[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER ]
US.I'M ALLISON AL ALTER AND I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
I'M JOINED ON THE DAAS BY VICE CHAIR LESLIE POOLE.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER, COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES WILL BE JOINING US SHORTLY.
UM, WE HAVE A PACKED AGENDA AND SO WE'RE GONNA BE GOING PRETTY QUICKLY THIS MORNING.
WE DO HAVE SEVERAL SPEAKERS AND, AND I'M GLAD TO SEE FOLKS ARE HERE.
UM, I DO JUST IN CASE WANNA ASSUAGE FOLKS THAT WE ARE NOT GONNA BE PROPOSING DISBANDING THE IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OR I, I AM ASSUMING.
AND, UM, SO I JUST KNOW THAT THERE MAY BE SOME FOLKS HERE TO SPEAK ON THAT.
AND SO, UM, IF YOU WANNA BE BRIEFER, WE KNOW THAT YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, MET AND WHATEVER.
UM, I JUST KNOW THAT THERE'S SEVERAL OF YOU WHO ARE HERE FOR THAT YOU'RE WELCOME TO SPEAK, UM, AND, AND WHATNOT.
BUT, UM, I JUST WANNA ASSU YOU OF THAT 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND SEVERAL OF YOU ARE HERE FOR THAT, OR AT LEAST THAT'S NOT MY INTENTION.
WE HAVE SEVERAL ITEMS. UM, IT IS NOW 9:32 AM ON THE 11TH.
[Public Communication: General ]
WILL BEGIN WITH OUR REMOTE SPEAKERS.CLERK, DO YOU WANNA CALL THOSE? YOU'LL HAVE THREE MINUTES EACH.
AND AGAIN, YOU DON'T NEED TO TAKE THE WHOLE THREE MINUTES, ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE COMMISSIONS.
THEY ARE GONNA CALL OUR REMOTE SPEAKERS FIRST, PAUL, AND THEN THEY'RE GONNA TAKE OUR INMATES.
CRYSTAL GOMEZ, GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE AND PROVIDE YOUR TESTIMONY.
I'M AN IMMIGRATION ATTORNEY AND FORMER CHAIR OF THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
UM, I SERVED ON THE COMMISSION FROM 2016 UNTIL 2023.
I'M REALLY ENCOURAGED TO HEAR THAT THE DISILLUSION OF THE COMMISSION IS NOT ON THE AGENDA AND NOT, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD.
I DID WANNA SPEAK ABOUT HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE THE COMMISSION AND TO HAVE IT BE FULLY, UH, APPOINTED SO THAT THEY CAN MEET AND IT'S EASIER TO MEET QUOTA OR QUORUM.
UM, DURING MY TIME ON THE COMMISSION, I SAW O BODY BE INSTRUMENTAL IN THE CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF A LOT OF DIFFERENT IMPORTANT PROGRAMS LIKE THE ENHANCED LIBRARY CARDS, UH, LEGAL SERVICES, AND THE CREATION OF A PROGRAM MANAGER POSITION IN THE EQUITY OFFICE.
UM, THIS IS WORK THAT'S GOING TO BE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT AS WE MOVE FORWARD AND A LOT OF FAMILIES IN AUSTIN ARE GOING TO BE EITHER FACING DEPORTATION OR, UM, WORRIED AND, AND PUSHED BACK INTO THE SHADOWS.
AND WE NEED A FUNCTIONING COMMISSION.
AND MORE THAN THAT, WE NEED, UH, TO KIND OF MATCH OUR SISTER CITIES IN PLACES LIKE HOUSTON AND DALLAS AND SAN ANTONIO, WHO HAVE ENTIRE CITY OFFICES DEDICATED TO ENSURING THAT THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY IN THEIR CITIES IS, IS GOOD.
UM, AND INSTEAD IN AUSTIN WE HAVE ONE CITY STAFF POSITION AND THEN 12 VOLUNTEER COMMISSIONERS THAT MEET ONCE A MONTH IF THEY CAN GET QUORUM TOGETHER.
AND THAT'S IF THE CITY COUNCIL HAS APPOINTED ALL OF THOSE POSITIONS.
SO I JUST REALLY WANNA ENCOURAGE COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY STAY UP TO DATE ON THOSE APPOINTMENTS IF THE VACANCY COMES UP, GETTING SOMEONE ELSE IN THE PIPELINE TO, SO THAT THE COMMISSION IS ABLE TO MEET ITS QUORUM.
AND I'LL ALSO PUSH FORWARD THE IDEA OF TRYING TO CREATE AN, AN ACTUAL STAFFED OFFICE THAT DEALS WITH THESE ISSUES INSTEAD OF IT ALL LANDING ON THE BACK OF 12 VOLUNTEERS.
I DO NOT HAVE A SPECIFIC SPEAKER WITH A PHONE NUMBER THAT WE HAVE RECORDED, HOWEVER, IF ANDREA BLACK OR KAREN MUNOZ IS ONLINE RIGHT NOW, PLEASE UNMUTE.
OKAY, WELL, WE'LL COME BACK TO THEM IF THEY, IF THEY LOG IN, THEY MAY HAVE BEEN, THEY MAY HAVE POPPED OFF GIVEN WHAT WE SAID.
IS THAT SOMEONE THERE? I THINK SO.
IS THAT ANDREA BLACK OR KAREN MUNOZ.
KAREN, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO GO, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES.
I WORK FOR LATINO JUSTICE, A NONPROFIT CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION WITH OFFICES IN AUSTIN, TEXAS.
UM, I DID CALL TO, OR I WAS ORIGINALLY CALLING TO DISCUSS THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS AND ENCOURAGE YOU ALL TO NOT DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION.
I'M VERY GLAD TO HEAR THAT THE COMMISSION WILL NOT BE DISSOLVED AND I APPLAUD YOU ALL FOR THAT
[00:05:01]
DECISION.UM, I AGREE WITH THE PREVIOUS SPEAKER, MS. GOMEZ, THAT, UM, WE SHOULD INSTEAD THE COMMISSION SHOULD BE STRENGTH AND THAT THE CITY SHOULD DO MORE.
UM, I THINK CREATING A CITY OFFICE, A STAFFED OFFICE, UM, IS A GREAT IDEA.
BUT, UM, I WILL END MY COMMENTS THERE BECAUSE I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT IT'S NOT GONNA BE RESOLVED TODAY.
WE HAVE NO MORE REMOTE SPEAKERS AT THIS TIME.
UH, WE'LL NOW MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION FOR IN PERSON.
UM, KAREN MITCHIE, APOLOGIZE IF I MISPRONOUNCE THE LAST NAME HERE AND THEN I'M GONNA CALL, UH, PEGGY MORTON.
SO IF YOU CAN COME ON DOWN SO YOU'RE READY, THAT WOULD BE GREAT, PLEASE.
AND, UH, I'M KNOWN PROFESSIONALLY AS KAREN CRAWFORD AND I SERVED ON THE COMMISSION FOR CLOSE TO EIGHT YEARS AND WAS ITS CHAIR FROM 2017 TO 2021.
I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT IT WILL MOST LIKELY NOT BE A DISSOLVED, BUT I DO DO WANT TO REITERATE WHAT CRYSTAL GOMEZ SAID AND ALSO REQUEST THAT YOU SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN THE COMMISSION AT A MOMENT LIKE THIS IS VERY, VERY IMPORTANT.
WHEN I SERVED ON THE COMMISSION, WE HAD ENORMOUS DIFFICULTY FACING QUORUM ISSUES AS WELL.
IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT TO GET PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T SHOWING UP TO MEETINGS TO BE REMOVED FROM THE COMMISSION AND THEY, AND GET REPLACEMENTS FOR THEM.
I ALSO WANTED TO MENTION THAT I WAS A TRAVIS COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE, UM, FOR THE COMMISSION.
AND KNOWING THAT IT WAS A LONG PROCESS TO FILL THAT POSITION, I ACTUALLY GOT IN TOUCH WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, I THINK A GOOD SIX MONTHS BEFORE MY, MY TERM EXPIRED TO TRY AND GET THE VACANCY FILLED.
I REACHED OUT TO JUDGE BROWN'S OFFICE FOR MONTHS BEFORE MY TERM EXPIRED.
UM, THEY WOULD RESPOND TO MY EMAIL BUT NOT FOLLOW UP.
I REMEMBER AT ONE POINT THEY RESPONDED BY TELLING ME HOW I COULD RENEW MY TERM, WHICH ISN'T WHAT I WAS GOING TO DO 'CAUSE I WAS TERMING OUT.
UM, I'M SADDENED TO KNOW THE POSITION WAS NEVER FILLED.
IT'S BEEN TWO AND A HALF YEARS AND THERE'S A LOT OF PROMISE OF HAVING A COUNTY REPRESENTATIVE ON THE COMMISSION BECAUSE MANY OF THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY MEMBERS WORK IN ULTIMATE LIVE OUTSIDE OF THE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.
HOWEVER, IT'S NOT WORKING AND IT'S ACTUALLY AFFECTING THE ABILITY FOR THE COMMISSION TO HAVE QUORUM.
SO I WOULD, UM, NOT WANT THAT, THAT POSITION TO CONTINUE TO REMAIN VACANT.
UM, I WON'T GO INTO THE WORK THAT WE DID BECAUSE CRYSTAL MENTIONED IT EARLIER.
I DID WANNA ADD A COUPLE THINGS, WHICH WAS, UH, CREATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT, WHICH WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE COM UH, IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, UH, COMMUNITY, UM, AND ALSO SEEKING FUNDING FOR NATURALIZATION CLINICS, WHICH IS A VERY POSITIVE, UH, MOVE FORWARD.
IT'S IMPORTANT WORK AND IT HAS TO BE SUPPORTED, ESPECIALLY WITH A LOOMING THREAT COMING UP IN THE NEXT ADMINISTRATION OF MASS DEPORTATIONS, INCLUDING MIXED STATUS FAMILIES.
PEOPLE ARE SCARED AND THEY'RE CONCERNED AND THEY NEED THE SUPPORT OF THEIR CITY.
UM, AUSTIN NEEDS TO DO WHATEVER THEY CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, NOT ONLY IN KEEPING THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS, BUT ALSO, UM, REALLY PRIORITIZING PLACING MEMBERS ON IT SO THERE CAN BE CONSISTENT QUORUM.
AND ALSO, UH, PRIORITIZING THE COMMISSION IN FILLING VACANCIES.
AND ALSO I WOULD RECOMMEND ELIMINATING THE TRAVIS COUNTY POSITION SINCE TWO AND A HALF YEARS HAVE GONE BY WITHOUT, UM, THAT POSITION BEING FILLED.
THIS, UH, THE CITY NEEDS THE COMMISSION TO DO HIS WORK.
AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE US HAVE AN IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS OFFICE AS WELL.
AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THE COMMISSION.
AND AFTER PEGGY MORTON WILL BE ALICIA TORRES.
AND, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING IT OFF THE AGENDA, BUT I DEFINITELY FEEL A NEED TO SPEAK.
UH, I'M A RETIRED PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER.
FOR THE RECORD, IF YOU WANNA JUST SAY YOUR NAME YOURSELF, THAT WOULD GREAT.
HI, I'M PEGGY MORTON AND I'M A RETIRED PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER WHO HAS BEEN VOLUNTEERING, WORKING IN SOLIDARITY WITH IMMIGRANTS FOR THE LAST, SINCE I RETIRED 15 YEARS AGO.
MOSTLY I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE AUSTIN SANCTUARY NETWORK WHERE WE WORK TO STOP DEPORTATIONS.
AND, UM, SO I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF THIS PARTICULAR COMMISSION ABOUT IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
AND SO I BRING THAT UP JUST TO SAY, YOU KNOW, KEPT THE WORD OUT IF YOU'RE HAVING A PROBLEM FILLING THOSE POSITIONS.
AND I'M GONNA KIND OF DISAGREE WITH, I MEAN, I UNDERSTAND, I'M GONNA RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH THE LAST SPEAKER WHO SAID THAT THEY SHOULD CANCEL.
UH, THE TRAVIS COUNTY POSITION NOW IS A TIME THAT TRAVIS COUNTY NEEDS TO ALSO HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE IN, IN ADDITION TO THE CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, BECAUSE I MEAN, THEY'VE GOT CFA, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE ONLY OFFERING THREE SHIFTS OF ATTORNEYS OUTTA 21 SHIFTS, SO ARE DRAGGING THEIR FEET ON THINGS THEY NEED TO BE MADE MORE AWARE OF WHAT'S GOING ON WITH IMMIGRATION.
UM, SO I MEAN, IT'S NOW IS NOT THE TIME TO SLEEP THROUGH THE REVOLUTION WHEN MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ARE UNDER ATTACK.
WE NEED TO PROVIDE RESOURCES TO THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY TO LET THEM KNOW THAT OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS THEM AND UPHOLDS THEIR HUMANITY HAD, I MEAN, Y'ALL GOTTA START WORKING TOGETHER.
[00:10:01]
CALL, I SPOKE WITH MY, UH, STAFF MEMBER OF MY, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEMBER PAIGE ELLIS, AND I LEARNED THAT SHE DOESN'T RECOMMEND PEOPLE TO THIS COMMITTEE 'CAUSE IT'S NOT ONE OF THE ONES SHE WORKS WITH.WELL, ANY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER IS HAVING A PROBLEM, BEING ABLE TO RECOMMEND SOMEONE, PLEASE REACH OUT.
NO ONE'S EVER REACHED OUT TO ME, NOR HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY LIKE ME THAT CARE AND WANT TO SEE SOMETHING BETTER HAPPEN.
SO I THINK I'LL JUST GO IN AND STOP THERE AND, UH, SAY THAT PLEASE RECOGNIZE HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS.
OBVIOUSLY YOU DO BECAUSE YOU TOOK IT OFF THE AGENDA, BUT THE FACT THAT IT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE EVER HEARD OF THIS AND I WAS ALERTED TO IT, AND IT'S SCARY.
SO THESE ARE SCARY TIMES AND OUR IMMIGRANT FRIENDS WHO'VE BUILT THIS COMMUNITY DESERVE A LOT OF SUPPORT.
UM, BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT SPEAKER, I JUST WANNA CLARIFY THAT, UM, BY, I THINK IT'S BY CODE.
THE CLERK'S OFFICE HAS TO BRING IT TO AUDIT AND FINANCE.
IF THERE'S A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ABSENCES THAT HAVE HAPPENED AT A COMMISSION, IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS COMMISSION HAS MANAGED TO, YOU KNOW, WHEN THAT HAPPENED, WE HAD THEM ALERT ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THE COUNCIL MEMBERS GOT ENOUGH OF THEIR APPOINTEES IN AND THE COMMISSION MET.
UM, SO THIS IS AN ITEM THAT'S ON OUR AGENDA BECAUSE BY CODE IT HAS TO COME TO US FOR US TO THEN SAY WHAT HAPPENS ONCE WE HAVE, UM, A CERTAIN NUMBER OF TIMES WHEN QUORUM HASN'T BEEN MET.
UM, NO ONE ON THIS, NO ONE ON THIS COMMITTEE PUT IT ON THE AGENDA BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO DISBAND IT.
IT'S A JUST A PROCESS THAT HAS TO, HAS TO HAPPEN, UM, FOR US TO DISCUSS IT AND FOR US TO BE AWARE AND SO THAT WE CAN, UM, RAISE THE ALARM WITH OUR COLLEAGUES TO GET THE POSITIONS FILLED.
AND AFTER THAT'LL BE BOB LIBEL.
HELLO, MY NAME IS ALYSSA TORRES.
UM, AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND, UM, I'M ALSO HAPPY TO HEAR, UM, THAT, UH, I WAS ALSO UNDER THE WRONG, UM, IMPRESSION, RIGHT? THAT THERE WAS AN INTENT ON PART OF THE CITY, UM, TO DISSOLVE THIS COMMISSION.
AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS, UM, TO THE SITUATION THAT A LOT OF, UM, THE MIGRANTS THEMSELVES AND A LOT OF, UH, MIGRANT, UM, SUPPORTERS, MIGRANT COMMUNITY SUPPORTERS FIND THEMSELVES IN, IN A MOMENT WHERE WE REALLY ARE IN, IN FEAR.
WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO'S REALLY GONNA STAND BEHIND US, UM, IN, IN HEARING, RIGHT, THE INTENTION AND THE PROCESS OF WHY THIS, UM, THIS CONVERSATION IS BEING HAD TODAY.
UM, I WANNA ASK MY THAT MAYBE THIS IS AN INVITATION TO COUNCIL MEMBERS TO, UH, ACTUALLY BE, UH, CONTINUE BEING THE LEADERS, UM, IN CREATING INFRASTRUCTURE FOR, UH, COMMUNITY, FOR MIGRANT COMMUNITIES TO HAVE A VOICE.
AND, UM, I AM, I, I WOULD SAY, I'LL ADMIT I'M NOT AS FAMILIAR WITH THE PROCESSES, BUT MAYBE I DO THINK THAT THIS IS A MOMENT IN WHICH WE HAVE TO LEAN IN AND, UM, CAST THE, THE NET WIDER AND NOT JUST, UM, INVITE, UH, PEOPLE THAT ARE HAVE THE, THE CAPACITY, UM, AND THE RESOURCES, UM, REALLY PRIVILEGED, YOU KNOW, TO BE IN SPACES LIKE THIS IN TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE USUALLY WORKING.
THIS IS A MOMENT WHEN THE MIGRANT COMMUNITY NEEDS TO BE NOT JUST REPRESENTED, BUT ACTUALLY HAVE A VOICE IN, IN OUR OWN, UM, IN OUR OWN FUTURE.
AND SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO ENSURE THAT A POSITION FOR THE COMMISSION IS ACTUALLY AVAILABLE FOR SOMEONE THAT'S DIRECTLY IMPACTED? RIGHT? UM, I'VE BEEN TO SOME MEETINGS.
I KNOW THAT THERE IS INTERPRETATION IF IT'S REQUESTED FOR PEOPLE THAT ARE THERE, BUT WHAT IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE? AND THIS IS AN INTIMIDATING PROCESS, AND I SAY THIS AS SOMEONE WHO IS, UM, A MIGRANT THEMSELVES AND WHO HAS, IS STILL INTIMIDATED TO THIS DAY TO, TO ENGAGE IN THIS, IN THIS PROCESSES.
AND SO WHAT CAN WE DO TO PUT THIS OUT IN THE, UH, SPANISH, UM, LANGUAGE MEDIA, UM, IN THE CHURCHES.
THOSE PLACES THAT ARE, ARE FILLED WITH NATURAL LEADERS THAT MIGHT JUST FEEL THIS IS NOT A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN, UM, AT BEST ADVOCATE FOR THEMSELVES.
UM, SO I WILL BE HAPPY TO TALK TO ANY OF THE COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT MIGHT WANT TO LEAN IN, INTO HOW DO WE GET MORE DIRECT REPRESENTATION, UM, HAVING PEOPLE SPEAK FOR US AND IN OUR BEST INTEREST.
UM, IT'S ALWAYS GOOD AND APPRECIATED, BUT NOTHING LIKE THE VOICES THOSE DIRECTLY IMPACTED TO KNOW THIS IS ACTUALLY WHAT WORKS FOR US.
THIS IS WHAT WE ACTUALLY NEED AND THIS IS HOW WE MOVE AND SPEAK, NOT JUST FOR THE COMMUNITY, BUT MOVE AND SPEAK WITH COMMUNITY.
SO IT'S AN INVITATION INTO, UH, DOING THAT.
AND I APPRECIATE, UM, THE RECOGNITION THAT THIS IS A MOMENT WHEN WE NEED, UM, NOT JUST COMMISSIONS, BUT POSSIBLY JUST LIKE WE WERE SUCCESSFUL IN HAVING THE, THE IMMIGR IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
PLEASE CONCLUDE YOUR THOUGHT MEETING FORM TO ALSO BE ME A UH, AN ACTUAL OFFICE.
[00:15:01]
I'LL BE VALENTINE PADIA.UH, I AM A DISTRICT SEVEN RESIDENT.
UM, I, SO IT IS ALSO, IT'S HEARTENING TO HEAR THAT WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY GONNA DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
UM, FOR THE LAST COUPLE YEARS I HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH, DOCUMENTING TEXAS'S, UH, BORDER PROGRAM OPERATION LONE STAR, INCLUDING THE, THE BUILDING OF MILITARY BASES AND BORDER COMMUNITIES, THE USE OF TEXAS NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS AND MILITARY MEMBERS FIRING, UM, UH, PEPPER BALL, MUNITIONS AND CONSTRUCTING RAZOR WIRE THAT HAS, UH, HARMED CHILDREN, ASYLUM SEEKERS AT THE BORDER, UM, AND THE CREATION OF A SEPARATE AND PROFOUNDLY UNEQUAL CRIMINAL LEGAL SYSTEM FOR MIGRANTS.
UM, AND I SAY ALL THAT BECAUSE, UH, THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE STORIES OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS DOCUMENTING HOW THE INCOMING, UH, FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION IS PLANNING TO USE TEXAS'S BORDER POLICIES AS A MODEL FOR INTERNAL ENFORCEMENT, UM, INCLUDING THE USE OF THE MILITARY IN AMERICAN CITIES.
UM, AND, UH, I THINK THAT FOR AT THAT MOMENT, RIGHT, UH, IT SENDS A, A VERY NEGATIVE MESSAGE BOTH FUNCTIONALLY AND SYMBOLICALLY RIGHT, TO BE TALKING ABOUT THE DISSOLUTION OF AN AFFAIR OF A COMMITTEE LIKE THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
SO IT CERTAINLY URGED US TO, AS, UH, PREVIOUS SPEAKERS HAVE SAID TO REINVIGORATE THE COMMITTEE RATHER THAN, THAN, UH, UH, CONSIDERING DISSOLVING IT.
UM, I ALSO HAVE, UH, NOTICED THAT WE DON'T HAVE A CURRENT PERSON SERVING IN DISTRICT SEVEN ON THE COMMISSION COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
I KNOW, UH, THIS YOUR LAST FEW WEEKS, UM,
SO, UH, WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE THE REINVIGORATION OF THE COMMISSION, THE WORK TOWARDS CREATION AND, AND CREATING AN ACTUAL OFFICE HERE AT THE CITY.
COUNCIL, JUST A QUICK RESPONSE.
I HAVE HAD AN APPOINTEE TO THAT COMMISSION ALL ALONG, BUT EARLIER THIS YEAR, MY COMMISSIONER SAID, UH, THAT SURE, UH, WASN'T ABLE TO CONTINUE ON.
AND BECAUSE MY TIME WAS SHORT, WE WERE NOT ABLE TO FIND SOMEBODY ELSE AND MAYBE SOME OF THE PROCEDURE THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING HERE TODAY, THIS ITEM IS ON OUR AGENDA BECAUSE OUR RULES TELL US THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THIS CONVERSATION BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF MEETING.
THE WHOLE POINT OF THE COMMISSIONS IS FOR THEM TO MEET AND DELIBERATE AND ADVISE US.
AND THIS IS NOT THE ONLY COMMISSION THAT'S ON THE AGENDA FOR THIS CONVERSATION TODAY.
SO WE'RE NOT SINGLING ANYBODY OUT.
BUT, UM, THIS HAPPENED BECAUSE THE COMMISSIONERS WEREN'T ABLE TO BE THERE TO MAKE QUORUM TO MEET.
SO WE ARE RESPONDING TO THAT AS, AS WE NEED TO BY PROCEDURE.
I IMAGINE THAT THE LIGHT THAT'S BEING SHINED IS GOING TO HAVE, UM, THE PROPER, THE PROPER IMPACT.
IN FACT, I'M, I'M PRETTY DARN SURE THAT THIS, THIS COMMISSION WILL GET ITS APPOINTEES AND THEY WILL BE FOLKS WHO WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND THE MEETINGS AND WE DO THEM, UH, VIRTUALLY AS WELL.
SO IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT REQUIRING PEOPLE TO COME IN.
I KNOW THESE ARE DIFFICULT TIMES, SO THANK YOU BOB, ALSO FOR OFFERING TO SERVE.
AND WE WILL HAVE A NEW, UH, DISTRICT SEVEN, UH, REPRESENTATIVE, UM, PROBABLY SOMETIME SATURDAY, SO WE'LL KNOW WHERE WE'RE HEADED AT THAT POINT.
AND, UM, THANK YOU FOR COMING TODAY TO EXPRESS YOUR SUPPORT.
I AM A LEGAL CASEWORKER AT AMERICAN GATEWAYS, AND IT IS AN HONOR TO BE BEFORE YOU TODAY.
IT IS ALSO AN HONOR TO BE REPRESENTING AN ORGANIZATION THAT I HOLD DEAR TO MY HEART.
FOR NEARLY 40 YEARS, WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING LEGAL IMMIGRATION ASSISTANCE TO THE LOW INCOME IMMIGRANTS IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
TODAY, I'M VERY GRATEFUL TO HEAR THAT THE IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS COMMISSION WILL NOT BE DISSOLVED, AS I'M SURE EVERYBODY ELSE WAS GLAD TO HEAR.
UH, BUT I DO WANT TO RECOGNIZE, UH, THAT THE COMMISSION HAS NOT BEEN ACTIVE RECENTLY, AND IT HAS HAD SOME VACANCIES, BUT THIS IS NOT THE MOMENT TO BE SHUTTING DOWN A WAY TO FOCUS ON THE NEEDS OF THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.
THIS IS NOT THE MOMENT FOR THAT.
AUSTIN, AS I KNOW, IT IS A WELCOMING COMMUNITY TO ALL.
AND THIS COMMISSION IS ONE OF THE WAYS IT HAS PROVEN TO BE AMERICAN GATEWAYS IS A PARTNER WITH THE CITY IN SERVING OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY.
AND WE ARE SO VERY THANKFUL FOR THIS COUNCIL, FOR THAT PARTNERSHIP.
WE ASK THAT YOU KEEP THIS IMMIGRANT COMMISSION, AFFAIRS COMMISSION, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATIONS.
[00:20:01]
IS OUR LAST SPEAKER.UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK AND THE BIG RELIEF TO MANY FOLKS IN THE OFFICE THAT THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE DISSOLVING THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
BUT I DID JUST WANNA TAKE A, A QUICK MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT THE CULTURE OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS AND HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO STRENGTHEN THE CULTURE OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, I'VE BEEN TO, UH, MANY EVENTS HERE AT CITY HALL AND MANY OF THE, YEAH, BUDGET TOWN HALLS THAT CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS HOST, UM, UH, DURING BUDGET SEASON.
AND I'VE HEARD SO MANY CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TELL MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HOW IMPORTANT IT IS, UM, TO GO TO THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, TO SPEAK TO THE COMMISSIONERS, TO SHOW UP AT THOSE MEETINGS, UM, AS ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS IN WHICH THE MEMBERS OF THE, THE PUBLIC CAN ENGAGE AND BE, UH, PUBLIC PARTICIPANTS, UH, IN THE CIVIC PROCESS.
UM, OTHER THAN COMING TO, OF COURSE, CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS IS KIND OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST WAYS THAT WE CAN ENGAGE THE COMMUNITY.
UM, YET WHEN I, UH, SEE HOW MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN KNOW ABOUT COMMISSIONERS, THERE'S A LOT OF EDUCATION THAT HAS TO HAPPEN, I THINK, AROUND, UH, THE PUBLIC, AROUND HOW WE CAN TEACH THAT CIVIC ENGAGEMENT EDUCATION, UM, TO MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC, BUT ALSO TO COMMISSIONERS THEMSELVES.
I OFTEN SEE, UM, A ROTATION, OF COURSE, THE SPIRIT OF ROTATION IS VERY STRONG WITH OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, ESPECIALLY AS CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ROTATE.
UM, BUT OFTEN WHAT I SEE IS A LACK OF, OF A, OF A LEARNING OPPORTUNITY, BOTH FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND FOR COMMISSIONERS TO LEARN ABOUT HOW THE CITY FUNCTIONS ABOUT THE CITY, DIFFERENT CITY DEPARTMENTS THAT HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF PEOPLE EVERY DAY.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT THE CITY CLERK DOES AN INCREDIBLE JOB, UM, WITH TRAININGS WITH OUR COMMISSIONERS AROUND THE TEXAS OPEN MEETING ACT AND, UM, HOW NOT TO BREAK THE LAW IN THOSE REGARDS, BUT IN TERMS OF HOW THEY LEARN HOW TO COMMISSION, HOW THE HISTORY OF THE CITY, THIS ORG CHARGES OF THE CITY, WHAT A COMMISSIONER CAN AND CANNOT DO, HOW TO EVEN WRITE A RECOMMENDATION, UM, UH, TO CITY COUNCIL WHAT THEY ARE ALLOWED TO, TO ASK AND RECOMMEND TO Y'ALL, AND WHAT THEY ARE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK AND RECOMMEND TO Y'ALL.
I REALLY FEEL LIKE, UM, RESOURCES, UM, THAT COULD BE MADE AVAILABLE BOTH TO, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONERS IN TERMS OF REGULARLY SCHEDULED WORKSHOPS THAT COULD BE HOSTED AT OUR LIBRARIES OR AT OUR PART REC CENTERS OR AT OUR CULTURAL CENTERS AS A WAY OF CIVIC EDUCATION, BOTH FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND THE COMMISSIONERS, SO THAT CAN BETTER UNDERSTAND THE BUREAUCRACY OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT.
AND IT, AND THAT BETTER UNDERSTANDING BE MORE, UH, BETTER TO, UM, ADVISE YOU CITY COUNCIL AND THE IMPORTANT ISSUES THAT IMPACT THE, THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY REPRESENT.
SO IF ANYTHING, I JUST WANTED TO SPEAK TO AN URGING TO INCREASE THE RESOURCES AND, AND TRAINING CAPACITIES FOR BOTH MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND COMMISSIONERS SO THAT CAN, WE CAN ALL BE BETTER INVOLVED AND KNOW BETTER TOO ABOUT THE INTRICACIES OF OUR CITY, UM, AND OUR GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO CAME AND SPEAK.
ARE THERE ANY CHAIR ALTER? UH, ANDREA BLACK IS NOW AVAILABLE TO SPEAK REMOTELY ON THIS TOPIC.
I WAS HAVING TROUBLE GETTING ON, BUT I, SO I'M RELIEVED TO HEAR THAT YOU'RE NOT PLANNING TO, UH, DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION.
UM, IT IS A CRITICAL COMMISSION IN THE CITY WHERE I THINK, AS YOU KNOW, OVER 14% OF THE POPULATION ARE IMMIGRANTS AND CRITICAL, PARTICULARLY IN THIS YEAR, UM, WHERE THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION IS PLANNING A MASS DEPORTATION PROGRAM USING THE TEXAS INFRASTRUCTURE AND MODEL AS A BASE OF OPERATIONS.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO BE PREPARED TO SUPPORT IMMIGRANT RESIDENTS, UM, IN THE FACE OF ALL THE SPHERE MONGERING.
SO, UM, I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO MEET QUORUM.
UM, I REALLY SUPPORT WHAT JEREMY, UH, JEREMY GARZA HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE, YOU KNOW, THE EDUCATION PIECE SO PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE CRITICAL ROLE OF COMMISSIONS.
UM, ALSO AN ISSUE OF RECRUITMENT.
AND I'D BE HAPPY, UH, TO SUPPORT THE PROCESS FOR RECRUITMENT, UM, THAT CAN, YOU KNOW, ENGAGE DIFFERENT IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AND STAKEHOLDERS.
UM, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN IMMIGRANT RIGHTS FOR ABOUT 30 YEARS.
I'VE BEEN AN AUSTIN RESIDENT FOR 15 YEARS.
AND FIND THAT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, I WAS VERY DISTURBED TO SEE THAT THIS WAS ON THE AGENDA, AND IT WAS ONLY THROUGH LAST MINUTE NOTICE THAT WE FOUND OUT.
UM, SO, UH, YEAH, REALLY HOPE THAT THERE CAN BE MORE OF A PROACTIVE PROCESS THAT CAN ENGAGE PEOPLE IN A MORE, UM, CONSTRUCTIVE WAY.
UM, THERE ANY MORE? SORRY, GERALD.
UH, WE'VE HAD TWO LATE SIGNUPS, IF YOU WOULD ALLOW THEM, UH, BOB NICKS WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS TOPIC, AND THEN PAUL S WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ITEM FOUR.
SO I THINK BOB NICKS WANTED TO SPEAK ABOUT OVERTIME IS THAT I WOULD PREFER TO SPEAK ON ITEM SIX, RIGHT? SO I'M GONNA BRING BOB UP, UM, FOR THE OVERTIME ITEM AND WHAT MR. ROBBINS CAN, WE CAN BRING HIM UP WHEN WE DO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.
I THINK THAT WILL KEEP US, UM, MORE ON TRACK.
[00:25:01]
REMIND ME, REMIND, JUST REMIND ME AT, AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME.UM, SO THANK YOU TO ALL THE SPEAKERS FROM BEING HERE.
WHAT WE'RE GONNA DO NOW IS I'M GONNA TAKE UP OUR MINUTES AND THEN WE'LL GO RIGHT TO THAT ITEM AND WE'LL SPEAK MORE TO THAT.
UM, I JUST WANNA KEEP US IN ORDER, UM, FOR WHAT WE'RE DOING.
[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee meeting of November 12, 2024. ]
I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES? MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, UM, SEEING NO OBJECTIONS, WE'LL APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM THE NOVEMBER 12TH MEETING.[2. Consideration of notice that the Commission on Immigrant Affairs has not met for more than six months, and approval of a recommendation to the City Council on whether to dissolve the commission. ]
UP ITEM TWO.IT'S A CONSIDERATION OF NOTICE THAT THE COMMISSION, AN IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS HAS NOT MET FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS.
AN APPROVAL OF A RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL AND WHETHER TO DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION.
UM, MS. HALL WILL, WILL SPEAK TO US ON THAT.
UM, AND I'M SURE SHE WILL REITERATE.
UM, AND AS THE, AS THE, UM, NOTICE SUGGESTS, THIS IS A NOTICE TO US OF THIS HAPPENING.
WE HAVE THE CHOICE OF DISSOLVING, WE HAVE ALSO THE PREROGATIVE TO GET OUR HOUSE IN ORDER AND MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL OF THE APPOINTEES AVAILABLE.
AND, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE THE LATTER, IS WHERE WE'RE LEANING, BUT WE DO HAVE TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS.
SO, MS. HALL, PLEASE GO AHEAD.
UH, GOOD MORNING, STEPHANIE HALL, ASSISTANT CITY CLERK, AND AS YOU POINTED OUT, WE ARE HERE IN RESPONSE TO CITY CODE SECTION 2 1 45 B.
THAT DOES REQUIRE US TO SET A NOTICE OF THE ITEM FINANCE COMMITTEE IF A COMMISSION FAILS TO CONVENE FOR SIX MONTHS, WHICH HAS OCCURRED WITH THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS.
JUST A LITTLE BIT OF OVERVIEW, THE COMMISSION ON IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS HAS STRUGGLED TO MAKE QUORUM FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, AS MANY HAVE POINTED OUT IN BACKUP.
WE DO HAVE A CHART THAT SHOWS WHEN THEY WERE ABLE TO MEET AND THE VACANCIES AS WELL.
HOWEVER, RECENTLY THEY HAVE BEEN ABLE TO MEET SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, AND NOVEMBER, BUT PRIOR TO THAT, THEY HAD ONLY MET FOUR TIMES OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS.
THIS COMMISSION DOES HAVE 12 SEATS, AN ADDITIONAL SEAT THAT HAS BEEN BY TRAVIS COUNTY.
SEVEN MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND TO MAKE QUORUM, AND WE DON'T SEE ONE SPEC, ONE SINGLE REASON THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS.
THERE ARE SEVERAL FACTORS, AND WHILE ANY VACANCY CAN CERTAINLY MAKE IT CHALLENGING, MORE CHALLENGING TO MAKE QUORUM, MOST OF THE TIME THERE ACTUALLY WERE ENOUGH SEATS TO MEET QUORUM AND CONVENE THE MEETINGS.
UH, THERE ARE OF COURSE ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMMISSIONERS, BUT ONE OF THE KIND OF NUANCED CHALLENGES IS IF A MEETING IS CANCELED, THAT ATTENDANCE DOESN'T COUNT TOWARDS THEIR VIOLATION.
UH, THAT CAN MAKE IT CHALLENGING FOR LIAISONS TO TRACK, AND IT KIND OF CAN COMPOUND THE PROBLEM.
HOWEVER, WE DO TRAIN AND ENCOURAGE LIAISONS TO TELL US IF MEMBERS ARE NOT RESPONSIVE OR IF THEY ARE CONSISTENTLY CONTRIBUTING TO A LACK OF QUORUM.
AND WE DO REACH OUT AND COORDINATE THAT WITH THE COUNCIL OFFICES DIRECTLY WHEN WE'RE NOTIFIED OF THAT.
BUT IT CAN BE A CHALLENGING PROCESS CONSIDERING THAT.
AND THERE ARE, IN THIS CASE, SEVERAL INSTANCES WHEN WE HAVE SOME INACCURATE ATTENDANCE RECORD.
RIGHT NOW THERE ARE THREE CURRENT VACANCIES.
ONE OF 'EM HAS, HAS BEEN MENTIONED IS TRAVIS COUNTY.
TRAVIS COUNTY DID SEND US A NOMINEE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, HOWEVER, THAT, UM, NOMINEE HAS INDICATED ON THEIR APPLICATION THAT THEY HAVE BEEN A REGISTERED LOBBYIST WITH THE CITY, WHICH IS IN VIOLATION TO OUR CODE.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO WORK THAT OUT AND COORDINATE BETWEEN LEGAL AND COUNTY.
THERE WAS ALSO JUST A RECENT RESIGNATION.
I DO BELIEVE THAT RESIGNATION WAS, UM, SLIGHTLY OUT OF A BIT OF FRUSTRATION FOR FAILURE TO MEET, WHICH I CAN CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND, BUT WE ARE GETTING UP TO, UP TO PAR ON FILLING ALL OF THOSE SEATS.
SO THAT'S ALL THAT, YES, GO AHEAD.
WHAT DISTRICT WAS THE RESIGNATION? DISTRICT ONE.
AND, UM, WE'VE REACHED OUT TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY JUDGE'S OFFICE THIS MORNING AND, UM, JUST REMINDED THEM ABOUT FILLING THAT.
UM, I WILL SAY THAT MY RECOMMENDATION IS FOR US TO NOT TAKE ANY ACTION HERE.
UM, WE DON'T, WE DON'T NEED TO TAKE ANY ACTION THEY'RE MEETING, UM, AND CONTRIBUTING, UM, MOVING FORWARD.
I WILL, IN RESPONSE TO THE FOLKS WHO CAME SAY, THANK YOU FOR COMING, THANK YOU FOR RAISING, UM, YOUR VOICE.
AND FOR THOSE WHO COULDN'T, COULDN'T BE HERE.
IT'S ALWAYS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HEAR THAT OUR COMMISSIONS ARE MATTERING AND, AND FOR, FOR FOLKS TO HELP, YOU KNOW, UM, REMIND US OF ALL THE THINGS THAT, THE GREAT IDEAS AND, AND PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THEM.
I WILL POINT OUT THAT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER MADISON HAS AN ITEM IN WHICH I'M CO-SPONSORING AND MAYBE OTHERS ARE, UM, HAVING TO DO WITH, UM, PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FOR COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMISSIONERS, UM, THAT IS ON OUR AGENDA TOMORROW.
UM, AND COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ER HAS AN ITEM, UM, ASKING US TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THE, UM, THE COMMISSIONS IN, IN VARIOUS DIFFERENT WAYS.
SO YOUR FEEDBACK IS VERY TIMELY, AND WE ARE AWARE OF THAT.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION, I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO TWO THINGS.
[00:30:01]
TO HAVE A SLEW OF APPOINTMENTS AVAILABLE FOR COMMISSIONS ACROSS THE BOARD, WHETHER IT'S IMMIGRANT AFFAIRS, YOU CAN BE ON OTHER COMMITTEES AND HELP, UM, THE IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES AS WELL.UM, BECAUSE, UM, FIVE OF US ARE, OR I GUESS SIX POSITIONS ARE FINISHING THEIR TERM, THERE WILL BE A LOT OF OPENINGS.
UM, THREE OF US ARE, UM, LEAVING.
THERE WILL BE ALL NEW APPOINTMENTS.
UM, BUT EVEN FOR FOLKS LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, WHO'S REELECTED, HER COMMISSIONER APPOINTMENTS ALL HAVE TO BE, UM, REMADE.
SO IT'S A REALLY GOOD TIME TO GO INTO THE SYSTEM AND APPLY FOR COMMISSIONS THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN.
SECONDLY, I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO REACH OUT TO TRAVIS COUNTY IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SERVING.
IT'S ALWAYS HELPFUL TO HAVE GREAT PEOPLE, UM, WHO WANNA SERVE.
IT DOES HELP THE PROCESS GO FASTER.
UM, AND I BELIEVE THAT WOULD BE, UM, THROUGH JUDGE BROWN'S OFFICE.
I JUST HAVE SOME QUESTIONS FOR MS. HALL.
SO IN, IN LOOKING AT THE CHART AND THINKING FOR PREPARING THE CHART FOR US TO SEE, UM, THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES AND WHEN THE MEETINGS WERE ACTUALLY HELD AND WHEN WE HAD CANCELLATIONS, IS IT A, A MATTER OF, DID THE COMMITTEE, BECAUSE IT, FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE LAST TWO YEARS, THERE'S BEEN MORE THAN SEVEN APPOINTED MEMBERS TO THE COMMISSION.
SO THEREBY A QUORUM COULD HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED THROUGHOUT THESE LAST FEW YEARS.
IS IT BECAUSE OF THE MEETING DATE, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE COMMISSION MEET ON MONDAYS FIRST MONDAY OF THE MONTH? IS THAT THE ISSUE? THAT IS IT, YOU KNOW, IS IT SCHEDULING, IS WHAT I'M TRYING TO GET TO? THAT'S POSS THAT'S NOT BEEN MENTIONED TO ME AT ALL.
I DO BELIEVE THE STAFFING DEPARTMENT IS HERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THEY HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON THAT.
I, I'M NOT ENTIRELY SURE WHAT CONTRIBUTED TO THAT.
I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WAS THE MEETING DATE OR IF WE JUST HAD COMMUNICATION ISSUES ABOUT WHEN WE WERE MEETING.
UM, I WOULD PROBABLY HAVE TO DIVERT TO THE STAFFING DEPARTMENT ON THAT.
YEAH, I, I WOULD, I ENCOURAGE STAFF TO LOOK INTO IF IT'S THE NEED FOR US TO GET A DIFFERENT DATE THAT WORKS BETTER WITH THE COMMISSIONER'S SCHEDULE.
YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY AS WAS HIGHLIGHTED HERE, WE KNOW THAT THESE NEXT FEW YEARS ARE GONNA BE PARTICULARLY TOUGH ON OUR IMMIGRANT COMMUNITY, OUR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS, OUR IMMIGRANT, UH, EXPERIENCE IN AUSTIN IS AN IMPORTANT ONE.
I'M VERY CONCERNED ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY IN THESE NEXT FOUR YEARS.
AND SO I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMMISSION IS ABLE TO MEET AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE, UH, AND THAT, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE CITY IS SUPPORTING THEM IN FACILITATING A, A MEETING TIME AND DATE THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO THE MAJORITY.
UM, AND THEN ALSO TO EVERYONE THAT TESTIFIED, THANK YOU FOR, FOR BEING HERE TODAY TO SHARE YOUR COMMENTS.
UH, YOU KNOW, 15%, AS WAS MENTIONED, OF OUR COMMUNITY OF AUSTINITES ARE IMMIGRANTS.
AND SO I CERTAINLY BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE MANY OF OUR IMMIGRANT RESIDENTS WHO ARE WILLING AND INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING AS A COMMISSIONER.
AND SO I WELCOME YOUR SUPPORT AND PROVIDING THOSE NAMES AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO OUR NEW COLLEAGUES WHO WILL BE JOINING THE DAIS, UM, AND TO THE OFFICES THAT HAVE VACANCIES.
AND CERTAINLY WE WANNA ENSURE THAT WE GET REALLY ROBUST PERSPECTIVES AT THE TABLE.
UM, I WILL ADD, I THINK THAT, JUST LOOKING AT THE CHART, FOR MOST OF THE TIME THEY ONLY HAD SEVEN PEOPLE.
I, I THINK YOU, ME AND, AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN AL ALTER WERE THE ONLY ONES WHO HAD PEOPLE ALL YEAR.
UM, EVERY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBER HAD AT LEAST A COUPLE MEETINGS WHERE THEIR APPOINTEE HAD A VACANCY AND TRAVIS COUNTY HAD A VACANCY, IF I'M READING THE CHART CORRECTLY.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE A FUNCTION OF THE APPOINTMENTS NOT HAVING, UM, BEEN MADE IN A TIMELY MANNER.
AND, AND I THINK THE, WE MIGHT NEED THE, UM, THE CLERK TO BE PROVIDING YOU HAVE, WE HAVE BEEN DOING MORE OF IT SINCE WE HAD A FEW NOTICES.
UM, BUT REALLY MAKING SURE THAT COUNCIL OFFICES KNOW WHETHER THEY'RE NEW AND HAVE TO REAPPOINT OR WHETHER, UM, THEY ARE, UM, CONTINUING.
I THINK THAT ADDITIONAL NOTICE WOULD BE GREAT.
AND THEN FOR THOSE WHO ARE HERE, HONESTLY, ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO COMING OUT OF THIS CONVERSATION TODAY IS GO ONLINE WITH THE CITY CLERK AND PUT YOUR NAME IN THE HOPPER AND INDICATE THAT YOU ARE INTERESTED IN SERVING ON THIS COMMISSION.
'CAUSE WE WOULDN'T KNOW UNLESS YOU RAISED YOUR HAND THROUGH AN APPLICATION OR CONTACTED A COUNCIL MEMBER TO SAY THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED.
THAT IS, THAT, THAT'S THE INCOMING INFORMATION THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL.
SO YOU CAN FILL OUT THE APPLICATION, IT'S PRETTY SHORT, INDICATE WHICH DIFFERENT COMMISSIONS, AND YOU CAN SEE HOW MANY THERE ARE.
THERE ARE A LOT, AND THERE MAY BE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN.
BUT I WOULD URGE YOU ALL WHO ARE HERE TODAY AND ARE CONCERNED ABOUT THIS TO CONSIDER WHETHER YOU WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOURSELF FOR THIS VOLUNTEER PUBLIC SERVICE.
[00:35:01]
WE GET THE GOOD INPUT, IS FROM FOLKS LIKE YOU IN THE COMMUNITY.PLEASE TAKE THE FIRST STEP YOURSELF VOLUNTARILY TO SIGN UP AND PUT IN YOUR APPLICATION SO THAT YOU ARE NOTIFYING FOLKS ON THE DA OF YOUR WILLINGNESS AND INTEREST.
BECAUSE WE, OTHERWISE, THAT'S A REALLY PERFECT WAY FOR US TO KNOW.
WE GO IN THERE, WE SEE WHO HAS APPLIED.
WE DON'T ONLY RELY ON PEOPLE THAT WE ALREADY KNOW, OR NETWORKS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE.
SOMETIMES WE WANT TO THROW AND NEED TO THROW THE NET OUT FURTHER TO BE MORE INCLUSIVE AND GET, UH, INPUT FROM MORE RESPONSIVE FOLKS.
AND, UM, IF YOU ALSO SIMILARLY, YOU KNOW, KNOW PEOPLE WHO, UM, MAY HAVE CHALLENGES NAVIGATING THE SYSTEM, IF YOU CAN INVITE THEM TO BE ENGAGED AND, AND HELP US GET THE WORD OUT INTO SPACES THAT MAYBE WE'RE NOT GETTING THAT OUT TO RIGHT NOW, THAT IS ALSO HELPFUL.
SO, UM, WE WILL NOT BE TAKING ANY ACTION ON ITEM TWO.
WE HAVE BEEN NOTICED, UM, ITEM
[3. Consideration of notice that the College Student Commission has not met for more than six months, and approval of a recommendation to the City Council on whether to dissolve the commission. ]
THREE IS CONSIDERATION OF NOTICE THAT THE COLLEGE STUDENT COMMISSION HAS NOT MET FOR MORE THAN SIX MONTHS, AN APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON WHETHER TO DISSOLVE THE COMMISSION.SIMILARLY, WE BRING THIS TO YOU AS A RESULT OF THE REQUIREMENT IN CODE.
UH, THE COLLEGE STUDENT COMMISSION IS A LITTLE BIT UNIQUE.
THEIR CHALLENGE IS A LITTLE BIT, UM, I THINK MORE CLEAR THAT IT'S A, A VACANCY ISSUE.
THE, THEY HAVE STRUGGLED TO MAKE QUORUM AS WELL FOR THE LAST PAST TWO YEARS.
THEY HAVEN'T CONVENED BETWEEN FEBRUARY AND DECEMBER.
ALL OF THIS YEAR THEY HAVE 15 SEATS.
UM, EIGHT OF THOSE SEATS ARE REQUIRED TO MAKE QUORUM FOR THEM.
SO THAT IT IS QUITE A CHALLENGE.
AND THEN I THINK ONE OF THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE UNIQUENESS HERE IS THAT THERE ARE FIVE AREA EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT THOSE NOMINATIONS.
AND I THINK IT MIGHT BE CHALLENGING FOR THOSE INSTITUTIONS, BUT IT'S ALSO, THERE'S A TIMING ISSUE WHEN WE GET THEM.
AND WE DO RELY ON THOSE INSTITUTIONS TO SEND US THE NOMINATIONS BEFORE WE CAN GET THE PROCESS THROUGH.
WE'VE JUST NOTICED JUST KIND OF AS CASUAL OBSERVANCE OF FLUCTUATION THROUGHOUT THE SCHOOL YEAR OF PARTICIPATION.
UM, AND I, I DO THINK THERE'S ALSO BEEN, UH, SOME STAFFING SWITCHES WITH, UH, THE, THE STAFFING OF THE COMMISSION THAT MAY PRESENT SOME CHALLENGES.
UH, EUGENE IS HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS.
SHE'S THE EXECUTIVE LIAISON FOR THE COMMISSION.
IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIFIC THINGS.
IS THIS, UM, COMMISSION, ONE THING THAT CAME TO LIGHT AT OUR PREVIOUS AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WITH THE COMMISSION IS THAT THEY'RE NOT ALL REQUIRED TO MEET MONTHLY.
I THINK THE REQUIREMENT IS THAT THEY MEET QUARTERLY, IS THAT RIGHT? THE REQUIREMENT IN CODE IS FOR THEM TO MEET QUARTERLY.
A LOT OF THEM HAVE ADOPTED BYLAWS THAT SAY MONTHLY.
I'D HAVE TO DOUBLE CHECK ON THIS ONE.
I DID NOT CHECK ON THAT BEFORE THE MEETING.
THAT MIGHT BE SOMETHING WE CONSIDER WITH THIS PARTICULAR COMMISSION.
AND I, I CAN'T REMEMBER, COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER WHAT YOUR, UM, RECOMMENDATION WAS FOR THIS PARTICULAR COMMISSION ON YOUR ITEM.
BUT I WOULD ENCOURAGE THE THIS COMMISSION TO EITHER UPDATE THEIR BYLAWS, REVISIT IT, AND PERHAPS ONLY DO A QUARTERLY MEETING.
JUST KNOWING THE FLUCTUATION AMONG STUDENTS AND THEIR EXPERIENCE AT THESE UNIVERSITIES, UM, WOULD BE MY RECOMMENDATION.
AND I'D ADD TO THAT EVEN AND SAY, LOOK AT THE, THE ACADEMIC CALENDAR AND, AND DON'T PLAN TO MEET IN THE SUMMER, FOR EXAMPLE MM-HMM
BUT I, I LEAVE IT TO THE GOOD OFFICES OF THE FOLKS HERE TO END WITH THE COMMISSION TO KIND OF, OF FIGURE THAT OUT.
I, I EXPECT WITH THAT EXTRA SCRUTINY, THEY'LL DO THAT.
EUGENE, UM, AND THE CLERK'S OFFICE TOGETHER, WORK WITH, UM, THE SUPPORTING INSTITUTIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS ARE APPOINTED, UM, AND TO FIGURE OUT A CADENCE THAT WORKS WITH THE STUDENTS' SCHEDULES.
AND IF THEY HAVEN'T MET AND SUCCEEDED IN THAT WITHIN THE NEXT SIX MONTHS, COME BACK AND, AND AT THAT POINT, UM, WE CAN MAKE A RECOMMENDATION.
EUGENE DOES THAT WORK? I JUST WANTED TO ADDRESS YOU ALL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH AND THANK YOU FOR OUR TWO AWESOME CITY MANAGERS THAT ARE GOING ON TO DO BIGGER AND BETTER THINGS FOR THE CITY.
BUT DID THIS COMMISSION AS, UM, OUR CLERK HAS SHARED.
WE HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR SEVEN YEARS AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD THIS AS AN ISSUE.
AND ONE OF THE REASONS IS STAFFING.
SECONDLY, THIS WAS SET UP TO WORK WITH THE SCHOOLS TO GET STUDENTS, UM, TO SIGN UP AND THEY MEET WITH THE STUDENTS AND INTERVIEW STUDENTS BEFORE THEY THEN FORWARD THEM ON TO APPLY ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE.
[00:40:01]
WE DID HAVE OUR MEETING, WE'VE HAD FOUR, BUT THE COMMISSION REALLY WANTS TO MEET MONTHLY.SO I LEAN TOWARDS HOW THEY WANNA OPERATE, BUT BECAUSE WE HAD SO MANY SENIORS THIS YEAR, IT HAS REALLY IMPACTED US.
SO WE ARE LEARNING THESE LESSONS AS WE GO.
AND WE MET THIS PAST FRIDAY, THE DAY THAT THE COMMISSIONERS HAVE SELECTED, THEY'D LIKE TO MEET ON FRIDAY AFTERNOONS.
BUT, UM, WE'RE, WE ARE BACK ON THE MEND AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
UM, SO IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE IT UNDER CONTROL, THEN WE WILL MOVE ON TO THE NEXT.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, UH, COUNCILWOMAN FUENTES, WE DID CONFIRM THE BYLAWS THEY DO RIGHT NOW, THEY CURRENTLY ARE TO MEET MONTHLY IN THEIR BYLAWS.
BUT EVEN ANY OF THE COMMISSIONS THAT MEET MONTHLY CAN JUST NOT MEET.
RIGHT? THEY CAN CANCEL A MEETING OR THEY CAN CANCEL, BUT A CANCELLATION COUNCIL CANCEL, THEY COULD CANCEL A MEETING.
IT WOULD ONLY BE AN ISSUE IF THEY DID A SIX MONTH CHUNK, THEN WE WOULD HAVE TO DO A NOTICE, BUT THERE'S NO REPERCUSSIONS IF THEY CANCEL MEETING NECESSARILY.
[4. Proposed bylaw amendments for the Resource Management Commission. ]
TO ITEM NUMBER FOUR, PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS FOR THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION.I'M GONNA INVITE, UM, DIANA THOMAS, UM, TO SPEAK AND CHAIR ALTER.
UH, I BELIEVE PAUL ROBBINS WANTED TO SPEAK.
I I UNDERSTAND THAT I'M GONNA, I THINK, I BELIEVE THEY'RE IN AGREEMENT.
SO I'M GONNA LET, I WAS GONNA LET DIANA PRESENT WHAT THEY'RE DOING AND THEN HAVE MR. ROBBINS SPEAK IF THAT'S, IF THAT'S OKAY.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS, DIANA THOMAS, UH, DEPUTY CFO FOR THE CITY.
UH, THIS ITEM IS RELATED TO THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION BYLAWS.
IN JULY, THEY CAME BEFORE THIS COMMITTEE TO PROPOSE SOME CHANGES THAT STAFF WAS NOT IN SUPPORT OF, AND WE POSTPONE THAT ITEM UNTIL THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION AND STAFF COULD MEET AND DISCUSS IT, UH, AND COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO RECOGNIZE THAT, UM, IT TOOK LONGER THAN EVERYONE WANTED AND I APPRECIATE EVERYONE'S PATIENCE.
BUT STAFF WAS ABLE TO MEET WITH THE RMC AND WE WERE ABLE TO COME UP WITH ALTERNATIVE LANGUAGE, WHICH THEY ADOPTED AT THEIR LAST MEETING, WHICH IS INCLUDED IN YOUR BACKUP.
UH, AND STAFF IS SUPPORTIVE OF THAT CHANGE.
DO YOU WANNA JUST, I DUNNO WHO, WHO NORMALLY READS THE LANGUAGE, JUST THE MAIN CHANGE? SURE.
UM, THE NEW, THE NEW RECOMMENDATION SAYS UNDER D REVIEW AND ANALYZE, UH, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NATURAL GAS UTILITY RATE MAKING, FRANCHISE AGREEMENT PRIORITIES AND OPERATIONAL POLICIES FOR WHICH THE CITY HAS REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
AND THEN UNDER E ADVISE THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE NATURAL GAS UTILITY RATE MAKING, FRANCHISE AGREEMENT PRIORITIES AND OPERATIONAL POLICIES FOR WHICH THE CITY HAS REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
UM, MR. ROBBINS, OR DID MS. HALL, DID YOU NEED TO SPEAK ON IT? OH, MR. ROBBINS, YOU CAN SPEAK FOR THREE MINUTES IF YOU'D LIKE.
UH, COUNSEL, UH, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THERE WAS A RATE CASE, UH, THAT WAS JUST SETTLED.
UH, BETWEEN 2019 AND 2025, WHEN THE RATE CASE BEGINS, THERE WILL HAVE BEEN A 95% INCREASE IN RESIDENTIAL RATES, UH, DUE TO THIS, UH, UH, RATE PROBLEM AS WELL AS, UH, LACK OF, UH, LOW INCOME ASSISTANCE, NO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN FOR CLIMATE CHANGE.
UH, OUR COMMISSION IS ASKING COUNSEL, UH, TO LET US ADVISE YOU TO STUDY THESE ISSUES AND LET YOU ADVISE.
LET US ADVISE YOU, UH, OUR COMMISSION APPROVED THIS LANGUAGE, UM, FROM ALL MEMBERS THAT ATTENDED THE LAST MEETING.
UM, I HOPE THAT YOU WILL APPROVE THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND EXPAND OUR COMMISSION'S PURVIEW.
UM, MR. ROBBINS, I APPRECIATE YOUR PERSISTENCE ON THIS ISSUE.
UM, FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO, WELL, YOU MIGHT BE, YOU MIGHT BE THE FIRST, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER THAT WAS EVER APPRECIATED, APPRECIATIVE THAT I NAGGED THEM
UM, WELL, I AM TRULY APPRECIATIVE, PAUL.
UM, AND FOR MY COLLEAGUES WHO WILL BE VOTING
[00:45:01]
ON THIS, IT WILL COME TO US IN JANUARY AS A RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMITTEE.UM, SO YOU MAY NEED TO SPEAK TO IT AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
UM, THIS IS PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE WE ARE GOING TO BE REVIEWING THE FRANCHISE, UM, IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
AND SO WOULD BENEFIT FROM HAVING THE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT COMMISSION BE ABLE TO HAVE CERTAIN CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR STAFF OVER WHAT WE WOULD WANNA SEE, UM, IN THAT NEW AGREEMENT.
AND I THINK THIS ALLOWS FOR THOSE CONVERSATIONS, UM, TO HAPPEN IN AN APPROPRIATE WAY.
AND HOPEFULLY THE CONVERSATIONS, UM, WILL BEGIN SHORTLY ON, ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
SO I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO MOVE APPROVAL OF THESE, UM, REVISIONS MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN ALTER, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER VANESSA FUENTES.
SEEING NO OBJECTIONS, THOSE WILL BE ADOPTED UNANIMOUSLY.
AND, AND, UM, THANK YOU TO OUR STAFF, UM, AS WELL AS THE COMMISSION MEMBERS FOR, FOR WORKING OUT A COMPROMISE HERE THAT ADDRESSES EVERYONE'S CONCERNS.
[5. City Attorney's Annual Report regarding enforcement of Lobbyist Regulations, Chapter 4-8 of the City Code. ]
WILL BE ITEM FIVE, UM, CITY ATTORNEY'S ANNUAL REPORT REGARDING ENFORCEMENT OF LOBBYIST REGULATIONS.SO WE HAVE AN ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY.
I'M AN ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT'S OPEN GOVERNMENT AND ETHICS DIVISION UNDER SECTION 4 8 12 OF THE AUSTIN CITY CODE.
THE LAW DEPARTMENT IS PROVIDING THIS REPORT, IT'S RELATED TO COMPLIANCE AND ENFORCEMENT OF CHAPTER FOUR EIGHT OF THE CITY CODE, WHICH DEALS WITH THE REGULATION OF CITY LOBBYISTS.
YOU MAY RECALL THAT THE LAST, UH, REPORT THAT WE MADE, THE LAST ANNUAL REPORT THAT IS, UH, WAS MADE BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2023.
SINCE THEN, QUARTERLY WRITTEN REPORTS HAVE BEEN, UH, PROVIDED AND ARE INCLUDED AS BACKUP TO ITEM FIVE.
THIS ANNUAL REPORT WILL COVER THE PERIOD OF, UM, THE CALENDAR YEAR 2024.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE REPORT, UH, ONE REFERRAL WAS SENT TO THE CITY CLERK OR BY THE CITY CLERK, RATHER TO THE ETHICS REVIEW COMMISSION, UH, AND THE INTERIM CITY ATTORNEY, IT WAS A NOTICE OF LOBBYIST VIOLATION THAT WAS SENT ON OCTOBER 31ST FOR FAILURE TO FILE THE JULY, 2024 QUARTERLY ACTIVITY REPORT, WHICH IS A REQUIREMENT, UH, UNDER CHAPTER 4 8 6 OF THE CITY CODE.
SO AS TO ITS CURRENT STATUS, THE MATTER IS WITH THE ERC, THEY WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE ACTION THROUGH ITS COMPLAINT PROCESS AND BASED ON THEIR FILINGS DURING A, UH, THEIR FINDINGS DURING A PRELIMINARY HEARING, THE ERC CAN THEN REFER THE MATTER TO THE LAW DEPARTMENT FOR PROSECUTION.
UH, WE'LL PROVIDE FURTHER UPDATES AS THIS MATTER PROGRESSES IN OUR FUTURE QUARTERLY REPORTS TO YOU.
UH, BUT REALLY ASIDE FROM THIS MATTER, THERE ARE NO OTHER ITEMS TO REPORT ON AT THIS TIME, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, COLLEAGUES.
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS? UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, I KNOW YOU WORKED ON THE LOBBYIST STUFF.
DID YOU WANNA ADD ANYTHING? NOPE.
[6. Briefing on historical drivers of overtime costs in the Austin Fire Department. ]
WILL NOW TAKE UP ITEM SIX.UM, THE BRIEFING ON THE HISTORICAL DRIVERS OF OVERTIME COSTS IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
UM, THIS IS A REPORT THAT WAS REQUIRED BY A RESOLUTION THAT I ADDED TO THE BUDGET, UM, WHICH WAS ASKING, UM, A FD TO ASKING THE CITY MANAGER TO REALLY LOOK INTO OVERTIME AT A FD, UM, GENERALLY, AND THEN SPECIFICALLY TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER WE NEEDED TO ADD MORE, UH, FIREFIGHTERS IN ORDER TO ADDRESS, UM, THE CHALLENGE.
UM, SO CHIEF BAKER, GOOD MORNING, MADAM CHAIR, MY MADAM VICE CHAIR, MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE.
I SIMPLY BRING YOU GREETINGS ON BEHALF OF ALL OF THE HEROIC, BRAVE WOMEN AND MEN OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT BY SIMPLY SAYING GOOD MORNING.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE SOME HISTORICAL DATA ON DRIVERS OF OUR OVERTIME COSTS.
I LIKE TO BELIEVE THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ONE OF THE DEPARTMENT THAT REPRESENT THE FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE FOR HUMAN CAUSE OR NATURAL DISASTER IN THE CITY.
I DON'T KNOW OF ANY CAUSE THAT WOULD TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY ON EMERGENCY BASIS WHERE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT
[00:50:01]
DO NOT RESPOND TO.AND I SAY THAT BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO OUR OVERTIME EXPENDITURES, WE HAVE SEVERAL UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS.
THOSE EVENTS OR WEATHER RELATED, WHETHER IT BE ICE OR SNOW STORMS, WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS, SHELTERING, DISTRIBUTING BOTTLE OF WATERS DURING THE EVENTS OF BAD WEATHERS OR WHEN THE WATER SITUATION'S WORSE IN THE CITY, AS WELL AS ASSISTING WITH THE IMMUNIZATION OF OUR CITY DURING THE COVID PANDEMIC HERE IN AUSTIN.
VACANCIES ALSO HAVE CHALLENGES WITH US BETWEEN OUR HIRING PROCESS FOR RECRUIT CLASS, UH, AND WHAT I MEAN BY THAT, WE ALSO HAVE A SPIKE IN RETIREMENT HERE IN AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND A NUMBER OF MEMBERS WHO HAVE DECIDED, OR THEIR OWN FREE WILL IN THE CORPS TO SEPARATE FROM THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND PURSUIT OTHER CAREERS, AS WELL AS HAVING ADDITIONAL FIRE STATION ADDED TO THE DEPARTMENT, WHICH HAS INCREASED OUR STAFFING.
BUT WE NEED OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE HIRING PROCESS FOR THOSE NEW FTES, UH, TO STAFF THOSE FIRE STATION.
WE ALSO HAVE SEEN CHALLENGES IN THE GAPS IN CADET GRADUATION.
IN OTHER WORDS, WE MAY START A RECRUIT CLASS WITH 48 CADETS, BUT ONLY GRADUATE 40 DUE TO THE RIGOROUS TRAINING OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
IF WE LOOK AT THE DATA, ALSO WE KNOW THAT HERE IN AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT AND WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR THE FOUR IN FOUR STAFFING MODEL THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS, WHICH REALLY REPRESENT 278 POSITION OVER A THREE SHIFT FOR A TOTAL OF 834 POSITION.
OR IN OTHER WORDS, WE HAVE 1096 FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES TO COVER THOSE 830 TO FOUR POSITIONS.
BUT WE HAVE AN AVERAGE OF THIS FISCAL YEAR OF APPROXIMATELY 50 VACANCIES, WHICH IS NOT BAD.
WHEN I TALK TO MY COLLEAGUES ACROSS THE STATE OR ACROSS THE COUNTRY ABOUT VACANCY IN THE FIRE SERVICE.
UH, WE DOING PRETTY WELL WITH 50, BUT THEY GIVE US A STAFFING RATIO OF ABOUT 1.25 FTE, UH, FOR AIR POSITION.
THE ALSO LOOK, IF WE LOOK AT THE BACKFIELDER OR THE MANDATORY STAFFING OF OUR MEMBERS, THE CHALLENGE WOULD HAVE THAT WE HAD TO GO THROUGH AND ASK FOR VOLUNTARY, UH, MEMBERS TO SIGN UP FOR ADDED TIME.
AND WITH THAT IS NOT WORKING, WE GO TO A MANDATORY ADDED TIME LIST WHERE WE CALL THE MEMBERS WHERE THEY'RE AT HOME OR THE STATION, TELL THEM THAT YOU SHALL COME INTO WORK TODAY TO WORK OVERTIME.
NOW THE LAST OPTION IS, UH, WE HOLD OVER FIREFIGHTERS WHILE THEY STILL ON SHIFT, WHICH MEANS THEY WORK 40, 48 HOURS INSTEAD OF 24 HOURS.
THIS DATA HERE, OR THIS SLIDE HERE DEMONSTRATES OR SHOWS THE VACANT POSITION AND THE TYPE OF LEAVE THAT DRIVE OUR OVERTIME.
IN ADDITION TO THE UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS THAT I TALKED ABOUT ON SLIDE ONE, THIS SLIDE ALSO SHOW ROUTINE FACTORS THAT REQUIRE BACKFILLS, UH, RELATED TO LEAVE AND VACANCIES, AS WELL AS SHOWING THE NUMBERS OF HOURS OF USED DURING, UM, THE FISCAL YEAR TOGETHER.
HOURS SPENT ON UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS AND BACKFILLS ARE DRIVING THE NEEDS FOR OVERTIME YEAR BY YEAR.
I'M GONNA START OFF WITH FISCAL YEAR 19 AND 20.
IF YOU LOOK AT THAT RED BAR IN THAT FIRST BAR CHART THERE, YOU WILL SEE THAT THE NUMBER OF VACANT POSITION WAS HIGH BECAUSE CADET CLASSES WAS SMALLER AND GRADUATION WAS DELAYED.
UH, THE GREEN AREA SHOWED THE USE OF VACATION AND EXCEPTION OF VACATION LEAVE, ALTHOUGH A LITTLE DOWN BECAUSE THE CITY AT THE TIME IN THE STATE AND THE NATION WE WAS ON COVID LOCKDOWN MEMBER WASN'T USING MUCH VACATION DUE TO COVID.
BUT THE YELLOW BAR SHOWS THE WORK COMP USE OR INJURIES ON THE, ON THE JOB.
DURING THAT PARTICULAR YEAR, WE HAD LESS TESTING.
WE WAS TRYING TO REALLY FIGURE OUT WHAT THE STEPS WE WAS GOING TO DO.
AND WE TREATED EVERY COVID RELATED ILLNESS AS A WORKUM CLAIM, UH, BECAUSE WE KNOW OUR MEMBERS WAS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY RESPONDING ON CALLS AND THEY HAD A HIGH RISK OF CONTRACTED COVID AS WELL AS MEMBERS.
WHEN THEY FAMILY HAVE COVID, THEY STAYED AT HOME TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR FAMILY AND TRY TO REDUCE EXPOSURE NOT ONLY TO THEMSELVES, BUT TO MEMBERS IN THE STATION.
WITH THAT SLIDE DOES NOT SHOW THE
[00:55:01]
INJURIES IN 2018 WAS ONLY AT 2.8% AND THE INJURIES IN 2019 WAS ON THE 5%, WHICH IS BEFORE THE COVID TIME.IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN A RISING COVID HAPPENED, OUR INJURIES OR ILLNESS WENT UP IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
ALSO, IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP IN MIND THAT ONCE A MEMBER IN FISCAL YEAR 2019 AND 2020 RECEIVED COVID, THEY HAD TO STAY OFF AN ADDITIONAL TWO WEEKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE IMS WAS COMPLETELY REMOVED FROM THEM AND TO MINIMIZE AND LIMIT, UH, EXPOSURE TO OTHER FIREFIGHTERS AND TO THE COMMUNITY AS WELL.
LOOKING AT SLIDE, UH, THE BAR FOR 20 FISCAL YEAR 20 AND 2021, WE HAD A WINTER STORM URI THAT'S INCREASED IN SNOW AREAS IN FEBRUARY AS WELL AS SIGN SIGNIFICANT SURGE IN FIREFIGHTER COVID CASE.
WE ACTUALLY THOUGHT THAT COVID WAS ON A DOWN SLOPE IN FISCAL YEAR 20 20, 20 21, BUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT EXPERIENCED AN UPTICK IN COVID RELATED ILLNESS IN FISCAL YEAR 2021 AND 2022.
ANOTHER SHORT ICE EVENT TOOK PLACE IN FEBRUARY AS WELL AS SUMMER HEAT.
THE SUMMER HEAT AND LIMITED RAIN OR NO RAIN LED TO A UPSTAFFING AND WILDFIRE PREPAREDNESS.
IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN WE NOTICED THAT THERE WAS A UPTICK, UH, IN HEAT RELATED, UH, WEATHER EVENTS AS WELL AS LIMITED TO NO A LITTLE RAIN, WE STAFF OUR WILDFIRE UNIT UP IN PREPARATION OF A WILDFIRE OCCURRING THAT MAY HAVE TOOK PLACE.
BUT FORTUNATELY FOR US DID NOT TAKE PLACE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN LIMITS.
HOWEVER, WE HAD WILDFIRE DEPLOYMENT AND OTHER JURISDICTION AND AROUND THE STATE TO SUPPORT THE WILDFIRE EFFORT.
I WANNA NOTE THAT OUR OVERTIME FOR DEPLOYMENT IS, WAS REIMBURSED.
REIMBURSED IN FULL, BUT THERE'S A DELAY OR WAS A DELAY TO THE FOLLOWING FISCAL YEAR TO GET FULL REIMBURSEMENT FOR DEPLOYMENT, WHICH CAUSED US TO HAVE ADDITIONAL OVERTIME COSTS AS WELL AS THE GREEN WOULD SHOW AN UPTICK IN SUMMER VACATION USE.
'CAUSE ONCE THE COVID VACCINE AND OTHER COVID RELATED ILLNESS WENT DOWN, OUR MEMBERS DECIDED TO TAKE VACATION AND WE ENCOURAGED THEM TO TAKE VACATION.
THE VACATION THEY WAS NOT USING IN THE, UH, PREVIOUS FISCAL YEAR, BUT THEY NEEDED TIME OFF FROM WORK AND THEY TOOK THE VACATION AS WELL AT WORKMAN COMP.
UH, WE THOUGHT THAT THE INJURIES WAS GOING TO DECREASE, BUT WE KNOW IT WAS AN IN AN UPTICK IN INJURIES, UH, IN THE FIVE SERVICE.
SO WE ACTUALLY THOUGHT INJURIES WAS GONNA BE DOWN, BUT THERE WAS ACTUALLY AN INCREASE IN INJURIES, WHETHER IT WAS ON THE JOB OR OFF THE JOB.
FISCAL YEAR 2022 TO 2023, WE WERE HIT WITH ANOTHER WINTER STORM.
WINTER STORM MAORI, THE AND WAS MORE ICE RELATED.
AND WE ALSO HAD ANOTHER YEAR OF WRECK BREAKING HEAT AGAIN TO CAUSE THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO BE PREPARED FOR DEPLOYMENT AROUND THE STATE AS WELL AS FOR DEPLOYMENT HERE IN, IN THE CITY LIMITS WOULD CAUSE US TO HAVE AN UPTICK IN STAFFING TO BE PREPARED FOR THOSE WILD FIRE RELATED, UH, ISSUES.
DURING THAT SAME FISCAL YEAR, THE CITY OF AUSTIN AUDIT, THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME CHALLENGES.
I'M GONNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT LATER.
UH, BUT I WANTED JUST BRING OUT THAT WE HAD AN AUDIT OF OUR OVERTIME, UH, TO, TO DO A COMPARISON AND CONTRAST TO WHAT WE DOING ON OR NOT DOING RELATED TO OVERTIME.
UH, UH, I TALKED ABOUT THE, THE INCREASE IN INJURIES IN FISCAL YEAR 20 21, 20 22, BUT INJURIES CONTINUED TO RISE IN FISCAL YEAR 2022 AND 2023 ON AND OFF DUTY INJURY.
UH, I DO NOT BELIEVE THEY WAS NECESSARY RELATED TO COVID, BUT WE HAD INJURIES ALSO.
UH, IN THAT, IN THAT FISCAL YEAR OF 2022 AND 2023, WE HAD PARENTAL PAID LEAVE AND MEMBERS USED THAT LEAVE, WHICH CAUSE, UH, USE IN OVERTIME AS WELL.
THESE ARE SOME FACTORS INVOLVED DEALING OVERTIME.
NOW I REALIZE THAT INJURIES IN THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT IS ONE OF THE CAUSES FOR OVERTIME.
WE'RE WORKING HARD, UH, ON REDUCING INJURIES.
I'M TALKING ABOUT THAT ON THIS SLIDE HERE.
SO LEMME ADD THAT, UM, MEASURES TO REDUCE OUR OVERTIME.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY OF AUSTIN OVERTIME AUDIT THAT.
I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE SEEN, I JUST WANNA READ SOMETHING REAL QUICK ABOUT WHAT THIS AUDIT SAID ABOUT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME.
ON THE FIRST PAGE, IT SAID THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT OVERTIME
[01:00:01]
DECISIONS REFLECT PRACTICES TO REDUCE OVERTIME COSTS IDENTIFIED IN OTHER AUDITS OF FIREFIGHTERS OVERTIME.IN OTHER WORDS, AS I INTERPRET THIS, IT'S SAYING THAT WHAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS DONE TO REDUCE OVERTIME, IT'S IN CORRELATION WITH CITIES AROUND THE STATE OR THE COUNTRY.
IT ALSO STATES THAT ON PAGE NINE, THAT AS A RESULT, THE ONLY TYPE OF LEAVE THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT CAN REASONABLY INFLUENCE IS SICK LEAVE AND ACCIDENTS.
WHAT DID THAT MEAN? THAT MEAN THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT WAYS TO, UH, ENHANCE OUR SICK LEAVE POLICY AS RELATES TO MEMBERS TAKING SICK LEAVE.
IN OTHER WORDS, IF WE SHOW A PATTERN OF MEMBERS USING SICK LEAVE EVERY SATURDAY, THEN WE'RE GONNA NOTIFY THAT MEMBER TO CHANGE THAT BEHAVIOR.
UH, WE SHOW A PARADIGM OF MEMBER USING IN SICK LEAVE BEFORE AND AFTER HOLIDAYS, WE GONNA NOTIFY THAT MEMBER TO CHANGE THEIR BEHAVIOR AND THOSE JUST THE FIRST START OF REVISING OUR SICK LEAVE USED POLICY.
UH, SO THAT'S AN ONGOING ANALYSIS OF BACKFILL.
WE LOOKING DEEPER INTO PRIOR TO THE UKG THAT THE CITY IMPLEMENTED, WE USED TO HIRE BASED ON THE LOWEST PAY.
NOW WE HIRE BASED ON THE LOWEST HOURS, THE FIREFIGHTER WITH THE LOWEST HOURS MAY NOT BE THE FIREFIGHTER WITH THE LOWEST PAY.
NOW, THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD FOR SAFETY, BUT IT IS NOT NECESSARILY GOOD FOR SAVING MONEY.
BUT SAFETY COME FIRST OVER MONEY.
LET ME ADD THAT WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO REVIEW THE USE OF SEAT LEAVE POLICY, WHICH I SAID EARLIER, AND WE HAVE TAKEN STEPS DEALING WITH OUR DEPLOYMENT IN OTHER JURISDICTION.
IN OTHER WORDS, I NOTIFIED THE STATE THAT THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT WILL NO LONGER DEPLOY OUR MEMBER IF IT TAKE UP TO ONE YEAR TO GET REIMBURSED.
SO DURING THE FOURTH QUARTER OF FISCAL YEAR 24, WE STOPPED ALL DEPLOYMENT.
WE START RECEIVING OUR REIMBURSEMENT WITHIN 90 DAYS OF DEPLOYMENT.
SO NOW WE ARE BACK DEPLOYING OUR MEMBERS TO SUPPORT THE MISSION OF THE STATE WORKMAN COMP CASES ALONG WITH RATE REBOUND GO HAND IN HAND.
WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THE HR DEPARTMENT AND THE WORKMAN COMP DEPARTMENT TO FIND OUT WHAT CAN WE DO WHEN THOSE MEN MEMBERS ARE OFF ON INJURY TO GET THEM TO TURN, RETURN BACK TO WORK IN A MOST SAFE AND EFFICIENT MANNER.
WE HAVE SOME CHALLENGES TO OUR CADET HIRING PROCESS.
SO WHAT WE DECIDE TO DO WHEN WE GIVE A WRITTEN EXAM, WE GIVE THE OR EXAM OR AUTO EXAM ON THE SAME DAY TO, TO MINIMIZE THE TIME IT TAKES TO HIRE SOMEONE.
WE HAVE EVEN GONE AS FAR AS TO REASSIGN SOME OF OUR FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES FROM A STAFF ASSIGNMENT BACK INTO OPERATION.
'CAUSE OPERATION IS OUR BIGGEST DRIVE FOR OVERTIME USE.
I'M GONNA CLOSE BY SAYING THAT THE MISSION OF THE FIVE SERVICE OR THE PARADIGMS KEEP SHIPPING THE FIVE SERVICE.
WE STARTED OFF AS, UH, JUST FIGHTING FIRES AND GETTING CATS OUTTA THE TREES.
WE ARE INVOLVED IN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE, TRENCH RESCUE, THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, SPECIAL OPERATION, HOMELAND SECURITY, AND PANDEMICS.
WE DON'T KNOW WHAT'S THE WAITING FOR US AROUND THE CORNER, BUT I STAND HERE TO SHARE WITH YOU AND ENCOURAGE YOU THAT WHENEVER THE NEXT DISASTER HAPPEN, WHATEVER IT MAY BE, HUMAN CALLS ARE NATURAL CALLS.
THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT STANDS AT THE READY AND WE ARE READY TO RESPOND.
AND I'M GONNA STAND HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
I THINK BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, I'M GONNA GIVE, UM, BOB NICKS, WHO HEADS UP OUR FIRE ASSOCIATION A FEW MINUTES TO SPEAK TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU CAN KEEP IT TO THE THREE MINUTES OF PUBLIC SPEAKERS, THAT'D BE APPRECIATED.
AND THEN WE CAN ASK YOU QUESTIONS.
IF THERE'S YES, MA'AM THAT WE NEED TO ASK FROM YOU, WE'LL START TALKING THAT COME UP THEN SAVE TIME.
I WANNA START BY THANKING YOU, ALLISON, AND YOU, LESLIE, FOR YOUR SERVICE OVER THE YEARS.
YOU'VE REALLY PROVED THAT, UH, THE TEN ONE SYSTEM DOES WORK AND, UH, YOU GUYS ARE GREAT EXAMPLES OF THAT.
YOU'VE BEEN GREAT FI UH, FRIENDS OF FIREFIGHTERS AND PUBLIC SAFETY AND, AND GREAT FOR THE COMMUNITY.
SO THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AND DON'T INCLUDE ANY OF THAT IN MY THREE MINUTES.
UM, I WANTED TO START OUT BY SAYING THERE'S SOME REAL POSITIVE THINGS GOING ON.
IF YOU COULD PUT UP THE PRESENTATION AGAIN, PLEASE.
ON PAGE THREE, IF YOU INCLUDE THE COVER PAGE, THERE'S A BIG CATEGORY, YELLOW ON INJURY TIME.
AND I JUST WANNA REALLY THANK SUSAN SIGNS.
AND THIS IS, UH, AND, AND REALLY LAB LABOR AND MANAGEMENT, POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. WE'VE GOTTEN TOGETHER.
WE FIGURED OUT SOME WAYS, UH, TO NAVIGATE WORKERS' COMP A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
[01:05:01]
YET.WE IN IN FIRE DEPARTMENT, WE'VE REDUCED OUR, OUR INJURIES FROM 70, UH, OUR LOST, LOST TIME INJURY DOWN TO ABOUT 30.
THIS HAPPENED OVER ABOUT THREE MONTH PERIOD.
IT'S A SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS COST.
EVERY PERSON THAT'S OFF IS $1,300 A SHIFT IN, IN OVERTIME COST.
SO I WANNA START, CAN YOU STAY BY THE MICROPHONE SO WE CAN HEAR YOU? YEAH, SORRY.
I WANNA START WITH A POSITIVE NOTE.
UH, I THINK, UH, I, I THINK THIS PRESENTATION, IF YOU GO TO PAGE TWO NOW, PLEASE, UH, I THINK THE CHIEF, UH, DID A GREAT PRESENTATION ON HERE.
HE IS TALKING ABOUT, UH, STAFFING RATIOS.
I WANT TO DRIVE THAT POINT HOME A LITTLE BIT MORE.
AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT HAS STAFFING IS ABOUT 0.25.
WE'RE HIRING A NEW STATIONS NOW AT 0.3.
TAKE A LONG TIME TO GET UP TO 0.3.
AND I REALLY WANNA, YOU KNOW, COMPLIMENT EMS. THEY DO A REALLY GREAT JOB ON THIS.
THEY HAVE A STAFFING RATIO OF ABOUT 0.26, ABOUT 0.5 DOUBLE WHAT WE HAVE.
AND WHAT THAT DOES IS BUILDS RESILIENCY SO WHEN THEY HAVE, UH, THINGS COME UP, THEY CAN COVER IT WITH THE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL AND NOT HAVE TO GO INTO HIGHER OVERTIME.
IF YOU WOULD DO THE CALCULATION AND MOVE OUR STAFFING REGISTER FROM 0.25 TO 0.5, OUR OVERTIME WOULD BE CLOSE TO ZERO.
SO IT'S A SIGNIFICANT THING TO DISCUSS.
AND COUNCIL ADDRESSING THAT, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UH, RYAN ALTER YOU HELPED US WITH AND, AND EVERYBODY IN COUNCIL SUPPORTED THIS HIRING MORE FIREFIGHTERS.
AND THERE'S A COUPLE WAYS THAT WE NEED TO DO THAT FOR.
IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO AN ADDITIONAL CLASS AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR FOR THE NEXT THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
AND, AND I WANT TO COMPLIMENT YOU AND YOUR BUDGET WRITER, UH, ALISON ALTER, I BELIEVE THERE'S SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES THERE IN CONVERTING OVERTIME COSTS TO FTES AS LONG AS IT'S DONE THOUGHTFULLY AND CAREFUL OF ALL THE DIFFERENT SIDE EFFECTS.
UM, SO I REALLY THINK OVER, I THINK STAFFING RATIOS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO, UH, JUST REMIND EVERYBODY THAT UH, WHEN WE INCREASE THE HIRING OF C OF CADETS LAST YEAR, WE HAVE NOT INCREASED THE AUTHORIZED STRENGTH.
AND I THINK THAT WAS A PROMISE THAT'LL BE DONE IN THIS LATER THIS YEAR.
I WANNA REMIND EVERYBODY OF THAT, AND I WANNA ENCOURAGE US TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE ADDITIONAL CADET CLASS EACH YEAR FOR EITHER WORKLOAD REDUCTION IN TERMS OF WORK WEEK REDUCTION, OR GETTING MORE FIREFIGHTERS IN THE STREETS SO WE HAVE MORE RESILIENCY WHEN THESE PROGRAMS COME UP.
I'M HAPPY TO STAND FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, SO COLLEAGUES WILL TAKE, UM, QUESTIONS JUST FOR ANYONE WHO'S WATCHING.
I ALSO WANT TO WELCOME OUR NEW A CM OVER PUBLIC SAFETY.
MR. EDDIE GARCIA, YOU DON'T HAVE TO COME SPEAK, BUT I JUST WANTED TO TO WELCOME YOU TO OUR AUDIT AND FINANCE MEETING.
DO OTHERS HAVE QUESTIONS? OKAY, SO WHAT, I LIKE YOUR EARS FIRST.
YOU WANNA HEAR MINE FIRST? OKAY.
UM, SO I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO TALK, UM, WITH SEVERAL FOLKS ABOUT THIS OFFLINE.
SO, SO I'VE ASKED SOME OF MY QUESTIONS.
WE REALLY TRIED TO FOCUS TODAY ON KIND OF HOW WE GOT WHERE WE ARE AND, AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE, THAT ARE GOING ON.
UM, THERE, THERE IS A SECOND PHASE OF THIS, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY DIVING INTO THE NUMBERS NOW THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE PROBLEM, UM, TO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT NUMBERS OF OF FIREFIGHTERS WE WOULD NEED TO POTENTIALLY OFFSET THE OVERTIME.
AND WHETHER, UM, THE STATEMENTS THAT, THAT MR. NICKS MADE ABOUT HAVING THAT ADDITIONAL RATIO WOULD IN FACT END UP WITH COST SAVINGS AND OR, UM, LESS, UM, BURDEN ON OUR FIREFIGHTERS WHO WE KNOW ARE ALSO SUFFERING SOME FROM, SOME, SOME IMPLICATIONS FROM WORKING AT SUCH HIGH LEVELS TO THEIR HEALTH, BOTH PHYSICAL AND MENTAL.
UM, AND SO THE NEXT STEP AFTER WE HAVE THIS UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT'S GOING ON IS REALLY, YOU KNOW, TO EXAMINE WHETHER MORE PEOPLE IS ALSO PART OF THE SITUATION.
AND ALL OF THESE OTHER STEPS ALSO, UM, ARE GOOD IN THAT DIRECTION.
UM, I DID WANT TO ASK, WHAT IS EXCEPTIONAL VAC MEAN ON THIS TRIP? EXCEPTIONAL VACATION IS THE VACATION THEY RECEIVE, UH, DURING HOLIDAYS, IF I SAY THAT CORRECTLY.
WORK, WORK WHEN THEY WORK THE HOLIDAYS.
SO WHEN A MEMBER WORK ON A HOLIDAY, CHRISTMAS, NEW YEAR'S, ET CETERA, THEY RECEIVE EXCEPTIONAL VACATION TIME.
SO A LOT OF THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THERE'S A, A GOOD CHUNK OVER 40% THAT IS, UM, JUST VACATION TIME, WHICH WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO PLAN FOR IN OUR OVERTIME.
BUT IT'S, IT'S A PRETTY LARGE CHUNK IN THERE.
UM, BUT WE ALSO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE INJURIES AND THE, AND THE SICK BUCKETS ARE STILL, YOU KNOW, TOO LARGE.
AND YES, AND I'M GLAD TO HEAR THAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, THE BENEFITS OF THE WORKERS' COMP.
[01:10:01]
AND I'M HOPEFUL THAT WHEN YOU GET TO THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, YOU WON'T BE HAVING TO, TO REJIGGER YOUR OVERTIME BUDGET TO THE SAME DEGREE.UM, BUT FOR MY COLLEAGUES, I DO WANNA POINT OUT THERE ARE SOME REAL CONSEQUENCES WHEN THEY DO THAT.
UM, WHEN THEY HAVE TO PULL THE OVERTIME FROM OTHER BUCKETS, THAT MEANS LESS RESOURCES ARE SPENT ON WILDFIRE, LESS RESOURCES ON POTENTIALLY CHILD SAFETY, LESS RESOURCES ON GETTING, UH, FOLKS, UM, THEIR, THEIR CODE APPLICATIONS OR THEIR PERMITTING DONE IN AS TIMELY A FASHION AS POSSIBLE AS WELL.
BECAUSE SOME FOLKS HAVE TO GO INTO OPERATIONS.
UM, WE WON'T BE ADDING YET AN, I MEAN, WE'RE ADDING A STATION IN JANUARY, BUT THAT IS PLANNED IN.
THERE WON'T BE ANOTHER ONE COMING AT LEAST FOR A FEW YEARS 'CAUSE IT TAKES TIME TO DO THAT.
SO THERE WILL BE SOME CATCH UP FROM THAT AS WELL.
UM, BUT, UH, CHIEF, AND, AND MR. GARCIA, I REALLY DO WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE UNIONS TO ADDRESS THIS.
WORKING WITH HR, UM, TAKING THIS VERY SERIOUSLY.
WE, WE DID SO IN 2017, WHICH IS NOT ON THIS CHART, WE HAD A 13 MILLION OR SOMETHING.
I, IN MY HEAD IT'S 13 MILLION, WHETHER IT WAS, OR THREE, I DON'T REMEMBER.
BUT WE HAD A REALLY, REALLY LARGE NUMBER WHEN I FIRST CAME INTO COUNCIL BECAUSE OF VACANCIES.
AND WE WERE ABLE TO ADDRESS THAT AND IT WENT DOWN.
UM, WE HAVE TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE OVERTIME.
UM, I DO HOPE THAT, UM, THE NEW ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER WILL BE HOLDING OUR PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, DEPARTMENT'S ACCOUNT FOR THEIR OVERTIME AND MONITORING IT IN WAYS PERHAPS THAT WE HAVEN'T, UM, BEEN DOING AS MUCH SO THAT WE CAN REALLY, UM, STAY ON THIS AND, AND REDUCE, UM, THE AMOUNT OF OVERTIME.
THAT OVERTIME, AGAIN, IS BOTH A FISCAL AND AN OPERATIONAL CHALLENGE.
UM, AND IT ALSO IMPACTS THE, YOU KNOW, WELLBEING OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, OUR MEDICS OR, OR OUR OFFICERS.
UM, SO I HOPE WE CAN CONTINUE THIS WORK, UM, AND ADDRESS, UM, ADDRESS BOTH THE OVERTIME BUT ALSO THE PROMISES THAT HAVE BEEN MADE IN OUR FIRE CONTRACT, UM, THAT WE NEED TO BE PREPARED FOR THAT.
COUNCIL MEMBER, RYAN AL ALTER'S, UM, AMENDMENT HELPS US MOVE TOWARDS THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FUNES.
CAN YOU REMIND US, CHIEF, WHAT WAS THE OVERTIME EXPENDITURE AMOUNT THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR? UH, I BELIEVE THIS LAST FISCAL YEAR IT WAS 15 MILLION, 15.8 MILLION.
THAT WAS THE AMOUNT OF BUDGETED AND THE, THE BUNDLE BUDGET WAS 13.1 MILLION, 13.1 MILLION BUDGETED.
BUT WE WENT OVER BY A COUPLE MILLION.
AND, AND FOR THIS FISCAL YEAR 25, WHAT ARE WE BUDGETED FOR OVER TIME? 13.1 MILLION.
UM, WITH THE, AND I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION, THANK YOU FOR OUTLINING SOME CHANGES THAT THE DEPARTMENT WILL BE UNDERTAKING TO REDUCE COSTS AND OVERTIME.
YOU MENTIONED THAT WE ARE GONNA NOTIFY MEMBERS IF THERE ARE, IF IF THERE IS A FIREFIGHTER WHO'S TAKING SICK LEAVE ON SATURDAYS, YOU KNOW, REGULARLY YOU'LL NOTIFY THEM.
BUT LIKE, DO YOU, IS THIS, DO YOU HAVE A DEDICATED STAFF MEMBER IN YOUR DEPARTMENT THAT'S GONNA BE TAKING A LOOK AT THIS OR IS THAT AN HR? HOW IS THAT PROCESS WORKING? THANK YOU FOR THAT.
IF YOU SPEAK, THEY'RE TRYING TO DESIGN FOR AN EXAMPLE, UH, IF FIREFIGHTER BAKER AT STATION TWO AND THERE'S NO FIREFIGHTER BAKER AT STATION TWO, BUT IF FIREFIGHTER BAKER AT STATION TWO SHOWS A PATTERN OF ALWAYS CALLING IN SICK THE DAY BEFORE PAYDAY OR DAY AFTER PAYDAY, THEN THAT COMPANY OFFICER WOULD NOTIFY FIREFIGHTER BAKER SAY, HEY, YOU WERE SHOWN A FREQUENT USE OF SICK LEAVE THE DAY BEFORE OR THE DAY AFTER SICK.
IF IT HAPPENED AGAIN, YOU WOULD BE REQUIRED TO BRING IN A DOCTOR EXCUSE BECAUSE YEAH.
AND YOU, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE DEVELOPING A POLICY, BUT I MEAN, IS THERE, ARE YOU, IS THAT SOMEONE IN YOUR DIVISION THAT'S GONNA BE TAKING A LOOK AT THOSE REQUESTS OR IS THAT A SOFTWARE THAT YOU'LL BE UTILIZING OR IS THAT A CONTRACTOR CONSULTANT THAT YOU'RE BRINGING IN? IT'S SOMETHING WE DOING INTERNAL.
WE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT THE SYSTEM HOW WE ARE GOING TO DO IT, BUT WE'RE NOT BRINGING IN A CONTRACTOR TO DO THAT.
UH, I BELIEVE WE HAVE THE BANDWIDTH WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION TO MONITOR SICK LEAVE USERS ON THE COMPANY LEVEL.
SO WE DON'T, I DON'T HAVE THE EXACT FORMULA OR ANSWER TO THAT.
UH, BUT THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT I, I'M, I'M QUITE SURE WE'LL HAVE A TOOL, WHETHER IT BE THE UKG TOOL OR SOME TYPE OF DATA WE, THAT SOFTWARE THAT WE DESIGNED TO MAKE THAT WORK.
UM, BUT THERE WAS ENOUGH OF, I GUESS IS THIS A STANDARD PRACTICE AMONGST OTHER FIRE DEPARTMENTS TO DO THIS TYPE OF REVIEW OF LEAVE POLICY? YES.
WELL, MY PREVIOUS DEPARTMENT WE USED IT AND
[01:15:01]
IT WORKED.SO YOU HAD PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE.
AND WITH THESE RECOMMENDED OR THESE MEASURES THAT YOU'RE PRESENTING TO US THAT YOU'LL BE EMPLOYING FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO REDUCE OVERTIME, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK, AND I MEAN, I KNOW THIS IS AN ESTIMATION, BUT HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK THIS WILL HELP US IN REDUCING OVERTIME EXPENDITURES? I DON'T HAVE A PERCENTAGE, BUT I WILL ADD THAT.
UH, I WANNA SAY, UH, ABOUT THREE MONTHS AGO WE HAD, THREE OR FOUR MONTHS AGO WE HAD 75 PEOPLE OFF EITHER ON INJURY OR SICK LEAVE.
I THINK NOW WE HAVE ABOUT 50 OFF.
SO IT'S WORKING WITH THE, UH, UM, UH, COUNSELING AND, AND, AND FOLLOW UP WITH OUR MEMBERS, UH, BEHAVIOR CHANGE AND MONITORING, UH, HOW THE INJURY OCCURS.
SO OUR HEALTH AND WELLNESS DEPARTMENT HAVE BECOME MORE AGGRESSIVE, I WOULD LIKE TO SAY, IN, UH, FOLLOWING UP WITH THESE MEMBERS TO MAKE SURE THEY RETURN BACK TO WORK.
UH, IT'S NOT MY GOAL TO RUSH THEM BACK TO WORK, I WANT THEM BACK AT A HUNDRED PERCENT, BUT WE ARE DOING A MUCH BETTER JOB IN MONITORING, UM, THEIR RETURN TO WORK AS WELL AS MONITORING BEHAVIORS.
UH, THAT IS TAKING TIME FOR PEOPLE TO COME BACK TO WORK.
BUT AT THE VERY LEAST, PERHAPS THESE MEASURES WILL AT LEAST GET US TO MORE CLOSER TO THE BUDGETED AMOUNT OF THE 13 MILLION FOR OVERTIME.
BUT KEEP IN MIND WE HAVE SO MANY UNPREDICTABLE EVENTS, WHETHER IT BE WEATHER RELATED, WHETHER IT BE A, UH, DEMONSTRATION THAT TAKE PLACE, UH, THAT WE HAD TO CALL IN ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO MONITOR.
AND THOSE UNPREDICTABLE EVENT ARE NOT BUDGETED.
WE DON'T BUDGET FOR, UH, A HOT SUMMER.
UH, WE DON'T BUDGET FOR A WINTER STORM EVENT.
BUT KEEP IN MIND, DURING THE LAST WINTER STORM, OUR MEMBERS MADE IT TO WORK.
SOME OF 'EM WALKED TO WORK IN THE STORM 'CAUSE THEY COULDN'T DRIVE TO WORK.
UH, SO I COMMEND THEM FOR THEIR COMMITMENT TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT.
SO AGAIN, WHEN, WHEN THAT DISASTER HAPPENED, THE MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT ARE MORE THAN WILLING TO PUT THEMSELVES IN HARM'S WAY.
AND THOSE UNPREDICTABLE EVENT COST MONEY A HUNDRED PERCENT.
WHICH IS WHY WE BUDGET FOR THE OVERTIME.
CERTAINLY WE WANT TO PROVIDE, WE WANT IT TO, THE SAFETY OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS AND THE SAFETY OF OUR COMMUNITY, THAT IS TOP PRIORITY FOR US.
AND THAT'S WHY IT'S INCLUDED IN THE BUDGET THAT WE ADOPT.
I JUST WANT SOME, YOU KNOW, SEMBLANCE OR REASSURANCE THAT THE MEASURES YOU'RE PROPOSING ARE DONE.
SO WITH THE LENS IN MIND THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO GET US MORE TO THE BUDGETED AMOUNT THAT WE ARE, THAT WE APPROVED FOR OVERTIME PAY.
NOW ONLY, I'M TRYING HARD, UH, LIKE COUNCILMAN, UH, ALLISON ALTA MENTIONED ABOUT THE CITY MANAGER OFFICE.
WE'VE BEEN CHARGED AND CHALLENGED BY THE CITY MANAGER OFFICE AS WELL AS THE BUDGET OFFICE.
UM, UH, MY WORDS, NOT THEIR WORDS, GET OUR ACT TOGETHER.
UH, I SAID MY WORDS, NOT THEIR WORDS.
UH, SO WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE CHALLENGE AND WE LOOK AT IT AS MORE OF AN OPPORTUNITY THAN A CHALLENGE TO DO ALL WE NEED TO DO TO, UM, UH, CHANGE BEHAVIORS IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
AND THOSE BEHAVIORS CHANGE, I BELIEVE WILL HELP US, IF NOT MEET OUR BUDGET FOR THE OVERTIME.
UM, I THINK WE'LL MOVE ON IF THERE ARE NO MORE.
DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? OKAY.
THANK YOU CHIEF, AND THANK YOU, UM, BOB NICKS AS WELL FOR BEING HERE.
[7. Status of recommendations made by the City Auditor in audit reports. ]
ARE GONNA TAKE UP ITEM SEVEN, THE STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS BY THE CITY AUDITOR IN AUDIT REPORTS.GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, JASON AVI, DEPUTY CITY AUDITOR, HERE TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT THE STATUS OF AUDIT RECOMMENDATION IMPLEMENTATION.
AS YOU MAY RECALL, WE'RE ABOUT A YEAR, A LITTLE OVER A YEAR INTO THE NEW PROCESS USING OUR NEW SYSTEM MISSION MARK.
AND WE HAVE BEEN DOING, UH, SEMI-ANNUAL UPDATES MORE OR LESS.
UH, WE HAVE TWO BODIES OF, OR TWO POPULATIONS OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT'LL BE PRESENTING ON THOSE THAT ARE IN MISSION MARK DATING BACK TO 2019.
AND THEN WE HAVE SOME PRE MISSION MARK RECOMMENDATIONS FROM 2014 TO 2018.
AND AS YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, THE, THE NUMBERS ARE SHOWING, UH, THAT IT WAS A GOOD DECISION TO SWITCH TO FOLLOWING UP ON EVERY SINGLE RECOMMENDATION AND UTILIZING THIS NEW SYSTEM, WE'VE MORE THAN DOUBLED THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE IMPLEMENTED SINCE WE STARTED THIS PROCESS IN OCTOBER OF LAST YEAR.
UH, WE INCREASED THE, THE NUMBER OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED FROM OUR PRESENTATION IN APRIL BY ALMOST 20.
THE, UH, THE NUMBER OF NOT STARTED RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ALL RECENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE ISSUED OVER THE COURSE OF THIS SUMMER.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF PROGRESS HAPPENING BOTH WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS THAT ARE RECEIVING
[01:20:01]
THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AND FROM OUR AUDIT STAFF THAT ARE MONITORING THEIR IMPLEMENTATION AND SEEING THAT THEY GET, THAT THEY GET IMPLEMENTED AND TESTING THE EVIDENCE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE IN FACT IMPLEMENTED.MOVING OVER TO THE PRE MISSION MARK RECOMMENDATIONS, WE'VE ALSO SEEN SOME PROGRESS.
IT'S NOT QUITE AS, UH, AS RAPID AS THOSE THAT ARE IN MISSION MARK.
THESE ARE OLDER, SOME OF THESE ARE AS MUCH AS 10 YEARS OLD.
THE STAFF THAT ARE WORKING IN THE DEPARTMENTS TO IMPLEMENT THESE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN HERE DURING THE COURSE OF THE AUDIT.
THE AUDITORS THAT ARE LOOKING AT THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR, FROM A MONITORING PERSPECTIVE, ALSO, WERE NOT HERE, SO IT TAKES A LITTLE BIT MORE TIME, BUT WE ARE SEEING PROGRESS.
WE'VE IMPLEMENTED, UH, 11 RECOMMENDATIONS SINCE THE LAST TIME THAT WE SPOKE.
WE DID RETURN 15 FROM A READY FOR REVIEW STATUS TO IN PROGRESS.
BUT THAT IS JUST ENSURING THAT EVERYTHING IS, IS THOROUGHLY DOCUMENTED.
SO THERE IS PROGRESS BEING MADE.
WE'RE GONNA KEEP WORKING TO GET THOSE OVER THE LINE AND, AND, AND WORK THROUGH THIS BACKLOG AS QUICKLY AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO THAT IS OUR STATUS IN A NUTSHELL, AND I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? SO, UM, MR. DAVI, THANK YOU FOR DEVELOPING THIS SYSTEM AND THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY BEEN VERY HELPFUL FOR US IN MONITORING WHERE THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.
IT'S REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHEN THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS MAKING THESE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEY GET IMPLEMENTED.
UM, AND I APPRECIATE THAT THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE HAS BEEN LEANING IN TO GET, UM, TO GET THIS DONE.
I DO WANNA, UM, JUST TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IF THERE ARE PENDING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE OF CONCERN TO THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE THAT SHOULD BE RAISED, UM, TO THE COMMITTEE'S ATTENTION.
UH, WE, WE, WE HAVE A LOT OF, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE, THAT ARE IMPORTANT.
I, YOU KNOW, WE'RE PAYING ATTENTION TO ALL OF THEM, BUT SOME THAT, THAT STAND OUT ABOVE THE REST RELATE TO IT, IT SECURITY, WE BRIEF YOU ON THOSE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.
WE CAN'T TALK ABOUT THOSE PUBLICLY, BUT I FEEL LIKE YOU'RE PRETTY UP TO DATE ON THOSE GIVEN GIVEN RECENT PRESENTATIONS.
UH, THE OTHER SET OF RECOMMENDATIONS THAT I WOULD CALL ATTENTION TO ARE THOSE FROM OUR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AUDIT.
UH, ESPECIALLY AS WE HEAD INTO WINTER, THOSE RELATE TO HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO CATASTROPHIC EVENTS LIKE WINTER STORMS. WE'VE, UH, I THINK WE ISSUED 10 RECOMMENDATIONS.
ONE OF THOSE IS IMPLEMENTED, UH, COUPLED JUST MOVED INTO READY FOR REVIEW.
AND THE REMAINING, UH, THE REMAINING RECOMMENDATIONS ARE, I THINK THREE ARE IN READY FOR REVIEW.
AND THE REMAINING SIX ARE IN PROGRESS.
WE'RE WORKING WITH STAFF TO, TO PUSH THOSE FORWARD.
BUT THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT, THAT STAND OUT TO US AS AS MORE CRITICAL.
UM, SO COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES AND ALTER, PRESUMING YOU'RE ON THIS COMMITTEE, UM, NEXT YEAR, THOSE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT AND THEY NEED TO BE, UM, FOLLOWED UP ON.
SO ONE OF THEM IS KIND OF A ALL ENCOMPASSING ONE THAT'S MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE FOLLOWING UP ON RECOMMENDATIONS FROM VARIOUS AFTER ACTION REPORTS, UM, AND, AND KIND OF FOLLOWING THOSE CHECKS.
UM, AND IF, IF THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN, WE END UP IN A SITUATION WHERE WE WERE IN STORM URI, WHERE THERE WERE THINGS THAT WERE RECOMMENDED THAT WE HAD DONE IN THOSE PRIOR ACTION REPORTS THAT WERE NOT DONE, UM, THAT CAUSED US PROBLEMS. AND SO, UM, JUST WANNA FLAG THOSE FOR YOU TO BE ON THE LOOKOUT.
UM, PARTICULARLY FOR THOSE, UM, HES A RECOMMENDATIONS.
THERE ARE SEVERAL OF THEM, AND I KNOW, UM, BOTH OF YOU HAVE, HAVE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT OUR DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND, AND PREP AND, AND SO THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE, UM, THERE, UM, IN IMPLEMENTING THOSE PAST CORRECTIVE ACTIONS.
UM, AND THEN THERE'S ALSO, UM, A SECTION, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANYBODY FROM HESO HERE, DO WE? OH, GREAT.
UM, I WOULD ALSO LIKE TO KNOW WHERE WE ARE AT ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, I'M NOT SURE WHERE IT IS AFTER THE, THE NEW SUBMISSIONS, BUT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, DEVELOPING A FORMAL PLAN FOR INVOLVING THE COMMUNITY IN DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AND PLANNING.
AND I KNOW THERE'S BEEN SOME STEPS TAKEN IN THAT, THAT WE HAVE STAFF IN CHARGE, BUT IF YOU COULD SPEAK PLEASE TO THAT BRIEFLY AND, AND WHAT WE'RE DOING ON THAT, APPRECIATE IT.
ONE ITEM OF NOTE, THE, THE RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO PRIOR CORRECTIVE ACTIONS IS ONE OF THOSE THAT JUST ON MONDAY MOVE TO READY FOR REVIEW STATUS.
IT'S NOW IN OUR QUEUE AND WE'LL BE TESTING THAT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO ADD, GOOD MORNING.
UM, SARAH HENRY, I'M THE INTERIM CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER WITH THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR WILSON IS A JURY DUTY TODAY.
SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING US HERE TO BE
[01:25:01]
ABLE TO SPEAK TO THESE ITEMS. WHAT I WOULD SAY IS THAT ON ALL OF THE ITEMS, HESO HAS MADE INCREMENTAL PROGRESS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS.AS YOU'RE AWARE, WE HAVE BEEN IN A SPACE WHERE WE'VE HAD INTERIM LEADERSHIP AND NEW INTERIM CITY MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP OR NEW PERMANENT CITY MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP.
SO WE ARE ALL WORKING CLOSELY TOGETHER TO PRIORITIZE THESE ITEMS AND MOVE THEM FORWARD.
UM, ONE SPECIFIC ITEM THAT I LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT AS, UM, AS A POINT OF SUCCESS IS THE ITEM RELATED TO LANGUAGE ACCESS.
UM, OVER AN 18 MONTH PERIOD, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A LANGUAGE ACCESS WORKING GROUP THAT INCLUDED MEMBERS OF BOTH CITY STAFF FROM ACROSS THE, OR FROM ACROSS THE ENTERPRISE, AS WELL AS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS WHO SUPPORT IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES.
UM, AND WE WERE ABLE TO PUT TOGETHER A PLAN, HAVE THE PLAN REVIEWED, AND HAVE BECOME INTO IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN SO MUCH.
AND SO OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS AS WE'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTING THAT PLAN, WE'VE OFFERED PREPAREDNESS TRAINING TO THE COMMUNITY IN ENGLISH, SPANISH, PTO, AND MANDARIN.
SO THIS IS JUST ONE EXAMPLE WHERE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO PRIORITIZE THESE AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS AND MOVE THE NEEDLE FORWARD IN A MEANINGFUL AND IMPACTFUL WAY TO THE COMMUNITY.
SO AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE OTHER ITEMS, WE WILL CONTINUE TO PRIORITIZE, UH, WORKING THROUGH THE ITEMS AND, AND PUTTING IT IN PLACE AND IMPLEMENTATION PROCESS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF BOTH COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SPECIFICALLY TO THE ITEM THAT YOU BROUGHT UP, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, UH, WE HAVE ALSO PUT IN PLACE A NEW MASS CARE TEAM.
UM, WE'VE ALSO, OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS PUT IN PLACE A NEW AUSTIN RESILIENCE NETWORK, UH, WHICH THIS BODY HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON OR THE COUNCIL BODY HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON.
UM, YOU ALSO HEARD THIS WEEK, UH, THE CITY'S PREPAREDNESS PLAN FOR WINTER WEATHER.
SO WHILE THAT MIGHT NOT DIRECTLY BE, UM, SHOWN AND THE DETAILED PROGRESS OF THE AUDIT REPORT, A A LARGE AMOUNT OF PROGRESS HAS BEEN MADE TO ENSURE THAT THE COMMUNITY AND THE CITY IS READY FOR WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE ON THESE ITEMS AND ON OUR TASK IN GENERAL TO ENSURE THE COMMUNITY IS SAFE BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER AN EMERGENCY.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO PROVIDING YOU WITH FUTURE UPDATES.
UM, OVER THE COURSE OF THIS AUDIT PROCESS, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO INITIATED AS A CO-SPONSOR.
OTHERS MAY HAVE BEEN ON THE D MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF IT FOR THE, FOR THE AUDIT, UM, THAT WE HAD.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DID WAS PROVIDE YOU WITH STAFFING AND RESOURCES.
SO WHERE DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AT IN TERMS OF THE STAFFING LEVELS? WE CURRENTLY HAVE ONE VACANCY, I BELIEVE.
IT IS IN THE PROCESS OF, OF BEING FILLED.
IT'S DEEP IN THE INTERVIEW PROCESS.
AND THEN OF COURSE PEOPLE WILL MOVE ON, MOVE IN DEPARTMENTS.
SO THERE MIGHT BE OTHER VACANCIES COMING UP JUST BASED ON THE NATURAL FORM OF ATTRITION.
BUT BASED ON THE AVAILABLE POSITIONS THAT WE HAVE, I BELIEVE THERE'S ONLY ONE CURRENT VACANCY.
AND, UM, ARE THERE PARTICULAR RESOURCES THAT YOU NEED? I MEAN, WE'RE ASKING YOU TO DO A LOT WITH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WANTED TO CHECK IN AND SEE IF THERE WERE RESOURCES, UM, THAT THE DEPARTMENT NEED.
AND YOU MAY NOT BE PREPARED TO TALK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT IF YOU ARE, WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR IT.
WHAT I WOULD SAY IS WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE TO UNDERSTAND OUR PRIORITIES AND, UM, ENSURE THAT WE ARE WORKING WITH THE RESOURCES WE HAVE TO BE SUCCESSFUL.
UM, MR. DAVI, THANK YOU AGAIN FOR, UM, BUILDING THIS SYSTEM AND, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING ALL THE PRE MARKS ITEMS OFF SHORTLY AND, AND CONTINUED SUCCESS IN HELPING US TO MONITOR MORE CLEARLY, UM, OUR AUDITS.
UM, I'M JUST GONNA, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAY ON TIME, UM, WE ARE GONNA TAKE UP ITEM ITEM EIGHT, UM, AND THEN WE'RE GONNA GO TO 10 AND 11 AND BACK TO NINE.
[8. Semi-annual update on investigations by the City Auditor’s Integrity Unit into fraud, waste, and abuse allegations. ]
IF WE CAN HAVE ITEM EIGHT COME UP.COUNCIL MEMBERS, I'M BRIAN MALLOY.
I AM THE CHIEF INVESTIGATIONS AT THE OFFICE OF THE CITY AUDITOR.
AND FOR MY PRESENTATION TODAY, I'LL BE GOING OVER FISCAL YEAR 24 INTEGRITY UNIT ACTIVITIES.
SO OVER THE COURSE OF THIS PRESENTATION, I'LL TALK ABOUT THE ALLEGATION TRENDS THAT WE SAW OVER THE COURSE OF THE FISCAL YEAR, THE INVESTIGATIONS MY TEAM'S COMPLETED, AND THEN WHAT ONGOING INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES WE CURRENTLY HAVE.
SO FISCAL YEAR 24 TURNED OUT TO BE A VERY, UH, BUSY YEAR FOR ALLEGATIONS COMING INTO OUR OFFICE.
OUR PRIOR THREE YEAR AVERAGE WAS AROUND 312 ALLEGATIONS COMING IN.
AND IN THIS LAST YEAR, 380 ACTUALLY CAME IN.
THAT'S A 22% INCREASE OVER THE AVERAGE.
[01:30:01]
AND THE BULK OF THAT INCREASE ACTUALLY HAPPENED THIS SUMMER.SUMMER TENDS TO BE OUR BUSIEST MONTH FOR ALLEGATIONS.
COMING IN THIS SUMMER WAS JUST EXCEPTIONALLY BUSY.
UM, WHEN I CAME IN AND SPOKE BEFORE ALL OF YOU, ABOUT SEVEN MONTHS IN THE YEAR, WE WERE ON PACE FOR ABOUT 300 OR SO ALLEGATIONS COMING IN.
AND THEN IN THOSE INTERVIEWING MONTHS, IT WENT ALL THE WAY UP TO THIS THREE 80.
WHAT'S DRIVING THIS CHANGE? IT'S HARD TO TELL.
THE ALLEGATIONS ARE COMING ACROSS CITYWIDE DEPARTMENTS PRETTY EVENLY ACROSS THE SAME TOPICS THAT WE NORMALLY SEE.
UH, IT'S BEEN RECENTLY POINTED OUT TO ME THERE WAS A TRANSITION CITY LEADERSHIP AROUND AROUND THE SUMMER, AND THAT COULD BE DRIVING SOME OF IT.
UM, BUT IT'S STILL SOMETHING WE NEED TO LOOK INTO TO FIGURE OUT EXACTLY WHY FISCAL YEAR 24 HAD SUCH A BIG INCREASE.
AND IS THAT AN INCREASE THAT'S GONNA CONTINUE OR WILL WE GO BACK DOWN TO PRIOR LEVELS, IS SOMETHING WE'LL HAVE TO SEE OVER THE NEXT YEAR OF THE ALLEGATIONS.
LOOKING AT THE JURISDICTIONAL BREAKDOWN, THIS DID STAY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN PRIOR YEARS.
UH, 39% OF THE ALLEGATIONS THAT CAME IN WERE THINGS THAT MY TEAM COULD LOOK INTO BECAUSE THEY WERE WITH, IN OUR JURISDICTION THAT CORE FUNCTION OF FRAUD, WASTE, AND ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS AND, UM, VIOLATIONS OF CITY CODE.
AND THE BULK OF THOSE WERE IN MISUSE, WHICH 30 37 DECEPTION AND MISREPRESENTATION, 33 ALLEGATIONS CAME IN THAT, THAT HOUSES FRAUD.
IF YOU'VE EVER SEEN AN INVESTIGATION OF OURS THAT, UH, FINDS A FRAUD INVESTIGATION THAT STARTED UNDER THAT CATEGORY 31 ABUSE AND 17 THEFT, THAT THEFT CATEGORY INCLUDES TIME SHEET THEFT, INVENTORY THEFT, AND CASH THEFT OF THE REMAINING 61 ALLEGATIONS.
THEY WERE ALL OUTSIDE OUR JURISDICTION.
THE LARGEST MAJORITY OF THOSE ARE HR RELATED ISSUES, WHICH DOES INCLUDE HARASSMENT, DISCRIMINATION, RETALIATION, THOSE GET REFERRED OUT TO INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTS OR THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT.
THE NEXT LARGEST CATEGORY WAS OPERATIONAL ISSUES.
AND THOSE WENT TO THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY.
BUT AGAIN, THIS JURIS JURISDICTIONAL BREAKDOWN IS VERY CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE OR SIX.
SO WHILE OVERALL ALLEGATIONS WENT UP, HOW THEY BROKE DOWN REMAINED VERY CONSISTENT.
THEN, UH, A GOAL OF OURS IS TO MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO SHARE THEIR CONCERNS WITH OUR OFFICE.
WE'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO SOLVE PROBLEMS UNLESS WE HEAR ABOUT THOSE PROBLEMS. AND ONE WAY TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN REACH OUT TO YOU IS BY GIVING THEM A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS TO REACH OUT.
WE TRY TO MAKE IT AS EASY AS POSSIBLE BY HAVING AN ONLINE REPORTING FORM AN EMAIL.
YOU CAN USE A HOTLINE, YOU CAN CALL A PHYSICAL DROPBOX.
WE HAVE AUDITORS CONDUCTING AUDITS AT ALL THROUGHOUT THE CITY, AND THEY MAKE SURE TO CONNECT WITH PEOPLE AND, AND ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE ANY CONCERNS THEY WANNA BRING BACK TO MY TEAM.
OF ALL THOSE MECHANISMS, 66% OF OUR ALLEGATIONS CAME IN THROUGH THE ONLINE REPORTING FORM.
THAT'S CONSISTENTLY BEEN IN THE, IN OUR LEADING WAY THAT PEOPLE COME TO US AND IN THE, IN THE MID 60%.
UH, NEXT MOST COMMON WAS ACTUALLY DIRECT INVESTOR CONTACT.
SO THAT'S SOMEONE DIRECTLY CALLING OR EMAILING ME OR ONE OF THE INVESTIGATORS ON MY TEAM.
I APPRECIATE THAT NUMBER BEING A RELATIVELY LARGE CHUNK.
'CAUSE IT MEANS PEOPLE TRUST OUR OFFICE AND ARE WILLING TO REACH OUT TO US DIRECTLY RATHER THAN USING UH, UM, ANY OF OUR OTHER MEANS.
UM, ANOTHER WAY YOU GOTTA MAKE SURE, UH, THAT YOUR SYSTEM WORKS, UM, TO INCREASE ALLEGATIONS COMING IN IS TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO REPORT ANONYMOUSLY.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'VE SEEN OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS THAT, UH, ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF OUR INFORMANTS WANT TO COME TO US ANONYMOUSLY.
SO THAT NUMBER'S BEEN PRETTY CONSISTENT.
ALLEGATIONS BY DEPARTMENT AND PREVIOUS YEARS, WHENEVER I DID A FULL FISCAL YEAR, I WOULD JUST BREAK IT DOWN BY PERCENTAGE OF ALLEGATIONS WHERE WHICH DEPARTMENTS WERE INVOLVED IN THE CITY.
AND THAT'S THAT NUMBER YOU SEE OVER ON, UM, THE LEFT HAND SIDE THERE.
AUSTIN ENERGY, AUSTIN WATER HAD 8%.
THEY'RE BOTH PRETTY LARGE DEPARTMENTS IN THE CITY.
UH, SOMETHING I STARTED JUST THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO WHEN I CAME TO YOU GUYS IN TO SPEAK TO YOU ALL IN THE SPRING, I STARTED LOOKING AT ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES.
THAT'S A BETTER WAY TO GET AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON ABOUT WHICH DEPARTMENTS ARE SEEING THE MOST ALLEGATIONS.
IT'S A GOOD WAY TO STANDARDIZE EVERYTHING WHEN YOU LOOK AT IT THAT WAY.
ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS SLIDE, ANIMAL SERVICES ACTUALLY HAD THE MOST ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES WITH 87 FOLLOWED BY BUILDING SERVICES.
77 HUMAN RESOURCES, 72, THE CITYWIDE AVERAGE, IF YOU LOOK AT EVERY DEPARTMENT BASED ON, UH, ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES IS 16 ALLEGATIONS.
AND JUST FOR COMPARISON, HAD I CONTINUED JUST LOOKING AT THINGS BASED ON PERCENTAGE, UM, IF YOU LOOK BACK OVER AT THE LEFT HAND SIDE, PARKS AND REC, AUSTIN WATER, AUSTIN ENERGY, THEY WERE, THEY'RE BOTH RIGHT AROUND OR BELOW THE CITY AVERAGE WITH 12 ALLEGATIONS PER 1017 AND AND 12 AGAIN.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S, IT'S GONNA BE MUCH MORE USEFUL TO IDENTIFY WHERE ARE THERE PROBLEM AREAS IN THE CITY BY LOOKING AT IT, UH, ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES, MY TEAM.
WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO WITH THIS INFORMATION NOW THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IT THAT WAY? THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, WHILE LOOKING AT ALLEGATIONS PER 1000 EMPLOYEES AS AN INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICE, THAT'S COME TO MY ATTENTION.
THAT'S WHY I STARTED DOING IT THIS WAY.
THERE'S JUST NOT A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE DO WITH IT AFTER THE FACT.
ALLEGATIONS ARE SOMETHING THAT A LOT OF COMPANIES, PRIVATE SECTOR LIKES TO KEEP QUIET.
A LOT OF OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES AREN'T AS TRANSPARENT ABOUT THEIR NUMBERS AS WE ARE.
SO LOOKING FOR COMPARISONS, LIKE WHAT'S A GOOD NUMBER IS, IS 16 ACROSS THE CITY PER 1000 EMPLOYEES? IS IT HIGH? IS IT LOW? UM, IT'S HARD TO FIGURE OUT WITH COMPARISON.
[01:35:01]
SO THAT'S SOMETHING I'M GONNA BE DIVING INTO AS WE CONTINUE TO REPORT ON THIS NUMBER.I, UH, UM, ALSO HAVE PLANS TO WORK WITH THE NEW CHIEF ATHLETES AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER, WHO'S GOT HOPEFULLY MORE TIME TO LOOK AT THINGS IN, IN A PREVENTATIVE MANNER THAN MY TEAM.
WE'RE, WE'RE PRETTY BUSY RESPONDING TO THOSE 380 ALLEGATIONS THAT CAME IN.
UM, BUT I'LL BE WORKING WITH, UH, THE ETHICS AND COMPLIANCE OFFICER TO GO OVER THIS DATA AND FIGURE OUT, UM, WHAT NEEDS TO BE COMMUNICATED TO OTHER CITY LEADERS IN THESE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, DO THEY HAVE PROBLEMS? ARE ARE THERE WAYS THEY CAN GET AHEAD OF THESE ALLEGATION TRENDS? SO, UH, PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED IN THE FUTURE AT THIS POINT.
WE HAD EIGHT INVESTIGATIONS COMPLETED THIS YEAR.
THAT'S A LITTLE BIT BELOW OUR NORMAL AVERAGE.
UM, WE'RE BACK ON PACE FOR FISCAL YEAR 25 TO BE BACK UP AT 12 OR MORE INVESTIGATIONS.
OF THOSE EIGHT, FIVE WERE SUBSTANTIATED AND RESULTED IN A PUBLIC REPORT THAT'S POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE, TWO AT INCONCLUSIVE FINDINGS, MEANING WE COULDN'T SAY ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.
THERE JUST WASN'T ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SAY SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED OR SOMETHING BAD DID NOT HAPPEN.
AND THEN ONE WAS UNSUBSTANTIATED.
SO WE COLLECTED ENOUGH EVIDENCE TO SAY THERE WAS NO VIOLATION OF CITY CODE IN THAT MATTER OF THE FIVE THAT ENDED IN A PUBLIC REPORT.
UH, THEY'RE ALL LISTED RIGHT, RIGHT HERE.
UH, THE DEPARTMENTS WERE ABLE TO TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION BASED ON OUR FINDINGS AND THE EVIDENCE WE GAVE THEM, UH, TO SUPPORT THAT ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION FOR FOUR OF THE FIVE MATTERS.
UH, THE ACCOUNTABILITY ACTION WAS EMPLOYEE SEPARATION, ONE OF THEM IS PENDING.
THAT WAS OUR, UH, THE LAST CASE TO FINISH IN FISCAL YEAR 24.
THAT DEPARTMENT IS TAKING ACTION THIS WEEK.
I'M JUST WAITING TO GET, UM, AN EFFECTIVE DATE SO I CAN UPDATE THAT FROM PENDING TO WHAT THEIR THEIR PLAN IS, WHICH IS EMPLOYEE SEPARATION.
AND THEN, UH, WHAT'S MY TEAM STILL WORKING ON? AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE 12 OPEN INVESTIGATIONS ACROSS EIGHT DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND IT'S THE STANDARD ISSUES WE'VE BEEN SEEING AND REPORTING ON OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
FRAUD, ABUSE, MISUSE OF CITY RESOURCES AND CONFLICTS OF INTEREST.
AND WITH THAT, THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU, YOU ALL MIGHT HAVE.
AND THEN FOR EVERYBODY ELSE WATCHING, HERE ARE THE DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN GET AHOLD OF MY OFFICE IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.
THAT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE SHARE THOSE HAULING INFORMATION.
IF YOU CAN KEEP THAT UP FOR JUST A SECOND MORE, THAT'D BE GREAT.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS OR, OR COMMENTS? GREAT.
UM, SO BEFORE WE GO TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN, WHICH MAY BE A LONGER CONVERSATION, IF THAT'S OKAY, WE ARE GONNA GO TO ITEM 10.
UM, 'CAUSE THERE'S A COUPLE THINGS THAT HAVE TO GET DONE TODAY.
UM, 'CAUSE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AND I WON'T BE HERE.
[10. Update on the implementation of citywide human capital management software. ]
UM, ITEM 10 UP PLEASE.UH, GOOD MORNING CHAIR ALTER VICE CHAIR POOL COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I'M KARA KA LAKEY, THE CITY'S CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND CTM DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR.
AND I AM JOINED TODAY BY HR DIRECTOR SUSAN SIGNS, UH, ASSISTANT HR DIRECTOR REBECCA KENNEDY AND DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, UH, DIANA THOMAS.
TODAY I'LL PROVIDE A BRIEF, UH, BRIEFING RELEVANT TO ITEM NUMBER 10, UH, THE CITYWIDE HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
THIS PROJECT IS PART OF A LARGER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION STRATEGY TO MODERNIZE KEY SYSTEMS THAT ARE THE FOUNDATION OF THE ESSENTIAL SERVICES WE PROVIDE AS A CITY.
THE PURPOSE OF THIS STRATEGY IS TO PROVIDE SIMPLE, SECURE, AND ACCESSIBLE DIGITAL EXPERIENCES THROUGH OUR INVESTMENT IN MODERN TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS.
THIS TRANSFORMATION OCCURS IN THREE CATEGORIES, COMMUNITY, DIGITAL EXPERIENCE, EMPLOYEE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE, AND DIGITAL CITY BUSINESS.
TODAY WE'LL FOCUS ON THE DIGITAL CITY BUSINESS WE WILL CONDUCT WITH OUR NEW HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WORKDAY.
WORKDAY IS A CLOUD-BASED ENTERPRISE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM THAT WE'LL LEVERAGE FOR OUR HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.
AT THE COMPLETION OF THIS PROJECT, WE'LL HAVE A SYSTEM THAT INTEGRATES CORE HR FUNCTIONS WITH PAYROLL, IT STANDARDIZES HR BUSINESS PROCESSES ACROSS THE CITY.
WE'LL HAVE ELIMINATED NUMEROUS MANUAL AND PAPER PROCESSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO EFFICIENTLY PROVIDE HR RELATED REPORTS USING TRUSTED QUALITY DATA FROM A SINGLE SOURCE OF TRUTH.
AND WE'LL ALSO IMPROVE THE EMPLOYEE EXPERIENCE WITH SMOOTHER ONBOARDING PROCESSES.
AND WE'LL PROVIDE A FULL SUITE OF, UH, MANAGER AND EMPLOYEE SELF SERVICE CAPABILITIES.
THE NEW SYSTEM WILL BRING CHANGES IN SEVERAL KEY AREAS.
SO OUR CORE HUMAN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT IS BASICALLY A ONE STOP SHOP WHERE YOU CAN GET REAL TIME ORG CHARTS.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO SEE ACTIVITIES AROUND THE HIRING PROCESS.
[01:40:01]
WE'LL SEE, UM, BE ABLE TO REVIEW COMPENSATION, GET STANDARD AND AD HOC REPORTS, AND MANY OTHER SELF-SERVICE OPTIONS LIKE CHANGING PERSONAL INFORMATION, UH, DETAILS ON EARNING STATEMENTS AND W TWOS AND SPECIFIC TO THE ONBOARDING AND OFFBOARDING PROCESSES WILL HAVE PERSONALIZED AUTOMATED PROCESSES FOR JOINING AND LEAVING THE CITY.UH, WE'LL BE ABLE TO MORE EFFECTIVELY MANAGE ABSENCES, SPECIALIZED ABSENCE LEAVES LIKE FMLA.
UH, OUR BENEFITS PROVIDERS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE SYSTEM SO THAT WE'LL CAN SEE BENEFITS IN ONE PLACE.
WE'LL SEE ALL THE COMP, UH, COMPONENTS OF OUR COMPENSATION AND PAY.
WE'LL BE ABLE TO LEVERAGE LEARNING MODULES THAT WILL ENABLE THE CITY TO ORGANIZE AND DELIVER TRAINING COURSES AND PROGRAMS TO STAFF AND TRACK THE PROGRESS AND COMPLETION OF THOSE COURSES.
PAYROLL WILL BE PROCESSED THROUGH THE WORKDAY SYSTEM.
OUR RECRUITING PROCESS WILL BE SEAMLESS, CONSISTENT AND PROVIDE A POSITIVE EXPERIENCE FROM CANDIDATE TO EMPLOYEE.
AND THEN OUR TALENT MANAGEMENT MODULE WILL ALLOW US TO, UH, MORE EASILY MONITOR OUR SUCCESSION PLANNING AND OUR PERFORMANCE REVIEW PROCESS.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE HOW WE'VE APPROACHED THE IMPLEMENTATION WITH A FOCUS ON THE USER EXPERIENCE.
WE WANNA MAKE THE EXPERIENCE SIMPLE AND SECURE AND MAKE SURE THAT THE EMPLOYEES HAVE CONFIDENCE IN THE SYSTEM.
UH, WE'VE SPENT QUITE A BIT OF TIME VALIDATING THAT WE HAVE HIGH QUALITY DATA THAT'S AVAILABLE AND READY FOR USE.
THERE'S BEEN A FOCUS ON COLLABORATION AND INCLUSION WITH INVOLVEMENT THROUGH THE CITY FROM DESIGN TESTING, COMMUNICATIONS AND TRAINING.
SO WE HAVE SUCCESSFUL ORGANIZATIONAL ADOPTION AND WE HAVE ALIGNMENT WITH INDUSTRY BEST PRACTICES.
WE'VE ADOPTED A COMMON CITYWIDE APPROACH SO THAT WE STREAMLINE HR PROCESSES AND WORK IN TERMS OF IMPACTS TO THE CITY.
WE'RE SHIFTING FROM ONE SYSTEM, WE'RE SHIFTING TO ONE SYSTEM.
UH, WE'LL HAVE ONE SOURCE OF TRUTH AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE IN REAL TIME.
MANY INTERNAL SYSTEMS, UH, THE CURRENT COUNT IS 11.
WE'RE ELIMINATING PAPER-BASED, UH, HR FORMS. THOSE PROCESSES WILL BE AUTOMATED.
THERE'S NEW TERMINOLOGY AND CONCEPTS THAT WE'LL BE SHARING WITH THE WORKFORCE THAT BASICALLY IS A TERMS CROSSWALK SO THAT PEOPLE WILL BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND HOW THEY MAP THEIR PRESENT WORK AND PRESENT STATE TO THE NEW TERMS IN FUTURE STATE AND WORKDAY.
UM, EMPLOYEES WILL RECEIVE NOTIFICATIONS THROUGH WORKDAY, THROUGH THE SYSTEM ITSELF, THROUGH MOBILE DEVICES AND THROUGH EMAIL.
AND THEN MANAGERS WILL ABLE TO MONITOR AND REVIEW, UH, KEY INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR DIRECT REPORTS AND TEAMS. WE STARTED WORK WITH ACCENTURE, OUR IMPLEMENTATION PARTNER IN JANUARY OF 2023.
AND OUR GO LIVE IS PLANNED FOR JUNE OF 2025 NEXT YEAR.
RIGHT NOW WE'RE DOING PAYROLL PARALLEL TESTING.
THAT'S IN PROGRESS THAT COMPARES THE PAYROLL GENERATED IN OUR LEGACY SYSTEM TODAY AGAINST WORKDAY TO ENSURE ACCURACY.
WE HAVE A CHANGE AMBASSADOR NETWORK THAT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM AROUND THE DEPARTMENTS SO THAT WE HAVE A SUCCESSFUL CHANGE MANAGEMENT INITIATIVE AND WE HAVE A TRAINING TEAM AND PLAN IDENTIFIED AND DOCUMENT IT SO WE CAN EFFECTIVELY TRAIN THE WORKFORCE COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT THAT.
UH, THE TRAINING AND COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT WORKDAY WILL BE COMING OUT MUCH MORE FREQUENTLY AS WE MOVE TOWARDS TRANSITION TO THE NEW SYSTEM.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS? SO I'LL JUST SAY THAT I'M VERY EXCITED FOR THIS, UM, SYSTEM TO FINALLY BE IN PLACE.
UM, IT'S TAKEN A LONG TIME TO GET TO THE ELECTRONIC TIME SHEETS AND TO THIS SYSTEM AND, AND I HOPE IT, UM, MEETS THE ENTERPRISE'S NEEDS AND REALLY FACILITATES A LOT OF PROJECTS.
I WANTED TO FOLLOW UP ON A COUNCIL POLICY THAT WAS PASSED QUITE A WHILE AGO THAT HAS NOT YET BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
UM, AND I WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IS THE TIMING ON MODIFYING
[01:45:01]
THE LEAVE ACCRUAL RATES FOR EMPLOYEES THAT LEAVE AND THEN COME BACK TO THE CITY? THIS WAS PASSED IN 2022 AND IT SAYS THAT LEAVE ACCRUAL RATES SHOULD BE BASED ON AN EMPLOYEE'S FULL CITY OF AUSTIN TENURE, NOT THEIR CONTINUOUS TENURE.UM, SO THAT EMPLOYEES WHO LEAVE THE CITY AND THEN RETURN HAVE ALL THEIR YEARS OF SERVICE COUNTED TOWARD THEIR LEAVE ACCRUAL RATE.
UM, THIS WAS PASSED OVER TWO YEARS AGO.
WE RECEIVED A MEMO IN MAY OF 23, A YEAR AND A HALF AGO STATING THEY WERE WAITING FOR WORKDAY IMPLEMENTATION, WHICH SHOULD BE COMPLETE IN FALL OF 24.
WE'RE NOW IN FALL OF 24, STILL NOT IMPLEMENTED.
UM, CAN YOU PLEASE PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON WHEN THAT POLICY WILL BE IMPLEMENTED? AND I THINK REBECCA THERE TO, TO STEP IN COUNCIL MEMBER? UH, YES.
THIS IS FIRST AND FOREFRONT OF OUR DESIGN AND WE ARE WORKING WITH OUR DESIGN TEAM TO ENSURE THAT THIS IS BUILT IN TO WHEN AN EMPLOYEE LEAVES AND COMES BACK TO THE CITY, THAT THEIR ENTIRE TIME WITH THE CITY IS TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR NOT ONLY THEIR LEAVE ACCRUAL RATES, BUT ANY 10 YEAR PAYMENTS THAT WE HAVE, LIKE OUR SERVICE INCENTIVE PAY.
AND IS THERE ANY SYSTEM FOR PEOPLE WHO GOT STUCK IN THIS SORT OF LIMBO PERIOD SINCE WE PASSED IT? IS THERE ANY RECOURSE TO ADDRESS THAT? WE HAVE NOT THOUGHT THROUGH THAT AT THIS POINT.
JUST WHEN THE SYSTEM GOES LIVE IS WHEN THIS NEW PROCESS WOULD START.
AND IT IS BECAUSE IT IS A, UH, A MANUAL PROCESS AT THIS TIME THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO GO BACK AND RESEARCH MANY THINGS BECAUSE OUR SYSTEM IS NOT, UH, DESIGNED CURRENTLY TO DO THIS.
AND THAT'S WHY WORKDAY WE'RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT, UM, THEY HAVE COMMITTED THAT THEY WILL HELP US FIGURE OUT THE SOLUTION FOR THIS AND THAT WE WILL DO IT WHENEVER WE GO LIVE.
I THINK THERE MAY BE SOME OFFICES THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS THAT WANNA TO SEE IF WE CAN GET IT FASTER FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN IN WAITING FOR THIS TO HAPPEN SO THAT THEY CAN CAN BE INVOLVED IN IN CITY CITY WORK.
WELL, I HOPE, UH, I HOPE THE IMPLEMENTATION GOES WELL AND IT MEETS THE NEEDS.
UM, THERE WERE A COUPLE OTHER FOLKS LISTED HERE.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE NEED TO SPEAK ON THIS FROM THE STAFF WHO ARE HERE FOR THIS ITEM? OKAY, THANK YOU.
[11. Discussion regarding the implementation of billing system improvements for Austin/Travis County EMS, as requested by Resolution 20240814-017. ]
WE WILL TAKE UP ITEM 11, WHICH WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP VERY QUICKLY.UM, SO THIS WAS A DISCUSSION REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE BILLING SYSTEM IMPROVEMENTS THAT WAS ALSO IN A RESOLUTION THAT I HAD.
UM, CHIEF LITZ SHARED A MEMO WITH US DESCRIBING THAT.
UM, AND I WANT TO UNDERSCORE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS THAT WE FIGURE OUT THE BILLING SYSTEM, UM, FOR OUR PHYSICIANS AND OUR PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS, UM, AS WELL AS CONTINUE OUR WORK TO, UM, WORK WITH OTHER ENTITIES IN THE COMMUNITY TO, TO SUPPORT SOME OF THE INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS WE HAVE, LIKE C FOUR AND PARAMEDIC PRACTITIONERS.
UM, CHIEF, I JUST WANTED TO ASK YOU, YOU, YOU MENTIONED IN THE MEMO THAT THERE WAS A, UM, A CONTRACT THAT YOU WERE WORKING ON TO ASSIST WITH THIS.
CAN YOU JUST DESCRIBE KIND OF GENERALLY THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR IN THAT CONTRACT? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS TO EVALUATE HOW IT IS THAT WE, UM, COULD ENTER INTO, UH, POTENTIAL AGREEMENTS OR CONTRACTS WITH VARIOUS VARIOUS PAYERS.
UH, AS YOU KNOW, WHEN WE LOOK AT, UM, HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN ADDRESS REIMBURSEMENTS FROM VARIOUS PAYERS, UM, WE ARE RESTRICTED IN CERTAIN AREAS WITH THE, YOU KNOW, FEDERAL LAWS, MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND OTHERS.
BUT WHEN IT COMES TO THE PRIVATE PAYERS, THERE ARE POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITIES.
UM, HISTORICALLY IN OUR INDUSTRY, THERE HAS NOT BEEN MUCH, UH, MOVEMENT OR APPETITE, UH, PARTICULARLY IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR TOWARDS, UM, DEVELOPING AGREEMENTS GIVEN, UH, THE THE VAST NUMBERS OF ORGANIZATIONS AND AMBULANCE AND EMS AGENCIES ACROSS THIS COUNTRY IN COMPARISON TO THE NUMBER OF PAYERS.
UM, THE POWER GRADIENT THERE IS QUITE GREAT.
AND SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TO ENGAGE IN, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH A SCOPE OF WORK, UM, SOMEONE THAT CAN NOT JUST PROVIDE US WITH RECOMMENDATIONS TO MOVE FORWARD, BUT ASSIST US WITH IMPLEMENTATION, UH, IN DETERMINING THE BEST WAY FOR US TO, UH, DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH PAYERS AND OTHERS TO, UH, ADDRESS THINGS LIKE TREATMENT IN PLACE, UH, TO ADDRESS THINGS.
UH, QUITE FRANKLY, EVERYTHING NOT RELATED TO TRANSPORT, BECAUSE TRANSPORT IS, IS WHAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN OUR KEY AND CORE BUSINESS.
UM, BUT MOVING FORWARD WE'RE SEEING THAT, UH, THE NATURE OF OUR INDUSTRY, THE NATURE OF EMS IS TO FOCUS LESS ON TRANSPORTATION AND MORE ON PROVIDING CARE TO INDIVIDUALS WITH THE RIGHT RESOURCE, WHETHER IT'S, UM, PARAMEDICS, ADVANCED PRACTICE PARAMEDICS, PHYSICIANS ASSISTANCE, COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS, AND PROVIDING THOSE SERVICES TO INDIVIDUALS WHERE THEY MOST NEED IT, WHICH VERY OFTEN IS NOT IN HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM.
AND SO THAT IS THE SCOPE IS NOT JUST TO PROVIDE US WITH RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT TO PROVIDE US WITH A PLAN OF IMPLEMENTATION AND TO ASSIST US IN THAT IMPLEMENTATION AND ANY NEGOTIATIONS OR RELATIONSHIP BUILDING THAT NEEDS TO OCCUR WITH SOME OF THOSE LARGER ORGANIZATIONS.
IT IS, UM, IN MY VIEW, A REAL OPPORTUNITY, UM, FOR FUNDING SOME OF THESE EMS
[01:50:01]
PROGRAMS AT A HIGHER LEVEL TO MEET THE ACCESS CARE AS WE, AS WE HAVE TO FIND WAYS TO ADDRESS THE, THE CARE NEEDS WITHOUT SENDING PEOPLE TO, UM, THE HOSPITAL.SO, UM, I HOPE THAT THAT CONTRACT PROVES USEFUL AND THAT WE CAN ADDRESS AS WE LAUNCH SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS NOW GOING ON FOUR YEARS AND WELL, NOT FOUR YEARS, THREE YEARS.
UM, AND IT'D BE GREAT TO BE ABLE TO CHARGE FOR THE SERVICES THAT WE'RE PROVIDING AT AN APPROPRIATE LEVEL AS WELL AS ADDRESS SOME OF THE OTHER, UM, LEGISLATIVE ISSUES AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT PREVENT US FROM FULLY BILLING FOR OUR COST OF OF SERVICE.
SO THANK YOU, UH, CHIEF, APPRECIATE IT.
AND IF, AND IF I COULD JUST TO THANK YOU ALL AS WELL, UM, Y'ALL HAVE BEEN CHAMPIONS FOR OUR, OUR DEPARTMENT AND REALLY, UH, CHALLENGED US TO DO BETTER IN OUR FINANCES.
AND I'M VERY PROUD OF THE WORK THAT, UH, OUR TEAM AT DMS HAS DONE IN ORDER TO MOVE THAT FORWARD.
BUT CERTAINLY WE WOULD NOT HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IT WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT AND BACKING.
SO, UH, THANK YOU TO, TO ALL OF YOU.
UM, BEFORE I GO ON, I, WE HAD SET THIS MEETING GOING UNTIL 12.
UM, BEFORE WE MOVE TO THE STRATEGIC PLANNING ONE, I JUST WANNA CONFIRM THAT EVERYONE HAS THE TIME TO HAVE THE DISCUSSION.
[9. Update on the progress of the development of a new citywide strategic plan. ]
ITEM NINE, PLEASE.COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, CARRIE LANG, BUDGET OFFICER WITH THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
I AM HAPPY TO BE HERE TO TALK ABOUT THE CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN AND PROVIDE AN UPDATE FOR THAT.
UM, BEFORE I GET STARTED, I HAVE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND THANK THE TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE STRATEGIC PLAN SO FAR.
UM, THE, UH, STRATEGIC PLAN TEAM THAT HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN LED BY BRAD SINCLAIR, WHO HAS RECENTLY RETIRED, UM, AND THEN THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM ALSO IN FINANCIAL SERVICES, WHO HAS HELPED WORK ON THE, UM, WORKSHOPS AND ALL OF THE PILOT WORK THAT WE'VE DONE OVER THE LAST YEAR TO GET US TO THIS POINT IN STRATEGIC PLAN AS WELL AS THE TEAMS ACROSS THE CITY, THE GOAL ADVANCEMENT TEAMS THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING.
I GET THE PRIVILEGE OF COMING UP HERE AND TALKING TO YOU ALL ABOUT THE PLAN, BUT THERE ARE TEAMS ACROSS THE CITY THAT HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS, UM, FOR THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND I'M, I'M GRATEFUL FOR THE WORK THAT THEY'VE DONE.
AND SO WE'LL START OFF BY JUST TALKING ABOUT THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE.
UM, WHEN WE INITIATED THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PLAN, UM, WE MADE SURE THAT WE LOOKED AT, UM, THE, THE FOUNDATION THAT WAS DEVELOPED WITH SD 23, AND WE ALSO LOOKED AT THE, UM, INFORMATION THAT WE RECEIVED FROM THE AUDITORS IN THE 2023, UM, AUDIT REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON HOW TO MOVE THE PLAN FORWARD.
UM, AND SO WE DID THAT IN CREATING THE, WHAT IS NOW THE NEW CITYWIDE STRATEGIC PLAN.
WE'VE CONDUCTED WORKSHOPS OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, UM, CREATED GOAL ADVANCEMENT TEAMS AS WELL AS MADE SURE THAT, UM, WE LOOKED AT A WAY TO MAKE SURE THAT THE, THE PLAN WAS SCALABLE.
SO, UM, IN THE FALL OF 23, WE STARTED WITH A PILOT PROGRAM THAT WENT THROUGH THE SPRING OF 24, UM, TO HELP MAKE SURE THAT AS WE LOOKED AT HOW TO IMPLEMENT AND, UM, OPERATIONALIZE THE PLAN, WE DID IT IN A WAY THAT WAS MEANINGFUL IN MOVING THE GOALS, MEASURES, AND STRATEGIES FORWARD, AS YOU ALL KNOW.
AND THANK YOU, UM, THE, THE STRATEGIC PLAN WAS INCLUDED IN THE FISCAL YEAR 25 BUDGET.
UM, IT WAS INTRODUCED IN THE 25 BUDGET TO THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY AS A WHOLE.
AND THEN SINCE THAT TIME, WE'VE BEEN REALLY WORKING ON THE SCALING BASED ON THE LEARNINGS THAT WE'VE DONE OR THAT WE'VE RECEIVED FROM THE, UM, PILOT PROGRAM.
SO, UM, THINKING ABOUT HOW WE GOT HERE AND WHAT WE'VE DONE, AS I MENTIONED, WE LAUNCHED THE PILOT PROGRAM, UM, A TEAM OF NINE, UM, STRAT, UH, GOAL ADVANCEMENT TEAMS, UM, WORKED ON CREATING INITIATIVES AND WORK PLANS THAT COULD ACTUALLY MOVE THE PLAN FORWARD, THE OVERALL STRATEGIC PLAN FORWARD.
UM, BASED ON SOME OF THOSE LEARNINGS, WE CREATED WHAT WE'RE NOW CALLING AMP, UM, THE ADVANCING MEASURES AND, AND PLANNING, UM, PROCESS FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE TEAMS. AND WE ARE MOVING FORWARD WITH, UM, IMPLEMENTING THAT WITH THE REMAINDER OF THE 15 GOALS AND MEASURES AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE INCLUDED IN THE PLAN.
UM, WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE WORKSHOPS AND IT IT, IT REALLY ALLOWS FOR THE WORK TO CONTINUE BASED ON, UM, THE VISION AND VALUES THAT WAS ESTABLISHED IN SD 23.
BUT, UM, LIKE, LIKE THE RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, UM, WE INCLUDED GOALS, MEASURES, AND STRATEGIES THAT ARE REALLY MEASURABLE THAT WE CAN SEE HOW THE WORK IS MOVING FORWARD FOR THE PLAN.
LOOKING AT THE CURRENT STATE, UM, WE HAVE SEVEN STRATEGIC PRIORITIES THAT INFORM GOALS AND ULTIMATELY, UM, INFORMS THE WORK THAT IS COMPLETED BY THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THESE PRIORITIES WERE WERE, WERE CREATED IN A REFLECTION OF THE
[01:55:01]
DIRECTION AND PRIORITIES THAT COUNCIL HAS INDICATED THROUGH EITHER FORMAL ACTION OR DIRECTION TO STAFF.UM, THESE PRIORITIES WERE CREATED TO ALIGN THE ESTABLISHED GOALS WITH COUNCIL'S DIRECTION AND THE COMMUNITY'S IDENTIFIED HIGHEST AREAS OF FOCUS WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, THE DIFFERENT PRIORITY AREAS YOU SEE THAT THEY ALIGN WITH, UM, JUST THE CONVERSATIONS THAT WE'VE HAD OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND THEN THIS SLIDE ALSO SHOWS THE NUMBER OF GOALS BY EACH PRIORITY AREA.
UM, I COULD GO THROUGH THE DEFINITIONS OF EACH, BUT IT'S A LOT OF THAT INFORMATION IN THE ESTABLISHED PLAN.
YOU CAN SEE THAT PLAN IN THE BUDGET DOCUMENT.
I ALWAYS GO TAKE US BACK TO THE BUDGET DOCUMENT, BUT WE ALSO HAVE IT IN THE, UM, FINANCIAL TRANSPARENCY WEBSITE OF THE CITY WHERE YOU CAN GO IN AND SEE THE FULL PLAN THERE.
MS. LANG, YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUSH THROUGH IT.
WE HAVE TIME, BUT I, I JUST, I, YOU, YOU, YOU DON'T, YOU DON'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THOSE PIECES, BUT I JUST WANT YOU TO NOT FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE TO RUSH THROUGH THE WHOLE THANK YOU, THE WHOLE PRESENTATION.
YEAH,
UM, SO LOOKING AT THE PILOT, KIND OF DIGGING MORE INTO THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, THIS PILOT REALLY, THIS, THIS SLIDE REALLY TALKS ABOUT THE STRATEGIES THAT WERE CREATED BY THE PILOT TEAMS. AS I MENTIONED, WE CREATED THESE PILOT TEAMS TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN SCALE, UM, THE OPERATIONALIZING OF THE PLAN AND IMPLEMENT IT FULLY ACROSS THE CITY.
AND SO THESE TEAMS IDENTIFIED THESE STRATEGIES THAT ARE LISTED HERE.
UM, AND I'LL GO INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF SLIDES TO SHOW HOW THESE STRATEGIES RESULTED IN, UM, INITIATIVES OR WORK PLANS THAT MANY OF THESE TEAMS OR ALL OF THESE TEAMS ARE MOVING FORWARD, UM, AS WE SPEAK RIGHT NOW.
AND SO THE FIRST EXAMPLE THAT I WANNA GIVE IS, UM, A INITIATIVE OR WORK, WORK PLAN IN THE COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SUSTAINABILITY, UM, PRIORITY.
AND THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE IS LED BY THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT.
UM, IT INCLUDES MEMBERS FROM OTHER DEPARTMENTS AS WELL, SUCH AS TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS WHO IS CURRENTLY COLLABORATING WITH PARK TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THEY LOOK AT ACCESS OF, UH, PROGRAMMING IN, UH, NEARBY PARKS.
AND WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO THROUGHOUT THE PLAN IS MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS COLLABORATIVE, THAT IT WASN'T JUST ONE DEPARTMENT WORKING ON THE AREA, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY, UM, CROSS-FUNCTIONAL, UM, WORK THAT HAS TO BE DONE, THAT IT'S USUALLY NOT JUST ONE DEPARTMENT MAKING SURE SOMETHING IS IMPLEMENTED.
AND SO AS WE CREATE THESE TEAMS, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WAS ONE OF THE FOCUSES.
UM, THIS PARTICULAR INITIATIVE IS LOOKING AT ENHANCING EQUITABLE ACCESS TO PARKS, UM, TRAILS AND RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES BY LEVERAGING PARTNERSHIPS.
SO WHEN WE THINK, THINK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS PILOT, WE, UM, STARTED OUT WITH WORKSHOPS, FOUR WORKSHOPS SO THAT THESE TEAMS CAN REALLY DIG INTO WHAT SHOULD THEY DO NEXT.
AND THIS PICTURE REALLY SHOWS, UM, SOME OF THE WORK THAT WAS DONE DURING THE WORKSHOPS WHEN THE TEAMS WENT THROUGH WHAT WE CALL HOW MIGHT WE, SO AS THEY IDENTIFIED CHALLENGES, THEY LOOKED AT HOW MIGHT WE ADDRESS THESE CHALLENGES AS A TEAM, AS A TEAM, EXCUSE ME.
UM, AND THEN FROM THERE, THE TEAMS REALLY STARTED WORKING ON WHAT THAT INITIATIVE WOULD BE.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT LAUNCHING A PILOT PROGRAM TO OFFER DIVERSE RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIES, UM, THIS TEAM REALLY TALKED ABOUT, STARTED WITH LOOKING AT IDENTIFYING WHERE, UM, UTILIZATION WAS CHALLENGING ACROSS THE CITY, WHERE THEY NEEDED TO LOOK AT DIVERSIFYING AND, AND CREATING INCLUSIVE PROGRAMMING AND BUILDING COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS TO ADDRESS WHERE THOSE GAPS WERE.
UM, THEY ALSO LOOKED AT WHAT THOSE PARTNERSHIPS SHOULD LOOK LIKE.
SO THIS TEAM IN PARTICULAR HAS BEEN WORKING WITH A ISD.
THEY'VE BEEN LOOKING AT, UM, DOING THE OVERLAY OF THROUGH ARC GIS, OF DOING THE OVERLAY OF WHERE THOSE GAPS ARE.
AND THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON REALLY, UM, CREATING SOME, UM, UM, INITIATIVES AND WORK GROUPS TO LOOK AT WHAT PROGRAMMING CAN BE DEVELOPED.
AND SO WE CREATED MILESTONES ACTION PLANS BASED ON THIS INITIATIVE.
UM, THIS TEAM HAS, UM, LAUNCHED SOME OF THE, UH, REPORTING THAT, THAT THEY'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
AND THEY ARE, UM, ANTICIPATING BEING ABLE TO, UM, IMPLEMENT SOME OF THESE PROGRAMS IN THESE UNDERUTILIZED AREAS IN THIS, IN THE SPRING AND SUMMER.
SO THEY'RE STILL ON TARGET TO SHOW HOW THIS ACTION IS GOING TO BE, UH, FINALIZED.
AND, AND WE'RE WORKING ON REPORTING OUT OR CREATING REPORTING OP OPPORTUNITIES SO THAT WE CAN SHOW HOW THIS INITIATIVE WORK LEADS TO MOVING THE STRATEGY MEASURE AND ULTIMATELY THE GOALS FORWARD FOR THIS PARTICULAR PLAN.
UM, ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT WE HAVE IS THE WORK THAT IS, THAT IS HAPPENING IN THE HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING AREA.
[02:00:01]
REALLY WANTED TO LOOK AT WHAT APPROACH THEY SHOULD, THEY SHOULD HAVE OR TAKE IN, UM, DEVELOPING BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS, LAUNCHING A DIVERSION PROGRAM.UM, I'M HAPPY TO REPORT THAT THROUGH THIS WORK.
YOU CAN SEE THE FISHBONE, UM, EXERCISE THAT WAS DONE, UM, IN THIS, IN THIS TEAM OVER THE WORKSHOPED PERIOD.
BUT THEY ALSO LOOKED AT, UM, WHAT THEY, THEY CREATED A NUMBER OF, UM, MILESTONES AND ACTION PLANS THAT THEY WANTED TO DO OVER THE COURSE OF THIS, UM, PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION.
TO DATE, THEY'VE COMPLETED ONE OF THEIR MILESTONES AND SIX OF THEIR ACTION ITEMS. UM, THEY'VE UTILIZED THE CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT TEAM TO START WORKING ON THE LAUNCH OF A DIVERSION PROGRAM, UM, BY CREATING SOME CRITERIA AND SOLICITATION, UM, TO MOVE THIS MILESTONE FORWARD.
AND THEY ARE WORKING ON ESTABLISHING PERFORMANCE, UM, MONITORING OR ONCE THE DIVERSION PROGRAM IS CREATED.
SO THEY'RE LOOKING AT IMPLEMENTATION, UM, THROUGH DEVELOPMENT, ALL THE WAY THROUGH HOW THIS PROGRAM WILL BE IMPLEMENTED, AS WELL AS HOW WE'LL REPORT OUT, AGAIN, THE SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAM.
THESE ARE JUST TWO OF THE PROGRAMS OR THE GOAL ADVANCEMENT TEAMS OR INITIATIVES WE WANTED TO POINT OUT.
BUT SEVERAL OF THE TEAMS ARE MOVING, UM, THEIR WORK FORWARD, MOVING THESE INITIATIVES FORWARD BASED ON THE PILOT THAT WAS CREATED.
BUILDING SERVICES, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, IS FOCUSED ON THE HEALTH OF CITY FACILITIES.
THIS TEAM ANTICIPATES COMPLETING THEIR FIRST INITIATIVE BY THE SECOND QUARTER OF THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO SOME TEAMS ARE MAKING A LOT OF GOOD PROGRESS.
UM, SOME HAVE A LITTLE BIT SLOWER PROGRESS, BUT WE'RE STILL SEEING SOME MOVEMENT HAPPEN ACROSS THE TEAMS THAT ARE IN PLACE.
WHEN WE CREATED THE THE PILOT, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE PUT IN A SPACE FOR US TO RECEIVE FEEDBACK AS WE LOOKED AT HOW WE WOULD SCALE THIS ACROSS THE, UM, CITY.
AND SO AFTER EACH WORKSHOP, WE DID HAVE, UM, SURVEYS WHERE WE COULD, UM, GET FEEDBACK FOR THOSE FROM THOSE WHO PARTICIPATED.
WE HAD, UM, AN OVERWHELMINGLY POSITIVE RESPONSE, BUT THEN WE DID ADDRESS SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WERE BROUGHT UP IN THESE WORKSHOPS.
UM, ONCE THE WORKSHOPS WERE COMPLETED, THE FSD TEAM THAT LED THIS, THIS, UH, WORK ALSO DID A RETROSPECTIVE.
WE HAD, UM, ONE OF OUR PARTNER DEPARTMENTS WHO HAS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT, UM, STAFF, THEY CAME IN AND HELPED US WITH THIS RETROSPECTIVE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT WHAT THINGS WE CAN DO DIFFERENTLY, HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT AS WE'RE WORKING ON THIS, WE'RE SCALING IT APPROPRIATELY.
AND THEN WE ALSO ASK THE GOAL ADVANCEMENT OWNERS AND CHAIRS TO GIVE US FEEDBACK AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ARE INCLUSIVE IN OUR REVIEW AND RESPONSE AS, AS WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE WHAT, UM, IS THE NEW PROCESS THAT WILL, WILL, THAT IS MOVING FORWARD WITH THE REST OF THE TEAMS. SO BASED ON ALL THAT FEEDBACK, BASED ON ALL THAT LEARNING THAT WE'VE DONE, UM, WE CREATED WHAT WE'RE CALLING THE AMP LIFECYCLE.
WE ARE A CITY THAT LOVES ACRONYMS, SO WE THOUGHT WE'D CREATE ONE MORE.
UM, AND SO WE CREATED AMP, WHICH IS, UH, ADVANCING MEASURES AND PLANNING.
IT IS THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE PUTTING TEAMS THROUGH TO REALLY CREATE THE NEXT STEP OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, IT IS AN INTERNAL PROCESS THAT TEAMS WILL DO, WILL LOOK AT IN ORDER TO ONE, CREATE THE INITIATIVES TWO, SHOW HOW THOSE INITIATIVES ARE BEING MADE ACTIONABLE, UM, COLLECTING DATA AND ANALYZING THE WORK THAT'S DONE, AND THEN REPORTING THAT INFORMATION OUT TO THE EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT.
AND ULTIMATELY, IT WOULD LEAD TO WHAT REPORTS OUT, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE, UM, IN OUR DASHBOARD AND IN OUR REPORTS OUT, UM, TO, UM, COUNCIL AS A WHOLE.
SO WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE NEXT STEPS, UM, WE ARE WORKING WITH THE REMAINING TEAMS ON CREATING THEIR WORK PLANS.
UM, CURRENTLY WE ARE ALSO, UM, ALIGNING DEPARTMENTS KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS TO THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND STRATEGIC GOALS.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE WORK THAT DEPARTMENTS ARE DOING DAILY THAT, THAT THEY'VE OPERATIONALIZED WILL HELP MOVE THE PLAN FORWARD AS WELL.
UM, OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS, WE WILL CONTINUE THE WORK OF THE WORK PLANS AND FINALIZE THOSE AND THEN BEGIN THE WORKSHOP SERIES FOR THE TEAMS AS WELL AS LAUNCH THE DASHBOARD THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER.
UM, WE'LL CONTINUE TO REFINE THE, UH, MEASURES AND STRATEGIES.
AND THEN AS WE KEEP MOVING FORWARD IN THE MIDTERM, WE'LL LOOK AT HOW WE CAN FURTHER, UH, INTEGRATE THE PLAN INTO OPERATIONS AND INTO BUDGET DEVELOPMENT.
THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF THE DASHBOARD THAT IS IN, UM, DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW.
WE'RE WORKING ON LAUNCHING THAT BY, UM, THE FIRST QUARTER OF CALENDAR YEAR 2025.
WE ARE REALLY WORKING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DASHBOARD IS ACCESSIBLE.
[02:05:01]
AND SO, UM, WE'VE RUN INTO A COUPLE OF DEVELOPMENT SNAGS, UM, BUT WE ARE TAKING A STEP BACK TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN PUSH SOMETHING OUT THAT WILL BE, UM, INFORMATIONAL, TRANSPARENT ON OUR PROGRESS AND ALLOW FOR STAKEHOLDERS TO SEE THE WORK THAT IS REALLY BEING DONE BY THE CITY.AND THEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE NEXT STEPS OF HOW WE CAN FURTHER INTEGRATE THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND BUDGET DEVELOPMENT.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, AND YOU ALL ARE WELL AWARE, IT WAS PUBLISHED IN THE 25 BUDGET.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT COMPREHENSIVE INTEGRATION IN THE COMING YEAR WHERE WE DIVE INTO WHAT RESOURCES ARE NEEDED TO MOVE THE PLAN FORWARD, UM, MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE SHOWING CLEAR CONNECTIONS BETWEEN DECISIONS THAT ARE BEING MADE AND THE PROGRESS ON THE PLAN.
UM, I THINK ONE OF THE WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT HOW WE'VE CREATED THE PLAN TO DATE IS THAT IT IS A LIVE DOCUMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE LOOKING AT THIS, THESE ACTION PLANS, WE ARE REALLY DIVING INTO WHAT IS WORKING WELL OR SOME CHALLENGES IN THE WAYS THAT THINGS ARE WORKING THAT WE MAY NEED TO STEP BACK AND LOOK AND SAY, OKAY, DOES THIS STRATEGY WORK? DO WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS STRATEGY? UM, DO WE NEED TO MAKE UPDATES TO THE PLAN BASED ON THE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE MADE? AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT, UM, LOOP IN THIS PROCESS IN, IN ORDER TO PROVIDE UPDATES AND CHANGES AS NEEDED TO THE PLAN WITH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF MOVING THE, UH, STRATEGIES AND THE GOALS FORWARD BASED ON THE PRIORITY AREA.
I TRIED TO SLOW DOWN, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE.
THANK YOU, MS. LANG, THAT WAS VERY HELPFUL.
AS USUAL, I'M GONNA CALL ON COUNCIL MEMBER RYAN.
UM, FIRST THANK YOU VERY MUCH AND I APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION IS REALLY HELPFUL TO SEE A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHAT'S GOING ON.
UH, YOU AND I HAVE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE STRATEGIC PLAN, AND I THINK THIS IS, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS HOW A LARGE ORGANIZATION SHOULD OPERATE, RIGHT? YOU HAVE TO HAVE GOALS AND, AND THOSE GOALS HAVE TO BE WELL UNDERSTOOD, NOT ONLY BY, UH, THOSE OPERATING IT, BUT SO THAT WE CAN SHARE WITH THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHERE OUR PRIORITIES ARE.
AND AS YOU MENTIONED, THOSE GOALS THEN FEED STRAIGHT INTO OUR BUDGET DECISIONS, WHICH REALLY HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON SO MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
SO REALLY WHERE I WANT TO, UM, JUST ASK OR FIGURE OUT HOW WE DO GOING FORWARD, UM, YOU KNOW, THE LAST PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE, I SUGGESTED THAT WE BRING THOSE AREAS OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN THAT ARE COVERED BY THAT COMMITTEE, UH, TO HAVE A DISCUSSION ABOUT WHAT GOALS ARE HAVE BEEN SET, OR DO WE FEEL THAT THEY'RE APPROPRIATE? DO WE FEEL THAT THERE ARE ANY THAT ARE MISSING? UH, AND I THINK THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR REALLY ALL OF OUR COMMITTEES.
I THINK WE HAVE NOT REALLY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY AS A BODY OR EVEN JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, THE SUBGROUPS THAT OUR COMMITTEES ARE TO TALK ABOUT THESE GOALS.
I I REALLY APPRECIATE THE WORK THAT STAFF DID TO TAKE THE VOLUME OF WORK AND, AND, AND REALLY GET IT DOWN TO THIS SET OF GOALS.
BUT I DO THINK, UH, IT WOULD BE HELPFUL FOR US AS A BODY TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT THOSE VARIOUS AREAS AND TALK ABOUT IF WE THINK THERE ARE APPROPRIATE MEASURES, DIFFERENT MEASURES THAT WE WANNA SEE ADDED, OR JUST, UH, HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
SO I, I THINK THAT'LL, YOU KNOW, WE'LL, WE CAN DO THAT IN THE NEXT YEAR.
UM, BUT THAT WOULD JUST BE MY ONE REQUEST GOING FORWARD.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MS. I APPRECIATE IT.
[12. Recognition of outgoing Committee Members. ]
TWO ITEMS, I'M GONNA CALL UP MS. STOKES AND YOU CAN TAKE THEM IN WHATEVER ORDER YOU WOULD LIKE.I THINK DIANA'S COMING UP HERE WITH ME TOO.
SHE JUST DIDN'T KNOW THAT TILL JUST NOW
UM, SO, UH, FOR, FOR TODAY, SO YOU GUYS, UM, I THINK YOU GUYS KNOW, BUT WE HAVE THREE COMMITTEE MEMBERS WHO ARE, UH, LEAVING THE DAIS.
AND SO, UH, THIS IS THEIR LAST MEETING, COUNCIL MEMBER.
KELLY'S NOT WITH US, BUT COUNCILMAN MORALES AND ALTER AND MAYOR PRO POOL, UM, HAVE SERVED ON THIS COMMITTEE, UH, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
THE C COUNCIL MEMBER POOL SERVED AS A MEMBER, UH, FOR, WELL A MEMBER AND THEN VICE CHAIR FOR A TOTAL OF 10 YEARS.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S BEEN WITH US THE LAST SIX.
UM, I HAVE LOVED, I'VE BEEN HERE EIGHT, I'VE JUST BEEN CHAIR SIX.
I FEEL LIKE I CHECK THESE NUMBERS, BUT THAT'S FAIR.
UM, BUT, UM, ANYWAY, WE'VE REALLY APPRECIATED THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU GUYS.
UM, AND BECAUSE I AM, YOU KNOW, AUDITORS ARE, ARE NOTORIOUSLY NERDY, AS ARE THOSE FINANCE PEOPLE TOO,
[02:10:01]
TALK ABOUT AUDIT FINDINGS, THE WAY THAT WE DEVELOP, UM, AUDITS IS TO DEVELOP A FINDING.AND SO THIS IS THE FRAMEWORK WE USE.
AND SO WE HAVE CRITERIA, WHAT DO WE WANT FROM THE SITUATION CONDITION, WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? CAUSE HOW DID IT GET THAT WAY? USUALLY IF IT'S MISMATCHED AND THEN EFFECT, UM, WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR US? AND SO JUST WANNA SAY A COUPLE WORDS USING THE FINDINGS FRAMEWORK ABOUT MY APPRECIATION FOR YOU GUYS AS MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE OVER THE YEARS.
UM, WHAT WE WANT IS KNOWLEDGEABLE AND DEDICATED MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE, UM, THAT ARE GONNA BE EMPHASIZING THE THINGS THAT WE AS A CITY REALLY NEED TO BE FOCUSED ON.
AND PARTICULARLY FOR US IN AUDIT AND FINANCE, UM, ROLES.
WE WANT TRANSPARENCY, WE WANT ACCOUNTABILITY.
WE WANNA BE FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE, AND WE WANT THE CITY TO CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE IN EVERYTHING IT DOES.
UM, SO IN THIS AREA, THAT'S OUR CRITERIA, OUR CONDITION.
YOU GUYS HAVE BEEN AMAZING, KNOWLEDGEABLE, DEDICATED LEADERS.
UM, LOTS OF DIFFERENT, DIFFERENT AREAS OF FOCUS.
UM, BUT YOU'VE, UM, ALSO BEEN HERE PROVIDING OVERSIGHT, HEARING AUDIT RESULTS, UH, RESULTS OF OUR PERFORMANCE AUDITS, OUR FINANCIAL AUDITS, UM, APPOINTING FOLKS TO OUR OVERSIGHT, UH, BOARDS BY OF CITY OWNED ENTITIES, AS WELL AS OUR MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.
UM, HEARING THINGS ABOUT OUR PENSION SYSTEMS AND, UM, OVERSEEING COMMISSION BYLAWS REQUESTS SO MUCH THERE, THERE WAS A LOT IN THAT PARAGRAPH.
UM, BUT, BUT REALLY YOU GUYS, UM, COVER A HUGE AMOUNT OF, UM, TERRITORY AND I, AND I THINK, UH, BECAUSE OF YOUR, UM, COMMITMENT, I THINK TO PUBLIC SERVICE, BUT ALSO TO THIS ROLE, UM, WE REALLY HAVE, UH, AN IMPROVED SYSTEM HERE IN AUSTIN AND BETTER SERVICES FOR OUR CITIZENS.
SO, UM, WE ACTUALLY HAVE, UM, A RECOGNITION, UM, AUDIT REPORT FOR EACH OF YOU.
UH, IT THAT GETS A LITTLE MORE SPECIFIC ABOUT YOUR INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO THAT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
ALTHOUGH IT SEEMS LIKE I MAY HAVE AN ERROR TO CORRECT IF I HAVE YOU AS SIX YEARS INSTEAD OF EIGHT.
SO I NEED TO VERIFY THAT, WHICH I'LL DO.
SO DO YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING TO THAT? I, I JUST WANNA ADD, YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN BEEN WONDERFUL WORKING WITH ALL OF YOU AND KNOWING THAT SHARING EDUCATION ALONG THE WAY, LIKE WHAT IS A SINGLE AUDIT AND, AND HOW DOES IT WORK? WHAT IS AN ACT FOR OR AN ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL REPORT? WHY DO WE HAVE FINANCIAL POLICIES AND WHY DO WE CHANGE THEM? UH, SO IT'S BEEN VERY VALUABLE TO SHARE THESE THINGS WITH YOU, GET YOUR PERSPECTIVES ON HOW THEY WORK AND, AND COLLABORATE TOGETHER TO MAKE SURE WE MAKE THE CITY A BETTER ORGANIZATION.
SO WE'RE VERY PROUD TO HAVE WORKED WITH YOU ALL THESE YEARS AND THANK YOU SO MUCH.
BEFORE YOU DO YOUR ITEM 13, I JUST WANNA, UM, THANK THE, BOTH THE FINANCE STAFF AND THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE AS WELL AS DIANA AND, AND COREY FOR LEADING US ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, I'VE LEARNED SO MANY THINGS ON THIS COMMITTEE, SOME THINGS I WANTED TO LEARN AND SOME THINGS I DIDN'T KNOW I WANTED TO LEARN.
UM, AND WE HAVE DONE, YOU KNOW, REALLY IMPORTANT THINGS WITH RESPECT TO THE PENSIONS AND SECURING PENSIONS FOR OUR EMPLOYEES TO, YOU KNOW, THE EXTERNAL AUDIT ON WATER THAT YOU RAN, THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE ON DISASTER RESPONSE.
UM, AS WELL AS, I GUESS WE ALSO SHOULD INCLUDE THE CLERK'S OFFICE IN THIS PROCESS, UM, AS WELL, YOU KNOW, REALLY, UM, STEPPING UP TO GET SOME OF THE PROCESSES FOR OUR COMMISSIONS A LITTLE BIT MORE STREAMLINED, UM, AND REALLY CREATING THIS AS A FORUM WHERE WE COULD BRING SOME BIG ISSUES AS A SPACE THAT WHEN WE NEEDED TO DO FOLLOW UP AND HAVE PUBLIC CONVERSATIONS, WE COULD HAVE THAT.
WHEN I THANK MY COLLEAGUES, UM, FOR SHOWING UP AND, AND AND PARTICIPATING, UM, IN LOTS OF THINGS THAT I WANTED TO HAVE ON THE AGENDA, SOME OF WHICH YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU WANTED TO HAVE ON THE AGENDA,
UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE STRONG CITY ORGANIZATION THAT WE DO BECAUSE OF THE WORK THAT, UM, THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT DOES THAT THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UM, DOES, YOU KNOW THAT THAT REALLY MAY NOT BE THE SEXIEST PARTS OF WHAT WE DO AS A CITY, BUT ARE THE PARTS THAT KEEP OUR BOND RATING, THAT KEEP US OUT OF THE NEWS, UM, AND ALLOW US TO ADDRESS THE RISKS.
IT'S, IT'S BEEN A PLEASURE BEING ABLE TO WORK WITH, WITH YOU ALL.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, MS. STOKES IS A DIRECT REPORT OF THE COUNCILS AND AS CHAIR I'VE HAD A EXTRA OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH YOU AND I'VE APPRECIATED THAT AS WELL.
DID YOU WANT A SECOND? I WANTED TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE REALLY STRONG SUPPORT THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN THIS COMMITTEE OVER THE YEARS AND FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE THAT HAS IMPROVED OUR OUTLOOK AND THE LEVEL OF EDUCATION AND, AND KNOWLEDGE THAT OUR COMMUNITY HAS ABOUT OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS.
[02:15:01]
SO I OWE MY THANKS TO YOU GUYS AND I KNOW YOU'LL CONTINUE DOING GREAT WORK GOING FORWARD.I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE WE'RE LOSING OVER 20 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE ON THIS COMMITTEE AND, AND THE QUORUM NO LESS.
SO
I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A COUPLE EAGER COUNCIL MEMBER ELECT WHO WANNA BE ON THIS COMMITTEE, SO, UM, WHO HAVE A BENT FOR OF GOVERNANCE AND OVERSIGHT.
SO I THINK YOU'LL BE IN GOOD HANDS.
[13. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings. ]
TO SAY ANYTHING FOR ITEM 13.THE ONLY THING FOR FUTURE ITEMS IS THAT WE DO HAVE, WE HAVE AN APPROVED CALENDAR FOR 2025 WITH DATES ON THERE, OUR NEXT MEETING, UM, SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE UH, WE NO LONGER HAVE A QUORUM OF THIS COMMITTEE OR WE WILL NOT HAVE A QUORUM FOR THIS COMMITTEE, UM, IN THE NEW YEAR.
SO, UH, FEBRUARY 19TH BELIEVE IS OUR, UM, FIRST MEETING OF 2025.
THERE'S ALSO A MEETING SCHEDULED FOR MARCH THAT WAS ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE, NO ACCIDENTALLY SCHEDULED.
UH, AND SO WE'LL ACTUALLY BE RESCHEDULING THAT 'CAUSE IT'S DURING SPRING BREAK, WHICH WAS AN ACCIDENT.
SO, UM, ONE MEETING RIGHT NOW FOR 2025 FOR SURE.
AND THEN WE'LL FIGURE OUT THE SCHEDULE FOR THE REST OF IT ONCE WE HAVE A COMMITTEE.
AND WITH THAT IT IS 12 11 20 24 AT 11:48 AM AND I AM AJOUR THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.