[CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:02]
MY NAME IS ALISON AL ALTER, AND I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
I'M JOINED HERE BY MY VICE CHAIR, LESLIE POOLE.
UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER ON THE DAIS COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MCKENZIE KELLY IS VIRTUAL.
AND THEN, UM, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES WILL ALSO BE JOINING US VIRTUAL IT IS MAY 22ND, 2024 AT 9:32 AM AND WE'RE CONVENING IN THE CHAMBERS.
[Public Communication: General]
HAVE SEVERAL FOLKS SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.UM, SO WE WILL BEGIN WITH PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, PLEASE.
OUR FIRST SPEAKER IS REMOTE, I BELIEVE.
AND YOU'RE GONNA CALL THEN AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES IS HERE.
ARE YOU GONNA CALL THE SPEAKERS? ASHLEY, CAN YOU UNMUTE ON YOUR END? I THINK I'M UNMUTED.
MY NAME IS ASHLEY FISHER AND I'M SPEAKING ON BEHALF OF THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY TODAY ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE, THE BRIEFING ON THE PARKS MAINTENANCE BUDGET, THE TRAIL CONSERVANCY, AND PROUD TO BE A PARTNER OF THE CITY.
WE HAVE STEPPED UP TO PROVIDE IMPORTANT MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENTS TO THE BUTLER TRAIL, BUT WE KNOW THAT OTHER PARK SPACES ALSO NEED HELP.
WE ASK FOR THE CITY TO DO WHAT THEY CAN TO INCREASE THE OVERALL PARKS, MAINTENANCE, BUDGET, AND STAFF THAT PROVIDE CRUCIAL MAINTENANCE, THAT ALL, SO THAT ALL AUSTINITES CAN ENJOY, ABUNDANT AND WELL MAINTAINED PARK SPACES WITHOUT NEW MAINTENANCE DOLLARS AND POSITIONS EACH YEAR, SERVICE LEVELS FOR MAINTENANCE WILL DECREASE ACROSS THE CITY AS EXISTING POSITIONS ARE TASKED WITH MORE ACRES PER FPD.
WE THANK THE AUDEN FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR THEIR ATTENTION TO THIS ISSUE, AND WE EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR MORE MAINTENANCE POSITIONS AND FUNDING FOR PARKS.
UH, NEXT SPEAKER, MARK MAY WELCOME MR. MAY.
UM, I LIVE IN D FIVE AND I'M A FREQUENT USER OF THE PARK.
UM, I ALSO, UH, DONATE MY TIME TO, TO OUR PARKS, AND I'VE, UH, GIVEN MONEY TO BOTH THE TRAIL A CONSERVANCY AND, YOU KNOW, A PF TO, UH, SUPPORT OUR PARKS.
I WANTED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY TO A REQUEST THAT YOU AUDIT SOME OF YOUR BUDGET ASSUMPTIONS THAT YOU KNOW WILL IMPACT PARD FUNDING.
I KNOW OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE'VE LET PARD FUNDING DROP AS WE ALL THOUGHT WE HAD THESE NON-PROFIT PARTNERS HELP FILL, FILL A GAP.
I'VE SEEN A PICTURE OF MANY OF YOU EVERY YEAR HOLDING THE BIG CHECK FROM ACL.
I THOUGHT AS YOU DID THAT THIS MONEY WENT TO OUR PARKS EACH AND EVERY YEAR.
SO MAYBE IT WAS OKAY TO NOT FILL EVERY VACANCY APART OR, OR GIVE THEM A, A BUDGET INCREASE YEAR OVER YEAR.
HOWEVER, RECENT WORK APPEARS TO CALL THIS ASSUMPTION INTO QUESTION, AND I'M ASKING YOU TO AUDIT SOME OF THESE NONPROFITS TO HELP UNDERSTAND IF THIS MODEL'S WORKING AND COMPENSATING FOR THE PARD BUDGET AND STAFFING SHORTFALLS.
I'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT A PF AS IT'S, AS IT'S EASY TO, UH, TALK ABOUT WITHOUT ANY SLIDES.
SO EVERY YEAR WE GET THE BIG CHECK FROM ACL.
WE KNOW THIS CHECK IS COMING EVERY YEAR, AND WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF HOW, HOW MUCH IT IS.
SO, AS A VOTER AND DONOR TO A PF, I EXPECT WE SHOULD HAVE A LIST OF PARK PROJECTS FUNDED EACH YEAR.
THAT'S ABOUT EQUAL TO THE CHECK FROM ACL.
AS WE ALL KNOW, MANY OF OUR PARKS ARE IN NEED OF THE BASICS, BATHROOMS, WATER SHADE.
A REVIEW OF A A PF FINANCES SHOWS IT'S NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THIS EXPECTATION.
THERE WAS $1.7 MILLION OF PARK PROJECT PERFORMED OUTSIDE ZILKER IN 2022.
THIS SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST BEEN SIX A MILLION DOLLARS BY MY, BY MY COUNT.
WHERE DID THE MONEY GO? WE NEED YOUR HELP TO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND, BUT IT APPEARS 1.5 MILLION WENT TO, UH, SALARIES.
SO 1.7 MILLION SPENT OUTSIDE ZILKER, 1.5 MILLION IN, UH, SALARIES.
DOES THAT RAISE ANY FLAGS WITH YOU? I GUARANTEE YOU IT WILL RAISE FLAG WITH YOUR VOTERS AND WITH DONORS TO A PF.
WHERE ELSE DID, UH, THE MONEY GO? WELL, IT LOOKS LIKE IT WENT TO THE BANK.
A PF HAD $22 MILLION IN THE BANK THE SAME YEAR.
THIS IS LITERALLY YEARS OF INCOME FROM ACL THAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN SPENT IN OUR PARKS.
A PF IS GETTING RICH AND SENDING ON $22 MILLION.
SO I'M ASKING YOU TO AUDIT AND FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GOING ON.
WHEN I PAID A THOUSAND DOLLARS TO ATTEND PARTY OF THE PARKS LAST YEAR AND GAVE EVEN
[00:05:01]
MORE MONEY AT PADDLES UP THE SAME NIGHT, I EXPECTED THE MONEY TO BE SPENT ON OUR PARKS AND NOT PUT IN THE BANK OR SPENT ON SALARIES.PLEASE PERFORM AN AUDIT ON THESE NONPROFIT PARTNERS AND FIGURE OUT WHY SO MUCH MONEY IS NOT BEING SPENT ON THE PARKS BEFORE YOU FINALIZE PARD FUNDING.
NEXT SPEAKER, UH, KAYLA REESE.
I'M THE ADVOCACY MANAGER WITH AUSTIN PARKS FOUNDATION.
UM, AND I JUST WANTED TO THANK THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE FOR LOOKING AT THE MAINTENANCE NEEDS THAT PAR IS IN NEED OF RIGHT NOW.
UM, THIS IS A CRUCIAL ISSUE FOR AUSTINITES.
WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A BIG GOAL TO HAVE, UM, PARKS WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE AND MAINTAINING THOSE PARKS AND OTHER FACILITIES IS CRUCIAL FOR ALL MATES TO BE ABLE TO USE.
THE PARKLAND, UM, PART HAS BEEN TASKED WITH MAINTAINING CRUCIAL LAND WITHOUT THE SUBSEQUENT INCREASE IN FTES FOR THEIR MAINTENANCE POSITIONS.
UM, AND WE'VE ALSO OPENED A LOT MORE DEVELOPED FACILITIES LIKE PALMER, LOU, HIGHLAND DUNCAN.
THERE'S POOLS OPENING UP SOON.
UM, AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT PART IS BEING SUPPORTED IN THEIR NEED TO MAINTAIN THESE NEW FACILITIES THAT ARE BEING, UH, DEVELOPED AND OPENED FOR EVERYONE'S USE WITHOUT AN INCREASE IN FTES.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEE A DECREASE IN SERVICE LEVELS ACROSS THE CITY, AND THAT WILL IMPACT ALL DISTRICTS, UM, NEW PARKS AND EXISTING PARKS, AS WELL AS MAINTENANCE OF LAND FOR FUTURE FACILITIES.
WE KNOW THAT ACQUIRING LAND IS CRUCIAL TO MAKE SURE THAT FUTURE GENERATIONS HAVE A GOOD PLACE TO LIVE IN AUSTIN.
UM, AND AND PART OF THAT IS ALSO MAINTAINING THAT LAND.
UM, 3, 1 1 DATA HAS SHOWN INCREASES YEAR AFTER YEAR IN CALLS FOR MORE MAINTENANCE ON PARKLAND.
SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE AND ASK Y'ALL, UM, AS THE, THE CITY COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVES TO INCREASE PARS MAINTENANCE, UH, FTES THIS YEAR.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR LOOKING AT THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE, AND PLEASE ADD MORE FTES TO THE PARD MAINTENANCE TEAM.
THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO APPEAR.
UH, I'M, I'M HERE TO SPEAK ABOUT ITEM FIVE AS WELL, AND YOU'LL HEAR MORE FROM THE FINANCE STAFF AND MAYBE PART STAFF.
UH, BUT I'M HERE PERSONALLY AND ON BEHALF OF THE AUSTIN OUTSIDE COALITION OF FOR-PROFIT AND NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS TO ADVOCATE FOR MORE PARD MAINTENANCE FUNDING.
UH, BIG KUDOS, KUDOS TO THE CITY COUNCIL AS WELL AS PARD FOR INCREASING THE, UH, SALARIES AND PAY OF PARD MAINTENANCE WORKERS FROM $12 AN HOUR TO $20 AN HOUR IN THE NE IN THE LAST DECADE, WHICH AT LEAST GETS CLOSER TO WHAT THE COST OF LIVING IS IN AUSTIN.
ALSO, BIG KUDOS TO PAR FOR ACQUIRING ALMOST 500 ACRES OF ADDITIONAL PARKLAND OVER JUST THE LAST TWO YEARS, BUT THAT REQUIRES MORE FUNDING FOR MAINTENANCE WORKERS AND MORE, MORE PARD FUNDING FOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS.
UM, PART'S CURRENT LEVEL OF MAINTENANCE MEASURED IN THEIR OWN, UH, CRITERIA IS LEVEL THREE OR FOR MOWING.
THAT'S 21 DAYS, UH, PER MOWING CYCLE.
UH, THIS ACHIEVES A RATING OF 43RD OUT OF A HUNDRED CITIES IN THE TPL PARK SCORE, AND IT HAPPENS TO, TO BE THE DAY THIS YEAR THAT THE NEW PARK SCORE FOR 2024 WILL BE ISSUED.
WE'LL SEE IF THAT'S ANY BETTER.
HOPEFULLY THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR WILL INCLUDE MORE FUNDING FOR PARKS MAINTENANCE.
I AM AN AMATEUR ANALYST OF THE, UH, OPEN DATA BUDGET FOR THE PARKS DEPARTMENT.
I HAVE A DEGREE IN MATH, BUT I MAY SAY SOME THINGS THAT ARE NOT EXACTLY CORRECT, BUT I'M HOPING TO GIVE YOU MY UNDERSTANDING FOR MY STUDIES.
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, IS AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT.
IT DOES NOT DEPEND ON THE GENERAL FUND.
THE PARD BUDGET IS A HYBRID, AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
IT RELIES ON THE GENERAL FUND, BUT IT PRODUCES REVENUE.
LIKE THE ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT REVENUE IS DEPOSITED INTO FOUR CATEGORIES.
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FUND, THE PARD CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROJECT FUND, THE GOLF FUND, AND PARK NONPROFITS.FOR THIS REASON, UNDERSTANDING THE PARD BUDGET IS LIKE TRYING TO FILL A BATHTUB WHILE FOUR DRAINS ON THE BOTTOM ARE ALL OPEN.
IT'S DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND THE PAR BUDGET.
IT IS NOT TRANSPARENT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, BUT IT ALSO CREATES A SYSTEM OF INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES REGARDING REVENUE.
IT'S AN AN AN ANALYTICAL COMPLICATION FOR ME, A LACK OF FISCAL TRANSPARENCY FOR THE PUBLIC, BUT IT HAS RESULTED IN MIXED MESSAGES TO PART ABOUT HOW THEY SHOULD MANAGE REVENUE STREAMS. FOR EXAMPLE, IF ACL FEST PAYS A SMALL RENTAL FEE FOR USING ZILKER PARK, OR IF TRAIL OF LIGHTS PAYS NO MAINTENANCE AND NO RENTAL FEES TO USE ZILKER PARK, IT DOESN'T IMPACT THE PARD BUDGET.
IT IS SIMPLY A LOSS OF POTENTIAL REVENUE TO THE GENERAL FUND.
PLEASE CONSIDER MAKING A SYSTEMIC STRUCTURAL CHANGE TO THE PARD ACCOUNTING PROCEDURES TO ADDRESS IT MORE LIKE AN ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENT.
IT WOULD MAKE ANALYSIS OF PARTS BUDGET SIMPLER FOR EVERYONE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, IT WOULD SHIFT INCENTIVES TOWARD PARTS CAPTURE OF REVENUE SOURCES, AND IT WOULD DISINCENTIVIZE SHIFTING REVENUE SOURCES TO THE PARK NONPROFITS, WHICH IS THE CURRENT MODEL, AND APPEARS TO HAVE NO CAP ON THOSE INCENTIVES.
GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I'M HERE TODAY ON BEHALF OF THE SHOAL CREEK CONSERVANCY, UH, TO ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FUNDING FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
SHOAL CREEK RUNS THROUGH SEVERAL PARKS THROUGH NORTH AND CENTRAL AUSTIN, AND IS ONE OF THE MOST HEAVILY USED AND VISITED GREEN SPACES IN THE CITY.
AND IN ORDER TO KEEP THESE SPACES SAFE, COMFORTABLE, AND CLEAN FOR PARK AND TRAIL USERS, UH, OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE FUNDING IS CRITICAL.
UM, AT SHELL CREEK CONSERVANCY RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF, UH, WE'RE CURRENTLY ADVOCATING FOR ADDITIONAL ASSETS ALONG THE TRAIL, INCLUDING BENCHES, SHADE, LIGHTING, TRASH AND RECYCLING RECEPTACLES AND PETWAY STATIONS, WHICH ARE, UM, ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR THE HEALTH OF THE WATER AND THE WATER QUALITY.
UM, AND WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK THAT WE'VE DONE WITH THE CITY TO COME UP WITH ACTION PLANS TO MAKE SURE THAT SHELL CREEK MOVES TOWARDS A FISHBOWL AND SWIMMABLE CREEK.
UH, IT'S CONTACT RECREATION SAFE.
AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE DO NEED ADDITIONAL, UH, PETWAY STATIONS AND DIFFERENT, UM, WAYS TO ADDRESS THE CLEANLINESS OF THE PARK.
UM, SO THESE ADDITIONAL ASSETS WILL REQUIRE ADDITIONAL OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, STAFF AND RESOURCES TO MAINTAIN.
THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING THESE NEEDS, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO FINDING SOLUTIONS MOVING FORWARD.
KDI, CHAIR, THAT CONCLUDES SPEAKERS.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CAME, UH, THIS MORNING, UH, TO SPEAK WITH US ABOUT OUR, OUR PARKS, UM, AND, AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO TAKE, UM, SOME OF THE ITEMS ON THIS MORNING'S AGENDA A LITTLE BIT OUT OF ORDER.
WE'RE GONNA MOVE FIRST TO, UM, APPROVE THE MINUTES, BUT WE'RE GONNA TAKE THE ACE APPOINTMENTS AT THE END, SO ITEMS TWO, UM, AND SIX, BECAUSE WE NEED TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
IT'S UP TO YOU GUYS, IT'S JUST THERE IF YOU NEED IT.
UM, WELL, WE'LL, WE'LL TAKE IT UP AT THE END AND WE CAN DECIDE IF WE NEED TO GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION OR NOT.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Special Called Audit and Finance Committee meeting of May 10, 2024.]
ITEM WILL BE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL CALL AUDIT AND FINANCE MEETING OF MAY 10TH.DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOLE.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO OBJECTIONS, WE WILL APPROVE THE MINUTES.
SO WE'RE GONNA COME BACK TO ITEM TWO.
SO NEXT UP IS ITEM THREE, THE CITY
[3. City Auditor Integrity Unit Fiscal Year 2024 update.]
AUDITOR INTEGRITY UNIT, FISCAL YEAR 2024.GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THE CHANCE TO SPEAK WITH YOU THIS MORNING.
I'M THE CHIEF OF INVESTIGATIONS, WHICH MEANS I OVERSEE THE INTEGRITY UNIT, AND I'LL BE DISCUSSING ALL OUR ACTIVITIES SO FAR THIS FISCAL YEAR 2024.
SPECIFICALLY WE'LL GO OVER ALLEGATION TRENDS THAT WE'VE SEEN SO FAR THIS YEAR, AND THEN INVESTIGATIONS WE'VE COMPLETED, AND THEN WHAT INVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING.
[00:15:01]
THIS YEAR, WE'VE RECEIVED 184 DIFFERENT ALLEGATIONS.UH, AT THIS POINT LAST YEAR WE WERE AT 182, SO WE'RE VERY CLOSE TO THE, THE PACE WE'RE ON LAST YEAR.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE CHART HERE, LAST YEAR WE FINISHED WITH THREE 16.
IT'S BECAUSE USUALLY IN THE SUMMER WE SEE AN UPTICK IN ALLEGATIONS PER MONTH COMING IN.
SO I FULLY EXPECT AT THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, WE'LL BE ON THAT AVERAGE OF AROUND THREE 12.
WE'VE HAD FOR OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS NOW, LOOKING AT THE JURISDICTION, UH, OF WHO COULD LOOK INTO THE ALLEGATIONS THAT ARE COMING INTO OUR OFFICE.
UH, THIS YEAR WE HAD AN UPTICK.
USUALLY WE'RE RIGHT AROUND ONE THIRD WITHIN THE INTEGRITY UNIT'S, JURISDICTION OF FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE, CITY CODE VIOLATIONS.
AND TWO THIRDS OUTSIDE OF OUR JURISDICTION.
WE'VE HAD A SIGNIFICANT UPTICK TO 42% WITHIN OUR JURISDICTION, LEAVING 58.
OF THE ONES IN OUR JURISDICTION, UH, MOST FREQUENTLY REPORTED WAS ABUSE, FOLLOWED BY DECEPTION AND MISREPRESENTATION.
THAT'S A LARGER CATEGORY THAT INCLUDES FRAUD.
IF YOU'VE SEEN ANY OF OUR PREVIOUS FRAUD INVESTIGATIONS, FOLLOWED BY MISUSE AND CONFLICT OF INTEREST OF THE ALLEGATIONS THAT ARE OUTSIDE OF JURISDICTION, BY FAR THE MOST COMMON IS HR RELATED ISSUES.
THAT CAN BE GENERAL HR THINGS AS WELL AS, UH, THE, THE MORE SERIOUS HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION AND RETALIATION FIT INTO THAT GROUP AS WELL.
AND THEN A LITTLE BIT OF A DROPDOWN.
BUT THE NEXT MOST COMMON OUTSIDE OUR JURISDICTION ISSUE IS OPERATIONAL ISSUES, WHICH IS BASICALLY HOW DEPARTMENTS OPERATE THOSE ISSUES.
EITHER GET REFERRED TO THE DEPARTMENTS OR TO HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.
LOOKING AT HOW PEOPLE REPORT AT OUR OFFICE, 61% OF OUR REPORTERS THIS YEAR CHOSE TO BE ANONYMOUS, AND THAT FALLS RIGHT IN LINE WITH BEST PRACTICES.
IF YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT ISSUES ARE GOING ON IN YOUR ENTITY, YOU GOTTA GIVE PEOPLE A CHANCE TO REPORT ANONYMOUSLY BECAUSE THEY USUALLY FEAR RETALIATION.
AND THAT'S WHY THE BULK OF OUR REPORTERS CHOOSE TO BE ANONYMOUS.
AND THEN YOU GOTTA GIVE PEOPLE A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY CAN REPORT TO YOU.
IF YOU WANT TO HEAR ALL THE CONCERNS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
WE TRY TO GIVE PEOPLE AN ONLINE REPORTING FORM, AN EMAIL ADDRESS AND A HOTLINE WHERE THEY CAN ALL REPORT TO US ANONYMOUSLY ON TOP OF LIKE JUST REACHING OUT DIRECTLY TO US, A PHYSICAL DROPBOX OR EVEN MAILING TO OUR OFFICE.
OF ALL THOSE AVENUES, THE ONLINE REPORTING FORM IS BY FAR THE MOST POPULAR WITH TWO THIRDS OF THE, OUR ALLEGATIONS COMING IN THAT WAY.
THE NEXT MOST COMMON IS ACTUALLY 17% USE DIRECT INVESTIGATOR CON, UH, CONTACT.
THAT'S GONNA BE AN EMAIL OR A PHONE CALL DIRECTLY TO ONE OF THE INVESTIGATORS ON THE TEAM OR MYSELF.
I ALWAYS LIKE TO CALL OUT THAT ONE BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW MUCH TRUST THOSE INDIVIDUALS ACTUALLY HAVE IN THE TEAM.
IT'S USUALLY SOMEONE WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED IN A PRIOR INVESTIGATION OR MADE AN ALLEGATION AT SOME POINT IN THE PAST.
THEY DEVELOPED SOME TRUST IN HOW WE HANDLED IT AND HOW WE, UH, PROTECTED THEIR ANONYMITY, AND NOW THEY FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE AND THEY CONTACT US DIRECTLY.
FINALLY, THE WHISTLEBLOWER HOTLINE CAME IN AT 7%.
SO THAT WAS THE THIRD MOST COMMON AVENUE FOR PEOPLE TO REPORT TO OUR OFFICE.
NOW LOOKING AT WHERE ARE THESE ALLEGATIONS IN THE CITY IN PRIOR YEARS, I ALWAYS LIKE TO FOCUS OR NOT LIKE TO, BUT IN PRIOR YEARS, I REPORTED BASED ON PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL ALLEGATIONS.
SO YOU CAN SEE THAT COLUMN ON, UH, MY LEFT THERE ON THE SLIDE, IT'S PARKS AND RECREATION WAS AT 12%.
THEY WOULD'VE HAD THE MOST AUSTIN WATER, 9% AUSTIN ENERGY SEVEN AND TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS ALSO 7%.
NOW THAT GETS SKEWED BECAUSE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS ARE, HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES.
AND SO I'VE BEEN LOOKING TO HOW OTHER ENTITIES REPORT ALLEGATIONS, AND I'VE COME ACROSS THIS ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES AS A, A BENCHMARKING WAY.
AND WHEN YOU FACTOR IN THAT ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES, IT ACTUALLY CHANGES THE ENTIRE LIST.
AND SO THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE GETTING THE MOST ALLEGATIONS SO FAR THIS YEAR ARE ACTUALLY, IT'S HUMAN RESOURCES WITH 42 ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES, FOLLOWED BY ANIMAL SERVICES WITH 37, AND THEN BUILDING SERVICES 32, AND THEN A BIT OF A DROP DROPDOWN TO AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY WITH 15.
AND IF YOU JUST WANNA SEE LIKE A COMPARISON, I RAN THOSE ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES FOR THOSE DEPARTMENTS THAT JUST REPRESENTED THE LARGEST PERCENTAGE OF ALLEGATIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT REALLY DROPS DOWN TO SIX PER 1000 FOR PARKS AND REC, 10 FOR AUSTIN WATER, FIVE FOR AUSTIN ENERGY, AND NINE FOR TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS.
NOW, WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN? DON'T KNOW FOR SURE YET.
I'M STILL LOOKING FOR THE BEST BENCHMARK COMPARISON FOR AN ENTITY LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UH, A LOT OF THE BENCHMARKING I'VE SEEN FOR HOW TO EVALUATE ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES IS, HAS BEEN PRIVATE SECTOR FOCUSED.
UH, BUT WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA SHARE THESE NUMBERS WITH THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER NOW THAT THE CITY HAS ONE, AND WORK WITH HIM TO FIGURE OUT WHAT THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE CITY CAN BE AND HOW BETTER TO MEASURE IT GOING FORWARD.
ALL RIGHT, MOVING ON TO INVESTIGATIONS.
WE'VE COMPLETED SO FAR THIS YEAR.
UH, AS OF TODAY'S DATE, WE'VE COMPLETED FIVE INVESTIGATIONS.
TWO WERE SUBSTANTIATED AND RESULTED IN PUBLIC REPORTS.
TWO WERE INCONCLUSIVE AND ONE WAS UNSUBSTANTIATED.
THIS NUMBER IS A LITTLE BIT BELOW WHERE WE'RE TYPICALLY AT THIS POINT IN THE YEAR.
UH, BUT I THINK THAT'S JUST AN EBB AND FLOW OF HOW INVESTIGATIONS HAVE PLAYED OUT.
AND BY THE END OF THE YEAR, WE'LL BE AT OUR NORMAL NUMBER, WHICH IS SOMEWHERE NORTH OF 10 INVESTIGATIONS COMPLETED OF THE TWO.
THAT ISSUE, UH, UM, UH, RESULTED IN PUBLIC REPORTS BEING ISSUED.
ONE WAS AT PUBLIC HEALTH AND WAS A MISUSE CASE, AND THE OTHER ONE WAS AT FORENSIC SCIENCE DEPARTMENT.
AND THAT WAS A FRAUD AND MISUSE CASE, BOTH RESULTED IN EMPLOYEE SEPARATION.
UM, JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT THE MANAGEMENT OF EACH THESE DEPARTMENTS ARE TAKING OUR FINDINGS SERIOUSLY AND, AND TAKING, UM, THE APPROPRIATE ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION.
AND THEN I'D LIKE TO FINISH WITH WHAT, UH, INVESTIGATIONS ARE CURRENTLY ONGOING.
WE HAVE 11 OPEN INVESTIGATIONS RIGHT NOW, MAJORITY OF WHICH I THINK WILL FINISH
[00:20:01]
IN THIS FISCAL YEAR.SO I'LL BE REPORTING ON THOSE IN NOVEMBER.
THEY'RE ACROSS SEVEN DEPARTMENTS.
AND THE MOST FREQUENT ISSUES THAT ARE POPPING UP IN, UM, IN THOSE, UH, INVESTIGATIONS ARE FRAUD, ABUSE, MISUSE, AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, WHICH ARE, UH, YEAR OVER YEAR THE MOST COMMON ALLEGATIONS WE'RE LOOKING INTO.
AND THEN I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, BUT I ALSO ALWAYS TAKE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING HOW TO REPORT TO OUR OFFICE IF THEY HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT CITY OPERATIONS.
SO THERE'S A HOTLINE EMAIL AND, UH, WHERE YOU CAN FIND OUR ONLINE REPORTING FOR.
AND, UM, MR. MILLER, CAN YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT FALLS GENERALLY UNDER SOMETHING THAT FALLS UNDER THE AUDITOR AND WHAT, WHAT DOESN'T AND WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEBODY REPORTS SOMETHING TO YOU AND IT'S NOT UNDER YOUR JURISDICTION? FOR SURE.
SO WHAT FITS UNDER OUR JURISDICTION, WE ALWAYS LIKE TO SAY FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE.
UM, BUT IT'S SECTION 2 7 6 2 OF CITY CODE I SOMETIMES REFER TO AS THE CODE OF CONDUCT.
AND SO THAT'S GONNA BE A LOT OF PROHIBITIONS ABOUT WHAT CITY EMPLOYEES AND CITY OFFICIALS CAN DO.
UM, AND THEY GENERALLY ARE LIKE ABUSING YOUR POSITION, ABUSING UH, YOUR ACCESS TO, UM, UH, CITY INFORMATION FOR PERSONAL BENEFIT, MISUSING CITY RESOURCES, AGAIN FOR PERSONAL BENEFIT, CONFLICTS OF INTEREST, UM, WHEN YOU'RE MAKING A DECISION, UH, IN YOUR PUBLIC CAPACITY, UM, WHERE YOU SHOULD JUST BE THINKING ABOUT WHAT'S BEST FOR THE CITY, WHAT, WHAT ARE YOUR JOB RESPONSIBILITIES, BUT THAT DECISION IS GONNA HAVE AN ECONOMIC IMPACT TO YOU OR SOMEONE VERY CLOSE TO YOU IN YOUR LIFE.
AND THEN FRAUD HAS SEVERAL DEF OR SEVERAL SUBSET DEFINITIONS, BUT THAT'S GOING TO BE FALSIFYING CITY RECORDS, USUALLY FINANCIAL RECORDS, AND OFTEN THE PERSON DOING THAT IS DOING THAT TO BENEFIT THEMSELVES.
SO THAT'S THE CORE OF WHAT WE'RE LOOKING INTO.
AND THEN IF YOU REPORT ANYTHING TO OUR OFFICE THAT'S MORE OF AN HR CONCERN OR OPERATIONAL CONCERN, UH, WE'RE GONNA RECORD THAT IN OUR SYSTEM TO MAKE SURE IT GETS TRACKED AND COUNTED.
AND THEN WE WILL COMMUNICATE WHATEVER WAS SHARED WITH US TO THE RELEVANT PARTY IN THE CITY WHO COULD BETTER LOOK INTO IT, WHETHER IT'S THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT OR ANY OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS.
UM, WE COULD STILL PROTECT THE ANONYMITY OF THE REPORTER IN THAT SITUATION.
WE DON'T HAVE TO SHARE THEIR NAME UNLESS THAT REPORTER TELLS US THEY'RE FINE WITH US SHARING THEIR NAME.
AND THEN THAT USUALLY HELPS WHOEVER REFERRING IT TO BETTER INVESTIGATE THAT CONCERN.
ANY QUESTIONS? COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
AND THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT REALLY IMPORTANT PRESENTATION.
UM, I'M JUST WONDERING IF YOU KNOW THE TIMELINE FOR COMPLETING ANY ONGOING INVESTIGATIONS AND ISSUING SUBSEQUENT REPORTS? UH, REALLY HARD TO, UM, GUARANTEE A TIMELINE.
UM, JUST BECAUSE WHEN YOU THINK AN INVESTIGATION'S DONE, SOMEBODY BRINGS SOME NEW INFORMATION TO THE TABLE, OFTENTIMES IT'S THE SUBJECT, UM, TRYING TO SHARE SOME INFORMATION THAT THEY MIGHT FIND AS EXCULPATORY AT THE LAST MOMENT, THEN YOU HAVE TO VET ALL THAT.
UM, BUT WE SHOULD BE PUBLISHING, I CAN TELL YOU WE ARE ON A REPORTING TIMELINE FOR OUR NEXT REPORT TO COME OUT LATER THIS MONTH.
WE JUST NEED THE DEPARTMENT TO WRITE THE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE.
ONCE THEY GIVE IT TO US, WE'LL SEND THAT, UH, EMAIL THAT WE ALWAYS SEND TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL, SO YOU GUYS SEE IT FIRST AND THEN WE'LL PUBLISH IT THE NEXT DAY.
AND IF ALL GOES WELL WITH, WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF RESPONSE, WE'LL BE PUBLISHING IT THE LAST DAY OF THIS MONTH.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COLLEAGUES.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, THANK YOU MR. MALLOY.
I APPRECIATE THE, THE ADDITIONAL SNAPSHOT LOOKING AT PER THOUSAND.
I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, UM, THAT WE UNDERSTAND IT, THAT IT'S NOT SIMPLY A PERCENTAGE OF, UM, THE TOTAL COMPLAINTS THAT HAPPEN, BUT ALSO A FUNCTION OF THE NUMBER, NUMBER OF PEOPLE EMPLOYED BY A DEPARTMENT.
I THINK THAT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL PERSPECTIVE FOR US TO, TO HAVE IN, IN LOOKING, UM, AND ASSESSING THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH TO YOU AND YOUR UNIT.
[4. 9-1-1 Special Report to look at bulk arrival of calls into the 9-1-1 call center.]
ITEM IS ITEM NUMBER FOUR, WHICH IS A 9 1 1 SPECIAL REPORT THAT, UM, I, UM, INITIATED TOGETHER WITH COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.AND I'LL JUST REMIND FOLKS THAT SPECIAL REPORTS ARE NOT AUDITS.
UM, THIS IS WHEN COUNCIL MEMBERS CAN ASK THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE TO LOOK INTO A PARTICULAR ISSUE FOR ABOUT 40 HOURS WORTH OF, OF WORK, UM, FOR SOMETHING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND BETTER OR THAT WE THINK WOULD HELP A DEPARTMENT, UM, ADDRESS A CONCERN, UM, THAT WE HAVE.
UM, AND I'LL LET THE AUDITORS REPORT ON THIS BRIEFLY, AND THEN WE WILL HAVE, UM, STAFF COME UP.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS REALLY CAME OUT OF MY EXPERIENCE IN FEBRUARY OF 2023, UM, WHEN I WAITED ONLINE FOR 28 MINUTES FOR 9 1 1 DURING A STREET RACING, UM, INCIDENT, AND BEGAN TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, HOW ARE WE HANDLING WHEN WE GET, UM, SITUATIONS WHERE OUR NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER HAS TOO MANY CALLS COMING IN AT ONCE.
WE ALL KNOW THAT THERE'S CELL PHONES EVERYWHERE, AND SOMETIMES WE DO GET THESE SITUATIONS.
UM, I WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE WERE DOING AND KIND OF WHAT, WHAT HAPPENS IF SOMEONE'S TRYING TO CALL EMS AT THE SAME TIME THIS IS GOING ON, ET CETERA.
UM, SO PLEASE GO AHEAD FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
[00:25:02]
ALL RIGHT, GOOD MORNING.UH, MY NAME IS FRANCIS RILEY AND I WAS THE AUDITOR IN CHARGE FOR THIS SPECIAL REQUEST.
UM, WE SOUGHT TO ANSWER FOUR QUESTIONS.
UM, SO FIRST, HOW OFTEN DOES AUSTIN 9 1 1 EXPERIENCE HIGH DEMAND? UM, WHAT ACTIONS DOES AUSTIN HAVE IN PLACE TO RESPOND TO HIGH DEMAND? WHAT ACTIONS DO OTHER CITIES AND COMMUNICATION CENTERS USE TO SCALE OPERATIONS AND ADJUST TO MEET HIGH CAPACITY OR HIGH DEMAND? UM, AND, UH, HOW DO HIGH DEMAND EVENTS IMPACT WAIT TIMES FOR CALLERS? SO TO ANSWER THAT FIRST QUESTION, UM, HOW OFTEN DOES AUSTIN 9 1 1 OPERATIONS EXPERIENCE HIGH DEMAND? UM, A PD DOES NOT HAVE A DEFINED THRESHOLD FOR HIGH DEMAND.
UM, AS SUCH, THEY DON'T TRACK DAYS OF HIGH DEMAND.
UM, SO OUR OFFICE ANSWERED THIS QUESTION BY LOOKING AT THE AVERAGE CALL VOLUME, UM, FROM FALL OF 2021 THROUGH FALL OF 2023, AND CALCULATING A RANGE, UM, THAT WE COULD THEN CONSIDER SORT OF NORMAL.
UM, OUR DATA CAME FROM THE EMERGENCY CALL TRACKING SYSTEM, WHICH IS KNOWN AS ECAT.
UM, AND THE DATA SHOW THAT DAILY CALL VOLUMES, UH, FLUCTUATE QUITE A BIT.
UM, BUT THEY GENERALLY FALL WITHIN A RANGE THAT WE COULD CONSIDER NORMAL.
UM, AND SO ON THIS GRAPH THAT'S THE, UH, UH, BLUE LINE BETWEEN THE TWO UH, DASH GREEN LINES OR THE SORT OF NORMAL CALL VOLUMES.
UM, WE FOUND THAT THERE WERE 30 DAYS, UM, ABOVE THAT NORMAL RANGE.
SO WHEN WE ZOOM IN ON 2023, UM, YOU CAN SEE THAT VOLUMES, UH, GENERALLY INCREASED, UM, FOR THE, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY FIRST HALF OF 2023 AND THEN STARTED TO DIP BACK DOWN.
UM, WE DID HAVE, UH, FOUR DAYS THAT WERE, UH, ESPECIALLY LARGE SPIKES IN CALL VOLUMES, UM, CALLED OUT THERE.
AND WE'LL GET TO THOSE IN, UM, A LITTLE BIT.
SO THE NEXT QUESTION IS, WHAT ACTIONS DOES AUSTIN HAVE IN PLACE TO MEET HIGH DEMAND? UM, APDS CALL TAKING AND DISPATCH PROCESS IS, UH, THE SAME REGARDLESS OF CALL VOLUME.
UH, THE BASIC PROCESS AS IT'D BE EXPERIENCED BY A CALLER IS THAT WHEN THEY CALL 9 1 1, UM, EITHER THEY GET A CALL TAKER, UM, IMMEDIATELY, OR IF THE LINES ARE BUSY, THEY'LL GET A VOICE RECORDING, UM, ASKING THEM TO PLEASE HOLD FOR THE NEXT CALL TAKER AND NOT HANG UP.
UM, ONCE THEY REACH THE CALL TAKER, UM, THE CALL TAKER WILL ASK WHICH PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT THEY NEED, UM, AND THEN START TO COLLECT, UH, INFORMATION CALLS ARE PROCESSED AND THE ORDER WHICH THEY, THEY'RE RECEIVED.
UM, AND IF A CALLER HANGS UP, UH, BEFORE REACHING A CALL TAKER, UM, THAT CALL TAKER WILL CALL THEM BACK.
UM, SOMETHING ALSO IMPORTANT FOR, UH, THIS QUESTION IS THAT A PD USES SOMETHING KNOWN AS THE LAN CALCULATOR TO ESTIMATE THE NUMBER OF CALL TAKERS THEY NEED.
UM, AND THIS IS BASICALLY BASED ON OFF OF, UM, THEIR ANTICIPATED, UH, DEMAND.
UM, AND THINGS LIKE, UH, PROCESSING TIMES FOR CALLS.
UM, A PD UH, WILL SCHEDULE ADDITIONAL CALL TAKERS FOR, UH, PREDICTED DAYS AND TIMES OF HIGH DEMAND.
UM, AND THEN FOR THE, UM, UNPREDICTED, UH, TIMES, UH, A PD CAN USE, UH, EITHER VOLUNTARY OR MANDATORY OVER TIME.
SO THE NEXT PART OF OUR, UM, SPECIAL REQUEST LOOKED AT WHAT OTHER CITIES AND COMMUNICATION CENTERS USE TO SCALE OPERATIONS.
UM, WE LOOKED AT SOME, UH, COMPARABLE CITIES, SO HOUSTON, DALLAS, SAN ANTONIO, FORT WORTH, DENVER AND PORTLAND.
UM, AND, AND LOOKED AT WHAT THEY USE ALL, UH, CITIES INCLUDING AUSTIN, UM, USE OVERTIME.
UM, SOME OF THE OTHER STRATEGIES WE FOUND WERE USING ABRIDGED CALL, TAKING SCRIPTS, UM, TRANSFERRING NON-EMERGENCY CALLS.
UM, SO FOR INSTANCE, UH, PORTLAND WILL TRANSFER, UH, TRANSFER LESS, UH, SEVERE
[00:30:02]
EMS CALLS TO A THIRD PARTY, UH, AMBULANCE COMPANY, UM, AND THEN USING AI FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES.UM, AND THIS IS REALLY AN EMERGING AREA.
UM, AND SO THERE'S NOT A LOT OF EXAMPLES OF CITIES, UM, USING THIS, UM, FULLY, I GUESS THERE, IT'S REALLY EXPLORATORY AT THIS POINT.
SO IN ONE EXAMPLE THOUGH, UH, DENVER, UH, IS LOOKING AT A WAY THAT THEY CAN USE, UM, AI TO, UM, CREATE A GEOFENCE AROUND AN INCIDENT AND THEN, UM, AUTOMATICALLY NOTIFY CALLERS FROM WITHIN THAT GEOFENCED AREA, UM, THAT THEY'RE ALREADY AWARE OF AN ISSUE.
UM, AND WE'D ALSO LIKE TO NOTE THAT AUSTIN IS ALREADY USING, UH, LIMITED AI, UM, FOR NON-EMERGENCY CALLS.
THE LAST QUESTION, UH, WE ANSWERED WAS HOW DO, HOW, HOW DO HIGH DEMAND EVENTS, UH, AFFECT WAIT TIMES FOR CALLERS? UM, SO, UH, UNSURPRISINGLY, UH, WAIT TIMES FOR CALLERS, UH, TEND TO BE LONGER AS CALL VOLUMES INCREASE.
UM, WHEN WE LOOKED AT THE DATA FROM FALL OF 2021 TO FALL OF 2023, UM, A PD HAS BEEN BELOW THE, THE STANDARD OF 90% OF CALLS ANSWERED WITHIN 15 SECONDS OR LESS.
UM, FOR CALLERS, THIS MEANS A LONGER WAIT TO REACH A CALL TAKER.
AND, YOU KNOW, IF A UNIT IS NEEDED TO BE DISPATCHED, UH, A LONGER WAIT FOR THAT, UM, WHILE WAIT TIMES GENERALLY CORRELATED, UH, WITH CALL VOLUMES, UH, OUR SAMPLE OF SOME OF THE HIGHEST, UH, CALL VOLUME DAYS SHOWS THAT THAT'S NOT ALWAYS THE CASE.
UM, SO IN THIS EXAMPLE FROM JANUARY 1ST CALL, VOLUME WAS CONCENTRATED IN, UH, THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING.
SO THAT BLUE LINE IS CALL VOLUME.
UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, THE WAIT TIMES IN ORANGE, UH, WERE CORRESPONDINGLY HIGH, UM, EARLY IN THE MORNING, BUT THEN AS, UH, CALL VOLUMES AGAIN, THAT BLUE LINE DROPPED LATER IN THE MORNING AND THROUGHOUT THE DAY, UH, WE STILL SAW, UM, PERIODIC SPIKES OF HIGH WAIT TIMES.
UM, AND FROM THE ECAT DATA, WE'RE NOT ABLE TO SEE LIKE THE NATURE OF CALLS, UM, TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHY, UH, UH, WAIT TIMES MIGHT HAVE SPIKED AND SEE WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON, UH, FROM THAT.
UM, THE OTHER TAKEAWAY, UH, FROM THOSE FOUR HIGH VOLUME, UH, CALL DAYS, UH, WAS THAT WHILE MOST CALLS WERE ANSWERED IN, UM, YOU KNOW, PRETTY QUICKLY, UH, WITHIN THAT 15 SECONDS, UM, SO THAT THE GREEN, UH, PART OF THE BAR ON, ON THE SLIDE, UM, ALMOST A QUARTER OF CALLS TOOK TWO MINUTES OR MORE, UH, TO ANSWER.
UM, AND SO THIS, THIS EXAMPLE ON THE SCREEN IS FROM JANUARY 1ST, UM, BUT WE SAW PRETTY SIMILAR PATTERNS, UH, DISTRIBUTIONS FOR, UH, APRIL 20TH AND JUNE 17TH AS WELL.
UM, FEBRUARY 1ST WAS THE OTHER DAY WE LOOKED AT IN DEPTH, AND IT WAS AN EXCEPTION.
UH, THREE QUARTERS OF CALLS WERE ANSWERED WITHIN 15 SECONDS, AND ONLY 2% OF CALLS TOOK OVER TWO MINUTES.
UM, SO SORT OF THE, THE, BUT FOR THE, THE THREE DAYS THAT WERE SIMILAR, THE PATTERN WAS, WAS ABOUT HALF OF CALLS WERE ANSWERED IN 15 SECONDS, UM, ANOTHER QUARTER WERE ANSWERED, UM, IN 16 SECONDS TO ABOUT TWO MINUTES, AND THEN THE REMAINING QUARTER WERE ANSWERED IN, UH, OVER TWO MINUTES.
UM, AND AGAIN, WE COULDN'T SEE FROM THE ECAT DATA WHAT MIGHT ACCOUNT FOR THAT.
UM, WITH THAT, THAT'S MY PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
AND THEN STAFF FROM A PD IS ALSO HERE.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO PART OF THE REASON THAT WE, YOU KNOW, ASKED FOR THIS REPORT, UM, WAS THAT 9 1 1 IS JUST THE MOST BASIC SERVICE THAT WE OFFER, UM, AS A GOVERNMENT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BEEN STRUGGLING SINCE AT LEAST 2021, UM, WITH OUR STAFFING AND OUR RESPONSE TIMES.
I KNOW IN SUMMER OF 21, I HAD A, A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO DO A COMPENSATION STUDY, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO DO THIS.
AND, AND, AND MANY OF US ON THE DIOCESE IN OUR OWN TURN HAVE BEEN TRYING TO PUSH FORWARD, UM, TO ADDRESS ISSUES.
[00:35:01]
WE HAVE ASKED STAFF TO COME, UM, AND SPEAK TO US BOTH ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE HIGH CALL VOLUME AND RESPONSES, BUT ALSO, UM, GIVE US A SHORT UPDATE ON, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE ARE WITH RESPECT TO STAFFING, UM, AND RESPONSE TIMES AS WELL.WE'LL, WE'LL, UM, BRING YOU BACK UP IF WE, IF WE NEED YOU, MR. MILLS IS GONNA COME UP AND INTRODUCE THE POLICE STAFF.
HOW ARE Y'ALL THIS MORNING? IF BRUCE MILLS INTERIM ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, I, I DON'T HAVE A PRESENTATION, BUT I KIND OF BUILD ON THE, THE AUDITOR'S COMMENTS AND, AND ALSO THE DATA THAT, UH, I'VE ASKED THE LIEUTENANT AND CHIEF TO PRESENT TO YOU ALL.
I THINK WHEN I CAME BACK OR THE BASIS, AND I CAME BACK IN MARCH LAST YEAR.
THE, UH, WE PUT A LOT OF FOCUS AT KIND OF THE POINTS YOU JUST MADE ABOUT STAFFING COMPENSATION, UH, AND WITH Y'ALL'S HELP AND, AND, UH, AND, AND THE APPROVAL PROCESS, UH, LAST BUDGET YEAR MADE A LOT OF PROGRESS WITH THE, UH, COMPENSATION SIDE AS WELL AS KIND OF A CAREER PATH THAT LIEUTENANT KNA OR CHIEF MASON CAN SPEAK TO.
AND I JUST BRIEFING THIS MORNING ON IT, THE SUCCESSES THEY'RE SEEING HAVE SEEN AND ARE CONTINUE TO SEE, UH, WITH OUR, UH, WITH OUR, NOT ONLY CALLS BEING HANDLED, BUT THE STAFFING, UH, IN BOTH 9 1 1 AND DISPATCH.
UH, THEY'LL, THEY CAN PROBABLY TELL YOU BETTER THAN I CAN, BUT I THINK, UH, RIGHT NOW THEY'RE AVERAGING THE 92, 90, 91, 90 2% AND SOMETIMES HIRE, UH, CALLS ANSWERED IN 15 SECONDS, WHICH OBVIOUSLY IS OVER OUR, OUR GOAL AND LIKE TO CONTINUE THAT.
BUT MAINLY JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT THE, UH, THE DIRECTION THAT WE RECEIVED LAST YEAR HAS TAKEN US A LONG WAYS, UH, WITH THE, WITH YOUR HELP, WITH THE, WITH THE STAFFING.
WITH, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT, WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING THIS, UM, DIRECTION FOR, FOR THREE YEARS, AND MANY OF THE STEPS WE, WE HAD TAKEN WERE, WERE INITIATED, UM, AND NEEDED TO BE, NEEDED TO BE IMPLEMENTED.
MY NAME IS JAMES MASON, I'M THE ASSISTANT CHIEF, ALSO HAVE LIEUTENANT LANGA, WHO'S OVER, UH, DIRECTLY OVER OUR COMMUNICATIONS, UH, UH, DIVISION.
AND I JUST WANTED TO E EXPRESS THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN BEING ABLE TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ADEQUATE STAFFING AS WELL AS THE ADEQUATE TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO ANSWER 9 1 1 CALLS.
UH, I JUST WANNA TAKE A BRIEF MINUTE WHILE BEFORE WE ANSWER ANY TYPE OF QUESTIONS YOU HAVE ME ABOUT THE REPORT, BUT A LOT HAS CHANGED, UH, A LOT OF GOOD THINGS, UH, STARTING WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UH, COUNCIL, UH, BEING ABLE TO SUPPORT US.
AND I JUST WANT LIEUTENANT, UH, TO BE ABLE TO BRAG ABOUT OUR TEAM A LITTLE BIT, UM, FROM, FROM OUR RECRUITING TO OUR TRAINING, TO OUR INDIVIDUALS OUT THERE IN THE FIELD, BEING ABLE TO GET PEOPLE, UH, CERTIFIED AND GET THEM UP TO SPEED AND BE ABLE TO GET THEM PROPERLY TRAINED TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS JOB AND TO BE ABLE TO HELP PEOPLE.
THIS IS ULTIMATELY OUR, OUR END GOAL.
UH, BUT I JUST WANT HER TO BE ABLE TO TALK ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE WE ARE NOW, AND HOW WE'VE MOVED FORWARD IN, IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION.
I'M THE LIEUTENANT OVER EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION.
UM, EXCUSE ME, LIKE CHIEF SAID, WE'VE MADE ENORMOUS STRIDES SINCE, UH, MARCH OF LAST YEAR.
AND AS, AS FAR AS OUR STAFFING IS CONCERNED, UM, RIGHT NOW I'M SITTING AT 19 CALL TAKER VACANCIES OUT OF 104, AND WE HAVE 12 DISPATCHER VACANCIES OUTTA 75.
UH, OF NOTE, SOME OF THOSE CALL TAKER VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE ARE ONLY DUE TO MOVEMENT IN THE CAREER PROGRESSION PROGRAM.
SO THEY, THE EMPLOYEES ARE LEAVING FROM THE CALL TAKER SIDE TO, TO FURTHER THEIR CAREERS IN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH IS, IN MY OPINION, A VERY POSITIVE STEP TOWARDS MAINTAINING OUR EMPLOYEES TO KEEPING THEM IN THE DIVISION, UM, AND TO PROVIDE THEM WITH A, A GOAL, A CAREER PATH.
THEY CAN LOOK FORWARD TO BEING WITH THE DIVISION, DIVISION FOR THEIR ENTIRE CAREER.
UM, WE ARE MAINTAINING AT 90% OR ABOVE ANSWER RATE ON A CONSISTENT BASIS FOR THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, THAT IS, IT SHOWS BASICALLY EVERY DAY THAT I GO INTO THE OPERATIONS FLOOR, THE MORALE THAT IS IN THE BUILDING NOW, THE TIME THAT THEY GET TO TAKE BREAKS IN BETWEEN THESE EMERGENCY CALLS, UM, THEY'RE SMILING, THEY FEEL EMPOWERED, THEY FEEL, UM, VALUED.
AND I'VE SEEN SO MUCH OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF THAT, UM, I WANTED TO JUST TAKE A MINUTE TO, TO, TO TALK ABOUT ALL THE SUCCESS THAT WE HAVE.
OUR RECRUITERS ARE CONSTANTLY GOING TO, UM, FAIRS.
THEY GO TO JOB FAIRS, THEY GO TO HIGH SCHOOLS, THEY GO TO ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT WE'RE INVITED TO.
WE WANT, UM, KIDS GRADUATING FROM HIGH SCHOOL TO KNOW THAT THEY HAVE A CAREER WITH US IMMEDIATELY FROM UPON GRADUATION.
UM, WE ARE REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, THE NEXT STEPS AS FAR AS, UM, MAINTAINING OUR A HUNDRED PERCENT STAFFING.
THAT'S, THAT'S THE GOAL, RIGHT? IS TO GET TO THAT PLACE.
[00:40:01]
UM, BUT WE HAVE MADE SO MUCH IMPROVEMENT IN THAT CATEGORY, UM, OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF, UM, AND EXTREMELY PROUD OF THE EMPLOYEES AND, AND EVERYBODY ASSOCIATED WITH THE DIVISION.UM, I, I THINK THAT ALL OF US HERE ARE, RECOGNIZE THE VALUE AND IMPORTANCE OF OUR, OUR FIRST RESPONDERS AND 9 1 1, AND, AND APPRECIATE ALL THE WORK THAT WENT IN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, COUNCIL ALSO TOOK MANY, MANY STEPS EVEN BEFORE MARCH OF LAST YEAR TO SET IN MOTION THESE CHANGES THAT TOOK A LONG TIME TO MAKE HAPPEN.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE COMING TO FRUITION BECAUSE OF YOUR WORK LIEUTENANT, UM, AND THE WORK OF YOUR STAFF.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE DID RENOVATIONS OVER THERE, UM, BUT I KNOW THAT I'VE TALKED WITH YOU MANY TIMES AND I KNOW HOW MUCH YOU CARE, CARE ABOUT YOUR STAFF.
UM, I HAVE SOME SPECIAL, SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT THE REPORT, BUT I'M GONNA LET MY COLLEAGUES, UM, SPEAK COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THANK YOU.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.
AND, UM, I'M WONDERING IF WE COULD HEAR FROM LIEUTENANT KAUNDA ABOUT ANY ADJUSTMENTS TO POLICY OR PERHAPS THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POLICY FOR WHEN WE DO HAVE A HIGH VOLUME CALL INCIDENT.
UM, JUST ANY, ANY FEEDBACK FROM RECEIVING THE, THE SPECIAL RAPPORT AND, UM, NEXT STEPS THAT THE DEPARTMENT IS
WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE THE DIVISION, THE DEPARTMENT AS A WHOLE.
UM, THE, ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT I, THAT I TOOK AWAY FROM THE AUDIT WAS THE ABILITY TO REACH OUT TO THESE OTHER, UM, COMMUNICATION CENTERS AND TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE SIMILAR, SIMILAR PROBLEMS THAT WE'RE ALL FACING.
UM, I WAS LUCKY TO SAY THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY MOVING MUCH FASTER THAN SOME OF THEM HAVE BEEN MOVING AS FAR AS STAFFING IS.
UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TECHNOLOGY USE AND THINGS LIKE THAT, UM, IT'S ALWAYS AT THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE DO.
I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE BALANCE THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY AND LEVERAGING IT FOR OUR BUSINESS NEED, BUT ALSO REMEMBERING THAT IT'S THE PEOPLE, IT'S THE CONNECTION THAT THE PERSON HAS ON THE LINE WITH THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER.
THAT'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF WHAT, WHAT MY STAFF DOES.
THAT'S AN INVAL INVALUABLE THING THAT YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY BY THE USE OF TECHNOLOGY.
AND SO AS WE LOOK TOWARDS THE FUTURE OF LEVERAGING THESE THINGS, I THINK WE HAVE TO BALANCE THEM AND BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE IMPLEMENT THEM SO THAT THEY'RE IMPROVING THE CITIZEN'S EXPERIENCE WITH 9 1 1 AND NOT HINDERING IT, HINDERING IT WITH, UM, POTENTIAL DOWNFALLS FROM THEM.
YEAH, I MEAN, I, I, YOU KNOW, THIS REPORT HAS BEEN OUT FOR A FEW MONTHS NOW, AND SO I DEFINITELY WANNA SEE SOME CONSIDERATION FOR DEVELOPING A POLICY FOR WHEN WE DO HAVE THOSE HIGH VOLUME INCIDENTS.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE STRATEGIES THAT WE SAW FROM ONE OF THE CITIES THAT WAS, UH, REVIEWED IS THAT THE CALL TAKERS WILL ADJUST THE CALL SCRIPT, RIGHT? WHEN THERE IS LOTS OF CALLS COMING IN DURING A CERTAIN TIMEFRAME.
SO ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, TO YOUR POINT, LIKE WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IF SOMEONE'S HAVING AN EMERGENCY, IF THERE IS AN URGENT SITUATION, THAT IMMEDIATELY SOMEONE IS PICKING UP THAT CALL WITHIN THAT FIRST 15 SECONDS.
AND SO I THINK IN KNOWING THAT THERE ARE TANGIBLE STRATEGIES OUT THERE FOR OUR DEPARTMENT TO BE CONSIDERING, THOUGH, I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN CAN MOVE TOWARDS IMPLEMENTING SOME OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND OF COURSE, HAVE ADJUSTMENTS TO, TO FIT OUR OPERATIONS AND OUR COMMUNITY, UM, WITH THAT CUSTOMIZATION.
SO CERTAINLY WITH, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO SEE, UH, WHAT UPDATES ARE MADE COME BUDGET TIME.
I WILL SAY I HAVE HAD, UM, SOME CONVERSATIONS AROUND OUR MENTAL HEALTH OPERATIONS THAT I WANNA DIG INTO AT A, AT A LATER TIME.
UM, BUT APPRECIATE THE, THE REPORT THAT WAS DONE.
AND, UM, THANK YOU, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER AL ALTER FOR, FOR LEADING ON ON THIS RUN ONE.
CAN I HAVE ONE THING TO THAT JUST SURE.
ONE THING THAT'S BEEN A A, IT'S GOING TO BE A REAL POSITIVE THING FOR US IN THE FUTURE, IS OUR PER GROUP REGRESSION PLAN IS THE FACT THAT INDIVIDUALS NOW HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, AND LIKE ELSIE JUST TALKED ABOUT, THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE DUAL TRAINED.
SO IF THE FACT THAT WE'RE GETTING A LARGE NUMBER OF 9 1 1 CALLS A SUPERVISOR, UH, ON THE, ON THE FLOOR CAN ACTUALLY RECOGNIZE THAT AND WE CAN ACTUALLY ADJUST PEOPLE TO WHERE WE NEED THEM TEMPORARILY AND THEN PUT 'EM BACK TO THEIR POSITIONS.
SO, AND THAT, THAT'S ONE THING THAT, THAT'S A POSITIVE ABOUT THE PLAN.
THAT WASN'T A, A FACTOR BECAUSE WE HAD JUST INDIVIDUAL JOBS AND NOT NOW THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, THEY CAN BE COMBINED, UH, IF THEY'RE, IF THEY'RE DUAL TRAINED, IF THEY'RE CAPABLE OF DOING THAT.
SO THAT, THAT'S BEEN, THAT'S BEEN A POSITIVE THING FOR US TO BE ABLE TO MOVE FORWARD IN, IN THE FUTURE STUFF LIKE IF HAVING, UH, IS ISSUES LIKE THAT.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY, THANK YOU AND THANK YOU CHAIR ALTER FOR LEADING ON THIS.
I KNOW THAT IT HAS BEEN A LONG AND HARD LIFT FOR US TO GET TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY.
UM, BUT I, I DO WANNA THANK THE LEADERSHIP AT A PD AS WELL AS ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER MILLS WHO ACTUALLY STARTED HIS CAREER IN THE CITY AS A DISPATCHER.
[00:45:01]
AND I THINK THAT REALLY LEANS INTO, UM, AN OVERALL KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT NEEDED TO GET DONE SO THAT WE COULD BE WHERE WE ARE TODAY.UM, I DO HAVE A QUESTION FOR A PD THOUGH.
UM, WE TALKED A LITTLE BIT ABOUT TECHNOLOGY OR UPGRADES, UM, TO THAT, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU ALL HAVE SEEN THAT WOULD ASSIST YOU BETTER, UM, OR ANY KIND OF PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER CONSIDERATION THAT COULD HELP YOU SCALE MORE EFFECTIVELY DURING TIMES OF HIGH CALL VOLUME? I HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING THAT ISN'T REALLY, REALLY NEW TECHNOLOGY WISE THAT SPECIFICALLY ADDRESSES THAT.
UM, I THINK THAT THE, THAT WE'RE IN THE STAGE OF, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY COMING OUT WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR WHAT IT COULD BE, WHAT IT COULD BE USED FOR, BUT WE HAVEN'T SEEN, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY CITIES A ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED, UM, AS THE AUDITOR OFFICE TALKED ABOUT, THE DENVER PROJECT ISN'T SLATED UNTIL 2025.
AND IN MY CONVERSATIONS WITH THEM, UM, THEY SPECIFICALLY SAID THEY KNOW THAT THERE'S, THERE ARE GOING TO BE HICCUPS THERE.
THEY'RE, THEY'RE, THEY KNOW THAT IT MAY NOT WORK EXACTLY AS THEY THINK.
THEY DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT IT'S GONNA LOOK LIKE AT THIS POINT.
AND I THINK THAT'S JUST KIND OF WHERE WE ARE, UM, RIGHT NOW WITH, WITH THIS AS FAR AS TECHNOLOGY GOES.
WE JUST DON'T KNOW, UM, HOW WELL IT'S GONNA WORK OR WHAT IT'S GONNA ACTUALLY DO TO HELP OUR PROCESS AT THIS POINT.
I GUESS A FOLLOW UP WOULD BE ANY TECHNOLOGY THAT'S PROPOSED, WOULD THAT HAVE TO BE APPROVED BY CAP COG PRIOR TO US, UM, UTILIZING IT? I KNOW THAT CAME, IT, IT STARTED TO BUBBLE UP WHEN I BROUGHT FORWARD MY RESOLUTION ABOUT THE TEXT TO 9 1 1 OR, UM, THE LANGUAGE TRANSLATION IFC SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
YEAH, SO WE ARE MOVING INTO A NEW CALL HANDLING SOLUTION.
IT'S RADO VIPER THAT SHOULD BE IMPLEMENTED IN AUSTIN.
THE LATEST PROJECTIONS FOR THAT THAT I HAVE FOR OUR DEPARTMENT WILL BE SOMETIME IN SEPTEMBER.
ORIGINALLY IT WAS SLATED FOR JULY, BUT THINGS HAVE BEEN PUSHED BACK IN THE SMALLER AGENCIES, AND SO WE ARE, THEY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT WORKS BEFORE WE IMPLEMENT IT IN A LARGER CITY LIKE AUSTIN.
UM, ONE OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT'S COMING IS A SECONDARY SOFTWARE THAT'S BEING ADDED ON TOP OF THE NEW, UM, CALL HANDLING SOLUTION IS SOMETHING CALLED RAPID DEPLOY.
AND IT WILL HAVE A MUCH MORE ROBUST TEXT TO 9 1 1 LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION SERVICE THAN WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
AND SO WE'LL GET TO HAVE, UM, MANY MORE PEOPLE BE ABLE TO UTILIZE NO MATTER WHAT THEIR LANGUAGE IS THAT TECHNOLOGY IN THE CITY.
SO THAT IS ALSO ON THE WAY AS WELL.
DO WE KNOW IF, UH, ENTRADA VIPER OR RAPID DEPLOY HAVE ANY SORT OF ABILITY TO, UM, SCALE DURING HIGH CALL VOLUMES OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT? OR IS IT JUST, UH, UNKNOWN UNTIL WE IMPLEMENT IT? I'VE REACHED OUT TO CAP COG FOR THAT SPECIFIC QUESTION, AND I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A RESPONSE YET.
UM, I'D LIKE TO KNOW IF SOMETHING SIMILAR TO, SO THE DENVER PRODUCT IS THEIR CALL HANDLING SOLUTION.
IT'S NOT, IT'S NOT SOMETHING THAT THEY ADDED ON, IT'S THE ACTUAL, UM, CALL SOFTWARE BASICALLY.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO SEE IF RADO EVEN HAS THAT CAPABILITY OR WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE FOR US TO EVEN BE ABLE TO UTILIZE IT.
WELL, UM, I'M ON THE CAP COG EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
I'M HAPPY TO ALSO REACH OUT AND IF I FIND OUT, I'LL, I'LL CIRCLE BACK AND LET YOU KNOW.
BUT THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTIONS AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THE HARD WORK THAT YOU AND YOUR TEAM DO ON A REGULAR BASIS DOWN THERE.
UH, ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS TO DO IS TO GO VISIT THE CALL TAKING FLOOR, SO I APPRECIATE Y'ALL'S HOSPITALITY WHEN I'M THERE.
AND, AND WE ALWAYS, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT NEW, NEW SOFTWARE, A NEW TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY THAT'S OUT THERE.
UH, WHAT THREE WORDS WAS NEVER, UH, IMPLEMENTED OR HADN'T BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN THE PAST.
IT IS NOW, UH, IT'S BEEN A HUGE HELP FOR OFFICERS AS WELL AS INDIVIDUALS WHEN THEY CAN'T SAY THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GREEN BELT, DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY ARE, WE CAN ACTUALLY FIND THEM, YOU KNOW, EITHER, YOU KNOW, THROUGH GROUND TROOPS OR THE AIR TROOPS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO IT'S BEEN A HUGE, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT TECHNOLOGY TO BE ABLE TO ADVANCE US AND WE'RE, WE'RE DEFINITELY WATCHING DENVER VERY CLOSELY TO SEE WE'RE THE AI TYPE OF TOOL WILL COME INTO PLACE, NO DOUBT THAT IT'S GOING TO.
AND, UH, AS WE ALL KNOW, PROGRESS MOVES FORWARD WITHOUT US IF WE DON'T MOVE WITH IT.
SO WE'RE DEFINITELY GONNA MOVE IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION AND IMPLEMENT EVERYTHING WE CAN TO BE ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, GIVE BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE TO EVERYBODY OUT THERE FOR THE ASSISTANCE AND OUR VISITORS OF AUSTIN.
UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY QUESTIONS BEFORE I ASK, MAAM? THANK YOU.
UM, SO I WANNA GO BACK TO THE HIGH VOLUME SITUATION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT, UM, THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE DIDN'T CHOOSE THE, I THINK IT WAS FEBRUARY 20TH OF 23 WHEN WE HAD THE STREET RACING.
UM, IT DOESN'T LOOK FROM THE GRAPH THAT IT FELL EVEN INTO WHAT THEY CATEGORIZED AS HIGH VOLUME.
AND YOU CAN HAVE HIGH VOLUME IN ONE HOUR AND THE DAY STILL NOT BE A HIGH VOLUME DAY.
UM, IF I HAD BEEN CALLING EMS DURING THAT 30 MINUTES, I WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO GET THROUGH AND IF I HAD A CARDIAC
[00:50:01]
ARREST, I WOULD'VE DIED.UM, WE HAVE GOT TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT WHEN WE HAVE THESE HIGH CALL VOLUMES THAT WE, AND ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY'RE COMING FROM THE SAME INCIDENT, UM, THAT THERE ARE MECHANISMS, UM, FOR PEOPLE TO GET THROUGH TO 9 1 1, ESPECIALLY IF THEY'RE NOT CALLING ABOUT THAT INCIDENT OR TO HELP PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THOSE SITUATIONS HANG UP AND KNOW THAT WE HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE ISSUES WITH, UM, THE TECHNOLOGY.
THIS IS NOT, UM, A PROBLEM THAT ONLY IMPACTS NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTERS.
THERE ARE CALL CENTERS ALL OVER THE WORLD.
THEY HAVE TO HAVE SPECIAL, YOU KNOW, PROCEDURES AND PROCESSES FOR DEALING WITH THIS BULK ARRIVAL, THIS HIGH VOLUME.
UM, I APPRECIATE, UM, I APPRECIATE THE REPORT, I APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION.
I THINK THAT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT YOU NEED EITHER FROM THE DATA ANALYSIS TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE RIGHT DATA TO KNOW, YOU KNOW, OKAY, WHAT, WHAT HAVE BEEN OUR HIGH VOLUME CALL HOURS WHERE WE'VE BEEN SWAMPED, WHERE WE'RE GETTING, YOU KNOW, THESE REALLY LONG CALL WAITS.
YOU NEED TO HAVE THE SUPPORT SO THAT YOU CAN IMPLEMENT THE TECHNOLOGY.
IF YOU HAD SIMPLY PUT ON A MESSAGE THAT SAYS YOU'VE REACHED 9 1 1, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE REGULAR MESSAGE IS, AND THEN SAID, IF YOU'RE CALLING ABOUT THIS EVENT AT LAMAR AND WHATEVER, WE'RE AWARE OF IT AND WE'RE ON THE SCENE.
THAT IS, I MEAN, THAT'S SIMPLY SWITCHING A VOICEMAIL ON.
AND THEN PEOPLE HANG UP BECAUSE THEY KNOW, YOU KNOW, ABOUT SOMETHING WHERE YOU HAVE 50 PEOPLE CALLING AT ONCE, UM, WHEN YOU HAVE A STORM.
THAT WAS ANOTHER SITUATION WHERE WE KEEP HEARING FROM CONSTITUENTS THAT WHEN WE HAVE THESE BIG STORMS, 9 1 1 GETS OVERWHELMED AND THEY CAN'T CALL ABOUT THE TREE THAT'S BLOCKING THE STREET OR EVEN IF THERE'S AN ELECTRICAL POLE THEY CAN'T GET THROUGH.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE, WE NEED TO HAVE SOME PROTOCOLS FOR THESE SITUATIONS THAT DIFFER FROM OUR NORMAL SITUATIONS BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST A PD THAT HAS TO RESPOND.
WE ARE NOT EVEN GETTING THROUGH TO BE ABLE TO BE DISPATCHED FOR EMS OR FIRE IF YOU, IF YOU CAN'T GET THROUGH TO THE CALL.
UM, AND, AND IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE WE HAVE, UM, YET LEANED IN FROM A RESOURCE PERSPECTIVE INTO GETTING YOU THE TECHNOLOGY THAT YOU NEED.
AND IT MAY BE THAT, YOU KNOW, AS POLICE OFFICERS, YOU DIDN'T GO INTO THIS BECAUSE YOU KNEW EVERYTHING ABOUT TECHNOLOGY.
WE MAY NEED TO GET, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANCE TO YOU TO RETHINK SORT OF THE TECHNOLOGY.
I'VE HAD SOME CONVERSATIONS IN THE LAST FEW DAYS THAT HAVE JUST ASTONISHED ME ABOUT WHAT OUR CAD SYSTEM IS LIKE FOR 9 1 1.
AND I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE TO DEEP DIVE DEEP DOWN, BUT, YOU KNOW, I'M HEARING THINGS LIKE OUR 9 1 1 FOR EMS FIRE AND POLICE.
YOU CAN'T EVEN, YOU CAN'T EVEN TRACK THAT IT'S THE SAME CALL WITHOUT DOING THAT MANUALLY, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE SENDING ALL OF THEM.
SO THERE'S SOME REAL TECHNOLOGY NEEDS HERE, UM, THAT I THINK I WOULD ASK, UM, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANT, CITY MANAGER, MILLS TO LEAN INTO THAT, JUST LIKE YOU LEANED INTO FINISHING OFF THE PROCESS THAT WE STARTED, UM, BEFORE YOU GOT HERE TO, YOU KNOW, FIX, UM, THE PAY AND DOING THE RECRUITING AND THE OTHER OTHER PROCESSES.
AND YOU DID LEAN IN AND I WANNA THANK YOU, UM, FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP IN PUSHING THAT FORWARD.
BUT I, BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND, UM, THAT MANY OF US ON COUNCIL WERE PUSHING THAT AND TRYING TO GET THAT THROUGH.
AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, THAT'S WHY WE FIRED THE CITY MANAGER WAS HE WASN'T TAKING THIS SERIOUSLY.
SO, UM, I DO THINK THAT, THAT WE NEED, WE NEED TO HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, A ATTENTION HERE AND, AND I WOULD ASK, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER MILLS TO, TO WORK WITH A NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER AND GET YOU THE RESOURCES THAT YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO ADDRESS THIS, UM, AND, AND, AND REALLY ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SOME MORE OF THAT DATA ANALYSIS.
BECAUSE I THINK YOU'RE GONNA FIND THAT A LOT OF THE TIMES WHEN YOU HAVE THESE REALLY HIGH VOLUME WEIGHTS, YOU HAVE THESE SHORT SPURTS OF HIGH VOLUME AND WE HAVE NO MECHANISMS, UM, TO ADDRESS THEM AND PEOPLE'S LIVES ARE AT STAKE.
SO A SYSTEM CITY MANAGER MILLS, IS THAT SOMETHING YOU CAN FOLLOW UP ON? YES.
WE HEAR YOU LOUD AND CLEAR AND, UH, AND, AND AGREE THAT I THINK TECHNOLOGY IS A, IT'S AN OBSTACLE.
I KNOW WE TALK ABOUT CAP COG AND, AND SOME OF THE, THE WAY THAT TECHNOLOGY HAS TO FEED INTO OUR SYSTEMS, BUT WE DO WANT TO, I I I, THE FRUSTRATION AND THE PART ABOUT, UH, YOU'RE IN THAT CENTER AND YOU KNOW THAT THE EMERGENCY IS OVER HERE WITH A MS, BUT THE, BUT THE CLOG
[00:55:01]
IN THE LINE IS OVER HERE AT 9 1 1, AND THAT'S A TECHNOLOGY.WE'VE GOTTA FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX THAT.
AND, AND WE ARE FOCUSED ON THAT.
AND, AND THERE ARE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MODELS IN THE WORLD WHERE THEY HAVE FIXED THIS AND WE MAY HAVE TO THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX, SO THANK YOU.
THANK YOU TO YOUR STAFF, UM, WHO, WHO KEEP US SAFE EVERY DAY.
[5. Briefing on Parks and Recreation grounds maintenance budget, staffing, and service levels.]
IS ITEM NUMBER FIVE, WHICH IS A BRIEFING ON PARKS AND RECREATION GROUNDS, MAINTENANCE, BUDGET, STAFFING AND SERVICE LEVELS.UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ERIC NELSON FROM THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, UM, AND, AND, AND MAYBE LEANNA FROM PARD, HE'LL BE SPEAKING.
UM, THIS WORK GROWS OUT OF SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKING FROM MY OFFICE, UM, ABOUT PARD MAINTENANCE.
I THINK WE'VE ALL FELT THAT WE'RE NOT WHERE WE NEED TO BE, AND WE TRIED TO GET SOME NUMBERS BEHIND THAT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR SERVICE LEVELS WERE.
UM, AND THE BUDGET OFFICE IN PART, UM, PUT A LOT OF WORK IN TO GET, UM, THE START OF A MODEL FOR US TO, TO GIVE IT A BETTER HANDLE ON OUR MAINTENANCE.
AND, AND, UM, SINCE WE DON'T HAVE A, AN ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE OR A COMMITTEE FOR PARKS TO PRESENT TO, WE, WE DECIDED WE WOULD HAVE THEM PRESENT TO US.
MORNING, MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, ERIC NELSON, FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
UM, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER SUMMED IT UP, UH, VERY WELL.
BUT YEAH, SHE ASKED US TO LOOK INTO THE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE TEAM.
UM, I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT WE'VE ADDED A LOT OF PARK ACREAGE TO PARS PORTFOLIO, AND WE WANTED TO SEE IF, UH, GROUND MAINTENANCE SERVICE LEVELS AND STAFFING LEVELS HAVE KEPT UP WITH THAT EXPANSION.
SO, UH, I'M JOINED TODAY BY, UH, LIANA KOVA FROM PARD, AND SHE'LL COME UP LATER TO DISCUSS, UH, PARS, UM, TARGETED SERVICE LEVELS FOR DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT IN OUR PARKS AND, AND HOW THEY ARRIVED AT THAT AND WHERE THEY'D LIKE TO GET.
AND I ALSO HAVE STEVEN LYNETTE HERE.
HE'S ACTUALLY BEEN DETAILED, UH, TO THE BUDGET OFFICE TO HELP US WITH CAPITAL THIS BUDGET SEASON.
BUT HE WAS INSTRUMENTAL IN HIS ROLE AT, AT PARD, UH, IN HELPING TO DEVELOP THIS MODEL AS WAS LAUREN GAANA.
UH, SO WE, WE CREATED A MODEL, UM, TO TRY TO GET AT WHAT STAFFING AND SERVICE LEVELS WERE LIKE WHEN WE COMPARED FY 2014 AND FY 2023.
UH, THAT GAVE US A DECADE OF GROWTH TO COMPARE AGAINST.
I DON'T WANT TO SUGGEST THAT FY 2014 REPRESENTED ANY KIND OF IDEALIZED LEVEL OF SERVICE.
IT IS JUST A POINT OF COMPARISON.
UM, WE DON'T HAVE RECORDS OF EXACTLY, UH, WHAT THE FREQUENCY OF SERVICES WERE IN 2014.
SO WE STARTED WITH WHAT WE'RE DOING NOW, AND THEN WE APPLIED, UH, THAT BACK TO 2014 TO DRIVE OUT, UM, THE NUMBER OF FTES THAT WOULD'VE BEEN REQUIRED AND COMPARED THAT AGAINST HOW MANY FTES PARD ACTUALLY HAD AT THAT TIME.
FOR THIS TEAM, JUST AS AN OVERVIEW OF THIS UNIT, UM, THE BUDGET FOR GROUNDS MAINTENANCE HAS ACTUALLY INCREASED PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE 10 YEARS.
UM, AND THAT'S LARGELY BEEN DRIVEN BY, UH, THE BIG INCREASE IN, IN THE LIVING WAGE OVER THAT TIME.
WE'VE ADDED, UH, FIVE NET FTES, PART OF AN INTERNAL TRANSFER OF A COUPLE OUT.
SO THAT'S, UH, BEEN ALMOST A 5% INCREASE THERE.
AND THEN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THAT EXPANSION IN, IN NEW PARKLAND UNDER UNDER MANAGEMENT, THAT'S GROWN BY, UH, ABOUT 645 ACRES OR ABOUT 4%.
SO WHEN WE'RE BUILDING OUT THE MODEL, WE COULDN'T DO IT ON A PARK LEVEL BECAUSE EVERY PARK, UH, IS PRETTY DIVERSE IN TERMS OF ITS AMENITIES AND USES.
SO WE BROKE IT DOWN TO THE INDIVIDUAL SERVICES THAT GO INTO SERVICING ALL OUR PARKS ACROSS THE PORTFOLIO, AND THEY'RE BROADLY CLASSED INTO A MOWING TEAM, A SERVICING TEAM, AND A MAINTENANCE TEAM.
YOU CAN SEE HERE THE AVERAGE TIME ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE USE TO DRIVE THE MODEL FOR THOSE VARIOUS TEAMS. AND THEN WE USE THOSE ASSUMPTIONS TIMES THE FREQUENCY WE'RE PERFORMING THEM TO ARRIVE AT, UH, A TOTAL ANNUAL FTE REQUIREMENT IN TERMS OF LABOR HOURS, SO TO CUT TO THE CHASE.
UH, IN FY 2023, PARD HAD 110 AUTHORIZED FTES.
WHEN WE APPLY THE, UH, TIME ASSUMPTIONS WE HAVE NOW TO THE AMENITIES AND ACRES THAT WERE UNDER MANAGEMENT BACK IN 2014, IT SHOWS THAT YOU'D NEED 96 FTES.
HOWEVER, PARS, UH, TOTAL STAFFING BACK IN 2014 WAS 105 AUTHORIZED FTES.
SO THEY HAD NINE, UH, ADDITIONAL FTES IN LABOR CAPACITY BACK THEN, WHICH STRONGLY IMPLIES THAT THEY WERE ABLE TO, UH, PROVIDE A HIGHER LEVEL
[01:00:01]
OF SERVICE FREQUENCY AT THAT TIME.UH, LIANA WILL BE BACK TO DISCUSS THIS, UH, IN MORE DEPTH, BUT THIS IS PART CLASSIFICATION OF, UM, WHAT THEIR IDEAL LEVELS OF SERVICE FOR EACH LEVEL OF PARK, UH, WOULD BE.
AND SO WE USED, UM, THESE TARGETS TO TRY TO DRIVE OUT WHAT THE ACTUAL, UM, EFFECTS OF, OF THAT DIFFERENCE IN FTES BETWEEN THOSE TWO YEARS HAS BEEN.
SO YOU CAN SEE WE ESTIMATE THAT BACK IN 2014, WE WERE ABLE TO, UH, MAINTAIN AT LEAST SOME, UH, PARKS AT A LEVEL TWO, UH, LEVEL OF MOWING FREQUENCY, WHICH MEANS EVERY TWO TO THREE WEEKS.
I THINK IT AVERAGES ABOUT 16 DAYS OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR, DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU ARE IN THE GROWING SEASON.
WHEREAS NOW, UH, WE'RE NOT DOING ANY PARKS AT THAT LEVEL.
AND, AND WE'VE SEEN A BIG INCREASE IN THE, IN THE LEVEL THREE MAINTENANCE ON, UM, THE S TEAM SIDE.
UH, WE'VE SEEN A DECLINE, UM, MAINLY FROM GOING TO EVERY DAY TO HAVING TO GO TO FIVE DAYS PER WEEK ON SOME OF OUR RESTROOM AND LITTER TRASH AND RECYCLING SERVICING.
SO AGAIN, WE WANTED TO DIG INTO WHAT WAS REALLY DRIVING THIS, BECAUSE ON THE SURFACE WE ADDED A 4% INCREASE IN ACRES UNDER MANAGEMENT, AND WE HAD ADDED ALMOST 5% TO THEIR FTE COUNT.
SO IT SEEMED LIKE WE WERE KEEPING PACE ON THE SURFACE WITH, UM, THE NEW ACREAGE.
UH, AND IN FACT, NEW ACREAGE USUALLY DOESN'T HAVE A HUGE LABOR DEMAND BECAUSE, UM, IT'S USUALLY UNIMPROVED.
SO WE DUG INTO THOSE ACRES AND ALL THAT ACREAGE BEING ADDED, ONLY ADDED ABOUT 3.3 FTE, UM, EQUIVALENT TO THE TOTAL LABOR DEMAND EACH YEAR.
SO LOOKING INTO IT MORE, WHAT WE'VE DISCOVERED IS REALLY IT'S AS PART IMPROVES, ITS EXISTING PARKLAND, UM, THROUGH VARIOUS CAPITAL PROGRAMS. THEY'RE IMPROVING, UM, A LOT OF OUR PARKS TO A HIGHER LEVEL OF SERVICE ON THAT ONE TO FOUR SCALE, AND THEY'RE ALSO, UM, ADDING NEW AMENITIES ALL THE TIME.
AND SO WE'VE NOT QUITE KEPT PACE WITH THEIR ABILITY TO SERVICE ALL THESE NEW AMENITIES.
UM, AND, AND, AND, UM, AND IMPROVEMENTS.
NOW I'D LIKE, UH, LEONNA TO COME UP AND SHE CAN TAKE YOU THROUGH, UM, PARTS IDEALIZED SERVICE LEVELS AND, AND WHERE THEY'D LIKE TO GET.
I'M LEANNA VOCA, AND, UH, I SERVE AS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
AS PART OF MY RESPONSIBILITIES, I OVERSEE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.
ALSO, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT IS, UM, UH, FALL UNDER, UM, MY SUPERVISION.
SO, UM, WE ARE TO DISCUSS HOW FREQUENTLY SHOULD, UM, THE TASKS BE PERFORMED.
UM, THE PARKS INTEGRATION DEPARTMENT HAS DEFINED, UH, FOUR LEVELS OF SERVICE, AND THESE ARE BASED ON THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT.
THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT IS DETERMINED BY BOTH THE NUMBER OF PARK AMENITIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT LEVEL OF THE SURROUNDING NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE, WE HAVE LEVEL ONE, WHICH IS PARKS OF ANY SIZE WITH A PLAYGROUND OR HIGH LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT.
LEVEL TWO IS PARKS OF ANY SIZE WITHOUT A PLAYGROUND AND MEDIUM LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT AND ALL THE RIGHT OF WAYS.
LEVEL THREE IS PARKS OF ANY SIZE WITHOUT A PLAYGROUND AND LOW LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT.
AND LEVEL FOUR ARE THE UNDEVELOPED, UH, PARKS.
SO WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS OF SERVICE AND WHAT IS THE FREQUENCY IN WHICH CITY STAFF AND THE PUBLIC EXPECT TASKS TO BE PERFORMED AT THE DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DEVELOPMENT? SO ERIC HAD A SLIDE AND I WILL REFER TO IT, UH, ALSO THAT DISCUSSED THOSE FREQUENCY, UH, EXPECTATIONS.
I WOULD LIKE TO NOTE THAT THESE EXPECTATIONS ARE BASED ON STAFF EXPERIENCE ON BEST PRACTICES, AS WELL AS COMMENTS THAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE PUBLIC SOMETIMES IN TERMS OF EMAILS, THREE ONE ONE TICKETS, PHONE CALLS, UH, CITIZEN ASSISTANT, UH, COMMUNICATIONS, AND EVEN CODE VIOLATIONS.
I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, NOTE ALSO THAT,
[01:05:01]
UM, TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES AND OVER TIME HOURS, UM, THEY ARE USED EACH YEAR FOR A NUMBER OF, UH, DIFFERENT IN A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT WAYS.AND THESE ARE A LOT OF TIMES TO GET US CLOSER TO THE ESTABLISHED LEVELS OF SERVICE, UH, ESPECIALLY IN THE HIGH SEASONS SPRING, SUMMER, UH, AND FALL.
AND FROM ERIC'S SLIDES, IF YOU RECALL, YOU SAW THAT LEVEL ONE AND LEVEL TWO ARE VERY HARD TO ACHIEVE, WHERE WE, WE ARE ABLE TO USE TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES TO SUPPLEMENT OUR MAINTENANCE STUFF IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO GET THERE BECAUSE, UH, Z AUDITORIUM SOURCE AND OTHER PARKS THAT ARE SO, UH, UH, INUNDATED WITH VISITORS DAY IN AND DAY OUT, THEY ARE BEING SERVICED AT LEVEL ONE.
TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO COVERING FOR VACANCIES, AND, UH, THEY ALSO HELP US CATCH UP AFTER WEATHER EVENTS, UM, LIKE THE, THE ICE STORM THAT WE HAD LAST YEAR.
SO THERE IS A DECISION THAT NEEDS TO BE MADE, AND THAT IS, UM, THE CITY CAN STAFF TO A DEFINED LEVEL OF SERVICE OR SERVICE TO THE LEVEL OF BUDGETED STAFF.
THERE IS OBVIOUSLY A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THOSE TWO, AND PART IS CURRENTLY DOING THE LATTER.
WE ARE, UH, SERVICING TO THE LATTER TO THE LEVEL OF, UH, THE BUDGETED STAFF.
IDEALLY, THE SERVICE LEVELS SHOULD BE SET BY THE LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT.
SO WHAT ARE THE EXPECTATIONS FOR SERVICE? UM, AND ARE THESE EXPECTATIONS REALISTIC? UH, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS BEEN GROWING AT A FAST PACE THAT HAS BEEN SLOWING DOWN THE LAST YEAR, BUT THE CURRENT POPULATION IS ABOUT A MILLION.
SO THIS IS GROWTH OF MORE THAN 8% DURING THE LAST DECADE, AND THAT COMES WITH MANY MORE VISITORS AT THE PARKS AND INCREASED NA DENSITY, UM, OR NEW NEIGHBORHOODS THAT ARE COMING TO OUR NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS EVERYWHERE.
IN ADDITION, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS SET UP GOALS FOR A FAMILY FRIENDLY CITY AND A CHILD FRIENDLY AND CHILD FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AND THAT IS THAT THAT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO PARKS THAT ARE SO THAT THEY ARE WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE OF EVERY RESIDENT.
AND THAT WALKING DISTANCE HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED AS QUARTER MILE FOR URBAN CORE AND, UH, HALF A MILE OUTSIDE THE URBAN CORE, THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND.
UM, TED ACTUALLY MENTIONED THIS MORNING THAT, UH, TODAY'S THE DAY THAT THE PARK SCORE COMES OUT.
LAST YEAR WE WERE RANKED 41, UM, AMONG THE HUNDRED LARGEST CITIES.
THE TRUST FOR PUBLIC LAND IS RANKING THE HUNDRED LARGEST CITIES IN THE US.
THE CITIES ARE EVALUATED IN FIVE PARK CATEGORIES THAT INCLUDE THE PERCENTAGE OF RESIDENTS WHO LIVE WITHIN A 10 MINUTE WALK FROM A PARK, THE PERCENTAGE OF CITY LAND THAT IS USED FOR PARKS COMPARED BETWEEN NEIGHBORHOODS BY RACE AND BY INCOME, THE PER CAPITA SPENDING ON PARKS.
SO THAT IS HOW MUCH A CITY IS INVESTING IN THE PARK SYSTEM, THE NUMBER OF PARK AMENITIES AVAILABLE TO, UH, FOSTER, HEALTHY, INCLUSIVE, AND BRIGHT, VIBRANT COMMUNITIES.
AND WHERE ARE THE PARKS MOST NEEDED? SO EQUITY IS CERTAINLY, UM, IT HAS A, A LARGE COMPONENT ON HOW THE PARK SCORE IS COMING.
AND OF COURSE, ALL OF THESE CATEGORIES ARE THINGS THAT WE ARE DISCUSSING AND HOW WE ARE DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING OUR PARKLAND.
SO TO MEET ALL OF THESE GOALS AND TO MEET THE COUNCIL MANDATES, THE DEPARTMENT HAS TO CONTINUE TO ACQUIRE LAND AND TO DEVELOP PARKS SO THAT WE ACTIVATE THE ACQUIRED LAND THIS YEAR AND NEXT YEAR WE HAVE A NUMBER OF NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS THAT ARE BEING COMPLETED.
UM, ERIC MENTIONED WHAT HAS HAPPENED OVER THE LAST DECADE.
WE HAVE ACTUALLY A LOT OF DEVELOPMENT GOING ON NOW, AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF
[01:10:01]
NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS THAT ARE BEING FINISHED OR WILL FINISH WITHIN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS, INCLUDING BROWNIE, HIGHLAND, PALMER LAW, DUNCAN, OR AT LEAST SPRINGWOODS, UH, AND OTHERS.WE HAVE POOLS THAT WILL BE FINISHED AT THE END OF THIS, UH, SUMMER AND IN THE FALL, COLONY PARK AND GIS FACILITIES THAT ARE, UH, GETTING RENOVATED OR THE NEXT PHASE OF DEVELOPMENT OF EXPANSION, UH, LIKE THE MAC OR CARVER NEW, BUT HOUSES AND RESTROOMS, MILES OF TRAILS, AND HUNDREDS OF ACRES OF NEW PARKLAND ACQUISITIONS.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO JUST, UM, STAY FOR A MINUTE OR LESS FOR LAND BANKING BECAUSE IT IS A STRATEGY TO ACQUIRE LAND WHEN THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY.
WE HAVE A WILLING SELLER THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY TRUE AT ANY TIME, UH, OR WHERE IT IS STILL AFFORDABLE, EVEN IN PARTS OF AUSTIN THAT DO NOT HAVE A SIGNIFICANT POPULATION YET, BUT THEY'RE GROWING AND TO KEEP THE LAND UNDEVELOPED UNTIL FUNDING IS AVAILABLE AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES BECOME AVAILABLE.
SO THIS IS A CRITICAL PLANNING TOOL TO MEET FUTURE DEMANDS FOR OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN.
SO THIS IS YOU, YOU SAW THAT THE SERVICE FREQUENCY, AND YOU CAN SEE THIS IS WHAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, AND THIS IS THE LEVEL THAT WE ARE TRYING TO MEET DAY IN AND DAY OUT.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO, UH, NOTE THAT, UH, THIS PROPOSED METHODOLOGY, UH, IS ONLY FOR THE THREE TEAMS THAT WERE DISCUSSED.
SO IT IS ABOUT MOWING, CLEANING, AND MAINTENANCE BECAUSE THEY TEND TO BE WHERE THE MOST, UM, PERCEIVED VALUE LIES FOR THE PUBLIC.
AND WHERE WE CUT THE GRASS, WE PICK UP THE, THE TRASH, AND WE FIX WHAT IS BROKEN.
SO WE STARTED THERE, BUT ONCE THAT IS, UM, WE ARE ALL COMFORTABLE WITH THAT, OR WE GET A DIRECTION ABOUT THIS METHODOLOGY BEING VALID TO BE, UM, USED IN THE FUTURE, WE CAN EXPAND TO, TO OTHER TEAMS WITHIN THE MAINTENANCE GROUP OR IN OTHER, UM, AREAS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT.
AND ALL THE FINANCIAL INFORMATION THAT YOU SAW EARLIER, UH, HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED APPROPRIATELY FOR ONLY THIS, UH, THREE TEAMS. SO I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE STEVEN LYNETTE AND LAUREN ANO, UH, ON MY TEAM FOR WORKING COLLABORATIVELY WITH THE BUDGET OFFICE AND EVERYONE IN THE BUDGET OFFICE THAT HELPED US CREATE THIS PROOF OF CONCEPT FOR THE FORMULA.
AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT THIS WORK.
UM, I'M GONNA LET MY COLLEAGUES GO FIRST.
I HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS, BUT GO AHEAD.
COUNCIL MEMBER ILEANA, I JUST HAD TWO QUICK QUESTIONS FOR YOU.
UM, ON YOUR SCHEDULING FOR MOWING, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH OUR GROW ZONES ONCE CALLED NO MO ZONES, BUT GROW ZONES, DOES THAT, WHAT WHAT EFFECT DO THE GROW ZONES HAVE ON YOUR SCHEDULING? UM, CRITERIA? IT'S A POSITIVE EFFECT.
UM, WE OBVIOUSLY, UM, DO THOSE USUALLY TWICE A YEAR.
AND, UH, WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY DO THOSE, DO YOU MEAN YOU, YOU MOW THE GROW ZONES TWICE A YEAR OR? YES, WE MOW THE GROW ZONES TWICE A YEAR.
UM, AND BY INCREASING THOSE, WE ARE REMOVING ACRES OF MANAGED LAND FROM THE DAILY SERVICE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT THERE IS, WE NEED TO, WHEN WE ESTABLISH THE, UM, NOMO ZONES, UH, WE NEED TO ALSO FOLLOW UP WITH EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC.
UH, IN SOME CASES WE DO RECEIVE COMMUNICATIONS THAT WE ARE NOT KEEPING UP WITH MAINTENANCE AND WE HAVEN'T MOWED FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS.
SO IT IS IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND AND EDUCATE OF WHAT IS THE VALUE OF HAVING THOSE, UM, NATURAL ZONES AND WHY WE ARE NOT GOING TO MOW THEM AS FREQUENTLY AS THE REST OF THE PARKLAND.
AND DO WE HAVE, UM, CONTRACTORS WHO COME IN AND, AND HANDLE THE MOWING, OR IS THIS STAFF? IT IS JUST STAFF
[01:15:01]
UNTIL, UM, BEFORE THE PANDEMIC, WE ACTUALLY HAD CONTRACTS, BUT DURING THE PANDEMIC IT BECAME OBVIOUS THAT THEY WILL NOT BE, THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO MEET THE REQUIREMENTS AND AFTERWARDS THEY WERE NEVER REESTABLISHED BECAUSE THE COSTS WERE MUCH HIGHER THAN WHAT THE DEPARTMENT COULD AFFORD.AND YOU ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT MAINTAINING THE CEMETERY GROUNDS, IS THAT CORRECT? NO.
'CAUSE I THINK WE DO USE CONTRACTORS FOR THE CEMETERIES, BUT THAT'S OKAY.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE CEMETERIES.
WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE, THEY'RE SEPARATE.
AND THEN MY SECOND QUESTION IS AROUND HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANUP.
IS THAT REFLECTED IN YOUR NUMBERS? IT IS REFLECTED TO A VERY LIMITED, UH, DEGREE.
UM, WE, LAST YEAR DURING BUDGET, WE WERE, UH, GIVEN FOUR TEMP POSITIONS FOR ONE YEAR.
UH, AND THE MAINTENANCE TEAM DECIDED THAT THE BEST USE FOR THESE FOUR 10 POSITIONS WAS TO ASSIGN THEM FULL TIME FOR, UH, HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT CLEANUP.
BUT THESE WERE ONLY FOR SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZE ENCAMPMENTS AND ONES THAT ARE BACK.
SO THIS IS NOW, WE ARE USING THIS FOUR MEMBER TEAM TO GO OUT EVERY DAY.
AND, UH, THAT ACTUALLY IS ALLOWING US TO CATCH UP MORE WITH THAT WORK.
AND, UH, THE MAINTENANCE STAFF DOES NOT HAVE TO, UH, SPEND MORE TIME ON A DAILY BASIS FOR TRASH AND DEBRIS THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE.
SO THESE POSITIONS, THOUGH, ARE AVAILABLE UNTIL THE, THE END OF SEPTEMBER, SO STARTING IN OCTOBER, WE WON'T HAVE THEM.
SO THE CITY HAD THIS CADRE OF FOUR TEMPORARY POSITIONS.
THEY WERE DEPLOYED OVER TO WORK, UM, EXCLUSIVELY WITH HOMELESSNESS, HOMELESS CAMP, UH, CLEANUPS, AND THEN THEY WERE SHIFTED BACK OVER TO WORK ON PARKS SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES.
SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU ACTUALLY NEED TWO COHORTS.
BOTH OF THOSE, THOSE TYPES OF WORK NEED TO BE COVERED.
IS THAT REFLECT? AND SO IS, IS THAT ACCURATE? AND IF SO, IS THAT REFLECTED IN, IN THE REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL STAFFING AND BUDGET? MM-HMM.
UH, SO THAT THOSE FOUR POSITIONS, THE 10 POSITIONS, IT'S, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT IT IS REFLECTED IN THE REQUEST.
THE 16 POSITIONS THAT ERIC MENTIONED, THESE WERE ONLY BASED ON THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE TASKS.
WOULD THE FOUR TEMP, ARE THE FOUR TEMP POSITIONS INSIDE THE 16 FTES REQUEST? NO.
HOW WOULD YOU COVER THAT WORK? UH, THAT WOULD BE A TOUGH DECISION TO MAKE IN OCTOBER, BUT IT WILL DEPEND ON WHETHER COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO EXTEND THAT FOR ANOTHER YEAR OR MAKE A DIFFERENT DECISION.
SO THE RENEWAL OF THE TEMPS, UM, FUNDING AND STAFFING IS STILL PUT, IS STILL ON THE TABLE, I GUESS WE'LL SEE WHEN WE, WHEN WE GET THE BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AND HAVE BEEN, I MEAN, I CAN'T THINK OF A TIME THAT WE WEREN'T CONCERNED ABOUT THIS AND, UM, THE PANDEMIC DID TAKE A BUNCH OF WIND OUT OF EVERYBODY'S SAILS.
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO CONTINUE WITH THE STAFFING UP, UH, WITH THE HIRING AND, AND THE, UH, RETENTION OF GOOD STAFF TO DO THIS WORK AND THE EXPANSION INTO THOSE AREAS WHERE WE HAVE INCREASED NEEDS AND A SHORTFALL.
SO CHAIR, I APPRECIATE, UM, YOU AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER FOR, FOR PUTTING THIS ON, ON THE AGENDA AND HIGHLIGHTING REALLY CLEARLY THE WORK AHEAD.
SO WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE.
I JUST WANNA SAY, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHY WE DID THIS WAS WE NEED TO GET SOME NUMBERS BEHIND THIS INTUITION THAT WE ALL HAVE, UM, AND WHAT WAS PRESENTED TODAY.
GIVE SOME OF THAT, AND I THINK WE'RE GONNA HAVE SOME MORE CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, UH, THANK Y'ALL VERY MUCH.
I, I THINK IT'S INTERESTING WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE PANDEMIC AND, AND THE EFFECTS IT HAD HERE, AND I THINK ONE OF THE OTHER BIG EFFECTS I THINK WAS THAT IT SHOWED THE PUBLIC THE IMMENSE SOCIAL VALUE OF OUR PARKS AND OPEN SPACES.
AND SO, UH, THE IRONY THAT IN THAT TIME WE ACTUALLY ENDED UP TAKING A HIT TO OUR ABILITY TO MAINTAIN THESE SPACES IS, UM, IT'S REALLY UNFORTUNATE, BUT HOPEFULLY WE'RE CHARTING A PATH DOWN TODAY TO, TO GET BACK TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
[01:20:01]
I FEEL LIKE THERE'S KINDA ONE BIG ELEMENT LEFT OUT OF THIS IN THAT WE TALK ABOUT THIS FORMULA, WE TALK ABOUT WHERE WE WERE, BUT APPLYING THAT TO TODAY, WHAT, WHAT IS THE NEED TODAY? UH, I FEEL LIKE WE HAVEN'T HIT ON THAT, AND WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT STAFFING LEVELS ARE NEEDED SO THAT WE CAN DO WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED HERE TODAY.SO, CAN ONE OF Y'ALL SPEAK TO THAT? UH, WHEN WE DROVE OUT THINGS BASED ON THAT, UM, CHART WITH LEVELS ONE THROUGH FOUR AND THE IDEAL IDEALIZED LEVEL OF SERVICE, I THINK WE'RE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 190 FTE EQUIVALENTS, UM, VERSUS THE 100 AND, UH, 10 AUTHORIZED ONES.
AND WITHIN THAT, ARE THERE, IS THAT PURELY JUST FOR MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALS? YEAH, BUT IT'S JUST FOR THE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE TEAM DOING THE, THOSE TASKS WE ITEMIZED AND DO WE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA, I IMAGINE, GROW BY A D FTES IN ONE BUDGET, BUT DO WE HAVE EITHER A PLAN TO GET TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE OR, OR EVEN THIS FIRST STEP OF AS WE'RE DEVELOPING THE BUDGET, WHAT THE REQUEST IS FROM PAR TO HELP US? YEAH, WE HAVE, WE HAVE ASKED DEPARTMENTS TO SUBMIT THEIR REQUESTS, OBVIOUSLY, UM, YOU REMEMBER FROM FORECAST THAT WE'RE HAVING A, A TOUGH BUDGET YEAR AS ALWAYS IN THE, IN THE SB TWO ERA.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S A KNOWN ISSUE.
IT'S NOT JUST THIS DEPARTMENT, EVERYONE, LIKE, YOU KNOW, IF WE RAN THIS MODEL FOR EVERY DEPARTMENT, I DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE MAGNITUDE, BUT WE'D HAVE SIMILAR STORIES AND, UM, WE DON'T HAVE THE REVENUE TO FUND IT ALL, SO WE HAVE TO MAKE TOUGH DECISIONS.
BUT I, I WANT TO ECHO WHAT LEANNA SAID ABOUT, I THINK IT WAS GOOD TO GO THROUGH THIS, UM, EXERCISE AND DEVELOP THIS MODEL SO AT LEAST WE CAN HAVE A RATIONAL, FAIRLY OBJECTIVE CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE WANT TO GET.
WELL, I THINK THAT HITS RIGHT ON A LARGER DISCUSSION THAT WE NEED TO HAVE AS POLICY MAKERS OF, DO WE NEED TO TAKE SOME MORE EXTREME STEPS AS IT RELATES TO OUR PARKS TO MAKE SURE THE FUNDING IS THERE, RIGHT? DO WE NEED TO EXPLORE WHAT, UM, OTHERS HAVE DONE, WHETHER IT'S IN VAIN OF A, A PARKS DISTRICT OR A, YOU KNOW, MULTIPLE PIS OR EVEN, UH, A FUTURE FUNDING SOURCE THAT IS CONSISTENT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, YOU ARE CORRECT THAT PARKS ARE NOT THE ONLY ONES FEELING THIS PINCH, BUT, UH, TO SEE A ALMOST NEED A NEED OF AN ALMOST DOUBLING OF OUR STAFF TO KEEP UP WITH MAINTENANCE.
I THINK THAT IS SHOULD SEND OFF SOME, SOME PRETTY BIG, UH, ALARM BELLS THAT, THAT THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE BEYOND JUST A NORMAL BUDGET INCREMENT YEAR OVER YEAR, OVER YEAR.
UM, WHEN ONE OF THE, IT IS RELATED, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WAS MENTIONED WAS AROUND LAND BANKING AND THE ABILITY TO DO THAT WHEN THE, WHEN THE NEED OR WHEN THE OPPORTUNITY ARISES, WHAT TYPE OF FUNDS DOES PARD HAVE REMAINING FROM PREVIOUS BONDS TO DO THAT? AND I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S FOR YOU, I'M GONNA DEFER TO LEANNA OR, OR STEVEN, WHOEVER FEELS MORE CAPABLE THAN ME OF ANSWERING THAT
SO WE WERE FORTUNATE IN THE LAST BOND IN 2018 TO GET A SIZABLE, UH, AMOUNT FOR ACQUISITIONS.
SO, AND WE HAVE BEEN GOOD AT PROCEEDING WITH THOSE, SO THAT FUNDING IS ALMOST EXHAUSTED, UM, OR IT IS ALLOCATED TO THE LAST FEW PLANT ACQUISITIONS.
THAT FUNDING HAD ALSO BEEN SUPPLEMENTED BY PARKLAND DEDICATION FUNDS, AND THAT ACTUALLY ALLOWED US TO GO, UH, WAY FURTHER, UH, THE LAST FEW YEARS.
WE DO HAVE, SO FOR BONDS, IT'S ONLY A VERY LIMITED AMOUNT FOR PARKLAND DEDICATION.
THIS IS THE LAST YEAR THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, FUNDING COME IN, UH, WITH THE LEGISLATION.
UH, WE ANTICIPATE THAT IT'S GONNA BE A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION, AT LEAST FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS.
AND THEN HOPEFULLY THE FUNDING MAY REESTABLISH TO A, TO AN EXTENT, UM, AND, UM, EVERYTHING ELSE
[01:25:01]
WOULD BE FOR A POTENTIAL BOND IN THE FUTURE WHENEVER IT IS TO COME.AND, AND MY UNDERSTANDING WAS THAT IN
SO IT'S NOT SURPRISING THAT YOU'VE EXHAUSTED IT BECAUSE WE'RE AT THE END OF THAT SIX YEAR PERIOD.
SO, MM-HMM,
AND, AND, YOU KNOW, WE AS A CITY HAVE LOTS OF NEEDS, BUT THE ABILITY TO GRAB LAND, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW WHEN PRICES ARE DEFLATED, WHICH ALMOST NEVER HAPPENS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, UM, IS SOMETHING THAT I THINK WE ALSO ARE GONNA NEED TO HAVE FURTHER CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, TO, TO MAKE SURE YOU CAN MEET THOSE OPPORTUNITIES WHEN THEY ARISE.
I WANTED TO ALSO ASK, AS IT RELATES TO THE CONVERSATION OF ENFORCEMENT IN OUR PARKS, YOU KNOW, I, UH, HEAR A LOT FROM MY CONSTITUENTS ABOUT WHETHER IT'S INDIVIDUALS CAMPING IN PARKS OR CERTAIN ACTIVITY OCCURRING IN A PARK, THAT, THAT THEY ARE, UM, TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE ENFORCE THOSE RULES.
AND SO WHERE DOES THAT FALL IN THIS CONVERSATION OF NEEDED STAFFING TO, TO ENFORCE THOSE RULES? KIMBERLY MCNEELY SERVING AS THE PARKS AND RECREATION DIRECTOR, SO ENFORCEMENT FOR THE PARK SYSTEM, RIGHT? WE HAVE RANGERS, I BELIEVE, 21 OF THEM.
I COULD LOOK THAT NUMBER UP REAL QUICK.
THOSE INDIVIDUALS HAVE THE, A LEVEL OF AUTHORITY OF VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE.
PLEASE DO NOT DO THE THING THAT YOU'RE DOING THAT IS NOT APPROPRIATE.
UH, AND THEY ARE ABLE TO, UH, ISSUE PARKING TICKETS.
ALL OTHER ENFORCEMENT THAT WOULD REQUIRE, UH, A, A PARKING TICKET OR I'M SORRY, REQUIRE TICKETING OR, UM, UNFORTUNATELY PERHAPS AN ARREST OR A CRIMINAL TRESPASS NOTICE.
THOSE ARE AT THE LEVEL OF AUTHORITY OF OUR, UM, COLLEAGUES IN A PD.
AND SO WHILE WE WORK VERY CLOSELY WITH THEM, FOR THOSE IN, FOR THE A PD TO HELP US, UM, HIT SOME OF THE HOTSPOTS, UH, IT'S AT THEIR LEVEL OF AUTHORITY.
SO, UM, THAT'S HOW WE'RE ABLE TO ENFORCE THINGS WHEN IT COMES TO ENCAMPMENTS.
UM, WE WORK WITH THE HOMELESS STRATEGY OFFICE THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO VERY SYSTEMATICALLY, UH, LET INDIVIDUALS KNOW THAT THEY'D NEED TO MOVE ON.
AND THEN OF COURSE, UM, THE ENFORCEMENT COMES WITH THE ENTIRE TEAM OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HELP, UM, MOVE, REMOVE THOSE ENCAMPMENTS AND THEN CLEAN THOSE SPACES UP AS, AS LEANNA HAD, UM, HAD DESCRIBED.
HAVE Y'ALL HAD DISCUSSIONS ABOUT UTILIZING CAMERAS OR OTHER TECHNOLOGY TO, TO KIND OF BE A FORCE MULTIPLIER FOR THE PEOPLE YOU DON'T HAVE? SO THAT ONE PERSON CAN LOOK AT EIGHT PARKS AT ONCE INSTEAD OF, IN FACT, WE DID SOME OF THAT LAST YEAR WITH OUR VACANCY SAVINGS.
WE WERE ABLE TO, AND WE'LL BE BRINGING IN SOME CAMERAS ONLY FOR THE SUMMERTIME FOR SOME OF IT, AND WE HAVE SOME OTHER STRATEGIES, UH, AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE A, A STUDY THAT WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW TO MAKE OUR SPACES MORE SECURE.
UH, HOWEVER, WE DIDN'T HAVE THE VACANCY SAVINGS THIS YEAR, SO WE WERE UNABLE TO BRING IN THE SAME NUMBER OF CAMERAS AS, AS WE HAD IN THE YEARS PAST.
BUT WE HAVE, UM, WE, WE WILL BE DOING THAT FOR, FOR THE SUMMER SEASON, WHAT WE CALL, AND THAT'S USUALLY WHEN WE HAVE, UM, MAJORITY OF THE BAD BEHAVIORS.
THERE'S AN UPTICK IN PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE PARK SYSTEM, AND THEN JUST BECAUSE OF THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUAL, THERE'S A HIGHER PERCENTAGE OF BEHAVIORS THAT ARE, ARE NOT DESIRED IN THE PARK.
SO THE, THEREFORE THOSE CAMERAS AND LIGHTS ARE, ARE MOST USEFUL IN THE SUMMERTIME.
WHEN Y'ALL ARE MAKING MAINTENANCE DECISIONS, WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE THE STAFFING THAT YOU NEED, HOW DOES THAT WORK IN DETERMINING WHAT GETS PUSHED TO THE SIDE? IS IT THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN AREAS THAT ARE PRIORITIES THAT THEY'RE GONNA STAY ON SCHEDULE, OR DO YOU KIND OF JUST HAVE A MASTER LIST AND WE JUST GO DOWN THE LIST AND AS, AS QUICKLY AS WE GET TO IT, IS AS QUICKLY AS WE GET TO IT, WHAT IS, HOW DO WE BALANCE THAT NEED VERSUS WHAT WE HAVE? SO, SO I THINK THAT IT, UH, I THINK THAT TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, IT'S VERY REACTIVE.
I THINK THAT IT DEPENDS UPON THE NUMBER OF THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING ON THAT PARTICULAR DAY AND WHAT THAT PARTICULAR, UH, ENVIRONMENT LOOKS LIKE.
AND SO ARE WE HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, ARE WE HAVING A HUGE FESTIVAL THAT'S COMING IN DOWNTOWN SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST, AND WE KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE USING CERTAIN AREAS AND WE DON'T HAVE LIMITED RESOURCES, AND WE KNOW WE HAVE 10 THINGS THAT WE HAVE TO DO, WHERE ARE WE GONNA PUT THEM IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY, UH, IS TAKING CARE OF THEIR, THE LOCAL NEEDS AS WELL AS, UM, YOU KNOW, PROVIDING A GOOD LOOK FOR OUR, UM, FOR BEING A, A PLACE WHERE VISITORS WANT TO COME.
AND SO I THINK IT REALLY DEPENDS UPON DAY BY DAY.
SO I'M GIVING YOU REALLY A NON-ANSWER, BUT I'M LETTING YOU KNOW THAT OUR TEAM EVALUATES WHAT'S GOING ON ON THAT PARTICULAR WEEK OR THAT
[01:30:01]
PARTICULAR PART OF THE, OF THE SEASON AS THEY TRY TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.OBVIOUSLY IN THE SUMMER, IF WE HAVE TO MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT, UH, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO MOW AND WE HAVE SWIMMING POOLS THAT PEOPLE ARE GONNA GO TO, WE'RE GONNA MAKE SURE THOSE SPACES ARE MOWED SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET TO THE SWIMMING POOLS VERSUS MAYBE SOMEWHERE ELSE IN OUR PARK SYSTEM.
BUT IT'S REALLY DEPENDENT UPON THE SEASON AND WHAT MIGHT BE HAPPENING.
WELL, I, I KIND OF WANT TO END WHERE A LITTLE BIT WHERE WE STARTED IN, IN FIGURING OUT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS LARGE UNMET NEED AND, AND WHAT, WHAT IS OUR GOAL HERE, RIGHT? IF, AS WE TALK ABOUT STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND, AND MEASURABLE TARGETS, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE GOAL AS IT RELATES TO OUR PARKS AND IN THIS, UH, AREA, THE MAINTENANCE OF OUR PARKS, YOU KNOW, DO WE WANT TO ACHIEVE, YOU KNOW, A LEVEL ONE OF SERVICE FOR ALL OUR PARKS THAT QUALIFY? SHOULD 80% OF OUR PARKS RECEIVE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE NEED TO HAVE GOALS IN PLACE SO THAT WHEN WE'RE MAKING BUDGET DECISIONS, WE CAN SAY, WELL, IT WILL TAKE 10 FTES TO ACCOMPLISH THIS.
AND SO WE KNOW HOW WE MOVE THAT ALONG.
AND, AND SO, UM, AS, AS WE HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN THE FUTURE, I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE UNDERSTANDING HOW WE TIE THE NEED TO THE OUTCOME SO THAT WE CAN MAKE THE RIGHT DECISIONS.
AND SO THERE ARE IDEAL STANDARDS AND TARGET GOALS FOR MAINTENANCE, AND THESE ARE REALLY REQUIRING A LOT OF, UM, PERSONNEL.
AND SOME OF THEM ARE, IF WE HAVE A DEVELOPED PARK THAT PEOPLE ARE VISITING, UM, WE SHOULD BE HAVING EYES ON IT EVERY SINGLE DAY, AND WE NEED TO TAKE CARE OF THE LAND.
WE ARE NOT CLOSE TO THAT AT THIS POINT.
WE HAVE AN ASSIGNED LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR EVERY SINGLE PARK.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE ARE TARGETING ON A DAILY BASIS.
UH, BUT AS KIMBERLY SAID, WE MAY HAVE SOME UNUSUAL EVENT THAT WE NEED TO TAKE CARE, OR WE MAY HAVE RAIN, WHICH MEANS THAT WE CANNOT GO OUT.
AND BY THE WAY, THE GRASS IS GONNA GROW FASTER.
SO, AND WE ALSO HAVE A VERY DEDICATED WORKFORCE, SO THEY WILL DO AS MUCH AS THEY CAN THE FOLLOWING DAYS, AND OUR TEMP EMPLOYEES ARE HELPING WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO AS A FIRST STEP, I THINK FROM MY PERSPECTIVE WOULD BE TO BE ABLE TO GO TO A LEVEL WITH RESOURCES THAT WE CAN MEET THE SERVICE LEVELS THAT WE HAVE ESTABLISHED, UM, THAT WE ARE GONNA BE ABLE TO GO TO THE LEVEL ONE PARKS EVERY SINGLE DAY, THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE RESTROOMS EVERY, AT LEAST FIVE DAYS A WEEK.
UH, PLAYGROUNDS NEED TO BE, UH, LOOKED AT EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SO MEETING THAT HAS BEEN A CHALLENGE NOW BECAUSE WE, WE DON'T HAVE SUFFICIENT, UH, UH, PERSONNEL, UH, MY THINKING IS THAT THIS WOULD BE THE FIRST STEP AND WE COULD SEE, I MEAN, THAT WOULD BE A HUGE, UH, IMPROVEMENT.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW.
COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UM, COLLEAGUES ONLINE.
DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS BEFORE I ASK MINE? UM, SO IN THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE HAD, UM, ABOUT THIS GOING BACK TO OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER, UM, WE GOT THE MATERIAL BACK IN JANUARY.
UM, THERE WAS A NUMBER ABOUT WHAT WE NEEDED TO GET UP TO THE 2014 YEAR LEVEL SERVICE.
CAN SOMEONE TELL US THAT PLEASE, RELATIVE TO WHERE WE ARE NOW? WHAT, WHAT THE MODEL SHOWED IS THAT WE WERE, IN 2014, WE HAD, UH, EQUIVALENT OF NINE EMPLOYEES WORTH OF ADDITIONAL CAPACITY AT THE SAME SERVICE LEVELS.
SO WE'D HAVE TO TRANSLATE THAT BASED ON THE EXPANDED NUMBER OF ACRES AND AMENITIES NOW.
SO IT'D BE A LITTLE, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN THAT NINE.
I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT NUMBER IN THE 10 TO 12 RANGE.
SO, SO, UM, I CAN TELL YOU THE EXACT NUMBER.
IT WOULD BE, UM, 19.6 FTES, AND WE HAD FIVE THAT WERE ADDED.
JUST TO GET US BACK TO THE CERVICAL LEVELS WE HAD IN 2014, I, I DO HAVE TO SAY THAT IS I THINK FROM WHAT I SENT AND THAT 19.6, UM, HAS BEEN, WE'VE REVISED THAT DOWN BECAUSE
[01:35:01]
WE HAD TO ADJUST FOR SOME EMPLOYEES THAT WERE TRANSFERRED OUT.SO THAT IS, WE'RE DOWN TO, UH, A DIFFERENCE OF 10 HOURS MINUS THE FIVE WE ADDED.
SO A NET OF FIVE INSTEAD OF 14.6.
UM, SO I'D LIKE TO MEET WITH YOU AFTER THIS.
WE'RE NOT GONNA FIGURE THAT OUT IN HERE.
WE'VE HAD, YOU KNOW, WE HAD HOMELESS FOLKS MOVED OUT, WE STILL HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE HOMELESS PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESS WHO ARE, WHO ARE LIVING IN OUR PARKS, UM, AND THE AFTERMATH THAT'S IN OUR PARKS.
UM, YOU KNOW, SO, SO I'M NOT SURE SURE WHICH ONES ARE MOVED OUT, UM, THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
UM, BECAUSE THAT WORK IS STILL, THAT WORK IS STILL THERE, UM, I'M GONNA ASK THAT STAFF MAKE SURE THAT IN THE BACKUP FOR AUDIT AND FINANCE, THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS THE SLIDE PRESENTATION THAT WAS SHARED WITH US ON MONDAY, WHICH HAS THE SLIDE THAT WAS NOT IN HERE THAT I SAW TODAY.
UM, THAT EXPLAINS THAT IF WE WERE GOING TO BE AT THE IDEAL STAFFING LEVEL TODAY FROM FISCAL YEAR 2024, WHERE WE HAVE 110 FTES, THAT WE WOULD NEED 190 FTES.
I THINK WHAT WE'RE HEARING, UM, WE HEARD FROM MY COLLEAGUES IS THAT WE NEED THIS DATA.
WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE CHOICES ARE THAT WE ARE MAKING.
WE CAN'T DO THAT IF WE'RE NOT GIVEN THE INFORMATION.
UM, THIS IS INFORMATION THAT OUR COMMUNITY, WE HAVE SIX OR SEVEN PEOPLE SHOW UP TODAY TO SPEAK TO THE NEED FOR MAINTENANCE.
UM, THEY DESERVE TO HAVE ACCURATE DATA.
UM, THEY DESERVE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IF WE WERE AT THE IDEAL SERVICE LEVEL, WE WOULD NEED TO HAVE 80 ADDITIONAL FTES.
NOW, NONE OF US UP HERE THINK WE'RE GONNA GET 80 ADDITIONAL FTES THIS YEAR.
WE HAVE PART STAFF ASKING, UM, FOR 16 MORE.
UM, WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO TRY AND MEET THAT NEED.
UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE A LOT OF NEEDS ACROSS OTHER, UM, DEPARTMENTS, BUT WHEN YOU SET UP A FIREHOUSE, YOU HAVE THE STAFFING TO SERVE THE, YOU KNOW, TO, TO STAFF THAT FIREHOUSE AND YOU HAVE THE STAFFING TO DO THE CLEANING, YOU HAVE ALL OF THAT.
UM, AND, AND WE ARE CLEARLY NOT DOING THAT.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT, YOU KNOW, THE BUDGET STAFF AND PART ARE WORKING TO GIVE US THE DATA.
UM, BUT IF WE'RE GONNA DO THE DATA, THEN WE NEED TO REALLY, REALLY CLEARLY COMMUNICATE TO OUR COLLEAGUES AND OTHER FOLKS THAT WE ARE NOT DELIVERING THE MAINTENANCE LEVELS THAT WE ASPIRE TO IN OUR PARKS.
UM, AND IN THAT, IN THAT CHART THAT WAS, UM, IN THE GRA IN THE, IN THE PRESENTATION THAT WAS GIVEN TO US ON MONDAY, THERE'S A LOT MORE DETAIL ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THE SERVICE LEVELS, AND I THINK PEOPLE NEED, UM, TO SEE THAT.
UM, SO, AND, AND I KNOW YOU'RE JUST THE MESSENGER, ERIC, I JUST AM, I'M FRUSTRATED THAT WE ASKED FOR THIS IN PART SO THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO HAVE CLARITY ON WHAT WE NEED FOR PARKS MAINTENANCE.
AND YET THE, THE, THE PUNCHLINE IS MISSING FROM THE PRESENTATION THAT IS GIVEN TO US TODAY.
UM, AND, AND IF WE NEED 80 MORE STAFFERS, THAT'S ALMOST DOUBLE AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER SAID, UM, WE NEED A PLAN TO GET THERE.
AND ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, HAYDEN HOWARD, I'M GONNA ASK YOU WITH OUR, OUR INTERIM DIRECTOR AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS TO, TO COME BACK TO US AND TELL US WHAT IS OUR PLAN.
WE'RE NOT GONNA GET TO 80 QUICKLY AND MAYBE 80 IS NOT WHERE WE'RE GOING, BUT WE NEED, WE NEED SOME GOALS ON OUR LEVELS OF SERVICE.
WE NEED, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT.
UM, THE OTHER PART THAT I WANNA TO RAISE IS THAT, UM, WHAT'S MISSING FROM THESE CALCULATIONS? UM, SO THESE CALCULATIONS FOCUSED ON MOWING AND RESTROOMS AND LITTER.
UM, WE JUST LOST, WE JUST SPENT 3 MILLION PLUS ON OUR TREES BECAUSE WE DON'T TAKE CARE OF OUR TREES IN OUR PARKS EXCEPT FOR EVERY 60 YEARS.
UM, WE, WE NEED TO HAVE IN HERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT IS THE MAINTENANCE FOR THE FORESTRY WITHIN OUR PARKS? UM, WE HAVE A LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN.
IT'S NOT FULLY BUDGETED TO BE TAKEN CARE OF.
UM, THAT IS PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO DO.
SO WE DON'T HAVE THE WILDFIRE RISK.
I MEAN, THERE'S THINGS YOU STILL SHOULD BE DOING ON THESE LANDS, AND WE DON'T HAVE A SENSE OF WHERE WE SHOULD BE ASPIRING TO OR WHAT OUR GOALS ARE AND, AND WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING.
ARE THE FACILITIES MAINTENANCES, YOU KNOW, ARE FACILITIES MAINTENANCE CAPTURED HERE? THEY ARE NOT.
UM, I THINK AS LEANNA SAID, WE WE'RE TREATING THIS AS A PROOF OF CONCEPT GROUNDS MAINTENANCE, I THINK WAS THE SPECIFIC ASK.
SO WE BUILT THIS OUT AND OUR HOPE WOULD BE TO APPLY IT TO THE REST OF, UM, PART SERVICES AS POSSIBLE TO KIND OF GET THIS MORE OBJECTIVE LOOK AT ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, GRAFFITI, GRAFFITI IS ONE OF THOSE ONES THAT WE HAD TO BACK OUT BECAUSE THEY, NOT BACK OUT'S THE WRONG WORD TO FACILITATE
[01:40:01]
A TRUE APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.UM, THEY HAD BEEN MOVED OUT SINCE 2014 AND I HADN'T REALIZED THAT BEFORE.
THEY'VE BEEN MOVED OUT OF MAINTENANCE OR THEY'VE BEEN OUT INTO A SEPARATE UNIT.
THEY'RE NOT PART OF THE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE TEAM THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
AND HORTICULTURE, THEY'RE NOT IN THERE.
IT'S, IT'S JUST THOSE SERVICES THAT WE OUTLINED.
UM, THE MOWING SERVICING AND MAINTENANCE TEAM.
SO, UM, ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER, HAYDEN, HOWARD, I WOULD ASK THAT YOU WORK WITH YOUR STAFF.
UM, AND I'M DOING IT THIS WAY JUST BECAUSE THE DIRECTOR ISN'T ABOUT TO TRANSITION.
UM, IF YOU WORK WITH YOUR STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET A MODEL THAT REALLY HELPS US TO UNDERSTAND, UM, WHERE WE SHOULD BE AND, AND HAS SOME SENSE OF, OF OUR GOALS OF HOW WE'RE GONNA GET THERE.
UM, FOR, FOR THE BREADTH OF THE MAINTENANCE NEEDS, WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO ARE WORKING DAY IN AND DAY DAY OUT, AND I'M GRATEFUL THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO GIVE THEM, UM, SO MANY RAISES SINCE 2014.
BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, PART OF WHAT THEY REALLY NEED IS THEY NEED OTHER PEOPLE DOING THE WORK SO THAT THEY'RE NOT SO STRESSED AND THAT THEY FEEL LIKE THEY CAN DELIVER THE QUALITY THAT THEY KNOW THAT WE ALL, WE ALL, UM, NEED.
UM, AND THEN IN THE, THE CURRENT BUDGET, UM, WHEN YOU PRESENTED THE FISCAL PROCESS, YOU UM, MENTIONED THERE WERE A FEW THINGS THAT YOU WERE CONSIDERING FOR COST DRIVERS.
I BELIEVE THOSE WERE TWO PARKS AND THE MAC, BUT, AND MAYBE THE CARVER, BUT THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE COMING ONLINE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS AND ALL OF THAT.
HOW ARE THOSE BEING ACCOUNTED FOR? YEAH, GENERALLY, LIKE YOU REFERENCED THE FIRE STATION, SO IT'S A DISCREET NEW MAJOR FACILITY LIKE THE MAC WE WILL INCLUDE IN THE BASELINE, UM, COSTS AND STAFFING ASSOCIATED WITH THAT, BUT IT'S SORT OF THIS MORE MINOR ORGANIC ONGOING DEVELOPMENT THAT DOESN'T GET PICKED UP.
UM, JUST BECAUSE IF WE DID THAT ACROSS THE BOARD AND WE CALLED IT ALL BASELINE, WE WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING LEFT OR WE'D HAVE EVEN MORE RED INK.
BUT, BUT LIKE WE HAVE THESE NEIGHBORHOOD PARKS COMING ON, THERE'S NO ADJUSTMENT FOR THE MAINTENANCE NEEDS OF THEM.
WELL, IN, IN TERMS OF JUST THE LAND, WE HAVE ADDED STAFF OVER TIME.
I THINK WE CALCULATED THAT THE NEW ACREAGE WAS, WAS EQUAL TO 3.3, UM, FTES, AND WE'VE ADDED AN AD OF FIVE.
UM, SO WE HAVE BEEN KEEPING UP WHEN WE LOOKED AT IT JUST ON THAT ACREAGE LEVEL, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE MODEL TO DIG INTO THIS.
ALL THE, THE ACTUAL PACE OF WORK ORDERS HAS INCREASED RELATIVE OUR STAFFING OR, UM, BEING ABLE TO DIG INTO THE MOWING FREQUENCY AT THIS LEVEL OF DETAIL AND TIED TO A SERVICE LEVEL.
SO WE HAVEN'T HAD THE OBJECTIVE BACKUP TO JUSTIFY THAT.
UM, I MEAN THAT'S WHY WE ASKED FOR THE MODEL IN THE FIRST PLACE WAS TO BEGIN TO GET THE OBJECTIVE DATA.
AND I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU CAN'T HAVE THE OBJECTIVE DATA ALL, ALL AT ONCE AND THAT YOU NEED, YOU NEED A PROOF OF CONCEPT.
BUT NOW THAT WE HAVE THE PROOF OF CONCEPT AND THE PROOF OF CONCEPT ALREADY WITH THE MINIMAL AMOUNT OF THINGS THAT WE'VE INCLUDED, SAYS WE NEED 80 STAFFERS TO GET TO THE LEVEL OF SERVICE THAT MANY OF US WOULD SEEM TO THINK IT'S BASIC.
UM, WE NEED TO KEEP MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE OTHER, THE OTHER PIECES AND THAT WHEN WE DO GO FORWARD WITH THE BUDGET, THAT WE CLEARLY HAVE, UM, A PLAN THERE AND THAT, UM, THAT'S TRANSPARENT IN THAT PROCESS.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE ERIC, I KNOW THAT YOU WORKED, UM, WITH STEVEN AND, AND LEANNA AND THE OTHER STAFF ON THIS, AND I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT STEP, BUT IT DOES BRING CLARITY AND IT DOES, YOU KNOW, MEAN THAT WE HAVE SOME WORK, UM, TO DO HERE.
AND, AND I'M TROUBLED IF YOU'RE SAYING THIS SAME PROCESS IS EVERYWHERE.
UM, BECAUSE THERE ARE FEW DEPARTMENTS WHERE WE HAVE, I THINK GENERALLY HAD AN ACROSS THE BOARD, UM, COUNCIL FEELING THAT WE WEREN'T DOING ENOUGH, UM, ON SORT OF BASIC, ON BASIC NEEDS.
AND I SHOULDN'T SAY HAVE ANY OBJECTIVE DATA TO BACK THAT UP.
IT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, A GENERAL SENSE EVERYONE WOULD LOVE TO DO MORE.
THAT, THAT'S ALL I WAS TRYING TO SAY.
UM, WELL, UM, IF COLLEAGUES, DO WE HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS? UM, THANK YOU AND MS. HAYDEN HOWARD, WE CAN, WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE FOLLOW UP ON THE NEXT STEPS.
UH, APPRECIATE EVERYONE COMING OUT TODAY, UM, TO ADVOCATE AND IF WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THE RIGHT MATERIAL IN THE BACKUP, UM, THAT WOULD BE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
[Items 2 & 6]
ITEMS ARE THE ACE ITEMS, UM, ITEM TWO AND SIX.UM, AND SINCE WE ARE COMING UP TO OUR 1130 TIME, UM, MIGHT FIRST ASK IF THEIR, IF STAFF IS COMFORTABLE TELLING US WHAT THE CHOICES ARE BEFORE US, AND THEN WE CAN DECIDE, I KNOW THERE'S ONE STAFF APPOINTMENT AND THEN THERE'S ONE OTHER OPENING.
UM, IF THERE'S A STAFF RECOMMENDATION ON, ON HOW WE PROCEED, IF WE OPEN THAT UP OR IF IT'S A STAFF PERSON FOR THAT OTHER POSITION, IF WE COULD KNOW
[01:45:01]
THAT AND IF WE NEED TO GO TO EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE CAN, BUT MAYBE WE CAN.UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KIMMEL LAVAR, DEPUTY CFO, UH, WE DO HAVE A RECOMMENDATION FOR, UH, UH, ONE APPOINTMENT TODAY.
ANTHONY SRA, OUR DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.
UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL, UM, COUNCIL EXPANDED THE NUMBER OF, UH, UH, SPOTS ON THE BOARD FOR ACE.
AND SO THIS FILLS ONE OF THOSE NEW VACANCIES.
UM, THERE IS ANOTHER BOARD MEMBER THAT HAS INDICATED THEIR DESIRE TO MOVE ON.
UM, SO THEY, IN TERMS OF A PROCESS, UM, I DON'T HAVE A SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION AT THIS TIME.
UM, ANS I'M, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UH, Y Y'ALL MAY HAVE, UM, TO, TO HELP DEVELOP THAT.
SO THAT, SO THE OPEN SLOT THOUGH, IS INTENDED TO BE THE COMMUNITY SLOT THAT'S NOT THE ADDITIONAL STAFF SLOT.
THERE'S, THERE'S NO REQUIREMENT IN THE BYLAWS ABOUT WHAT I MISSPOKE.
SO IT'S THE, THE, THE ACE BOARD, UM, UH, SLOTS ARE JUST SLOTS.
UM, THERE'S NO ALLOCATION BETWEEN CITY STAFF OR NON-CITY STAFF.
UM, THERE'S A, UH, COMPONENT COMPONENT THAT NOTES HOW A CITY STAFF MEMBER MAY NO LONGER SERVE ON THE BOARD IF THEY LEAVE CITY EMPLOYMENT, BUT THERE'S, BUT THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONLY CLAR.
UM, SO WERE WE TO APPOINT MR. SEGURA THEN, HOW MANY CITY EMPLOYEES WOULD BE ON THE BOARD? WOULD HE BE THE FOURTH? HE'S THE FOURTH.
SORRY, I NEED TO, AND I THINK THAT WAS COUNT.
I THINK THAT WAS, UH, WHAT WHAT WE HAD DISCUSSED WAS THE PLAN.
SO MY SUGGESTION IS THAT I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO MOVE MR. CIRO'S, UM, NOMINATION FORWARD TO THE FULL COUNSEL TO BE APPOINTED TO THE ACE BOARD, UM, WITH DIRECTION TO THE KIRK STAFF TO INITIATE, UM, AN APPLICATION PROCESS, UM, FOR THE OPEN SEAT ON THE ACE BOARD.
AND I WANNA THANK MS. JOEL THOMAS FOR SERVING, AND I THINK SHE'S AGREED TO SERVE UNTIL WE FILL THE POSITION AS BEST THAT SHE CAN.
UM, AND SO WE WILL HAVE AN OPEN CALL FOR THAT OTHER SEAT AND I WOULD ASK MY COLLEAGUES TO, UM, ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, INCLUDING YOUR NEWSLETTER, UM, THAT APPLICATION PROCESS.
ONCE WE HAVE THAT OUT, UM, ASSUMING THAT'S SOMETHING THAT THE MS OLIVAR, YOU CAN WORK WITH THE CLERK TO, TO SET UP A PROCESS FOR THAT APPLICATION.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE'VE DONE THAT IN A WHILE.
UM, SO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MAKES THAT MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER.
UM, THAT MOTION WILL BE ADOPTED.
THANK YOU MR. SEGURA, FOR YOUR WILLINGNESS TO SERVE.
UM, AND WE, UM, THEN WE'LL MOVE TO OUR LAST ITEM,
[Future Items]
WHICH IS FUTURE ITEMS. I DON'T HAVE ANY, SORRY.UM, SO WE DO NOT HAVE A JUNE MEETING.
WE DO HAVE MEETINGS IN JULY AND AUGUST.
AND, UM, AT THOSE MEETINGS WE HAVE SEVERAL AUDIT ITEMS. SO BETWEEN THE TWO MEETINGS, THERE ARE SIX AUDIT, UH, REPORTS THAT WE EXPECT TO PRESENT TO YOU.
UM, AND, UM, I CAN LIST THOSE OUT, BUT WE'RE LOOKING AT KIND OF, WE HAVE A LITTLE TIME BEFORE THAT AUDIT COMMITTEE, SO WE'RE LOOKING AT WHICH ONES MAKE SENSE TO BRING SOONER AND WHICH ONES CAN WAIT UNTIL THE AUGUST MEETING.
SO I EXPECT THREE AT EACH OF THOSE MEETINGS.
AND, AND THOSE RANGE FROM SCOOTER ENFORCEMENT TO EMPLOYEE REIMBURSEMENTS, RETENTION, A HOST, A HOST OF ISSUES, UM, THAT, THAT MAY BE ON THERE.
UM, AND THEN, UM, WE WILL LIKELY ALSO HAVE A HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT BRIEFING FROM HUMAN RESOURCES IN THE AUGUST MEETING IS THE GOAL.
UM, AND, UM, YEAH, SO, UM, COLLEAGUES, IF THERE ARE OTHER THINGS THAT YOU WOULD LIKE ADDED, UM, TO THE AGENDA.
COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY? YES, THANK YOU FOR THIS SPACE.
I WAS THINKING BACK TO OUR LAST MEETING WHERE WE TALKED ABOUT THE FIRE, UM, RETIREMENT SYSTEM, AND I KNOW THAT WE GOT TO HEAR FROM THE ACTUARY FROM THE CITY, BUT WE DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM THE ACTUARY FROM THE, THE RETIREMENT SYSTEM.
I JUST THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO HEAR FROM THEM IF WE COULD PUT THEM INTO A FUTURE MEETING FOR SOME SORT OF PRESENTATION, JUST TO HAVE A BALANCED VIEW OF WHAT'S GOING ON OVER THERE.
AND IF THE, THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT CAN HELP US MAKE THAT HAPPEN, WE WILL HAVE TO JUGGLE A LITTLE BIT OVER TIMING.
UM, THE JULY MEETING IS GONNA BE, IS MAYBE REALLY FULL, SO WE'LL JUST, WE'LL JUST HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WITH THE TIMING AND, AND DO OUR BEST TO MAKE IT HAPPEN THIS SUMMER.
ANYTHING ELSE? OKAY, WELL WITH THAT WE WILL ADJOURN AT 1122.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR A PRODUCTIVE MEETING.