[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:06]
WE CAN, UH, HOPEFULLY GET THIS, UH, GET THE MEETING STARTED.
JAN AND MELISSA ARE ONLINE, AND THERE'S FOUR COMMISSIONERS PRESENT.
HAVING, UH, HAVING CALLED A MEETING TO ORDER ON THE, UH, ACTUAL AGENDA ITSELF, THERE'S, UH, THREE ITEMS. UH, THE FIRST ONE IS THE APPROVAL OF MINUTES.
I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE, UH, WHAT IS IT, THE DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. PERHAPS WE CAN GO THROUGH THE BUDGET PRESENTATION WITH, UH, VICTORIA, AND THEN COME BACK TO THE RESOLUTION.
AND THAT'S, AND THAT, UM, BE OKAY.
JUST MOVE THAT AROUND JUST A LITTLE BIT HERE.
HAVING SAID THAT FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS THE ACTUAL, UH, APPROVAL OF, WELL, LET ME ASK YOU, ANY, ANYBODY SIGN UP TO SPEAK OR THANK YOU
[1. Approval of minutes of the ZERO WASTE ADVISORY COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING on FEBRUARY 8, 2023]
ALL.FIRST ORDER BUSINESS IS THE ACTUAL APPROVAL.
APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE FEBRUARY 8TH, 2023 MEETING.
COMMISSIONER WHITE MOVE'S APPROVAL.
ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.
AMANDA, ARE YOU, I OH, THANK YOU,
WE HAVE TO SEE YOUR FACE ALL, JUST, ALL RIGHT.
[2. Review of URO Draft Resolution for Multi-family Composting Implementation – Cathy Gattuso]
MUCH.THE NEXT ITEM IS THE, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS A REVIEW OF THE U R O GIRAFFE RESOLUTION FOR MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING.
AND I, KATHY, YOU WERE GONNA BRIEFLY, UH, YES.
DISCUSS THAT? YES, IT'S JUST AN UPDATE.
AND, UM, JASON IS HERE, ALSO HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT, UH, HEY, BUT, OR MELISSA, IF YOU WANT TO JUMP IN, BUT THERE'S, THE FIRST DRAFT IS ON, UH, THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN.
SO YOU MIGHT WANNA LOOK AT THAT.
UH, AND, UM, I HEARD FROM THE CITY THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE GETTING SOME GOOD COMMENTS, A GOOD NUMBER OF COMMENTS ABOUT IT.
IT'S, THE RESOLUTIONS ARE ON THERE, ON THE SPEAKUP AUSTIN, THE FIRST DRAFT.
AND, UM, THAT'S GONNA BE THERE UNTIL THE END OF THE MONTH.
UH, AND THEN, UM, THEY'RE GONNA COMPILE THE, THE DATA FROM THAT.
AND THEN, UM, GONNA HAVE A SECOND MEETING OF THE U R O, AND THEN WE'RE GOING TO, THERE'LL BE A SECOND DRAFT THAT WILL ALSO DE, AND IT'LL DEPEND ON ALL THE CHANGES IN THE, THE, UH, INFORMATION THAT THEY'VE GOTTEN.
AND THAT'LL STAY UP FOR ABOUT ANOTHER MONTH ON SPEAK.
SO, AT THE BEGINNING, IT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE THIS CITY'S VERSION OF THE RESOLUTION, AND THOSE WAX VERSION OF THE RESOLUTION WERE THE SAME.
UH, BUT THEN AFTER LOOKING AT A LITTLE BIT CLOSER AND GETTING MORE INFORMATION, UM, SOME OF THE AUDIENCE THAT WERE LEFT OFF HAD TO DO, UH, BECAUSE, UM, OF THE, UM, THE CITY, UM, JUST A MINUTE, I HAVE MY NOTES HERE.
BUT AGAIN, I THINK DURING THE MEETINGS, THOSE NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT, EVEN THOUGH THEY'RE BURIED IN THE CODE AND ADMINISTRATIVE RULES SOMEWHERE.
UH, THE TWO, TWO ITEMS THAT DID NOT APPEAR ON THE CITY'S, UM, RESOLUTION WOULD BE THE, UM, THE ONE ABOUT CAPACITY AND THEN WHERE THE, THE CONTAINERS ARE LOCATED.
AND I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE AN IMPORTANT ONE ON THE FEEDBACK, ESPECIALLY FOR MANAGERS AND, AND PEOPLE AT, AT THE MULTIFAMILY PROPERTIES.
UH, AND THEN THE OTHER ONE WOULD BE THE, UH, 10% OVER THAT THE MANAGEMENT WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO CHARGE MORE THAN 10% OF, OF THE, THE COST.
AND THAT'S BEING, THAT'S BEEN SENT TO LEGAL FOR ADVICE ON THAT, WHETHER THE CITY CAN ACTUALLY, UH, FOLLOW THROUGH WITH THAT.
SO, UH, MELISSA CAVA, ANYTHING ELSE YOU WANNA ADD ON TO THIS? THANKS FOR THAT.
[00:05:01]
YEAH, AND IT, IT WAS REASSURING TO FIND OUT THAT A LOT OF THOSE THINGS ARE IN THE ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.UM, YES, IT WAS A LITTLE CONFUSING TO ME AS I WAS ON MUNI CODE, UH, LOOKING THE CODE, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO GO TO A SEPARATE SPOT, SEE ALL THE RULES.
UM, THE, THE OTHER ONE THAT I WAS JUST GONNA FLAG, UM, IS, IS I THINK WE HAD RECOMMENDED, UH, THE USE OF BINS AS OPPOSED TO DUMPSTERS, UH, OH, OKAY.
AS A, UM, STRATEGY FOR REDUCING CONTAMINATION BASED ON FEEDBACK WE HAD GOTTEN HERE.
AND I, I THINK THAT ONE IS ALSO NOT INCLUDED IN THE DRAFT.
SO, JUST SO WE'LL ONE THAT WE'LL REVISIT THAT.
AND I'LL JUST SAY THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THE RESPONSE THAT I, THAT I GOT FROM STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, WAS THAT CURRENTLY PROVIDERS THAT ARE SERVICING RESIDENTIAL, THEY JUST DEFAULT TO USING BINS.
I, I LIKE TO SET UP SYSTEMS THAT DON'T, UM, RELY UPON PEOPLE DOING THE SAME THING THAT THEY'RE DOING NOW, YOU KNOW, 10 YEARS FROM NOW, CUZ UM, WE JUST DON'T KNOW.
WELL, AND SO, UM, UH, I'LL PUT IT AS A POSSIBLE, UH, AGENDA ITEM FOR NEXT MONTH, BUT THAT'LL BE DEPEND ON WHETHER WE HAVE ANY MORE NEW INFORMATION.
BUT I WANNA KEEP THE COMMISSION COMPRISED ON, UH, EACH STEP AND ANY NEW INFORMATION THAT WE HAVE SINCE THIS IS SUCH, I THINK, A VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR THE, UH, FOR THE CITY OF BOSTON.
ANY, ANY THOUGHTS, COMMENTS? I DID SEE THE, UH, I GUESS THE, UH, SURVEY AND, UH, THANK YOU.
HOPEFULLY PEOPLE WILL, UH, RESPOND TO THAT.
[3. Zero Waste Advisory Commission Austin Resource Recovery 2023-2024 Budget Resolution – Gerry Acuna]
OUR NEXT ITEM HERE IS THE, UH, ACTUAL PRESENTATION VICTORIA, YOUR BUDGET PRESENTATION FOR 20 23, 24.MY VICTORIA RIGGER, AND I'M THE FINANCE DIVISION MANAGER FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THE DEPARTMENT'S FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
AFTER THIS EVENING'S PRESENTATION, I'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
I WOULD LIKE TO PREFACE THE PRESENTATION BY INFORMING YOU THAT THE FORECAST THAT YOU'RE GOING TO SEE TODAY HAS ALREADY CHANGED.
UM,
UM, BUT, UH, DUE TO, UH, NEW CITY MANAGEMENT AND INSTRUCTIONS FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE THAT WILL BE FORTHCOMING, UM, THEY'RE GONNA ASK DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE, THE CITY, OBVIOUSLY, TO, UH, RESUBMIT OUR FORECASTS.
SO, UH, SOME OF THE SLIDES THAT WE GO THROUGH TODAY, UM, WILL, WILL LOOK DIFFERENT, UH, ONCE OUR, OUR FORECAST IS RESUBMITTED.
UM, AND I'LL TRY AND OBVIOUSLY POINT SOME OF THAT OUT TO YOU.
SO, AS THIS SLIDE, UH, INDICATES TODAY, I'LL PRESENT, UH, THE COMMISSION, THE TIMELINE, THE CITY'S BUDGET TIMELINE.
WE'LL TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT'S PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW VIA RESULTS OF OUR KEY PERFORMANCE METRICS.
UH, I'LL PRESENT THE DEPARTMENT'S FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST.
AND AS PART OF THE FORECAST, I'LL PRESENT A SUMMARY OF OUR RESIDENTIAL RATES, WHICH AGAIN, WILL BE DIFFERENT, UM, ONCE WE, WE SUBMIT OUR FORECAST.
AND, UH, I'LL ALSO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST RECENT ESTIMATES ON THE FINANCIAL IMPACT TO A R OF THE WINTER STORM CLEANUP EFFORTS.
I'LL PRESENT HIGHLIGHTS OF OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM OR C I P AS IT'S KNOWN.
AND THEN FINALLY, I'LL, UH, I COMPILED, UH, A LIST OF SOME OF THE PRIORITIES THAT THE COMMISSION MENTIONED AT THE LAST MEETING.
SO, LOOKING AT THE TIMELINE, UH, OBVIOUSLY WE HELD OUR BUDGET KICKOFF IN JANUARY WHERE WE PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS TO, TO, TO OUR DEPARTMENT ON HOW TO SUBMIT, UH, FORECAST, UH, FORECAST NUMBERS.
OUR FI FINANCIAL FORECAST WAS SUBMITTED LAST WEEK, UM, AND IN A MATTER OF DAYS, UM, WE FOUND OUT THAT, THAT IT WAS GONNA NEED TO CHANGE AGAIN.
[00:10:01]
UM, UH, THE REST OF THE TIMELINE IS AGAIN, UH, WE SHOULD EXPECT THE SAME AS PRIOR YEARS.MAY IS WHEN THE PROPOSED BUDGET IS DUE.
UM, THE JULY TIMEFRAME IS WHEN IT WILL BE PRESENTED TO COUNCIL.
UH, AND THEN IN AUGUST, UH, AUGUST 16TH THROUGH THE 18TH MM-HMM.
SO LOOKING AT THE DEPARTMENT'S PERFORMANCE RESULTS IN OUR KEY INDICATORS, THIS TABLE PRESENTS THE PAST THREE FISCAL YEAR RESULTS AND WHAT WE PREDICTED FOR THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR.
IN THE LAST COLUMN, UH, THE NOTABLE ESTIMATE THAT DEVIATES FROM FISCAL YEAR 21 IS OUR DIVERSION RATE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THAT'S ON THE FOURTH ROW.
THIS WAS MOSTLY BECAUSE OF AN APPROXIMATELY 23% DECLINE, UH, IN CURBSIDE COMPOST COLLECTED, UH, AN 11% DROP IN RECYCLING COLLECTIONS AND A 32% DECREASE IN BRUSH COLLECTIONS OVER FISCAL YEAR 21.
YOU'LL RECALL THAT FISCAL YEAR 21 SAW ICE STORM URI.
UM, SO OUR OVERALL RESIDENTIAL TONNAGES INCREASED IN THAT FISCAL YEAR.
THE STORM COUPLED WITH MANY PEOPLE RETURNING TO THE OFFICE, UH, WHICH SHIFTS WASTE COLLECTION FROM RESIDENTIAL TO COMMERCIAL, IS DRIVING THE FISCAL YEAR 22 VARIANCE.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE AVERAGE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION MEASURE FOR FISCAL YEAR 20 AND 21 IS NOT AVAILABLE, UH, BECAUSE THE ANNUAL COMMUNITY SURVEY, UH, PERFORMED BY E TC INSTITUTE WAS POSTPONED, UH, DUE TO THE PANDEMIC.
THE, THEY HAVE RESUMED THE SURVEY, BUT UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE THOSE RESULTS FOR FISCAL YEAR 22 AT THIS TIME.
WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GETTING THOSE, SO, OKAY.
HERE'S WHERE WE GET INTO SOME OF THE DETAILS.
UH, AGAIN, UNFORTUNATELY, THE, THESE NUMBERS WILL CHANGE, UH, BUT I'M GONNA KIND OF SPEAK TO IT AS, AS PROPOSED OR AS WE FORECASTED INITIALLY.
UM, DIRECTING YOUR ATTENTION TO THE TOP OF THE FORMULA.
YOU KNOW, OUR CURRENT BUDGET IS 121.9 MILLION WHEN WE SUBMITTED OUR FORECASTS, WHICH INCLUDED, UH, NEW FTE, UM, ADD 3.9 MILLION IN COST DRIVERS.
THE NEW INVESTMENT, AGAIN, 1.5 MILLION IS PRIMARILY, UM, UH, FTE.
UH, AND YOU GET 1 27 0.3 MILLION.
UM, SO SOME OF THE FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS, UH, OVER, AGAIN, OVER THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST PERIOD, 75 NEW POSITIONS, UH, $2 AND 15, UH, CENT INCREASE TO THE BASE FEE.
UH, SOME INCREASES TO THE, UH, COMMERCIAL CLEAN AND RESIDENTIAL CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE.
UH, A NOTABLE THING IS THAT WE ARE GONNA ALSO, UM, INCREASE CART FEES, UM, FOR THE 24 AND 360 4 GALLON, AS WELL AS THE 96 GALLON TRASH CARTS.
SO, BEFORE I, I PRESENT OUR ESTIMATED RESIDENTIAL RATES, I WANTED TO BRIEFLY ADDRESS HOW WE DEVELOP OUR RATES EVERY YEAR.
THE DEPARTMENT PERFORMS A COST OF SERVICE ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE IF OUR CURRENT RATES ARE SUFFICIENT TO COVER THE COSTS OF PROVIDING A PARTICULAR SERVICE.
THE COMPONENTS OF RATE DEVELOPMENT INCLUDE DIRECT AND INDIRECT EXPENSES, INCLUDING ANY REVENUE OFFSETS, WHICH PRIMARILY IS REVENUE RECEIVED FROM GENERATED FROM RECYCLABLE, UH, MATERIALS.
UH, AND THEN THE BASIS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF OUR RATES IS OUR PROJECTED CUSTOMER COUNT.
OKAY? AS WE DEVELOP OUR RATES, WE FACTOR IN TOTAL COSTS OF PROVIDING A SERVICE.
UM, THE TOTAL COSTS, AGAIN, INCLUDES DIRECT AND INDIRECT EXPENSES, AND THOSE ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF DIRECT AND INDIRECT EXPENSES, SUCH AS PAYROLL COSTS, FLEET MANAGEMENT COSTS.
UH, INDIRECT COSTS INCLUDE THINGS, UH, SUCH AS ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT STAFF AND CITYWIDE SUPPORT COSTS.
THESE INCLUDES COSTS OF PROVIDING CITYWIDE SUPPORT, UH, TO OFFICES SUCH AS CORPORATE PURCHASING, BUDGET, COMMUNICATIONS, AND TECHNOLOGY TO NAME A FEW.
UH, AND AS I MENTIONED, SOME REVENUE OFFSETS ARE PRIMARILY THE SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING REVENUE, UH, AS WELL AS EXTRA GARBAGE FEES.
AND AGAIN, UH, THE BASIS FOR FORMULATING OUR RATES IS OUR PROJECTED CUSTOMER COUNT, AND THAT PROJECTED CUSTOMER COUNT DOES COME FROM, UH, THE CITY DEMOGRAPHER'S OFFICE.
[00:15:02]
ALL RIGHT.SO AGAIN, THIS, THIS IS A, A LOOK AT, UH, OUR RATE PROJECTION OVER THE FORECAST PERIOD AS WE SUBMITTED IT.
UM, WHAT I DO WANNA NOTE HERE IS THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE DEVELOPED THIS FORECAST, OUR INTENT AS, AS YOU ALL ARE AWARE, WAS TO INCREASE OUR OPERATING RESERVE FROM THE CURRENT 30 DAY REQUIRED RESERVE, UH, TO, UM, TO 60 DAYS.
UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, WE WILL PROBABLY HAVE TO SCALE THAT BACK, UM, OR NOT PROPOSE, UH, AN INCREASE TO THE OPERATING RESERVE AT ALL.
UH, YOU KNOW, THE INTENT TO INCREASE OUR OPERATING RESERVE HAD BEEN IN PLACE FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT MADE THE DECISION THIS YEAR TO PUT FORWARD THAT, UM, POLICY CHANGE, THE RECENT WINTER STORM EVENT, AND ITS FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE CITY.
AND IN PARTICULAR, A R R, UM, IS ASTOUNDING AS YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN A, IN A, THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AS SUCH, IT'S REALLY CRITICAL WE FELT, UH, TO PUT FORWARD THAT OPERATING RESERVE INCREASE.
UM, SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ASIDE FROM WHAT THE NUMBERS THAT YOU SEE HERE, WHEN WE DO RESUBMIT OUR FORECAST, UH, AND, AND AGAIN, WE DON'T HAVE SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS YET FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE AND FROM THE CITY, UH, ON THE OVERALL DIRECTION TO TAKE, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY MAY DECIDE NO NEW FTES, THEY MAY DECIDE NO RATE INCREASES, WE JUST DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT.
UM, SO, BUT AS YOU KNOW, AS SOON AS WE HAVE SOME IDEA, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY, UH, UPDATE YOU ALL.
UM, SO I DON'T THINK IT'S WISE TO KIND OF GO THROUGH THESE NUMBERS, BUT JUST KNOWING OVERALL THAT WE WILL SEE INCREASES, UH, THROUGHOUT THE FORECAST FOR, FOR THINGS THAT, UH, NEED TO GET DONE, OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING ESSENTIAL SERVICES THAT THE DEPARTMENT PROVIDES, UM, ALL OF THOSE COME WITH A COST INCREASING COSTS YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AS WELL AS, UH, SOME OF THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, NAMELY THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER, UM, THAT WILL, UM, START TO IMPACT, UH, OUR FORECAST.
SO WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO IMPLEMENT, UH, RATE INCREASES OVER THE FORECAST PERIOD.
IT JUST MAY NOT BE THIS COMING, UH, FISCAL YEAR.
I, I JUST DON'T KNOW AT THIS POINT.
UM, AGAIN, WE'VE GOT TO INCREASE, UM, THE CART FEE, UM, CART FEES TO, TO ALIGN WITH THAT COST OF SERVICE AS WELL.
CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE WILL SEE SLIGHT INCREASES.
WE JUST, AGAIN, THE SPECIFIC YEARS ARE JUST NOT, NOT KNOWN AT THIS POINT.
SO THE WINTER STORM CLEANUP EFFORT, UH, IS MONUMENTAL ACROSS THE CITY, AS YOU ALL KNOW.
AND MUCH OF THE RESPONSIBILITY, UH, IS UNDER THE PURVIEW OF A R R.
THE DEPARTMENT WAS PREPARED FOR THIS EVENT IN THAT WE SUCCESSFULLY, SUCCESSFULLY NEGOTIATED CONTRACTS WITH DISASTER DEBRIS REMOVAL, AND DISASTER DEBRIS MONITORING CONTRACTORS.
THESE CONTRACTS WERE PUT IN PLACE NOT ONLY TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND QUICKLY TO A DISASTER, BUT TO INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF FEMA REIMBURSEMENT FOR OUR COSTS.
AND THE COSTS, UH, ARE ESTIMATED AT 18.7 MILLION FOR DEBRIS REMOVAL, UH, AND MONITORING.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE THREE DIFFERENT CONTRACTORS PERFORMING SERVICES UNDER THE CONTRACT.
UH, THE DEPARTMENT'S OWN STAFF AND EQUIPMENT IS ESTIMATED, UH, PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES, UH, AT A MILLION DOLLARS.
AND THIS COST COULD, COULD VERY WELL INCREASE.
SO, AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE ESTIMATES, A RRR HAS OBLIGATED $20 MILLION IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR ON THE RECOVERY EFFORT TO DATE THIS, AGAIN, THIS NUMBER COULD INCREASE AS THE CLEANUP CONTINUES.
WE ARE CURRENTLY REPORTING ALL OF OUR COSTS TO THE CITY'S HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY, UH, MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT.
THEY REPORT THE DATA TO THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND DETERMINE WHETHER FEMA THRESHOLDS ARE MET, UH, AND WHETHER ANY PRESIDENTIAL DISASTER DECLARATION OR FEDERAL DISASTER DECLARATION IS MADE.
UM, GIVEN THAT REIMBURSEMENT, IF IT DOES OCCUR, COULD BE ANYWHERE FROM ONE TO TWO YEARS AWAY.
AND IF AND WHEN THAT OCCURS, IT WOULD NOT BE OBVIOUSLY AT THE 20 MILLION, UH, MOST LIKELY 75%.
UH, SO LOOKING AT, UH, OUR FUND BALANCE, UM, AND THE IMPACT THAT THAT, UH, 20 MILLION EXPENDITURE IS GONNA HAVE ON OUR BOTTOM LINE, UM, IS, IS AGAIN, PRETTY ASTOUNDING.
THE DEPARTMENT'S FUND SUMMARY OF THE FORECAST PERIOD REFLECTS WHAT YOU SAW ON THAT LAST SLIDE.
THE ESTIMATED 20 MILLION IN STORM CLEANUP EXPENSES ARE REFLECTED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 23 COLUMN, WHICH
[00:20:01]
IS THE FAR LEFT COLUMN.WE EXPECT OUR FUND BALANCE AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR TO BE FULLY DEPLETED AND IN THE NEGATIVE, AS YOU CAN SEE.
UH, UM, AND AGAIN, THIS, THIS, UM, FUND SUMMARY DOES REFLECT, UH, OUR INTENT TO INCREASE OUR OPERATING RESERVE.
UM, SO, UH, ONCE WE PULL BACK ON THAT, THOSE NUMBERS, THE ENDING FUND BALANCE IS GONNA LOOK MORE NEGATIVE
UM, SO UNFORTUNATELY, UH, OUR ENDING BALANCE, AGAIN, AS, AS MENTIONED, IS GONNA RUN INTO IN THE NEGATIVE UNTIL WE RECEIVE A POTENTIAL OF FEMA REIMBURSEMENT.
LOOKING AT OUR, OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM FORECAST HIGHLIGHTS, UH, THIS INCLUDES, UH, DIRECTING YOUR EYES TO THE BOTTOM THERE INCLUDES, UH, 13.7 MILLION IN PLANNED SPENDING FOR FISCAL YEAR 24.
AS YOU CAN SEE, AIR R'S FIVE YEAR C I P PLAN IS LARGELY DEVOTED TO THE ONGOING PURCHASE OF VEHICLES AND EQUIPMENT SPENDING ON NEW AND, UH, REPLACEMENT VEHICLES.
EX IS EXPECTED TO RANGE ANYWHERE FROM 11 TO 15 MILLION OVER THE, OVER THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST PERIOD.
WE'RE ALSO FUNDING SOME WORK AT THE CLOSED LANDFILL AT FM, UH, EIGHT 12.
THE DEPARTMENT IS ALSO ALLOCATING MONEY FOR PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIVE STUDIES ON A FUTURE TRANSFER STATION, SOME HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE CURRENT YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, UH, THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.
UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'VE, WE'VE DISCUSSED THAT OVER THE MONTHS.
UM, AND, UM, A TRANSFER STATION, UH, AGAIN, I MENTIONED THE MONEY AND THE BUDGET, UH, FOR A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THAT, THE KGS C TRUCK WASH IS A COMPLETED PROJECT OR ABOUT TO BE COMPLETED PROJECT AT OUR, UH, CURRENT KENNETH GARDNER SERVICE CENTER IN SOUTH AUSTIN.
UH, AND THEN WORK AT THE FM EIGHT 12 LANDFILL.
UM, SHOULD PERCEIVE THIS FISCAL YEAR AS WELL.
AT THE FEBRUARY, UH, WAC MEETING, MANY OF YOU EXPRESSED YOUR PRIORITIES AND THINGS YOU'D LIKE THE DEPARTMENT TO FOCUS ON.
I'VE CAPTURED YOUR PRIORITIES IN THIS SLIDE INTO BROAD CATEGORIES OF FACILITIES, FLEET STAFF COMPLIANCE, LITTER ABATEMENT, AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS.
UH, AND AS THE DIRECTOR STATED DURING THAT MEETING, A R IS ALREADY WORKING ON MANY OF THESE INITIATIVES AND PRIORITIES.
WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO CONTINUING THE CONVERSATION AROUND THESE, UH, BROAD CATEGORIES AND HEARING MORE FROM YOU IN THE COMING MONTHS AS WELL AS TONIGHT.
THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME, AND WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
COMMISSIONERS, OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR QUESTIONS HERE.
I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER TUO, YOU HAVE A YES, SIR.
I, I CAN'T SAY THAT WE TALKED ABOUT THIS AS MUCH AS THESE OTHER PRIORITIES, BUT ON THOSE WAC PRIORITIES, I THINK IT'D BE IMPORTANT TO PUT THE MULTI-FAMILY COMPOSTING ON THERE AS WELL.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER? MELISSA, GO AHEAD.
I WAS KIND OF CURIOUS ON THE SLIDE WHERE IT TALKS ABOUT THE, UM, FY 20 OR THE LOSS TIME INJURY RATE FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 2020.
IT HAS A VERY HIGH RATE 6.32, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT IS INJURIES OR IF IT'S FROM EMPLOYEES GETTING COVID.
WHY WAS THAT RATE SO HIGH, DO YOU THINK? SOMEBODY ON SLIDE NUMBER FOUR, WHAT IS SHE TALKING? UM, I CAN'T HEAR YOU VERY WELL.
YOU'RE ASKING ABOUT WHAT THE MEASURE ACTUALLY MEANS.
I THINK SHE WAS ASKING WHY IT WAS SO HIGH IN FY 2020.
UM, COMMISSIONER RICHARD MACHA, DEPUTY DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
I, I'LL HAVE TO DO A LITTLE DIGGER DEEPING INTO LITTLE DEEPER DIG INTO THAT, BUT, UH, COVID WAS A MAJOR ISSUE THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT.
SO LOST TIME INJURY RATE IS BASICALLY, UH, THE CLOCK STARTS TAKING ONCE THAT EMPLOYEE IS OUT OF THE, UH, UH, AND NOT WORKING, UH, IF AN EMPLOYEE IS INJURED, BUT IS STILL ABLE TO DO LIGHT DUTY WORK IS NOT INCLUDED IN THOSE NUMBERS.
SO THESE EMPLOYEES WOULD BE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE ACTUALLY OFF THE JOB COMPLETELY.
SO, UM, I HAD TO GET A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILS ON WHY THE NUMBER IS WHAT IT IS, BUT, UH, I DO KNOW COVID HAD A VERY LARGE IMPACT ON US IN F Y 20, AND WE DID HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES AT, AT HOME.
I DID HAVE ONE MORE QUESTION, BUT IF I,
[00:25:01]
IF MY VOLUME ISN'T GOOD, THEN I'LL JUST PASS.UM, SO FOR THE, FOR THE ICE STORM CLEANUP, THAT 20 MILLION FEE THAT IS GONNA COST US, THAT'S TAKING QUITE A HIT.
YOU SAID WE'RE, WE CAN ONLY BE REIMBURSED THROUGH FEMA.
IS, IS IT NOT POSSIBLE TO TRY TO PETITION FOR OUR, OUR LOCAL STATE GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE RAINY DAY FUND AT ALL TO HELP COVER THE CITY'S EXPENSES FOR THIS KIND OF DECLARATION? NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
UH, WITH THE DISASTER OF THIS MAGNITUDE, IT'S TYPICALLY HANDLED THROUGH THE, THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM MM-HMM.
SO, YEAH, I THINK THE ANSWER TO THAT IS NO, NOT NOT THROUGH THE RAINY DAY FUND, UNFORTUNATELY.
UM, LOOKING AT THE SECOND TO THE LAST SLIDE, WE TALKED ABOUT THOSE PRIORITIES, WHICH ARE GREAT.
THANK YOU FOR MAKING NOTE OF THOSE.
AND JUST WONDERING, UM, I, I BELIEVE I, HOPEFULLY I WAS SOMEWHAT ARTICULATING ASKING THE, TO GET A BIT OF A COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON EACH OF THOSE, IF THAT'S PART OF THE ANALYSIS THAT YOU ALREADY DO.
SO JUST THAT, THAT OF COURSE, WILL HELP US WITH THE TYPE OF PRIORITIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE WOULD MAKE.
SO I'M JUST WONDERING WHAT THE PROCESS FOR THAT IS DURING THIS CYCLE.
RIGHT? SO AS, AS A DIRECTOR MENTIONED LAST MONTH, A LOT OF THESE THINGS, UH, OR SOME OF THEM ANYWAY, UH, THE DEPARTMENT IS ALREADY WORKING ON.
SO WE MAY HAVE SOME OF THAT, UH, FINANCIAL DATA ALREADY, UM, IN OUR BACK POCKETS.
UM, THIS WAS KIND OF TRYING TO CAPTURE JUST YOUR PRIORITIES IN TERMS OF, UH, THE QUOTE UNQUOTE DELIVERABLE THAT'S, THAT'S DUE AT THE END OF THE MONTH IN TERMS OF, UH, UM, PUTTING FORWARD YOUR RECOMMENDED PRIORITIES, UM, TO, TO THE CITY BUDGET OFFICE, TO, TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UH, ON WHAT YOU WANT ARR, UH, TO WORK ON AND, AND TO FOCUS ON, UH, ONCE WE GET THAT LIST, IF YOU CHOOSE TO PUT FORWARD ANYTHING, UM, THAT GIVES US THE OPPORTUNITY TO, AT LEAST ON AN OFFICIAL BASIS, UM, UH, UH, RESPOND TO SOME OF YOUR PRIORITIES AND TELL YOU OKAY, FOR, UH, ELECTRIFICATION OF THE FLEET, THIS IS, THIS IS HOW MUCH WE PREDICT IT WOULD COST BASED ON TODAY'S TODAY'S MARKET.
SO, SO AGAIN, SOME OF THESE THINGS WE, WE ALREADY HAVE FINANCIAL DATA FOR.
UM, IF YOU CHOOSE TO PUT FORWARD SPECIFIC, UH, PRIORITIES THROUGH THIS MORE FORMAL, UH, UM, UH, COM BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, UH, THEN WE WOULD FORMALLY RESPOND, UH, WITH MORE DETAIL THAT WAY AS WELL.
DOES THAT HELP? SO THERE'S KIND OF TWO DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION THROUGH THIS FORMAL, UH, PROCESS WHERE WE PROVIDE A FORMAL RESPONSE TO YOUR PRIORITIES, UM, AND LET YOU KNOW, UH, WHAT THE FINANCIAL IMPACT COULD BE.
OR, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT US TO BRING FORWARD, AGAIN IN A FUTURES WAC MEETING TO GIVE YOU THAT COST BENEFIT, UH, INFORMATION, WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT AS WELL.
I, I GUESS I'M JUST, UH, LIKE YOU SAID, IT SEEMS LIKE YOU'VE GOT A FAIR NUMBER OF THESE OR SEVERAL OF THEM IN YOUR BACK POCKET.
CAN, CAN WE FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE THOSE INTO A, A MORE FORWARD LOOKING POCKET MM-HMM.
I'D, I'D LOVE TO JUST SEE WHAT YOU'VE DISCOVERED SO FAR AND WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
I MEAN, FRANK, YOU KNOW, FRANKLY, YOU ARE, YOU ARE THE PROFESSIONALS AND HAVE DONE ALL THIS, SPENT ALL THIS TIME WITH THIS INFORMATION.
UM, THE, IF YOU CAN SHARE WHAT YOU'RE SEEING AND WHAT YOU RECOMMEND BASED ON THAT, UM, THAT'S SOMETHING WE, WE CAN WEIGH IN ON.
AM I, AM I JUST MISUNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS? UM, N NO, NOT NECESSARILY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY HEAR, UM, WHAT YOU'RE ASKING AND WE CAN CERTAINLY BRING FORWARD, UM, SOME, UH, COST DATA IF WE'VE GATHERED IT.
FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, FOR LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE,
[00:30:01]
UH, ELECTRIFICATION OF THE FLEET, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MAY NOT HAVE, UH, FINANCIAL DATA ON THAT PARTICULAR PIECE OF IT YET.UM, I JUST DON'T KNOW, DON'T KNOW.
BUT IF AS PART OF THIS MORE FORMAL, UM, UH, PRIORITIZATION, UH, THAT YOU WANNA DO THAT YOU, OR, OR THAT YOU PUT FORWARD, UM, THAT KIND OF TRIGGERS US TO MORE FORMALLY, UM, UM, RESPOND TO YOU AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS, THAT'S WHEN WE HAVE TO KIND OF DIG A LITTLE BIT DEEPER, UH, AND GET YOU THAT INFORMATION, UH, IN A MORE FORMAL WAY.
AND I'LL ADD, UM, UH, LIKE VICTORIA HAD SAID A LOT OF THE STUFF WE HAVE ALREADY LOOKED AT AND I'M GLAD TO SEE THE LIST OF PRIORITIES, CUZ THOSE ARE BASICALLY OUR PRIORITIES AS WELL.
SO, UM, THAT, THAT'S GOOD TO SEE THAT WE'RE BOTH ON THE SAME PAGE AND WE HAVE DONE SOME OF THE WORK AS FAR AS SOME ANALYSIS LIKE, UM, THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER, WE HAVE SOME, UH, NUMBERS ON THAT AND THAT'S SOMETHING WE COULD DEFINITELY SHARE WITH YOU AS FAR AS WHAT WE SEE AS EFFICIENCIES BY GETTING THOSE TYPE OF, UH, THAT TYPE OF FACILITY UP AND RUNNING AT THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.
UM, YOU KNOW, SOME MAY BE A LITTLE EASIER TO IMPLEMENT QUICKER.
I MEAN, SOME MAY HAVE A BIGGER BANG FOR THE BUCK, BUT THERE MAY BE A LONGER LEAD TIME TO GET INTO THEM, SUCH AS ELECTRIFICATION.
THAT'S NOT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO, NOT THAT WE WANNA DELAY THAT, BUT WE WANT MAKE SURE THE TECHNOLOGY'S READY FOR US WHEN WE, WHEN WE DO WANT, DO A LARGE ROLLOUT ON THAT.
BUT SOME OF THE OTHER ITEMS MAY BE A LITTLE BIT EASIER TO IMPLEMENT SOONER.
SO, BUT WE CAN DEFINITELY DO SOME COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS ON THIS CUZ IT'S GOOD FOR INFORMATION FOR US TO HAVE TO GO AHEAD AND, AND STATE OUR CASE AND, AND MAKE THE POINT FOR WHY WE WANT TO DO SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS. YEP, EXACTLY.
AND, AND THAT WAY WE CAN STAND BEHIND YOU IN THE, THE CHOICE PLACES YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT AND OUR PART, WE'LL CONTINUE TO BE ALIGNED.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMISSIONER WHITE.
THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION AND, AND ALL THE WORK THAT, THAT EVERYONE IN THE DEPARTMENT, UH, HAS BEEN DOING TO KEEP US, KEEP US FUNCTIONING AS A COMMUNITY.
UM, I GUESS MY, MY FIRST, UH, QUESTION, UH, IS ABOUT THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE.
I AM GLAD TO SEE THAT THERE'S, UH, AT LEAST AN INCREASE PROPOSED, YOU KNOW, UM, NOT THAT I WANNA PAY MORE ON FEES, BUT I, I THINK IT'S NEEDED.
UM, CAUSE OUR COMMUNITY, UH, UNFORTUNATELY IT'S NOT CLEAN.
UM, I'M, I'M WONDERING, UH, YOU KNOW, IF THESE, UH, INCREASES THAT ARE PROPOSED HERE ARE, UM, YOU KNOW, REALLY JUST TO, TO KIND OF KEEP UP WITH, UM, INCREASED COST TO MAINTAIN LIKE THE CURRENT WORKFORCE OR IF THIS IS, UH, SUFFICIENT TO EXPAND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WORKFORCE THAT IS ABLE TO, TO DO THOSE ACTIVITIES OF, OF CLEANING THE VARIOUS PARTS OF OUR COMMUNITY OF LITTER.
RIGHT? SO A LITTLE OF BOTH ACTUALLY.
UM, DO YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT? SURE, GO AHEAD.
COMMISSIONER KEN SNIPES, DIRECTOR OF AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, AS VICTORIA SAID, A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH, UM, TO, TO, UH, ENHANCE SERVICES THAT WE ALREADY HAVE, BUT ALSO TO EXPAND SOME, LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE DOWNTOWN CORE, UH, WE'VE RECOGNIZED THAT THE OVERNIGHT CREW, UH, WE HAVE AN OVERNIGHT CREW THAT CLEANS UP, BUT THE CITY HAS CHANGED TREMENDOUSLY, UH, IN THE LAST 20 SOME ODD YEARS SINCE WE ESTABLISHED, UM, SOME OF THOSE, UH, THE NUMBERS FOR SUPPORTING THE EFFORT.
UM, WE KNOW FOR EXAMPLE NOW THAT BY THE TIME THE, THE CREW IS DONE MAYBE MIDDAY, IT NEEDS TO BE CLEANED AGAIN.
RIGHT? THAT WASN'T THE CASE IN THE PAST.
SO NOW WE'RE LOOKING TO, FOR EXAMPLE, EXPAND THAT CREW, UH, TO HAVE A DAYTIME CREW AS WELL THAT WOULD WORK DOWNTOWN, UH, ADDRESSING ISSUES WITH LITTER, UH, AND BLIGHT IN GENERAL AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS I, I SUPPORT THAT, SO, UM, DON'T TAKE THIS AS NOT SUPPORT FOR EXPANDING THE DOWNTOWN CREW, BUT, UM, I, I DO HAVE LIKE A LITTLE BIT OF FRUSTRATION HEARING THAT THAT'S THE PRIORITY BECAUSE THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS THE ONLY AREA THAT HAS A DEDICATED CREW AT ALL.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, I, I THINK, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE BEEN ATTENDING
UM, AND SO I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, THAT THERE'S, THERE'S LITTLE ISSUES IN OTHER PARTS OF THE, THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT DOES FEEL A LITTLE BIT UNFAIR THAT THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS WHAT GETS THAT SERVICE, CUZ WE'RE ALL PAYING INTO THIS FEE.
UM, SO AGAIN, IT'S NOT THAT I DON'T WANT THE DOWNTOWN AREA TO HAVE, I DO RECOGNIZE THERE'S MORE TRAFFIC HERE, BUT IT'S PRETTY HEAVY IN SOME OTHER PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
AND, AND THERE'S ALL KINDS OF THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO LITTER.
[00:35:01]
MY FLAG ON THAT, THAT LIKE, IF YOU'RE INCREASING CAPACITY, UM, SPREAD, SPREAD THAT AROUND.UM, AND, AND MAYBE IF, IF THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT THERE'S CAPACITY FOR AND THAT INCREASE, THEN MAYBE IT'S NOT ENOUGH OF AN INCREASE.
UM, SO IF I COULD COMMISSIONER A LOT YEAH.
SO THAT'S NOT THE CASE AND THAT'S NOT THE PRIORITY.
THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, THE, THE INCREASE IN THE FEE WOULD SUPPORT MM-HMM.
THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF THOSE THINGS.
SO IF, UH, THE STATEMENT SUGGESTED THAT IT WAS ONLY FOR THE DOWNTOWN, THAT'S NOT THE CASE AT ALL.
UH, THAT'S JUST A SMALL PORTION OF WHAT THAT MONEY WOULD BE USED FOR.
UM, I APPRECIATE I ONE EXAMPLE OF A PROJECT.
APPRECIATE THAT CLARIFICATION.
I WOULD STILL SAY THOUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE STANDING UP, UM, THAT KIND OF, UM, CREW ON ALL THE MAJOR CORRIDORS MIGHT BE, UH, A REASONABLE OBJECT OR GOAL TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, AS OPPOSED TO JUST IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA, YOU KNOW.
WELL, A AGAIN, I HOPE THAT'S NOT THE, THE EXAMPLE DIDN'T CREATE A, A VISION IN YOUR MIND THAT THAT'S WHAT IT'S FOR.
WELL, I, THE IDEA WHAT, I MEAN, I, I WORK DOWNTOWN AND I LIVE ON THE EAST SIDE, SO I KNOW THAT ONE OF THOSE AREAS HAS DEDICATED PEOPLE THAT GO AROUND WITH CARDS PICKING UP LITTER, WHICH IS WONDERFUL.
THE OTHER AREA DOES NOT, AND THE RESULT IS VERY APPARENT.
UM, I, I'LL I'LL LEAVE IT AT THAT.
I THINK YOU, I THINK YOU KNOW WHERE I STAND ON IT.
UM, I GUESS MY OTHER, I JUST WANTED TO CLARIFY.
UM, IT SOUNDED LIKE Y'ALL WERE REQUESTING, UM, TO BE ABLE TO HAVE TWO MONTHS OF RESERVE AND YOU'VE BEEN TOLD FROM ON HIGH THAT YOU SHOULD NOT.
UM, WELL, THAT WAS THE ORIGINAL REQUEST TO THE BUDGET.
AND, UH, WHAT WE'RE HEARING NOW IS THERE, THERE MORE THAN LIKELY BE SOME ADJUSTMENTS IN THE BUDGET.
WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT THEY WILL BE JUST YET, BUT, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS RIGHT NOW THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
UH, AS, UH, UM, VICTORIA SAID, WE'RE, UM, WORKING ON THAT AND, UH, HOPEFULLY, UH, WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS WE'LL HAVE MORE DIRECTION, UH, FROM THE BUDGET OFFICE ON, UH, WHAT THE EXPECTATION IS.
GOSH, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I, I HEARD AUSTIN ENERGY SAY THAT THEY EXPECTED TO HAVE ALL OF THEIR COSTS REIMBURSED THROUGH FEMA AND I, I'M NOT SURE WHY THEY THINK FULL AND, AND Y'ALL ARE SAYING 75% MAYBE.
THEY'RE JUST BEING OPTIMISTIC, BUT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE THEY'RE SO MUCH BIGGER THAN, THAN ARR.
Y'ALL SEEM TO BE TAKING A DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN, UM, IN YOUR BUDGET.
I KNOW THAT
YEAH, I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE SPECIFIC COMMENT FROM THEM, BUT TYPICALLY THE MAXIMUM REIMBURSEMENT FOR FEMA IS 75% MM-HMM.
SO, UM, FEMA'S SUPPOSED TO BE COMING TO ASSESS THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, WHAT THE CITY'S DONE, AND THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE ACROSS THE REGION.
UH, AND ONCE THEY COMPLETE THEIR ASSESSMENT, UH, THEY GO THROUGH THEIR PROCESS OF WORKING BACK FROM THERE TO LET US KNOW, UH, WHAT WE, UH, WILL QUALIFY FOR.
UH, BUT AS VICTORIA POINTED OUT, THAT COULD TAKE A COUPLE OF YEARS IN SOME CASES BEFORE WE SEE ANY OF THAT MONEY.
SO, UM, AND, AND THAT'S NOT UNHEARD OF ACTUALLY TO HAVE IT TAKE THAT LONG BEFORE WE GET REIMBURSED FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
YEAH, I'M, I'M AWARE THAT, AND, YOU KNOW, I GUESS IT JUST DOES STRIKE ME THAT, UM, THIS DEPARTMENT, UM, SEEMS TO BE PARTICULARLY SQUEEZED, UM, IN, IN HAVING A LOT OF RESPONSIBILITY AND, AND THEN YOU'RE, YOU'RE TOTALLY FEE BASED AND THEN YOU GET TOLD, OFTEN, I KNOW THAT YOU CAN'T INCREASE FEES, BUT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KEEP PROVI PROVIDING THESE REALLY SUBSTANTIAL EMERGENCY SERVICES.
SO I, I, I DON'T KNOW, IT SEEMS LIKE SOMEHOW THOSE, UM, SERVICES MAYBE SHOULD BE PAID FOR OUT OF GENERAL REVENUE WHILE WE'RE WAITING FOR REIMBURSEMENT OR I, YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW.
IT JUST DOESN'T, IT DOESN'T SEEM LOGICAL TO ME.
WELL, ACTUALLY IN THE OLD DAYS WE HAD TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE GENERAL REVENUE FUND.
BUT, UH, ANYWAY, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? WELL, SO, UM, TO PIGGYBACK ON THAT, IS THERE A CONVERSATION AT ALL ABOUT WHAT KAY JUST TALKED ABOUT, THAT SOMEHOW IT WOULD COME OUT OF THE GENERAL REVENUE FUND? I DON'T THINK IT WOULD HAPPEN IN THIS SITUATION, BUT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS GOING FORWARD IS THAT WE HAVE SOME SORT OF, UH, GENERAL EMERGENCY, UH, BUDGET THAT, UH, DEPARTMENTS COULD CHARGE, UM, FOR, UH, SUPPORTING THE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE FOR A RESPONSE EFFORT.
UM, SO, UM, NOT IN TIME FOR, FOR THIS EFFORT, OBVIOUSLY, BUT I DO THINK THERE ARE SOME CONSIDERATIONS TO DISCUSS, UH, GOING FORWARD SO THAT, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T HAVE THIS TYPE OF HIT ON THE DEPARTMENT.
AND WOULD YOU BE IN FAVOR OF THAT? YES.
[00:40:03]
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? CUZ I'VE GOT A FEW THAT WANNA TOSS IN THERE.I, I JUST, AGAIN, WHEN I LOOK AT THIS BUDGET AND I, AND I THINK OF, UH, COST OF SERVICE RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT AND NOTHING AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT, YOU, YOUR ORIGINAL REQUEST WAS SLASHED AT LEAST A COUPLE 3% FROM ITS ORIGINAL GOAL BASED ON THE ONE YOU PRESENTED TONIGHT.
HERE I'M CONCERNED WITH, AGAIN, HOW DO YOU, HOW DO YOU KEEP PAYING FOR THESE, FOR THESE ITEMS? IN FACT, UH, WE AS A COMMISSION SHOULD BE WORKING WITH YOU ON HOW TO CUT SERVICES INSTEAD OF INCREASING SERVICES BASED ON THE FUTURE OF THE BUDGET.
I MEAN, NEGATIVE DOLLARS ARE NOT GOOD DOLLARS.
WE'RE AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT AND AS AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT, AUSTIN ENERGY, THE AIRPORT, US WATER UTILITY, WE'RE ALL RESPONSIBLE FOR PAYING OUR WAY.
AND THAT MEANS MAKING BUSINESS DECISIONS THAT ALLOW US TO PAY OUR PAY OUR WAY.
NOW, HAVING SAID THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, HERE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE PROPOSALS AND THE, AND THE GOALS OF THE DEPARTMENT, I MEAN, OUR GOAL IS TO IMPROVE EFFICIENCIES.
A TRANSFER STATION GREATLY, GREATLY WILL IMPROVE THE SERVICES AND, UH, REDUCE COST IN THE FUTURE ELECTRIC VEHICLES, ALTHOUGH THE OUT THE ORIGINAL COST MAY BE, MAY BE CONSIDERABLE.
THE PAYBACK ON THAT TOO IS, IS QUICK.
THESE ALL LEAD TO FUTURE REDUCTIONS IN COST OF SERVICE.
AND I'M, I'M AGAIN JUST CONFUSED WITH, UH, THE DISCONNECT.
I MEAN, WE JUST HAD ANOTHER MAJOR CHALLENGING STORM THAT IS COSTING US IMMENSE DOLLARS AND CENTS.
AND IF WE'RE LUCKY, WE'RE GONNA GET 75% OF THAT IN A COUPLE THREE YEARS.
IF WE GET THAT AT THE, IN THE INTERIM, WE GOTTA FIND MONEY SOMEWHERE AND WE BARELY HAD ONE MONTH'S RESERVE.
WE GOTTA FIND MONEY TO PAY FOR, FOR ALL OF THIS.
AND YET WE'RE STILL TALKING ABOUT REDUCING THAT RESERVE NUMBER TO ALMOST ZERO, NO NEGATIVE, I'M SORRY, NEGATIVE IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
IT'S, AGAIN, THIS IS NOTHING AGAINST THE DEPARTMENT.
YOU GUYS ARE DOING YOUR DARNEDEST TO WRITE A BUDGET THAT IS RESPONSIBLE.
I MEAN, ALL DUE RESPECT TO YOU.
I MEAN, I, I DON'T SEE HOW THIS IS GOING TO, TO HELP THE COMMUNITY.
WE HAVE TOO MANY EXAMPLES OF VARIOUS, VARIOUS, UH, DEPARTMENTS WHO HAVE TAKEN THIS ROUTE AND ARE NOW HAVING TO PAY THE PIPER.
I MEAN, YOU'RE, I MEAN, I CAN NAME A FEW SITUATIONS, 9 1 1 OR I CAN NAME, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST OTHER MAJOR DISASTERS THAT WE'VE INCURRED HERE AND WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MONEY IN THE BANK.
AND YES, THAT GENERAL FUND, THAT IS A NICE TOY TO PLAY WITH, BUT WE SHOULDN'T HAVE TO BE DIGGING INTO OUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT.
WE SHOULD HAVE OUR OWN LITTLE SAVINGS ACCOUNT THAT WE, THAT WE CAN GO AND DRAW FROM.
SO I'M REALLY CONCERNED, AND I THINK IT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY AS A COMMISSION TO, TO PERHAPS DISCUSS THESE ITEMS WITH, WITH YOUR RESPECTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS AND CITY MANAGEMENT.
BECAUSE THIS IS NOT A, THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO, TO ASK YOU GUYS TO RUN A BUSINESS.
AND IT'S, IT'S NOT FAIR TO THE, TO THE DEPARTMENT, THE EMPLOYEES, I MEAN, THE CITY, THE RATE PAYER, I MEAN, YOU KNOW, DICHOTOMY IS THERE, THE RATE PAYER, YEAH, THEY'RE, WE ARE THE RATE PAYERS.
WE WILL PAY MORE, BUT WE'RE GONNA GET THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PAYING FOR AND WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE TO WORRY OF WHETHER OR NOT, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE MEN ON THE STREETS WAITING, READY TO PICK UP THE, THE, UH, RECYCLING AND THE TRASH OR A TRUCK THAT CAN FUNCTION.
IT JUST, UH, AGAIN, I'M, I'M REALLY JUST, UH, SURPRISED AND I THINK, UH, FIRST OFF, YOU GUYS, PHENOMENAL JOB AGAIN, VICTORIA, THANK YOU KEN, RICHARD ON STAFF.
YOU GUYS DO YOUR DARNEDEST WITH WHAT YOU HAVE.
AND THAT IS A COMMENDABLE THING TO DO, AND I APPRECIATE THAT AS A COMMISSION.
I THINK IT'S OUR JOB TO HELP YOU GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.
AND THAT'S BACK TO, YOU KNOW, A A WONDERFUL FINANCIALLY SOUND POSITION.
AND THAT THOSE ARE JUST MY COMMENTS AND I, AGAIN, WELCOME ANYONE ELSE'S COMMENTS UP, UP HERE.
UM, YEAH, I, I CAN, UH, PIGGYBACK ON THAT A LITTLE BECAUSE I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAME THINGS THAT I THINK MANY OF MY FELLOW COMMISSION MEMBERS ARE.
[00:45:01]
CONCERNED ABOUT COMPENSATION AND THE TURNOVER AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I KNOW THAT THAT'S BEEN SOMETHING IN THE PAST AND THAT YOU THERE AT A R R ARE REALLY, UH, YOU'VE BEEN LOOKING AT THIS TRYING TO BE CREATIVE WITH RECRUITING AND, AND RETENTION AND ALL OF THAT.UM, I WANT TO UNDERSTAND A LITTLE MORE, WE TALKED ABOUT THIS LAST TIME, BUT NOT IN A LOT OF DETAIL.
UM, UNDER WHAT CONDITIONS DO FOLKS QUALIFY FOR ANY KIND OF HAZARD OR EMERGENCY PAY? AND THE REASON I ASK IS WHEN WE WERE HEARING ALL ABOUT WHAT A R HAD TO DO TO MOBILIZE AFTER THE WINTER STORM, PART OF WHAT HAPPENED, IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY, IS THAT CREWS HAD TO GO OUT WITH A SPOTTER ON THE ROAD IN FRONT OF THEM TO LOOK FOR, YOU KNOW, DROPPED WIRES AND OTHER HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS.
AND I, I, I ASKED, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THAT WAS A OVERTIME HAZARD SITUATION AND IT WASN'T, UH, WHICH HAS ME CONCERNED.
SO I, I I THINK I WANNA UNDERSTAND, IS THAT A MATTER OF NOT HAVING BUDGET FOR THAT? IS THAT A MATTER OF, UM, IT'S THE CITY SETS THAT VERSUS THE DEPARTMENT? UH, BECAUSE I, I DO THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE, LIKE WE'RE SAYING, WE'RE GONNA BE FACING MAYBE NOT THE EXACT SAME SITUATION, BUT THE PREPAREDNESS FOR SITUATIONS LIKE THAT I THINK NEEDS TO INCLUDE WHAT WE'RE DOING TO BE FAIR TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOW WORKING IN CONDITIONS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF THE NORM OF OPERATIONS.
UM, SO I, IS THAT IN THE BUDGET? IF, IF THAT IN THE EMERGENCY FUNDS, UM, WHERE WOULD THAT COME FROM? AND THEN HOW ARE THOSE WHO DECIDES WHAT CONDITIONS THOSE APPLY IN IF THEY'RE AVAILABLE? COMMISSIONER, THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.
SO WITH RESPECT TO, UM, HAS PAY OR HAS PAY, UM, THAT'S A MUCH BROADER QUESTION AND A BIGGER QUESTION THAT'S A CITYWIDE, UM, DISCUSSION.
UH, NOT JUST, UH, DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC.
I THINK THAT THE, UM, THE SITUATION YOU'RE MENTIONING WAS, UH, OUR SUPERVISORS GOING OUT TO MAKE SURE THE ROADS WERE SAFE BEFORE WE DISPATCHED THE FLEET.
UH, AND SO THAT INVOLVED, UH, SEVERAL OF OUR SUPERVISORS GOING OUT IN, UH, THEIR FOUR WHEEL DRIVE PICKUP TRUCKS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, ROUTES THAT WE WERE GOING TO RUN FOR THAT DAY WERE SAFE.
UM, DURING, I CAN TELL YOU DURING WINTER STORM URI, UH, WE, UH, RAN, UH, I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT DAY IT WAS AFTER THE ICE STORM THERE, AND WITHIN ABOUT, UH, AN HOUR WE HAD FIVE ACCIDENTS.
SO, UH, TO PREVENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT FROM HAPPENING AGAIN, WE DECIDED THAT IT MADE MUCH MORE SENSE TO HAVE OUR STAFF, UH, THE SUPERVISORS RUN THE FULL ROUTE TO MAKE SURE IT WAS SAFE BEFORE WE DISPATCH THE TRUCKS.
AS YOU ALL KNOW, UH, THOSE TRUCKS ARE LARGE AND HEAVY.
UH, THEY'RE VERY SHORT WHEEL BASE, SO THEY'RE NOT IDEAL FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, ICY CONDITIONS, UH, TO BEGIN WITH.
UM, SO THAT KINDA SPEAKS TO THAT PIECE OF IT.
UM, AS IT RELATES TO THE PAY WORK THAT WE DID BEFORE, UM, I THOUGHT IT WAS MORE IMPORTANT FOR US TO FOCUS ON REGULAR PAY BY INCREASING REGULAR PAY AS OPPOSED TO, UM, HAS PAY.
UM, THE, THE DIFFERENCE IN THE TWO IS THAT, UH, WHEN WE ADD MONEY TO REGULAR PAY THAT COUNTS TOWARDS YOUR RETIREMENT, UH, THAT'S MONEY THAT'S, YOU KNOW, IS IN THEIR REGULAR SALARY.
AND ALSO WE FELT AT THE TIME THAT BASED ON THE COMPETITION IN THE LOCAL MARKET FOR SAME OR SIMILAR SERVICES, THAT IT WAS MUCH MORE IMPORTANT TO ADD MONEY IN YOUR REGULAR PAY OR THE REGULAR PAY OF THE EMPLOYEES, UH, COMPARED TO, UH, HAS PAY, WHICH THEY MAY OR MAY NOT GET RIGHT.
UH, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION.
SO, UH, BUT AS TO WHETHER OR NOT, UH, HAS PAY WOULD BE APPROVED, THAT'S A MUCH BIGGER QUESTION AT THE CITY LEVEL THAT WOULD INVOLVE, UH, THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT, UH, THE BUDGET OFFICE AND OTHERS, UH, BEFORE WE COULD MAKE THAT DECISION.
AND WHEN HAS PAY IS AVAILABLE OR WHEN IT IS APPROVED, DOES THAT COME FROM EMERGENCY FUND OR DOES THAT HAVE TO COME THEN FROM YOUR ALLOCATION FOR, FOR SALARY AND WAGES? SO TO MY KNOWLEDGE, CURRENTLY THERE IS NO AUTHORIZATION FOR HAS PAY, UH, FOR THE WORK THAT WE DO.
UH, AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF OTHER THAT'S INCORPORATED INTO OUR RATES, BUT AS FAR AS APPROVALS FOR OTHER DEPARTMENTS, I DON'T THINK, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, I DUNNO.
YEAH, WE'D HAVE TO GET BACK TO YOU ON WHETHER, UH, IT'S APPROVED FOR OTHERS OR NOT, BUT THERE'S NO AUTHORIZATION APPROVED FOR AWESOME RESOURCE RECOVERY TO RECEIVE, UH, HAZARD DUTY PAY.
SO EVEN IF, YEAH, SO IF, IF THERE WAS A SITUATION, THERE'S NOT A FRAMEWORK FOR YOU TO KIND
[00:50:01]
OF GET FUNDS SPECIFICALLY FOR THAT IF NEEDED.THERE'S NO FRAMEWORK FOR THAT.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS.
I DO COMMISSIONERS,
SO ARE YOU GUYS HAVING TO DO A LOT OF OVERTIME PAY AT ALL FOR THE STAFF THAT YOU DO HAVE? IS THAT WHERE THE GAP IS BEING FILLED? YES.
OVERTIME AND IN SOME CASES TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.
WELL, SO JUST TO ALSO COMMENT SIMILARLY, UM, TO THE CHAIR, YOU KNOW, I, I FIND IT REALLY DISAPPOINTING THAT THE CITY WOULD COME BACK AND ASK YOU GUYS TO REDUCE YOUR BUDGET AND TO REDUCE YOUR, UM, EMERGENCY FUND.
YOU GUYS HAVE DONE A FANTASTIC JOB DURING THIS WINTER CLEANUP.
OBVIOUSLY THAT'S GONNA BE SOMETHING ELSE THAT HAPPENS IN THE FUTURE.
UM, I MEAN, EVEN IN TERMS OF JUST HAVING THE AVAILABLE BUDGET TO PUSH FORWARD THE 20 40 0 WASTE GOAL BY LOOK AT THIS DATA AND IT SAYS PRETTY CONSISTENTLY 40% OF THE MATERIALS ARE BEING DIVERTED AND 80% OF PROPERTIES HAVE ACCESS TO RECYCLING, WE'RE GONNA INCREASE THAT.
IT SEEMS LIKE YOU GUYS WOULD ALSO NEED TO HAVE A BIGGER BUDGET TO ATTACK THOSE.
BUT, UH, SO ANYWAY, COMMISSIONERS.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS? I, I JUST HAD, YOU KNOW, A, A THOUGHT WHILE I WAS SITTING HERE ABOUT, THINKING ABOUT YOUR COMMENT THAT THERE MIGHT BE THIS, UM, I GUESS EMERGENCY WHATEVER FUND ESTABLISHED FOR THE FUTURE.
I MEAN, IS THERE ANY REASON WHY THE COST THE ARR INCURRED IF THAT IS CREATED, COULDN'T RETROACTIVELY BE PAID FOR REIMBURSED FROM SUCH A FUND? I JUST DON'T THINK THAT'S HOW THE CITY HAS DONE BUSINESS IN THE PAST.
I THINK IF, IF YOU LOOK AT OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, SEVERAL SUCCESSIVE STORMS AND I THINK THE FREQUENCY OF THESE THINGS HAPPENING, UH, HAS INCREASED.
UH, IF THAT IS A TREND GOING FORWARD, THEN WE CERTAINLY NEED TO HAVE SOME SORT OF MECHANISM FOR, UM, RECOUPING THOSE DOLLARS.
UM, I JUST DON'T THINK BECAUSE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, MAYBE TRADITIONAL, UH, WEATHER PATTERNS THAT WE'VE HAD TO PAY A LOT OF ATTENTION TO THAT.
AND SO I THINK THE DECISION FOR US GOING FORWARD IS HOW DO WE CHANGE AND ADJUST, UH, TO MEET THE DEMANDS GOING FORWARD.
UH, WE'VE TALKED EXTENSIVELY ABOUT, UM, WHAT IF WE HAVE ANOTHER EVENT, UH, AND THEN NEAR FUTURE, THEN HOW IS THAT HANDLED? HOW IS THAT BUDGETED FOR? HOW'S IT, HOW IS IT PAID FOR? UH, AND SO AS YOU SEE FROM THE BUDGET RIGHT NOW, IT WILL BE A PROBLEM.
AND SO, UM, THOSE ARE THE CONVERSATIONS THAT I THINK ARE GONNA BE FRONT AND CENTER, UM, AS WE GO FORWARD, UH, WITH HOW WE DO BUSINESS AND HOW WE TRY TO STAY AHEAD OF POTENTIAL WEATHER ISSUES THAT SEEM TO BE HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY.
UM, I'VE SHARED WITH STAFF, YOU KNOW, WHEN I GOT HERE, UH, I WAS TOLD WE DON'T HAVE THOSE KIND OF CRAZY WEATHER PATTERNS HERE.
AND IN THE THREE AND A HALF YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN HERE, WE'VE HAD THREE ICE STORMS IN A PANDEMIC AND ALL KINDS OF OTHER THINGS.
UH, SO IT'S YOUR FAULT, HUH? YES, THAT'S RIGHT.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS A REAL BUMMER, ISN'T THAT? THAT'S RIGHT.
UH, SO, UH, I THINK, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, THE THING THAT WORRIES ME IS WHEN I CAME HERE, I HEARD PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THESE FLOODS AND WE HAVE THESE FLOODS AND OH MY GOSH, LEMME TELL YOU ABOUT THESE FLOODS.
AND WE HAVEN'T HAD ONE OF THOSE.
SO GUESS WHAT I'M WORRIED ABOUT US HAVING? YEAH, EXACTLY.
AND SO AT SOME POINT, I THINK, UH, WE MAY HAVE TO, UM, BUILD OURSELVES, UH, IN THE TYPE OF RESILIENCY FRAMEWORK OR STRUCTURE THAT ALLOWS US TO BE ABLE TO RESPOND TO MULTIPLE EVENTS IN A GIVEN YEAR.
RIGHT? WE HAVEN'T HAD TO DO THAT YET.
WE'VE HAD ONE SUCCESSIVE EVENT IN EACH OF THE LAST FEW YEARS, BUT IF WE HAVE TWO IN A YEAR OR MORE, UH, WE COULD HAVE SOME REAL PROBLEMS. YEAH.
WELL, I GUESS JUST LOOKING AT THIS BUDGET, IT LOOKS LIKE THERE'S ALREADY A PROBLEM.
AND, YOU KNOW, MY 2 CENTS WOULD BE, I THINK THAT IF THERE'S A FUND LIKE THAT SET UP, THERE SHOULD BE SOME RETROACTIVE, UM, ACTION HERE, IN MY OPINION.
AND, AND, AND TO BE CLEAR, WE'RE NOT REDUCING THE OVERALL BUDGET.
UM, THE BUDGET IS INCREASING SLIGHTLY WITH COST OF SERVICE.
UM, THE BIG ISSUE HERE IS THE RESERVE FUND.
UM, AND SO AS YOU'VE SEEN, WE'VE, UH, SPENT THE RESERVE FUND TO BE RESPONSIVE
[00:55:01]
AND TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES ASSOCIATED WITH, UH, THE CURRENT OR THE RECENT ICE STORM WITH KEN JINX AND US.SO CAN WE GET THAT WATER WHEEL BACK IN HERE,
ANY OF THE COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ON THIS? THANK YOU.
I, YOU KNOW, A FOLLOW UP TO THIS IS A, THERE'S A RESOLUTION THAT, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, CO-SPONSORING THIS.
THIS IS A, A RESOLUTION THAT IS BASICALLY IN SUPPORT OF, UH, A R'S BUDGET CHALLENGES AND OR REQUEST.
AND, UH, IN THIS RESOLUTION WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOOTING FOR THE STARS AND, AND GETTING EVERYTHING THAT WE NEED TO RUN A, A COST EFFICIENT, EFFECTIVE, UH, WONDERFUL PROGRAM.
AND IT GETS YOU WHAT YOU NEED.
THIS RESOLUTION ACTUALLY IS, UH, KIND OF ADDRESSING EVERYTHING.
IT ADDRESSES EVERY POSSIBLE, UH, ISSUE THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT EVERY, UH, EVERY, UH, PIECE OF EQUIPMENT THAT WE EVER WANTED TO, TO PURCHASE.
WHY NOT? AND OF COURSE, THAT IS A GIFT.
AND, UH, CHRISTMAS ONLY COMES ONCE A YEAR, AND IT'S NOT, UH, DECEMBER YET.
I'M JUST HOPING THAT SOME OF THIS WILL BE, WILL, WILL BE LOOKED AT BY, UH, CITY MANAGEMENT.
AND, AND SOME OF THE ITEMS THAT WE'VE ADDRESSED IN THIS, AGAIN, ARE, ARE ITEMS THAT I BELIEVE WILL LEAD TO LOWER RATE PAYER COST IN THE FUTURE AFTER THEIR IMPLEMENTATION.
THEY WILL BECOME MORE EFFICIENT ITEMS AND MORE EFFICIENT WAYS FOR US TO, TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES.
AND AGAIN, AUSTIN IS NOT, UH, IT'S NOT SHRINKING IN POPULATION, IT'S GOING THE OTHER DIRECTION GUYS.
AND, UH, TRAFFIC HAS BECOME A CHALLENGE.
WE NEED TO LOOK AT JUST THE OBVIOUS THINGS.
AGAIN, THE, UH, THE, UH, TRANSFER STATION, THE, UH, EV UH, IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR COLLECTION VEHICLES IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE REALLY DO NEED TO TAKE A QUICK PEEK AT.
BUT YOU CAN'T DO THAT UNLESS YOU HAVE A PLACE TO, TO PARK 'EM AND CHARGE 'EM AND SEND 'EM ON THEIR WAY.
BUT NONETHELESS, GUYS, THERE, THERE IS THIS RESOLUTION OUT THERE AND, UH, I MEAN, THERE'S NO COMMENTS ON THIS, OR IF THERE ARE ANY COMMENTS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CHIME IN.
UM, WELL THANK YOU, UH, FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.
UM, I GUESS YOU, YOU AND I, UH, SPOKE EARLIER ABOUT POSSIBLY, UM, INCLUDING, UH, THE GIST OF THE, UM, THE SURE LITTER ABATEMENT PLASTIC POLLUTION, UM, BUDGET RELATED RESOLUTION THAT I HAD PUT TOGETHER, UM, SO THAT WE COULD JUST HAVE THIS ALL, ALL IN ONE BUDGET RECOMMENDATION MM-HMM.
UM, SO I DON'T KNOW IF WE COULD, UM, POSSIBLY SEE THAT, UM, LANGUAGE ON THE SCREEN.
UM, I, I WASN'T GONNA TRY TO LIKE, ADD ALL THOSE WAREHOUSES, LIKE A COUP A COUPLE WAREHOUSES, UH, THAT ARE JUST THAT ISSUE AND THEN, YOU KNOW, JUST THE BE IT RESOLVED SECTION BASICALLY.
UM, CUZ I, I DO SEE THAT AS AN ISSUE THAT'S, UM, NOT ADDRESSED HERE YET.
UM, YOU KNOW, DOES OCCUR TO ME AS YOU WERE TALKING AT.
THE OTHER THING THAT'S REALLY, UM, I THINK NOT ADDRESSED HERE IS, UM, KIND OF EDUCATION INCREASE MM-HMM.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE WANNA ADD SOMETHING HERE ABOUT THAT, BUT, UM, JUST FLAGGING IT AS ANOTHER, I THINK NEED THAT EXISTS.
I THOUGHT THERE WAS A REFERENCE TO FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES INCREASING.
FOR EDUCATION? WELL, JUST FOR OVERALL, I MEAN, JUST, UH, TO SUPPORT THE OVERALL ZERO WASTE GOALS.
I GUESS THAT, I GUESS THAT GETS THERE.
UM, YEAH, I KNOW, I KNOW THE, THE DEPARTMENT IS TRYING TO DO THAT WORK.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO THE, THE ONLY PART THAT WE REALLY NEED TO SEE IS THE YELLOW HIGHLIGHTED, UM, PART IF YOU CAN MAKE IT BIGGER.
SO YEAH, I GUESS MY REQUEST WOULD BE TO, TO ADD THESE WHERES, I DON'T KNOW, SOMEWHERE AND THEN THIS BE IT RESOLVED, UM, IN WHATEVER ORDER YOU, YOU WOULD LIKE SHARING.
NO, NO, THAT'S ACTUALLY, I THINK THAT'S A GREAT INCLUSION IN THIS.
I MEAN, WHY NOT ASK FOR WHAT YOU, WHAT YOU NEED OR WHAT YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED TO GET TO WHERE YOU WANT TO GO.
[01:00:04]
YAEL, IS IT POSSIBLE TO ADD THAT IN AS YOU PRIOR TO SHIPPING THIS OFF TO COUNSEL BEFORE? I THANK YOU.I THINK IT'S A GREAT INCLUSION.
SO I, AGAIN, DO WE NEED TO, DO WE NEED TO LIKE VOTE ON THIS FORM AN AMENDMENT FORMALLY HAVE TO AMEND THIS? UM, DO WE NEED A, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE ORDER.
DO WE NEED AN A MOTION ON THE TABLE FIRST? A MOTION ON TABLE FIRST? I'LL, I'LL MOVE THAT WE, UM, THAT WE DO ADOPT THIS, THIS RESOLUTION AND I'LL GLADLY ACCEPT THAT, UH, THAT MOTION.
DO I, I'LL SECOND THAT COMMISSIONER GATTUSO SECONDS THAT ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS? WELL, AND THEN, AND THEN I THINK I NEED TO MAKE A MOTION TO AMEND.
SO NOW I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION TO, UM, AMEND THE RESOLUTION TO INCLUDE THE, UM, HIGHLIGHTED TEXTS THAT WE HAVE ON OUR SCREEN.
THAT COMMISSIONER TUO SECONDS.
ALRIGHT GUYS, ANY, UH, QUESTIONS OR ANY DISCUSSION ON THAT AT HEARING? NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
SORRY YOU VOTE FOR DOING THAT.
I THINK THAT WAS A VOTE ON THE AMENDMENT.
THAT WAS A VOTE ON THE AMENDMENTS.
ALL RIGHT, COMMISSIONERS PARLIAMENTARIAN.
OKAY, NOW WE DO HAVE THE AMENDED RESOLUTION TO VOTE ON AND I WILL ACCEPT A, UH, WELL WE ALREADY HAVE THE MOTION, SO WE JUST NEED TO VOTE ON IT.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RAISE YOUR HAND.
THANK YOU GUYS MORE THAN ANYTHING.
BUT ANYWAY, HAVING SAID THAT, THAT PRETTY MUCH, UH, CONCLUDES OUR BUSINESS.
[DIRECTOR’S REPORT]
IS YOUR THANK YOU CHAIR.I JUST WANT TO, UH, WITH RESPECT TO THE DIRECTOR'S REPORT, TAKE A MINUTE TO THANK STAFF FOR ALL OF THE WORK DONE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES DURING THE WINTER STORM.
UM, WE, UH, COLLECTED MORE DEBRIS FASTER THAN, UH, ANYONE CAN RECALL IN RECENT HISTORY.
UH, TO DATE, WE'VE COLLECTED ABOUT 1.33 MILLION CUBIC YARDS OF MATERIAL FOR CONTEXT.
IF THAT MATERIAL WAS COLLECTED IN DUMP TRUCKS, THAT WOULD BE ABOUT 110,000 DUMP TRUCKS.
UM, COLLECTING THIS TYPE OF DEBRIS, UH, IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD NORMALLY SEE ASSOCIATED WITH A HURRICANE AND WOULD PROBABLY TAKE FOUR OR FIVE MONTHS BEFORE THAT'S DONE.
UM, ALSO, UH, I JUST WANT TO, UM, YOU KNOW, HIGHLIGHT THE, THE FACT THAT THE, UM, DEPARTMENT'S WORK, UM, PRIOR TO THIS STORM, UH, IS WHAT ALLOWED THE GROUP TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
AND THE LEADERS HERE WITH ME TODAY ARE THE REASON THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THAT.
UH, AND OF COURSE THE, UH, THE FOLKS OUT IN THE FIELD, UH, UM, YOU KNOW, DRIVING TRUCKS AND, UH, COORDINATING THE WORK, UH, ARE THE RE REASON THAT WE'VE BEEN, UH, LARGELY RESPONSIBLE DURING THIS, UH, DURING THIS EVENT.
SO, UM, JUST WANTED TO, TO SHARE THAT, UH, ANECDOTAL BIT OF EVIDENCE THERE THAT THESE GUYS ARE, UM, TOP-NOTCH AND SUPERSTARS.
AND I JUST, UH, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THEY'VE DONE.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
DOWN TO LITTLE LEAGUE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS. SOUNDS GOOD.I'D LIKE, I GUESS WE NEED TO LOOK AT THE, UH, U R O WORKING GROUP SO WE CAN, WE DO, AND WE NEED TO GET A, A CITY, UH, SPONSOR FOR THAT, SOMEONE THAT'S ASSIGNED TO THAT.
SO WE CAN PUT THAT ON THE AGENDA.
JUST THE U R O, UH, WORKING GROUP AND, AND WHO WOULD BE ASSIGNED FROM THE CITY FOR VOTE.
DO YOU ALREADY HAVE THREE FOR YOUR U O COMMITTEE NOW? UH, BEING GONE TWO.
SO YOU MIGHT LIKE ACTUALLY FOUR BECAUSE, UH, WHAT'S HIS NAME? OH, THE MAN THAT'S HAVEN'T BEEN HERE LATELY.
OH, NO, WE DID NOT MAKE A OKAY.
FORMAL, UH, REQUEST TO TAKE HIM OFF.
SO THERE'S FOUR OF US AT THIS MOMENT.
WELL THEN I, I WOULD JUST SUGGEST THAT THE, Y'ALL SHOULD, UH, I SAY Y'ALL, CAUSE THAT PROBABLY WON'T BE HERE NEXT MONTH, BUT, UM, BUT YOU MIGHT, YOU SHOULD PUT RIGHT, YOU NEVER KNOW, BUT, UM, YOU, YOU SHOULD
[01:05:01]
PUT U R O COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT ON, ON YOUR AGENDA.OH, THAT'S, THAT'S ON THE, ON THE, I'M, YEAH.
AND THAT, UH, AND DID YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT YOUR, YOUR DISTRICT, UH, COLLECTION ISSUES, OR DO YOU WANNA I CAN GIVE AN UPDATE ON THAT.
SO JUST AN UPDATE ON THE MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING THAT IS FOUR UNITS AND UNDER, SO THAT'S SERVICED BY A R.
WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING TO ADDRESS GETTING SOME OF THOSE PROPERTIES, RECYCLING NORMAL TRASH SERVICES.
AND I ASKED, UH, THE QUESTION EARLIER WHETHER OR NOT ADDITIONAL BUDGET WAS NEEDED FOR THAT, AND I WAS TOLD NO, THAT'S IN THE REGULAR BUDGET.
AND THEN OF COURSE, THE BUDGET AGAIN, I MEAN, JUST, UH, JUST AN UPDATE ON WHAT IS, WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN THE NEXT TWO WEEKS.
I GUESS OUR NEXT MEETING ISN'T A COUPLE OF WEEKS, SO BASICALLY MM-HMM.
AND THEN FOR THE FUTURE, FUTURE WOULD BE THE FEMA ASSESSMENT FOR THE, FOR THE 2023, UH, WINTER DISASTER.
CAN YOU, DID YOU HEAR THAT? I'M SORRY.
THE, UH, KATHY BE THE, THIS WILL BE MAYBE A FUTURE ITEM IN THE, NOT NEAR FUTURE, BUT IT WOULD BE THE FEMA ASSESSMENT.
WHEN THEY EVENTUALLY DO THAT FOR THIS WINTER STORM.
WE CAN COME BACK WITH THE FEMA ASSESSMENT ONCE WE, UH, ONCE FEMA COMES AND DOES THEIR WORK.
UH, AND THEY GIVE US THEIR, UH, FINDINGS.
KEN, WHILE YOU'RE, WHILE YOU'RE UP THERE, I THINK I ASKED THIS BEFORE, UM, AND, AND I GOT A, I THINK, A SURPRISING ANSWER.
UM, I, IS THERE A PLAN MOVING FORWARD TO PUT SOLAR ON OR NEAR THE CLOSED AUSTIN LANDFILL? LANDFILL? THERE, THERE HAS BEEN A, UH, QUITE A BIT OF DISCUSSION.
UH, WE WE'RE ACTUALLY LOOKING AT, UH, AS PART OF THE RE REDEVELOPMENT OF THAT SITE, UH, WE WANNA MAKE ALL OF OUR FACILITIES, ANY BUILDING TO THE BUILT ON THAT SITE, SOLAR READY MM-HMM.
BUT I THINK IT MAKES MORE SENSE TO USE THE PROPERTY FOR BENEFICIAL USE AND THEN PUT SOLAR ON THE FACILITIES THAT ARE THERE.
SO, UH, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YES, THERE, THERE IS A CONSIDERATION FOR SOLAR.
UH, AND, UH, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE START WITH IT, WE WOULD MAKE ALL THE FACILITIES SOLAR READY SO THAT, UH, IN THE FUTURE, UH, IF IT WAS A BUDGETARY CONCERN OR IF THERE WAS A, UH, A THIRD PARTY, UH, THAT WANTED TO PUT SOLAR, UH, IN A PARTNERSHIP ON THOSE FACILITIES, THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO DO THAT.
WELL, I, I COULDN'T AGREE MORE WITH, WITH YOUR POINT THERE, UM, LAND IS AT SUCH A PREMIUM HERE THAT THAT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.
BUT WE ARE ALSO LOOKING AT THE CLOSED PORTIONS OF THE LANDFILL TO SEE WHAT CAN BE DONE OVER THOSE AREAS AS WELL.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A DIFFERENT SITUATION.
WELL, IT, THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING, UM, SOMETHING TO GET UPDATES ON AS, AS THEY DEVELOP.
ANY OTHER ITEMS? UH, THESE ARE STILL ON HERE FOR FUTURE, UH, THE BUDGET.
THE, UH, VIOLET BAG, CART, UH, UPDATE, I GUESS.
AND, UH, THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE, ACTUALLY, THAT'S SOMETHING WE HAD TALKED ABOUT.
ANY OF THE COMMENTS, QUESTIONS? UH, I CONCLUSIONS HERE, HEARING NONE, FIRST OFF, OR LASTLY, I, I JUST WANT TO COMMENT AND SAY THANK YOU VERY, VERY MUCH TO COMMISSIONER WHITE WHO HAS, UH, SPENT EIGHT LONG YEARS, UH, WITH SHARING HER WISDOM AND SUPPORT AND DEDICATION TO, UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND TO A R R.
AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT.
AND WHO KNOWS, MAYBE YOU'LL SHOCK US AND COME BACK,
CHAIR, I MIGHT BE ROLLING OFF AS WELL, SO THANK YOU ALL.
UM, I'VE ENJOYED WORKING WITH YOU.
I'M, I'M THE MAYOR'S REP, SO, UM, I'VE, I'VE APPLIED, BUT YOU KNOW, THEY MIGHT HAVE SOMEONE ELSE IN MIND ALREADY.
WELL, LET'S SEE WHAT WE CAN DO.
I MEAN, YOU GUYS HAVE, AGAIN, HAVE BOTH CONTRIBUTED SO MUCH.
I MEAN, JUST THE, UH, COMMITMENT AND THE, UH, I MEAN, JUST THE DESIRE TO, TO MAKE AUSTIN A BETTER, MORE BEAUTIFUL PLACE.
HAVING SAID ALL THIS, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.
[01:10:01]
YOU A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.COMMISSIONER MCCARDLE, HEARING NO DISCUSSION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HANDS PLEASE.