May 24, 2023 Audit and Finance Committee

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START.

OKAY.

UH, GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.

I'M ALLISON ALTA.

I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

I'M JOINED HERE THIS MORNING BY COUNCIL MEMBERS POOL AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

KELLY, UH, BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES IS RIGHT HERE.

AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER SHOULD BE JOINING US SHORTLY.

IT'S 9 31,

[ CALL TO ORDER]

UM, IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT AT THIS TIME WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION SPEAKERS.

THAT'S CORRECT.

GREAT.

THANK YOU.

SO THEN THE, UM, FIRST ITEM

[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of April 26, 2023. ]

I HAVE A MOTION FROM COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY AND A SECOND FROM COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES WITH NO OBJECTIONS.

WE WILL APPROVE THOSE MINUTES.

THANK YOU.

I AM

[11. Discussion and action regarding the Audit and Finance Committee meeting dates for 2023.]

UM, SO THE PROPOSAL FOR THE MEETING, UM, IS TO MOVE THE AUGUST MEETING TO, UM, AUGUST 23RD AT 9:30 AM DO I HAVE A MOTION TO DO THAT? MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

UM, SO WITH NO OBJECTIONS, WE WILL CHANGE THE CALENDAR, UM, SO THAT WE WILL HAVE OUR MEETING ON AUGUST 23RD AT 9:30 AM OKAY.

THANK YOU.

UM, WE WILL NOW TAKE UP, UM, ITEM NUMBER TWO, WHICH IS APPROVING

[2. Approve proposed bylaw amendments for Parks and Recreation Board.]

GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

THIS IS STEPHANIE HALL FROM THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

I'M HERE TO PRESENT SOME PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS FROM THE PARK AND RECREATION BOARD.

THEY RECENTLY MET, EXCUSE ME, TO APPROVE REMOVING ONE OF THEIR COMMITTEES.

THIS IS TO EDIT ARTICLE EIGHT A B.

THE COMMITTEE IS THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE.

AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS THE INTENT TO DISSOLVE THE FINANCIAL COMMITTEE IS BECAUSE THEY RARELY MEET, THEY DO NOT HAVE A SET FOCUS AREA, AND THE ITEMS THAT IT DOES HANDLE, THEY BELIEVE COULD BE BETTER HANDLED BY WORKING GROUPS.

STAFF HAS NO ISSUE WITH THIS, SO WE WOULD RECOMMEND THE REMOVAL OF THAT COMMITTEE.

THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MOVES APPROVAL SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, UM, WITH NO OBJECTIONS.

THE COMMITTEE WILL MOVE THAT ON AS APPROVED TO THE FULL COUNSEL TO APPROVE.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

UM, LET'S SEE.

GOING SO FAST HERE.

I GOTTA MAKE SURE I'M, UM, OKAY.

THE NEXT ITEM

[3. Language Access Follow-up Audit.]

DO YOU HAVE YOUR STAFF HERE? UM, SO LET ME JUST START BEFORE MS. STOKES SPEAKS, JUST TO SAY, THIS IS THE FIRST OF TWO AUDIT UPDATES THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR THIS MORNING.

UM, WE DO THESE AS ONE MECHANISM TO ENSURE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR AUDITS, UM, AND AS CHAIR, UM, TOGETHER WITH THE AUDITOR AND OUR INTERIM CITY MANAGER, UM, AS WELL AS MR. BENINO, WE ARE WORKING ON SOME ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE USING TO MAKE SURE THAT SOME OF THE OUTSTANDING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR AUDITS, UM, ARE BEING FULFILLED FASTER UNDER THE NEW ADMINISTRATION.

UM, BUT THIS IS ONE MECHANISM FOR DOING THAT, UM, BY MS. STOKES, OUR AUDITOR TO SPEAK, PLEASE.

THANK YOU.

YES.

SO, UM, WE DID SOME FOLLOW UP WORK ON LANGUAGE ACCESS.

THIS INVOLVES TWO AUDITS, TWO PRIOR AUDITS, ONE FROM 2016, LOOKING AT OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS, LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM IN GENERAL.

AND THEN ALSO, UH, THE LANGUAGE ACCESS WORK THAT WE DID RELATED TO OUR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS WORK IN 2021.

SO, NEHA SHARMA WAS THE AUDITOR OR THE MANAGER OF THIS, AND ELENA PURL WILL BE PRESENTING TO YOU TODAY.

THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBERS.

UH, MY NAME IS ELENA PURL AND I WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS SPECIAL FOLLOW UP PROJECT, AND I'M PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO PRESENT MY TEAM'S WORK TO YOU TODAY.

THE PURPOSE OF THIS SPECIAL FOLLOW UP REPORT WAS TO DETERMINE THE IMPLEMENTATION STATUS OF THREE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AS COREY MENTIONED FROM TWO OF OUR PRIOR AUDITS, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WERE ALL RELATED TO THE CITY'S LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM.

IN BOTH OF THESE AUDITS, WE KNOW THAT THE CITY MAY NOT BE MEETING THE LANGUAGE ACCESS NEEDS OF RESIDENTS.

WE ISSUED THESE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS IN ORDER FOR THE CITY TO PROVIDE EQUITABLE ACCESS TO CITY PROGRAMS, SERVICES, AND INFORMATION TO THE ENTIRE AUSTIN COMMUNITY.

C P I O AND HESSON.

WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND ALL DISCUSS THEIR IMPLEMENTATION STATUS ON THE FOLLOWING SLIDES.

SO, RECOMMENDATION ONE FROM THE 2016

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WE FOUND THAT THE CITYWIDE LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM IS IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE NECESSARY FEDERAL REGULATIONS AND GENERALLY ALIGNS WITH THE BEST PRACTICE FRAMEWORK WE COMPARED IT TO.

HOWEVER, WE DID IDENTIFY PROBLEMS WITH CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF THE PROGRAM, WHILE C P I O COLLECTS DATA ON THE POPULATION THAT NEEDS TO BE SERVED AND SHARES IT ACROSS THE CITY.

THERE'S A LITTLE DATA COLLECTION ON THE SEC.

THERE'S LITTLE DATA COLLECTION ON THE SUCCESS OF OR SATISFACTION WITH DEPARTMENTAL SERVICES.

WITHOUT KNOWING SUCCESS OR SATISFACTION, IT IS DIFFICULT TO ASSESS WHETHER NEEDS ARE BEING MET OR WHETHER RESOURCES ARE BEING USED AS EFFICIENTLY AS POSSIBLE.

FOR THAT REASON, WE DETERMINE THE RECOMMENDATION TO STILL BE UNDERWAY.

RECOMMENDATION TWO FROM THE AUDIT DIRECTS THE CITY TO DESIGNATE A PERSON OR PERSONS WITH AUTHORITY TO COORDINATE THE IMPLEMENTATION OF AND OVERSEE THE PROGRAM.

WE FOUND THAT THE CITY DID APPOINT THEIR LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR IN 2018.

HOWEVER, WE OBSERVED THAT THE COORDINATOR FACES MANY OBSTACLES IN THE IMPLEMENTATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE CITYWIDE PROGRAM.

THESE INCLUDE DEPARTMENTAL LANGUAGE SERVICES EXISTING OUTSIDE OF HER OVERSIGHT AUTHORITY, LIMITED RESOURCES, AND LACK OF RELIABLE DATA AND PERFORMANCE MEASURES.

AS SUCH, WE DETERMINE THE RECOMMENDATION STATUS TO STILL BE UNDERWAY.

SO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE TO CONSIDER THESE RECOMMENDATIONS COMPLETE? THE CITY SHOULD ENSURE THAT DEPARTMENTS ARE COLLECTING DATA ON OUTCOMES OF THEIR SERVICES.

AND SHARING THAT INFORMATION WITH C P I O RECENT POLICY CHANGES MAY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE, BUT THE NEW POLICY STILL NEEDS SOME TIME TO BE IMPLEMENTED TO CONFIRM.

C P I O SHOULD ALSO DEVELOP METRICS TO EVALUATE THE SUCCESS OF PROGRAMS WITH THIS DATA.

AND ALSO, THIS CITY SHOULD ENSURE THE LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR HAS THE PROPER AUTHORITY TO OVERSEE THE PROGRAM CITYWIDE, AS WELL AS ASSESS THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO DO SO.

ADDITIONALLY, UM, AS OBSERVED IN THE ORIGINAL AUDIT, H R D IS IN CHARGE OF ADMINISTERING THE CITYWIDE BILINGUAL PAY STIPEND PROGRAM.

HOWEVER, THEY DO NOT HAVE ELECTRONIC RECORDS FOR ALL EMPLOYEES RECEIVING THIS STIPEND.

INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING AND MONITORING THEIR NEED FOR BILINGUAL EMPLOYEES.

THE LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR DOES NOT HAVE AUTHORITY TO CONFIRM SELF-REPORTED NEEDS MATCH COMMUNITY NEEDS.

NEXT, FROM THE 2021 DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT, UM, WE LOOKED AT RECOMMENDA RECOMMENDATION NUMBER EIGHT, WHICH DIRECTS THE CITY TO CREATE AND IMPLEMENT A LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN FOR EMERGENCIES.

HE AND C P I O HAVE MADE GREAT PROGRESS WITH COMMUNICATION EFFORTS IN ADVANCE OF EMERGENCIES.

HOWEVER, THERE'S SOME MORE PROGRESS THAT COULD BE DONE.

WE FOUND THAT THE CITY HAS NOT YET FINALIZED AND IMPLEMENTED AN UPDATED EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN.

THOUGH HESHAM HAS HIRED AN INDIVIDUAL TO ACCELERATE THIS PROCESS.

ADDITIONALLY, AS DEMONSTRATED DURING ICE STORM MARA, THIS YEAR, THE CITY STILL STRUGGLES TO COMMUNICATE IN NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGES DURING EMERGENCIES.

NOW, IT IS A GOAL OF THE CITY TO ACCOMPLISH THESE TRANSLATIONS AVAILABLE RESOURCES ARE A CONSTRAINT AND TO BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE, UM, WE DETERMINE THIS RECOMMENDATION TO BE UNDERWAY STILL.

TO BE CONSIDERED COMPLETE, THE CITY NEEDS TO FINALIZE AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN AS WELL AS ASSESS THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATE WITH ALL NON-ENGLISH SPEAKING INDIVIDUALS DURING EMERGENCIES.

AND WITH THAT, I AM OPEN TO ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MS. PERCEL.

UM, DOES STAFF WANT TO RESPOND IN FROM PIO OR, UM, HES SOME BEFORE WE ASK, ASK QUESTIONS? NO.

OKAY.

COUNCIL MEMBER, I JUST HAD A, A QUICK QUESTION AND, AND MAYBE THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE CAN ANSWER AND MAYBE STAFF CAN.

I REMEMBER WHEN WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESS AND TRANS HAVING TRANSLATORS, CERTIFIED TRANSLATORS ON, UH, ON CALL AND AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH THAT IN OUR MEETINGS AND ELSEWHERE.

UH, THAT ONE OF THE CONCERNS BEYOND FINDING THE FUNDING FOR IT AND WAS FINDING, UM, ACTUAL CERTIFIED PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN CERTIFIED, THERE WAS AN ABUNDANCE OF FOLKS WHO SPOKE THE, A VARIETY OF LANGUAGES, BUT IT, IT'S A DIFFERENT THING REQUIRING A CERTIFICATION.

UM, AND I THINK BECAUSE THE NEED HADN'T BEEN REALLY EXPRESSED IN A LARGE WAY THROUGHOUT THE CITY, MAYBE THAT HADN'T, THOSE EFFORTS HADN'T YET GOTTEN UNDERWAY.

HAS THAT CHANGED OR DID YOU SEE ANYTHING LIKE THAT? AND I'M TALKING PROBABLY BACK IN 2018 OR SO WHEN WE WERE REALLY ENGAGING IN THIS CONVERSATION ON THIS DIOCESE IN A LARGE WAY.

YEAH.

WHICH IS LIKE FIVE YEARS AGO.

I THINK MANAGEMENT CAN SPEAK TO THIS BETTER, BUT I KNOW THAT, UM, SHARED VOICES IS A CERTIFICATION PROGRAM SEPARATE FROM

[00:10:01]

THEY GO THROUGH TRAINING, UM, A LITTLE MORE EXTENSIVE OF A PROCESS THAN THE BILINGUAL PAY PROGRAM.

UM, THEY SHOULD HAVE LISTS OF PEOPLE WHO, WHO SPEAK DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND, AND THEIR CERTIFICATIONS, BUT I THINK THEY'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THAT BETTER.

THAT'S GREAT.

YEAH, BECAUSE, UH, FINDING THE FUNDING FOR IT IS ONE THING, BUT THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE ACTUALLY HAVE THE RESOURCES, UM, WHO CAN THEN IMPLEMENT A VERY, UH, AND ADDRESS A VERY REAL NEED IS A, IS A WHOLE DIFFERENT SITUATION.

I SEE.

UM, JESSICA STANDING THERE, MS. KING IS AVAILABLE TO, TO OFFER SOME INSIGHT.

THANK YOU.

GOOD MORNING.

MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

COUNCIL MEMBERS, JESSICA KING, C P I O DIRECTOR.

UM, SO IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM, AND I DO HAVE, UM, A SUPPORT FOR ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS HERE.

MARIA SANCHEZ, WHO OVERSEES OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM, WHO IS ALSO, UM, LEAD IN MANY WAYS ON OVERSEEING LANGUAGE ACCESS ALONG WITH UMMA GARBA, WHO IS OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT.

SO TO SET UP THE PROGRAM STARTED, YES, BACK IN 2018, WHERE WE REALLY PUSHED FORWARD ON ASSIGNING STAFF.

ONE OF THE KEY ELEMENTS TO SECURE RESOURCES HAD EVERYTHING TO DO WITH SECURING CONTRACT SERVICES.

UM, THE TEAM WORKED WITH OUR PURCHASING OFFICE TO DEVELOP A, A CONTRACT THAT ALLOWED US THE, UM, A MULTITUDE OF DIFFERENT SERVICE PROVIDERS.

SO IT'S NOT A ROTATION THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD SEE AS A ROTATION CONTRACT, BUT IT ALLOWS US TO PICK AND CHOOSE BASED ON THE SERVICE NEED THAT WE REQUIRE.

WE HAVE MULTIPLE SERVICE PROVIDERS ON THAT CONTRACT.

IT IS A CITYWIDE CONTRACT THAT ALL DEPARTMENTS HAVE ACCESS TO AS WELL AS COUNCIL.

AND SO THERE'S FUNDING DESIGNATED TO THE CONTRACT THROUGH OUR BUDGETARY PROCESS.

AND EACH COUNCIL OFFICE, I THINK CAN TAP INTO THAT WHENEVER THEY NEED LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES FOR THEIR, FOR THEIR PROGRAMS. SO WOULD YOU SAY THAT THERE, UM, THAT WE HAVE PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES WHEN WE HAVE THE NEED TO BRING IN A TRANSLATOR FOR AN ARRAY OF LANGUAGES THAT, THAT THAT CONTRACT FULFILLS THAT NEED? YES.

I BELIEVE THE CONTRACT FILLS THE NEED.

HERE'S THE CHALLENGE.

THE CHALLENGE IS, IS A COUPLE OF FOLDS.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND TRULY WHAT THE NEED AND THAT SPEAKS TO THE AUDITOR'S RECOMMENDATIONS, REALLY MAKING SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT ARE THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY AND DO WE PROMOTE THE SERVICE THAT IS AVAILABLE AND ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO CONTACT US WHEN THEY NEED THAT SERVICE.

RIGHT NOW, FOR EVENTS, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TEAM DID A WONDERFUL JOB PARTNERING WITH THREE 11.

SO THAT IF PEOPLE NEED, UM, TRANSLATION OR ACTUALLY INTERPRETATION, SO LET ME CORRECT THE LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION IS THE SPOKEN WORD TRANSLATION IS THE WRITTEN WORD.

SO IF THEY NEED INTERPRETATION SERVICES FOR A MEETING OR SOME TYPE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITY, THEY CAN CALL 3 1 1, MAKE THAT REQUEST, AND THEN A REQUEST GOES TO THE DEPARTMENT OR THE REQUESTING, UM, ORGANIZATION THAT IS, I'M SORRY, NOT THE REQUESTING ORGANIZATION, THE DEPARTMENT THAT IS PUTTING ON THE EVENT, UM, AND IN COORDINATION WITH OUR TEAM TO SECURE THE INTERPRETATION SERVICES FOR THAT EVENT.

BUT IN ORDER FOR US TO REALLY UNDERSTAND, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE REACHING OUT TO THOSE ENTITIES, REACHING OUT IN THEIR PREFERRED LANGUAGE TO SAY THAT THE SERVICE IS AVAILABLE TO THEM AND THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO ACTUALLY TAP INTO THEM WHEN THEY NEED THEM.

SO IT IS NOT JUST THE ACCESS TO THOSE RESOURCES AND PROVIDING CONTRACTED STAFF, IT'S MAKING SURE THAT THE RESIDENTS UNDERSTAND THAT THE SERVICE IS AVAILABLE AND HOW CAN THEY ACCESS THOSE SERVICES.

GOTCHA.

GOTCHA.

THE EDUCATION PROCESS REPORT.

EXACTLY.

OKAY.

YES.

THANK YOU, CHAIR.

THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER OF MY DESK.

THANK YOU.

I'M VERY PLEASED TO HEAR ABOUT THE BILINGUAL PAY PROGRAM.

AND LOOKING AT THE BACKUP, IT SEEMED THAT THE CITY ALLOCATED 2.2 MILLION IN THE 2022 BUDGET.

AND I'M CURIOUS, ARE COUNCIL AIDS PARTICIPATE? I SHOULD BACK UP AND SAY FROM TO MY KNOWLEDGE, COUNCIL AIDS ARE NOT PARTICIPATING IN THIS BILINGUAL PAY PROGRAM.

AND SO IS THAT A MATTER OF JUST COORDINATING WITH HR? BECAUSE I KNOW FOR MY OFFICE, MANY OF MY TEAM MEMBERS SPEAK SPANISH AND ARE TRANSLATING OUR SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT, OUR NEWSLETTER CONTENT IN SPANISH.

AND THAT DOES TAKE TIME TO DO THAT TYPE OF TRANSLATION SERVICES.

UH, SO I WANTED TO FIRST CONFIRM AND CLARIFY IF COUNCIL OFFICES ALSO QUALIFY WITHIN THIS PROGRAM THAT'S ADMINISTERED THROUGH HUMAN RESOURCES.

I THINK HRD IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER THAT BEST.

I'M NOT SURE IF THERE'S ANYONE HERE TODAY, UM, BUT I WOULD DEFINITELY ENCOURAGE REACHING OUT TO THEM, BUT THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING AS WELL.

THAT'S, AND AND WHAT IS THE, DO YOU HAVE MORE DETAILS ON THE PROGRAM ITSELF? YEAH.

UM, SO IT'S OUTSIDE OF THE LANGUAGE ACCESS PROGRAM ITSELF, BUT, UM, DEPARTMENTS SELF-REPORT NEED FOR CERTAIN POSITIONS, UM, THAT NEED TO BE BILINGUAL.

THEY REQUEST THE STIPEND EMPLOYEES GET TESTED IN A, I BELIEVE JUST WRITTEN, WRITTEN AND ORAL TEST.

UM, IF THEY PASS THE TEST, THEY GET THE STIPEND AND THERE'S NOT ANY KIND OF REVIEW PROCESS.

THE ONLY WAY THAT THEY WOULD REALLY LOSE THE STIPEND IS IF THEY LEAVE THE POSITION.

[00:15:01]

MM-HMM.

.

OKAY.

SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF CONNECTING FOLKS.

YES.

MS. KING, SORRY, JUST TO ADD TO THAT AGAIN, JESSICA KING, C P I O, UM, AS A DEPARTMENT THAT SECURES FUNDING FOR MY STAFF FOR BILINGUAL PAY, YOU DO ALSO HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S FUNDING.

SO THAT IS ONE OF THE KEY CHALLENGES ACROSS DEPARTMENTS IS IDENTIFYING STAFF.

AND THAT WOULD, I THINK, BE THE CASE TOO FOR COUNSEL AS TO WHETHER OR NOT YOU HAVE THE FUNDING AVAILABLE SO THAT BILINGUAL PAY STIPEND CAN BE AFFORDED TO THAT, UM, TO THAT EMPLOYEE IF THEY MEET ALL THE CRITERIA.

OKAY.

UH, THAT'LL BE A GOOD CONVERSATION FOR ME TO HAVE WITH, WITH OUR CITY MANAGER ON THAT END.

UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS AROUND THE LANGUAGE ACCESS WORK WITH OUR HOMELAND SECURITY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIVISION.

YOU MENTIONED THAT THEY HAVE CONTRACTED OUT AN INDIVIDUAL TO TAKE A LOOK AT OUR COMMUNICATIONS DURING TIMES OF EMERGENCIES.

UM, DO YOU HAVE AN UPDATE AS TO THE PROGRESS OF THAT CONTRACT AND THE SERVICES THAT THEY PROVIDE? YEAH, LAST WE HAD HEARD THAT THEY HAD JUST HIRED THEM.

UM, I'M NOT SURE.

YES, YES.

THEY'VE JUST HIRED THEM.

UM, I DON'T THINK THEY'VE GONE MUCH FARTHER BEYOND THAT, BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT PROCESS NOW.

I'M NOT SURE IF HE'S HERE AND THEY'LL BE ABLE AGAIN TO REPORT BETTER BACK TO YOU, BUT THAT WAS IN EARLY MAY.

I BELIEVE THERE'S DIRECTOR ORTIZ.

GOOD MORNING, JUAN ORTIZ.

UM, HOME SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

UH, JUST JUST TO CONFIRM THAT THAT INFORMATION IS CORRECT, THAT PERSON JUST, UM, JUST COMING ON BOARD AND WE'RE BEGINNING TO KIND OF OUTLINE, UH, THE SCOPE OF THE, CONFIRM THE SCOPE OF WORK THAT THEY NEED TO DO AND THE TIMELINE WITH THAT WORK TO BE COMPLETED IT.

OKAY.

AND SO THAT SCOPE OF WORK, YOU'RE STILL DETERMINING WHAT IT'LL ALL INCLUDE? CAUSE I KNOW THIS, THE, THE FINDINGS REPORT HERE HIGHLIGHTS QUITE A FEW AREAS THAT NEED TO TAKE, BE LOOKED AT DURING TIMES OF EMERGENCIES.

THAT, THAT'S CORRECT.

OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, COMPLETE THAT LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN, UH, AND THE DELIVERABLES TO, TO CARRY THAT OUT.

UH, AND ALSO TO INCLUDE, I KNOW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, SPOKEN LANGUAGES OR WRITTEN LANGUAGES, BUT ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE INCLUDE AND, AND LET EVERYBODY KNOW THAT WE ALSO ARE, ARE LOOKING AT, UM, ASL, UH, VISUAL LANGUAGE FOR THOSE, UH, UM, SEGMENTS OF OUR POPULATION, OUR, UM, THAT OR HARD OF HEARING AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE WAYS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY.

AND WE ACTUALLY DO HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE THAT'S AVAILABLE NOW THROUGH THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY ACCESSIBLE ALERT, UH, SYSTEM THAT, THAT WE'RE, THAT WE ARE USING TO COMMUNICATE IN EMERGENCIES IN ASL LANGUAGE DIRECTLY TO THE RESIDENTS.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, AND WE ARE, HE'S BEEN A GREAT PARTNER.

WE'VE BEEN WORKING, MARIA AND HER TEAM ARE WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE PIO TEAM OVER AT HESSON TO ENSURE THAT THERE'S A CLEAR SCOPE OF WORK.

I THINK THEY'VE ALREADY HAD MEETINGS.

THEY'VE, THEY'RE BRINGING THE PERSON ON BOARD.

I THINK THEY LITERALLY STARTED WITHIN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS.

AND SO THEY'VE FINALIZED THE SCOPE OF WORK AND THEY WILL HAVE TIMELINES SET TO IMPLEMENT.

OKAY.

GREAT.

AND THEN MS. KING, LAST QUESTIONS FOR YOU.

UM, WITH THIS REPORT AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE PROVIDED, OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, CAN YOU SPEAK TO WHICH ONES OF, OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS YOU AND YOUR TEAM WILL PRIORITIZE OR ANY INSIGHT AS TO WHAT THE REPORT HAS HAS SHARED? SO THE TOP PRIORITY FOR ME AT THIS POINT, AND FOR MY TEAM, I THINK AT THIS POINT, IS REALLY ON THE EMERGENCY SIDE.

UM, AND IT, IT TIES BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL'S QUESTION WITH REGARDS TO RESOURCES IN AN EMERGENCY, ALL HANDS SHOULD BE ON DECK.

AND I THINK THE CITY MANAGER HAS MADE THAT CLEAR ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION.

UM, SO OUR NEXT STEP IS TO REALLY WORK WITH H R D TO LOOK AT WHO HAS BILINGUAL PAY ACCESS, WHO'S RECEIVING THAT STIPEND, AND HOW WE CAN FOLD THEM INTO THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WHAT THAT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE, AND HOW WE CAN ENSURE THAT WE HAVE EASIER ACCESS TO QUICKER TRANSLATION SERVICES OR INTERPRETATION SERVICES IF THE NEED ARISES.

SO THAT'S REALLY, RIGHT NOW, GIVEN, GIVEN THE CLIMATE ISSUES THAT WE HAVE AND HOW HOT THINGS ARE GETTING, UM, OVER THE SUMMER, THAT'S WHERE I WOULD SAY OUR PRIORITY IS RIGHT NOW.

THANK YOU.

THANKS, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

AND THE ONLY THING I WOULD ADD TO THAT IS JUST MAKE SURE THAT IT'S AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, CUZ THOSE NEEDS WILL BE, WILL, UH, WILL BE NECESSARY WHENEVER.

THANK YOU CHAIR.

I JUST WANTED, EXCUSE ME.

I JUST WANTED TO SAY THANK YOU FOR PROVIDING US WITH THIS INFORMATION.

I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT A WHOLE COMMUNITY RESPONSE AND APPROACH TO PREPARING FOR AND RESPONDING TO SITUATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY WITH SO MANY, UM, NON-ENGLISH SPEAKERS OR ENGLISH SPEAKERS AND A SECOND LANGUAGE.

I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS TO THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED IN A TIMELY MANNER.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE WORK THAT YOU DID.

THANK YOU.

THANK YOU.

UM, SO IN REVIEWING AND REVIEWING THE AUDIT AND, AND THE RESPONSE, THERE'S A LITTLE BIT OF A, OF A, OF

[00:20:01]

UM, AND, AND I THINK PART OF THAT IS THAT WE HAVE MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS FROM WHERE WE WERE.

UM, I THINK BACK WITH COVID AND WITH, UM, YURI, WE, WE REALLY, REALLY STRUGGLED AND THERE WERE A LOT OF THESE PIECES THAT WERE NOT IN PLACE.

AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE TAKE A LOOK AT THIS AUDIT AND WE TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE NEED TO TAKE AWAY FROM IT, I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE.

UM, WE ONLY HAVE ONE LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR.

WE'RE ASKING A LOT OF THEM.

THERE ARE A LOT OF LANGUAGES.

IT IS NOT AN EASY TASK TO PRODUCE THE LANGUAGE MATERIALS AND ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITIES KNOW THAT IT, THAT IT'S AVAILABLE.

UM, THAT BEING SAID, I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF WORK THAT IS STILL POINTED TO THAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN, UM, WITHIN THE AUDIT THAT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER WE'RE MEETING THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY, WHETHER WE'RE EVALUATING OUR PROGRAMS, WHETHER WE ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE LANGUAGE SKILLS THAT ARE ALREADY, UM, WITHIN OUR SYSTEM TO THE MAXIMUM OF OUR ABILITY.

AND THIS WON'T BE CLOSED OUT UNTIL WE CLOSE, UM, THOSE LOOPS ON THINGS.

UM, I DID HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS THERE THAT I WANTED TO CLARIFY.

UM, MR. ORTIZ, IF YOU COULD COME DOWN, I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ON THE EMERGENCY PLAN FOR THE LANGUAGE ACCESS.

SO THAT DOES SEEM AS MS. KING SAID THAT THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR THE LANGUAGE ACCESS TO BE OF, OF HIGH PRIORITY, UM, FROM THIS MATERIAL, I'M NOT SURE WHAT, WHERE, WHAT IS THE STATUS OF COMPLETING THE EMERGENCY LANGUAGE ACCESS PLAN AND WHAT RESOURCES HAVE WE DEVOTED TO THAT? UH, AND THAT'S, UM, AGAIN, ONE OF THESE WITH HOME SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, THAT IS THE EXACTLY THE WORK THAT, UH, THE STAFF THAT'S COMING ON BOARD IS GONNA BE FOCUSING ON.

AND WE'RE, WE'RE DEDICATING RESOURCES TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS DONE, UH, AS SOON AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.

AND WHAT DO YOU ANTICIPATE IS THE TIMELINE? UM, I THINK WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TOWARDS THE, UM, IS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, TOWARDS THE END OF THE YEAR.

SO I THINK THAT'S A CHALLENGING QUESTION BECAUSE THERE'S, IF I CAN BREAK IT OUT AND SPEAK INTO MICROPHONE.

UM, IF I COULD BREAK IT OUT INTO TWO PIECES.

THERE'S A DEPARTMENT PLAN, WHICH HE HAS A GENERAL DEPARTMENT PLAN FOR COMMUNICATIONS BECAUSE THERE'S PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION THAT OCCURS IN, UM, IN MAKING SURE THAT, UH, THE COMMUNITY IS PREPARED.

SO THAT SIDE OF THE PLAN IS UNDERWAY IS, IS BEING DEEPENED.

THE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION PLAN IS STILL UNDERWAY.

BUT I DO WANT TO STRESS TOO THAT, THAT I WOULD, I WOULD HOPE THAT, THAT WE WOULD HAVE THAT IN THE NEXT, I'M GONNA LIFT SOMEBODY ON SIX MONTHS, UM, WITH THE, WITH AN UNDERSTANDING TOO, THOUGH, WITH EACH EMERGENCY, WE LEARN NEW THINGS AND WE LEARN HOW TO ADDRESS AND TWEAK AND ADJUST.

AND SO WITH THAT EMERGENCY PLAN UNDERWAY, THAT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE CAN'T PUT LANGUAGE ACCESS AS A PRIORITY AND WE CAN, I'M, I'M A FAN OF ITERATING AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN TEST AND PILOT AND TRY.

SO AS THAT PLAN IS BEING DEVELOPED, UM, AND CODIFIED, I THINK THAT THERE IS STILL WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO TO ACTUALLY IMPLEMENT AND PRACTICE.

SO I DON'T WANT TO THINK, I I DON'T WANNA WALK AWAY FROM THIS TABLE THINKING THAT WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING AND THAT WE'RE JUST WRITING A PLAN.

WE ARE PRACTICING ITERATING, AND PART OF THAT COMPONENT IS REALLY DEVELOPING A PLAN TO BRING IN STAFF WHO ARE ALREADY BILINGUAL PAID, SO THAT WHEN THE NEED ARISES, WE CAN BRING THEM IN QUICKLY.

I THINK IF WE HAVE THAT PLAN IN PLACE, THAT WILL HELP IN MANY WAYS ADDRESS LANGUAGE ACCESS NEEDS FOR OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

THANK YOU.

UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, JUST TO ADD TO THAT, I THINK WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS THE, A A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION IS GONNA BE, UH, ON OUR WEBSITE, GETTING AHEAD OF IT, MAKING SURE THAT WE NOT ONLY ARE TRANS, UH, PROVIDING US TRANSLATION SERVICES, BUT ALSO GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT AND, AND TO THE PUBLIC SO THAT THEY CAN SEE IT AHEAD OF TIME SO THAT THEY KNOW WHAT THE INFORMATION IS SO THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO BETTER REACT IN A, IN AN EMERGENCY OR DISASTER BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT WE'RE PASSING TO THEM.

THANK YOU.

UM, IT JUST OCCURRED TO ME THAT IT MIGHT BE A GOOD IDEA FOR YOU TO HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS WITH SOME OF OUR QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS WHERE THERE ARE DIFFERENT LANGUAGES SPOKEN, UM, AND, AND, AND ENLIST THEM AND HELPING TO MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITIES KNOW ABOUT IT AND GET THEIR IDEAS TO MAKE SURE THE COMMUNITIES KNOW ABOUT THESE SERVICES AND, AND, AND HOW TO ACCESS THEM AND, YOU KNOW, HAVE THEM HELP YOU PROVIDE SOME OF THE FEEDBACK, UM, THAT WE'RE NOT, WE'RE NOT GETTING AT THIS POINT.

UM, I THINK THE DISTINCTION YOU MADE BETWEEN SORT OF THE, THE PROACTIVE STEPS AND WHERE WE ARE WITH THAT, OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE, I THINK IT'S THE READY, SET GO GUIDE, WHICH IS NOW TRANSLATED MULTIPLE LANGUAGES.

WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT.

AND, AND THERE, THERE'S SOME OTHER, THERE'S SOME OTHER, UM, PIECES THERE.

I, I DO THINK THAT THIS IS STILL VERY MUCH A PRIORITY MM-HMM.

FOR COUNCIL.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE FULLY MET, YOU KNOW, THE NEEDS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED IN THE STORM MARA,

[00:25:01]

UM, AS WE BUILD THE SHIP AS WE GO.

I, I WANNA JUST FLAG THAT, THAT IT WON'T BE CLOSED OUT UNTIL, UNTIL WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE UNDERSTAND THAT.

UM, THE OTHER PIECE THAT, UM, WAS APPARENT WAS THAT THERE WAS A CHALLENGE THAT WE SEE ACROSS MANY THINGS WHERE WE TRY TO DO THINGS CITYWIDE FOR DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE, UM, SCOPE THAT IS CITYWIDE BUT DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY, WHICH IS THAT WE HAVE THE LANGUAGE ACCESS COORDINATOR OR THE PIOS NOT HAVING THE ABILITY TO REQUIRE DEPARTMENTS TO DO THE WORK.

UM, AND SO I THINK I, I'M NOT SURE UNDER THE NEW SYSTEM, MS. KING, WHO YOU'RE UNDER AS AN ACM, UH, VERONICA PERENIO.

OKAY.

SO, UM, I DON'T SEE VERONICA HERE, BUT, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE A CONVERSATION TO HAVE.

WE HAVE MADE ENORMOUS STRIDES, SAY WITH OUR COMPUTER SECURITY STUFF BY REALLY HAVING THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE LEAN IN AND SAY THIS IS A PRIORITY.

UM, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU, UM, NEED THAT TO SUCCEED, I THINK THAT'S A CONVERSATION THAT HAS TO GO UP THE CHAIN TO BE ABLE, UM, TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BREAK ANY BLOCKAGES THAT ARE HAPPENING THERE.

I WAS, AND YOU MAY BE DOING THAT, BUT IT, IT WASN'T APPARENT IN THE AUDIT.

WE ARE, WE ARE DOING THAT.

UM, I THINK THAT CMOS SUPPORT, ESPECIALLY WITH HIRING AN ADDITIONAL STAFF PERSON AND ENSURING THAT HESSAM HAS THE STAFF TO SUPPORT THE LANGUAGE ACCESS, SPECIFIC INTEREST FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE, I THINK IS AN INDICATION OF CMO SUPPORT AND, UM, UNWILLINGNESS TO GIVE US THE AUTHORITY NEEDED TO MOVE US FORWARD.

SO I WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND IF THERE'S ADDITIONAL WORK THAT WE NEED TO DO IN THE AUDIT, I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH YOU, THIS IS GOING TO BE A CONSISTENT AND, UM, A CONSISTENT IMPROVEMENT ON WHAT WE DO.

AND SO WE ARE DEDICATED TO MAKING IT WORK.

OKAY.

AND THEN THE LAST QUESTION, WHICH MIGHT BE FOR THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE WE COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES IN TEXAS WITH RESPECT TO THEIR LANGUAGE ACCESS SERVICES? WE DIDN'T REALLY LOOK AT THAT AS PART OF OUR AUDIT.

UM, SO I CAN'T, UM, EXACTLY ANSWER THAT, BUT I'M SURE WE COULD DO THAT WORK IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE COMPARISON.

OKAY.

IF SOMEONE IS INTERESTED IN CONSIDERING A SPECIAL PROJECT RELATED TO THAT, UM, PLEASE LET ME KNOW AND WE CAN LOOK INTO THAT.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THIS WORK CONTINUE, UM, TO EVOLVE.

THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.

THANK YOU.

UM, NEXT UP IS ITEM FOUR,

[4. Austin Energy Vegetation Management Audit Update.]

UM, AND I'M JUST GONNA GIVE A HEADS UP THAT I'M GONNA SEE IF EVERYONE IS HERE FOR THE WILDFIRE, UM, TO KEEP THE AUDITORS WORK TOGETHER.

I'M GONNA TRY TO DO THAT AFTER.

IS EVERYONE HERE FROM PAR? IT LOOKS LIKE EVERYONE'S HERE FROM FIRE.

OKAY.

GO AHEAD.

THANK YOU.

OKAY.

OKAY, MS. JOHNSON.

GOOD MORNING.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS KATHY HARRISON.

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

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

UM, OKAY, THANK YOU.

THE, THE AUDIT PROCESS IS DIVIDED INTO THREE PHASES.

IN, IN THE FIRST PHASE, WE, WE CONDUCT INTERVIEWS AND COLLECT INFORMATION TO LEARN ABOUT THE ACTIVITY OR PROGRAM.

IN THE SECOND PHASE, WE CONDUCT MORE INTERVIEWS AND PERFORM DETAILED TEST WORK THAT MAY INCLUDE DATA ANALYSIS, SURVEYS, ONSITE VISITS, PEER ENTITIES WORK, AND MORE.

IN THE THIRD PHASE, WE DRAFT A REPORT AND WORK WITH DE DE DE DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS AND SET DUE DATES FOR THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.

FOR THIS AUDIT, AN UPDATE WAS REQUESTED IN MAY PER COUNCIL RESOLUTION.

SO THIS UPDATE IS OCCURRING JUST AFTER WE FINISH OUR FIRST PHASE AND STARTED OUR SECOND PHASE.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AS YOU KNOW, IN FEBRUARY OF, OF THIS YEAR, THE CITY COUNCIL PASSED A RESOLUTION DIRECTING THE CITY AUDITOR TO CONDUCT AN AUDIT OF AUSTIN ENERGY'S VEGETATION MANAGEMENT IN, IN RESPONSE TO THE MOST RECENT WINTER STORM, WHERE HEAVY ICE CAUSED TREES TO BREAK AND FALL ON POWER LINES CAUSING CITYWIDE POWER OUTAGES AND DAMAGE TO MORE THAN 30% OF AUSTIN'S TREE CANOPY.

THIS PRESENTATION WILL FOCUS ON INITIAL STEPS TAKEN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

SINCE, SINCE, SINCE THIS RESOLUTION WAS PASSED, WE HAVE CONDUCTED SEVERAL INTERVIEWS.

WE'VE ANALYZED A SAMPLE OF SERVICE REQUEST DATA, AND, AND WE'VE REVIEWED DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS AS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AS, AS I NOTED ON THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, WE REVIEWED INFORMATION ON THE EFFORTS AUSTIN ENERGY HAS TAKEN TO MANAGE VEGETATION ON OR NEAR POWER LINES TO DETERMINE WHICH AREAS WE WOULD LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, INCLUDING PLANNING, EXECUTION, AND MONITORING, INFORMATION

[00:30:01]

THE INFORMATION COLLECTED IN THESE AREAS WILL HELP US TO ANSWER THE OBJECTIVE AS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

AS UH MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS PRESENTATION, WE'VE STARTED THE SECOND PHASE, AND IN THIS PHASE WE'LL CONDUCT FOCUS TESTS TO ADDRESS OUR OBJECTIVE, WHICH WILL INCLUDE MORE ANALYSIS OF SERV OF SERVICE REQUESTS, SURVEYS OF CONTRACTORS HIRED TO MANAGE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, ONSITE VISITS WITH STAFF, PEER ENTITIES WORK, AND MORE.

THIS WORK WILL BE SUMMARIZED INTO A DRAFT REPORT WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN WE'LL SHARE THE FINAL REPORT WITH YOU AT THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE IN SEPTEMBER.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.

THIS, THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION, AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. HARRISON.

MS. HARRISON, IS THAT RIGHT, HARRISON? YES.

YEP.

THANK YOU.

SORRY, I HAD THE WRONG NAME ON, ON HERE.

UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THIS WAS IN RESPONSE TO YOUR ITEM.

DID YOU WANNA SPEAK FIRST TO IT? YEAH, I, I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I'M REALLY GLAD THIS IS MOVING FORWARD.

I APPRECIATE THE TIME THAT STAFF IS TAKING TO INVESTIGATE IT FURTHER.

I KNOW THAT AS A COUNCIL, WE, WE DEFINITELY LIKE TO SEE THE WORK THAT'S BEING DONE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE, THE FINAL RESULTS IN THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.

I'VE GOTTEN QUESTIONS AT HOA MEETINGS THAT I'VE ATTENDED RECENTLY ABOUT HOW THE PROGRESS IS GOING ON THIS, AND SO NOW I HAVE SOMETHING WE CAN PUT IN OUR NEWSLETTER AND SEND BACK TO EVERYBODY.

UM, BUT I, I DEFINITELY THINK THAT IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S IMPORTANT AND IT LOOKS LIKE YOU HAVE MADE QUITE A BIT OF PROGRESS.

SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND THANK YOU CHAIR FOR THE TIME TO SPEAK.

THANK YOU.

ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM OTHERS? UM, I JUST WANNA CALL MY, UH, THANK YOU, MS. HARRISON.

I WANNA JUST CALL MY COLLEAGUES' ATTENTION TO AN ITEM ON THIS WEEK'S AGENDA, UH, OR NEXT WEEK'S AGENDA RELATED TO VEGETATION MANAGEMENT.

UM, THIS WAS IN THE WORKS BEFORE STORM MARA.

I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, ONE OF THE KEY OBSTACLES THAT WE'VE SEEN WITH OUR VEGETATION MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IS ACTUALLY HAVING THE WORKFORCE TO DO THE PROGRAM.

WE HAVE MILLIONS AND MILLIONS OF DOLLARS, UM, ALREADY CONTRACTED TO DO THIS WORK, BUT IT'S BEEN CHALLENGING FOR THOSE CONTRACTORS TO FULLY STAFF THEIR CREWS.

UM, SO THIS WAS IN THE WORKS BEFORE MARA.

IT IS SET UP IN SUCH A WAY THAT WE WILL NOT CANNIBALIZE THE CREWS OF THE EXISTING CONTRACTORS.

AND THAT MAY BE THE WRONG WORD FOR THAT, BUT, BUT THE, UM, THE BASIC IDEA IS SO THAT WE CAN BE SETTING UP ADDITIONAL CREWS, UM, TO GET MORE OF THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UM, DONE.

SO I WANTED TO FLAG THAT FOR FOLKS.

UM, GREAT, THANK YOU.

UM, IF IT'S OKAY WITH MY COLLEAGUES, I THINK I'M GOING TO MOVE TO THE ITEM ON THE WILDFIRE AUDIT SINCE WE HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE HERE FOR THAT, UM, FROM STAFF, AND IT IS KEEPING EVERYTHING TOGETHER FOR THE AUDIT.

UM, SO IT IS, UM, LEMME GET TO MY NOTE.

WHAT ITEM EIGHT.

ITEM EIGHT.

[8. Update on the status of recommendations from the October 2019 Wildfire Preparedness]

UM, SO AS MY COLLEAGUES KNOW, FROM SMOKEY'S VISIT LAST WEEK TO COUNCIL MAY IS WILDFIRE AWARENESS MONTH.

SO WE THOUGHT IT'D BE A GOOD IDEA TO LOOK AT OUR 2019 WILDFIRE AUDIT AND ASSESS OUR PROGRESS.

UM, WE'RE GONNA HEAR FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE AND THEN ALLOW OTHER STAFF FROM THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WERE TOUCHED BY THIS AUDIT TO SPEAK.

UM, MS. STOKES, AS MENTIONED, THIS IS OUR UPDATE ON THE STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OUR 2019 WORK IN THIS AREA.

UM, OLGA OF TRANGO MANAGES THIS WORK, AND HENRY CANUM IS GONNA PRESENT TO YOU.

UH, AND THIS IS NOT THE RIGHT PRESENTATION.

, I WENT OUTTA ORDER, I WENT OUT OF ORDER ON YOU SO THAT NO, NO, THIS IS, THIS IS, YEAH, IT'S PERFECT.

UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

MY NAME IS HENRY KAMA AND I WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS PROJECT.

TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, IN 2019, OUR OFFICE CONDUCTED AN AUDIT OF THE CITY'S WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE IF THE CITY WAS EFFECTIVELY WORKING TO PREVENT WILDFIRES AND ADEQUATELY PREPARED TO RESPOND TO THESE FIRES.

WE IDENTIFIED SOME AREAS WHERE THE CITY NEEDED TO DO MORE TO REDUCE THE THREAT OF WILDFIRES, SPECIFICALLY BY COLLECTING DATA THAT REFLECTS MITIGATION EFFORTS, ADOPTING FIRE RELATED STANDARDS, CREATING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, AND DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS.

WE ISSUED FOR RECOMMENDATIONS.

THREE OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS WE ADDRESSED TO THE AUSTIN, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT

[00:35:01]

IN THIS FOLLOW UP, WE VERIFIED THREE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ADDRESSED TO THE, UH, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED, AND THE RECOMMENDATION THAT WAS ADDRESSED TO THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT IS STILL UNDERWAY.

UH, STARTING WITH THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE ADDRESSED, THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT FOR RECOMMENDATION ONE SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE, THE DEPARTMENT CREATED A UNIFIED REPORTING TOOL.

THIS TOOL GIVES STAKEHOLDERS REAL TIME INFORMATION REGARDING THE STATUS OF KEY MITIGATION EFFORTS.

FOR EXAMPLE, UH, STAKEHOLDERS ARE ABLE TO SEE INFORMATION SUCH AS LANDS TREATED AND THOSE REQUIRING TREATMENT LANDS NOT REQUIRING TREATMENT, AND THOSE CATEGORIZED AS UNTREATABLE.

UH, FOR THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION, THE DEPARTMENT IDENTIFIED THE COST IMPACTS RELATED TO THE, TO THE WILDLAND URBAN INTERFACE CODE.

THIS IS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE WEI CODE.

AND THEY COMMUNICATED THIS INFORMATION TO COUNCIL.

THE WEI CODE OF FIRE PREVENTION AND SAFETY STANDARDS INTENDED TO REDUCE THE RISK SPREAD AND DAMAGE OF WILDFIRES, UH, BY REQUIRING NEW CONSTRUCTIONS THAT ARE BUILT WITHIN IDENTIFIED AREAS TO MEET SPECIFIC COMPLIANCE STANDARDS.

COUNCIL ADOPTED THE WE COURT FOR THE LAST RECOMMENDATION ADDRESS THE HOSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

THE DEPARTMENT CREATED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE PRESCRIBED BURN PERMITTING PROCESS AND DEVELOPED GUIDELINES FOR PARTNER ORGANIZATION.

THE DEPARTMENT ALSO CLARIFIED FIRE PERMITTING ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.

WE DETERMINED THAT THE RECOMMENDATION ADDRESSED PAD, WHICH IS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE, IS STILL UNDERWAY.

WHILE THE DEPARTMENT DEVELOPED A LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN, THE PLAN IS STILL IN DRAFT FORM AND HAS NOT BEEN IMPLEMENTED.

MANAGEMENT STATED THEIR GOAL IS, UH, TO PRESENT THE PLAN TO CANCEL IN JULY, 2023.

UH, THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION, AND WE WILL BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.

THANK YOU, MR. KAMA.

UM, I'M GONNA SEE IF STAFF WANNA SPEAK BEFORE WE HAVE QUESTIONS OR JUST ANSWER QUESTIONS.

OKAY.

WE'LL WAIT TO HAVE A QUESTION.

OKAY.

GREAT.

THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? OKAY, I HAVE A, A COUPLE COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS MYSELF.

UM, SO FIRST OF ALL, I WANNA, UM, JUST APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE ON WILDFIRE SINCE THIS AUDIT IN 2019.

UM, THERE'S BEEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK LED BY AFD, BUT ALSO WITH, UM, PARTICIPATION AND ACTION AND LEADERSHIP BY OTHER DEPARTMENTS.

UM, THE ATX WILDFIRE.COM WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN GET TO THE HUB REALLY DOES HELP US SEE OUR, OUR WILDFIRE RISK, WHICH WAS ONE OF THE OTHER QUESTIONS, UM, THAT WE HAD A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT WHEN THIS AUDIT, UM, CAME FORWARD.

UM, SO IF YOU HAVEN'T TAKEN A LOOK@THEATXWILDFIRE.COM HUB, I REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO THAT.

UM, SINCE 2019, THIS, YOU KNOW, THIS AUDIT MENTIONED THE NEED FOR THE PRESCRIBED BURN OVERSIGHT AND THE WUI CODE AND KIND OF THE, JUST THE GENERAL, UM, INFORMATION.

BUT WE'VE DONE A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.

SO WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED TRAINING NEXT LEVEL WILDFIRE TRAINING, WHICH ALL OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS WILL HAVE CALLED RESPONDING TO THE INTERFACE.

WE'RE THE ONLY URBAN, UM, UH, FIRE DEPARTMENT TO BE DOING THAT.

WE HAVE A NEW WILDFIRE BATTALION THAT WE'RE BUILDING OUT.

WE HAVE SEVERAL NEW FIRE STATIONS IN THE INTERFACE.

UM, WE'VE DONE A LOT WITH OUR FIREWISE PROGRAM.

UM, I SEE AUSTIN ENERGIES HERE AS WELL.

WE'VE DONE A LOT OF WORK WITH THE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT, UM, FOR HIGH WILDFIRE CIRCUITS.

AUSTIN WATERS WORKING TO, UM, HARD END THEIR TREATMENT PLANTS, WHICH ARE IN THIS INTERFACE.

AND SO VULNERABLE.

UM, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN WORKING ON, UM, EVACUATION PLANNING THROUGH THE A M P, WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, HEUN AND, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENT AND EMS A R R HAS BEEN INVOLVED AS IN RESOURCE RECOVERY HAS BEEN INVOLVED.

INJURY DEBRIS REMOVAL, UM, POWERED IS INVOLVED IN THIS LAND MANAGEMENT, UH, PLAN.

WE'VE ALSO BEEN DOING THE WILDFIRE EVENT EXERCISES.

UM, THESE ARE ALL ONGOING EFFORTS.

WE ARE NOT GONNA EVER BE DONE BEING READY FOR WILDFIRE, UM, WHICH BRINGS US TO THIS AUDIT AND THAT THE PART LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN IS NOT DONE.

UM, AND I WANNA, I WANNA SPEAK BROADLY TO THE NEED FOR THIS PLAN, AND THEN I WANNA ASK SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE WE'RE AT WITH RESPECT TO THE WILDFIRE

[00:40:01]

UM, SO THIS NEED FOR THIS, UM, PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL AREAS HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED BY STAFF PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY.

IT WAS HIGHLIGHTED IN THE AUDIT.

UM, IT'S SCHEDULED TO BE ADOPTED THIS SUMMER.

HOPEFULLY.

UM, MAINTAINING THESE SPICES CATALYZES NUMEROUS PUBLIC BENEFITS.

IT'S NOT JUST WILDFIRE PREVENTION.

THERE'S CLIMATE REGULATION, WATER AND AIR CLEANSING, RESTORATIVE RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES.

WHEN WE NEGLECT OUR PARKS AND PRESERVES AND THE LAND MANAGEMENT, UM, THESE AREAS BECOME INCREASINGLY VULNERABLE TO DISEASE AND WILDFIRE.

AND SO WE NEED TO BE MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE, UM, PAYING ATTENTION.

AND SO FUNDING FOR THIS PLAN IS GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME IN THE BUDGET.

UM, AND, UM, I DO DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE, ARE MOVING FORWARD.

THAT BEING SAID, THE DISCUSSION TODAY THOUGH IS ABOUT WILDFIRE AND WHAT IS IN THAT PLAN REALLY RELATED TO WILDFIRE.

SO IF, UM, IF SOMEONE FROM PARK CAN COME UP AND ANSWER THE QUESTION OF, YOU KNOW, DETAILING HOW THIS PLAN ADDRESSES THE RISK POSED TO LIFE AND STRUCTURES THAT INTERFACE WITH CITY OWNED PARKS AND PRESERVES, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.

THANK YOU.

MR. GOOD MORNING.

HI, UH, MATT MCC, I'M A, UH, PROGRAM.

SHOULD I JUST GIVE THE PRESENTATION OR WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO JUST, UH, ADDRESS THE QUESTION? UM, I DON'T KNOW WHAT'S IN THE PRESENTATION, SO IF YOU THINK IT'S, IF IT'S USEFUL AND NECESSARY, PLEASE GO AHEAD.

IT'S, IT'S UP TO YOU.

I, I DON'T, I DIDN'T SEE THE PRESENTATION BEFOREHAND, SO.

WELL, I CAN GO AHEAD, UH, HOWEVER YOU WOULD LIKE ME TO PROCEED.

UH, UM, OH, I'M, YOU COULDN'T HEAR ME.

NOT EXACTLY.

SORRY.

OH, SORRY.

UM, THANK YOU.

COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.

UM, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE PRESENTATION, SO I CAN'T MAKE A STATEMENT OF WHETHER IT, WHETHER IT'S VALUABLE AT THIS POINT OR NOT.

SO IF YOU THINK WE SHOULD HEAR IT, GO AHEAD.

SURE.

I THINK SOME OF WHAT'S IN THE PRESENTATION WILL BE REDUNDANT TO WHAT'S ALREADY BEEN PRESENTED HERE TODAY, BUT I'LL, I THINK I'LL, UM, I THINK THE PRESENTATION ANSWERS SOME OF THE QUESTION AND THEN, THEN WE CAN FOLLOW UP.

THAT'S FINE.

THANK YOU.

UM, OKAY.

SORRY.

UH, MY NAME'S MATT MCC MCCAW.

I'M THE, UH, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION PROGRAM MANAGER FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, AND I'VE BEEN, UH, PRIMARILY RESPONSIBLE FOR DIRECTING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PLANT SO FAR.

SO, JUST A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND.

THIS MAY BE REDUNDANT.

UM, WHEN WE SPEAK ABOUT NATURAL AREAS, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT AREAS WITH, UH, NATURAL CHARACTER TYPICALLY DOMINATED BY NATIVE PLANTS.

UM, THE NATURAL AREAS, UH, IN THIS PLANT THAT'S BEING DEVELOPED ARE CONTAINED IN MANY DIFFERENT PARK TYPES.

GREEN BELTS, PRESERVES, OTHER PARK LAND, NATURAL OTHER PARKS.

UM, THE MAJORITY OF PARTS ACRES ARE ACTUALLY DESIGNATED AS NATURAL AREAS.

UH, IN THOSE PARK TYPES THAT I JUST MENTIONED, UH, ABOUT 74% OF OUR PARK LAND IS NATURAL AREA.

UM, AS YOU MENTIONED ALREADY, THESE NATURAL LAYERS PROVIDE A WHOLE HOST OF CRITICAL SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY.

UH, HOWEVER, MOST HAVE NOT BEEN MANAGED FOR ECOSYSTEM HEALTH AND THEREFORE ARE CURRENTLY AND WILL CONTINUE TO BE THREATENED BY, UH, DRIVERS SUCH AS HEAT, DROUGHT, AND DISEASE IN ALL OF THESE AS A COMPLEX, UM, CORRELATE WITH, UH, INCREASED WILDFIRE RISK.

AND SO, UM, GENERALLY TO THE PREVIOUS QUESTION, UM, THIS, THE PLAN THAT WE'RE DEVELOPING, UH, ADDRESSES THESE AND OTHER THREATS AS A COMPLEX, UH, TOGETHER.

UH, THEY, THEY ARE ALL INTERRELATED AND, AND HARD TO SEPARATE.