTHER PART OF THAT IS, AND AGAIN, AS MANY OF, YOU KNOW, UH, REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY WAS NOT JUST ABOUT LAW ENFORCEMENT.
IT WAS REALLY MUCH MORE BROAD.
AND CERTAINLY THAT WAS REFLECTED IN THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME FROM THE TASK FORCE.
UH, AND SO WHERE I STARTED OUT WITH THAT HERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WAS REALLY LOOKING TO THE ORIGINAL, UM, WORK GROUP LEADERS THAT LOOKED AT THE NINE WHILE THE OTHER EIGHT, THE OTHER SEVEN, UH, UH, RECOMMENDATION AREAS AND STARTED WITH THEM TO SEE HOW WE MIGHT CONTINUE THE WORK, BUT IT BECAME PRETTY QUICKLY, UM, OBVIOUS TO ME THAT WE REALLY NEEDED TO IDENTIFY, UM, WHO WERE THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENTAL LEADS, UH, FOR EACH OF THOSE, UH, TASK AREAS, THOSE RECOMMENDATION AREAS.
SO IT TOOK A LITTLE BIT OF A PAUSE.
UM, I'M NOW REVIEWING THE DEPARTMENT AND LEAD, UH, ASSIGNMENTS.
AND SO AGAIN, WHAT WE'LL DO HERE IN THE MONTH OF APRIL IS UPDATE THE DASHBOARD IN ORDER TO IDENTIFY WHO THOSE DEPARTMENTS, UH, LEADS ARE.
AND THEN I WILL WORK INDIVIDUALLY WITH THOSE DEPARTMENTS TO PUT IN PLACE AGAIN AND FORMALIZED APPROACH TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE PROJECT PLAN, IF YOU WILL, TO, UH, TO MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN ADDRESS, UH, EACH OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO APRIL IS GOING TO BE A FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL MONTH IN TERMS OF A UPDATE FOR REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY IN A MORE SUBSTANTIVE WAY IN TERMS OF UPDATING THE DASHBOARD, AS WELL AS, UH, PLANNING TO SEND A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON, UM, THE STATUS.
AND SO WITH THAT, HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
[01:25:01]
IT'S OKAY.I WANTED TO JUST CHECK IN ABOUT, YOU SAID THERE WAS 35 MILLION THAT WAS FUNDED, UM, FOR REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY INITIATIVES.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF THAT, OR IF THAT'S IN THE OCTOBER MEMO THAT YOU MENTIONED.
UM, BUT IF YOU, I MEAN, JUST OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, UM, RE ARE THOSE IS 35 MILLION BASICALLY LIKE CONNECTED TO THE RE-IMAGINING RECOMMENDATIONS OR IS IT JUST 35 MILLION KIND OF UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF RE-IMAGINING AND MAYBE NOT THE TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS.
SO I'M JUST WHY YOUR WAY TO CLARITY IT'S 36.5 MILLION AND 27.2 OF THOSE A MILLION WAS REALLY FROM
AND SO I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT THOSE SPECIFIC, UM, UH, BUDGET LINE ITEMS WERE, BUT I CAN, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF THE 9.3 THAT CAN BE DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, UH, INCREASED FUNDING OF 2.8 MILLION TO THE HOUSING TRUST FUND FOR ANTI-DISPLACEMENT INITIATIVES, INCLUDING EMERGENCY RELOCATION ASSISTANCE, UH, EXPANSION OF THE CURRENT COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER CAREER LADDER INITIATIVE FINALIZING THE INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKER PROGRAM, UH, ADDING NINE NEW TEMPORARY COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS, UH, MATCHING FUNDING FOR AN ONGOING, GUARANTEED INCOME PILOT PROJECT.
UH, AND SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, UH, UM, LINE ITEMS THAT ARE IN THE CURRENT FYI 22 BUDGET.
AND AGAIN, THOSE ARE IDENTIFIED IN MY MEMO AND WE CAN AGAIN MAKE THAT AVAILABLE FOR THE COMMISSION.
I, I, I WOULD LOVE TO, UM, SEE THAT OR TRY TO FIND THAT I DO FEEL THAT, UM, SOME OF WHAT'S IN THE DASHBOARD SEEMS INCORRECT.
I KNOW THAT I CHAIRED THE SURVIVORS, UH, UM, VIOLENCE AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION WORKING GROUP, AND WE DID HAVE TWO FUNDED, BUT OF COURSE THEY WERE JUST FOR FYI 21.
UM, AND THEN, BUT WE ALSO SUBMITTED A LOT MORE RECOMMENDATIONS THAN THAT.
AND SO THERE'S JUST A LOT OF INTERESTS, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE INVOLVE COMMUNITY.
WE INVOLVE SURVIVORS TO REALLY SEE A LONG-TERM INVESTMENT AND HEALING AND, UM, TRAUMA, RECOVERY, UH, SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY DO MORE FOLLOW THROUGH AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AROUND THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEIR ITERATIONS OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS? RIGHT? BECAUSE AS, AS WE TRY OUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S LIKE EMERGENCY CASH ASSISTANCE, LIKE DETERMINE THE IMPACT, WE MIGHT WANT TO MOVE MONEY MORE IN A CERTAIN DIRECTIONS, BUT I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND, I GUESS, WHAT THE, WHAT THE FUTURE IS AND MAKING SURE PEOPLE ARE ENGAGED IN IT AND THAT IT'S ITERATIVE.
UM, AND SOME OF THIS IS JUST TEMPORARY FUNDING, AT LEAST THE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MY WORKING GROUP OR TEMPORARY, RIGHT.
AT FIRST, LET ME JUST CONCUR IN YOUR STATEMENT AND THAT THE DASHBOARD PROBABLY AS THEY CURRENTLY EXIST, ISN'T AS ACCURATE AS IT CAN, MAN.
SO ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'LL BE DOING IS TO TRY TO UPDATE TO REALLY REFLECT WHAT THE CURRENT STATUS IS, BECAUSE YOU'LL RECALL THAT THAT'S THAT STATUS OR THAT DASHBOARD WAS REALLY TO REFLECT, YOU KNOW, THE WORKING TEAM, THE WORK, THE REVIEW TEAMS EFFORTS, AS IN THE RAMP UP TO THE
AND SO, AGAIN, IT, IT MAY, OR IT MAY SAY CURRENTLY THAT A REVIEW WAS DONE ON A PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT IT'S STOPPED BECAUSE IT WAS REALLY FOCUSED ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE WOULD BE A RECOMMENDATION FOR THE
AND, UH, IF I MAY, AS WELL ADD, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS, UH, IN, IN RESPONSE TO YOUR COMMENT ABOUT MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS MY ENCOURAGEMENT, IF, IF NOT SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO DEPARTMENTS AS THEY GO THROUGH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE SURE THEY LOOP BACK AROUND TO THE APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WHETHER THEY BE TASKFORCE MEMBERS, UH, OR AN APPROPRIATE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION THAT MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN THE RECOMMENDATION TO MAKE SURE THAT INPUT, THAT FEEDBACK, UH, IS PART OF THE PROCESS.
UM, AND, AND I, I, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT ALL THOSE DOTS ARE CONNECTED AND THAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS AREN'T JUST LIKE A, A GOODIE BAG THAT CITY CAN JUST LIKE REACH INTO AND PULL OUT LIKE A THING TO HAVE FUN WITH.
BUT THERE, THERE WAS A WHOLE INTENTION AROUND, UM, RE YOU KNOW, COMMITTING COMMUNITY TO, UM, ADDRESSING SYSTEMIC ISSUES, UM, THAT, THAT WERE CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE.
SO I, I HOPE THAT YES, DEPARTMENT HEADS ARE REACHING OUT TO COMMUNITY, BUT THIS WAS A COLLECTIVE EFFORT.
AND WE HOPE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T LOSE
[01:30:01]
SOME OF THAT COLLECTIVE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A HOLISTIC MESSAGE.AND I THINK SOMETIMES WHEN WE DIVIDE UP AND WE SEPARATE IT GETS LOST.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT THERE'S SOME INTEREST AND COMMUTE COMMITTING TO LIKE A COLLECTIVE CONVERSATION, EVEN IF IT'S LESS AS INTENSE AS THE REIMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE.
UM, BUT I THINK, UH, THERE WAS VALUE AND PEOPLE ARE WAITING AND EXCITED TO HEAR HOW THOSE, THESE PROGRAMS ARE WORKING.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, WELL, I LET YOU GUYS MOVE THAT OVER.
I JUST WANTED TO SECOND THE REQUEST FOR THE OCTOBER MEMO.
I THINK IT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
UM, AND I'LL PIGGYBACK ON THAT AND JUST SAY, IF IT'S AT ALL POSSIBLE FOR US IN OUR MINUTES OR WHEREVER WE POSSIBLY CAN IN OUR BACKUP DATA, MS. JACKSON, IF WE CAN GET A LINK TO THE DASHBOARD UP SOMEHOW, SO THAT ANYBODY THAT REFERENCES THE MEETING CAN FIND THE DASHBOARD, THAT THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE EASIEST THING TO FIND ON THE CITY WEBSITE.
SO THAT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT.
UM, AND I THINK IN GENERAL, JUST, IT WOULD BE REALLY GREAT TO GET IN THE INTEREST OF KEEPING EVERYBODY ENGAGED, JUST GETTING EITHER QUARTERLY UPDATES OR BY MONTH.
LIKE HOWEVER OFTEN FEELS APPROPRIATE IF QUARTERLY FEELS TOO, I FEEL LIKE QUARTERLY COULD WORK, UM, JUST SO THAT WE CAN KEEP CONNECTED TO HOW THINGS ARE MOVING ALONG AND SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE COMMUNITY INFORMED WHEN WE HIT ROADBLOCKS, YOU KNOW? UM, SO THAT WOULD BE REALLY HELPFUL.
AND ANY OTHER COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YEAH.
ARIANA, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
UM, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE LEADERSHIP OF THE, UH, THE CITY LEADERSHIP THAT WAS MANAGING THE RE-IMAGINED TASKFORCE.
UM, I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE CONSIDERED EXTENDING, LIKE, NOT MAYBE TO AN EVERYDAY KIND OF INTERACTION, BUT EXTENDING LEADERSHIP ROLES, LEADERSHIP FEEDBACK TO THE COMMUNITY THAT PUTS SO MUCH TIME INTO RE-IMAGINE AND MAYBE THERE'S A DEFACTO LIKE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL THAT CHECKS IN A LITTLE BIT.
I FEEL LIKE I FEEL LIKE WHAT I'M HEARING AND WHAT I'M GETTING.
IS THERE SOME DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY THAT WORKED ON THE PROJECTS AND THE CITY THAT'S NOW TRYING TO LEAD THROUGH THE RECOMMENDATION? SO I DON'T KNOW, JUST A SUGGESTION MORE THAN A QUESTION REALLY, THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME WAY TO RE ENABLE THESE PEOPLE THAT REALLY PUT A LOT OF TIME INTO THE PROCESS AND REALLY WANT TO SEE THESE CHANGES.
AND I KNOW, UM, BUT PROBABLY BE INTERESTED IN, IN, UH, KEEPING IN TOUCH.
SO JUST AS A SUGGESTION, THANK YOU.
AND IT'S CERTAINLY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT COMMISSIONER LEWIS WAS SUGGESTING.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM COMMISSIONERS GOING ONCE GOING TWICE? OKAY.
UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, DIANA, UM, FOR JOINING US, THAT WAS REALLY GREAT.
[4. Future Agenda Items 5:50-6:00pm ]
THE LAST ITEM ON OUR AGENDA IS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. OH, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ.UH, YEAH, IT LOOKS LIKE KATHERINE JOHNSON IS BACK ON THE LINE, SO WE HAVE SOME TIME.
WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT SHE HAS TO SAY ABOUT THE, UH, THE RECRUITING PROCESS AND HOW THEY'RE WORKING WITH ACC.
UM, WE WERE TALKING EARLIER JUST ABOUT ACC, UM, AND RECRUITING EFFORTS AND HOW THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WORKS AND CHIEF ANDERSON THOUGHT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO SHED SOME LIGHT.
UM, WE W WELL, THERE'S SEVERAL DIFFERENT AREAS THAT WE'RE LOOKING RIGHT NOW REGARDING ACC.
UM, WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT POSSIBLY DOING, UM, CLASSES OUT THERE AS WELL, BUT, UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT, AND WE ALWAYS KIND OF FOCUS ON DIFFERENT SCHOOLS.
AND SO WE ARE ALSO ACTIVELY RECRUITING AT ACC.
IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE, CHIEF UNDERSTAND THAT YOU WERE LOOKING FOR THERE? NO, I'LL JUST ADD THAT.
UM, WHENEVER THERE'S A RECRUITING OPPORTUNITY AT ACC, WE ALWAYS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT.
SO ANY OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE NOT JUST FACE CC HOUSTON TILLOTSON AND ANY OF THE SURROUNDING UNIVERSITIES, ALSO OUR MILITARY BASES.
UM, AND WITH THAT, I THINK WE'RE DONE WITH ALL OF OUR OTHER AGENDA ITEMS. LAST ITEM ON THE LIST, UM, IS FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. UM, AND WITH THAT, I'LL JUST SEE IF ANYBODY WANTS TO RAISE A HAND.
LET ME KNOW IF THEY'VE GOT SOMETHING
[01:35:01]
IN MIND AND IF NOT, I HAVE A LAUNDRY LIST.COMMISSIONER LEWIS, I THINK I MENTIONED THIS LAST MONTH, BUT OF COURSE THIS MONTH IS SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS AND PREVENTION MONTH.
UM, AND IT WOULD BE AWESOME TO, UH, GET AN UPDATE FROM A PERF OR, UM, SEX CRIMES, UH, DEPARTMENT ABOUT, UM, THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I DON'T THINK WE'VE SEEN THEM YET.
UM, BUT THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN OUT LAST MONTH.
SO EITHER SOME KIND OF AN UPDATE, UM, OR SOMETHING, AND THAT MIGHT ALREADY BE IN THE QUEUE.
UM, ANYTHING ELSE? COMMISSIONER GONZALES? UM, THIS MIGHT BE WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE, BUT ISN'T THERE SUPPOSED TO BE SOME SORT OF BUDGET, UM, RIGHT.
DO YOU, I KNOW THIS MONTH WAS TOO EARLY, RIGHT.
UM, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF IT CLOSES BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
I, I COULDN'T REMEMBER THE SCHEDULE.
DO WE HAVE UPDATES ON WHEN THE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS, YOU'RE GOING TO BE READY FOR US TO TAKE A LOOK AT? I KNOW WE'VE BEEN KIND OF VOLLEYING THIS A LITTLE BIT FOR THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, BUT, UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE AN UPDATE ON THAT? OKAY.
IT WOULD BE RE I MEAN, IT FEELS LIKE MAY STARTING TO FEEL LATE FOR OUR LIFE.
SO IF, IF THERE IS ANY WAY THAT WE CAN LOOK AT SOME BUDGETS BY MAY, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, I KNOW THAT THE PROCESS HAS CHANGED THIS YEAR A LITTLE BIT WITH REGARDS TO SOME OF THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT THAT YOU'RE GETTING BEFORE.
IS THERE A DEADLINE FOR THAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND WHEN YOU GUYS WILL BE DONE AND WITH PROCESSING THAT AND INCORPORATING, OR I THINK WE'RE ALL KIND OF AT A LOSS WE'RE I THINK ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE STILL IN THE PROCESS OF GATHERING INFORMATION.
I KNOW THAT FOR US, WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT, UM, CLOSING AND THE CYE, UM, WHICH IS JUST LOOKING AT WHERE WE ARE IN OUR EXPENDITURES FOR THE CURRENT YEAR, UM, IN ADDITION TO TRYING TO BUILD AND LOOKING FOR THE NEXT YEAR.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT THAT'S STILL GOING ON INTERNALLY IN DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UM, THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE DUE BY THE END OF THIS MONTH.
UM, AND THEN OTHER THINGS THAT I THINK WE'RE YET TO GET FURTHER DIRECTION ON.
SO, BECAUSE BUDGET BUDGET, LIKE THE WHOLE BUDGET OR RAMA THING THAT STARTS HAPPENING IS LIKE IN JULY, RIGHT.
ISN'T IT USUALLY STARTED IN JULY.
UM, SO I FEEL LIKE WE'VE GOT TWO MEETINGS LEFT TO THINK IT USUALLY STARTS IN JULY, BUT USUALLY THERE'S A PROCESS, UM, WHERE WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING THINGS BEFORE A CITY, THE CITY MANAGER TO POTENTIALLY BE HONEST, UM, PROPOSED BUDGET.
WE USED TO LOOK AT THIS IN MARCH AND SO A LITTLE BIT WORRISOME THAT IT'S ALREADY APRIL.
SO I WILL SAY THAT THE, AND I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE NEW PROCESS COMPLETELY, BUT THE, THE CITY, UM, CHANGED THE PROCESS FOR THE, LIKE THE BUDGET TIMELINE A BIT THIS YEAR.
I STILL THINK OUR JULY SORT OF DEADLINES ARE THE SAME, BUT THE PROCESS THAT RAMPS UP TO THE APARTMENTS, MAKING, CREATING THEIR BUDGETS IS DIFFERENT.
SO THAT'S WHY I THINK IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR US THIS TIME AND IT FEELS SO LATE, BUT SO, YES, I'M GOING TO PUT BUDGET ON HERE.
WE'LL TALK SOME MORE NEXT WEEK SO THAT WE CAN SEE IF WE CAN GET SOME TIMELINES AROUND THIS.
UM, THE, I HAD A COUPLE OF THINGS ON THE MIND, ACC IS SOMETHING THAT I'VE HAD ON THE MIND.
AND I THINK WE ADDRESSED THAT, UM, A LITTLE BIT DURING OUR, UM, DIVERSITY TALK TODAY, BUT I ALSO, DURING ONE OF MY, UM, ONE OF THE SESSIONS THAT THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT DID ON BODY-WORN CAMERAS, I CAME ACROSS, UM, SOME LANGUAGE IN THEIR SURVEY THAT THEY WERE DOING ON LEXA POLL.
AND, UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT LEX THE POLE IS, HOW IT'S INVOLVED IN ANY POLICYMAKING, UM, IF IT'S INVOLVED IN POLICYMAKING, UM, I KNOW THAT IT'S, I LOOKED AT BUDGETS A LITTLE BIT AND I UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S SORT OF A SOFTWARE EXPENSE, BUT I JUST WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW IT PLAYS INTO THE PROCESS.
SO LEXIPOL IS SOMETHING FOR ME FOR THE, FOR NEXT MONTH.
SO WE HAVE ANYTHING ELSE FROM ANYONE ELSE.
AND WE'LL TAKE A LOOK AT, I KNOW THAT THERE ARE SOME OUTSTANDING ITEMS
[01:40:01]
FROM PREVIOUS, UM, AGENDA REQUESTS.SO SOMETHING THAT WE HAD DISCUSSED THAT WE HAD NOT GOT ON THE CALENDAR YET, BECAUSE WE HAD JUST BEEN TOO BOOKED, WAS, UM, THE OFFICER, THE OFFICE OF, UH, CIVIL RIGHTS AND TALKING ABOUT WHAT THEIR PLAN WAS AND HOW WE WERE GOING TO, UH, WORK WITH THAT OFFICE AS WELL.
THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT JUST KEEPS GETTING PUSHED OUT.
SO I'D LIKE TO BRING THAT BACK UP.
AND THEN YOU, COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ HAD MENTIONED SOMETHING ABOUT HOW A LONG TIME AGO YOU GUYS HAD GONE LIKE A, A SORT OF LIKE HOW A BILL BECOMES A LAW KIND OF, BUT FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, LIKE HOW, HOW THINGS WORK.
UM, AND I WOULD BE REALLY EXCITED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW THAT WAS STRUCTURED BEFORE, BUT JUST TO CREATE SOME MORE UNDERSTANDING, THERE ARE A LOT OF MORE PEOPLE TUNED IN TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC AS WELL, TO JUST GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF HOW, YOU KNOW, HOW THINGS WORK.
AND WE HAVE A FAIR AMOUNT OF NEW COMMISSIONERS AS WELL.
SO I THINK IT TIES INTO YOUR LIKE SUPPLE REQUESTS AND LIKE HOW THINGS BECOME POLICY, HOW THINGS, YOU KNOW, ALL THOSE THINGS.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT TO REVISIT THAT IN A WHILE, SINCE WE'VE HAD KIND OF A, A ONE-ON-ONE KIND OF SESSION ON, ON CERTAIN TOPICS.
AND SO WE CAN PULL, UH, THE COMMISSION AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY TOPICS THAT STAND OUT.
I THINK WE MIGHT ACTUALLY BE GETTING GRABBED EARLY.
UM, SO IF NOBODY HAS ANYTHING ELSE, OKAY.
I THINK I'LL GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE FOR A GERMAN.
CAN I GET A MOTION FOR AN ADJOURNMENT FROM COMMISSIONER LEWIS AND A SECOND, SECOND COMMISSIONER CONSOLIDATE AND BERNHARDT AND WITH THAT ALL, DO I NEED TO DO ROLL CALL? CORRECT.
SO COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? UH, YES.
SO WITH THAT, THANK YOU, EVERYBODY ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR APRIL.
COVER YOUR NOSES SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE POLLEN IN THEM.
WIN-WIN IS A BIOMASS SHE'S GOT AWAY ABOUT HER.
BOUT A WINDY, WINDY, WINDY, WINDY, WILD ABOUT A WINDOW WHEN NEW AND NEW INDIGO, WHEN THEY WANT YOU TO BLOW THROUGH ME,