[00:00:03]
[CALL TO ORDER]
COMMISSION MEETING, UM, OUR AUGUST REGULAR CALLED MEETING, I'LL CALL ATTENDANCE.COMMISSIONER BERNHARDT WILL NOT JOIN US TODAY.
COMMISSIONER CARROLL IS NOT AVAILABLE TODAY.
COMMISSIONER DRAGO WILL NOT BE ABLE TO JOIN US TODAY.
I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM TODAY, SO I'M NOT SURE IF THEY'LL BE JOINING US.
UM, COMMISSIONER SIERRA ARLO COMMISSIONERS ONLINE.
COULD WE JUST DO AN AUDIO CHECK PLEASE? IN ORDER TO VERIFY THAT WE DO ACTUALLY HAVE QUORUM AND COMMISSIONER SMITH PRESENT TESTING? YEP.
IS IS EVERYONE ONLINE HAVING, UM, AUDIO ISSUES OR IS IT, IS IT AN US ISSUE? TEST ONE, TWO.
AND COMMISSIONER NEN IS, I THINK, WORKING ON IT.
COMMISSIONER N'S GONNA RESET AND TRY TO GET BACK ON IF YOU CAN.
IT SAYS THAT HIS PERMISSION, PERMISSION IS NEEDED FOR AUDIO JOINING.
YEAH, WE'RE JUST GONNA RECESS WHILE COMMISSIONER NGUYEN GETS, UM, BACK ON.
[PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL]
BE HERE.UH, ANYWAY, THIS THING ABOUT RAIL CROSSINGS AT GRADE, THAT MEANS WHEN THE TRAINS AND THE CARS ARE ON THE SAME PLANE AND CAN HIT EACH OTHER, UH, HAS BEEN, I'VE BEEN CONCERNED ABOUT, MAINLY I'VE BEEN, I DRIVE ALONG DUVAL ROAD A LOT.
DUVAL ROAD HAS CROSSINGS OF BOTH RAIL SYSTEMS THAT GO THROUGH TOWN, AND THAT IS THE, THE AMTRAK, THE AMTRAK, MISSOURI PACIFIC.
AND THEN THERE'S OUR CAP METRO LINE.
AND WHEN A TRAIN HITS A CAR, IT'S LIKE A TRUCK HITTING A COKE CAN.
SO IF, IF THEY HIT, THERE'S ALMOST IT'S SEVERE DAMAGE TO THE PERSON ON AND THE, AND THE CAR OR DEATH TO THE PERSON IN THE CAR.
UH, BUSES AND TRUCKS HAVE SEVERE, UH, THINK ABOUT BUSES AND TRUCKS HAVE TO STOP.
THERE'S SOME VEHICLES, UH, TRUCKS WITH HAZARDOUS OF MATERIAL.
NOW, WHY DO THINK, WHY DO THEY HAVE TO STOP? WHY SHOULD THERE STOP? THERE'S NO, IF NO TRAIN IS COMING.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO ANYBODY? ANYBODY? NO.
SO YOU AT LEAST HAVE TO BE WARY OF A TRAIN COMING TO THE CROSSING WHEN YOU CROSS THE TRACKS.
NOW, YOU CAN'T HEAR THE TRAIN AS WELL, BECAUSE THE TRAIN CANNOT USE THEIR HORNS.
IN URBAN AREAS, YOU SEE, GO SEE A LOT OF NO TRAIN HORNS.
AND, AND I, I DIDN'T PAY THAT MUCH ATTENTION TO THOSE UNTIL I GOT TO THINKING, WELL, THAT MEANS THE TRAIN CAN'T USE THEIR HORN.
IT DOESN'T MEAN I CAN'T USE MY HORN.
SO THEREFORE YOU'RE NOT GONNA HEAR THE TRAIN COMING.
UH, AND IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ON ANY OF THESE ITEMS I'VE WRITTEN DOWN HERE, JUST FEEL FREE.
UH, THE RED LINE HAS THE, THAT'S THE, UH, M TR, I MEAN THE CAP METRO LINE.
I STARTED DOWNTOWN AND I DIDN'T, DIDN'T GET THAT MUCH FARTHER THAN PALMER LANE.
[00:05:01]
AT GRADE CROSSINGS.AND THE SIGNAGE KIND OF GOING AROUND MY LIST HERE, THE SIGN THERE.
SIGNAGE OBVIOUSLY NEEDS TO SAY, TELL THE TRAFFIC, TELL SLOW DOWN.
THERE COULD BE A TRAIN COMING ACROSS THE TRACK AHEAD OF YOU.
UH, WHAT, WHAT, WHAT YOU HAVE IN, IN THE SIGNAGE IS VERY INCONSISTENT AND ALMOST NON-EXISTENT SOMETIMES.
LIKE IF THOSE BREAKER LANE, YOU SEE THE TRAIN HORN? ABOUT THREE MINUTES.
WELL, I HOPE YOU GOT, I'M GONNA TAKE THIS EVERYWHERE.
UM, THAT IS ALL FOR THE GENERAL PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE SOMEONE WHO SIGNED UP FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX, WHO'S REQUESTED TO SPEAK NOW.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS, PUBLIC SAFETY STAFF.
UM, I'M GOING TO BE A BIT MORE CONFRONTATIONAL THAN I'M COMFORTABLE WITH.
UM, AND, UM, TALKING ABOUT THE INTRODUCTORY CLAUSES, EXPLAINING THE REASONING FOR THE COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS ON THE A PD CADET ACADEMY.
UM, TO ME, THEY'RE RELEVANT AND OFFENSIVE.
DREDGING UP PREVIOUS CONCERNS, MANY OF WHICH HAVE BEEN RESOLVED.
NOT ONLY SERVES NO PURPOSE, BUT AS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW SOME MEMBERS OF THIS BODY CONTINUE TO ERODE OPPORTUNITIES FOR, UH, POSITIVE COLLABORATION WITH A PDI RECOMMEND A RESEARCH PAPER BY 21 CP SOLUTIONS TO UNDERSTAND, UH, AND DEVELOP COMPASSION FOR THE INTENSE OCCUPATIONAL STRAIN EXPERIENCED BY POLICE OFFICERS.
PERF HAS PUBLISHED A REPORT ON THE WORKFORCE CRISIS IN POLICING, ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION EFFORTS.
SO THAT'S VERY EDUCATIONAL, UH, TO ADDRESS A FEW POINTS IN THE RESOLUTION, RACISM AND RELATEDLY USE OF FORCE.
ROBIN ENGEL AT THIS MAYS PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE? SHE'S A RESEARCH SCIENTIST WITH 21 CP SOLUTIONS.
SHE DID A, A FOUR YEAR DATA REVIEW AND DEMONSTRATED THERE IS NO, UH, DISPARITY IN USE OF FORCE AMONG RACIAL ETHNIC GROUPS.
AND SHE NOTED THE MOST SEVERE LEVEL ONE USE OF FORCE, UM, HERE AT A PD WAS 0.7% AFTER REVIEWING A HUNDRED LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES.
SHE DESCRIBED THIS AS EXCELLENT.
UM, THIS BODY IS RECOMMENDING COMPLETION OF ALL THE RSP, UH, RSP RECOMMENDATIONS.
ARE YOU SERIOUS? UM, DO YOU KNOW THAT THREE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS REQUESTED A REDUCTION IN NEIGHBORHOOD PATROL, DEFUNDING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS AND DEFUNDING A PD DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES? AND DO YOU THINK THAT POLICE COMMUNITY COLLABORATION IS THE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY OF A PD MORE ON THE TASK FORCE? ARE YOU AWARE THEY REFUSED TO WORK WITH 21 CP SOLUTIONS THAT WERE ENGAGED BY THE CITY TO FACILITATE THIS GROUP AND CITY LEADER SAID, OKAY.
ARE YOU AWARE THAT THE 143 RECOMMENDATIONS WERE OUTSIDE THE REALM OF FISCAL, UM, UH, FEASIBILITY? A CM ANO, UH, COURTEOUSLY NOTED THIS.
ARE YOU AWARE OF RRSP MEMBERS IMMEDIATE DEMANDS AT THE APRIL, 2021 COUNCIL PRESENTATION FOR SIGNIFICANT SUMS OF MONEY FOR VARIOUS NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS OF THEIR, THEIR CHOOSING.
THEY WERE MET WITH A STUNNED SILENCE AFTER WHICH ANOTHER MEMBER COUNSELED HIM TO NOT BE AFRAID TO SPEAK UP.
THIS SAID THE CITY DID FUND TO THE TUNE OF 36.5 MIL, SOME OF THE MORE REASONABLE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE HAVE YOUR COMMENTS IN OUR EMAIL AS WELL.
WE HAVE YOUR NOTES, SO THANK YOU.
PLEASE TRY TO LIMIT YOUR GUYS.
THAT CONCLUDES ALL THE SPEAKERS.
[2. Public Safety Quarterly Report, Austin Fire Department.]
OUR FIRE QUARTERLY REPORT.DID YOU WANNA TAKE MINUTES UP OR MOVE STRAIGHT TO THE REPORT? UM, LET'S MOVE STRAIGHT INTO THE REPORT SO THAT WE CAN GET TO EVERYONE'S TIME AND WE'LL TAKE CARE OF MINUTES AT THE END.
GOOD AFTERNOON, COMMISSIONERS.
IF WE COULD GET THE POWERPOINT PULLED UP.
WHAT IS IN THE BACKUP, AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT, IS, UH, AND WHAT'S HERE? OH, YES, PLEASE.
[00:10:01]
THANK YOU, SIR.UH, SOME OF THIS IS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE LANGUAGE IS CONSISTENT WHEN WE USE, UM, AS WE MOVE ON TO, UH, THE FLOODING RESPONSE.
UM, ONE OF THE WORDS THAT WE USE IS DEPLOYED, AND THAT USUALLY, UH, FOR US REFERS TO, UH, UNITS ABOVE AND BEYOND OUR NORMAL ASSIGNMENT.
PEOPLE THAT WE WOULD, UH, GET, UH, EITHER BASED ON A TECHNICAL CAPABILITY OR OTHERWISE, AND SEND OUTSIDE OF OUR NORMAL STAFFING.
SO THAT WOULD BE ON SOME SORT OF A ADDED TIME BASIS OR OFTENTIMES, UH, WITH RECOVERY FROM, OR USUALLY RECOVERED FROM THE STATE AS FAR AS A REQUEST GOES.
AND THEN WE HAVE OTHER THINGS THAT WOULD BE MORE ALONG WITH MUTUAL AID, WHERE THERE'S A, A NEIGHBORING PARTNER THAT HAS NEEDS AND WILL FLEX OVER UNITS THAT ARE ALREADY ON DUTY TO HELP THEM OUT.
AND SO SOME OF THE ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS SLIDE ARE BASED ON THAT SORT OF LANGUAGE WITH THE, UH, THE, THE, THE TRAGIC FLOODS IN THE FIRST PART OF JULY.
OVER THE 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND, WE, UH, HAD THE ABILITY TO HELP OUT IN A NUMBER OF AREAS.
ON THE 4TH OF JULY, WE DID SEND THREE RESCUE SWIMMERS AS A PART OF OUR HELICOPTER SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM, TO, TO ASSIST WITH, UH, TRYING TO RESCUE PEOPLE FROM THE, THE FLOODS.
AND THEN IN ADDITION TO THAT, AS, AS THE, THE RAIN CONTINUED AND, AND, AND FLOODING, UH, CONTINUED OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS, WE SENT OUT SOME OTHER UNITS, UH, TO HELP OUT EITHER THROUGH DEPLOYMENT OR THROUGH A, A WHAT WOULD LOOSELY CALL A MUTUAL AID SORT OF SETUP WHERE WE, WE SENT UNITS TO, TO HELP OUT THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, WERE PART OF WERE, UM, ON THE FIFTH AND 6TH OF JULY, THERE WAS, UH, ONE BATTALION CHIEF, A RESCUE TRUCK, AND A FD BOAT WERE ASSIGNED TO ASSIST WITH ESD ONE, THAT'S LAGO VISTA WITH WATER RESCUE AND SEARCH EFFORTS.
ON JULY 7TH, WE DEPLOYED SIX ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL TO AUGMENT TEXAS TASK FORCE ONE, UH, THAT'S AN URBAN SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM.
THOSE SIX PEOPLE WERE TO HELP WITH SEARCHING FOR, UH, VICTIMS OR, OR RECOVER FOLKS FROM THE FLOODING IN THE CURVILLE AREA.
ON JULY 8TH, WE DEPLOYED ONE BATTALION CHIEF TO, UH, HELP OUT WITH COMMUNICATIONS.
THAT'S THE PERSON HAD VERY UNIQUE SKILLSET.
SO WITH THE, THE RADIOS AND AND LACK OF RADIO, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE OUT IN THE CURVILLE AREA, THEY'D SET UP MOBILE TOWERS TO HELP WITH THE, THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE THROUGH RADIOS.
AND WE, UH, SENT DRONE TEAMS TO HELP OUT WILLIAMSON COUNTY, LIBERTY HILL, AND LEANDER.
AGAIN, AN EASIER VIEW FROM THE DRONES TO LOOK OVER AN AREA AND TRY TO ASSESS HOW BEST TO HELP.
AND WE'VE ALSO SENT, UH, UNITS OVER THE EIGHTH AND 9TH OF JULY TO HELP OUT ON THE, UM, THE, THE SEARCH AND RESCUE EFFORTS IN THE MARBLE FALLS AREA.
AND WE ALSO SEND OUT OTHER BOAT TEAM ON THE 11TH TO THE CHILDRESS AREA FOR ONGOING FLOODING THAT HAPPENED OVER THOSE SERIES OF DAYS.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THIS SLIDE IS OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIME TRENDS OVER TIME.
UH, THE VERY LAST PART HERE, THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SCREEN, IS DUE TO AN INCOMPLETE YEAR.
THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT DIP DOWN.
THAT'S NOT, UH, A CHANGE ON THINGS.
HOWEVER, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR IN COLLABORATION WITH AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY, EMS AND THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, THERE WERE SOME, UH, EVALUATIONS OF WHICH TYPE OF MEDICAL CALLS AND WHO SHOULD RESPOND TO THOSE.
SO THERE WAS A READJUSTMENT OF THOSE.
AND OVER THE PAST SEVERAL WEEKS, WE HAVE SEEN A, UH, A NOTABLE DECLINE IN THE TYPE OF CALLS THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS BROUGHT ONTO THE LOWER LEVEL, UH, MEDICAL CALLS.
ONES THAT ARE, ARE, ARE NOT DEEMED LIFE THREATENING OR OF SIGNIFICANT MEDICAL CONCERN, BUT STILL NEED SOME SORT OF APPROPRIATE RESPONSE OR ONES THAT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, UH, ARE CURRENTLY GOING ON TO BASED ON THAT, THAT REASSESSMENT AND REPRIORITIZATION DONE BY THE MEDICAL DIRECTOR.
WE'LL SEE HOW THAT PLAYS OUT, UH, AND WHETHER THAT'S A CONTINUED DEAL OR IF THAT'S ADJUSTED.
AGAIN, THERE WAS AN ADJUSTMENT SORT OF LIKE THIS DONE ABOUT THREE YEARS AGO, GIVE OR TAKE A LITTLE BIT, UH, THAT WASN'T AS DRAMATIC AS THIS ONE.
THIS ONE'S A A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
AGAIN, NOT REFLECTED ON THESE NUMBERS, BUT IN, IN COMING PRESENTATIONS, YOU SHOULD SEE SOMETHING THAT REFLECTS THAT, THAT PARTICULAR CHANGE.
THE CITY HAS BEEN PHENOMENAL IN HELPING OUT OUR AGING INFRASTRUCTURE, WHERE WE HAVE, UH, AT LEAST ONE FIRE STATION THAT'S OVER A HUNDRED YEARS OLD, OVER, UH, AT 10TH AND BLANCO.
THESE OTHER ONES ARE NOT QUITE AS OLD, BUT MOST CERTAINLY IN NEED OF, OF, OF, OF MODERNIZATION TO, TO MEET OUR CURRENT NEEDS IN FACILITIES WITH, UH, GENDER NEUTRAL BATHROOMS WITH
[00:15:01]
IMPROVED, UH, COMMUNICATIONS, IMPROVED, UH, METHODS TO REDUCE THE RISK OF CANCER FOR OUR FIREFIGHTERS.AND WE'VE HAD THESE RECENT PROJECTS COMPLETED.
STATION EIGHT WAS COMPLETED ON MAY 12TH OF STATION 20, ALSO ON THE 12TH.
UH, STATION 21 HAD A DRIVEWAY ADJUSTMENT.
AND THEN STATION 29 WAS COMPLETED BACK ON MAY 12TH AS WELL.
UH, DIFFERENT THINGS THERE BASED ON, UH, A VARIETY OF NEEDS.
SOME OF THEM ARE A MAJOR OVERHAUL.
SOME WERE, WERE MORE FOCUSED IN NATURE THROUGH SOME OF THESE STATION RENOVATIONS.
WE'VE HAD SOME ISSUES WITH, UM, UH, MOLD ISSUES WITH THE NEW AC UNITS THAT ARE PUT IN THERE.
MEETING THE, THE, UH, THE, THE NEW STANDARDS AND JUST WORKING THROUGH THE PARTICULAR CHALLENGES AND SOMETIMES HAVING TO PULL THE UNITS BACK OUT OF THAT STATION SO AS TO MAKE THOSE FIXES TO, TO THE REMEDIATE THE MOLD AND FIX THE, THE, THE ISSUE WITH THE AC THAT'S GOING ON THAT CAUSED THAT.
UH, EACH TIME WE COME TO VISIT WITH Y'ALL ON OUR QUARTERLY REPORT, WE TALK ABOUT AUTOMATIC AID.
THAT'S THE AGREEMENT WITH MOST OF OUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, SO THAT WHENEVER THERE'S AN INCIDENT, THE CLOSEST UNITS ARE RESPONDED TO THAT INCIDENT REGARDLESS OF WHO'S, UH, UH, SYMBOL OR NAME IS ON THE SIDE OF THE APPARATUS.
KEY THING IS HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE, THE, UH, THE COMMUNITY FIRST, REGARDLESS OF WHO'S GOING.
UM, WITH THAT, MOST RECENTLY, BACK ON THE JULY, JULY 21ST, THERE WAS A, A FIRE IN THE WESTLAKE AREA THAT WAS A JOINT RESPONSE WITH, WITH A FD AND WESTLAKE UNITS.
UH, WE TRAIN ON A REGULAR BASIS NOW AS WELL.
SO THE TRAINING, THE REGULAR CALLS WERE GOING ON TO MOST CERTAINLY ENHANCES THE EFFICIENCY OF THOSE UNITS ON SCENE TO BEST TAKE CARE OF, OF THE, THE, THE, THE, THE COMMUNITY MEMBER IN NEED OF HELP.
AND ALSO TO MINIMIZE THE, THE, THE DAMAGE, UH, FROM THE, THE FIRE AND ALSO FOR FIREFIGHTER SAFETY THROUGH THAT COLLABORATIVE WORKING AND TRAINING TOGETHER.
ALSO, EACH TIME WE COME TOGETHER, I KNOW YOU, YOU GET A, A MORE THOROUGH REVIEW FROM AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS ON OVERDOSE RESPONSE.
THIS JUST HIGHLIGHTS, UH, THE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE OCCASIONS THAT THEY SHOW UP WHERE WE'RE THE FIRST ONES TO PROVIDE THE, THE NARCAN TO, TO HOPEFULLY MAKE A POSITIVE, UH, OUTCOME FOR THE RESULT OF THE, THE PERSON IN NEED.
UH, OUR ARSON INVESTIGATIONS, THIS IS A UNIQUE AREA OF, UH, OUR FIREFIGHTERS.
YOU HAVE TO BE AT LEAST A LIEUTENANT TO, TO, TO BE CONSIDERED HERE.
UH, AND ONCE YOU GET ASSIGNED TO ARSON INVESTIGATIONS, ONE OF THE REQUIREMENTS IS THAT YOU ALSO ARE A CERTIFIED PEACE OFFICER.
SO THEY GO THROUGH A 33 WEEK COURSE.
AT THE END OF THAT, THEY'RE A CERTIFIED PEACE OFFICER.
IN ADDITION TO BEING A, A CERTIFIED FIREFIGHTER, THEY ALSO GO THROUGH SOME ADDITIONAL TRAINING FOR, UH, FIRE CAUSE DETERMINATION AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
SO THEY CAN, UH, UH, ADEQUATELY PERFORM THE, THE DUTIES THAT'S DESCRIBED TO THEM AS FAR AS DETERMINING IF A, A FIRE WAS INTENTIONALLY CAUSED.
AND THEN TO, TO GATHER THE EVIDENCE IN APPROPRIATE FASHION TO, UH, IDEALLY IDENTIFY THE PERSON WHO CAUSED IT AND, AND, AND HOLD THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT.
AND AS YOU SEE IN EACH, EACH, UH, EACH QUARTER, THE, THE CLEARANCE RATE, WHICH IS OVER DOUBLE OF THAT, OF THE, OF THE NATION.
AND THIS HAS BEEN ONGOING FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
SO REALLY THE TOP-NOTCH GROUP IN OUR DEPARTMENT HERE, THE PHOTO AT THE BOTTOM, WE'RE CELEBRATING THE GRADUATION FROM THAT PEACE OFFICER CLASS OF, UH, CAPTAIN CHRISTIS AND LIEUTENANT KESTER.
UH, AND THE, THE CHANCE TO, FOR THEM TO BE RECOGNIZED FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF COMPLETING THE PEACE OFFICER SCHOOL, AND THEN GET BACK TO THE ARSON SECTION AND CON CONTINUE WITH THEIR TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT INTO THE NEW ROLES THAT THEY HAVE.
THIS IS ONE AREA OF OUR DEPARTMENT THAT IT'S NOT UNCOMMON THAT WHEN PEOPLE GET IN THERE, THEY TEND TO MAKE THE REST OF THEIR CAREER OUT OF THAT IT'S ONE THAT THEY, THEY REALLY ENJOY OR, AND, AND INVEST IN HEAVILY THEIR WILDFIRE DIVISION.
THE, THE TRAGEDIES THAT OCCURRED IN LA MOST CERTAINLY CREATED A, A, A GREATER INTEREST IN THE STRUCTURE, IGNITION ZONE EVALUATION SIZE THAT STAYED UP THERE.
AND THIS YEAR WE'VE HAD OVER 700 REQUESTS.
THE PREVIOUS YEAR WAS IN DOUBLE DIGITS.
SO WE MOST CERTAINLY HAVE MADE SOME, UH, FROM, FROM THAT TRAGEDY, SOME POSITIVES OF FOLKS HERE, UH, BEING MORE ATTUNED TO WHAT THEY CAN DO TO MAKE THEIR, THEIR HOME MORE FIRE RESISTIVE, UH, AND THE, AND THE CAN CHANCE OF A WILDFIRE HERE, UM, TO HELP US WITH THAT LARGE VOLUME.
WE, WE DON'T ONLY HAVE EMPLOYEES THAT GO OUT AND DO THOSE, BUT OUR EMPLOYEES ARE ALSO TRAINING, UH, UM, COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO ONCE THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THE TRAINING, THEY CAN PERFORM A SIZE EVALUATION.
SO THERE'S A FULL FORCE MULTIPLIER THERE THAT HELPS US TO MEET THAT NEED IN A MORE TIMELY FASHION.
UH, SOME OTHER THINGS GOING, UH, ALONG THE WAY IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE, UH, HOMELAND SECURITY, UH, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT,
[00:20:01]
UH, GROUP, WE'VE ALSO GOT A, UM, SOFTWARE ITEM CALLED SITUATIONAL AWARENESS TOOL THAT GIVES AN OVERALL VIEW OF THE CITY, THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AND ON INCIDENTS, WHAT UNITS ARE THERE AND, AND HOW THEY'RE, HOW THEY'RE NAVIGATING THROUGH AN INCIDENT.SO MOST CERTAINLY GIVES, IF YOU'RE NOT ON SCENE, THE ABILITY TO, TO GET A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING.
AND IT'S GOT MULTIPLE LAYERS TO IT TO HELP WITH, UH, AWARENESS OF INCIDENCES THAT HAPPEN THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
AND FOR LARGER SCALE ONES LIKE A, LIKE A WILDFIRE EVACUATION.
IT HAS A LOT OF COMPONENTS TO IT THAT ARE, ARE VERY HELPFUL.
SO WE SEE THE CRANES AROUND TOWN.
THEY'RE, UH, A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THAT.
THEY'RE ALSO A PART OF THE, UH, MAINTENANCE INSPECTIONS, MAKING SURE THAT ALL THE, THE TECHNICAL ITEMS LIKE SPRINKLERS AND ELEVATORS AND ALARM SYSTEMS AND YOUR, YOUR LARGER BUILDINGS ARE FUNCTIONING PROPERLY.
THEY ALSO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SPECIAL EVENTS.
THE PHOTO YOU SEE THERE IS THE CAP 10 K.
AND, UH, UH, ONE OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS, UH, ENCOURAGED, UH, FELLOW FIREFIGHTERS TO, TO JOIN IN ON THAT CAP 10 K AND ALSO TO DO IT IN THEIR TURNOUTS.
SO, UH, AS IF, UH, 10 K IS NOT, NOT CHALLENGING ENOUGH TO DO IT WITH FULL TURNOUTS ON, IN, IN AUSTIN, TEXAS, THE, THE WEATHER AROUND HERE IS, IS A VERY IMPRESSIVE FEAT.
UH, VERY PROUD OF THEM, UH, THROUGH ALL THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT TODAY HERE.
UH, IT ALSO TURNS OUT TO BE A GREAT RECRUITING TOOL.
'CAUSE AS THEY'RE RUNNING ALONG, THERE'S A LOT OF, UH, PEOPLE ASKING 'EM QUESTIONS, AND IT DRAWS ATTENTION TO OUR DEPARTMENT.
HOPEFULLY, UH, SPURS SOME INTEREST IN PEOPLE THAT WOULDN'T HAVE NOT THOUGHT ABOUT THIS AS A CAREER OTHERWISE.
UH, I'VE SHARED THIS WITH YOU EACH TIME AS WELL.
THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE, THIS IS A BIG PART OF ENSURING THAT ONCE A BUILDING IS COMPLETED AND A CERTIFICATE OCCUPANCY IS COM IS, IS ISSUED THAT ALL OF THE LIFE SAFETY ELEMENTS THAT ARE, UH, APPRO, THAT ARE, ARE VALIDATED AT THAT TIME ARE MAINTAINED, RIGHT? SO THAT, THAT AS THE, THE BUILDING IS PUT INTO TO USE THROUGH THE YEARS THAT ALL THE ITEMS, SPRINKLER SYSTEMS, FIRE ALARMS, ET CETERA, ARE ALL FUNCTIONING AND WORKING PROPERLY, SO THAT IN THE EVENT OF AN INCIDENT, THE, THE, THE SPRINKLER SYSTEMS HAVE A HUGE EFFECT ON, ON, ON KEEPING THE FIRE AT BAY UNTIL FIREFIGHTERS THERE FOR ULTIMATE EXTINGUISHING AND CLEANUP.
SO MAKING SURE THAT THOSE ARE THERE FOR LIFE SAFETY AND OTHERWISE IS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC.
AND WE COULDN'T BE, AS YOU LOOK AT THIS, THIS CHART ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE IN 20 14, 15 AND 16, THOSE WERE EFFORTS TO DO THAT IN-HOUSE AND, AND PHENOMENAL WORK BY OUR PEOPLE.
BUT IT WAS VERY CHALLENGING AS MANAGEMENT WOULD CHANGE ON THESE DIFFERENT FACILITIES AND TRYING TO MAINTAIN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
THIS THIRD PARTY PROCESS, WHICH I WON'T GO INTO DETAILS OF, OF IT DOWN IN THE WEEDS, OBVIOUSLY, HAS MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN A, IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME AND MAINTAIN THAT EVEN THROUGH THE CHALLENGES OF COVID.
AND THEN IN YOUR PERSONAL HOMES, THE, THE, THE, THE FIRST AND GREATEST LINE OF SAFETY IS A WORKING, UH, UH, SMOKE ALARM.
SO WE, WE INSTALL THOSE FOR FREE.
YOU SEE THE PHONE NUMBER ON THERE, NINE SEVEN FOUR OH TWO NINE NINE.
AND, AND HAPPY TO MAKE THOSE INSTALLATIONS FOR ANYONE THAT CALLS.
YOU'LL SEE HERE ON THIS PARTICULAR SLIDE, UH, UH, SOME DOTS THAT KINDA SHOW YOU WHERE AND THE NUMBER OF ALARMS INSTALLED FOR CLARITY.
SOME OF THOSE MIGHT BE DUPLEXES, UH, THREE PLEXES, ET CETERA, WHERE THERE'S MULTIPLE ESTABLISHMENTS AT ONE PARTICULAR ADDRESS OR, UH, A, UH, A SECOND DWELLING THAT SHARES A COMMON ADDRESS WHERE YOU NEED THE SMOKE.
ALARMS ARE GONNA BE PLACES LIKE YOUR BEDROOMS INSIDE YOUR BEDROOMS. UH, THIS IS ALL STATED ON HERE AS WELL.
UM, HALLWAYS LEADING TO BEDROOMS, YOUR LIVING AREAS.
YOU DON'T NEED 'EM IN YOUR KITCHENS WHERE PEOPLE ARE TYPICALLY AWAKE AND, AND, AND WORKING ON STUFF.
AND SOMETIMES THE SMOKE THAT OCCURS THERE IS BY ACCIDENT AND SOMEONE'S MONITORING WHERE YOU ONLY WANT THOSE SMOKE ALARMS IS SOMEPLACE WHERE SOMEONE COULD BE AT REST OR SLEEPING AND, AND TRYING TO WAKE THEM UP BEFORE AN INCIDENT GETS, UH, TOO FAR ALONG.
UH, TRADITIONALLY THROUGH OUR DEPARTMENT, PEOPLE WHEN THEY JOIN, STAY ALL THE WAY THROUGH RETIREMENT.
AND YOU SEE THAT REFLECTED IN OUR NUMBERS EACH TIME WE COME HERE, THAT PEOPLE TEND TO WORK AT LEAST TO 27 OR 30 YEARS, OR SOMETIMES LONGER IN THE DEPARTMENT.
THERE'S FOLKS THAT RESIGN AFTER TWO TO FIVE YEARS.
AND, UH, HISTORICALLY, AS WE'VE ASKED PEOPLE WHY THEY WERE LEAVING, IT HAD MORE TO DO WITH FAMILY ISSUES THAN ANYTHING ELSE, UM, THAT A FAMILY NEED TO GO BACK HOME TO WHEREVER HOME WAS TO, TO TEND TO ONE THING OR THE OTHER.
UH, WE JUST GRADUATED CADET CLASS.
YOU'LL SEE THIS IN A MOMENT, UH, A WEEK AGO.
SO THAT TOOK OUR VACANCIES FROM A HUNDRED DOWN TO 60 AND OUR, FOR THE SWORN AND OUR CURRENT CIVILIAN VACANCIES ARE AROUND 10.
AND, UH, WITH THAT, WE'RE ALWAYS RECRUITING, UH, THIS SLIDE A LITTLE, LITTLE SOON IN HERE.
[00:25:01]
QR CODE GETS YOU THERE AS WELL.IF YOU KNOW FOLKS WHO ARE INTERESTED HERE IN THE, IN THE FALL, WE'LL BE LOOKING TO, TO START UP THAT HIRING PROCESS AGAIN.
SO ANYONE THAT'S INTERESTED, IF THEY GO THERE, THEY CAN FILL OUT A CAN CANDIDATE INTEREST CARD TO, UH, BE CAUGHT UP WITH AND RECEIVE EMAILS THAT GIVE THEM UPDATES ON, ON, UH, OUR RECRUITING PROCESS AND WHEN THE APPLICATION PERIOD IS GONNA START AND OTHER DETAILS TO LEARN ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.
I'VE GOT 30 YEARS IN AND HAVE ENJOYED EVERY PART OF IT.
IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A WONDERFUL CAREER.
AND AS WAS THIS PHOTO HERE WAS ONE THAT WAS SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA, A LARGE NUMBER OF OUR FIREFIGHTERS SHARING AS WELL.
SO IT'S VERY, UH, VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE JOB THAT WE HAVE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE THIS EXPERIENCE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
UH, CADET CLASSES, AS I SHARED CLASS 1 39, GRADUATED ON JULY 25TH, THAT'S 40 CADET STRONG THAT GRADUATED OUT OUT IN THE FIELD NOW, UH, SERVING THE COMMUNITY.
WE'VE GOT CLASS ONE 40 RIGHT BEHIND THEM.
THEY'RE GONNA GRADUATE HERE ON OCTOBER 3RD.
UH, AND THAT CURRENTLY STANDS AT 37 CADETS.
AND THEN WE'VE GOT, UH, OUR LAST CLASS THAT'LL BE ON THIS PARTICULAR LIST IS GONNA START UP HERE IN AUGUST WITH A GRADUATION OF MARCH OF NEXT YEAR.
AND THAT ONE HAS CURRENTLY 42 CADETS IN IT.
THAT'S THE, THE, THE BALANCE OF THE FOLKS THAT WERE AVAILABLE ON OUR, ON OUR HIRING PROCESS.
OTHER WAYS THAT WE RECRUIT, WE'VE GOT THE AUSTIN FIRE EXPLORERS THAT'S VERY SIMILAR TO THE SCOUTS THAT PEOPLE THINK OF, AND IT'S MEANT FOR THE YOUNGER GROUPS, UH, UH, IN YOUR LOW TEENS TO 18 YEARS OF AGE.
THEY'VE, THEY GET TO DO HANDS-ON THINGS THAT, THAT SHOW 'EM ABOUT THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, AND THEY EVEN GET TO GO, UH, BE A PART OF COMPETITIONS.
THE LAST ONE, UH, WAS THERE TO ENRO.
SO, UH, IT'S, IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY, GOOD PROGRAM AS WELL, RAN BY OUR FIREFIGHTERS.
AND THERE'S ALSO THE PASS THE TORCH, WHICH IS MEANT FOR YOUR 18 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER, YOUR, YOUR FOLKS THAT ARE READY TO GET INTO THE EMPLOYMENT MARKET OR CONSIDER A DIFFERENT, UH, FORM OF EMPLOYMENT.
AND THAT ONE'S DONE ON WEEKENDS AND GIVES THEM ALSO THE CHANCE TO DO FIREFIGHTING LIKE ACTIVITIES TO GET A FEEL FOR WHAT THIS PARTICULAR JOB IS LIKE.
AND BOTH OF THOSE ARE FANTASTIC RECRUITING TOOLS UP AND GOING STRONG.
AND THAT IS EVERYTHING FOR OUR PRESENTATION.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF Y'ALL HAVE THEM.
UM, I, I HAVE, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? OKAY.
I ACTUALLY HAD A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THE COMPLIANCE ENGINE.
ARE YOU GUYS ABLE TO TRACK CITY PROPERTIES THROUGH THE COMPLIANCE, LIKE THE, IS THE SOFTWARE THAT YOU GUYS USE, DOES IT HAVE ENOUGH AUTO TRACKING BUILT IN THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO TRACK CITY PROPERTIES? SO ANY PROPERTY THAT IS PERMITTED, THAT HAS A FIRE ALARM, FIRE SPRINKLER, UH, THOSE SORT OF FIRE PROTECTION SYSTEMS IN IT MM-HMM
THAT SHOULD BE CAPTURED IN THAT, THAT COMPLIANCE ENGINE, WHETHER IT'S CITY OR PRIVATELY OWNED.
OKAY, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, THANK YOU CHIEF BYERS, WE ARE GONNA MOVE ON.
[3. Discussion of the City of Austin Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Budget and impact on public safety departments.]
UP IS OUR DISCUSSION OF THE 20 25, 26 BUDGET.UM, AND THIS IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT THAN WE'VE USUALLY DONE.
WE USUALLY EVERY YEAR HAVE A PRESENTATION OF UNMET NEEDS, UM, THAT WE REVIEW AT THIS POINT, UM, AND KIND OF TALK THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT'S PRESENT.
UM, WE WERE NOT, UM, GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY TO SORT OF LOOK AT THAT LIST IN THE SAME WAY THIS YEAR.
UM, AND, UM, THIS IS A VERY BUSY TIME FOR THE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, THEY'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF ANSWERING COUNCIL QUESTIONS NOW.
COUNCIL BUDGET QUESTIONS NOW, AND I DID NOT FEEL LIKE THE WEEK BEFORE BUDGET ADOPTION WAS A KIND, UM, TIME TO ASK THEM TO PULL TOGETHER, UM, LARGE PRESENTATIONS EXPLAINING THEIR BUDGETS.
UM, SO WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE EXPECTATION THAT THEY'RE AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS ON ANYTHING BUDGET RELATED THAT WE HAVE.
UM, SO THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE HERE FOR.
UM, CHRISTIE HELPED US CIRCULATE COUNCIL BUDGET QUESTIONS AND PRESENTATIONS SO THAT PEOPLE COULD, YOU KNOW, PREP A LITTLE BIT IN ADVANCE IF POSSIBLE.
AND, UM, WITH THAT, UM, DO WE HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC TO KICK OFF? WOULD YOU GUYS LIKE ME TO KICK OFF WITH A QUESTION? I THINK ONE QUESTION THAT I DID GIVE EVERYONE, UM, THE, THE CHIEFS OF STAFF WAS JUST IF THEY COULD GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF AN EXPLANATION OF THE IMPACTS ON STAFFING THAT THE BUDGET HAS PROPOSED WOULD HAVE.
[00:30:01]
JUST, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT THERE'S CHANGES TO OVERTIME AND AND SUCH, SO IF YOU GUYS COULD JUST LET US KNOW A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.SO JUST, JUST TO DOUBLE CHECK, YOU'RE, YOU'RE SAYING THAT, THAT YOU'RE, THE FIRST QUESTION, UM, ARE, ARE YOU SOLICITING FOR QUESTIONS OR WAS YOUR FIRST QUESTION ON, ON STAFFING? I'M ASKING THE, THE, THE CHIEFS OF STAFF.
THAT IS SORT OF ONE QUESTION THAT I KIND OF QUEUED UP FOR.
I LET THEM KNOW THAT WE WOULD WANNA KNOW ABOUT STAFFING IMPACTS BASED ON THE CURRENT BUDGET, THE WAY IT'S OUTLINED, BUT IF ANYBODY ELSE HAS MORE QUESTIONS, WE CAN GET STARTED WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO, UH, CHAIR, IF I CAN, UH, ONE OF MY QUESTIONS IS REALLY, UM, HOW DOES THIS BUDGET AFFECT, UM, SOME OF THE NON-FIELD AND OPERATIONAL DEPARTMENTS, UH, WITHIN EACH OF THE RESPECTIVE, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICES, FOR INSTANCE, UM, WITH THE WILDFIRE DIVISION, UM, HOW DOES IT IMPACT THEIR STAFFING, UH, AND THEIR WORK? UM, UH, AS OPPOSED TO, UH, I KNOW THERE'S GONNA ALSO BE TALKS ABOUT, UH, STAFFING, UH, SHORTAGES AND, AND YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THAT WOULD LOOK WORK.
BUT I'M WONDERING ON THE OPERATIONAL END FOR, UH, SOME PREPAREDNESS, UH, ACTIVITIES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND THEN SIMILARLY TO WHATEVER THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS AND WHAT, WHAT EMS HAS IN TERMS OF THE THINGS THAT MIGHT NOT BE FIELD RELATED, UM, BUT DO IMPACT, UM, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, IF THAT MAKES SENSE.
I THINK THAT IS A GREAT PLACE TO START.
UM, JUST IN TERMS OF OPERATIONAL IMPACTS POTENTIAL, I GUESS, ARE YOU ASKING FOR IMPACTS ON THINGS BEYOND RESPONSE TIME BEYOND OUR MORE SORT OF, UM, USUAL FOCUS OF STAFFING IMPACTS? OKAY.
SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP WILDFIRE SPECIFICALLY, I GUESS I'LL GO FIRST.
SO THE, IN THIS CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, THERE WAS AN ASK TO REDUCE THE BUDGET BY 1.5% JUST TO GET TO THE, THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR FROM ALL OF THE GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS.
WITH THAT, WE DID HAVE SOME STAFF, UH, PERSONNEL MOVE BACK TO OPERATIONS TO ASSIST WITH THAT.
IT'S, UH, UH, AS THE, THE, THE BUDGET PROCESS UNFOLDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 26, IT'S THE, THE INTENT THAT THAT WOULD LEAD US BACK TO THOSE FOLKS GOING BACK TO THEIR NORMAL ASSIGNMENTS OR, OR THOSE POSITIONS BEING REFILLED IN THE, THE STAFF, UM, DIFFERENT STAFF LOCATIONS.
SOME OF THOSE WERE IN OUR WILDFIRE DIVISION, UH, WITH THOSE FOLKS BEING PULLED OUT, THERE WAS, UH, TEMPORARILY, THERE WAS SOME REASSESSMENT OF ITEMS, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRIORITIZED THE, THE EFFORTS, AS I TALKED ABOUT THE SIZES EARLIER, THE, THERE IS THE TRAINING, THE, THE, UH, COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN HELP US AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER TO GET THOSE DONE FOR THE, THE SAFETY AND WELLBEING OF THE, OF THE VARIOUS PROPERTIES AND, AND HOMES.
THE, THERE ARE A FEW OTHER ITEMS THERE THAT ARE IN THE DISCUSSIONS ON THIS BUDGET PROCESS THAT, THAT ARE PART OF THE WILDFIRE DIVISION AS WELL.
AND THE BATTALION, THERE'S SOME, SOME MATERIAL ITEMS IN THERE THAT, UM, WE WILL, WE'LL SEE HOW THOSE, THOSE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE TO UNFOLD AS COUNCIL STILL WORKS THROUGH THEIR, THEIR TRE CONVERSATIONS.
UH, WES HOPKINS WITH AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, YOU KNOW, WE DID NOT SEE ANY INCREASES IN OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH FOR SWORN, BUT WE ALSO DID NOT SEE ANY REDUCTION IN OUR AUTHORIZED STRENGTH.
WE DO HAVE AN ACADEMY CLASS THAT JUST STARTED IN JULY, AND SO WE ARE IN THE BUDGET WORKING THROUGH WHAT OVERTIME DOLLARS LOOK LIKE TO STAFF AMBULANCES, WHICH IS WHY THAT ACADEMY STAFF IS SO IMPORTANT.
AND SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO PLUG AWAY AT THOSE VACANCIES.
UH, VERY SIMILARLY, WE DID TAKE SOME OF OUR ADMIN FOLKS AND PUT THEM INTO OPERATIONS, BUT WE DIDN'T MOVE THEM OUTTA OPERATIONS.
WE DELEGATED THEM A DAY THAT THEY WOULD COME AND WORK IN THE 9 1 1 SYSTEM ON THEIR SINGLE UNIT RESPONDERS THAT GETS THAT ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT ASSET TO THE PATIENT, ESPECIALLY ON THOSE HIGHER PRIORITY CALLS.
IT ALSO HAS THE ADDED BENEFIT THAT ALLOWS THEM TO STAY CONVERSANT IN OPERATIONS SO THAT THEY'RE NOT IN THOSE ADMIN SPOTS AND, AND, AND SEGREGATED FROM THE 9 1 1 SIDE.
SO THAT, THAT'S HOW WE HAVE APPROACHED THAT.
SORRY, CHIEF, DO, DO YOU MIND IF I JUST, UM, UH, ASK ALSO, DOES THIS AFFECT OTHER PROGRAMS LIKE THE COMMUNITY, UH, PARAMEDICINE PROGRAM? UM, I, I KNOW THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF OPERATIONAL, BUT IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A DIFFERENT SITE TYPE OF FIELD WORK, RIGHT? SO WE, WE HAVE THOSE COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS THAT ARE DOING THEIR JOB AND THEN ONE DAY A WEEK THEY WORK A SHIFT IN THEIR SINGLE UNIT
[00:35:01]
RESPONDER IN OPERATIONS RUNNING 9 1 1 CALLS.BUT BECAUSE THEY'RE STILL DOING THE SAME JOB, THAT COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDIC JOB, WHETHER IT BE CASE MANAGEMENT OR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE, THEY'RE LIKE A MULTI-TOOL FOR US.
AND SO THEY CAN KIND OF FLEX AND DO BOTH JOBS AT THE SAME TIME.
ROBIN HENDERSON, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO WHEN IT COMES TO OUR BUDGET FOR THIS, THIS YEAR, WE'VE DONE A REALLOCATION OF OFFICERS TO PATROL TO HELP OFFSET THE BUDGET IMPACTS RELATED TO OVER TIME.
AND SO THOSE MOVES WILL BE HAPPENING ON AUGUST, 2020 FOURTH OF THIS YEAR.
UM, IN ADDITION, I KNOW THAT WE DO HAVE A TEMPORARY HIRING FREEZE JUST ON ANY POSTINGS FOR OUR CIVILIAN POSITIONS.
WE WERE AT ABOUT A 6.9% VACANT SEA RATE.
SO RIGHT NOW IT'S HAVING MINIMAL, MINIMAL IMPACTS.
HOWEVER, THERE HAS NOT BEEN A REDUCTION IN OUR SWORN ALLOCATION, AND WE ARE STILL CONTINUING WITH OUR, OUR CADETS CLASSES AND, AND RECRUITING.
UM, I HAVE A FOLLOW UP QUESTION FOR CHIEF HENDERSON.
I, SHE, UM, SHE CIRCULATED THE BARRY DUNN REPORT THAT EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE HAD IN THEIR EMAIL.
UM, AND THERE WAS, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG DOCUMENT
UM, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES IN THE BARRY DUNN REPORT WHERE IN ORDER TO DO SOME OF THAT STAFF RE REALLOCATION TO PATROL LIKE A PD IS CURRENTLY DOING, IT ALSO RECOMMENDS DOING THOSE ALONGSIDE CIVILIAN STAFF, UM, LIKE, UH, LIKE INCREASING CIVILIAN STAFF, TRANSFERRING DUTIES TO POTENTIALLY RETIRED PERSONNEL THAT CAN COME BACK IN AND DO INVESTIGATIVE LIKE PAPERWORK SORT OF STUFF.
IS ARE THERE PLANS TO IMPLEMENT THAT PART OF THE BARRY DUNN REPORT? YES, MA'AM.
SO PLEASE NOTE THAT THAT IS A, A DRAFT DOCUMENT.
SO BARRY DUNN HAS NOT COMPLETED THEIR, THEIR FINAL VERSION OF THAT.
THAT WAS JUST A DRAFT DOCUMENT, BUT PART OF THAT EVALUATION PROCESS, ONCE WE DO HAVE THE FINAL VERSION, IS LOOKING AT ARE THERE WAYS THAT WE CAN CIVILIANIZED SOME OF THE WORK THAT OFFICERS DO, THEREFORE FREEING UP THAT TIME IN ORDER TO, OF COURSE, DO MORE POLICE RELATED, POLICE RELATED DUTIES.
BUT THAT IS PART OF THE BARRY DONE EVALUATION.
DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? I HAVE A LIST, BUT I DON'T WANNA HOG TIME.
COMMISSIONER SMITH
UM, MY QUESTION IS FOR A PD, CAN I GET SOME CLARITY ON THE ALLOCATION REFLECTED IN THE BUDGET RELATED TO COUNCIL AT FIRST APPEARANCE AND WHAT SERVICES SPECIFICALLY A PD IS PROVIDING AND WHAT THAT DO? I'M JUST TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE MATH BEHIND, I WANNA SAY IT WAS 6 MILLION FOR INDIGENT DEFENSE IN RELATION TO AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT SERVICES.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE? YES, MA'AM.
I BELIEVE YOU'RE SPEAKING TOWARDS THE TRAVIS COUNTY INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT RELATED TO THE, THE THE BOOKING YES MA'AM.
AND SO UNDERSTAND THAT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT HAVE A BOOKING FACILITY.
AND SO THEREFORE TRAVIS COUNTY HANDLES THE, THE BOOKING OR HANDLING OF ANY ARREST THAT A PD MADE.
AND IN ORDER TO DO THAT, WE CONTRACT WITH THEM TO HANDLE THAT, THAT PROCESSING.
HOWEVER, THE COUNCIL AT FIRST APPEARANCE IS GOING TO BE HANDLED BY TRAVIS COUNTY AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT PROCESS IS, IS IMPLEMENTED, IF YOU WILL.
SO THIS IS MORE SO A CONTRACT TO HAVE TRAVIS COUNTY MANAGE THE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ARRESTED AND TRANSPORTED TO THEIR JAIL.
AND, AND THIS IS NOT A NEW, A NEW ILA.
WE, WE'VE HAD AN ILA WITH, WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, UM, FOR AS LONG AS I CAN, LONG AS I CAN REMEMBER, THEY'RE THE ONES, THE STEWARDS OF ANY PERSONS THAT WE TAKE INTO CUSTODY.
'CAUSE HOW IT'S BEING FRAMED IS THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE APDS GETTING PAID $6 MILLION FOR COUNSEL AT FIRST APPEARANCE.
THAT'S HOW IT'S BEING FRAMED IN, IN THE PUBLIC.
SO I JUST WANTED CLARIFICATION ON WHAT THAT ACTUALLY MEANT.
SO IT'S NOT A PD HAS A WINDFALL, YOU'RE SAYING IT'S NOT A PD, IT'S GETTING $6 MILLION IN THE INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR SERVICES PROVIDED.
A PD IS PAYING TRAVIS COUNTY FOR THAT INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT IN ORDER TO MANAGE PEOPLE THAT ARE TAKEN INTO CUSTODY BY A A PD TEN FOUR.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? UM, I ACTUALLY, UM, WANTED TO ASK, SO THE, SO THERE ARE TAX RATE ELECTION SCENARIOS, AND I KNOW THAT
[00:40:01]
WE ARE VERY MUCH IN A, THE, THE, THE CURRENT BUDGET THAT HAS BEEN LAID OUT MINUS THE TAX RATE ELECTION SCENARIOS, HAS ALL OF THE DEPARTMENTS HAVING TO MAKE CHOICES.UM, WHAT, WHAT DO THE TAX RATE ELECTIONS EXPAND? LIKE, WHAT DOES IT ALLOW YOU TO EXPAND? WHAT, WHAT COMES WITH THAT ADDITIONAL MONEY? WHAT, WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHANGES IF, IF, IF, IF, IF THEY CAN BE ENCAPSULATED THAT WAY? ALRIGHT, SO FOR THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, IT'S NOT A MATTER OF EXPANSION, IT'S A MATTER OF MAINTAINING THE, THE CURRENT STAFFING THAT WE HAVE.
THOSE ARE THE, THE, UH, WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIVE CHANGES TO ORDINANCE MAY BE OR, UH, OTHER PARTICULAR ITEMS. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE TRES FOR US.
SO A SIMILAR ANSWER FOR AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, UM, WE CERTAINLY ARE, ARE, ARE, YOU KNOW, USING THAT, UH, TRE TO CONTINUE TO FUND THINGS.
UM, AND SOME OF THAT COULD, COULD LOOK LIKE, UM, INCREASED EDUCATION FOR, FOR PARAMEDICS, IT COULD LOOK AT STAFFING AND COMM, BUT THERE ARE MANY, MANY DIFFERENT VARIABLES OF WHEN THAT'S PASSED ABOUT HOW WE WOULD ALLOCATE THAT MONEY.
SO WE, MUCH LIKE THE OTHER AGENCIES WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THAT AS WELL.
AND SAME FOR, SAME FOR A, B, D.
AS A FOLLOW UP ON THAT, AND I RECOGNIZE THAT NOTHING IS FINAL AND STILL BEING WORKED THROUGH WITH COUNCIL, BUT IF WE'RE GONNA TRY TO THINK OF A SYNOPSIS, IF THERE IS NO TRE AND WE GO AT THE MAXIMUM 3.5%, WHAT WOULD EACH YEAR DEPARTMENT'S SORT OF HIGH LEVEL DO YOU THINK WOULD BE DIFFERENT COMPARING THIS CURRENT YEAR VERSUS WHAT THAT BUDGET WOULD LOOK LIKE, UM, NEXT YEAR? IF THAT WASN'T, IT'LL BE DONE.
I THINK THAT'LL BE SOME DIFFICULT DECISIONS FOR CITY HALL AND FOR THE, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS AS THEY REEVALUATE HOW TO MOVE FORWARD.
IF A TRE IS NOT PASSED, UH, I, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT MEANS THE, THE CURRENT THINGS PROPOSED STAY OR IF THEY MAKE ADJUSTMENTS ALONG THE WAY.
I THINK IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE TOO EARLY TO SPECULATE ON, ON WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
IF, IF THAT ENDS UP BEING THE, THE, UH, END RESULT THAT A TRE HAS NOT PASSED.
YEAH, AND JUST HIGH LEVEL FOR US, IT, IT MAY LOOK LIKE THE EDUCATION THAT THE PARAMEDICS RECEIVE CURRENTLY IN THE EMTS WOULD BE JUST LIKE IT IS TODAY.
WHEREAS IF THE TRE WERE TO PASS THAT THEY MIGHT, WE MIGHT BE ALLOCATED ADDITIONAL HOURS TO ALLOW THEM TO HAVE ADDITIONAL TRAINING BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE MEDICINE IS ADVANCING, UM, AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND YES, SAME FOR, FOR A PDI THINK IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL AS TO WHAT IS IT WE WOULD HAVE TO POTENTIALLY, UH, MODIFY OR CHANGE WHEN IT COMES TO THAT BECAUSE WE ARE ON THE HEELS OF, OF COURSE, THE FY 26 BUDGET POTENTIALLY BEING APPROVED.
AND SO TRYING TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE WOULD HAVE TO BALANCE THAT IMPACT, UM, IF THE TRE DOESN'T GO, UM, YEAH, I THINK IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL.
I HAD A SPECIFIC QUESTION ABOUT, I KNOW WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE, WE HAVE A UNIQUE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE C-S-C-R-M, BUT, UM, UM, COULD YOU TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT THESE STAFFING CHANGES AND THIS BUDGET IS GOING TO BE IMPACTING THE DV UNIT AND THE, UM, THE SEX TRAFFICKING UNIT, SPECIFICALLY THE CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING UNIT? IS THAT, ARE, ARE THOSE UNITS GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY THAT? SO THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE MODEL WORKING GROUP WILL NOT BE IMPACTED BY THAT.
NEITHER WAS OUR HUMAN TRAFFICKING OR OUR DV DV UNIT.
UM, AND I'M GONNA HAVE TO CHECK MY RECORDS.
I BELIEVE THERE WAS AN ADDITION OF A SERGEANT TO DV, BUT PRIOR TO, BECAUSE WE KNEW THAT WE WERE WORKING ON THIS REALLOCATION, I BELIEVE THAT SERGEANT WAS POTENTIALLY THERE OR SCHEDULED TO GO THERE, BUT BECAUSE WE DID THIS REALLOCATION THAT SERGEANT DID NOT GO TO THE DV UNIT.
I'M, I'M PRETTY CERTAIN IT'S THE DV UNIT, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF, A LOT OF MOVEMENTS.
BUT I'M, I'M HAPPY TO FOLLOW UP WITH THE COMMISSION ON THAT.
BUT ANY KIND OF OTHER OPERATIONAL IMPACTS, UM, IS NOT, IS NOT RELATED TO, UH, EITHER THE FAMILY VIOLENCE OR THE COLLECTIVE SEX CRIMES RESPONSE, UM, WORKING GROUP, UM, OR EITHER TO THE DV DV UNIT.
AND THEN THE OTHER DEPARTMENT THAT I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT SPECIFICALLY WAS THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
UM, I DO KNOW THAT THERE WERE QUITE A BIT OF PEOPLE THAT WERE SENT BACK OUT TO, OR ARE BEING SENT OUT TO, BACK TO PATROL FROM THAT UNIT.
HOW ARE YOU GUYS, SO HISTORY OF LOTS OF PROMOTIONS AND CHANGES AT THE ACADEMY, AND WE'RE DOING THAT ALL OVER AGAIN.
[00:45:01]
ARE YOU GUYS ACCOMMODATING FOR THAT? WHAT ARE, HOW ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU, HOW ARE YOU ADDRESSING MAKING THAT BIG, HUGE CHANGE AGAIN? NO.SO PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NOTIFICATION THAT THE TRANSITION OF OFFICERS BACK TO PATROL WAS MADE ESSENTIALLY TWO MONTHS IN, IN ADVANCE.
SO THIS WAS IN, UH, JUNE THAT THE NOTIFICATION WAS MADE.
SO THEREFORE WE MADE SELECTIONS OF SERGEANTS TO REPLACE NOT ALL THE OFFICERS.
THERE'S GONNA BE SIX OFFICERS THAT REMAIN, BUT THE, BUT THE BULK OF THE, THE SUPERVIS, I'M SORRY, THE BULK OF THOSE TRAINING INSTRUCTORS THAT ARE THERE ARE OFFICER POSITIONS AND THEY ARE BEING REALLOCATED TO PATROL.
AND THAT TRANSITION WILL HAPPEN ON THE 24TH OF AUGUST.
AND SO THERE HAS BEEN, AS SOON AS WE UNDERSTOOD THE POSITIONS AND HOW THAT TRANSITION WAS GOING TO HAPPEN, WE SELECTED SUPERVISORS OR SERGEANTS THAT WERE REPLACING THOSE POSITIONS TO START HEADING OUT TO THE TRAINING ACADEMY TO GET TRAINED UP TO START UNDERSTANDING THE OPERATIONS, HAVE THAT CROSS COLLABORATION HAPPEN FOR A TWO MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THOSE INSTRUCTORS THAT ARE CURRENTLY OUT THERE HAVING TO TRANSITION TO PATROL.
SO THEY ARE CURRENTLY THERE, NOW CURRENTLY GOING THROUGH CERTIFICATION PROCESSES, CERTAINLY GETTING UP TO SPEED, OF COURSE, ON THE CROW RECOMMENDATIONS AND EVERYTHING THAT COMES ALONG WITH BEING OUT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND SO THERE'S A TWO MONTH WINDOW, WHICH IS UNIQUE.
UM, TYPICALLY WE DO NOT HAVE TWO MONTHS TO DO A TO DO A TRANSITION OR A CHANGEOVER LIKE THIS, UNDERSTANDING IT IS KIND OF A LARGER GROUP.
SO WE ARE IN A UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCE IN THAT REGARD TOO.
BUT WE WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT MAKING SURE WE IDENTIFY THE RIGHT SUPERVISORS TO HEAD OUT THERE AND THEN HAD A LARGER TRANSITION WINDOW FOR THAT TRAINING OR CROSSOVER TRAINING TO OCCUR.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS? UM, I THINK I'LL, I'LL JUST, UM, CLOSE WITH, UM, I THINK WE ALL KNOW THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS IMPACTED BY LOTS OF DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY, NOT JUST YOU GUYS.
AND IT'S PART OF WHY WE'VE BEEN HAVING OUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY EXPANDING THE ORGANIZATIONS THAT SIT AT THE TABLE WHEN WE HAVE BYLAWS.
UM, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, UM, COLLABORATION THAT YOU GUYS DO WITH HSO, UM, WITH THE SOBERING CENTER, WITH THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY COURT.
UM, THERE'S JUST, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, UM, THE TRAUMA RECOVERY CENTER, THERE'S JUST A LOT OF, UM, DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU GUYS COLLABORATE WITH.
UM, ARE YOU GUYS, DO YOU GUYS SEE ANY POTENTIAL, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, I KNOW THIS IS A NOT ADOPTED BUDGET YET, BUT, UM, DO YOU GUYS HAVE ANY, UM, FORESIGHT INTO HOW THOSE PARTNERSHIPS MAY BE GETTING IMPACTED WITH SOME OF YOUR OTHER ORGANIZATIONS THAT YOU GUYS COOPERATE WITH? SO I'M UNDERSTANDING YOU, CORRECTION, RIGHT? OUR COLLABORATION WITH THE DEPARTMENTS WON'T BE AFFECTED BY THE BUDGET.
IT MIGHT BE THE, THE SPEED AND PACE THAT CERTAIN THINGS ARE ACCOMPLISHED, BUT OUR COLLABORATION WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS ON A VARIETY OF THINGS, UH, WE MIGHT HAVE TO LOOK AT, UH, AT PROCESSES MADE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
BUT AS FAR AS MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING THE BEST COLLABORATIVELY FOR SERVICE DELIVERY TO THE COMMUNITY IS NOT GONNA BE AFFECTED AT ALL BY, BY WHATEVER THIS BUDGET MAY COME OUT TO BE.
I, I DON'T HAVE ANY INSIGHT, BUT CERTAINLY WE ARE HYPERFOCUSED ON EVALUATING THOSE AND, AND WHAT THE BUDGETARY PROCESS LOOKS LIKE.
I, I THINK IT'S TOO EARLY TO TELL, BUT WE ARE DEFINITELY ENGAGED IN WATCHING IT.
AND FOR A PD OUR COLLABORATION WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS WILL, WILL CONTINUE UNDERSTAND ALL THE DEPARTMENTS ARE IN A SIMILAR SITUATION WHEN IT COMES TO THE BUDGET AND WE'RE ALL HAVING TO ADJUST, BUT IT'S, THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A REDUCTION IN OUR, IN OUR COLLABORATION.
WE UNDERSTAND THE, THE IMPORTANCE OF MAINTAINING THAT INTERSECTIONALITY WHEN IT COMES TO OUR WORK, AND WE WOULD DEFINITELY WILL MAINTAIN THAT.
AND SO I GUESS THERE'S GONNA BE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME IN BETWEEN BUDGET ADOPTION, WELL NOT ALLOT OF TIME, AND THEN WHEN THIS NEXT FISCAL YEAR STARTS.
'CAUSE IT STARTS OCTOBER, CORRECT? IS THAT CORRECT? OCTOBER 1ST.
SO WE'LL HAVE ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
UM, IN THOSE SIX WEEKS IS WHEN ANY MOST OF THE MAJOR CHANGES THAT YOU GUYS ARE GONNA BE UNDERGOING WILL THAT, THAT WILL BE THE DEADLINE OCTOBER 1ST, AND THEN WE WON'T KNOW ABOUT A TAX RATE ELECTION UNTIL NOVEMBER.
UM, AND I GUESS I JUST KIND OF, I KNOW THAT WE DON'T KNOW WHAT WE DON'T KNOW, UM, BUT THAT, THAT NOVEMBER TAX RATE ELECTION, YOU KNOW, DEADLINE CERTAINLY LOOMS. THAT'S SEEMS LIKE A REALLY LONG TIME TO SORT OF NOT KNOW
I, I, I DON'T EVEN KNOW THAT THAT'S A QUESTION.
THAT'S JUST A, THIS IS NOT FUN.
[00:50:01]
UM, THIS IS NOT FUN.I ACKNOWLEDGE IT'S NOT FUN FOR THE DEPARTMENTS EITHER.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN, UH, WHAT HAS FELT ON, AS ON THE CITIZEN END, I KNOW I'M SITTING HERE AS A COMMISSION, BUT I AM JUST VERY MUCH AN AVERAGE CITIZEN THAT WATCHES COUNCIL MEETINGS AND DOES MY BEST TO KEEP UP.
UM, THIS HAS BEEN A VERY DIFFICULT BUDGET CYCLE TO ACTUALLY PARTICIPATE IN.
UM, THIS FEELS LIKE AN EVEN MORE COMPACTED, UM, BUDGET CYCLE THAN IT USUALLY IS.
WE'VE HAD VERY LITTLE INSIGHT.
UM, WE NORMALLY, LIKE I'VE MENTIONED AT THE TOP OF THIS AGENDA ITEM, HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO, AT THE VERY LEAST, UM, GET A LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE NOT GETTING
I KNOW THAT AS A COMMISSION WE GOT TO PUT FORTH BUDGET RECOMMENDATIONS BACK IN MARCH, BUT, UM, THAT PROCESS IS VERY DISCONNECTED FROM THE REALITY THAT WE FIND OURSELVES IN NOW.
IT'S VERY MUCH A WISHLIST, UM, AND A REVIEW OF THINGS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT AND MAY HAVE ESTABLISHED ITS PRIORITIES OVER THE COURSE OF THE YEAR.
UM, AND I'M ASSUMING THAT OTHER COMMISSIONS ARE FEELING JUST AS DISCONNECTED FROM THIS BUDGET PROCESS.
THIS IS, THIS DOES NOT FEEL NORMAL.
UM, THIS DOES NOT FEEL, DARE I SAY, DEMOCRATIC
UM, SO I'M HOPING, UH, I GUESS WE'LL JUST SEE WHAT HAPPENS, UM, IN THE NEXT WEEK.
I KNOW THAT THERE ARE LOTS OF, UM, ORGANIZATIONS THAT ARE ENGAGED WITH CITY COUNCIL OFFICES.
I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY THAT'S WATCHING AT HOME AND OUR COMMISSIONERS HERE AS WELL IS THAT IF THERE'S ANYTHING THAT YOU CARE DEEPLY ABOUT THAT YOU DON'T SEE IT IN THE BUDGET OR YOU DO SEE IT IN THE BUDGET OR YOU SEE SOMETHING TO PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR COUNCIL MEMBERS.
UM, WE HAVE VERY LITTLE WINDOW LEFT.
WE HAVE A WEEK, BASICALLY 10 DAYS.
UM, THERE'S BUDGET MEETING TONIGHT IN DISTRICT FIVE, IF ANYBODY WANTS TO RUSH OUT AND MAKE THAT ONE.
UM, SO WITH THAT, I GUESS, WE'LL, UNLESS WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, WE WILL MOVE ON.
THINK COMMISSIONER NOY, UH, CHAIR J.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO ONE FOR, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, MARK CHEN ON THE SIXTH AS WELL.
SO THERE'S ONE TONIGHT AT SIX O'CLOCK, AND THEN THERE'S ONE ON THE SIXTH.
[4. Update on the 89th Texas Legislature and impacts on public safety. Presentation by Carrie Rogers, Intergovernmental Relations Officer, Austin Office of Intergovernmental Relations.]
MOVE ON.UM, OUR NEXT, UM, ITEM IS AN UPDATE ON THE 89TH TEXAS, UM, LEGISLATURE AND IMPACTS ON PUBLIC SAFETY.
THANK YOU GUYS FOR JOINING US, STRANGELY ENOUGH.
WE ARE ON TIME ACCORDING TO MY MENTAL MAP.
I'M THE DEPUTY INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER HERE AT THE CITY.
UH, AND I ALSO HAVE HERE WITH ME CHRIS KOOLA WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
SO I'LL BE GOING OVER THE 89TH REGULAR SESSION.
WE'LL TOUCH BRIEFLY ON THE SPECIAL SESSION AS WELL, UH, THAT IS CURRENTLY GOING ON.
UM, I HAVE CHRIS HERE JUST IN CASE YOU ASK ANY VERY DIFFICULT QUESTIONS, UH, AND HE CAN HELP ME ANSWER THOSE.
SO BEFORE WE GET INTO THE LEGISLATION FROM THE 89 SESSION, WANTED TO DO A QUICK OVERVIEW OF THE UP OF THE CURRENT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, WE ARE IN A SPECIAL SESSION RIGHT NOW.
UH, SPECIAL SESSIONS, UH, CAN'T LAST ANY MORE THAN 30 DAYS, UH, AND THEY CAN ADJOURN EARLY.
THE ONLY TOPICS THAT CAN BE DISCUSSED ARE THE TOPICS THAT ARE ON THE GOVERNOR'S CALL, UH, AND WE'LL GO OVER WHAT THOSE UH, ITEMS ARE.
UH, HOWEVER, THE GOVERNOR CAN ADD ADDITIONAL ITEMS TO THE CALL AT ANY TIME, AND LEGISLATORS CAN STILL FILE AND ANY BILL, UH, ON ANY TOPIC, UH, WHENEVER THEY'D LIKE.
IT'S JUST THAT THOSE BILLS THAT ARE NOT ON THE CALL CANNOT BE, UH, CONSIDERED UNTIL THEY'RE ADDED TO THE CALL.
UH, AND THE GOVERNOR CAN, UH, CALL FOR AN ADDITIONAL, UH, SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE SESSION, WHICH I, UH, COMPLETELY BELIEVE THAT HE WILL, UH, AFTER THE SESSION'S OVER.
SO WE HAVE, UH, SEVERAL PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, ITEMS ON THE LEGISLATIVE, UH, CALL FOR THIS TIME AROUND.
THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, ITEMS ON THE CALL THIS TIME AROUND.
NOT COMMON TO HAVE THIS MANY, BUT, UM, WE WERE ORIGINALLY CALLED BACK, UH, TO TALK ABOUT, UH, THE HEMP BILL.
BUT, UH, AFTER THE DEVASTATING FLOODS IN KE COUNTY, THE GOVERNOR INCLUDED FOR PRIORITY, UM, PIECES OF LEGISLATION
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TO ALSO CONSIDER HAVING TO DO WITH FLOOD WARNING SYSTEMS, FLOOD EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, NATURAL DISASTER PREPARATION AND RECOVERY, AND OF COURSE, RELIEF, UH, FUNDING FOR THE HILL COUNTRY FLOODS.UH, THERE'S ALSO, UH, QUITE A NUMBER OF CITY RELATED BILLS ON THE CALL THIS TIME AROUND.
THERE'S A BAN ON TAXPAYER FUNDED LOBBYING.
THERE IS A CUT, UM, ON THE PROPERTY, UH, EXPENDITURE CAP AND REVENUE CAPS.
THOSE BOTH, UH, BOTH THOSE BILLS HAVE BEEN FILED.
AND OF COURSE, REDISTRICTING IS GONNA BE, UM, A, A BIG, UH, PART OF CONTENTION, UH, HERE AT THE LEGISLATURE.
THERE'S SOME PUBLIC SAFETY, UH, BILLS THAT ARE UP THERE AS WELL, PROTECTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS, UM, AND, UH, WATER PROJECT INITIATIVES.
THERE'S, UM, UH, THE PROTECTING WOMEN'S SPACES, UH, BILL THAT'S ALSO UP THERE AS WELL.
SO QUITE A BIT FOR US TO, UH, BE DISCUSSING.
SO I'LL GO INTO THE REGULAR SESSION
SO THERE'S BEEN MANY RECURRING ISSUES THAT HAVE POPPED UP.
AND BEFORE THIS LEGISLATION, UH, LEGISLATIVE SESSION STARTED, UM, WE HAD SAID THAT THIS LEGISLATURE WAS GONNA BE FOCUSED ON TWO THINGS.
WATER WAS GONNA BE NUMBER ONE, AND WE ALSO KNEW THAT LAND USE WAS ALSO GONNA BE, UH, UP THERE AS WELL.
AND THAT, UH, ENDED UP BEING TRUE.
THERE WERE A LOT OF LAND USE BILLS THAT WERE, UM, CONSIDERED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UH, THERE WERE ALSO EFFORTS TO REDUCE CITY FUNDING AND, UH, LIMIT THE USE OF CITY DEBT.
UM, I'LL GET INTO, UH, THE FIREFIGHTER PENSION BILL AND COLLECTED BARGAINING BILLS.
UH, BUT THOSE WERE TWO OF OUR MAIN PRIORITY BILLS THAT WERE, UM, CONSIDERED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, THE FUTURE OF WATER WAS CONSIDERED.
AND THEN HOMELESSNESS WAS ALSO A VERY BIG, UM, UH, TOPIC DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, YOU KNOW, OUR WHOLE GOAL WHEN WE CAME INTO THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION THIS TIME AROUND WAS TO, IF WE CAN STOP HARMFUL LEGISLATION FROM BEING PASSED.
BUT IF WE COULDN'T, WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO WORK WITH LEGISLATORS TO TAKE THE TEETH OUT OF SOME OF THE BILLS THAT MAY BE MOST HARMFUL TO THE CITY.
UH, BUT WE ALSO WANTED TO JUST WORK WITH LEGISLATORS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY'RE, UM, MAKING GOOD LEGISLATION.
AND I THINK WE DID THAT THIS TIME AROUND.
WE WORKED HAND IN HAND WITH, UH, MANY LEGISLATORS ON LAND USE BILLS AND ALL TYPES OF BILLS TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT, UM, IT TAKES IN ORDER TO GET THIS LEGISLATION PASSED.
UH, THE FINISH LINE, THIS SLIDE IS JUST A, A FEW NUMBERS.
I'M NOT GONNA GO OVER ALL OF THE NUMBERS, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS TO REALLY HONE IN ON IS THERE WERE 1200 BILLS IN JOINT RESOLUTIONS THAT WERE SENT TO THE GOVERNOR.
UM, AND THE I GROW OFFICE, OR THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICE, UH, REVIEWED ABOUT 1500 BILLS.
AND SO WHAT THAT TELLS YOU IS, WELL, IN, IN ADDITION, THERE WERE OVER 9,000 BILLS THAT WERE, WERE FILED IN JOINT RESOLUTIONS THAT WERE FILED.
SO THAT 1200 NUMBER OF BILLS THAT WERE SENT TO THE GOVERNOR, THAT USUALLY IS THE NUMBER OF BILLS THAT, UH, TYPICALLY GET SENT TO THE GOVERNOR.
IT DOESN'T MATTER IF IT'S 9,000 BILLS OR 8,000 BILLS OR 7,000 BILLS.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE HISTORY, IT'S ALWAYS GONNA BE AROUND 1200 BILLS THAT FINALLY GETS SENT TO THE GOVERNOR.
SO WHAT THAT TELLS YOU IS THERE, THERE IS KIND OF A, UM, A THRESHOLD THAT THE LEGISLATURE CAN ACTUALLY HANDLE.
AND SO IT'S AROUND 1200 BILLS, IS WHAT, WHAT THE LEGISLATURE IS ACTUALLY, UH, CAPABLE OF HANDLING.
UH, ANOTHER THING TO CONSIDER IS THAT CITIES ARE THE MOST IMPACTED ENTITIES, UH, THERE AT THE LEGISLATURE.
THERE'S NO OTHER GOVERNMENT, UH, NO OTHER ENTITY AT ALL THAT IS IMPACTED BY MORE LEGISLATION THAN CITIES.
UM, WE REVIEW QUITE A BIT OF BILLS HAVING TO DO WITH PARKS AND RECREATION, POLICE, FIRE, UH, HR BILLS, UM, YOU KNOW, TAXING BILLS, ALL TYPES OF BILLS.
AND THEY ALL IMPACT THE WAY THAT WE PROVIDE SERVICES TO OUR COMMUNITY.
SO I'M GONNA GO OVER SOME OF THE BILLS THAT WERE CONSIDERED DURING THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS TO HIGHLIGHT ON, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY BILLS IS HP 28 0 2, AND THAT IS THE BILL THAT WE PASSED FOR THE AWESOME FIREFIGHTERS
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RETIREMENT FUND.UM, WE, THIS WAS A, UH, AGREED UPON VEHICLE FOR REFORMS TO THE AWESOME FIREFIGHTERS RETIREMENT FUND, UH, PENSION FUND.
UH, THESE REFORMS ESTABLISHED AN ACTUARILY DETERMINED, UH, CONTRIBUTION WITH RISK SHARING PROVISIONS FOR THE CITY AND FIREFIGHTERS.
THE BILL ALSO CREATED A NEW BENEFIT TIER FOR NEW FIREFIGHTERS HIRED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1ST, 2026.
SV 7 77 IS THE AUSTIN FIREFIGHTERS, UH, COLLECTIVE BARGAINING BILL.
UH, THAT BILL BY SENATOR HUGHES ALLOWED, WAS ALLOWED TO BECOME LAW WITHOUT THE GOVERNOR'S SIGNATURE ON, UH, JUNE 1ST.
THE BILL WAS FILED IN RESPONSE TO A TEXAS SUPREME COURT DECISION THAT INVALIDATED A HOUSTON CHARTER PROVISION AFFECTING PAY FOR HOUSTON FIREFIGHTERS.
BUT THE DECISION ALSO HAD THE LIKELY EFFECT OF INVALIDATING OTHER CHARTER, UH, PROVISIONS RELATING TO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, INCLUDING THE IMPASSE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE IN AUSTIN, IN AUSTIN CITY CHARTER.
UM, AND THAT WAS OVERWHELMINGLY APPROVED BY AUSTIN VOTERS.
THE CITY AND THE AUSTIN FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION REACHED A COMPROMISE TO CREATE A STATUTORY, UH, CARVE OUT FOR AUSTIN THAT PRESERVES THE EXISTING AUSTIN CHARTER IMPASSE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE AND ITS FINANCIAL, UM, GUARDRAILS, INCLUDING IT IN, UH, CHAPTER 1 74.
WE ALSO HAVE HB 33 THAT HAS TO DO WITH ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE, AND IT CREATES A STANDARDIZED TEMPLATE FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EMS TO EVALUATE, TRAIN FOR, AND REPORT ON ACTIVE SHOOTER INCIDENTS AT PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS.
IT HAS TO DO WITH EMERGENCY MENTAL DETENTION CRITERIA AND SB 25 70, UH, THAT HAS LESS, UH, THAT'S THE LESS LETHAL DEFENSE.
IT CREATES A JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE IN CRIMINAL CASES AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS WHO USE LESS LETHAL WEAPONS.
AND THAT'S ACTUALLY EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.
AND JUST, UH, TO LET YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE QUITE A BIT OF BILLS.
I'M NOT GONNA GIVE YOU A RUN THROUGH OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM, BUT, UH, IF YOU HAVE A BILL THAT YOU'D LIKE, UH, FOR US TO FOCUS ON WHEN WE GET TO QUESTIONS, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ELABORATE ON THOSE AS WELL.
UM, HB 1105, UH, IT WAS A GOOD BILL BY, UM, TWO MEMBERS OF OUR, UH, DELEGATION.
COLE AND ECKHART, UH, HAS TO DO WITH, UH, PARAMEDIC TUITION EXEMPTION, AND IT PROVIDES THAT AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION SHALL EXEMPT FROM THE PAYMENT OF TUITION AND LABORATORY FEES.
ANY STUDENT WHO'S ENROLLED IN, UH, ONE OR MORE COURSES OFFERED AS PART OF AN EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES CURRICULUM AND IS EMPLOYED AS A PARAMEDIC BY A CITY, AND THAT'S EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN HP 1620, UH, HAS TO DO WITH, UH, THE FORENSIC ANALYST, UH, APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM.
THAT WAS A PROGRAM THAT HAS BEEN DISCUSSED FOR QUITE A WHILE AND THAT FINALLY GOT PAST THE FINISH LINE.
IT CREATES THE FORENSIC ANALYST APPRENTICESHIP, UH, PILOT PROGRAM THAT'S EFFECTIVE.
UH, 36 HAS TO DO WITH CONFIDENTIALITY OF, UH, SEXUAL OFFENSE, UH, RELATED MATERIALS.
UM, SB 8 36 MAKES REVISIONS TO THE PSEUDONYM, LAW FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT VIS VICTIMS ALSO CHANGES CRIMINAL DISCOVERY RULES FOR USE OF SEXUAL ASSAULT EVIDENCE DURING CRIMINAL COURT PROCEEDINGS.
AND THEN SB 34, UH, REQUIRES THAT TEXAS A AND M FOREST SERVICE, UH, CREATE A STATEWIDE DATABASE AVAILABLE, UH, UM, FOR WILDFIRE, UH, WILDFIRE FIGHTING FIREFIGHTING EQUIPMENT.
UH, SO FIRE DEPARTMENTS WILL BE ABLE TO ACCESS THAT DATABASE.
MOVING ON, UM, WE HAVE, UH, SB 1957 HAVING TO DO WITH CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD.
UH, THE CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT BOARD, UH, WOULD PROVIDE THAT A PERSON IS NOT ELIGIBLE IF THEY WERE CONVICTED, UH, OF A FELONY.
AND THEN HB 30 53 IS THE FIREARM, UH, FIREARM BUYBACK PROHIBITION.
IT PROHIBITS MUNICIPALITIES FROM ADOPTING OR ENFORCING ANY MEASURE THAT FUNDS OR OPERATES FIREARM, FIREARM, UH, BUYBACK PROGRAMS, AND THEN SB 28 35.
UM, THIS WAS ALSO AUTHORED BY ONE OF OUR MEMBERS OF OUR DELEGATION, UH, UH,
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REPRESENTATIVE TALL RICO.UH, IT AUTHORIZES CERTAIN MID-RISE RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS, UP TO SIX STORIES OR FOUR UNITS PER FLOOR TO HAVE A SINGLE STAIRWAY IF STRINGENT FIRE, FIRE, UH, FIRE SAFETY STANDARDS ARE MET, AND IT MAY REQUIRE BUILDING CODE AMENDMENTS OR NEW INSPECTION PROTOCOLS.
AND THEN SB THREE, WHICH DID FAIL TO PASS, UH, HAD TO DO WITH, UH, CONSUMABLE HEMP, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE CAME BACK TO THE, UH, SPECIAL SESSION.
AND THEN HB 13, UH, ALSO WAS, UH, FAILED TO PASS.
THAT HAS, UH, THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE TEXAS INTEROPERABILITY, UH, COUNCIL THAT HAS BEEN FILED DURING THE SPECIAL SESSION NOW, UH, AS HB TWO.
AND SO THAT WOULD, UH, ESTABLISH THAT TEXAS, UH, INTEROPERABILITY COUNCIL, AND IT WOULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DEVELOPING, COORDINATING AND GOVERNING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS EQUIPMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE STATEWIDE.
SO WE'LL MOVE ON TO SOME OTHER CITY RELATED LEGISLATION.
SO SB 10 0 8, UH, HAS TO DO WITH THE PREEMPTION OF LOCAL FOOD SERVICE REGULATIONS.
SO CITIES CANNOT, UH, CAN NO LONGER, UM, UH, REGULATE, UH, FOOD TRUCKS AND THAT SORT OF THINGS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, KIND OF ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR, THERE WERE, UH, SB 6 89 HAD TO DO WITH RESTRICTIONS ON DEI SB 10 65, UH, HAD TO DO WITH GUNS IN PUBLIC PLACES.
THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A BILL THAT, UH, BASICALLY WOULD HAVE MADE IT SO THAT, UH, EVENT COORDINATORS, UH, SUCH AS, WELL, I'M NOT GONNA NAME ANY OF THE, UH, OF, OF THE EVENTS, BUT EVENT COORDINATORS WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PROHIBIT GUNS, UH, IN PUBLIC SPACES.
UH, THAT BILL DID NOT MAKE IT, UH, PASS THE FINISH LINE.
AND THERE WAS THE BIG, UH, WHAT WE CALL DEATH STAR TWO BILLS, THE SUPER PREEMPTION BILLS.
AND THEN THERE WAS A PROJECT CONNECT SPECIFIC BILL BY, UM, IT WAS SB 25 19 THAT DID ALSO DID NOT PASS ON WATER.
THERE WAS HB 29 HAD TO DO WITH WATER LOSS AUDIT VALIDATION THAT DID PASS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, YOU'LL SEE THIS ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT, BUT SB SEVEN AND HDR SEVEN HAVE TO DO WITH THE OMNIBUS MAJOR STATEWIDE WATER INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDING.
UH, AGAIN, THAT WILL BE ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT, UH, BECAUSE IT DOES HAVE A FINANCIAL COMPONENT TO IT.
THERE WAS HB 1523, WHICH WAS A BILL THAT, UH, SPECIFICALLY TARGETED THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT WOULD'VE PREVENTED US FROM DOING AN AQUIFER AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY PROJECT.
THERE WERE QUITE A FEW ELECTRIC BILLS THAT WERE PASSED, UH, AS WELL.
UM, HB 1 45 HAD TO DO WITH WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLANS.
UH, SB 1202 HAD TO DO WITH THIRD PARTY REVIEW OF RESIDENTIAL BACKUP GENERATION.
SO YOUR GENERATOR IN YOUR BACKYARD, UH, SB 1252 HAD TO DO WITH THE PROHIBITION OF MUNICIPAL REGULATION ON RESIDENTIAL BACKUP GENERATION.
UH, AND THEN SB 75, UH, HAS TO DO WITH THE RESILIENCE GRID SECURITY COMMISSION.
LIKE I SAID EARLIER, UH, THERE WERE A LOT OF, UM, BILLS HAVING TO DO WITH LAND USE.
UM, AND SO HB 21 DID PASS THIS ONE CLOSED, THE, THE TRAVELING HFC OR HOUSING FINANCE CORPORATION LOOPHOLE, UH, THAT ALLOWED, UH, THESE CORPORATIONS TO, UM, COME INTO CITIES THAT THEY DIDN'T HAVE A PRESENCE IN, AND THEN TAKE OFF, UM, CERTAIN PROPERTIES FROM THE, UH, TAX ROLLS.
WE ARE WORKING WITH THE AUTHOR TO, UH, FIND OUT HOW WE'RE GONNA BE IMPLEMENTING IT.
AND SO WE'RE WORKING CLOSELY WITH THE LEGISLATURE AND THE LAW DEPARTMENT, UH, AND OUR, UM, HOUSING DEPARTMENT TO IMPLEMENT THESE LAWS.
UM, HB OR I'M SORRY, SB 15 ALLOWS FOR 3000 SQUARE FOOT LOTS ON UN PLATTED LAND IN AREAS THAT ARE GREATER THAN FIVE ACRES.
WE WORKED, UH, DILIGENTLY WITH THE AUTHOR TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS GONNA BE ON, ON, UH, LAND THAT WAS NOT, UH, THAT THAT IS GOING TO BE, UH, PLATTED, NOT LAND THAT'S CURRENTLY PLOTTED, UH, SB EIGHT 40 AND SB 24 77 PASS.
UH, THIS IS THE, UM, HAS TO DO WITH THE CONVERSION OF NON-RESIDENTIAL,
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UH, PROPERTIES TO BE, UH, RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES.UH, AND THEN, UH, THERE WAS A SLIGHT FIX TO THE DIS ANNEXATION BILL THAT PASSED A FEW SESSIONS AGO, AND THAT'S SB 1844.
AND THEN AGAIN, SB 1202 HAD TO DO WITH THIRD PARTY REVIEW AND INSPECTION OF ELECTRIC GENERATORS.
UH, SOME OF THE NOTABLE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR BILLS HAD TO DO, UH, OR YOU HAD THE ASH JUNIPER BILL HB 37 98, UH, THAT DID NOT PASS.
UM, AND THEN, UH, THERE WAS BILL ON ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS THAT DID NOT PASS, MEANT HOMELESSNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH WAS ALSO A BIG ISSUE.
UH, SB SIX 17, UH, HAD TO DO WITH, UH, 90 DAY NOTICE, UH, HEARING REQUIREMENTS, UH, BEFORE CONVERTING GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES INTO HOUSING FOR HOMELESSNESS.
UM, SO NOW YOU'LL, UM, PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO CONVERT, UH, GOVERNMENT PROPERTIES, UH, ACTUALLY THE CONVERT, UH, CERTAIN PROPERTIES INTO, UH, HOUSING FOR HOMELESSNESS.
AND THEN, UH, SB 1164 AMENDS THE EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH DETENTION CRITERIA.
UH, SOME OF THE NOTABLE ONES IN THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR IS SB 24 87 BY, UH, TAN PARKER, UH, SENATOR TAN PARKER.
THIS WAS GONNA BE AN OMNIBUS MENTAL HEALTH SERVICE, UH, SERVICES CRISIS CENTER BILL.
UM, THE THING ABOUT THIS BILL IS HE MET WITH, UM, CONTINUUM OF CARE PROVIDERS.
HE MET WITH MENTAL, UH, MENTAL HEALTH EXPERTS, UH, CITIES, COUNTIES, UM, AND, UH, LAW ENFORCEMENT TO GET TOGETHER AND TRY TO SOLVE THE HOMELESSNESS PROBLEM.
UH, IT WAS A BIG HERCULEAN TASK.
UM, AND, UH, HIS BILL WOULD, WOULD HAVE, UH, ALLOWED FOR, UH, A PLACE FOR PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, NEEDED SERVICES, BUT, UH, YOU DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE THEM JUST LEFT AT A HOSPITAL OR A JAIL WHERE THEY'D STAY FOR 24 HOURS AND THEN LEAVE.
THIS WOULD GIVE THEM A, A PLACE TO GET BACK ON THEIR MEDICINE, UH, A A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO GET BACK ON THEIR FEET.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY, THIS BILL DIDN'T COME WITH FUNDING, AND SO IT DIDN'T GET ENOUGH VOTES, VOTES TO GET ACROSS THE FINISH LINE.
UH, SENATOR PARKER, UH, HAS VOWED THAT HE'S GONNA COME BACK AND ADDRESS, UH, THIS, SO HE'S GOING TO BRING BACK, UH, ALL THE SAME GROUP OF PEOPLE TO TALK ABOUT IT AND SEE IF WE CAN WORK ON SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE.
ALSO, THERE WAS HB, UH, 6 36 AND SB 24 88 THAT HAD TO DO WITH A HOMELESSNESS DATA SHARING NETWORK.
THAT WOULD'VE BEEN A, UH, IT WOULD'VE ALLOWED, UH, ONE CITY OR, UH, DIFFERENT PROVIDERS TO BE ABLE TO SAY, IF SOMEBODY COMES INTO YOUR, UM, CITY FROM ANOTHER CITY, YOU'D GET TO, UH, LOOK AT THE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT PERSON, UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WHAT MEDICATIONS THEY WERE ON, WHERE THEY'RE FROM, AND ALL THAT.
SO THIS IS MAKING IT EASIER FOR THOSE ENTITIES TO SHARE INFORMATION THAT DID NOT PASS, BUT I'M PRETTY SURE IT'S COMING BACK.
UH, JUST, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR INTEREST, THERE WAS HB 1393.
UH, THIS IS THAT BILL THAT ALLOWS FOR DAYLIGHT SAVINGS, UH, YEAR ROUND, BUT THAT'S ONLY IF CONGRESS WERE TO PASS A SIMILAR BILL.
UH, AND THEN THERE WAS A AI, UH, REGULATORY FRAMEWORK PASSED.
UH, OBVIOUSLY THE STATE BUDGET PASSED AS WELL.
UH, AND THEN SB THREE, WHICH WAS THE HEMP BILL THAT PASSED, BUT EVENTUALLY IT GOT VETOED.
UM, AND THERE WERE SOME OTHER BILLS AS WELL, HAVING TO DO WITH LIBRARY MATERIALS, UH, AND AND SO FORTH.
SO I THINK WITH THAT, UM, I'M GONNA OPEN IT UP FOR QUESTIONS, BUT I WANT TO THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR HAVING US HERE.
UH, AGAIN, I'M RICK RAMIREZ, I'M THE DEPUTY INTERMENTAL RELATIONS OFFICER.
UH, AND I HAD THE MEMBERS OF MY TEAM UP HERE, BUT ME AND CHRIS CAN ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE.
UM, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THE LESS LETHAL WEAPONS BILLS.
CAN YOU EXPAND A LITTLE BIT ON THAT AND JUST, UM, LET US KNOW WHAT CHANGES THAT HAS IN STORE FOR THE CITY? CHRIS ANTICIPATED THAT, AND HE ACTUALLY BROUGHT THE BILL WITH US
SO, YOU KNOW, I CAN'T, I CAN'T TALK ABOUT ANY LEGAL ADVICE THAT I WOULD'VE GIVEN TO THE CITY IN A PUBLIC SESSION, BUT, YOU KNOW, PRIMARILY IT'S A CHANGE TO THE CRIMINAL LAW, TO THE PENAL CODE.
IT CREATES A JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE, UM, FOR OFFICERS WHO ARE USING LESS THAN LETHAL WEAPONS IN THE COURSE AND SCOPE OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT ACCORDING TO THEIR TRAINING.
IF THEY WERE PROSECUTED FOR THAT USE BY,
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UM, DISTRICT ATTORNEY OR A COUNTY ATTORNEY, THEN THEY COULD ASSERT THAT JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE IN THEIR CRIMINAL DEFENSE.I DON'T NECESSARILY ANTICIPATE IT WILL HAVE A LOT OF IMPACT ON, UH, ON THE CITY AND ITS OPERATIONS BECAUSE IT'S REALLY ABOUT CRIMINAL CHARGES AND THE CRIMINAL PROCESS.
CHIEF HENDERSON, DO YOU, UM, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHETHER OR NOT A PD IS GONNA BE UNDERTAKING ANY CHANGES IN PROCESSES, UM, TO ENSURE THAT LESS LETHAL WEAPONS TRAINING IS SORT OF BEING UNDERTAKEN IN A DIFFERENT WAY OR, UM, TO ACCOMMODATE FOR THESE CHANGES IN THIS LAW? OUR TRAINING RE RELATED TO THE LESS LETHAL IS ROBUST AS, AS A RESULT OF SOME OF THE OUTCOMES RELATED TO THE 2020 PROTEST.
BUT I DON'T SEE THAT THIS LEGISLATION IS GOING TO IMPACT OUR, OUR TRAINING.
SO THERE ARE NO, NO PLAN CHANGES TO THE NOT RELATED, CORRECT.
AND DO, UM, DO YOU GUYS GET, DO, IS THERE, I, THIS IS NOT WHAT IT'S CALLED, IT'S NOT CALLED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, BUT LIKE ADDITIONAL TRAINING THAT HAPPENS AS YOU GUYS ONBOARD NEW WEAPONS, AS LIKE DIFFERENT THAT, LIKE, DO, DO PEOPLE GO THROUGH CERTIFICATION? YES, MA'AM.
SO THERE IS AN EVALUATIVE TEAM, A COMMITTEE THAT'S PUT TOGETHER WHENEVER A NEW WEAPONS PLATFORM IS BEING EVALUATED.
UM, IN ADDITION, CITY LEGAL IS ALSO INVOLVED IN, IN THAT PROCESS AND BEFORE A NEW WEAPONS PLATFORM IS EVER ROLLED OUT, OF COURSE THERE IS, UM, RESEARCH THAT'S DONE, UM, NATIONWIDE, OTHER POLICE DEPARTMENTS THAT UTILIZE THE SAME SYSTEM, UM, MEETINGS WITH THE MANUFACTURER.
UM, THEN THAT IT GOES THROUGH THAT COMMITTEE EVALUATION.
AND BEFORE A OFFICER EVER IS IN A POSITION TO USE IT ALL ON PATROL, THEY, THEY'RE REQUIRED TO HAVE TRAINING ON IT.
UM, IN ADDITION TO AN IMPLEMENTATION OF, OF POLICY.
AND THE REASON I'M ASKING ABOUT TRAINING IS BECAUSE, AM I CORRECT IN UNDERSTANDING THAT THE BILL MENTIONS TRAINING AS WELL? IT DOES.
THAT'S ONE OF THE CRITERIA THAT, THAT A CRIMINAL DEFENDANT WOULD HAVE TO PROVE TO ESTABLISH THE JUSTIFICATION DEFENSE IS THAT THEY USE THE WEAPON ACCORDING TO THEIR TRAINING.
AND SO THERE'S, THERE'S DOCUMENTED TRAINING AND EVERYTHING FOR A PD FOR THE USE OF ALL OF THESE NON, NON-LETHAL WEAPONS? YES, MA'AM.
THAT, THAT PROCESS HAS BEEN BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR AS LONG AS I'VE, UH, BEEN IN A PD THAT TRAINING RECORDS ARE MAINTAINED.
A RECERTIFICATION IS REQUIRED FOR, UH, THOSE WEAPONS PLATFORM ANNUALLY, AND THOSE TRAINING RECORDS ARE, ARE MAINTAINED.
ANY KIND OF UPDATES THAT COME OUT, UM, SPECIFICALLY RELATED TO, I'LL JUST SPEAK TO THE TASER DEVICE.
ANYTIME A NEW WEAPONS PLATFORM OR A CHANGE IN THE, UH, TASER PLATFORM OR HOW, UH, THE DEPLOYMENT DISTANCES, UH, THERE IS A NEW TASER THAT COMES OUT, OFFICERS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND THAT TRAINING, DEPLOY THE NEW WEAPONS PLATFORM, AND THEN BEFORE THEY CAN EVER USE IT OUT ON PATROL, HAVE TO HAVE A CERTIFICATION TO USE IT.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT ANY OTHER BILLS OR OVERALL, UM, CHIEF, UH, COMMISSIONER SMITH, I WAS ABOUT TO CALL YOU CHIEF SMITH
UM, I WAS WONDERING, AND I MAY HAVE MISSED IT, ARE YOU GUYS FOLLOWING THE POLICE, UH, FILE, CONFIDENTIAL FILE? I BELIEVE IT'S SB 14.
HB 14, THERE'S SO MANY OF THEM, BUT I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU ALL HAVE BEEN TRACKING THAT, IF YOU WERE ENGAGED IN THAT AT ALL? YES, WE'RE, WE'RE TRACKING IT.
AND, UH, WE HAVE BILL REVIEWS RIGHT NOW, UH, THE BILLS AND, UH, CURRENTLY BEING REVIEWED BY OUR, UH, BILL ANALYST.
UH, WE WILL BE, UH, RESPONDING AND, AND WORKING WITH THE LEGISLATORS, UM, TO LET THEM KNOW HOW WE FEEL ABOUT THE BILL.
I, I DON'T KNOW SPECIFICS ABOUT THE BILL.
I'M NOT SURE IF YOU DO AS WELL.
UM, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE WATCHING IT.
AND THEN HOW WILL WE BECOME AWARE OF HOW YOU ALL FEEL ABOUT THE BILL? WE TYPICALLY WILL, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE, UH, WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN, UM, GO AHEAD AND SEND AN EMAIL OUT TO, UM, TO THE COMMISSION ON ANY PARTICULAR BILL HAVING TO DO WITH THAT.
AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT Y'ALL ARE AWARE OF, UH, WHAT THE BILL ANALYSIS SAYS.
UM, I ALSO, UM, SAW THAT THERE WAS SOME ENHANCEMENTS TO EMS TRAINING, UM, OR TUITION REIMBURSEMENT.
WILL THAT, I'M ASSUMING THAT WILL POSITIVELY IMPACT, UM, EM S'S ABILITY TO, UM, COVER TUITION AND, AND PAID TIME OFF
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FOR TRAINING AND THINGS OF THAT SORT.I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE AN ANALYSIS ON THAT ONE.
I'LL, I'M LOOKING FOR IT NOW BECAUSE IT'S FOR EXISTING, EXISTING STUFF.
I WISH I COULD HELP YOU WITH NUMBERS, BUT THERE'S SO MANY, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE, THERE ARE SO MANY OF THESE.
I HAD A LOT OF 'EM AT THE TIP OF MY TONGUE A COUPLE MONTHS AGO, AND NOW THE NUMBERS ARE ALL JUMBLED UP.
IT WAS IN ONE OF YOUR EARLIER SLIDES, I REMEMBER.
S YEAH, IT WAS EMS TRAINING, EMS TUITION, SOMETHING THAT YOU GUYS MENTIONED.
SO THAT ONE, THAT ONE IS NOT ON MY LIST AS A BILL THAT THE LAW DEPARTMENT WAS INVOLVED IN.
SO I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING ADDITIONAL ON THAT ONE.
YEAH, THE ONLY THING I CAN TELL YOU IS THAT WHAT, WHAT WE HAVE HERE IS THAT IT'S, UH, PROVIDES A, AN INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION EXEMPTS, UH, FROM PAYMENT AND TUITION LABORATORY FEES, AND FOR ANY STUDENT WHO'S CURRENTLY ENROLLED.
UH, IN ONE OR MORE COURSES AND IS A PARAMEDIC AT THE CITY.
WE CAN GET YOU A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION IF YOU'D YEAH, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
YEAH, THAT SOUNDS LIKE AN EXCI SOUNDS LIKE A LITTLE LIKE SILVER LINING KIND OF BILL.
SO I'M PRETTY SURE THE, UH, BILL AUTHOR ALSO HAD MAYBE A ONE PAGER OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT, THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO CIRCULATE WITH THE COMMISSION.
WE DON'T HAVE AN, OH, COMMISSIONER RUTAN, TWO QUICK QUESTIONS.
I KNOW THERE'S A LOT MORE THAT WE COULD TALK ABOUT AND, AND DISCUSS.
UM, REGARDING THE PROPOSALS TO DECREASE THE ALLOWED INCREASE, UM, IN THE SPECIAL SESSION, I THINK IT'S 2.5% IS THE CURRENT PROPOSAL.
WHEN, IS THERE ANY SENSE OF WHEN THAT WOULD GO INTO EFFECT WERE BE PASSED AND IS THAT GOING TO IMPACT THIS BUDGET YEAR? POTENTIALLY? SO, UM, THAT'S A, I THINK IT'S SB TWO AND HB TWO, UM, OR, UH, MIGHT BE NINE, I DON'T REMEMBER NOW.
UM, BUT THOSE BILLS, UM, I THINK THE EFFECTIVE DATE IS, LET ME CHECK REAL QUICK.
YEAH, I THINK IT'S JANUARY 1ST.
UM, AND SO IT WOULDN'T GO INTO EFFECT UNTIL THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE.
SO REGARDLESS OF OUR CURRENT DISCUSSION, WE WOULDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH THOSE IMPACTS.
WHATEVER IT LOOKS LIKE THAT WOULDN'T, YEAH.
THAT WOULDN'T APPLY TO THIS BUDGET CYCLE WOULD GO INTO EFFECT FOR THE NEXT, UM, NEXT YEAR.
AND THE ONLY OTHER QUESTION, AND THIS MAY BE SOMETHING THAT WE JUST NEED TO COME BACK FOR LATER, UM, BUT THE CHANGES WITH THE EMERGENCY DETENTION RULES, UM, AND I KNOW IT'S A, MY UNDERSTANDING OF IT IS IT'S GONNA BROADEN SOME OF THE CRITERIA AS WELL AS MAKE IT EASIER FOR, UM, SOME NON PEACE OFFICERS EVENTUALLY BRING IN, UM, PATIENTS.
I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT IMPACT THAT MIGHT HAVE, UM, ON EITHER OUR MENTAL HEALTH OFFICERS OR ON OUR INTAKE FACILITIES IF WE HAVE LARGER NUMBERS AT ALL.
SO, SO JUST TO CLARIFY, THERE, THERE WAS A BILL TO ALLOW NON-PE OFFICERS TO DO EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH DETENTIONS.
THAT BILL DID NOT PASS THE BILL THAT DID PASS KIND OF CHANGES SOME OF THE CRITERIA FOR PEACE OFFICERS TO DO EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH, UH, DETENTION.
SO CURRENTLY UNDER TEXAS LAW, THERE IS NO AUTHORITY FOR ANYBODY OTHER THAN A PEACE OFFICER TO DO AN EMERGENCY MENTAL HEALTH DETENTION.
IT DIDN'T ALLOW, LIKE, WASN'T THERE SOMETHING FOR A GUARDIAN COULD TRANSPORT SOMEBODY TO A FACILITY WITHOUT A POLICE OFFICER? OR IS THAT NOT IN THE FORM? OH, THAT, THAT MAY BE, I THOUGHT, I THOUGHT MAYBE YOU WERE REFERRING TO EMS PERSONNEL BEING ABLE TO DO IT.
I GUESS JUST BROADLY SPEAKING, IT'S EXPANDING THE CRITERIA UNDER WHICH SOMEBODY CAN BE TAKEN INTO EMERGENCY DETENTION.
THERE COULD BE, YOU KNOW, WE KIND OF LOOKED AT IT PRIMARILY FROM A CITY PERSPECTIVE IN TERMS OF HOW IT WOULD AFFECT CITY PERSONNEL FROM BEING ABLE TO TAKE PEOPLE INTO DETENTION.
I'M NOT AS, NOT AS CERTAIN ABOUT HOW IT MIGHT AFFECT THE ABILITY OF PRIVATE CITIZENS TO ACT, WELL, I GUESS IT'S UNDER BOTH.
RIGHT? IF, IF THE CRITERIA IS BROADER FOR POLICE OFFICERS, ARE WE GOING TO HAVE MORE EMERGENCY DETENTIONS TAKING UP THE TIME OF OFFICERS
[01:25:02]
OR DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT YET? I DON'T ANTICIPATE THAT, THAT THAT WOULD TAKE MORE TIME FROM OFFICERS.I DON'T REMEMBER THAT BEING PART OF THE DISCUSSION, BUT WE CAN LOOK BACK INTO THE BILL.
I APPRECI REPORT BACK TO THE COMMISSION.
AND JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTAND, FOR OUR FOLLOW UP QUESTION, YOUR QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT THE, THE BILL EXPANDED THE CATEGORIES FOR MENTAL HEALTH DETENTION SO THAT IN THEORY THAT WOULD BE MORE LIKE THAT'S THAT'S YOUR UNDERSTANDING AND THAT'S THE QUESTION.
MY, MY UNDERSTANDING IS THE BILL EXPANDS OKAY.
THE CRITERIA FOR EMERGENCY DETENTION, WHICH OKAY.
PRESUMABLY WOULD LEAD TO MORE EMERGENCY DETENTIONS BEING PLACED.
I WASN'T AWARE THAT THE BILL WAS EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF THE CRITERIA FOR AN EMERGENCY DETENTION.
IT WAS MY UNDERSTANDING IT WAS EXPANDING WHO COULD INITIATE AN EMERGENCY DETENTION.
AND I, I GUESS I WOULD DESCRIBE IT, OH, EXCUSE ME.
I WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS DOING SOME CLARIFICATION OF THOSE CRITERIA FOR PEACE OFFICERS.
I'M NOT SURE THAT I NECESSARILY SEE IT AS A SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION.
UM, IT'S STILL A REQUIREMENT THAT THE, THE PEACE OFFICER FIND THAT THE PERSON IS, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY FACING SERIOUS HARM OR COULD DO SERIOUS HARM IF THE PERSON'S NOT DETAINED.
SO THERE'S STILL SOME OF THOSE PRETTY STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS IN PLACE BEFORE AN OFFICER CAN DO AN EMERGENCY DETENTION.
I JUST THINK WE, WE COULD LOOK AT IT AND GET BACK INTO IT.
WE CAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY GET BACK TO THE COMMISSION ON THAT.
UM, I'M GONNA GIVE ONE LAST GLANCE AROUND.
GOOD LUCK WITH SPECIAL SESSION.
UM, AND WITH THAT WE WILL GO AHEAD AND MOVE INTO, UM, OUR, UM, SO CHRISTIE, I ALWAYS GET A LITTLE CONFUSED WHEN WE HAVE THINGS BROKEN UP INTO TWO STAGES, WHICH IN MY HEAD FEEL LIKE ONE, SO FIRST WE'RE HAVING, WE'RE HAVING A DISCUSSION.
YOU YOU CAN TAKE THEM UP AT THE SAME TIME.
THE WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATION IS ESSENTIALLY THE WORKING GROUP REPORTING ITS FINDINGS AND WHAT IT RECOMMENDS THAT THE COMMISSION DO.
WELL, WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON AND WE'RE GONNA TALK ABOUT ITEMS FIVE AND SIX.
UM, I WILL GO AHEAD AND JUST OPEN
[Items 5 & 6]
THE FLOOR A BIT TO TALK ABOUT THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP GENERALLY, UM, BEFORE WE MOVE INTO THE RECOMMENDATION, UM, WE OPENED THE TRAINING GROUP A LITTLE BIT OVER A ABOUT A YEAR AGO, A LITTLE BIT OVER A YEAR AGO.AND, UM, I THINK WHAT BROUGHT ON THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP IS THAT WE HAD JUST HAD NEW STAFF COME IN AGAIN.
UM, AND WE WANTED TO GET AN ASSESSMENT OF WHERE ALL OF THE KROLL RECOMMENDATIONS WERE.
UM, IT HAD BEEN SEVERAL YEARS, UM, AND AFTER HEARING FROM THE NEW LEADERSHIP AT THE ACADEMY, UM, WE DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WE HAD A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHERE SOME SPECIFICALLY THE ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN STALLED ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
WE DID NOT GET A SENSE OF HOW THOSE WERE TRACKING, WHETHER THEY WERE TRACKING, UM, AND WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS A SYSTEM
UM, AND SO THAT WAS SORT OF THE IMPETUS FOR THE TRAINING, UH, FOR THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP.
UM, WE REVIEWED LOTS OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS GOING BACK HISTORICALLY THROUGH ALL OF THE YEARS AND THE CAZILLION DIFFERENT GROUPS, UM, THAT CONTRIBUTED TO THIS RE-IMAGINING PROCESS FOR THE ACADEMY.
WE HAD SEVERAL MEETINGS WITH TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING STAFF.
THEY ALSO PROVIDED US WITH LOTS OF DOCUMENTATION, UM, AND I THINK AT THIS LONG SORT OF PROCESS AT THE END OF IT, AND I'LL, I'LL LET THE REST OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP CHIME IN AS WELL.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE FEEL, UM, LIKE WE STILL, I I I DON'T FEEL LIKE WE KNOW MUCH MORE ABOUT SPECIFICALLY THOSE ITEMS WHERE WE WERE STALLED, UM, IN, IN DEVELOPING IN THE, IN THE TRAINING ACADEMY, WORKING GROUP RECOMMENDATIONS.
UM, THE COMMUNITY ADVISORY COMMITTEE WAS ONE THAT I KNOW HAS GOTTEN GOING.
THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE TRAINING VIDEOS THERE, THERE WAS A LONG LIST OF THINGS THAT WE JUST DID NOT FEEL LIKE AFTER A YEAR OF REVIEWING DOCUMENTATION AND LOTS AND LOTS OF PAGES OF REPORTS, UM, WE JUST STILL DON'T FEEL LIKE WE KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THOSE.
UM, AND SO I'LL JUST LEAVE IT AT THAT IF THE REST OF THE TRAINING ACADEMY WORKING GROUP HAS ANY THOUGHTS, ANY, ANY ADDITIONAL INSIGHT
[01:30:01]
THEY'D LIKE TO ADD IN? NOPE.DO, DOES ANYBODY ELSE THAT'S NOT IN THE WORKING GROUP HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR US AS WE MOVE INTO THIS PROCESS? OKAY.
WELL THEN WITH THAT, UM, I WILL ACCEPT A MOTION FROM YEP.
ACTUALLY JUST BEFORE WE DO, OH, BALLOONS FOR SOME REASON.
WELL, JUST BEFORE WE DO MOVE ON TO LIKE, CALLING UP THE RECOMMENDATION, I DID WANT TO MAKE REALLY TRANSPARENT THAT FROM MY LENS, UM, THIS WAS NEVER A, UM, KNOCK ON A PD EVER GETTING FUNDING OR THE POLICE ACADEMY EVER GETTING FUNDING.
UM, IT WAS WITH THE BACKDROP OF, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, YOU KNOW, BEING ALLOCATED, WHAT IS IT, 36.2% OF OUR GENERAL FUND.
UM, THE RESTRICTIONS THAT LIE IN STATE LEGISLATURE WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MONEY IS ALLOCATED TO A POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, AND THE RESTRICTIONS OF BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, REALLOCATE THAT ONCE IT'S IN THAT BUCKET WITH THAT BACKDROP, COMPOUNDED WITH THE FACT THAT I THINK WE WERE REALLY, REALLY SPECIFIC, UH, FOR A VERY LONG TIME ABOUT HOW WE NEED INFORMATION AND WHAT INFORMATION WE WERE LOOKING FOR AND WHAT FORMAT.
AND BEING GIVEN LOTS OF INFORMATION BUT NOT NECESSARILY WHAT WE WERE REQUESTING, HOW WE WERE REQUESTING IT.
I THINK THAT'S WHAT THAT, I THINK THAT WAS FOR ME.
UM, AND I'M NOT SURE ABOUT MY OTHER MEMBERS, BUT FOR ME SPECIFICALLY, THAT'S WHAT REALLY DROVE THIS RECOMMENDATION.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE SURE, UM, THAT I ARTICULATED, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PEOPLE THAT DO THAT JOB WITH DUTY AND HONOR, YOU KNOW, THERE'S MUCH RESPECT, UM, AND WE THANK YOU.
UM, AND AT THE SAME TIME, UM, IT GIVES ONE PAUSE TO PUT MORE, UH, ON ONE, UH, ON SOMEONE ELSE'S PLATE ON THIS DEPARTMENT'S PLATE WHEN, UH, WHAT'S ON THAT PLATE HASN'T ALREADY BEEN EATEN.
AND PART OF WHAT NEEDS TO BE EATEN, WHAT NEEDS TO BE DIGESTED IS A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF EVERY SINGLE RECOMMENDATION THAT HAS BEEN GIVEN.
WHERE WE ARE IN THAT RECOMMENDATION, WHAT ARE THE MILESTONES? AND I FEEL LIKE WE'RE REPEATING OURSELVES OVER AND OVER
UM, AND YEAH, I'LL AGREE THAT I, WE, WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF INFORMATION, WE HAVE GOTTEN MORE INFORMATION THAN WE GOT IN THE YEAR PREVIOUS.
UM, AND MAYBE IT IS JUST THE NATURE OF THE BEAST THAT IT IS SO HUGE, BUT IT IS BECAUSE IT IS SO HUGE THAT WE FEEL LIKE THERE NEED TO BE MUCH MORE, IT NEEDS, IF IT'S NOT DIGESTIBLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW WE CREATE TRUST AROUND HOW THESE REFORMS ARE HAPPENING AT THE ACADEMY.
UM, AND, AND, AND HOW, AND I'VE I'VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME AND I FEEL LIKE IT'S MY BUZZWORD OF THE YEAR TALKING ABOUT CONTINUITY.
UM, AND WE'RE, WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BIG SHIFT AT THE TRAINING ACADEMY ALL OVER AGAIN.
UM, I DON'T KNOW, AND MAYBE THERE ARE NOW, BUT I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S INSTRUCTOR TRAINING, LIKE A FORMAL INSTRUCTOR TRAINING PROCESS YET.
UM, AND THAT THERE'S DOCUMENTATION FOR ALL THESE POSITIONS.
PERHAPS IT'S GETTING CREATED NOW AS THIS TRANSITION IS HAPPENING.
UM, BUT AGAIN, THERE'S JUST, THERE'S JUST STILL A LOT WE DON'T KNOW.
AND I KNOW THAT THERE IS A LOT OF PRESSURE ON A PD TO HIRE MORE POLICE OFFICERS AND PUT MORE POLICE OFFICERS THROUGH THE TRAINING ACADEMY.
AND I THINK IT IS BECAUSE OF THAT.
I THINK WE KNOW THAT THERE'S GONNA BE THIS PUSH THAT WE FEEL LIKE IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS AS MUCH TRANSPARENCY AS POSSIBLE AROUND THIS, THIS, THIS TRAIN, THESE TRAINING ACADEMY REFORMS, WHICH WERE, YOU KNOW, DRIVEN BY LAWSUITS ON TOP OF, YOU KNOW, UM, LARGE COMMUNITY INTEREST IN REFORMING, REFORMING THE PROCESS.
SO WITH THAT, I WILL, UM, ACCEPT A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR TO CONSIDER OUR RECOMMENDATION AS A MOVE AND A SECOND.
AND, UH, COMMISSIONER WYNN, IF WE COULD JUST HAVE YOUR CAMERA ON, SINCE IT'S AN ACTION ITEM, HE'S THERE.
AND DO WE HAVE ANY DISCUSSION AMENDMENTS QUESTIONS SPECIFICALLY ABOUT THE LANGUAGE? OKAY.
CAN I ASK JUST A CLARIFYING QUESTION? SURE.
SO PRIMARY REVIEW RESOLVED IS ASKING THAT COUNCIL, HAVE AUSTIN
[01:35:01]
POLICE DEPARTMENT NOT MAKE ANY OF THE PROPOSED STAFFING CHANGES UNTIL SOME OF THESE OTHER ISSUES ARE ADDRESSED.IS THAT, THAT'S MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THE PRIMARY DIFFERENCE WOULD BE, YES.
UM, YEAH, THE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, YES.
IN THERE WAS HOLD, HOLD STEADY AT THE CURRENT STATUS UNTIL SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE PUT IN PLACE BECAUSE THERE, THERE, THERE'S AN ACADEMY GOING ON RIGHT NOW.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
AND THEY'RE NOT SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE BEFORE THE STAFFING CHANGE.
THERE ARE TWO CLASSES GOING ON MM-HMM
SO THERE IS ONE CLASS THAT IS SCHEDULED TO GRADUATE AT THE END OF AUGUST.
SO THE CURRENT PERSONNEL THAT OUR CADET INSTRUCTORS WILL REMAIN IN PLACE UNTIL THAT CLASS, UH, GRADUATES MM-HMM
HOWEVER, THERE IS ANOTHER CLASS THAT IS IN, UH, PROGRESS AND THEY GRADUATE IN DECEMBER.
AND SO WHEN I SPOKE TO THAT OVERLAP OF OF TIME, IT'S A TWO MONTH OVERLAP IN ORDER TO TRANSITION THE, THE NEW ONBOARDING OF THE, THE CHANGEOVER IN, IN PERSONNEL AND MAKE SURE WE MAINTAIN THAT CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS.
I UNDERSTAND IT IS, IT IS A LOT.
UM, AS IT, AS YOU SPOKE TO THE PAROLE RECOMMENDATIONS, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY RECOMMENDATIONS, WE WERE INTENTIONAL ABOUT SHARING ALL THE INFORMATION OR ALL THE BODY OF WORK.
SO WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, IT'S VERY VOLUMINOUS AND IT'S A LOT OF INFO INFORMATION.
'CAUSE WE DID NOT WANT TO HAVE THE PERCEPTION THAT WE WERE NOT SHARING EVERYTHING.
AND SO ADDING TO THAT TRANSPARENCY COMPONENT WHEN WE SHARE ALL THOSE DOCUMENTS MM-HMM
IT IS, IT IS A LOT OF INFORMATION, BUT WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THE COMMISSION THAT OF THE 84 RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN SOME ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT WE IDENTIFIED THAT WE WERE GONNA PUT IN PLACE, THAT ALL OF THOSE ITEMS ARE, ARE BEING WORKED ON.
AND, UH, DON'T KNOW OF ANOTHER WAY TO DO THAT OTHER THAN TO SHOW ALL THE WORK THAT IS THAT IS GOING ON.
BUT, BUT HAPPY TO HEAR INSIGHT OR SUGGESTIONS ON ANOTHER FORMAT THAT MIGHT BE OF BETTER BENEFIT TO THE COMMISSION.
BUT UNDERSTAND, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF ONGOING WORK AND IT, THERE'S A LOT OF INFORMATION THAT WE NEED TO PUT TOGETHER, A LOT OF DOCUMENTS THAT WE NEED TO DO AUDITS THAT WE'RE REQUIRED TO, TO DO.
AND SO THAT WOULD BE ANOTHER ASK OF THE PERSON PERSONNEL TO COME UP WITH A DIFFERENT FORMAT TO PRESENT TO THE COMMISSION ON.
BUT HAPPY TO, TO TAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION IF YOU DO HAVE ONE.
UM, I THINK PART OF OUR RECOMMENDATION ALSO, DID WE LEAVE THAT IN THERE? UM, UH, I, PART OF THE RECOMMENDATION WAS, UM, TO EXPAND RIGHT NOW THE CURRENT OPEN DATA POLICING PORTAL.
UM, INCLUDES INFORMATION ON CADET CLASSES AND ATTRITION.
UM, AND I THINK, UM, PROGRESS ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, FINDING A WAY TO MAKE THAT TRANSPARENT AT THAT LEVEL.
UM, I MEAN, JUST THINGS LIKE TARGET DATES FOR THINGS THAT AREN'T COMPLETED.
I, I THINK WE'VE BEEN IN THIS STATE FOR
UM, AND THERE'S NO SENSE OF, UH, AN END DATE WHEN THE COMPLETION DATE WENT.
WHAT, WHAT THE METRICS ARE THAT, UM, WE ARE TRACKING TO ENSURE THAT WE GET TO COMPLETION.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT WAS, THAT'S BEEN ALWAYS PART OF THE ASK, UM, IS HOW DO WE GET TO COMPLETION AND WHEN DO WE ANTICIPATE COMPLETION, UM, FOR EACH OF THE 84 ITEMS. 'CAUSE I THINK MOST OF THEM WERE IN PROGRESS.
SO THAT, I THINK THAT'S, THAT'S MY FEEDBACK WITH REGARDS TO THE LEVEL OF TRANSPARENCY THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR.
I THINK WE'VE UM, ASKED FOR LIKE JUST A STRAIGHT UP SPREADSHEET
WE, WE DID SEND TO THE GROUP ON FEBRUARY 25TH.
THERE'S A, A LINE ITEM RE-ROLL RECOMMENDATIONS AND THEN THE STATUS OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY'VE BEEN IMPLEMENTED AND WE CAN PROVIDE ANOTHER UPDATE TO, TO THAT, TO THAT ONE.
BUT ON THAT ONE IT IS A LINE ITEM OF JUST WHAT THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE AND THEN THE CURRENT CURRENT STATUS.
AND I THINK, UM, AGAIN, WE ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE GOTTEN A LOT OF THIS, A LOT OF THE ITEMS THAT HAVE BEEN STALLED HAVE REMAINED STALLED AND INCOMPLETE ON THE, ON THE LIST FOR QUITE SOME TIME.
SO, UM, DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, ITEMS? IF NOT, I'LL GO AHEAD AND GO TO THE A FLOOR VOTE.
UM, ALL IN FAVOR? I CAN DO A SHOW OF HANDS.
WE'VE GOT FOUR IN FAVOR ALL AGAINST AND THEN ANYONE ABSTAINING?
[01:40:02]
ONE ABSTENTION.AND THEN CHRISTIE WILL HELP ME MARK EVERYONE THAT IS ABSENT.
COMMISSIONER WYNN, I DIDN'T CATCH YOUR VOTE.
WERE YOU FOR AGAINST OR ABSTAINING? OR RECUSING? SORRY.
YOU MIGHT HAVE NOT SEEN MY, UH, MY HAND.
UH, I'M ABSTAINING FROM THIS ONE.
UM, THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
UM, I TOO GET FRUSTRATED WHEN WE DON'T HAVE QUORUM 'CAUSE WE HAVE LIKE, WE JUST DON'T HAVE ENOUGH PEOPLE ON BOARD, UM, TO, UM, CONSIDER TOPICS LIKE THIS.
SO I'M SORRY THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE A FULL SLATE TODAY TO CONSIDER THIS.
[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
MOVE ON TO QUICK BUSINESS THAT WE CAN CLOSE OUT WITH.UM, CAN WE DO A QUICK VOTE ON MINUTES? UM, I'M GONNA GO BACKWARDS TO ITEM ONE SO THAT WE CAN APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR OUR JULY 7TH MEETING.
IF I CAN GET A MOTION FROM THE FLOOR, UNLESS WE HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS, UH, MOVE TO THREE MINUTES.
AND IF I CAN GET A SHOW OF HANDS FOR ACCEPTING THE MINUTES.
I NEED EVERYBODY IF WE CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN.
IF NOT, WE WILL WORK ON THIS NEXT TIME.
I WAS NOT PRESENT AT THE MEETING.
AND THEN, UM, SORRY CHAIR, CAN I JUST CLARIFY, UM, 'CAUSE I THINK THIS COMES UP QUITE OFTEN.
UH, WE DON'T HAVE TO BE PRESENT OR TO, UM, TO VOTE ON, UH, THOSE MINUTES.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE PRESENT TO VOTE ON THE MINUTES, BUT I ALSO CANNOT MAKE ANYONE VOTE FOR THE MINUTES, SO WE CAN JUST MOVE IT TO NEXT TIME.
UM, WE'LL VOTE ON IT NEXT TIME AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL HAVE A LARGER, UM, UH, PARTICIPATION SO THAT WE CAN VOTE FOR THAT.
[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS]
ANY FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS? OKAY.UM, CAN WE ADD, UH, AN ITEM TO, TO REINTRODUCE DISCUSSION OF THE, UH, OF THE POLICE ACADEMY ISSUE THAT WE DISCUSSED TODAY? YES.
UM, AND THEN I WILL THROUGH CHRISTIE CIRCULATE OUR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, SORT OF PLAN FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS.
UM, AND I THINK WE'RE BRINGING BACK THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT, UM, AS WELL.
WE HAVE THE OFFICE OF VIOLENCE PREVENTION, UM, SLATED TO COME SPEAK TO US AGAIN.
UM, AND THE FORENSIC SCIENCE CENTER IS ALSO, UM, UH, LOOKING FORWARD TO BRIEFING US ON WHAT THEY DO.
UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER AGENDA ITEMS, PLEASE BE SURE TO REACH OUT VIA EMAIL.
CHRISTIE CAN HELP US GET SECONDS VIRTUALLY.
AND WITH THAT, UNLESS WE HAVE ANY OBJECTIONS, WE ARE ADJOURNED.