Mar 19, 2026 Special Technology Commission

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH, AND THANK YOU FOR COMING IN PERSON.

ABSOLUTELY.

UM, I CAN START, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AND I CAN SHOW OVER TO SOME OF MY OTHER, UH, COLLEAGUES ON THE COMMISSION.

UM, I'M CURIOUS, AND YOU MADE REFERENCE, UH, TOWARDS THE BEGINNING OF THE PRESENTATION THAT THERE WOULD BE ANOTHER PASS ON SOME OF THE DATA ANALYTICS, BUT I'M JUST CURIOUS WHAT OTHER PEER CITIES WERE, UM, WAS AUSTIN COMPARED TO? SURE.

SO GARTNER CREATES A CUSTOM PEER GROUP FOR YOU.

SO THEY LOOK AT, UM, THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO AUSTIN.

SO THEY LOOK AT OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE SIMILAR BUDGETS.

SO THEY HAVE, UH, LET ME MAKE SURE I HAVE MY FACTS RIGHT.

THERE WERE NINE PEER CITIES, UH, PEER ENTITIES, SIX CITIES, THREE COUNTIES, ALL HAD A BUDGET OF AT LEAST $5.5 BILLION.

THEY, UM, UH, SIX OF THEM HAD A WATER UTILITY.

UH, THREE OF THEM HAD AIRPORTS, ONE HAD AN ELECTRIC UTILITY.

UM, AND OTHER THAN THAT, ALL OF THE CITY SERVICES, THE SERVICES WE OFFER WERE COMPARABLE.

UM, THEY TELL YOU THAT THERE ARE OTHER CITIES IN OUR REGION IN TEXAS, AND THEN THEY LOOK AT OTHER PEER CITIES THAT ARE COMMON IN THEIR MAKEUP.

UH, THEY RATIONALIZE EVERYTHING FOR THE COST OF LIVING WITHIN THE CITY TO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON AS CREATING THAT PEER GROUP.

THEY DO NOT TELL YOU THE EXACT CITIES.

THEY TELL YOU THAT YOU'RE LOOKING AT A PEER THAT HAS, UH, EQUIVALENT COMPONENTS TO YOUR CITY.

AND I'M, I'M JUST CURIOUS, HOW DO THEY DO THAT ANALYSIS? LIKE ON THE BACKEND? HAVE THEY HAVE THOSE MUNICIPALITIES BEEN PARTICIPANTS, CLIENTS OF GARTNER, THEY WORK WITH CITIES, COUNTIES, STATE GOVERNMENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE, AND THEY HAVE A VERY LONG AND RICH DATA SOURCE ON WHICH TO DRAW FROM.

THEY ARE, WHEN PEOPLE CITE BENCHMARKS, THEY ARE FROM GARTNER IS ONE OF THE MAIN ENTITIES WHERE THEY FIND THOSE BENCHMARKS.

NOW WE HAVE A, UH, CONSULTANT COMPANY, LOB LOLLY THAT'S ON THE GROUND WITH US IN IMPLEMENTATION, UM, FOR, UM, UH, COMMUNICATIONS AS PART OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT.

AND THEN, UM, SO IT, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY TOOK INTO ACCOUNT, UH, OTHER MUNICIPALITIES.

SOME MAY HAVE HAD AIRPORTS, SOME MAY HAVE HAD WATER, UM, BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE IT WAS PERHAPS A MIXED BAG.

UM, I AM ALSO CURIOUS, UM, AS A CHANGE MANAGEMENT PRACTITIONER IN TECH, I'M WONDERING WHAT CHANGE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY Y'ALL PUT IN PLACE TO ENSURE THAT THERE IS BUY-IN ACROSS THE VARIOUS DEPARTMENTS, ACROSS THE EMPLOYEE POPULATION.

UM, IS THAT SOME, IS LIKE A HIGH LEVEL STRATEGY, SOMETHING GARTNER HAD RECOMMENDED AND SOMETHING THAT YOU ALL ARE PUTTING INTO PLACE? UH, YES, DEFINITELY PUTTING THAT INTO PLACE.

SO WE HAVE, UH, SO GARTNER DID THE ASSESSMENT.

THEY MADE A RECOMMENDATION.

[00:15:02]

UM, WE HAVE, UH, A SHAREPOINT SITE WHERE WE ARE COMMUNICATING THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING WHEN THEY ARE HAPPENING.

UM, WE HAVE ASKED, UH, EMPLOYEES TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS SO THAT WE CAN IN ANSWER THEM AND ENRICH THE FAQ WITH THE THINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN SHARING.

UH, WE ARE ALSO TAKING THAT FEEDBACK AND INCORPORATING THAT INTO OUR CHANGE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES.

UH, WE ARE STARTING WORKSHOPS INTERNALLY WITH THE CURRENT AUSTIN TECHNOLOGY STAFF ON WHAT IT MEANS TO BE, UH, A LARGER DEPARTMENT AND, UM, HOW WE ARE GOING TO CHANGE AND ENRICH OUR CULTURE BY HAVING THESE NEW PEOPLE IN OUR ORGANIZATION.

AND THEN AS, UH, WE MOVE INTO THE ACTUAL TRANSITION, WE WILL BE DOING THAT SAME THING WITH THE MANAGERS AND, AND, UH, STAFF MEMBERS IN THE DEPARTMENTS ACROSS THE CITY.

IN TERMS OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT, OTHER PARTS OF THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT EFFORT, WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED, UH, ON UNDERSTANDING WHAT PEOPLE DO.

SO THESE INFORMATION GATHERING MEETINGS, WE'VE GONE TO ALL 630 PLUS EMPLOYEES ACROSS THE OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS AND ACTUALLY MET WITH THEM.

WE'VE ASKED THEM TO FILL OUT A QUESTIONNAIRE AND THEY'LL TELL US WHAT, WE DON'T WANT TO ASSUME ANYTHING.

TELL US ABOUT THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.

AND THEN WE HAVE THOSE MEETINGS WITH THEM TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE TYPE OF WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING, SO THAT AS WE BUILD OUT THESE TEAMS, WE WANT PEOPLE WHO HAVE AFFINITY FOR SIMILAR WORK TO BE ABLE TO WORK TOGETHER.

AND AS WE CONTINUE THROUGH OUR TRANSITION PERIOD, THERE'LL BE ADDITIONAL MEETINGS, WORKSHOPS, TEAM BUILDING TO HELP US AS WE TRANSFORM THE ORGANIZATION.

AND THEN JUST THE LAST PIECE ABOUT, UM, CHANGE MANAGEMENT, AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SOME OF MY, SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES.

I'M CURIOUS AROUND LIKE THE, THE, UM, THE LONGER TERM, UM, CONSOLIDATION EFFORT.

UH, IS THE VISION TO HAVE, UH, A CO-LOCATED, UM, A TS, UH, TECH GROUP? IS IT, IS THE VISION TO, TO HAVE THEM, UH, TO, TO HAVE THE EMPLOYEE POPULATION DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY SIMILAR TO THE WAY, THE WAY IT IS TODAY? TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.

IT HAS TO BE DISPERSED THROUGHOUT THE CITY.

WE HAVE A THOUSAND TECHNOLOGISTS, AND WE WANT THEM TO STAY CLOSE TO THE DOMAINS THAT THEY'RE SUPPORTING.

IT MIGHT LOOK A LITTLE DIFFERENT OVER TIME, BUT WE WANT PEOPLE, UM, EMBEDDED IN THE DEPARTMENTS AND CLOSE TO THE TECHNOLOGY THAT THEY'RE HELPING TO SUPPORT.

SO THEY WILL HAVE A, UH, A A TS HOME BASE WHERE WE CAN DO WORKSHOPS, WHERE WE CAN DO PLANNING, WHERE WE CAN DO STRATEGY.

UH, THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN THE OFFICE, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, WE'RE HAVING PEOPLE, UM, UM, UH, WORK AND CO-LOCATE WITH THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT THEY SUPPORT.

UNDERSTOOD.

UH, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES.

ANYONE IN THE ROOM WANNA TAKE IT? FIRST, THANK YOU FOR COMING IN AND COMING TO SPEAK.

UM, I HAD A QUESTION.

UH, IS THERE A CRITERIA THAT'S BEEN MADE PUBLIC TO THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS AROUND WHO WOULD BE EMBEDDED AND, AND WHO WOULDN'T AND WHO WOULD MOVE OVER TO THIS, I GUESS DIFFERENT TEAM.

SO THERE ARE MULTIPLE TEAMS. I MEAN, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT A THOUSAND PEOPLE MM-HMM .

UM, AND IT'S GOING TO DEPEND ON THE FUNCTION THAT THEY'RE SUPPORTING FOR THE ORGANIZATION.

SO WHAT WE HAVE, UH, DEVELOPED AND PUT OUT SO FAR IS THAT WE ARE, WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THE NEEDS ARE OF THE ORGANIZATION, AND AS WE ARE CLEAR ON THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION, WE'LL IDENTIFY HERE ARE THE, UM, THE CRITERIA BY WHICH WE ARE, ARE, UM, IDENTIFYING WHETHER PEOPLE ARE FULLY EMBEDDED OR THEY ARE, UH, IN A LARGER SUPPORTIVE TEAM.

BUT WE'RE TRYING TO GET THROUGH THE END, END OF OUR INFORMATION GATHERING SO THAT WE CAN BE VERY CLEAR AND CONCISE AND VERY SPECIFIC ABOUT WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

AND WHEN YOU SAY, UM, THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION, ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY TEAM OR THE CITY ORGANIZATION? THE DEPARTMENT ORGANIZATION? EVERYBODY.

YES.

WELL, I MEAN, WE ARE, WE'RE HERE TO SERVE THE CITY, AND SO WE NEED TO MEET THEM WHERE THEY ARE.

RIGHT.

FROM, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THEY NEED TO DO IN, UH, THAT VEHICLE.

SO I CAN'T HAVE PEOPLE, UH, WHO ARE SUPPORTING, UH, TECHNOLOGY IN A, I DON'T KNOW, A POLICE CAR.

THEY CAN'T BE REMOTE

[00:20:01]

SO, I MEAN, WE'RE, WE'RE MAKING SMART DECISIONS ABOUT WHERE WE LOCATE PEOPLE AT.

IN THIS FIRST PHASE.

PEOPLE ARE GENERALLY GOING TO STAY LOCATED WHERE THEY ARE.

WON'T SAY THAT'S EVERY SITUATION, BUT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL BE STAYING PHYSICALLY LOCATED WHERE THEY ARE TODAY.

UM, AND JUST ONE MORE QUESTION.

SO THIS, YOU HAVE A, UM, YOU HAD GARTNER, AND THEN THERE'S A NEW CONSULTING COMPANY, LIKE YOU SAID, KIND OF ON THE GROUND MM-HMM .

HELPING WITH THIS, THIS USHERING INTO THIS NEXT PHASE.

UM, HOW, CAN YOU GIVE US ANY INSIGHT ON HOW THAT CONSULTING COMPANY TALKS WITH DIFFERENT PRACTITIONERS IN THE DEPARTMENT? SO ARE THEY LIKE WATCHING THEM DO THEIR WORK? ARE THEY GATHERING? HOW, HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO, UH, WE STARTED WITH A QUESTIONNAIRE.

WE THAT WITH, I THINK THERE WERE ABOUT 15, 18 QUESTIONS THAT WE ASKED PEOPLE TO ANSWER SO THAT WE UNDERSTAND THE TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY THEY'RE, THEY'RE WORKING WITH, THE TYPES OF PROJECTS THAT THEY DO, THE FREQUENCY IN WHICH THEY DO THOSE TYPES OF PROJECTS AND THAT TYPE OF WORK.

UH, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE KNEW IT'S NOT PERFORMATIVE, THAT'S NOT, WE'RE NOT LOOKING AT YOUR PERFORMANCE.

WE JUST REALLY WANNA UNDERSTAND WHAT TYPE OF WORK YOU DO THAT WILL DRIVE HOW THE TEAMS GET ALIGNED.

UM, SO THAT WAS THE FIRST THING.

THEY LOOKED AT THE RESPONSES FROM THE QUESTIONNAIRES, AND THEN THEY HAVE THAT INFORMATION GATHERING, MEETING THAT LISTENING MEETING TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THAT WELL, WHAT'S WRITTEN IN THE QUESTIONNAIRE, THAT THEY HAVE A TRUE UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT WORK LOOKS LIKE DAY TO DAY.

HAS THERE BEEN ANY INTERESTING PIVOTS ON Y'ALL'S END FROM THOSE LISTENING MEETINGS? HAS THERE CHANGED ANY OF YOUR STRATEGY IN ANY WAY? I, WELL, UH, YOU KNOW, A A A FEW VERY HIGH LEVEL THINGS, YOU KNOW, UNTIL IT'S DONE, I HATE, YOU KNOW, I DON'T WANNA SAY THIS IS A RECOMMENDATION OR TRULY A FINDING, BUT SOME THINGS THAT WE HAVE NOTED IS THAT SOMETIMES PEOPLE ARE POWER USERS.

THEY'RE NOT, UH, MANAGING THE TECH TECHNOLOGY, CONFIGURING THE TECHNOLOGY.

THEY'RE, THEY'RE USING THE TECHNOLOGY.

SO WE, WE WILL HAVE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT, YOU KNOW, THIS REALLY ISN'T, THIS IS A POWER, THIS IS A BUSINESS USER.

THIS IS SOMEONE WHO'S USING SOMETHING AS A BUSINESS FUNCTION.

AND SO THOSE ARE CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE'RE TAKING IN THINGS THAT WE'RE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION TO TALK TO THE DEPARTMENTS ABOUT THAT.

YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE THIS PERSON AS A, I DUNNO, A DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR, BUT THEY'RE, THEY'RE REALLY NOT , THEY'RE NOT A DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR.

THEY'RE A POWER USER OF A PARTICULAR SYSTEM.

SO THOSE ARE THE KINDS OF THINGS, FINDINGS THAT WE'RE HAVING.

NOT A LOT OF THOSE, BUT SOME OF THOSE WERE, THOSE THINGS ARE MISALIGNED.

WE'RE IDENTIFYING THOSE.

UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF ANYTHING ELSE THAT STOOD OUT.

UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE ALL VERY, UH, PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT THEY DO.

OBVIOUSLY, UM, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE PERCENTAGES OF THEIR JOB THAT IS TECHNOLOGY SUPPORT AND OTHER PERCENTAGES OF THEIR JOBS THAT AREN'T.

AND THEN WE'LL BE HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH THE DEPARTMENT ABOUT DOES THIS ROLE HAVE TO MAINTAIN, BE, CONTINUE TO BE BLENDED? IS ARE THERE PEOPLE WHO HAVE A BETTER AFFINITY TO DOING JUST THE TECHNICAL PART OF THE WORK AND THOSE THAT NEED TO REMAIN IN THE BUSINESS.

UM, YOU, NO, YOU CAN GO AHEAD.

SO, UM, I WAS ACTUALLY CURIOUS ABOUT THE OTHER PART OF THIS, TALKING ABOUT THE APPLICATION DUPLICATION ROLE.

SO JUST MY UNDERSTANDING, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 2000 APPLICATIONS OUT THERE, ARE THOSE APPLICATIONS BUILT INTERNALLY WITHIN THE CITY? ARE THEY LICENSED FROM VENDORS? ALRIGHT.

JUST ARE THEY DESKTOP SOFTWARE OR WHAT KIND OF THINGS ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT THERE? IT'S, IT'S A MIX.

UM, UH, BUT HEAVY ON THE PURCHASE COTS OR COMMERCIAL OFF THE SHELF.

APP APPLICATIONS, WHETHER THEY ARE ON, ON PREMISE OR MM-HMM .

IN WEB.

UM, THERE'S A MIX, BUT HEAVY ON THE PURCHASED APPLICATIONS.

SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT ELIMINATING DUPLICATION, YOU'RE REALLY KIND OF TALKING ABOUT LIKE, FINDING APPLICATIONS THAT DO VERY SIMILAR THINGS AND CENTRALIZING, YOU KNOW, ON ONE SET.

YEAH, EXACTLY.

SO I'LL GIVE AN EXAMPLE OF BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE TOOLS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO HELP US HAVE GOOD INFORMATION AROUND, UH, OR, UH, TO LOOK AT DATA IN INTERESTING WAYS.

WELL, WE HAVE A DOZEN OF THOSE IN THE, IN THE PORTFOLIO.

WE DON'T NEED A DOZEN, BUT WE MIGHT NEED TWO OR THREE.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO RATIONALIZE DOWN TO WHAT'S IMPORTANT, MOVE THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE OTHER NINE TOOLS TO THE THREE PRIMARY TOOLS MM-HMM .

AND THEN BUILD TEAMS AND CENTER OF EXCELLENCE AROUND HELPING PEOPLE USE THAT TECHNOLOGY AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THE TECHNOLOGY AND KEEP IT UPGRADED AND ON THE LATEST RELEASE.

IN LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT LIKE, YOU KNOW, SAYING THAT WE'RE AT, YOU KNOW, 200% OF THE BUDGET OF A SIMILAR COMPARABLE AREA, UM, FOR THIS, DO WE HAVE, LIKE WHAT KINDS OF, UH, WHAT'S LED TO LOTS OF DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS HAVING KIND OF DIFFERENT SYSTEMS TO DO THE SIMILAR THINGS? IS THAT, LIKE, WHAT'S KINDA THE NATURE OF THE, THE COMMONALITY THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR? SO THE, THE ROOT CAUSE, UM, WE'VE BEEN VERY DECENTRALIZED.

AND THEN MOVING BACK TO THE, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZATION PART

[00:25:01]

AND WHEN YOU'RE DECENTRALIZED, THEY'RE, THE DECISION MAKING IS DECENTRALIZED AND PEOPLE GO IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

NOT, UH, NEITHER GOOD NOR BAD.

THAT IS JUST A SYMPTOM OF BEING DE DECENTRALIZED.

UM, I WOULD ALSO SAY THAT, UH, PEOPLE ARE JUST MATURING AT DIFFERENT RATES WITHIN THE DIFFERENT AREAS AND ORGANIZATIONS.

AND SO THEY'VE FELT THAT THIS NEED IS PRIORITY.

UM, AND WE HAVEN'T HAD, UH, STRONG GOVERNANCE AROUND SAYING, NO, PLEASE USE THIS OTHER TOOL.

IT'S ALREADY IN THE ORGANIZATION.

AND SO WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT, THAT WE HAVE THAT STRONG GOVERNANCE SO THAT WE CAN MAINTAIN THE PORTFOLIO AND HAVE GROWTH AT A REASONABLE RATE OF MAYBE, YOU KNOW, 5% A YEAR AND NOT MAYBE 15 OR 20% A YEAR.

BUT I ASSUME AS PART OF LIKE, LOOKING THROUGH ALL THE DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS, YOU'VE ALSO FOUND LOTS OF VERY SPECIALIZED FUNCTIONS WITHIN DIFFERENT GROUPS THAT ARE VERY UNIQUE TO THOSE GROUPS AS WELL.

RIGHT.

THERE, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT ARE VERY DOMAIN SPECIFIC MM-HMM .

AND WILL HAVE TO REMAIN.

SO THE 300 THAT WE HAVE TARGETED ROUGHLY ARE THINGS THAT CAN VARY COMMONLY BE, UH, RATIONAL RATIONALIZED DOWN TO A SMALLER SUBSET.

I JUST WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE GARTNER FINDINGS AND THAT 81% FIGURE IN THE 98% FIGURE REGARDING SPENDING AND IT STAFF MM-HMM .

WHAT ARE SORT OF, ARE, ARE THERE ANY ESTIMATES YET ABOUT COST SAVINGS OR TIMELINE OF EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENTS AS IT RELATES TO CONSOLIDATION? I WOULD BE ABLE TO COME FOR THE RATIONALIZATION.

SPECIFICALLY FOR THE RATIONALIZATION SPECIFICALLY.

I'LL BE ABLE TO COME BACK AT A LATER MEETING OKAY.

AND GIVE YOU SOME GOOD COST SAVINGS.

UM, OUR VENDOR IS STILL WORKING THROUGH THOSE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN VALIDATE AND VERIFY THOSE THINGS THROUGH.

UM, LOOKING AT THE CONTRACTS, LOOKING AT OUR LICENSING OPTIMIZATION, UM, UH, POTENTIAL, UH, RENEGOTIATION OF CONTRACTS THAT COULD.

AND HOW MUCH IS THE CITY CURRENTLY SPENDING ACROSS IT SERVICES ACROSS, UH, 449 MILLION A YEAR.

I'M SORRY.

I THINK IT'S 459 MILLION.

4 59.

I THINK I'M, I THINK I'M, YEAH, I'M OKAY.

VICE CHAIR, DORE, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? NO SPECIFIC, UH, QUESTIONS.

I WAS JUST TRYING TO RECALL THAT THE TIMING THAT YOU HAD ON THE PRESENTATION, THAT'S THE, THE ASSESSMENT PHASE IS THROUGH APRIL AND THEN THE TWO, TWO TO THREE YEARS AFTERWARDS.

IS THAT CORRECT? SO FOR THE, UM, CENTRALIZATION OF RESOURCES, UM, WE FINISH OUR INFORMATION GATHERING THIS MONTH IN MARCH.

IN APRIL.

WE TALK ABOUT WHAT THOSE ALIGNED TEAMS LOOK LIKE, AND IN MAY WE START THE MOVEMENT INTO THOSE ALIGNED TEAMS. GOT IT.

SPECIFIC TO THE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION AND DOING THE PROJECTS TO GET THOSE DOLLAR SAVINGS AROUND OUR APPLICATION PORTFOLIO.

UM, THOSE THINGS WILL TAKE, THEY WILL START IMMEDIATELY, BUT THEY WILL TAKE UP TO THREE YEARS TO ACTUALLY EXECUTE.

I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION.

COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? YES.

UM, I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING TODAY AND PROVIDING AN, AN OVERVIEW FOR US.

I KNOW YOU MENTIONED IN THE PEER CITIES OR, OR, UH, JURISDICTIONS THAT WERE, UM, AUSTIN WAS ESSENTIALLY IDENTIFIED FOR A NUMBER OF CHARACTERISTICS AS PART OF OUR COHORT.

DID GARTNER PROVIDE ANY, UH, FEEDBACK OR UNDERSTANDING LESSONS LEARNED FROM THOSE COMMUNITIES AS THEY NAVIGATED THAT PROCESS? I THINK THIS GETS A LITTLE BIT TO ANOTHER QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED ABOUT JUST EARLY PIVOTS THAT WE'VE, YOU KNOW, THAT YOU ALL HAVE, UM, DONE AS YOU'VE DONE YOUR LISTENING SESSIONS AND INFORMATION GATHERING.

I'M JUST KIND OF CURIOUS WHAT LESSONS LEARNED, UH, IN THIS PROCESS ARE SIMILAR.

UM, CITIES, COUNTIES HAVE HAVE, UH, TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT WHEN THEY'VE GONE THROUGH THIS.

SURE.

UM,

[00:30:02]

I'LL, I'LL SHARE TOO, UM, THE, UH, FUNCTIONS AROUND OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY THAT THOSE ARE OFTEN DIFFICULT FOR CITIES TO NAVIGATE, AND THEY TAKE MORE DISCUSSION THAN YOUR GENERAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY.

SO THINGS AROUND YOUR UTILITIES AND YOUR AIRPORTS, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT, UM, UH, REQUIRE TIGHTER DEFINITION BECAUSE OF THE CRITICAL LIFE SAFETY IMPACT OF MANY OF THOSE SYSTEMS. UM, AND THEN THE OVERALL CHANGE MANAGEMENT THAT IT'S CONTINUOUS.

YOU STARTED AT THE BEGINNING, AND WE WILL BE DOING CHANGE MANAGEMENT FOR THE NEXT THREE YEARS BECAUSE AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE LEARNING AND FINDINGS FROM, UM, FROM WORKING TOGETHER AS ONE ORGANIZATION, AND, AND THEN THERE ARE THE EFFICIENCIES THAT THE CITIES GAIN OVER TIME, IT'S NOT IMMEDIATE.

IT'S OVER TIME AS YOU START TO WORK WELL AND WORK TOGETHER IN THESE TEAMS. AND I WILL SAY, YOU KNOW, SOME OF OUR TEAMS TODAY MIGHT BE TOO LARGE, BUT THERE ARE CAPABILITIES IN OUR ORGANIZATION WE DON'T HAVE THAT WE DO NEED.

AND SO THIS IS GONNA PROVIDE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN NEW SKILLS AND MOVE INTO NEW OR AREAS OF TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL BE SUPPORTIVE TO OUR MISSION.

LONG TERM.

IF, IF I'M HEARING YOU CORRECTLY, IT SOUNDS LIKE SOME POTENTIAL OPPORTUNITY TO LIFT AND SHIFT CERTAIN ROLES WITHIN THAT MIGHT GET CENTRALIZED, ESSENTIALLY TO SERVE OTHER DEPARTMENTS THEY MIGHT NOT CURRENTLY BE SERVING.

IS THAT CORRECT? I WOULD SAY TO SUPPORT OTHER TECHNOLOGY, PARDON ME, TO SUPPORT OTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT WE EITHER DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE OR THAT IS NOT WELL RESOURCED TODAY.

SO WE MIGHT HAVE, UM, A SYSTEM IN A DEPARTMENT AND THEY HAVE ONE RESOURCE SUPPORTING THAT SYSTEM, AND IT REALLY MIGHT NEED A TEAM OF FOUR OR FIVE INDIVIDUALS, OR WE MIGHT NEED, HAVE A FUNCTION THAT WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE A NEW TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITY, MAYBE A BIGGER FOCUS ON, UH, DATA ANALYTICS OR, UM, AI OR WHATEVER THE TECHNOLOGY MIGHT BE AS IS THEY AT MAY BE WE'LL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHIFT SOME PEOPLE INTO THOSE FUNCTIONS TO BE MORE SUPPORTIVE OF THE ACTIVITIES WE NEED TO DO GOING FORWARD.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

AND I THINK YOU, YOU MENTIONED THIS, THIS IS LIKELY THE OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY POSITION, SO I KNOW THERE WERE SOME COMMUNITY CONCERNS EXPRESSED AROUND, YOU KNOW, OF COURSE CENTRALIZING SOME OF THAT TECHNICAL EXPERTISE.

I'M THINKING THE GIS CRIME DATA ANALYSTS, YOU KNOW, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.

UM, YOU, YOU MIGHT HAVE MENTIONED THIS, FORGIVE ME IF THIS IS REPEAT.

WHAT TYPE OF, COULD YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT AGAIN, WHAT WORK IS BEING DONE TO MAP THOSE TECHNICAL ROLES? SO, I KNOW WE TALKED BRIEF, YOU MENTIONED THE UTILITY AIRPORT, BUT MM-HMM .

UM, COULD YOU WALK ME THROUGH THAT AGAIN? I JUST WANNA BETTER UNDERSTAND WHAT THAT PIECE LOOKS LIKE AT, AT THIS STATE IN THE PROCESS.

SURE.

SO WITH, WE'VE WORKED WITH THE CONSULTANTS ON, UH, A PACKAGE AND A CONVERSATION AND A STRUCTURE ON HOW WE TALK ABOUT AND DEFINE AND NAVIGATE OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY.

AND SO WE'RE HAVING, UM, I'LL SAY MORE DETAILED CONVERSATIONS WITH THE UTILITIES AND THE AIRPORT, OR TO HELP DEFINE THE, UH, PARAMETERS AROUND WHAT THE MANAGEMENT OF THAT TYPE OF TECHNOLOGY LOOKS LIKE, SO THAT WE HAVE VERY CLEAR AND CLEAN DEFINITION AROUND ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THOSE TYPES OF TECHNOLOGIES.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

AND JUST ONE LAST QUESTION.

AS WE, AS YOU ALL PROGRESS THROUGH PROCESS, I BELIEVE YOU, YOU PRESENTED, WAS IT EARLY MARCH? YOU'LL HAVE TO KEEP ME HONEST HERE TO COUNCIL.

UM, AS THE INITIATIVE MOVES FORWARD, UH, HOW SHOULD WE BE THINKING ABOUT, OR WHAT ROLE WILL COUNCIL HAVE, UM, IN TERMS OF ANY GUIDANCE, POTENTIAL DECISION POINTS ALONG THE WAY? IS IT LARGELY, UM, MANAGER LED, OR WILL THERE BE A FOLLOW-UP OPPORTUNITY IN THAT AS THE PROJECT UNFOLDS FOR PHASE 3, 4, 5 DOWN THE ROAD? UM, DEFINITELY, UH, YOU KNOW, I, I AM GOING BACK TO, UH, AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AND CONTINUING TO PRESENT ON THE OVERALL TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZATION EFFORTS.

SO THAT WILL BE CONTINUED, UH, THROUGH THE TWO, THREE YEAR TIMEFRAME AS WE CONTINUE TO PROGRESS.

UH, LIKE I SAID, THESE THINGS AREN'T, UH, UH,

[00:35:01]

DECIDED AND THEN DONE.

IT'S A, IT'S A JOURNEY TO GET TO THE, UH, THE END OF THIS, END OF THIS ROAD.

AND SO WE HAVE A ROADMAP AND HAPPY TO COME AND, YOU KNOW, SHARE MILESTONES AND, UM, UM, AT DIFFERENT DECISION POINTS OR DIFFERENT MILESTONES WITH, UH, WITHIN THAT OVERALL PROGRAM.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

ITEM NUMBER THREE, AND THAT'S AN UPDATE ON G TOPS.

WELL, THANK YOU, UH, SO MUCH AGAIN FOR COMING IN PERSON WALKING US, UH, THROUGH IT, ANSWERING OUR QUESTIONS.

UH, APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU DO AND, UH, YEAH, HOPE TO HAVE YOU BACK, UH, TO PROVIDE US AN, AN UPDATE ON THIS AS WELL AS MANY OTHER, UH, ACTIVITIES GOING ON.

I SAW THE, THE WEBSITE, UH, REDESIGN ROLLOUT HAPPEN TODAY.

UM, SO CONGRATULATIONS.

THANK YOU ON, ON THAT.

UH, UM, EXCELLENT WORK FOR THE TEAM SMOOTH OUT, AND WE ARE JUST EXCITED TO HAVE THAT RESOURCE FOR THE COMMUNITY.

UM, MOVING ON TO AGENDA

[3. Update on the applications received for the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program 2026 grant cycle (Dan Martinez, Business Process Specialist, Austin Economic Development).]

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DAN IN ALL RIGHTY.

LET'S, LEMME GET THE PRESENTATION UP.

I THANK YOU.

UH, JUST GONNA GIVE A QUICK UPDATE ON ALL THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED, AS WELL AS, UH, ANY, UH, INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE APPLICATIONS.

UM, SO YEAH, RIGHT NOW WE'RE, UH, IN THE MIDST OF THE REVIEW PANEL FOR GTOP S CORE.

UM, AND WE, UH, THIS YEAR WE DID HAVE TO FOREGO THE LETTER OF INTEREST PERIOD.

SO THERE WAS, UH, YOU'RE GONNA SEE A LOT MORE, UH, DISQUALIFIED APPLICATIONS THAN WE WOULD NORMALLY SEE IN A, UH, NORMAL GTOP CYCLE.

UH, BUT THAT'S JUST BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE THAT INITIAL PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY SCANNING OR SCREENING.

UM, SO YEAH, JUST A QUICK REMINDER IN GTOP SI THINK, UH, ALL COMMISSIONERS HAVE BEEN PRESENT FOR A GTOP S PRESENTATION IN THE PAST, BUT JUST A QUICK REFRESHER.

IT IS THE LARGEST GRANT PATHWAY THAT THE, OUR COMMUNITY TECHNOLOGY TEAM OPERATES, UM, AND SUPERVISES, UH, THIS YEAR IT IS A $40,000 AWARD FOR EIGHT ORGANIZATIONS.

UM, AND, UH, THESE ARE PROJECTS THAT ARE BASED ON, UH, LOOKING TO CLOSE THE DIGITAL DIVIDE GAP WITHIN AUSTIN.

UM, USUALLY IN THE, UH, THE MOST COMMON WAYS WE SEE, AGAIN, ARE, UH, SKILLS, UM, TECHNOLOGY SKILLS, UH, TEACHING PEOPLE WORKFORCE SKILLS ON THE COMPUTER AND WHATNOT.

UM, INCREASING ACCESS TO DEVICES AND INCREASING ACCESS TO THE INTERNET, SO COMPUTER LABS OR HOTSPOTS, ANYTHING OF THAT MANNER.

UM, BUT THERE'S ALSO SOME CREATIVE ONES OUT THERE.

UM, AND A LOT OF THE PROPOSALS WE'VE SEEN, UH, HAVE BEEN INTERESTING.

UH, ONCE WE HAVE A FINAL DESIGNATION OF AWARDEES, WE'LL GO THROUGH WHAT THEIR PROPOSALS WERE.

UM, BUT TODAY I'M JUST GONNA BE GOING OVER WHICH APPLICATIONS WE RECEIVED FROM WHICH ORGANIZATIONS AND WHAT THEIR STATUS CURRENTLY IS AND WHAT THEIR PAST STATUSES AS G OS UH, APPLICANTS.

SO HERE'S A LITTLE BREAKDOWN OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, SO WE RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 33 APPLICATIONS, WHICH IS ACTUALLY REALLY GOOD.

I'D SAY IT'S, UH, ON THE HIGHER END THAT WE'VE RECEIVED WITHIN THE LAST HALF DECADE.

UM, THERE WERE SEVEN PROJECTS THAT WERE FOCUSED ON INCREASING THE NUMBER OF DEVICES IN THE COMMUNITY, WHICH AGAIN, THAT'S GOOD.

UH, I, WE TEND TO SEE A LOT OF SKILLS-BASED, UH, PROGRAMS 'CAUSE IT, YOU KNOW, EDUCATIONAL AND WORKFORCE EDUCATION, STEAM EDUCATION IS BIG AND EASIER TO IMPLEMENT, BUT IT'S NICE TO SEE THAT DEVICE ACCESS IS STILL A FOCUS.

UM, BUT ON THAT SAME SUBJECT, 26 PROJECTS, UM, WERE LISTED TO INCREASE CREATIVE, UH, OR INCREASE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES.

AND OUT OF THOSE 13, WERE CREATIVELY FOCUSED.

UM, SO TEACHING FOLKS LIKE PHOTOSHOP, PODCASTING, EDITING, UM, AND THEN FIVE OF THOSE PROPOSALS WERE IT AND MIDDLE SKILL TRAINING PROJECTS.

UM, AND SO, UH, THOSE, IT, MIDDLE SKILL WORKFORCE SKILLS IS, UH, WHAT THAT MEANS.

SO LIKE TEACHING FOLKS, UH, HOW TO REPAIR COMPUTERS OR, UH, HOW TO, UH, DO DIFFERENT IT, UH, SERVICES.

UH, BUT YEAH, SO GOOD SPREAD.

UM, AND THIS IS, UH, ALL OF THE APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED FROM APPLICANTS THAT ARE NEW TO THE PROGRAM.

AND MOST OF THE DISQUALIFICATIONS, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, CAME FROM THIS GROUP.

UM, IF I, I CAN GET INTO THE SPECIFICS ON WHY CERTAIN PROGRAMS WERE DISQUALIFIED.

UM, BUT FOR THE MOST PART, THEY JUST DIDN'T MEET ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, UH, EITHER THROUGH NONPROFIT STATUS, UM, THROUGH, UH, THEIR PROPOSAL JUST WASN'T ALIGNED WITH GT O'S GOALS OR, UM, THEIR GEOGRAPHIC, UM, SERVICE AREA OR THEIR, THEIR SERVICE AREA, UH, WASN'T IN THE RIGHT GEOGRAPHIC, UM, SPACE OF, OF AUSTIN AND THE EXTENDED, UH, EXTRA JUDICIAL, EXTRA JUDICIAL TERRITORY.

RIGHT.

UM, SO YEAH, LOTS OF, UH, NEW FACES AND A FEW THAT WE'VE SEEN ON OTHER GRANT PATHWAYS, UH,

[00:40:01]

LIKE DAWA, HINDU CHARITIES FOR AMERICA, UM, WE'VE SEEN FOR, UH, GTOP S CAPACITY AND GTOP S MINI.

UM, BUT A LOT OF NEW ORGANIZATIONS HERE, SOME THAT I'VE NEVER EVEN HEARD OF.

UM, THE ONES LABELED IN RED THOUGH WERE THE ONES THAT WERE DISQUALIFIED FOR THE REASONS I'VE LISTED.

UM, BUT OVERALL, NOT TOO MANY DISQUALIFICATIONS.

UM, THAT BRINGS A TOTAL DOWN FROM 33 TO 28, WHICH IS STILL A VERY GOOD, UH, AMOUNT OF GTOP S APPLICATIONS RECEIVED.

UM, AND I HAVE TO THANK OUR MARKETING AND PIO TEAM FOR THE, THE PUSH THEY'VE DONE THIS YEAR.

UM, AND THIS IS, HEY, HEY, DAN, REAL QUICK.

WHAT WERE SOME OF THE REASONS THAT THEY WERE DISQUALIFIED? UM, YEAH, I'LL JUST HIT THEM ONE BY ONE.

UM, SO, UM, THE FIRST ONE THAT YOU SEE THERE, VORTEX, UM, THEIR PROPOSAL JUST WASN'T ALIGNED WITH GT OS REQUIREMENTS.

UM, THEY, UH, WERE LOOKING TO EXPAND THEIR, THEIR PERSONAL DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT IT DIDN'T ALIGN WITH, UH, HOW GT OS REQUIRES, UH, AN ORGANIZATION TO, UM, EITHER HAVE THIS BE LIKE A PUBLIC GOOD OR HAVE THE SKILLS THAT ARE BEING LEARNED, UH, TRANSFERRED TO, UH, CITIZENS OF THE COMMUNITY AND NOT JUST LIKE EMPLOYEES OF WHATEVER ORGANIZATION THIS IS.

UM, MUSEUM, MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS JUST WASN'T A, A NONPROFIT.

UM, SO WE HAD A, UH, DISQUALIFY THEM OFF THE BAT IMPACT AUSTIN FOUNDATION, SIMILARLY JUST LOOKING TO INCREASE THEIR DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

UM, BUT THEY WEREN'T A DIGITAL INCLUSION FOCUSED ORGANIZATION.

UM, BOYS AND GIRLS CLUB OF AMERICA WAS NOT SERVING AUSTIN OR TRAVIS COUNTY.

UM, THEY WERE MOSTLY IN THE BASTROP AREA, SO WE COULDN'T, UM, WE COULDN'T AWARD MUNICIPAL DOLLARS TO THEM.

AND THEN QUELL ALSO SIMILAR LOOKING.

THEY HAD A DIGITALLY FOCUSED RESOURCE PROJECT, BUT IT DID NOT TIE IN DIGITAL INCLUSION SKILLS, INCREASING DEVICES OR INCREASING, UH, ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.

SO, UM, SOME WERE A LITTLE MORE WISHY-WASHY, AND WE HAD A LOT OF DELIBERATION.

UM, ME AND JESSE WEIGHED IN.

WE WENT TO OUR LEADERSHIP FOR A WAY IN, AND, UH, COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD, WHO IS THE EX OFFICIO CHAIR, ALSO GAVE HIS OPINION.

UM, SO WE GOT A CONSENSUS AND, AND WE ALL STRONGLY AGREED THAT THESE FIVE WE COULD NOT MOVE FORWARD.

UM, BUT YES, THESE ARE THE APPLICATIONS OF FURTHER APPLICATIONS THAT WE RECEIVED.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE, THE GREEN ONES ARE REPEAT, UH, WINNERS, BUT EVERYBODY HERE HAS APPLIED FOR CORN IN THE PAST.

SO IT'S FUN TO SEE, OR IT'S NICE TO SEE THE APPLICANTS THAT, UH, HAVEN'T WON IN THE PAST, AREN'T DISCOURAGED AND ARE CONTINUALLY COMING BACK AND, AND PUTTING THEIR HAT IN THE RING FOR G TOPS FUNDS.

UM, A LOT OF THESE ARE, ARE GREAT FOLKS.

UM, I CAN'T SPEAK ENOUGH ABOUT, UM, THE WONDERFUL PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE COLLABORATED WITH THEM ON.

UM, AND EVEN SOME OF THE NAMES THAT AREN'T IN GREEN, MAYBE THEY JUST HAVEN'T BEEN AWARDED CORE FUNDS.

UM, BUT WE'VE WORKED WITH BRAVE FAMILY, ELDER CARE, ART, CURATORIAL, EVA, EGBI, AND AVANSE ALL THROUGH GTOP S CAPACITY AND MINI.

SO THIS IS JUST, UH, OUR, OUR USUALS AND, AND IT'S NICE TO SEE 'EM ALWAYS RETURNING BACK AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, INVESTING INTO CLOSING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE.

UM, AND I THINK THAT'S THE END OF MY PRESENTATION.

I'M JUST GIVING THAT QUICK UPDATE.

UM, RIGHT NOW WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE REVIEW PROCESS.

WE'RE IN PHASE TWO.

UM, AND PRETTY, WE'RE CLOSING IN ON THE FINAL DELIBERATION, UH, WHICH IS WHERE WE'LL GET GENERAL CONSENSUS FROM ALL THE REVIEW PANELISTS.

UM, AND, UH, SOON ENOUGH WE'LL HAVE A FINAL DECISION FOR Y'ALL.

I BELIEVE AT THE APRIL 8TH MEETING, WE SHOULD HAVE A FINALIST OF AWARDEES.

UM, AND IF NOT, THAT MAY COME IN MAY.

IT JUST DEPENDS ON HOW, UH, THE SCHEDULE LINES UP THAT THAT COMMISSION MEETING IS JUST EARLIER THAN THEY TEND TO BE.

UM, AND, UH, I JUST WANNA PLUG, UH, WE ARE RIGHT NOW ASSEMBLING A REVIEW PANEL FOR GTOP S CAPACITY IN MANY, UM, COMMISSIONER CUBY AND COMMISSIONER FROCK PARTICIPATED LAST YEAR.

UM, SO IF ANY OTHER COMMISSIONERS ARE INTERESTED, UM, IT'S A LOT LESS WORK THAN G TOPS CORE.

UM, IT'LL PROBABLY BE FIVE TO 10 HOURS OF YOUR TIME.

UM, AND IT'S A LOT MORE FUN THAN IT SOUNDS LIKE.

UM, I'LL SEND AN EMAIL TO Y'ALL, BUT IF, IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING, WE WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT.

UM, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, PEOPLE THAT ARE ENGAGED WITH THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, UH, FOLKS WHO ARE, ARE MORE ON THE GOVERNMENTAL SIDE AND, AND KNOW THEIR COMMUNITY'S NEEDS.

UM, AND, AND YOU GUYS FIT THAT BILL PERFECTLY.

UM, SO I'LL SEND OUT AN EMAIL AND, UH, I'LL SEE IF, IF, UH, ANY OF Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED.

UM, BUT YEAH, THAT'S ALL I GOT.

UH, ANY QUESTIONS? UM, NO QUESTIONS FROM MY, I GUESS I HAD A QUESTION FOR COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD.

UM, WHAT'S BEEN YOUR EXPERIENCE SO FAR AS, AS YOUR FIRST TIME SERVING AS EX OFFICIO CHAIR? I THINK ALL THE, ALL THE VOLUNTEERS ARE REALLY EXCITED.

I THINK THAT WAS, UM, THEY ALL SEEM REALLY EAGER TO GET TO GET ROLLING.

UM, I THINK THERE WERE SOME GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE DISQUALIFICATIONS, UM, BUT I THINK CITY STAFF PROVIDED PRETTY CLEAR GUIDELINES ABOUT WHY THEY DIDN'T MEET THE QUALIFICATIONS SET FORTH IN THE APPLICATION.

AND I THINK SINCE THEN, LIKE THAT HAS BEEN RESTATED TO THEM.

I THINK THEY'VE BEEN LIKE, OKAY, THAT'S FINE.

[00:45:01]

GOOD.

UM, SO THAT'S THE APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR A TS.

WELL, THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE ON THAT.

UM, AND DAN, JESSE, UH, AND THANK, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU ALL FOR LEADING THE EFFORT ON THAT AND, UH, YEAH, LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE FINAL, UH, THE FINAL OUTCOMES OF ALL THAT.

THANK YOU GUYS, AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT.

YEAH, OF COURSE.

UM, OKAY, WELL, WITH THAT, UH, I'M GONNA CONTINUE TO CALL, UH, THE AGENDA ITEMS OUT OF ORDER UNLESS ANY COMMISSIONERS, UH, ARE UPSET ABOUT IT AND, UH, MOVE US STRAIGHT AWAY TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER NINE.

[9. Approval of recommendation for continued funding for the Austin Technology Services consolidation project. ]

UM, AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS HERE TO, UH, SPEAK ON THAT ITEM.

UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR ENGAGEMENT AND FOR, FOR COMING AND SHOWING UP IN PERSON.

UH, SO I'LL JUST GO, UH, DOWN THE, DOWN THE LIST.

UH, I WAS, UH, I UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU ALL REQUESTED TO BE CALLED IN THIS SPECIFIC ORDER.

UH, WE HAVE DAVID CRUZ, UH, FIRST, SO THANK YOU DAVID.

AND OH, UH, WE HAVE THREE MINUTES EACH.

SO, UM, THANK YOU SO MUCH COMMISSIONERS FOR, UH, SPENDING TIME WITH US THIS EVENING.

WE ARE SO GRATEFUL, UH, TO HAVE YOUR TIME AND ATTENTION.

MY NAME IS DAVID CRUZ.

I'M A MEMBER OF THE AFSCME 1624 BOARD OF DIRECTORS, AND I'M A PART OF OUR CAMPAIGN TO STOP ONE A TS OR OATS, UH, THE PERSONNEL REORGANIZATION, PART OF THE CENTRALIZATION THAT DIRECTOR LAKEY PRESENTED ON THIS EVENING.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT YOU MAY BE INCLINED TO VOTE YES ON ITEM NINE OR TO POSTPONE ACTION.

RESPECTFULLY, WE ASK THAT YOU VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE TONIGHT.

COMMISSIONERS, WE KNOW THAT YOU CARE A LOT ABOUT MODERNIZATION, EFFICIENCY, CHANGE MANAGEMENT, DIGITAL EQUITY, AND INTEROPERABILITY OF TECHNICAL SERVICES ACROSS THE CITY.

WE OURSELVES ARE TECHNOLOGISTS.

WE SHARE THOSE VERY SAME VALUES.

WE HAVE FOUND BROAD SUPPORT FOR THE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION PIECE OF THIS CONSOLIDATION.

WE HAVE SUPPORTED AN EFFICIENCY AUDIT THAT COUNCIL PASSED EARLIER THIS, UH, EARLIER LAST MONTH.

AND, UH, WE'VE BEEN, UH, LOOKING AT THE TECH GOVERNANCE, UH, FOR PROCUREMENT OF, UH, SOFTWARE.

WE ARE SUPPORTIVE OF EFFICIENCY SERVICES.

WHAT WE ARE NOT SUPPORTIVE OF IS A HIGH RISK REORGANIZATION THAT WILL PRO WILL PROVIDE QUESTIONABLE EFFICIENCY GAINS THAT HAVE NOT WEIGHED OPERATIONAL REPUTATIONAL AND FISCAL RISKS.

THE BENEFITS OF THE REORGANIZATION ARE UNPROVEN.

ILLUSORY OVER $10 MILLION HAVE BEEN COMMITTED FOR NO PROVEN GAIN.

THERE HAS BEEN NO COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS PROVIDED TO DATE, NOR NO RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSIS.

WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS TOO RISKY TO JUSTIFY A REORGANIZATION OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

TONIGHT, YOU'LL HEAR FROM CITY TECH WORKERS AND THE COLLEAGUES WHO THEY SUPPORT.

YOU HEAR ABOUT THE RISKS OF THE LOSS OF EMBEDDED EXPERTISE, UH, WEAKENED SUPPORT OF MISSION CRITICAL SYSTEMS AND DISRUPTIONS TO PUBLIC SERVICES.

BUT OUR CONCERNS ARE NOT JUST ABOUT INTERNAL OPERATIONS.

AS SERVICES FAIL RESPONSE TIMES DELAY, CYBERSECURITY IS BREACHED.

THE PUBLIC WILL NOTICE AND THEY'LL EXPERIENCE IT AS ANOTHER FAILURE FROM THE CITY.

AND WE CAN'T STAND THAT COMMISSIONERS.

WE BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE OPERATING WITH THE BEST OF INTENTIONS.

TRULY, WE BELIEVE THAT YOU HAVE THE UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY TONIGHT TO ELEVATE AWARENESS OF THESE RISKS AND HELP PROTECT THE PUBLIC.

WE ARE ASKING YOU TO PROVIDE CLARITY TO THE CITY AND THE PUBLIC THAT THIS INITIATIVE MUST BE CONSIDERED CAREFULLY BY SIDING WITH THE EXPERTS WHO KNOW THESE SYSTEMS BEST.

WE RESPECTFULLY ASK FOR YOU TO VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, DAVID.

UH, NEXT WE HAVE RAMSEY.

OH, I HAVE QUESTIONS.

OH, ARE WE, CAN WE ASK QUESTIONS? NO, NO, WE CAN'T ASK QUESTIONS.

JUST I WAS, GIVE US ONE MOMENT.

I'LL BE AROUND IF WE WANNA CONTINUE WITH.

HELLO, GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, YEAH, DAN, IF YOU COULD SEARCH THAT, UH, BUT WE'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SPEAKER.

UH, RAMSEY ICKS.

MY NAME IS RAMSEY BICKS.

I'M A SENIOR SOFTWARE ENGINEER IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT.

I'M SPEAKING TODAY IN MY PERSONAL CAPACITY AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER WITH AFSCME'S AFSCME LOCAL 1620 FOURS STOP.

ONE A TS CAMPAIGN.

ONE OF OUR CAMPAIGN DEMANDS IS TO PAUSE THE OVER $10 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS RELATED TO ONE A TS

[00:50:01]

IN TESTIFYING TODAY.

I'M ASKING YOU TO VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

DIRECTOR LAKEY SAID JUST NOW THAT THIS PROJECT IS ABOUT ALIGNING NEW TEAMS, BUT THE CONSOLIDATION AS IT STAND IS POISED TO DISRUPT HIGHLY FUNCTIONING TEAMS ACROSS THE CITY.

CITY DEPARTMENTS HAVE CHOSEN TO SPIN THEIR BUDGETS ON IT, EXPERTS ASSIGNED DIRECTLY TO THE DEPARTMENT SO THAT THESE TEAMS CAN BECOME EXPERTS IN THE WORK OF THAT DEPARTMENT.

I WORK FOR THE FIRE MARSHAL'S OFFICE WHERE WE DO FIRE SAFETY INSPECTIONS ACROSS THE CITY.

IF AN EXTERNAL TEAM WERE TO TAKE OVER MY WORK, IT WOULD TAKE THEM MONTHS FOR THEM TO COME UP TO SPEED.

THIS WOULD REDUCE EFFICIENCY, IT WOULD INCREASE DEVELOPMENT TIMES AND WOULD DELIVER WORSE PRODUCTS.

MY POSITION WAS CREATED BECAUSE THE NEEDS OF MY SECTION WERE BEING PRIORITIZED LOWER THAN OTHER NEEDS ACROSS THE CITY.

I CAN ONLY IMAGINE HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE FOR A NON-PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT TO GET WHAT THEY NEED FROM A FULLY CENTRALIZED IT DEPARTMENT.

THERE ARE ALSO NUMEROUS PROBLEMS WITH THE GARTNER REPORT.

UH, THIS IS THE REPORT THAT THEY'RE USING TO JUSTIFY THIS CONSOLIDATION, WHICH YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT ALREADY TODAY.

UM, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, UH, THE REPORT STATES THAT THE CITY SPENDS 98% MORE ON IT THAN PEER CITIES.

UH, I WAS GOING TO LIST A LOT OF FACTS THAT, UH, THE DIRECTOR ALREADY MENTIONED, SO I'M GONNA SKIP THAT.

BUT, UH, I'M VERY CURIOUS AS TO HOW THE DIRECTOR IS SO CONFIDENT, UH, THAT THIS IS AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON.

WHEN SHE POINTED OUT THAT ONLY ONE HAD AN ELECTRIC UTILITY AND ONLY A HANDFUL HAD, UH, HAD AN AIRPORT, THIS DATA IS, HAS BEEN, UM, HAS NE THE DATA BEHIND THE REPORT HAS NEVER BEEN RELEASED.

IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHETHER ANY OF THESE IT FUNCTIONS ARE OUTSOURCED, WHICH IS COMMON IN MANY JURISDICTIONS AND COULD BE ANOTHER REASON FOR, UH, A LOWER IT STAFFING COUNT.

WITHOUT RELEASING THE DATA BEHIND THIS NUMBER, THERE CAN BE NO DATA DRIVEN DECISION TO CONSOLIDATE IT WORKERS AT THE CITY.

TO SUMMARIZE, IF THIS ITEM IS APPROVED, THE CITY WILL BE RECKLESSLY MAKING A DECISION AFFECTING A THOUSAND CITY EMPLOYEES THAT WILL DEGRADE SERVICES BASED ON FAULTY AND OPAQUE ANALYSIS WHILE COSTING THE CITY MILLIONS.

IT'S IMPORTANT THAT YOU VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

AS TECHNOLOGISTS, Y'ALL KNOW THE IMPORTANT OF OUR WORK.

DO NOT LET THIS CONSOLIDATION DISRUPT OUR CITY.

ONLY ARE THE BEST CAPABLE OF DOING THAT WORK, BUT THE ONLY PEOPLE IN THE CITY CAPABLE OF DOING THAT SPECIFIC WORK.

THANK YOU RAMSEY.

DAN, DO WE HAVE AN ANSWER YET ON THE, OKAY, I'LL GO AHEAD AND MOVE US TO THE NEXT PERSON.

UH, WE HAVE DAVID GNI NEXT.

SARAH CLOCK.

I CAN SEE, UH, NOT IN THIS ROOM.

OKAY, I'LL JUST, I'LL JUST PUT IT UP HERE.

UH, HELLO.

MY NAME IS DAVID GNI.

I'M HERE TODAY TO RESPECTFULLY, AS WITH OTHER, OTHER PEERS.

UM, WE GOOD? OKAY.

HELLO AGAIN.

MY NAME IS DAVID GICH.

I'M HERE TO RESPECTFULLY ASK THAT WE VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

I'VE WORKED FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN FOR 14 YEARS IN DIFFERENT IT POSITIONS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, SPECIFICALLY THROUGHOUT THE TIME HAS ALL BEEN UNDER THE CURRENT FEDERATED SYSTEM.

THE MAJORITY OF MY WORK HAS ALL BEEN GIS DIGITAL CARTOGRAPHY AND MAP MAKING.

I WORKED WITH AUSTIN WATER UTILITY, AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS, THE GEOSPATIAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM WITH THE EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER AND ASSISTED AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH WITH THEIR COVID TO 19 DASHBOARDS.

I'VE TAUGHT CARTOGRAPHY FOR YEARS AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL, AND I'M A WILDLAND FIREFIGHTER.

THE BULK OF MY CAREER HAS BEEN IN THE REALM OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

AND BECAUSE OF THIS EXPERIENCE AND MY SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTISE, I KNOW THAT IF THIS, IT CONSOLIDATION OCCURS, IT WILL REDUCE RESPONSE TIME AND HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON PUBLIC SAFETY.

AS A MEMBER OF TP W'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM, I MAKE PAPER MAPS, WEB APPLICATIONS, AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS.

AND TO BE CLEAR, I SAID I'M A MEMBER OF THAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM.

I AM NOT AN IT PERSON THAT SUPPORTS THAT TEAM.

WE FUNCTION EFFECTIVELY BECAUSE I AM EMBEDDED.

WE UNDERSTAND A SHARED LANGUAGE AROUND TPW EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

WE KNOW EACH OTHER SO WELL THAT WE EVEN HAVE EACH OTHER'S CELL PHONE NUMBERS.

AND SO DURING JANUARY'S WINTER WEATHER EVENT, WHEN WE WERE REQUESTED TO INCORPORATE CAP METRO'S BUS ROUTE DATA INTO OUR CRITICAL ROADS NETWORK, THE REQUEST MADE AT LATE AT NIGHT ON A WEEKEND, I WAS ABLE TO HELP BUILD OUT THAT MAP THAT SAME NIGHT.

THIS IS BECAUSE I AM INTEGRATED IN THAT DEPARTMENT BECAUSE THEY KNOW ME PERSONALLY.

THEY WERE ABLE TO CALL ME ON MY CELL PHONE AND ACTIVATE ME FOR THAT PROJECT.

I, AND THE TEAM THAT I WORK WITH NOT

[00:55:01]

THIS KIND OF RAPID RESPONSE CAN'T BE ACHIEVED BY SUBMITTING A TICKET WITH AN IT CENTRALIZED GROUP, WAITING FOR A RESPONSE, WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET ASSIGNED, AND THEN WORKING ON IT THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY.

THAT IS A LOT OF STEPS THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN IN A SITUATION WHERE A RAPID RESPONSE NEED TO BE MADE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE ANSWERING THOSE SPLIT SECOND DECISIONS AT EFFECTIVELY.

AND AS AS POSSIBLE, THESE DECISIONS HELP SAVE LIVES.

WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN LOST A MEMBER OF OUR COMMUNITY, AN UNHOUSED PERSON WHO DIED DURING THE MOST RECENT FREEZE WITH THE CURRENT FEDERATED SYSTEM AS IT IS NOW.

I KNOW THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE, AND ESPECIALLY TP W'S RESPONSE, DID THE ABSOLUTE BEST THAT WE COULD CLEARING ROADS AND GETTING PEOPLE TO WARMING CENTERS AND OVERNIGHT SHELTERS.

BUT UNDER THE PROPOSED CONSOLIDATED STRUCTURE, IF VITAL MEMBERS LIKE ME ARE REMOVED FROM OUR DEPARTMENTS, THE CITY WILL FARE MUCH WORSE DURING THE NEXT EMERGENCY BECAUSE EVERY DEPARTMENT WILL BE LOSING THEIR SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS.

AND TO BE FRANK, EVEN MORE LIES COULD BE LOST.

AND SO AGAIN, THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

I HAVE QUESTIONS.

SO I WAS TOLD THAT WE CAN ASK QUESTIONS, BUT UM, IT NEEDS TO STAY WITHIN THREE MINUTES.

SO AS LONG AS THE SPEAKERS FINISH AT A TIME, THERE'LL BE TIME FOR US TO ASK QUESTIONS.

OKAY? YEP.

SO WE WOULD HAVE TO FINISH LIKE AT TWO MINUTES AND GET ONE MINUTE OF QUESTIONS, CORRECT? YEAH.

UM, NEXT WE HAVE IRIS SOTHEBY.

HI, MY NAME IS IRA .

I AM A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR, AND I'M A MEMBER OF, OF OUR UNION, AFSCME 1624.

AND I'M HERE TO READ A STATEMENT FROM AN EMPLOYEE THAT IS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THIS A TS PLAN, BUT WAS, UM, AFRAID OF RETALIATION.

SO ANONYMOUSLY SUBMITTED THIS FOR US TO READ FORM.

I AM CONCERNED THAT THE CURRENT A TS PLAN DOES NOT ADEQUATELY ADDRESS THE EXISTING STAFFING SHORTAGES WITHIN KEY SUPPORT FUNCTIONS.

ADDITIONALLY, THERE HAS BEEN A LACK OF COMMUNICATION REGARDING THE IMPACT OF THE MERGER ON THE CURRENT A TS DEPARTMENT.

THIS LACK OF CLARITY HAS LEFT MANY MANAGERS AND SUPERVISORS UNPREPARED FOR IMPENDING CHANGES, WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO INCREASED BURNOUT, STRESS, AND ANXIETY AMONG STAFF.

ALSO, THE SUBSTANTIAL EXPENDITURES ON CONTRACTOR STAFF AND CONSULTING SERVICES APPEAR TO BE INEFFICIENT AND DO NOT REPRESENT THE MOST EFFECTIVE USE OF TAXPAYER FUNDS.

THERE ARE ALSO POTENTIAL RISKS OF SERVICE DISRUPTIONS ARISING FROM UNCLEAR RESPONSIBILITIES.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE ISSUANCE OF PURCHASE ORDERS, CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, INVOICING ISSUES, AND CONTRACT CONSOLIDATION THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ADDRESSED OR INCORPORATED INTO GARNER REPORTS.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW TO IDENTIFY COST SAVING ALTERNATIVES THAT INCLUDE INPUT FROM FRONTLINE EMPLOYEES WHO ARE DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN DAILY OPERATION, RATHER THAN FOCUSING SOLELY ON EXECUTIVE LE LEVEL PERSPECTIVES.

SO WE ASK RESPECTFULLY FOR YOU TO VOTE NO ON THIS ITEM.

WE HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE AND A HALF LEFT IF ANYONE HAS QUESTIONS.

WELL, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

OH, GO, GO AHEAD.

SORRY.

I JUST HAD A QUICK QUESTION.

I I DID READ THAT YOUR, THE UNION WAS MEETING WITH THE CITY.

THERE WAS LIKE A RESOLUTION PASS WHERE YOU HAVE TO MEET WITH, MEET WITH EACH OTHER.

AND HOW, HOW HAS THAT BEEN? HAS THAT BEEN FRUITFUL? HAS IT BEEN, HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING COMPROMISES? LIKE WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? THOSE LISTENING SESSIONS, UM, SESSIONS ARE, ARE ONGOING.

UM, BUT I WOULD NOT BE THE BEST PERSON TO COMMENT ON THOSE SINCE I HAVE NOT BEEN PRESENT.

UM, GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, IRIS.

NEXT WE HAVE AMITY.

APPLEWHITE.

CAN I ANSWER THIRD TIME? UM, THE, THE, WE HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE MEETINGS YET.

OUR FIRST ONE IS SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 1ST.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE.

I KNOW THIS IS SO MUCH WORK, UM, HAVING, HAVING SPENT A LOT OF MY PREC CITY TIME DOWN HERE LATE AT NIGHT AT CITY HALL, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU BRINGING YOUR EXPERTISE.

UM, MY NAME IS AMENITY APPLEWHITE.

I'M AN IT SUPERVISOR SENIOR AT THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC

[01:00:01]

WORKS DEPARTMENT.

I'M SPEAKING TODAY IN MY PERSONAL CAPACITY AS AN AFSCME MEMBER OF LOCAL 1624.

WE ARE ASKING THE CITY MANAGER TO PAUSE OVER $10 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS RELATED TO OATS.

AND I'M TESTIFYING TO REQUEST THAT YOU VOTE NO FOR ITEM NINE ON TONIGHT'S AGENDA.

THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL DISTINCTION BETWEEN DEPARTMENT IT AND A TS IS THIS DEPARTMENTAL IT STAFF DO THE WORK THAT DIRECTLY ENABLES CITY SERVICES TO FUNCTION DEPARTMENTAL IT STAFF, LIKE THEIR COLLEAGUES ACROSS CITY DEPARTMENTS, HOLD THEMSELVES ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE QUALITY OF SERVICES RESIDENTS RECEIVE AND THE EXPERIENCES RESIDENTS HAVE ACCESSING THOSE SERVICES.

WE OBSESS OVER QUALITY.

WE ARE NIMBLE, CREATIVE, AND TIRELESS, AND WE HAVE TO BE, WE ARE REGULARLY CALLED ON TO STAND UP TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS AND BUSINESS PROCESSES TO SUPPORT NEW MUNICIPAL PROGRAMS ON SHORT DEADLINES PER REQUEST FROM COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS IN 2023, OUR TEAM DEPLOYED A SECURE APPLICANT PORTAL FOR THE NEW LIVING STREETS PROGRAM IN ONLY THREE MONTHS.

A TS IN CONTRAST IS CURRENTLY WRAPPING UP A 14 YEAR PROJECT TO REPLACE THE CITY'S HUMAN RESOURCE SOFTWARE AND CONTINUES TO FAIL AT ADDRESSING FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS WITH THE EXORBITANTLY EXPENSIVE ENTERPRISE PERMITTING SYSTEM.

A TS IS THE DEPARTMENT RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING RESIDENTS WITH DIGITAL ACCESS TO CITY SERVICES.

YET THEIR MANAGEMENT'S STRATEGIC PLAN MAKES NO MENTION OF DIGITAL SERVICES.

THE WORD USER DOES NOT APPEAR ONCE IN THE DOCUMENT.

A TS TRACKS NO KPIS AROUND RESIDENT FACING DIGITAL SERVICE CAP ACCESSIBILITY.

IT SETS NO GOALS AROUND EQUITY AND DIGITAL ACCESS.

IT OFFERS NO MEASURABLE COMMITMENTS TO MAKING IT EASIER FOR RESIDENTS TO INTERACT WITH THE CITY ONLINE, EVEN IN PERFORMANCE REPORTS.

FOR INTERNAL CUSTOMERS, A TS MANAGEMENT COUNTS ONLY THE NUMBER OF SUPPORT TICKETS CLOSED ON TIME, NOT OUTCOMES OF THEIR PROJECTS.

HAVING STARTED MY TENURE CITY TENURE WORKING ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE WITH A TS, I CAN SAY FIRSTHAND THAT A TS LEADERSHIP HAS NO ORGANIZATIONAL MECHANISM TO ASSESS, ASSESS ITS SUCCESSES AND FAILURES ON LARGE SCALE TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVES.

AFTER THE WEBSITE WENT DOWN DURING THE 2023 ZEBRA MUSS WATER SCARE EMERGENCY, I WROTE A PIECE FOR THE STAFF NEWSLETTER ABOUT WHY THE NEW SITE THAT WE WERE WORKING ON THAT WOULDN'T SUFFER THAT SAME PROBLEM.

BUT I WAS INFORMED THAT WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SPEAK AT ALL ABOUT THE OUTAGE.

THANK YOU SO MUCH.

NUI .

NEXT WE HAVE ALBERT LEA.

ALL RIGHT.

DO I NEED TO ? YOU'RE GOOD.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

I'M ALBERT BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE CONSULTANT AT AUSTIN FIRE.

I'M SPEAKING TODAY IN MY PERSONAL CAPACITY AS AN ACTIVE MEMBER OF AFSCME 1620 FOURS.

STOP ONE A TS CAMPAIGN.

I TOO ASK THAT YOU VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE OF TONIGHT'S AGENDA.

THIS INITIATIVE THREATENS PUBLIC SAFETY BY PUTTING ENORMOUS STRUCTURAL BARRIERS BETWEEN OUR FIRE IT EXPERTS AND OUR FIREFIGHTERS AT BEST REASSIGNING WILDFIRE SCIENTISTS TO ANSWER TECH SUPPORT CALLS AT WORST.

YES, RESOURCES ARE VERY TIGHT RIGHT NOW.

FIRE HAS HAD OUR SHARE OF TOUGH CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THE BUDGET MANAGEMENT CLAIMS THIS REORG COULD SAVE COSTS, BUT THEY HAVE NOT PROVIDED ANY SOLID EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THIS CLAIM.

TRUTH IS WE DON'T KNOW WHAT, IF ANY, SAVINGS THIS INITIATIVE COULD GAIN US AS A DATA PROFESSIONAL.

MAYBE I COULD TELL YOU IF I HAD THE NUMBERS, BUT THE ABSENCE OF THAT DATA HAS BEEN DEAFENING.

WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT THE COSTS BOTH FINANCIAL AND TO PUBLIC SAFETY COULD BE IMMENSE.

MY FELLOW FIRE CIVILIANS AND I ARE ESSENTIAL.

MY IT COLLEAGUES IN WILDFIRE SERVE IN THE FIELD ALONGSIDE THE FIREFIGHTERS FLYING DRONES FOR TACTICAL AWARENESS, THEY LEAD THE NATION AND WILDFIRE MITIGATION EFFORTS IN A CITY FREQUENTLY VOTED ONE OF THE MOST WILDFIRE PRONE IN THIS NATION.

WITHOUT IT STAFF EMBEDDED AT FIRE, THE PUBLIC SHOULD HAVE SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT THE CITY'S ABILITY TO PROTECT THEIR SAFETY.

THAT'S WHY WE'RE HERE TONIGHT.

RESPECTFULLY

[01:05:01]

REQUESTING YOU VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

CITY OF AUSTIN'S WORKFORCE STANDS UNITED AGAINST THIS DANGEROUS INITIATIVE AND WE HUMBLY REQUEST THAT YOU STAND WITH US.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

WE HAVE ABOUT A MINUTE LEFT.

GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER.

HAVE YOU, SO I GUESS MY GENERAL QUESTION FOR EVERYONE THAT'S TESTIFIED IS SO UNDER A CONSOLIDATED SERVICE MODEL, IT, IT, I GUESS THE QUESTION IS IF WE ARE, IF YOU'RE CENTRALIZING STAFF SERVICES IN ONE PLACE, IS THE FEAR THAT RESPONSE TIMES ARE GOING TO BE SLOWER? BECAUSE IN MY MIND, YOU'RE PERFORMING THE SAME JOB JUST IN A CENTRALIZED DEPARTMENT.

AND SO WHAT, WHAT THE GOAL OF THIS IS ELIMINATING IS YOUR GENERAL IT SUPPORT LIKE BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FUNCTION, BUT THE SPECIALIZATION PROFICIENCY REMAINS.

AND LIKE THAT IS NOT A DUPLICATIVE EFFORT AND THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S TRYING TO ADDRESS.

SO IF I'M INCORRECT IN THAT ASSUMPTION AND LIKE THE WAY YOU ARE FEEL, YOU ARE SEEING IT IN YOUR PERSPECTIVE, LIKE WALK ME THROUGH LIKE WHETHER OR NOT THE JOB YOU THINK THINK YOU'LL BE DOING IS DIFFERENT AND HOW HOW DIFFERENT THAT WILL BE REPORTING TO ANOTHER ENTIRE DIFFERENT CHAIN OF LEADERSHIP CAN SERIOUSLY FALL THINGS DOWN BY WEEKS POTENTIALLY.

JUST DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE GAS SYSTEM.

SO THANK YOU.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, ALBERT.

UH, NEXT WE HAVE MICHAEL KEEL.

HEY, GOOD EVENING.

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS.

AND DAN, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALLOWING ME TO SPEAK TONIGHT FOR YOUR PUBLIC SERVICE AND FOR THE ADVISORY ROLE THAT YOU PLAY AT THE CITY.

UM, IT'S A REALLY COOL DISCUSSION AND GREAT, GREAT THAT WE CAN DO THIS IN OUR DEMOCRACY.

MY NAME IS MICHAEL KEEL AND I'M A PROGRAM MANAGER AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, SPECIFICALLY I WORK ON DIVISION ZERO TEAM AT TPW, UH, TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC WORKS, WHICH HAS THE COUNCIL ADOPTED GOAL OF ELIMINATING FATAL AND SERIOUS INJURY CRASHES ON OUR ROADWAYS.

I'M ASKING YOU TO VOTE NO ON AGENDA NUMBER NINE.

I DON'T BELIEVE THAT SPENDING $10 MILLION ON CONSULTANTS WILL IMPROVE EFFICIENCY, TRUST, OR SERVICE AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

I DO BELIEVE ALL THOSE THINGS ARE IMPORTANT AND WE SHOULD IMPROVE THEM.

TWO REASONS I CAN GIVE YOU IN MY TIME TODAY ARE PROBLEMS WITH THE STUDY, UH, AND RISKS TO OUR WORK IN THE PUBLIC.

SO FIRST, THE GARTNER STUDY WAS EXPLICITLY A PHASE ONE REPORT, UM, WHICH IN ITS OWN TEXT ADMITS THAT IT WOULD REALLY NEED A PHASE TWO TO CONFIRM ITS ASSUMPTIONS.

IF YOU SEARCH THE DOCUMENT FOR APPLES TO APPLES, YOU'LL SEE THAT IT EXPENDITURES IN THE DOCUMENT ALSO INCLUDE OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY AND THAT ONLY BY SEPARATING THOSE CAN WE GET A TRUE PEER-TO-PEER COMPARISON.

UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE ONLY ONE PEER WITH A ENERGY DEPARTMENT, AND THE 81% OVERSPEND TRANSLATES TO A 3.5 PERCENTAGE POINT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABOUT 4% AND 7.6%.

UM, SO IT'S ALL IN THE SINGLE DIGITS, AND I THINK IT'S PROBABLY WORTH THAT TO HAVE AN ENERGY UTILITY, UM, JUST TO MOVE FORWARD.

UH, I WOULD SAY IT'S OVERALL NOT SUFFICIENTLY EVIDENCE-BASED.

CERTAINLY NOT FOR ME, UH, SECRET SOURCES AND, AND, UM, PEER REVIEWS THAT ARE NOT RELEASED, UH, WOULD NOT FLY IN MY DEPARTMENT, AND I DON'T THINK THEY SHOULD FLY HERE EITHER.

UH, THERE'S NO ROI AND AGAIN, PHASE TWO IS NEVER COMMISSIONED WITH GARTNER, AND WE HAVE TO WONDER WHY THAT IS AND WHY, UH, THEY DECIDED TO GO WITH A DIFFERENT CONSULTANT.

SO FLAWED DATA LEADS TO FLAWED DECISIONS, AND I DON'T THINK WE CAN REACH RISK THAT IN CONTRAST EMBEDDED IT.

STAFF AT TPW HAVE SHOWN WHAT INNOVATION AND COST SAVINGS DOES LOOK LIKE.

THEY BUILD CUSTOM APPLICATIONS FOR US TO ENRICH CRASH DATA, INTEGRATE A FD DATA, AND NOW ARE INCREASINGLY WORKING TO INTEGRATE EMS DATA SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND RISK ON OUR ROADS.

WE HAVE A DEDICATED IT GEOSPATIAL ANALYST IN OUR TEAM WHO I DON'T WANT TO LOSE, AND HE CREATES, UH, CUSTOM FME WORK, LIKE DATA PROCESSES FOR OUR DEPARTMENT-WIDE PRODUCTS, UH, AS WELL AS PUBLIC TOOLS.

UM, JUST TO BRIEFLY, YES, UH, KEEP GOING.

UM, THEY HAVE ALSO BEEN WORKING ON CONNECTING OUR CRASH DATABASE WITH A CUSTOM APPLICATION CALLED MOPED, WHICH ALLOWS US TO TRACK WORK IN REAL TIME, UM, AND GET NEAR REALTIME STATISTICS ON SAFETY INTERVENTIONS ON OUR ROADWAYS.

GARTNER HAS NO DEMONSTRATED ROI, BUT TPW IN THE LAST 10 YEARS HAS DEMONSTRATED ABOUT 300 MILLION TO 400 MILLION ANNUAL REDUCTIONS IN COMPREHENSIVE CRASH COSTS, WHICH MEANS FEWER MEDICAL BILLS FOR OUR COMMUNITY, LESS PROPERTY DAMAGE, AND FEWER FIRST RESPONDER RESOURCES THAT ARE NEEDED.

UM, THIS IS SUCCESS AND INNOVATION THAT THE CITY CAN DO WHEN WE'RE ALLOWED TO BE CREATIVE AND EXPERIMENT AGAIN.

UH, I ASK FOR YOU TO VOTE NO ON AGENDA NUMBER NINE AND TO SUPPORT TRUE INNOVATION IN TBW AND ACROSS THE CITY.

UM, NEXT WE HAVE, UH, BEN SOTHEBY.

HELLO, MY NAME IS BEN SOTHEBY.

I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR SPEAKING IN MY

[01:10:01]

PERSONAL CAPACITY, NOT ON BEHALF OF ANY BORDER COMMISSION THAT I SERVE ON OR MY EMPLOYER.

AND I'M READING A STATEMENT FROM AN EMPLOYEE OF THE CITY WHO FEARS RETALIATION, UH, TO COME DOWN AND SAY THESE WORDS.

SO AS A PROUD, AS MEMBER, I'M SHARING THESE WORDS, SEEING AS GARTNER AND LOB LOLLY HAVE BEEN PAID HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ALREADY WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIAL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON HOW THE CONSOLIDATION WILL PRACTICALLY WORK.

IN REALITY, IT IS IMPUDENT TO KEEP SPENDING TAXPAYER MONEY ON VAGUE PROMISES.

WE HEAR WORDS LIKE HOW IT WILL MAKE US MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE SECURE, BUT NOTHING ON THE HOW EXACTLY THAT WILL BE ACCOMPLISHED.

WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE WILL LOOK LIKE.

WE DO NOT KNOW WHO WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR NON A TS WORK WILL BE EMPLOYEES WHO CAME FROM THAT DEPARTMENT OR WILL WILL IT ALL BE COMBINED AND FARMED BACK OUT TO PEOPLE WITH ZERO CONNECTION TO THE DEPARTMENTS AND THEIR WORK, MUCH LIKE A TS ALREADY DID WITH ITS NETWORK AND G-A-A-T-N GROUPS BEING UNCEREMONIOUSLY GIVEN TO THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT GROUP BACK IN OCTOBER.

MUCH TO EVERYONE'S CONFUSION, WE DO NOT KNOW IF OUR JOB DESCRIPTIONS ARE CHANGING.

WE DO NOT KNOW IF WE WILL BE GROUPED BY JOB RESPONSIBILITY KEYWORDS AND NOT BY THE DEPTH AND BREADTH OF OUR PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND CONNECTIONS.

WE DO NOT KNOW IF WE'LL REPORT TO MANAGERS WHO WILL BE EVALUATING US ON THE COMPLEXITIES OF OUR WORK THAT THEY'D HAVE NO ABILITY OR REASON TO UNDERSTAND.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW WE'LL BE SUPPORTED FROM AN HR, FINANCE AND SUPPORT SERVICES PERSPECTIVE.

THEY SIMPLY DO NOT HAVE THE STAFF.

AND IN SOME STARTLING CASES, THE ABILITY AND SKILL TO SUPPORT A TS STAFF NOW, MUCH LESS 600 PLUS MORE EMPLOYEES.

WE DO NOT KNOW HOW ACCOUNTABILITY WILL BE ENFORCED OR NOR EVEN DEFINED AND AGREED TO.

THERE'S LITERALLY BEEN NOTHING PROVIDED FOR US TO EVALUATE AND COMMENT ON IF THE CONSOLIDATION PLAN MAKES SENSE OR IF IT'S EVEN FEASIBLE OR REALISTICALLY IMPLEMENT MUCH LESS SAVE ANY MONEY.

WE'RE NOT INVOLVED IN THE PLANNING.

WE'RE NOT INVOLVED IN ANY DISCUSSION ON PRACTICALITIES OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND COORDINATION OF EFFORTS.

WE ARE COMPLETELY SHUT OUT, BUT ASK TO FULLY EMBRACE ANYTIME WE BRING UP OUR CONCERNS.

WE'RE LABELED ANTI-CHANGE AND EVEN INSUBORDINATE BY A TS EXECUTIVES WE'RE TOLD THEY UNDERSTAND CHANGE IS HARD, BUT WE'VE DONE NOTHING TO MITIGATE.

AND, BUT THEY'VE DONE NOTHING TO MITIGATE ANXIETIES AND HAVE ONLY REINFORCED THEM BY BEING DISINGENUOUS, OPAQUE, AND OBLIQUE IN THEIR TONE DEAF INSISTENCE.

TO RAM THIS FORWARD AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE AT ANY COST IS WITH THESE CONCERNS IN MIND.

PLUS THE ABSENCE OF ACCURATE AND VALIDATED DATA REGARDING THE ACTUAL COST SAVINGS OF CONSOLIDATING THE WORKFORCE AND THE LACK OF A RETURN ON INVESTMENT ANALYSIS, WE SHOULD SAY, A HARD NO TO THE CONTINUED FUNDING OF THIS INITIATIVE.

WE RECOMMEND A BETTER OBJECTIVE, ONE THAT CAN BE DONE INTERNALLY WITH CROSS DEPARTMENT STAFF LEVEL EXPERTS IS IMPLEMENTING A FULLY FUNCTIONALIZED CENTRALIZED IT GOVERNANCE MODEL, A MUCH MORE EFFICIENT AND MORE COST EFFECTIVE WAY.

THANK YOU, VINCE, TO ENSURE EFFICIENCY AND, UH, WE HAVE ONE MORE SPEAKER, UH, ASHLEY KRAUSE.

MY NAME'S ASHLEY KRAUSE.

I'M A CITY OF AUSTIN EMPLOYEE, A SOCIAL WORKER AND A PROUD LABOR ORGANIZER.

UH, THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR SERVICES VOLUNTEERS.

I'M ASKING YOU TONIGHT TO VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

UM, DESPITE WHAT YOU MAY HAVE HEARD IN THE PRESS, ASK ME IS NOT OPPOSING IT CONSOLIDATION BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE CHANGE.

UH, THAT CLAIM'S NOT ONLY AN ACCURATE, IT'S DISMISSIVE OF THE PEOPLE WHO KEEP THIS CITY RUNNING.

PUBLIC SERVANTS ADAPT TO CHANGE EVERY SINGLE DAY.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS NONSENSE.

CHANGE IS NOT THE ISSUE.

UM, YOU MAY HAVE NOTICED THAT THE CIO LISTED EVERY GROUP THEY CONSULTED WITH AND NEVER ONCE SAID SHE CONSULTED WITH THE EMPLOYEES.

THE CITY HAS NOT WORKED WITH LABOR.

WE WERE TOLD WE WOULD MOVE ON MAY 1ST AND FIGURE OUT WHAT WE WERE DOING LATER.

AND INSTEAD, THE CITY MANAGER HAS RELIED ON CONSULTING FIRM WHOSE ANALYSIS THIS IS POLITE, LACKS THE BASIC CONTEXT ABOUT HOW MUNICIPAL SYSTEMS FUNCTION.

THE COMPARISONS BEING CITED THAT AUSTIN SPENDS NEARLY TWICE AS MUCH ON IT AS PEER CITIES LEAVES OUT CRITICAL FACTS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD OF THOSE NINE CITIES USED IN THAT COMPARISON.

ACTUALLY, ONLY ONE OWNS AN INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT.

ONLY ONE RUNS ITS OWN ELECTRIC UTILITY.

AND THESE AREN'T SMALL DETAILS.

IT FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGES WHAT IT WORK LOOK LIKE, LOOKS LIKE.

IF YOU COMPARE US TO CITIES WHO DO NOT RUN WHAT WE RUN, OF COURSE WE LOOK EXPENSIVE AND WE'VE BEEN PROVIDED NO EVIDENCE THAT THE COST ANALYSIS REMAINS THE SAME WHEN THE ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS ARE REMOVED.

THAT'S A NEW DEVELOPMENT TONIGHT.

EVEN TALKING ABOUT REMOVING ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS.

WE'RE BEING TOLD ALL IT STAFF CAN SIMPLY BE

[01:15:01]

CONSOLIDATED.

THAT INCLUDES ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENTISTS, GEOSPATIAL ANALYSTS, INFRASTRUCTURE SPECIALISTS.

THESE ARE NOT INTERCHANGEABLE HELP DESK ROLES CALLING THE ALL OF THAT.

IT IS A LITTLE LIKE CALLING EVERY CITY EMPLOYEE CUSTOMER SERVICE.

IT'S TECHNICALLY CONVENIENT, BUT IT'S NOT CLOSE TO ACCURATE.

WE'VE SEEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THIS KIND OF RESTRUCTURING IS DONE WITHOUT THAT UNDERSTANDING.

AUSTINITES DON'T JUST WANT GOVERNMENT TO BE CHEAPER.

THEY WANT IT TO WORK.

THEY WANT RELIABLE SYSTEMS, ACCURATE INFORMATION, AND THEIR DATA HANDLED BY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND IT.

AND THEY DON'T WANT TO SPEND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS ON CONSULTANTS FOR PLANS THAT MAKE SERVICES LESS EFFECTIVE.

ASK ME, STANDS READY TO WORK WITH YOU ON SOLUTIONS THAT WORK FOR AUSTIN.

SOLUTIONS THAT IMPROVE SERVICES, RESPECT WORKERS, AND PROTECT OUR COMMUNITY.

PLEASE VOTE NO ON ITEM NINE.

THIS CURRENT PLAN DOESN'T SET US UP TO SUCCEED.

IT SETS US UP TO RECOVER.

AND THOSE ARE ALL THE, I BELIEVE THOSE ARE ALL THE SPEAKERS WE HAVE.

SO THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PASSION AND YOUR SERVICE AND FOR COMING IN PERSON.

UM, THIS IS, UH, THE LARGEST ENGAGEMENT THAT WE'VE HAD FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, AT LEAST SINCE I'VE BEEN ON THE COMMISSION.

SO, UH, I APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU BEING HERE.

UM, SO WITH THAT, MAYBE WE, SO TRANSITIONING INTO DISCUSSION AND THEN, UM, DISCUSSING THE, THE ITEM.

SO, UH, I GUESS FROM, FROM MY STANDPOINT, AND DEFINITELY WANT TO, YOU KNOW, HEAR FROM, FROM EVERY COMMISSIONER, UM, YOU KNOW, WAS CERTAINLY, YOU KNOW, I HAVE SOME CONCERNS AROUND THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT PIECE, THE PERSONNEL LIKE CONSOLIDATION, UM, BOTH IN WHAT I HEARD FROM, UM, UM, FROM THE DIRECTOR AS WELL AS, UM, THE, UM, UH, THE, THE MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT ARE HERE.

UH, AT THE SAME TIME, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE ONLY, UH, DRAFTED AND, UH, UH, MADE, UH, THE TEXT OF THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, AVAILABLE, UM, UH, RELATIVELY RECENTLY.

AND, AND THAT THE, UH, THE SCOPE OF THAT WAS RELATIVELY NARROW TO, UM, TO TECHNOLOGY CONSOLIDATION, OPTIMIZATION SYSTEM INTEGRATION, UH, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS.

UM, OUR, I DON'T BELIEVE OUR ROLE AS A COMMISSION IS TO FOCUS ON HEADCOUNT, PERSONNEL DECISIONS, THOSE TYPES OF OF THINGS.

UM, SO I JUST JUST WANNA POINT OUT, UM, THOSE, THOSE ITEMS AND ALSO HEARD FROM MEMBERS OF, OF THE COMMUNITY THAT, UH, THERE PERHAPS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FIND, UH, THOSE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES.

UM, BUT YEAH, HOW, HOW ABOUT WE GO AROUND THE ROOM, JUST WANNA GET EVERYONE'S THOUGHTS HAVE, SO I THINK THE RESOLUTION AS IT'S DRAFTED, I THINK FOCUSES ON CONSOLIDATED.

IT LEAVES THE STAFFING QUESTION OUT AND, AND FOCUSES ON SORT OF RATIONALIZATIONS AROUND CENTRALIZING APPLICATIONS, OPTIMIZATIONS REGARDING SYSTEM INTEGRATION.

AND I THINK AT ITS CORE, LIKE THAT IS NECESSARY AT THIS TIME.

I THINK THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT, UH, CHIEF LAKE BROUGHT UP IN TERMS OF PAYING FOR 12 DUPLICATIVE SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS.

LIKE THAT PROBABLY IS SOMETHING THAT THE CITY SHOULD FIND COST SAVINGS AND IN CONSOLIDATION, UM, ESPECIALLY AMONG, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE'RE FACING, YOU KNOW, BUDGET CUTS ESSENTIALLY.

UM, AND, AND A RESOUNDING POPUL, A RESOUNDING, YOU KNOW, THE PROP Q FAIL FAILING AND THE CITY SAYING, WE WANT YOU TO CUT COSTS.

AND SO I THINK CENTRALIZATION OF IT, PROCUREMENT IS ONE WAY TO DO THAT.

I THINK YOU'VE SEEN THE STATE DO IT.

I THINK YOU'VE SEEN OTHER CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER, UM, SEATTLE DO SIMILAR THINGS.

AND SO I THINK THAT TO ME MAKES SENSE.

UM, I THINK IT SOUNDS LIKE THE CITY STILL HAS SOME WORK TO DO IN COMMUNICATING WITH STAFF AND TRYING TO DELINEATE WHO IS SORT OF AN OPERATIONAL USER OR A MAPPER OR SOMEONE THAT WORKS IN GIS, SOMEONE THAT IS BACKEND OFFICE IT.

UM, AND I THINK THAT IS PROBABLY STILL NEEDS TO BE WORKED THROUGH A FAIR BIT MM-HMM .

BUT I THINK THE RESOLUTION SPECIFICALLY SPEAKS TO THE CONSOLIDATION OF SORT OF LIKE SOFTWARE PROGRAMMING, THINGS LIKE THAT.

ARE THERE OTHER WAYS TO SOLVE THE ISSUE OF RESOURCE SHARING AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING, EXPERTISE SHARING THAT DON'T INVOLVE THAT? SO I, YEAH, I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT OUR ROLE IS TO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION ON THAT PARTICULAR AMOUNT THING, YOU KNOW, FROM THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION, BUT MM-HMM .

AS OPPOSED TO YEAH.

AS OPPOSED TO STAFFING AND HEADCOUNT, WHICH I DON'T THINK THIS COMMISSION HAS AN INTEREST IN MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS ON, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER COMBI, YOU LOOKED LIKE YOU HAD YEAH.

SOMETHING TO SAY.

NO, I'VE JUST BEEN THINKING, YOU KNOW, THE TESTIMONY WE'VE HAD TONIGHT FROM ALL THE DIFFERENT SOURCES.

I MEAN, IT SOUNDS TO ME LIKE, YEAH, WE DEFINITELY WANNA ENCOURAGE THE CITY TO CONTINUE WITH OPTIMIZATION EFFORTS, BUT I, YEAH, I HAVE A HARD TIME ENCOURAGING THE KIND, I, I FEEL LIKE WE DEFINITELY NEED TO HAVE MUCH MORE INPUT FROM THE CITY EMPLOYEES AND ALSO LOOK AT WHAT FLEXIBILITY, THE CURRENT SCHEME, LIKE CURRENT DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYEES SEEMS TO PROVIDE A LOT OF SPECIAL OPERATIONAL CAPABILITIES FOR THE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS THAT MAY VERY WELL BE HAMPERED BY CENTRALIZING A LOT OF THESE CAPABILITIES.

I MEAN,

[01:20:01]

UH, COMMISSIONER TIVI.

YEAH, I, I'M NOT SURE OF OUR ROLE EITHER, BUT I, I WILL SAY THAT IT IS CONCERNING TO SEE THE WAY THAT I GUESS THE CITY IS ENGAGED WITH EXTERNAL CONSULTING.

IF WE'RE HEARING THIS FEEDBACK THAT FOLKS AREN'T GIVEN TRULY MEANINGFUL INPUT, UM, I WISH THAT WE COULD HAVE MAYBE A LONGER CONVERSATION WITH THESE FOLKS.

UM, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, I'M, I'M CURIOUS, UH, YEAH, THE, I CAN'T, I CAN'T TELL IF, IF A TS IS MAKING THESE DECISIONS IN ONE DIRECTION AND TO WHAT EXTENT THERE IS LIKE A MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT BACK AND FORTH WITH THESE DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.

UM, TO YOUR POINT, THE RECOMMENDATION ITSELF THAT THAT'S WRITTEN UP IS, IS FOCUSED ON THE APP, UH, MODERNIZATION.

I KNOW ONE OF THE SPEAKERS ALSO ALSO MENTIONED THAT, THAT FOLKS ARE, ARE MORE OR LESS IN FAVOR OF, OF, YOU KNOW, CENTRALIZING POSSIBLY SOME APPLICATIONS AND SOME SYSTEMS. UM, I WOULD SUGGEST IN AN AMENDMENT TO THAT, UH, I KNOW THAT THE, IT'S, IT'S REGARDING RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR THE A TS AUSTIN IT SERVICES TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZATION PRODUCT PROJECT.

AND WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PROJECT, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE'RE, WHEN FOLKS ARE TALKING ABOUT IT FROM THE A TS SIDE, THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT THE STAFFING AND THE MODERNIZATION IN LIKE ONE PACKAGE.

SO MAYBE, UM, WE USE THE WORDS THAT, UM, THEY USED, I THINK IT WAS APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION EFFORT, AND WE JUST SCOPE OUR RECOMMENDATION TO THAT, UM, AND MAYBE INCLUDE SOME WORDS HERE AROUND STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, EVEN ON, ON THAT FRONT, BECAUSE THAT I THINK IS JUST A GENERAL CONCERN OF MINE IS A SLACK OF STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, POSSIBLY THAT, THAT WE'RE USING A CONSULTING COMPANY THAT DOESN'T COST A LITTLE AMOUNT TO DO THIS ENGAGEMENT AND, UM, KIND OF LEAVING FOLKS DIRECT EXPERIENCES OUT OF IT.

SO I WOULD MAKE SOME SUGGESTIONS TO THE WORDING THERE.

BE VERY CURIOUS WHAT THAT MAPPING EFFORT LOOKS LIKE, WHAT WE ACTUALLY MEAN BY EMBEDDING, UM, STAFF IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS.

LET'S GO TO THE OTHER TWO COMMISSIONERS AND THEN MAYBE WE'LL OPEN IT UP TO, UH, TO AMENDMENTS.

UM, WE'LL LOOK AT THOSE AND THEN, UM, UH, SEE WHERE WE ARE ON THE AMENDMENTS AND THEN, UM, WE'LL, WE'LL LOOK AT THE, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION IN ITS ENTIRETY.

UM, VICE CHAIR A WANNA GET YOUR THOUGHTS? FOR SURE, FOR SURE.

UM, SO I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE, THE NEED FOR CHANGE AND, UH, YOU KNOW, EFFICIENCIES, THOSE OPPORTUNITIES.

I COMPLETELY GET IT, ESPECIALLY IN TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE, YOU KNOW, EV EVERYBODY'S TRYING TO FIND THESE THINGS.

HOWEVER, I DO ECHO THE CONCERNS, UM, UH, CHAIR AGA, THE ON ON THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT OR THE LACK OF SPECIFICITY THERE.

AND THEN ALSO, UH, AS WAS MENTIONED, JUST THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.

UM, THE, I THINK THE, THE TESTIMONY TONIGHT WAS VERY COMPELLING AND IT'S, YOU KNOW, I DO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS, UM, ROBUSTLY AS BEFORE IMPLEMENTING A CHANGE OF, OF THIS SIZE.

UM, I, I, UH, HEAR, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT WE, UM, MAY NEED TO, UH, DETERMINE WHAT THE BEST NEXT STEP IS IN TERMS OF PERSONNEL, YOU KNOW, FIGURING OUT LIKE, OR, OR, UM, WHAT OUR ROLE IS IN THAT.

UH, BUT AT, AT, AT A OVERARCHING VIEW, UH, IT JUST, IT, I, I DO, UM, REQUEST MORE SPECIFICITY SPECIFICALLY AROUND, YOU KNOW, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND, AND WHAT THAT TRANSITION WOULD LOOK LIKE FOR, UM, THESE EMPLOYEES.

THANK YOU FOR THAT.

UM, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, THANK YOU.

UH, I AGREE ON ONE OF THE, THE PIECES OF TESTIMONY THAT STOOD OUT TO ME WAS, AND FORGIVE ME, I KNOW YOU'RE IN THE AUDIENCE, UM, GENTLEMEN FROM, UH, GIS PHOTOGRAPHER FIRE.

AND I THINK HAVING BEEN THROUGH THE STATE DURING CONSOLIDATION OF AGENCIES AND ALSO HAVING DONE DISASTER MANAGEMENT DURING HARVEY, I DO HAVE A PARTICULAR SENSITIVITY TO THE IMPORTANCE OF NIMBLENESS DURING THOSE, UM, INSTANCES.

SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT REALLY RESONATED.

AND I WOULD SAY I BRING THAT UP FROM THE PERSPECTIVE AGAIN OF, UM, JUST UNDERSCORING AGAIN, THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT SIDE.

UM, I HAVE A PARTICULAR CONCERN WHEN YOU DO CENTRALIZED ROLES WHERE NIMBLENESS, URGENCY, SPEED, UM, DURING, UH, DISASTER EVENTS, BE IT MANMADE OR NATURAL, UH, OCCUR THAT YOU DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THAT, UM, AS MUCH.

AND SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE THING THAT FROM A, GOING BACK TO MY QUESTION EARLIER TO THE CIO, I WOULD

[01:25:01]

UM, BECAUSE I WOULD HATE FOR PARTICULAR ROLES, UH, THE DOMAIN EXPERTISE TO BE LOST IN THAT.

AND AGAIN, GOING BACK TO, TO THE IMPORTANCE OF NIMBLENESS, UM, I DO THINK THERE IS WISDOM JUST IN LIGHT OF THE, THE KIND OF CLIMATE THAT WE'RE IN FROM A BUDGET STANDPOINT AROUND.

AND IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE WAS SOME AGREEMENT ON THIS AS WELL AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHERE ARE THERE DUPLICATIVE TECHNOLOGIES WHERE IT'S, YOU HAVE SEVERAL DIFFERENT APPLICATIONS DOING SIMILAR THINGS.

I WOULD BE VERY CURIOUS, AGAIN, KIND OF WHAT THAT MAPPING LOOKS LIKE.

UM, IT WOULD BE INTERESTING TO SEE WHAT THAT REPORT LOOKS LIKE.

UM, SO THAT IS ECHOING WHAT FOLKS HAVE SAID TODAY SO FAR, IS I THINK OUR DOMAIN AS FAR AS THIS COMMISSION GOES IS LARGELY, AND AS FAR AS THIS RECOMMENDATION GOES, IS LARGELY FOCUSED AROUND THE CONSOLIDATION OR THE OPTIMIZATION RATIONALIZATION OF DUPLICATIVE IT APPLICATION SYSTEMS WHERE IT MAKES SENSE.

UM, SO I THINK THERE'S, UH, I'M IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT.

I THINK WE HAVE TO BE THOUGHTFUL AND MINDFUL ABOUT HOW WE'RE USING TAX DOLLARS TO THAT APPROACH.

UM, BUT I WOULD BE VERY CAREFUL TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE RIGHT ON THE GROUND DOMAIN EXPERTISE AROUND, UM, THINGS LIKE GIS UH, SPECIFIC THINGS LIKE CRIME DATA ANALYSTS, WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT BEFORE.

UM, SO I WOULD SAY IF WE DO HAVE ANY SORT OF ROOM IN THE AMENDMENT PROCESS THAT WE HYPER UNDERSCORE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AT DIFFERENT TIER LEVELS AS WELL.

SO IT'D BE INTERESTING IF, UM, WHEN WE PROVIDE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AT DIFFERENT, UH, CLASSIFICATIONS.

UM, AND I, FOR LACK OF, DON'T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, BUT I THINK THAT COULD BE SOME WAYS THAT WE COULD PERHAPS GUIDE THE CITY AROUND WHAT THAT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE AS WELL.

THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

UM, SO I THINK EVERYONE'S HAD A CHANCE TO, TO WEIGH IN, UM, I HEARD, UH, A COMMENT FROM COMMISSIONER PREVI AND THEN WE'LL GO BACK TO COMMISSIONER HERITAGE ON A COUPLE OF POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS, UM, TO, UH, TO THE RECOMMENDATION, UH, COMMISSIONER PVI PVI, DID YOU, UH, WANNA STATE YOUR, UM, YOUR REQUESTED AMENDMENT FOR THE RECORD AND WE'LL, YEAH.

WELL, I THINK TO START JUST WITH THE TITLE TO SAY INSTEAD OF THE RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING, ET CETERA, IT WOULD BE RECOMMENDATION ON CITYWIDE TO SUPPORT CITYWIDE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION TO JUST SCOPE IT TO THAT.

AND THEN WITHIN THE ACTUAL, UM, MAYBE, I DON'T KNOW IF THAT WOULD BE, SORRY, I'M, I'M TALKING OUT LOUD, BUT I'M JUST LOOKING THROUGH THE DOCUMENT TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY, ANYTHING HERE THAT KIND OF STICKS OUT.

WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO MAYBE RECESS FOR A FEW MINUTES FOR US TO GO THROUGH AND LOOK THROUGH THE DOCUMENT AND COME UP WITH A COHAN PROPOSAL FOR AMENDMENTS? YEAH, WE CAN DO THAT.

LET'S RECESS.

UM, UNTIL EIGHT 15.

IT'S 10 MINUTES BACK TO ORDER.

GONNA HAVE QUIET IN THE ROOM.

COMMISSIONERS COME IN ONLINE.

OKAY, GREAT.

UH, WHERE WE LAST LEFT OFF, IT SOUNDED LIKE, UH, COMMISSIONER PLI WAS GOING TO OFFER UP, UH, A AMENDMENT.

SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO HER TO READ THROUGH HER PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE TITLE TWO RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR CITYWIDE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION EFFORT.

AND I'M HAPPY TO, UM, WORKSHOP THAT.

UM, RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR CITYWIDE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION.

CAN YOU REPEAT IT AGAIN? SURE.

UNDERSTOOD THE PEER CITIES COMPARISON IN THIS, BUT I DUNNO IF WE NEED THAT PIECE.

AND THEN DO YOU HAVE ADDITIONAL CHANGES? YES.

UM, JUST A FEW, UM, THROUGHOUT, UM, IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH WHERE WE SAY SHARED SERVICES AND GOVERNANCE, UM, I WOULD PROPOSE WE CHANGE GOVERNANCE TO STANDARDS.

UM, I WOULD ASK ALSO THAT THE COMMISSION HELPED ME UNDERSTAND THIS LAST SENTENCE OF THIS PARAGRAPH WHILE ALIGNING WITH BEST PRACTICES, OBSERVE OBSERVED IN PEER CITIES.

UM, I DON'T KNOW, UH, IF THAT IS AS STRONG OF A SENTENCE CONSIDERING THAT THERE IS A LOT OF QUESTIONS AROUND THE PEER CITIES.

UM, I, I CAN'T SAY THAT I QUITE

[01:30:01]

WHAT, WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK? I THINK I'D LIKE TO SEE THE CITY FOCUS ON AND RELEASE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PEER CITIES AND THE EVALUATION OF HOW AUSTIN COMPARES DIRECTLY TO PEER CITIES.

AND IF THE CITY HAS, YOU KNOW, OR GARTNER HAS DATA SUPPORTING, HERE'S WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE PEER CITIES ARE DOING THAT AUSTIN COULD DO.

LIKE, I THINK GENERALLY LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN SHOULD LOOK TO LIKE SEATTLE, DENVER, LIKE CITY NAME CITIES AND SAY, HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED WHEN THEY CONSOLIDATED.

HERE'S, I LIKE, I THINK ABOUT STATE CONSOLIDATION AND BEST PRACTICES.

WE LEARNED MOVING TO A CENTRALIZED SERVICE MODEL UNDER DIR.

UM, AND SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT, THAT STAY IN HERE SO THAT THE CITY CAN, LIKE, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE HAVE BENCHMARKS VERSUS OTHER PLACES.

SHOULD WE INCLUDE SOMETHING POINTING TO WHAT YOU SAID THOUGH, WHERE, WHERE THERE'S, WE ARE ASKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PEER CITIES? I THINK WE WOULD DO THAT IN THE, WHEREAS THAT THAT WOULD GO IN THE RESOLVE SECTION.

UM, I, IN THE FOURTH PARAGRAPH IT SAYS, WHEREAS THE TRANSITION, SO AGAIN, MAYBE IT'S JUST BROAD LANGUAGE THAT WE NEED TO JUST SCOPE DOWN, UM, THE TRANSITION I SUGGEST THAT WE PUT TO CONSOLIDATE AND MODERNIZE APPLICATIONS CURRENTLY IN PHASE ONE.

CAN YOU REPEAT THAT? SURE.

WHEREAS THE TRANSITION, AND THEN I WOULD ADD TO CONSOLIDATE AND MODERNIZE APPLICATIONS IN PHASE ONE.

I, OKAY.

AND THEN IN THE FIFTH PARAGRAPH, UM, IN WHERE WE SAY SUSTAINED FUNDING, I WOULD ADD SUSTAINED FUNDING SUPPORTED BY KPIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK, SOMETHING EXTRA THERE.

AND AGAIN, I'M HAPPY TO WORKSHOP THAT.

I'M GONNA READ THROUGH MY UNDERSTANDING.

OH, DO YOU HAVE ANY CHANGES TO THE RESULTS SECTION? I THINK WE JUST SAID MAYBE THE, TO ADD THE, UM, PEER CITIES PIECE IN THERE.

NICK IS GONNA THINK ON THAT .

AND WE CAN ADD IT , I'LL, UH, I'LL READ THROUGH THE, THE CHANGES THE AMENDMENT AND THEN MAYBE WE CAN VOTE ON THAT ONE AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THE NEXT COMMISSIONER.

SO CHANGES I HAVE, AND DAN, ARE YOU READY TO KEEP ME HONEST? UH, FOR THE TITLE, CHANGING THE TITLE TO RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR CITYWIDE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION IN THE SECOND PARAGRAPH, UM, CHANGE THE WORD GOVERNANCE TO STANDARDS AND THEN IN THE FOURTH PARAGRAPH SHOULD READ, WHEREAS THE TRANSITION TO CONSOLIDATE AND MODERNIZE APPLICATIONS IN PHASE ONE, DECEMBER, 2025 TO MAY, 2026.

INFORMATION GATHERING STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS WITH PHASE TWO TRANSFORMATION, CONTINUING OVER TWO, THREE YEARS TO OPTIMIZE IT SYSTEMS ESTABLISHED CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE AND STRENGTHENS CITYWIDE IT GOVERNANCE.

I'LL JUST PAUSE THERE.

AND THEN IN THE FIFTH PARAGRAPH SHOULD READ, WHEREAS SUSTAINED FUNDING SUPPORTED BY KPIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE THE RATIONALIZATION AND CENTRALIZATION PROCESS, SUPPORT SYSTEM INTEGRATION, REALIZE COST SAVINGS AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS.

MAYBE, SORRY, UM, MAYBE THAT LAST ONE.

SUSTAINED FUNDING SUPPORTED BY ONGOING KPIS OR REFINED EIGHT KPIS.

SOME ADDITIONAL PIECE THERE, SINCE I KNOW THAT THE CITY IS JUST IN THIS PHASE ONE AND THERE'S A LOT OF ACTION HAPPENING IN PHASE TWO.

UM, SO IT WOULD NOW READ, WHEREAS SUSTAINED FUNDING SUPPORTED BY ONGOING KPIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE, ET CETERA.

UM, LET'S TAKE THIS PIECEMEAL.

SO ALL THOSE DO, DO I HAVE A, UM, UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ACCEPT THE AMENDMENT AS PRESENTED BY COMMISSIONER OBVI? I MOVE, IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND, SECOND.

GO AHEAD.

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER

[01:35:01]

HERITAGE.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR TO ADOPT THE AMENDMENT AS JUST READ, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY, AYE.

A A ABSTENTIONS NO ONE IS AGAINST.

SO WE HAVE THAT CHANGE.

I BELIEVE DAN HAS IT CAPTURED.

'CAUSE I'M GONNA GO TO HIM IN A MINUTE.

ALRIGHT.

AND THEN, UH, SO LET'S MOVE TO, UM, COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD MENTIONED THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE, THAT YOU WOULD HAVE AN ANOTHER AMENDMENT.

SO AFTER THE WORD DEPARTMENTS, THROW A SEMICOLON IN THERE AND FURTHER TO ESTABLISH AND TRACK KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SUCH AS PERCENTAGE OF IT, PEN IT, SPEND, CENTRALIZED REDUCTION IN REDUNDANT APPLICATIONS, UH, CYBERSECURITY MATURITY, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO START OVER.

I TEXTED IT TO YOU.

UM, OKAY.

SO YOU HAVE IT IN FRONT OF YOU TOO.

UM, CYBERSECURITY MATURITY IMPROVEMENTS AND OVERALL COST SAVINGS.

REALIZED BENCH, OR I GUESS A COLON THERE WORKS TOO BENCHMARKED AGAINST PEER CITIES TO DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS TOWARDS INDUSTRY STANDARDS WHERE PEERS TYPICALLY CENTRALIZE, UH, IT SERVICES OR IT APPLICATION SERVICES.

NICK, WHERE ARE YOU ADDING THIS? YES.

I'M NOT FOLLOWING AT THE END.

THE AFTER, AFTER THE WORD DEPARTMENTS AT THE VERY END OF NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, LIKE IT'S TACKING IT ON.

GOT IT, GOT IT.

SO I'M JUST GONNA READ IT BACK SINCE I HAVE IT TEXT.

SO AT THE VERY END, AFTER ACROSS DEPARTMENTS IS, AND FURTHER TO ESTABLISH AND TRACK KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, SUCH AS PERCENTAGE OF IT SPEND CENTRALIZED REDUCTION IN REDUNDANT APPLICATIONS, IT STAFFING ALIGNMENT, CYBERSECURITY MATURITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND OVERALL COST SAVINGS REALIZED BENCHMARKED AGAINST PEER CITIES TO DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS TOWARD INDUSTRY STANDARDS WHERE PEERS TYPICALLY CENTRALIZE OVER 80% OF IT FUNCTIONS AND MAINTAIN LOWER PER CAPITA TECHNOLOGY EXPENDITURES.

DAN, I CAN EMAIL IT TO YOU IF YOU WANT.

CAN YOU SAY THE LAST SENTENCE? I FEEL LIKE I'M NOT SURE THAT WE NEED ALL OF THAT IN THERE.

I THINK THAT'S TRYING TO, LIKE, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CITY GET AT WHERE THEY'RE GETTING THOSE NUMBERS FROM.

UM, YEAH.

AND IF LIKE, THEY'RE JUST LIKE, IF THE CENTRALIZATION IS TO ACHIEVE THOSE 80%, 98% SAVINGS, THEN I THINK THE GOAL OF THE RESOLUTION IS SAYING WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE THE CAP THAT THE SUCCESS OF THIS BENCHMARKED AGAINST THOSE ESTIMATES.

AND THEN I JUST EMAILED THAT TO YOU, DAN.

SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND READ THE ENTIRE, UM, LAST PARAGRAPH.

UH, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY, AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE CONTINUED FUNDING IN THE FY 26 BUDGET FOR CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZATION PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE RATIONALIZATION AND CENTRALIZATION OF IT SYSTEMS, COMPLETE SYSTEM INTEGRATION, ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, REDUCE DUPLICATION, STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY, AND ENSURE LONG-TERM COST SAVINGS AND SERVICE RELIABILITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

HERE'S THE ADDITIONAL PART, AND FURTHER TO ESTABLISH AND TRACK KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS, KPIS SUCH AS PERCENTAGE OF IT SPEND CENTRALIZED REDUCTION IN REDDEN REDUNDANT APPLICATIONS, IT STAFFING ALIGNMENT, CYBERSECURITY MATURITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND OVERALL COST SAVINGS REALIZED BENCHMARKED AGAINST PEER CITIES TO DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS TOWARDS INDUSTRY STANDARDS WHERE PEERS TYPICALLY CENTRALIZE OVER 80% OF IT FUNCTIONS AND MAINTAIN LOWER PER CAPITA TECHNOLOGY EXPENDITURES.

SO IS THERE A MOTION TO ADOPT COMMISSIONER EASTWOOD'S, UH, AMENDMENT AS READ MOTION TO ADOPT? IS THERE A SECOND? I WILL GO AHEAD AND SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? WELL, DO WE HAVE DISCUSSION AFTER THE MOTION OR, UM, WE CAN, I JUST, THE, THE ONLY QUESTION I HAD ABOUT THAT WAS THAT IT FELT LIKE, I MEAN, THIS IS A BUDGET RECOMMENDATION AND THAT FELT MORE LIKE A POLICY RECOMMENDATION EMBEDDED IN THERE.

[01:40:01]

I MEAN, ARE YOU, I I THINK BUDGET ADVOCATING THAT THE CITY ALLOCATE BUDGET TO DO THIS KPI MEASUREMENT, I THINK AS THE CITY IS SETTING ITS BUDGET, IT SHOULD KEEP IN MIND THE CONFINES OF WHICH SUCCESS FOR THE THING THEY ARE APPROPRIATING MONEY FOR IS REALIZED.

I THINK BUDGET MEASURES ARE INHERENTLY POLICY MEASURES.

AND SO I THINK YES IS THE ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.

I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT.

I THINK THAT, UM, IT'S A RECOMMENDATION FROM US, SO IT'S CONDITIONAL IN SOME SENSE ON THESE CERTAIN SUPPORTS.

SO I MAKES SENSE TO ME, I THINK AS MUCH CONTEXT AS WE CAN, LIKE, WE'RE NOT ACTUALLY PASSING THE THING, RIGHT? WE'RE JUST SAYING, HERE'S WHAT YOU SHOULD CONSIDER AS YOU DISCUSS AND PASS THE THING.

AS MUCH CONTEXT AS WE CAN GIVE IN THE RESOLUTION, I THINK IT JUST FELT CONFUSING TO ME TO HAVE IT IN THE RESULTS PARTS RATHER THAN MORE OF A WHEREAS SECTION, BUT I, I'M, I'M, I'M OKAY WITH THE, THE IDEA BEHIND IT.

THANKS.

ANY, UM, ANYONE ONLINE WANNA CHIME IN ON THIS BEFORE WE CLOSE DISCUSSION? OKAY.

UH, WE'LL MOVE TO, AND THIS IS JUST, OH, GO AHEAD, COMMISSIONER.

THIS IS JUST SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS PEACE AMENDMENT.

WE'LL STILL WORKSHOP.

YEAH, WE'RE STILL WORKING.

YEAH, WE'RE STILL, WE STILL NEED TO DO ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS AND THEN, UH, VOTE ON THE ITEM IN ITS ENTIRETY.

UM, OKAY.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UM, EMBEDDING THE AMENDMENT AS READ, UH, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.

ABSTENTIONS NO ONE AGAINST.

SO WE HAVE THAT PIECE.

DAN, I'M GONNA LOOK FOR YOU TO, YOU AT THE, AT THE VERY END MIGHT GO OVER TO YOUR COMPUTER, UM, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, UM, JUST MENTIONED THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE AMENDMENTS TO ADD.

I THINK THE ONLY THING WOULD BE, SO WE HAVE THE RECITALS, RIGHT? THE, WHEREAS CLAUSE IS SAYING, UM, THE LAST RECITAL, UH, WHEREAS SUSTAINED FUNDING SUPPORTED BY KPIS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK.

SO IF WE WANNA JUST, UM, ADD A, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS.

HOLD ON, I'M LOOKING AT MY NOTES NOW.

CAN YOU START OVER AND SPEAK SLOWLY? YES, I CAN.

BECAUSE YOU'RE PROBABLY TYPING THIS DOWN.

UM, GIMME ONE MOMENT WHILE I FIND THE RIGHT VERSION, AS I WAS WORKSHOPPING THIS MYSELF, UM, I WAS JUST PROPOSING JUST TO ECHO OR BUILD ON THE, WHEREAS CLAUSE WHERE MENTIONED STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK SINCE THAT CAME UP SO MUCH TONIGHT, IF WE WANTED TO ADD A, UH, AN ADDITIONAL RESOLUTION WHERE IT'S BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THIS ENGAGEMENT PROCESS INCLUDE, UM, UH, GOSH, BEAR WITH ME, Y'ALL, UH, TO IM HERE IT IS.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS PART OF THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY RATIONALIZATION PROJECT.

ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT IS GATHERED FROM A DIVERSE CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, AREAS OF EXPERTISE, LEVELS OF SENIORITY, INCLUDING FRONT LEVEL USERS, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS.

UM, I'M SEEING IF THERE'S ANYTHING ELSE I HAD IN HERE.

I THINK THAT'S IT.

CAN YOU START OVER AND SAY IT A LITTLE SLOWER? EVEN SLOWER? YEAH.

UM, AREAS OF EXPERTISE, LEVELS OF SENIORITY, INCLUDING FRONTLINE USERS, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS.

LIKE YOU DEMONSTRATED, UM, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS PART OF THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY RATIONALIZATION PROJECT.

ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT IS GATHERED FROM A DIVERSE CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS ROLES,

[01:45:02]

I'LL GIVE IT A SHOT, DAN.

SO BE READY.

UH, WHAT I HAVE IS, SO WE'LL HAVE THE FIRST NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED STATEMENT WITH THE AMENDMENT.

WE'LL HAVE A SECOND, UH, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS PART OF THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY RATIONALIZATION PROJECT, ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT IS GATHERED FROM A CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, FRONTLINE USERS, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND TECHNICAL ADMINISTRATORS.

DID I MISS ANYTHING? COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? UH, I THINK FROM A DIVERSE CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, AREAS OF EXPERTISE, LEVELS OF SENIORITY, INCLUDING FRONTLINE STAFF, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS.

I'M GONNA READ IT ONE MORE TIME, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED.

TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY, CITY MANAGE DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS PART OF THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY RATIONALIZATION PROJECT, ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT IS GATHERED FROM A DIRECT, A DIVERSE CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

GIMME HONEST COMMISSIONER, HERITAGE AREAS OF EXPERTISE, FRONTLINE WORKERS, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS.

I THINK THAT'S SPITTING DISTANCE, STEVEN.

SO I THINK THAT'S GOOD.

UH, SO WE HAVE, UH, THAT AMENDMENT ON, UH, ON, ON THE TABLE.

SO ADDITIONAL, UH, RESOLUTION STATEMENT AT THE END.

UM, IS THERE A MOTION TO, UM, TO ADD IT? I MOVE.

COMMISSIONER COMBI SECOND.

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PREVI.

UH, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? NOT SEEING ANY.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF, UH, INSERTING THE AMENDMENT AS READ, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.

NO.

ABSTENTIONS, NO ONE IS AGAINST THE ITEM.

UM, ANY ADDITIONAL AMENDMENTS? NOT SAYING ANY.

DAN? NO, SORRY.

WE HAD THE LITTLE, I DON'T KNOW, WE, IF WE HAD TO VOTE ON THE WORDING CHANGES SORT OF THROUGHOUT THAT WE PUT IN.

WE DIDN'T VOTE ON THOSE, DID WE? I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO.

UM, SO NOW I'LL, SO WE WILL, WE'LL MOVE TO, UH, I'M GONNA READ THE AMENDED DOCUMENT, UH, OFF OF, PROBABLY OFF OF DAN'S COMPUTER, , OR HE CAN GIVE IT TO ME OR SOMETHING.

UM, AND THEN I'LL OPEN IT UP TO SPONSORSHIP.

REGARDING RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR THE CITYWIDE APPLICATION RATIONALIZATION.

WE HAVE AN AMENDED, UH, RECOMMENDATION.

UH, I'M JUST GONNA READ IT HERE INTO THE RECORD.

UM, I'M JUST GONNA READ IT.

ITS IN ITS ENTIRETY.

UH, OR AS A CITY MANAGER'S MEMORANDUM, DATED NOVEMBER 5TH, 2025 TO MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

OUTLINED THE CITYWIDE EFFICIENCY AND OPTIMIZATION PROCESS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026, INCLUDING A STRATEGIC TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE FOCUSED ON EVALUATING AND RATIONALIZING THE CITY'S PORTFOLIO OF IT SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS, REDUCING DUPLICATION AND ADVANCING A MORE CENTRALIZED AND COORDINATED APPROACH TO TECHNOLOGY INVESTMENTS.

AND WHEREAS CENTRALIZING AND RATIONALIZING THE CITY'S IT SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS UNDER A COORDINATED FRAMEWORK.

THROUGH AUSTIN'S TECHNOLOGY SERVICES, A TS DEPARTMENT ESTABLISHES SHARED SERVICES AND STANDARDS, STRENGTHENS CORE TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES PROMOTES INTEROP INTEROPERABILITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS AND ADVANCES A SERVICE FIRST MODEL THAT EMPOWERS DEPARTMENTS WHILE ALIGNING WITH BEST PRACTICES AND OBSERVED

[01:50:01]

IN PEER CITIES.

AND WHEREAS THE RATIONALIZATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF DUPLICATIVE IT SYSTEMS AND APPLICATIONS WILL REDUCE REDUNDANCIES, LOWER COSTS, IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY, STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY, ENHANCE SERVICE QUALITY, AND DELIVER LONG-TERM OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES ACROSS ALL CITY DEPARTMENTS, WHILE MAINTAINING DEPARTMENTS SPECIFIC SYSTEMS NECESSARY TO SUPPORT THE UNIQUE MISSION CRITICAL FUNCTIONS.

AND WHEREAS HERE'S A CHANGE, THE TRANSITION TO CONSOLIDATE AND MODERNIZE APPLICATIONS IS CURRENTLY IN PHASE ONE FROM DECEMBER 25 TO MAY 26, INFORMATION GATHERING, STAKEHOLDER MEETINGS, DEVELOPING RECOMMENDATIONS WITH PHASE TWO TRANSFORMATION, CONTINUING OVER TWO TO THREE YEARS TO OPTIMIZE IT SYSTEMS, ESTABLISH CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE AND STRENGTHEN CITYWIDE IT GOVERNANCE.

AND WHEREAS SUSTAINED FUNDING, AGAIN, HERE'S ANOTHER CHANGE SUPPORTED BY ONGOING KPIS.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS AND STAKEHOLDER FEEDBACK IS ESSENTIAL TO COMPLETE THE RATIONALIZATION AND CENTRALIZATION PROCESS, SUPPORT SYSTEM INTEGRATION, AND REALIZE THE COST SAVINGS AND SERVICE IMPROVEMENTS DIRECTED BY CITY COUNCIL THROUGH THE CITYWIDE EFFICIENCY PROCESS AND RELATED TECHNOLOGY OPTIMIZATION INITIATIVES.

AND NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT A STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE, I THINK WE LOST A WHEREAS OR STATEMENT HERE.

DAN, THE LAST ONE.

WE LOST THIS WHOLE, UM, SCROLL DOWN.

YOU MEAN ANY, ANYTHING THAT RED LINED? OKAY.

SO SHOULD STILL BE OKAY? YEAH.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED.

THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THAT THE CITY MANAGER DIRECT A TS TO IMPLEMENT STRUCTURED AND INCLUSIVE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT PROCESS AS PART OF THE CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY RATIONALIZATION PROJECT.

ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT, UM, ENSURING MEANINGFUL INPUT IS GATHERED FROM A DIVERSE CROSS SECTION OF CITY STAFF ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, AREAS OF EXPERTISE, LEVELS OF SENIORITY, INCLUDING FRONTLINE STAFF, TECHNICAL STAFF, TECHNICAL STAFF, AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS.

THE TECHNOLOGY COMMISSION RECOMMENDS THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL ALLOCATE ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND THE FY 26 BUDGET AND CITYWIDE TECHNOLOGY OP OPTIMIZATION PROJECT TO SUPPORT THE RATIONALIZATION AND CENTRALIZATION OF IT SYSTEMS. COMPLETE SYSTEM INTEGRATION, ACHIEVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, REDUCE DUPLICATION, STRENGTHEN CYBERSECURITY, AND ENSURE LONG-TERM COST SAVINGS AND SERVICE RELIABILITY ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

AND THEREFORE, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED TO ESTABLISH KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS SUCH AS PERCENTAGE OF IT SPIN, CENTRALIZED REDUCTION IN REDUNDANT APPLICATIONS, IT STAFFING ALIGNMENT, CYBERSECURITY MATURITY IMPROVEMENTS, AND OVERALL COST SAVINGS REALIZED BENCHMARKED AGAINST PEER CITIES TO DEMONSTRATE PROGRESS TOWARDS INDUSTRY STANDARDS WHERE PEERS TYPICALLY CENTRALIZE OVER 80% OF IT FUNCTIONS AND MAINTAIN LOWER PER CAPITA PER CAPITA TECHNOLOGY EXPENDITURES.

DO I HAVE ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? DOES THIS SOUND RIGHT? MOVE ADOPTION .

UM, WE HAVE, UM, WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT.

IS THERE A SECOND? I SECOND.

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER HERITAGE.

ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE RECOMMEND, THE REVISED RECOMMENDATION WITH THE AMENDMENTS.

PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY AYE.

HOPEFULLY THIS, THIS HELPS TO, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THAT.

ALL THOSE ABSTENTIONS.

ANYONE AGAINST? OKAY.

WE PASSED.

WELL, THANK YOU ALL FOR SITTING WITH US.

UM, HOPEFULLY THIS REVISED RECOMMENDATION REFLECTS YOUR INPUTS, UM, AND HELPS TO, TO STRENGTHEN LIKE THE, THE VOICES THAT YOU HAVE, HAVE, HAVE PROVIDED TO US.

UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, UH, OUR, WE REALLY WANNA REFLECT THE, THE WORK THAT, THAT YOU ALL ARE, ARE DOING AND, AND YOUR CONCERNS.

[01:55:01]

SO, UM, THANK YOU FOR STICKING WITH US AND, UM, YEAH, I KNOW IT WASN'T, WAS AN EASY PROCESS GOING BACK AND FORTH, BUT, UM, HOPEFULLY Y'ALL ARE HAPPY WITH, WITH THE OUTCOME.

I'M GONNA MOVE US FORWARD IN OUR AGENDA BECAUSE IT IS GETTING LATE IN THE NIGHT.

MOVE US BACKWARDS TO, UH, AGENDA ITEM

[5. Approval of recommendation for continued funding for public computer access and digital inclusion library services. ]

NUMBER FIVE.

AND THAT'S, UH, APPROVAL OF RECOMMENDATION FOR CON CONTINUED FUNDING FOR PUBLIC COMPUTER ACCESS AND DIGITAL INCLUSION LIBRARY SERVICES.

UM, SO THIS ITEM, UH, I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH, UH, THE CHAIR OF THE LIBRARY COMMISSION.

SO I WAS ABLE TO GET, UH, HER INPUT, SORRY, I'M JUST LOOKING FOR THE CORRECT DOCUMENT.

I WAS ABLE TO GET HER INPUT ON THE, UH, THE TEXT FOR THIS HERE.

IT'S, UM, I'LL JUST FOCUS ON THE RESOLUTION STATEMENT.

UM, WE DIDN'T, FOR, FOR THIS VERSION, WE'RE NOT INCREASING ANY ADDITIONAL, UM, BUDGET, UH, GIVEN THE, THE STATE OF, OF WHERE WE ARE.

BUT ESSENTIALLY TO SUSTAIN THINGS LIKE THE WIFI HOTSPOT, UM, DIGITAL ACCESS, UH, AT ALL 21 BRANCHES, UH, TECHNOLOGY TRAINING, UH, LITERACY, UH, DEVELOPMENT FOR STAFF.

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'VE HEARD IS JUST THAT, UM, THE SERVICE DELIVERY MODEL AT DIFFERENT LIBRARY LOCATIONS CAN BE INCONSISTENT.

SO WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? UM, YOU KNOW, A AN UNDERSERVED PERSON COMES IN THE LIBRARY TO GET HELP, AND IT'S NOT, YOU MIGHT, THEY MIGHT HAVE A BETTER CHANCE OF GETTING HELP AT ONE BRANCH AS OPPOSED TO THE OTHER.

SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S CONSISTENT, UH, AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ACROSS ALL BRANCHES.

UM, BASELINE TECHNOLOGY SERVICE STANDARDS.

UM, SO, UH, I THINK THIS MOSTLY EXISTS, BUT ENSURING THAT, THAT THERE IS EQUALIZED, UM, TECHNOLOGY, UM, AVAILABLE AT ALL THE LOCATIONS.

AND THEN, UM, ADULT LITERACY, UH, SKILLS TRAINING AND, AND PROGRAMMING.

UM, ANY THOUGHTS ON THIS? DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT MOVE ADOPTION? OKAY.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE, UH, RECOMMENDATION AS PRESENTED? AYE, AYE.

UH, ITEM SIX, THE PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS COMMISSIONER, UH, HERITAGE.

I THINK, UH, WE'RE GOOD ON THAT ONE.

I WILL MOVE US TO,

[6. Approval of recommendation for continued public and private partnerships for digital inclusion projects.]

UM, YOU WERE PRIMARY AUTHOR ON THIS.

I'LL LET YOU GO AHEAD AND PRESENT THAT ONE.

SURE.

I'M ASSUMING EVERYONE HAS SEEN IT OR HAS THE LANGUAGE IN FRONT OF THEM.

UM, REALLY THE, THE MAIN ETHOS OR POINT OF THIS IS, UH, IN LIGHT OF CHANGING CLIMATE CHALLENGES WITH FUNDING BUDGET, UM, A CP WIND DOWN, UH, HOW CAN WE SUPPORT THE CITY? RECOMMEND THAT THE CITY THINK A LITTLE BIT MORE BROADLY EXPLORING.

IT ENCOURAGES THE CITY TO LEVERAGE PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS, P THREES, TO, UH, BRING IN NEW RESOURCES, IGN EXISTING FUNDING AND, AND POSSIBLY MAKE BETTER USE OF CITY ASSETS, UM, RATHER THAN JUST SOLELY TRYING TO FUND A LOT OF THESE EFFORTS THROUGH PUBLIC DOLLARS ONLY.

UM, SO IT'S, IT'S MORE OF A, THE LANGUAGE OR THE RESOLUTION IS REALLY FOCUSED ON EXPLORE THESE THINGS.

I CITE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES.

I THINK NEW YORK HAS SOME INTERESTING WORK WITH, UH, LINK NYC, UM, HAS, UH, THERE ESSENTIALLY, I CAN SEND SOME EXAMPLES OUT, BUT, UM, A KIOSK ESSENTIALLY WHERE FOLKS CAN SEARCH FOR SERVICES, WIFI, HOTSPOT EMBEDDED.

UM, THERE IS, UM, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF ANOTHER EXAMPLE.

THINGS LIKE SAN JOSE OR PHILADELPHIA, ONE OF THE OTHER DOES SOME WORK AROUND, YOU KNOW, WHERE A CITY MIGHT PROVIDE ACCESS TO, UM, SMALL CELL OPERATORS.

SO THINK, UH, WHEN YOU'RE DRIVING AROUND, YOU SEE IF YOU WILL LIKE LITTLE CANISTER, UM, ACROSS,

[02:00:01]

UH, OR YOUR 5G PIECE.

SO WHENEVER WE'RE LEVERAGING CITY ASSETS FOR PURPOSES LIKE THAT, CAN WE THINK CREATIVELY ABOUT LEVERAGING THAT FUND, ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S WITHIN THE CITY'S LOCUS OF CONTROL TO TRY AND DRIVE EFFORT OR FUNDING OR ACCESS TO DIGITAL INCLUSION, BROADBAND, UM, DIGITAL LITERACY EFFORTS.

SO THAT'S THE POINT OF IT.

IT'S IN THE FACE OF A CONSTRAINED BUDGET.

UM, HOW DO WE SUPPORT THE CITY IN EXPLORING THESE THINGS? SO THAT'S WHAT YOU SEE A LOT OF THE LANGUAGE IN THE RESOLUTION.

SO IT'S REALLY TRYING TO GET THE CITY TO THINK ABOUT, WHETHER IT BE PERMITTING, FRANCHISE, YOU KNOW, UH, RIGHT OF WAY.

UM, HOW CAN WE USE OUR, OUR TOOLS, UH, INTERNALLY AND LOOK AT SOME SISTER CITIES LIKE NEW YORK, PHILADELPHIA, SAN JOSE, CHICAGO, UM, TO PROVIDE BETTER ACCESS AND IMPROVE P THREE APPROACH TO, TO ADDRESS SOME OF THIS ISSUE.

I THINK ONE OF THEM EVEN MENTIONED LIKE A DIGITAL EQUITY FUND THAT'S FUNDED THROUGH SOME OF THE SMALL CELL, UH, LEASE AS WELL.

SO THAT'S A MOUTHFUL.

I'LL PAUSE FOR THOUGHTS, REACTIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS.

I LIKE IT.

THANK YOU FOR DOING THE RESEARCH ON IT AND, UM, BEING THE PRIMARY AUTHOR.

UM, DO WE HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT MOVE ADOPTION? IS THERE A SECOND? I HAVE AN AMENDMENT I WANNA MAKE.

OH, JUST KIDDING.

I RECI THE MOTION.

YES.

AND THEN YOU CAN ADD IT LATER.

SORRY.

NICK .

UM, I THINK I JUST, I THINK THERE'S A, AN ACCIDENTAL ADDITIONAL RECITAL.

THIS IS JUST HOUSEKEEPING IF, LET'S SEE.

1, 2, 3.

YEAH, I SEE A SPACE AT THE VERY END.

UM, WHEREAS BLENDING AND BRADY AND MULTIPLE FUNDING SOURCES, I THINK WE KIND OF ADDRESS THE SECOND REFERENCE TO CD BG FUNDS.

I WOULD SAY YOU COULD PROBABLY GET RID OF THAT SINCE IT'S ALREADY REFERENCED ABOVE.

WHICH PARAGRAPH IS THIS IN? JUST FOR THE RECORD? 1, 2, 3.

THE SIX PARAGRAPH, SIX RECITAL CLAUSE.

IT STARTS OUT, WHEREAS BLENDING AND BRADY MULTIPLE FUNDING SOURCES.

AND YOU WANTED TO REMOVE THAT ENTIRE PARAGRAPH? I THINK SO.

I THINK WE ALREADY ADDRESSED IT.

IN THE FIR IN THE, UH, THIRD.

UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING A MODIFIED VERSION? UH, CAN WE DO THAT? CAN WE DO THIS? OKAY.

UH, WITH THE REMOVAL OF THE SIXTH PARAGRAPH.

UM, OH, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT THE RECOMMENDATION WITH THE SIXTH PARAGRAPH REMOVED? I MOVE.

SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PREVI.

UM, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR RAISE YOUR AND SAY AYE.

PASSED THE MODIFIED P THREE RECOMMENDATION.

COMMISSIONER HERITAGE? MM-HMM .

NOTE MOVING TO AGENDA

[7. Approval of recommendation for continued level of funding for the Grant for Technology Opportunities Program.]

ITEM SEVEN.

AND THAT IS RECOMMENDATION TO CONTINUE THE LEVEL OF FUNDING FOR THE GT OS PROGRAM.

UM, THIS SHOULDN'T BE A SURPRISE TO ANYONE.

UM, I ESSENTIALLY MADE SOME MODIFICATIONS TO SOME OF THE, WHEREAS STATEMENTS, UM, TO, TO REFLECT SOME OF THE MORE RECENT WORK THAT WE'VE DONE, BUT ESSENTIALLY ASKING CITY COUNCIL TO ALLOCATE, UH, 400,000 ONCE AGAIN TO THE FY 27 BUDGET.

ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS? .

MOVE, ADOPT .

NICK, YOU'VE GOT A ROLL TONIGHT? HE DOES.

HE DOES.

I SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.

EIGHT, THAT'S, UM, FUNDING FOR CITY OF AUSTIN TO UPSKILL THEIR WORKFORCE USING AI TOOLS.

I THINK WE'RE, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.

UH, MOVING FORWARD TO AGENDA ITEM

[8. Approval of recommendation for additional funding for the City of Austin to upskill their workforce in using AI tools. ]

UH, THIS IS ALSO, UH, SIMILAR TO SOMETHING THAT WAS PASSED LAST YEAR.

WANT TO ENSURE THAT CITY OF AUSTIN, UH, EMPLOYEES HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO EXPAND THEIR AI, UH, SKILLSET.

UM, I KNOW, UM, DAN, JESSE, IF, IF WE HAD MORE TIME, I'D LOVE FOR Y'ALL TO TALK ABOUT THE AI, UH, COURSES THAT Y'ALL PROBABLY TOOK WAS AVAILABLE TO THE CITY.

UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HAVE TIME TONIGHT, BUT THAT'S ESSENTIALLY

[02:05:01]

WHAT THIS IS.

UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO ADOPT AS PRESENTED? MOVE ADOPTION.

SECOND.

I SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.

OKAY, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.

MOVING TO, UH, SKIPPING NINE.

MOVING TO

[10. Approval of recommendation for additional or continued funding for the City of Austin website refresh project. ]

10.

AND THAT'S A RECOMMENDATION FOR CONTINUED FUNDING FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN WEBSITE REFRESH PROJECT.

SO, UH, THAT WAS ROLLED OUT TODAY, UH, BUT THERE IS STILL WORK TO BE DONE.

UM, IF YOU GO TO AUSTIN ENERGY OR THE AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY OR, UM, UH, AUSTIN WATERWORKS, UH, THOSE SITES HAVE NOT BEEN, UH, REFRESHED.

SO THIS IS, UH, NOT A SPECIFIC DOLLAR AMOUNT, BUT ASKING, UH, CITY COUNCIL TO CONTINUE THE WORK.

MOVE ADOPTION A SECOND.

SECOND, OR, SORRY, SECOND, SORRY.

I THINK, UH, COMMISSIONER PVI BEAT YOU.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? AYE.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, WE'VE PASSED ALL OF OUR RECOMMENDATIONS.

AGENDA ITEM 11.

WE DON'T HAVE, UH, COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS HERE, SO, UH, WE'LL GO AHEAD AND SKIP OVER THAT ONE.

UH, AGENDA ITEM NUMBER

[12. Update from the town hall listening session working group on the final updates after the town hall listening session. ]

12.

UH, WE, UH, HELD A, UH, LISTENING SESSION HERE AT CITY HALL, ACTUALLY IN THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ROOM.

UM, IT WAS, IT WAS A WONDERFUL TIME.

UH, WE PROBABLY HAD 50, 60 COMMUNITY MEMBERS ATTEND.

UH, WE HAD, UH, NONPROFITS ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS, UH, TABLE OUT IN THE MAIN LOBBY, SO, UH, COMMUNITY MEMBERS WERE ABLE TO GET ACCESS AND, UH, LEARN ABOUT SOME OF THE RESOURCES THAT THOSE ORGANIZATIONS PROVIDE.

UM, I CO-FACILITATED A SESSION, BUT IT WAS PRIMARILY LED BY MIMI STYLES.

UH, SO SOMEONE WHO'S VERY WELL KNOWN, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT DOES THIS TYPE OF OF WORK, AND SHE'S AN EXPERT FACILITATOR.

SO, UH, WE HAD SOME LEARNINGS THAT WILL BE REPORTED OUT, UH, MAYBE AT OUR NEXT COMMISSION MEETING.

UH, BUT I JUST WANTED TO GIVE EVERYONE A, A HIGH LEVEL UPDATE THAT THAT WAS A SUCCESS.

SO, UH, THANK YOU ALL FOR WORKING WITH YOUR COUNCIL OFFICES, PROMOTING ON SOCIAL MEDIA, UM, DOING EVERYTHING THAT YOU DID.

UM, COMMISSIONER HERITAGE, YOU DID STOP BY FOR A BIT, SO, UH, WANTED TO JUST GIVE YOU A, YOU KNOW, A, A MOMENT TO TALK ABOUT, UH, YOUR OBSERVATIONS.

NO, I THINK IT WAS WELL ATTENDED.

THERE WAS A LOT OF ACTIVE PARTICIPATION IN THE, UH, WE BROKE FOLKS UP INTO DIFFERENT GROUPS AND ASKED PROMPTS.

WE CREATED A SET OF QUESTIONS AROUND THINGS LIKE AFFORDABILITY, ACCESS, MOBILITY COVERAGE, UM, AND SO HAD ACTIVE PARTICIPATION THERE.

AND THEN IT WAS ALSO INTERESTING TO SEE ALL OF THE, UM, COMMUNITY PART, NONPROFIT PARTNERS TABLING AND THE ATRIUM AS WELL.

SO, UM, GREAT EVENT WAS DELIGHTED TO BE THERE AND SUPPORT.

BACK TO AGENDA ITEM NUMBER ONE AND THAT'S APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

YEAH, WE SHOULD, UH, CONTINUE DOING IT.

AND, UM, UH, JESSE, DAN, AND THANK Y'ALL FOR Y'ALL'S EFFORTS AS WELL.

JESSE, THANK YOU FOR PRESENTING FOR DURING, UH, PART OF IT, JESSE PRESENTED ON THE, UM, THE STUDY THAT WAS DONE.

UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME, SOME REALLY GREAT QUESTIONS FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND, UM, HE OUTLINED NEXT STEPS AS WELL.

SO THANK YOU FOR BEING, MAKING YOURSELF AVAILABLE OVER THE WEEKEND.

UM, SO WITH THAT, UH, FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS, ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING THEY WANT TO? YEAH.

OH, YES.

UM, GO

[APPROVAL OF MINUTES]

I MOVED ADOPTION OF THE PREVIOUS MINUTES.

I SECOND.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ADOPTING THE MINUTES AS PRESENTED.

AYE, AYE.

AGENDA ITEMS. DAN, WHAT DO WE HAVE ON? UM, SO AS YOU MENTIONED, UPDATES ON THAT TOWN HALL SESSION, A FULL REPORT OUT.

WE NEED, WE NEED KARINA TO COME ON CAMERA IF SHE'S AVAILABLE.

SORRY ABOUT THAT.

AYE, UH, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF ACCEPTING THE, UH, MINUTES FROM THE PREVIOUS MEETING AS PRESENTED, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND, SAY, AYE.

A OKAY.

UM, I THINK WE'RE GOOD.

AND THEN, UH, FUTURE

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]

UM, WE HAVE GOOGLE FIBER COMING IN AND TELL US ABOUT THEIR AFFORDABLE, UM, INTERNET OPTIONS.

AND THEN WE'LL HAVE FINAL G TOPS RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, FOR AWARDS.

UH, BUT THE BIG ONE IS, UH, OFFICER ELECTIONS.

UM, SO, UH, WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE THAT DECISION BY THE END OF, UH, BY THE END OF APRIL, BUT PREFERABLY AT THIS MEETING.

UM, AND JUST SO Y'ALL KNOW THAT A TERM LASTS FROM MAY 1ST TO APRIL 30TH.

YEAH, JUST LOOKING TO, OR IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO THROW YOUR HAT IN THE RING, UM, JUST LET US KNOW.

SHOULD WE, DO THEY NEED TO LET YOU KNOW, DAN? UH, ACTUALLY NO.

OKAY, GREAT.

YEAH, GIVE IT A THOUGHT.

AND, UM, HOW

[02:10:01]

I, I THINK, UH, IT'LL ALL COME UP DURING THE MEETING, BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST SIT ON IT AND, UM, YEAH, IF, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS OR ANY UH, UH, YOU KNOW, REQUIREMENTS FOR THE POSITION OR OR WHATNOT, UH, REACH OUT TO US AND WE WILL GET INFORMED AND GET THAT INFORMATION TO YOU.