* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:01]
          OKAY, EVERYBODY, WE HAVE A PRETTY STACKED AGENDA TODAY, SO WE ARE GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED. 
          UM, WE WELCOME TO 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
THE AUGUST 5TH REGULAR CALL MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION. 
          I BELIEVE WE HAVE QUORUM. 
          SO I'LL START BY CALLING ATTENDANCE. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER RUTAN, UH, PRESENT. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT. 
          HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER HERM MEYER PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER HOLMES PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER NEN. 
          PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER ORR? HERE. 
          COMMISSIONER REYES. 
          THIS IS NOT HERE TODAY. 
          COMMISSIONER CILO. 
          PRESENT. 
          COMMISSIONER SMITH? I DON'T SEE YET, BUT I'LL KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR HER. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          OH, SHE'S, GO AHEAD THEN. 
          I'M, I'M HERE. 
          SORRY, I WAS IN THE LITTLE WAITING ROOM THING. 
          OH, THAT'S OKAY. 
          JUST IF YOU COULD GET YOUR CAMERA ON WHEN YOU'RE READY. 
          THAT'S AWESOME. 
          YEAH. 
          GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO IT LOOKS LIKE WE'VE GOT EVERYBODY HERE. 
          UM, WE WILL START 
          [PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
WITH, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. 
          CHRISTIE, DO WE HAVE ANYBODY JOINING US? YES. 
          CHAIR. 
          WE DO, UH, WE HAVE CARLOS LEON. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          SOY CARLOS LEON, FIRST AND FOREMOST, GRACIAS FOR LETTING ME SPEAK AGAIN AGAINST CAT METRO EVIL. 
          CONTINUING TO CRIMINALLY ATTACK ME, THREATENING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY YESTERDAY AFTERNOON, IMMEDIATELY AFTER CHURCH SATANIC BLACK FEMALE BUS DRIVER 3 2 3 8 9 0 UNLAWFULLY RESTRAINED ME BY ILLEGALLY CONFINING ME BY NOT OPENING FRONT OR REAR DOORS AT MY REQUESTED STOP VIOLATING CAP METRO POLICY AND PROCEDURE, DIRECTING HER TO OPEN FRONT AND REAR DOORS AT ALL REQUESTED STOPS. 
          THAT'S HOW SEX OFFENDERS AND SEX TRAFFICKERS BEHAVE AGAINST THEIR TARGETS. 
          WHEN I CALLED HER ON IT, SHE GAVE ME THE FINGER BECAUSE SHE'S A NEW DRIVER ON PROBATION AND COMPLAINT. 
          1 1 7 0 6 7 WAS FILED AGAINST HER WITH CAP METRO. 
          SHE SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY FIRED. 
          JULY 22ND GUILTY OLDER BLACK MALE DRIVER 3 2 1 7 0 0. 
          LAMONT HANKINS ILLEGALLY REFUSED ME SERVICE ON HIS BUS AND GUILTY OLDER BLACKMAIL SUPERVISOR, B 31 CEDRIC JACKSON ILLEGALLY PREVENTED ME FROM BOARDING ANY OTHER BUS CONSPIRING TO STOP ME FROM GETTING TO WORK. 
          THOUGH THEY SAID I HAD TOO MUCH GEAR WITH ME. 
          THE TRUTH IS TEXAS TRANSPORTATION CODE 4 51 0.02 A TWO DEFINES MASS TRANSIT AS THE TRANSPORTATION OF PASSENGERS AND HAND CARRIED PACKAGES OR BAGGAGE OF A PASSENGER. 
          THOUGH THEY SAID I COULD USE ONLY ONE SEAT. 
          THE TRUTH IS THE TEXAS SUPREME COURT SAID IN VIA METRO TRANSIT V ME THAT CAP. 
          A COMMON CARRIER TRANSPORTING THE GENERAL PUBLIC. 
          UNLIKE PRIVATE CARRIER GREYHOUND, TRANSPORTING INDIVIDUALS WHEN I TRIED SHOWING THEM THE LAW, THEY REFUSE TO LOOK AT OR FOLLOW IT. 
          AND THEY KNOW OTHER PASSENGERS USE MORE THAN ONE SEAT ALL THE TIME. 
          GUILTY CAP METRO DRIVERS AND SUPERVISORS ARE ILLEGALLY DENYING ME EQUAL PROTECTION UNDER THE LAW. 
          LIKE ALL THE DRIVERS WHO PASS ME UP ON A REGULAR BASIS, THOUGH COMPLAINTS GET FILED, REAL ACCOUNTABILITY APPEARS NON-EXISTENT. 
          THEREFORE, BECAUSE SO MANY CAT METRO DRIVERS ACT CRIMINALLY, YOU NEED TO PUBLICLY EXPOSE HOW MANY EX-CONS DRIVE FOR CAT METRO, WHO THEY ARE AND OF WHAT THEY WERE CONVICTED. 
          START WITH CAT METRO'S PRISON FORGIVENESS PROGRAM AND UNDERGROUND PIPELINE TO GO FROM BEHIND BARS TO BEHIND THE WHEEL. 
          BRINGING INSIDE BEHAVIOR OUTSIDE AND ACTING ABOVE THE LAW ARE UNACCEPTABLE, UPSIDE DOWN, ALIEN DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS, THREATENING OUR CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC. 
          THEREFORE, AN INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF CAT METRO OVERSIGHT, LIKE THE ONE FOR A PD IS BADLY NEEDED AND LONG OVERDUE. 
          ALL THIS EVIL ECHOES PETAL JOE AND KAMALA, THE HORSE FRAUDULENT ADMINISTRATION RUN BEHIND THE SCENES BY KENYAN HOMO OBAMA, JUST LIKE HIS TWO TERM FAKE PRESIDENCY. 
          GOD BLESS PRESIDENT TRUMP, OUR TRUE PRESIDENT WHO TRULY WON THE 2020 ELECTION IN A LANDSLIDE. 
          TRUMP VANCE 2024 TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT. 
          NEXT, WE'LL GO TO A REMOTE SPEAKER, PATRICK JONES. 
          [00:05:01]
MR. JONES, CAN YOU UNMUTE ON YOUR END? MR. JONES? CAN YOU UNMUTE? HI, I'M, I'M SORRY. 
          I BELIEVE I'M, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES, WE CAN HEAR YOU. 
          GO AHEAD. 
          YEAH, SORRY. 
          UH, I JUST WASN'T SURE HOW TO WORK THIS THING. 
          HI, MY NAME IS PATRICK. 
          UH, I LIVE ON, UH, FIESTA STREET. 
          THAT'S IN DISTRICT THREE. 
          IT'S NEAR A CC EASTVIEW. 
          UM, I'VE LIVED IN THAT AREA. 
          IT'S 2009. 
          UM, OWN A HOUSE THERE WITH MY PARTNER, ALTHOUGH WE WERE SEPARATED NOW. 
          UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO RESPECTFULLY, UM, REGISTER SOME COMPLAINTS ABOUT SOME ISSUES IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT HAVE BEEN ONGOING FOR ACTUALLY QUITE SOME TIME. 
          UM, I JUST WANNA BRING THIS UP TO YOU. 
          UM, SO FIRST, UM, LET'S SEE, ON OUR STREET, WE HAVE, UH, AN ISSUE WITH, UH, A PDH GUY WHO'S LIVING ON HIS FAMILY'S LAND IN THE BACKYARD. 
          HE IS NOT ACTUALLY PERMITTED TO LIVE INSIDE THE HOUSE WHO HAS CAUSED A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS, UM, INCLUDING HARASSMENT OF NEIGHBORS. 
          HE'S ASSAULTED MULTIPLE NEIGHBORS. 
          UM, RECENTLY HE ACTUALLY IGNITED A FIRE IN THE BACKYARD, WAS SPREAD TO A TREE, AND ACTUALLY NEARLY CAUGHT HIS OWN, OR SORRY, HIS FAMILY'S OWN PROPERTY ON FIRE. 
          UM, IT'S BEEN AN ONGOING ISSUE AND I'M, I'M HOPING THAT I WOULD JUST LIKE TO REGISTER A CONCERN. 
          I HOPE THAT A PD AND, UM, UH, THE HOMELESSNESS OFFICE OR, OR WHATEVER, WHOEVER ELSE CAN, CAN WORK TOGETHER TO FIND SOME SORT OF SOLUTION THAT, UM, DOESN'T INVOLVE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE BEING HARASSED AND BASICALLY PUTTING PEOPLE'S PROPERTY, YOU KNOW, AT THREAT. 
          UM, SO THAT'D BE THE FIRST THING. 
          UM, I'D LIKE TO REGISTER. 
          SECONDLY, UM, I'D LIKE TO DISCUSS THE WORKS DEPARTMENT, THE 2,800 LIONS. 
          IT HAS BEEN AN ONGOING NUISANCE, UM, FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS. 
          UM, I ACTUALLY HAD HOPED FOR THEM, I ACTUALLY SUPPORTED THEM WAY BACK WHEN, WHEN THEY FIRST WENT IN. 
          UM, I WAS ON THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AND VOTING IN FAVOR OF THEIR, UM, THAT DEVELOPMENT GOING IN THERE. 
          BUT UNFORTUNATELY, THE WAY IT'S TURNED OUT IS, UM, THERE'S BEEN A NUMBER OF PROBLEMS THERE. 
          UH, NOISE, I WOULD SAY ABOVE AND BEYOND LEVELS THAT ARE LEGAL AND RESPECTFUL OF NEIGHBORS. 
          WE HAVE A LOT OF, WE'VE GOT A LOT OF ELDERLY PEOPLE HERE, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO LIVE OUT THERE GOLDEN YEARS. 
          UM, YOU GOT PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF WHO ARE TRYING TO STUDY, TRYING TO GET SOME CAREER ADVANCEMENT AND OTHERS, UM, BUT THE PEOPLE, THE CRUISING THROUGH THERE, YOU KNOW, WITH EXTREME LEVELS OF NOISE BECAUSE THAT'S, THANK YOU. 
          SPEAKER. 
          YOUR TIME HAS EXPIRED. 
          YES. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          BYE. 
          UH, NEXT UP IS SONYA BURNS FOR THREE MINUTES. 
          OKAY. 
          CAN YOU HEAR ME? HI, I AM SONYA BURNS, AND I JUST WANT TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION A HUGE GAP IN OUR CONTINUUM, WHICH BECOMES A PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUE. 
          AND THOSE ARE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE TOO ACUTE TO VOLUNTARILY ENGAGE IN MEANINGFUL SERVICES, BUT APPARENTLY NOT ACUTE ENOUGH FOR INPATIENT BECAUSE THEY'RE AT BASELINE, WHICH ALSO MEANS THEY DO NOT LIVE SAFELY UNSUCCESSFULLY IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO WE HAVE A LOT OF PEOPLE WE'VE SEEN ON THE NEWS DESTROYING PROPERTY DOWNTOWN. 
          UM, OVER AND OVER. 
          I'VE GONE TO JOSE GARZA AND SAID, YOU NEED TO PUNT THIS BACK OVER TO THE CIVIL COURT BECAUSE YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING IN THE CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM WHEN SOMEONE IS REPEATEDLY FOUND UNLIKELY TO RESTORE AN INCOMPETENT TO STAND TRIAL. 
          SO PER 
          [00:10:01]
OLMSTED, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO RECEIVE SERVICES IN THE LEAST RESTRICTIVE, MOST APPROPRIATE, MOST INTEGRATED SETTING. 
          AND AT THIS POINT, WE HAVE AN A UNIVERSAL SHRUG, AND THAT PLACE SEEMS TO BE OUR JAIL. 
          IN MAY, WE HAD ROBERT MUNGIA DIE ALONE IN A JAIL CELL. 
          HE IS SOMEONE WHO HAD CYCLED FOR DECADES ON HIGHEST LEVELS OF CARE, AND HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON A CIVIL COMMITMENT TO THE AUSTIN STATE HOSPITAL, WHERE WE HAVE SPENT OVER $300 MILLION OF TAXPAYER MONEY FOR NO ADDITIONAL BEDS, NO STEP DOWN, NOTHING FOR THE CHILDREN. 
          MANY OF OUR INDIVIDUALS IN THE HOSPITAL ARE NOT SAFELY DISCHARGED. 
          THEY CANNOT GO TO OUR STEP DOWN PILOTS BECAUSE THEY ARE TOO LOW FUNCTIONING, THEY'RE TOO ACUTE. 
          SO, AS AN EXAMPLE, THEY CANNOT ADMINISTER THEIR OWN MEDICATIONS. 
          SO WE HAVE THIS GLUT OF PEOPLE SITTING THERE THAT EITHER WE DISCHARGE UNSAFELY, OR WE HAVEN'T DISCHARGED. 
          WHILE ROBERT WAS SITTING ON THE LIST IN THE JAIL AWAITING TRANSFERRED TO THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL, THERE WERE A HUNDRED OVER 130 PEOPLE ON A FORENSIC COMMITMENT. 
          WE HAD FOUR PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY FOR CIVIL. 
          YOU CANNOT TELL ME THAT THE MAJORITY OF THOSE PEOPLE DID NOT MEET CRITERIA ALREADY. 
          THE LOCAL MENTAL HEALTH AUTHORITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUTTING PEOPLE ON THE CIVIL WAIT LIST. 
          HHSC IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MOVING PEOPLE OFF THE LIST. 
          SO EVERYBODY NEEDS TO BE QUESTIONING WHY ARE WE WAITING FOR AN ARRESTABLE OFFENSE? AND FAR TOO OFTEN A VICTIM, WE DO NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO SERVE PEOPLE WHERE THEY NEED TO BE SERVED. 
          BUT IF WE DO NOT ACCOUNT FOR IT MEANINGFULLY, WE NEVER WILL. 
          AND TRYING TO CATCH UP WITH EVERYTHING ON THE BACK END OF A JAIL CELL IS NEVER, EVER GOING TO WORK. 
          THAT'S WHAT I HAD TO SAY. 
          THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE SPEAKERS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. 
          . 
          UM, THANK YOU ALL. 
          UM, WE WILL 
          [APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
MOVE ON TO APPROVAL OF MINUTES. 
          UM, WE HAVE TWO SETS TO APPROVE. 
          CHRISTIE, CAN I JUST DO SHOW OF HANDS TO DO VOTES SINCE WE HAVE ENOUGH TO GET THROUGH? OR DO WE NEED TO DO A VOICE VOTE FOR MINUTES? I'M FINE WITH SHOW OF HANDS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO WE HAVE APPROVAL OF MINUTES. 
          HAS EVERYBODY HAD TIME TO LOOK OVER AND REVIEW FOR JUNE 3RD? OKAY. 
          CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE? I MOVE TO APPROVE A SECOND. 
          SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          AND CAN I GET A SHOW OF HANDS TO SEE IF WE CAN GET TO SIX? I'M ABSTAINING. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN IS THAT APPROVED? OKAY. 
          AND THEN WE'LL DO THE SAME WITH JULY 1ST. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION CHANGES, REVISIONS? IF NOT, CAN I GET A MOTION TO APPROVE? SO MOVED. 
          AND A SECOND. 
          SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN A SHOW OF HANDS AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          AND TWO ONLINE? YEP. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU EVERYBODY. 
          OKAY, NOW THAT WE GOT THAT DONE, UM, WE'RE GONNA START WITH 
          [3. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Fire Department, including an update on allowing a single stairway for multifamily development up to five stories.]
THE QUARTERLY REPORT FROM FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          MY NAME'S TOM BOKEY. 
          I'M ASSISTANT CHIEF WITH AUSTIN FIRE, AND I'M GONNA RUN THROUGH THE REPORT HERE IS THEY PULL IT UP. 
          UM, ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS THAT WE HAVE LISTED ON THE QUARTERLY REPORT IS THE, THE SINGLE STAIRWELL. 
          AND SO, UH, I KNOW THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THAT. 
          AND AS YOU READ THROUGH HERE, IT SHOWS ON MAY 2ND, THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED, UH, ASKING FOR AN AMENDMENT TO THE IBC TO ALLOW A SINGLE STAIRWAY, UM, A FD ALONG WITH DSD AND AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS UH, CRAFTED A LETTER ON JUNE 26TH, UH, STATING THAT WE WERE NOT IN SUPPORT OF THE SINGLE STAIRWELL FOR SAFETY CONCERNS. 
          AND SO, UM, AS YOU READ THROUGH, UH, WHAT'S LISTED, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE FIRST SLIDE, PLEASE, YOU CAN, UH, SEE SOME OF THE MAIN CONCERNS WE HAVE HERE. 
          UH, THE HINDERED EVACUATION TACTICS, INSUFFICIENT AND AGING WATER INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE CITY. 
          UM, WE ARE NOT THE SAME DENSITY AS AREAS LIKE SEATTLE AND NEW YORK WHERE THIS HAS HAPPENED IN THE PAST. 
          WE HAVE OVER 300 SQUARE MILES THAT WE COVER HERE IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, WE ALSO DON'T HAVE THE DENSITY OF STATIONS AND, AND OUR RESPONSE TIMES ARE NOT AS GOOD AS THOSE AREAS. 
          SO ALL THOSE THINGS ALONG WITH THE, YOU KNOW, THE GENERAL, I GUESS WHAT I WOULD CALL, UM, JUST THE, I GUESS, TRYING TO THINK OF THE BEST WORD FOR IT. 
          SO JUST THE AMOUNT OF THINGS THAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN IN THAT STAIRWELL AND THE CASE OF AN EMERGENCY PROVIDE US A LOT OF CONCERNS. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'S CITED FOR THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, SAVING MONEY AND, AND PROVIDING MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING. 
          THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD WANT TO SEE, UH, IN, IN THIS TYPE OF BUILDING, I THINK WOULD PROBABLY END UP BEING VERY CLOSE TO ADDING COST TO IT. 
          IF WE ASKED FOR SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD WANT IN A REGULAR, IN A REGULAR, UH, STAIRWELL, 
          [00:15:01]
LIKE WE WOULD HAVE IN A FIVE OR SIX STORY STAIRWELL HERE WHERE WE WOULD HAVE AIR PRESSURIZATION IN THE STAIRWELLS, WE WOULD WANT REINFORCED CONSTRUCTION IN THE STAIRWELLS. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, WE'D WANT THE SIZE OF THE STAIRWELLS TO BE TO BE WIDE. 
          WE'D WANT EMERGENCY BACKUPS FOR THE ELEVATORS SO THAT WE HAVE GOOD ACCESS. 
          SO FOR, FOR ALL THOSE REASONS, UM, ALONG WITH DSD AND AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, WE ARE, UH, WE ARE STANDING, UH, UH, IN A, IN OPPOSITION TO THE SINGLE STAIRWELL RIGHT NOW, THE WAY IT CURRENTLY IS PROPOSED. 
          GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. 
          CAN YOU JUST CLARIFY BRIEFLY WHERE, UM, THIS ITEM IS WITH REGARDS TO COUNCIL? SO IT WAS, IT WAS A PART OF, PART OF A, UM, THE COUNCIL RESOLUTION CAME OUT AND WAS PASSED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION. 
          SO, UM, THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS, IS DUE TO PROVIDE A REPORT BACK TO COUNCIL WITH IT. 
          WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH, UH, WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION. 
          WE PROVIDED A LETTER, UH, FROM ALL THE ORGANIZATIONS, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE ARE RIGHT NOW. 
          SO, OKAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT UPDATE FOR SURE. 
          WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO CROWDSTRIKE, I THINK ALL OF YOU MIGHT REMEMBERED IN JULY WE HAD THE CROWDSTRIKE OUTAGE. 
          UM, OUR FOLKS WERE REALLY ON THEIR TOES AND DID A LOT OF REALLY GREAT WORK. 
          AND I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE DID NOT MISS A SINGLE CALL DURING THAT OUTAGE. 
          UM, WE WERE ABLE TO MAINTAIN RESPONSE. 
          YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURE THERE WHERE THEY'RE KIND OF OLD SCHOOL AND THEY WITH PENS ON THE BOARD, AND, AND THEY DID A LOT OF REALLY GOOD WORK. 
          WE WERE ABLE TO CALL SOME FOLKS IN AND, AND GET THINGS TOGETHER AND HAVE THE WHOLE THING, UH, WITHOUT MISSING A CALL WRAPPED UP IN SEVEN HOURS. 
          SO IT WAS A BIG DEAL FOR US. 
          THERE WAS A LOT OF, A LOT OF THINGS GOING ON. 
          UH, WE'RE EXCITED THAT WE WERE ABLE TO, TO MANUALLY BE ABLE TO GET THINGS DONE, UH, AND LOOK FORWARD TO WORKING ON, UH, ON OTHER THINGS LIKE THIS IN THE FUTURE. 
          ALLOW US TO, TO NOT GET CAUGHT, UH, RELYING COMPLETELY ON TECH TECHNOLOGY SO WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          THERE'S NO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. 
          SO WE'LL TALK ABOUT A FEW OF THE FIRE STATIONS. 
          SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED. 
          STATION ONE, UH, DOWNTOWN, UH, REOPENED LAST WEEK. 
          SO WE'RE SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          WE GET OUR UNITS OUT OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY ANNEX THAT THEY WERE VERY, VERY GRACIOUS TO LET US USE AND MOVE STATE ENGINE 13 BACK FROM STATION SIX TO DOWNTOWN. 
          SO WE HAVE OUR UNITS BACK DOWNTOWN, IF YOU WANNA GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          STATION 22 ON EAST RIVERSIDE, UH, IS OPEN AS WELL. 
          UH, WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          THAT'S BEEN A LONG PROCESS. 
          UH, THOSE UNITS HAVE BEEN OUTTA THAT STATION FOR ALMOST TWO YEARS. 
          UM, AND SO TO SEE THAT BIG, BEAUTIFUL NEW STATION WHERE THAT OLD STATION WAS IS, IS REALLY, UH, REALLY GOOD FOR US, GOOD FOR THE COMMUNITY, AND WE'RE GLAD TO HAVE THAT COVERAGE BACK AND HAVE GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE. 
          STATION 54, WHICH IS THE, THE LAST OF THE FIVE STATIONS THAT WE, UH, THAT THE CITY COMMITTED TO BUILD, UH, IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW AND MOVING ALONG VERY WELL. 
          UH, WE EXPECT IT TO BE, UH, DONE EARLY. 
          SIS 24 ON THERE. 
          THAT'S OBVIOUSLY NOT TRUE. 
          IT'S, UH, 25, SO WE EXPECT IT TO OPEN IN JANUARY 25. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE, UH, STATION 54 ADDED TO THE LIST. 
          SO MOVING ON THROUGH, UM, DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROJECTS, WE STILL GOT A LOT OF MAJOR DEFERRED MAINTENANCE PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON. 
          STATION 15 ON AIRPORT BOULEVARD IS, IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION NOW. 
          THAT UNIT'S TEMPORARILY WORKING AT, AT FIVES ON SPRINGDALE. 
          SO WE GOT THEM MOVED. 
          WE GOT THAT ROLLING STATION EIGHT ON RESEARCH BOULEVARD. 
          UM, THERE'S ONE ENGINE THAT IS STILL STAYING THERE, WORKING OUTTA A TRAILER WITH AN A MEDIC UNIT THAT'S WORKING OUTTA THE TRAILER THERE AS WELL TO PROVIDE SOME COVERAGE IN THE AREA. 
          LADDER EIGHT IS WORKING AT STATION 30 ON BREAKER LANE. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO STAY IN THE AREA. 
          THAT'S ONE OF OUR BUSIEST AREAS OF TOWN, SO WE CAN'T JUST LEAVE THAT STATION VACANT. 
          BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY'LL BE EXCITED TO GET THAT STATION BACK ONLINE SO THEY CAN QUIT LIVING IN THE MOBILE HOME BEHIND THE TRAILER, SO, OR BEHIND THE STATION. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND, AND SEE THAT MOVING FORWARD. 
          UH, STATION 20 THREES KIND OF ALONG THE SAME LINES. 
          THEY'RE LIVING IN A, A TRAILER ON CAMERON ROAD TO PROVIDE ACCESS TO THAT VERY BUSY AREA OVER THERE AS WELL. 
          UM, THEY WILL BE BACK IN THEIR, UH, STATION IN OCTOBER AS WELL. 
          SO STATION 25 IS EXPECTED TO BE COMPLETED. 
          THAT ONE WAS A NEARLY A COMPLETE TEAR DOWN AND REBUILD. 
          IT WAS A VERY OLD STATION AND BAD CONDITION. 
          AND, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE THAT ONE GET UP LATER THIS YEAR. 
          SO ALL THOSE, ALL THOSE PROJECTS ARE, UH, UH, VERY SIGNIFICANT AND WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE, UH, ALL OF OUR FOLKS GETTING BACK TO WHERE THEY, TO WHERE THEY LIVE AND, AND PROVIDE THE BEST COVERAGE FOR THE CITIZENS. 
          SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON STATION 47. 
          THAT'S A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. 
          THAT'S A ESD FOUR STATION. 
          UM, IT'S PART OF THE CONTRACT FOR SERVICE THAT WE HAVE WITH SD FOUR, BUT THEY'RE WORKING ON THAT STATION, SO WE'RE TEMPORARILY OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW WHILE THEY DO SOME, UH, SOME UPGRADES THERE. 
          A VERY SMALL STATION BUILT FOR TWO OR THREE PEOPLE. 
          SO, UH, WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE SOME, SOME GROWTH THERE AS WELL. 
          SO, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO, AUTOMATIC AID, THERE'S SOME SUCCESS STORIES FROM OUR AUTOMATIC AID. 
          YOU CAN SEE, UH, UH, TWO FIRE EXAMPLES THAT WE HAVE THERE. 
          ONE WAS IN ONION CREEK WHERE WE WORKED VERY WELL WITH ESD 11 AND ESD FIVE MANSHACK. 
          SO, UM, WE'RE GLAD THAT THE AUTO AID STUFF IS WORKING OUT WELL. 
          AND YOU CAN SEE FROM THESE TWO EXAMPLES, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THESE WORKING FIRES AND, AND WORKING WITH THE OTHER FIRE DEPARTMENTS IN THE AREA, UH, ALLOWED US TO PROVIDE GOOD COVERAGE AND, AND GOOD STOPS WITH NO INJURIES THAT BOTH OF THESE FIRES. 
          AND SO YOU CAN SEE FROM THE OTHER ONE, WHICH, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T REALLY 
          [00:20:01]
THINK OF WILLIAM WEST, WILLIAM CANNON, THE 2,900 BLOCKERS NEEDING AUTO AID, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE A MULTIPLE ALARM FIRE, UH, US GETTING SOMEBODY FROM WESTLAKE THERE REALLY QUICKLY WAS, UH, VERY HELPFUL. 
          SO THOSE ARE TWO EXAMPLES WHERE, UH, THE AUTOMATIC AID IS, UH, WORKING WELL FOR US AND WORKING WELL FOR OUR PARTNERS. 
          SO, JUST WANTED TO POINT THOSE OUT AS WE GO ON DOWN THE LIST. 
          WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR, OUR NARCAN DISTRIBUTION. 
          YOU CAN SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, A FD PARTICIPATED IN, UH, IN 114 ADMINISTRATIONS WITH US OR WITH EMS OR IN COMBINATION WITH OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS. 
          AND SO, UH, YOU CAN SEE THE MAP, UH, THERE TO THE SIDE AND SEE THE, YOU KNOW, THE IMPACT IT'S HAVING. 
          AND THE THING THAT'S KIND OF, YOU KNOW, EYE-OPENING TO ME IS JUST, IT'S EVERYWHERE. 
          IT'S NOT IN ONE PART OF TOWN. 
          IT'S ALL OVER TOWN. 
          SO HAVING THAT NARCAN AVAILABLE, UH, FOR OUR UNITS TO BE ABLE TO DISTRIBUTE IT AND, YOU KNOW, FOR ALL THE OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY FOLKS TO HAVE IT AVAILABLE AS WELL, UH, LEADS TO, UH, LOTS OF LIVES SAVED. 
          SO JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT. 
          AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS OVER THAT OVER THE YEARS, AND SO I'D LIKE TO INCLUDE THAT SO THAT, UH, WE KEEP Y'ALL UP TO DATE ON, ON HOW WELL THAT'S WORKING. 
          UM, WE CAN GO ON TO THE, NO, NO QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT. 
          OKAY. 
          WE'LL GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS OUR INVESTIGATION SECTION. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE, UH, HERE, YOU KNOW, JUST YEAR OVER YEAR, THE INVESTIGATION SECTION CONTINUES TO PERFORM VERY HIGH. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL AT THIS, THIS QUARTER WE'RE AT 40%, UH, SUCCESS RATE, WHICH IS NEARLY DOUBLE WHAT THE NATIONAL AVERAGE IS FOR, FOR CLOSING CASES. 
          OUR ARSON GROUP IS, IS OUTSTANDING AND DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB. 
          UH, THEY, THEY CLOSED CASES AT, LIKE I SAID, TWICE THE NATIONAL NATURAL NATIONAL RATE. 
          UH, ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS WE HIGHLIGHTED HERE IS, IS YOU CAN SEE THE PICTURE OF WILSON THERE, WILSON'S OUR NEW ARSON, UH, ACCELERANT DETECTION DOG. 
          UM, AND SO HE CAME ON BOARD WITH THIS THIS YEAR. 
          ONE OF OUR, UH, PREVIOUS DOGS, RAY, UH, WENT INTO RETIREMENT LAST YEAR. 
          SO SHE'S LIVING HER BEST LIFE. 
          AND, AND NOW WE HAVE, UH, WE HAVE WILSON HERE TO, TO PICK UP THE REST OF IT. 
          AND SO OUR HANDLERS, UH, WORK REALLY HARD. 
          UH, THIS WAS SPONSORED BY A TF, SO, UH, WE GOT FEDERAL FUNDS FOR THIS, AND THEY HELP WITH PROVIDING THE DOG AND ALL THOSE THINGS. 
          SO IT'S, IT'S A REALLY COOL THING FOR US TO BE ABLE TO DO. 
          IT PROVIDES A GREAT SERVICE TO, TO THE COMMUNITY WILDFIRE DIVISION. 
          SO THE, A BIG, A BIG DEAL HERE, WE ACTUALLY WERE ABLE TO FINISH OUR, OUR, UH, OUR RTI TRAINING, WHICH IS RESPONDING TO THE INTERFACE. 
          THIS IS A, A MAJOR TRAINING COURSE THAT WE RAN ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS FOR THE MOST PART, JUST BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH GOING ON THAT WE HAD TO RUN IT ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS. 
          IT TOOK US ALMOST TWO YEARS TO GET THROUGH THE ENTIRE DEPARTMENT, BUT I'M PROUD TO SAY THAT WE'RE THE LARGEST DEPARTMENT IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS GOT THAT TRAINING TO ALL THEIR MEMBERS. 
          SO, UM, FOR US TO GET THAT TRAINING OUT AND FOR OUR WILDFIRE FOLKS TO GET THAT OUT, IT'S, IT'S REALLY COOL. 
          AND SO THAT'S A REALLY BIG DEAL. 
          UM, WE'RE ALSO DOING SOME MORE THINGS. 
          SO HERE WE TALK ABOUT THAT. 
          IF YOU LOOK HERE, IT SAYS THE, UM, STRUCTURE IGNITION ZONE. 
          AND SO WE'RE GETTING MORE TRAINING OUT SO THAT WE CAN GET FOLKS IN YOUR YARD TO TELL YOU ABOUT THE WILDFIRE RISK. 
          AND IT'S ONE THING THAT'S, HAVE A PAMPHLETS, ANOTHER THING TO TALK ABOUT IT, AND THEN IT'S A WHOLE NOTHER THING TO HAVE SOMEBODY IN YOUR YARD TO TALK ABOUT IT. 
          AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON, CONTINUE TO WORK ON, AND WE'RE MOVING THROUGH THAT, UH, THROUGH THAT, THROUGH THAT PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE MORE HOME IGNITION ZONE TRAINED FOLKS. 
          AND WE'RE USING SOME COMMUNITY LEADERS AS WELL, AND SOME FOLKS FROM HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATIONS TO ASSIST IN THAT. 
          SO WE HAVE SOME VOLUNTEER GROUPS THAT ARE DOING SOME REALLY GOOD WORK HELPING US SPREAD THE WORD TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET IT OUT AND GET AS MUCH OUT AS WE CAN. 
          SO, UM, AND THEN OTHER THAN THAT, THOUGH, WE'RE WORKING ON A SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOL FOR EVACUATIONS FOR WILDFIRE, AND WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT. 
          WE DID SEVERAL, UH, SEVERAL VENTURES OUT TO TRY TO FIND ADEQUATE TOOLS. 
          AND, AND WE JUST AT SOME POINT REALIZED THAT USING OUR OWN IN, IN-HOUSE SERVICES AND OUR OWN, UH, ESRI MAPPING, THAT WE WOULD BE ABLE TO BUILD OUR OWN, UH, THAT MEETS OUR NEEDS. 
          SO THEY'RE CONTINUING TO WORK ON THAT. 
          WE'VE GOT SOME FOLKS THAT HAVE WON SOME NATIONAL AWARDS AND SOME OF THE, THE MAPPING THAT WE'VE DONE WITH WILDFIRE, UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE DONE HAVE BEEN PICKED UP AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL. 
          SO WE HAVE A REALLY GOOD TEAM AND WE'RE WORKING REALLY HARD TOWARD GETTING THAT SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOL IN PLACE AFTER, YOU KNOW, IT FEELS LIKE WE REALLY WASTED TIME LOOKING FOR A VENDOR THAT JUST COULDN'T PROVIDE WHAT WE NEEDED. 
          SO WE'RE MOVING ON DOWN THE ROAD ON THAT. 
          AND SO WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE SPECIAL EVENTS, YOU CAN SEE WHAT WE DID THIS QUARTER. 
          THIS IS ONE OF OUR SLOWER QUARTERS. 
          UH, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE SECOND AND FOURTH QUARTER ARE OUR BUSY QUARTERS WITH THE SPRING AND THE FALL, UH, FESTIVAL SEASONS. 
          SO, UH, EVERYTHING'S GOING WELL WITH SPECIAL EVENTS. 
          WE'RE EXCITED TO, UH, TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE THIS SERVICE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CURIOUS TO SEE HOW THINGS GOES. 
          THE CONVENTION CENTER MOVES DOWN THE ROAD, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH ITS CONSTRUCTION. 
          UM, BUT WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON THE SPECIAL EVENTS. 
          AND, AND LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN SEE HERE, YOU KNOW, MOST OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE OUT HERE, A FEW THINGS THAT CODE IN, UH, THE REGULAR EVENTS ALONG WITH, YOU KNOW, A FEW FIREWORKS THINGS FOR THE 4TH OF JULY AND THAT KIND OF THING. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE THAT IS. 
          UM, WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          THIS IS THE, THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE. 
          THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE SHOWS, UH, FIRE SYSTEM COMPLIANCE IN THE CITY. 
          UH, AND I'M VERY EXCITED TO SEE THAT WE'RE BACK UP TO 85%. 
          WE WERE DOING REALLY WELL, UH, 20 19, 20 20. 
          [00:25:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAD, WE HAD IT ROLLING ALONG, AND THEN ONCE COVID CAME ALONG, UH, EVERYTHING KIND OF FELL OFF. 
          AND SO WHAT THIS ALLOWS US TO DO, IT ALLOWS US TO VERIFY THAT THE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, THE, UH, THE FIRE CONTROL SYSTEMS, THE HOOD SYSTEMS, THE ALARM SYSTEMS AND ALL THE BUILDINGS AROUND TOWN ARE IN COMPLIANCE. 
          AND SO IT'S A THIRD PARTY TOOL THAT WE USE. 
          IT'S A, IT'S A GREAT TOOL AND ALLOWS US TO KIND OF KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE, I THINK WE'RE GETTING CLOSE TO 40,000 TOTAL SYSTEMS IN THE CITY. 
          SO IT'S A BIG DEAL TO HAVE THIS THIRD PARTY TOOL, UH, THAT REALLY HELPS US KEEP UP WITH EVERYTHING. 
          ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          COMMUNITY OUTREACH. 
          YOU CAN SEE HERE JUST KIND OF THE REGULAR NUMBERS THAT WE'VE HAD. 
          WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO THE SMOKE ALARM INSTALLS, CONTINUING TO, TO DO THE COMMUNITY EVENTS. 
          NOTHING SIGNIFICANT HERE, REALLY. 
          UH, JUST THE REGULAR NUMBERS THAT WE REPORT OUT ON A REGULAR BASIS. 
          SO THEY'RE CONTINUING TO DO GOOD WORK AND, AND, UH, APPRECIATE EVERYTHING THEY DO. 
          ALRIGHT, WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, SWORN VACANCIES. 
          UM, SO OUR VACANCY NUMBERS HERE, WE HAVE, UH, WE, WE HAD A TOTAL OF UP TO 82 VACANCIES EARLIER IN THE YEAR. 
          AND, AND IT KIND OF GOES INTO WITH THE CADET PROCESS. 
          WE DO HAVE, UH, 30 32 CADETS GRADUATING FRIDAY. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED TO GET THEM OUT INTO THE STATIONS. 
          THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER SMALLER CLASS OF 18 THAT'LL BE GRADUATING IN ABOUT THREE MONTHS. 
          SO AS WE'VE SEEN A SPIKE IN, IN RETIREMENTS HERE AT THE END OF, UH, JULY AND AUGUST, WE HAD AROUND 12 RETIREMENTS IN JULY AND AUGUST. 
          SO, UH, THAT'S HIGHER THAN WHAT WE HAD BEEN SEEING ALL YEAR. 
          AND SO IT'S STILL NOT CRAZY. 
          WE FEEL LIKE WE'RE STILL IN A PRETTY GOOD SPOT. 
          WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UH, TO RUNNING SOME CADET CLASSES. 
          WE GOT OUR, AS WE KIND OF GET INTO THE, THE NEXT THING, OUR HIRING PROCESS AS WE RUN IN OUR NEXT HIRING PROCESS, WE HAD A TEST ON, UH, IN, IN MAY. 
          AND SO AS WE'VE RUN THAT TEST, WE'RE IN THE, WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF GOING THROUGH THOSE CANDIDATES RIGHT NOW. 
          WE'RE PROCESSING 120 CANDIDATES, UM, IN TWO WEEKS. 
          UH, AND ONCE WE PROCESS THAT GROUP, WE'LL BE LOOKING FOR A JANUARY CLASS. 
          THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER 180 CANDIDATES THAT WE'LL PROCESS AFTER THAT. 
          WE'RE LOOKING TO HIRE AT LEAST TWO MORE CLASSES OFF OF. 
          THIS LIST IS A TWO YEAR LIST. 
          SO AS WE RUN THROUGH THAT, UH, WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT, UH, ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE. 
          WE DID HAVE 660 ISH PEOPLE SHOW UP FOR OUR EXAM, AND WE'RE GONNA END UP PROCESSING ABOUT 300 OF THOSE FOR HIRING. 
          WE KNOW THAT THERE'S, YOU KNOW, A PRETTY, UH, SIGNIFICANT ATTRITION RATE THROUGH THAT, BUT WE SHOULD HAVE PLENTY OF FOLKS TO HIRE. 
          THEORETICALLY, WE COULD GO BACK TO THE LIST AND PULL 300 THROUGH 400 IF WE WANTED TO, BUT WE THINK JUST PULLING THAT FIRST 300 SHOULD GIVES US WHAT WE NEED TO, TO BE ABLE TO RUN THE PROCESS. 
          SO, UM, THAT KIND OF COVERS THE HIRING, GOING TO THE NEXT ONE. 
          UM, AND SO THIS, THE CADET CADET HIRING, I COVERED A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT, THAT ARE HERE. 
          YOU CAN SEE, UH, REALLY PRETTY MUCH COVERED MOST OF THE THINGS THAT ARE IN HERE. 
          UH, GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS RELATED TO ANY OF THE HIRING UPDATE STUFF. 
          ALL RIGHT, WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          UM, SO THIS IS, UH, SO THIS IS WHAT KIND OF SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE GOT, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE 14 OR 1500 PEOPLE THAT APPLY, BUT WE ONLY HAVE 600 SHOW UP. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO DETERMINE LIKE WHAT'S THE, WHAT'S THE BREAKDOWN OF THE REASON WHY FOLKS AREN'T SHOWING UP FOR THE EXAMS. AND SO WE WENT THROUGH SOME DIFFERENT THINGS AND LOOKED SOME DIFFERENT THINGS. 
          UM, PEOPLE HAVE WORK CONFLICTS AND, YOU KNOW, PERSONAL CONFLICTS SEEM TO BE THE TWO MAJOR THINGS, UM, AT BEING OUT OF TOWN AND HAVING WORK CONFLICTS. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT MAY HELP US, THAT I'M LOOKING FOR WITH THE NEXT HIRING PROCESS IS LOOKING FOR A WEEKEND VENUE. 
          UM, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO FIND A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TEST 1500 PEOPLE AT THE SAME TIME. 
          SO WE'VE RELIED ON PALMER EVENT CENTER AND PLACES LIKE THAT, WHICH ARE NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET ON A WEEKEND BECAUSE THEY'RE BOOKED OUT FOR TWO YEARS. 
          UM, AND FOR, AND THE COST, THE COST OF THOSE PLACES ON THE WEEKEND IS VERY HIGH TOO. 
          SO WE TEND TO DO A MONDAY OR TUESDAY, UH, FOR OUR TESTING. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING WITH THE VENDOR, WITH OUR HIRING VENDOR AT, AT RUNNING SOMETHING AT MAYBE A HIGH SCHOOL OR SOMETHING ELSE WHERE WE CAN, UH, KIND OF SET THINGS AND STAGGER THINGS A LITTLE BIT WHERE WE CAN RUN THE PROCESS THROUGH TO BE ABLE TO DO IT ON A WEEKEND, BECAUSE I THINK THAT MAY HAVE AN IMPACT ON THE NUMBER OF FOLKS THAT ARE ABLE TO SHOW UP FOR THE EXAM. 
          SO, UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO WORK ON IDEAS AND WORK ON THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          BUT THAT'S A, THAT'S WHERE WE ARE. 
          UM, AND YOU GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE NEXT ONE. 
          THE NEXT ONE IS, IS RECRUITING. 
          UM, LIKE, LIKE I, I MENTIONED BEFORE WE HAD 1,398 APPLICANTS. 
          AND SO, UM, AS WE WORK THROUGH THE, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS WE DO IS CANDIDATE INTEREST CARDS. 
          WE'VE DONE A LOT OF REALLY TARGETED, UH, ADS ON, UH, SOCIAL MEDIA AND, AND, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT TVS AND THINGS WHERE THEY CAN LITERALLY PUT IT IN THE, IN THE, UH, IN THE, IN THE HOUSE WITH THE 25 TO 30 5-YEAR-OLD THAT'S IN THE ATHLETICS THAT, YOU KNOW, MEETS ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE WANT FOR, FOR OUR HIRING CRITERIA. 
          AND SO, UH, WE'VE HAD A, A GOOD RESPONSE TO THAT, AND WE FEEL LIKE THAT'S ONE OF THE PRIMARY THINGS WE CAN DO. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, GETTING FOLKS THAT TRANSITION, YOU KNOW, WE DO A LOT OF FOLLOW UP, A LOT OF CALLS, A LOT OF EMAILS, UH, FOLKS RESPOND WELL TO EMAILS, THE TEXTS AND CALLS, THEY RESPOND LESS TO. 
          UH, BUT WE DO GET A LOT OF GOOD RESPONSE FROM THE EMAILS. 
          SO WE'RE TRYING TO LOOK AND FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO TO GET THAT NUMBER HIGHER FROM THAT TRANSLATES FROM THE FOLKS THAT SHOWED INTEREST TO ACTUALLY SHOWING UP. 
          AND SO, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID WITH THIS LAST PROCESS, WE USED TO DO THE, THE WRITTEN EXAM, THE STRUCTURAL ORAL INTERVIEW ON SEPARATE WEEKENDS, 
          [00:30:01]
WHICH REQUIRES FOLKS TO COME INTO TOWN TWICE TO TAKE OFF, TWICE TO DO ALL THOSE THINGS. 
          SO THIS TIME WE WERE ABLE WITH THE, OUR, OUR VENDOR LEARNED DURING COVID, HOW TO DO IT ALL IN ONE DAY. 
          SO WE WERE ABLE TO TEST AND DO THE INTERVIEW, THE STRUCTURAL ORAL INTERVIEW, ALL IN ONE DAY, UH, FOR ALL THE MEMBERS. 
          AND SO THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT SAVED US, UH, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY 15 TO 20% ATTRITION RATE BETWEEN THOSE TWO PROCESSES. 
          SO A LOT OF FOLKS TAKE THE WRITTEN EXAM AND THEY'RE DISCOURAGED, BUT THE STRUCTURAL ORAL INTERVIEW CARRIES SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF YOU'RE DISCOURAGED ON THE EXAM, YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE TO BE A, YOU KNOW, A, A VIABLE CANDIDATE AND HIRING PROCESS. 
          SO MOVING THOSE THINGS TO ONE DAY WAS A BIG DEAL, AND I THINK THAT THAT WILL HELP US WITH THIS GROUP AND HAVING SOME QUALITY CANDIDATES THROUGH THIS PROCESS. 
          ALRIGHT, NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO, PASS THE TORCH AND THE EXPLORER POST. 
          THESE ARE TWO THINGS THAT WE'RE DOING ON THE RECRUITING SIDE. 
          THE PASS THE TORCH IS ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE, WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE'VE TURNED IT INTO NOW IS ESSENTIALLY IT'S LIKE A SIX WEEKEND, UH, SIX DAY, UH, PROCESS WHERE WE HAVE FOLKS, THEY, UH, THEY APPLY FOR THE, FOR THE PASS, THE TORCH ACADEMY. 
          WE BRING 'EM IN ON SATURDAYS, AND WE LET 'EM DO THE THINGS THAT FIREFIGHTERS DO. 
          WE TEACH 'EM ABOUT CULTURE, WE TEACH 'EM ABOUT THE, THE, THE WORKOUTS WE DO, WE TEACH 'EM ABOUT THE, THE THINGS THAT WE DO. 
          WE LET 'EM PUT HANDS ON, UH, THAT, THAT THIS GROUP IS TURNING OUT TO BE A REALLY, UH, A KEY THING FOR US IN THE HIRING PROCESS. 
          AND THAT WE'VE HAD SEVERAL FOLKS TRANSITION FROM PASS THE TORCH TO THE HIRING PROCESS, INCLUDING 23, THAT ARE IN THIS CURRENT PROCESS THAT HAVE BEEN THROUGH PASS THE TORCH. 
          UH, THERE'S NO, UH, THERE'S NO ADVANTAGE LIKE POINTS OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT. 
          THE ONLY ADVANTAGE, JUST FAMILIARITY WITH THE JOB AND UNDERSTANDING WHAT THE EXPECTATIONS ARE OF THE JOB AND SOME OF THOSE THINGS. 
          AND, AND THEN EXPOSURE TO THE JOB. 
          SO THOSE FOLKS ARE LO LIKELY TO TEST OR LIKELY TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS. 
          SO WE'VE, WE'VE REVAMPED THIS WHERE WE CAN RUN IT MULTIPLE TIMES A YEAR NOW. 
          AND SO WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND, UH, USE THAT. 
          IT REALLY FEELS LIKE A REALLY GOOD WAY FOR ME, JUST BEING AT THE GRADUATIONS, BEING AROUND IT AND SEEING ALL THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE DOING. 
          IT FEELS LIKE A REALLY GOOD WAY FOR US TO, UH, CONNECT WITH COMMUNITY, LET FOLKS LEARN WHAT THE JOB IS ABOUT WITHOUT COMMITTING FULLY TO THE JOB, THEN HAVING A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THEY'RE GETTING THEMSELVES INTO WHEN THEY APPLY ON THE BACK END. 
          SO THOSE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS. 
          WE'RE REALLY EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          AND THERE'S JUST A LITTLE NOTE ABOUT OUR EXPLORER POST. 
          WE'VE KIND OF CHANGED THE WAY OUR EXPLORER POST RUNS. 
          OUR EXPLORER POST KIND OF RAN LIKE A BOY SCOUT TROOP PREVIOUSLY. 
          UH, NOW WE'RE, WE'RE FOCUSING ON, UH, FIRE RELATED SKILLS AND STUFF. 
          SO WITH OUR, OUR EXPLORER POSTS, WE GOT 'EM IN, IN A COMPETITION. 
          SO THEY, WE BRING 'EM INTO THE EXPLORER POST, WE MEET, AND WHEN WE'RE MEETING, WE'RE DOING ALL THE MENTORING AND ALL THE THINGS THAT WE LIKE TO DO ALONG WITH TRAINING FOR A COMPETITION. 
          AND SO THIS PAST YEAR WE WERE ABLE TO GO TO ROLLOUT TEXAS AND COMPETE AND COMPETE IN THAT COMPETITION. 
          AND, UH, IN THE FALL, THERE'S A COMPETITION IN SAN ANTONIO. 
          SO WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT THAT. 
          AND FEEL LIKE, KIND OF TURN THE PAGE ON THE EXPLORER POST WHERE I, I PERSONALLY, I DIDN'T, I FELT LIKE IT WAS A GOOD THING FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT IT JUST WASN'T, I DIDN'T FEEL THE VALUE IN IT. 
          BUT THE WAY THEY'RE DOING IT NOW, I FEEL LIKE THERE'S SOME VALUE IN IT THAT WE'RE REALLY TEACHING THE KIDS ABOUT, ABOUT THE FIRE SERVICE. 
          SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT AND, UH, AND REALLY, UH, GLAD TO SEE THAT THAT PROGRAM'S, UH, RUNNING WELL. 
          AND I THINK THAT'S IT. 
          GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF WE CAN GET THE COMMISSIONERS BACK ON THE SCREEN. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE? I HAVE SO MUCH TO SHARE. 
          COMMISSIONER NEN. 
          SO I'M JUST GONNA GO DOWN THE LIST I WANTED YOU TO BE AT THROUGH YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          UM, BUT JUST STARTING WITH A SINGLE LADDER STAIRCASE, I KNOW THAT, UH, A FD AND EMS SIGNED ONTO IT, BUT, UH, CHIEF GREENWELL, I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WERE CONCERNS. 
          'CAUSE I, I SAW IN THE, UM, THE RESOLUTION OR THE RECOMMENDATION THAT THEY WERE TALKING ABOUT, UH, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITIES, UH, DEPARTMENT HOMELAND SECURITY CONCERNS, UH, WHEN IT COMES TO EVACUATION AS WELL. 
          UM, I, I WAS WONDERING IF THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT YOU WERE LOOKING INTO, UH, AS A CONCERN ON THE, UM, POLICE FRONT WE'RE LETTING FIRE TAKE LEAD ON THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          EVEN IF THERE WAS SOME SORT OF A TERRORIST EVENT THAT MIGHT BE INVESTIGATED CRIMINALLY ON THE BACK END, THE INITIAL EVACUATION WOULD BE FIRE RESPONSIBILITY. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT WE'RE HAPPY TO, TO JUMP IN AND HELP IN ANY WAY THAT WE CAN. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          AND THEN, UH, ONE MORE THING WITH THE, UM, THE CROWDSTRIKE OUTAGE. 
          UM, THANK YOU FOR, UM, THE, THE BRIEF ON THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, UH, I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT THERE WERE SOME REDUNDANCIES. 
          UM, I'M WONDERING FOR ALL THE AGENCIES, UH, IF THERE ARE ANALOG, UH, REDUNDANCIES AND IF THERE WERE DRILLS THAT, UM, THAT EACH AGENCY HAS DONE, UM, TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SURE THAT IF, IF THAT INCIDENT DID HAPPEN AGAIN, UM, THAT THERE, THERE'S A ONE RUN THROUGH. 
          UH, AND IF THERE WERE ANY CHALLENGES WITH ANY OF THE OTHER AGENCIES WHEN IT CAME TO THAT, WE HAVE MULTIPLE REDUNDANCIES AND BACKUP SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR COMMUNITY. 
          UM, WE REALLY GO BACK TO NOTE CARDS FIVE BY EIGHT NOTE CARDS SOMETIMES, IF THAT'S WHAT IT TAKES FOR THE NINE ONE CALL TAKER, TO WRITE IT DOWN HAND, DELIVER IT TO THE DISPATCHER AND THE DISPATCHER, YOU KNOW, PUT IT OUT OVER THE RADIO, WHATEVER IT TAKES, DEPENDING ON WHAT THE SYSTEM IS THAT'S AFFECTED, WE CAN, UH, MAKE SURE THAT THE SERVICES ARE DELIVERED. 
          YEAH, THE SAME IS TRUE FOR AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS. IT'S ALL PART OF OUR COOP PLANNING AT C TEX, OUR CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS WHERE WE HAVE MULTIPLE 
          [00:35:01]
REDUNDANCIES JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO, TO MEET THE INFLUX OF 9 1 1 CALLS THAT COME IN. 
          THANK. 
          YEAH. 
          J JUST TO ADD TO THAT, WE DO, UH, YOU KNOW, WE DO A BACKUP TRAINING WHERE WE RUN AT THE BACKUP CENTER, UH, EVERY MONTH AS WELL, SO THAT WE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO, TO HAVE AS MUCH REDUNDANCY AS POSSIBLE BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THE, THE CONSEQUENCES IF WE'RE UNABLE TO PERFORM OUR JOBS. 
          SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE. 
          CHAIR, DO WE HAVE QUESTIONS FROM ANYONE ELSE? NO. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, THANK YOU. 
          AND WE WILL MOVE ON. 
          NEXT UP, 
          [4. Discussion of Workers’ Compensation insurance program with Public Safety Unions and City of Austin representatives.]
WE HAVE A DISCUSSION OF WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSURANCE PROGRAM WITH THE PUBLIC SAFETY UNIONS AND CITY OF AUSTIN REPS. 
          IF WE CAN HAVE THE UNIONS AND THE CITY MANAGER STAFF THAT'S HERE, UM, TO JOIN US, I THINK WE'VE GOT FOUR CHAIRS AT THE TABLE AND WE CAN PLAY A LITTLE BIT OF LIKE, YOU KNOW, MUSICAL CHAIRS AS PEOPLE COME UP IF WE NEED TO, BUT JUST I THINK WE CAN TRY TO PULL SOME MORE CHAIRS UP IF WE NEED TO. 
          MICHAEL, YOU CAN PULL A CHAIR UP NEXT TO BOB AND Y'ALL WILL BE ALL SET. 
          I THINK SO. 
          UM, OKAY. 
           GREAT. 
          OKAY. 
          HI THERE. 
          IF YOU WANNA INTRODUCE YOURSELF AND GET STARTED, THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          OH, I'M SUSAN SIN THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR HERE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          LINA, PRESIDENT AUSTIN EMS ASSOCIATION. 
          I'M DON HIRSCH, I'M A FIREFIGHTER FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          BOB NICKS, I'M PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTIN FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION. 
          AND MICHAEL BULLOCK, PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION. 
          I DO HAVE ONE OTHER PERSON WITH THE AP THAT'S HERE TOO, THAT WILL YEP. 
          AND I'M, I DON'T MICROPHONE IF WE'RE, I WAS JUST GONNA SAY, I'M DEVIN DESAI. 
          I'M WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND I'M THE INTERIM CHIEF ETHICS AND, UH, COMPLIANCE OFFICER. 
          AND I WILL BE PRESENTING OUR PRESENTATION HERE SHORTLY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WELL, I THINK WE'LL START WITH, UM, THINK ORDER OF OPERATIONS. 
          I THINK WE'LL START WITH DEVIN AND THEN WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE ASSOCIATIONS TAKING TURNS AND, UM, JUST KIND OF MOVE THROUGH STUFF. 
          OKAY. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          AND IF I, I'LL JUST GIVE YOU A BRIEF BACKGROUND OF, OF MY HISTORY AT THE CITY. 
          I WAS, UH, A LONGTIME EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY. 
          I THINK THE REASON ALL THE UNION PRESIDENTS KNOW ME IS THE LONGEST JOB I HELD AT THE CITY WAS ACTUALLY, I WAS OUR LEAD NEGOTIATOR ON BEHALF OF THE CITY WHEN WE NEGOTIATED OUR CONTRACTS WITH OUR POLICE, FIRE AND EMS UNION. 
          SO THAT'S HOW I GOT TO KNOW BOB WAY BACK IN 2008. 
          THAT'S HOW I GOT TO KNOW SELENA AND MICHAEL. 
          UM, AND I ACTUALLY SPOKE TO DON HERE RECENTLY AS WELL. 
          SO, GOOD TO SEE YOU, DON. 
          UM, LET ME START THE PRESENTATION AND I AM GONNA GO OFF VIDEO AND I'LL COME BACK AS SOON AS I'M DONE. 
          AND PART OF THIS PRESENTATION WILL, UH, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SUSAN, UH, OUR HR DIRECTOR TO, TO EXPLAIN A, A SMALL PIECE OF IT. 
          SO IF WE CAN GO ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO I THOUGHT IT'D START WITH KIND OF A HISTORY OF WHAT IS WORKERS' COMPENSATION AND HOW DO WE, AND HOW DOES IT RELATE IN, IN AUSTIN, UH, SPECIFICALLY AT OUR, AT OUR CITY. 
          AND I'M NOT ONE OF THESE PEOPLE THAT LIKES TO READ EVERY SINGLE WORD ON THE PRESENTATION. 
          Y'ALL HAVE THIS PRESENTATION. 
          SO LET ME JUST KIND OF WALK, WALK YOU THROUGH KIND OF WHAT'S HAPPENED. 
          IT'S OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD HERE AT THE, HERE IN TEXAS, BUT AS YOU KNOW, IT'S MAINLY A CREATURE OF STATE LAW. 
          AND AS A RESULT, IT CAN CHANGE EVERY TIME THE LEGISLATURE IS IN SESSION. 
          AND THERE'S BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES FROM THE TIME IT WAS FIRST EARLY ADOPTED IN 1913 OR SO. 
          UM, WHAT IS IT GENERALLY? I MEAN, FOR THE MOST PART, WORKERS' COMPENSATION IS ALSO KNOWN KIND OF AS A GRAND BARGAIN. 
          IT'S KIND OF THE EXCHANGE LIKE, HEY, WE KNOW AS AN EMPLOYER WE NEED EMPLOYEES TO WORK HERE, BUT WE ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU MIGHT GET HURT ON THE JOB. 
          SO IN EXCHANGE FOR YOU COMING TO WORK FOR US, WE'LL AGREE THAT TO PROVIDE YOU BENEFITS IF YOU BECOME INJURED OR DISABLED AS A RESULT OF YOUR JOB. 
          RIGHT. 
          SO PRIOR TO WORKERS' COMPENSATION BEING, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LAW COMPANIES WERE ALLOWED TO SAY, OH, YOU GOT HURT TODAY AND YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO DO YOUR JOB TOMORROW. 
          WELL THEN, YOU KNOW, IT WAS, IT WAS GREAT HAVING YOU AS AN EMPLOYEE, BUT DON'T, DON'T BOTHER SHOWING UP. 
          SO OBVIOUSLY THERE'S, YOU KNOW, MASSIVE BENEFITS TO OUR EMPLOYEES TO HAVE IT, UM, FOR OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION, VICE VERSA. 
          IT'S A MASSIVE BENEFIT TO THE EMPLOYER BECAUSE IT IT, IT GIVES THE EMPLOYEES SOME COMFORT TO KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF, IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME AT THE JOB. 
          [00:40:01]
INTERESTINGLY, IN TEXAS, WE ARE THE ONLY STATE WHERE WORKERS' COMPENSATION IS ACTUALLY NOT MANDATORY FOR ALL EMPLOYERS. 
          IT IS MANDATORY FOR US AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN BECAUSE WE ARE A PUBLIC EMPLOYER AND ENTITIES THAT HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THE CITY HAVE TO PROVIDE WORKERS' COMPENSATION. 
          BUT IF YOU'RE A PRIVATE COMPANY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, YOU'RE ACTUALLY ONE OF THE ONLY PLACE WHERE, THE ONLY PLACE IN THE, IN THE COUNTRY WHERE YOU'RE NOT OBLIGATED TO HAVE WORKERS' COMPENSATION. 
          OKAY, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO IF YOU ARE MOM AND POP SHOP, YOU KNOW, UM, STORE PRIVATE ENTITY USUALLY, AND YOU DECIDE, YOU SAY YOU WANNA HAVE WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WHAT THE WAY YOU GO ABOUT IT IS YOU BASICALLY PAY AN INSURANCE COMPANY PREMIUMS EVERY YEAR TO PROCESS YOUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AND TO PAY OUT ANY PAYMENTS THAT ARE DUE, KIND OF LIKE THE SAME WAY ANY OF US WOULD. 
          YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR CAR INSURANCE, WE HAVE OUR HOUSE INSURANCE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS. 
          HOWEVER, MOST GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES, UH, DO HAVE AN OPTION OF BECOMING SELF-INSURED IN TEXAS. 
          AND WHEN YOU BECOME SELF-INSURED, YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY CONTRACTING OUT AND PAYING PREMIUMS TO AN OUTSIDE ENTITY FOR YOUR WORKERS' COMP. 
          UM, ALMOST ALL CITIES THAT WE'VE RESEARCHED ARE IN TEXAS, ARE SELF-INSURED, UM, AS ARE COUNTIES. 
          AND THE STATE IS ALSO SELF-INSURED. 
          NOW, BEING SELF-INSURED DOESN'T CHANGE ANYTHING AS FAR AS OUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES AS EMPLOYERS. 
          WE STILL HAVE THE SAME DUTIES TO OUR EMPLOYEES THAT PRIVATE ENTITIES WOULD. 
          UM, IF WE CAN GO TO THE SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO EVEN THOUGH YOU'RE SELF-INSURED, DOES THAT MEAN THAT YOU JUST HANDLE EVERYTHING? DOES THAT MEAN WE HANDLE EVERYTHING OURSELVES, UH, HERE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN? UM, AND THE ANSWER IS NO. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF ADMINISTRATIVE LOGISTICS THAT GO ON WITH PROCESSING A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM. 
          AND AS A RESULT, ALMOST EVERY CITY CONTRACTS OUT WITH WHAT'S KNOWN AS A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          AND WHAT THESE FOLKS DO IS THEY ESSENTIALLY CONTRACT WITH THE CITY AND PROCESS THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS AND MEET ALL THE DEADLINES IN THE TIMELINES THAT ARE LISTED IN THIS VERY LENGTHY STATUTE, UH, IN, IN, IN STATE LAW. 
          NOW, WE'VE HAD, WE GO OUT FOR AN RFP EVERY SO OFTEN, AND THEN THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WINNER OF THE RFP, IF IT'S RECOMMENDED BY OUR STAFF, THAT THAT RECOMMENDATION GOES TO CITY COUNCIL, CITY COUNCIL THEN VOTES ON IT, AND THEN THAT BE, THAT BECOMES OUR TPA FOR THE NEXT X NUMBER OF YEARS. 
          WE'VE HAD VARIOUS TPAS OVER THE, OVER THE FEW YEARS, AND THE CURRENT TPA IS A COMPANY THAT'S KNOWN AS SEDGWICK. 
          UM, NOW LET, LET ME JUST ALSO SAY THAT THERE IS, I DIDN'T PUT IT IN THIS SLIDE, BUT THERE IS A CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM IN WORKERS' COMPENSATION. 
          SO LET'S SAY AN EMPLOYEE FILES A CLAIM WITH THE CITY, GOES THROUGH THE SEDGWICK PROCESS, UM, THE SEDWICK COMPANY AS A TPA, AND THEY'RE UNHAPPY WITH THE RESULT. 
          IT'S NOT THAT, WELL, YOU KNOW, THE CITY JUST SAID NO, SO I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. 
          THERE IS AN APPEALS PROCESS THAT YOU CAN TAKE TO THE STATE, AND I DON'T WANNA GET INTO ALL OF THOSE DETAILS, BUT THERE'S MULTI-LAYERS OF MEDIATION AND THEN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE. 
          AND IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE STILL UNHAPPY AS AN EMPLOYEE, YOU CAN ACTUALLY GO TO DISTRICT COURT. 
          BUT I, I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT, THAT THERE IS A CHECK AND BALANCE SYSTEM SO THAT NO ONE EMPLOYER IS JUST WILLY-NILLY DENYING EVERYTHING, AND THE EMPLOYEE HAS NO RECOURSE. 
          UH, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          SO ONE OF THE QUESTIONS WE, THAT WE GET ASKED IS, DO WE HAVE KIND OF DIFFERENT WORKERS' COMPENSATION SYSTEMS FOR OUR DIFFERENT TYPES OF EMPLOYEES? AND FOR THE MOST PART, THE ANSWER IS NO. 
          UH, SEDGWICK IS THE TPA FOR ALL OF OUR CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEES, NOT JUST PUBLIC SAFETY PER PERSONNEL. 
          UM, THE ONLY REASON I SAY FOR THE MOST PART IS THE STATE STATUTE DOES CARVE OUT EXCEPTIONS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          IT SAYS, HEY, THIS IS THE PROCESS. 
          IF YOU'RE NON-PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          AND IF YOU'RE PUBLIC SAFETY, YOU MAY OR MAY NOT GET THESE ADDED BENEFITS THAT THEY'LL PUT IN. 
          AND THEN SOMETIMES THEY TAKE AWAY ALL OF THOSE THINGS. 
          BUT EITHER WAY, THAT'S THE, I DON'T WANNA JUST MAKE A STATEMENT SAYING, UH, WORKERS' COMPENSATION IS THE SAME FOR ME AS AN EMPLOYEE, AS IT WOULD BE FOR A FIREFIGHTER I, THAT THAT'S NOT, FOR THE MOST PART, IT IS THE SAME AND THE WAY IT'S PROCESSED IS THE SAME. 
          BUT THE LAW DOES SOMETIMES DIFFER IF YOU'RE PUBLIC SAFETY OR NOT. 
          UM, AS A DESK EMPLOYEE, IN MY TIME AT THE CITY, I NEVER FILED A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY MY JOB WAS NOT VERY PHYSICALLY DEMANDING. 
          BUT THE FOLKS YOU SEE IN FRONT OF YOU ARE PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL, CLEARLY, OBVIOUSLY HAVE A MUCH MORE PHYSICALLY DEMANDING JOB. 
          AND SO, AS YOU WOULD EXPECT, THAT'S WHERE THE MAJORITY OF OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS COME FROM, IS OUR PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS. 
          WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO, AS FAR AS OUR CURRENT STATUS WITH OUR CONTRACT WITH SEDGWICK, UH, OUR, OUR CONTRACT IS SET TO EXPIRE IN MARCH OF NEXT YEAR. 
          [00:45:02]
AND WE HAD DONE AS, AS A CITY, CONDUCTED AN RFP PROCESS TO FIND A NEW TPA OR A NEW CONTRACT, I'LL PUT IT THAT WAY, A NEW CONTRACT, UH, FOR A NEW MULTI-YEAR AGREEMENT FOR SOMEBODY TO ADMINISTER OUR, OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS. AND WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT PROCESS AND ABOUT TO RECOMMEND, UM, A COMPANY TO COUNCIL. 
          UH, HOWEVER, WE HAD HEARD A LOT OF THESE CONCERNS ABOUT OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROCESS AT THE CITY, UH, NOT JUST FROM BOB AND SELENA AND MICHAEL, BUT ALSO FROM OUR CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES AND FROM THE CHIEFS OF COURSE. 
          AND SO WE SAID, YOU KNOW WHAT, WHY DON'T WE PUT A HALT TO THIS PROCESS AND SEE IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO REVIEW KIND OF HOW THE RFP WAS WRITTEN, SEE IF WE NEED TO MAKE SOME AMENDMENTS TO IT, SEE IF WE NEED TO CHANGE OUR PROCESS, AND THEN DO A NEW RFP THAT COINCIDES WITH WHATEVER OUR NEW PROCESS IS. 
          AND SO WE KIND OF PUT A HALT TO THAT, AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE TODAY AS FAR AS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, UH, THE NEXT STEPS ON. 
          WE DO ANTICIPATE GOING FOR AN RFP SOON, BUT WE HAVE TO DO SOME OF THIS HOMEWORK BEFORE WE GET THERE. 
          UH, IF WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO I WANTED TO GIVE YOU SOME DATA AS FAR AS, UH, WHAT ARE THE, KIND OF THE RAW NUMBERS THAT WE GET FROM E-M-S-A-A-F-D AND A PD AND ALSO FROM, UH, THE CIVILIAN SIDE AS FAR AS WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS. NOW, WE DID NOT ADD ALL OF THE YEARS FOR EVERYTHING, RIGHT, FOR ALL OF THE CALENDAR YEARS WE'VE HAD. 
          SO WHAT WE ADDED WAS THE LAST THREE FULL CALENDAR YEARS. 
          I WILL SAY, OBVIOUSLY THAT COMES WITH AN ASTERISK BECAUSE OF COVID AND ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO, UM, POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. AND I'LL JUST EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT. 
          'CAUSE YOU SEE A BIG DROP OFF IN THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS RECEIVED IN 2023, AND YOU'LL SEE THAT FOR BOTH, UH, POLICE AND EMS AS WELL. 
          AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE THE LEGISLATURE, WHEN COVID FIRST STARTED, WHEN THEY MET AGAIN AFTER COVID STARTED, THE LEGISLATURE SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? FOR PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A PRESUMPTION THAT IF YOU GET COVID, IT HAPPENED ON THE JOB. 
          BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IT'S VERY HARD TO OBVIOUSLY PROVE WHERE YOU GOT YOUR STRAIN OF COVID FROM. 
          DID IT COME FROM WHEN YOU WERE AT THE GROCERY STORE OR DID IT COME WHILE YOU WERE TREATING A PATIENT ON THE AMBULANCE? AND SO THE LEGISLATURE SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT, FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS, IT'S PRESUMED THAT YOU GOT IT ON THE JOB. 
          AND SO OUR CLAIMS, UH, FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS, UH, EMS PERSONNEL AND OUR POLICE OFFICERS THAT GOT COVID INCREASED IN 21 AND 22, THE LEGISLATURE THEN TOOK AWAY THAT PRESUMPTION. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHY YOU SEE A DROP OFF IN 2023 OF THE NUMBER OF CLAIMS FILED. 
          AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S A BIG REASON WHY. 
          I MEAN, I'M SURE LIKE ANY OTHER SET OF DATA, THERE'S GONNA BE LOTS OF, LOTS OF REASONS, BUT THAT'S A BIG REASON WHY YOU SEE KIND OF HALF OF IT FROM 2022 TO 2023. 
          UM, THE OTHER THING I WANNA POINT OUT IS THAT, YOU KNOW, UH, THE BEST WAY TO PUT IT IS WE'RE NOT SATISFIED WITH THE NUMBER THE PERCENT OF CLAIMS DENIED. 
          AND LET ME EXPLAIN THAT A LITTLE BIT. 
          EVEN IF THE PERCENT OF CLAIMS DENIED WAS ALL ZERO, OKAY, LET'S JUST SAY IT'S ALL ZERO, THEN YOU WOULD THINK THAT, OH, THE EMPLOYEES MUST BE HAPPY AND THE CHIEFS MUST BE HAPPY BECAUSE THEY'RE BACK AT WORK FASTER. 
          WELL, JUST BECAUSE IT'S DENIED DOESN'T NECESSARILY MEAN THAT IT WAS THE MOST EFFICIENT PROCESS TO GET US TO, UM, A NON-DENIAL. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, LET'S SAY THE EMPLOYEE GETS THE TREATMENT THAT THEY NEED, BUT IT TAKES THEM NINE MONTHS TO GET IT. 
          WELL, THAT'S STILL NINE MONTHS OF A ONE OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL BEING OUT. 
          AND THE QUESTION IS, COULD WE HAVE SPED UP THAT PROCESS TO GET THEM, UH, APPROVED A LOT QUICKER THAN THE NINE MONTHS? RIGHT? AND SO EVEN IF THESE NUMBERS WERE ZERO, WE'RE NOT HERE AS THE CITY TO SAY THAT WE'D BE HAPPY IF THESE NUMBERS WERE ZERO, BECAUSE WE STILL HAVE TO LOOK AT HOW EFFICIENT ARE WE IN THE PROCESSING OF THESE CLAIMS. UM, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE EMS DATA AS FAR AS THEIR PERCENTAGES. 
          AND ON THE LAST SLIDE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY WILL BE POLICE. 
          UM, AND THEN THE VERY LAST SLIDE THAT HAS OUR DATA IN IT IS JUST OUR TOTAL DATA. 
          SO THIS IS INCLUSIVE OF POLICE, FIRE AND EMS, KIND OF HOW MANY CLAIMS DO WE GET? AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE IS KIND OF ROUGHLY MORE THAN TWO THIRDS OF OUR CLAIMS COME FROM PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UM, IF YOU, IF YOU RUN THE NUMBERS, UH, IF WE CAN GO TO OUR NEXT SLIDE, SLIDE 11, PLEASE. 
          IN OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR EMPLOYEE REPS, WE WERE, WE WERE KIND OF ASKING, AND FOR, FROM OUR EMPLOYEES, WE'RE ASKING, HEY, TELL ME WHERE ARE YOUR PAIN POINTS? WHERE, WHAT ARE THE ISSUES THAT YOU OR YOUR EMPLOYEES OR YOUR MEMBERSHIP IS FACING AS THEY PROCESS WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS? BECAUSE WE NEED TO HEAR WHERE THE ROADBLOCKS ARE SO THAT WHEN WE COME UP WITH A NEW RFP PROCESS OR A NEW PROCESS IN GENERAL, WE CAN TRY TO ELIMINATE THOSE ROADBLOCKS AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. 
          [00:50:01]
AND HERE'S SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE'VE HEARD. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, THE COMPLEX INJURIES ARE GONNA BE, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT HARDER AND REQUIRE MORE DOCUMENTATION. 
          ONE OF THE CONCERNING THINGS THAT WE HEAR IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THE AMOUNT OF DOCUMENTATION AND THE AMOUNT OF KIND OF BACK AND FORTH THAT'S REQUIRED IS CAUSING SOME OF OUR MEDICAL PROVIDERS TO SAY, YOU KNOW WHAT, MAYBE I JUST DON'T NEED TO DO WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIMS ANYMORE. 
          LIKE, IT'S KIND OF MORE PAIN THAN WHAT IT'S WORTH. 
          AND THAT'S OBVIOUSLY A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN FOR OUR EMPLOYEES AND FOR, FOR US AS WELL. 
          UM, WE HAVE HEARD ALLEGATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MORE DENIALS OF MENTAL HEALTH CLAIMS, UH, THAN PHYSICAL INJURY CLAIMS. UM, YOU KNOW, THE LEGISLATURE DID APPROVE PTSD AS A INJURY, UM, THAT YOU CAN GET ON THE JOB. 
          AND SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE CLAIMING THAT, YOU KNOW, IF THEY BREAK THEIR HAND, IT'S MORE LIKELY TO GET 'EM TO GET APPROVED THAN IT IS IF THEY CLAIM THEY HAVE PTSD. 
          UM, AND FINALLY KIND OF LIKE A BETTER EXPLANATION OF JUST WHAT'S NEEDED. 
          YOU KNOW, LIKE GIVE ME STEP BY STEP EXACTLY WHAT DOCUMENTATION I'M MISSING SO THAT I CAN GET IT FROM THE DOCTOR AND TURN IT BACK IN, UM, AND NOT SAY, WELL, YOU WERE MISSING A, B, AND C, BUT YOU ONLY TOLD ME ABOUT A AND B. 
          'CAUSE THEN IT BECOMES, YOU KNOW, I COULD HAVE JUST GOTTEN ALL THREE THINGS AT ONE TIME. 
          RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S SOME OF THE OTHER ISSUES WE'VE HEARD. 
          AND I DO WANT TO HIT THIS LAST POINT A LITTLE BIT LATER IN THE, IN THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A LOT OF OUR EMPLOYEES ARE SAYING THAT WE NEED TO HAVE A BETTER WAY OF ADDRESSING THE LEAVE AND THE COMPENSATION FOR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE OUT ON WORKERS' COMPENSATION LEAVE. 
          AND I'LL LET SUSAN TALK ABOUT THAT ON THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          BUT ESSENTIALLY, AT TIMES WHAT HAPPENS IS WHEN YOU DO A REAC ACCOUNTING OF ALL OF THE STUFF, SOMETIMES WE'VE HAD TO ASK FOR EMPLOYEES TO, WE'VE DETERMINED THAT THEY WERE OVERPAID OVER THE, UH, OVER THAT TO THAT FRAME OF TIME THAT THEY WERE OUT. 
          AND SO NOW WE'RE ASKING FOR SOME MONEY BACK. 
          AND OBVIOUSLY THAT CAUSES A LOT OF STRESS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. 
          AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A BETTER WAY TO DO THAT, AND WE THINK WE HAVE A SOLUTION. 
          AND I'LL LET SUSAN TALK ABOUT IT ON THE, ON THE NEXT SLIDE. 
          IF WE CAN GO TO SLIDE 13, PLEASE. 
          UH, I'M SORRY, GO BACK TO TO 12. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          I SAID THE WRONG NUMBER. 
          UM, SO WHAT HAVE, WHAT STEPS HAVE WE TAKEN SO FAR? AND THE REASON I EMPHASIZE SO FAR AND WHY IT'S IN BOLD IS BECAUSE IT GOES TO ONE OF THE MAIN POINTS THAT I WANNA, I WANNA EMPHASIZE TODAY, WHICH IS WE ARE VERY EARLY IN THIS PRO, IN THIS PROGRESS. 
          UM, THIS IS NOT A, HEY, WE'VE TALKED TO X, Y, AND Z AND WE'RE DONE. 
          WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THE ISSUES ARE AND LEAVE IT TO US. 
          WE'LL FIGURE IT OUT FROM HERE. 
          IT, IT'S NOT THAT AT ALL. 
          THIS IS REALLY A COLLABORATION BETWEEN US, THE CHIEFS, THE UNIONS, TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE THE ISSUES, EVEN DOWN TO THE MINUTIA. 
          BECAUSE WHEN WE SET UP A NEW PROCESS, YOU KNOW, THAT'S KIND OF OUR, OUR CHANCE. 
          WE'RE AT, WE, WE ARE AT AN OPPORTUNE TIME NOW KNOWING THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO AN RFP TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION AS BEST WE THINK IT CAN WORK, AND TRY TO SEE IF WE CAN IMPLEMENT THAT SOLUTION. 
          UM, WE'VE HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH SEDGWICK ABOUT KIND OF, HEY, IN YOUR COMMUNICATION STYLE, CAN YOU DO X, Y, AND Z? AND SOME OF THE OTHER CONCERNS THAT WE'VE HEARD, WE'VE RELAYED THAT THEY'VE AGREED TO MAKE SOME CHANGES. 
          UM, WE'RE ALSO IN THE PROCESS OF DOING AN AUDIT OF THE TPA, A, UM, OF, OF THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          SO WE'RE LOOKING TO SEE, LIKE I SAID BEFORE, WHAT THE IDEAL LANGUAGE SHOULD BE IN AN RFP, BECAUSE THAT IS REALLY GONNA CONTROL HOW THE NEXT, UM, FIVE YEAR CONTRACT LOOKS. 
          UM, AND NOW LEMME TURN IT OVER TO SUSAN, BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY IN HER AREA OF EXPERTISE THAT AS THE DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES TO REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW, WHAT ARE WE DOING AS FAR AS THE WAY WE COMPENSATE OUR EMPLOYEES NOW, AND WHAT, WHAT DO WE ANTICIPATE SEEING AS A WAY TO KIND OF ALLEVIATE SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS. 
          SUSAN, THANK YOU, DEVIN. 
          UM, I JOINED THE CITY MAY 20TH, SO IT'S BEEN A JOY TO GET TO KNOW EVERYBODY AND BE ABLE TO PARTNER ALONGSIDE, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE'RE GIVING AS, AS, AS COMPREHENSIVE SERVICES TO OUR, OUR INJURED EMPLOYEES AS POSSIBLE. 
          ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I WAS, UH, SHARED WITH EARLY ON WAS OVERPAYMENTS AND HOW THOSE WERE HAPPENING HAPPENING PRETTY CONSECUTIVELY. 
          AND, AND IT'S HARD. 
          I MEAN, YOU GET MONEY IN YOUR CHECK AND YOU'RE JUST THINKING, THAT'S MY MONEY IN MY CHECK, AND I CAN SPEND THAT. 
          AND SO WHAT HAPPENS IS, WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING IS PUTTING PEOPLE INTO THAT STATUTORY TIBS BENEFIT, WHICH IS A WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFIT. 
          SO 70% OF PAY AND CHEWING UP WITH CITY MONEY. 
          THE OTHER, UM, 30%. 
          AND WHAT HAPPENS IS THERE'S, THERE'S PRETTY CONTINUALLY, UM, OVERPAYMENTS, JUST TOO MANY COMPENSATION SITUATIONS. 
          AND, AND THE WAY WE CAN RESOLVE THAT, AND IT'S REALLY A SWEET SPOT FOR US HERE AT THE CITY, IS WE'RE JUST ABOUT TO IMPLEMENT WORKDAY. 
          AND WHAT WE CAN DO IS WAGE CONTINUATION. 
          AND WHAT'S 
          [00:55:01]
NICE ABOUT WAGE CONTINUATION IS IT KEEPS THEM IN THEIR NORMAL PAID STATUS AND IT ALLOWS THEM TO KEEP GETTING THE INSURANCE DEDUCTIONS, OR IF CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENTS ARE DUE OR WHATEVER THEY HAVE GOING ON WITH THEIR PAY, CONTINUE THAT FOR 12 MONTHS, UM, FOR OUR SWORN INDIVIDUALS, AND WE CODE IT WORKERS' COMP WAGE CONTINUATION. 
          SO UP TO 12 MONTHS, THEY WOULD, WE WOULD HAVE THAT PARTICULAR, UM, METHOD AVAILABLE FOR THEM. 
          IT WILL CUT DOWN ON OVERPAYMENTS, IT WILL CUT DOWN ON ANY TYPE OF, UM, YOU KNOW, MISPERCEPTIONS OR, YOU KNOW, CONSTERNATION THAT INJURED EMPLOYEES ARE GOING THROUGH WITH REGARDS TO THEIR PAY. 
          BECAUSE WHEN WE TAKE PEOPLE OFF OF THE CITY PAYROLL AND THEN PUT THEM ONTO THE STATUTORY BENEFIT, JUST A HOST OF THINGS HAPPEN, IT DOES INTERRUPT. 
          IF SOMEONE'S PAYING CHILD SUPPORT, IT INTERRUPTS THAT. 
          IT, THERE'S ALL SORTS OF THINGS, TAXATION AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS WE'VE RUN INTO. 
          WE CAN SOLVE THAT ISSUE WITH WAGE CONTINUATION, WHICH IS, IS DONE COMMONLY IN OTHER ORGANIZATIONS VERY SUCCESSFULLY. 
          AND IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE, UM, AT THE SWEET SPOT OF BEING ABLE TO PROGRAM WORKDAY ARE ABLE TO THEN GIVE THAT RELIEF TO OUR INJURED WORKERS AND A MUCH SMOOTHER EXPERIENCE FOR US EVEN ALLOCATING, UM, COMPENSATION HERE AT THE CITY. 
          SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE LOOKING TO IMPLEMENT, UM, WITH WORKDAY, WHICH WOULD BE, UM, THE END OF DECEMBER, EFFECTIVE IN JANUARY, 2025. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          THANK YOU SUSAN. 
          AND I THINK IF WE CAN GO TO OUR LAST SLIDE. 
          SO WHAT ARE SOME OTHER POSSIBILITIES TO IMPROVE OUR WORKERS' COMPENSATION PROCESS? AND THESE ARE THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT WITH OUR, UM, UNION PRESIDENTS, UM, AS WELL. 
          AND SOMETIMES THEIR, THEIR LEGAL COUNSEL, UM, POSSIBLY CONTRACTING WITH A THIRD PARTY THAT KIND OF SPECIALIZES IN GETTING EMPLOYEES SEEN BY DOCTORS QUICKLY AFTER AN INJURY. 
          I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH OF AN ISSUE THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT VARIES CITY TO CITY. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, IN MEMPHIS, THAT WAS A BIG DEAL IS, UM, THERE JUST WEREN'T ENOUGH PHYSICIANS AND OTHER MEDICAL CARE PROVIDERS, UH, WILLING TO, TO WORK WITH PUBLIC SAFETY TO DO WORKERS' COMPENSATION. 
          SO A COMPANY CAME IN AND REALLY HELPED ON THAT FRONT. 
          AND I THINK THAT IT CAN'T, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE JUST EXPLORING IT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, IS THERE WAYS THAT THEY CAN HELP BENEFIT US AS WELL? UM, ONE OF THE OTHER ISSUES IS, LIKE WE TALKED ABOUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S REALLY KEY ON THE RFP PROCESS THAT'S REALLY GOING TO KIND OF SET THE FOUR CORNERS OF THE DOCUMENT FOR OUR NEXT TPA AND WHAT THEY CAN OR CAN'T DO DURING, UH, PROCESSING A WORKERS' COMPENSATION CLAIM. 
          AND SO IN RELATION TO THAT, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS CREATING WHAT'S, UH, COMMONLY KNOWN AS A PHYSICIAN'S PANEL OR PHYSICIAN'S COMMITTEE, IS KIND OF MAYBE A BETTER WAY TO PUT IT. 
          AND THAT MAY ENTITLE, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE STILL EXPLORING, BUT FORT WORTH HAS DONE IT. 
          UM, IT MAY ENTITLE THE CITY TO SKIP A LOT OF THE TECHNICALITIES THAT EXIST CURRENTLY AND ALLOW US TO DESIGN A SYSTEM THAT IS MORE SUITED FOR OUR OWN NEEDS. 
          AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT I KNOW IS VERY NEBULOUS, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE REALLY JUST KIND OF EXPLORING NOW. 
          NOW THAT SUSAN'S HERE, WE'VE STARTED MAKING SOME CALLS INTO, UH, FORT WORTH. 
          WE TALKED TO OUR TPA, YOU KNOW, OUR FIRST QUESTION TO OUR TPA AFTER, YOU KNOW, KIND OF GOING THROUGH THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE HEARING FROM OUR EMPLOYEES AND STUFF IS WE SAID, HEY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S KIND OF THREE AREAS OF, OF DOCUMENTS, KIND OF THAT CONTROL WORKERS' COMPENSATION LAW. 
          THERE'S THE STATE LAW, THERE'S THE CITY OF AUSTIN PROCESS, AND THEN THERE'S WHATEVER SEDGWICK HAS AS IT, ITS INTERNAL RULES, RIGHT? AS YOUR OWN INTERNAL RULES. 
          LET'S ASSUME WE CAN'T CHANGE STATE LAW. 
          TELL US WHAT IS SOME LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT WE CAN DO TO MAKE THIS PROCESS A LOT EASIER FOR OUR EMPLOYEES? AND THE FIRST ANSWER EXTREMELY QUICKLY WAS, YOU KNOW, CREATING THIS PANEL, IT ALLOWS US THE OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE, TO SOME EXTENT OUR OWN RULES. 
          AND SO THEY GAVE US THE CONTACT FOR FORT WORTH. 
          WE'VE BEEN IN COMMUNICATION WITH FORT WORTH TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S WORKING, WHAT'S NOT WORKING. 
          UM, SO WE'RE INTRIGUED BY THIS PROCESS, AND IT'S SOMETHING THAT'S CERTAINLY WE'RE GOING TO KEEP, UH, EXPLORING AS WE GO DOWN. 
          BUT THE TWO POINTS, UH, UM, COMMISSION THAT I REALLY WANTED TO GET ACROSS TODAY IS, NUMBER ONE, WE'RE EARLY IN THIS PROCESS. 
          WE ARE IN NO WAYS SAYING THAT WE ARE DONE, UH, RESEARCHING EVERYTHING AND WE'VE GOT THE ANSWERS. 
          AND NUMBER TWO IS THAT THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS BEING TAKEN LIGHTLY BY THE, BY THE CITY AND CITY MANAGEMENT. 
          THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE FIND OF HIGH PRIORITY. 
          UM, OUR CHIEFS FIND IT TO BE EXTREMELY DISCONCERTING WHEN SOMEBODY IS OUT FOR NINE MONTHS, UH, WHEN THEY COULD HAVE BEEN BACK MAYBE IN THREE, RIGHT? BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE ISSUES THAT OBVIOUSLY A 
          [01:00:01]
PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL BEING OUT CAUSES. 
          AND IT'S, IT'S A HIGH PRIORITY FOR US BECAUSE WE WANNA BE, WE WANT TO HAVE A SYSTEM THAT WORKS BETTER FOR OUR EMPLOYEES. 
          THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT SYSTEM. 
          BUT YOU'RE ALSO NOT GONNA HEAR ANYONE OF US FROM THE, FROM CITY MANAGEMENT SAY THAT OUR SYSTEM IS WORKING FINE RIGHT NOW. 
          SO WE ALL RECOGNIZE IT'S NOT, AND WE'RE JUST TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT CAN WE DO WITHIN THE BOUNDS OF THE LAW TO MAKE OUR SYSTEM BETTER. 
          AND WITH THAT, I'LL END THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, THANK YOU, DEVIN. 
          UM, AND WITH THAT, I THINK WHAT THE REASON THE, THE UNION REPS ARE HERE IS JUST TO GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO SOME SCENARIOS AND SOME THINGS THAT THEY'RE EXPERIENCING ON THEIR END SO THAT AS THE CITY STARTS THINKING THROUGH WHAT COMES NEXT, WE HAVE ALL OF THAT SORT OF AIRED. 
          SO WITH THAT, YOU GUYS CAN GET STARTED. 
          YEAH. 
          THANK Y'ALL FOR HAVING US. 
          UM, MICHAEL, UH, BOB AND I STARTED MEETING OVER THIS ISSUE, UM, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE WE'VE STARTED TO SEE SOME THINGS DETERIORATE IN THE WORKERS' COMP SYSTEM PRIMARILY. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, UM, THE CITY STOPPED REIMBURSING FOR CERTAIN TYPES OF HEARING AIDS, AND WE KNOW THAT, UM, HEARING IS, UH, VERY, VERY COMMON, UM, TO NEED A HEARING AID IF YOU'RE, YOU'VE BEEN IN PUBLIC SAFETY FOR MANY YEARS, AND WE'VE SEEN WAY MORE DENIALS, UM, IN PUBLIC SAFETY THAN WE HAVE IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, UM, FOR HEARING AIDS, UM, AND FOR THE HEARING AIDS THAT MANY OF OUR PERSONNEL NEED. 
          UM, SO HOW WE'D LIKE TO STRUCTURE THIS IS WE'LL KIND OF ALL SHARE SOME DIFFERENT STORIES JUST TO PROVIDE SOME ANECDOTES SO Y'ALL UNDERSTAND, UM, SPECIFICALLY ABOUT HOW THIS AFFECTS, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY PERSONNEL. 
          AND THEN, UM, WE HAVE A PRESENTATION, UM, THAT KIND OF SHARES WHAT WE THINK HAS BEEN GOING ON IN GENERAL WITH WORKERS' COMP, UM, AND THE DENIALS. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE SOME OFFERS OF SOME SOLUTIONS THAT, UM, WE THINK WOULD IMPROVE THE SYSTEM. 
          UM, I'M GONNA LET, UM, SOME OTHER FOLKS SHARE SPECIFIC ANECDOTES FOR, FOR ME, AND, UM, PARTICULARLY, UM, ONE THING THAT'S REALLY TROUBLING TO ME IS THAT EVEN THOUGH, UM, TECHNICALLY, UH, MENTAL HEALTH AND, UM, PTSD SHOULD BE COVERED BY THE CITY, WE'VE HAD, UM, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR CLAIMS FOR MENTAL HEALTH BE DENIED. 
          UM, SO I WOULDN'T SAY THAT IT'S JUST ANECDOTAL THAT SUMMER BEING DENIED, BUT WE HAVEN'T HAD A SUCCESSFUL PTSD CLAIM BE APPROVED. 
          UM, AND WHEN WE WENT TO THE PANEL, UM, WE BASICALLY GOT TOLD THAT THEY WOULD NEVER APPROVE A-P-T-S-D CLAIM BECAUSE THERE ISN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE THAT EXISTS THAT WOULD PRO THAT WOULD ALLOW FOR THAT TO HAPPEN. 
          UM, SO JUST A LITTLE DIFFERENCE IN OPINION THERE. 
          UM, SO THAT'S ONE OF OUR FIRST CONCERNS, AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU WERE TO HEAR SOME OF THE STORIES ABOUT, UM, THE CLAIMS THAT WERE DENIED, IT'S, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, PRETTY CRAZY THAT THEY WOULD DO THAT. 
          SO THAT'S JUST ONE, ONE EXAMPLE OF THE TYPES OF CLAIMS THAT WE, THAT I KNOW ARE BEING DENIED. 
          DO YOU WANNA GO NEXT, MICHAEL? SURE. 
          IF YOU DON'T MIND IF YOU PASS OVER. 
          OH, SORRY. 
          , UM, KIND OF FOLLOW UP ON WHAT SELENA TALKED ABOUT, AND MUCH OF WHAT, UH, DEVIN HIT ON TOO IS THAT THERE'S PROCEDURAL PROBLEMS AND THEN THERE'S JUST SEEMS TO BE AN OVERALL CONCEPTUAL PROBLEM ABOUT HOW OUR SYSTEM IS CURRENTLY RAN. 
          AND EACH ONE OF THESE HAVE VERY REAL EXAMPLES THAT WE HAVE HAD TO DEAL WITH, UH, IN RECENT HISTORY ABOUT OFFICERS, FIREFIGHTERS, OBVIOUSLY, AND MEDICS THAT ALL HAVE DEALT WITH ISSUES. 
          IN PARTICULAR CLAIMS THAT WE HAVE DEALT WITH ARE ONES WHERE OFFICERS HAVE BEEN SHOT IN THE LINE OF DUTY AND THEN THEY STRUGGLE TO GET THE CARE THAT THEY NEED. 
          SOME OF THEM WIND UP GETTING DENIED BECAUSE OF A PROCEDURAL ISSUE THAT WAS MINOR IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS AND COULD HAVE VERY EASILY BEEN HANDLED. 
          BUT IT CAUSED SOME UNNECESSARY DELAYS WHERE AN OFFICER WHO HAD BEEN SHOT HAD TO GO DEAL WITH PHYSICAL THERAPY INSTEAD OF GETTING THE SU THE SURGERY THAT HE NEEDED. 
          WE'VE HAD OFFICERS THAT HAVE BEEN HIT BY DRUNK DRIVERS THAT, UH, HAVE BEEN OUT IN EXCESS OF A YEAR AND A HALF THAT ARE STILL TRYING TO GET SURGERIES, UH, FOR THOSE INJURIES. 
          I'VE HAD ANOTHER OFFICER WHO WAS ATTACKED BY A SUSPECT AND HAD EVERYTHING PRE-APPROVED, HAD EVERYTHING SCHEDULED, AND THEN AT THE LAST MINUTE, THE CLAIMS ADJUSTER WITH OUR THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, UH, KICKED IT OVER TO, WHO'S NOT A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL, BY WAY, BY THE WAY, KICKED IT OVER TO HAVE A PEER REVIEW DONE, AND THEN HIS SURGERY WOUND UP GETTING CANCELED. 
          HE GOT SO FRUSTRATED WITH THE PROCESS, HE HAD TO PAY FOR EVERYTHING OUT OF HIS OWN POCKET IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE HE COULD GET BACK TO WORK BECAUSE HE WAS GONNA BE EXTENDED FOR TOO LONG. 
          UH, I HAVE ANOTHER OFFICER RIGHT NOW WHO'S A VERY YOUNG OFFICER WHO'S BEEN WITH THE DEPARTMENT FOR LESS THAN TWO YEARS AND WAS ALSO HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER. 
          AND THEN IS GETTING TOLD THAT ONE OF THE INJURIES HE INCURRED WAS JUST A DISEASE OF LIFE AND NOT AS A RESULT OF BEING HIT BY A CAR. 
          SO THE OVERARCHING PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE, AND THAT WE HAVE SEEN AS WE'VE STARTED TO DIG INTO THIS, AND PART OF IT WAS ON DEVON'S, UH, PRESENTATION, 
          [01:05:01]
IS THAT INJURIES THAT INVOLVE JOINTS NECK BACK, ARE MORE COMPLEX. 
          THEY TEND TO BE, BE THE ONES THAT ARE MOST LIKELY GOING TO GET DENIED. 
          UM, AND THEY'RE NOT USUALLY FULL DENIALS. 
          THEY'RE USUALLY PARTIAL DENIALS WHERE SOME PORT, SOME PORT, UH, PART OF THE CLAIM IS APPROVED, BUT A LARGE CHUNK OF IT IS NOT. 
          AND OVERALL IT WINDS UP CAUSING A LOT OF UNNECESSARY, UH, DELAYS. 
          SO IN LOOKING AT ALL OF THIS, IT GETS SO BOGGED DOWN THAT IT BECOMES INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING TO, TO ALL PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEES, QUITE HONESTLY. 
          AND EVEN THE PROCESS THAT WAS DESCRIBED ABOUT THERE ARE REMEDIES, BUT THEY'RE VERY TIME CONSUMING. 
          AND IF YOU'RE INJURED, IF YOU'RE HURT, IF YOU'RE TRYING TO COME BACK TO DUTY, MORE TIME IS NOTHING BUT DEMORALIZING AND REALLY DOES NOT INSPIRE ONE TO FEEL LIKE THEIR EMPLOYER IS TAKING CARE OF THEM. 
          SO IT IS INDEED A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE. 
          UH, AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, ALL I I REALLY ASK, THERE'S A LOT OF THINGS THAT WE CAN LOOK AT. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF SOLUTIONS THAT WE POTENTIALLY HAVE. 
          'CAUSE WE ARE HERE TO BE JUST AS MUCH A PART OF THE SOLUTION AS IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEMS. BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN IS FOR A VERY CLEAR POLICY TO BE IN PLACE THAT SAYS, WHEN THESE TYPES OF CLAIMS HAPPEN ON DUTY, WE RECOGNIZE THAT THEY DID IN FACT HAPPEN ON DUTY. 
          THEY ARE CONNECTED TO YOUR JOB, AND THE CITY IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING YOU RAPID TREATMENT IN ORDER TO GET BACK TO WORK AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. 
          THAT SHOULD ULTIMATELY BE THE GOAL, BECAUSE RIGHT NOW IT FEELS LIKE THE INVERSE TO, YOU KNOW, YOUR EMPLOYEES, OR THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE TRYING TO FIND WAYS NOT TO PROVIDE TREATMENT, AND THE PROCESS IS UNNECESSARILY DELAYED, RESULTING IN THEM JUST SUFFERING FOR LONGER. 
          SO, UM, AND I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT HIM TO GO NEXT, BUT, UH, YOU HAVE VARIOUS DIFFERENT REPORTS IN FRONT OF YOU. 
          UH, THEY'RE NOT QUITE IN POWERPOINT FORMAT, SO THAT'S WHY YOU'VE GOT WRITTEN VER UH, VERSIONS FOR YOU. 
          BUT, UH, CHRIS OLA IS, UH, WITH THE ASSOCIATION, HE'S PART OF ONE OF OUR EXECUTIVE BOARD MEMBERS, AND HE DID A LOT OF THE RESEARCH AND ALL THIS AND GATHERING A LOT OF THE DATA. 
          UH, AND ONE OTHER THING THAT I'LL JUST KIND OF LIKE HIGHLIGHT ON THE SYSTEM HERE IS IN TRYING TO COMPILE THE INFORMATION, UM, THE, THE RESISTANCE WE HAVE BEEN FELT WHILE WE'RE ALL TRYING TO COLLECTIVELY GATHER THIS INFORMATION REACHED SUCH A POINT THAT THE ONLY WAY FOR US TO OBTAIN EVEN THE INFORMATION THAT SEDGWICK IS REQUIRED TO PROVIDE THE CITY WAS FOR US TO GO OUT AND DO OUR OWN OPEN RECORDS REQUEST IN ORDER TO FORCE THE INFORMATION TO BE RELEASED. 
          SO WHEN WE'RE ALL TRYING TO WORK TOWARDS THE SOLUTION, WE'RE ENCOUNTERING OTHER BARRIERS IN ORDER TO TRY TO EVEN IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM. 
          SO, UM, WE'LL LET, YOU WANNA LET CHRIS GO NEXT? WE'LL LET, YEAH, LET CHRIS KIND OF EXPLAIN TO Y'ALL A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE INFORMATION YOU KIND OF HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU. 
          UH, WE'LL TRY TO KEEP IT NOT QUITE AS LONG AS WE, UM, AND BEFORE WE KEEP GOING, I THINK WE HAVE A, A QUESTION. 
          OH, YEAH, YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. 
          SORRY, I'M GONNA DO MY BEST TO SORT OF, IF YOU GUYS HAVE QUESTIONS THAT COME UP, WE HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION JUST KIND OF LET ME KNOW. 
          I'LL DO MY BEST TO MANAGE PRESENTATION AND QUESTION ASKING. 
          SO GO FOR IT. 
          JUST A, A BRIEF CLARIFICATION QUESTION, MR. BULLOCK, WHEN YOU SAY THAT, UH, YOUR OFFICERS WHO'VE MADE CLAIMS THAT THEY ARE TOLD THAT SOMETHING IS A DISEASE OF LIFE OR THAT THEY'RE BEING DENIED, THEY ARE ARE TOLD BY WHOM OR WHAT INFORMATION IS BEING RELAYED FROM WHOM TO WHOM BY WHOM? SURE. 
          SO ULTIMATELY EVERYTHING IS GONNA COME IN THE FORM OF A DENIAL LETTER. 
          EITHER WHAT'S CALLED A PLN ONE, WHICH IS A COMPLETE DENIAL, OR A PLN 11, WHICH IS A PARTIAL DENIAL. 
          AND THAT COMES FROM THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, SEDGWICK. 
          AND SEDGWICK IS KIND OF WHAT, UH, THAT WAS THE COMPANY THAT DEVIN MENTIONED EARLIER. 
          BUT THEY WILL GET COMMUNICATION FROM SEDGWICK AS TO THE STATUS OF THEIR CLAIM, WHY IT WAS DENIED, UH, TO A DEGREE. 
          USUALLY IT'S LIKE A ONE PAGE LETTER. 
          SO THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS EXTREMELY LIMITED, BUT THAT'S THE FORM THAT IT'LL COME IN TYPICALLY. 
          AND SO PRESUMABLY SEDGWICK IS CLAIMING THAT THEY ARE SIMPLY RELAYING THE DENIAL INFORMATION FROM THE INSURER TO THE CLAIMANT. 
          IT'S NOT SEDGWICK MAKING A DETERMINATION AS SOMETHING BEING DENIED IT, IT ULTIMATELY IS, AND CORRECT ME CHRIS IF I'M WRONG, ANY POINT IN THIS, BUT ULTIMATELY, YES, IT IS BECAUSE THE CITY IS SELF-INSURED. 
          SEDGWICK IS ACTING AT THE DIRECTION OF THE CITY. 
          AND SO SEDGWICK ARE THE ONES THAT ARE IMPLEMENTING THE GUIDELINES ESTABLISHED WITH THE CITY. 
          AND SO THEY ARE THE ONES THAT WILL INITIATE WHAT'S CALLED A PEER REVIEW. 
          IF THEY THINK SOMETHING DESERVES A PARTIAL DENIAL, THEY'LL SEND IT OVER TO A SEPARATE MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL WHO'S NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN THE CASE. 
          AND THEN IF THEY GET SOMETHING BACK THAT SAYS, NO, YOU SHOULD PARTIALLY DENY THIS, THEY ISSUE THE DENIAL. 
          SO IT, THE DECISIONS ARE IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE CITY, BUT ULTIMATELY THEY'RE ACTING ON BEHALF OF THE CITY AS THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          UNDERSTOOD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YOU, YOU BET. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          WE CAN CONTINUE. 
          HI, UM, LIEUTENANT CHRISTOPHER JULA. 
          UM, LIKE MICHAEL SAID, I'M ALSO ON THE EXECUTIVE BOARD FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION. 
          I'M THE TREASURER CURRENTLY. 
          UM, I WAS JUST ELECTED IN JANUARY, BUT PRIOR TO SITTING ON, UH, THE EXECUTIVE BOARD, I WAS ACTUALLY A MEMBER OF A STAFFING COMMITTEE. 
          [01:10:01]
AND WHAT THIS COMMITTEE WAS DESIGNED TO DO WAS, UH, DURING OUR STAFFING CRISIS AT A PD HELP OUR EXECUTIVES TRY TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT WAYS TO INCREASE OUR STAFFING, UH, TO PR CONTINUE TO PROVIDE, UH, ADEQUATE, UH, COVERAGE FOR THE COMMUNITY. 
          SO WHENEVER THEY'RE CALLING 9 1 1, THERE'S ENOUGH OFFICERS. 
          SO AS WE START COMING UP WITH IDEAS, UH, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CAME UP, UM, AND I'LL GO AHEAD AND REFER TO THE FIRST REPORT, IS FROM THAT STAFFING COMMITTEE. 
          UM, IT SHOULD BE ONE OF THE PACKETS THAT YOU GOT, IS HOW MANY OFFICERS ARE ON LIGHT DUTY OR NO DUTY AT ANY GIVEN TIME. 
          AND THE REASON WHY I IDENTIFIED THIS BEING A PROBLEM IS I'M ONE OF THE MANAGERS OVER THE DOWNTOWN AREA. 
          I OVERSEE, UH, 10 DIFFERENT PATROL SHIFTS AND AMOUNT OF PATROL SHIFT. 
          AND OFTENTIMES YOU LOOK AT OUR STAFFING BOARD, NOT ONLY ARE WE CARRYING VACANCIES OR OFFICERS THAT ARE OUT ON A RESTRICTED, UH, DUTY STATUS, BUT WE'LL HAVE OFFICERS OUT ON A LIGHTER OR NO DUTY STATUS BECAUSE THEY WERE INJURED IN THE LINE OF DUTY AS WELL. 
          AND THESE NUMBERS START TO CLIMB AND THEY START TO ADD UP. 
          SO WHEN YOU START TO HAVE A SHIFT THAT'S SUPPOSED TO HAVE 10 PEOPLE ON IT, UH, YOU'RE CARRYING TWO VACANCIES, YOU HAVE SOMEBODY OFF FOR ANOTHER REASON, THERE'S VACATIONS, YOU ADD TO IT, THE NUMBER OF OFFICERS THAT ARE ON LIGHT OR NO DUTY STATUS, IT REALLY ADDS UP. 
          AND SO WE FELT LIKE THIS WAS A GOOD WAY TO START IDENTIFYING WAYS TO RETURN SOME OF THESE OFFICERS BACK TO, TO WORK FASTER. 
          AND I CAN GO AHEAD AND START OFF BY, UH, HAVING, I'LL TURN TO PAGE EIGHT. 
          UM, THAT'S A LIST THAT THE CITY GAVE US AS TO HOW MANY OFFICERS WOULD BE GIVEN, UH, A LIGHT OR NO DUTY STATUS, UH, FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS AND AVERAGING OUT 2023, THE AVERAGE AMOUNT OF OFFICERS ON NO DUTY STATUS FOR ANY GIVEN MONTH WAS 16 AND A QUARTER. 
          AND THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF OFFICERS ON LIGHT DUTY STATUS WAS, UH, NINE AND A HALF. 
          SO SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF OFFICERS THAT ARE JUST STAYING ON THE STATUS FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME, LIKE MICHAEL MENTIONED, UM, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON THAT WE FIND OFFICERS OUT FOR A YEAR AND A HALF TO TWO YEARS. 
          WE HAVE SOME PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN OUT LONGER THAN TWO YEARS, IN FACT. 
          UM, SO AGAIN, COMBINING HAVING A 350 OFFICER DEFICIT IN THE, IN THE CURRENT DEPARTMENT, UH, MINUS THE 150 OFFICERS THAT WAS REMOVED, UH, AGAIN, IT ADDS UP. 
          UH, THE CO THE COST TO BACKFILL THESE OFFICERS FOR THE CITY ADDS UP AS WELL. 
          UM, ON PAGE 12, THERE'S OUR OVERTIME RATES, UH, IN 2023. 
          THOSE ARE ALL AVERAGED OUT. 
          UM, THE COST OF A OFFICER TO BE BACKFILLED ON A 10 HOUR SHIFT IS ABOUT $781. 
          A DETECTIVE OR CORPORAL IS $953, AND A SERGEANT'S ABOUT $1,091. 
          SO YOU START ADDING UP ALL THESE SHIFTS OVER NINE MONTHS, A YEAR, 18 MONTHS, TWO YEARS, IT REALLY ADDS UP AND IT ADDS UP TO WAY MORE THAN A SURGERY WOULD'VE COST, OR A BUNCH OF PHYSICAL THERAPY, UM, CONDITIONS THAT WERE APPROVED BY SEDGWICK, WHO'S OUR THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          UM, IT ALSO HAS A HUGE EFFECT, LIKE MICHAEL SAID, ON OUR MORALE AND MENTAL HEALTH. 
          MANY OF OUR OFFICERS WANT TO GET BACK TO WORK, THEY WANT TO SIGN UP, THEY SIGNED UP TO HELP THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO DO THAT. 
          AND THEY'RE SITTING AT HOME AND THEY'RE WORRYING ABOUT WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN WITH THEIR CAREER, AND IT'S CAUSING 'EM A LOT OF OTHER ISSUES. 
          AND SO WE ALWAYS CITE THAT. 
          UM, MANY, I, I GUESS THE SYSTEM MIGHT BE DESIGNED TO HELP IDENTIFY FRAUD AND TRY TO ELIMINATE WASTE, BUT WE FIND THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR OFFICERS ARE JUST TRYING TO GET BACK TO WORK. 
          UM, WHEN OUR OFFICERS ARE RISKING THEIR SAFETY FOR THE CITY, WE EXPECT THAT THE CITY JUST TAKE CARE OF THEM MEDICALLY, AT THE VERY LEAST. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT ANYTHING OVER AND BEYOND SOMETHING THAT'S HUMANE TO PROVIDE TO OFFICERS. 
          UM, ONE OFFICER I WANT TO POINT OUT TO, UM, NOVEMBER 11TH OF 23, WE HAD OFFICER GEORGE PI, UH, PASSING THE LINE OF DUTY. 
          UH, THAT SAME NIGHT WE GOT A CALL THAT ONE OF OUR OWN OFFICERS HAD TAKEN HER LIFE AS WELL, AND THAT WAS CHRISTY A STRAND. 
          AND SO WHEN WE GOT THE NOTICE THAT CHRISTY HAD PASSED AWAY, I HAD TALKED TO HER TWO MONTHS BEFORE THAT, KNEW THAT SHE WAS ON, UM, A LIGHT DUTY OR NO DUTY STATUS, AND SHE WAS HIT BY A DRUNK DRIVER ON FEBRUARY OF 2021. 
          AND SO, UH, SHE WAS TELLING ME ALL THE PROBLEMS THAT SHE WAS HAVING WITH WORKERS' COMP. 
          AND I, I ULTIMATELY FEEL LIKE THAT WAS ONE OF THE CAUSES, UH, OF HER STRUGGLING WITH THE SYSTEM, NOT BEING ABLE TO GET THE TREATMENT SHE NEED. 
          ALL SHE WANTED TO DO WAS HAVE SURGERY AND COME BACK TO WORK. 
          THAT WAS HER MAIN GOAL ON THAT. 
          UH, THIS, UH, STAFFING REPORT THAT YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU, IT WAS SHARED WITH, UH, A PD OUR CITY LEADERS AS AS WELL. 
          UH, MARCH OF 2024, UH, THERE WERE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE INCLUDED. 
          UM, ALL OF THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE MOST PART WERE IMPLEMENTED BY CHIEF HENDERSON AS FAR AS INTERNAL THINGS THAT WE CAN CONTROL. 
          UM, BUT, UH, THERE'S TWO DIFFERENT LEVELS THAT WE HAVE IN THE CITY. 
          WE HAVE OUR DEPARTMENT, AND THEN WE HAVE A CITY THAT'S ABOVE THEM. 
          UM, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT CHIEF, UH, HENDERSON HAS ALREADY, UH, IMPLEMENTED IS HAVING MORE A PD STAFF, SWORN STAFF THAT ARE HELPING OFFICERS NAVIGATE THE PROCESS. 
          THAT'S BEEN HELPFUL. 
          UH, CLOSER MONITORING OF LONG-TERM CASES. 
          SO WHENEVER, UH, THE CHAIN OF COMMAND GETS NOTIFIED, OFFICERS ARE OUT FOR A 
          [01:15:01]
YEAR OR MORE, UH, THOSE, UH, THOSE COMMANDERS AND LIEUTENANTS CAN BRING IT UP TO THE CHIEF, HEY, THERE'S A PROBLEM HERE. 
          WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 
          WE NEED TO TALK TO CITY HR ABOUT HOW TO RETURN THESE OFFICERS BACK TO WORK A LOT QUICKER. 
          UM, EXCUSE ME. 
          WE DID ALSO INCLUDE IN THIS PACKET, UH, DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CITY TO ALSO TRY TO IMPLEMENT. 
          UH, WE'VE BEEN A PART OF A FEW MEETINGS WITH THE CITY. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, A LOT OF THESE, UH, HAVE FALLEN ON DEAF EARS. 
          UM, A LOT OF OFFICERS CONTINUE TO FEEL LIKE IT'S EASY TO USE PRIVATE INSURANCE THAN USE WORKERS' COMP. 
          SO THAT CONTINUES TO ADD TO COST TO THE CITY, UM, THAN DEAL WITH THE CURRENT WORKERS' COMP PROCESS. 
          ON PAGE 11, UH, OF THAT SAME REPORT, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THAT OFFICERS WERE ASKED HOW DO THEY FEEL ABOUT SEDGWICK? OUR WORKERS' COMP ADMINISTRATOR, OUT OF A SCALE OF ONE TO 10, UH, OFFICERS GAVE 3.15 TO CLAIMS ADJUSTERS 3.74 FOR CLAIMS MANAGERS ON HOW THEY, UH, TREATED THEIR CASE. 
          SO WE ASKED THAT THE CITY START TO THINK ABOUT WHO THEY SELECT WHEN TRYING TO DECIDE WHO THE NEXT THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR IS. 
          AND WE WERE TOLD, UH, INITIALLY THAT WE WERE STARTING TO RENEGOTIATE OUR SCOPE OF WORK, AND THAT SEDGWICK WAS ON ITS WAY TO BE THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR AGAIN FOR FOUR OR FIVE YEARS. 
          UH, LUCKILY WE DID ENOUGH SCREAMING, UM, AND COMPLAINING THAT THE CITY MANAGER LISTENED TO US. 
          UM, I'M THANKFUL THAT DEVIN DESAI HAS COME ON BOARD. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WHAT HE GAVE IN HIS PRESENTATION IS VERY ACCURATE. 
          I THINK HE HEARS OUR CONCERNS. 
          BUT AGAIN, UM, THE MAIN POINT THAT HE HAD BROUGHT UP IN THERE, THIS IS A SELF-INSURED POLICY. 
          AND WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT ANYTIME THE CITY CAN APPROVE A SURGERY, AND IT'S CALLED A VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION. 
          SO IF THE CITY'S NOTIFIED THAT AN OFFICER WAS HIT BY A CAR WHILE THEY WERE ON FOOT AND THEY WERE DOING THEIR JOB, UM, AND THEY NEEDED BACK SURGERY, THE CITY COULD GO AHEAD AND APPROVE THAT BACK SURGERY. 
          UM, BUT AGAIN, WE CONTINUE TO HIDE BEHIND, UH, DISEASE OF LIFE DEGENERATION, UH, DIFFERENT VARIOUS REASONS FOR DENIALS, AND NOTHING SEEMS TO GET BETTER. 
          WE WERE TOLD THAT THERE WOULD BE A WAY THAT WE COULD TELL THE CITY, WHICH OF OUR OFFICERS HAVE BEEN OFF THE LONGEST, AND THEY WOULD WORK WITH US ON GETTING THEM BACK TO DUTY. 
          AND THAT HAS NOT HAPPENED YET. 
          UM, MICHAEL GAVE DIFFERENT EXAMPLES OF OFFICERS HIT BY CARS, UH, SHOT. 
          UH, WE ALSO HAVE LOTS OF OFFICERS INJURED, INJURED IN FIGHTS. 
          AND AGAIN, THEIR, THEIR TREATMENT'S NOT BEING APPROVED. 
          UM, THE, THE DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE HEARD SO FAR, THEY'VE TALKED ABOUT A DIFFERENT COMPANY COMING IN. 
          AND BASICALLY, THIS COMPANY, UM, IS GOING TO HELP CREATE A NETWORK OF DOCTORS THAT WORKS WELL WITH SEDGWICK AND HELPS OFFICERS NAVIGATE SEDGWICK OR THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR AS IT STANDS. 
          BUT AGAIN, WE'RE JUST PAYING SOMEBODY ELSE TO HELP US GET THROUGH THE PROBLEM. 
          WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY FIXING THE PROBLEM. 
          UM, SO THAT WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD IN THIS. 
          UM, AGAIN, UH, WE ASK THAT THE CITY JUST LOOK AT A COST ANALYSIS OF THIS, THE COST OF CONSERVATIVE TREATMENTS, OVERTIME, PAID DENIALS, HEARINGS, COST OF LAWYERS TO ARGUE CASES AGAINST OFFICERS, UH, GRANTING THE TREATING DOCTORS RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALL FAR LESS THAN IT WOULD'VE TAKEN TO JUST TREAT THE OFFICER OR THE EMS TECH OR THE, THE FIREFIGHTER IN ALL OF THESE SITUATIONS. 
          SO WE JUST ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO LOOK AT THE COST OF ALL THESE THINGS GOING FORWARD. 
          UM, IT'S A BIG BUREAUCRACY OF A SYSTEM. 
          UM, IT'S, IT'S VERY COMPLEX. 
          I DON'T REALLY WANT TO GET INTO THE INNER WORKINGS BECAUSE THERE'S LOTS OF LEVELS. 
          THERE'S A LOOPHOLE. 
          UM, IF AN OFFICER'S INJURED, UH, AN EXAMPLE IS THAT, UH, 72 HOURS GOES BY. 
          UM, IF A INCIDENT SENT TO A PEER REVIEW DOCTOR, WHICH IS A COMPANY THAT SEDGWICK HIRES TO REVIEW THE CASES, UM, THOSE DOCTORS, AGAIN, THEY COULD HAVE AN INCENTIVE FOR SIDING WITH SEDGWICK ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING PAID BY THEM. 
          UM, BUT OFTENTIMES THEY'LL HAVE TO CALL THE DOCTOR BACK AND HAVE A DISCUSSION. 
          IF THAT DISCUSSION'S NOT HAD WITHIN 72 HOURS, IT'S AUTOMATICALLY DENIED, AND WE START ALL OVER AGAIN. 
          SO YOU HAVE A DOCTOR THAT'S PROBABLY DOING SURGERIES, THEY'RE WITH ANOTHER PATIENT, THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO TAKE THAT PHONE CALL RIGHT THEN. 
          AND SO IT'S JUST ISSUES LIKE THAT THAT CONSTANTLY CREATE DENIALS AND DIFFERENT PATHWAYS THAT DON'T GO TOWARDS A SUCCESSFUL OUTCOME. 
          UM, MICHAEL SHARED BACKS, KNEES, SHOULDERS, AND WE ALSO HAVE HEARING AS PART OF, UM, THIS, UM, THAT ARE COMMONLY CITED FOR THINGS THAT ARE DENIED. 
          UM, WE'RE TOLD THEY'RE DISEASES OF LIFE. 
          IF YOU'RE HIT BY A CAR, YOU'RE PROBABLY JUST GETTING OLD, SO YOUR BACK'S GONNA GO OUT AUTOMATICALLY. 
          SO IT'S PROBABLY NOT BY THE CAR, BUT, UH, THEY'LL DENY THAT AGGRAVATION OF PRIOR INJURIES. 
          UM, ESPECIALLY FOR VETERANS IN THE ARMY, THEY'LL TRY TO SAY THAT THE INJURY THAT THEY HAD SUSTAINED BEFORE, UM, IS PROBABLY RESPONSIBLE FOR 
          [01:20:01]
WHAT JUST HAPPENED. 
          AND SO THEY'LL DENY IT ON THAT. 
          UM, DEGENERATIVE ISSUES ARE ALSO AN ISSUE. 
          UM, WE THINK THAT THE MAIN, UM, PROCESS FOR THE WAY THAT THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR RUNS THE CONTRACT THROUGH THE CITY IS COSTS. 
          I DID PROVIDE Y'ALL THE BUDGET FOR WORKERS' COMPENSATION FUND. 
          UM, THEY'VE BEEN AT A LOSS FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. 
          AND SO IN THE LAST, UM, PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST THAT, UH, MICHAEL BULLOCK HAD TOLD Y'ALL ABOUT, WE SPENT $900 TO GET SOME INFORMATION BACK. 
          I FOCUSED ON HEARING CLAIMS ALONE. 
          I COULD PROBABLY FOCUS ON BACKS, KNEES OR SHOULDERS. 
          BUT IN THIS LIST OF EMAILS THAT CAME BACK FROM, UH, WORKERS, UH, COMP, UM, CITY HR, UM, BASICALLY IT JUST SHOWS THE CITY DOING WHATEVER IT CAN TO DENY HEARING CLAIMS. AND IT'S ALL ABOUT MONEY. 
          UM, BASICALLY, UH, DR. 
          LEHMAN'S OFFICE HERE IS MENTIONED IN PARTICULAR, UM, I WANNA START WITH TALKING ABOUT THREE OFFICERS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN A SHOOTING. 
          THEY MADE HEARING CLAIMS BECAUSE THEY HAD SHOT AT A SUSPECT IN A HOUSE, UH, THEY DIDN'T HAVE HEARING PROTECTION ON, SO THEY MADE THESE CLAIMS. THOSE WERE JUST OUTRIGHT DENIED. 
          THEY SAID THAT YOUR INJURY'S NOT WORK RELATED. 
          IT WAS A PLN ONE, WHICH WE TALKED ABOUT. 
          THAT'S A FULL DENIAL. 
          THEY THEN CHANGED IT TO PLN 11. 
          SO THE FIRST FEW PAGES IN THAT DOCUMENT THAT I GAVE, YOU HAVE THOSE EMAILS THAT SHOW THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, THIS GOES ON TO, UH, TALKING ABOUT, UH, EMAILS TO THE DOCTOR THAT THEY WANT THE DOCTOR TO BE GOOD STEWARDS OF TAXPAYER MONEY. 
          UM, SO THEY WANT TO OFFER US A CHEAPER PRODUCT WHEN IT COMES TO HEARING, UM, HEARING AIDS, UM, WHICH I DON'T THINK IS FAIR. 
          UM, THEY ALSO GO ON TO SAY THAT THEY'RE GOING TO GIVE OUR HR PEOPLE A LIST OF 18 PROVIDERS TO WORK WITH GOING FORWARD. 
          AND IT'S UNETHICAL TO ACTUALLY RECOMMEND CARE FROM THE POINT OF THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          BUT IN THIS CASE, THEY WANNA ROUTE ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, PERSONNEL TOWARDS THESE 18 INDIVIDUALS BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THEY'RE GONNA GET A COST SAVINGS. 
          UM, I DO WANT TO PASS IT OFF TO, UM, DENNIS, UH, FERRIS WITH OUR RETIRED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION. 
          HE WANTS TO TALK ABOUT SOME RE RETIRED CLAIMS, AND SOME OF THESE EMAILS HIGHLIGHT THAT AS WELL. 
          AND THEN, UM, I CAN YIELD TO QUESTIONS NOW OR WE CAN LET, UH, MR. FERRIS CONTINUE. 
          I ALSO JUST WANNA TAKE A SECOND TO STEP IN. 
          WERE WE GONNA HAVE SOMEBODY FROM FIRE SPEAKING AS WELL, OR YOU GET YEAH, I HOPE TO, YES. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING TIME FOR THAT. 
          I'LL BE SHORT. 
          I PROMISE THAT THAT'S NOT NECESSARILY MIKE'S STRONG SUIT, BUT I'LL TRY TO BE SHORT. 
          UH, MY NAME'S DENNIS FERRIS. 
          I'M THE PRESIDENT OF THE AUSTIN POLICE RETIRED OFFICERS ASSOCIATION, UH, 25 YEAR VETERAN OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, HONORABLY RETIRED. 
          I REPRESENT 1,150 RETIRED OFFICERS FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT THAT HAVE PUT IN ABOUT 30,000 YEARS OF SERVICE TO THE CITY. 
          UM, I'M ALSO A THREE TIME INJURED CITY EMPLOYEE. 
          I'VE HAD SIX KNEE SURGERIES, TWO BACK SURGERIES, AND I'VE LOST THE MAJORITY OF MY HEARING. 
          UM, I'M ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT, UH, HAVE HEARING AIDS, UH, COURTESY OF THE CITY, BUT I HAD TO FIGHT FOR THAT. 
          UM, SPECIFICALLY WHEN I FILED THE CLAIM, UH, I WAS DENIED BECAUSE THEY SAID MY LAST EIGHT YEARS AT THE DEPARTMENT, I HAD AN INSIDE JOB. 
          WELL, I WAS CHIEF ACEVEDO'S AIDE, AND ANYBODY THAT KNOWS CHIEF ACEVEDO KNOWS WHAT, WE WEREN'T INSIDE VERY MUCH. 
          UM, I ACTUALLY HAD TO TAKE THIS TO A CONTESTED HEARING. 
          AND DURING THE CONTESTED HEARING, THE JUDGE RULED IN MY FAVOR. 
          AND IT WAS AMAZING. 
          ONCE THE JUDGE RULED IN MY FAVOR HOW THE CITY RESPONDED TO ME AS A RETIREE, ALL OF A SUDDEN IT WAS LIKE, MR. FERRIS, WHAT CAN WE DO TO HELP YOU? WHERE BEFORE IT WAS DENIED AT NIGHT, NIGHT, I'LL STEP BACK INTO THE KNEE SURGERIES. 
          LAST, UH, APRIL OR APRIL OF 2023, UH, I WAS DUE TO HAVE A KNEE REPLACEMENT FROM AN ON-DUTY INJURY. 
          UH, AND THE SURGERY WAS SCHEDULED. 
          AND THREE DAYS BEFORE THE SURGERY, I GOT A CALL FROM SEDWICK, UH, SPECIFICALLY MY ADJUSTER WHO SOMETIMES IS VERY HARD TO GET AHOLD OF, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE BIGGEST COMPLAINTS. 
          AND SHE BASICALLY TOLD ME, WE'RE DENYING IT. 
          AND I, SHE SAYS, YOU CAN APPEAL IT. 
          WE'LL KNOW WE LOSE, WE'LL LOSE THE APPEAL. 
          WE KNOW YOU'RE GONNA GET THE SURGERY, BUT YOU'RE GONNA LOSE THE WE'RE, YOU'RE GONNA LOSE. 
          WE'RE DENYING IT. 
          NOW YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO TAKE IT TO AN APPEAL. 
          I WENT TO A DESIGNATED DOCTOR WHO HAPPENED TO BE A CHIROPRACTOR. 
          SO I HAVE A KNEE, AN ORTHOPEDIC INJURY, AND THEY SENT ME TO A CHIROPRACTOR. 
          I WALKED INTO THE CHIROPRACTOR'S OFFICE AND THE FIRST WORDS OUT OF HIS MOUTH WERE, YOU NEED A KNEE REPLACEMENT. 
          AND I WAS LIKE, YEAH, DOC, THAT'S WHY I'M HERE. 
          THE BIGGER PROBLEM WITH THAT IS, AND HE, HE WAS VERY FORTHCOMING WITH ME. 
          UH, AND I DON'T KNOW WHETHER, UH, I PUT HIM AT EASE OR WHATEVER, BUT THE THINGS THAT HE TOLD ME ARE, WERE OUTRAGEOUS. 
          FIRST OF ALL, MY MEDICAL RECORDS WERE CONFUSED. 
          HALF HE HAD HALF OF MY MEDICAL RECORDS AND HALF OF DENNIS FERRIS THE FIREFIGHTER'S MEDICAL RECORDS, AND HE COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW I WAS A POLICEMAN AND A FIREMAN AT THE SAME TIME. 
          SO THAT CAME, THOSE MEDICAL RECORDS CAME FROM THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          SO WE HAVE A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, NOT EVEN GIVEN THE DOCTORS 
          [01:25:01]
WHO WERE SUPPOSED TO EXAMINE ME THE CORRECT INFORMATION, UH, AND, AND ACTUALLY PUSHED MY CLAIM BACK ANOTHER THREE WEEKS BECAUSE HE HAD TO GET THE INFORMATION FROM MY DOCTOR. 
          WHAT HE TOLD ME WAS, THEY WILL TRY TO WAIT YOU OUT THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR, THEIR WHOLE GOAL, AND AGAIN, THEY'VE GOTTA BE DIRECTED BY SOMEBODY, AND I THINK IT'S SOMEBODY AT THE CITY, UM, THAT WE'RE JUST GONNA WAIT YOU OUT AND EVENTUALLY YOU'LL GIVE UP AND YOU'LL GO FILE IT ON YOUR PRIVATE INSURANCE. 
          WELL, GUESS WHAT? OUR PRIVATE INSURANCE IS THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WHO IS SELF-INSURED FOR THAT INSURANCE ALSO. 
          AND IT'S COSTING THE CITY MONEY EITHER WAY. 
          OUR BIGGEST CONCERN AT THIS POINT IS THAT UNLIKE THE A, THE, THE FOLKS WITH FIRE EMS AND POLICE THAT ARE STILL CURRENTLY EMPLOYED WITH THE CITY, WE'RE THROWN AWAY ONCE WE RETIRE, THAT WE ARE NOT, UH, WE'RE NOT WORTHY OF THE CITY TO HELP US, UH, TO THE FACT THAT I THINK CHRIS CAN AT ATTEST TO THIS, THAT HE WAS TOLD BY THE RISK MANAGEMENT PEOPLE AT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THEIR RETIREES WERE NOT GONNA HELP 'EM 'CAUSE THEY'RE NOT CITY EMPLOYEES ANYMORE. 
          UH, IT'S OUTRAGEOUS. 
          UM, JUST BECAUSE WE RETIRED DOESN'T MEAN OUR INJURIES RETIRED WITH US. 
          UH, SOME, SEVERAL OF US, UH, AND MOST OF US ARE GOING TO HAVE A HEARING ISSUES. 
          AND MOST OF THIS IS ABOUT HEARING. 
          UM, YOU DON'T NECESSARILY YOUR HEARING LOSS TO THE POINT WHERE YOU NEED HEARING AIDS MANIFEST ITSELF WHILE YOU'RE STILL WORKING. 
          AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, THE CITY HAS A POLICY ABOUT HOW THEY DEAL WITH, UH, RETIREES AND HEARING ISSUES SPECIFICALLY. 
          I THINK IT'S IN THAT PACKET, UH, THE LIEUTENANT, UH, SHARED WITH YOU. 
          BUT THE CITY'S NOT FOLLOWING THAT POLICY. 
          THEY'RE JUST CATEGORICALLY DENYING ANY RETIREE WHO ASKS OR PRESENTS A HEARING ISSUE. 
          THEY'RE JUST CATEGORICALLY DENYING IT. 
          UM, SOMETHING NEEDS TO BE DONE, UH, FOR THE ACT FOR THE ACTIVE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES, UH, EMPLOYEES AND THE RETIREES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          WELL, THOUGHT IT WAS ON. 
          I'LL TRY TO BE BRIEF. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS. 
          I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE VOLUNTEERS, GUYS AND GALS. 
          I APPRECIATE YOUR SERVICE. 
          UM, IT'S A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE. 
          AND BEFORE I GET STARTED, 'CAUSE SOME OF THIS STUFF'S GONNA SEEM VERY CRITICAL, I WANT TO TELL YOU THAT, UH, THE SPIRIT WITH THE NEW HR DIRECTOR AND, UH, CHIEF OAK IN PLACE, UH, OVER HERE AND RISK MANAGEMENT, ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND ALL MANAGEMENT COMING TOGETHER, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE WANTED THIS SOLVED. 
          I'VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE. 
          I HAVEN'T WORKED IN THIS ISSUE FOR 14 YEARS. 
          SO I'M GONNA SAY SOME THINGS THAT ARE CRITICAL BECAUSE THAT'S THE STATE OF WAY IT WAS. 
          BUT I'M ALSO VERY HOPEFUL THAT THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT SOON. 
          SO, UH, I WANNA EXPLAIN, UH, IT'S REALLY COMPLICATED. 
          SO I'M GONNA TRY TO EXPLAIN IN, IN SIMPLE TERMS, I CAN, HOW THE CURRENT WORKERS' COMP SYSTEM HARMS EMPLOYEE TREATMENT RAISES OVERTIME, COSTS AND HURTS PUBLIC SAFETY AND MENTAL HEALTH. 
          SO LET ME EXPLAIN REALLY QUICKLY, JUST KIND OF AS EASY AS I CAN. 
          IF YOU WERE INJURED ON AND OFF THE JOB, THE TREATMENT YOU RECEIVED FROM SELF-INSURED, CITY OF AUSTIN INSURANCE. 
          SO IF YOU'RE, IF YOU'RE INJURED OFF THE JOB ON A SHOULDER INJURY, YOU GO TO AN ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON AND YOU CONFER WITH THAT DOCTOR AND YOU DECIDE WHAT THE TREATMENT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, AND THEN IF THE INSURANCE CARRIER CAN DO THAT, IF YOUR INSURANCE COVERS THAT WHICH HAS ALREADY BEEN NEGOTIATED, YOU GO AHEAD AND GET TREATMENT AND YOU GET QUICK, YOU GET QUICK REHAB AND YOU GET BACK TO NORMAL VERY QUICKLY. 
          NOW LET'S LOOK THE SAME EMPLOYEE OF THE SAME INJURY THAT HAS A WORKERS' COMP INJURY. 
          THEY GO, THEY COULD EVEN MAYBE GO TO THE SAME DOCTOR, BUT LET'S JUST SAY THEY DON'T. 
          LET'S JUST SAY THEY GO TO A DOCTOR, IT DOESN'T MATTER WHICH ONE, LET'S SAY IT'S ANOTHER ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON AND THE PERSON ALSO SAYS, YOU NEED SURGERY. 
          WE'RE LOOKING AT AN MRI. 
          YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED SURGERY. 
          WHAT THE ADJUSTER WILL DO IS LOOK AT THE ODG GUIDELINES, SO THESE OFFICIAL DISABILITY GUIDELINES AND SAY, NOPE, YOU CAN'T HAVE SURGERY. 
          YOU HAVE TO DO INJECTIONS AND YOU HAVE TO DO PHYSICAL THERAPY. 
          AND THEN THE DOCTOR WILL SAY, NO, THAT COULD HARM YOU FURTHER. 
          NO, YOU HAVE TO DO THIS FIRST BECAUSE THESE GUIDELINES TELL US THAT. 
          AND THAT'S WHAT ALMOST HAPPENS WITH ALMOST ALL OF OUR, WHAT WE CALL COMPLEX JOINT AND BACK INJURIES. 
          SO IT'S COMPENSABLE. 
          SO IT'S NOT DENIED VERY LOW CASES, PERCENTAGE ARE DENIED, BUT IT'S DENIED THE TREATMENT. 
          AND, AND I'VE SEEN A CASE WHERE IT'S DENIED RECENTLY UP TO TWO YEARS. 
          OKAY? SO THE EMPLOYEES SUFFERING THE WHOLE TIME BECAUSE WE'RE LOOKING ROTELY AT A GUIDEBOOK. 
          THAT MAKES NO MEDICAL SENSE AT ALL. 
          DOES ANYBODY GOT ANY QUESTION THAT I THINK THAT'S VERY IMPORTANT? WE UNDERSTAND THAT'S WHAT IT IS. 
          OKAY, SO THE PO IT'S A POLICY OF CITY HR BECAUSE IT'S NOT STATE LAW THAT COMPELS THIS 'CAUSE WE'RE SELF-INSURED. 
          IT'S NOT THE THIRD PARTY ADMINISTERED CONTRACT THAT 
          [01:30:01]
COMPELS THIS. 
          IT'S THE POLICY OF CITY HR. 
          AND I'M THINKING THAT'S GONNA CHANGE TO DENY THESE CLAIMS BASED ROTELY ON THIS GUIDEBOOK RATHER THAN, RATHER THAN FOLLOWING SOUND MEDICAL ADVICE FROM THE ACTUAL SURGEON, THERE IS NO LEGAL REQUIREMENT TO FOLLOW THE ODG OVER SOUND MEDICAL ADVICE. 
          NOW, IF YOU'RE NOT SELF-INSURED AND YOU'RE, YOU BIND A RISK POOL GROUP, YOU MAY HAVE TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES MORE CLOSELY BECAUSE THE PERSON THAT'S INSURING YOU IS, IS DOING IT ON THAT BASIS THAT YOU CAN FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES. 
          BUT YOU'RE SELF-INSURED. 
          YOU'RE NOT TIED TO THE GUIDELINES LIKE YOU ARE IF YOU'RE IN RISK POOL GROUP, WHICH WE'RE NOT. 
          THEREFORE, THE CITY IS NOT CONSTRAINED BY STATE LAW IN IMPROVING CLAIMS OR TREATMENTS, ESPECIALLY WITH ITS MEDICAL NEX NECESSARY FROM THE DOCTOR AS OPPOSED TO FOLLOWING A GUIDEBOOK ROTELY THAT HAS NO CONNECTION TO THE ACTUAL INJURY OTHER THAN IT MIGHT BE NA, OTHER NAME. 
          YES, SIR. 
          UH, CLARIFICATION. 
          MR. NICKS THE POLICY THAT YOU'RE CITING FROM THE CITY, YOU SAY THAT'S POLICY, IS THAT AN OFFICIAL POLICY OR THAT'S AN INFORMAL POLICY? IT'S, I WOULD SAY IT'S NOT A WRITTEN POLICY, BUT IT'S THE POLICY TO ALLOW THE ADJUSTER TO FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES WITHOUT, WITHOUT APPROVING CLAIMS THAT ARE MEDICALLY NECESSARY. 
          IT'S ALSO CONTAINED WITHIN THE CONTRACT, UH, THAT'S, UH, NEGOTIATED WITH A THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR THAT THEY'RE TO FOLLOW THAT. 
          SO THE CITY TELLS THEM WITH WITHIN THEIR SCOPE OF THEIR CONTRACT TO FOLLOW THE ODG. 
          IT, IT DOES, BUT THE, I SENT EVERYBODY AN OPINION LETTER FROM OUR ATTORNEY THAT DEALS WITH A COUPLE OF THESE ISSUES. 
          AND YOU'RE RIGHT, BUT THE STATE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW YOU TO ADVOCATE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THIRD PARTY ADMINISTRATOR. 
          SO THE CONTRACT WOULD, WOULD, WOULD, UH, WOULD FALL UNDER THAT LAW. 
          SO, SO LIKE I SAID, I'M VERY OPTIMISTIC WITH THE PEOPLE WE HAVE IN PLACE THAT WE'RE GONNA GET TO A SOLUTION. 
          BUT I WROTE DOWN A COUPLE MUST HAVES TO GET TO A SOLUTION. 
          UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, I DON'T THINK SOME OF OF THE IDEAS IN THE TABLE MEET THIS CRITERIA. 
          SO I'M TRYING TO JUST BE AS SIMPLE AS AS POSSIBLE HERE. 
          SO YOU MUST HAVE, UH, YOU MUST END THE DENIAL OF TREATMENTS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED BY THE TREATING DOCTOR BY FOLLOWING JUST THE ODGS MUST STOP DENYING TREATMENT BECAUSE ODGS TELL US TO MUST NOT DENY TREATMENT BASED ON PREEXISTING CONDITIONS. 
          THAT'S THE BIGGEST ONES. 
          MOST OF THE, LIKE IF YOU TAKE A, LIKE A KNEE INJURY, FIREFIGHTERS WROTE AND SEE, A FIREFIGHTER GETS ON AND OFF A VERY CUMBERSOME PIECE OF APP, YOU KNOW, APPARATUS, A STEP ON A FIRE ENGINE OR TRUCK WITH A HUNDRED POUNDS OF GEAR ON. 
          EVERY TIME THEY DO THAT IN THEIR TWENTIES AND THIRTIES, FORTIES AND FIFTIES, THEY'RE PROBABLY EXPERIENCING MICRO INJURIES. 
          OKAY? SO THEN THEY FINALLY HURT THEIR KNEE AND IT'S COMPENSABLE 'CAUSE IT'S ON THE JOB THAT'S REALLY EASY TO DETERMINE. 
          THEY'RE IN GEAR, THEY HURT THEIR KNEE, NO BIG DEAL. 
          IT'S COMPENSABLE. 
          SO THEY GO THROUGH THE INJECTIONS AGAINST THE ADVICE OF THE DOCTOR, THEY GO THROUGH THE PHYSICAL THERAPY AGAINST THE ADVICE OF THE DOCTOR, DOCTOR SAYING THIS COULD ACTUALLY HURT 'EM MORE. 
          YOU GOTTA DO IT 'CAUSE THE GUIDELINES TELL US TO, OKAY. 
          THEN THEY GET TO THE TREATMENT PHASE AND THEN THE ADJUSTER SAYS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT GOING TO APPROVE TREATMENT BECAUSE THERE'S A PRE, WE FEEL THERE COULD BE PREEXISTING CONDITIONS. 
          AND SO THE SOLUTION MUST NOT DENY TREATMENT BASED ON PREEXISTING CONDITIONS AND THEY MUST RETURN PUBLIC SAFETY WORKERS TO WORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 
          I ESTIMATED THAT IF WE WERE AT A AVERAGE OF 30, UH, FIREFIGHTERS AND IOJ INSTEAD OF 70 OR 80, WE'D SAVE ABOUT FOUR TO $5 MILLION A YEAR IN OVERTIME COSTS. 
          SO THE MONEY THAT THE ADJUSTER MAY BE TRYING TO SAVE BY DENYING TREATMENT AND STRETCHING IT OUT AND HOPING THAT THE EMPLOYEE WILL GO AWAY OR GO TO HIS REGULAR INSURANCE, FIRST OF ALL, IT'S PICKED UP BY THE CITY INSURANCE ANYWAY, BUT EVERY TIME, EVERY SHIFT THAT A FIREFIGHTER'S OFF IS $1,300 OF TAXPAYER MONEY THAT'S BEING SPENT FOR NO REASON AT ALL WHILE THE EMPLOYEE IS SUFFERING AND NOT GETTING THE CARE THAT THEY DESERVE. 
          SO ONE SOLUTION, UH, IS THAT I HAVE, AND WE'RE EARLY IN THE PROCESS, BUT I DON'T THINK ANYTHING SHOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE TABLE RIGHT NOW AND IT'S PRETTY OUT OF THE BOX THINKING. 
          UM, AND THEN I'M GONNA TALK, THEN I'M GONNA INTRODUCE YOU TO DAWN WHO'S GOT A, A VERY INTERESTING CASE. 
          BUT DEVON SAID THAT FORT WORTH DOES SOMETHING WITH A PANEL OF DOCTORS AND ACTUALLY THINK OF IT MORE AS A NETWORK OF DOCTORS. 
          IT'S, IT'S A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT DOCTORS, BUT WE HAVE A BUNCH OF BIG DIFFERENT DOCTORS RIGHT NOW. 
          THEY'RE CALLED BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD. 
          AND IF WE USE THE SAME PANEL FOR OUR, FOR OUR WORKERS' COMP AS OUR REGULAR INSURANCE, IT'S REALLY ELOQUENT AND EFFICIENT IN CERTAIN WAYS BECAUSE PREEXISTING CONDITIONS DON'T MATTER. 
          IT'S THE SAME DOCTOR TREATING IT, THEY'RE TREATING IT EARLY. 
          AND LET'S JUST GET RID OF THE ODG GUIDEBOOK AND LET THE DOCTOR TALK TO THE PATIENT LIKE YOU WOULD AN OFF-DUTY INJURY. 
          AND YOU ALL DETERMINE WHAT TO NEED. 
          YOU COULD EVEN HAVE SOME MORE CONTROLS IN THERE, A WORKERS' COMP NURSE OR SOMEBODY'S ALSO OVERSEEING IT TO MAKE SURE THESE APPOINTMENTS ARE MADE IN A TIMELY BASIS. 
          SO WE, WE CERTAINLY DON'T WANT TO HAVE ABUSE AND WE, YOU 
          [01:35:01]
DON'T SEE MUCH ABUSE IN POLICE FIRE AND EMS, MOST OF OUR PEOPLE WANTING TO GET BACK TO WORK. 
          BUT IF WE DO THAT, YOU'RE PAYING A LITTLE BIT MORE FOR HEALTH INSURANCE. 
          YOU'RE NOT INDEXING OFF OF MEDICARE, BUT YOU'RE PAYING THE RATE YOU ALREADY NEGOTIATED WITH THAT NETWORK OF DOCTORS WHEN YOU GOT YOUR REGULAR INSURANCE. 
          AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE SAVINGS OF THAT $1,300 A MONTH, THAT FOUR TO FIVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR JUST IN FIRE ALONE, THAT YOU'LL LIKELY RECEIVE IT'S WELL MORE THAN WHAT YOU'D SPEND IN EXTRA CARE. 
          AND YOU HAVE A BIGGER NETWORK. 
          SO YOU, YOU'RE GONNA GET QUICKER CARE. 
          UH, YOU'RE GONNA GET YOUR CARE QUICKER AND THERE'S NOT GONNA BE THESE DENIALS OR FOLLOWING SOME WROTE GUIDELINE. 
          SO THAT'S, THAT'S OUR RECOMMENDATION. 
          WE STILL NEED TO WORK ON IT. 
          I'M JUST CALLING IT A DRAFT IDEA, BUT I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S SIGNIFICANT IN THAT IT DOES SOLVE ALL THE PROBLEMS IF WE CAN RUN THE TRAPS. 
          AND I HOPE WE CAN ALL RUN THE TRAPS TOGETHER ON IDEAS LIKE THIS AND OTHERS. 
          I DO WANNA INTRODUCE, UH, FIREFIGHTER DON HIRSCH AND SHE HURT HER SHOULDER ON THE JOB AND SHE WENT THROUGH THE SAME THING WHERE THE ORTHOPEDIC SURGEON SAID YOU NEED TO HAVE SURGERY IMMEDIATELY. 
          IT WAS DENIED. 
          THEY MADE HER GO THROUGH INJECTIONS AND PHYSICAL THERAPY THAT WERE NEEDLESS AND BECAUSE HER, HER CASE WAS DELAYED MORE THAN 18 MONTHS AND HER CASE, IT WAS INTERESTING 'CAUSE THEY ACTUALLY APPROVED THE SURGERY AFTER 18 MONTHS OR THEY'RE DENYING IT IN THE END LIKE THEY NORMALLY DO. 
          BY THE TIME THEY GOT DONE WITH THE SURGERY, THEY REALIZED THE DELAY IN TREATMENT CAUSED PERMANENT NERVE DAMAGE, PERMANENT NERVE DAMAGE TO HER AND SHE COULD NOT GET ON A FIRETRUCK AGAIN EVER UNTIL SHE GETS THIS FIXED. 
          AND I WANTED, UH, TO INTRODUCE YOU TO DON HIRSCH NOW AND HAVE HER TELL THE STORY FROM THAT POINT. 
          IF YOU DON'T MIND, DON, UH, JUST WANTED SAY I APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK WITH Y'ALL TODAY. 
          UM, IT'S BEEN A LONG, HARD PROCESS AND IT'S CONTINUED TO BE, UM, AND NINE DAYS WILL BE THREE YEARS FROM THE DATE OF MY INJURY, UM, TO MY SHOULDER ON THE FIRETRUCK. 
          UM, THIS LAST NOVEMBER IN, UH, 2023, UM, I WAS TOLD BY MY, UH, SURGEON AND THERE'S REALLY ONLY ONE OTHER OPTION TO, UM, TO HELP RELIEVE THE, THE NERVE DAMAGE, THE PAIN THAT, THAT I HAVE, UM, ALL DAY, EVERY DAY. 
          UM, EVEN WITH TAKING MEDICATION, IT'S STILL NOT COMPLETELY GONE. 
          AND, UM, AND THAT OPTION IS, WAS TO, UM, HAVE A, A SPINAL CORD STIMULATOR IMPLANTED, UM, WHICH BASICALLY TELL, IT SENDS A SIGNAL TO YOUR BRAIN, SAYS THAT YOU'RE NOT HAVING PAIN. 
          UM, UH, IN ORDER TO DO THE IMPLANT, I HAD TO DO A SEVEN DAY TRIAL. 
          UM, AND IT TOOK UNTIL JUNE OF THIS YEAR TO GET APPROVAL JUST TO HAVE THE TRIAL. 
          I HAD TO GO THROUGH APPEALS AND THE STATE HAD TO OVERTURN 'EM AND THE LONG PROCESS. 
          UM, AND UM, SO I, I ENDED UP HAVING THE TRIAL IN MID-JUNE. 
          I HAD 100% RELIEF OF ALL OF MY SYMPTOMS, WHICH IS AMAZING. 
          UM, FOR THAT WEEK, ONCE WE GOT THE STIMULATOR KIND OF DIALED IN, UM, I HAD MY LIFE BACK. 
          I WAS ABLE TO DO THINGS WITH MY CHILDREN THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DO SINCE I WAS HURT. 
          UM, WE WENT FISHING. 
          I, I PLAYED SPORTS WITH THEM. 
          I GOT TO SLEEP. 
          I SLEPT A COUPLE OF NIGHTS THAT I DIDN'T HAVE TO TAKE MEDICATION AND IT DIDN'T HURT. 
          UM, AND THEN THE TRIAL WAS OVER AND THEY TOOK THE STIMULATOR OUT AND ABOUT THREE HOURS I STARTED HAVING MY SYMPTOMS BACK AGAIN. 
          UH, WITHIN 24 HOURS THEY WERE ALL BACK. 
          UM, AND IT'S VERY HARD TO KNOW THAT YOU FOUND SOMETHING THAT CAN FIX YOUR PROBLEMS. UM, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO KIND OF TAKE IT AWAY. 
          BUT THE NORMAL PROCESS FOR THAT, IF WITHOUT INSURANCE IS IT TAKES ONCE THEY KNOW THIS TRIAL, TRIAL IS SUCCESSFUL, YOU'RE SCHEDULED FOR SURGERY FOR THE PERMANENT IMPLANT WITHIN TWO WEEKS. 
          SO TWO WEEKS I SHOULD BE ABLE TO GET THAT IMPLANT, PUT IT BACK IN PERMANENTLY AND HOPEFULLY HAVE YOU KNOW, THE SAME RESULTS. 
          UM, I, SOME OF THE SYMPTOMS THAT I HAVE, JUST TO KIND OF LET YOU KNOW, UM, I HAVE CONSTANT NUMBNESS AND TINGLING, UM, THROBBING PAIN FROM SHOULDER DOWN MY ARM. 
          IT'S IN MY, IN MY TRAP. 
          'CAUSE IT'S THE MAIN MUSCLES THAT YOU, THAT YOU USE FOR YOUR SHOULDER TO RADIATE UP INTO MY NECK AND CAUSED ME CERVICAL ISSUES. 
          UM, I HAVE LIGHTNING BOLTS. 
          UM, IT'S KINDA LIKE SHOOTS DOWN MY ARM, KINDA LIKE HOW YOU WOULD SEE A LIGHTNING IN IN THE SKY. 
          THAT'S WHAT IT DOES. 
          JUST RANDOMLY. 
          UM, I HAVE WHAT I DESCRIBED AS GETTING STUNG BY A SCORPION JUST ALL OF A SUDDEN I WAS JUST LIKE, OH, WHAT IS THAT? AND THERE'S NOTHING THERE. 
          IT'S JUST MY NERVES FIRING OFF. 
          UM, I, UM, I HAVE SEVERE MIGRAINES 
          [01:40:01]
FROM, AND MUSCLE SPASMS FROM THE MUSCLES THAT JUST, THEY, THEY CAN'T SUPPORT, UM, MY ATROPHIED OF MUSCLES ANYMORE. 
          UM, AND SO TO HAVE ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, TAKEN AWAY BY THIS PROCEDURE, UM, IS AMAZING. 
          UM, I'M STILL WAITING FOR SEDGWICK TO RIGHT NOW. 
          THEY'RE DENYING PAYING FOR THE PROCEDURE THAT THE STATE SAID I COULD HAVE AND THAT I NEED AND THAT THE DOCTOR SAYS THAT I, I NEED AND I GOT PROOF THAT IT WORKED. 
          UM, AND THEN EVEN AFTER I GET THEY RECEIVED PAYMENT FOR IT, I STILL HAVE TO REQUEST TO GET THE PERMIT IMPLANT AND I PROBABLY WON'T GET APPROVAL FOR IT. 
          I'LL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS AND BE DENIED AND GO THROUGH THE STATE. 
          YOU KNOW, I JUST, IT'S, IT'S REALLY HARD TO KNOW THAT THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE KNOW, WE HAVE PROOF THAT FIXES MY PROBLEM AND, AND COULD, YOU KNOW, I I MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET BACK ON THE FIRETRUCK ONE DAY AND THAT'S THE ONLY THING THAT I WANT TO, SORRY. 
          NO, THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU FOR SHARING. 
          I KNOW THAT'S, THAT'S DIFFICULT. 
          I CAN ONLY IMAGINE IT'S BEEN YEARS IT SOUNDS LIKE. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          AND DON, WHILE YOU GET YOUR THOUGHTS TOGETHER, I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY, THIS ISN'T FROM THE SHOULDER SURGERY. 
          THIS IS BECAUSE THE SHOULDER SURGERY WAS DELAYED SO LONG THAT IT CAUSED HER PERMANENT NERVE DAMAGE, RIGHT? THAT THE CITY IS NOW NEGLECTING TO FIX. 
          RIGHT? THIS IS REALLY SERIOUS, TERRIBLE STUFF. 
          AND YOU CAN, YOU, I CAN'T EVEN IMAGINE. 
          SHE NEVER TOLD ME THAT PART WHERE YOU, EVERYTHING CAME BACK PERFECT, WAS TAKEN AWAY HOW THAT FELT, IT MUST HAVE JUST BEEN . 
          UM, SO WE ARE OUT, WE ARE OUT OF TIME. 
          SO IF THERE, UM, WE WERE PLANNING ON ABOUT 40 MINUTES AND WE'VE GONE WELL OVER AN HOUR AT THIS POINT. 
          UM, I'M TRYING TO REACH A, A STOPPING POINT FOR US. 
          WE CAN CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION. 
          WE HAVE ANOTHER AGENDA ITEM THAT WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE SPEAKING ON AND WE NEED TO, WHAT WE'RE WE, WE NEED TO GET TO? SO HOW DO WE WRAP THIS UP RIGHT NOW? HOW DO, HOW DO WE STOP? I THINK THAT WE CAN, UH, HOW HAVE MICHAEL BULLOCK COME AND, UH, GIVE KIND OF LIKE WHAT WE'RE SEEKING HERE AS A RECOMMENDATION GOING FORWARD. 
          YEAH, AND I'M SORRY TO CUT EVERYONE OFF, IT'S JUST NO, I THINK THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, JUST KIND OF, I MEAN, HIT UP AGAIN. 
          I KNOW THAT THE, AND, AND BOB MENTIONED IT AND THAT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, CITY STAFF NOW. 
          WE RECOGNIZE THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IT AND WE, AND WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE THAT, BUT THE PRIMARY FOCUS IS OUTSIDE OF LOOKING AT SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT BOB GAVE AND, AND YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTIONS THAT ARE BEING LOOKED AT. 
          YOU KNOW, WE ARE WARY OF ONES THAT INVOLVE ADDING ADDITIONAL LAYERS IN ORDER TO TRY TO ADDRESS ISSUES. 
          OUR CONCERN IS PRIMARILY IN TRYING TO ADDRESS JUST THE SYSTEMATIC ISSUES. 
          SO THAT WAY IT PRIMARILY WORKS. 
          TO DEVON'S POINT, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT GONNA BE PERFECT AND WE UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT WE NEED A SYSTEM, WE NEED PRIORITIES. 
          AND ULTIMATELY I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE DIRECTION FROM THE COMMISSION AND FROM COUNSEL THAT THE EXPECTATION TO CITY HR AND TO ANY SUBSEQUENT CONTRACTOR IS THAT THE SYSTEM BE ONE THAT IS GEARED TOWARDS AND SETS THE EXPECTATION OF CLAIMS MADE BY EMPLOYEES ARE ASSUMED TO BE WORK RELATED AND CONNECTED, RIGHT? INSTEAD OF ASSUMING THAT FRAUD IS AT THE FOREFRONT, HAVE SYSTEMS IN PLACE TO CATCH IT, BUT WE SHOULD ASSUME THAT OUR WORKERS WERE ACTUALLY INJURED ON DUTY AND THAT TREATMENT SHOULD BE GIVEN AS EXPEDITIOUSLY AS POSSIBLE IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THAT EMPLOYEES GET BACK TO WORK, RIGHT? COMPRESSING THAT TIMELINE SO THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING, YOU KNOW, HALF A YEAR, A YEAR, MULTIPLE YEARS, THAT EMPLOYEES ARE SUFFERING LIKE POLICY DIRECTION THAT THE CITY IS SELF-INSURED. 
          AND WE'RE ASSUMING OUR EMPLOYEES THAT ARE FILING CLAIMS AT WORK ARE INDEED INJURED AT WORK AND UNLESS PROVEN OTHERWISE, AND THAT WE'RE GOING TO GET THEM BACK TO WORK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. 
          THAT'S FROM THE, FROM OUR PERSPECTIVE, THAT IS THE PRIMARY ASK THAT WE HAVE AND WHAT WE THINK IS SOMETHING THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED, YOU KNOW, SIMPLY, UM, I KNOW THAT, UM, DEVIN WANTED TO GET BACK TO NEXT STEPS. 
          I THINK I'M JUST GONNA DIRECT EVERYBODY TO THAT LAST SLIDE THAT HE HAD. 
          WE'RE JUST, WE'RE SO TIGHT ON TIME. 
          UM, HE SORT OF OUTLINED IN HIS, UM, PRESENTATION WHAT NEXT STEPS ARE FOR THE CITY AS FAR AS A RECOMMENDATION. 
          WE CAN'T DO THAT TODAY, BUT I WILL LET THE COMMISSION KNOW THAT WE HAVE PASSED RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE PAST AS A BODY RECOMMENDING TO THE CITY AND TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. 
          UM, IT WAS BACK WHEN COVID, UM, WAS HAPPENING IN THE, THAT WE, WE PASSED A RECOMMENDATION SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CITY SHOULD ASSUME THAT IF SOMEONE, IF, IF 
          [01:45:01]
A PUBLIC SAFETY EMPLOYEE SAYS THEY GOT COVID ON THE JOB, THAT WE SHOULD ASSUME THAT THAT HAPPENED ON THE JOB. 
          SO WE HAVE PAST RECOMMENDATIONS SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING BEFORE. 
          SO WE CAN DEFINITELY, UM, CIRCULATE SOME DRAFTS AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO NEXT, SEE IF WE NEED TO HAVE SOME FOLLOW UP DISCUSSIONS. 
          BUT WITH THAT, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND I'M SORRY WE DON'T HAVE MORE TIME. 
          IT'S THE ONE THING WE NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF. 
          SO CHAIR ARE, ARE WE PLANNING ON DOING THAT? UM, UH, THROUGHOUT, UH, THROUGH EMAIL EXCHANGE ESSENTIALLY RECOMMENDATIONS? I THINK WE CAN PUT IT BACK ON THE AGENDA AND YEAH, WE CAN FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A RECOMMENDATION WE CAN PULL TOGETHER. 
          ANYBODY FEEL FREE TO REACH OUT IF YOU'D LIKE TO HELP DRAFT THAT. 
          AND, AND I JUST WANNA THANK FIREFIGHTER, UH, DAWN FOR COMING IN. 
          YES. 
          AND, AND THANKING HER FOR COURAGE. 
          'CAUSE I KNOW HOW I, I'VE BEEN ON THE OTHER END OF, YOU KNOW, WANTING TO GET BACK ON THE TRUCK SO I GET WHERE YOU'RE COMING FROM AND, UM, I, I, I REALLY COMMEND YOU FOR COMING HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, I KNOW YOU'VE PROBABLY TOLD YOUR STORY A NUMBER OF TIMES AND FELT LIKE YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HEARD, SO THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. 
          YES, THANK YOU. 
          UM, AGAIN, SO SORRY TO END SO ABRUPTLY, BUT I THINK, UM, IF EVERYBODY WILL BEAR WITH MAYBE MY, UH, AGENDA WAS A LITTLE AMBITIOUS FOR THIS MONTH. 
          UM, I THINK WE MIGHT SKIP AROUND A LITTLE BIT. 
          UM, IF WE CAN ACTUALLY JUMP, UM, TO OUR DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS. ITEM NUMBER SIX. 
          [6. Approve a Recommendation to Council to provide funding for the SAFE Forensic Nursing Program]
'CAUSE WE HAVE PEOPLE HERE, UM, TO HELP US, UM, WORK THROUGH THAT RECOMMENDATION. 
          WE'RE GONNA JUMP AHEAD TO APPROVE A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL PROVIDING FUNDING FOR THE SAFE FORENSIC NURSING PROGRAM. 
          CHRISTIE, DID WE HAVE ANY SPEAKER SIGNED UP FOR THAT ITEM? UH, YES WE DO. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, FIRST IS NIKITA. 
          VE OKAY. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          GOOD EVENING, EVERYONE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR, UH, THE TIME. 
          THANK YOU COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK, UM, AND FOR THE CONVERSATION ON HOW SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT, UM, IN AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY MAY BE FULLY SERVED. 
          MY NAME'S NIKITA VE I AM VICE PRESIDENT OF, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICES HERE WITH SAFE ALLIANCE. 
          UM, JUST AN OVERVIEW FOR SOME WHO MAY NOT BE FAMILIAR. 
          SAFE AS A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION BASED IN AUSTIN, AND OUR NAME IS OUR MISSION. 
          WE ARE HERE TO STOP ABUSE FOR EVERYONE. 
          WE HAVE FOUR SERVICE AREAS. 
          UM, WE SERVE, UH, VICTIMS OF CHILD ABUSE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AND SEXUAL ASSAULT. 
          AND ALL OF OUR SERVICES ARE OFFERED CONFIDENTIALLY AND AT NO COST TO SURVIVORS. 
          I'LL SAY THAT EVERY TIME I SPEAK ABOUT SAFE . 
          UM, SAFE ALLIANCE FORENSIC NURSES PROVIDE APPROXIMATELY 400 FORENSIC EXAMS PER YEAR, AND OUR FORENSIC NURSING TEAM IS THE PRIMARY PROVIDER OF SANE EXAMS IN AUSTIN, UM, IN TRAVIS COUNTY, AS WELL AS SURROUNDING COUNTIES. 
          WHILE SURVIVOR NEEDS EXCEED OUR CAPACITY, UH, WE WOULD LIKE TO BE CLEAR THAT, UM, ALTERNATE OPTIONS ARE AVAILABLE FOR SURVIVORS AND THAT NO SURVIVOR WILL BE TURNED AWAY FROM SERVICES. 
          UM, AS SUCH, I WANTED TO OFFER, UM, UH, TO THIS COMMISSION. 
          UH, I OFFER CLARITY THAT, UM, A RECOMMENDATION THAT THE LANGUAGE REGARDING THE 2023 NUMBERS BE AMENDED, UM, TO READ. 
          UM, RATHER THAN, AS IT CURRENTLY READS, RESTATE TO IN TWENTY TWENTY THREE, ONE HUNDRED AND FORTY FOUR VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT PRESENTED FOR FORENSIC EXAM, AND WERE PROVIDED ALTERNATIVE SERVICE OPTIONS SUCH AS REFERRALS TO OTHER NURSE PROVIDERS OR OFFERED A RESCHEDULED EXAM TIME. 
          THIS IS REALLY TO DISSUADE THE MESSAGE THAT WE'RE GONNA TURN FOLKS AWAY. 
          WE DO WANT FOLKS IF THEY NEED HELP TO CONTINUE TO REACH OUT. 
          UM, SO THAT'S THE BASIS FOR THAT RECOMMENDATION. 
          UM, AND I'D LIKE TO FURTHER, UH, LET THE COMMISSION KNOW THAT SAFE IS AN ACT ACTIVE MEMBER OF THE AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY SEXUAL ASSAULT RESOURCE AND RESPONSE TEAM, THAT'S CALLED THE SART. 
          UM, WE ARE ALSO, UM, AND AS OUR MEMBERS OF THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT, UH, THE SART HAS CREATED A WORKING SUBGROUP TO BRAINSTORM AND PROBLEM SOLVE THIS ISSUE AREA, UM, TO ENSURE ALL SURVIVORS THAT PRESENT FOR FORENSIC EXAMS MAY BE IMMEDIATELY SERVED. 
          UM, THE SUBGROUP IS MEETING AGAIN THIS WEDNESDAY ON AUGUST 7TH, UM, WITH COMMUNITY PARTNERS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN THIS CONVERSATION. 
          AND WE'VE ALSO INVITED ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY PARTNERS TO THE TABLE, UM, MAYBE THAT HAVEN'T BEEN A REGULAR PRESENCE, UM, THAT'S INCLUDING HOSPITALS, NON-PROFIT MEDICAL PROVIDERS, UNIVERSITIES, NURSING AND MEDICAL SCHOOLS ADVOCACY PROGRAMS. IT'S JUST REALLY OPENING UP THAT CONVERSATION TO PROBLEM SOLVE. 
          UM, AS THIS COLLABORATION PROGRESSES SAFE SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL MAY BE UPDATED TO BETTER MEET SURVIVOR'S NEEDS, UM, SAFE RECOMMENDS THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE THAT IS CURRENTLY STATED. 
          UM, BE AMENDED TO STATE THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE INVESTMENTS FOR THE FY 24 25 BUDGET TO FUND 328,000 TO FUND FORENSIC NURSING POSITIONS. 
          ENSURE FUNDING IS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT WRAPAROUND SERVICES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS, SUCH AS ADVOCACY, COUNSELING, AND ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT FOR SCHEDULING FOLLOW UP AND BILLING. 
          UM, SO THAT IS THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE LANGUAGE, UM, REALLY A RED LINE, UM, THROUGH ONE OF THE STATEMENTS AND THEN FILLING 
          [01:50:01]
IN THROUGH THE REST. 
          THIS RECOMMENDATION WOULD ALLOW, UM, THE SART WORK GROUP, WHICH INCLUDES SAFE IN THE CRS C-S-C-R-M TO IDENTIFY THE BEST APPROACH TO BROADEN OUR SERVICES FOR SURVIVORS AND UTILIZE THESE FUNDS TO SUPPORT THAT COLLECTIVE RECOMMENDATION. 
          UM, THIS REQUEST THAT I'M PRESENTING TODAY ALSO MIRRORS THE REQUEST THAT WE GAVE TO THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN IN MARCH, 2024, OUR REQUEST TO THIS COMMISSION IN JULY, 2024, AND OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND WE ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT WITH THOSE TWO AMENDMENTS. 
          UM, I'D LIKE TO JUST CLOSE BY SHARING OUR SAFELINE NUMBER, IF THAT'S ALL RIGHT. 
          IF ANYBODY HAS EXPERIENCED SEXUAL ASSAULT OR AN UNWANTED SEXUAL EXPERIENCE, UM, AND THEY ARE SEEKING HELP, OR, YOU KNOW, SOMEONE, UM, TO PLEASE CONTACT OUR 24 7 SAFELINE AT 5 1 2 2 6 7 7 2 3 3. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I KNOW WE ALSO HAVE MEMBERS FROM THE C-S-C-R-M IN THE START HERE. 
          DID ANYBODY WANNA COME UP AND OFFER, OR IF ANYBODY HAS, SO WHAT WE HAVE IS A DRAFT RECOMMENDATION THAT'S BEEN POSTED, UM, THAT I WAS HOPING THAT WE COULD, UM, TAKE A VOTE ON TODAY. 
          UM, I'M SURE, I'M NOT SURE IF EVERYONE'S HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT, BUT IF WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, UM, COMMENTS, PROPOSED AMENDMENTS, UM, HANNAH SANKO AND MEMBERS OF THE SART ARE HERE TO SORT OF ANSWER ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS THAT WE MAY HAVE AS WE CONSIDER THIS RECOMMENDATION. 
          IF YOU GUYS HAVE A STATE, I DON'T KNOW IF SHE HAD A STATEMENT OR IF YOU JUST WANTED TO BE AVAILABLE FOR QUESTIONS, UH, I DO JUST HAVE A QUICK STATEMENT, UM, FOR SAKE OF TIME TOO. 
          YES, I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT BRIEF. 
          UM, I AM HANNAH SANKO. 
          I'M A SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR AND ADVOCATE, ONE OF THE LEAD PLAINTIFF'S BROUGHT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE CITY AND COUNTY. 
          UM, AND I ALSO SERVE AS AN INDEPENDENT PROJECT MANAGER ON THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT, CS CRM PROJECT, THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL PROJECT. 
          UM, I DO WANNA BEGIN BY SUGGESTING AN EDIT TO THE SIXTH, WHEREAS STATEMENT, UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT THE A, THE A-P-D-C-S-C-R-M PROJECT WAS FORMED NOT ONLY TO PROVIDE FULL RESPONSE TO THE PERF RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT ALSO TO IMPLEMENT THE SETTLEMENT TERMS OF THE SURVIVOR LAWSUIT. 
          SO IF WE CAN INCORPORATE THAT, THAT'D BE GREAT. 
          UM, I ALSO WANNA GIVE A QUICK OVERVIEW AND SUMMARY OF APDS CSC M'S POSITION ON THIS MATTER. 
          UM, FOR CS C-C-S-C-R-M, THE CONVERSATION STARTED AT FEBRUARY 8TH, 2024 SAR MEETING, UM, IN WHICH SAFE PRESENTED THE DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THE NUMBER OF VICTIMS THAT'S, OR SURVIVORS THAT THEY HAD TO TURN AWAY OR HAD TO SCHEDULE AT A LATER TIME DUE TO SHORT STAFFING. 
          IT WAS SHARED IN THIS MEETING THAT SHORT STAFFING EXISTED BECAUSE SAFE WAS UNABLE TO HIRE RETAINED FORENSIC NURSES DUE TO UNDERFUNDING AND OR THOSE SALARIES. 
          DURING THIS MEETING, I STATED THAT WHILE THIS ITEM WOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED IN SCOPE FOR THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT, I CERTAINLY CONSIDERED THE ISSUE AS A RISK TO THE PROJECT. 
          IF VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT CANNOT RECEIVE A FORENSICS EXAM AT THE TIME THAT THEY COME FORWARD, IMPORTANT EVIDENCE COULD BE LOST FOREVER AND OR VICTIMS MAY CHOOSE NOT TO ENGAGE FURTHER WITH THE SYSTEMS AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THEM. 
          ADDITIONALLY, DURING THAT MEETING ON FEBRUARY 8TH, I SHARED THAT THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT MANAGEMENT TEAM WAS SCHEDULED TO MEET WITH THE JOINT WORKING GROUP OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION AND COMMISSION FOR WOMEN ON FEBRUARY 15TH, AND WE COULD CONSIDER ADDING THIS ITEM OF CONCERN TO THE PRESENTATION WITH A REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT AND FUNDING, UH, MEETING ATTEND ATTENDEES INCLUDING SAFE VP OF COMMUNITY SERVICES. 
          NIKITA ED AGREED TO THIS DIRECTION, AND PRIOR TO THE FEBRUARY 15TH JOINT WORKING GROUP MEETING WITH THE COMMISSIONERS SAFE FOLLOWED UP AND PROVIDED ME WITH THE ONE PAGE POWERPOINT SUMMARY OF THEIR FORENSIC NURSING BUDGET NEEDS TOTALING $327,000, $327,908 TO INCLUDE IN THE PRESENTATION. 
          UM, SINCE THIS MEETING, CONVERSATIONS ON THIS TOPIC HAVE SHIFTED, BROADENED AND INTENSIFIED, AND IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT SAFE CAN NO LONGER SUPPORT THE DIRECTION THAT WAS ORIGINALLY PRESENTED. 
          WHILE THIS ITEM IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE TO BE REPORTED AS A RISK TO THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT UNTIL IT IS FULLY ADDRESSED, THE C-S-C-R-M PROJECT POSITION REMAINS STEADFAST IN SUPPORTING THE RESOLUTION OF THIS ISSUE. 
          PER THE ORIGINAL FUNDING REQUEST RAISED DURING THE FEBRUARY 8TH AND FEBRUARY 15TH MEETINGS, WHICH IS SPECIFICALLY TO FUND AN INCREASE TO THE FORENSIC NURSING SALARIES AT THE COST OF $328,000 PER YEAR, UM, IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT SAFE WHOLLY OWNS THEIR FORENSIC NURSING PROGRAM AND CERTAINLY HAS OTHER BUSINESS AND PROGRAM FACTORS THAT MUST, THAT THEY MUST CONSIDER WHEN STRIVING TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. 
          IT'S ALSO PRESUMED THAT IF SAFE IS UNABLE TO UTILIZE ANY FUNDING OFFERED TO THEM THROUGH THIS PROCESS DUE TO RESTRICTIONS OR CONSTRAINTS WITHIN THEIR OWN ORGANIZATION, I, THEY WOULD BE ABLE TO POLITELY DECLINE SUCH OFFERS OR FUNDS IN CLOSING AND PER ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE LAWSUIT SETTLEMENT TERMS, I WOULD LIKE TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION TO BEGIN REQUESTING MONTHLY OR QUARTERLY DATA ASSOCIATED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN OUR COMMUNITY BSR AND ITS RESPECTIVE MEMBERS. 
          AT MINIMUM, THIS SHOULD INCLUDE DATA FROM SAFE REGARDING THEIR FORENSIC NURSING SERVICES DATA FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S SEX CRIMES UNIT, AND DATA FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REGARDING PROSECUTION RATES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, 
          [01:55:01]
AND WITH THAT WE HAVE THE RECOMMENDATION BEFORE, CAN I, SORRY, CAN I SPEAK FOR SAR? OF COURSE. 
          OF COURSE. 
          GOOD AFTERNOON, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          MY NAME'S EMILY RUDNICK LEBLANC, AND ALONG WITH SHELLY EDGAR, I CO-CHAIR THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE AND RESOURCE TEAM, KNOWN AS THE SART. 
          SART IS THE COMMUNITY COORDINATED RESPONSE TEAM AIMED AT IMPROVING THE RESPONSE TO ADOLESCENT AND ADULT SEXUAL ASSAULTS IN OUR COMMUNITY. 
          OUR MEMBERS INCLUDE LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, THE DA'S OFFICE, ADVOCACY AGENCIES, LEGAL ORGANIZATIONS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, AND SURVIVORS. 
          WE FIRST BECAME AWARE OF THIS ISSUE LAST SUMMER AND IMMEDIATELY REACHED OUT TO THE CHIEF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF SAFE IN AUGUST OF 2023 TO HELP CLARIFY HOW MANY SURVIVORS WERE BEING TURNED AWAY AND TO INVITE THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP AT SAFE TO JOIN A CONVERSATION ABOUT SOLUTIONS. 
          AT THE FEBRUARY 8TH START MEETING, SAFE PRESENTED THE DATA INDICATING THAT FOR THE PAST YEAR, A THIRD OF VICTIMS REACHED OUT FOR, FOR REACHING OUT FOR FORENSIC EXAMS, WERE UNSERVED DUE TO SHORT STAFFING. 
          IT WAS SHARED IN THIS MEETING THAT SHORT STAFFING EXISTED BECAUSE SAFE WAS UNABLE TO HIRE OR RETAIN FORENSIC NURSES DUE TO UNDERFUNDING AND LOW SALARIES. 
          HANNAH DISCUSSED WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS CANNOT RECEIVE A FORENSIC EXAM EVERY TIME THEY COME FORWARD, WE WILL LOSE THE EVIDENCE, AND THAT AFFECTS NOT ONLY EVERY SURVIVOR IN AUSTIN, BUT ALSO THE ABILITY OF EVERY SERVICE PROVIDER TO HELP AND A PD CAN'T DO THEIR JOB AND THE DA CAN'T DO THEIR JOB. 
          AND THIS COMMUNITY'S INVESTED MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HOURS FROM MULTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS TO IMPROVE THE INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION PIECES OF THE SYSTEM. 
          NONE OF WORK, NONE OF WHICH CAN WORK WITHOUT EVIDENCE. 
          SART MEMBERS AGREED THAT THE SART WOULD SUPPORT THE ACTIONS OF THE C-S-C-R-M REQUESTING FUNDING TO RAISE NURSE SALARIES IN ORDER TO INCREASE CAPACITY. 
          SAFE HAS SINCE COMMUNICATED TO THE SART THAT THEY'RE UNABLE TO INCREASE CAPACITY IN THAT MANNER. 
          AS REQUESTED, IN THE FEBRUARY 8TH MEETING, THE SART THEN FORMED A MULTI-AGENCY WORK GROUP TO IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS FOR THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY COMMUNITY, RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS A COMMUNITY ISSUE AND NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF ANY SINGLE ORGANIZATION. 
          I WOULD LIKE TO CLARIFY THAT SART POSITION, WHICH HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE FEBRUARY. 
          THE SART IS IN SUPPORT OF THE CITY INVESTING IN A SOLUTION TO THE FORENSIC NURSING SHORTAGE, AND BELIEVES BASED ON THE DATA PRESENTED THAT NURSE SALARIES ARE THE DRIVING FACTOR FOR THAT SHORTAGE. 
          HOWEVER, AS DISCUSSIONS HAVE SHIFT SHIFTED DRASTICALLY SINCE FEBRUARY, THE SART WORK GROUP FORMED TO FIND SOLUTIONS IS NOT YET CLEAR ON WHAT THAT SOLUTION SHOULD BE. 
          WE CANNOT THEREFORE PROVIDE CLEAR DIRECTION AT THIS TIME, BUT WHERE FUNDING SHOULD BE DIRECTED. 
          THE WORK GROUP WILL MEET AGAIN THIS WEDNESDAY TO IDENTIFY SOLUTIONS, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO CONTINUE PROVIDING YOU WITH UPDATES AS WE PUSH FOR A SOLUTION. 
          I'LL SECOND KO'S SUGGESTION TO REQUEST DATA FROM THE PARTIES SHE MENTIONED AT IS AS IT IS THE BEST BAROMETER OF THE SCOPE OF THIS PROBLEM. 
          I'LL END WITH THIS. 
          I'VE OFTEN BEEN THE PERSON TO COME BEFORE THIS BODY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS TO SHED LIGHT ON THE FAILURES AT A PD SEX CRIMES AND TO PUSH FOR ACCOUNTABILITY FROM A PD LEADERSHIP. 
          I THINK IT'S ONLY FAIR THEN FOR ME TO TELL YOU THAT A PD IS NOT ONLY BACK AT THE TABLE, BUT HAS BEEN COLLABORATIVE AND VOCAL AT EVERY LEVEL OF LEADERSHIP, AND IS THE LEADING PARTNER DRIVING FOR A SOLUTION ON THIS ISSUE. 
          WE LOOK FORWARD TO MEETING WITH THE NEW LEADERSHIP, BUT WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND OUR GRATITUDE TO CHIEF HENDERSON AND SINCERELY HOPE FOR THE SAME LEVEL OF COMMITMENT MOVING FORWARD. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          UM, SO WITH THAT, WE HAVE BEFORE US A RECOMMENDATION, UM, BEARING IN MIND THAT IT'S A FUNDING RECOMMENDATION AND THAT CITY COUNCIL IS GOING TO BE VOTING ON BUDGETS IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS. 
          SO IT'S SORT OF OUR LAST WINDOW TO ADDRESS ANY FUNDING SHORTAGES THAT WE'D LIKE TO, UM, BRING FORTH. 
          AND SO I WILL LEAVE THAT THERE IF ANYONE. 
          SO WE ARE, I'M, WE'RE GONNA RUN OVER CHRISTIE, SO I'M JUST GONNA LET YOU KNOW THAT WE'RE GONNA RUN OVER BY A BIT, BUT I HAVE BEEN INFORMED THAT THE NEXT MEETING WAS CANCELED, SO WE DO HAVE SOME TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          SO I DON'T WANNA KEEP EVERYBODY, I'M USUALLY WW WITH THE TIME, UM, BUT I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THIS. 
          UM, SO IF, AND EVERYBODY WILL BEAR WITH ME FOR AN EXTRA 10, 15 MINUTES, I THINK WE SHOULD GET THIS DONE. 
          SO WITH THAT, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ANYTHING? UM, YASMIN, COMMISSIONER SMITH? UH, YEAH, SO, UH, AND TO BE TRANSPARENT, I'M, I'M KNEE DEEP IN BUDGET SEASON RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND SO I KNOW HOW SCARFS THE FUNDING IS RIGHT NOW, AND I, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WHATEVER WE'RE DOING, UH, THE WORK HERE, IT DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE FUNDED. 
          UM, BUT WHATEVER WE'RE DOING HERE TRULY MAXIMIZES THE ROI. 
          UM, AND FOR ME, UM, ANCHORING THIS ROI SPECIFICALLY ON RAISES 
          [02:00:01]
RATHER THAN UNRESTRICTED, UM, OR THE LAUNDRY LIST PROVIDED BY SAFE, I THINK, UH, NEGATES OUR ABILITY TO TRULY MAXIMIZE OUR RECOMMENDATION. 
          AND SO WITH THAT BEING SAID, FOR ANYBODY ON THIS PANEL, CAN ANYBODY ENSURE ME THAT THIS RAISE WILL THEREFORE MAKE SERVICE PROVISION, UM, MORE TENABLE? WILL THIS SOLVE THE SER THE BANDWIDTH ISSUE THAT THE RAISE TO THE NURSES? UH, UH, THANK YOU COMMISSIONER SMITH FOR, FOR THAT QUESTION. 
          UM, AT SAFE'S PERSPECTIVE, WE DON'T THINK THAT JUST RAISES A LOAN COULD NECESSARILY GUARANTEE THAT EVERY SURVIVOR THAT WALKS THROUGH THE DOOR, UH, IS PROVIDED SERVICES. 
          UM, THERE'S A LOT THAT NEEDS TO BE SUSTAINED TO EVEN GET NURSES ONBOARDED. 
          OUR INFRASTRUCTURE IS NEEDED, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          UM, THERE'S SIGNIFICANT TRAINING REQUIREMENTS THAT HAPPEN WHEN YOU HAVE TO JOIN SAFE THAT IS BOTH THROUGH THE STATE GOVERNMENT AND THROUGH LICENSURE. 
          SO HAVING SUPPORT THERE. 
          SAME THING WITH HUMAN RESOURCES, ALL THOSE PIECES. 
          THE OTHER THING TO MENTION IS, ONE THING THAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THE SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE IS THE ABSOLUTE EQUITY OF SERVICES BETWEEN OUR NURSES AND OUR ADVOCACY PROJECT. 
          IT IS ALMOST RADICAL AND HOW, UM, SURVIVORS ARE DUALLY SERVED BY BOTH NURSES AND ADVOCATES. 
          AND BECAUSE SAFE PROVIDES SUCH THOSE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, AS I ILLUSTRATED IN MY LAST P UM, PRESENTATION, I THINK THAT'S REALLY RELEVANT TO KEEP IN MIND, WHICH IS THE BASIS OF OUR REQUEST. 
          UM, I ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, WE ARE LOOKING TO THE HOSPITALS THAT ARE ALSO EXPERIENCING A NURSING SHORTAGE AND HAVE MORE COMPETITIVE SALARIES. 
          AND SO WE DON'T WANNA ASSUME THAT THAT IS GONNA IN ITSELF, UH, RESOLVE THAT. 
          UM, WE ARE VERY MUCH LOOKING FORWARD TO THE WORK GROUP MEETING WHERE WE'RE ABLE TO BRAINSTORM AS A COMMUNITY. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED IS, IS IT A MARKETING CAMPAIGN, RIGHT? THAT COULD BE ACTUALLY MORE EFFECTIVE IN, IN TERMS OF GETTING FOLKS RECRUITED. 
          UM, SO WE DON'T FEEL THAT THIS IS A ABSOLUTE GUARANTEE, UH, THAT, THAT RAISING NURSES' SALARIES, UH, COULD ADDRESS THE PROBLEM AT HAND AND IN FACT MAYBE EVEN CREATES ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION HOW WE OFFER SERVICES. 
          SO WE JUST WANNA BE REALLY MINDFUL OF THAT, AGAIN, AT THE TABLE WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, IN PROBLEM SOLVING THIS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER GWEN, I BELIEVE YOU HAD, I JUST WANTED TO ECHO THAT AS WELL. 
          UM, AND, AND I'M ALSO WONDERING IF IT, THIS IS A, A, A WORKFORCE, UH, CHALLENGE, UH, RATHER THAN A, A COMPENSATION CHALLENGE. 
          AND I'M WONDER WONDERING IF WHEN YOU'RE HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS, ARE YOU ALSO HAVING IT WITH WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS, UM, TO SEE IF WE CAN CAPACITY BUILD, NOT ONLY MAYBE ON THE FORENSIC NURSING SIDE, BUT MAYBE ON THE SUPPORT SIDE FOR, FOR FORENSIC NURSES AS WELL? YEAH, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THOSE FOLKS HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THE TABLE. 
          SO OF COURSE WE HAVE OUR NURSES, UM, WITHIN SAFE PRESENT. 
          AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE NURSES FROM BRAVE ALLIANCE WHO HAVE BEEN REGULARLY PRESENT AT THE TABLE. 
          WE ARE INVITING MORE PEOPLE, AS I MENTIONED, NURSING SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN ON THE RADAR, HOSPITAL PROVIDERS, ET CETERA. 
          UM, WE NEED TO EXPLORE THIS MORE AS, AS A COMMUNITY IS, IS WHAT I BELIEVE SAFE'S PERSPECTIVE IS, AND ALSO ECHOED BY, UH, THE SARS PERSPECTIVE AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I SEE COMMISSIONER RUTAN ONLINE. 
          UM, THANK YOU AND APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO BE ON PERSON. 
          I THINK WHEN WE CONSIDER THIS RECOMMENDATION AS PHRASE, I THINK I WOULD ECHO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TRAINING THIS BEFORE THE CITY COUNCIL IN TERMS OF BUDGET. 
          UH, THIS IS ALIGNING US WITH THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AS WELL AS THE C-S-C-R-M. 
          AND I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT OUR RESOLVE, IT'S NOT ONLY FOR SPECIFICALLY INCREASING THE SALARIES, WHICH I THINK IS CERTAINLY NOT GOING TO HURT AS SOMEBODY WHO WORKS WITH MANY NURSES WHO ARE CHALLENGED TO LIVE IN AUSTIN AND ARE OFTEN HAVING TO SEEK JOBS ELSEWHERE. 
          BUT WE ALSO HAVE A SECOND CLAUSE THAT HAS TO ENSURE SUFFICIENT FUNDING FOR ALL THESE WRAPAROUND SERVICES. 
          SO I DON'T THINK THAT ANY OF THESE CONCERNS WELL RELEVANT AND MAKE MAKE IT THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE PASSING THIS RESOLUTION AS RECOMMENDATION. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          AND YES, AND, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THE FACT THAT THE, THE, THE LANGUAGE THAT IS IN OUR RECOMMENDATION DOES ECHO THE LANGUAGE THAT THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION ADOPTED IN MARCH APRIL OF 2024. 
          IT'S REFERENCED IN THE FOOTNOTES. 
          UM, SO THE LANGUAGE IN THE BUDGET SECTION IN THE, THE NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED IS VERY MUCH, UH, AS WELL AS VERY MUCH, UM, A LOT OF THE WHEREAS IS AS WELL, THERE'S A COUPLE OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION SPECIFIC, WHEREAS IS THIS PRETTY MUCH ECHOES THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION WITH REGARDS TO THE FORENSIC NURSING PIECE. 
          WE, THE DIFFERENCE WITH THE WOMEN'S COMMISSION IS THAT THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN PASSED THEIR RECOMMENDATION FOR ALL OF THE C-S-C-R-M SORT OF, UM, UNMET NEED REQUESTS. 
          AND IN ADDITION TO THIS, OUR UNMET NEED REQUESTS FOR THE C-S-C-R-M WERE ADDRESSED BY THE A PD BUDGET THAT WE PASSED, UM, LAST MONTH, THE MONTH BEFORE. 
          I CAN'T, I LOSE TRACK OF WHAT MONTH THAT WAS. 
          UM, AND SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THE STANDALONE ITEM. 
          [02:05:06]
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING ELSE? WELL, I DUNNO. 
          COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT , I HAVE TO SAY, I MEAN, 'CAUSE I'M, I AM CERTAINLY NO EXPERT, BUT HAVING WORKED IN THIS AREA, UM, THIS IS NOT MAKING A WHOLE LOT OF SENSE TO ME IN TERMS OF US, UM, PASSING A RESOLUTION THAT WE'RE NOW BEING TOLD IS NOT THE RIGHT ANSWER, UM, TO THE QUESTION. 
          I MEAN, I THINK WE'RE ALL ON THE SAME PAGE THAT WE WANT EVERY, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVOR TO BE SERVED IN A TIMELY MANNER AND WE JUST SIMPLY DON'T KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. 
          AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THE CITY WOULD LISTEN TO US IF WE SAID, WAIT FOR THE START TO TELL YOU WHAT TO DO AND HOW MUCH AND JUST DO IT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE. 
          WHICH I WOULD KIND OF LIKE TO DO ACTUALLY IS PASS A RESOLUTION THAT'S LIKE, LET THEM FIGURE IT OUT AND THEN DO A SPECIAL BUDGET PROCESS LIKE YOU GUYS DO ALL THE TIME OUTSIDE OF THE REGULAR, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BUDGET CYCLE. 
          SO THIS NEXT MEETING IS COMING UP IN A FEW DAYS, IS THAT WHAT IT IS? YEAH, WE'RE, WE'RE CONVENING ON WEDNESDAY AND I, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE LEFT OFF IN OUR LAST MEETING WAS THAT THE SOLUTION IS LIKELY TO COME FROM OUTSIDE OF STATE. 
          THEY'RE NOT ABLE TO BUILD THE CAPACITY THAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS, UM, EVEN FOR STAFF WITH THEIR CURRENT NURSES. 
          AND SO WE NEED TO EXPLORE OPTIONS, UM, FOR ANOTHER PROVIDER. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THAT'S WHY WE CAN'T GIVE YOU A SOLUTION RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I, OKAY. 
          I CAN'T SAY THIS IS GONNA FIX THE PROBLEM, UM, BECAUSE I THINK WE STILL WON'T GET TO FULL CAPACITY AND ESPECIALLY WE CAN'T RETAIN PERSON. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WITH THAT, I THINK WHAT WE HAVE BEFORE US OH, COMMISSIONER SMITH. 
          YEAH. 
          I JUST DON'T WANNA THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER. 
          IS THERE ANY, WOULD THIS BE AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO, UH, MOVE FOR AN AMENDMENT? YEAH, IF YOU'VE GOT AN AMENDMENT, IF YOU'VE GOT SOME POTENTIAL LANGUAGE YEAH, I'M PATIENT WITH ME AS THE TYPE THROUGH. 
          I'M SORRY. 
          NO, JUST BE PATIENT WITH ME AS THE TRY TO KEEP PACE WITH YOUR TALKING. 
          OF COURSE. 
          , I'M THINKING WE JUST STRIKE THROUGH AND I DON'T, I NEED THE LANGUAGE PULLED UP. 
          JUST THAT, THAT, THAT, UM, THAT SENTENCE ABOUT THE FORENSIC BASICALLY, UH, SUBMITTING THEM TO ONE AVENUE. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          AND THE, THAT WHERE, OR I'M SORRY. 
          SO BE IT RESOLVED THAT TO FUND THE 3 28 VIA AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR, AND THEN I WOULD SAY, UH, UNRESTRICTED, UH, TO SUPPORT THE NEEDS, UH, UH, UM, TO HOLISTICALLY SERVE SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS. IS THERE ANY APPETITE FROM THE, THE REST OF US TO UNUM THE RESOLUTION STILL GET THEM THROUGH IN THIS BUDGET SEASON? SO I HAVE AN AMENDMENT FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH ASKING TO STRIKE FOR FORENSIC NURSING COMPENSATION. 
          SO IT WOULD READ, UM, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE INVESTMENTS IN THE FY 24 25 BUDGET TO FUND 328,000 VIA AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL POSITIONS AND FUND ALL FORENSIC NURSING STAFF AT COMPETITIVE MARKET RATES PER THE C-S-C-R-M RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          IN ADDITION TO FUNDING FORENSIC NURSING POSITIONS, ENSURE FUNDING IS SUFFICIENT TO SUPPORT WRAPAROUND SERVICES FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT SURVIVORS, DA DA DA DA DA. 
          DO I HAVE A SECOND OR DO I HAVE A QUESTION OR DISCUSSION SECOND? CAN I ASK A QUESTION ON THAT? YES. 
          SO BECAUSE WE'RE MIRRORING PREVIOUS BUDGET REQUESTS THAT HAD LINE ITEMS AND WE'RE MATCHING THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE C-C-S-R-M, IS IT PROBLEMATIC IF WE'RE NOT GIVING THAT SPECIFIC NUMBER IN THE HISTORY? I, I UNDERSTAND THE, THE SPIRIT OF WHAT, UM, COMMISSIONER SMITH IS ASKING, BUT IT, MY RECOLLECTION IS EVERYTHING ELSE WE HAVE A SPECI MORE SPECIFIC NUMBERS THAT MATCH WITH THE REQUEST. 
          YES. 
          SO THE, TO, TO ANSWER THAT QUESTION, AND I DON'T HAVE THE, IT'S ALSO LINKED IN OUR, THE, THE PRESENTATION FROM C-S-C-R-M THAT WE GOT THE QUARTERLY UPDATE, THE $328,000 IS SPECIFICALLY TIED TO SALARY INCREASES TO BRING SPECIFIC POSITIONS TO MARKET RATE LEVELS. 
          SO IT'S 15,000 FOR THIS POSITION, 20,000 FOR ANOTHER. 
          SO THAT COMBINED AND THEN WITHIN, WITHIN A PD WITHIN THE PREVIOUS BUDGET THING, WE ALSO HAD SPECIFIC ITEMS FOR OTHER ASPECTS OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE YES. 
          GROUP, CORRECT? YES. 
          SO MAKING THIS AS BEING CONSISTENT WITH THE PREVIOUS RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE WE HAD DIFFERENT BUDGET ITEMS, CORRECT? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WITH I I DO, I 
          [02:10:01]
DO HAVE A POTENTIAL SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER HERMA MEYER. 
          SO IF, IF WHAT THAT MEANS IS WE'VE GOT A FIRST AND A SECOND AND NOW WE GOT A VOTE UNLESS WE PASS. 
          CAN I JUST CLARIFY THE LANGUAGE YES. 
          RATHER THAN STRIKE IT COMPLETELY. 
          YEAH, IT'D BE NICE JUST SO THAT TO UH, YOUR, YOUR POINT TIM, IF WE COULD SAY, I MEAN I'M FINE WITH KEEPING THE 3 28, BUT THE, ALL THIS LANGUAGE CUMBERING UH, ENCUMBERING IT, I WOULD JUST REPLACE WITH FOR UNRESTRICTED FUNDING TO IMPROVE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE RECOVERY OR RESPONSE CAPACITY. 
          SO THEN SAFE CAN DO WHAT SAFE DOES, UM, NOT, NOT, YOU KNOW, NOT BEHOLDEN TO IT, HAVING TO DO ONE THING WITH THE RESOURCES WE'RE, UM, PROPOSING, AM I ABLE TO SPEAK AT THIS POINT OR IS THAT OFF? IS THAT OUT OF, UM, ONE SECOND. 
          'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE NEED TO GET THROUGH THIS MOTION YEAH. 
          BECAUSE THERE'S LIKE THIS MOTION KIND OF HANGING OUT THAT WE NEED TO FINISH DEALING WITH. 
          OKAY. 
          CAN I SPEAK ON THAT? YES, YOU CAN SPEAK TO THE MOTION. 
          UM, I JUST, I WANNA CLARIFY, I THOUGHT I HEARD THE SPEAKERS IN FRONT OF US, UM, SAY THAT THEY WERE HEADED IN A DIRECTION WHERE SAFE WAS NOT GONNA BE THE ANSWER FOR EXPANDING ACCESS TO SEXUAL ASSAULT NURSE EXAMS AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN COVER EVERYBODY WHO IS SEEKING THEM IN A TIMELY MANNER. 
          AND IF THAT'S TRUE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY WE WOULD GIVE SAFE $300,000 TO NOT TO DO WHAT THEY CAN'T DO. 
          OKAY. 
          DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES. 
          DOES THAT, SO YES. 
          SO WITH THAT, YOU, OKAY, SO WE STILL HAVE A SECOND AND WE'RE GONNA, WAS WAS THE MOTION TO ACCEPT ALL THIS, THE MOTION WAS TO GIVE $328,000 TO SAFE UNRES UNRESTRICTED FUNDS SO THAT THEY CAN FIGURE OUT HOW BEST TO SERVE OUR SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIMS. THE ITEM WAS BROUGHT FORTH SPECIFICALLY SO THAT WE COULD ADDRESS FORENSIC NURSING DEFICIENCIES, BUT THAT'S THE, WE WE HAVE A FIRST AND A SECOND UNLESS COMMISSIONER SMITH IS WITHDRAWING SOMETHING. 
          NOPE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO NO, I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK TO, WE HEARD THAT, UM, ALSO THIS RAISE OF SALARIES IS NOT NECESSARILY THE SOLUTION EITHER, RIGHT? SO YEP. 
          NOPE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WITH THAT, WE'VE GOT A FIRST AND A SECOND, AND I THINK WE'VE GOT A VOTE THAT WE'VE GOTTA TAKE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE ARE NOW VOTING ON AN AMENDMENT TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE AND LIKE TO STRIKE ALL THE LANGUAGE, MAKING IT SPECIFIC TO FORENSIC NURSING COMPENSATION TO UNRESTRICTED FUNDING FOR SAFE. 
          CAN I GET A SHOW OF HANDS IN THAT'S FOR, WE HAVE 1, 2, 3, AND I BELIEVE THAT'S FOUR WITH COMMISSIONER SMITH AGAINST, AND THAT'S COMMISSIONER RUTAN AS WELL. 
          I SEE ONLINE. 
          OKAY. 
          MOTION DOES NOT PASS. 
          DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS OR ARE WE VOTING ON THIS RECOMMENDATION AS IS? WE ARE. 
          COMMISSIONER SMITH, CAN WE HAVE SOME DISCUSSION ABOUT THE, THE, THE PUSHBACK BECAUSE I DON'T WANT, AGAIN, I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE BABY WITH THE BATH WATER. 
          NO. 
          IS THERE A MIDDLE GROUND HERE BETWEEN THE YAYS AND NAS? AND IS THIS AN APPROPRIATE TIME TO DISCUSS THAT? WHAT WAS IT ABOUT? WAS IT LITERALLY ABOUT IT NOT BEING TETHERED TO FORENSIC OR WAS IT THE AMENDMENT LANGUAGE? I THINK I'LL, I'LL, I'LL SPEAK BRIEFLY AND THEN COMMISSIONER, UM, BERNHARDT, UM, I THINK, UM, IF I'M SPEAKING FOR MYSELF, THE C-S-C-R-M IDENTIFIED A RISK THAT THEY ASKED US TO ADDRESS, WHICH WAS THE FORENSIC NURSING SORT OF ISSUE AT THE BEGINNING END OF THIS LONG SEXUAL ASSAULT VICTIM PIPELINE THAT HAPPENS. 
          UM, AND WE AS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION HAVE BEEN SUPPORTIVE OF THE C-S-C-R-M AND SO TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN BEST ADDRESS THAT DIRECT CONCERN, WHICH IS THE NURSING, THIS MAY NOT BE THIS RECOMMENDATION, MAY NOT BE IT AT THIS POINT. 
          IT MAY BE TO REVISIT, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS, THIS MEETING THAT THEY'RE HAVING AND COME BACK WITH A DIFFERENT RECOMMENDATION AND ASK FOR FUNDING LATER, HAVE SOMETHING DIFFERENT. 
          BUT I THINK, UM, FOR ME, THE UNRESTRICTED FUNDS DOESN'T ADDRESS THE FORENSIC NURSING ISSUE NECESSARILY AT ALL. 
          UM, I, I, I TOTALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT SAFE DOES AND I THINK THAT I'VE, I'VE TOLD NIKITA THIS AS WELL. 
          I WOULD LOVE 
          [02:15:01]
TO HAVE SAFE COME BACK AND SPEAK TO US ABOUT WHAT SAFE DOES, UM, AND FIGURE OUT IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN SUPPORT SAFE AT LARGE AND ALL OF THEIR WRAPAROUND SERVICES. 
          BUT FOR THIS SPECIFIC ASK, IT WAS TO SUPPORT FORENSIC NURSING. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE I AM WITH IT. 
          YEAH. 
          COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT? UM, YEAH, I'M, I'M NOT SURE THERE'S, UM, TOO MUCH TO ADD. 
          I JUST, I THINK THAT THE, UM, THE ISSUE IS SAFE IS THAT THEY DO HAVE FOUR SERVICE AREAS AND THEY HAVE TO MAKE LOTS OF DECISIONS ABOUT, UM, WHAT THEY'RE FUNDING IN EACH OF THOSE FOUR SERVICE AREAS. 
          AND I THINK IF WE WANT TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM WITH FORENSIC NURSING, GIVING THEM $328,000 AND SAYING DO YOUR BEST IS NOT GONNA GO TO FORENSIC NURSING, IT'S GONNA GO TO OTHER REALLY, REALLY GOOD CAUSES. 
          I WANNA FIX THE FORENSIC NURSING PROBLEM. 
          SO I'D LIKE TO MOTION FOR ANOTHER AMENDMENT. 
          OKAY, GO FOR IT. 
          WHAT DO WE FEEL ABOUT MODIFYING THE LANGUAGE OF FORENSIC NURSING AND RIGHT, SO IT'S NOT ONLY BEHOLDEN TO RAISES. 
          THAT'S WHAT, THAT'S WHAT'S GETTING, THAT'S WHAT'S GIVING ME HEARTBURN IS THAT IT'S ONLY TIED TO RAISES WHERE NOBODY CAN TELL ME FOR SURE IF THAT'S GONNA SOLVE THE CAPACITY ISSUE. 
          , I HEAR YOU. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT. 
          YES. 
          I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S NOT THE ISSUE FOR ME BECAUSE I AM BOTH CONVINCED THAT RAISES MAY NOT BE THE SOLUTION AND THAT SAFE MAY NOT BE THE SOLUTION. 
          WHAT WE'RE HEARING AND, AND WHAT I KNOW OF, UM, SEXUAL ASSAULT, UH, EXAMS IS THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY HAPPEN IN A BUNCH OF DIFFERENT SETTINGS. 
          MOST OF THEM ARE HOSPITALS. 
          UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S HOW IT USED TO BE DONE IN AUSTIN. 
          AND WE HAVE LOTS OF HOSPITALS AND WE HAVE LOTS OF OTHER SERVICE PROVIDERS AND WE'RE HEMMING OURSELVES IN IF WE DON'T LET THE EXPERTS WHO ARE THE FOLKS ON THE START, UH, FIGURE OUT WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO DO THIS. 
          SO IT ACTUALLY WORKS. 
          I HAVE WATCHED MONEY GET THROWN DOWN THE DRAIN AT THE LEGISLATURE. 
          WELL ACTUALLY MORE OFTEN THAN NOT. 
          UM, AND IN THIS CASE, I TRUST THE EXPERTS TO FIGURE IT OUT. 
          SO I HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE TO, UM, NOT, NO. 
          AND I'M, I CAN'T TWEAK THE LANGUAGE LIVE RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S BA MY UNDERSTANDING IT IS NOT, NOT TO REMOVE, NOT FOR UNRESTRICTED FUNDING, BUT TO MAKE IT SO THAT THE 328,000 ISN'T TIED DIRECTLY TO ONLY NURSING COMPENSATION. 
          IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS THAT CORRECT. 
          COMMISSIONER SMITH? YES. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, AND I MEAN, IF WE WANNA GET SPECIFIC, WE CAN GET, WE CAN DO A LAUNDRY LIST. 
          SO IT'S NOT JUST FORENSIC SERVICES AND WHAT YOU THINK IT TO, UM, SOME OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONER'S POINT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, SPECIFY A LITTLE BIT MORE, BUT OH, I SEE A QUESTION. 
          COMMISSIONER RUTAN. 
          UM, I THINK WHAT IF WE JUST CHANGED THE WORDING, UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THE, AS IT'S PHRASED, I DON'T THINK IT'S BASICALLY SAYING THAT IT HAS TO BE RAISED NECESSARILY, BUT IT'S SAYING TO SUPPORT INCREASE, SORRY, I JUST READING ON HERE, SUPPORT ADDITIONAL POSITIONS AND FUND ALL STAFF AT COMPETITIVE MARKET RATES PER THE RECOMMENDATIONS. 
          SO WHAT IF, WOULD IT ADDRESS YOUR CONCERNS, COMMISSIONER SMITH, IF WE SAID INSTEAD TO FUND 328,000 VIA AWESOME PUBLIC HEALTH OR FORENSIC NURSING AND TO STRIKE OUT THE WORD COMPENSATION, BUT SAY TWO, SUPPORT ADDITIONAL POSITIONS AND FUND ALL FORENSIC NURSING STAFF AT COMPETITIVE MARKET RATES PER THE C-S-C-R-M RECOMMENDATION? BECAUSE THAT WOULD ALLOW IT TO BE, WHETHER THAT IS USED FOR MORE POSITIONS, SALARIES, OR A COMBINATION OF THE BOTH. 
          BUT BY MAKING UP MARKET RATES, THERE WOULD LIKELY BE SOME NEED FOR COMPENSATION AS PART OF THAT PACKAGE. 
          I FEEL LIKE THAT'S FAIR COMPROMISE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO WE HAVE, AND, AND, AND IF WE CAN'T RESOLVE THIS RIGHT NOW AND TAKE A VOTE, WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO REVISIT THIS LATER BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE PUSHING SIX 30 AND THIS IS THE WORST JOB I'VE EVER DONE. 
           OF MANAGING TIME. 
          I'M SO SORRY. 
          UM, OKAY. 
          SO WE HAVE A AMENDMENT ON THE FLOOR TO CHANGE THE LANGUAGE TO REMOVE THE NURSING COMPENSATION, THE, THE NURSING, THE COMPENSATION LANGUAGE SPECIFICALLY SO THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE BROAD AND CAN BE USED FOR, FOR COMPENSATION AND ADDITIONAL SERVICE, ADDITIONAL SERVICES TO BE, AND I, AND I THINK WE JUST STRIKE OUT THE WORD COMPENSATION JUST SAYS YES, PUBLIC HEALTH FOR FORENSIC NURSING. 
          [02:20:01]
YES. 
          TO SUPPORT ADDITIONAL POSITIONS AND FUND ALL FORENSIC NURSING STAFF. 
          I THINK THAT'S, THAT, THAT ONE WORD AND THE ONE COMMENT YEP. 
          SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, ARE YOU A SECOND COMMISSIONER RUTAN THEN? DO WE HAVE A FIRST AND A SECOND FROM COMMISSIONER SMITH AND COMMISSIONER RUTAN? OKAY, WE'RE GONNA TAKE A VOTE ON THAT. 
          CAN I SHOW OF HANDS IN SUPPORT OF THAT LATEST AMENDMENT? OKAY, WE'RE AT THREE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND THEN AGAINST, WE'RE AT FOUR. 
          I THINK WE'RE IN THE SAME PLACE, SO I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE ANY MOVEMENT. 
          WE CAN JUST GO AHEAD AND TAKE A VOTE ON WHETHER OR NOT DO WE VOTE ON THIS RECOMMENDATION? DO WE TABLE IT FOR NOW? DO WE MOVE ON? CAN, CAN I MAKE A COMMENT NOW OR NO? YEAH, SURE. 
          ONE THING I DO WANNA MENTION IS C-S-C-R-M IS HERE TO SUPPORT THE RECOMME RECOMMENDATION AS IT WAS RAISED. 
          SO IF THERE IS A DIFFERENT, IF RECOMMENDATION GOING FORWARD OR VOTE IT ON CS C-S-C-R-M CANNOT SUPPORT THAT AT THIS TIME. 
          OKAY. 
          AND SO I WOULD JUST ASK THAT THE REST OF THE LANGUAGE IS ADJUSTED AND ACCOUNTED FOR IN THAT REGARD. 
          OKAY. 
          OKAY. 
          CHAIR I'D I, I'D LIKE TO MOTION TO TABLE IT. 
          UM, MM-HMM. 
          , I, I THINK THERE NEEDS TO BE MORE DISCUSSION. 
          OKAY. 
          SECOND. 
          SECOND. 
          OKAY. 
          SECONDED. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR DOING THAT. 
          UM, ONE LAST PROCEDURAL THING IS JUST WE HAVE ADDITIONAL ITEMS ON THE AGENDA THAT WE ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING TO GET TO TODAY. 
          UM, CHRISTIE, DO WE NEED TO OFFICIALLY VOTE TO POSTPONE THOSE TO FUTURE MEETINGS OR CAN WE JUST YEAH, AT TIME IT'S THE BEST PROCEDURE TO DO SO. 
          OKAY. 
          SO YEAH, IF YOU COULD, YOU COULD SAY, IS THERE ANY OBJECTION AND YES, DO IT THAT WAY. 
          IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO 
          [Items 5, 7 & 8]
US MOVING ITEM FIVE, ITEM SEVEN AND ITEM EIGHT TO OUR NEXT MEETING? NO. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU EVERYBODY WITH THAT. 
          UM, WE ARE ADJOURNED. 
          THANKS FOR LEANING IN EVERYBODY. 
          THANK YOU.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.