* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:01]
          ORDER, WE'RE GONNA GET STARTED. 
          UM, 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
IT'S 10 0 3 ON THE DOT. 
          THIS IS THE FIRST WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING FOR THE YEAR, I GUESS BUDGET YEAR 26, 27. 
          UH, 26, 27. 
          CORRECT. 
          YEAH. 
          OKAY, PERFECT. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          UM, PRESENT IN PERSON AS MYSELF. 
          UM, CHAIR ONG. 
          WE HAVE COMMISSIONER MAXWELL GAINES, VICE CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER WOLSTONCROFT PRESENT IN PERSON. 
          UM, COMMISSIONER PENER ENGI IS NOT PRESENT AT THIS TIME, AND I THINK, UM, WE HAVE NO SPEAKERS SIGNED UP THIS MORNING, CORRECT? NO PUBLIC SPEAKERS. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          SO WE CAN MOVE ON TO 
          [DISCUSSION ITEMS]
THE DISCUSSION ITEMS, AND WE WILL BE TAKING ITEM TWO 
          [2. Review Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Schedule]
FIRST, WHICH IS THE REVIEW OF THE FISCAL YEAR 27 BUDGET SCHEDULE. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          UH, JOSEPH GONZALEZ, AUSTIN WATER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OVER BUSINESS SERVICES. 
          UM, OUR FINANCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM AREA ROLLS UP UNDER, UNDER, UH, WHAT WE'RE CALLING MY BRANCH. 
          UM, AND, AND WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH, UH, REVIEWING THE BUDGET SCHEDULE, UM, BECAUSE THERE'S, AND, AND I'LL, I'LL WALK THROUGH SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS OF, OF THE BUDGET SCHEDULE ON THIS PROCESS. 
          UM, SO, UH, JUST TO, TO TAKE A STEP BACK, THE CITY STARTED ITS, UH, BUDGET PROCESS WITH THE CITYWIDE BUDGET KICKOFF, UH, UH, HELD BY, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN BUDGET, YOU KNOW, BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, UH, DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF DELIVERABLES, WE START WITH THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE TURNED IN OUR FIVE YEAR FORECAST IN, UM, UH, EARLY MARCH. 
          UM, AND, UH, THAT FORECAST WAS THEN PUBLISHED AND RELEASED TO COUNCIL, UM, YOU KNOW, THE WEEKS OF APRIL 13TH AND PRESENTED TO COUNCIL ON APRIL 21ST. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS OBVIOUSLY THE, THE FIRST MEETING OF, OF, OF THE BUDGET COMMITTEE. 
          UM, BUT IN TERMS OF OUR COMMUNICATION WITH, WITH YOU GUYS AND WHAT WE CAN SHARE, UM, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S LIMITED TO, YOU KNOW, INFORMATION THAT'S, UM, BEEN, YOU KNOW, REVIEWED BY CMO AND, AND PRESENTED TO COUNSEL. 
          UH, WE HAVE NOT YET SUBMITTED, AND WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH, UH, FINALIZING, YOU KNOW, OUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL. 
          SO WE DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO SHARE ON, ON THE DETAILED BUDGET. 
          BUT HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, OUR FIVE YEAR FORECAST IS A, YOU KNOW, REALLY CLOSE APPROXIMATION OF WHERE WE EXPECT TO LAND, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, OF OUR, OUR BUDGET SUBMITTAL. 
          UM, AND SINCE THE BUDGET, UH, OR SINCE THE FORECAST, YOU KNOW, HAS BEEN PRESENTED TO COUNCIL, THAT'S GENERALLY THE FOCUS OF, OF OUR FIRST MEETING IS, IS JUST AN OVERVIEW OF THE FORECAST AS IT WAS PRESENTED TO COUNCIL. 
          UM, AND WE CAN GET INTO TO, UH, YOU KNOW, DETAILS OF THE FORECAST, BUT, AND, AND AS I SAID, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, REALLY, REALLY GOOD INDICATOR OF WHERE WE EXPECT TO BE FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE. 
          UM, NOW I, I KNOW WE'RE LOOKING AT AT DATES FOR A SECOND BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING, POTENTIALLY, UM, MID, MID-JUNE. 
          UM, BUT WE WILL REFINE THAT, UM, AROUND THAT TIME IS WHEN WE EXPECT TO, WELL, ACTUALLY SLIGHTLY BEFORE THAT TIME IS WHEN WE EXPECT TO SUBMIT OUR PROPOSED BUDGET TO THE BUDGET OFFICE. 
          UM, AND, AND THEY WILL COMPILE THE BUDGET, GET EVERYTHING TOGETHER, PUBLISH IT, UM, AND THEN PRESENT IT TO COUNCIL JULY 16TH. 
          AND, AND THAT JULY 16TH PRESENTATION, UH, KIND OF OPENS THE DOOR FOR US TO GET MORE INTO THE DETAILS WITH YOU GUYS. 
          UM, BUT IT REALLY ONLY GETS ABOUT A 13 DAY WINDOW, UM, BEFORE, UM, THE COMMISSION MEETING WHERE WE LOOK FOR RECOMMENDATION FROM THE COMMISSION, UH, AS A WHOLE ON, ON OUR BUDGET. 
          UM, SO WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IN THE INTERIM IS, IS, YOU KNOW, GO PRETTY DEEP ON OUR FORECAST AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR FORECAST IS, IS GENERALLY A REALLY, REALLY GOOD SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE THINK WE'RE GONNA LAND FROM A BUDGET PERSPECTIVE, UM, SO THAT WE CAN GET INTO THE DETAILS AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS, BUT DO IT IN A WAY THAT ALIGNS WITH THE CITY'S BUDGET PROCESS. 
          UM, AND THEN ONCE WE, YOU KNOW, GET THROUGH THE, THE WATER AND WASTEWATER COMMISSION MEETING, UH, THEN THE BUDGET WILL GO TO COUNCIL FOR ADOPTION, UH, SCHEDULED, YOU KNOW, IN AUGUST 12TH THROUGH 14TH, UM, UH, LAST YEAR, I THINK IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WE'VE GOT THROUGH, YOU KNOW, IN, IN, IN ONE DAY, UH, WITH, WITH COUNCIL. 
          SOMETIMES THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN. 
          UM, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE ALWAYS HOPEFUL. 
          THAT'S A, UH, ONE, ONE DAY RE REVIEW AND BUDGET ADOPTION. 
          [00:05:01]
ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS OVER THE, THE PROCESS AND TIMELINE? I DON'T SEE ANY QUESTIONS. 
          UM, I DO WANNA SAY IT'LL BE SIMILAR TO LAST YEAR, RIGHT? THAT WE HAD THAT QUICK TURNAROUND BETWEEN WHEN WE WERE PRESENTED THE BUDGET. 
          I THINK HOPEFULLY THIS TIME WE ACTUALLY HAVE A LITTLE MORE TIME TO PUT TOGETHER THE RECOMMENDATION. 
          I THINK BASED ON THIS, IT LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT, WE DO, WE, WE, WE, WE, WE ADDED ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, BASIC SPECIAL CALL COMMISSION MEETING TO, UM, UH, THE, THE CHALLENGE WITH THE TIMING, UM, THE PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL, UH, THE, THE BUDGET IS, IS MID-JULY, UH, WHICH IS TYPICALLY AFTER OUR JULY SCHEDULED MEETING. 
          UM, AND, UM, AND THEN I THINK THIS YEAR, SCHEDULED ADOPTION IS ACTUALLY THE, THE 12TH IS THE SAME DATE AS OUR NORMALLY SCHEDULED AUGUST MEETING. 
          AND, UM, SO WE'VE, HISTORICALLY WE'VE HAD TO WORK, YOU KNOW, WE'VE HAD TO TRY AND PUT TOGETHER A, A RECOMMENDATION AND, AND, AND THIS COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, TYPICALLY DRAFTS, UM, YOU KNOW, A, A SUMMARY OF THE PROCESS AND, AND THE, THE KEY CONSIDERATIONS AND, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY CONCERNS THAT, THAT THE COMMITTEE HAS, UH, FOR REVIEW BY THE FULL COMMISSION. 
          UM, AND SO WE'VE GENERALLY HAD TO DO THAT EITHER, YOU KNOW, RIGHT AFTER THE, THE COUNCIL PRESENTATION. 
          UM, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, AND, AND, AND LIKE I SAID, NORMALLY THE AUGUST MEETING, YOU KNOW, THERE'S REALLY TIGHT TIMELINE BETWEEN, UM, WHEN, WHEN THE COMMISSION MEETING HAPPENS AND WHEN COUNCIL TAKES IT UP FOR ADOPTION, WHICH IS WHY WE ADDED THAT, UH, MEETING AT THE END OF JULY TO, TO GIVE US, UH, SOME TIME TO, TO HELP DEVELOP THAT RECOMMENDATION. 
          AND, UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT OF TIME IN BETWEEN, UM, THAT COMMISSION MEETING. 
          OH, THAT SOUNDS GOOD. 
          I THINK OTHER, IF WE COULD GET THAT ADDED TO THE CALENDAR FOR, AND ALL THE, LET ALL THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS KNOW THAT WE'VE GOT AN EXTRA MEETING JUST SO THEY CAN PREPARE AND TRY TO BE PRESENT. 
          AND THIS IS, UM, TINA ROMERO, ACTING ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES. 
          I BELIEVE THAT WAS ONE OF THE DATES THAT WAS GIVEN TO ME THAT WAS ALREADY, UM, ON THE CALENDAR. 
          AND, UH, THAT'S WHAT WE SELECTED BASED ON WHEN COUNSEL WOULD RELEASE, UH, THE BUDGET. 
          AND IT, IT DIDN'T ALIGN WITH OUR FIRST DATE FOR JULY. 
          AND THIS WILL ALLOW MORE TIME. 
          'CAUSE LAST YEAR WHEN I LOOKED LAST YEAR, YOU JUST HAD A DAY TURNAROUND . 
          SO THIS WILL ACTUALLY BE, UH, A LITTLE MORE TIME FOR US TO PREPARE AND THEN HAVE YOU LOOK AT THE, UH, BUDGET THAT'S RELEASED AS WELL. 
          YOU'LL BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THAT AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY, UM, CHANGES TO OUR FORECAST. 
          THAT'S PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          AND SO, UM, WITH THAT LAST YEAR, JUST AS A REMINDER, WE HAD, UH, TWO BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETINGS. 
          SO THIS BUDGET COMMITTEE, COMMITTEE MEETING WILL BE, UM, GOING OVER SOME HIGH LEVEL FORECAST, UM, GOING INTO THE DEBT, THE DAYS, CASH, OUR METRICS, UM, AND THEN THE NEXT MEETING USUALLY IS GOING OVER, UM, MORE DETAIL IN OUR OPERATING FUND. 
          AND, UH, ADDITIONALLY THE CAPITAL PLAN THAT WAS APPROVED FOR LAST YEAR, WE CAN'T SHOW YOU THIS YEAR'S YET BECAUSE IT'S PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS AGAIN, BUT DEFINITELY SAME PROJECTS THEY'RE JUST CARRYING FORWARD AND THE COST OF THAT. 
          AND, UM, ADDITIONALLY WE'LL GO OVER FTES IN WHICH WE DID THE SAME THING LAST YEAR. 
          THAT SOUNDS GREAT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, WANNA RECOGNIZE THAT COMMISSIONER PANDERING HAS JOINED VIRTUALLY, SO SHE'LL ALSO BE LISTENING TO THE DISCUSSION OVER ITEM ONE. 
          HELLO, ITEM ONE, UM, WHICH WE CAN MOVE ON TO NOW. 
          RIGHT. 
          PERFECT. 
          SO ITEM ONE IS THE 
          [1. Austin Water Financial Forecast Fiscal Year 2027-2031 Update]
AUSTIN MODERN FINANCIAL FORECAST FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 31 UPDATE. 
          THIS IS TINA ROMERO. 
          UM, I WILL BE PRESENTING, UH, SOME OF THIS, UH, FORECAST, BUT THEN I'LL ALSO HAVE DIFFERENT MANAGERS PRESENT THEMSELVES AND, AND BREAK UP PORTIONS OF THAT. 
          UH, SO THIS IS OUR AUSTIN WATER 27 THROUGH 31 FORECAST UPDATE THAT WAS SUBMITTED, UM, BACK IN FEBRUARY AND RELEASED TO COUNCIL IN APRIL, MID-APRIL. 
          AND SO WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'LL DO FINANCIAL TEAM INTRODUCTIONS, AND SO YOU'VE ALREADY MET JOSEPH GONZALEZ, UM, TINA ROMERO, AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SONG LEE TO INTRODUCE HERSELF. 
          GOOD MORNING, SONI FLOYD AUSTIN WATER BUDGET ACCOUNTING DIVISION MANAGER. 
          OH, AND I'M SORRY. 
          IF YOU CAN GO TO SLIDE TWO, PLEASE. 
          [00:10:02]
UH, BACK ONE MORE SLIDE RIGHT THERE. 
          THANK YOU. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          THIS IS NAM WIN, ACTING FINANCIAL MANAGER, UM, UH, THREE, UM, IN, UM, FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          MY NAME'S LEE YANG. 
          I'M BUDGET ACCOUNTING FINANCIAL MANAGER TWO. 
          HELLO. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          THIS IS FRED GO. 
          I'M THE CAPITAL ASSETS ACCOUNTING TEAM MANAGER. 
          NICE TO MEET YOU. 
          GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. 
          MY NAME IS SHIREEN OGGI. 
          I'M THE MANAGER OF THE RATES AND FORECASTING GROUP. 
          THANK YOU ALL. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          SO OUR AGENDA TODAY WILL COVER OUR FINANCIAL CONDITION AND BUDGET CONSIDERATIONS. 
          WE'LL TALK ABOUT OUR RATES AND AFFORDABILITY, INFLATIONARY COST INCREASES, OUR GROWING CAPITAL SPENDING PLAN, OUR FINANCIAL METRICS, AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO A SUMMARY AND THEN WE CAN START HAVING DISCUSSIONS. 
          BUT THROUGHOUT THIS PRESENTATION, IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO ASK DURING THE PRESENTATION. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          SO FOR REVENUE CONSIDERATIONS, RATE INCREASES ARE NEEDED TO COVER INCREASING OPERATING AND CAPITAL COST. 
          A LOT OF THIS IS WHAT WE MENTIONED AND TALKED ABOUT IN PREVIOUS YEAR, UM, WHERE OUR REVENUES ARE NECESSARY FOR OUR GROWING CAPITAL PLAN AND, UM, AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING FOR INFLATION AS WELL. 
          UM, AND THEN OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT GROWTH, WE ARE SEEING GREAT ENROLLMENT. 
          WE HAVE A TOTAL OF 63,000, UH, CUSTOMERS THAT ARE RECEIVING, UH, CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE. 
          AND THAT'S ABOUT 24,000 IN RESIDENTIAL AND 39,000 IN MULTIFAMILY. 
          SO THAT PROGRAM IS, UH, VERY SUCCESSFUL AND THAT IS ALSO FUNDED THROUGH THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE OF 30 CENTS PER THOUSAND GALLONS OF WATER AND WASTEWATER. 
          THAT INCREASE, UM, WAS DONE LAST YEAR, UH, OR ACTUALLY TWO YEARS AGO BASED ON OUR COST OF SERVICE STUDY. 
          AND SO THAT'S 30 CENTS, IT WENT FROM 15 TO 30 CENTS. 
          UM, NEXT IS OUR SLOWER, WE'RE SEEING SLOWER DEVELOPMENT AND CUSTOMER GROWTH. 
          UM, AND SO WHAT THAT DOES IS IT ALSO IMPACTS OUR CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES THAT WE USE TO DO DEBT DEFIANCE. 
          AND SO RIGHT NOW WE'RE SEEING THAT WE'RE TRENDING BELOW PRIOR YEAR, AROUND $5 MILLION CURRENTLY. 
          BUT USUALLY THE SUMMERTIME IS WHEN GROWTH TENDS TO PICK UP. 
          IT'S NORMALLY HOTTER AND DRIER. 
          AND SO WE'RE MONITORING THE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, BUT WE ARE SEEING A DIP. 
          AND THEN FOR EXPENDITURE CONSIDERATIONS, WE HAVE ONGOING RESILIENCY AND SERVICE RELIABILITY INVESTMENTS FOR OUR ESSENTIAL INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          UM, WE HAVE INFLATIONARY COST INCREASES AS WE KNOW INFLATION'S, UM, A REALLY BIG DEAL RIGHT NOW THAT IMPACTS OUR OPERATING AND CAPITAL DELIVERY COST. 
          WE HAVE WORKFORCE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING TO SUPPORT RETENTION AND STAFF INCREASES. 
          WE HAVE A GROWING CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN AND CONTINUED DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES SUCH AS OUR DEBT DFE, OUR TEXAS WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD LOANS, UM, AN UPCOMING WIA LOAN THAT WILL BE CLOSING ON IN JULY. 
          AND, UM, AND A BOND REFUNDING THAT WE JUST DID, UH, TO PRODUCE SOME SAVINGS AS WELL. 
          OUR FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE, WE ARE SEEING A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN OPERATING CASH RESERVES THAT WE'LL SHOW YOU IN A LATER SLIDE. 
          AND THAT'S JUST DUE TO, UM, WHERE WE ARE IN RAISING RATES, TACKLING AFFORDABILITY AND GROWING COST, AND OUR GROWING CAPITAL PLAN. 
          AND THEN OUR CASH FINANCING OF CIP WILL BE BELOW THE FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET. 
          AND THEN THAT'S MAINLY BECAUSE WE HAVE A, UH, SIGNIFICANT CAPITAL PLAN IN WHICH WE ARE FUNDING, UM, A MAJOR INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT THAT'S GENERATIONAL. 
          AND WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT, UM, IN FUNDING THAT, UM, WE ARE, UM, TARGETING, UH, CUSTOMERS, NOT JUST TODAY'S CUSTOMERS, BUT TOMORROW'S CUSTOMERS AS WELL. 
          AND, AND WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN DETAIL SPECIFIC TO THE, THE CASH FINANCING OF CIP, UH, FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET. 
          UH, WE ARE, UH, GOING TO THE, UM, THE COUNCIL AUDIT AND BUDGET AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, UH, LATER THIS MONTH TO, TO UPDATE THAT FINANCIAL POLICY TO REFLECT, UH, DECISIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT CAME OUT OF THE COST OF SERVICE STUDY. 
          AND SO THAT WILL HELP US GET CLOSER INTO ALIGNMENT WITH THE FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET. 
          UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WE'LL, WE'LL GET INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL WITH THAT. 
          YES. 
          AND, AND I'LL JUST SHARE, UM, IT'S REALLY JUST REVISING TO ADD IN, UH, TO THAT FINANCIAL POLICY 
          [00:15:01]
THAT, UH, A RATIO OF AT LEAST 20% IS DESIRABLE FOR LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS. 
          BUT OUR, UM, FOR ALL OTHER PROJECTS, IT'LL STILL BE 35 TO 50%. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          QUICK QUESTION. 
          YES. 
          UM, THE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS, OBVIOUSLY WALNUT, THE EXPANSION IS, IS ONE, PROBABLY THE PRIMARY ONE. 
          ARE THERE OTHERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER, LIKE CONSIDERED? UM, WELL, THERE IS A, A SR WILL BE ON THE TAIL END, AND THAT WILL BE A GENERATIONAL PROJECT, UM, COMING UP IN THE, UM, IN THE 10 YEAR WINDOW. 
          SO THE LAST FIVE YEARS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          THANKS. 
          AND SO OUR AUSTIN WATER BUDGET DEVELOPMENT PROCESS INCLUDES REVENUES. 
          UM, WE LOOK AT THE COST OF SERVICE, UH, RATES THAT ARE CALCULATED ANNUALLY BY THE RATES TEAM. 
          UM, WE LOOK AT REVENUE TRENDS AND ANALYSIS AND FORECAST UPDATES ARE PERFORMED MONTHLY TO SEE WHERE WE'RE TRENDING AND WHERE WE'VE BEEN HISTORICALLY. 
          OUR OPERATING BUDGET IS A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF HISTORIC BUDGET UTILIZATION THAT WE PERFORM ANNUALLY. 
          WE DO A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF OPEN ENCUMBRANCE AMOUNTS JUST TO MAKE SURE IF THERE'S ANY ENCUMBRANCES THAT ALSO NEED TO BE CLOSED OUT, UH, FOR AVAILABLE FUNDING. 
          WE HAVE OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM REVIEWS SIGNIFICANT BUDGET INCREASES TO MAKE SURE THEY ALIGN WITH AUSTIN WATER'S PRIORITIES AND A TWO YEAR STAFFING PLAN DEVELOPMENT, WHICH, UM, WA IS VERY EXTENSIVE, WHERE WE HAVE ABOUT FIVE MEETINGS TO TALK OVER, UM, THE FIVE YEAR STAFFING WITH A TWO YEAR FOCUS OF WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE IN CRITICAL AREAS OF THE UTILITY. 
          AND THEN OUR CAPITAL BUDGET, OUR FIVE YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN DEVELOPMENT, UM, THAT ACTUALLY KICKS OFF IN THE FALL. 
          WE START THAT IN THE FALL AND IT DOESN'T COMPLETE UNTIL THE SPRING. 
          UH, THAT IS A, UM, A VERY SIGNIFICANT PROCESS IN OUR FORECASTING AND BUDGETING. 
          AND SO WHAT THAT DOES IS IT STARTS OUT BY ALL THE PLANNING, MAKING SURE THE PROJECTS ALIGN WITH AUSTIN WATER'S GOALS, AND, UM, IT GOES THROUGH A RIGOROUS, UH, COURSE OF REVIEW AND SELECTION IN ORDER TO BE INCLUDED IN THE CAPITAL PLAN. 
          AND, AND I WOULD JUST ADD, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE CAPITAL PLAN IS REALLY THE BIGGEST DRIVER FOR, FOR OUR BUDGET. 
          IT, IT IMPACTS US IN A, IN A COUPLE OF WAYS. 
          YOU KNOW, WE'VE MENTIONED, UM, THE, THE CASH FINANCING PORTION OF, OF, UH, OUR BUDGET. 
          AND, AND, UH, SO IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT FOR, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, UH, YOU KNOW, A CAR PURCHASE OR, OR HOME PURCHASE, UH, THE CASH FINANCING REPRESENTS OUR DOWN PAYMENT. 
          UM, AND THE BIGGER THE DOWN PAYMENT, OBVIOUSLY THE, THE, THE LOWER THE, UM, THE AMOUNTS YOU FINANCE AND ULTIMATELY THE LOWER, YOU KNOW, PAYMENTS YOU HAVE. 
          UM, BUT THEN THERE'S THE DEBT SERVICE PIECE OF IT. 
          AND, AND AS WE THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S REALLY DRIVING OUR BUDGET AND DRIVING, YOU KNOW, UH, A, A NEED FOR RATE INCREASES, IT'S, IT'S REALLY, YOU KNOW, THE INVESTMENTS THAT WE'RE MAKING ON, ON THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT SIDE. 
          THANK YOU, JOSEPH. 
          NEXT SLIDE. 
          AND SO THIS SLIDE, UM, WANTED TO SHOW THIS TO YOU. 
          IT'S SOMETHING, UM, THAT YOU MAY HAVE SEEN LAST YEAR. 
          UH, THIS IS OUR BOND RATING SLIDE. 
          AND SO, UM, THIS TAKES, UH, OUR FINANCES, OUR METRICS, AND THEN THEY'RE RATED, UM, IN ORDER TO, UH, MEASURE A BOND ISSUER'S CREDIT WORTHINESS AND ABILITY TO REPAY THE DEBT. 
          AND SO, UM, THE HIGHEST RATING IS AAA AND WE ARE AA RATED, WHICH IS CONSIDERED VERY STRONG FINANCIAL PROFILE. 
          AND THIS GENERALLY OFFERS LOWER INTEREST RATES THAN, UM, THAT OF LOWER RATED BONDS, WHICH MEANS THAT WE'RE SAVING OUR RATE PAYERS MONEY BY HAVING A HIGHER BOND RATING AND KEEPING OUR FINANCES IN GOOD CONDITION AND STABLE. 
          AND, UM, THIS IS SIMILAR, I WOULD COMPARE TO HOW YOU GET A CREDIT CARD. 
          THE BETTER YOUR CREDIT, THE LOWER THE INTEREST RATE YOU'RE GONNA GET AND PAY OVERALL FOR YOUR DEBT. 
          UM, AND SO YOU CAN SEE THE RATING AGENCIES, THERE'S THREE, THAT'S FITCH, MOODY'S, AND S AND P, THEY ALL RATED US STABLE. 
          UH, THE CREDIT HIGHLIGHTS THEY PROVIDED WAS THAT WE HAVE LOW LEVERAGE FOR FITCH. 
          AND SO WHAT LEVERAGE MEANS IS IT'S ADJUSTED DEBT OVER FUNDS AVAILABLE FOR DEBT SERVICE. 
          AND SO FITCH CURRENTLY RATED US AT 5.3 TIMES, UM, AND, UH, BUT EXPECTS TO INCREASE TO 8.8 TIMES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, WHICH IS, UH, MAINLY DRIVEN BY GROWTH IN OUR CAPITAL PLAN. 
          UH, AND THEN MOODY'S, UM, HAS RATED US, UH, WITH A, UH, DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE OF 2.3 TIMES. 
          THAT'S OUR CREDIT HIGHLIGHT WITH IMPROVING LI ALL OF THEM HAD IMPROVING LIQUIDITY ACROSS THE BOARD WHERE, UH, OUR DAY'S CASH ON HAND WAS VERY STRONG. 
          AND SO AN 
          [00:20:01]
ADEQUATE, UH, ALL IN DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. 
          AND THEN FACTORS THAT COULD RESULT IN A RATING DOWNGRADE. 
          THIS IS IMPORTANT 'CAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE DON'T GO, UH, TOWARDS, UH, THE SCALE OF HAVING A DOWNGRADE. 
          SO CIP COST INCREASE THAT ARE NOT SUPPORTED BY ADEQUATE, ADEQUATE RATE ADJUSTMENTS. 
          THIS IS WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT THAT, UM, WE CONTINUE WITH OUR RATE INCREASES IN ORDER TO SUPPORT, UM, OUR GROWTH, OUR CAPITAL PLAN, AND, UM, AND MAKING SURE OUR FINANCES ARE STABLE. 
          UM, AND THEN HAVING A SUSTAINED LEVERAGE EXCEEDING 10 UH, TIMES THAT, UH, COULD LEAD TO A DOWNGRADE FOR FICH MOODY'S, UH, SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN DEBT BURDEN THAT EXCEEDS FIVE TIMES REVENUE. 
          WE ARE CURRENTLY AT THREE TIMES DEBT LEVEL, UH, BUT THAT ALSO IS HAND IN HAND WITH OUR CAPITAL PLAN AGAIN. 
          AND, UM, THEY ALSO MENTIONED SUSTAINED WEAKNESS IN LIQUIDITY NEAR 200 DAYS, CASH OR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE NEARING 1.5 TIMES OUR FINANCIAL POLICY IS 1.75, AND WE WILL SHOW YOU ON A LATER CHART OF WHERE WE ARE WITH DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE. 
          UM, BUT ANYTHING, UH, LOW ON THE LOW END OF A DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE LEADING TO OUR BOND COVENANT OF 1.25 COULD LEAD TO A GRA A DOWNGRADE. 
          AND THEN S AND P JUST MATERIAL DETERIORATION IN ALL DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE AND LIQUIDITY LEVELS DESPITE PLANNED RATE INCREASES. 
          SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT NOT ONLY DO OUR PLANNED RATE INCREASES SUPPORT, UM, EACH UH, YEAR, UH, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE GOOD SOUND METRICS ALONG WITH THAT. 
          OKAY, THIS NEXT SLIDE HERE, THIS RATE STRUCTURE, UM, REMAINS CONSISTENT WITH WHAT WAS PRESENTED IN LAST YEAR'S FORECAST. 
          AND WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CONTINUED THE SAME RATE INCREASES THAT WE INDICATED IN PRIOR YEAR WITH THE ADDITION OF FY 31 SINCE PRIOR YEAR ONLY WENT TO FY 30. 
          SO FY 31, UM, WHICH REFLECTS THE RETURN TO A MORE INFLATIONARY INCREASE. 
          UM, THE 7.8% RATE INCREASE, UH, 4 27 WILL ADD APPROXIMATELY AROUND $7 AND 76 CENTS TO THE COMBINED AVERAGE MONTHLY RESIDENTIAL BILL. 
          AND THIS AMOUNTS TO JUST, UH, A PENNY PER GALLON OF WATER AND WASTEWATER. 
          AND, UM, OVER THE PERIOD FROM 27 TO 31, UH, WE'RE GONNA SEE A CUMULATIVE RATE INCREASE, UH, WILL REACH AROUND 27%, WHICH WAS, UH, WHAT WE INDICATED IN, UM, PRIOR YEAR AS WELL, DEMONSTRATING OUR COMMITMENT, UM, TO MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE FINANCIALLY STABLE AND IMPROVING OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          ALRIGHT, THEN, UH, EXCUSE ME, I I'LL JUST ADD, YOU KNOW, IF YOU LOOK AT, AT THE, THE CHART, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU SEE, UH, THAT WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY RATE INCREASES, UM, BETWEEN FY 19, UM, AND FY 23 OR, OR, UH, YOU KNOW, WE STARTED HAVING RATE INCREASES AGAIN IN, IN FY 24. 
          UH, BUT, BUT THIS CHART REALLY HIGHLIGHTS HOW WE WERE ABLE TO, TO DO THAT. 
          YOU KNOW, WE HAD FAIRLY STABLE, UH, REVENUES, WHICH IS REPRESENTED BY THE, THE GREEN BAR. 
          UM, AND THEN OUR, OUR, OUR COSTS WERE RELATIVELY STABLE THROUGH, THROUGH THAT PERIOD, ALTHOUGH YOU CAN SEE IN 22 AND 23, WE STARTED TO SEE IMPACTS OF INFLATIONARY INCREASES, UH, YOU KNOW, ON BOTH THE OPERATING SIDE AND STARTING TO SEE, UM, THOSE INFLATIONARY INCREASES ON THE, UH, CAPITAL DELIVERY AND CONSTRUCTION SIDE. 
          AND, UM, SO THAT WAS, UH, THAT COUPLED WITH, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY SOME, SOME REALLY LARGE PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, SPECIFICALLY, UH, WALNUT CREEK PROJECT IS REALLY THE BIGGEST DRIVERS IN TERMS OF, OF WHERE WE'RE HEADED, UM, IN, IN TERMS OF, OF COST AND, AND DRIVING THE NEED FOR, FOR RATE INCREASES. 
          UM, BUT I, YOU KNOW, AND I THINK THE NEXT SLIDE WILL PROVIDE A LITTLE MORE CONTEXT IN TERMS OF WHERE WE'VE BEEN AND WHERE WE'RE GOING. 
          YES. 
          THANK YOU, JOSEPH. 
          NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS A RATE INCREASED COMPARISON SLIDE. 
          SO THIS CHART SHOWS THE CUMULATIVE TOTAL RATE INCREASES AMONG TEXAS WATER UTILITIES FROM 2018 TO 2026. 
          THE GREEN BARS REPRESENT THE RATE INCREASES FOR VARIOUS OTHER CITIES. 
          WHILE THE BLUE BAR INDICATES THE RATE INCREASE FOR AUSTIN WATER, AS SHOWN IN THE CHART, THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT GAP BETWEEN AUSTIN WATER AND SEVEN OTHER CITIES. 
          AND SO, UM, IT REALLY HIGHLIGHTS TWO GROUPS OF UTILITIES, THOSE THAT HAVE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED SIGNIFICANT RATE INCREASES TO FUND INCREASING CAPITAL AND OR WATER SUPPLY INVESTMENTS. 
          AND THOSE WITH PLANS TO RAISE RATES TO FUND SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, SAN ANTONIO, WHICH HAS NOT IMPLEMENTED RATE INCREASES SINCE 2020, IS PROPOSING A FOUR YEAR RATE INCREASE TO FINANCE 3.2 BILLION IN INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES, WHICH WILL RESULT IN A TOTAL 
          [00:25:01]
INCREASE OF AROUND 32.7% BY 2029. 
          AND, UH, FOR AUSTIN WATER, UH, EVEN THE UTILITIES TO THE RIGHT OF US, UH, A LOT OF THEM DIDN'T HAVE RATE INCREASES, UM, OVER THE NEXT, UH, FIVE YEARS. 
          UH, WE WOULD ONLY MOVE UP ONE SPOT BETWEEN SAN MARCUS AND KYLE ONCE WE IMPLEMENT OUR PLANNED INCREASES OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. 
          AND I, I, I JUST HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, UH, TINA MENTIONED SAN ANTONIO, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT, UH, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 32% INCREASE O OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, AND IF WE GO BACK ONE SLIDE REAL QUICK, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THAT ALIGNS WITH KIND OF THE FOUR PEAK YEARS, UH, FOR US, UH, STARTING WITH 25 WHEN, UH, WHEN WE HAD A 7.3% INCREASE, UH, LAST, THE, THE CURRENT YEAR IS KIND OF OUR, OUR PEAK YEAR IN TERMS OF THE RATE INCREASE AT 9.8%. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'RE, WE'RE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF SCALING BACK DOWN, UH, MORE TOWARDS INFLATIONARY TYPE INCREASES. 
          BUT IF YOU TAKE THOSE FOUR PEAK YEARS, THE CUMULATIVE AMOUNT, THERE WAS ABOUT 31%, WHICH IS KIND OF IN LINE, UH, WITH, YOU KNOW, THE 32% THAT SAN ANTONIO ANTONIO'S PROJECTING. 
          AND, AND FOR THEM IT'S, IT'S LARGELY ABOUT A LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECT AS WELL. 
          AND SO, SO, SO THERE'S A LOT OF PARALLELS, YOU KNOW, FOR, UH, UTILITIES THAT, THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, A, YOU KNOW, HAVE REALLY LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS OR, YOU KNOW, HEAVY INVESTMENTS IN THEIR, UM, YOU KNOW, IN THEIR SYSTEM AS A WHOLE OR IN THEIR WATER SUPPLY. 
          YOU KNOW, SOME OF, SOME OF THESE INCREASES ARE, ARE REALLY ABOUT, YOU KNOW, LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS ALSO IN WATER SUPPLY S SO JUST SO I CAN UNDERSTAND THE NUMBERS BEHIND THIS, 'CAUSE ALL OF THESE CITIES HAVE A TIERED RATE SYSTEM, RIGHT? PRETTY MUCH I WOULD, I WOULD HOPE, I JUST WONDERING LIKE IN TERMS OF, UH, HOW TO CALCULATE A RATE INCREASE. 
          SO YOU'RE LOOKING AT THESE DIFFERENT TIERS, SO YOU'RE, YOU'RE KIND OF LIKE AVERAGE OR SOMETHING, RIGHT? IN ORDER TO COMPARE BETWEEN CITIES. 
          I WAS JUST WONDERING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU START THINKING ABOUT TIERS AND THE IDEA OF LIKE THE UPPER TIERS, YOU KNOW, RATE OF INCREASES CHANGING IN DIFFERENT THAN LIKE THE LOWER TIERS. 
          'CAUSE YOU'RE WANTING TO KEEP AFFORDABILITY IN MIND, RIGHT? AND SO HOW DOES, 'CAUSE THAT COULD SKEW, RIGHT? I MEAN, I KNOW THIS, YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO GET A, A COMMON DENOMINATOR IN ORDER TO COMPARE, BUT I'M JUST WONDERING, YOU KNOW, JUST HOW DOES THIS SHOW UP IN THAT TIERED RATE? YEAH, THAT, THAT'S A GOOD POINT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK, AND WE DO, WE DO THIS ANNUAL SURVEY EVERY YEAR WHERE WE COMPARE, YOU KNOW, OUR RATES WITH OTHER RATES. 
          UM, NOW WE COMPARE IT AT OUR LEVEL OF, UH, CUSTOMER DEMAND. 
          AND SO OUR AVERAGE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER USES ABOUT 5,800 GALLONS ON AVERAGE, WHICH IS ON THE LOW END, UH, AS COMPARED TO, TO OTHER UTILITIES. 
          UM, AND FOR US, WHAT THAT MEANS IS, YOU KNOW, FOR, YOU KNOW, IF OUR AVERAGE CUSTOMER USES 5,800, WE HAVE TO SET OUR RATES TO RECOVER, UM, OUR COST AT THAT AVERAGE LEVEL. 
          UM, WE ARE, UM, AND I I, I DON'T KNOW THAT I CAN SAY IT, YOU KNOW, ACROSS THE BOARD, BUT IF WE'RE NOT THE LOWEST LEVEL OF AVERAGE CONSUMPTION, WE ARE, WE'RE DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, IN THE TOP TWO OR THREE IN TERMS OF AVERAGE CONSUMPTION, WHICH MEANS WE HAVE TO RECOVER OUR COST AT A LOWER LEVEL OF DEMAND THAN THAN OTHER CUSTOMERS. 
          AND SO FROM A PURE DOLLAR PERSPECTIVE, THAT MEANS, UH, THAT OUR, OUR RATES MIGHT BE HIGHER, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR A NUMBER OF FACTORS. 
          BUT, BUT YOU KNOW, LARGELY BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE HAVE TO RECOVER COSTS AT A LOWER LEVEL OF DEMAND. 
          UM, THERE'S ALSO DIFFERENCES IN TERMS OF, OF, OF TREATMENT TYPES. 
          YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, SAN ANTONIO IS, IS, YOU KNOW, PRIMARILY GETS WATER FROM, YOU KNOW, AQUIFER. 
          AND SO THEY DON'T, YOU KNOW, THE COST TO TREAT SURFACE WATER IS, IS HIGHER THAN THE, THE COST TO TREAT, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, GROUNDWATER. 
          AND SO, SO THERE'S A NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES. 
          UM, BUT IN TERMS OF HOW WE SET RATES, WE, WE DO HAVE A REALLY STRONG FOCUS ON AFFORDABILITY FOR, FOR, UH, AVERAGE CUSTOMERS. 
          AND, AND SO WE, WE TRY AND LIMIT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE HAVE RATE INCREASES, WE, WE GENERALLY TRY AND SCALE IT UP AND HAVE SMALLER INCREASES AT THE LOWER TIERS SO THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, THE RATES FOR ESSENTIAL USE ARE LOWER. 
          UM, THE RATES FOR OUR AVERAGE CUSTOMERS ARE AS, AS LOW AS, YOU KNOW, WE CAN TO, TO TRY AND STILL FULLY RECOVER COST AT THAT AVERAGE LEVEL, UH, BUT, BUT THEN HAVE HIGHER RATES IN, IN THE HIGHER TIERS TO, TO DISCOURAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, TO DISCOURAGE NON-ESSENTIAL USE AND, AND, AND REALLY TRY AND, UM, ENCOURAGE CONSERVATION. 
          [00:30:01]
AND SO, SO IT'S A BALANCING ACT. 
          IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, I I I LIKE TO SAY, UH, YOU KNOW, RATE, RATE DESIGN IS, IS MORE OF AN ART THAN A SCIENCE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY FACTORS THAT WE'RE, THAT ARE AT PLAY AND, AND AFFORDABILITY IS, IS THE BIGGEST FACTOR, AFFORD AFFORDABILITY AND COST RECOVERY, YOU KNOW, ARE, ARE THE, THE, THE TWO BIGGEST THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO BALANCE MM-HMM . 
          YES. 
          AND NOW I'LL GO AHEAD AND ADD TO THAT. 
          UM, IN OUR AVERAGE, UM, BILL, UH, THE IMPACT THAT, AND THE RATE, IT ACTUALLY INCLUDES, UM, THE 30 CENTS OF THE COMMUNITY BENEFIT CHARGE, THE WATER RESERVE FUND. 
          SO WE FOUND IN OUR SURVEYS THAT WE DO FOR OUR AFFORDABILITY METRICS REPORT, A LOT OF THE OTHER UTILITIES DON'T DO THAT. 
          THEY DON'T ADD IN FOR THEIR AVERAGE BILL, UM, THE SURCHARGES THAT THEY HAVE, AND WE DO, SO WE'RE SHOWING THIS IS THE, THE TRUE AMOUNT OF WHAT WE THINK YOUR AVERAGE BILL IS GONNA BE BASED ON OUR WATER AND WASTEWATER. 
          SO IT'S NOT AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON, UM, AS WELL, SINCE THEY'RE ONLY INCLUDING JUST THEIR BASE RATES. 
          SO YOU'RE NOT LIKE THOSE CELL PHONE COMPANIES THAT TELL YOU, HEY, GET A MONTHLY DEAL FOR 15 BUCKS AND THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU GET YOUR BILL AND IT'S 35, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          YOU'RE, YOU'RE INCLUDING ALL OF THAT STUFF. 
          WE INCLUDE IT BECAUSE IT IS IN OUR COST OF SERVICE MODEL SET AT THAT PARTICULAR RATE PER THOUSAND GALLONS. 
          UM, AND SO THAT RATE DOESN'T CHANGE, BUT IT IS INCLUDED IN THE AVERAGE BILL WHEN WE CALCULATE IT. 
          SO THAT'S, UH, ALSO JUST A NOTABLE DIFFERENCE. 
          AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT AFFORDABILITY TO, UH, WE GO THROUGH A, UM, YOU KNOW, FIVE MONTH, UH, EXERCISE OF DOING OUR AFFORDABILITY REPORT, REACHING OUT WITH NATIONAL, UH, DIFFERENT, UH, WATER ENTITIES, AND SO THEY'LL SEND US THEIR RATES OF WHAT THEY HAVE PER THOUSAND GALLONS, UH, AS WELL. 
          AND WE WILL, UH, CALCULATE THAT AND LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE IN COMPARISON TO THAT. 
          BUT FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN, I FOUND THAT A LOT OF WATER ENTITIES ARE USING AROUND 7,500 OR MORE, UH, AS, UH, AN AVERAGE, AND WE'RE WELL BELOW THAT AT 5,800 FOR WATER. 
          AS JOSEPH MENTIONED, TINA AND JOSEPH, I, THIS IS SHWE HAVE A QUESTION. 
          UM, IT'S MORE MAINLY FROM MY UNDERSTANDING. 
          UM, SO I UNDERSTAND FOLKS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE AUSTIN WATER BLUE BAR, RIGHT? HAVE, I UNDERSTAND THIS IS A COMPARISON OF THE CUMULATIVE INCREASE FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OR, OR, OR FROM 2018 THROUGH 2026. 
          UM, WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE, I GUESS FROM A FUTURE STANDPOINT? LIKE WHAT HAPPENS FROM 2026 TO 2030? DO WE HAVE A, A SENSE OF COMPARISON FOR THE SAME CITIES FOR LIKE A MORE FUTURE MODEL SORT OF A SITUATION? YOU KNOW, SO WE, WE DO FOLLOW WHAT, WHAT OTHER CITIES ARE DOING. 
          AND AS, AS WE MENTIONED, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, SAN ANTONIO IS PROPOSING, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 32% INCREASE, UH, OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS. 
          UM, I DON'T HAVE THE DETAILS FOR, FOR EVERYBODY, UH, BUT UNTIL THEY'RE ACTUALLY ADOPTED, WE DON'T TYPICALLY ADD 'EM IN. 
          UM, UH, BUT I THINK AS, AS TINA MENTIONED, EVEN IF EVERYBODY ELSE HELD FLAT IN OTHER, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, AND, AND FOCUS FOCUSING ON, PARTICULARLY ON THE PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT OF US, IF, IF THEY ALL HELD FLAT FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS, UM, YOU KNOW, AND WE IMPLEMENT OUR FIVE YEAR RATE PLAN, WE WOULD, WE WOULD BASICALLY JUST, WE WOULD JUMP SAN MARCO, UM, WELL JUMP, WE'D MOVE THE OTHER DIRECTION MM-HMM . 
          PAST SAN MARCO AND, AND STAY BETWEEN SAN MARCUS AND KYLE. 
          NOW, I'M, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'M NOT, I DON'T RECALL, YOU KNOW, ANY, ANY SPECIFIC RATE PLANS FOR, FOR SAN MARCO OR KYLE. 
          UM, SO, BUT, BUT MY SENSE IS THAT THEY PROBABLY WON'T HOLD FLAT OVER, OVER, OVER THAT FIVE YEARS. 
          UM, SO, UM, AND, AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF, WE DO TALK TO, TO SOME OF OUR PEERS, PARTICULARLY OUR LARGER PEERS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M NOT, WE'RE NOT SURE WHAT EVERYBODY IS DOING OVER THE NEXT FIVE YEARS. 
          YEAH, AND I'LL ADD TO THAT TOO. 
          AS I TALK TO DIFFERENT PEER UTILITIES, WE'RE SEEING THE SAME EXACT THINGS. 
          WE'RE SEEING A HIGH CAPITAL PLAN, WHICH IS IN THE TWO TO $3 BILLION RANGE OVER THE FIVE YEARS. 
          WE'RE SEEING RATE INCREASES, WE'RE SEEING ALL COSTS GOING UP. 
          SO I DON'T KNOW OF ONE UTILITY THAT'S NOT TRYING TO PLAN FOR A RATE INCREASE IN THE ONES I'VE TALKED TO. 
          UM, BUT DEFINITELY, UM, IT'S NOT UNCOMMON NOW FROM WHAT I'M SEEING THAT THAT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING. 
          THANK YOU, UM, TINA, THANK YOU, JOSEPH. 
          I, I WAS TRYING TO KIND OF COMPARE THAT WITH THE CAPITAL BUDGET THAT THESE CITIES HAVE. 
          SO I THINK YOU REALLY HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD FOR ME THERE, SO THANK YOU. 
          YEAH. 
          SO NOW I'LL ALSO ADD TOO, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE SEEING A STRAINED, UH, POOL OF FEDERAL AND STATE FUNDING AS WELL BECAUSE OF THIS. 
          WE WERE JUST NOTIFIED LAST MONTH 
          [00:35:01]
THAT OUR SWIFT APPLICATIONS, THEY REALIZED THAT, UM, THEY HAVE NO MORE APPROPRIATION. 
          AND SO THEY GAVE US A CALL, TWDB GAVE US A CALL TO TELL US WE'RE SORRY. 
          UM, WE REALIZE WE HAVE NO APPROPRIATION FOR ANY MORE LOANS RIGHT NOW FOR THE SWIFT PROGRAM. 
          UM, BUT WE'RE ALSO SEEING WHERE THERE'S, UH, NINE TIMES OVERSUBSCRIBED ON THE STATE REVOLVING FUND PROGRAM. 
          SO, UH, THESE PROGRAMS ARE STARTING TO BECOME VERY, VERY LIMITED IN FUNDING BECAUSE EVERYONE IS LOOKING FOR FUNDING THESE DAYS BECAUSE OF THE HIGH COST. 
          OKAY, WE WILL KEEP MOVING . 
          UM, THIS NEXT SLIDE, THE FORECAST FUND SUMMARY, I'LL TURN OVER TO SHIREEN OGGI. 
          HELLO EVERYONE. 
          UM, SO IN THIS, HELLO. 
          OKAY, SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          IN THIS FORECAST FUND SUMMARY, YOU CAN SEE YEARS 25 ALL THE WAY TO 31, AND, UM, YOU'LL SEE THE BEGINNING FUND BALANCE, UM, REVENUES TRANSFERS IN WITH EXPENDITURES, AND YOU, YOU'RE ABLE TO SEE LIKE A CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE. 
          AND WE ALSO HAVE INCLUDED THE RESIDENTIAL RATE INCREASE PERCENTAGES, WHICH, UM, AS TINA EARLIER MENTIONED, UM, THEY'RE IN LINE WITH WHAT WE'VE, UM, YOU KNOW, PRESENTED TO FOR FORECAST. 
          YOU DO SEE THE 7.8%, UM, INCREASE THAT TINA ALLUDED TO EARLIER. 
          AND AGAIN, UM, JUST TO REITERATE, THAT WOULD, UM, LEAD TO AN APPROXIMATE $7 AND 76 CENTS, UM, TO THE COMBINED, UM, AVERAGE MONTHLY RESIDENTIAL BILL. 
          AND JUST AS A REMINDER THAT WE'LL JUST ADD ABOUT LIKE A CENT PER GALLON OF WATER AND WASTEWATER, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE PERIOD OF 27 TO 31, THE CUMULATIVE RATE INCREASES. 
          TINA MENTIONED BEFORE WE'LL REACH, UM, 27%, AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE THE AVERAGE BILL, UM, SPECIFIC AMOUNTS THAT RELATE TO THAT. 
          BELOW YOU WILL ALSO SEE THE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE, WHICH REMAINS HEALTHY, AS WELL AS LIKE OUR DA DAYS, CASH ON HAND, AND THE PERCENTAGES FOR, UM, CASH FOR CIP SPENDING. 
          THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU, SHEREEN. 
          AND I'LL ADD, UM, SO, UH, THE, UH, PRICE PER GALLON WILL STILL BE 1 CENT PER THOU, UH, PER GALLON OF WATER, EVEN WITH THIS RATE INCREASE. 
          SO OVERALL IT'S JUST 1 CENT PER WATER, UH, GALLON AND 1 CENT PER WASTEWATER GALLON. 
          AND ADDITIONALLY, AS YOU SEE THE PERCENT OF CASH FOR CIP SPENDING, WE'LL GO OVER ANOTHER CHART, UH, REGARDING THAT. 
          BUT YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE'RE, UH, TRAILING LOWER THAN THE 30 TO 30, UH, THE 35 TO 50% WE INDICATED, BUT THAT'S BECAUSE THE LARGE GENERAL GENERATIONAL PROJECT OF WALNUT CREEK. 
          ADDITIONALLY, THE CHANGE IN FUND BALANCE FOR 27, YOU'LL SEE WE HAVE NEGATIVE FUND BALANCE, UM, OF 27.4. 
          WE'RE DIPPING INTO OUR, UH, FUND RESERVES, UH, OUR OPERATING FUND RESERVES, AND, UM, YOU CAN SEE WHERE WE STILL HAVE A HEALTHY FUND BALANCE OF 236 MILLION IN 27, BUT THAT IS A DROP FROM OUR ENDING FUND BALANCE. 
          UM, OUR ACTUAL IN 25 UP 277 MILLION. 
          AND THAT'S JUST, YOU KNOW, SHARING IN THE COST, UH, AS WE ALSO HAVE TO INCREASE RATES, RIGHT? YEAH. 
          THE, THE, THE USE OF FUND BALANCE TO, TO, TO PHASE IN OUR RATES IS, IS, IS REALLY JUST A RECOGNITION THAT, YOU KNOW, WE UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE WORKING TOWARDS FULL COST RECOVERY, UH, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IT IN A WAY THAT, UM, STEPS UP THE IMPACT ON OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          AND SO WE'RE PHASING IT IN. 
          UH, SO OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, UH, WELL THE NEXT THREE YEARS, AND EVEN IN THE CURRENT YEAR, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'D HAD A PLANNED DEFICIT TO, TO PHASE IN THE RATE INCREASES, UM, SO THAT WE WEREN'T HITTING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH, YOU KNOW, 30% LEVELS OF, OF OF RATE INCREASES IN ONE YEAR. 
          IS THERE ANY CONCERN WITH THE DAYS' CASH ON HAND NUMBERS DIPPING CLOSER TO 200? WELL, WE'VE GOT A CHART FOR, FOR DAYS' CASH ON HAND. 
          OUR FINANCIAL POLICY LEVEL IS, IS 180 DAYS. 
          UM, I WILL ALSO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, EVEN, UM, YOU KNOW, EVEN IN FY 26, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, AS WE PUT TOGETHER OUR CURRENT YEAR ESTIMATE, UM, YOU KNOW, FOR SUBMISSION BACK IN FEBRUARY, YOU KNOW, WE WERE TRENDING TOWARDS, UH, YOU KNOW, STILL A DEFICIT, UH, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, AND, AND WITHOUT EVEN GETTING TO THE, THE PEAK DEMAND PERIODS IN THE SUMMER WHERE WE'RE ACTUALLY NOW TRENDING TOWARDS, UH, A, A SURPLUS. 
          SO, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR FORECAST AND, AND, AND PARTICULARLY OUR FORECAST IS, IS PRETTY CONSERVATIVE, YOU KNOW, BOTH ON THE REVENUE SIDE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE TRY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE TRY AND BE CONSERVATIVE ON THE REVENUE SIDE, WHICH MEANS WE, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T WANNA OVERSTATE WHERE WE THINK WE MIGHT LAND. 
          [00:40:01]
UM, IN ADDITION, OUR REVENUES ARE REALLY WEATHER DEPENDENT. 
          UM, AND, AND THEN ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, YOU KNOW, CON WHEN WE'RE BEING CONSERVATIVE, WE TRY, YOU KNOW, FROM A FORECAST PERSPECTIVE, TRY AND, UM, HIGHLIGHT, YOU KNOW, THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF, UM, COSTS THAT WE MIGHT EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, SO AS WE, WE REFINE INTO THE BUDGET PROCESS, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, UM, HAVE OPPORTUNITIES TO, TO TRUE UP ON THE REVENUE SIDE, UM, GENERALLY COME DOWN A LITTLE BIT ON, ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE. 
          UM, AND SO WHAT WE TYPICALLY SEE IS FROM A FORECAST PERIOD, THE DEFICITS ARE BIGGER THAN WE ACTUALLY EXPERIENCE. 
          UM, SO I THINK, UM, I DON'T THINK DAYS CASH ON HAND WILL DROP AS, AS LOW AS, AS WE'RE FORECASTING. 
          UM, SO THIS IS KIND OF A WORST CASE SCENARIO FORECAST FOR US. 
          UM, IF WE DO BE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE DON'T EXPECT TO GET BELOW 180 DAYS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, I, I'D, UH, LOVE TO TO BE MORE IN THE 230 DAYS BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD, UM, WHEN WE, WE GET BEYOND, YOU KNOW, THOSE DEFICIT YEARS. 
          JUST TO REFRESH MY MEMORY, TINA, YOU MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THE, UH, POLICY FOR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IS 1.5 MINIMUM. 
          IT WAS 1.5. 
          UM, AND WE'LL SEE THAT ON THE DEBT SERVICE CHART, BUT IT'S 1.75. 
          SO WE HAVE A, A FINANCIAL POLICY NOW OF 1.75 THAT, UH, WE CHANGED THAT TO, UH, BACK IN 2022, UH, WHERE BEFORE THAT IT WAS 1.5 TIMES, AND THEN OUR BOND COVENANT IS 1.25 TIMES. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          OKAY, NEXT SLIDE. 
          OKAY, NOW I'LL TURN THIS OVER TO OUR FINANCIAL MANAGER, FRIDA GU. 
          THANK YOU, TINA. 
          UH, THIS IS FRIDA AND I WILL GO OVER THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN SECTION. 
          SO THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE PRUDE CAPITAL, UH, SPENDING PLAN FOR HISTORICAL AND THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR. 
          WE HAVE SEEN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE INVESTMENT OVER THE YEARS DUE TO SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS AND THE RISING COST OF THE CAPITAL DELIVERY. 
          THE PLAN FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026 TO 2030 TOTALS $2.74 BILLION. 
          IT INCLUDES SEVERAL KEY PROJECTS, MOST NOTABLY THE EXPANSION OF THE ONE CREEK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLAN. 
          THIS EXPANSION IS, UM, BETTER INVESTMENT IN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          NOW, I WILL BRIEFLY CONNECT THIS TO OUR OVERALL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT APPROACH. 
          ON NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          THIS SLIDE PROVIDES CONTEXT ON HOW THAT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT THE IP PROGRAM. 
          UM, IT PRESENTS BOTH HISTORICAL DATA AND FUTURE PRODUCTION. 
          REGARDING THAT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 
          IT SHOWCASE A REMARKABLE NET PRESENT VALUE SAVING OF 746 MILLIONS IN ACTUAL SAVINGS, WHICH SERVES AS A TESTAMENT TO THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES AREA. 
          ADDITIONAL DOLLAR OF DATA REQUIRES A DATA SERVICE REQUIREMENT OF $1.75 FROM OUR CUSTOMERS. 
          THE BLUE BAR REPRESENTS CURRENT DATA SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 
          THE GREEN BAR REPRESENT THE DATA SERVICE SAVINGS, AND THE GREEN LINE REPRESENTS THE DATA SERVICE AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL REQUIREMENTS. 
          BEFORE 2017, WE WAS SLIGHTLY OVER 40% OF DATA SERVICE COVERAGE AS A PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL REQUIREMENTS AND HAVE IMPROVED SINCE THEN THAT DECISIONS AND GROWING LOW INTEREST TAX WATER DEVELOPMENT BOARD AND INCREASED THE CASH FUNDING OF CIP HAVE DECREASED FORECAST THAT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS. 
          ADDITIONALLY, WE ARE PREPARING FOR JULY CLOSING ON THE EPAS VA LONG FOR WALNUT CREEK WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT. 
          SO THIS IS INCLUDES IP OVERVIEW AND I WILL TURN IT OVER TO NAAM, OUR DIVISION MANAGER FOR THE NEXT SECTION. 
          YEAH, BEFORE WE TURN THAT OVER REAL QUICK, I JUST WANNA, IF WE CAN GO BACK TO THAT SLIDE, JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THIS IS EXTREMELY SIGNIFICANT IN OUR AWARD-WINNING DEBT MANAGEMENT PLAN IN WHICH WE ENCOMPASS USING THE DEBT DEFIANCE AS FREDA MENTIONED, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, ANY KIND OF LOANS AS WELL AS INCREASE IN CASH FUNDING, UM, AND, UH, JUST MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING ALL WE CAN TO MANAGE DEBT IN APPROPRIATE MANNER THAT CAN SAVE NOT ONLY THE UTILITY, 
          [00:45:01]
BUT SAVE OUR RATE PAYERS MONEY. 
          AND SO THIS SAVINGS THAT WE'VE ACHIEVED, UM, HELPS TO KEEP, UH, AFFORDABILITY BUT ALSO STILL CONTINUE TO GET IN NEEDED INFRASTRUCTURE COMPLETED. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, I THINK, UM, YOU KNOW, WANNA POINT OUT A COUPLE THINGS HERE. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THE, THE INCREASING BLUE BARS AND, AND THAT'S, YOU KNOW, UH, OUR SCHEDULE, OUR, OUR EXPECTED LEVELS OF, OF, OF DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS IS GROWING, YOU KNOW, IN PART BECAUSE OF OUR, YOU KNOW, GROWING CAPITAL PLAN. 
          BUT, UH, ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE SLOWDOWN IN TERMS OF DEVELOPMENT HAS REDUCED OUR CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE REVENUE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, WE PEAKED, UH, WE HAD PEAK LEVEL OF CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE REVENUE IN 2022 AT ABOUT $44 MILLION, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, FOR THE YEAR. 
          UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS BEEN RIGHT AROUND 30 MILLION. 
          UM, AND, AND UNFORTUNATELY IN THE CURRENT YEAR, WE'RE TRENDING BELOW EVEN LAST YEAR. 
          UM, AND, AND SO AS WE LOOK AT AND FORECAST, UM, YOU KNOW, OUR ABILITY TO PULL DOWN DEBT SERVICE REQUIREMENTS, IT'S, IT'S, UH, SOMEWHAT LIMITED BY THE, THE SLOWDOWN IN DEVELOPMENT AND THE LOWER LEVELS OF CAPITAL, UH, RECOVERY FEE REVENUE. 
          NOW WE USE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE REVENUE PRIMARILY TO, TO DE FEES DEBT. 
          UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A COUPLE OF OPTIONS IN TERMS OF HOW YOU CAN USE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEE REVENUE. 
          YOU CAN, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN USE IT TO, TO PAY DEBT SERVICE. 
          AND, AND SO THE MONEY THAT YOU NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, FROM OPERATING REVENUES, UH, TO TO PAY DEBT SERVICE COULD, COULD BE LOWER. 
          AND, AND THAT'S HOW WE USED TO USE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES BEFORE 2016. 
          UM, YOU CAN USE IT TO ESSENTIALLY AS A DOWN PAYMENT ON, ON PROJECTS, YOU KNOW, UM, AND, AND TO REDUCE THE FINANCING AMOUNT. 
          AND WHEN YOU DO THAT, YOU KNOW THAT SAVINGS IS SPREAD OVER THE LIFE OF THE LOAN, RIGHT? YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR, UH, YOUR OVERALL AMOUNT TO BE REPAID IS, IS SPREAD OVER THE 30 YEAR FINANCE PERIOD. 
          UM, BUT SINCE 2016 WE'VE BEEN USING CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES TO DIRECTLY BUY DOWN DEBT SERVICE TO, TO DE DEFE DEBT. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU DEFEASE DEBT, YOU CAN TARGET SPECIFIC YEARS. 
          AND, UM, AND SO THAT'S WHERE YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, IN 24, UM, AND THERE WERE A COUPLE OF THINGS GOING ON. 
          THIS IS NOT, NOT JUST DE FEES IT TRANSACTIONS 'CAUSE WE ALSO, YOU KNOW, HAVE, UM, A SERIES OF REFUNDINGS, WHICH IS SIMPLY JUST, UH, REFINANCING OUTSTANDING DEBT AT LOWER RATES. 
          AND SO TAKING ADVANTAGE OF WHEN MARKET CONDITIONS ARE LOWER, BUT BY USING CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES TO DEFE DEBT, WE'RE ABLE TO TARGET SPECIFIC YEARS. 
          UM, AND INSTEAD OF SPREADING THAT SAVINGS OVER THE LIFE OF THE LOAN, WE'RE ABLE TO GET, YOU KNOW, OVER A HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE SAVINGS. 
          SO FOR EVERY DOLLAR THAT WE DE FEES, WE TYPICALLY GET ABOUT A DOLLAR FIVE IN SAVINGS IN THE YEARS THAT WE TARGET. 
          UM, AND SO IT'S ALLOWED US TO, UH, BE MORE IMPACTFUL IN TERMS OF HOW WE USE CAPITAL RECOVERY FEES, UH, WHICH IS ALSO WHY, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN DEVELOPMENT SLOWS IT'S, IT, IT'S LIMITED OUR ABILITY TO TARGET THE OUT YEARS IN THE WAY, YOU KNOW, THAT WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO TARGET THEM NOW. 
          UM, SO, YOU KNOW, A AS DEVELOPMENT PICKS BACK UP, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO, TO BEING ABLE TO MORE HEAVILY TARGET THOSE OUTER YEARS. 
          UM, AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND PART OF THE REASON THAT WE'VE FOCUSED SO HEAVILY ON OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT SAVINGS. 
          I THINK, UH, FREEDOM MENTIONED THAT EVERY DOLLAR OF DEBT SAVES OUR CUSTOMERS A DOLLAR 75 WHEN YOU CONSIDER THE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, UH, SO, UM, SO EVERY DOLLAR OF DEBT SAVINGS, DEBT SERVICE SAVINGS HAS A MULTIPLIER EFFECT. 
          UM, AND SO WHEN YOU EVEN CONSIDER THE 740 MILLION THAT WE'VE, WE'VE SAVED, THAT EQUATES TO ABOUT 1.2 BILLION OF CUSTOMER RATES AND CUSTOMER CHARGES THAT WE HAVEN'T HAD TO CHARGE SINCE 2016. 
          OKAY, NEXT SLIDE. 
          NOW I'LL TURN IT OVER TO NAM WIN. 
          HELLO, NAM WIN, UM, AUSTIN WATER ACTING FINANCIAL MANAGER TREE. 
          UM, SO FOR THE, THAT SERVICE COVERAGE, UM, YOU COULD SEE TINA MENTIONED EARLIER THAT WE, UM, RECENTLY CHANGED OUR FINANCIAL POLICY FROM 1.5 TO 1.75, AND OUR INTERNAL TARGET IS 1.85. 
          UM, SO THE DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE FOR AUSTIN WATER IS ABOVE FINANCIAL POLICY THRESHOLD INDICATING A FINANCIAL STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION. 
          UM, SO FOR THE FORECAST YEAR 27 TO 31, IT 
          [00:50:01]
SHOWS THAT OUR DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE IS, UM, MEET, EXPECTED TO MEET OR EXCEED, UM, THE POLICY THRESHOLD OF 1.75. 
          UM, SO THAT ENSURE OUR ABILITY, UM, TO MEET THE DEBT OBLIGATIONS. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UM, AND THIS IS FOR CASH FINANCING CAPITAL PROGRAM. 
          UM, SO AUSTIN WATER HAS A REALLY ROBUST, UH, CAPITAL PLAN THAT INCLUDES COUPLE OF MAJOR PROJECTS THAT ARE IN DEVELOPMENT. 
          UM, WE ANTICIPATE A STEADY FINANCING FOR PAY IN THE FORECAST PERIODS, EMPHASIZING CUSTOMER AFFORDABILITY. 
          UM, EVEN OUR, UM, PERCENTAGES BELOW THE DESIGN 35%, IT STILL REPRESENT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CASH FUNDING. 
          RIGHT? AND, AND RECALL, WE, WE MENTIONED THIS EARLIER, THIS IS THE FINANCIAL POLICY THAT, UH, WE'LL BE GOING TO THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE TO, TO FORMALLY, UH, MODIFY, UH, BASED ON, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, BASED ON THE INPUT WE RECEIVED THROUGH OUR, UH, COST SERVICE STUDY, UH, WHERE WE DECIDED TO, UM, TO TARGET A 20% LEVEL OF, OF CASH FINANCING FOR, FOR OUR REALLY LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS. 
          UM, AND PART OF THE REASON FOR THAT IS, YOU KNOW, WE RECOGNIZE THAT, YOU KNOW, AT A 35% FINANCIAL POLICY LEVEL, YOU KNOW, MINIMUM LEVEL OF, OF CASH PAYMENTS OR DOWN PAYMENTS, UM, THAT THE IMPACT OF THAT FOR TODAY'S CUSTOMERS IS TODAY'S CUSTOMERS WOULD PAY FOR MORE THAN A THIRD OF A PROJECT THAT WILL SERVE CUSTOMERS FOR THE NEXT 40, 50 YEARS PLUS. 
          AND, AND SO FROM A GENERATIONAL EQUITY PERSPECTIVE, UM, YOU KNOW, A IT'S, YOU KNOW, IT WOULD'VE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED THE LEVEL OF RATE INCREASES WE WOULD NEED, UH, BUT BUT ALSO NOT BE EQUITABLE IN TERMS OF SHARING THE COST OF, OF, OF THOSE KINDS OF PROJECTS BETWEEN TODAY'S CUSTOMERS AND, AND, AND FUTURE CUSTOMERS. 
          UM, SO WE'LL BE GOING TO, UH, TO AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE TO, TO FORMALLY ADD THAT 20%, UM, YOU KNOW, THE 20% LEVEL FOR, FOR REALLY LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS. 
          UM, AND THEN WE'LL SEE. 
          AND, UM, WHICH WILL MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF THE TARGET RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, IT'S A, IT'S KIND OF A FLAT 35%, BUT AS THE SPENDING FOR , OUR LARGE GENERATIONAL PROJECTS GOES UP AND DOWN, THAT THAT LINE WON'T, WILL NO LONGER BE A SMOOTH LINE. 
          BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, AS AND AS WE GET TO THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD, UH, YOU KNOW, SINCE THAT LINE WILL COME DOWN AND WE'RE TARGETING AT ABOUT 28%, UH, CASH FINANCING DOWN PAYMENTS OF, OF OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WILL BE MUCH MORE IN LINE WITH, WITH THE UPDATED FINANCIAL POLICY. 
          AND I'LL JUST ADD TO THAT, THAT THAT CAME OUT OF THE 2024 COST OF SERVICE STUDY. 
          AND SO WE'VE BEEN COMMUNICATING THAT OUT. 
          BUT, UM, IN WORKING WITH OUR BUDGET OFFICE, THEY INDICATED, UM, YOU KNOW, NOW'S THE TIME TO GO AHEAD AND FORMALIZE THAT BASED ON WHAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. 
          UH, UM, SO THE LAST, UM, OF THE THREE BENCHMARK. 
          YEAH. 
          UM, SO THE LAST SLICE OF THE TREE BENCHMARKS IS A DAY'S CASH ON HAND. 
          AND YOU COULD SEE THAT, UM, AUSTIN WATERS DO HAVE A REALLY STRONG CASH, UM, STRONG CASH RESERVE, UM, EVEN THOUGH IT IS TRENDING UNDER THE, THE INTERNAL TARGET OF 245 DAYS, UM, IT'S STILL WAY BELOW, UH, ABOVE THE FINANCIAL POLICY OF 180 DAYS. 
          AND THEN JUST CIRCLING BACK, THE, THESE ARE THE THREE PRIMARY FINANCIAL METRICS THAT OUR RATING AGENCIES FOCUS ON WHEN, UM, WHEN, WHEN THEY EVALUATE US FROM A, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, CREDIT WORTHINESS PERSPECTIVE. 
          UM, AND ALTHOUGH, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE EXPECTING TO SEE DIPS, UM, YOU KNOW, IN, IN DAYS' CASH ON HAND, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S PLANNED, YOU KNOW, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IN AN EFFORT TO, TO BALANCE AFFORDABILITY, YOU KNOW, THEY, THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO. 
          IF WE HAD UNPLANNED DROPS IN DAYS' CASH ON HAND, THAT WOULD CERTAINLY BE MORE MORE CONCERNING. 
          [00:55:01]
UM, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, IMPLEMENTING OUR, OUR PHASED RATE, YOU KNOW, INCREASED PLAN AND GETTING TO, GETTING BACK TO WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, AND, AND GENERALLY WE TARGET BETWEEN ONE AND 2% OF, OF A SURPLUS EVERY YEAR. 
          AND SO BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT THAT WILL MEAN IS, YOU KNOW, PROBABLY FOUR TO, TO 8 MILLION OF A SURPLUS WHERE WE'LL BE ABLE TO START ADDING BACK DAYS CASH ON HAND. 
          UM, AND, AND ESSENTIALLY RIGHT SIZE, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR REVENUES AS COMPARED TO, TO OUR EXPENSES AS, AS WE PROJECT THEM. 
          SO THE, UM, THE MOODY'S AA MEDIAN 534 DAYS. 
          SO, UM, IN TERMS OF LIKE OTHER LARGE UTILITIES IN THIS IN TEXAS, LIKE IN DAYS OF DAYS, CASH ON HAND, WHERE DOES AUSTIN KINDA FIT AMONGST THE LARGER UTILITIES? WE WE'RE ON THE LOWER END. 
          UM, AND, AND THAT'S INTENTIONAL. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING SO HARD TO BALANCE AFFORDABILITY, UM, WITH, YOU KNOW, STRONG FINANCIAL METRICS. 
          I'LL ALSO ADD, YOU KNOW, WHEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GO OUT TO MARKET, WHEN WE ISSUE BONDS, EVEN THOUGH WE'RE, WE'RE DOUBLE A RATED, UH, WE HAVE A REALLY STRONG NAME IN, IN THE MARKET AND WE, WE GENERALLY GET AA RATES. 
          SO, SO OUR, OUR ISSUES, UM, GET THE KIND OF INTEREST FROM THE MARKET THAT THAT AAA ISSUERS GET, WE GET RATES COMPARABLE TO, TO AAA ISSUERS. 
          UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE COMFORTABLE WHERE WE ARE IN TERMS OF, OF OUR RATING. 
          UM, I, I WOULDN'T MIND, UH, YOU KNOW, A ONE, UH, ONE NOTCH UPGRADE, BUT, UM, WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY, WE'RE NOT ACTIVELY PURSUING THAT MM-HMM . 
          UM, BECAUSE, UH, YOU KNOW, TO GET THERE MEANS THAT WE'VE GOT TO, WE, WE'VE GOTTA HAVE, YOU KNOW, SOME, SOME MORE IMPROVEMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF, UM, YOU KNOW, DAYS, CASH ON HAND, UM, DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE, YOU KNOW, SOME OF, UH, SOME OF THE AAA RATED, UH, UTILITIES, YOU KNOW, WE WILL HAVE, YOU KNOW, THREE TIMES DEBT SERVICE COVERAGE MM-HMM . 
          AND WE JUST DON'T THINK THAT MAKES SENSE FROM AN AFFORDABILITY PERSPECTIVE, PARTICULARLY WHEN WE'RE ALREADY GETTING AAA RATES. 
          MM-HMM . 
          YEAH. 
          SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S ALL THAT, UM, FINANCIAL KPI, UM, FOR AUSTIN WATER. 
          AND NOW I TURN BACK TO TINA TO CONCLUDE OUR PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU, MA'AM. 
          AND SO, UH, IF YOU CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 
          SO THIS IS OUR WRAP UP SLIDE PRETTY MUCH. 
          UM, JUST, OOPS, LOST THE PRESENTATION REAL QUICK. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          UM, SO REVENUE CONSIDERATIONS, AGAIN, JUST RATE INCREASES NEEDED TO COVER OUR INCREASING OPERATING AND CAPITAL COST. 
          UM, WE STILL MONITOR DROUGHT, WE'RE STILL, UH, IN A DROUGHT EVEN THOUGH WITH THE LAKES, UM, STILL BEING, UH, AT A GOOD PERCENTAGE. 
          UH, AND THEN WE'RE ALSO MONITORING THE ECONOMY, SO THERE'S SOME, UH, RELATED REVENUE VOLATILITY THERE. 
          AND, UH, OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM ENROLLMENT GROWTH, WE MONITOR THAT, MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE HELPING, UH, OUR MOST VULNERABLE CUSTOMERS PAY THEIR UTILITY BILL. 
          AND THEN EXPENDITURE CONSIDERATIONS, INFLATION IMPACTS, AS WE DISCUSSED ON THE OPERATING AND CAPITAL DELIVERY COST, OUR GROWING CAPITAL PLAN, OUR DEBT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES TO HELP SMOOTH THE 20, THE FY 28 PEAK, UH, FOR OUR DEBT SERVICE. 
          AND THEN THE RATING IMPACT OF WEAKENING FINANCIAL METRICS. 
          SO IF THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT DROP IN CASH RESERVES OR THE CASH FINANCING OF CIP IS, UM, BELOW THE FINANCIAL POLICY TARGET, WHICH WE DO LOOK AT, UH, AND THEN THE INCREASING DEBT BURDEN AS WELL, UH, WE'RE MONITORING AND JUST MAKING SURE WE CAN MANAGE THAT APPROPRIATELY. 
          AND NOW, UH, NEXT SLIDE. 
          I'LL OPEN IT UP IF THERE'S ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS BEFORE I ASK MY QUESTION. 
          DO ANY OF THE OTHER COMMISSIONERS HAVE QUESTIONS? I JUST HAD, UM, A QUICK ONE, AND IT WAS RELATED TO THE CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          WHAT PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS ARE ENROLLED? DO YOU HAVE THAT NUMBER? UH, I DO NOT HAVE THAT NUMBER OF THE PERCENTAGE OF CUSTOMERS ENROLLED, BUT I CAN TELL YOU IN, UM, SPEAKING WITH OUR OTHER, UM, PARTNERING UTILITIES THAT, UM, WE TALK TO, UH, A LOT OF THEM DON'T EVEN HAVE A CUSTOMER 
          [01:00:01]
ASSISTANCE PLAN. 
          AND SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT OUR GROWTH HAS EXTREMELY INCREASED OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, ESPECIALLY ONCE WE ADDED THE MULTIFAMILY, UM, CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          AND, UH, OUR MULTIFAMILY IS LIKE NO OTHER PROGRAM OUT THERE. 
          UH, THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OR ENTITIES THAT CONTACT ME ASKING ME, HOW DID YOU DO THIS? UH, HOW DID YOU DO YOUR MULTIFAMILY PROGRAM? AND I ACTUALLY HAVE A, A SPEAKING ARRANGEMENT IN ANOTHER WEEK TO TALK ABOUT OUR CAPITAL PROGRAM BECAUSE, UM, A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT HOW GREAT OUR CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS AND HOW MANY CUSTOMERS IT REALLY HELPS AND SERVES. 
          YEAH, WE, WE ARE U UNIQUELY SITUATED IN TERMS OF OUR ABILITY TO REACH MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMERS NOW. 
          SO A MULTIFAMILY CUSTOMER, LIKE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX MM-HMM . 
          IS, IS MASTER METER. 
          UH, YOU KNOW, THEY WOULD GENERALLY HAVE ONE OR, OR MAYBE MULTIPLE MASTER METERS, BUT EACH UNIT IS NOT INDIVIDUALLY METERED, SO WE DON'T HAVE A BILLING RELATIONSHIP WITH ON THE WATER SIDE WITH THOSE CUSTOMERS. 
          UM, BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ELECTRIC UTILITY AND WE'RE ONE OF, YOU KNOW, NOT MANY CITIES RUN THEIR OWN ELECTRIC UTILITY, UM, BECAUSE WE HAVE AN ELECTRIC UTILITY AND THEY DO INDIVIDUALLY, METER, PRIMARILY INDIVIDUALLY METER, YOU KNOW, APARTMENTS AND, AND OTHER ACCOUNTS THAT FOR US, UH, ARE SERVED BY A MASTER METER, WE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE A BENEFIT TO THOSE CUSTOMERS. 
          THEY GET A $17, UH, UH, A MONTH CREDIT ON THEIR ELECTRIC BILL ASSOCIATED WITH THE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE HAVE OVERLAP. 
          OUR, OUR SERVICE AREAS DON'T EXACTLY OVERLAP, BUT WHERE WE HAVE OVERLAP, WE'RE ABLE TO REACH THOSE CUSTOMERS IN A WAY THAT OTHER UTILITIES CAN'T. 
          UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S A, A REALLY, UM, A REALLY GREAT PROGRAM. 
          AND I THINK YOU SAID THAT ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE WE HAVE 39,000, UM, RESIDENTIAL CAP CUSTOMERS. 
          IS THAT THE NUMBER? LET ME GO BACK. 
          UM, I THINK THAT WAS OUR MULTI-FAMILY, UM, COUNT. 
          OKAY. 
          SO THEN, SO AT 23,000, THAT'S ROUGHLY 10% OF OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER CLASS. 
          MM-HMM . 
          WHICH IS ABOUT 230,000 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS. 
          YEAH. 
          AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT FOR THOSE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS RIGHT NOW, THEY'RE GETTING A 52% DISCOUNT ON THE AVERAGE MONTHLY BILL FOR A NON CAP CUSTOMER. 
          ADDITIONALLY, IF YOU PUT IT INTO DOLLAR FIGURES, UM, ANNUALLY WE'RE PROJECTED TO SPEND ANYWHERE FROM 18 TO $20 MILLION JUST ON ASSISTING CAP CUSTOMERS, WHICH IS REALLY GREAT, UM, ESPECIALLY FOR THE NUMBER OF CUSTOMERS ENROLLED. 
          AND THAT'S OUR ENTIRE, UM, CUSTOMER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. 
          THANK YOU FOR THAT. 
          YEAH, YOU'RE WELCOME. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          I DON'T SEE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. 
          UM, I GUESS I JUST WANTED TO CONFIRM OR MAKE SURE THAT I UNDERSTOOD THAT THE NEXT MEETING WE WOULD REVIEW THE PROJECTED CIP, UM, YES, WE WOULD, UM, REVIEW THE, UH, CURRENT APPROVED CIP PLAN, WHICH IS THE 26 THROUGH 30. 
          SO, UH, YOU WOULDN'T GET THE UPDATED ONE, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY TELL YOU WHICH PROJECTS THAT ARE ALREADY IN OUR PLAN. 
          UH, ABOUT 99% ARE JUST CONTINUING AND MOVING FORWARD TO THE NEXT PLAN. 
          IT'S JUST INCREASED COST OF PICKING UP THAT EXTRA YEAR AS WELL. 
          AND THEN, AS YOU'RE AWARE, JUST THE WALNUT CREEK, UH, TREATMENT PLAN THAT WE BROUGHT BACK TO COMMISSION RECENTLY FOR THE INCREASE THAT'S INCLUDED. 
          OKAY, PERFECT. 
          AND THEN, UM, SINCE THAT'S ALREADY BEEN APPROVED, COULD YOU SEND IT, SHARE IT WITH US JUST EARLIER, UM, JUST SO THE GROUP, MAYBE THE FOLKS THAT DIDN'T GET A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT LAST YEAR? YEAH, WE CAN DEFINITELY DO THAT. 
          WE'LL, WE'LL SEND THAT APPROVED CIP PLAN OUT EARLY. 
          YEAH. 
          YEAH. 
          OH, OH YES. 
          LOTS OF PAGES. 
          YEAH. 
          GREAT. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE GREAT. 
          WELL, SEEING NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS ON, UM, THAT PRESENTATION. 
          THANK YOU FOR SHARING THE INFORMATION, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE DOING A GREAT JOB. 
          REALLY APPRECIATE ALL THE DETAIL AND, UM, LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS WHAT, UM, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT NEXT. 
          SO IF, UM, ITEM NUMBER THREE IS REVIEW 
          [3. Review and possible action to approve the Budget Committee meeting schedule]
AND POSSIBLE ACTION TO APPROVE THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE. 
          UM, SHOULD WE GET A DATE FOR THE NEXT MEETING BEFORE WE APPROVE THE SCHEDULE? WASN'T THERE AN EMAIL SENT OUT WITH A COUPLE OF DATES? I THOUGHT YES. 
          YES, THERE WAS AN EMAIL, UM, VICKI HAD SENT OUT WITH A COUPLE OF DATES, BUT SHE DIDN'T REALLY GET A RESPONSE YET, I THINK, AND SHE WAS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT, AND WE CAN DO THAT SIMILAR APPROACH IF YOU PREFER, IS SENDING OUT MAYBE A POLL OF DATES AND FIGURING OUT WHICH ONES WORK FOR YOU, ESPECIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, KNOWING VACATIONS HAPPEN AROUND THIS TIME, BUT ALSO MAKING SURE STAFF ARE, ARE NOT ON VACATION TOO AND PRESENT AS WELL. 
          AND, UM, 
          [01:05:01]
WE NORMALLY TRY TO GET THIS MEETING AS EARLIER IN, UM, MID-JUNE. 
          OKAY. 
          I TIMEFRAME, I THOUGHT I PUT IT ON MY CALENDAR FOR THE 11TH. 
          I, YES. 
          I THE YES. 
          THE MOST RECENT THING THAT WE GOT FROM VICKY WAS LAST FRIDAY ASKING IF WE'D BE FREE THURSDAY THE 11TH AT 3:00 PM OH, OKAY. 
          WELL, GREAT. 
          YEAH, YEAH. 
          IF, IF, IF THAT DATE WORKS FOR YOU, IF, IF NOT, PLEASE LET US KNOW AND WE CAN WORK ON SOME ALTERNATIVE DATES AND, AND, AND NOT TO BLOW UP, UH, SOMETHING THAT'S ALREADY SCHEDULED AND, AND PLANNED. 
          BUT, UH, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO THANK YOU GUYS FOR, FOR BEING HERE, YOU KNOW, IN THE MIDDLE OF, OF, OF A DAY. 
          AND I KNOW, UH, THAT THAT PROBABLY MEANS TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR, YOUR DAY JOB. 
          UM, UH, AND IF IT'S MORE CONVENIENT, YOU KNOW, I WANT TO MAKE SURE, YOU KNOW, WE OFFER, UH, WE, WE COULD DO IT, YOU KNOW, FOUR OR FIVE. 
          WE CAN DO IT AFTER HOURS TWO, LIKE WHAT, WHATEVER'S MOST CONVENIENT FOR YOU GUYS, WE WILL BE HERE. 
          UM, BUT WE, WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE, UH, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS DOING IT, YOU KNOW, DURING THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY AND UM, THAT THREE O'CLOCK WORKED FOR ME. 
          SO YEAH, LET'S STICK TO THREE ON, ON THE 11TH AND THEN WE CAN OFFICIALLY VOTE ON OR APPROVE THE SCHEDULE, HAVING THAT DATE ON THERE. 
          OKAY, GREAT. 
          AND JUST AS, UM, HEATHER MENTIONED EARLIER, I DON'T KNOW IF EVERYBODY WAS PRESENT TO HEAR THAT, SHE SAID AT LEAST ONE PERSON JUST NEEDS TO BE IN, UH, ONE, UH, COMMITTEE MEMBER NEEDS TO BE IN PERSON. 
          UH, SO AS LONG AS ONE PERSON SHOWS UP AND THE REST ONLINE, WE COULD DEFINITELY, UH, STILL MEET. 
          WE WON'T LEAVE YOU HANGING. 
          YEAH. 
          WELL I APPRECIATE THAT 'CAUSE WE'RE GONNA GO INTO SOME MORE DETAIL IN THE NEXT MEETING, , UH, THAT WE'D LIKE TO JUST SHARE WITH YOU AND PROVIDE AND LET YOU KNOW, UM, WHAT'S IN THE FORECAST. 
          AND AS JOSEPH MENTIONED A LOT THAT WE'RE TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW, UM, THAT'S IN OUR BUDGET. 
          IT'S, WE DON'T ANTICIPATE, UH, A VERY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE AT THIS POINT. 
          PERFECT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO I GUESS NOW OFFICIALLY MOVING ON TO ITEM NUMBER THREE. 
          UM, DO I HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE? I MOTION TO APPROVE THE JUNE 11TH TIME SLOT? IT'S THE WHOLE SCHEDULE. 
          OH, OH THE WHOLE, YEAH. 
          I MOTION TO APPROVE THE WHOLE BUDGET SCHEDULE, RIGHT? OR NO, JUST KIDDING. 
          IT'S THE BUDGET COMMITTEE MEETING SCHEDULE. 
          YOU'RE RIGHT. 
          I MOTION TO APPROVE THE SECOND BUDGET MEETING ON JULY, JUNE 11TH AT 3:00 PM BEAUTIFUL. 
          I SECOND THAT MOTION. 
          THANK YOU. 
          SO THE MOTION HAS BEEN MADE AND SECONDED IN OH, WE NEED TO VOTE EVERYONE IN FAVOR. 
          UH, COMMISSIONER PANI IS NO LONGER PRESENT, SO WE'LL IT'S A UNIT UNANIMOUS APPROVAL FOR ALL THOSE PRESENT. 
          GREAT. 
          AND I GUESS ARE THERE ANY SPECIFIC AGENDA ITEMS OR ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU GUYS WOULD LIKE THE FINANCIAL TEAM TO TOUCH ON IN THE NEXT MEETING? NO. 
          NO. 
          OKAY. 
          WONDERFUL. 
          WELL, WE'LL JUST CONTINUE WITH YOUR AGENDA AS PLANNED. 
          UM, AND AGAIN, THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING TODAY AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE NEXT ONE. 
          THE MEETING IS ADJOURNED OFFICIALLY AT 1111. 
          THANK YOU SO.
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.