* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          ALL RIGHT. 
          [00:00:01]
IT IS THREE 14 AND 
          [Water and Wastewater Commission on May 26, 2022.]
I OFFICIALLY CALL THE WATER WITH WATER, BUT YOU COULDN'T EVEN NEED TO ORDER. 
          UM, TODAY WE HAVE GRANT FISCHER PRESENT, UH, TRAVIS, MICHELLE, AND SUSAN TRIA MYSELF. 
          UM, IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION? NO. 
          UH, NO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION HAS, UH, COME TO SIGN UP FOR THE MEETING. 
          UM, MOVING TO ITEM NUMBER. 
          HEY, APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 25TH, 2022 MEETING FOR THE BUDGET COMMITTEE OF THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION, UH, MEMBERS. 
          YOU HAD A CHANCE TO REVIEW THE COPY. 
          IS THERE ANY ADENOMAS OR MODIFICATIONS AT AUTOPSY AND A NEED FOR ANY CHANGES? A CHAIR I'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES AND THE SECOND, ALL IN FAVOR. 
          RAISE YOUR HAND. 
          UH, BUDGET APPROVES. 
          YOU NOT ASLEEP SO EASY WITH A SMALL GROUP. 
          I LIKE THE MINUTES, THE BUDGET. 
          OH, WOW. 
          YOU'RE DONE. 
          SORRY. 
          UM, DISCUSSION ITEMS. UH, WE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THE FEBRUARY 20TH, 2201 WAS THE AGENDA. 
          SORRY TO TALK HERE. 
          UM, DISCUSSION ITEMS, FISCAL YEAR 2022 TO 2023 BUDGET SUMMARY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, JOSEPH GONZALEZ, AUSTIN WATER ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES. 
          AND TODAY WE'LL COVER, UM, PROVIDE A BUDGET SUMMARY. 
          UH, RECALL WHEN WE, WHEN WE LAST MET, WE WALKED THROUGH OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST AND, AND REALLY THE BUDGET PROCESS IS AN EXTENSION OF OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST. 
          WE'RE KIND OF ALWAYS IN A FORECASTING MODE, UM, ALWAYS PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE. 
          UH, WE FORMERLY SUBMIT OUR FIVE-YEAR FORECAST, UM, IN, IN MARCH EACH YEAR. 
          AND, UM, AND THE BUDGET PROCESS AGAIN IS, IS, UH, UM, IS, IS REALLY A PART OF THAT FORECASTING PROCESS. 
          WE JUST NARROW DOWN TO THE NEXT BUDGET YEAR. 
          UM, SO YOU FORECAST DISCUSSION LAST TIME, REALLY LAID THE GROUNDWORK FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR THE, THE KEY REVENUE AND, UH, REQUIREMENT CHANGES. 
          AND WE'LL, WE'LL GO THROUGH THOSE, UH, TODAY WE'LL TALK THROUGH, UH, REVENUE CHANGES, UH, THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING FOR THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UH, YOU KNOW, RATES AND BILL IMPACT, UH, REQUIREMENT CHANGES. 
          AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT LAST TIME ABOUT SOME OF THE BUDGET CHALLENGES. 
          WE'LL, UH, UM, TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THAT THIS TIME. 
          AND, UH, WE, WE, WE'VE GOT A PRESENTATION, UM, THAT IT'S REALLY BROKEN UP TO A LINE WITH THE AGENDA. 
          SO THE BUDGET SUMMARY WILL BE ITEM B ONE. 
          UM, AND THEN AS WE GET TOWARDS THE END OF THE PRESENTATION, UH, YOU WOULDN'T GET INTO CAPITAL SPENDING, BE I TO BE TOO, UM, AND THEN FOLLOWED BY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE BUNCH OF COMMITTEE REPORT DISCUSSION AND THE CONTINUATION OF, UH, DISCUSSION AT THAT LAST MEETING. 
          SO IN TERMS OF BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS, IS IT, WE WORKED THROUGH OUR ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, GENERALLY HAVE A COUPLE OF AREAS IN WHICH WE, WE, WE FOCUS ON, UH, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, ONE OF THOSE AREAS HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, TO, TO INCREASE OUR OPERATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY. 
          UM, ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY HAS BEEN AN AWESOME WATER PRIORITY SINCE 2019. 
          UM, AND EVEN MORE FORMALLY RECENTLY, UM, I BELIEVE IN 2021, UM, A STRATEGIC INITIATIVE THAT WE'VE INCLUDED, UH, IN, IN OUR STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON OPERATIONAL RESILIENCE, OPERATIONAL AND INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENCY, AND, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR BUDGET WILL REFLECT THAT, UM, IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, FTES TO FOCUS ON RESILIENCY AND CERTAINLY CAPITAL, UH, PROJECTS THAT ARE RESILIENCY FOCUS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU COULD ARGUE, YOU KNOW, A HUNDRED PERCENT OF OUR, OUR, OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN IS, IS A RESILIENCY FOCUSED, BUT, BUT WE, WE CAN KIND OF NARROW IT DOWN ON JUST SPECIFIC ITEMS, WHETHER IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WINTERIZATION, WHETHER IT'S, UM, ELECTRICAL, RESILIENCY, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE BASICALLY, THE BIG SPLIT IS, IS REALLY BETWEEN YOU'RE HARDENING OUR SYSTEM AND IMPROVING OUR SYSTEM AND, AND RESPONDING TO GROWTH, BUT THERE AGAIN GROWTH, EVEN AT THE END OF THE DAY, YOU JUST INSURERS THAT WERE PREPARED OR FOR THE GROWTH THAT WE'RE SEEING AND THE GROWTH THAT WE ANTICIPATE IN THE, IN THE FUTURE. 
          [00:05:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF MAINTAINING FINANCIAL STRENGTH AND STABILITY, UH, YOU RECALL THIS, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION, UM, YOU KNOW, WAS AN ISSUE AS WE DEALT WITH THE DROUGHT, UH, FROM 2011 TO 2015, UM, W UH, 2014, REALLY BIG KIND OF THE PEAK OF, UH, YOU KNOW, THE FINANCIAL HARDSHIPS THAT WE ENDURED DURING, DURING THE DROUGHT IN 2014, WE HAD A 50 MILLION, UH, REVENUE SHORTFALL. 
          UM, OUR, OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE GOT DOWN TO 1.25, WHICH IS THE MINIMUM LEVEL FOR OUR BOND COVENANTS. 
          AND IF WE HAD HAD, UH, YOU KNOW, EVEN A, A 200,000, IF THAT REVENUE SHORTFALL WAS EVEN $200,000 MORE, UH, WE WOULD NOT HAVE MET, YOU HAVE THE BOND COVENANT FOR DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 
          AND THERE WAS A LOT OF WORK TO, TO MAKE, UH, IMPROVEMENTS TO, TO OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION. 
          UM, AND WE TALKED SOME ABOUT THAT LAST TIME WITH, UM, WITH CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, YOU KNOW, INCREASING CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES TO THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT ALLOWED BY STATE CALCULATION, AND, UM, AND, AND USING THOSE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES ALONG WITH OTHER DEBT MANAGEMENT TOOLS TO, TO REALLY, UM, RIGHT-SIZE OUR, OUR DEBT SERVICE LEVELS. 
          AND SINCE THEN, UH, YOU'RE COMING OUT OF THE DROUGHT OR, UM, AND, AND WITH IMPROVEMENTS TO, UM, THE RATIO OF FIXED REVENUES, UM, YOU KNOW, FIXED CHARGES THAT WE CHARGE ON A MONTHLY BASIS AS COMPARED TO, TO VOLUMETRIC REVENUES, UM, YOU KNOW, PRE 2013, WE WERE, UH, OUR, UH, FIXED REVENUE COLLECTION WAS AROUND THE 10% RANGE. 
          YOU KNOW, NOW WE'RE ABOUT 22 AND A HALF PERCENT. 
          SO HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF, OF OUR REVENUES ARE RECOVERED THROUGH FIXED FEES, WHICH MEANS JUST MEANS THEY'RE, THEY'RE MORE STABLE AND, AND, YOU KNOW, LESS VOLATILE WHEN WE EXPERIENCED, WHETHER IT'S DROUGHT OR, UM, PERIODS OF SIGNIFICANT RAINFALL. 
          CAUSE OUR, OUR, OUR DEMAND HAS IMPACTED YOU IN SIMILAR WAYS, WHETHER IT'S DROUGHT CONDITIONS OR, OR EXTREMELY WET CONDITIONS. 
          UM, BUT OUR BOND RATINGS HAVE BEEN STABLE SINCE 2016. 
          UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO IMPROVE OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION. 
          UM, AND DURING THAT TIME, WE WERE ABLE TO STABILIZE OUR RATES AS WELL, UH, GOING INTO 2018, UH, YOU KNOW, LIKE, UH, 16, STRAIGHT YEARS OF SIGNIFICANT RATE INCREASES SIGNIFICANT, UH, MANY YEARS, BUT, UH, 16 STRAIGHT YEARS OF RATE INCREASES, UM, BY 2018, OUR REVENUES IT'S STABILIZED OUR DEMAND AND STABILIZE. 
          AND SO WE KIND OF FOUND THAT BALANCE OF, UH, THE RIGHT LEVEL OF REVENUES WITH THE LEVEL OF DEMAND THAT WE WERE SEEING. 
          UM, BUT IN 2018 WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AS WE WORKED THROUGH SOME OF OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT EFFORTS TO, TO HAVE A, UH, FOREIGN 4.8% RETAIL RATE REDUCTION. 
          AND, UM, FOR FYI 23, WE'RE NOT PROPOSING A, A RATE INCREASE. 
          SO THAT'LL MARK THE FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR OF NO RATE INCREASES SINCE THAT 2018, UH, RETAIL RATE REDUCTION. 
          UM, AND WE WENT OVER THIS LAST TIME, BUT, UH, JUST, UH, UM, AND I WON'T GO INTO TOO MUCH DETAIL WITH IT, BUT THIS IS A FORECAST FUND SUMMARY THAT WE PROVIDED LAST YEAR. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FOCUS IN ON, ON FYI 23. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ARE ANTICIPATING, UM, A LITTLE BIT OF A DEFICIT IN TERMS OF REVENUES OVER EXPENDITURES. 
          AND IT REALLY, THE BIGGEST PART OF THAT IS, UM, YOU'RE TRYING TO MAINTAIN AN INCREASE, UH, TO A CERTAIN DEGREE, OUR, OUR CIP FUNDING OF CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          UM, AND WE'LL TALK MORE ABOUT CAPITAL PROJECTS WITH, WITH ITEM B TOO, BUT YEAH, WE DO HAVE A GROWING CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN. 
          AND, UM, ONE OF THE THINGS WE WANT TO DO IS, IS MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT A GOOD BALANCE OF CASH FUNDING OF CAPITAL PROJECTS AND OUR FINANCIAL POLICY TARGETS YOU HAVE BETWEEN 35 AND 50%, UH, CASH FUNDING OF OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          UM, SO FOR FYI 23, WE WERE, WE'RE LOOKING AT 38% AND, UH, WHICH IS A LITTLE BIT LOWER THAN WE'VE BEEN IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. 
          WE'VE BEEN ABOVE 40%. 
          UH, BUT AGAIN, OUR, OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN IS GROWING AND WE STARTED THE PROGRAM IN SOME, SOME SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS. 
          AND SO WE DIDN'T WANT THAT TO DIP TOO MUCH. 
          UH, SO WE FELT LIKE IT WAS THE APPROPRIATE USE OF FUND BALANCE TO, TO TRY AND MAINTAIN, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ALMOST 40% 
          [00:10:01]
LEVEL OF CASH FINANCING, UH, OF OUR CIP PLAN THAT WE MOVE ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AND I'LL HAND IT OVER TO TINA ROMERO TO TALK ABOUT, UH, OUR REVENUE CHANGES, GOOD AFTERNOON, UH, TINA ROMERO, FINANCIAL MANAGER, UH, FOR, UH, AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND THIS SLIDE IS SIGNIFICANT REVENUE CHANGES. 
          AND SO WHAT WE DID IS WE LOOKED AT, UM, PRIOR YEARS BUDGET AND, UH, LOOKED AT THE CHANGES OF WHAT WE'VE SUBMITTED FOR THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          AND SO HE CAN SEE THAT THE TOP TWO OR THE WATER AND WASTEWATER SERVICE REVENUES, AND THAT'S REALLY ATTRIBUTED MORE TOWARDS, UM, CUSTOMER GROWTH AND HIGHER DEMAND PROJECTIONS. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHERE A BULK OF OUR CHANGES OF THAT 14.3 MILLION ARE COMING FROM, AND THEN TRANSFERS IN FROM A COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND. 
          UM, THAT FUND IS WHERE, UM, WE SUPPORT OUR CAP PROGRAM FROM THAT SURCHARGE OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE. 
          AND, UM, WHAT WE'RE DOING IS JUST TRANSFERRING BACK IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DOLLARS TO COVER THE DISCOUNT THAT'S BEING PROVIDED FOR CAP RESIDENTIAL CAP CUSTOMERS, AND THEN THE TRANSFER INTO RECLAIMED WATER OPERATING FUND. 
          UH, THAT'S UH, WE INCREASED THAT THIS YEAR ONLY BECAUSE OF, UH, THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE RECLAIMED FUND TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE'RE DEFINITELY MEETING THOSE REQUIREMENTS IN THAT FUND AND THE WASTEWATER, MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE AND WATER MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE. 
          YOU CAN SEE THAT WHEN ONE IS INCREASING WHILE THE OTHER IS DECREASING AND MAINLY THE WASTEWATER IS INCREASING FOR, UH, DISCHARGE PERMITS. 
          UM, SO WE DID INCREASE OUR DISCHARGE PERMIT FEE. 
          IN ADDITION, UM, THE DECREASE AND THE DECREASE IN THE WATER MISCELLANEOUS REVENUE IS, UM, DUE TO, UH, DECREASED WATER ENFORCEMENT FINES. 
          AND SO WE DID, UH, SAY THAT THERE WERE SOME CHANGES MADE FROM OUR WATER CONSERVATION, UH, WITH COUNCIL. 
          AND, UM, SO WE, UH, HAVE DECREASED, UH, WHAT WE FORECAST FOR REVENUES AND OUR BUDGET. 
          AND, AND I'LL JUST CIRCLING BACK ON, ON THE TRANSFER IN, FROM, FROM THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUNDS, UM, YOU KNOW, ALL OF OUR RETAIL CUSTOMERS PAY INTO THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND, UM, TO FUND, YOU KNOW, A COUPLE OF PROGRAMS TO FUND OUR, UM, OUR CAP PROGRAM DISCOUNTS. 
          AND, AND REALLY, THAT'S JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THIS INCREASE AS A REFLECTION OF THAT INCREASED NUMBER OF, OF CAP CUSTOMERS, UH, THAT W WE HAVE A LEVEL WHERE AT NOW AS COMPARED TO PREVIOUS PANDEMIC. 
          UM, AND SO WE WERE ANTICIPATING, UH, MORE CUSTOMERS CONTINUING TO, TO, TO, UM, SEEK BENEFITS AND AS A RESULT, YOU KNOW, BE REIMBURSED FROM, FROM THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT FUND, UH, FOR, UM, FOR THOSE DISCOUNTS. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, NEXT IS, ARE TRANSFERS IN, UM, TO WASTEWATER AND, UM, WATER OPERATING FUNDS. 
          UH, WE, UH, HAVE A DECREASE IN BOTH THE TRANSFERS IN, AND THAT'S MAINLY DUE TO THE DEBT DEFEASANCE. 
          IF YOU RECALL THIS PAST, UH, THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE ACTUALLY HAD A LARGER DEBT DEFEASANCE THAN WE NORMALLY DO. 
          AND, UM, SO NEXT YEAR, OUR, UH, BUDGET ADEPT DEFEASANCE IT'S, IT'S MUCH SMALLER OKAY. 
          NEXT SLIDE IS OUR, UM, PROJECTED RANK REVENUE INCREASES. 
          AND, UH, I THINK WE HAD THIS SLIDE IN THERE MAYBE LAST TIME WE MET, SO NOTHING HAS CHANGED IN THIS SLIDE. 
          WE STILL ANTICIPATE, UM, UH, 4.7%, UH, INCREASE, UH, OVERALL IN 24. 
          AND IN ADDITION TO ANOTHER RATE INCREASE IN FYE 26 AND COMBINED WATER WASTEWATER 3.2%, AND THEN RECLAIMED OF 2%. 
          AND SO, AS JOSEPH MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE HAD A 4.8% RETAIL RATE REDUCTION IN 2018. 
          WE HAVEN'T HAD ANY RATING CREASES FOR NOW GOING ON FIVE YEARS IN 2023 AND FORECASTED IF 1 24 RATE INCREASES, UH, WOULD ACTUALLY RESULT IN RATES NEAR THOSE 2018 LEVELS, UH, BEFORE THAT ROOF REDUCTION SO NOW I WILL TURN IT OVER TO LEE WHO WILL TALK ABOUT, UM, THE O AND M AND SIGNIFICANT REQUIREMENT CHANGES. 
          THANK YOU, TINA. 
          SO MANY THOROUGHLY HOSTILE WATER FINANCIAL MANAGER 
          [00:15:01]
FOR THIS SLIDE. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO REFER YOU TO ONE OF OUR BECCA MATERIALS. 
          IT'S THIS ONE THAT'S CALLED  FOR BOTH USC. 
          AND SO, SO THIS IS A SUMMARY, UM, YOU KNOW, A HIGH-LEVEL SUMMARY, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF OUR, UM, OUR, UH, AND WHETHER IT'S STRATEGIC INITIATIVES OR, YOU KNOW, EU AND MARRIOTT FOCUSES EFFECTIVE UTILITY MANAGEMENT TO FOCUS WITH. 
          UM, BUT THE, THE, THE HANDOUT GETS INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL, UH, FOR, FOR EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES. 
          OKAY. 
          YEAH. 
          SO IF WE LOOK IN THE HANDOUT, YOU WILL SEE THAT FOR THE PURPOSE, JUST LIKE JOSEPH SAID, IT'S EITHER A EFFECTIVELY PAID MANAGEMENT ATTRIBUTES, OR IT'S A ONE AUSTIN WATER'S OWN INITIATIVES. 
          AND THEN, UM, IN THE CONTEND, WE HAVE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          ONE IS ALL OF THE NEW FTES, WHICH YOU WILL SEE THE JOB TITLES OF THE NEW FTES AND DOES THEIR JOB JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND NUMBERS OF NEW FTES, AS WELL AS THE CORRESPONDING DOLLAR AMOUNT. 
          AND THEN SECOND PART UNDER EACH OF THESE CATEGORIES AS A SIGNIFICANT INCREASES BY OBJECT CODE THAT IS CONTRIBUTING TO THAT PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTE AND PARTICULAR INITIATIVE. 
          SO ON THE SLIDE, YOU WILL SEE ONE THING TO NOTE IS THIS THE DETAIL WE PREPARED, WE ONLY HOLD, WE HAD SET A SCOPE ONLY POOLING SNIFFING THE INCREASES OR DECREASES GREATER THAN $350,000. 
          SO THAT'S WHY THE FIRST ITEM CONTRACTION COMMODITY ON THE SLIDE. 
          THE $5.2 MILLION ACTUALLY IS BECAUSE OF, WE STILL HAVE A LOT OF THE CHANGES THAT ON BELOW THE SCOPE OF $357 AND THE, THAT TOTAL IS A 5.2 MILLION SECOND LINE 45. 
          YES. 
          OH, YES. 
          WAS THERE ANY SIGNIFICANCE TO, OR HOW DID Y'ALL DETERMINE OR USE 352? I THINK PART OF THAT WAS JUST TO, TO HAVE, UM, KIND OF A, UM, A MANAGEABLE LIST, YOU KNOW, UM, WE, WE SEE INCREASES IN DECREASES ABOVE AND BELOW THAT LEVEL. 
          AND, UM, YEAH, I THINK IT WOULD HAVE TRIPLED TO THE LIST THAT IF WE HAD GONE, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN TO TWO 50 THAT WE FEEL LIKE THE ONE WE PULLED HAVE, UH, THE MOST SIGNIFICANT CHANGES THAT WE FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD COMMUNICATE. 
          SO, UM, SO THE SECOND LINE LINE ON THE SLIDE IS THE 45 FTS, UH, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, SO FOR EACH OF THE CATEGORIES, YOU WILL SEE THAT, UH, THE FT HAVE AUTOMATION AND ALL OF THESE ADD UP TO BE 45. 
          SO WE PROVIDED A BIT OF EXTRA INFORMATION TO HELP SUPPORT THAT NEW, ADDITIONAL 45 EMPTIES AT HOME. 
          YEAH, GO AHEAD. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN, AND FOR FTES YOU'RE, REGARDLESS OF THE DOLLAR AMOUNT, WE LISTED ALL THE FTES. 
          SO, SO WHERE, WHERE WE SAW, YOU KNOW, UH, AN INCREASE OR DECREASE AT AN OBJECT CODE LEVEL THAT WE USE THE THREE 50 THRESHOLD, BUT WHATEVER EVERY FTE IS LISTED WITH, WE WANT EVERY ONE OF THEM TO BE COUNTED. 
          NOW, UM, WHAT ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY, THE $2.7 MILLION REPRESENT THE ITEMS BELOW THE FTE. 
          SO YOU WILL SEE THAT $1.6 MILLION IS A BUDGET IS PROPOSED TO BE BUDGETED TO, UM, THAT'S FOR OUR INCOMING REFILING, AS WELL AS THE INDEPENDENT HEALING EXAMINER PROCESS. 
          AND THEN HE WAS, UH, THEN THE SECOND LINE IS THAT WAY, UH, TRACY, UH, INCREASING LOWER, UH, STANDOUT OF FIRE AND, UH, EXTENDED THE COVID INSURANCE, UH, BECAUSE THE WAY WE'LL CLOSE THAT THE CUT OF MOCKERY IS REALLY DIFFICULT. 
          SO THEY ARE SEEING A PRETTY BIG INCREASE FOR THE INSURANCE COST. 
          AND THE THIRD ONE IS THE INCREASING GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT FEES AND LIGHTWEIGHT PUBLIC FEES. 
          I BELIEVE THE RIGHT AWAY FROM THE FEES AS A NEW PERMIT THAT THEY SEE IT. 
          SO THAT'S AN ADDITIONAL COST FOR US, ACTUALLY, THE LAST TWO ITEMS, BOTH 
          [00:20:01]
GOVERNMENT FEES. 
          UM, OKAY, SO THIS, THE ONE IS, UH, FOR THE SONG OF ESPN AS A PUBLIC CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT REVIEW TEAM AS WELL. 
          SO FOR THE LAST ONE, SO THERE IS A MOUNTAIN WITH A CORRESPONDENT TO THE ENTERPRISE RESILIENCY, $2.7 MILLION INCREASE. 
          THAT'S ALL THE SLIDE. 
          AND VERY SIMILARLY FOR OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION. 
          THAT'S 2, 1 5 WINNERS THAT INCREASE, AND THEN YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE'S ACTUALLY TWO, $700,000 INCREASE. 
          UH, ONE OF THEM, WE, WE, I WON'T READ EACH LINE, BUT YOU, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THEY ARE ALLOTTED THE, FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES AND THE THINGS, EACH OF THEM ARE PRETTY BIG. 
          WE LISTED THEM SEPARATELY AND WE ARE SEEING CHEMICAL PRICING INCREASES. 
          UH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE ANOTHER NOTHER, UM, SLIDE THAT WE'LL TALK A LITTLE MORE ABOUT CHEMICAL. 
          SO CHEMICAL PRICE HAS INCREASED, UH, AS WELL AS THE, UM, CHEMICAL WAY OF PROJECTING A HIGHER OUTBREAK. 
          SO THE WAY USING A LITTLE MORE AS WELL. 
          AND THEN, UM, THE NEXT ITEM THAT IS, UH, CONTRIBUTING TO Z OPERATIONAL OPTIMIZATION IS TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES. 
          SO WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL DIFFERENT DIVISIONS HAS AN ADDITIONAL TEMPORARY EMPLOYEE NEEDS. 
          AND THEN, WHICH IS IDENTIFIED HERE IN THE JUSTIFICATION, THE 1.2, $5 MILLION HEALTH INSURANCE OFFERING, NOT, UH, IN OF DETAIL, BUT THAT'S JUST A LINE ITEMS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE EVERY YEAR. 
          SO THEY TELL US, HEY, YOU KNOW, THE INSURANCE COST NEXT YEAR PUT FT IS X AMOUNT AND THE 4 0 1 TOTAL FTES, IT'S A $1.5 MILLION INCREASE AND NOT THE ITEM. 
          THAT'S ALSO BUDGET OFFICE. 
          AND THE ASSET DEPARTMENT DROVE ON AND HE IS A FLEET FEE ON A MAINTENANCE. 
          SO COMPARED TO LAST YEAR, WE RECEIVED A PROPOSED BUDGET. 
          THAT'S A $1.1 MILLION HIGHER COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENT. 
          OH, I DO WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, THAT ONE IS YOU SEE $0.9 MILLION INCREASE ABOUT IT REALLY. 
          UH, LAST YEAR WE WERE TOLD TO BUDGET A $1.2 MILLION COVID PAY YOU HAVE FOR CURRENT YEAR FYI 12 TO TWO. 
          AND IS THERE FOR, I TOLD TWO, THREE, WE WERE TOLD TO BUDGET A PLACE HOLDER FOR A 2% WAGE INCREASE, WHICH IS, UH, 2.1 MILLION. 
          SO THE DIFFERENCE BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CURRENT YEAR VERSUS NEXT YEAR FLUCTUATIONS. 
          SO THE DIFFERENCE TO THE POINT, I MADE A DOLLAR INCREASE IN COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENTS, AND A $0.4 MILLION IS ATTRIBUTED TO MY 80 X WATER. 
          I BELIEVE THAT I'M ONE MOSTLY TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES THAT THEY NEED TO SUPPORT IN MY STORE RATION AND THE AQUATIC CONTROL. 
          SO THE NEXT 180, UH, BREEDING SERVICE FEE IS A DECREASE THIS YEAR. 
          SO, UM, THE NUMBER WE RECEIVED FROM A IS, UH, GIVING US A $0.5 MILLION DECREASE, AND ALSO BASED ON OUR REVIEW AND THE NUMBER PROVIDED BY YE UH, FOR THE BAD DEBT RELATED TO COST. 
          AND THE WAY I ALSO SEEN A DECREASE IN THAT AS WELL. 
          UH, HER TRANSFERS, I DO WANT TO POINT YOU TO OTHER TRANSFERS, YOU SEE A $6.9 MILLION DECREASE HERE. 
          SO WE GO TO THE LAST PAGE OF THE SUPPORTING DOCUMENT, ACTUALLY, SORRY, IT'S A LOT THE END OF THE SECOND PAGE, BECAUSE, UH, THERE, THE ONE TRANSFER GOT PULLED UP ON THAT PAGE. 
          SO USC DOES A INCREASE TRANSFER. 
          AMY AND DON ARE TWO WAYS TO WATER THE CIP FUND. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE SOME AUTHORS INCREASES IN DIFFERENT TRANSFERS, INCLUDING TRANSFER TO GENERAL FUND, RECLAIM WATER CIP, UH, ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT CTM, WHICH IS OUR DATA SYSTEM IN THE DEPARTMENT DATA SYSTEM SUPPORT. 
          AND THEN A CPM IS CONTACT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT THESE ITEMS AS UP TO BE ABOUT TOTAL OF $2.9 MILLION INCREASE. 
          AND THEN 
          [00:25:01]
TO MY, I, YOU WILL SEE THAT IF YOU GO LOOK DOWN, UH, THE HOUSES, I ALREADY COVERED, THE ONES THAT I'VE SEEN THEM COVER, THE LAST TWO IS ONE YEARS TRANSFERRED TO OPERATING FUND TO THEIR DEFEASANCE. 
          THAT'S A DECREASE OF $4.8 MILLION. 
          AND THEN THE LAST ITEM IS TRANSFER CASH, RECOVERY FEE. 
          I MEAN, CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE TO THEIR DEFEASANCE, WHICH IS, UM, $30 MILLION DECREASE COMPARED TO COLORING YEAR. 
          SO THESE FOUR ITEMS WILL ADD UP TO BE THE SIX MONTH $0.9 MILLION DECREASING OTHERS. 
          SO I'LL STOP HERE, SEE PRESENTED QUESTIONS. 
          AND THEN I CAN JUST ADD, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, LIKE I SAID, THE INCREASE IN THE WASTEWATER CIP, UH, CASH FINANCING THAT THAT'S THAT $8 MILLION. 
          AND THAT THAT'S PART OF WHAT'S DRIVING, YOU KNOW, THE, THE BUDGET DEFICIT. 
          UM, AND, AND WHEN, WHEN WE GET INTO THE, THE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, YOU'LL SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN IS STARTING TO BE MUCH MORE WASTEWATER, UH, FOCUSED AND WASTEWATER HEAVY. 
          AND, AND SO THAT'S DRIVING, YOU HAVE THAT NEED TO, TO TRY AND MAINTAIN THAT PERCENTAGE ON THE WASTEWATER SIDE. 
          AND THEN THE LAST TWO ITEMS, UM, ARE RELATED TO YOU, TAITA DESCRIBED THE, UM, THE REDUCTION IN THE PLAN TO FEES. 
          AND SO I THINK IT WAS LIKE 65 MILLION, UM, IN, IN THE CURRENT YEAR. 
          AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT A 45 47, 40 7 MILLION, UH, THE FEES THAT SWITCH, UM, YOU KNOW, IF NOT FOR THE COMBINATION, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR WE, WE, UM, THE FYI 20 DEFEASANCE, OR NO, WE DEFERRED THE 21 TO PHASES INTO THE CURRENT YEAR INTO 22. 
          AND SO WE HAD HISTORICALLY DONE ABOUT $35 MILLION, UH, DEFEASANCE TRANSACTIONS, UH, BECAUSE WE COMBINE THE TWO THAT GOT US TO ABOUT THE 65 MILLION, UM, YOU KNOW, 30 AND 35. 
          UH, BUT FOR NEXT YEAR, UM, YOU HAVE 47 MILLION, IF NOT FOR THE COMBINING OF THOSE TWO WOULD BE OUR LARGEST DEFEASANCE TRANSACTION TO DATE. 
          SO IT'S D IT'S A SIGNIFICANT DEFEASANCE TRANSACTION THAT WE'VE GOT PLANNED. 
          UM, AND IT'S REFLECTIVE OF THE, OF THE CONTINUED GROWTH WE'RE SEEING IN CAPITAL RECOVERY FLEET FEES. 
          THANKS. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH WE CAN NOT, UH, PRESENT TO YOU A FULL FUND SUMMARY PROPOSED ABOUT YOUR FYI TOTAL TO THREE, BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL YET, BUT I THINK, I BELIEVE THIS SUMMARY PROVIDES A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION, ESSENTIALLY. 
          YOU SEE WHAT'S CHANGING FROM LAST YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          AND SO IT GIVES YOU A GOOD IDEA. 
          WHAT'S, WHAT'S BEING PROPOSED FOR IF I TOLD THEM THIS IS VERY HELPFUL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          UH, YOU TALKED ABOUT THIS. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THE FTE SLIDE, THIS IS JUST A SUMMARY OF ALL OF THAT PROPOSED THE FTES AGAIN BY THE M E L M AND H INITIATIVES. 
          SO THIS KIND OF PULLS THE DATA OUT. 
          SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN ANY INDIVIDUAL, ONE OF THEM, YOU CAN GO BACK TO THE CORRESPONDING DETAIL AND YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE EACH OF THE FTES TITLE AS WELL AS THE JOB DESCRIPTION AND IT'S CORRESPONDING PAY. 
          AND I'M ONLY WE PRESENTED THIS LAST TIME. 
          SO THIS TIME, THIS IS NOT NEW INFORMATION, BUT JUST WANTING, UM, TO, TO REALLY JUST PROVIDE IT AS MORE OF A REMINDER. 
          YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO JOSEPH TO TALK ABOUT THE BUDDY CHALLENGE. 
          SO, AND WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SOME OF THESE AND I JUST START OFF NO, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE DEALING WITH ALL OF THE SAME SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES THAT, UM, UH, OTHER INDUSTRIES ARE DEALING WITH, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, CONSTRUCTION, YOU KNOW, UH, AUTO MANUAL MANUFACTURING, YOU KNOW, UM, GROCERIES, YOU KNOW, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE ALL DEALING WITH, UH, SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES, WHICH ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN, YOU KNOW, PRICING INCREASES AND, YOU KNOW, UM, ANY TIME, YOU KNOW, A VENDOR THAT WE WORK WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES ON, ON THEIR END, OR YOU HAVE SOME KIND OF INCREASE IN THEIR COST STRUCTURE. 
          WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO, UM, THEY HAVE THE ABILITY TO REQUEST A PRICE ADJUSTMENT 
          [00:30:01]
AND ALL OF LAST YEAR, I, I DIDN'T HAVE A SINGLE PRICE ADJUSTMENT REQUEST. 
          UM, BUT, UM, WE, WE ADDED, UH, WE, WE PROVIDED IN THE PACKET A LISTING OF, OF CONTRACT PRICE ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE SEE. 
          UM, IT REALLY JUST IN THE LAST TWO MONTHS, SINCE, SINCE MARCH, UH, THERE 17 CONTRACT PRICE, ADJUSTMENT REQUESTS SINCE MARCH TOTALLY 3.1 MILLION. 
          UM, AND WE WE'VE SORTED IT BY, BY CHEMICALS AND ALL OTHER, UH, PRICE REQUESTS. 
          AND REALLY IF YOU KIND OF BOIL DOWN TO YOU TO TWO KEY AREAS, CHEMICALS, AND THEN ANY, ANYTHING THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, WHETHER IT'S IT'S, IT'S RESIN RELATED, YOU PIPES, UH, UM, OR, OR, YOU KNOW, VALVES, METERS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING NOT AS SIGNIFICANT PRICE INCREASES ON THAT SIDE. 
          REALLY THE SIGNIFICANT PRICE INCREASES WE'VE SEEN HAVE BEEN PRIMARILY ON, ON THE, ON THE CHEMICAL SIDE, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, RANGING FROM, UH, YOU KNOW, ALMOST 10%, UH, FOR MAGNESIUM, UH, HYDROXIDES FLURRY, UH, TO, YOU KNOW, UP TO 87% FOR SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE. 
          UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE CONTINUING TO, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR, OUR PROPOSED BUDGET WILL, WILL REFLECT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'VE ALREADY HAD PRICE ADJUSTMENTS, WE INCORPORATED THAT INTO OUR PROPOSED BUDGET SUBMITTAL. 
          UM, WHAT, WE ALSO TRIED TO ADD A LITTLE BIT EXTRA CUSHION, UH, BOTH IN TERMS OF CONTINGENCY DOLLARS. 
          UM, WE HAD 800,800,000 OF CONTINGENCY DOLLARS. 
          UM, AND, AND REALLY JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE, THE, THE 5.9 MILLION THAT IT'S ONLY DESCRIBED IN TERMS OF CONTRACTUAL AND COMMODITY INCREASES, SOME OF THAT IS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, ACTUAL OBSERVED INCREASES IN SOME OF IT IS, IS JUST TO PROVIDE SOME, SOME CUSHION, UM, TO GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF LEEWAY. 
          SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO SEE PRICE INCREASES? UM, HOPEFULLY NOT AT THIS LEVEL, BUT, UH, UM, AND, AND I THINK WE ARE STARTING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A KIND OF LEVEL OFF, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT, THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, DROP OFF DRAMATICALLY. 
          YES. 
          UH, WITH THE VARIOUS INCREASES IN WHETHER IT'S CHEMICALS OR EVEN SOME OF THE PERTINENT IS, UM, YOU KNOW, USUALLY WE HAVE MATERIALS ON HAND, RIGHT. 
          THAT WE NEED AS HAS THE COST INCREASES RESULTED IN THINKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, DO WE REALLY NEED 10 OF THOSE ON THE SHELF? MAYBE WE CAN DO WITH FIVE, HAVE WE MADE THE ADJUSTMENTS OF HOW WE THINK ABOUT HAVING MATERIALS ON HAND OR NOT REALLY W WELL WE HAVE, BUT WE'VE ACTUALLY KIND OF GONE IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION. 
          YOU KNOW, THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES HAVE MADE IT, YOU HAVE INCREASED LEAD TIMES. 
          AND SO HISTORICALLY WE'VE TRIED TO, YOU REALLY CLOSELY MATCH YOUR, OUR HISTORICAL USE OF, OF, OF SOME OF THESE ITEMS, EVEN WHETHER IT'S PIPE, FITTINGS, VALVES, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE LOOKED AT OUR HISTORICAL DEMAND AND CONSUMPTION OF THOSE ITEMS, AND WE'VE TRIED TO PLAN OUR PURCHASES ACCORDINGLY. 
          UM, BUT BECAUSE OF THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES AND THE LONG LEAD TIMES, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, LOWER LEVELS OF INVENTORY IN TERMS OF OUR SUPPLIERS, UM, WE WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF OVERBUYING RIGHT NOW TO, TO TRY AND ENSURE WE DON'T RUN OUT AND THAT WE MAINTAIN A SUPPLY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THE NEXT ORDER IS GOING TO COME IN MAKE SENSE. 
          SO TO ADD TO WHAT I JUST SAID. 
          SO, CAUSE SO IF WE LOOK AT THE DATA FOR LAST YEAR FOR 21, WE SPENT A TOTAL OF $15.2 MILLION IN CHEMICAL AND A FULL CALUM YEAR F 22. 
          WE HAVE A BUDGET OF $17.2 MILLION, BUT WE HAVE SEEN OF COURSE, A HIGHER PRICES, BUT ALSO THAT, UH, THE NUMBER NEXT NUMBER I GIVE YOU $12.8 MILLION A YEAR TODAY, UH, IS TWO COMPONENTS. 
          ONE IS WHAT'S SPENDING SO FAR, BUT ALSO IT TOOK ENCUMBRANCES. 
          THEY, SOME OF THE CONTRACTS THEY CAN COVER, UH, AND THEN EVERY MONTH THEY WERE ORDERED AWFULLY ENCUMBRANCE. 
          SO IT'S NOT A, UH, A MONTH, TWO MONTHS ACCURATE ESTIMATE, BUT THEY GIVE YOU A IDEA THAT YOU ARE TRENDING HIGHER. 
          SO, SO FAR YOU HAVE TODAY, WE ARE SEEN IN CAMERAS ON TOP OF THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE, UH, TOTAL IS ABOUT 12, $12.8 MILLION. 
          SO WE'RE DEFINITELY TRAINED TRAINING HIGHER. 
          AND THEN 800 K YOU WERE THINKING IS 
          [00:35:01]
PROBABLY THAT THE, UM, PROPOSED BUDGET RIGHT NOW FOR THE CHEMICAL IS $18.1 MILLION. 
          AND THAT'S AN $800,000 DIFFERENCE COMPARED TO THE COMING YEAR AND THE, UM, NUMBER OF HYPE SHOE, THE EARLIEST SLIGHTLY LOWER IS BECAUSE WE ONLY PULLED UP ONE NUMBER THAT'S ABOVE THE 350 K. 
          SO THERE'S A FEW OTHER SMALL INCREASES. 
          THAT'S NOW NINE INCLUDED. 
          UM, AND THEN WHEN WE TALKED LAST TIME TOO, UM, AND GOT ANOTHER SLIDE COMING, UM, ABOUT YOUR POST STAFFING PLANNING INCREASE, YOU KNOW, WE ADDED 62 POSITIONS IN, IN THE CURRENT YEAR AS PART OF THE CURRENT YEAR BUDGET. 
          UH, WE JUST HAD THE BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR ANOTHER 16, UH, FTES AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, UH, WE'LL BE PROPOSED WHERE WE DID POSE 45 NEW FTES. 
          UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, SO, SO THAT'S A BIG INCREASE IN, YOU KNOW, OVER OVER TWO YEAR PERIOD IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF, OF, OF BUDGETED FTES, UM, AT A TIME WHEN WE DO HAVE A HIGH VACANCY RATES. 
          WELL, UH, I'VE GOT YOU THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL TALK TO SOME OF, UM, SOME OF OUR HIRING AND ATTRITION ACTIVITY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK AS I MENTIONED LAST TIME, WE'VE ACTUALLY MADE ME FEEL LIKE WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF HIRING. 
          UM, IT'S JUST BEEN A CHALLENGE TO SLOW THE ATTRITION. 
          AND SO IT'S, UM, HIRING HAS BEEN KIND OF LIKE FILLING A LEAKY BUCKET. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THE WAS A CONTINGENCY JUST TO MAKE SURE THE EARLIER WE ACTUALLY HAVE A $1.7 MILLION CONTINGENCY BUDGET. 
          HE DIDN'T COME A YEAR AND THEN WE ADDED ANOTHER 300 K. 
          SO FOR THE PROPOSED TOTAL TO THREE, WE HAVE ABOUT $2 MILLION AS WE CONTINUE TO SEE. 
          SO THAT TOLD ME THAT IT WILL HELP US MEET THE NEEDS OF OVERVIEW, THE CHALLENGES. 
          AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OTHER THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN MONITORING OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS HAVE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN TERMS OF THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFERS. 
          UM, AND SOME OF IT IS, IS, IS DIRECT, UH, YOU KNOW, DIRECT SERVICES PROVIDED, UM, SOME OF IT'S ALLOCATED COST FOR, UM, FOR CENTRAL SERVICES, LIKE, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, OUR INFO SYSTEMS CTM, UM, OUR ADMIN SUPPORT, WHETHER IT'S, YOU KNOW, CENTRAL FINANCE, CENTRAL HR, UM, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THOSE TRANSFERS HAS HAD, HAVE INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, OUR CAPITAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT GROUP, THEY, UM, MANAGE A LOT OF THE, UH, CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, UH, FOR, FOR THE CITY. 
          AND THEY ALLOCATE THOSE COSTS BASED ON, YOU KNOW, DEPARTMENTAL SPEND WELL WITH THE PANDEMIC. 
          UM, AVIATION, FOR EXAMPLE, SLOWED DOWN, UH, THEIR CAPITAL SPEND, WHICH MADE OUR PERCENTAGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL CITY SPEND GO UP. 
          AND AS A RESULT, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CURRENT YEAR FOR, FOR FYI 22, WE SAW A 42% INCREASE IN THE ALLOCATION OF CAPITAL PROJECT MANAGEMENT COSTS. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE SEEING ANOTHER INCREASE, NOT NEARLY AS BIG, YOU KNOW, 8% INCREASE, UM, BECAUSE AVIATION, UH, IS BASED ON PRIOR YEAR. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO IT'S BASED ON , UM, AVIATION DIDN'T DRAMATICALLY INCREASE, UH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN 21, EVEN THOUGH, UM, THEY STARTED TO SEE AN INCREASE IN PASSENGER TRAFFIC, BUT, UH, WE'RE HOPING SOME OF THAT WILL SLOW, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, HAS REALLY BEEN AN ISSUE OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE SOME OF THOSE TRANSFERS ARE GROWING AT A MUCH FASTER RATE, UM, CERTAINLY THAN, THAN OUR BUDGET OVERALL. 
          UM, AND, AND SO IT MAKES IT, IT, IT PUTS A LITTLE BIT OF STRESS ON, ON OUR FINANCES. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, THOSE, THOSE, THEY'RE NOT HUGE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NOT HUGE TRANSFERS, BUT THEY, YOU KNOW, THEY ALL HAD, UM, YEAH. 
          AND TODAY WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE ALLOCATION NUMBER FOR C CAM OR . 
          SO A FULL FORECAST WE INCLUDED, UH, I CAN'T REMEMBER A FIVE TO 7% AND REMIND ME CTM COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT. 
          IT'S, IT'S, IT'S CERTAINLY OUR, IT FOLKS, OUR IT DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, THEY DO, UM, THEY, THEY MANAGE A NUMBER OF THINGS, BUT, UH, COMBINED, UH, TALK TO ME IS TRANSPORTATION COMMUNICATION JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM HERE? IT'S OUR ARE, UH, LIKE PART OF IT IS THREE, ONE. 
          YEAH. 
          IT'S, 
          [00:40:01]
IT'S A COMBINED EMERGENCY CENTER IT'S ACTUALLY JOINED WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, TXDOT PEBBLE, METRO MPD. 
          IT'S JUST UP THE STREET HERE ON 51ST STREET THAT ACTUALLY EAST OF I 35, WHAT YOU, THE EXACT ACRONYM I'M TO GOOGLE IT AND YOU KNEW THIS WAS THE, I DON'T IT. 
          AND THEN, UM, AND, AND WE'LL, LIKE I SAID, WE'LL, WE'LL GET INTO, UM, THE MORE DETAIL ON THE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO HAVE SOME LARGE STRATEGIC PROJECTS ON THE HORIZON. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK COMMISSION LEVEL, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT, UH, UM, WALNUT CREEK EXPANSION AND THAT'S A BIG DRIVER, UM, YOU KNOW, WATERFALL WORD IS, IS, IS A DRIVER. 
          AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS THE CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN INCREASES, YOU KNOW, WHAT IMPACTS, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR FINANCIAL METRICS IN TERMS OF CASH FINANCING. 
          AND, UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE FEEL LIKE WE'VE, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON THE DEBT MANAGEMENT SIDE, HE WAS CREATING CAPACITY FOR OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN. 
          UM, AND, AND, UM, SO AS WE LOOK AT, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IS TO TRY AND KEEP OUR ANNUAL DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS, YOU KNOW, UM, IN THE 170 $580 MILLION RANGE AS OUR, AS OUR CAPITAL PLAN GROWS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S GOING TO PROBABLY BUMP UP TO A, TO GET UP TO ABOUT 180 5. 
          UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE DO SEE AN OVERALL DECLINING LEVEL OF DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS AFTER WE GET PASSED AROUND FYI 29. 
          SO OUR FOCUS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS WILL BE CREATING CAPACITY FOR THE INCREASED SPENDING THAT WE'RE GOING TO SAVE RELATED TO SOME OF THESE, UM, SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS, AND THEN TRYING TO REDUCE YOUR, TRYING TO FEES AND REFUND ENOUGH DEBT SO THAT WHEN WE LAYER THAT NEW DEBT ON WE'RE STAYING IN THAT 180 5 RANGE. 
          AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT RIGHT NOW, WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S KIND OF THE SWEET SPOT FOR US IN TERMS OF HAVING A MANUAL LEVEL OF, OF, OF DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS AND NOT USING DIFFICULTLY, IMPACTING AFFORDABILITY AND RATES AND, UM, AND MAINTAINING A GOOD BALANCE OF, OF OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE AND FINANCIAL METRICS. 
          AND I'LL ADD, UM, CTECH ACTUALLY STANDS FOR COMBINED TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY AND COMMUNICATION CENTERS, AND IT ACTUALLY HAS FOUR PARTNERS. 
          SO IT'S THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, AUSTIN DISTRICT, AND THE CAPITOL METROPOLITAN TREND TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY. 
          ALL RIGHT, THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, AND, UM, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS LAST TIME AND I, YOU KNOW, WANTED TO PROVIDE A LITTLE BIT MORE STATISTICS WITH, WITH REGARD TO, YOU KNOW, HIRING AND ATTRITION. 
          AND WE BEGAN THE YEAR WITH 138 FTES, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START A NEW YEAR AND YOU ADD A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF FTES FLIPPING FROM SEPTEMBER 30TH TO OCTOBER 1ST, YOU SEE A BIG INCREASE IN YOUR, YOUR VACANCY, UH, PERCENTAGE BECAUSE YOU ADDED THOSE POSITIONS. 
          SO THEN 138 INCLUDED THE 62 NEW FTES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          UM, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY AT 1 51, YOU KNOW, THERE AGAIN, THAT NUMBER INCLUDES THE 16 FTES THAT WERE APPROVED AS PART OF THAT APRIL BUDGET AMENDMENT. 
          UM, SO IT'S NOT THAT BY THE AMENDMENT, WE'D BE BELOW WHERE WE STARTED THE YEAR. 
          UM, THROUGH LAST WEEK WE HAD HIRED 189 OF FILLED 189 POSITIONS, UH, FOR THE YEAR. 
          UH, BUT 68 OF THOSE WERE, WERE INTERNAL PROMOTIONS. 
          SO, UM, SO THEY CREATED A SECOND VACANCY, UM, YOU KNOW, AFTER WE FILL, FILL THE POSITIONS. 
          AND SO, SO THAT'S CONTRIBUTING TO, YOU KNOW, NOT BEING ABLE TO PUSH DOWN, UM, OUR, OUR VACANCY RATE FURTHER. 
          UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANT TO, UH, MEET A POSITION TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS WITHIN AND BE ABLE TO PROMOTE FROM WITHIN. 
          AND SO IT'S, UH, IT'S, IT'S A WIN ON THAT FRONT, BUT, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY CREATES, UH, CHALLENGES IN TERMS OF ADDITIONAL VACANCIES. 
          AND THEN IN TERMS OF OTHER ATTRITION, WE'VE HAD 119 SEPARATIONS FROM, FROM THE UTILITY. 
          UH, 30 OF THOSE WERE RETIREMENTS. 
          UM, ANOTHER 36 WERE EMPLOYEES WHO TRANSFERRED TO, TO OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS. 
          SO THEY, THEY LEFT AUSTIN WATER, UM, AND THE 53 OR JUST OTHER SEPARATIONS, UH, UM, LEAVING, LEAVING THE CITY ENTIRELY, UM, TERMINATIONS, UH, 
          [00:45:01]
EMPLOYEE DEATHS, UM, AND ANY OTHER REASON FOR, UH, FOR SEPARATION. 
          UH, BUT, UH, SO, SO I THINK THIS REALLY JUST SHOWS, LIKE, LIKE I SAID, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT LEAKY BUCKET THAT WE'RE, THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH, WE'VE WE FILLED 189 POSITIONS, BUT, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVEN'T NECESSARILY SEEN THE IMPACT OF THAT IN TERMS OF OUR VACANCY RATE, UH, UH, JUST BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT I MENTIONED, IT'S HARD, HARD TO FIND PEOPLE NOW. 
          YEAH, WE USED TO, UM, OUR HR ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WAS, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT IT THIS WEEK AT OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM MEETING AND, YOU KNOW, WE USED TO REQUIRE, AND WE COULDN'T MOVE FORWARD WITH INTERVIEWS. 
          UM, UNLESS WE HAD AT LEAST THREE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, UH, IDEALLY FIVE QUALIFIED APPLICANTS, BUT NOW, YOU KNOW, IF WE GET ONE OR TWO WHERE WE'RE INTERVIEWING AND WE'RE HOPING TO FILL, UM, SO IT'S, IT'S DEFINITELY A CHALLENGE AND THEY'VE DONE A REALLY GOOD JOB OF GETTING POSITIONS FILLED, BUT, UM, I MEAN, YOU'RE, YOU'RE AWARE OF IN THE MARKET THAT WE'RE DEALING WITH THAT, UH, THAT'LL CONCLUDE THE, UM, THE BUDGET SUMMARY, THE ONM BUDGET SUMMARY. 
          UM, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT O AND M? I DON'T. 
          DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS RELY? THIS IS GOING OVER A LOT OF WHAT WE WENT OVER LAST TIME. 
          NO, WE'RE GOOD. 
          OKAY. 
          SO NOW I'LL TALK ABOUT THE CIP PLAN FUNDING OF REVIEW. 
          AND AS JUSTIN MENTIONED, AND WE, WE TOUCHED ON IT, UH, SORRY. 
          OH, YES. 
          SORRY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          MOVING FORWARD, MOVING FORWARD. 
          UM, LIKE TO MOVE TO ITEM B TO UNDER DISCUSSION ITEMS, PHYSICAL YEAR 2023 TO 2027 CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN SINCE JOSEPH TOUCHED ON BEFORE, UM, OUR CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN FOR OUR PROJECTS IS CONTINUING TO GROW DUE TO, UM, SOME OF THE PROJECTS WE HAVE IN THE PLAN. 
          AND WE'LL GO FOR SOME OF THOSE TOP PROJECTS AFTER THIS SLIDE. 
          SO THIS SLIDE REALLY JUST SHOWS, UH, WHAT THE LOOKED LIKE, UH, THE 2024 PLAN VERSUS THE 2125 AND 20 20, 20 22 THROUGH 26. 
          AND THEN NOW THE 23 TO 27 PLAN. 
          AND THAT APPROVED IS ACTUALLY JUST AUSTIN WATER APPROVED. 
          UM, IT'S STILL BEING, UH, REVIEWED THROUGH OUR BUDGET OFFICE. 
          AND SO YOU CAN SEE OUR CURRENT CIP PLAN FOR THE , UM, IS $1.370 MILLION. 
          SO IT HAS INCREASED, UM, FROM WHERE WE WERE AND OUR PLAN LAST YEAR, WHICH WAS JUST A LITTLE BIT OVER A MILLION DOLLARS. 
          UM, SO AROUND THREE CLOSE TO 300 MILLION, WE'VE HAD CLOSE TO 300,000. 
          WE ACTUALLY INCREASED OUR PLAN AND, UH, THE GREEN BARS AS ARE WHAT WE CALL DISCRETIONARY. 
          AND THOSE PROJECTS ARE ACTUALLY MORE TOWARDS GROWTH THAN ENHANCEMENT OR STRATEGIC PROJECTS, OR JUST KEY PROJECTS THAT WERE SELECTED, UM, BY AUSTIN WATER AND THE DIRECTOR, THE COMPULSORY IS, UH, FORCES THAT ARE EXTERNAL TO AUSTIN WATER, LIKE OUR TECHSTOP RELOCATIONS, UM, ANY, UH, SERVICE EXTENSIONS THAT WE'RE DOING. 
          THE ALLOWANCE IS SYSTEM EXTENSIONS AND ENHANCEMENT AND RENEWAL IS REPLACEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF AGING ASSETS. 
          AND SO THAT'S HOW WE CLASSIFY, UM, THESE PRO OUR PROJECTS IN OUR PLAN. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, IN THIS GRAPH HERE THAT, UH, THE BULK OF OUR PLAN IS, UH, DISCRETIONARY AND STRATEGIC. 
          AND SO WE'LL SHOW THOSE ON THE NEXT, UH, SLIDE OF THE TOP PROJECTS FOR THOSE, BUT THAT MAKES UP A TOTAL OF $986 MILLION OF THAT $1.3 MILLION CIP PLAN. 
          SO THIS NEXT SLIDE HERE IS THE STRATEGIC PROJECT. 
          SO THAT WAS SHOWN IN THE YELLOW SHADED GRAPH IN A DIFFERENT, THE SLIDE BEFORE THIS ONE. 
          AND SO, AS YOU CAN SEE THE WALNUT CREEK, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT THAT ONE BEFORE, THAT'S THE EXPANSION. 
          AND SO, UH, IN OUR PLAN, WE INCLUDED $284 MILLION FOR THAT EXPANSION. 
          SO THAT'S ONE OF THE LARGEST PROJECTS WE DO HAVE IN OUR PLAN. 
          AND AS JOSEPH MENTIONED PREVIOUSLY, WE ARE SEEING OUR PLAN BEING MORE WASTEWATER HEAVY, UH, DUE TO THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING NEXT IS OUR, UH, WATER ADVANCED 
          [00:50:01]
METERING INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UH, AND 66 MILLION THAT WE'VE HAD IN OUR PLAN IS JUST CARRYING FORWARD REALLY. 
          AND THE FACILITY IMPROVEMENT, THE SERVICE CENTERS AND 60 MILLION NEXT IS OUR RECLAIMED WATER AT 29 MILLION. 
          AND NEXT IS OUR AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY. 
          AND THAT, THAT PIECE OF OUR ASR IS REALLY MORE THE PILOTING PHASE. 
          SO YES, NUMBERS TO THE LIGHT. 
          I MEAN, ANYTHING INTERNAL NUMBERS, UM, THEY ARE, UM, THEY ARE THE SAME NUMBERS ACTUALLY AS THIS SLIDE, UH, PREVIOUS TO THIS ONE, IT SAID, IF YOU GO BACK TO THAT FRAUD, YOUR FEE, UH, THE SAME AMOUNT OF DOLLARS BASED ON EACH OF THE CATEGORIES AND THE PROJECT IDEAS. 
          OH, YES, THOSE ARE PROJECT IDEAS AS ARE HOW WE CLASSIFY, UH, IN OUR SYSTEM. 
          AND SO, UH, DEFINITELY WE, UH, HAVE CERTAIN PROJECT IDS WE ASSIGNED TO EVERY PROJECT. 
          YEP. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          AND THOSE CORRESPOND TO, UH, THE DETAIL YOU DO HAVE IN, IN, IN YOUR PACKET THAT DETAILED LISTS, THE, UH, PROPOSED PROJECTS WITHIN OUR, OUR PROPOSED CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN IT'S WITHOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST A REFERENCE TO AND TIES BACK TO THE WHAT'S CALLED THE SUB PROJECT ID IN THAT LISTING. 
          OKAY. 
          YES. 
          AND WHAT YOU HAVE IN THIS PACKET, THAT IS OUR ENTIRE CIP PLAN FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE BUSY. 
          AND SO, UH, THE STRATEGIC PROJECTS MAKE UP $465 MILLION AS THIS, THESE PROJECTS ALONE MAKE UP $465 MILLION. 
          SO IT IS PRETTY SIGNIFICANT AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO AS STRATEGICALLY. 
          AND, AND YOU, YOU MAY RECALL FROM THE LAST COMMISSION MEETING, WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT EVEN WALNUT CREEK EXPANSION, THAT WE WERE, WE WERE TALKING, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU KNOW, TO YOU IN THE $500 MILLION RANGE. 
          SO THESE NUMBERS REPRESENT THAT FIVE-YEAR SLICE. 
          AND SO WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WALNUT WALNUT IS, IS ANTICIPATED TO GO BEYOND 20, 27. 
          AND SO THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NUMBERS THAT WE WOULD HAVE COMMUNICATED, UM, DURING THAT DISCUSSION VERSUS WHAT'S INCLUDED IN THIS FIVE-YEAR SPENDING PLAN. 
          SO THIS IS BEST GOING TO BE SPENT ON THAT. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE ANTICIPATE TO BE SPEND DURING THAT PERIOD. 
          IT MAKES SENSE HOW COME THERE'S NOTHING FOR SAW SAR? UM, SORRY, THAT'S JUST A REFLECTION THAT IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A HORIZON PROJECT IN TERMS OF INTERNALLY. 
          UM, IT'S, UH, WE, NO, I DON'T THINK WE DISCUSS AS FAR AS WHAT IS THE WASTEWATER, BUT WE ANTICIPATE THAT PROJECT KIND OF KICKING OFF AS, AS WALNUT WINDS DOWN, UM, THAT SAR, UM, EXPANSION WOULD BE, SO THIS IS, THIS IS OUR EXPANSION PROJECT, AND IT'S REALLY JUST TO, UM, TO HIGHLIGHT THAT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A HORIZON STRATEGIC PROJECT THAT DOES NOT YET CURRENTLY HAVE FUNDING WITHIN THIS SPENDING PLAN, BUT, BUT AS, AS YOU KNOW, WE RAMP UP TO WALNUT AND, AND, UM, I DON'T THINK WE WILL NEXT YEAR, BUT IT'S, IT'S IT'S. 
          UM, AND THEN THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I THINK WE'RE STILL KIND OF WORKING THROUGH IN TERMS OF SCHEDULING, YOU KNOW, DOES IT MAKE SENSE TO BE FURTHER ALONG, YOU KNOW, WITH, WITH WALNUT BEFORE WE START TRYING TO TACKLE SAR OR, YOU KNOW, IS IT GOING TO MAKE SENSE TO MAYBE HAVE THEM OVERLAP A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN, THAN WE'RE CURRENTLY PLANNING? UM, AND SO, SO IT'S, UM, THIS IS KIND OF A, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF HOW WE DISCUSSED IT IS, IS, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO NOT FORGET ABOUT IT, THAT, UM, THAT WE NEED TO PLAN FOR, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW WE TACKLE SAR EXPANSION IN RELATION TO WALNUT CREEK AND, AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE'LL BE SOME, SOME OVERLAP. 
          AND WHAT IS THE 69%, THAT'S A 69% INCREASE OVER THE CURRENT FIVE-YEAR PLAN. 
          SO, SO NOW THAT WALNUT IS, IS, UM, COMING INTO THE PLAN, UM, THAT RESULTED IN STRATEGIC PROJECTS AS A PERCENTAGE OF OUR TOTAL PLAN OR STRATEGIC PROJECTS INCREASING BY 69% AS COMPARED TO THE CURRENT YEAR SPENDING. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND WE KNOW THAT STAR IS GOING TO BE ONE OF THE TOP STRATEGIC PROJECTS, JUST LIKE WALNUT CREEK. 
          AND IT JUST GIVES US VISUAL JUST TO KEEP THAT ON OUR RADAR AND ALWAYS BRING IT UP AS WE TALK ABOUT OUR PLAN EVERY YEAR. 
          UM, WE DO TALK ABOUT SAR ANNUALLY AND WHERE WE ARE WITH WALNUT. 
          UM, SO IT'S, IT'S JUST MORE AS A VISUAL PLACEHOLDER. 
          [00:55:05]
THE NEXT SLIDE HERE IS OUR DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS PROJECTS. 
          AND SO, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, THE TOP PROJECT ON HERE IS WASTEWATER IT'S, IT'S OUR SAR, WASTEWATER TREATMENT, PLANT TRAINS AND IMPROVEMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, MORE WASTEWATER ON HERE, ONE FOR WILLIAMS. AND PRIEDE ANOTHER ONE, A CREEK FOR THE HEADWORKS IMPROVEMENTS, UM, UMBER BURBERRY'S BRANCH, WASTEWATER, UH, WILD HORSE RANCH, WASTEWATER SAR, WASTEWATER, OR, UH, NOW WE'RE GETTING INTO WATER, ORANGE WATER TREATMENT, PLANT MCNEIL, UH, WATER, TRANSMISSION MAINS, AND CENTER STREET, UM, REPLACEMENT AND ELECTRICAL. 
          UM, SO WE ARE WASTEWATER HEAVY, EVEN NOT IN OUR DISCRETIONARY PROJECTS. 
          UM, SO DEFINITELY OUR PLAN IS, UH, IS GEARED MORE TOWARDS ALL THE WASTEWATER IMPROVEMENTS WE NEED TO MAKE. 
          AND SO NOW OPEN IT UP TO ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING OUR CIP PLAN. 
          NOW, THIS IS SOMETHING, THIS PACKET IS WHAT WE NORMALLY PROVIDE YOU ANNUALLY. 
          UM, JUST TO, YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANTED TO LOOK THROUGH IT OR EVEN SEE, UH, BY INFRASTRUCTURE TYPE, UH, OF WHAT WE'RE DOING BUILDING WISE OR RESERVOIR WISE. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE, UH, CLEARLY, UH, THE PROJECTS THAT WE, UH, ARE DOING, THE ONES WE ALSO HAVE ON THE HORIZON AND OUR PLAN. 
          VERY GOOD, VERY GOOD. 
          UH, IF THERE'S ANY MORE QUESTIONS ON THOSE TWO ITEMS, IF THERE'S NO OTHER QUESTIONS, I'LL MOVE TO ITEM B, WHICH IS THE BUDGET COMMITTEE REPORT DISCUSSION AND MEMBERS. 
          UH, EVERY YEAR WE DEVELOP A RECOMMENDATION TO THE BUDGET COMMITTEE TO REVIEW AND, UM, HOPEFULLY, UH, MAYBE IT WAS SOME EDITS ULTIMATELY APPROVE AND PASS ON TO, UH, OUR COUNCIL MEMBERS TO REVIEW, UM, UM, WITH OUR OPINIONS OF THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR. 
          SO, UM, I SHOULD HAVE IN HINDSIGHT, BROUGHT A COPY OF THE, WHEN WE DID LAST YEAR, BUT IT WAS VERY VERBOSE. 
          UM, AND I REALLY THINK WE COULD DO SOMETHING A LITTLE SIMPLER THIS YEAR BECAUSE THERE HASN'T BEEN A VERY LARGE AMOUNT OF CHANGE. 
          UM, WHAT I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS OR WHAT ITEMS WE SHOULD ADDRESS IN THE BUDGET. 
          I THINK WE SHOULD DISCUSS HOW WE'RE HANDLING INFLATION, UH, WHICH YOU GUYS ACTUALLY WENT OVER TODAY, VERY TIGHTLY WOULD THAT, UH, I BELIEVE IT WAS $800,000 CUSHION. 
          I REMEMBER THAT CORRECTLY AND THE CHEMICALS AND THINGS, RIGHT. 
          UH, 800,000 INCREASE IN CHEMICALS. 
          UM, AND THERE, THERE'S A COUPLE OF THERE THERE'S FEW AREAS WHERE, WHERE WE HAVE, UH, BUMPED UP, UM, UM, AGAIN, INCLUDING OUR, YOU TOLD YOU WHY CONTINGENCY. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I DEFINITELY THINK WE SHOULD, UM, UH, MENTION THE STEPS WE'RE TAKING TO, TO MITIGATE THAT. 
          UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT IF I WAS IN MY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER SHOES WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO ME. 
          UM, I THINK SOME DISCUSSION ON THE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEE EMPLOYEES AND HOW WE ARE, UM, WORKING VERY HARD TO INCREASE STAFF, TO MEET AND EXCEED THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO BE REQUIRED. 
          UM, DURING THE, UH, JUST DUE TO THE, THEY GAVE AN AMENDMENT WITH SEVERAL FULL-TIME POSITIONS AND THAT, THAT WE ARE KEEPING THAT GOING AND PLANNING FOR OUR SUSTAINABILITY AND SUPPORTING THAT WITH THESE FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES IN A MARKET THAT'S EXTREMELY DIFFICULT TO FIND PLACE IN RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD TO TALK A LITTLE BIT OUT ABOUT HER DEBT DEFEASANCE, WHAT WE'RE DOING AND THAT SLOWING DOWN. 
          I THINK IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO ALSO POINT OUT THAT WE ARE LEVELING, UM, THAT WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LEVELED OFF OUR RATES AND OUR DEBT DEFEASANCE, AND WE SEEM TO BE IN ALIGNMENT. 
          SO WE'RE IN A GOOD PLACE WITH OUR REVENUE AND THEN OUR DEBT, UH, AND OUR RATES ARE REFLECTING THAT. 
          AND, UM, ALSO DISCUSS WHAT WE'RE PLANNING ON DOING FOR THE RATE INCREASES. 
          AND I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE ANYTHING ELSE THAT POPS IN MY HEAD. 
          YEAH. 
          WHICH IS DAD, MAYBE, YOU KNOW, THEME OF RESILIENCE, HE'S FOCUSED ON THAT IN TERMS OF OUR BUDGET SPENDING. 
          I'M SURE THOSE KEY PROJECTS 
          [01:00:01]
HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THAT, WHAT YOU DEFINED IT THERE WE DO. 
          AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE COMPILING JUST IN TERMS OF WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF THE BUDGET PROCESS. 
          UH, OUR, OUR BUDGET'S BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE BUDGET OFFICE. 
          UM, AND I THINK AS, AS BOTH A SONG LEE AND TINA MENTIONED, UM, THERE, THERE'S STILL SOME ITEMS THAT WE'RE WAITING ON THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CITYWIDE TRANSFERS AND THAT SORT OF THING, THAT, THAT HAVEN'T YET BEEN FINALIZED. 
          UM, BUT, BUT CITY MANAGER REVIEW WILL BE BEGIN IN JUNE. 
          UM, RIGHT NOW THE BUDGET OFFICE IS COMPILING AND TRYING TO FINALIZE SOME OF, SOME OF THOSE NUMBERS. 
          UM, AND THEN, UH, PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER FOR CITY CITY MANAGEMENT REVIEW, UM, THAT, THAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IN, UM, JUNE, UM, THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JUNE. 
          AND THEN, UM, THE CITY MANAGER WILL MAKE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS IN TERMS OF WHAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UM, THAT GETS PRESENTED TO COUNCIL THAT THAT WILL BE ON JULY 15TH. 
          UM, AND, UH, WHICH WAS ONLY FIVE DAYS BEFORE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR JULY 20TH COMMISSION MEETING WHERE WE'LL PRESENT, YOU DO A FULL BUDGET PRESENTATION, UH, TO, TO THE COMMISSION AND, AND, AND LOOK FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION, UM, TO, TO GO TO COUNCIL. 
          AND THEN, UM, AND THEN FINALLY, YOU KNOW, BUDGET ADOPTION IS SCHEDULED FOR AUGUST 17TH THROUGH 19. 
          OKAY. 
          SO MOVING FORWARD IN NEXT STEPS, UH, I CAN DRAFT KIND OF A SUMMARY THAT I WENT OVER WITH JOSEPH HELP BECAUSE I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE ACCOUNTING LANGUAGE DOWN AND TELL YOU HOW TO DO A PUMP STATION, BUT I'M NOT AN ACCOUNTANT, BUT, UM, WE'LL DRAFT SOMETHING AND THEN, UM, WE'LL HAVE IT SENT TO YOU, TO YOU FOR YOUR EDITS AND INPUTS. 
          AND, BUT WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME REALLY TO GET THAT DONE BECAUSE WE WANT IT FOR OUR JULY COMMISSION MEETING. 
          RIGHT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO, LIKE I SAID, AS WE, AS WE FINALIZE, UM, I MEAN, EVEN FOR CITY MANAGER DISCUSSION, UM, YOU KNOW, W WE'RE WE'RE ON SUMMARIZING WHAT WE'RE DOING FROM A RESILIENCY PERSPECTIVE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR OTHER, UM, STRATEGIC INITIATIVES. 
          AND, AND SO, SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE PROVIDE TO, TO THE DIRECTOR ACM AND CITY, CITY MANAGEMENT. 
          AND SO, UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO SHARE, UM, SOME OF THAT, UH, W WE'LL BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT, UM, TO HELP, UM, TO HELP INFORM, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION LETTER, BUT WE WON'T HAVE, WE WON'T DISCUSS IT IN OUR JUNE MEETING. 
          UM, WE ARE, WE DO HAVE A MEETING THAT IS SCHEDULED FOR JUNE ON JUNE 22ND. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW, UM, I WASN'T SURE, UM, IT WENT WHAT THE COMMITTEE'S THOUGHTS WERE ON, ON THE NEED FOR THAT, BUT, UM, BUT THEN THE REST OF THE COMMISSION WILL NOT HAVE SEEN YOUR BUDGET PRESENTATION YET. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO THAT SEEMS A LITTLE SILLY, RIGHT. 
          BUT, BUT WE CAN, THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF JUNE HIGHLIGHT, UM, AGAIN, STRATEGIC, UH, RESILIENCY INITIATIVES, OTHER STRATEGIC INITIATIVES, UM, SO THAT WE CAN, UH, WORK, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE MONTH OF JUNE, I WOULD EXPECT, UH, YOU KNOW, DEPENDING ON YOUR AVAILABILITY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE CAN, UM, MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE, BUT THAT WE CAN, WE CAN PROVIDE ALL THE NECESSARY SUPPORT, UM, TO, TO, YOU KNOW, HAVE THE LETTER DONE BY THE END OF JUNE. 
          UM, CERTAINLY, WELL IN ADVANCE OF THE JULY 20TH COMMISSION MEETING, I THINK THAT'D BE FINE. 
          AND WE'LL LEAVE IT IN A DRESS DROP FORM BECAUSE YOU MIGHT GET COMMENTS TO HERE NOW THAT MIGHT CHANGE THINGS. 
          SO IT WILL KEEP IT IN THE DRAFT FORM. 
          UM, YEAH, I HAVEN'T HAD ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS ON THE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL? NO, LIKE YOU SAID, I THINK WE'VE GOT PLENTY OF TIME. 
          I, YEAH, WE DO HAVE ANOTHER ITEM RELATED TO MEETING SCHEDULES, BUT WE DON'T SEE A NEED TO HAVE ANOTHER MEETING. 
          I DON'T EITHER, UNLESS SOMETHING, SOMETHING HUGE CHANGES YOU'VE GUYS HAVE SHOWN US EVERYTHING. 
          A LOT OF IT EVEN TODAY WAS REPEATS OF LAST TIME. 
          UM, WHICH IS GOOD. 
          CAUSE IT HELPS ME REMEMBER SINCE I DON'T DO THIS EVERY DAY. 
          UM, BUT I, I, I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO ITEM C NON-VOTING DISCUSSION ITEMS FOR THE 
          [01:05:01]
COMMITTEE. 
          AND THAT IS OUR FUTURE COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULED. 
          WE DID ANTICIPATE THAT WE MAY HAVE A THIRD MEETING, UM, AND IF WE WOULD LIKE TO SCHEDULE, BUT I REALLY DON'T SEE ANY NEW MATERIAL COMING OUR WAY OR A NEED FOR US TO SCHEDULE ON IT. 
          AND IF THAT NEED DID ARISE, UM, UH, THEN, UM, WE CAN GO AHEAD AND, AND WORK ON SCHEDULING ONE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S NECESSARY TO TRY TO RESERVE A ROOM AT THIS POINT. 
          I THINK WE'D HAVE, YEAH. 
          COMMISSIONER, THIS IS OTHER CODE CUSTOM WATER. 
          UH, WE DO HAVE THIS ROOM RESERVED FOR JUNE 22ND AT 3:00 PM. 
          SO WE CAN HOLD THAT RESERVATION FOR NOW, IF YOU WANT TO JUST BACK UP. 
          SURE. 
          YEAH. 
          IT'S NOT GOING TO HURT ANYTHING SO WE CAN HOLD IT AND THEY'D STILL WORK AND, UM, FOR YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          AND THE WEEK BEFOREHAND WE'LL OFFICIALLY DECIDE IF WE NEED TO MEET OR NOT, BUT, UH, I REALLY DON'T ANTICIPATE ANY CHANGES BETWEEN NOW AND THEN. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, ANY OTHER COMMENTS GOING ON THROUGH THE AGENDA CAN DO THAT? I DO. 
          WE DIDN'T TALK ABOUT, UM, DROUGHT MUCH AND LAKE LEVELS CONTINUING TO DROP. 
          UM, AND I DON'T MEAN TO EXTEND THE MEETING IN 30 MINUTES, BUT COULD YOU ALL SPEAK TO, UM, ANY, ANY THOUGHTS OF HOW THAT FILTERED INTO OUR BUDGET THOUGHT PROCESS THIS YEAR? WELL, GENERAL GENERALLY THE WAY WE BUDGET FOR REVENUES IS A WEATHER NORMALIZED HERE. 
          YOU KNOW, WE, UM, I WISH I WISH I COULD, UH, YOU KNOW, PREDICT, UH, WET YEARS, DRY YEARS, DROUGHT YEARS. 
          UM, BUT, UM, W W WE, WE BUDGET FOR KIND OF AN AVERAGE YEAR. 
          UM, AND THEN WE MONITOR, YOU KNOW, WE, UH, WE, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LAKE LEVELS ARE, UM, JUST ABOVE 1400 ACRE FEET. 
          AND, UM, AND YOU KNOW, I THINK YOU MAY HAVE SEEN SOMETHING, UM, IN THE NEWS ABOUT, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, MODIFICATIONS TO OUR WATER AND RESTRICTION STAGES, UM, YOU KNOW, SHOULD LIKE LEVELS KIND OF HOVER, UM, WHERE, WHERE THEY ARE. 
          I DON'T THINK THAT IT'LL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT. 
          UM, IF WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE GENERALLY ALWAYS SEE A DROP DURING SUMMER, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T GET AS MUCH RAINFALL AND, AND DEMAND IS HIGHER. 
          UM, SO, YOU KNOW, UH, MOVING INTO STAGE ONE, DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS WILL HOPEFULLY STEM, YOU KNOW, UM, OF LAR SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN, UM, IN, IN LAKE LEVELS. 
          UM, AND THEN HOPEFULLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GET SOME, SOME GOOD RAIN IN THE FALL TO, TO REFILL, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE, UH, PLAN FOR A NORMAL YEAR AND, UM, UH, BUT IF WE, IF WE DO MOVE INTO, UM, YOU MORE SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT RESTRICTIONS, IF LIKE LEVELS CONTINUE TO FALL, UM, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY, HAVEN'T SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN, UM, THE AVERAGE LEVEL OF DEMAND. 
          UM, YOU'RE COMING OUT OF THE 2015 DROUGHT. 
          WE GOT DOWN TO ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE ABOUT 5,600 GALLONS OF AVERAGE, UM, CONSUMPTION PER ACCOUNT. 
          UM, AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE AT ABOUT 5,800 GALLONS. 
          SO FROM A REVENUE PERSPECTIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE WORK THAT I TALKED ABOUT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MEETING HAS, HAS HELPED US BE IT PUT US IN A BETTER POSITION, YOU KNOW, FROM A RATE STRUCTURE WISE AND RE REVENUE VOLATILITY PERSPECTIVE TO, TO A STRAND WITHSTAND DROUGHT CONDITIONS. 
          UM, SO I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT EVEN IF WE SEE, YOU KNOW, A PROLONGED DROUGHT, THAT IT WON'T HAVE THE IMPACT, UM, THAT THE, YOU KNOW, 20 11, 20 15 DROUGHT HAD. 
          GOOD QUESTION. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          UM, IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS, I WILL OFFICIALLY ADJOURN THIS MEETING AT 4 23. 
          THANKS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU STILL HAVEN'T PUT A CLOCK ON IT.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.