Mar 27, 2024 Audit and Finance Committee

A QUICK UPDATE ON OUR, WHERE WE'RE AT.

GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, DON BLAND, CHIEF ANIMAL SERVICES OFFICER.

UH, ON THE AUDIT, THERE WAS SIX RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE UPDATES, UH, ON RECOMMENDATION NUMBER ONE.

UM, DURING, AS, AS A CM HAS JUST REPORTED ON OUR, UM, FEBRUARY 1ST, THE COUNCIL DID APPROVE AN ORDINANCE CHANGED, UH, TO CHANGE SOME OF THE IMPOUNDMENT LANGUAGES, ADD REQUIREMENTS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND CLARIFY SOME DEFINITIONS FOR US.

UH, CURRENTLY THE CITY REAL ESTATE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING TO IDENTIFY ANY CITY OWNED PROPERTY OR ANY PROPERTY AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE THAT WOULD SERVE AS AN ADDITIONAL ADOPTION SITE AND OR SHELTER.

AND A SO HAS BEGUN WORKING WITH A NATIONAL SHELTER PLANNER, UH, TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT FOR A SITE ASSESSMENT WITH THOSE NEEDS.

UH, ALL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT YOU, THE COUNCIL APPROVED ON FEBRUARY 1ST, UH, ONE OF THEM WAS TO ADOPT A NEW BITE SCALE.

UH, WE CURRENTLY USED A THREE PART BYTE SCALE, AND WE'RE TAKING, UH, OUR LEVEL TO THE NATIONAL DUNBAR SCALE, WHICH IS A SIX LEVEL SCALE THAT IS NATIONALLY USED AND, AND

[00:05:01]

RECOGNIZED.

UH, IT ALSO, UH, CLARIFIED THE LIVE OUTCOME RATE, UH, THAT IT INCLUDED ALL ANIMALS EXCEPT FOR WILDLIFE, BECAUSE THAT DEFINITION WAS KIND OF UNCLEAR.

ALSO, WE, UH, DID A CODE CLEANUP TO EXPAND THE IMPOUNDMENT TO INCLUDE ANIMALS THAT ARE FOSTERED BY THE FINDER TO ASSIST US WITH OUR SPACE ISSUES.

AN UPDATE ON RECOMMENDATION NUMBER TWO, AS YOU HEARD JUST THEN, UH, CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE IS WORKING WITH CITY STAFF, A THIRD PARTY VENDOR AND STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN.

THE CITY STAFF FROM THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM FROM FINANCIAL SERVICES WILL ASSIST WITH THIS.

AN UPDATE ON AUDIT ITEM NUMBER THREE.

UH, A SO LEADERSHIP HAS BEEN REVIEWING ALL OF OUR PROTOCOLS AND MAKING NECESSARY, UH, CHANGES.

SOME OF THOSE INCLUDE, UH, TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH, UH, STATE LAW AND TO MITIGATE THE RISK OF DISEASE AND SPREAD OF HARM TO ANIMALS.

UH, WE NO LONGER USE, UH, HOUSING ANIMALS IN TEMPORARY CRATES.

UM, WE ALSO ARE REVIEWING OUR PROTOCOLS FOR OUR SPECIFICALLY ANIMAL CARE UNIT, UH, TO DETERMINE WHERE IMPROVEMENTS CAN BE MADE IN THEIR CLEANING SOPS OR ANY, UH, LOOK AT DIFFERENT CHEMICALS.

ALL OF THE NECESSARY, UH, STEPS THAT WE NEED.

AND BUILDING SERVICES HAS BEEN HELPING US WITH OUR SHELTER CLEANING AS WELL.

AND WE'LL GET INTO THAT IN ONE OF THE OTHER SLIDES.

RECENTLY, UH, BUILDING SERVICES HAS, HAS BEEN DOING A, A PHENOMENAL JOB, AND THEY HAVE A LONG LIST OF THINGS THAT THEY'VE WORKED ON, BUT I'M JUST GONNA HIT A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS REAL QUICK.

UH, THEY LOOKED AT OUR AMBIENT AIR TEMPERATURE FOR, UH, THE KENNELS RUNS, AND THEY HIRED A CONTRACTOR TO COME IN AND DO AN OUTSIDE EVALUATION, AND THEY RECEIVED THAT REPORT AT THE END OF JANUARY.

THEY ARE WORKING ON QUOTES CURRENTLY, AND ONCE THE FUNDING IS IDENTIFIED AND THE DO'S CREATED, THEY WILL BEGIN THAT WORK, UH, THIS SPRING TO MAKE THOSE IMPROVEMENTS ON OUR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE INSTEAD OF TWICE MONTHLY.

THEY'VE BEEN COMING FOUR TIMES A MONTH NOW.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALL THE STORM DEBRIS THAT WAS, UH, FROM THE LAST ICE STORM, THEY HAD THAT REMOVED IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR AS WELL.

BUT AUDIT ALSO TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE BIRDS AND THE NESTING, AND THEY ARE WORKING WITH THEIR CONTRACTOR AND ALL OF THE, THE PEST CONTROL VENDOR AND, UH, DETERRENCE WILL BE INSTALLED AND ALL THAT WILL BE DONE BY SUMMER.

THIS SUMMER, UH, IN, IN THE AIR VENTS, THEY ARE STEAM CLEANING ALL OF OUR AIR VENTS AND MAKING SURE ALL OF THOSE ARE ON A, A, A SCHEDULE AS WELL.

UH, THE PHARMACY'S SAFE WHILE IT'S IN A LOCKED ROOM, IT WASN'T SECURED TO THE FLOOR, SO THEY'VE TAKEN CARE OF THAT AS WELL.

AND THEY ARE ALSO WORKING, UH, ON A PREFABRICATED BUILDING FOR US TO HOUSE SMALL ANIMALS IN, SMALL DOGS IN TO GET THEM OUT OF THE CAT KENNELS ON AUDIT ITEM NUMBER FOUR.

UH, A SO STAFF HOLD REGULAR MEETINGS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OUR STAFF ARE AWARE OF THE PROCESSES IN THEIR WORK UNITS.

UH, WE ALSO HOLD SPECIFIC MEETINGS FOR ALL STAFF TRAININGS, SUCH AS WE JUST DID BIKE PREVENTION.

WE'LL BE DOING, UH, DUNBAR SCALE TRAINING, UH, IN, ON TOP OF OUR REGULAR QUARTERLY STAFF MEETINGS.

UH, ALSO A SO HOLDS WORKSHOPS FOR OUR VOLUNTEERS AS WELL.

WE HELD, UH, OUR BIKE PREVENTION, UH, WORKSHOP FOR ALL THE VOLUNTEERS TO BE ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN AS WELL.

AND SOME OF THE VOLUNTEERS HAVE, UH, EXPRESSED INTEREST IN THE CITY'S BUDGET PROCESSING WITH THE ANIMAL SHELTER.

AND SO WE'LL BE HOLDING ONE OF THOSE AND KIND OF WALKING THEM THROUGH THAT AS WELL.

ON, UH, AUDIT ITEM NUMBER FIVE.

UH, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, AS YOU HEARD, IS HIRING AN OUTSIDE CONSULTANT TO DO A SERIES OF STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS.

UH, A SO IS HOLDING MEETINGS WITH THE MUNICIPAL, UH, SHELTER DIRECTORS IN OUR REGION, AND WE ALSO HOLD QUARTERLY VOLUNTEER MEETINGS AND SPECIFIC WORKSHOPS ON AUDIT ITEM NUMBER SIX.

UH, WE WERE LACKING IN SUPPORT SERVICES IN MANY AREAS, AND ONE OF THOSE WAS IT SUPPORT.

UH, A SO HAS BEEN DEPENDENT ON AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND CTM TO PROVIDE OUR DATA SUPPORT AND CREATE OUR REPORTS FOR US.

AND COUNCIL IS VERY GENEROUS IN, UH, ALLOWING US AN IT POSITION THIS BUDGET YEAR, AND WE HAVE HIRED SOMEONE FOR THAT POSITION.

UH, THIS POSITION IS GONNA BE CRUCIAL IN, UH, GENERATING OUR REPORTS AND MAKING SURE OUR DATA THAT GOES INTO THE, UH, PUBLIC PORTALS IS, UH, ACCURATE AND CURRENT.

AND WE HOPE, UH, THEY, THEY STARTED ACTUALLY ON MONDAY, SO THEY'RE IN TRAINING RIGHT NOW, AND, UH, WE'RE IN A FEW WEEKS WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE THEM OVER AND START WORKING, AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING THAT OPTION.

THAT'S

[00:10:01]

DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME TO SEE? I'M HAPPY TO SEE, UM, SO MUCH PROGRESS.

I WANTED TO SEE IF MY PRE TEMPLE POOL WANTED TO SAY ANYTHING.

I KNOW YOU INITIATED, UM, THE AUDIT IN THE FIRST PLACE IF YOU WANTED TO ADD ANYTHING.

I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THE MOVEMENT AND THE PROGRESS AND THE REPORTING BACK, AND HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE TO GET THE REPORTS AND EVERYTHING.

I KNOW THAT, UM, OUR, UH, FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY ARE AVIDLY ACTIVE, AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE, THE CLEAR LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN AND ACCURATE INFORMATION TO CONTINUE TO BE PUBLISHED.

I, I WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO DEVIN DESAI AND TIP OF THE HAT, IF I HAD ONE ON MY HEAD.

UH, THANK HIM SO MUCH FOR WADING INTO THIS REALLY, UM, FRAUGHT ARENA, UM, AND MY FINGERS CROSSED AND MY HEART HOPEFUL, UH, FOR CONTINUED PROGRESS IN THE FUTURE.

AND THANK YOU TO STEPHANIE HAYDEN HOWARD FOR HER ABLE LEADERSHIP, WHICH I ALSO HOPE WILL CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, DIRECTOR.

THANK YOU COLLEAGUES.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? UM, WELL THANK YOU DIRECTOR BLAND.

OUR NEXT ITEM IS FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, THE CITYWIDE ETHICS ASSESSMENT, WHICH ASSESSED THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE CITY'S ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE PROGRAM.

A CM HAYDEN HOWARD.

I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE ARE MAKING, UM, SOME PROGRESS.

UM, THE COMMUNITY IS REALLY ASKING FOR IT AND, AND I HOPE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE, UM, TO DELIVER ON THESE PROMISES.

SO THANK YOU.

UM,

[3. The Citywide Ethics Assessment which assessed the effectiveness of the City's Ethics and Compliance program]

AND WE HAVE PATRICK JOHNSON.

GOOD MORNING.

MORNING, RIGHT.

UH, YEAH.

I AM PATRICK JOHNSON, ASSISTANT CITY AUDITOR.

PLEASURE TO BE HERE.

TODAY I'M PRESENTING THE REAL RESULTS OF AN ASSESSMENT OF THE CITY ETHICS PROGRAM.

WE HIRED AN EXTERNAL EXPERT, THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE INITIATIVE, OR ECI TO CONDUCT THIS WORK.

AND REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE FIRST STEP IS, WELL, WHAT IS ETHICS AND WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? UM, ETHICS IS A CORNERSTONE OF INTEGRITY.

IT PROVIDES A FRAMEWORK TO HELP GUIDE BEHAVIOR.

UH, BUT REALLY WHAT DOES THAT MEAN IN TERMS OF HOW THE CITY OPERATES AND PROVIDES SERVICES TO ITS RESIDENTS? UM, AND EVERYONE WHO, WHO ACCESSES OUR SERVICES, A STRONG ETHICS CAN HELP CITY OFFICIALS AND REALLY EVERY EMPLOYEE MAKE BETTER DECISIONS EACH DAY IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST, UH, STRONG ETHICAL ENVIRONMENT, UM, PROMOTES VALUES SUCH AS HONESTY, FAIRNESS, TRUST, RESPECT, AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

UH, MOVING TO THE ASSESSMENT OF AUSTIN'S PROGRAM, ECI IS A RECOGNIZED EXPERT IN ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE BEST PRACTICES, AND THEY HELP ORGANIZATIONS IDENTIFY HOW, HOW TO BUILD AND SUSTAIN STRONG ETHICS PROGRAMS. ECI FOLLOWED A THREE PHASED APPROACH, AS YOU SEE HERE.

UH, THE FIRST PHASE WAS AN ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT, UH, WHICH WAS REALLY TWO, TWO SEPARATE SURVEYS OF TOP CITY STAFF AND ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE STAFF.

UH, THIS REALLY SERVED AS A SELF-ASSESSMENT OF AUSTIN'S ETHICS PROGRAM.

SECOND WAS AN ETHICS, UH, CULTURE SURVEY, WHICH WAS A SURVEY OF ALL CITY STAFF.

AND THIRD, UH, THEY CONDUCTED INTERVIEWS WITH KEY CITY STAFF AND THEN PULLED TOGETHER AN ANALYSIS OF ALL THREE PHASES.

AND THIS ALL RESULTED IN A SUMMARY REPORT THAT INCLUDES RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS IDENTIFIED GAPS IN THE CITY'S PROGRAM.

UH, THE REPORT IDENTIFIED REALLY HIGH LEVEL FINDINGS, INCLUDING TRUST ISSUES WITHIN THE CITY, AND THEY IDENTIFIED MULTIPLE FRAGMENTED PROCESSES REALLY RELATED TO THE ETHICS PROGRAM.

UH, KEY FOCUS AREAS INCLUDED, UH, CITY VALUES, CONSISTENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY, AND REALLY EXPANDING THE REACH OF THE CITY ETHICS PROGRAM.

UH, WE INCLUDED A COMPANION REPORT TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT AND TO CAPTURE MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS.

REALLY, THE MAIN ISSUE WE SAW WAS A CLEAR SPLIT IN PERSPECTIVES ABOUT HOW WELL THE CITY IS DOING RELATED TO ETHICS.

JUST ACROSS THE BOARD STAFF PERSPECTIVES WERE CONSISTENTLY LOWER THAN EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVES, AND THIS WAS ESPECIALLY TRUE RELATED TO TRUST.

UH, QUESTIONS AND TOPICS.

WE NOTED THREE SPECIFIC EMPLOYEE CONCERNS ABOUT REPORTING ETHICS ISSUES, WHICH WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH ECIS WORK.

UH, FIRST STAFF THOUGHT THE CORRECTIVE ACTION WOULD NOT BE TAKEN.

UM, THEY ALSO THOUGHT THE REPORTS WOULD NOT REMAIN ANONYMOUS, AND THEY FEARED RETALIATION.

RETURNING TO THE ISSUE OF KIND OF PERSPECTIVES THAT, THAT PERSPECTIVE ISSUE, UH, CITY LEADERS AND THEIR SELF-ASSESSMENT, UH, ASSESS THE CITY'S ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE PROGRAM AS MORE ROBUST THAN THE ECI ASSESSMENT.

WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS, UH, ECI I'S MATURITY SCALE.

UM, WHERE ONE DENOTES

[00:15:01]

A NEW OR A KIND OF A, A STRUGGLING ETHICS PROGRAM, A FIVE WOULD, UH, WOULD, WOULD DENOTE, UH, A PROGRAM THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY OPTIMIZED WORKING REALLY WELL.

UM, CITY MANAGEMENT ASSESSED THE ETHICS PROGRAM AT A 3.8, UM, THAT'S SHOWN BY THE RED ARROW.

THAT MEANS THE ETHICS PROGRAM WOULD BE CONSIDERED EFFECTIVE OR GOOD.

UM, AND ECI I'S ASSESSMENT.

UH, THEIR ASSESSMENT WAS, WE WERE AT ABOUT A 2.4, SO IN BETWEEN THE DEFINING AND ADAPTING LEVELS.

AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS, IS ECI JUST FELT THERE WERE ELEMENTS IN THE CITY'S PROGRAM THAT WERE EITHER MISSING OR, UH, THAT THEY WERE THERE, BUT THEY JUST NEEDED SOME IMPROVEMENT.

ECI ALSO RECOGNIZED THE CITY'S EXPERIENCED, UH, SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES IN THE LAST YEAR.

UH, THIS OBVIOUSLY INCLUDES AT THE CITY'S SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM.

UM, THEY CAUTION SOME RESULTS LIKELY REFLECT EMPLOYEE, UH, PERSPECTIVES THAT HAVE BUILT UP OVER TIME.

AND SO IT MAY NOT FULLY REFLECT, UH, THE CURRENT CITY LEADERSHIP, UH, THAT'S IN PLACE NOW.

UH, MOVING FORWARD, WE KNOW THERE ARE MORE CHANGES COMING.

UM, AND REALLY THIS GIVES THE CITY AN OPPORTUNITY, OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE DECISIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE THE CITY'S PROGRAM AND FOCUS ON BUILDING A STRONG ETHICAL CULTURE.

WHICH BRINGS US TO ECIS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CITY MANAGEMENT.

UH, MANAGEMENT'S AGREED WITH ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

UH, REALLY THE FIRST WAS TO CLEARLY IDENTIFY RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE PROGRAM, AND MANAGEMENT HAS ALREADY APPOINTED A CHIEF ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER WHO WILL ASSESS WHAT A STRONG ETHICS PROGRAM SHOULD LOOK LIKE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, ECI ALSO RECOMMENDED THE CITY REVISIT ITS CITY VALUES AND FORMALIZE ITS COMPLIANT COMPLIANCE, RISK MANAGEMENT EFFORTS, UM, JUST ACROSS THE CITY, UH, KIND OF FILLING IN KIND OF SOME OF THOSE FRAGMENTED AREAS THAT THEY SAW.

UH, THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION, UH, SEEKS TO ADDRESS THE STAFF CONCERNS I NOTED EARLIER.

UH, THIS WOULD BE TO PROVIDE MORE WAYS FOR EMPLOYEES TO REPORT ISSUES AND TO DO SO ANONYMOUSLY.

UM, THIS RECOMMENDATION ALSO SEEKS TO ALIGN THE CASE MANAGEMENT AND TRACKING FUNCTIONS OF THE SEVERAL CITY GROUPS THAT INVESTIGATE, UH, ETHICS AND INTEGRITY ISSUES.

AND LAST, ECI RECOMMENDS THE CITY PROMOTE ACCOUNTABILITY THROUGH APPROPRIATE AND CONSISTENT OUTCOMES.

ECI ALSO MADE A RECOMMENDATION, OUR OFFICE TO WORK WITH THE NEW CHIEF ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER.

UH, WE'VE ALREADY HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS AND SHARED INFORMATION FROM ECIS WORK.

UH, AND ALSO ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THIS REPORT WILL BE TRACKED VIA OUR PUBLIC, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS DASHBOARD.

UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ADDRESS THOSE.

THANK YOU, PATRICK.

UM, I WANTED TO SEE IF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE OR OUR COMPLIANCE OFFICER WANTED TO RESPOND.

I KNOW YOU GUYS SOMETHING WORKING.

GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

ED VAN NEIL, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICE HERE, HERE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

AND OUR INTERIM, UM, UH, CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER IS HERE, DEVIN DESAI.

SO, UH, MANAGEMENT'S IN FULL SUPPORT OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO IMPLEMENTING THEM.

UM, WE ALREADY TOOK ACTION IN FEBRUARY TO BRING ON, UM, UM, UH, DEVIN DESAI AS THAT INTERIM POSITION.

UM, I THINK HE'LL PROBABLY BE IN THAT POSITION FOR AT LEAST A YEAR, AND THEN WE WOULD REEVALUATE IN THE FUTURE, UM, WHERE WE WANT TO GO WITH THAT POSITION, WHETHER OR NOT WE NEED TO MAKE A PERMANENT OR IF WE JUST NEED THE, THE POSITION TEMPORARILY TO GET THESE REFORMS IMPLEMENTED.

SO WE ARE ALREADY WORKING ON THESE REFORMS AND AGAIN, FULLY SUPPORT, UM, ALL OF THE FINDINGS.

DID OUR, UM, INTERIM OFFICER WANT TO SPEAK? YOU DON'T HAVE TO.

I JUST GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.

NO.

UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? UM, MAYOR PRO TEMPLE, UH, I'M FULLY IN SUPPORT.

APPRECIATE THE HARD WORK AND, UH, THE DEPTH TO WHICH YOU GUYS, UH, DUG INTO THE ISSUES.

THANK YOU TO OUR CFO AND OUR NEW INTERIM CHIEF ETHICS OFFICER.

AGAIN, MR. DESAI, AND, UH, LOOK FORWARD TO GOOD WORK IN THIS ARENA GOING FORWARD.

CHALLENGES THAT OUR NEW CITY MANAGER WILL NEED TO TAKE UP, UM, IN RELATIONSHIP TO ADDRESSING THESE GAPS.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

AL, I HAVE TO GET DEVIN, LIKE A, A SASH THAT HAS ALL THE DEPARTMENTS HE'S, HE'S WORKED FOR SO HE CAN MAKE COLLECTION.

I, I'M EXCITED TO SEE YOU IN THIS ROLE.

I, I APPRECIATE YOUR WILLINGNESS TO CONTINUE TO SERVE THE CITY IN MANY FORMS AND FASHIONS.

UH, AND JUST WANT TO REITERATE WHAT MAYOR PROPO SAID.

THANK YOU TO THE MANAGER'S OFFICE FOR TAKING THIS HEAD ON.

UM, AND I'LL JUST CONCLUDE BY SAYING I ALSO APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THIS HEAD ON, UM, READING THE REPORT.

THERE WERE A LOT OF REALLY CONCERNING THINGS IN THERE, AND I DON'T WANT TO, UM, UNDERVALUE THE IMPORTANCE OF TAKING THESE STEPS.

UM, I APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, THROUGH THE PROCESS OF DOING THIS, AUDIT STEPS HAVE BEEN TAKEN.

UM, BUT WE DO NEED TO SEE THEM THROUGH, UM, CONCLUSION.

UM, AND THERE WILL BE SEVERAL

[00:20:01]

UM, AND I HOPE THAT, UM, OUR INTERIM OFFICER WILL HAVE THE EAR OF THE CMOS OFFICE IN ORDER TO BE ABLE, UM, TO MAKE CHANGES.

'CAUSE MANY OF THOSE WILL REQUIRE, UM, SENIOR MANAGEMENT LEANING IN, SUCH AS MAKING SURE THAT THE VALUES ARE PERMEATING, UM, THE ORGANIZATION.

THOSE ARE NOT THINGS THAT JUST THE OFFICER ON HIS OWN CAN MAKE HAPPEN.

UM, SO I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, IT IS REALLY IMPERATIVE THAT, UM, YOU TAKE AWAY FROM, FROM OUR COMMENTS HERE, THAT WE, WE DO WANT YOU TO LEAN INTO THIS AND THAT WE DO WANT YOU TO MAKE, UM, THIS HAPPEN.

IT'S IMPORTANT FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR ORGANIZATION.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU, MR. JOHNSON.

ITEM NUMBER FOUR, THE AUSTIN ENERGY MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY AUDIT.

SO OUR NEXT ITEM IS

[4. The Austin Energy Medically Vulnerable Registry Audit which evaluated Austin Energy's registry for the medically vulnerable.]

GOOD MORNING, HENRY.

AND I'M NOT SURE HOW I KNOW HOW TO PRONOUNCE YOUR LAST NAME.

IT'S A KAWA KA KUA.

WELCOME.

UH, GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS.

LIKE I SAID, MY NAME IS HENRIK TMA, AND I WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR OVER THIS PROJECT.

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE IF THE CITY'S MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY PROGRAM EFFECTIVELY AND EFFICIENTLY SERVES RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS IN NEED TO LESSEN THE IMPACT OF POWER OUTAGES ON AUSTIN ENERGY, CUSTOMERS WITH CRITICAL ILLNESSES OR LIFESAVING MEDICAL EQUIPMENT.

THE CITY OF AUSTIN OFFERS THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY PROGRAM.

THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, THE CITY PROVIDES ELIGIBLE CUSTOMERS WITH SERVICES INCLUDING ONE-ON-ONE CASE MANAGEMENT.

FOR EXAMPLE, PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WORK WITH A DESIGNATED AUSTIN ENERGY CASE MANAGER TO DEVELOP PERSONALIZED EMERGENCY BACKUP PLANS.

IF CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING TROUBLE PAYING THEIR UTILITY BILLS, THEIR CASE MANAGER CAN HELP WITH FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLANS AND OTHER OPTIONS.

CITY STAFF MAY ALSO, MR. KAMA, I JUST WANNA CHECK IF WE'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE A PRESENTATION.

SUPPOSED TO, BUT THERE'S SOME KIND OF TECHNICAL PROBLEM.

UM, YOU WANNA TAKE ANOTHER ITEMS? LET'S JUST KEEP GOING.

I THINK WE CAN PAUSE.

I THINK YOU CAN KEEP GOING AND IT'S UP TO YOU, MR. KAMA, WHATEVER YOU WANT TO CANCEL.

GO AHEAD.

READY? I THINK WE'VE READ THE AUDIT, SO I THINK WE'RE OKAY, UM, TO MOVE.

AND AS SOON AS YOU CAN GET IT UP, YOU CAN PUT IT UP.

COMPLETE SIGN AND SUBMIT AN APPLICATION TO THE CITY.

UH, THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, UH, THE CITY PROVIDES ELIGIBLE CUSTOMERS WITH SERVICES INCLUDING ONE-ON-ONE CASE MANAGEMENT.

FOR EXAMPLE, UM, PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WORK WITH A DESIGNATED HOSTING ENERGY CASE, UH, CASE MANAGER TO DEVELOP PERSONALIZED EMERGENCY BACKUP PLANS.

IF CUSTOMERS ARE HAVING TROUBLE PAYING THEIR OTT BILLS, THEIR CASE MANAGER CAN HELP WITH FLEXIBLE PAYMENT PLANS AND OTHER OPTIONS.

CITY STAFF MAY ALSO REFER THE CUSTOMER TO OTHER SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES.

THE PROGRAM SERVES OVER 250 CUSTOMERS EVERY YEAR, AND IS MANAGED BY AUSTIN ENERGY AND A THIRD PARTY VENDOR.

OUR FIRST FINDING, MANY AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS THE PROGRAM DUE TO A COMPLEX APPLICATION PROCESS.

OVERALL, THE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS WILL SURVEYED, APPEAR TO BE SATISFIED WITH THE PROGRAM, AND THEY BELIEVE THAT THE PROGRAM MEETS THEIR EXPECTATIONS.

HOWEVER, MANY CUSTOMERS ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCESS THE PROGRAM TO QUALIFY FOR THIS PROGRAM.

AN APPLICANT MUST BE AN AUSTIN ENERGY ACCOUNT HOLDER, OR SOMEONE WHO LIVES IN THE HOME OF AN AUSTIN ENERGY ACCOUNT HOLDER RESIDENCE IN APARTMENT COMPLEXES WITH A MASTER METER.

AND THIS IS WHERE RENTERS PAY THEIR PROPERTY MANAGEMENT FOR THEIR UTILITY BILLS ARE NOT ABLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PROGRAM.

AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SAID THEY'RE CURRENTLY 92 MASTER METERS, HOWEVER, THEY ARE, THEY ARE NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE HOW MANY RESIDENTS ARE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH OF THESE METERS.

PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS NOTED THAT THE APPLICATION PROCESS IS INEFFICIENT DUE TO THE FREQUENCY OF RECERTIFICATIONS AND CHALLENGES.

CHALLENGES OBTAINING EFFICIENT SIGNATURE ARE PROGRAM APPLICANT MUST

[00:25:01]

THE APPLICATION REQUIRES A PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE.

IN ADDITION PROGRAM, PARTICIPANTS ARE REQUIRED TO CERTIFY PERIODICALLY DEPENDING ON THE MEDICAL CONDITION THAT IS ASSIGNED BY THE PHYSICIAN.

WE SURVEYED A SAMPLE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS ON THE EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS RELATED TO THE APPLICATION AND RECERTIFICATION PROCESS.

45 OF THE RESPONDENTS STATED THAT THE PROCESS IS IN IS INEFFICIENT.

IS INEFFICIENT, MAINLY DUE TO THE FREQUENCY OF RECERTIFICATIONS AND THE CHALLENGES IN OBTAINING A PHYSICIAN'S SIGNATURE.

WE ALSO SURVEYED EIGHT OTHER CITIES AND FOUND THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN REQUIRES PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS TO RECERTIFY MORE OFTEN THAN THE CITIES THAT WE LOOKED AT.

WHILE THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS RE RECERTIFICATION, FREQUENCY RANGES BETWEEN TWO AND 12 MONTHS FOR THE SIX CITIES THAT WE LOOKED AT, RECERTIFICATION FREQUENCY RANGES BETWEEN 12 AND 24 MONTHS.

ONE CITY, AND THIS WAS THIS WAS SACRAMENTAL, OFFERS A LIFETIME ENROLLMENT DEPENDING ON THE MEDICAL CONDITION OF THE PATIENT.

IN FISCAL YEARS 2022 AND 2023, ABOUT 70% OF APPLICATIONS WERE DENIED DUE TO THE APPLICANT'S NOT SUBMITTING THE NECESSARY DOCUMENTATION WITHIN THE REQUIRED TIMEFRAME.

WHILE AN INCOMPLETE APPLICATION DOES NOT NECESSARILY MEAN THAT THE APPLICANT WOULD HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE IF THEY HAD SUBMITTED ALL PIECES OF THE APPLICATION, THERE IS A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF DE DENIALS.

AUSTIN ENERGY NOTED THAT THEY'RE CURRENTLY WORKING ON CHANGES TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS.

THE PROPOSED CHANGES INCLUDE LENGTHENING THE AMOUNT OF TIME BETWEEN CERTIFICATIONS AND INCLUDING A LIFETIME CERTIFICATION OPTION, AS WELL AS ALLOWING A BROADER RANGE OF MEDICAL SERVICE PROVIDERS TO CERTIFY ELIGIBILITY AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT PLANS TO TAKE THE PROPOSED CHANGES TO CITY COUNCIL IN MAY, 2024.

OUR SECOND FINDING, THE CITY USES A MANUAL PROCESS TO MANAGE APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION.

THIS INCREASES THE RISK THAT THE DATA MAY NOT BE SECURE AND RELIABLE, AND IT ALSO LEADS TO INEFFICIENCIES.

THE PROGRAM APPLICATION PROCESS RELIES MAINLY ON MANUAL METHODS, SUCH AS FAXED AND MAILED, UH, PAPER APPLICATIONS AND OTHER PROGRAM DOCUMENTS.

THIS REQUIRES THE INFORMATION TO BE ENTERED INTO THE SYSTEMS MANUALLY EVERY TIME.

ALSO, PROGRAM INFORMATION IS TRACKED IN MULTIPLE TOOLS THAT DO NOT AUTOMATICALLY SHARE INFORMATION.

ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION INFORMATION IS MAINLY TRACKED IN THIRD PARTY VENDORS AND CITY SYSTEMS AND DENIAL LETTERS SENT, SENT TO THE APPLICANTS TRACK THROUGH ANOTHER VENDOR SYSTEM.

THE MANUAL PROCESS ALSO PRESENTS SOME OTHER CHALLENGES, INCLUDING RECEIVING INCOMPLETE INFORMATION.

WE RECEIVED.

WE REVIEWED ELIGIBILITY VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS FOR A SAMPLE OF A HUNDRED APPLICANTS AND FOUND REQUIRED INFORMATION MISSING FROM SEVERAL APPLICATIONS.

UH, FOR EXAMPLE, EIGHT APPLICATIONS HAD NO PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE.

24 APPLICATIONS HAD NO M-V-M-V-R CATEGORY, UH, 43 APPLICATIONS HAD NO PATIENT OR ACCOUNT HOLDER SIGNATURES.

AND THESE ARE REQUIRED APPROVING APPLICATIONS THAT WITHOUT A PHYSICIAN SIGNATURE VIOLATES.

THE PROGRAM REGULATIONS AS STATED IN THE CITY CODE AND APPROVING THESE APPLICATIONS IS INEQUITABLE FOR OTHER CUSTOMERS WHO ARE DENIED FROM THE PROGRAM BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO PROVIDE ALL DOCUMENTS.

AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGEMENT SAID AN ONLINE PROGRAM APPLICATION TOOL WILL BE COMPLETED IN SEPTEMBER, 2024.

AS AN ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION, WE NOTED THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S PROGRAM APPEARS TO OFFER MORE SERVICES THAN SIMILAR PROGRAMS THAT WE LOOKED AT IN THE OTHER CITIES.

AS ALREADY STATED, WE, WE SURVEYED A SAMPLE OF SIX OTHER CITIES, CITY PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO ASSIST MEDICALLY VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS DURING PLANNED AND UNPLANNED OUTAGES.

ALL CITIES THAT WE SURVEYED, INCLUDING AUSTIN, NOTIFY PARTICIPANTS OF AN OUTAGE AND GIVE PARTICIPANTS MORE TIME TO PAY THEIR BILLS THROUGH FLEXIBLE PAYING PAYMENT PLANS.

[00:30:01]

AUSTIN ENERGY AS PART OF CASE MANAGEMENT ALSO PERFORMS SITE VISITS AND WORKS WITH THE PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS TO ESTABLISH PERSONALIZED EMERGENCY BACKUP PLANS TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES.

UH, WE NOTED IN THIS AUDIT, WE ISSUED TWO RECOMMENDATIONS.

I'M SORRY WE CAN'T SEE THEM HERE, BUT, UH, RECOMMENDATION ONE WAS AIMED AT ENSURING THAT THE PROGRAM IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL QUALIFYING AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS WHO MAY NEED THE PROGRAM SERVICES.

AUSTIN ENERGY MANAGEMENT AGREED WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION AND THEIR IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE IS MAY 30TH, 2024.

RECOMMENDATION TWO IS AIMED AT ENHANCING THE EFFICIENCY OF PROGRAM APPLICATION PROCESS AND ENSURING THAT REQUIRED INFORMATION IS COLLECTED AND IS RETRIEVABLE.

AGAIN, AUSTRALIAN ENERGY MANAGEMENT AGREED WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION.

AND THE IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE IS SEPTEMBER 30TH, 2024.

THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

WE'D BE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE, MR. KAWA, AND, UM, WE APPRECIATE YOU DOING THIS WITH, WITHOUT THE SLIDES.

WE'VE ALL, UM, REVIEWED THE AUDIT BEFORE, SO, AND IT WAS A PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD ONE, SO I THINK THAT THAT WORKED OUT OKAY.

I HOPE THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT THOSE SLIDES ARE AVAILABLE, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC IN THE BACKUP IF THEY'RE NOT ALREADY.

UM, DID AUSTIN ENERGY WANT TO COMMENT ON ANYTHING HERE? UH, GOOD MORNING, UH, CHAIR CO-CHAIR AND TO COUNCIL COMMITTEE MEMBERS.

I AM KERRY OVERTON, UH, THE DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER, CHIEF CUSTOMER OFFICER AT AUSTIN ENERGY.

IN REGARDS TO OUR OPERATIONS OF THE MEDICAL VULNERABLE REGISTRY, THE MVR PROGRAM, UH, WE FOUND, UM, THE AUDITOR'S FINDINGS, UM, ACCEPTABLE AND WE AGREED TO THEM.

THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IDENTIFIED TWO FINDINGS, AND THEY WERE SURROUNDING IMPROVEMENTS TO THE CERTIFICATION PROCESS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE APPLICATION PROCESS, INCLUDING, UM, DEVELOPING AN ONLINE OPTION.

WE AGREE WITH THOSE FINDINGS, AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THESE ADDITIONS OF TWO IMPROVEMENTS WILL, UH, IMPROVE THE OVERALL IN EXPERIENCE AND THE ENROLLMENT PROCESS.

AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED, UH, A VERY QUICK TURNAROUND ON OUR IMPLEMENTATION OF FIXES TO THE PROGRAMS, AND WE'RE VERY PLEASED THAT WE HAVE A VERY STRONG TEAM THAT HAD BEEN WORKING ON THOSE ITEMS. AND THE AUDITOR HIGHLIGHTED SOME OF THAT WORK THAT WAS GOING.

AND THEN I JUST WANNA ALSO JUST MENTION TO THE AUDITORS, WHILE THEY DO THE WORK AND EVEN TO THEIR LEADER, UH, COREY, YOU DON'T OFTEN FIND IT, BUT THEY ALSO, IN THEIR DISCOVERIES, UM, AND WORKING WITH OUR PEER CITIES INDICATED THAT WE HAVE OFFERED MORE PROGRAMS THAN ANY OTHER PEER CITY.

AND IN FACT, OVERALL, OUR CUSTOMERS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM WERE SATISFIED THAT WE MET THEIR NEEDS.

I WILL ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.

THANK YOU, MR. OVERTON.

THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, PROGRAM, AND I APPRECIATE THE FAST TIMELINE TO ADDRESS, UM, THE SHORTCOMINGS OR THE OPPORTUNITIES, UM, MOVING FORWARD AND BEING ABLE TO DO THAT BEFORE NEXT WINTER, I THINK IS, IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.

UM, I DID HAVE A QUESTION.

WE HAVE RECENTLY BEEN ABLE TO EXPAND OUR CAP ENROLLMENT, UM, TREMENDOUSLY WITH SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF OUTREACH.

UM, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT WE MIGHT LEARN FROM THAT CAP OUTREACH FOR THIS MEDICAL VULNERABLE REGISTRY, UM, ACCESSIBILITY QUESTION.

WITH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, WHICH I BELIEVE HAS A SENIORS OFFICE TO REACH SOME OF THOSE NON-PROFITS THAT FOCUS ON SENIORS, LIKE DRIVE A SENIOR, ET CETERA? WE, WE ARE, WE'RE WORKING WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, AND IN FACT, ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT WE ARE GONNA INCORPORATE INTO 'EM IS, UM, USING MORE OF THEIR ASSISTANCE IN OUR WRAPAROUND SERVICE, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING ON SITE TO CUSTOMERS, UM, ENROLLING IN THE PROGRAM.

IN FACT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, IF I RECOLLECT, WE ARE, WE'RE DUE TO GIVE A FORMAL RESPONSE, UH, IN JUNE OF THIS, UM, OF THIS YEAR ON TERMS OF OUR CAL OUTREACH.

WE ARE ON TRACK TO CONTINUE TO REACH THE GOALS THAT YOU HAVE PROVIDED FOR US.

THERE ARE SOME CORRELATIONS THAT CAN IMPROVE, UM, IN THIS OUTREACH.

UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, AS PART OF THIS IS, UM, REALLY SIMPLIFYING THE PROCESS, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S HELPING US RIGHT NOW IS REACHING OUT TO, IN THIS, UH, OTHER ENTITIES.

AND PART OF THAT IS THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.

SO THE, THAT WORK IS GOING, UM, ALONG PRETTY WELL.

AND SO, UM, MOST OF IT WHERE WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF CHALLENGES IS, UH, GETTING ALL OF THE ENTITIES TO DO THE DATA SHARING AND GETTING PAST, UM, YOU KNOW, THE SORT OF THE LEGAL TERMS AND GETTING COMFORTABLE WITH THE HIPAA LAWS AND, UH, THE OTHER REQUIREMENTS AND SHARING THE KIND OF DATA THAT THEY'RE GIVEN TO THE, TO THE CITY.

BUT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RE MEET WITH ALL OF THEIR LEADERSHIP.

AND SO YES, THERE IS APPLICATION AND WE BELIEVE WE'LL BE ON TRACK AND WE WILL APPLY ALL OF THOSE LEARNINGS TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IN NVR AS WELL.

AND ARE YOU WORKING

[00:35:01]

AND THEN ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY EXPERIENCED, YOU KNOW, STARTING WITH STORM YURI WAS A SENSE THAT WE HAD, YOU KNOW, NOT JUST INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE IN INDIVIDUAL HOMES OR APARTMENTS, BUT THEN WE ALSO HAD ENTITIES LIKE OUR NURSING HOMES AND OUR ASSISTED LIVING CARE.

AND I KNOW THAT'S NOT COVERED PER SE BY THE MEDICALLY VULNERABLE REGISTRY, BUT HOW ARE WE, UM, ADDRESSING SITUATIONS WHERE WE HAVE MORE CONGREGATE LIVING FOR OUR SENIORS? YEAH, AGAIN, THE, THE MBR PROGRAM IS MOSTLY DESIGNED FOR THOSE INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMERS WHO ARE, UM, IN THEIR HOMES AND CERTAIN AREAS WHERE THE WHOLE ROLE IS TO NOT ONLY EXERCISE THEIR EMERGENCY PLAN, BUT TO GET THEM TO FACILITIES THAT HAVE MORE EMERGENCY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES AND PERSONNEL THERE.

AND SO, IN THOSE NURSING HOME, IN THE NURSING HOME, THAT WOULD BE THE SAME REQUIREMENT.

UM, AT SOME POINT IN TIME, THOSE PLANS CALLS FOR US TO EVACUATE, UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND MOVE THEM MORE TOWARD HOSPITALS AND OTHER CARE CENTERS THAT CAN PROVIDE THE GREATEST CARE.

BUT, UH, I DO APPRECIATE THAT YOU MENTIONED THAT IN TERMS OF THE STORMS. UM, AND OUR ROLE IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COORDINATING WITH THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND OPERATORS OF THOSE CARE CENTERS, BUT DO WE NOW HAVE A MAP IN THE PHONE TREE AND ALL OF THAT INFORMATION SOMEWHERE FOR THESE VARIOUS FACILITIES IN OUR COMMUNITY? UH, THE DETAILS OF HOW THAT'S MAPPED OUT, I I WOULD HAVE TO, UM, REFER THAT MORE TO OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, BUT WE DO, UM, HAVE A BETTER SENSE OF WHERE THESE ENTITIES ARE AND AS WE CALL THEM, YOU KNOW, OUR, UM, YOU KNOW, THE CRITICALITY OF THEIR LOAD.

UM, THAT WORK HAS BEEN ONGOING AND MY UNDERSTANDING THAT I COULD REPORT TO YOU THAT I, I UNDERSTAND HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL.

UH, THE STATUS, I DON'T KNOW AT THIS TIME, SO IF YOU COULD MAYBE JUST FOLLOW UP WITH US WITH A BRIEF UPDATE ON HOW YOU'RE CONNECTING.

UM, OKAY.

WE WILL, WITH THOSE FACILITIES.

I KNOW IT, AGAIN, IT'S SEPARATE, BUT RELATED, BUT I, I THINK IT'S VERY MUCH IMPORTANT FOR OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND WE, WE LEARNED THE HARD WAY THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE THOSE SYSTEMS SET UP.

SO, UM, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE CONTINUE TO BUILD OUT THAT PREPAREDNESS.

I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES HAS JOINED US ON THE DAIS, AND I'LL RECOGNIZE, UH, VICE CHAIR POOL.

I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION ON, UM, NAVIGATORS.

UM, DO ANY, I IMAGINE THAT THE, UM, THE NONPROFITS EMPLOY NAVIGATORS TO HELP FOLKS WITH THESE APPLICATIONS.

CAN YOU SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT? UH, YES.

UM, IN, IN TERMS OF, UH, GETTING ACCESS TO THOSE APPLICATIONS, WE'RE USING ALL OF THE CURRENT TOOLS.

UH, AND AGAIN, AS YOU SAY, UH, WHAT WE SAID HERE, THE, THE IMPLEMENTATION FOR WHAT WE WOULD PUT IN PLACE IS A LITTLE BIT TILL SEPTEMBER MM-HMM.

NOT QUITE AS QUICK AS WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE FOR SOME OF THOSE REASONS, UM, IN TERMS OF INCORPORATING THE BEST USE AND THE HIGHEST USE OF APPLICATIONS.

AND THEY WILL HAVE THOSE FEATURES, UM, FOR THOSE THAT HAVE ANY IMPAIRMENTS, BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY HELPFUL.

IT, IT'S PROVEN TO BE THE CASE.

AND OUR, OUR CHAIR OF PUBLIC HEALTH IS HERE WITH US NOW ON THE ON AND IS ALSO ON THE COMMITTEE.

AND SHE COULD PROBABLY SPEAK TO THE, THE, UM, VITAL ROLE THAT THE NAVIGATORS PLAY, AND MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE CAN TAP INTO.

WITH REGARD TO THIS, I KNOW THAT, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY HAS A SUBCONTRACTOR WORKING ON THE APPLICATIONS AND THE ENROLLMENT AND WORKING THROUGH THEM, SO YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY PHYSICALLY DOING THE PROCESSING YOURSELVES.

SO THIS IS REALLY MORE OF AN OVERSIGHT FOR THE CONTRACTOR TO SEE IF THERE ARE MORE, IS MORE ASSISTANCE THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAN OFFER THROUGH.

YES, WELL ESTABLISHED, ESTABLISHED MEANS THAT WE KNOW ARE TRIED AND TRUE, AND JUST APPLY THEM TO THIS, TO THIS CIRCUMSTANCE.

A BRIEFING FROM THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, AND WE'RE GONNA COMBINE ITEMS FIVE AND EIGHT, UM, TOGETHER.

THANK YOU, COLLEAGUES.

ANY OTHER THOUGHTS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU BOTH, UM, FOR THE PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

APPRECIATE IT.

SO NEXT UP WE'RE GONNA DO

[Items 5 & 8]

WE'RE ACTUALLY GONNA, I BELIEVE, TAKE UP ITEM EIGHT FIRST.

IS EVERYONE HERE? OKAY.

UM, WHICH WILL BE THE UPDATE ON M-B-M-B-E-W-B-E PROCUREMENT PROGRAM, UM, BY EDWARD CAMPAS.

AND THEN WE WILL HEAR FROM JAMES SCARBOROUGH, UM, ABOUT UPDATES TO OUR SMALL BUSINESS LOCAL PREFERENCE PROGRAM.

SO WE'RE HERE TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON THREE ITEMS THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, TO DATE SINCE COUNCIL ADOPTED OUR, UH, 2022 DISPARITY STUDY.

MORNING.

GOOD MORNING.

THANK YOU FOR HAVING US.

UH, MY NAME IS EDWARD CAMPOS.

I AM THE DIRECTOR OF THE SMALL MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

[00:40:05]

AND THAT IS AN UPDATE ON OUR ORDINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE RULES.

UM, UPDATE ON PERSONAL NET WORTH AND UPDATE ON WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR DEVELOPMENT OF ASPIRATIONAL GOALS FOR THE CITY.

SO IN JULY OF 2023, COUNCIL ADOPTED OUR NEW MBWB PROCUREMENT PROGRAM ORDINANCE.

A LOT OF HARD WORK WENT INTO THAT DEVELOPMENT OF THAT ORDINANCE.

WE HAVE SINCE BEEN WORKING ON REVISIONS TO OUR M-B-A-W-B ADMINISTRATIVE PROGRAM RULES.

UH, THERE WAS A PROCESS TO THOSE TO BE ADOPTED.

UH, THEY WERE POSTED, UH, FOR PUBLIC COMMENT, UH, FROM OCTOBER 11TH THROUGH NOVEMBER 13TH.

WE RECEIVED NO COMMENTS.

UH, WE PROVIDED, UH, AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STAKEHOLDERS TO, UH, PROVIDE COMMENTS TO THE RULE PROCESS ON OCTOBER 10TH, OCTOBER 24TH, AND AGAIN ON NOVEMBER 3RD.

UH, THE FINAL ADMINISTRATIVE RULES WERE POSTED ON THE CITY CLERK'S WEBSITE, AS WELL AS OUR OWN DEPARTMENTAL WEBSITE.

DECEMBER OF 2023, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON, UH, THE DEVELOPMENT OF OUR PERSONAL NET WORTH CALCULATION.

THIS HAS BEEN, UH, A REALLY WORTHWHILE COMPONENT THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, IS A VERY INTEGRAL PART OF OUR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.

BUT HOW DID WE GET HERE? WHY DID WE TAKE THIS CHARGE TO REVIEW THIS, UH, PROCESS? AUSTIN IS QUITE UNIQUE IN THAT WE HAVE TWO COMPONENTS TO ALLOW FOLKS TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR MBWB PROGRAM.

THE FIRST IS YOU MUST SHOW THAT YOU ARE SOCIALLY DISADVANTAGED, AND THAT IS CATEGORIZE BY BEING INCLUDED IN ONE OF OUR PRESUME GROUPS, AFRICAN AMERICANS, HISPANICS, UH, NATIVE ASIAN AMERICANS, AS WELL AS FEMALES.

UH, THE OTHER COMPONENT AND THE COMPONENT THAT TALKS TO THE PERSONAL NET WORTH COMPONENT IS WE ALSO HAVE AN ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE COMPONENT TO OUR ORDINANCE.

AND THE WAY THAT WE DETERMINE IF SOMEONE IS ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED IS BY THEIR PERSONAL NET WORTH.

AND SO ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT COUNCIL, UH, THROUGH A COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED IN MARCH OF 2020, WAS TO CREATE AN INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP, OR IPWG FOR SHORT.

AND ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT COUNCIL HAD REQUESTED THE IPWG REVIEW WAS THE PERSONAL NET WORTH COMPONENT, AS WELL AS THE ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, UM, UH, DEFINITION THAT MAKES UP THAT PERSONAL NET WORTH.

THE COMMITTEE REVIEWED THE PERSONAL NET WORTH AS IT CURRENTLY STOOD AND MADE THE FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS, KEEP A PERSONAL NET WORTH COMPONENT, BUT CONSIDER MODIFYING OR REVISITING THE STRUCTURE.

LOOK AT THE PNW, WHETHER OR NOT IT'S TOO LOW FOR THE UNIQUE AUSTIN MARKET CONDITIONS, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO USE THE SOUTH CONSUMER CPI, UH, THAT WE USE TO ESTABLISH OUR PERSONAL NET WORTH IN ORDER FOR US TO CONDUCT THIS WORK.

UH, SMBR CONTRACTED WITH TXP INCORPORATED TO REVIEW OUR PROCESS THAT WE DETERMINE WHAT IS PERSONAL NET WORTH, WHAT IS THAT THRESHOLD? AND SO WE'RE GONNA SHOW YOU THE RESULTS, UM, FROM THAT, UH, STUDY.

SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS YOU JUST A BASIC OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE STARTED WITH PERSONAL NET WORTH.

THIS WAS INITIALLY PART OF THE ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED IN 2006.

IT BECAME A CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT IN 2007.

AND THE FIRST TIME THAT WE ACTUALLY INITIATED A PERSONAL NET WORTH LIMIT WAS IN 2008.

AND AGAIN, UM, THIS SHOWS THE, THE INCREASE THAT HAS, UM, THAT'S BEEN A PART OF THE PERSONAL NET WORTH SINCE, UH, 2008 TO 2023.

CURRENTLY, OUR P AND W FOR 2024 IS SET AT $2.2 MILLION.

SO PART OF THE ANALYSIS THAT WE ASKED TXP TO CONDUCT WAS BASED ON AND CENTERED AROUND TWO QUESTIONS, IS THE CURRENT, UH, P AND W THRESHOLD.

AND AT THE TIME THAT WE, UM, CONTRACTED WITH P AND W, EXCUSE ME, WITH TXP, IT WAS AT 1.69 MILLION.

WE DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT THAT WAS TOO HIGH, TOO LOW FOR THE UNIQUE AUSTIN MARKET CONDITIONS.

BASED ON THE ANALYSIS, THE CURRENT P AND W LIMIT, AT THAT TIME, 1.69 MILLION WAS DETERMINED TO BE TOO LOW FOR THE UNIQUE MARKET CONDITIONS OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

THE SECOND QUESTION IS, SHOULD WE CONTINUE TO USE THE CPI THAT WE USE IN CONDUCTING AND DETERMINING THE PERSONAL NET WORTH LIMIT ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, UH, THROUGH THE ANALYSIS THAT TXP PROVIDED? YES, WE SHOULD CONTINUE TO USE THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX, ALTHOUGH IT IS VERY LIMITED

[00:45:01]

IN ITS NATURE.

SO WE SHOULD CON, UH, CONSIDER USING AND ADOPTING OTHER INDICES AS WELL.

AND INFORMATION FROM THE AUSTIN BOARD OF REALTORS, UH, STAFF, UM, HAS, UH, REVIEWED THIS INFORMATION WITH THE MEMBERS OF THE INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP.

WE WANTED TO BRIEF THEM ON WHAT WE WERE PLANNING.

UH, SINCE THIS WAS UNDER THEIR PURVIEW, UNDER THAT RESOLUTION THAT COUNCIL PASSED IN MARCH OF 2020, THEY DID, UH, APPROVE THE NEW APPROACH.

AND SO WE HAVE STARTED THE ADOPTION OF THE INCLUSION OF THESE NEW INDICES, AS WELL AS THE CURRENT CPI PROCESS.

AND WE CONTRACTED WITH TXP TO PROVIDE US WITH THAT NEW 2.2, UH, THRESHOLD FOR 2024.

SO WE'RE REALLY HAPPY ABOUT THE WORK THAT STAFF AS WELL AS, UH, MEMBERS OF THE INCLUSIVE PROCUREMENT WORKING GROUP, UH, DID TO GET US TO THIS POINT.

SO NOW I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS.

UH, AS PART OF THE DISPARITY STUDY, THERE WERE TWO RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THE DISPARITY STUDY REQUESTED THAT THE CITY UNDERTAKE.

THE FIRST WAS THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN ANNUAL PROCUREMENT FORECAST.

THE SECOND WAS TO USE THAT FORECAST TO DEVELOP ASPIRATIONAL GOALS FOR MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESS PARTICIPATION ON OUR PROCUREMENTS, UH, THAT WILL BE COMPETITIVELY BID.

SO FINANCIAL SERVICES TOOK, UM, THE LEAD IN DEVELOPING THAT ANNUAL PROCUREMENT FORECAST, PROVIDED THAT INFORMATION TO SMBR AND BASED ON BEST PRACTICES, UH, FOLLOWING THE METHOD OF OUR, UH, DEVELOPMENT OF OUR GOALS FOR OUR DISADVANTAGE, UH, BUSINESS ENTERPRISE PROGRAM, WHICH AS Y'ALL KNOW, IS OUR FEDERAL, UH, PROGRAM THAT WE ALSO ADMINISTER ON BEHALF OF THE, UH, CITY OF AUSTIN.

AND FOR AUSTIN, UM, UH, INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, THERE WERE OVER 200 PROCUREMENTS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED TO BE RELEASED IN, UH, FISCAL YEAR 24.

THAT WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION TO DIGEST.

UH, SO WE DECIDED TO BREAK THIS UP INTO QUARTERS.

SO WE'RE HAPPY TO REPORT THAT FOR QUARTER ONE OF FY 24, THE GOAL FOR MB PARTICIPATION WILL BE 7.28.

THE GOAL FOR WBE PARTICIPATION IS 2.13.

FOR QUARTER NUMBER TWO, WE ARE AT 7.39 FOR MBE PARTICIPATION AND 2.24 FOR WBE PARTICIPATION.

AGAIN, THESE ARE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS.

WE'LL SET TWO ADDITIONAL GOALS BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR FOR QUARTER THREE AND QUARTER FOUR.

WE'LL PROVIDE, UH, A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL WITH AN UPDATE ON WHAT THOSE QUARTERLY GOALS LOOK LIKE.

AND THEN WE WILL PROVIDE YOU, UM, UPDATES ON, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH MEETING THOSE GOALS AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, AS WELL AS PROVIDING PERIODIC UPDATES TO, UH, MAYOR AND COUNCIL ON, UH, WHERE WE ARE WHEN IT COMES TO ACTUAL PAYMENTS, UH, THAT REFLECT THE PARTICIPATION LEVELS.

SO WE HAVE ASPIRATIONAL GOALS.

WE HAVE GOALS THAT WILL SHOW WHAT COUNCIL AWARDS AT THE TIME.

UH, THOSE CONTRACTS ARE AWARDED BY COUNCIL.

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE PROGRESSIVE REPORTS, UM, PERIODICALLY TO SHOW HOW WE ARE REALLY WITH ACTUAL PAYMENTS TO OUR MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES.

AND I'M HERE TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS.

WE ALSO HAVE, UH, JOHN HOCK NOTES FROM TXP, UH, WHO WE WANT TO THANK PUBLICLY ON PROVIDING US WITH A REALLY DETAILED ANALYSIS OF OUR WORK.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MR. CAMPOS.

UM, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE THAT ADDITIONAL REPORTING.

WHERE IS THAT REPORTING GONNA BE HAPPENING? THAT REPORT MEMOS OR TO THE COMMITTEE OR WHAT IS THE PLAN? YES, MA'AM.

IT'LL BE, UM, UH, VARIOUS WAYS.

WE'LL FIRST HAVE A MEMO TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, AND THEN WE'LL REPORT THOSE, UH, THROUGH OUR WEBSITE.

LED TO SOME FOLKS JUST NOT BEING IN THE SPACES THAT WE PROCURE FROM.

AND THEN, UM, HOW DO THESE GOALS COMPARE TO WHERE WE WERE BEFORE THE DISPARITY STUDY? THE NEW DISPARITY STUDY WAS ADOPTED.

I KNOW THERE WAS A FEAR THAT THEY WERE DROPPING SUBSTANTIALLY.

HOW DO WE UNDERSTAND THESE GOALS RELATIVE TO WHERE OUR OLD GOALS WERE? I THINK IN TERMS OF THE INFORMATION THAT WAS PRESENTED IN THE 2008 DISPARITY STUDY, WHICH WERE, WHICH WERE REFLECTIVE OF THE GOALS THAT YOU'RE SPEAKING ABOUT, THEY'RE ALMOST CUT IN HALF.

UH, THE AVAILABILITY THAT WE START WITH, UH, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOALS, UH, HAS REALLY BEEN VERY LOW, UH, FOR THIS, UH, DISPARITY STUDY.

AND SO WE'RE WORKING IN OTHER AVENUES TO TRY TO INCREASE, UH, THE NUMBER OF CERTIFIED VENDORS THAT WE HAVE TO WORK WITH.

AND WHAT ACCOUNTS, IN YOUR VIEW FOR THAT DROP? I THINK WE'VE HAD TWO ECONOMIC, UM, UH, CONDITIONS IN OUR, IN, IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.

AND I THINK THAT THAT HAS, UH, REALLY

[00:50:01]

UM, COLLEAGUES, I WANNA JUST CALL YOUR ATTENTION, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, TO THIS BIG DROP THAT'S GONNA HAVE A POTENTIALLY ENORMOUS IMPACT ON OUR, OUR, OUR, UM, MINORITY WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES IN OUR COMMUNITY.

UM, AND WE NEED TO BE, YOU KNOW, TAKING STEPS TO SUPPORT, UM, THE GROWTH OF THESE BUSINESSES.

THAT'S HOW WE EXPAND OPPORTUNITY.

UM, THERE IS A REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN THAT IS UNDERWAY THAT OUR DIVERSITY AND ETHNIC CHAMBERS ARE WORKING ON.

UM, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT THIS COUNCIL, UM, HELPED LAUNCH WHEN WE WORKED TO REDO THE, UM, RELATIONSHIPS WITH THOSE CHAMBERS.

UM, THAT PROCESS IS GONNA BE UNFOLDING THIS YEAR.

UM, IT IS GOING TO NEED SUPPORT WHEN IT IS FINISHED TO BE, UM, IMPLEMENTED.

UM, IT IS A, YOU KNOW, INNOVATIVE APPROACH THAT'S, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT THAN WHAT OTHER REGIONS ARE DOING.

AND IT DOES PROVIDE US ONE OF THE CLEAREST WAYS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT, UM, HOW TO SUPPORT, UM, THESE BUSINESSES AND HELP THEM TO THRIVE.

UM, AND IT'S JUST ALL THAT MUCH MORE IMPERATIVE GIVEN THE DROP, UM, IN THE GOALS, UM, AT THE SAME TIME THAT WE'RE HAVING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT.

UM, AND, AND I, AND I, I WISH THIS WERE A DIFFERENT WAY, BUT WE NEED, WE NEED TO KEEP TAKING, UM, THESE OTHER STEPS AS WE CAN.

UM, COLLEAGUES, ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS ON THIS PRESENTATION BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE? COUNCIL MEMBER FONDAS, JUST THANK YOU.

AND TO ECHO, UH, YOUR COMMENTS CHAIR ALTER, UM, YOU KNOW, SIMILARLY, I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT THE DROP IN OUR, IN OUR GOALS, UM, IN PARTICULAR AT THIS TIME WHERE WE ARE GONNA HAVE SO MUCH INVESTMENT IN OUR CITY OVER THE NEXT DECADE.

UM, SO I WOULD BE LOOKING TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT MORE AND WHAT CAN WE BE DOING TO HELP SUPPORT OUR MINORITY AND WOMEN OWNED BUSINESSES.

UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I HAVEN'T BEEN BRIEFED ON HOW THE REGIONAL EQUITY PLAN IS GOING, SO I'D ALSO LIKE TO REQUEST AN UPDATE ON THAT EFFORT.

AND OF COURSE, WE'LL REACH OUT, UH, TO OUR CHAMBER LEADS TO SEE IF WE CAN HAVE THAT UPDATE PERHAPS WITH THE DEPARTMENT TOO, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, PUT OUR, ALL OUR HEADS TOGETHER AND COLLECTIVELY THINK THROUGH WHAT THE CITY AND, UM, OUR CHAMBER COMMUNITY CAN BE DOING.

SO JUST WANTED TO ECHO MY SUPPORT FOR THAT EFFORT.

I'M ALSO VERY PLEASED TO HEAR WITH THE UPDATE ON THE, UM, PERSONAL NET WORTH.

AND I, I BELIEVE WE ADOPTED THAT A LITTLE WHILE AGO.

UM, THOSE CHANGES.

YEAH, THE PERSONAL NET WORTH COMPONENT IS PART OF THE NEW ORDINANCE THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN JULY OF 2023.

AND THE NEXT ITEM THAT WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP IS ACTUALLY ANOTHER STEP THAT WE ARE TAKING IN ORDER TO ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES.

YOU MAY RECALL THAT WE, UM, INITIATED A SMALL BUSINESS, LOCAL PREFERENCE, UM, PILOT, UM, FOR PROCUREMENT FOR CERTAIN AREAS OF PROCUREMENT, UM, LAST SUMMER THAT WENT INTO EFFECT IN OCTOBER.

UM, IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS FOR MR. CAMPOS, THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THAT OTHER BRIEFING WITH MR. SCARBOROUGH SCARBOROUGH FOR ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH LOOKS AT THIS OTHER STEP THAT WE'RE TAKING TO TRY AND ADDRESS SOME OF THESE ISSUES.

THANK YOU, MR. THOMAS.

AND SO, AS MR. SCARBOROUGH MENTIONED, WE ARE HERE TODAY TO JUST PROVIDE AN UPDATE AS TO, UH, WHAT THAT PILOT PROGRAM IS LOOKING LIKE TO DATE AND TO ADDRESS ANY QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE.

GOOD MORNING, COMMITTEE CHAIR, ALTER MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE, JAMES SCARBOROUGH FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.

UH, I AM YOUR CHIEF PROCUREMENT OFFICER.

UH, THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO, UH, COME BACK AND VISIT WITH YOU AGAIN REGARDING, UH, THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT, THAT, UH, THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT HAS MADE TO THE CITY'S, UH, LOCAL BUSINESS PREFERENCE AND SMALL BUSINESS PREFERENCE PROGRAMS. UM, BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP, THE ONGOING WORK THAT, UH, THAT FINANCIAL SERVICES, UH, DOES WITH OUR COLLEAGUES AT, UM, SMALL, UM, MINORITY BUSINESS, UH, RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

UM, ACTUALLY, EDWARD WILL, UH, WILL, UH, JOIN ME FOR THE INITIAL PART OF THIS PRESENTATION TO KIND OF EXPLAIN, UH, SOME OF THE DRIVERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORK THAT WE DID, UM, UM, BASED ON, ON YOUR FURTHER DIRECTION, UH, WHEN THE DISPARITY STUDY WAS RECEIVED LAST YEAR.

SO, UH, IF I CAN ASK, UH, MY COLLEAGUE EDWARD, TO COME BACK UP AND KIND OF EXPLAIN THE, THE TRANSITION BETWEEN, UH, THE, UH, FURTHER COMMENTS FROM THE, THE, THE COUNCIL AND WHAT WE THEN DID, WHAT FINANCIAL SERVICES THEN DID ON OUR, UH, TWO RESPECTIVE PROGRAMS. THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU, JAMES.

SO, AS I DID MENTION PREVIOUSLY, WE DID HAVE A NEW DISPARITY STUDY THAT WAS ADOPTED BY COUNCIL IN OCTOBER OF 2022.

ONE OF THE FINDINGS IN THAT STUDY WAS REALLY LOW AVAILABILITY FOR OUR MINORITY AND WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES ACROSS OUR MARKETPLACE.

UH, BASED ON THE ORDINANCE REVISIONS THAT TOOK PLACE IN JULY OF 23, UM, A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALISON ALTER ON REALLY LOOKING AT SOME, UH, OTHER COMPONENTS THAT WOULD BE COMPLIMENTARY, UH, TO OUR M-B-E-W-B-E PROGRAM.

[00:55:01]

THANK YOU EVERYBODY.

SO, FOLLOWING THE, UH, UH, FURTHER DIRECTION FROM, UH, COUNCIL FINANCIAL SERVICES, UH, INITIATED A NUMBER OF, UH, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENTS AS YOU CAN SEE HERE.

UM, SEVERAL OF THEM, UM, UH, MET WITH US BOTH, UH, IN PERSON AND THROUGH SURVEY RESPONSES, UH, TO SHARE THEIR PERSPECTIVES WITH REGARDS TO, UM, WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT WORKING, UM, WHAT OTHER GOVERNMENTS ARE DOING, AND SOME SUGGESTIONS OR IDEAS, UH, FOR POSSIBLE APPROACHES THAT THE, UH, THE CITY COULD PURSUE IN, IN ENHANCING THESE TWO PROGRAMS. WHAT WE HEARD FROM THESE MEETINGS AND FROM THE SURVEY, STRONG, UH, SUPPORT FOR THE CITY'S, UM, MWBE PROGRAM AND A STRONG, UH, DESIRE NOT TO NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE PROGRAM THROUGH ANY CHANGES THAT WE MAY MAKE IN THESE, UM, UM, RELATED PROGRAMS. UH, THERE WAS STRONG SUPPORT FOR, UH, LOCAL BUSINESSES AND SMALL, UH, BUSINESSES.

UM, THERE WAS A DESIRE TO EMPHASIZE THEM BOTH EQUALLY AND NOT, UM, ONE ABOVE THE OTHER.

UM, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT, UM, A, AN ENTITY WAS BOTH LOCAL AND SMALL TO SOMEHOW RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, AS BEING ADDITIONALLY BENEFICIAL, UM, THERE WAS INTEREST IN INCLUDING, UM, SUBCONTRACTORS IF POSSIBLE.

UM, THERE WAS A, A STRONG SUPPORT FOR CONTINUING TO RECOGNIZE KIND OF THE GOLD STANDARD FOR, UH, FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

THAT'S THE, UH, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION'S SMALL SIZE STANDARD.

UM, THERE WAS, UH, GREAT INTEREST IN EXPANDING THE CITY'S DEFINITION OF, OF, OF LOCAL OR LO THE LOCATION OF LOCAL, UH, FROM OUR PREVIOUS DEFINITION TO, UH, TO A LARGER DEFINITION OF LOCAL.

UH, THERE'S ALSO INTEREST IN, UH, IN BEING MORE, UH, INTENTIONAL, MORE SPECIFIC WITH OUR DEFINITION OF, OF WHAT PARTS OF A COMPANY WOULD, UH, CONSTITUTE AS BEING LOCATED WITHIN THAT AREA.

UH, SPECIFICALLY THE HEADQUARTERS.

THERE'S ALSO SOME INTEREST, UH, AND CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, UH, UH, FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UM, ONE OR MORE OTHER PROGRAMS, INCLUDING A POSSIBLE CERTIFICATION OF, UH, OF LOCAL FIRMS. A COUPLE OF CONCERNS THAT, UM, WE DEFINITELY RECEIVED FROM THESE, UH, UH, CONVERSATIONS THAT AS WE, UM, ENHANCED THESE PROGRAMS, IT'S NOT, UM, UH, IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAMS ARE BENEFITED EQUALLY.

UM, UM, WE CAN APPLY THE PREFERENCES, BUT TO THE EXTENT THAT THEY ARE, ARE BENEFITING, UM, UM, CERTAIN CONTRACTORS AND NOT OTHER CONTRACTORS WILL HAVE TO KIND OF STUDY THE NUMBERS OVER TIME TO SEE WHERE WE CAN MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO, TO MAKE IT MORE EQUAL.

BUT IT'S, IT'S NOT IMMEDIATELY POSSIBLE TO ENSURE THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT, UH, PARTICIPANTS ARE EQUALLY BENEFITED.

UM, ALSO, UM, WE HEARD, UH, REGARDING, UH, THE APPLICATION OF THE PROGRAM TO PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AND MOST, UH, CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS AS BEING A CONCERN AS WELL.

AND THOSE WERE ALL TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE DEVELOPED THE ENHANCEMENTS.

THE SAME WAY, BUT THEY APPLY SEPARATELY.

SO BASED ON THE FEEDBACK AND OUR ANALYSIS OF THE MARKET, OUR ANALYSIS OF COMPARABLE PROGRAMS, UH, THE FINANCIAL SERVICE DEPARTMENT, UH, BEGAN A TWO YEAR PILOT, STARTING WITH THE BEGINNING OF THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, OCTOBER 1ST, 2003.

UM, WE CAPPED THE BENEFITS, THE ENHANCEMENTS TO BOTH PROGRAMS TO, UM, SOLICITATIONS AND RESULTING CONTRACTS THAT, THAT, UH, ARE, DO NOT EXCEED 50 MILLION IN AGGREGATE VALUE.

UM, OVER THIS, UH, PILOT PERIOD, WE WILL MONITOR AND CONTINUE TO REPORT BACK ON PROGRAM PERFORMANCE.

UM, BUT DURING THE PILOT PERIOD, WE ALSO WANTED TO KIND OF REFRAIN FROM MAKING LONG-TERM CODIFICATIONS AND REGULATIONS REGARDING PROGRAM PROCEDURES BECAUSE WE WANTED THE ABILITY TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS.

WE WANTED THE ABILITY TO CONTINUE TO STUDY AND LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES AND PERHAPS MAKE PROGRAM REVISIONS EARLY BEFORE WE ARE KIND OF LOCKED INTO TO, UM, TO REGULATIONS IN, IN BOTH PROGRAMS. SO, AND WE'VE, WE'VE DONE THIS WITH, WITH PREVIOUS PROGRAMS BEFORE, WE LIKE THE ABILITY TO KIND OF TAKE A WALKING START WITH REGARD TO THESE TYPES OF, OF FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES.

SO WITH THE LOCAL PREFERENCE PROGRAM, WE REVISED AND STREAMLINED THE PROGRAM CRITERIA AND OPTIMIZED, UH, THE PREFERENCE AMOUNTS WHERE, WHERE, WHERE NECESSARY.

WE THEN MIRRORED THOSE CRITERIA, UM, TO THE SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAM.

BOTH PROGRAMS EXISTED BEFORE THEY JUST EXISTED IN A SMALLER AND A, IN A DIFFERENT FORMAT, DIFFERENT SET OF REGULATIONS AND CRITERIA.

WE'VE ENHANCED THE REGULATIONS, BUT MADE THEM SO THAT THEY MIRROR EACH OTHER SO THAT WHEN PROGRAMS APPLY, THEY APP, THEY APPLY THE SAME TIME

[01:00:01]

SO WHAT DID WE CHANGE? DEFINITION OF LOCAL AREA FOR LOCAL PREFERENCE.

IT USED TO BE THE FULL PURPOSE JURISDICTION OF AUSTIN NOW IS GREATER AUSTIN, THE FIVE COUNTY, UM, UH, AUSTIN ROUND ROCK, SAN MARCOS METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA.

THIS AREA IS ACTUALLY CONSISTENT WITH THE, UM, SIGNIFICANT LOCAL BUSINESS PRESENCE, UM, AREA IDENTIFIED IN THE CITY'S MWBE PROGRAM.

SO ACTUALLY, BY EXPANDING THE DEFINITION OF LOCAL, WE HAVE MADE THE TWO PRO OR MADE THE MWBE PROGRAM AND THE TWO LOCAL, UH, THE LOCAL BUSINESS PROGRAM MORE CONSISTENT WITH EACH OTHER IN TERMS OF, UH, WHAT IS LOCATED WITHIN THE LOCAL AREA.

IT USED TO BE HEADQUARTERS AND BRANCH OFFICE BRANCH D DETERMINING AND DEFINING AND CONFIRMING WHAT A BRANCH OFFICE WAS, UH, COULD SOMETIMES BE CHALLENGING AND SUBJECT TO, UH, TO SCRUTINY.

AND WE HEARD, UH, PRETTY STRONG, UH, SUPPORT FOR IDENTIFYING HEADQUARTERS ONLY.

UM, AND ALSO THE DEFINITION OF A BRANCH OFFICE SEEMED TO BE MORE ADVANTAGEOUS FOR LARGER COMPANIES THAT WERE LOCATED OUTSIDE OF AUSTIN THAT COULD COME IN AND CREATE A, A BRANCH OFFICE, UH, FOR PURPOSES OF BEING MORE COMPETITIVE IN AUSTIN, BUT STILL NOT NECESSARILY BE AN AUSTIN COMPANY, SO TO SPEAK.

SO, UM, BASED ON THAT FEEDBACK, WE, UH, WE, WE, WE AGREED AND, AND, UH, LIMITED THE DEFINITION TO HEADQUARTERS ONLY.

UM, IN SMALL BUSINESS SPACE, WE ARE MAINTAINING, UM, THE, UH, THE SMALL BUS, SBA SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARD, BUT WE ARE RECOGNIZING MORE CER CERTIFIED, UM, UM, OR CERTIFICATIONS THAN WE DID PREVIOUSLY.

SO WHEN WE IDENTIFY A, A, A CERTIFICATION, WHETHER IT'S A CITY CERTIFICATION, A STATE CERTIFICATION, OR A FEDERAL CERTIFICATION, WE'RE USING THE CERTIFICATION AS AN INDICATOR THAT THE COMPANY IS A SMALL BUSINESS BECAUSE OF THE CRITERIA THAT THOSE COMPANIES NEED TO MEET TO BECOME CERTIFIED.

CONSISTENT AMONG ALL OF THE CERTIFICATIONS IS THE FACT THAT THEY ARE, THEY MEET THE, THE SBA SMALL BUSINESS SIZE STANDARD.

SO WHEN WE REFERENCE CERTIFICATION, WE'RE JUST USING THAT AS AN INDICATOR OF SMALL.

SO FOR OUR MAJOR COMPETITIVE SOURCE SELECTION, UM, PROCESSES, THE INVITATION FOR BIDS AND THE REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.

AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, DEPENDING ON THE ESTIMATED CONTRACT VALUE, UM, LOCAL COMPANIES WILL GET A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF POINTS, AND SMALL COMPANIES WOULD GET A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OR A CERTAIN NUMBER OF POINTS.

AND IF THE, THE OFFERS ARE LOCAL AND SMALL, THEY WOULD GET A COMPOUNDING OF BOTH THE LOCAL PERCENTAGE OF POINTS AND THE SMALL PERCENTAGE OF POINTS.

AND YOU COULD SEE THEY'RE DIFFERENTIATED BASED ON WHAT THE CONTRACT IS FOR.

SO IF IT'S FOR GOODS, GENERAL SERVICES OR CONSTRUCTION, THEN, THEN YOU SEE THE PREFERENCES, UM, THE POINTS AND PERCENTAGES, UM, AVAILABLE THERE U UP TO A, A CONTRACT VALUE OF, UH, OF 50 TO A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

ONCE YOU GO OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, THERE'S SOME STATUTORY LIMITS THAT COME INTO PLAY.

NOW WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT GOODS AND GENERAL SERVICES.

UM, AND THEN ONCE YOU GET TO UP TO 500,000, THE, THE PREFERENCES WILL THEN DROP AGAIN.

THOSE ARE BASED ON STATUTORY LIMITS.

SO IF YOU SEE THE UNDERLYING LIMITS FOR, FOR LOCAL, UM, THAT'S WHERE WE GOT THOSE AMOUNTS FROM.

WE JUST MIRRORED THEM FOR SMALL.

SO WHEN YOU COMPOUND LOCAL AND SMALL, UM, FIVE AND FIVE IS TEN THREE AND THREE IS SIX.

MR. SCARPA, I JUST WANTED YOU TO PLEASE CLARIFY THAT THESE ARE FOR PRIME CONTRACTS, NOT FOR SUB COUNTRYING, CORRECT? CORRECT.

UM, A MAJOR DIFFERENTIATOR BETWEEN THE ENHANCE OR THESE PROGRAMS AND THE ENHANCEMENTS TO THESE PROGRAMS IS THAT THE PREFERENCES APPLY TO THE PRIME CONTRACTOR, TO THE OFFER WHO ACTUALLY SUBMITS THE, THE OFFER TO THE, TO THE CITY FOR EVALUATION.

THE MWBE PROGRAM, UM, IS, IS, IS, IS MORE FOCUSED ON SUBCONTRACTS AND, AND ENCOURAGING AND CREATING OPPORTUNITIES AND GOALS FOR SUBCONTRACTS.

SO WHEREAS THE MWE PROGRAM IS, IS, IS PREDOMINANTLY IN THE SUBCONTRACT SPACE, LOCAL PREFERENCE AND SMALL PREFERENCE ARE IN THE PRIME CONTRACT SPACE.

SO AS WE PROCEED.

WE'RE ABOUT SIX MONTHS IN.

BUT AS WE PROCEED, UM, WITH THE, UH, ENHANCEMENTS TO THE PRO, TO THE, TO THE PROGRAMS, WE WILL, UM, FIRST AND FOREMOST CONTINUE TO CONSIDER THE EXCLUDED ELEMENTS AND, AND DISCUSS OPTIONS, UM, OPPORTUNITIES FOR THEIR, THEIR POSSIBLE INCLUSION.

WE DIDN'T WANT TO HOLD UP IMPLEMENTATION OF THESE ENHANCEMENTS GIVEN THE CHANGES OCCURRING IN THE MWBE PROGRAM.

WE FELT LIKE TIMING WAS OPTIMAL AND NECESSARY TO PROCEED WITH THE ENHANCEMENTS.

NOW, AS OPPOSED

[01:05:01]

TO FIXING OR ADDRESSING SOME OF THESE RATHER TECHNICAL NUANCED AND REGULATORY ISSUES WITH, THAT MAY OR MAY NOT ALLOW US TO INCLUDE SOME OF THESE OTHER ELEMENTS.

BUT AS WE CONTINUE THE THE PILOT, WE WILL LOOK AT SUBCONTRACTORS, UM, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SOMEHOW INCLUDING THE PREFERENCE, UM, AS BEING APPLICABLE TO, UH, TO LOCAL AND SMALL SUBCONTRACTORS.

UM, THERE WAS SOME CONCERN THAT IF WE GOT INTO THE SUBCONTRACT SPACE WITH THESE PROGRAMS, THAT WE WOULD SOMEHOW CREATE A DISINCENTIVE OR SOMEHOW CAUSE IMPEDIMENTS TO PRIME CONTRACTORS PARTICIPATING UNDER THE MWBE PROGRAM.

AND THAT WAS THE THING WE HEARD THE MOST FROM OUR, FROM OUR, UH, STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK DON'T HURT THE MWBE PROGRAM.

SO THAT'S WHY WE, WE DID NOT INCLUDE SUBCONTRACTORS AS WE ROLLED OUT THE PILOT.

BUT WE WILL CONTINUE TO STUDY IF IT IS POSSIBLE TO DO SO AND DO SO IN A SAFE WAY THAT'S NOT GOING TO, UM, UM, NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE MWBE PROGRAM.

UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT CONSTRUCTION SERVICES, BUT THEY'RE PRETTY STRAIGHTFORWARD IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO APPLY PREFERENCES OVER A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

IT'S, IT'S, IT'S PRETTY, PRETTY CLEAR FROM THE STATUTES AND FROM OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT THAT, UM, THAT'S NOT, UM, NECESSARILY A REGULATORY OPTION FOR US, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT IT.

UM, AS WAS PREVIOUSLY UNDER BOTH PROGRAMS, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WERE NOT INCLUDED.

THEY WEREN'T INCLUDED BEFORE.

WE WE'RE NOT RECOMMENDING THAT THEY BE INCLUDED.

NOW.

NOW, I KNOW THAT THERE WAS SOME DISCUSSION CONCERN ABOUT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

SO WE'RE PROVIDING SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION HERE FOR YOUR, FOR YOUR INFORMATION.

INFORMA INFORMATION OF THE, UH, THE PUBLIC.

WHEN WE LOOK AT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, THEY ARE NOT A CATEGORY OF CONTRACTS UNTO THEMSELVES.

WE HAVE 10 CATEGORIES OF CONTRACTS, AND EVERY ONE OF THOSE CATEGORIES HAS SERVICES AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WITHIN EACH.

WE DON'T HAVE A SEPARATE CATEGORY FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BECAUSE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE DIFFER.

THEY DIFFER DEPENDING ON WHAT TYPES OF ADVISEMENT, EXPERTISE, ANALYSIS THAT YOU'RE RECEIVING.

WE HAVE TWO GENERAL CATEGORIES OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

THE FIRST ARE SPECIFIED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

THEY ARE IDENTIFIED UNDER STATUTES, SPECIFICALLY UNDER THE TEXAS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ACT.

THEY'RE SUBJECT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 2254.

THEY ARE ALSO REFERENCED AND SUBJECT TO TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 2269, UH, CONCERNING, UM, CIP PROCUREMENT AND, UH, AND, AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UM, PERFORMANCE OF CIP PROCUREMENT.

BUT THE SPECIFIED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES INCLUDES ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES SURVEYORS, PHYSICIANS, NURSES, CPAS, AND SO FORTH.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE DEFINITION OF SPECIFIED PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IN ITSELF IS, IS LOCATED IN MULTIPLE CATEGORIES.

SO THERE'S NO ONE CATEGORY THAT THEY WOULD ALL FIT UNDER.

SO SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THEY ARE NAMED IN, UH, STATUTE, WE ARE NOT ABLE TO COMPETE THEM, UM, WITH ANY PROCESS THAT INCLUDES PRICE COMPETITION.

SO THAT MEANS SPECIFICALLY NO INVITATIONS FOR BIDS AND NO REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, BECAUSE BOTH OF THEM, UM, INCLUDE PRICE COMPETITION.

WE CAN COMPETE BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE, BUT NOT PRICE.

THE OTHER LARGE CATEGORY OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE EXEMPT PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY EVERYTHING ELSE THAT'S NOT NAMED EXEMPT.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO, UH, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 22, UM, 69.

THEY'RE NOT SUBJECT TO, UH, TEXAS GOVERNMENT CODE 2254.

THEY ARE, UM, EXEMPT FROM THE GENERAL PROCUREMENT REGULATIONS THAT ALL MUNICIPALITIES ARE SUBJECT TO.

SO THERE'S NO COMPETITIVE REQUIREMENT THERE.

UM, BUT THEY ARE ADDRESSED IN THE CITY CHARTER, WHICH PROHIBITS US FROM, UM, COMPETING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BASED ON PRICE COMPETITION.

SO SPECIFICALLY, NO INVITATIONS FOR BIDS FOR, UM, EXEMPT, UM, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

SO THIS WOULD INCLUDE EVERYTHING ELSE, ALL MANNER OF CONSULTANTS, ADVISORS, ANALYSTS, EXPERTS, ANYBODY PROVIDING INTELLECTUAL SERVICES, UM, EXPERTISE, GUIDANCE, UM, UH, UM, REPORTS, UM, YOU NAME IT.

SO IF WE HAVE A, A SERVICE CONTRACT, AND WE DO MANY, MANY SERVICE CONTRACTS OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR, AND IF WE HAVE A DEFINED SCOPE OF WORK AND WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO PERFORM PRICE COMPETITION, WE WILL DO A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS TO SOURCE THAT CONTRACT.

AND WHEN WE DO A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS, WE WILL INCLUDE OUR APPLICABLE PROGRAMS. BUT IF WE ARE DETERMINING THAT THESE ARE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

[01:10:01]

AND WE NEED TO CONTRACT WITH A SPECIFIC FIRM OR A, UM, LIMIT THE COMPETITION TO CERTAIN SPECIFIC FIRMS BECAUSE OF THE AREA OF STUDY, BECAUSE WE'RE GONNA DEFER A LOT TO THEM BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPERTISE, WE WILL DETERMINE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES EXEMPTION.

SO THE ONLY TIME THAT WE DETERMINE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE EXEMPTIONS IS WHEN WE ARE NOT DOING NORMAL COMPETITION.

NORMAL COMPETITION IS WHERE THESE PREFERENCE PROGRAMS APPLY.

SO WITH ALL OF THAT, THAT'S WHY WE RECOMMENDED NOT INCLUDING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES IN THE ENHANCEMENTS TO THE TWO PROGRAMS, AT LEAST NOT NOW WHILE WE CONTINUE TO STUDY THE PROGRAMS TO SEE WHAT WORKS, TO SEE WHAT CAN BE ADJUSTED.

BUT FOR RIGHT NOW, IF WE WERE TO CONSIDER THE INCLUSION OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, IT WOULD LIKELY DELAY THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ENHANCEMENTS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED AS OF THE BEGINNING OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.

SO WITH THAT COMMITTEE MEMBERS, I'M AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND CONSIDERATION OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON THESE TWO PROGRAMS. WE ARE ABOUT ONE FOURTH OF THE WAY THROUGH THE PILOT.

WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT NUMBERS AND LOOK AT OUTCOMES TALKING TO, UM, COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP, AND, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT WE CAN INCLUDE ANY OF THESE EXCLUDED AREAS, WE'RE GLAD TO DO SO.

TO THE EXTENT WE CANNOT, WE WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH A CLEAR AND, UH, DETAILED EXPLANATION OF WHY NOT.

WERE THERE ALSO SOME NUMBERS ON HOW THE OTHER PROGRAM WAS WORKING THAT YOU WANTED TO SHARE? WE HAVE, WE HAVE ONE MORE SLIDE.

I'M SORRY.

I MIGHT THAT'S OKAY.

I MIGHT HAVE, YES.

SO OF THE SOLICITATIONS THAT WE COMPLETED WITH THE ENHANCED PROGRAMS, THANK YOU, COMMITTEE CHAIR, UM, WE HAD A NUMBER OF SOLICITATIONS THAT WERE UNDERWAY.

SO WE, WE COULD NOT ADD THE ENHANCEMENTS TO THOSE PROGRAMS. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SOLICITATIONS THAT ARE STILL IN EVALUATION, SO WE, WE CAN'T, UH, LOOK AT THE OUTCOMES OF THOSE, UM, UH, COMPETITIVE PROCESSES YET.

BUT OF THE ONES THAT WE ADDED THE ENHANCEMENTS TO THAT HAVE COMPLETED, UM, SINCE THE PROGRAM ENHANCEMENTS OCCURRED, WE HAD 26 SOLICITATIONS.

OF THOSE 26 SOLICITATIONS, WE HAD OVER A HUNDRED.

WE HAD 102, UM, OFFERS.

OF THE OFFERS THAT WE RECEIVED, 30% WERE FROM LOCAL BUSINESSES.

NOW, BASED ON THE DEFINITION OF LOCAL, UH, BEING LARGER, NOW THAT 30% IS MUCH LARGER THAN YOU WOULD'VE SEEN IN THE PAST.

UM, OF THE OFFERS THAT WE RECEIVED, ABOUT 16% WERE FROM SMALL BUSINESS FIRMS. OF THOSE SOLICITATIONS, THERE WERE NONE WHERE THE OUTCOMES ACTUALLY CHANGED, MEANING THERE WAS A LOCAL OR SMALL BUSINESS FIRM THAT WAS NUMBER TWO.

AND BECAUSE OF THE PROGRAM, THEY BECAME NUMBER ONE.

THAT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.

BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A BASELINE DATA SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW MANY MORE, UM, LOCAL FIRMS ARE RESPONDING TO OUR SOLICITATIONS.

HOW MANY MORE SMALL FIRMS ARE RESPONDING TO OUR SOLICITATIONS, AND THEN HOW MANY MORE LOCAL AND SMALL FIRMS ARE SUCCESSFUL AS A RESULT OF THIS SOLICITATION.

SO WE MAY NOT ACTUALLY OVERTURN OR CHANGE THE OUTCOME, BUT WE MAY HAVE MORE PARTICIPATION, AND THEREFORE A LARGER PORTION OF OUR SUCCESSFUL OFFERS BEING EITHER LOCAL OR SMALL.

AND, AND, AND SO FAR THAT'S WHAT WE, THAT'S WHAT WE IN FACT SEE OF THESE 26 SOLICITATIONS, WE ENDED UP WITH 33 CONTRACT AWARDS.

ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE CONTRACTOR AWARDS ARE FROM LOCAL AND SMALL FIRMS, PREDOMINANTLY LOCAL, BUT IT'S ROUGHLY HALF OF THOSE CONTRACTORS ARE LOCAL AND SMALL.

SO 30 AND 16% GOING IN, 48% COMING OUT.

SO THEY'RE OVERPERFORMING ON THE SUCCESSFUL, UM, UM, MEASURE.

SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT.

WE WILL, UM, UM, ENCOURAGE THROUGH OUTREACH AND EDUCATION, MORE AWARENESS OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES, AND HOPEFULLY THAT WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER.

AND OVER TIME, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE ABLE TO USE THESE NUMBERS TO INFORM US WHERE WE CAN ADDRESS OUR FURTHER PROGRAMMATIC EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE OUTCOMES, INCREASE THE RESULTS OF THESE OF THESE FIRMS. IF WE GET TO A POINT WHERE WE HAVE 60%, 65, 70% OF LOCAL AND SMALL FIRMS WINNING CITY CONTRACTS, THAT'S A PRETTY POSITIVE DIRECTION.

SO, BUT WE NEED A BASELINE OF NUMBERS FIRST.

AND SO THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO OVER THE REMAINDER OF THE, OF THE PILOT PERIOD.

THANK YOU, MR. SCARBOROUGH.

I'M, I'M VERY PLEASED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LAUNCH THIS PILOT AND THAT WE ARE REALLY FOCUSING IN ON THE DATA TO SEE HOW IT'S WORKING AND THE WILLINGNESS TO KIND OF, UM, PIVOT AND ADAPT AND ADJUST AS WE LEARN, UM, FROM THINGS ON THE GROUND.

UM, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU MAYBE COME BACK IN NOVEMBER OR DECEMBER AND GIVE US ANOTHER UPDATE ON THE DATA.

UM, IT CAN BE OCTOBER IF YOU PREFER THAT.

I'M NOT SURE WHAT SIX MONTHS FROM NOW IS.

UM, BUT I THINK THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US

[01:15:01]

TO SEE ANOTHER, UH, PIECE THERE, UM, ON THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES.

UM, IS THERE A WAY TO HAVE, AS PART OF THE QUALIFICATIONS, SMALLER LOCAL AND PUT POINTS IN THAT EVEN AS YOU'RE, YOU'RE COMPETING ON QUALIFICATIONS COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, COMMITTEE CHAIR, WE, UM, ARE DEFINITELY OPEN TO, UM, WAYS TO ACHIEVE THAT, UM, THAT WERE WOULD NOT, YOU KNOW, BLATANTLY, UM, CONTRADICT, UH, STATUTORY REGULATIONS.

WE ARE LOOKING AT OUR COLLEAGUES IN OTHER LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO SEE IF THEY HAVE FOUND A WAY THAT WE HAVEN'T IDENTIFIED BEFORE.

SO WE'RE VERY OPEN TO IT.

STAFF ARE AGNOSTIC WITH, WITH REGARD TO WHETHER OR NOT THESE, THESE ELEMENTS ARE INCLUDED IN THE COMPETITIVE PROCESSES.

IT'S JUST BASED ON WHAT WE SEE IN THE STATUTE AND WHAT WE, THE ADVICE THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE LAW DEPARTMENT THAT WE JUST, WE, WE CANNOT RECOMMEND GOING THERE, BUT IF THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO GET THERE, WE ARE DEFINITELY OPEN TO IT AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO LOOK FOR THOSE.

UM, AND THEN THE LAST THING I WANNA JUST ASK IS, YOU KNOW, JUST TO, I THINK YOU ALREADY ARE, BUT, UM, WE JUST MET FOR THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC EQUITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN, ADVISORY BOARD, AND, YOU KNOW, PROCUREMENT IS ONE OF THE KEY WAYS THAT THEY'RE SEEING, UM, OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT BUSINESSES.

AND IT'S NOT JUST PROCUREMENT FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT PROCUREMENT, YOU KNOW, OF ALL ENTITIES, WHETHER THEY'RE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE.

MM-HMM.

UM, AND THERE'S SOME REALLY INTERESTING IDEAS ABOUT BRINGING, UM, FOLKS INTO THE PROCESS TO LEARN MM-HMM, , UM, YOU KNOW, HOW TO GO THROUGH THE CITY PROCUREMENT OR THESE OTHER ENTITIES.

UM, AND THEN THERE ARE SOME OPPORTUNITIES AS WE DEVELOP THESE PLANS TO SHARE THEM WITH OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, WHETHER IT'S A TP OR, OR, UM, OTHER ENTITIES THAT ARE, ARE INVESTING A LOT, EVEN THOUGH ATP'S A LOT OF CONSTRUCTION, THEY'RE STILL NON-CONSTRUCTION PIECES.

UM, SO I JUST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, INVITE YOU AND, AND, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT IT'S NECESSARY, PROVIDE DIRECTION TO PARTICIPATE IN THOSE PROCESSES AND BE AVAILABLE FOR THEM, UM, SO THAT WE CAN BE TAKING EVERY STEP WE CAN TO ENCOURAGE THESE BUSINESSES TO PARTICIPATE, UM, IN OUR PROCUREMENT.

UM, SO THAT HELPS TO KEEP THE MONEY HERE IN AUSTIN AND HELPS TO BUILD THESE BUSINESSES.

GLAD TO.

UM, ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? GREAT, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

SO NEXT UP WE HAVE ITEM SIX, UM, FLEET MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION UPDATE, AND RELATED TO OUR AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLANS AND, UH, PRESENTING, WE HAVE JENNIFER WALLS AND RICK HARLAND FROM FLEET.

SO, GOOD MORNING.

UM, JENNIFER WALLS, DIRECTOR OF FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES.

YOU CAN TAKE A SECOND IF YOU NEED TO.

YOURS MAY NEED TO HAVE A, YOUR, YOUR, YOUR PRESENTATION WAS MORE COMPLICATED, , SO WE DON'T, WE, WE DEFINITELY PROBABLY NEED YOUR PRESENTATION UP.

SEVEN.

WE'RE, WHILE WE'RE WAITING.

WE CAN JUMP TO ITEM SEVEN FOR A MINUTE WHILE

[7. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]

UM, THAT IS FUTURE ITEMS. YES.

SO THE APRIL MEETING, UM, IS, IS QUITE A BUSY MEETING.

WE HAVE OUR ACTUARIAL ACTUARIAL AUDITS, UM, FOR ALL OF THE CITY'S PENSION SYSTEMS COMING FROM, UM, OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES FOLKS.

UH, WE ALSO HAVE OUR EXTERNAL AUDIT, UH, WHICH IS CONDUCTED BY DELOITTE AND, AND POTENTIALLY OUR SINGLE AUDIT, WHICH IS ALSO BY DELOITTE.

UM, WE HAVE, UH, TWO SIX MONTH REPORTS FROM MY OFFICE.

ONE IS THE, UM, KIND OF RELATIVELY NEWLY REINSTATED SIX MONTH REPORT ON AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS.

UM, THAT WILL BE, UM, THIS WILL BE THE SECOND TIME WE'VE DONE THAT SINCE IMPLEMENTING A NEW SYSTEM LAST FALL.

AND THEN ALSO A SIX MONTH REPORT ON OUR INTEGRITY UNITS ACTIVITIES.

UM, WE HAVE AN AUDIT THAT'S DONE BY AN OUTSIDE CONTRACTOR RELATED TO THE CITY'S, UH, CBI OR CRIMINAL BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION PROCESS.

AND

[01:20:01]

I UNDERSTAND THERE MAY BE SOME BYLAW AMENDMENTS RELATED TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

SO LOTS OF ITEMS, HOPEFULLY THOSE ARE, THOSE TEND TO BE QUICK ITEMS, EVEN IF THERE ARE, ARE A LOT OF THEM.

SO, YES, WHEN I LOOKED AT THE TIME, WE ARE NOT ASSUMING OUR AUDIT REPORTS ARE AS CLEAN AS THEY'VE BEEN OF LATE, THEN, UM, I THINK THAT'LL WE'LL BE ABLE TO MANAGE IT.

CORRECT.

IT LOOKED LIKE IT WOULD STILL FIT WITHIN OUR TWO HOUR TIMEFRAME, SIR.

DIANA THOMAS, DEPUTY CFO.

UM, DID YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? GOOD MORNING.

JUST GONNA LET YOU KNOW, WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE'LL HAVE BOTH THE ACT FOR REPORT AND THE SINGLE AUDIT REPORT, MR. DELOITTE.

SO WE DO EXPECT TO HAVE BOTH OF THOSE, BUT WE KIND OF PUT IT ON THE MAY AGENDA FOR THE SINGLE AUDIT, JUST IN CASE THE SINGLE AUDIT IS WRAPPING UP.

BUT WE DO BELIEVE WE'LL HAVE BOTH OF THEM READY.

AND I UNDERSTAND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, YOU HAVE A COER MEETING AT THE SAME TIME, SO IF YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK AT THE ACTUARIAL REPORT FOR THE PENSION SYSTEM SINCE YOU'RE ON THAT, UM, PARTICULAR PENSION BOARD.

UM, AND LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS YOU WANNA RAISE.

UM, IN, AND THE GOOD NEWS AND THE GOOD NEWS IS DIANA THOMAS IS ALSO A TRUSTEE, UM, ON THE COER BOARD, SO SHE'LL BE RIGHT THERE ON TOP OF IT AS WELL.

THANKS.

UM, HOW WE, SO IS THERE ANYTHING THAT ANY COMMITTEE MEMBER WANTS TO THINK ABOUT FOR A FUTURE AGENDA THAT WE NEED TO DISCUSS? WE TALK ABOUT THE ONE ONE CALL, UM, YOU MEAN 9 1 1 OR ? UM, DID WE MENTION THE 9 1 1 SPECIAL REPORT? WE HAVE NOT YET.

AND THAT TO ME, I MEAN, CERTAINLY WANNA RECOMMEND EVERYONE TO, TO TAKE A LOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.

I KNOW IT'S BEEN MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, BUT IF THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO CONSIDER THE SPECIAL REPORT, THAT MIGHT BE A TOPIC.

YEAH, SO THERE WAS A SPECIAL REPORT THAT I, AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES REQUESTED TO REALLY LOOK AT BULK ARRIVAL OF CALLS INTO THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.

AND IT HAD SOME REALLY USEFUL INFORMATION FOR US, UM, THAT WE NEED TO BE FOLLOWING UP ON.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT AN AUDIT, IT'S A SPECIAL, SPECIAL PROJECT.

UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, PERHAPS IT'S A BROADER DISCUSSION OF 9 1 1 THAT MAYBE WE WANT.

I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S BETTER IN THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OR HERE, BUT, UM, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO THAT IN MAY.

I DON'T KNOW THAT WE'LL HAVE SPACE IN IN APRIL.

HOW ARE WE DOING ON THE PRESENTATION? WE READY? OKAY.

WE'LL GO BACK TO,

[6. Fleet Management and Optimization update and related Austin Climate Equity Plan goals]

UH, FLEET SERVICES.

RICK'S ALWAYS PREPARED.

I THINK HE BROUGHT BROUGHT, BROUGHT THE PRESENTATION.

UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE UM, BEEN ON THIS TRAJECTORY TO REDUCE THE EMISSIONS IN THE FLEET SINCE 2007, ACTUALLY PRIOR, A LITTLE BIT BEFORE THEN.

SO WE'VE STARTED WITH, UM, ALTERNATIVE FUELS AND WE'VE WORKED OUR WAY TO ELECTRIFICATION AND DURING THIS TIME WE'VE BUILT, UM, A STRATEGY FOR INCORPORATING NEW TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE FLEET AND AN ACQUISITION PROGRAM THAT ALLOWS US TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES AS THEY COME ON.

I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT BEFORE WE GET STARTED, ABOUT HOW THIS STRATEGY FITS INTO THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLANS GOAL OF, AM I TOO CLOSE? , UH, 40% OF, UM, TOTAL MILES DRIVEN.

AND HOW THAT, HOW THAT CORRELATES WITH WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO FROM A FLEET STANDPOINT.

SO AGAIN, THERE'S THE 40%.

THE SECOND THING IS THE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE.

THAT'S, THAT'S ONE OF THE GOALS.

AND WE, BUT WE'RE PREPARED TO DISCUSS THE, UM, 40% TODAY.

UM, WE DO HAVE STRATEGIES FOR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE, UH, BUILD OUT AS WELL, SO WE CAN DISCUSS IT IF YOU WANT THE, THAT, THE PRESENTATION.

SO SOME OF OUR CHALLENGES FROM FLEET MANAGEMENT STANDPOINT IS THE DIVERSITY OF OUR FLEET.

AND I, WHAT I UNDERSTAND THE, WHILE THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS A COMMUNITY BASED PLAN AS C CITY LEADERSHIP AND STEWARDS OF CITY FUNDS, WE WANNA BE KIND OF LEAD THE WAY.

WE WANNA BE SH LEAD BY EXAMPLE.

BUT THIS SLIDE BASICALLY SHOWS KIND OF THE COMPLEXITY OF THE FLEET AND SOMETIMES THE LENS, WHEN WE LOOK AT THE COMMUNITY'S ADOPTION, IT MAY BE A LITTLE DIFFER FROM HOW A FLEET MANAGEMENT, UM, DEPARTMENT ACHIEVES THOSE GOALS DUE TO THAT DIVERSITY.

AND SO WE'VE GOT THIS KIND, THEY'VE GOT THESE STRATEGIES THAT WE SET UP THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED OVER TIME IN HISTORY AND EXPERIENCE WITH, WITH CHANGE IN THE FLEET, AND ADOPTING, UM, NEW TECHNOLOGIES.

LEMME TURN TO THE NEXT, NEXT SLIDE.

OH, THAT'S ME.

WHICH WE ARE, WE'RE KIND OF A SMALL PART OF THE MILES THAT WE'RE DOING.

THERE .

SO, UM, YES, THESE ARE, THESE ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION WHEN WE'RE DEVELOPING THAT PLANT.

SO THE COMMUNITY BASED CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN, UM,

[01:25:01]

IT'S, I, I BELIEVE IT'S ZACH'S HERE.

UM, THAT'S QUITE A FEW MILES.

IT'S LIKE, I THINK IT'S OVER LIKE CLOSE TO MAYBE A BILLION MILES THAT RUN THE CITY.

OURS IS ABOUT 45, UH, MILLION GALLONS.

I MEAN A MILLION MILES THAT WE DRIVE, WHICH, LIKE I SAID, IS ABOUT 1% OF THE, UH, MILES DRIVEN IN THE CITY.

SO, UM, WITH THAT, GIVEN THAT BEING SAID, I WILL, I THINK RICK WILL GET INTO THE DETAILS OF KIND OF OUR STRATEGY WE'RE LOOKING AT, TRY TO ALIGN OURSELF WITH THAT PLAN, BUT ALSO MAINTAIN THOSE STRATEGIES THAT, THAT ARE DEVELOPED OVER TIME THAT KIND OF ENSURE THE CONTINUITY OF, OF SERVICES TO THE CITY AND HELP, UH, DEPARTMENTS ADOPT, UM, NEW TECHNOLOGY WITHOUT, UM, WITHOUT THEM FEELING LIKE THEY CAN'T PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT OUR CITIZENS EXPECT.

SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO RICK, WHO CAN TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT KIND OF WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING ARE SOME OF THE RISKS OF, OF, OF EARLY ADOPTION.

SO, GO AHEAD.

SORRY.

GOOD MORNING CHAIR AL ALTER CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS PART OF THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE.

CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YEAH, WE LITTLE FOAM THING CAME OFF.

IT'S SO WE'RE, I'M GONNA PUT THIS ON.

INCREASE IN INVENTORY YEAR OVER YEAR.

SO OUR STRATEGIC APPROACH TO TRANSITIONING TO BEVS, UH, REALLY IS ENSURING OPERATIONAL SOUNDNESS DURING THE TRANSITION.

UH, WE, AS JENNIFER SAID, WE'VE GOT, UH, QUITE THE DIVERSE FLEET.

UM, YOU KNOW, WE WANNA SELECT THE BEVS THAT MEET THE SERVICE REQUIREMENT OF EACH ONE OF THE DEPARTMENTS AND THE SERVICE DUTY THAT THEY PROVIDE.

UH, WE'RE PRIORITIZING LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES INITIALLY, AND WE'RE TESTING NEW BATTERY VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY WITH PILOT PROGRAMS AS THEY MAKE COME AVAILABLE TO US.

AND WE'RE SETTING OUR TRANSITION TIMING GOALS TO MEET OUR INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUT AND AS THESE TECHNOLOGIES ADVANCE.

SO OUR FLEET IS A ON-ROAD OFF-ROAD POWERED, NON-POWERED FLEET.

TO GET TO 40% OF THE TOTAL MILES TRAVELED, OUR TOTAL MILES TRAVELED WAS 45 MILLION MILLION MILES.

OUR ON-ROAD FLEET CONSISTS OF 5,147 ON-ROAD.

FLEET ASSETS, 18 MILLION MILES WOULD BE THE TARGET.

IN ORDER TO GET THERE.

WE HAD TO PICK A SELECTION OF VEHICLES THAT WOULD MOST LIKELY BE ABLE TO ACHIEVE THAT GOAL.

ON THE SCREEN, YOU SEE THIS GROUP OF LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES LEADING INTO KIND OF A MEDIUM DUTY SIZE.

WE EXCLUDED PUBLIC SAFETY FROM THIS SELECTION.

THIS GETS US ABOUT 2,800 VEHICLES, 20 MILLION MILES OF TRAVEL, AND IT REPRESENTS 44% OF THE TOTAL FLEET MILES TRAVELED.

BEFORE WE KIND OF GET STARTED, WE GOTTA TALK ABOUT OUR CURRENT GLIDE PATH.

THIS IS WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

WE'RE ON A 2040 CURRENT GLIDE PATH.

TODAY.

IN ORDER TO GET TO THE 18 MILLION MILES, WE WOULD HAVE TO BUY 2100 BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

IT WOULD COST US ROUGHLY ABOUT $163 MILLION.

WE'D HAVE TO INCREASE OUR INVENTORY BY 14% EACH YEAR OVER 17 YEARS.

AT THE END OF THAT 17 YEARS, WE WOULD REACH THE 18 MILLION MILE THRESHOLD.

IN TODAY'S TOTAL MILES, WE WOULD HAVE TO INCREASE OUR UTILIZATION RATE BY 3% PER YEAR.

AND AS WE GET INTO MORE OF THE VEHICLES THAT ARE, ARE BREAD AND BUTTER, IF YOU WILL, UH, THAT BECOMES, YOU KNOW, THE NORMALIZED, UH, UTILIZATION RATE CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE TO MEET THAT DEMAND WOULD COST US ROUGHLY $11.3 MILLION OVER THAT TIMEFRAME.

THERE ARE SOME ASSUMPTIONS THAT BUILD INTO THIS.

PART OF IT IS MANUFACTURE PRODUCT DIVERSIFICATION.

THEY NEED TO BUILD THE VEHICLES THAT WE NEED FOR OUR FLEET.

AND SECONDLY, THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO PRODUCE THEM AND SUPPORT 'EM ONCE THEY'RE PRODUCED.

PILOT PROGRAMS ARE GREAT, BUT UNLESS THEY CAN SUPPORT THEM AFTER SALE, WE, WE REALLY CAN'T HAVE THEM IN THE CITY FLEET.

SO THAT'S OUR CURRENT GLIDE PATH TO GET TO 2030, WHICH IS THE QUESTION ON THE TABLE.

UH, AND WE WOULD HAVE TO OBVIOUSLY BUY THE SAME NUMBER OF VEHICLES.

IT JUST COMPRESSES THAT TIMEFRAME.

SO WE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND 163 MILLION OVER SIX YEARS.

OUR AVERAGE INCREASE IN BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE INVENTORY WOULD BE A 40%

[01:30:02]

AND WE WOULD GET TO THE 18 MILLION MILE THRESHOLD.

OUR UTILIZATION RATE WOULD INCREASE BY 7%, AND OUR CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE WOULD BE THE SAME 'CAUSE WE'RE SUPPORTING THE SAME NUMBER OF VEHICLES.

AND AGAIN, THE SAME ASSUMPTIONS ARE TRUE TODAY.

SO THESE ARE HIGH LEVEL ASSUMPTIONS ON THE PURCHASING PATTERNS IN ORDER TO ACHIEVE THE 40% TOTAL MILES TRAVELED GOAL.

BUT WE HAVE SOME OPPORTUNITY, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT LATER ON WITH A PD AND SOME OTHER THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT, BUT TO LEVEL SET WHERE WE ARE COMPARED TO THE NATIONAL ADOPTION OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

YOUR TOP BLUE LINE ON THIS GRAPH IS THE TOTAL NUMBER OF, OF VEHICLES SOLD IN NORTH AMER NORTH AMERICA.

IT'S IN MILLIONS.

THE ORANGE LINE IS YOUR NUMBER OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES SOLD IN NORTH AMERICA, AND THE PERCENTAGE IS THE, UH, PERCENTAGE OF PURCHASE OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO TOTAL VEHICLES.

SO WE KNOW THAT SALES HAVE GROWN YEAR OVER YEAR, AND WE ALWAYS USE THIS AS A BENCHMARK ON HOW WE ARE DOING IN TERMS OF THE NATION.

SO WE KNOW VEHICLE SALES HAVE INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY YEAR OVER YEAR.

THERE'S A LOT OF ENTHUSIASM WITH IT.

MARKET DYNAMICS, CONSUMER PREFERENCES, TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS HAVE A TENDENCY TO EVOLVE AND ENHANCE DRIVERS TO WANT TO BUY MORE BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

BUT WE BELIEVE THAT, YOU KNOW, A REGULAR ASSESSMENT OF THESE THINGS IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND WHERE WE'RE GOING.

WE'RE ACT, WE'RE ADOPTING NEW TECHNOLOGY IN A MANUFACTURING ENVIRONMENT.

AND SO THERE'S A LOT OF PLAYERS AT THE TABLE HERE THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THIS, RIGHT? AND INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IS CRITICAL.

POLICY CHANGES ARE GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT AS WELL AS CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TO DRIVE THE DEMAND FOR BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

SO WHERE DO WE GET TO? WE KNOW THE TRANSPORTATION, UH, SECTOR ACCOUNTS FOR 25% OF ALL GREENHOUSE GAS OUTPUT IN THE 2030 PLAN.

THE TOTAL CUMULATIVE CARBON SAVINGS OVER THAT SIX YEAR LIFE CYCLE WOULD BE 42,000 METRIC TONS OF CARBON OUTPUT SAVINGS.

AND OVER THE 17 YEAR OR 2040 PLAN WOULD BE 93,000 METRIC TONS.

AND THE REASON WHY THAT'S SUCH A LARGER NUMBER, JUST, JUST A LARGER, LONGER PERIOD OF TIME OF CUMULATIVE SAVINGS, THAT'S THE TARGET, THAT'S THE GOAL OF THE CLIMATE ACTION PLAN, CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

BUT WE HAVE OPPORTUNITY, AND I'VE SHARED THIS PREVIOUSLY, UH, WITH COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, AND, UH, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT A PILOT PROGRAM WITH OUR POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLES.

UH, THEY, THERE'S A CHEVROLET BLAZER THAT'S A POLICE PURSUIT VEHICLE.

UH, WE ARE IN PHASES ONE THROUGH THREE TODAY.

UH, AND TO GET TO PHASE EIGHT, WHICH IS REALLY WHERE THE DECISION IS MADE AND THE KEY STAKEHOLDERS EVALUATED HOW THIS PRODUCT HAS PERFORMED WOULD BE Q 1ST OF OCTOBER, UH, Q1 2026.

SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE CAUTIOUS ABOUT HOW WE APPROACH IMPLEMENTING BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES IN OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICE PURSUIT, UH, FLEET.

UH, THERE'S, UH, MANY, MANY THINGS TO TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION.

THE OPPORTUNITY IS GREAT THOUGH, IF IT, IF IT'S A POSITIVE THING.

WE REPLACE ABOUT 120 POLICE VEHICLES A YEAR.

WE, THEY HAVE ABOUT 1200 OF THEM IN THE FLEET.

SO THERE'S A THIS, AND THEY REPRESENT 40% OF THE TOTAL MILES TRAVELED ALL BY THEMSELVES.

SO THIS IS, UH, SOMETHING THAT WE JUST HAVE TO KIND OF GO DOWN THE ROAD, SEE HOW THIS WORKS, AND ACT ACCORDINGLY ACCORDING TO WHAT THE RESULTS WOULD BE FROM THIS, UH, PILOT PROGRAM.

AND THE MANUFACTURERS ARE GONNA HAVE, THERE'S GONNA HAVE TO BE MORE THAN ONE MANUFACTURER THAT'S BUILDING A POLICE PURSUIT BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE TO WANT TO DIVE INTO THIS TOO HEAVILY.

SO FROM A BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLE TRANSITION, FROM A FLEXIBILITY STANDPOINT, THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT ARE DRIVING OUR WORLD TODAY.

AND ONE OF 'EM IS THE MACROECONOMIC REALITIES.

THE COST OF CAPITAL, THE INFLATION RATE.

THESE THINGS ARE KIND OF HEADWINDS GENERALLY IN THE ECONOMY.

THE EXPANSION OF DC FAST CHARGING IS CRITICAL.

WE DEFINITELY WANT, UH, VEHICLE TO GRID TECHNOLOGY IN PLACE SO WE CAN ACTUALLY PUSH THAT POWER THAT WE DON'T USE BACK TO OUR OWN INFRASTRUCTURE.

UH, WE'VE GOT TRANSITIONING BATTERY TECHNOLOGY ITSELF GOING FROM LITHIUM, LITHIUM ION BATTERIES TO SOLID STATE, WHICH WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVE CHARGING TIME AND REDUCE THE WEIGHT AND GIVE US GREATER RANGE.

UH, THE VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS, THEY'VE GOT A LOT OF CHALLENGES.

THESE ARE FOR-PROFIT COMPANIES AND THEY'VE BEEN STRUGGLING SINCE COVID.

UH, THEY'RE SUPPLY CHAINS.

WERE FAIRLY DEVASTATED DURING THE COVID TIMEFRAME AND WE STILL ARE DEALING WITH LONG LEAD TIMES WITH THEM TODAY.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE DIVERSIFICATION OF THE BEV MARKET.

THEY'VE GOTTA BUILD WHAT WE NEED, UH, FOR A WORKING COMMERCIAL FLEET LIKE OURS.

[01:35:01]

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE SUPPLY CHAIN CHALLENGES ALL THE WAY FROM, FOR BATTERIES, ALL THE WAY FROM THE MINING OPERATIONS TO THE SUPPLY CHAIN DISTRIBUTION TO ASSEMBLY, UH, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, UH, KIND OF THE $7,500 SAVINGS PER VEHICLE HINGES ON THIS, WHERE THE BATTERIES ARE ASSEMBLED AND WHERE THE MATERIALS COME FROM.

DRIVE THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.

SO THAT'S THE $7,500 SAVINGS THAT WE WOULD HAVE PER VEHICLE ACCORDING TO THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT.

SO THAT'S AN IMPORTANT PIECE.

WE'VE GOTTA PULL THOSE BACK TO THE, UH, UH, FREE TRADE COUNTRIES IS WHERE WE START TO BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE THAT SAVINGS.

SO IN CONCLUSION, UH, WE'RE COMMITTED TO THE 40% ON-ROAD VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED, UH, BY BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

UM, ABSOLUTELY COMMITTED TO THAT.

OPERATIONAL SOUNDNESS REMAINS OUR PARAMOUNT, UH, FOCUS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE TRANSITION PROCESS.

OUR GOAL IS TO CAREFULLY SELECT VEHICLES AND MAKE SURE THAT THEY MEET THE SERVICE DUTY SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE THOSE SERVICES TO OUR CITIZENS.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE OUR LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES, UH, INITIALLY WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY EVALUATING THE TECHNOLOGY AND TO FOR OUR FLEET.

WE ARE ON THE 2040 GLIDE PATH TODAY.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE REMAIN DEDICATED TO THE OBJECTIVES OF THE 2030 CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

UM, JENNIFER MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, OUR ACQUISITION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES ALLOW US TO REVISE OUR PURCHASING STRATEGY AND PURCHASING VOLUMES.

EACH YEAR WE DO A FIVE YEAR FORECAST, UH, AND, UH, AS EACH YEAR WE LOOK AT THIS, WE WILL SYNCHRONIZE OUR DEVELOPMENT OF CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE AND ONBOARDING OF BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF BATTERY VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY AND OF COURSE THAT INFRASTRUCTURE BUILD OUT.

AND THAT'S THE PRESENTATION.

ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU BOTH.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER, YOU REQUESTED THIS WITH ME.

DID YOU WANNA GO FIRST? I FIRST OFF, JUST THANK YOU'ALL FOR DOING THIS.

IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING, UH, EXERCISE AND, AND THE INFORMATION IS, IS REALLY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND THE FULL PICTURE.

SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK Y'ALL FOR, FOR DIVING IN HERE.

I DO HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME OF THE NUMBERS.

THE $163 MILLION FIGURE.

UM, FIRST OFF, IS THAT THE TOTAL COST OF THE VEHICLES OR IS THAT THE COST ABOVE WHAT WE WOULD SPEND ON A GAS POWERED VEHICLE? THAT'S THE TOTAL COST OF THE VEHICLE.

SO, AND THAT'S A, THAT'S AN ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF THE VEHICLE.

SURE.

SO, YOU KNOW, IF WE ASSUME, YOU KNOW, I, I SAW A RECENT REPORT THAT IT'S ABOUT $5,000, I'M SURE FOR SOME OF THESE MORE COMPLEX VEHICLES, THAT NUMBER, THE DELTA IS MUCH, MUCH LARGER.

BUT, UM, WE ARE GONNA SPEND A, A LARGE CHUNK OF THE 163 MILLION REGARDLESS.

SO WE'RE TALKING MAYBE IN THE 20 OR, YOU KNOW, $30 MILLION RANGE IN TERMS OF THE, THE PREMIUM THAT WE WOULD PAY.

ARE Y'ALL ALSO FACTORING IN THAT NUMBER AS IF YOU WERE GONNA GET THE TAX CREDIT? UH, WELL, THE, WE'RE, RIGHT NOW WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE ACTUAL COST OF THE VEHICLE, WHAT WE BELIEVE TO BE THE COST OF THE VEHICLE.

WE'RE NOT FACTORING THE TAX CREDIT IN AT THIS TIME UNTIL THOSE MINING OPERATIONS AND SUPPLY CHAIN AND ASSEMBLY, UH, PLANTS ARE BUILT AND PULLED BACK INTO THE FREE TRADE COUNTRIES.

SURE.

AND, AND THAT'S, I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND ALL THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WENT INTO TO CALCULATING THESE NUMBERS.

IT'S A, IT'S KIND OF AN AVERAGE COST PER VEHICLE IS WHAT WE KINDA LAID OUT.

UH, OBVIOUSLY SOME WOULD, IF WE GOT INTO, LET'S SAY REFUGE TRUCKS AND FIRE APPARATUSES, YOU'RE TALKING TO THE MILLIONS.

OH, RIGHT.

YOU KNOW, IF YOU'RE TALKING, UH, A SEDAN OR AN SUV, YOU COULD BE TALKING $20,000.

RIGHT.

AND, AND I, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, YOUR FOCUS ON LIGHT DUTY MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE MARKET, UH, RIGHT NOW HAS MORE OF THAT AVAILABILITY.

SO, UM, ALRIGHT, WELL THAT, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL JUST TO UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND I'M ALSO CURIOUS, I REMEMBER IN, IN IT MIGHT'VE BEEN YOUR PREVIOUS PRESENTATION, Y'ALL TALKED ABOUT THE SAVINGS AS IT RELATES TO GAS AND MAINTENANCE FOR ELECTRIC VEHICLES.

UM, DO YOU HAVE, IS THERE LIKE KIND OF A, A RULE OF THUMB OR KIND OF A, A BALLPARK NUMBER THAT YOU SAVE ON A, A VEHICLE FOR GAS AND MAINTENANCE FOR A LIGHT DUTY VEHICLE? IT'S SOMEWHERE JUST NORTH OF A THOUSAND DOLLARS PER VEHICLE ANNUALLY.

RIGHT.

AND ARE WE LIKE SIX YEARS VEHICLES? UH, WELL ON, UH, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT LIFECYCLE OF THE VEHICLE? YEAH.

SO, UM, LIGHT DUTY IS ANYWHERE FROM SEVEN, YOU KNOW, AROUND SEVEN YEARS ON AVERAGE.

UH, ALRIGHT, WELL I I WOULD LIKE TO, TO CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION.

WE'RE AN INNER CITY FLEET, SO WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO AGE OUR VEHICLES AS OPPOSED TO HITTING MILEAGE THRESHOLDS.

I, I CAN IMAGINE.

[01:40:01]

I THINK THERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES HERE.

YOU KNOW, WE NOT ONLY AS A CITY, BUT YOU LOOK HISTORICALLY WHEN, UH, VERY AGGRESSIVE GOALS HAVE BEEN SET.

YOU KNOW, THERE IS OFTENTIMES A, UM, A, I DON'T WANNA SAY A RELUCTANCE, BUT A, A QUESTIONING OF WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN DO IT RIGHT.

THIS IS CERTAINLY NOWHERE IN THE SCALE OF, BUT YOU KNOW, THE KENNEDY MOONSHOT OF WE'RE GONNA GO TO THE MOON, AND EVERYONE SAID, NO, YOU CAN'T DO THAT.

AND LO AND BEHOLD WE DID IT, UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WE PUT OUR MIND TO IT AND WE FOUND A WAY.

AND SO I'M REALLY CURIOUS, UH, TO CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION WITH Y'ALL ABOUT LOOKING AT WHERE ARE OPPORTUNITIES, WHERE WE MIGHT HIT THE ACCELERATOR AS IT WERE, UH, AND WHAT AREAS ARE MORE APPROPRIATE TO, UH, PUSH OFF.

SO I JUST, I JUST AGAIN WANNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS AND I LOOK FORWARD TO, TO TALKING WITH Y'ALL MORE.

VERY GOOD.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, I HAVE A COUPLE QUESTIONS.

UM, SO THIS WAS REALLY HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND.

UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS FOR ME THAT WAS STILL MISSING WAS LIKE, WE HAVE TO PAY FOR VEHICLES ANYWAY, SO WHEN WE EVALUATE THE AMOUNTS, IT'D BE HELPFUL TO KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD OTHERWISE EXPECT US TO PAY AND HOW MUCH MORE WE'RE SPENDING ON THESE VEHICLES BECAUSE THEY'RE ELECTRIC.

BUT ALSO TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THE GAS COSTS, UM, THAT ARE INVOLVED AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU GAVE US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE EMISSIONS, BUT IT JUST SEEMS LIKE IT'S NOT LIKE, OH, WELL THIS COSTS THIS MUCH MONEY AND OH MY GOD.

'CAUSE WE HAVE TO BUY THESE VEHICLES ANYWAY.

AND, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH, AND I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH THE DELTA IS, UM, TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THAT.

AND, UM, I, I WANNA, YOU KNOW, I WANNA SORT OF SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE AND KIND OF SAY, OKAY, LET'S SAY 2035 AND, AND, AND MAKE THAT THE GOAL.

UM, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT I'M UNDERSTANDING FROM YOU THAT WHAT I HEAR YOU SAYING IS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ON THIS GLIDE PATH, BUT IT IS YOUR POLICY AND YOUR APPROACH TO SEIZE EVERY OPPORTUNITY THAT IS AVAILABLE TO MOVE US MORE QUICKLY TO THE GOAL.

AND YOU GAVE ONE EXAMPLE, WHICH WAS THE PILOT.

UM, THERE IS THAT A CORRECT ASSESSMENT? LIKE WE DON'T NEED TO GIVE YOU NEW DIRECTION TO HAVE YOU TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EVERY OPPORTUNITY.

THAT MAKES SENSE.

SO AGAIN, WITH OUR LIKE LESSONS LEARNED FROM 2007, WE'VE BUILT AN ACQUISITION STRATEGY THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE EACH YEAR OF WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET.

SO IT'S ALL KIND OF MOVING AT THE SAME TIME.

UM, WE'D LOVE TO LOWER THAT GOAL AND WE, IT MIGHT BE COMPLETELY POSSIBLE.

'CAUSE LIKE I SAID, WE DON'T KNOW WHAT TECHNOLOGY'S GONNA COME OUT IN THE INDUSTRY IN, IN THE NEXT, BETWEEN NOW AND 2030 OR NEXT YEAR FOR THAT MATTER.

AND THEN, LIKE I SAID, WITH THIS, UH, THE POLICE DRIVE A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF MILES ON VEHICLES, SO DOES A RR FUEL USE.

SO AS THOSE, UM, KIND OF HEAVY HITTERS, THE TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPS IN THOSE AREAS, THEN OUR ACQUISITION PROGRAM AND HOW IT'S DESIGNED CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT ALMOST IN THAT SAME YEAR, ALONG WITH ANY GRANT FUNDING THAT'S AVAILABLE AT THE SAME TIME.

SO THAT'S ANOTHER FACTOR THAT COULD OFFSET THE COST TO THE CITY, THE INCREMENTAL COST THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.

BUT WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH ELECTRIC VEHICLE PURCHASES EVEN NOW.

SO THAT NUMBER OF VEHICLES THAT WE NEED TO ELECTRIFY WILL REDUCED EVERY YEAR IN THE LIGHT DUTY SIDE OF THE FLEET.

SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT EX KIND OF HELPS.

I JUST WANNA, YOU KNOW, LIKE I FEEL LIKE WE HAVE THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.

IT HAS THE GOAL, YOU'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR TRYING TO MEET THAT GOAL.

UM, YOU'RE SAYING THAT WE HAVE THIS PATH, BUT THAT I JUST WANT TO BE REASSURED THAT WE'RE, WE'RE STILL GONNA PIVOT EVERY MOVE THAT WE CAN UNDERSTAND.

YOU NEED TO BE REALISTIC AND YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE A FLEET THAT FUNCTIONS AND THAT CAN HAVE BE SERVICED, ET CETERA.

BUT YEAH, ADDITIONALLY TOO, LIKE YOU SAID, THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN IS A COMMUNITY BASED PLAN.

SO IT, IT, IT, IT DOESN'T NECESSARILY, UM, ADDRESS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES IN THE SECTORS OF VEHICLES THAT ARE IN A PUBLIC SECTOR FLEET.

MM-HMM.

SO LIKE I SAID, WE, I THINK WE COULD MAKE A LOT OF PROGRESS, LIKE YOU SAID, ON THE LIGHT DUTY VEHICLES, BUT THERE'S SO MANY OTHER STAKEHOLDERS OUT THERE THAT INFLUENCE THE OUTCOME ON THE HEAVIER SIDE OF THE FLEET.

AND LIKE I SAID, SOME OR SOME OF THE MORE CRITICAL FLEET LIKE PUBLIC SAFETY.

SO, UM, WE, WE DO THAT WITH A LITTLE MORE CAUTION.

BUT, UM, FROM, UH, AS A DIRECTOR OF THE ORGANIZATION, I'M A FIRM BELIEVER IN, IN, UH, REDUCING THE EMISSIONS IN THE FLEET.

SO, UM, LIKE I SAID, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DESIGN A PROGRAM THAT TAKES ADVANTAGE TO THE, TO THE EXTENT POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN TO REACH THAT NUMBER

[01:45:01]

SOONER.

SO, UM, I KNOW YOU TOUCHED ON A LITTLE BIT WITH RESPECT TO THE FEDERAL MONEY, BUT CAN YOU SAY A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT HOW WE'RE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FEDERAL RESOURCES THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR TRANSITIONING? SURE.

UM, SO TODAY, UM, EVERYTHING THAT WE'VE BOUGHT SINCE 20, WELL, 2020, IT WAS, UH, FALL OF, UH, 2023, UH, THE, UH, INFLATION REDUCTION ACT WAS IN PLACE.

AND SO WE ARE TRYING TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE, UH, TAX CREDIT, UH, AND WE ARE WORKING THROUGH THAT RIGHT NOW.

IT'S A LITTLE NEW FOR EVERYBODY.

UH, AND IT'S KIND OF COMPLICATED WHEN YOU'VE GOT A MUNICIPALITY THAT DOESN'T PAY TAXES ON VEHICLE PURCHASES TO GO GET A TAX CREDIT.

SO THAT'S A LITTLE BIT OF A TWIST FOR US.

UM, 2024, UH, THE TAX CREDIT PURCHASES AFTER JANUARY, 2024 ARE SUPPOSEDLY AT THE POINT OF SALE.

SO WE, THAT'S OUR PREFERRED METHODOLOGY.

AGAIN, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT HAS, UH, TO DO WITH WHERE THE MINERALS ARE MINED FROM AND WHERE THE BATTERY'S ASSEMBLED.

AND WE'RE NOT KNOWLEDGEABLE OF THAT INFORMATION, SO WE'RE RELYING HEAVILY ON THE MANUFACTURERS TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO US.

WE'RE ALSO TAKING ADVANTAGE OF TURP GRANTS, GAF GRANTS, UH, AND, UH, WORKING CLOSELY WITH AUSTIN ENERGY ON CHARGING INFRASTRUCTURE GRANTS THAT, UH, APPLICATIONS THAT ARE, UH, BEING PLACED OUT THERE.

WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH ALL, UH, PARTIES THAT ARE INVOLVED TO TRY TO, UH, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF ANY FEDERAL OR STATE, UM, ALLOCATED GRANT DOLLARS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO US TODAY.

I HAPPEN TO HAVE SEEN SEVERAL OF THEM DOING THAT IN THE LAST FEW DAYS.

AND, UM, WHAT IS THE POLICY OVER THAT? AND DO YOU HAVE DATA THAT HELPS YOU TO KNOW WHEN THEY'RE IDLING? AND THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

I, WE JUST HAPPEN TO ACTUALLY HAVE THAT DATA AT THIS POINT NOW THAT WE'VE COMPLETED THE INSTALLATION OF OUR GPS TELEMATICS SYSTEM.

SO FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE HISTORY OF THE FLEET FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE CAN ACTUALLY MEASURE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, IDLING THAT IS TAKEN PLACE WHERE A VEHICLE IS IN A STATIONARY GEOSPATIAL POSITION AND THE ENGINE IS ON AND RUNNING.

SO WE KNOW THAT TODAY, WE MEASURE THAT TODAY, WE HAVE REPORTS THAT COME OUT FOR THAT TODAY.

IT'S ON A DASHBOARD THAT'S PROVIDED TO EVERY DEPARTMENT TO LOOK AT.

AND, UH, OUR GOAL IS TO IMPLEMENT A MORE ROBUST ANTI IDLING PROGRAM.

UH, IN ADDITION TO THAT WITH THE A PD, THERE ARE SOME, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A VEHICLE IS A PLACE OF REFUGE DURING THE HOT SUMMERS IN THE COLD WINTERS, RIGHT? SO THEY, THERE IS SOME NEED TO IDLE, BUT THERE'S A LARGE QUANTITY OF OTHER FLEET THAT'S OUT THERE THAT, UH, UNLESS IT'S A PART OF WHAT DRIVES THE MECHANISM OF THE VEHICLE ITSELF, IT REALLY SHOULDN'T BE IDLING.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF OPPORTUNITY OUT THERE ACROSS ALL DEPARTMENTS TO, TO TURN THE VEHICLE OFF.

SO I'VE SEEN SEVERAL THAT ARE IDLING WITH NOBODY IN THEM WHILE THEY'VE GONE IN TO GET FOOD OR GO TO THE BATHROOM, WHICH IS NOT, THAT'S NOT GOOD.

THE SAME THING AS SITTING IN THE VEHICLE.

AND, AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S AN OPERATIONAL REASON THAT THEY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO JUMP RIGHT INTO THEIR VEHICLE, BUT, UM, THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE THE SAME THING AS A, AS A REFUGE.

SO THERE, THERE IS TWO DIFFERENT, I I'VE TALKED ABOUT THIS A LITTLE BIT IN THE PAST, BUT IT'S, UH, THERE'S, UH, TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF, UM, VIDEO, UM, CAPTURE SYSTEMS FOR A PD.

UH, ONE IS THE LEGACY PANASONIC SYSTEM AND THE OTHER ONE IS A AXON RELATED SYSTEM.

ONE'S CLOUD BASED AND ONE'S, UM, REQUIRES AN OFFLOAD OF INFORMATION, UH, TO SERVERS.

AND SO THE VEHICLE HAS TO IDLE IN ORDER TO GET THAT VIDEO INFORMATION BODY, BODY CAM, VEHICLE CAM.

SO THERE IS SOME LEGITIMATE REASONS FOR THAT, BUT THERE IS, UH, AUTO SHUTOFF MECHANISMS THAT ARE PUT IN BY THE CTM WIRELESS SHOP TO, UH, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT WON'T, YOU KNOW, THEY COULD TURN THE VEHICLE OFF AND IT COULD DOWNLOAD AND IF IT PUTS THE BATTERY OR AFTER A CERTAIN PERIOD OF TIME, IT TURNS THAT COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT OFF SO IT DOESN'T DRAIN THE BATTERY.

SO, UM, THERE ARE SOME REASONS WHY THERE WOULD BE SOME SMALL AMOUNT OF IDLING, BUT TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE IDLING AND WALK AWAY, THAT IS SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE QUESTIONED BY THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF.

AUDIT, UM, MAY ILE THEIR VEHICLES.

AGAIN, HISTORICALLY BEFORE WE CAME FROM JUST PUTTING ANTI-IDLING STICKERS ON VEHICLES, WE DO HAVE A POLICY NOW, BUT WITH THE TELEMATICS, WHICH THANKFULLY YOU GUYS APPROVED US GETTING THAT WE CAN, UH, DIG, DIG DEEPLY INTO WHO EXACTLY WHO'S DOING IT.

AND SO WE CAN ADD SOME CONTEXT TO SOME OF THE, SOME REASONS WHY PEOPLE MAY

[01:50:01]

BUT HAVING TELEMATICS IS JUST GONNA BE A GAME CHANGER ON IMPROVING ALL AREAS OF HOW VEHICLES OPERATE IN THE CITY, ESPECIALLY FROM THE STICKER WE HAD JUST TO, TO ACTUALLY KNOWING WHAT'S HAPPENING.

SO, WELL MAYBE A OH, AT SOME POINT OVER THE NEXT YEAR OR SO, WE CAN INVITE YOU BACK TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE AGAIN ABOUT THE TELEMATICS.

HAPPY TO DO THAT.

UM, I KNOW THAT, I KNOW THAT YOU'RE A BIG FAN OF IT AND IT'S GONNA HELP US A LOT, UM, IN A LOT OF WAYS, SO THANK YOU.