[00:00:03]
UH, LET'S, WE'RE GONNA GO AND BRING THIS, UH, MEETING
[Determination of Quorum / Meeting Called to Order]
OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO ORDER.UH, IT IS TUESDAY, AUGUST 29TH, 2023, AND THIS IS A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING.
UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE STAFF UPDATES.
UM, THAT IS THE INTENT HERE WITH SOME Q AND A, UH, BUT NO ACTIONS SPECIFICALLY ON THESE ITEMS. UH, WE'LL START OFF WITH A ROLL CALL AND I'M JUST GONNA MOVE THROUGH, MOVE THROUGH THE DICE, AND THEN I'LL MOVE THROUGH THOSE THAT ARE PARTICIPATING ONLINE.
UH, SO STARTING ON MY LEFT, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD WITH, UH, COMMISSIONER WOODS HERE.
TO MY RIGHT, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER ZA HERE.
UH, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER ANDERSON HERE AND, UH, RECOGNIZING, UH, COMMISSIONER HAYNES, UH, HAS HIS HAND UP.
AND THEN COMMISSIONER CONNOLLY HERE.
AND THEN, UH, ON THE SCREEN, I HAVE C VICE CHAIR HEMPEL HERE.
AND, UH, NEXT WE HAVE COMMISSIONER HOWARD HERE.
UH, WELL, I'LL MENTION THE NEXT OFFICIOS IN A SECOND.
BUT MOVING TO COMMISSIONER COX HERE, AND COMMISSIONER MUTO HERE.
AND THEN JUST RECOGNIZING OUR EX OFFICIOS.
WE HAVE THE CHAIR OF BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS, UH, CHAIR COHEN.
AND THEN ALSO, UH, WITH US AGAIN TWICE IN A ROW.
WE HAVE, UH, CANDACE HUNTER, THE A I S D BOARD OF TRUSTEE.
UM, COMMISSIONERS, WE DON'T HAVE ANY, UH, WE'RE NOT TAKING ANY VOTES THIS EVENING, BUT TO BE RECOGNIZED, UH, IT MAY HELP IF YOU HAVE YOUR COLOR CARDS, BUT I SHOULD BE ABLE TO RECOGNIZE YOU IF YOU RAISE YOUR HAND.
I DO HAVE HELP FROM, UH, MY PARLIAMENTARIAN HERE, UM, COMMISSIONER ZA.
SO, UH, YEAH, WE SHOULD BE GOOD THERE.
UM, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, WE DON'T HAVE ANY PUBLIC COMMUNICATION.
SO THE NEXT ITEM ON OUR AGENDA ARE THE BRIEFINGS.
UH, GOING AHEAD AND I'LL JUST GO AND REVIEW THIS QUICKLY.
[1. (A) City of Austin Proposed Telework Policy]
IS CITY OF AUSTIN PROPOSED TELEWORK POLICY.WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING THIS EVENING PREPARED FOR THAT ITEM.
UH, THE STAFF, UM, ARE PRETTY MUCH THE EFFORT IS COMING OUTTA THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AND THEY'RE TRYING TO DEVELOP CITYWIDE STANDARDS THAT WOULD APPLY TO, UM, THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, BUT ONCE WE DO HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WE WILL GET THAT HERE TO, UH, LOOK AT IT AND REVIEW.
UM, BUT THEN ONE B, WE'LL HAVE THE TRAVIS COUNTY TELEWORK PROGRAM.
WE HAVE THE HONORABLE CHE FROM, UH, THE TRAVIS COUNTY COMMISSION PRECINCT TWO.
AND, UH, THAT'LL BE THE FIRST ITEM THIS EVENING.
WE'LL THEN MOVE ON TO NORTH BERNETT GATEWAY REGULATING PLAN AMENDMENTS BRIEFING.
AFTER THAT, UM, WE'LL HAVE THE PLAN AMENDMENTS TO ELIMINATE MINIMUM PARKING REQUIREMENTS AND THEN FOLLOWED, UH, BY THE EXPANSION OF ACCESSOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL COVER OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, SHOULD WE HAVE ANY THAT WE WANNA DISCUSS.
UM, BUT WITH THAT, ANY QUESTIONS ON THE AGENDA BEFORE WE GET STARTED? COMMISSIONER AZAR, UM, CHAIR, JUST TO UNDERSTAND, SO THE, THE TELEWORK POLICY ONE A ARE, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST GONNA, ARE WE TABLING THAT ITEM FOR NOW AND TURNING BACK TO IT? YES.
SO, WE'LL, UH, WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, WE CAN BRING IT BACK.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION.
SO, TO GET US STARTED HERE, UH, I'M GONNA GO AND ASK, UM, UH, COMMISSIONER BRIDGET SHEA, UH, TO COME TO THE
[1. (B) Travis County Telework Program]
PODIUM AND KIND OF GIVE US A BRIEFING ON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY RELATED TO THEIR TELEWORK PROGRAM.THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR BEING HERE THIS EVENING.
DO I NEED TO PUN? NO, IT'S ON
UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR HAVING ME.
THIS IS SORT OF, UM, SIBLING GOVERNMENT VISITING DAY COMM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON WAS IN COMMISSIONER'S COURT TODAY TALKING ABOUT A PROJECT THAT SHE'S WORKING ON, UH, JOINTLY WITH THE COUNTY AND COMMISSIONER PAVILION.
UM, I'LL TELL YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW WE, UH, COMMENCED OUR POLICY, UM, AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT WE'VE HAD WITH IT, UM, AND THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING WITH AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT, UM, AND THE, THE STAFF THAT ARE WORKING UNDER THE COUNTY AND THE OUTSIDE CONSULTANT, WHICH IS DELOITTE.
WE'RE NOT ABLE TO BE HERE TONIGHT.
BUT, UM, DELOITTE SAID IF THERE WERE ANY PARTICULAR QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAD, UM, THAT I SHOULD MAKE NOTE OF THEM AND THEY'D BE HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UM, SO IT STARTED, UM, I THINK IN THE WAY THAT VIRTUALLY EVERY ENTITY EXPERIENCED THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC, WHICH WAS
'CAUSE NOBODY REALLY EXACTLY KNEW WHAT IT WAS OR
[00:05:01]
HOW IT WAS BEING TRANSMITTED, EXCEPT THEY KNEW IT WAS HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS AND THAT PEOPLE NEEDED TO NOT BE CONGREGATING.AND SO EVERYONE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO BE AT WORK TO DO THEIR JOB.
UH, SO BASICALLY EVERYONE WHO WASN'T CONSIDERED ESSENTIALLY AN ESSENTIAL WORKER, BASICALLY TOOK THEIR LAPTOP AND WENT HOME.
AND, UH, AND THEN WE, WE DID A LOT OF WORK WITH OUR IT DEPARTMENT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, OKAY, WHO NEEDS A LAPTOP? UM, DO WE HAVE EXTRA LAPTOPS WE CAN LOAN PEOPLE, UH, WHO NEEDS A CORD TO HOOK UP THEIR, UH, MONITOR? SO THERE WAS A LOT OF THAT, YOU KNOW, KIND OF JUST JUGGLING AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT SO THAT PEOPLE COULD FUNCTION FROM HOME.
AND, AND THEN WHEN WE GOT KIND OF SETTLED IN, UM, I THINK IT WAS A REVELATION FOR ALL OF US.
UM, THE THING THAT I WAS REALLY MOST ASTONISHED ABOUT WAS, WAS HOW QUICKLY WE SOLVED ALL OF OUR TRAFFIC CONGESTION PROBLEMS. IT WAS LIKE THE MAGIC WAND.
AND I, I REMEMBER I HAD TO DRIVE DOWN I 35 FOR SOME REASON, AND IT WAS AT FIVE O'CLOCK, AND I COULD DO THE SPEED LIMIT.
AND I LITERALLY SET MY VIDEO, UH, CAMERA UP ON MY DASH TO RECORD IT, AND JUST SAID, THIS IS ASTONISHING.
I'M DRIVING THE SPEED LIMIT ON 65 THROUGH DOWNTOWN AUSTIN AT RUSH HOUR, AND, YOU KNOW, WHO SAYS WE CAN'T SOLVE OUR CONGESTION PROBLEMS WITH TELECOMMUTING.
SO THAT WAS A BIG REVELATION, AND I THINK PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD HAD SIMILAR EXPERIENCES OF IT.
WE HEARD STORIES OF PEOPLE IN INDIA WHO FOR THE FIRST TIME COULD SEE THE NIGHT SKY 'CAUSE THEIR, THEIR CITIES WEREN'T CHOKED WITH THE POLLUTION FROM ALL THE VEHICLES.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND IN ITALY THEY COULD SEE FISH IN THE CANALS.
AND SO MANY PEOPLE HAD THIS EXPERIENCE OF SORT OF THE WONDER OF BEING ABLE TO SEE THE HORIZON IN THEIR CITIES BECAUSE THEY WEREN'T CHOKED WITH FUMES FROM ALL THE VEHICLES, UH, POLLUTING THE AIR.
SO THAT WAS BIG REVELATION NUMBER ONE.
AND THEN THERE WAS SOME INTERESTING DATA FROM THE CITY THAT, UH, THAT JUST PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL STATISTICAL REINFORCEMENT.
AND I THINK IT WAS FROM YOUR, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA GET THE NAME RIGHT, BUT YOUR TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, WHERE THEY HAD DOCUMENTED, UM, STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN WAIT TIMES AT EXCEPTIONALLY CONGESTED INTERSECTIONS.
SO WE, WE WERE STARTING TO ASSEMBLE DATA, UH, THAT ALSO REINFORCED WHAT EVERYONE WAS EXPERIENCING, WHICH WAS THAT WE'D ELIMINATED OUR CONGESTION PROBLEM OVERNIGHT.
AND OBVIOUSLY THAT'S A, IT'S NOT SOMETHING YOU CAN REPLICATE EVERY DAY.
WE'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC EVERY DAY, HOPEFULLY.
AND WE WON'T HAVE A SITUATION WHERE MOST PEOPLE WOULD BE WORKING FROM HOME OUT OF A PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN.
UM, BUT WE DID SEE HOW EFFECTIVE REMOTE WORK COULD BE TO ADDRESSING TRAFFIC CONGESTION.
UM, THE OTHER WAS, AND THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT OUR AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT HAD ACTUALLY BEEN WORKING ON FOR A WHILE.
THEY, THEY BASICALLY LOOK AT ALL THE NUMBERS.
AND SO A LOT OF THEIR PEOPLE WERE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC.
AND THEY HAD BEEN TRACKING PRODUCTIVITY AMONG THEIR EMPLOYEES AND HAD ACTUALLY DOCUMENTED AN INCREASE IN PRODUCTIVITY AMONG THEIR EMPLOYEES WHO WERE WORKING FROM HOME.
AND I MEAN, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT MAKES SENSE.
YOUR COMMUTE WHEN YOU'RE WORKING REMOTELY IS BASICALLY FROM YOUR BEDROOM TO YOUR KITCHEN OR YOUR DINING ROOM, OR WHEREVER YOU HAVE YOUR OFFICE SET UP.
SO YOU AREN'T STUCK IN TRAFFIC FOR HOURS TRYING TO DRIVE TO WORK AND THEN DRIVE BACK FROM WORK AT THE END OF THE DAY.
SO, SO THAT WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE HAD SOME STATISTICAL DATA ON.
UH, AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT WE TRACKED BOTH, UM, ANECDOTALLY AND IN EMPLOYEE COMMENTS DURING OUR BUDGET PROCESS, 'CAUSE WE HAVE BUDGET HEARINGS WITH OUR EMPLOYEES, WHICH IS A GREAT THING, BY THE WAY.
I IF YOU, IF YOU DON'T DO IT AT THE CITY, I, I WOULD RECOMMEND IT.
AND WE HEARD OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM EMPLOYEES, WE LOVE REMOTE WORK.
WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS ON AN ONGOING BASIS.
AND, UM, I THINK WHAT'S TRUE IN A LOT OF LARGE ORGANIZATIONS, THE TWO BIG HOLY GRAILS FOR BIG COMPANIES IS HOW DO YOU INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY AND HOW DO YOU IMPROVE WORKER MORALE? WELL, GUESS WHAT? REMOTE WORK IS, IS ONE BIG THING THAT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL.
AND IT'S NOT THE SOLUTION TO EVERYTHING, AND IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, GONNA IMPROVE EVERYONE'S PRODUCTIVITY AND, AND MORALE.
BUT, UM, WE WERE FINDING, UM, WHAT WE CONSIDER STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE, IN THESE TWO MEANINGFUL AREAS IN THE WORKPLACE.
UM, AND THE OTHER THING FOR ME IS, UM,
[00:10:01]
UH, GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.I DON'T THINK I NEED TO TELL ANYBODY AFTER THIS BRUTAL HEAT THAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING THAT WE ARE LIVING, UH, IN A HISTORIC TIME OF PROFOUND CLIMATE CHANGE.
UM, AND SO ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN VERY FOCUSED ON AT THE COUNTY IS WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OUR CONTRIBUTION TO CLIMATE CHANGE? WHAT CAN WE DO TO REDUCE OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS? AND WE HAD CONDUCTED A, A, IT'S CALLED A GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY.
BASICALLY ESTABLISH A BASELINE AND LOOK AT YOUR OWN OPERATIONS TO FIGURE OUT WHERE ARE YOU GENERATING GREENHOUSE GASES AND THE TWO LARGEST SOURCES, WHICH IS GONNA BE TRUE FOR MOST ORGANIZATIONS, UNLESS YOU OPERATE A POWER PLANT OR A BIG MANUFACTURING FACILITY WHERE YOU GENERATE POWER.
UM, THE TWO LARGEST SOURCES ARE THE ENERGY THAT YOU USE TO HEAT AND COOL AND LIGHT YOUR BUILDINGS AND THE ENERGY THAT'S USED, UH, IN YOUR EMPLOYEE COMMUTE AND YOUR FLEET VEHICLE COMMUTES.
AND SO WE WERE HAVING A PRETTY PROFOUND IMPACT ON REDUCING OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS IN THOSE TWO TOP CATEGORIES.
OUR EMPLOYEES WEREN'T WORKING IN THE BUILDINGS, SO WE WERE ABLE TO DIAL DOWN OR, OR CUT BACK ON OUR HEATING AND COOLING, UM, AND LIGHTING.
AND THEY WEREN'T COMMUTING TO WORK.
SO, UM, WE JUST FELT LIKE THERE WERE A LOT OF REALLY GOOD REASONS TO EXPLORE CONTINUING, UH, THIS REMOTE WORK EXPERIMENT.
AND, UM, FORMER COMMISSIONER GERALD DOUGHERTY AND I PARTNERED ON THIS AND WE ADOPTED A POLICY AND WE WORKED WITH THE STAFF AND STAFF WAS IN AGREEMENT THAT THERE WERE A LOT OF BENEFITS HERE AND WE SHOULD EXPLORE IT.
SO WE ADOPTED A POLICY IN MAY OF 2020, AND MOST PEOPLE WENT HOME FROM WORK IN MARCH OF 2020.
SO IT WAS EARLY IN THIS PROCESS, UM, WHERE WE SET A GOAL OF SEEKING TO ACHIEVE HAVING 75% OF OUR ELIGIBLE WORKERS.
AND THAT'S AN IMPORTANT DEFINITION OF OUR ELIGIBLE WORKERS WORK REMOTELY ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
AND WE DEFINED ELIGIBLE AS PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO PHYSICALLY BE AT WORK TO DO THEIR JOBS.
AND WE GAVE OUR, OUR STAFF, OUR MANAGERIAL STAFF, A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY.
WE DIDN'T DICTATE WHO MET THE DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE.
WE SAID TO THE SUPERVISORS AND THE MANAGERS, YOU DECIDE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU NEED, UH, IN YOUR OFFICE AND WITHIN YOUR WORK TEAM.
SO YOU DECIDE WHO FITS THAT CRITERIA OF, OF ELIGIBLE, AND THEN YOU DECIDE IF YOU STILL NEED PEOPLE TO COME IN ONCE A WEEK, TWICE A WEEK, ONCE A MONTH, YOU DECIDE THAT AS THE MANAGER AND THE SUPERVISOR.
SO FROM THE BEGINNING, WE GAVE A LOT OF, UM, FLEXIBILITY AND, UM, UM, AGENCY TO THE MANAGERS AND THE SUPERVISORS.
UM, SO WE DIDN'T SET AN EXPECTATION THAT IT WAS ALL OR NOTHING, THAT IT WAS ALL REMOTE WORK, YOU KNOW, OR ALL BACK PHYSICALLY, UH, IN THE WORKPLACE.
AND I THINK THAT THAT ALLOWED A SORT OF ORGANIC, UM, DEVELOPMENT OF A WORKING SYSTEM THAT WORKED FOR THE MANAGERS AND FOR THE EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND WE ALSO DECIDED THAT WE WOULD NEED ADDITIONAL HELP TO FIGURE OUT WHAT POLICIES TO PUT IN PLACE AND HOW TO CREATE WHAT I'VE CALLED AN EXOSKELETON TO SUPPORT OUR ABILITY TO DO THAT ON A PERMANENT BASIS.
AND SO WE BROUGHT IN DELOITTE, DELOITTE CONSULTING TO WORK WITH US ON THAT.
AND ONE OF THE CHARGES THAT WE GAVE THEM WAS, UM, TO ALSO LOOK AT WHERE THERE WERE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO REPURPOSE SOME OF OUR REAL ESTATE.
BECAUSE IF WE WERE GONNA PURSUE THIS GOAL, WHICH WE'D, WHICH WE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO DO, OF HAVING 75% OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS, WHICH WORKED OUT TO ABOUT HALF THE WORKFORCE, UM, REMOTE WORK, UH, ON A, ON A PERMANENT BASIS, WE WERE GONNA HAVE SOME EMPTY BUILDINGS.
AND SO THAT WAS PART OF THEIR CHARGE AS WELL AS TO LOOK AT OPPORTUNITIES TO REPURPOSE SOME OF THAT SPACE, BUT ALSO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WAS SUFFICIENT SPACE FOR WHEN PEOPLE CAME BACK, IF IT WAS ON A, YOU KNOW, ONCE A WEEK, TWICE A MONTH, WHATEVER THAT, WHATEVER THAT FLEXIBLE BASIS WAS.
UM, AND THEY, UM, SO THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON THOSE POLICIES.
THEY HAVEN'T COMPLETED IT YET.
UM, BUT THEY'RE ALSO IN THE MIDST OF A, A PILOT PROJECT.
'CAUSE THEY, THEY TOOK ONE DEPARTMENT AND SAID, WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA JUST STUDY THIS DEPARTMENT AND SEE HOW THIS IS WORKING AND SEE WHAT KINDS OF ISSUES ARE COMING UP THAT WILL NEED TO GRAPPLE WITH.
AND SO THEY TOOK ON THE TRANSPORTATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AT THE COUNTY, AND THAT'S, I SHOULD KNOW THIS NUMBER, BUT IT'S 300 SOME I THINK EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND IT INCLUDES A RANGE OF, UH, EMPLOYEES ALL THE WAY FROM, UH, ENGINEERS AND, UM, DOWN TO PEOPLE THAT RUN OUR ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT AND FILL POTHOLES AND, YOU KNOW, CLEAR THE DEBRIS WHEN THERE'S
[00:15:01]
STORMS AND THAT KIND OF THING.AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE RECOGNIZED WAS HAPPENING IN THIS CATEGORY OF ESSENTIAL WORKERS IS THAT, UM, THERE WERE EQUITY ISSUES.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF DELOITTE'S CHARGE AS WELL, BECAUSE A LOT OF THE PEOPLE WHO WORK IN OUR ROAD AND BRIDGE DEPARTMENT ARE ON THE LOWER PAID END OF THE PAY SCALE.
UM, MANY OF THEM ARE EMPLOYEES OF COLOR, AND WE KNEW FROM THE BEGINNING THERE'S GONNA BE SOME FAIRNESS ISSUES ABOUT WHO GETS TO WORK FROM HOME AND WHO'S GOTTA DRIVE IN EVERY DAY TO DO THEIR JOB.
AND SO THAT'S PART OF WHAT DELOITTE IS, IS LOOKING AT, IS WHAT ARE THE MECHANISMS THAT WE CAN PUT IN PLACE TO ADDRESS THE EQUITY ISSUES, UH, WITH THIS POLICY.
UM, SO MY SENSE ABOUT IT IS THAT WE'VE GOT A WIN WIN WIN WIN BECAUSE WE'VE INCREASED PRODUCTIVITY, WE'VE IMPROVED EMPLOYEE MORALE.
OH, WE'VE SAVED $1.3 MILLION IN THE FIRST YEAR ON OUR UTILITIES.
PART OF THAT WAS CONVERTING TO THE CITY'S PURPLE PIPE FOR OUR NON POTABLE WATER USES, WHICH IS LARGELY THE AIR CONDITIONING USE IN LARGE BUILDINGS.
THAT'S THE MAJOR USE OF WATER IN MOST LARGE BUILDINGS.
AND IT'S EVAPORATIVE COOLING, NOBODY'S DRINKING IT.
SO THEY DIDN'T NOTICE IF WE SWITCHED OVER TO PURPLE PIPE.
SO WE SAVED A LOT OF MONEY THERE, BUT WE ALSO SAVED MONEY ON OUR HEATING AND COOLING AND LIGHTING.
SO OUR, WE SAVED MONEY ON OUR UTILITY BILLS.
UM, WE REDUCED OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WE OPENED UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR REUSE OF SOME OF OUR, UM, OUR OFFICE SPACE THAT COULD ALSO POTENTIALLY GENERATE REVENUE.
SO MULTIPLE WINS ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, AND WE'VE RECENTLY WON AN AWARD FROM THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF COUNTIES FOR OUR REMOTE WORK POLICY.
SO, UM, AND I THINK WE'VE, WE'VE KIND OF CHALLENGED DELOITTE AND OTHERS TO FIND ANY OTHER EXAMPLES.
WE BELIEVE WE HAVE THE MOST AMBITIOUS REMOTE WORK POLICY FOR ANY LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE COUNTRY.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO BRAGGING RIGHTS IN TEXAS, SO WE'RE, WE'RE BRAGGING ABOUT THAT ONE.
UM, BUT IT'S, I THINK IT'S BEEN A VERY SUCCESSFUL POLICY.
THE EMPLOYEES ARE VERY HAPPY WITH IT.
UM, BY AND LARGE THE MANAGERS ARE THAT WE'RE NOT HAVING THE KINDS OF STRUGGLES THAT YOU READ ABOUT AND SEE IN THE NEWS ON A REGULAR BASIS WHERE EMPLOYERS ARE LIKE, HOW ARE WE GONNA GET PEOPLE BACK TO WORK? WE WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TACO TUESDAYS AND, YOU KNOW, FREAKY FRIDAYS OR WHATEVER TO TRY AND ENTICE PEOPLE BACK TO WORK, AND THEN IT'S NOT WORKING.
SO THEN THEY START THREATENING EMPLOYEES AND THEN LAYING PEOPLE OFF.
SO WE'VE NOT HAD THOSE KINDS OF STRUGGLES.
AND I THINK IT'S BECAUSE WE GOT A FLEXIBLE PROGRAM FROM THE BEGINNING, UM, GAVE AGENCY TO THE SUPERVISORS AND MANAGERS AND MADE CLEAR TO THE EMPLOYEES, YOU'RE, YOU, YOU ARE, YOU KNOW, ACCOUNTABLE TO YOUR MANAGERS.
UH, AND HERE'S THE GENERAL POLICY.
UM, BUT THE REALLY EXCITING THING FOR ME IS WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DOCUMENT A REDUCTION IN OUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT CAN DO.
AND LORD KNOWS WE ALL NEED TO, I'M JUST GONNA SAY AT A, AT A VERY GLOBAL LEVEL, WE CAN'T LEAVE THIS PROBLEM TO THE NATIONS TO SOLVE AND THINK THAT EVERYTHING'S TAKEN CARE OF BECAUSE THEY CAN'T DO IT BY THEMSELVES.
SO WE NEED EVERY LOCAL GOVERNMENT, WE NEED EVERY LARGE EMPLOYER, WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK.
AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT CAN REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
IT IMPROVES PRODUCTIVITY, SAVES YOU MONEY ON UTILITIES, REDUCES YOUR GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS.
SO IT'S KINDA LIKE, WHAT'S NOT TO LOVE ABOUT THIS POLICY.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU, THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
AND I, AND I HOPE THAT THE CITY CAN, UM, UH, PURSUE THIS IN THE, IN THE SAME AGGRESSIVE WAY THAT WE HAVE AT THE COUNTY AND MAYBE EVEN BEAT US AT IT, YOU KNOW, GET THE BIGGER BRAGGING RIGHTS.
AND WE, UH, WILL MOVE ON TO KIND OF THE Q AND A AND I SEE A HAND GO UP AND SO, UM, WE CAN EXTEND IT.
WE USUALLY DO EIGHT, BUT, UH, THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING TOPIC.
I KNOW I ALREADY HAVE THREE QUESTIONS, SO WE'LL DO OUR EIGHT AT FIVE AND WE CAN ADD A FEW MORE IF WE NEED TO.
SO, UH, COMMISSIONER AL, I SAW YOUR HAND UP FIRST.
UH, IF YOU WANNA GO AHEAD AND KICK US OFF.
AND, UH, SO IF YOU WANNA, WE'RE GONNA DIRECT QUESTIONS TO YOU.
I THINK YOU ARE THE SPEAKER, SO
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SCHAEFFER.
GOOD YOU FOR SHARING, UM, THE COUNTY SUCCESS ON THIS PROGRAM.
AS YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT THIS, WHAT OBSTACLES ARE YOU ENCOUNTERING IN TERMS OF OUR STATE GOVERNMENT REQUIREMENTS? UM, 'CAUSE I KNOW ON OUR COMMISSION HEARINGS AND THINGS LIKE THIS, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVEN'T ENCOUNTERED SOME OBSTACLES IN TRYING TO BE ABLE TO CONDUCT THINGS REMOTELY.
WELL, UM, FOR OUR, UM, GOVERNING BODY
[00:20:01]
WORK.UH, I THINK WE HAVE TO MEET A REQUIREMENT OF HAVING A, A QUORUM ON SITE.
UH, WE CAN STILL HAVE, UM, SOME MEMBERS, UH, REMOTE PARTICIPATING, BUT WE HAVE TO HAVE A QUORUM ON SITE.
UM, I THINK OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS PROBABLY OPERATE THAT WAY AS WELL, BUT IT HASN'T REALLY HAD MUCH OF AN IMPACT ON OUR EMPLOYEES.
WE, UM, WE'LL ROUTINELY HAVE A COMMISSIONER'S COURT MEETING, WHICH WE DO EVERY TUESDAY.
UM, AND, UH, A NUMBER OF OUR STAFF WILL BRIEF US REMOTELY.
UM, IS SOME OF THIS BEING SHARED WITH THE STATE LEVEL TO SEE ABOUT INCENTIVES TO EXPAND THE PROGRAM?
UM, THEY GENERALLY DON'T SEEM TO LIKE OUR GREAT IDEAS HERE AND SEEK TO OVERTURN THEM AT THE LEGISLATURE.
SO WE'VE TRIED TO KEEP IT QUIET WITH THE STATE 'CAUSE WE'RE NOT REALLY DOING A GOOD JOB WITH THAT HERE.
BUT YEAH, THERE REALLY ISN'T, AND THERE ISN'T ANY STATE ENTITY TO SHARE IT WITH.
THEY'VE HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO ADOPT SIMILAR POLICIES AT THE STATE.
UM, I THINK I KNOW REPRESENTATIVE, UH, FORMER REPRESENTATIVE ISRAEL HAS INTRODUCED LEGISLATION IN THE PAST AND IT WAS, UH, I THINK IT EVEN PASSED AND THE GOVERNOR VETOED IT, SO IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE THERE'S SOME PLACE AT THE STATE TO SHARE IT WITH.
BUT THERE MAY BE SOME OPPORTUNITY WITH OTHER COUNTIES AND MUNICIPALITIES, WHICH COULD BE EXCITING.
THERE WAS A RECENT, UM, NATIONAL, UM, RELEASE ON, UH, NITROGEN GASES BEING SEEN FROM NASA SATELLITE.
I SAW THAT IN, YEAH, THE US METROPLEXES THAT CAME UP HIGHEST ON THE LIST, BOTH, UH, DALLAS AND HOUSTON CLAIMED SOME OF THOSE HONORS.
SO HOPEFULLY WE CAN SHARE SOME OF THIS WITH THE MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS IN THOSE REGIONS.
AND, UH, AND I THINK, UH, THE, THE NATIONAL AWARD GIVES US AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE IT AS WELL.
BUT, UM, AND I'VE BEEN ON A NUMBER OF PANELS TALKING ABOUT IT, CONGRATULATIONS.
'CAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERYONE'S ALREADY DONE.
I MEAN, YOU, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SAY, WELL, GEE, WE JUST DON'T KNOW IF IT'LL WORK.
'CAUSE WE'VE ALL DONE IT, WE ALL HAD TO DO TO THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR EVERYBODY TO SHARE IT AND ENCOURAGE YOUR, YOUR WORKPLACE AND YOUR, YOUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT TO SERIOUSLY LOOK INTO IT.
GIVEN THAT CONNECTIVITY IS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, TOOL THAT, UH, EVERYBODY NEEDS ACCESS TO, TO BE ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY AS THE COUNTY EN ENCOUNTERED ANY CHALLENGES OR WORKING ON ANY INITIATIVES TO EXPAND BROADBAND ACCESS FOR EMPLOYEES THAT MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO WORK FROM HOME.
WE HAD SOME INITIAL, UH, ISSUES, BUT IT WAS MOSTLY AROUND EQUIPMENT.
I DON'T KNOW OF ANY SITUATION WHERE AN EMPLOYEE HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO OPERATE REMOTELY BECAUSE OF BROADBAND ISSUES.
UM, AND I, AND IT MAY BE THAT WE'VE ALSO HELPED, UH, PAY FOR THE COST OF, UM, HOOKING UP TO BROADBAND SERVICES.
UM, THAT MAY BE PART OF HOW WE'VE, UM, ADDRESSED THOSE ISSUES EARLY ON.
IN FACT, I SEEM TO REMEMBER THAT WAS PART OF THE DISCUSSION AND THAT'S ALLOWED UNDER OUR POLICY.
UM, IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR ASK OR SOMETHING YOU WERE HOPING WOULD GET PICKED UP AT THE PLANNING COMMISSION TONIGHT IN THIS PRESENTATION? WELL, I'M, I'M, UH, ENCOURAGED THAT Y'ALL HAVE, UM, BASICALLY ASKED THE, THE CITY, UH, TO PURSUE THIS.
UM, UH, JESUS WAS CITY MANAGER WHEN I WAS ON THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE EARLY NINETIES, SO I'VE, I'VE KNOWN HIM FOR A LONG TIME.
UM, AND, UM, I'M HAPPY TO BE A RESOURCE AND TO, YOU KNOW, SHARE WHATEVER, UM, RESULTS THAT WE'RE FINDING, UH, WITH THE, THE CITY MANAGER AND TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BE AVAILABLE FOR ANY INFORMATION OR, OR QUESTIONS THAT I CAN ANSWER.
UM, RECOGNIZING COMMISSIONER WOODS.
HEY, I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TELLING US ABOUT THIS REALLY PROGRESSIVE POLICY AND REALLY CONGRATULATIONS TO Y'ALL.
I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT, ESPECIALLY IN A COUNTY WHERE INCOMES ARE NOT COMING CLOSE TO, UH, KEEPING UP WITH HOUSING COSTS.
I CAN IMAGINE THAT A LOT OF YOUR EMPLOYEES AND POTENTIALLY NEW HIRES ARE, WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO WORK FOR THE COUNTY, BUT FOR THIS POLICY, IN YOUR EXPERIENCE, HAS THAT BEEN THE CASE? WE HAVE ACTUALLY SEEN, UM, A REALLY SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN QUALIFIED JOB APPLICANTS FOR JOB OPENINGS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN A LOT OF INQUIRIES FROM CITY
UM, BUT I, I, I KNOW VERY SPECIFICALLY THAT, UM, THIS IS APPEALING FOR, UM, UH, EMPLOYEES WHO LIVE
[00:25:01]
FAR OUT AND HAVE HAD TO MOVE FARTHER AND FARTHER OUT IN ORDER TO FIND MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.UM, AND I KNOW FOR SOME EMPLOYEES THEY'VE SAID, THIS IS A CONDITION OF MY TAKING A JOB WITH THE COUNTY.
I NEED TO BE ABLE TO WORK REMOTELY.
SO IT'S BEEN A, IT'S BEEN A REAL BONUS FOR US, UH, IN HIRING.
AND I THINK IT'S BEEN A REAL BENEFIT FOR, UM, EMPLOYEES WHO ARE STRUGGLING TO AFFORD HOUSING CLOSE IN.
AND YOU ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE REUSING SOME OF THAT OFFICE SPACE.
WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AT THE MOMENT? HOW ARE YOU REUSING THAT SPACE? WELL, WE HAVE, UM, UH, WE HAVE A LARGE, UH, OFFICE BUILDING AT 700 LA VACA.
AND, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO LEASE SPACE TO CAPITAL METRO.
UM, UH, I THINK OUR, I THINK THE CONDITIONS OF OUR, UM, CERTIFICATE OF OBLIGATIONS THAT WE PURCHASED THE BUILDING WITH, UM, MEAN WE CAN'T COMPETE WITH THE, UH, PRIVATE REAL ESTATE MARKET, BUT THERE ARE OTHER NON-GOVERNMENTAL, UM, ENTITIES THAT ARE LOOKING FOR OFFICE SPACE.
UM, AND SO WE'RE, UM, WE'RE IN CONVERSATIONS WITH A VARIETY OF THEM.
YEAH, THAT SEEMS LIKE SUCH AN EFFICIENT SYSTEM AND USE OF THAT SPACE.
UM, IT'S ALSO SOUNDS LIKE YOU GAVE A LOT OF AGENCY TO MANAGERS AND MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THEIR EMPLOYEES NEEDED TO RETURN TO WORK.
CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT HOW YOU CAME TO THAT DECISION AS OPPOSED TO MORE OF A TOP-DOWN POLICY OR HAVING YOUR OWN CRITERIA ABOUT WHO NEEDED TO BE IN PERSON? YEAH, I THINK A LOT OF IT CAME FROM THE COUNTY MANAGERS.
WE HAVE A, A SYSTEM WHERE WE HAVE COUNTY EXECUTIVES, UM, WHO HEAD UP DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AT THE, AT THE COUNTY.
AND WHEN WE BEGAN THE DISCUSSIONS WITH THEM ABOUT THIS POLICY, UM, I THINK THEY EXPRESSED A CONCERN THAT THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHO THE EMPLOYEES, UH, WOULD BE, WHO WOULD BE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS.
AND BOTH COMMISSIONER DOUGHERTY AND I SAID, YES, YOU ARE, YOU ARE THE ONES WHO WORK DIRECTLY WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES.
YOU, YOU KNOW, BEST WHO YOU WOULD NEED IN THE OFFICE, WHO WOULD BE IN THAT CATEGORY OF ESSENTIAL WORKER.
SO, UM, I THINK IT JUST GREW OUT OF THE VERY EARLY CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAD, UM, WITH THE MANAGERS KNOWING THAT WE WANTED TO, UM, ESTABLISH A GOAL OF HAVING 75% OF ELIGIBLE WORKERS TELECOMMUTING.
SO THEY KNEW WE SET THE BAR HIGH, AND HONESTLY, WE WERE EXCEEDING THAT IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE PANDEMIC.
I THINK WE CALCULATED, WE HAD OVER, UM, I WANNA SAY 80% OF OUR ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES WHO WERE WORKING REMOTELY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PANDEMIC.
I MEAN, REALLY EVERYBODY WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO BE AT WORK WENT HOME AND WORK FROM HOME.
THEY WERE HAVING THE EXPERIENCE OF EMPLOYEES DOING IT.
I THINK IF WE'D STARTED FROM ZERO AND WE WEREN'T IN THE PANDEMIC AND WE WEREN'T, YOU KNOW, EXPERIENCING THIS REAL TIME, I THINK IT WOULD'VE BEEN A VERY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION, UH, WITH THE COUNTY EXECUTIVES.
BUT, UM, I'D SAY IT WAS A PRETTY, UH, COLLEGIAL CONVERSATION WITH THEM.
UM, AND I THINK ALSO THEY WERE ENJOYING THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK FROM HOME.
UM, SO IT WASN'T LIKE THIS WAS A FOREIGN EXPERIENCE THAT THEY, THEY DIDN'T, YOU KNOW, HAVE FIRSTHAND KNOWLEDGE OF, BUT WE, BUT WE ENGAGED THEM IN THE VERY BEGINNING AND SAID, THIS IS WHAT WE WANNA DO.
UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WOULD THIS WORK FOR YOU? SO THEY WERE PART OF IT.
THEY WERE PART OF THE DESIGN FROM THE BEGINNING.
AND THEN IF I HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR JUST KIND OF ANECDOTALLY FROM YOU, IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT THIS HAS MEANT FOR EMPLOYEES.
AND I'M THINKING ABOUT LIKE THEIR CHILDCARE COSTS SAVINGS AS PART OF THIS.
LIKE WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE FOR PEOPLE TO SPEND, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY AN HOUR PLUS LESS IN THEIR CAR COMMUTING TO AND FROM WORK EVERY DAY? WELL, WE'VE HEARD DIRECTLY DURING THESE EMPLOYEE BUDGET HEARINGS THAT WE HAVE.
UM, THERE WAS ONE, UH, WOMAN WHO HAD TO START OUT AT SIX IN THE MORNING.
'CAUSE SHE HAD TO CATCH A BUS AND THEN TRANSFER TO ANOTHER BUS.
AND SO SHE COMMUTED TWO HOURS EACH WAY EVERY DAY TO GET TO WORK.
SO SHE GOT BACK FOUR HOURS OF HER PRODUCTIVE WORK TIME JUST BY NOT HAVING TO GET ON A BUS AND TRANSFER TO ANOTHER BUS AND DO THAT TWICE A DAY.
UM, AND THAT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST, THE MOST EXTREME, UH, DESCRIPTION I HEARD.
ALTHOUGH MANY PEOPLE ARE STUCK IN TRAFFIC FOR VERY LONG PERIODS OF TIME, COMMUTING TO AND FROM IN THEIR OWN CARS.
UM, AND, AND ACTUALLY THERE WAS A DEFACTO SAVINGS.
SO THIS WAS ANOTHER PART OF THAT EQUITY ISSUE WITH THE PEOPLE WHO HAD TO COME TO WORK WHO WERE ESSENTIAL WORKERS.
BUT WHEN GAS GOT OVER $5 A GALLON, PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE TO DRIVE TO AND FROM WORK EVERY
[00:30:01]
DAY WERE SAVING REAL MONEY.UM, SO THAT WAS ANOTHER BON BONUS AS WELL.
BUT, UM, I THINK THE STORIES WE'VE HEARD
ANYWAY, WE HEARD A LOT OF STORIES FROM PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY GRATEFUL THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO COMMUTE AND WHO WERE CLEAR THAT THAT GAVE THEM TIME TO GET TO WORK QUICKER AND GET THEIR WORK DONE QUICKER.
YOU THANK WELCOME YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
LET'S, UH, LET'S START WITH EX OFFICIO, THE BOARD, UH, CHAIR COHEN.
AND THEN WE'LL GO TO, UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL.
COMMISSIONER SHA, THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
UH, THERE'S A LOT OF MISINFORMATION, UH, UP THE TEXAS LEDGE AND RIGHT CARROT CITY HALL ABOUT PRODUCTIVITY BEING ADVERSELY IMPACTED BY TELEWORKING.
WITHOUT GOING INTO LIKE TOO MUCH DETAIL, NO DEEP DIVE, COULD YOU ELABORATE A LITTLE MORE ON HOW, UH, THE COUNTY MEASURED PRODUCTIVITY BY ITS EMPLOYEES? SO WE, WE REALLY STARTED WITH THAT AUDITOR DEPARTMENT DATA.
AND, AND THEY MAY BE, UH, THEY, IT MAY NOT BE A UNIVERSAL APPLICATION BECAUSE THEY HAVE SO MANY PEOPLE ON THEIR STAFF WHOSE MAIN JOB IS REALLY ANALYZING NUMBERS.
AND, UM, I CAN TELL YOU FROM ONE OF THE BUDGET HEARINGS, UM, ONE OF THE ANALYSTS SAID, I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW GRATEFUL I AM THAT I'M NOT CONSTANTLY INTERRUPTED BY PEOPLE POPPING INTO MY OFFICE TO ASK ME QUESTIONS,
SO THEY MAY BE, THEIR, THEIR FINDINGS ARE LIKELY NOT UNIVERSAL, BUT I, I FOUND THEM INSTRUCTIVE IN THAT.
AND THAT WAS THE DATA THAT WE HAD WHEN WE STARTED IT.
UM, I WILL TELL YOU, I'VE NOT HEARD, I MEAN, THERE ARE THE OCCASIONAL COMPLAINTS, BUT I'VE NOT HEARD MORE THAN ONE OR TWO, LIKE I SAID, OCCASIONAL COMPLAINTS OF PEOPLE NOT GETTING THEIR WORK DONE OR, YOU KNOW, NOT MAYBE BEING AS PRODUCTIVE AS THEY COULD.
AND ONE OF THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING IS IF THE WORK JUST NEEDS TO GET DONE IN A DAY, BUT UM, YOU HAVE A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT IN THE MORNING, YOU CAN STILL GET THAT WORK DONE.
IT JUST HAPPENS, YOU KNOW, MAYBE AT SIX O'CLOCK INSTEAD OF FIVE O'CLOCK.
SO I, I THINK THAT KIND OF FLEXIBILITY HAS BEEN, UM, HAS BEEN VERY WELCOME, UH, BY THE EMPLOYEES, BUT I THINK THERE'S STILL A PRETTY CLEAR EXPECTATION THAT YOU GET YOUR WORK DONE.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, WE NEED IT BY THE END OF THE DAY.
AND THE DEFINITION OF THE END OF THE DAY MAY, YOU KNOW, SLIP BEYOND 5:00 PM AM YOU, YOU HAD ALSO MENTIONED THAT YOU SERVED WITH INTERIM CITY COUNCIL MANAGER GARZA WHILE YOU WERE ON COUNCIL.
UM, HAS THERE BEEN ANY EFFORT BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO REACH OUT TO TRAVIS COUNTY TO TRY TO EXCHANGE IDEAS OR MAYBE IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE POLICIES? UM, I'VE HAD A COUPLE OF CONVERSATIONS, UM, WITH THE INTERIM CITY MANAGER.
UM, I DON'T KNOW IF HE'S REACHED OUT TO ANY OF THE OTHER, UM, COUNTY, UH, LEADERSHIP, UH, ABOUT IT.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT HIS, HIS FORMAL COMMUNICATIONS HAVE BEEN, BUT, UM, UM, I'VE OFFERED TO MAKE THE DELOITTE DATA AVAILABLE AS WELL IN ANY OF OUR OTHER DATA.
UH, COMMISSIONER MAXWELL AND THE FOLLOWED BY COMMISSIONER ZA.
UH, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SCHAFER JOINING US AND YOU'RE WELCOME.
UM, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.
AND I'M CURIOUS, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY IT SEEMS LIKE YOU ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THIS WHOLE PROGRAM.
WHAT DOES LONG-TERM SUCCESS LOOK LIKE IN TERMS OF NEXT STEPS AND SORT OF THREE, FOUR, EVEN 10 YEARS FROM NOW? UM, WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT THE TELEWORK POLICY TO LOOK LIKE AND HOW MIGHT IT LOOK DIFFERENT, ESPECIALLY IN LIGHT OF WHAT THE DELOITTE FINDINGS MIGHT BRING OUT? YOU KNOW, THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'VE EXACTLY IDENTIFIED THAT DELOITTE HAS, UH, DOES HAVE SOME SORT OF, I WON'T CALL 'EM BENCHMARKS, BUT THEY DO HAVE THE SORT OF, YOU KNOW, FIVE, 10 YEAR THING.
THEIR WORK IS NOT COMPLETED YET.
UM, SO I THINK THERE'S STILL WORK THROUGH THEIR OWN ANALYSIS.
BUT I, I WILL TELL YOU PART OF WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TO ME IS OUR ABILITY TO KEEP GOOD EMPLOYEES OVER TIME.
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU ALWAYS FACE A SITUATION WHERE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY MIGHT GET PAID A LITTLE MORE MONEY AND THEY LEAVE YOU AND THEN ALL THEIR EXPERIENCE WALKS OUT THE DOOR.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALL HAD A LOT OF, AND SEEN A LOT OF THAT WITH THE, THE GREAT RESIGNATION,
[00:35:01]
UM, UH, DURING COVID WHERE I THINK PEOPLE REALLY STARTED EXAMINING, WHAT AM I DOING WITH MY LIFE? OR WHY AM I IN THIS JOB? I HATE IT, OR WHATEVER.SO I THINK, UM, PART OF WHAT I BELIEVE WILL BE A MEASURE OF SUCCESS FOR THIS EFFORT IS, UM, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES, UM, LONG TERM BECAUSE THEY HAVE A GOOD WORK ENVIRONMENT AND THEY'RE, UH, THEY HAVE GREAT, GREAT MORALE AROUND THEIR, THEIR WORK ENVIRONMENT.
UM, I, I HOPE WE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO DOCUMENT OUR REDUCTION IN GREENHOUSE GAS, UM, EMISSIONS.
AND I, UH, PART OF WHAT SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE TO ME IS, YOU KNOW, BEING ABLE TO SPREAD THIS, UH, GOOD CONTAGION AND REALLY ENCOURAGE OTHER ENTITIES TO LOOK AT THIS AS, AS A REAL OPPORTUNITY TO, TO DO WHAT WE ALL NEED TO DO, WHICH IS WORK TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE, UM, BUT ALSO TREAT YOUR EMPLOYEES WELL AND, AND RECOGNIZE THE THINGS THAT MATTER TO THEM AND, UM, AND WORK WITH THEM ON THAT.
OH, THAT'S A GREAT SEGUE TO MY NEXT QUESTION, WHICH IS, IF YOU HAD ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU'D LIKE TO SHARE, GIVEN YOUR ALL'S SUCCESS WITH, YOU KNOW, BOTH OUR CITY GOVERNMENT AND MAYBE THE STATE OFFICIALS WHO MIGHT BE LISTENING, UM, IF THEY ARE, WHAT WOULD YOU SORT OF SUGGEST AS THAT, YOU KNOW, ONE PIECE OF ADVICE THAT YOU WOULD REALLY SAY IS THE CORE THING THAT HELPED YOU ALL FEEL LIKE YOU GOT TO A SUCCESSFUL PLACE? WELL, I'D SAY THERE'S A COUPLE OF THINGS.
ONE IS WE ENGAGED THE, THE, THE, THE MANAGERS IN THE VERY BEGINNING SO THAT THEY ALSO FELT LIKE THEY WERE PART OF THIS.
IT WASN'T FORCED ON THEM, YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T SOMETHING WHERE THEY, YOU KNOW, PULLING THEIR HAIR OUT AND SAYING, I, I, I CAN'T EVEN TELL WHAT MY EMPLOYEES ARE DOING.
I MEAN, EVERYBODY WAS IN THAT SAME BOAT.
SO WE HAD A UNIQUE SITUATION THERE, BUT I THINK THAT WAS REALLY IMPORTANT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM.
AND THEN I THINK, UM, REALLY LISTENING TO THE EMPLOYEES, BECAUSE WE HAVE THESE ANNUAL, THEY'RE CALLED BUDGET HEARINGS, BUT EMPLOYEES ARE INVITED TO COME AND TALK TO US ABOUT THE BUDGET, ABOUT THEIR NEEDS, THEIR CONCERNS, THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE STRUGGLING WITH, UM, AND WHAT WE HEARD.
UM, AND SO WE DID THE BUDGET HEARINGS REMOTELY, YOU KNOW, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
UM, WE HEARD SO MANY PEOPLE TALK ABOUT HOW GRATEFUL THEY WERE THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME BECAUSE IT ALLOWED THEM TO GET THEIR WORK DONE, UM, AND GET HOME SOONER TO THEIR KIDS OR THEIR FAMILY.
UM, AND IT JUST MADE LIFE A LITTLE EASIER.
ALRIGHT, UH, COMMISSIONER AZAR.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SHA CONGRATULATIONS ON THE AWARD.
I, I THINK ONE THING I'VE HEARD KIND OF CLEARLY IS THAT IT SOUNDS LIKE Y'ALL WERE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT SOME MASSIVE TECHNOLOGY OR SOFTWARE CHANGE APART FROM, I GUESS LOOKING AT LAPTOPS OR SOME, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS NOT A BIG EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS CHANGE.
AM I UNDERSTANDING THAT CORRECTLY? YOU KNOW, THERE WAS, UM, ALTHOUGH MOST PEOPLE HAD LAPTOPS, NOT EVERYONE DID.
SO THERE WAS EXPENSE ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
'CAUSE IT'S HARDER TO JUST PICK UP YOUR BIG C P U UNIT AND YOUR MONITORS AND ALL THAT.
SO IT WAS MUCH EASIER FOR PEOPLE TO USE, UM, LAPTOPS.
UM, AND WE, UH, CALCULATED WITH OUR I T S DEPARTMENT THAT THE, UM, THE COST FOR THE TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES, 'CAUSE THEY HAD TO BUY SOME LAPTOPS.
UH, THEY HAD TO GET SOME EQUIPMENT, UM, I THINK IN SOME CASES THEY HAD TO PAY FOR, UM, BROADBAND.
AND I DON'T KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT PIECE OF IT, BUT IN GENERAL, THEY CALCULATED THAT OVER THE IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD OF ABOUT A YEAR TO GET EVERYBODY FULLY SITUATED.
UM, THEY SPENT ABOUT $3 MILLION ON THE TECHNOLOGY, UM, UPGRADES, IF YOU WILL, THAT PEOPLE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO WORK FROM HOME.
SO I THINK THAT'S THE COST ASSOCIATED WITH THE LAPTOPS AND WITH ALL THE PERIPHERALS AND THE ADDITIONAL, UH, COMPONENTS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
AND THEY, THEY MAY HAVE HAD TO HIRE ADDITIONAL IT STAFF, I'M NOT REMEMBERING, BUT THEY, THEY CALCULATED THAT IT WAS ABOUT A $3 MILLION COST.
I APPRECIATE THAT, BUT IT WAS ONE TIME.
SO IT'S NOT LIKE AN ONGOING $3 MILLION.
AND, AND TO YOUR POINT, THERE IS ACTUAL ONGOING SAVINGS COMING FROM UTILITIES AND OTHER THINGS, SO THAT'S REALLY EXCITING.
UM, THE OTHER QUESTION SORT OF ACTUALLY LINKS BACK TO SOMETHING COMMISSIONER WOODS HAD ASKED.
I, I THINK I FIND THAT VERY INTERESTING, THE FACT THAT Y'ALL, FOR DEFINING THAT ELIGIBILITY, Y'ALL REALLY WORK WITH THE SUPERVISORS TO HAVE THEM DECIDE HOW TO FIGURE OUT ELIGIBILITY AND THEN WORK WITHIN THAT GOAL.
[00:40:01]
WAS A LOT OF SORT OF THOUGHT BEHIND DOING IT THAT WAY RATHER THAN HAVING A ONE SIZE FITS ALL POLICY.DO YOU WANNA SHARE, I KNOW YOU ALREADY TALKED ABOUT THIS PIECE, BUT DO YOU WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT PROVIDING THAT FLEXIBILITY, IT SOUNDS LIKE, FOR TEAMS TO DEFINE THEIR OWN ABILITY TO WORK AND ABILITY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WORKS BEST FOR THEM? YEAH, AND THAT, AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION BECAUSE WE, EACH DEPARTMENT OBVIOUSLY HAD A DIFFERENT CONFIGURATION.
SO THE AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT HAD ALREADY BEEN DOING IT.
THE MAJORITY OF THEIR STAFF WORKED REMOTELY BEFORE THE PANDEMIC BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T HAVE TO COME INTO THE OFFICE TO DO THEIR WORK.
AND MANY OF THEM WERE ABLE TO CONCENTRATE AND GET THEIR WORK DONE MORE EFFICIENTLY WORKING REMOTELY.
SO THEY WERE A, A PARTICULAR FLAVOR, IF YOU WILL.
I MEAN, NOT EVERYBODY'S LIKE YOUR, UH, YOUR AUDITOR'S DEPARTMENT.
UM, THE IT DEPARTMENT HAD, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, OF SIMILARITIES, UM, TRANSPORTATION NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH I THINK IS WHY IT WAS PICKED AS THE PILOT KIND OF HAD THE SPECTRUM.
AND, UM, THERE WERE VERY CLEAR EQUITY ISSUES THAT WERE PRETTY OBVIOUS FROM THE BEGINNING, YOU KNOW, 'CAUSE SO MANY PEOPLE WERE TALKING ABOUT HOW THEY LOVED WORKING REMOTELY AND IT WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST A GREAT QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENT FOR THEM, YOU KNOW, AND THEN THERE WERE ALL THESE PEOPLE THAT HAD TO COME INTO WORK EVERY DAY AND THEY WERE KINDA LIKE, WELL, WHAT ABOUT ME? SO, UM, BE, I THINK BECAUSE WE DID GIVE OUR MANAGERS THAT FLEXIBILITY AND SAID, YOU DECIDE, 'CAUSE YOU KNOW BEST, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR STAFF BEST.
WE HAD, UM, WE HAD JUST A MORE SUCCESSFUL START TO IT.
SO WE DIDN'T HAVE RESISTANCE FROM THE MANAGEMENT LEVEL.
UM, I THINK THE EMPLOYEES MOSTLY FELT LIKE, I HAVEN'T HEARD MANY COMPLAINTS FROM EMPLOYEES LIKE, WELL, WHY DIDN'T I GET PICKED TO WORK REMOTELY? I THINK FOR MOST PEOPLE IT WAS CLEAR WHY THEY HAD TO COME IN, UH, TO DO THEIR WORK.
UM, BUT THAT'S ALSO WHY THE, THE EQUITY QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE PUT TO DELOITTE I THINK ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.
SORT OF HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T GET TO, UH, PARTAKE IN THE, UH, IN THE REMOTE WORK.
BUT I THINK PART OF THE KEY WAS STARTING WITH THE MANAGERS AND SAYING, YOU, YOU, YOU DECIDE, UM, WHO'S ELIGIBLE AND THEN HOW YOU WANT TO HAVE THAT RELATIONSHIP.
IF YOU FEEL LIKE, YOU KNOW, HALF YOUR STAFF IS ELIGIBLE, BUT YOU NEED 'EM TO COME IN TWICE A MONTH, THAT'S YOUR CALL.
'CAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S GONNA BE MOST EFFECTIVE FOR YOUR OPERATIONS.
AND SO I THINK THAT THAT ALLOWED IT TO UNFOLD IN AN ORGANIC WAY WHERE IT WASN'T ONE SIZE FIT ALL, UM, AND PEOPLE HAD FLEXIBILITY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING.
I, AGAIN, I THINK THAT TRULY SOUNDS LIKE ONE OF THE KEY THINGS IS PROVIDING THAT FLEXIBILITY BECAUSE TO YOUR POINT, THERE MIGHT BE FOLKS WHO NEED TO COME IN ONE DAY OR TWO DAY OR THREE, THERE'S SO MANY PERMUTATIONS IN COMBINATIONS.
IT'S HARD TO SORT OF DEFINE IN A POLICY.
AND I THINK BECAUSE WE STARTED IT EARLY ON, WE ADOPTED THIS POLICY IN MAY OF 2020.
WE'D ONLY BEEN IN THE PANDEMIC FOR, YOU KNOW, TWO MONTHS, TWO AND A HALF MONTHS.
AND SO PEOPLE HADN'T, UH, ESTABLISHED AN EXPECTATION THAT IT WOULD ALWAYS BE THIS WAY.
AND IT WAS A VERY PUBLIC DISCUSSION.
WE HAD, WE HAD BRIEFINGS IN, IN COURT AND VERY, UH, YOU KNOW, PUBLICLY ADOPTED THE POLICY.
SO, UM, PEOPLE WOULD'VE HEARD ABOUT IT AND, UM, KNEW THAT WE WERE SETTING THIS POLICY.
AND MY LAST SORT OF 30 SECONDS, I GUESS, IS DELOITTE ALSO GOING TO BE LOOKING AT, UM, SEEING THE, THE IMPACT THAT THIS HAS ON EMPLOYEE RETENTION AND RECRUITMENT? IT SOUNDS LIKE RECRUITMENT, THERE MIGHT BE AN IMPACT ALREADY, BUT IS THAT SOMETHING THAT THEY WOULD BE LOOKING INTO? YOU KNOW, I CAN'T REMEMBER IF WE SPECIFICALLY CHARGED THEM TO LOOK AT THAT, BUT WE'VE, WE'VE GOT DATA THAT OUR OWN, UH, HR DEPARTMENT IS COLLECTING FROM, UM, JOB POSTINGS.
SO THEY HAVE RESPONSE TO JOB POSTINGS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC AND THEN RESPONSE TO JOB POSTINGS.
UM, SINCE WE'VE ADOPTED THIS, UM, REMOTE WORK POLICY AND THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO INDICATE THAT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN THE POSITION BECAUSE OF OUR REMOTE WORK POLICY.
SO WE'RE, WE'RE ABLE TO GATHER THAT DATA INTERNALLY AND HAVE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN TRACKING IT.
I HAVE COMMISSIONER CONLEY AND THEN COMMISSIONER ANDERSON, THEN COMMISSIONER COX.
SO WE WILL, I'LL LOOK FOR IF THERE'S ANY OBJECTIONS TO, UM, ALLOWING FOR MORE Q AND A FROM, I'D HEARD THAT COMMISSIONER HAYNES WAS GONNA HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS FOR ME.
UH, 'CAUSE WE'LL RUN OUT OF T NO.
WE'LL, UH, ANY OBJECTIONS TO EXTENDING OUR NUMBER OF QUESTIONS? OKAY, SO THE ORDER AGAIN, WE HAVE COMMISSIONER CONLEY, ANDERSON, AND COX, AND THEN I'M SURE WE'LL KEEP
[00:45:01]
ADDING ON AFTER THAT.COMMISSIONER HAYNES, DO YOU HAVE SOME QUESTIONS? I'M IN 10 SECONDS.
WE'LL PUT YOU, I'M GONNA PUT YOU IN LINE AFTER COMMISSIONER ANDERSON AND THERE MAY BE OTHERS.
SO LET'S, UH, COMMISSIONER CONWAY.
UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION AND THIS, UM, EXPLANATION OF WHAT THE COUNTY IS DOING.
AND OF COURSE, UH, I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS HERE THAT I WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO ASK OUR OWN, UM, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.
AND I HOPE THAT SOMEONE FROM OUR OWN CITY MANAGER CAN SO SOON, UM, BE HERE TO ANSWER SOME OF OUR QUESTIONS AS WELL.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK ONE OF THE KEY QUESTIONS THAT I'M LOOKING AT IS I'M REALLY LOOKING AT AUSTIN'S STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
AND YOU KNOW, WE HAVE IT HERE OUTLINED AS ONE OF OUR PRIMARY TRANSPORTATION GOALS IS TO REACH 50% OF ALL TRIPS MADE THROUGH NONS SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES BY 2040.
AND CENSUS DATA SHOWS US THAT THERE'S BEEN, DUE TO WORK FROM HOME INCREASE DURING THE PANDEMIC, A S UH, A VERY MEANINGFUL SURGE IN NONS SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRIPS IN AUSTIN.
IN OTHER WORDS, UM, THAT SURGE HAS BROUGHT US CLOSER TO MEETING OUR STRATEGIC MOBILITY GOALS AS A CITY.
UM, HOWEVER, I'M WORRIED, YOU KNOW, THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS ONE OF THE LARGEST EMPLOYERS IN THE REGION AND I THINK THERE'S ABOUT 17,000 PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
SO I'M THINKING VERY MUCH ABOUT HOW WE WOULD EVER MEET THAT GOAL IF WE DON'T, UM, YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF WE DON'T ALLOW FOR SOME KIND OF CONTINUATION OF TELEWORK AND WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
AND I WAS CURIOUS, DO YOU GUYS TRACK OR DID YOU TRACK THE, UH, SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLE TRIPS? AND I KNOW YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE THIS DATA ON HAND RIGHT NOW FOR YOUR EMPLOYEES BEFORE, UM, UH, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC OR BEFORE THE TELEWORK STARTED? I DON'T THINK WE HAD GRANULAR LEVEL DATA.
I THINK WE PROBABLY HAD, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF CENSUS TRACK DATA OR TRIP COUNT DATA, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAD IT PER EMPLOYEE.
UM, BUT I'M REALLY GLAD THAT YOU ALL ARE TRACKING IT AND, AND, UM, GLAD TO HEAR HOW MUCH THE REMOTE WORK, UM, PRACTICE AT THE CITY HAS CONTRIBUTED TO YOU HELPING, HELPING YOU MEET YOUR, YOUR MOBILITY GOAL.
BUT I DON'T, I DON'T THINK WE, IT'S POSSIBLE WE HAVE THE DATA AND I JUST DON'T KNOW IT.
AND, AND I ALSO, AND THIS IS NOT A QUIZ, BUT
SO IT'S A VERY MEANINGFUL, I THINK, POLICY TOWARDS REACHING OUR OWN CITY GOALS.
AND THEN OF COURSE, I THINK I LOOK AT THE SCALE OF THE AMOUNT THE CITY EMPLOYS, AND I'M VERY WORRIED ABOUT THOSE GOALS.
AND I KNOW THAT BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, OUR RATE OF, UH, TRIPS, UH, FOR SINGLE OCCUPANCY VEHICLES WAS VERY HIGH, UM, FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.
SO I'M DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS IF WE TELL 17,000 PEOPLE IN AUSTIN THAT THEY HAVE TO GET BACK IN THEIR CARS EVERY DAY, UM, AND DRIVE HERE.
UM, AND SORRY, I'M, I DON'T MEAN TO ASK YOU QUESTIONS ABOUT, THAT'S QUITE THE CITY'S PLANS.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, I JUST KIND OF REALLY THINKING ABOUT THAT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE SCALE OF THAT RESPONSIBILITY LOCALLY.
AND ALSO THE STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN HAS THIS OTHER ITEM THAT I HIGHLIGHTED THAT SAYS, STRENGTHEN CITY OF AUSTIN POLICY TO SUPPORT TELEWORKING AND PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO USE SHARED WORK SITES CLOSE TO WHERE EMPLOYEES LIVE, UM, PROVIDE EMPLOYEES WITH TECHNOLOGY TO WORK REMOTELY.
AND THIS SEEMS TO ALSO BE VERBATIM IN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLANS THAT THE CITY HAS ADOPTED.
DID THE COUNTY HAVE PLANS OF THAT SORT OF ITS OWN BEFORE OR WERE YOU GUYS SORT OF FORCED INTO THIS BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC? WE, WE HAVE, UM, A MOBILITY PLAN.
I DON'T THINK IT'S AS DETAILED AS AS THE CITIES.
UM, AND UM, I CAN'T RECALL MUCH DETAIL FROM IT.
UM, BUT UM, THIS WAS CERTAINLY IN KEEPING WITH SORT OF LARGER, UM, I'D SAY A LARGER ETHOS AT THE COUNTY.
UM, THERE'S A VERY DEFINITE, UM, COMMITMENT AT THE COUNTY TO WORKING TO REVERSE CLIMATE CHANGE.
SO THIS OBVIOUSLY FIT IN WITH THAT.
UM, I'D SAY THE COUNTY HAS A VERY, UM, EMPLOYEE FRIENDLY, UM, GENERAL OPERATING PROCEDURE MM-HMM.
UM, WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, WE GIVE OUR MANAGERS A LOT OF AGENCY AND SO THIS WORKED WELL WITH THAT MM-HMM.
UM, BUT I DON'T THINK WE HAVE THE LEVEL OF, UM, SPECIFICITY IN A, IN A MOBILITY PLAN LIKE THE CITY DOES.
THE CITY REALLY IS IS IS AHEAD OF US ON A LOT OF ISSUES ON THE PLAN MAKING AT LEAST
UM, AND, UH, SO SIMILARLY, THERE WEREN'T NECESSARILY ENVIRONMENTAL OR, OR CLIMATE GOALS ESTABLISHED ON THE COUNTY SIDE, OR WE HAD, UM, COMPLETED
[00:50:01]
OUR GREENHOUSE GAS INVENTORY IN 2019 AND THAT WAS WHEN WE IDENTIFIED, UM, AGAIN, THAT'S SORT OF GENERICALLY TRUE.IT'S YOUR LARGE BUILDINGS THAT ARE THE GREATEST, UH, SOURCE OF GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS BECAUSE OF THE ENERGY IT TAKES TO HEAT AND COOL AND LIGHT THEM.
SO THAT WAS OUR TOP, UH, SOURCE.
THE NEXT WAS, UH, EMPLOYEE COMMUTE AND THAT WAS TIED WITH OUR, UM, FLEET EMISSIONS.
UM, SO WE HAD A GENERAL GOAL OF FIRST IDENTIFYING OUR SOURCES AND THEN WORKING TO REDUCE THEM.
AND WE'VE ADOPTED A GOAL OF, I THINK THIS IS EMBARRASSING, I SHOULD REMEMBER THIS OF ALL PEOPLE, BUT I THINK IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 50% REDUCTION BY 2030 OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT.
UM, AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT, UM, HEADWAY PROGRESS ON THAT.
SO IN ADDITION TO THE, UH, GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTION WITH THE EMPLOYEE COMMUTE, WE'RE ALSO TRANSITIONING TO ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET.
UM, SO THAT COMBINED WITH THE, UH, ENERGY REDUCTION, THE BUILDINGS, SO COMMUTE WASN'T THERE.
UH, IF THE EMPLOYEE COMMUTE CHANGES WEREN'T THERE, THEN LIKELY THAT PROGRESS TOWARDS THOSE GOALS WOULD NOT BE ABSOLUTELY.
AND SAME WITH AN INCREASE IN THE BUILDING ENERGY USE.
WHILE I, OH, TWO MINUTES, BUT I WAS GONNA SAY ACTUALLY OUR CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN OF THIS CITY ALSO SAYS THAT TELEWORKING IS TO BE ENCOURAGED TO ENSURE THAT WE MEET OUR CLIMATE EQUITY GOALS.
SO THE ORDER WE HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER COX WILL BE NEXT, UH, FOLLOWED BY, UH, COMMISSIONERS ANDERSON AND HAYNES.
AND THEN, UH, VICE CHAIR, DO YOU WANT NEED TO OKAY.
AND THEN, UH, VICE CHAIR HEMPEL.
I'LL TRY TO KEEP THIS SHORT BECAUSE IT SEEMS LIKE
I'M A HUGE FAN OF FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE POLICIES.
I TAKE VERY MUCH ADVANTAGE OF MY OWN EMPLOYER'S, UH, FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE AND POL POLICY.
BUT I WANNA ASK SOMETHING THAT HASN'T BEEN MENTIONED YET THAT I HAVEN'T HEARD A LOT ABOUT.
UM, YOU KNOW, THESE POLICIES ARE LARGELY FOCUSED ON THE EMPLOYEES, UH, THE HAPPINESS OF EMPLOYEES, THE PRODUCT PRODUCTIVITY OF EMPLOYEES.
UM, AND GOVERNMENTS ARE UNIQUELY PI POSITIONED IN THAT THEY PROVIDE SERVICES TO THEIR CITIZENS AND OFTENTIMES THEY'RE THE SOLE SERVICE PROVIDER OF THOSE SERVICES.
AND SO I'M CURIOUS, UM, THIS IS KIND OF A TWOFOLD QUESTION.
I'M CURIOUS TO UNDERSTAND, UM, IF YOU'RE ALSO TRACKING AND TRYING TO, UM, UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT OF THE COUNTY SERVICES AS IT RELATES TO THE PUBLIC AND THE QUALITY, WHETHER IT'S INCREASING OR DECREASING OF THOSE SERVICES, UM, WITH THE PUBLIC.
BUT THEN ALSO THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION IS, I, I FEEL LIKE, AND I'M HAPPY THAT I, THAT, THAT THE PANDEMIC SEEMS TO HAVE FORCED A LOT OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES TO KIND OF, UH, ACCELERATE SOME OF THE SERVICES THEY PROVIDE TO THE DIGITAL ERA AND PROVIDE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY, THEY DID, UH, ONLY IN PERSON ONLINE AND MAYBE 24 HOURS AND THAT SORT OF STUFF.
AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS ABOUT THOSE TWO THINGS AS IT RELATES TO THE COUNTY'S TRACKING OF THIS, UM, AND, AND YOUR FLEXIBLE WORKPLACE POLICY.
UM, WE, UM, WE HAVE AN EQUITY OFFICER AND PART OF THEIR, UM, JOB INVOLVES SURVEYING, UM, THE PUBLIC ABOUT THE QUALITY OF, OF, UH, GOVERNMENT SERVICES AT THE COUNTY.
WE DON'T LIKE HAVE THE FULL, UM, I GUESS RESULTS BACK, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE ALL CONSCIOUS OF.
UM, AND I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT, IT HAS HASTENED THE TRANSITION TO THE DIGITAL WORLD.
AND I'LL, I'LL GIVE YOU JUST ONE EXAMPLE.
UM, WE HAVE THE, THE TRAVIS COUNTY TAX OFFICE AND THAT'S PROBABLY WHERE THE GREATEST NUMBER OF PEOPLE WOULD HAVE, UH, SORT OF THE LEAST HAPPY EXPERIENCE WITH COUNTY GOVERNMENT
'CAUSE THEY HAVE TO COME IN TO PAY THEIR TAXES OR COME IN TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR CAR TITLE OR SOME FUNCTION LIKE THAT.
UM, AND FOR YEARS, OUR TAX ASSESSOR AND COLLECTOR BRUCE ELFANT HAS BEEN BEGGING PEOPLE TO PAY THEIR TAXES ONLINE TO TAKE, TO DO THEIR TRANSACTIONS ONLINE BECAUSE IT'S JUST NOT A HAPPY EXPERIENCE TO DRIVE DOWN TO THE TAX OFFICE AND IN A WAIT IN LINE WITH LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE TO, UH, PAY YOUR TAXES OR DO WHATEVER.
AND SO THEY, I THINK WE'VE NOW PRETTY DRAMATICALLY INCREASED THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PAYING THEIR TAXES ONLINE AND ARE, WHO ARE USING ONLINE SERVICES FOR, UM, THAT OFFICE.
'CAUSE THAT'S PROBABLY ONE OF THE BUSIEST
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AREAS WHERE THE GENERAL PUBLIC COMES IN CONTACT WITH, UM, COUNTY GOVERNMENT.AND THAT ONE WAS A DIFFICULT ONE FOR US.
IT WAS, UM, IT WAS A REAL EXPERIMENT.
I THINK WE WERE THE FIRST PLACE IN THE COUNTRY THAT CONDUCTED A JURY TRIAL ONLINE.
AND, UM, THANKFULLY, UH, NOBODY HAD THE CAT FILTER ON THEIR PHONE,
SO NOBODY, NOBODY APPEARED ON SCREEN AS A TALKING CAT.
BUT, UH, BUT THERE WERE DEFINITE HICCUPS.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE'S, UH, KIDS COME IN THE ROOM OR THEIR DOGS OR CATS COME IN THE ROOM, WHATEVER.
SO THERE WERE, THERE WERE DEFINITE ISSUES THERE, ALTHOUGH I THINK BY AND LARGE IT WAS CONSIDERED, UM, SUCCESSFUL ENOUGH TO BE WORKABLE.
AND SO WE TRIED TO DO, WE TRIED TO DO AS MANY OF THOSE COURT FUNCTIONS AS WE COULD, BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT WITH JURY TRIALS.
AND SO A LOT OF THEM GOT, GOT BACKLOGGED.
UM, THAT'S A HARD ONE TO DO ALL VIRTUALLY.
UM, THE JAIL IS ANOTHER UNHAPPY PLACE WHERE PEOPLE HAVE CONTACT WITH THE COUNTY AND OBVIOUSLY THAT CAN'T BE VIRTUAL
AND SO, UM, UH, AND THEN WE, WE, WE HAVE, UH, COMMUNITY CENTERS WHERE WE PROVIDE A LOT OF, UM, BASIC NEEDS SERVICES.
WE, WE ESSENTIALLY OPERATE FOOD PANTRIES OUT OF ALL OF OUR COUNTY COMMUNITY CENTERS.
UH, WE PROVIDE, UM, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, VOUCHERS, THAT KIND OF THING.
AND THAT REQUIRED PERSONAL CONTACT, ALTHOUGH THEY TRIED TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT SAFELY WITH, YOU KNOW, SHOPPING CARTS, PUSHED OUT WITH THE GROCERIES AND THEM AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, BUT THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS WERE THE ONES WHO WERE REQUIRED FOR PROVIDING THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES, UH, TO THE PUBLIC THAT COULDN'T BE DONE VIRTUALLY.
AND THOSE CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC.
WE HAD TO MAKE MODIFICATIONS WITH THEM.
BUT, UM, I THINK A LOT OF THE OTHER SERVICES HAVE SHIFTED TO ONLINE AND HAVE MOSTLY BEEN SATISFACTORY, I GUESS, BECAUSE PEOPLE, A LOT OF THE CONTACT PEOPLE HAD DURING THAT PERIOD WAS VIRTUAL.
UH, SO AGAIN, IT WASN'T LIKE IT WAS SOMETHING COMPLETELY UNIQUE OR DIFFERENT.
IT WAS PART OF THE EXPERIENCE THAT MOST PEOPLE WERE HAVING, UM, DURING THE PANDEMIC.
AND WE'VE EXPLAINED TO PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE, UH, AN AWARD-WINNING REMOTE WORK POLICY AND AS A RESULT WE'RE CONDUCTING A LOT OF OUR, UM, NON-ESSENTIAL, UM, NON NEEDED TO BE FACE-TO-FACE WORK WE'RE CONDUCTING VIRTUALLY.
AND I THINK MOST PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OKAY WITH IT.
MAYBE NOT ALL THRILLED ABOUT IT, BUT I THINK OKAY WITH IT AND UNDERSTANDING IT AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HEAR WHY AND THE BENEFITS OF IT.