* 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.
          [00:00:02]
          I WILL CALL THE PUBLIC 
          [CALL TO ORDER]
SAFETY COMMITTEE MEETING TO ORDER. 
          IT IS MAY 12TH, 2026 AT 9:00 AM THIS IS A MEETING OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. 
          WE ARE AT CITY HALL, LOCATED AT 3 0 1 WEST SECOND STREET IN AUSTIN, TEXAS. 
          AND WE HAVE A QUORUM PRESENT VICE CHAIR LANE COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL AND COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN. 
          UH, COLLEAGUES, BEFORE WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE PUBLIC COMMUNICATION, I WANNA SHARE THAT WE ARE POSTPONING. 
          ITEM NUMBER THREE, THE BRIEFING ON CLASS C WARRANTS, COURT NOTICES AND FAILURE TO APPEAR. 
          RATES TO THE JUNE 1ST MEETING. 
          UH, THE APPROPRIATE STAFF IS UNBE, UNABLE TO PRESENT TODAY AND REQUESTED A, UH, POSTPONEMENT. 
          AND WITH THAT WE WILL GO TO 
          [Public Communication: General]
PUBLIC COMMUNICATION. 
          WE HAVE FIVE SPEAKERS, STARTING WITH PETER HUNT, MARY ELIZABETH, KATHY MITCHELL. 
          GOOD MORNING CHAIR COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          MY NAME IS PETER HUNT. 
          I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10. 
          UH, AND I WANNA SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, UH, RESOLUTION ON WHICH YOU'RE GONNA HEAR A BRIEFING ON FOR ITEM NUMBER ONE. 
          THIS IDEA TO ESTABLISH A JOINT CONSOLIDATED EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT, UM, IS GOOD. 
          THE REASONING BEHIND IT GOES BACK OVER A DECADE, UH, BUT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME PERSISTENT OBSTACLES TO ACTUALLY ESTABLISHING IT IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS. 
          AND I WANNA SPEAK, YOU'RE GONNA HEAR I THINK, PROBABLY ABOUT SOME OF THE, UH, MORE SPECIFIC GOOD REASONING BEHIND ESTABLISHING THIS. 
          BUT I WANNA TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE CONTEXT. 
          ONE OF THOSE CONTEXTUAL OBSTACLES HAS BEEN, UH, STATE LAW AND THE POLICE BUDGET. 
          NOW, CURRENTLY, BECAUSE THE 9 1 1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT IS PART OF THE POLICE BUDGET, MOVING OUT OR MAKING A CONSOLIDATED, UH, DEPARTMENT WOULD INVOLVE A TECHNICAL REDUCTION OF APDS BUDGET, WHICH RUNS A FOUL OF, UH, SENATE BILL FOUR FROM A COUPLE YEARS AGO. 
          UM, LAST YEAR WOULD'VE BEEN A GREAT TIME TO MAKE THIS PARTICULAR MOVE. 
          THE 2024 POLICE AGREEMENT HAD LOCKED IN 8% RAISES FOR OFFICERS, WHICH MEANT THAT THE CITY WAS OBLIGATED TO INCREASE THE POLICE BUDGET IN ONE PLACE, AND THEREFORE, UH, REDUCTION IN ANOTHER WOULD'VE BEEN A GREAT TIME TO DO IT. 
          SO IT MADE GOOD TECHNICAL SENSE. 
          UH, HOWEVER, I THINK THAT THERE WAS SOME GOOD WISDOM BEHIND COUNSEL APPROVING THE RESOLUTION AT THAT TIME IN AUGUST, AUTHORED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LANE DIRECTING STAFF TO PERFORM AN EVALUATION OF WHAT THIS MOVE WOULD ENTAIL. 
          LOOKING AT COSTS CONSULTING WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, PERFORMING SORT OF A STRATEGIC ANALYSIS OF WHAT THAT WOULD LOOK LIKE. 
          UNFORTUNATELY, UH, STAFF WAS DIRECTED TO HAVE THAT DONE BY DECEMBER 9TH. 
          AND FROM WHAT I CAN TELL IN THE BACKUP OF THIS MEETING AND WHAT I SEE COMING UP FOR THE PRESENTATION, THAT HASN'T REALLY HAPPENED, UM, WE'RE SIX MONTHS PAST THAT DEADLINE AT THIS POINT. 
          AND, UH, THAT ASSESSMENT OF TECHNICAL COSTS, OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY, UH, IMPLEMENTATION, TIMELINES AND EVIDENCE CRUCIALLY, OF CONSULTING WITH EXTERNAL PARTNERS SUCH AS EMPLOYEE UNIONS OR COMMUNITY GROUPS, UM, I SEE DON'T, I DON'T SEE EVIDENCE OF THAT RIGHT NOW. 
          UM, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE FOR THE CITY TO CONTINUE DRAGGING ITS HEELS ON WHAT IS GOING TO BE A GOOD AND SENSIBLE ADMINISTRATIVE ADJUSTMENT TO HOW 9 1 1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS HANDLED. 
          AND THIS YEAR IS ALSO A YEAR TO DO IT. 
          OFFICERS ONCE AGAIN HAVE LOCKED IN PAY RAISES THAT WOULD OFFSET THE COST, THE TECHNICAL COST OF MOVING THE, UH, RESPONSE OUT OF THE A PD BUDGET, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE WOULD NOT BE ANY RUNNING TO FILE OF STATE LAW. 
          AND NOW'S THE TIME TO DO IT. 
          SO MY REQUEST FOR, UH, MEMBERS OF THIS COMMITTEE AND FOR COUNCIL AS A WHOLE, UM, WOULD BE TO HAVE THIS AS AN ITEM IN THE BUDGET FOR THIS YEAR, LOOKING AHEAD TO JULY AND AUGUST TO ESTABLISH THE JOINT CONSOLIDATED, UH, 9 1 1 RESPONSE DEPARTMENT. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          MY NAME'S MARY ELIZABETH, AND I'M FOR MOVING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER OUT OF A PD. 
          MOVING 9 1 1 INTO AN INDEPENDENT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT WILL HELP ENSURE THAT THE PEOPLE IN CRISIS RECEIVE THE RIGHT RESPONSE THE FIRST TIME. 
          DISPATCH DETERMINES OUTCOMES WHEN THE SYSTEM DEFAULTS TO SENDING ARMED OFFICERS TO HEALTH CRISES. 
          THE RISK OF ESCALATION AND VIOLENCE INCREASES. 
          AUSTIN'S AUDIT SHOWS THAT THE SYSTEM IS FAILING. 
          THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S AUDIT OF POLICE RESPONSES TO MENTAL HEALTH INCIDENTS FOUND THAT PEOPLE IN MENTAL HEALTH CRISES IN AUSTIN FACE A HIGHER RISK OF FATAL POLICE ENCOUNTERS THAN INCOMPARABLE CITIES. 
          AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT POLICIES RELATED TO MENTAL HEALTH, 
          [00:05:01]
MENTAL HEALTH INCIDENTS WERE LESS SPECIFIC THAN NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES. 
          TRAINING AND MESSAGES MESSAGING AROUND DEESCALATION WERE INCONSISTENT. 
          POLICE WERE OFTEN DISPATCHED TO CALLS THAT WERE NON-CRIMINAL AND BETTER SUITED TO HEALTH PRO TO HEALTH PROFESSIONALS. 
          THIS MEANS THAT THE CURRENT SYSTEM STRUCTURALLY RELIES TOO MUCH ON POLICE, ON POLICE FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 
          MOVING 9 1 1 OUT OUT FROM A PD WOULD IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          IT WOULD STANDARDIZE CALL TRIAGE PROTOCOLS FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISES, MAKING THEM MORE EXPLICIT, MORE SPECIFIC TO KNOW WHO TO CALL OUT. 
          IT WOULD IMPROVE ROUTING TO MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDERS AND EMS REDUCE UNNECESSARY ARMED RESPONSES. 
          IMPROVE COORDINATION BETWEEN POLICE, FIRE EMS AND CIVILIAN RESPONSE TEAMS, AND EXPLORE BETTER INTEGRATION BETWEEN 9 1 1 AND 3 1 1 FOR NON-EMERGENCY RESPONSES FOR NON-EMERGENCY ISSUES, MOVING IT OUT OF A PD WOULD SUPPORT FIRST RESPONDERS WOULD NOT ELIMINATE POLICE RESPONSE WHERE THAT IS NECESSARY. 
          IT PROTECTS THEIR CAPACITY, RESPOND TO THE CALLS THEY'RE NEEDED FOR A PD HAS A LONGSTANDING CAP. 
          A PD HAS A LONGSTANDING CAPACITY ISSUE. 
          SLOW RESPONSE TO CALLS, STAFFING SHORTAGES. 
          MISSED RESPONSE GOALS. 
          ON AVERAGE IN 2025, A PD OFFICERS TOOK OVER 45 MINUTES TO RESPOND TO 9 1 1 CALLS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          I HAVEN'T BEEN HERE IN A GOOD LONG WHILE, AND I HOPE Y'ALL ARE WATCHING ALL MY LOVELY BABY PICTURES THAT I'VE BEEN POSTING ON FACEBOOK. 
          'CAUSE I THINK I HAVE THE CUTEST GRANDBABY. 
          UM, I'M HERE TODAY FIRST TO REMIND YOU THAT THIS IS A THING THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN ASKING FOR FOR A VERY LONG TIME. 
          SO I'M GONNA BE OFFICIALLY REPRESENTING THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR A DECADE. 
          UM, IT IS REALLY GREAT THAT AFTER LAST BUDGET CYCLE, YOU ALL DIRECTED THE CITY TO DO A PLANNING PROCESS. 
          AND IT'S VERY DISAPPOINTING THAT THAT PLANNING PROCESS DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE WHAT ACTUALLY HAS HAPPENED. 
          UM, AND I WOULD SAY THAT THE PIECE THAT I BRING TO THIS CONVERSATION, I PULLED THE 4 MILLION NINE ONE ONE CALL RECORDS THAT ARE NOW POSTED ON THE OPEN DATA PORTAL, UM, LAST NIGHT JUST TO KIND OF POKE AROUND AND I COULD DO A WHOLE LENGTHY PRESENTATION ON WHAT IS IN THIS DATA. 
          BUT WHAT I WILL TELL YOU IS THAT THIS DATA IS NOT MANAGING WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE OUTCOMES OF THE CALLS THAT PEOPLE MAKE TO 9 1 1 AND WHETHER THEY GOT THE RIGHT RESPONSE. 
          THAT IS NOT WHAT THIS DATA DOES. 
          THIS DATA IS A POLICE MANAGEMENT TOOL, POLICE TIME MANAGEMENT TOOL, AND IT IS UNDERUTILIZED. 
          AND I HAVE ALWAYS SAID THAT. 
          UH, BUT WHAT IT DOES NOT, NOT DO IS WHAT I'M HOPING WE ARE MOVING TOWARDS, WHICH IS MANAGING ALL OF OUR EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM FOR THE BENEFIT OF THOSE WHO CALL AND NEED HELP FROM THE CITY. 
          SO THAT MEANS THAT WHEN WE HAVE MANAGEMENT IN PLACE THAT IS SERVING AND DISPATCHING AND SERVING ALL OF AUSTIN AND SERVING ALL OF OUR PEOPLE, UH, NO MATTER WHAT IT IS THAT OUR PEOPLE ARE CALLING FOR AND NEEDING THAT WE WILL HAVE BETTER DATA BECAUSE IT'S NO LONGER GOING TO BE ABOUT HOW MANY POLICE UNITS DID WE SEND AND HOW LONG DID THEY SPEND THERE, AND WERE THEY THERE ON THEIR OWN RECOGNIZANCE OR DID SOMEONE ACTUALLY CALL AND ASK THEM TO COME AND, AND ON AND ON, RIGHT? THOSE ARE ALL IMPORTANT QUESTIONS FOR POLICE, BUT THEY ARE NOT TELLING US WHETHER THE PERSON ON THE OTHER END OF THE CALL GOT WHAT THEY NEEDED. 
          AND YOU PARTICULARLY SEE THIS WITH THE 
          [00:10:01]
MENTAL HEALTH FLAG CALLS, AND I WILL HAVE A LOT TO SAY ABOUT THAT AFTER I'VE BEEN ABLE TO SIT DOWN AND KIND OF, YOU KNOW, SATURATE MYSELF IN THE DATA. 
          UH, BUT I THINK FOR RIGHT NOW, I WANNA JUST REMIND YOU THAT WE ADDED THE NINE. 
          WELL YOU ALL REMEMBER MENTAL HEALTH CALLS, , THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU KATHY FOR BEING HERE WITH US. 
          AND, UH, THANK YOU FOR THE BABY PICTURES ALSO. 
          WE'VE BEEN ENJOYING THEM. 
           LAST TWO SPEAKERS, SAVANNAH LEE AND FELICIA ROSS. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UH, MY NAME IS SAVANNAH LEE. 
          I'M HERE WITH EQUITY ACTION AND I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT ONE. 
          I'M HERE TODAY IN SUPPORT OF CREATING A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT AND ENSURING THAT THIS WORK IS FUNDED IN THE 26 27 BUDGET. 
          I WANNA START BY ADDRESSING THE PRESENTATION TODAY. 
          I WAS DISAPPOINTED WHEN I SAW THAT THERE WAS NO ACTUAL STRATEGIC PLAN OR COST ESTIMATE AS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL MEMBER LANE'S RESOLUTION. 
          WHEN WE'VE WAITED SEVERAL MONTHS PAST THE DEADLINE SET OUT BY COUNCIL, COMMUNITY MEMBERS EXPECT A ROBUST PLAN THAT EFFECTIVELY INFORMS US AND COUNCIL ALIKE ON THE JOINT COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT ITSELF. 
          THIS PROPOSAL IS A COMMON SENSE MODERN MODERNIZATION EFFORT THAT WILL HELP AUSTIN SEND THE RIGHT RESPONSE THE FIRST TIME. 
          DISPATCH DETERMINES OUTCOMES. 
          THE DECISIONS MADE IN THE FIRST MOMENTS OF A NINE ONE ONE CALL SHAPE EVERYTHING. 
          IT FOLLOWS WHETHER RESOURCES ARE USED EFFICIENTLY, WHETHER SITUATIONS ESCALATE, AND WHETHER PEOPLE RECEIVE THE KIND OF HELP THAT THEY ACTUALLY NEED. 
          THE WAY DISPATCH CURRENTLY OPERATES MEANS LAW ENFORCEMENT IS OFTEN THE DEFAULT RESPONSE RESPONSE, EVEN FOR SITUATIONS THAT ARE PRIMARILY BEHAVIORAL HEALTH OR NON-CRIMINAL IN NATURE. 
          WE'VE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT UNLESS CALLERS USE VERY SPECIFIC LANGUAGE, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS ARE UNLIKELY TO BE ROUTED TO THE MOST APPROPRIATE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAMS. THAT'S NOT AN EFFICIENT SYSTEM, AND IT'S NOT A SYSTEM DESIGNED AROUND ACCURACY. 
          AUSTIN'S OWNED OWN AUDIT FOUND THAT POLICE WERE FREQUENTLY DISPATCHED TO NON-CRIMINAL MENTAL HEALTH CALLS BETTER SUITED FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS. 
          AT THE SAME TIME, CITIES LIKE SAN FRANCISCO HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN DISPATCH SYSTEMS ARE DESIGNED TO SUPPORT CIVILIAN CRISIS TEAMS, THE VAST MAJORITY OF THOSE CALLS CAN BE RESOLVED SAFELY WITHOUT POLICE INVOLVEMENT. 
          WHILE CONNECTING PEOPLE TO CARE THIS PROPOSAL WOULD IMPROVE. 
          COORDINATE COORDINATION ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, STANDARDIZED CALL TRIAGE PROTOCOLS, IMPROVE ROUTING TO MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDERS IN EMS AND REDUCE UNNECESSARY DEPLOYMENTS. 
          IT WOULD ALSO SUPPORT A PD CAPACITY, AN ISSUE THE DEPARTMENT HAS CONTINUED TO STRUGGLE WITH BY ENSURING THAT OFFICERS ARE RESPONDING TO CALLS WHERE THEY'RE ACTUALLY NEEDED. 
          IMPORTANTLY, THIS ALSO ALSO ADVANCE ADVANCES THE GOALS OF THE SAFE TO CALL RESOLUTION PASSED BY COUNCIL. 
          EMERGENCY SYSTEMS ONLY WORK WHEN PEOPLE TRUST THEM ENOUGH TO USE THEM. 
          AND MORE CONSISTENT TRAINING AND APPROPRIATE RESPONSES WILL HELP TO BUILD THAT TRUST. 
          ULTIMATELY, THIS IS ABOUT CREATING A SYSTEM THAT WORKS BETTER FOR EVERYONE, RESIDENTS, FIRST RESPONDERS, AND PEOPLE IN CRISIS ALIKE. 
          THANK YOU AS ALL SPEAKERS. 
          YES, SIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COLLEAGUES WILL NOW MOVE 
          [1. Update on Resolution 20250813-018 regarding the establishment of a joint communications department combining the functions of 911 and emergency dispatch [Ramón Batista, Assistant City Manager - City Manager’s Office; Lisa Davis, Chief of Police - Austin Police; Joel Baker, Fire Chief - Austin Fire; Rob Luckrtiz, Chief of ATCEMS - Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services; James Stoner, Deputy Chief Information Officer - Austin Communication and Management; Roxana Stevens, Chief Labor Relations Officer - Austin Labor Relations].]
ON TO ITEM NUMBER ONE. 
          UH, IT'S AN UPDATE ON THE RESO ON RESOLUTION 2 0 2 5 0 8 8 1 3 DASH 0 1 8 REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JOINT COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT. 
          COMBINING THE FUNCTIONS OF 9 1 1 AND EMERGENCY DISPATCH. 
          UH, WE HAVE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER BATISTA WITH US CHIEF DAVIS, CHIEF BAKER CHIEF. 
          WAIT, I DIDN'T SEE. 
          OH, THERE'S CHIEF BAKER, CHIEF LUCKER, UH, JAMES STONER AND ROXANNA STEVENS. 
          WELCOME. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UM, I'M RAMON BATISTA, A CM OVER REPUBLIC SAFETY. 
          I WANNA BEGIN WITH A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CTEC SLIDE. 
          BRIEF HISTORY OF CTEC, THE COMBINED TRANSPORTATION EMERGENCY AND COMMUNICATION CENTER. 
          CTEC MANAGES CRITICAL COMMUNICATIONS FOR POLICE, FIRE, UH, EMS, TRAVIS COUNTY, T TECH STOCK AND CAPITAL METRO. 
          UM, THEY SUPPORT EMERGENCY RESPONSE, TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND REGIONAL DISASTER READINESS. 
          UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, CTECH STARTED IN 2003 WITH A PROFESSIONAL STAFF CIVILIAN DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UM, SINCE 2015, A PD HAS MANAGED, UM, THE CENTER'S DISPATCH AND COORDINATION SYSTEMS. AND DURING THAT TIME, AUSTIN AND OUR REGION HAVE SUCCESSFULLY RESPONDED TO NUMEROUS NATURAL AND MANMADE DISASTERS. 
          TODAY'S DISCUSSION CONTINUES THE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INITIATIVE AS DIRECTED BY COUNCIL. 
          THE GOAL OF OF THIS EFFORT IS TO IMPROVE COORDINATION, INTEROPERABILITY, EFFICIENCY, AND LONG-TERM RESILIENCE ACROSS OUR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS, WHILE ENSURING AUSTIN RESIDENTS CONTINUE TO RECEIVE TIMELY, EFFECTIVE, AND COORDINATED EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES. 
          AS HIS WORK HAS PROGRESSED, IT HAS BECOME CLEAR THAT THIS IS MORE OF AN ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW MORE THAN AN ORGANIZATIONAL REVIEW. 
          EMERGENCY 
          [00:15:01]
COMMUNICATIONS IS A CORE PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE THAT SPANS OPERATIONAL COMMAND, DISASTER CONTINUITY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS, WORKFORCE CONSIDERATIONS, INTERAGENCY COORDINATION, TECHNOLOGY INTEROPERABILITY, AND STATE COMPLIANCE REQUIREMENTS. 
          DURING THE DISCOVERY, DISCOVERY AND BENCHMARKING PHASE, ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCIES AND GOVERNANCE ISSUES EMERGED THAT REQUIRE FURTHER ANALYSIS BEFORE ANY STRUCTURAL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE FINALIZED. 
          OUR CONSULTANT TEAM HAS COMPLETED INITIAL ASSESSMENTS AND IS ADVANCING DATA DISCOVERY AND BENCHMARKING EFFORTS AS WE MOVE INTO THE ANALYSIS AND DECISION MAKING PHASES LEADING TO A DRAFT AND FINAL FEASIBILITY STUDY AND STRATEGIC PLAN. 
          IMPORTANTLY, AUSTIN'S EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM HAS CONTINUED TO EVOLVE OVER THE PAST DECADE AND CERTAINLY OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS. 
          POLICE, FIRE AND EMS HAVE IMPLEMENTED SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS INCLUDING ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MODELS, CLINICIAN DIVERSION PROGRAMS, INTEROPERABILITY, COORDINATION, AUTO AID DEPLOYMENT STRATEGIES, AND OTHER RESPONSE OPTIMIZATIONS EFFORTS AIMED TO STRENGTHEN SERVICE DELIVERY AND PUBLIC SAFETY OUTCOMES. 
          TODAY'S PRESENTATION IS NOT INTENDED TO ADVOCATE FOR OR AGAINST A SPECIFIC GOVERNANCE MODEL. 
          RATHER, IT IS INTENDED TO ENSURE COUNSEL HAS THE OPERATIONAL WORKFORCE, LEGAL AND PUBLIC SAFETY INFORMATION NECESSARY TO MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS WHILE MAINTAINING UNINTERRUPTED EMERGENCY RESPONSE CAPABILITIES DURING BOTH DAILY OPERATIONS AND MAJOR INCIDENTS. 
          AND WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AND LABOR RELATIONS TEAMS. THANK YOU. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNSEL. 
          ASSISTANT CHIEF ANDREW JONES, AND I'LL BE PRESENTING ON AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
          TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF HOW OUR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER WORKS, WE HAVE WHAT'S CALLED, UH, CAPITAL AREA COUNCIL OF GOVERNANCE, AND THIS IS CAP COG IS HOW WE REFER TO IT. 
          SO TEXAS PLANNING REGION 12. 
          THEY'RE ALSO KNOWN AS THE CAPITAL AREA EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DISTRICT. 
          THEY WERE ESTABLISHED IN 2013 BY STATE LEGISLATION. 
          UH, THEY OVERSEE OUR 9 1 1 SERVICES AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT THIS IS IS 10 COUNTY REGIONS. 
          SO THAT INCLUDES BASTROP BLANCO, BURNETT CALDWELL, FAYETTE HAYES, LEE ANO TRAVIS IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY ARE ALL PART OF REGION 12. 
          AND CAP COG PROVIDES US WITH THE INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE SOFTWARE FOR OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEM. 
          AN OVERVIEW OF OUR POLICE STAFFING. 
          SO AS THE 24 7 MODEL, AS YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ONE LIEUTENANT, THREE ASSISTANT MANAGERS, 12 SUPERVISORS, 89 DISPATCHERS, AND 104 CALL TAKERS. 
          SO ALL OF OUR SUPERVISORS, DISPATCHERS, CALL TAKERS, ARE ALL CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES WHO WORK FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          WE DO HAVE MINIMUM STANDARD STAFFING REQUIREMENTS, AND THESE ARE BASED ON INDUSTRY ACCEPTED STAFFING FORMULAS, UH, DETERMINED BY THE NUMBER OF CALL TAKERS NEEDED TO PROCESS ALL OF OUR HISTORICAL CALLS. 
          SO WE DO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE ADEQUATE STAFFING ON HAND. 
          WE WILL ALSO SCALE UP FOR SPECIAL EVENTS LIKE AUSTIN CITY LIMITS, SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST AND THOSE TYPES OF THINGS, OR ANY KNOWN WEATHER EVENT WHERE WE MIGHT NEED ADDITIONAL CALL TAKERS ON HAND. 
          AND ADDITIONALLY, WE HAVE CROSS-TRAINED STAFF SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE COVERAGE DURING CALL SURGE. 
          SO THAT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO MAINTAIN OUR 9 1 1 OPERATIONS CENTER TO BREAK DOWN AN ANATOMY OF THE 9 1 1 CALL. 
          SO YOU SEE WHERE IT SAYS A PD TOTAL CLOCK TIME STARTS, THAT'S WHEN WE ANSWER THE 9 1 1 CALL. 
          SO IT IS A NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER, AND THE FIRST THING THEY'LL SAY IS AUSTIN 9 1 1. 
          DO YOU NEED POLICE FIRE EMS OR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES? OUR CALL TAKERS WILL ROUTE THE CALL TO THE APPROPRIATE PARTY. 
          I'LL LET EMS AND FIRE GO OVER THEIR PROCESS. 
          UH, BUT JUST SO YOU KNOW, IF THE PERSON DOES SAY EMS, OUR CALL TAKER STAYS ON THE LINE EVEN THOUGH THEY TRANSFER THE CALL OVER TO EMS SO THAT THEY CAN LISTEN IN TO HEAR ARE ANY POLICE RESPONSE NEEDED AS WELL. 
          SO THEY DO FOLLOW, FOLLOW ALONG WITH THOSE CALLS TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING ADEQUATE SERVICES TO PEOPLE WHO ARE CALLING FOR HELP. 
          UH, FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SLIDE, I'LL GO THROUGH THE A PD PROCESS AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE ON OUR SIDE OF THE HOUSE. 
          SO IF SOMEONE SAYS THEY NEED A PD, THEN FROM THAT MOMENT THE CALL TAKER NEEDS TO ESTABLISH TWO THINGS. 
          FIRST OF ALL, THEY NEED TO VERIFY THE ADDRESS. 
          WE DO GET LOCATION COORDINATES ALONG WITH THE NINE ONE ONE PHONE CALL. 
          SO WE ARE ABLE TO SEE THAT. 
          HOWEVER, WE NEED TO VERIFY IT JUST IN CASE THE PERSON IS TRAVELING FROM PLACE TO PLACE, THEY'RE ON FOOT OR THEY NEED SERVICES AT A DIFFERENT LOCATION. 
          SO WE VERIFY THAT LOCATION AND THEN WE ALSO DETERMINE THE CALL TYPE. 
          SO THIS IS IMPORTANT BECAUSE IT HELPS US DETERMINE THE PRIORITY LEVEL, THAT GREEN BOX OVER ON THE SIDE. 
          I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF WORDS ON THE SLIDE, I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. 
          UH, BUT JUST TO KIND OF BREAK IT DOWN, IT'S A HOTSHOT PRIORITY ONE, PRIORITY TWO, PRIORITY THREE, AND THEN AN INFORMATION CALL. 
          TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, IF SOMEONE SAYS THERE'S A KIDNAPPING IN PROGRESS THAT IS A HOTSHOT CALL, THAT'S A PRIORITY ZERO, WE NEED TO GET SERVICES THERE IMMEDIATELY. 
          SO THE CALL TAKER VERIFIES THE ADDRESS, DETERMINES THIS IS A KIDNAPPING IN PROGRESS, AND THEY SEND IT OVER TO OUR DISPATCHER. 
          [00:20:01]
OUR CALL TAKER BY THE PERFORMANCE METRICS HAS 30 SECONDS TO DO THAT. 
          BUT THE MOMENT THAT THEY GET THE INFORMATION THEY NEED THE LOCATION AND THE TYPE OF CALL, THEY SEND IT IMMEDIATELY. 
          SO THEY DO HAVE A CLOCK THAT STARTS ON THEIR, ON THEIR UH, SCREEN WHENEVER THEY ANSWER THE CALLS SO THEY CAN TRACK HOW MUCH TIME THEY'VE BEEN ON THE PHONE, THEY'LL REMAIN ON THE LINE WITH THEM EVEN WHEN THEY SEND THAT CALL OVER TO OUR DISPATCHER BECAUSE THEY WANT TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO THE RESPONDING UNITS KNOW WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR, DISPATCHERS, IF THEY RECEIVE THAT KIDNAPPING HOTSHOT CALL, THEY IMMEDIATELY SEND OUT THE FIRST TWO, THE CLOSEST AVAILABLE UNITS THAT WE HAVE. 
          SO THAT IS THEIR PROTOCOLS AND THEY FOLLOW THESE. 
          THESE ARE ALSO PERFORMANCE METRICS THAT OUR SUPERVISORS IN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS USE FOR EVALUATIONS FOR EMPLOYEES. 
          THEY TRACK THESE ON A REGULAR BASIS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAINTAINING OUR SERVICE, UM, FOR THE PUBLIC. 
          AND THEN OUR UNIT RESPONSE, PARDON ME. 
          SO THAT'S OUR RESPONSE TIME OF WHEN OFFICERS ARRIVE ON SCENE. 
          SO ONCE THE OFFICERS GET ON SCENE, ESSENTIALLY THAT'S OUR RESPONSE TIME. 
          SO FROM THE INCEPTION OF THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TO WHEN WE ARRIVE ON SCENE, THIS IS JUST TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF OUR CALL VOLUME BY PRIORITY SINCE JANUARY OF 2024, LESS THAN 32% OF ALL 9 1 1 CALLS WERE EMERGENCY OR URGENT CALLS. 
          SO THOSE ARE PRIORITY ZEROS, PRIORITY ONES. 
          THOSE ARE THINGS WHERE CRIMES ARE IN PROGRESS. 
          THERE'S LIFE OR PROPERTY THAT'S BEING DAMAGED OR IN DANGER, AND WE NEED TO GET A POLICE RESPONSE THERE QUICKLY. 
          BUT NEARLY HALF OF ALL NON-EMERGENCY CALLS FOR SERVICE WERE PRIORITY TWOS. 
          SO THESE ARE CALLS WHERE, SAY IT'S A DISTURBANCE OTHER AND IT'S JUST VERBAL, THERE'S NO PHYSICAL ALTERCATION HAPPENING, BUT WE DO WANT TO GET POLICE THERE QUICKLY TO DEESCALATE THE SITUATION. 
          THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A PRIORITY TO CALL. 
          SO ANYONE WHO'S LIVED IN AUSTIN IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, UH, WILL PROBABLY RECALL THAT WE HAD SOME PRETTY SIGNIFICANT CALL WAIT TIMES IN OUR NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER, ESPECIALLY IN 2022. 
          WE HAD, UH, REALLY IT WAS A CRISIS WHEN IT COMES DOWN TO OUR STAFFING AND IT WAS NEGATIVELY IMPACTING OUR ABILITY TO ANSWER 9 1 1 CALLS WITHIN A, UM, A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME. 
          WE TOOK A LOT OF STEPS TO IMPROVE THIS ISSUE AND TO REDUCE OUR VACANCIES AND IMPROVE EMPLOYEE MORALE IN OUR COMMUNICATIONS CENTER. 
          THAT INCLUDED INCREASING THE BASE PLAY, IMPLEMENTING A CAREER PROGRESSION PLAN, WHICH COUNCIL WAS SUPPORTIVE OF. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT. 
          'CAUSE THAT HAS REALLY HELPED WITH OUR RETENTION EFFORTS BECAUSE NOW PEOPLE SEE A PATH. 
          THIS IS A CAREER, IT'S NOT JUST A JOB. 
          AND THEN CROSS TRAINING WITH EMPLOYEES TO EXPAND THEIR SKILLS AND PROVIDE BETTER, UH, SHIFT COVERAGE SO THEY CAN HELP EACH OTHER OUT IN THE PROCESS. 
          OUR DISPATCHERS, THE VAST MAJORITY, IF NOT ALL OF THEM, OR NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS AT ONE POINT IN TIME, SO THEY UNDERSTAND WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE THAT CALL TAKER AND RECEIVE THAT CALL. 
          THEY KNOW THE WHOLE SYSTEM. 
          I ALSO HAVE TO REALLY GIVE KUDOS TO OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM OUT THERE. 
          THEY CHANGED THEIR APPROACH AND THEY WORKED MORE IN A TEAM ORIENTED ENVIRONMENT. 
          SO THERE WAS COLLABORATION AND EVERYONE WORKED TOGETHER AND THEY FELT INCLUDED IN THE PROCESS. 
          OUR LEADERSHIP WAS EXTREMELY VISIBLE DURING THIS TIME TO HELP BUILD THAT, THAT TRUST AND TRANSPARENCY. 
          AND SO WE HAD ORGANIZATIONAL ALIGNMENT, AND I'LL SHOW YOU THIS GRAPH HERE NEXT, WHICH REALLY KIND OF ILLUSTRATES WHAT HAPPENED DURING THAT CALL TIME, UH, FOR OUR CALL TIMES DURING OUR VACANCIES. 
          SO YOU SEE IN 2021, WE HAD SOME, THAT RED BAR RIGHT THERE IS OUR VACANCY RATE. 
          AND THEN THE BLUE BAR WAS OUR ANSWER RATE. 
          AND AT THE TOP, THAT YELLOW LINE BOUNCES UP AND DOWN A LITTLE BIT. 
          BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT THIS IS THE NATIONAL STANDARD FROM OUR NATIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBER ASSOCIATION STATES THAT 90% OF CALLS WILL BE ANSWERED OR SHOULD BE ANSWERED WITHIN THE FIRST 15 SECONDS OF A CALL. 
          SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, UH, THAT ANSWER RATE NUMBER RIGHT THERE IN 2023, IT WAS 74% OF CALLS WERE BEING ANSWERED WITHIN THE FIRST 15 SECONDS. 
          SO WE WERE BELOW THAT STANDARD, AND THEN WE DID SOME REALLY SIGNIFICANT MOVES IN GETTING OUR VACANCY RATE REDUCED. 
          WE HAD MORE EMPLOYEES, WE HAD ALL OF OUR CALL TAKERS, AND WE HAD VERY, VERY MINIMAL, UM, UH, VACANCY RATES. 
          SO AT LESS THAN THREE OR AROUND 3.8% VACANCY RATE IN 2025. 
          AND THEN YOU SEE THAT OUR CALL ANSWER RATE WENT UP TO 97% OF CALLS WERE ANSWERED WITHIN THE FIRST 15 SECONDS. 
          SO WE'VE MADE SOME SIGNIFICANT STRIDES AND WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND KEEPING OUR MORALE HIGH AND, UH, TAKING CARE OF OUR EMPLOYEES OVER THERE TO ENSURE THAT WE'RE GETTING PEOPLE THE HELP THEY NEED WHEN THEY CALL 9 1 1. 
          JUST A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF OUR CALL ROUTING PROCESS. 
          AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, WITH CAP COG, IT'S REALLY A TRANSFER PROCESS. 
          [00:25:01]
SO IF SOMEONE CALLS US AND IT'S, THE CALL NEEDS TO GO TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY INSTEAD OF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, IT'S AN EASY TRANSFER FOR US. 
          OUR DISPATCHERS DO STAY ON THE LINE TO ENSURE THAT IT'S A SOFT TRANSFER, THAT THE CALL IS PICKED UP BY WILLIAMSON COUNTY OR WHICHEVER JURISDICTION WE'RE TRANSFERRING IT TO. 
          AND THAT WAY WE HAVE A SMOOTHER TRANSITION. 
          UH, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THIS, APPROXIMATELY 570 CALLS WERE TRANSFERRED BETWEEN A PD AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY YEAR TO DATE. 
          AND AN AVERAGE TRANSFER TIME OF THREE SECONDS FROM THE TIME THAT THE CALL WAS TRANSFERRED IS INITIATED UNTIL IT'S RECEIVED. 
          SO WE DO HAVE THAT SMOOTH PROCESS BECAUSE OUR SOFTWARE IS, IS THE SAME UNDER CAP COG I IMAGINE COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          THIS SLIDE IS SOMETHING YOU'LL BE INTERESTED IN. 
          SO THIS IS OUR PRIORITY ZEROS AND ONES AND OUR RESPONSE TIMES BASED ON COUNCIL DISTRICT. 
          I JUST WANNA REMIND EVERYONE 2026, THIS DATA IS JUST FROM JANUARY UNTIL APRIL, SO IT'S NOT A FULL YEAR YET. 
          UH, BUT YOU CAN SEE THAT THOSE NUMBERS DOWN AT THE BOTTOM, THE PERCENTAGE CHANGE, WE'VE HAD A DECREASE IN OUR CALL RESPONSE TIME IN EVERY SINGLE COUNCIL DISTRICT. 
          A LOT OF THIS HAD TO DO WITH, UM, CHIEF DAVIS DOING SOME STAFFING, REALIGNMENT, HAVING APPROXIMATELY 60 OF OUR SWORN OFFICERS BROUGHT BACK TO PATROL AND ALSO IMPLEMENTING, UH, DISTRICTING WITHIN OUR SHIPS WITHIN OUR SECTORS. 
          SO SOME OF OUR SECTORS FOR ADAMS SECTOR, FOR EXAMPLE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, YOUR AREA, IT'S VERY LARGE. 
          SO WHEN WE TAKE THAT LARGE AREA AND WE BREAK IT INTO DISTRICTS AND WE HAVE OFFICERS THAT ARE ASSIGNED TO THOSE DISTRICTS, WE CAN HAVE A FASTER RESPONSE TIME BECAUSE THEY'RE CLOSER TO THE CALL. 
          UH, SO THAT HAS SIGNIFICANTLY HELPED WITH OUR RESPONSE TIMES. 
          THIS NEXT SLIDE, SO SHOWS OUR PRIORITY TWOS AND THREES, AND AS WE TALKED ABOUT, PRIORITY TWOS ARE A BIG, BIG CHUNK OF OUR CALLS THAT WE HAVE. 
          AND AGAIN, YOU SEE, PARDON ME, SOME SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN OUR CALL RESPONSE TIMES. 
          SO UP TO COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, LET'S SEE, THREE NEGATIVE 15% COUNCIL MEMBER VELASQUEZ IN YOUR, UH, DISTRICT AND NEGATIVE 20, PARDON? I DIDN'T BRING MY GLASSES. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          29% OR 26%. 
          AND COUNCIL DISTRICT FOUR, NEGATIVE 22%. 
          DISTRICT FIVE. 
          SO WE'VE HAD SOME SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN OUR CALL RESPONSE TIMES AND WE'RE ON, WE'RE STILL, WE'RE STILL MONITORING BECAUSE COUNCIL MEMBER DUCHEN, I WON'T, UH, IGNORE THAT WE DID HAVE AN INCREASE THIS YEAR COMPARED TO 2025 IN YOUR AREA. 
          HOWEVER, WE ARE IMPLEMENTING, WE ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION TO THAT TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE GETTING THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSES AND HAVE THE ADEQUATE STAFFING IN THAT JURISDICTION TO ASSIST WITH THAT AREA. 
          AND FINALLY, I'LL TOUCH ON OUR, UH, C3 PROGRAM. 
          SO THIS STARTED IN 2019 AND THIS WAS VERY UNIQUE TO A CALL CENTER. 
          SO LIKE I SAID BEFORE AUSTIN 9 1 1, DO YOU NEED POLICE, FIRE, EMS OR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES BASED ON WHAT THAT CALLER, THE INFORMATION WE GET FROM THAT CALLER WILL DEPEND ON WHERE WE ROUTE THE CALL. 
          HOWEVER, SOMETIMES WE HAVE A MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, WE HAVE THEIR, THEIR IN OUR CALL CENTER. 
          SO INTEGRAL CARE WORKS THERE 24 7 NOW. 
          SO THEY'RE THERE, THEY'RE SPECIALLY TRAINED, THEY CAN ASSIST WITH THESE CALLS, BUT IF THEY'RE ON THE LINE WITH SOMEONE AND THEY'RE UNABLE TO TAKE THE CALL, THEY HAVE ACCESS TO OUR COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM, OUR CAD, SO OUR, OUR INTEGRAL CARE PARTNERS CAN SEE THAT THERE'S A CALL IN OUR CAD HOLDING FOR A POLICE RESPONSE THAT MIGHT BE AT, MIGHT BE BEST FOR THEM TO HANDLE. 
          THEY CAN MAKE A PHONE CALL BACK TO THAT PERSON, AND IF THEY CAN RESOLVE IT OVER THE PHONE WITHOUT A POLICE RESPONSE, THAT IS WHAT THEY WILL DO. 
          SO THIS IS REALLY AN INNOVATIVE PROGRAM. 
          WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL, UH, POLICE AGENCIES REACH OUT TO US TO TALK ABOUT THIS PROGRAM. 
          IT'S BEEN CELEBRATED ALL OVER THE PLACE. 
          TORONTO, BOSTON, LOUISVILLE, UH, DES MOINES, IOWA CAME TO VISIT. 
          SO WE'VE HAD A LOT OF PLACES COME TO VISIT OUR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER TO SEE HOW THIS PROGRAM IS OPERATING FROM DECEMBER OF 2019 TILL APRIL OF 20 26 30, ROUGHLY 34,000 TOTAL CALLS WERE RECEIVED. 
          21,000 ROUGHLY WERE ELIGIBLE FOR DEFLECTION TWO RC THREE PROGRAM. 
          AND OF THOSE 18,676 CALLS MET THE CRITERIA FOR DEFLECTION, WHICH IS AN 86% DEFLECTION RATE. 
          THAT LAST BULLET THERE, 1,606 TOTAL CALLS RECEIVED WERE INITIALLY ASSIGNED TO A PD BEFORE POLICE RESPONSE WAS CANCELED. 
          THESE ARE THE CALLS THAT OUR INTEGRAL CARE PARTNERS TOOK OUT OF THE QUEUE, OUR CAD QUEUE, AND HANDLED IT OVER THE PHONE AND POLICE NEVER EVEN HAD TO RESPOND. 
          SO THE SYSTEM IS WORKING AND WE ABSOLUTELY ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR WAYS TO IMPROVE THAT AS WELL, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE 
          [00:30:01]
ARE MEETING THESE GOALS. 
          TO GIVE YOU A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE WE ARE TODAY, UH, JUST YEAR TO DATE, JANUARY TO APRIL, AROUND 1500 TOTAL CALLS RECEIVED. 
          963 WERE ELIGIBLE FOR DEFLECTION. 
          OF THOSE 872 MET THE CRITERIA FOR DEFLECTION. 
          SO THAT'S A 90% RATE OF DEFLECTION CURRENTLY. 
          SO WE'RE IMPROVING OVER LAST YEAR SO FAR, AND 139 OF THOSE TOTAL CALLS WERE CANCELED BEFORE A PD RESPONSE. 
          EVEN WHEN ON SCENE I'LL PASS OPPORTUNITIES FOR IMPROVEMENT. 
          UH, SO CONTINUED RESEARCH IDENTIFY, RECOMMEND NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR IMPROVEMENT OF SERVICES AND RESOURCE OPTIMIZATION. 
          WE REALLY WANNA SUSTAIN OUR INVESTMENT AND OUR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT THAT WE HAVE OUT THERE FOR OUR, OUR STAFF. 
          IT HELPS WITH MORALE AND, AND RETENTION ESPECIALLY, AND PROMOTING NATIONAL, UH, INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND DATA SHARING FOR CALL CENTER MANAGEMENT TO IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES. 
          AND I WILL PASS IT ON TO FIRE. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          JOEL BAKER, AUSTIN, FIRE CHIEF. 
          THE AUSTIN FIRE DISPATCH MODEL CONSISTS OF, UH, 4 24 HOURS SHIFTS, WHICH IS 24 HOURS ON SEVEN, TWO HOURS OFF, AND EACH SHIFT IS STAFFED WITH OR ASSIGNED 10 PERSONNEL. 
          TWO, FIRE LIEUTENANT, TWO FIRE SPECIALISTS ASSIST FIREFIGHTER. 
          THE DIVISION ALSO HAVE A SUPPORT STAFF OF NINE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL, WHICH INCLUDE THE BATTALION CHIEF CAPTAIN, LIEUTENANT, AND THIS SUPPORT STAFF SUPPORT AND PROVIDE QUALITY INSURANCE, LEADERSHIP, TECHNICAL AND ADMINISTRATION SUPPORT WITH A TOTAL OF 49, UH, FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES ASSIGNED TO AUSTIN. 
          FIVE. 
          DISPATCH. 
          THE STAFF VERSUS DEMANDS. 
          WE HAVE A MEMO OF TWO SUPERVISORS AND FIVE DISPATCHERS ON EVERY SHIFT. 
          MEMBER OF STAFFING. 
          UH, THE SWORN FIREFIGHTERS THAT WORK THERE HAVE A MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE OF FOUR YEARS IN FIRE OPERATION, UH, DURING THE INCREASE OF CALL VOLUME OF INCIDENT. 
          THE SUPPORT STAFF THAT I MENTIONED EARLIER WILL SUPPORT THE DISPATCH CENTERS, UH, CALL TAKERS AND DISPATCH PERSONNEL WHEN WE HAVE INCREASED CALL VOLUMES. 
          THE GOALS OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IS TO, UH, ANSWER 95% OF ALL CALLS WITHIN 10 SECONDS DURING LARGE SCALES INCIDENT. 
          THE UH, STAFF WILL ALSO ASSIST WITH, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, WITH DISPATCHING OUR CALL TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE ADEQUATE COVERAGE. 
          ONCE AGAIN, THE GOALS IS TO ANSWER ALL CALLS WITHIN 95, 90 5% OF ALL CALLS WITHIN 10 SECONDS. 
          HOWEVER, THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBERS ASSOCIATION OR ANY NA, UH, HAS THE STANDARDS OF 90% OF ALL CALLS WILL BE ANSWERED WITHIN 15 SECONDS. 
          AND FOR THE MOST PART, AUSTIN FIRE IS EITHER MEETING OR EXCEED THOSE GOALS EXCEPT IN CANADA YEAR CALENDAR YEAR, UH, FISCAL YEAR, THAT IS 2021 AND 2022, AND THAT WAS DUE TO COLD WEATHER RELATED EVENTS. 
          THE INCOMING VERSUS TOTAL NUMBER OF CALLS, YOU LOOK AT THE BLUE UH, BAR GRAPH THERE, IT REPRESENT TOTAL CALLS RECEIVED BY AUSTIN FIRE. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, FISCAL YEAR 2025. 
          WE RECEIVE ALMOST 94,000 CALLS, BUT THE YELLOW LINE IS THE TOTAL CALL, WHICH INCLUDES CALLS FROM AUSTIN FIRE DEPARTMENT TO OTHER AGENCIES. 
          THOSE OTHER AGENCIES CAN BE EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICT, KNOWN AS KNOWN AS, UH, ESDS, UH, CALL BACK TO THE RESIDENTS, LAW ENFORCEMENT AND OTHER SUPPORT GROUPS TOO. 
          SO WE CAN ATTAIN ADDITIONAL INFORMATION. 
          THE ANATOMY OF OUR 9 1 1 CALLS. 
          AS YOU SEE HERE, UH, THE CALLS COME INTO THE P EP OR THE PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT, OR A PD AND THEN A PD DETERMINES THE POLICE FIRE OR EMS. AND ONCE IT'S DETERMINED, THAT'S A FIRE CALL. 
          OUR CALL TAKERS WILL RECEIVE THE CALL AND DISPATCH THAT CALL. 
          ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL FIRE PROTECTION ASSOCIATION OR NFPA, THE GOAL IS TO HAVE THE CALLS COME IN AND DISPATCH TO THE, UM, FIRE UNIT WITHIN 64 SECONDS, 90% OF THE TIME, OR A HUNDRED, 106 SECOND 95% OF THE TIME. 
          AND ONCE WE RECEIVE A CALL AND DISPATCH TO THE UNIT, WE GO INTO THE UNIT BEING ALERTED, AND THEN THE TURNOUT TIME, LEAVING THE FIRE STATION, GETTING ON THE APPARATUS, LEAVING THE FIRE STATION WITHIN 82ND AND A TOTAL TRAVEL TIME FROM THE POINT OF LEAVING THE FIRE STATION TO THE INCIDENT ITSELF, THE FIRST UNIT WITHIN FOUR MINUTES, AND THE SECOND UNIT OF THE SECOND, THIRD, AND FOURTH. 
          HOW MANY OTHER UNITS WE SENT IN WITHIN EIGHT MINUTES, 
          [00:35:04]
THE TOTAL 9 1 1 THAT AUSTIN FIRE. 
          TOTAL RESPONSE TIME. 
          UM, I HAVE SEVERAL FACTORS TO LOOK AT, BUT I'M GOING TO GO TO FISCAL YEAR 2025 FOR THE CALL PROCESSING. 
          WE HAVE ABOUT THREE MINUTES AND 16 SECONDS. 
          TURNOUT TIME WAS ONE MINUTE AND 43 SECONDS. 
          THE TOTAL TRAVEL TIME WAS SIX MINUTES AND 59 SECONDS. 
          FOR THE TOTAL RESPONSE TIME FOR THE MINUTE WE RECEIVED THE CALLS TO THE FIREFIGHTERS. 
          GET ON THE SCENE. 
          IT'S APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES AND 25 SECONDS. 
          DISPATCHING, UH, TRAVIS COUNTY FIRE, UH, E ESDS. 
          WE ESTABLISHED AN AUTOMATIC AID AGREEMENT WITH TRAVIS COUNTY IN 2013 WITH TOTAL 12, UH, EMERGENCY SERVICE DISTRICT FOR ALMOST 45,000 CALLS. 
          WE CONTINUED WITH THE AUTOMATIC AID DISPATCH AGREEMENT WITH WILLIAMSON COUNTY. 
          UH, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CHART HERE, WE, YOU CAN SEE THAT AUSTIN FIRE OR ESD AID THAT SENT TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY WAS APPROXIMATELY 450 CALLS OR 50 INCIDENTS. 
          HOWEVER, CALLS COMING IN FROM THE OTHER ESDS OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY INTO AUSTIN WAS APPROXIMATELY, UH, 965 INCIDENTS. 
          THE TENANT HERE HELP US DISPATCH THE CLOSELY UNIT REGARDLESS OF WHAT JURISDICTION IN, FOR EXAMPLE, IF A CALL COME INTO THE NORTH SIDE OF THE CITY OR COMING TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WILLIAMSON COUNTY OR OUR AUTOMATIC AID PARTNER WITH SEND THE CLOSEST UNIT, THE UNIT MAY, THE INCIDENT MAY BE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, BUT IF WILLIAMSON COUNTY CAN GET THERE BEFORE WE CAN GET THERE, THEN THEY WOULD SEND THE CLOSEST UNIT AND VICE VERSA. 
          THERE ARE OPPORTUNITY TO IMPROVEMENT. 
          ONE OF 'EM ARE TO INCREASE OUR, UH, PARTICIPATION WITH AUTOMATIC AID, FOR EXAMPLE, ESG 12, WHICH IS MAINOR AND ESD, FLUKE TWO, WHICH IS PFLUGERVILLE, TO GET THEM TO COME INTO THE AUTOMATIC AID AGREEMENT AND ALSO TO, UH, LOOK AT AGREEMENTS WITH BASTROP, BURNETT AND HAYES COUNTY TO SEE WHAT OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE THERE. 
          MORNING, MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR, UH, GIVING US THE OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK TO YOU TODAY AND HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE GREAT WORK AND IMPROVEMENTS WE'VE BEEN MAKING, UH, IN OUR COMMUNICATION CENTERS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. 
          AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, EMS. UH, OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER ANSWERS OVER 200 OR HANDLES OVER 200,000 INBOUND AND OUTBOUND CALLS, AND OVER 150,000 DIRECT 9 1 1 CALLS. 
          UM, IT TRULY SERVES AS THE BRAIN OF OUR OPERATION. 
          UM, EVERYTHING RELATED TO THE EMS OPERATION IS COORDINATED THROUGH OUR COMMUNICATIONS CENTER, UH, MAINTAINING A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED STANDARD, UH, CONTINUOUS MONITORING OF ALL OF OUR UNITS, ACCESS TO SPECIALIZED MENTAL HEALTH AND OUR, UH, OTHER SPECIALTY AND COMMUNITY HEALTH RESOURCES, UH, FACILITATION OF COORDINATION WITH HOSPITALS AND PHYSICIANS, UH, LARGE SCALE INCIDENTS, AS WELL AS REGIONAL COORDINATION WITH WITHOUT OTHER COUNTIES WHEN IT COMES TO MASS CASUALTIES AND LARGE INCIDENTS. 
          UH, IMMEDIATE LIFE, UH, SAVING INSTRUCTIONS AS WELL AS A HANDOFF TO THE COMMUNITY CARE, OR, I'M SORRY, THE COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE THAT YOU ARE ALL VERY FAMILIAR WITH. 
          UH, ALL TOTAL. 
          WE HAVE ABOUT 80 SWORN STAFF IN OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER, UM, BOTH, UH, SWORN COMMUNICATION STAFF, AS WELL AS, UM, THE CO-LOCATED, UH, COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE. 
          ONE THING TO HIGHLIGHT FOR US HERE AT AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, IS THAT WE ARE NOT JUST A CITY SERVICE, WE ARE A COUNTYWIDE SERVICE. 
          AND SO, UH, WE, IN ADDITION TO PROVIDING SERVICES AND ANSWERING TO, UH, 9 1 1 CALLS FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE ALSO RECEIVE 9 1 1 CALLS FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE, LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES LIKE LAKEWAY AND PFLUGERVILLE, AS WELL AS THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS. 
          IN ADDITION, THROUGH OUR INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT WITH TRAVIS COUNTY, WE HANDLE ALL INCOMING REQUESTS FOR TRAVIS COUNTY STAR FLIGHT, BOTH FROM TRAVIS COUNTY RESIDENTS AS WELL AS FROM NEIGHBORING COUNTIES AND THEIR EMS SERVICES, AS WELL AS, UH, LOCAL HOSPITALS AND, UH, I SHOULD SAY, UH, DISTANT HOSPITALS THAT ARE LOOKING FOR TRANSFERS OF CRITICAL PATIENTS BACK INTO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND ELSEWHERE. 
          UH, IN ADDITION TO DISPATCHING AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, WE SERVE THE OTHER EMS AGENCIES HERE WITHIN TRAVIS COUNTY, INCLUDES TRAVIS COUNTY STAR FLIGHT, UM, AND A NUMBER OF, UH, SMALLER ESDS THAT HAVE SOME ADDITIONAL AMBULANCES THAT SUPPLEMENT AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS, UH, TAKING A LOOK AT HOW OUR 9 1 1 CALLS EVOLVE. 
          UH, AS YOU CAN SEE HERE, WE CAN SEE THE INCOMING CALLS FROM THE COMING IN FROM THE VARIOUS, UH, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENTS AND PEACE APPS, UH, WHICH ARE THEN TRANSFERRED TO OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER, ANSWERED BY A, UH, TRAINED, UH, EMS MEDIC COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UM, THEY DO THE TRIAGING, WHICH I'LL GET INTO IN JUST A MINUTE HERE, AND THEN TRANSFER THAT CALL EITHER TO, OR THEY MOVE THE CALL OVER IN THE DISPATCH QUEUE, EITHER TO A COMMUNICATIONS, UH, A CLINICAL SPECIALIST COMMUNICATIONS WHO WILL DO THE DISPATCHING OR THEY TRANSFER IT OVER TO THE COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE. 
          . 
          ONE THING TO HIGHLIGHT ABOUT AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY EMS COMMUNICATIONS IS THAT WE ARE AN INTERNATIONALLY ACCREDITED COMMUNICATIONS CENTER. 
          UH, WE'RE ACCREDITED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF EMERGENCY DISPATCH. 
          WE ARE THE ONLY ACCREDITED DISPATCH CENTER HERE IN, 
          [00:40:01]
UH, IN AUSTIN. 
          UM, WHEN ACCREDITED BACK IN 2000, WE WERE THE 39TH ACCREDITED MEDICAL COMMUNICATION CENTER IN THE WORLD, NOW MORE THAN 350 WORLDWIDE, AND IT HAS TRULY BECOME THE GOLD STANDARD FOR EMS COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UH, ONE OF THOSE REQUIREMENTS IS WE DO HAVE TO HAVE CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCHERS, UM, AND THEY, THEY, UH, MAINTAIN THE, THE PROTOCOLS THAT THEY GO THROUGH ARE ORIGINALLY DEFINED BY THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY, UH, TO ENSURE APPROPRIATE SCREENING. 
          ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF BEING AN ACCREDITED DISPATCH CENTER IS WHAT WE CALL THE ZERO MINUTE RESPONSE TIME. 
          SO IN OUR COMMUNICATION CENTER, OUR STAFF ARE BOTH CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICAL DISPATCHERS, BUT ALSO CERTIFIED EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS. 
          UH, THEY'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL INSTRUCTIONS AND LIFE-SAVING MEDICAL CARE OVER THE TELEPHONE. 
          UH, AS SOON AS THEY IDENTIFY THAT THERE IS A LIFE-THREATENING ILLNESS, AND IT'S PROVIDED BY CERTIFIED MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, UH, BEGINS AGAIN WITHIN SECONDS OF RECEIVING THAT CALL AND CONTINUES AFTER THE DISPATCH OF THE AMBULANCE. 
          SO ONE OF THE MISNOMERS THAT WE HEAR SOMETIMES IS THE WE'LL HEAR FROM CALLERS. 
          THEY SAY THAT THE, THEY CONTINUE TO ASK LOTS AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS, BUT THAT DOESN'T MEAN THE AMBULANCE ISN'T EN ROUTE. 
          AS SOON AS WE IDENTIFY A LIFE-THREATENING CALL, THAT AMBULANCE IS DISPATCHED AND THE CALL TAKER STAYS ONLINE WITH THE INDIVIDUAL TO TRY TO GIVE THEM INSTRUCTIONS TO PROVIDE THAT CARE. 
          IN 2025, WE WERE NEARLY 35,000 CALLS, RECEIVED THOSE LIFESAVING INSTRUCTIONS, INCLUDING 614 TIMES THAT WE INSTRUCTED SOMEONE ON HOW TO DO CPR 57 TIMES THAT WE INSTRUCTED SOMEONE ON HOW TO DO THE HEIM MANEUVER FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS JOKING AND SIX TIMES THAT WE INSTRUCTED SOMEONE ON HOW TO DELIVER A BABY. 
          UH, I WAS VERY HONORED, YES, UH, LAST WEEK TO ATTEND THE 100 CLUB OF CENTRAL TEXAS' ANNUAL, UH, AWARD CEREMONY. 
          AND ONE OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS MEDICS, UH, CHRISTINA PENA, RECEIVED THE OUTSTANDING 2025 OUTSTANDING COMMUNICATOR OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM THE 100 CLUB. 
          AND WHAT TRANSPIRED IN THAT INCIDENT WAS SHE RECEIVED A NINE ONE ONE CALL FROM A LOCAL HEB, UH, FOR SOMEONE THAT WAS DELIVERING A BABY. 
          AND IN THE PROCESS OF PROVIDING INSTRUCTIONS TO THE, UH, STORE MANAGER ON HOW TO DELIVER THAT BABY, UH, AFTER THE BABY WAS DELIVERED, THEY DISCOVERED THAT THAT BABY HAD THE CORD WRAPPED AROUND THE NECK OF THAT BABY. 
          AND SO USING HER PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, USING HER, UH, TRAINING, SHE WAS ABLE TO INSTRUCT THE COLLAR ON HOW TO REMOVE THE CORD FROM THE BABY'S NECK TO ENSURE THAT IT WAS A, IT WAS A EFFECTIVE DELIVERY. 
          UH, AND SO WE'RE VERY PROUD OF HER AND WE'RE VERY PROUD OF OUR MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS BREAKDOWN OF AN EMS RESPONSE. 
          YOU CAN SEE WE TALK ABOUT RESPONSE TIME OVERALL, UM, BUT RESPONSE TIME HAS SEVERAL COMPONENTS TO IT, THE TWO MAIN ONES BEING CALL PROCESSING AND FIELD RESPONSE. 
          AND INSIDE EACH OF THOSE AREAS, WE HAVE ADDITIONAL AREAS. 
          SO THE CALL PROCESSING TAKES THREE PARTS. 
          IT TAKES THE ADDRESSING PERIOD, WHICH IS WHERE WE TRY TO IDENTIFY, UH, WHERE THE CALLER'S CALLING FROM, WHAT EXACTLY IS HAPPENING. 
          THAT'S THE PROCESS WHERE THEY TRY TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT, WHAT IS THE OVERALL GOING ON IN THAT CALL, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN THE TRIAGE PROCESS. 
          THE TRIAGE PROCESS THEN BEGINS, AND AS THEY GO THROUGH THAT TRIAGE PROCESS, IF THEY, AGAIN, IF THEY IDENTIFY A CRITICAL CALL, THEY WILL THEN ELECTRONICALLY SEND THAT CALL TO THE DISPATCHER TO DISPATCH IT. 
          UH, AS THEY CONTINUE TO ASK QUESTIONS, THAT DISPATCHER THEN DISPATCHES AN APPROPRIATE EMS RESOURCE. 
          ONCE THE UNIT IS DISPATCHED, UH, WE HAVE WHAT WE CALL SHOOT TIME, WHICH IS THE TIME FROM THE, WHEN THE UNIT RECEIVES THAT CALL UNTIL THEY ARE IN ROUTE TO THAT CALL. 
          UH, THEN THERE'S THE TIME DRIVING TO THE SCENE OF THE EMERGENCY. 
          AND THEN FOLLOWING THAT, THERE'S THE TIME THAT IT TAKES FOR THEM TO MAKE PATIENT CONTACT. 
          AND DURING ALL OF THOSE PERIODS OF TIME, IF IT'S A CRITICAL CALL, WE STAY ON THE LINE WITH THE CALLER AND PROVIDE THEM WITH THE PRE-ARRIVAL INSTRUCTIONS. 
          WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN EMS OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS IS A REAL PARADIGM SHIFT, A RECOGNITION THAT LESS THAN 10% OF ALL CALLS ARE EMERGENT AND CARDIAC, CARDIAC ARREST REPRESENT LESS THAN 1% OF ALL CALLS. 
          AND SO WHAT WE WANNA DO IS WE WANNA DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT ALLOWS US TO REALLY EMPHASIZE THOSE HIGH ACUITY CALLS, THOSE EMERGENT CALLS, UM, AND AREN'T, UH, SHROUDED BY THE VOLUME OF NON-EMERGENCY CALLS THAT WE SEE COMING INTO OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEM. 
          AND WITH THAT ACROSS THE NATION, ALL OF THE VARIOUS, UH, NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO RETHINK HOW IT IS THAT WE DO AND HOW WE PROVIDE EMS SERVICES AND HOW WE STRUCTURE OUR DEPLOYMENT MODELS. 
          AND WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS A SNAPSHOT FROM THE COVER OF A RECENTLY PUBLISHED IN 2025, UH, WHITE PAPER, UH, THAT WAS, UH, CO-PUBLISHED BY THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMTS, THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF EMS PHYSICIANS, THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FIREFIGHTERS AND FIRE CHIEFS, AS WELL AS THE INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF EMERGENCY DISPATCH, CALLED RETHINKING EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, APPLYING EVIDENCE AND DATA TO REDESIGN RESPONSE MODELS FOR RESILIENT AND SUSTAINABLE FUTURE. 
          RECOGNIZING THAT THE REASONS THAT FOLKS CALL 9 1 1 HAS SHIFTED SIGNIFICANTLY OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES, AND WE HAVE TO DEVELOP NEW DEPLOYMENT MODELS THAT ARE REFLECTIVE OF THAT. 
          SOME OF THE THINGS HERE I'LL HIGHLIGHT, UH, THESE ARE SPECIFIC THINGS THAT I'VE PULLED OUT OF SOME OF THOSE REPORTS. 
          UH, THEY WERE RECOMMENDED AS NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES. 
          SO ACCREDITED DISPATCH, TRIAGE, THE USE OF TELEMEDICINE, SECONDARY TRIAGE, THE USE OF EMS PERSONNEL OUTSIDE OF AN AMBULANCE, THE REDUCTION IN USE OF LIGHTS AND SIRENS, AND THE USE OF BASIC LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCES. 
          THESE ARE ALL RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE'VE IMPLEMENTED HERE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          SOME OF THOSE YOU'RE VERY FAMILIAR WITH, ONE OF WHICH IS THE COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE. 
          I 
          [00:45:01]
WON'T GO TO EXACTLY HOW THAT WORKS, UH, SO I THINK YOU ALL ARE AWARE OF IT, BUT BASICALLY THIS IS A TELEPHONE, UH, UH, OPPORTUNITY FOR US WHEN WE IDENTIFY, UH, LOW ACUITY CALLS THAT MAY NOT, OR DO NOT NEED THE RESPONSE OF AN AMBULANCE, THAT WE CAN SHIFT THEM TO TRAIN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, SOME ACTUAL FIELD CLINICAL SPECIALISTS IN, UH, LOCATED IN CTECH THAT ARE ABLE TO IDENTIFY ALTERNATIVE THINGS OTHER THAN AN AMBULANCE THAT CAN BE SENT. 
          UH, WE'VE PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS PROGRAM OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS. 
          UM, AND AS A FISCAL YEAR 2025, WE WERE TAKING 28,000 CALLS PER YEAR AND SENDING IT TO THE COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE. 
          UH, OF THOSE, WE DID STILL HAVE TO SEND TO 10,000 OF THOSE TO AN AMBULANCE. 
          UM, MOST OFTEN A BASIC LIFE SUPPORT, UH, AMBULANCE OR SOMETHING EQUIVALENT. 
          BUT, UM, BUT 11,000 OF THOSE WERE ABLE TO RESOLVE WITHOUT AN AMBULANCE. 
          UM, AND JUST TO GIVE YOU A SENSE, ON AVERAGE, THE AMBULANCES IN AUSTIN EACH RESPOND TO ABOUT 3000 CALLS PER YEAR. 
          UH, SO THAT REPRESENTS MORE THAN THREE AMBULANCES THAT, THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO, UM, WITH OF CALLS THAT WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, FIGURE OUT HOW TO HANDLE BETTER. 
          AND SO IT'S ABOUT 20% OF OUR TOTAL 9 1 1 VOLUME. 
          OOPS. 
          ONE THING THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN FISCAL YEAR 2026 IS ONE OF OUR BIG INITIATIVES IS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF WHAT WE CALL A SYSTEM CONTROLLER. 
          AND A SYSTEM CONTROLLER IS DESIGNED TO BE ABLE TO MONITOR THE SYSTEM IN REAL TIME AND IDENTIFY WHEN THERE IS LOW AVAILABILITY OF AMBULANCES, AND THEN TAKE THOSE AREAS WHERE YOU HAVE LESS AMBULANCES AVAILABLE AND RESTRICT THOSE AMBULANCES FOR THOSE HIGH PRIORITY CALLS SO THAT WHEN THOSE LOW PRIORITY CALLS ARE COMING IN, WE'RE NOT STRIPPING ENTIRE SECTIONS OF OUR CITY SO THAT WHERE THERE'S NO AMBULANCES AVAILABLE FOR THOSE HIGH PRIORITY CALLS. 
          SO AS THEY'RE DOING THAT, THEY'RE ACTIVELY MANAGING THE WORKLOAD, THEY'RE MAKING SURE, UH, THAT THE UTILIZATION OF EMS RESOURCES REFLECTS, UH, THE COMMUNITY IN A WAY THAT ENSURES THAT THERE'S MAXIMUM AVAILABILITY FOR HIGH PRIORITY CALLS. 
          WHILE I KNOW THAT GRAPHIC IS A LITTLE BIT MUCH THERE, I THINK THIS ONE ON THIS NEXT SLIDE REALLY HIGHLIGHTS IT BEST. 
          UH, WHAT YOU CAN SEE HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF A AMBULANCE AVAILABILITY FROM SOME TIME IN THE PAST. 
          AND WHAT YOU SEE WITH THOSE RED DOTS IS AMBULANCES THAT ARE ON CALLS OR AT HOSPITAL OR SOMEWHERE ELSE, AND THE BLUE BLUE DOTS REPRESENT AMBULANCES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. 
          AND IN THIS SNAPSHOT, YOU CAN SEE THAT MANY OF THOSE CALLS, OR I'LL TELL YOU, MANY OF THOSE CALLS ARE LOW PRIORITY CALLS. 
          AND SO YOU SEE A SECTION OF THE COMMUNITY, A SECTION OF THE CITY THAT BECAUSE OF HIGH CALL VOLUME, NOW, IF AN HIGH PRIORITY CALL WERE TO COME IN, THAT AN AMBULANCE WOULD BE COMING FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE IN THE CITY. 
          AND SO WE'VE DESIGNED THE SYSTEM WITH THE SYSTEM CONTROLLER TO LOOK AT, LOOK AT THE SYSTEM, AND TRY TO PREVENT A SNAPSHOT LIKE YOU SEE HERE, AND IDENTIFY THAT WHEN LOWER AVAILABILITY OF AMBULANCES OCCUR, THAT THEY'RE RESERVING THOSE AMBULANCES FOR THOSE HIGH PRIORITY CALLS AND POTENTIALLY DISPATCHING THOSE LOW PRIORITY CALLS FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE COMMUNITY. 
          MY COLLEAGUES HAVE ALREADY SPOKEN A LITTLE BIT ABOUT AUTO AID AND, AND HOW IT IS THAT WE INTEGRATE WITH WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WHICH I KNOW IS SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE'RE EAGER TO DISCUSS. 
          UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU'LL SEE COMING BEFORE THE COUNCIL VERY SHORTLY IS THE AUTO AID AGREEMENT BETWEEN OURSELVES AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND SOME OF THE OTHER ENTITIES. 
          IT'S A COMBINATION OF BOTH AN AGREEMENT TO RESPOND TOGETHER, BUT ALSO A FULL CAD INTEGRATION BETWEEN OURSELVES AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY AND, UH, THE OTHER CAD SYSTEMS. UM, AS CHIEF BAKER MENTIONED, THE TELUS PROJECT, THIS IS PHASE TWO OF THE TELUS PROJECT, WHICH IS TO TAKE WHAT THEY'VE DONE AT THE FIRE SERVICE, BRING IT OVER TO THE EMS SIDE SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE CLOSEST AMBULANCES ARE RESPONDING TO THOSE CALLS. 
          UM, ALSO WANNA HIGHLIGHT, UH, AND MENTION FROM A RESPONSE TIME PERSPECTIVE, UH, THE EMERGENCY VEHICLE TRAFFIC PREEMPTION PROGRAM. 
          AND SO THAT WAS RECENTLY IMPLEMENTED. 
          UH, IT, I BELIEVE THAT IT WAS, UH, PRESENTED TO THE COUNCIL HERE EARLIER THIS YEAR THAT ALLOWS, UH, AMBULANCES AND FIRE SERVICE AT THIS, AT THIS POINT TO BE ABLE TO GET TRAFFIC PRIORITY AT TRAFFIC LIGHTS. 
          AND SO AS THEY'RE RESPONDING TO EMERGENCIES, AS WE KNOW ALL THE TRAFFIC HERE IN AUSTIN, UH, WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, THOSE TRAFFIC LIGHTS WILL CHANGE FROM RED TO GREEN WHEN IT RECOGNIZES THAT AN AMBULANCE OR A FIRE TRUCK IS ARRIVING. 
          NOW, OVERALL, ULTIMATELY OUR GOAL HERE IS TO REDUCE RESPONSE TIMES. 
          AND SO WE TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT OUR, OUR CARDIAC ARREST, OUR ECHO LEVEL DETERMINANT RESPONSE TIMES HAVE BEEN HERE. 
          AND WHAT YOU CAN SEE IS THAT SINCE CALENDAR YEAR 2021 AND CALENDAR YEAR 2026, ALTHOUGH WE DID SEE AN INCREASE OVER 22, 23 AND 24, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SUCCESSFULLY BRING THE, THAT, THOSE RESPONSE TIMES BACK DOWN, UH, THROUGH EFFECTIVE TRIAGE. 
          AND BY PULLING OFF SOME OF THOSE LOWER ACUITY CALLS, AS WELL AS REALLY FOCUSING IN ON HOW IT IS THAT WE DEPLOY TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE AMBULANCES REMAIN AVAILABLE, YOU CAN SEE THAT OVERALL THE FIELD RESPONSE, WHICH IS THAT ACTUAL DRIVE TIME FROM THE TIME OF DISPATCH TO THE TIME ARRIVAL HAS DECREASED AS A RESULT OF US TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE AMBULANCES STAY IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS FOR THOSE HIGH ACUITY CALLS AND REMAIN AVAILABLE. 
          I'LL HIGHLIGHT TO YOU ALL THAT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A HUGE PART OF WHAT WE'VE BEEN EMPHASIZING HERE IN EMS. UM, TWO OF OUR CORE INITIATIVES IN OUR 2026 AND 2028 CITY MANAGERS WORK PLAN ARE FOCUSED IN ON HOW IT IS THAT WE RESPOND TO EMERGENCIES AND EMS COMMUNICATIONS. 
          AND THESE ARE THE TWO THAT WE HAVE HERE. 
          ONE IS UPDATING OUR RESPONSE AND DISPATCH STRATEGY, AND THE SECOND IS OUR PRIORITY RESPONSE INITIATIVES. 
          TWO REALLY CRITICAL THINGS THAT REALLY EMPHASIZE THE TWO AREAS THAT ARE SO IMPORTANT FOR US. 
          ONE BEING HOW DO WE HANDLE THOSE LOW ACUITY CALLS? AND 
          [00:50:01]
THE SECOND BEING, HOW DO WE BETTER HANDLE THOSE HIGH ACUITY CALLS FROM A RESPONSE AND DISPATCH STRATEGY? YOU CAN SEE UP HERE, I'VE SHOWN THIS SLIDE BEFORE, UH, OUR LITTLE, UH, YELLOW, UH, POCKET KNIFE HERE, SWISS ARMY KNIFE THAT MATCHES THE COLOR OF OUR AMBULANCES, UH, THAT REFLECTS THE DIFFERENT A AREAS AND THE DIFFERENT WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT HOW IT IS THAT WE RESPOND TO THESE CALLS. 
          AND SO OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS AND, AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST LEADING UP TO THIS, IS REALLY LOOKING AT HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN UPDATE OUR DEPLOYMENT PLANS, UPDATE OUR SOFTWARE TO BETTER REFLECT THE FACT THAT WE HAVE A LOT MORE THAN JUST AMBULANCES AVAILABLE TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          WE ALSO WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THIS CONTROLLER POSITION, AND THAT WE'RE MAXIMIZING THE AVAILABILITY FOR HIGH ACUITY CALLS WHILE ALSO FINDING ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE STRATEGIES FOR LOW ACUITY CALLS. 
          WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF BASIC LIFE SUPPORT AMBULANCES, UM, THAT ALLOWS US TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE, THOSE AMBULANCES WITH PARAMEDICS REMAIN AVAILABLE FOR THOSE HIGH ACUITY CALLS. 
          UH, WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD WITH UPDATING OUR EMS ORDINANCE, WHICH I PRESENTED TO YOU ALL LAST TIME. 
          UH, WE WERE HERE TO ALLOW US TO LOOK AT HOW IT IS THAT WE RESPOND TO, UH, SKILLED NURSING FACILITIES AND OTHER HIGH UTILIZERS. 
          UH, WE'RE GONNA CONTINUE TO EXPLORE OTHER ALTERNATIVE RESOURCES. 
          AND FINALLY, REALLY KIND OF SPENDING A LOT OF TIME NOW LOOKING AT PREDICTIVE MODELING. 
          UM, IT'S SOMETHING THAT I'VE HAD SOME EXPERIENCE PREVIOUSLY IN MY CAREER AROUND, WHICH IS I RECOGNIZING THAT THE DATA AROUND EMS AND THE CALL VOLUME THAT HAPPENS IN EMSS ACTUALLY SOMEWHAT PREDICTABLE WHEN YOU LOOK AT HUMAN BEHAVIOR. 
          AND YOU CAN, YOU CAN APPLY THAT HUMAN BEHAVIOR, HUMAN BEHAVIOR MODELING TO IDENTIFY WHERE IT IS THAT WE MAY SEE CALLS AND WHEN, WHEN IT IS THAT WE MAY SAY CALLS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR AMBULANCES ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE. 
          SECONDARILY, WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR PRIORITY RESPONSE INITIATIVES. 
          AND SO FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE, LOOKING AT HOW WE BETTER HANDLE THOSE HIGHER ACUITY CALLS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE EXPANDING THE, OUR ABILITY TO AUDIT ALL OF THOSE HIGH ACUITY CALLS, BOTH FROM A CALL PROCESSING AS WELL AS A RESPONSE TIME PERSPECTIVE. 
          WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE IDENTIFYING ROOT CAUSES OF WHY IT IS THAT WE MAY HAVE AN EXTENDED RESPONSE AND THEN IDENT, AND THEN ADDRESS THOSE INDIVIDUALLY WITH THE INDIVIDUAL INCIDENT THAT MAY OCCURRED, AS WELL AS IDENTIFY ANY SYSTEM ISSUES AND ADDRESS THEM IN AGGREGATE. 
          UH, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IDENTIFYING ANY ERRONEOUS DATA THAT WE MAY SEE, UM, AND CORRECTING IT IN A WAY THAT IS, UH, THAT IS AUDITABLE SO THAT WE CAN BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC CONTINUING OUR WORK ON THIS AUTOMATED AGREEMENT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOR THOSE HIGH PRIORITY CALLS ON THE WILLIAMSON COUNTY BORDER, THAT WE'RE ABLE TO BRING IN OTHER RESOURCES AS NECESSARY WHEN THEY'RE CLOSER, UH, LOOKING AT THE HOTSPOTS AND THE HIGH UTILIZER WE HAVE WITHIN OUR, OUR EMS SYSTEM AND, AND, UM, ADDRESSING THOSE APPROPRIATELY. 
          AND THEN FINALLY, TYING BACK TO WHAT I MENTIONED EARLIER WITH THE ZERO MINUTE RESPONSE TIME CONTINUING OUR, OUR COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND TRAINING, EXCUSE ME, UH, AROUND HOW IT IS THAT WE CAN PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY SO THAT THEY CAN BEGIN LIFESAVING CARE, UM, BEFORE WE EVEN ARRIVE. 
          AND THAT'S THINGS LIKE CPR TRAINING, STOP THE BLEED TRAINING, BREATHE NOW TRAINING AND NARCAN TRAINING. 
          UH, AND THAT, AND REALLY I THINK WHAT WE SAW BACK IN MARCH AT, UH, DOWNTOWN EMPHASIZE THE NEED FOR US TO EXPAND THE PROGRAMS THAT WE ALREADY HAVE WHERE WE DO OUTREACH IN THE ENTERTAINMENT DISTRICT TO PROVIDE STOP THE BLEED KITS AND OTHER THINGS. 
          I HAVE SOME CITATIONS HERE FOR YOU IF YOU'D LIKE THEM. 
          UH, WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO AUSTIN LABOR RELATIONS. 
          GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS. 
          UH, MY NAME IS ROXY STEVENS. 
          I'M THE CHIEF LABOR RELATIONS OFFICER FOR AUSTIN LABOR RELATIONS. 
          AND ALL I'M GONNA DO TODAY ON MY PART OF THE PRESENTATION IS JUST BRIEFLY GO OVER THE STATUTORY FRAMEWORK AND THE RELEVANT, UH, CONTRACTS THAT APPLY TO THE DISCUSSIONS THAT WE'RE HAVING TODAY. 
          SO UNDER TEXAS LAW, UM, THERE ARE SEVERAL STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS FOR EACH OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS. 
          UH, TEXAS LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE CHAPTER 1 43 DEFINES WHAT POSITIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENTS MUST BE FILLED BY SWORN PERSONNEL. 
          UM, SECTION 1 43 0.003, WHICH HAS DEFINITIONS DEFINES WHAT A FIREFIGHTER AND A POLICE OFFICER ARE UNDER CIVIL SERVICE LAWS. 
          AND THEN LATER IN THAT CHAPTER, UH, SECTION 1 43 0.4010 APPLIES TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND DEFINES EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL UNDER CIVIL SERVICE LAWS. 
          AUSTIN IS UNIQUE IN THAT WE HAVE OUR OWN INDEPENDENT, UH, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT SEPARATE AND APART FROM THE FIRE DEPARTMENT. 
          SO THAT'S WHY THAT SUB CHAPTER K UNDER 1 43 APPLIES. 
          I'LL GO A LITTLE BIT INTO OUTLINING, UH, UNDER THE DEFINITIONS, WHAT, WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE UNDER, UM, OR WHAT POSITIONS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE SWORN UNDER EACH DEPARTMENT, UH, FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS, THE, UH, CHAPTER 1 43, SECTION 1 4 3 0 0 3 DEFINES A FIREFIGHTER AS A MEMBER OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHO IS APPOINTED IN SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE UNDER CIVIL SERVICE AND WHO'S ENTITLED TO THAT CIVIL SERVICE STATUTE. 
          THE 
          [00:55:01]
TERM APPLIES TO EMPLOYEES OF THE FIRE DEPARTMENT, WHOSE POSITION REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF FIREFIGHTING AND WHO HAS MET THE REQUIREMENTS OF, UM, CERTIFICATION UNDER THE TEXAS COMMISSION OF FIRE PROTECTION UNDER CHAPTER FOUR 19 OF THE GOVERNMENT CODE FOR FIRE. 
          THESE SPECIFIC, UH, POSITIONS ARE OUTLINED IN THE STATUTE ITSELF. 
          SWORN POSITIONS INCLUDE FIRE SUPPRESSION, FIRE PREVENTION, FIRE TRAINING, FIRE SAFETY EDUCATION, FIRE MAINTENANCE, FIRE COMMUNICATIONS, WHICH IS RELEVANT TO THE DISCUSSION THAT WE'RE HAVING HERE TODAY. 
          FIRE, MEDICAL, EMERGENCY TECHNOLOGY, FIRE PHOTOGRAPHY, FIRE ADMINISTRATION, AND FIRE INVESTIGATION. 
          THE SWORN REQUIREMENT DOES NOT APPLY TO ANY SECRETARIES, CLERKS, BUDGET ANALYSTS, CUSTODIAN CUSTODIAL ENGINEERS, OR OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE EMPLOYEES. 
          NOW, FOR POLICE OFFICERS, POLICE OFFICERS ARE DEFINED UNDER THE CIVIL SERVICE LAWS TO MEAN A MEMBER OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT OR OTHER PEACE OFFICER WHO IS APPOINTED IN SUBSTANTIAL COMPLIANCE WITH CIVIL SERVICE LAWS, AND IT IS ENTITLED TO CIVIL SERVICE STATUS. 
          THERE ARE NO OUTLINE SPECIFIC POSITIONS IN THE STATUTE ITSELF, BUT THERE IS AN IMPORTANT SUPREME COURT CASE, WHICH IS A 1991 TEXAS SUPREME COURT CASE OUT OF HOUSTON ENTITLED LEAVE VERSUS THE CITY OF HOUSTON. 
          AND THE COURT THERE CLARIFIED THE DEFINITION OF SWORN POSITIONS FOR POLICE OFFICERS. 
          THE COURT RULED THAT IF A PARTICULAR POSITION REQUIRES SUBSTANTIAL KNOWLEDGE OF POLICE, WORK AND WORK IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THEN IT MUST BE CLASSIFIED. 
          CONVERSELY, IF A POSITION REQUIRES NO KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH WORK, THEN THE POSITION NEED NOT BE CLASSIFIED WHERE THE DUTIES INFLECTION ENTAILED BY A PARTICULAR JOB ARE UNDISPUTED. 
          THE DETERMINATION OF WHETHER THAT JOB REQUIRES KNOWLEDGE OF POLICE WORK OR WORK IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT IS A QUESTION OF LAW FOR THE COURT FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL PERSONNEL. 
          THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE RELIES ON, LET ME GET MY NOTE, RELIES ON THE HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE TO COME UP WITH WHAT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL MEAN. 
          UM, UNDER 1 43, IT HAS THE MEANING ASSIGNED BY SECTION 7 7 3 0.003 OF THE TEXAS HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE, WHICH OUTLINES THAT IT INCLUDES EMERGENCY CARE ATTENDANTS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS, ADVANCED EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIANS, PARAMEDICS, OR LICENSED PARAMEDIC. 
          NOW, IN ADDITION TO THE STATUTORY REQUIRE REQUIREMENTS, WE ALSO HAVE PUBLIC SAFETY LABOR AGREEMENTS, WHICH MAY INCLUDE MUTUALLY AGREED UPON PROVISIONS THAT DEVIATE FROM THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS THAT WE JUST SPOKE ABOUT. 
          EACH OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, POLICE, FIRE, AND EMS EACH HAVE A LABOR AGREEMENT AND, UH, ANY DEVIATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN NEGOTIATED AND AGREED WITHIN THOSE, THOSE LABOR AGREEMENTS FROM THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS, UM, ALLOW FOR LESS RESTRICTIONS AND THE LIMITED ABILITY TO OTHERWISE USE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL FOR STATUTORILY DEFINED SWORN PERSONNEL POSITIONS. 
          FOR INSTANCE, IN FIRE, WE HAVE THE RECENTLY, UM, NEGOTIATED AND APPROVED 2026 FIRE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT THAT WE HAVE AN ARTICLE 19, WHICH IS ENTITLED USE OF CIVILIANS. 
          IN THAT SECTION THREE, UH, WE REITERATE, UH, WHAT WE NEED TO DO ON FIRE COMMUNICATIONS. 
          NOW RECALL, UNDER THE STATUTORY DEFINITION, UNDER 1 43, FIRE COMMUNICATIONS IS A SWORN POSITION. 
          AND WE REITERATE IN THAT AGREEMENT THAT FIRE COMMUNICATIONS DUTIES WILL BE PERFORMED BY FIREFIGHTERS. 
          THERE WAS A POINT IN TIME THAT CIVILIANS WERE USED FOR THOSE DISPATCH POSITIONS, BUT THEN THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW WAS AMENDED TO INCLUDE THAT FIRE COMMUNICATIONS WAS NOW A SWORN POSITION. 
          SO THE PREVIOUS CONTRACTS HAD ALLOWED, UH, THE TRANSITION OF THE USE OF CIVILIANS TO, TO BE TRANSITIONED INTO SWORN. 
          SO AS THE CIVILIANS WERE LEAVING OR RETIRING, THOSE VACANCIES WERE THEN FILLED BY SWORN SO THAT NOBODY WAS JUST IMMEDIATELY OUT OF A JOB. 
          IT WAS A TRANSITIONAL PERIOD. 
          SO THIS IS THE BASIC, THE BOOKEND FROM THAT TRANSITIONAL PERIOD, WHICH STATES THAT NO ADDITIONAL DISPATCH POSITIONS MAY BE FILLED BY CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES, MEANING THAT WE'RE FOLLOWING THE CHAPTER 1 43 LAW IN FILLING THEM WITH SWORN POSITIONS. 
          WE ALSO HAVE JUST A RELEVANT ARTICLE OF DETERMINING THE WORK WEEK HOURS FOR DIS PEOPLE ON THE DISPATCH SCHEDULE. 
          AND THAT'S A 40 HOUR WORK WEEK STRUCTURED TO OPERATE 
          [01:00:01]
WITHIN THE MODIFIED 24 72 CYCLE. 
          JUST AS CHIEF CHIEF BAKER HAD, UH, DISCUSSED, JUST TO HAVE ON NOTE AND TO RECALL THAT THERE'S A COUPLE OF OTHER RELEVANT AGREEMENTS OTHER THAN THE PUBLIC SA, THE PUBLIC LABOR, PUBLIC SAFETY LABOR AGREEMENTS. 
          THERE IS ALSO THE 200, THE 2025, AND HER LOCAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AND THE 13 TRAVIS COUNTY EMERGENCY SERVICES DISTRICT. 
          AND WITHIN THAT AGREEMENT, THE A-F-D-A-F-D DISPATCH CENTER MUST BE STAFFED WITH TRAINED AND QUALIFIED SWORN DISPATCHERS AT ALL TIMES. 
          AND IN THAT AGREEMENT, THE GOAL IS TO ANSWER 95% OF THE CALLS RECEIVED ON EMERGENCY LINES WITHIN 15 SECONDS. 
          WITH REGARD TO THE POLICE, THE 2024 POLICE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT. 
          THE AGREEMENT ITSELF DOES NOT ADDRESS THE USE OF CIVILIANS WITHIN THE AGREEMENT. 
          BUT WE DID HAVE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT THAT AT THE TABLE. 
          WE ALSO DISCUSSED THE SUPREME COURT CASE LEAVE VERSUS CITY OF HOUSTON, WHICH BASICALLY HELPS US, UH, DETERMINE WHETHER, UH, POSITIONS ARE SWORN OR UNSWORN. 
          CURRENTLY, THE DISPATCHES, EVEN THOUGH IT'S SUPERVISED BY SWORN IT IS, UH, CURRENTLY STAFFED IN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BY CIVILIANS IN THE 2023 EMS MEETING CONFER AGREEMENT, WHICH WAS AMENDED IN 2024 TO ALLOW THE INTEGRATION OF ECMO INTO THE EMS, THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER INTO THE, UH, EMS DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, THAT AGREEMENT ALSO DOES NOT ADDRESS THE USE OF CIVILIANS WITHIN THE AGREEMENT, BUT THE AGREEMENT DOES, DOES OUTLINE THAT THERE ARE TWO CLEAR DIVISIONS WITHIN THE EMS DEPARTMENT, THAT BEING THE FIELD DIVISION, WHICH ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE AMBULANCES OUT IN THE FIELD, AND A WHOLE OTHER DIVISION, WHICH IS SOLELY THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION THAT, UH, CHIEF LUCR JUST SPOKE ABOUT RIGHT NOW. 
          AND THOSE ARE ENTIRELY STAFFED BY SWORN AS WELL. 
          AND THAT IS, UM, THAT IS THE LAST SLIDE FOR ME, AND I WILL STAND BY FOR ANY QUESTIONS ONCE THIS PRESENTATION IS COMPLETED. 
          I, I WANNA THANK ALL OUR DEPARTMENTS AND STAFF FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS TO TODAY'S PRESENTATION. 
          I WANNA THANK YOU, COUNSEL FOR YOUR CONTINUING ENGAGEMENT IN THIS IMPORTANT ISSUE. 
          SO TODAY'S DISCUSSION HIGHLIGHTS BOTH THE OPPORTUNITIES AND COMPLEXITIES INVOLVED IN MODERNIZING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
          IN A GROWING CITY LIKE AUSTIN, THERE'S STRONG ALIGNMENT AROUND OUR SHARED GOALS, IMPROVING COORDINATION, STRENGTHENING INTEROPERABILITY, SUPPORTING WORKFORCE SUSTAINABILITY, AND ENSURING RESIDENTS RECEIVE EFFECTIVE EMERGENCY RESPONSE SERVICES. 
          AT THE SAME TIME, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ARE DEEPLY CONNECTED, CONNECTED TO CRITICAL OPERATIONAL SYSTEMS, INCLUDING INCIDENT COMMAND, CRIMINAL JUSTICE, INFORMATION ACCESS, DISASTER CONTINUITY, WORKFORCE STRUCTURES, TECHNOLOGY ALIGNMENT, AND LEGAL COMPLIANCE. 
          THESE INTERDEPENDENCIES REQUIRE CAREFUL EVALUATION BEFORE CONSIDERING ANY MAJOR ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSITION, OUR WORK TO DATE HAS REINFORCED THE NEED FOR ADDITIONAL VALIDATION IN SEVERAL KEY AREAS, INCLUDING GOVERNANCE, INTEROPERABILITY, DEPENDENCIES, WORKFORCE IMPACTS, DISASTER PLANNING, AND LONG-TERM IMPLEMENTATION SEQUENCING. 
          THE TIME DEDICATED TO THIS PROCESS REFLECTS OUR COMMITMENT TO A THOROUGH EVIDENCE-BASED APPROACH. 
          NOW, IMPORTANTLY, MEANINGFUL PROGRESS IS ALREADY UNDERWAY WITHIN OUR EXISTING STRUCTURES. 
          POLICE FIRE AND EMS HAVE ADVANCED ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE PROGRAMS. CLINICIANS SUPPORTED DIVERSION EFFORTS, DEPLOYMENT OPTIMIZATION, AND OTHER COLLABORATIVE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES. 
          UH, LOOKING AHEAD, THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE RECOMMENDS MAINTAINING THE CURRENT PHASED APPROACH, COMPLETING THE REMAINING FEASIBILITY ANALYSIS, AND EVALUATING STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS AND OPERATIONAL IMPACTS, AND THEN DETERMINING WHETHER ANY GOVERNANCE OR ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES ARE APPROPRIATE AND SUSTAINABLE. 
          NOW, THIS DELIBERATE PROCESS ALLOWS US TO CONTINUE MODERNIZING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS WHILE MAINTAINING OPERATIONAL CONTINUITY, WORKFORCE STABILITY, LEGAL COMPLIANCE, AND PUBLIC SAFETY READINESS. 
          THE CITY REMAINS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING THE COUNCIL'S POLICIES OBJECTIVES, AND ENSURING THAT ANY FUTURE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS MODEL IS OPERATIONALLY SOUND RESILIENT DURING MAJOR INCIDENTS AND INFORMED BY WORKFORCE EXPERTISE AND GROUNDED IN THE FINDINGS OF THE PROCESS. 
          I WANNA THANK THE COUNCIL FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP AND COMMITMENT TO STRENGTHENING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND WE'LL TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS. 
          THANK Y'ALL SO MUCH ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION, UH, BEING THAT IT WAS, UH, VICE CHAIR LANE'S ITEM, I WILL TURN IT OVER TO VICE CHAIR LANE FOR QUESTIONS. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          WELCOME TO AUSTIN, A CM BATISTA. 
          I AM GOING TO NOTE AT THE FRONT END THAT YOU'RE VERY RECENTLY BEGUN IN THIS, IN THIS POSITION, AND THEREFORE, MUCH OF WHAT I HAVE TO SAY WILL BE INFORMATIONAL, BUT I DO NOT ASSIGN RESPONSIBILITY. 
          UM, I WANNA THANK OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES FOR PRESENTING. 
          I HAVE A NUMBER OF COMMENTS, AND THEN I HAVE A HANDFUL OF QUESTIONS. 
          CHIEF LUCR WITH EMS, YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE BEEN A BIG CHEERLEADER FOR A LOT OF WHAT EMS HAS DONE, AND SO I HOPE YOU'LL FORGIVE ME FOR 
          [01:05:01]
PICKING ON YOU RIGHT NOW. 
          BUT YOU SAID SOMETHING THAT I NEED TO BRING UP. 
          UH, YOU STARTED YOUR PRESENTATION SAYING THAT YOU APPRECIATE THE OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT GREAT WORK AND IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. 
          I NEED TO SAY VERY CLEARLY THAT WHILE I APPRECIATE THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE HAPPENED AND THE GREAT WORK THAT HAS BEEN DONE SO FAR, THAT WAS NOT THE INTENT OF THIS IFC NOR THIS BRIEFING TO HIGHLIGHT IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE. 
          IT'S TO LAY A FOUNDATION TO ADDRESS LONGSTANDING PERSISTENT EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS PROBLEMS THAT HAVE, THEY HAVE STUBBORNLY PERSISTED IN SOME PARTS OF OUR CITY AND COMMUNITY. 
          TO HEAR YOUR OWN ASSESSMENT OF WHAT THESE PROBLEMS ARE, YES, THAT WOULD BE APPRECIATED. 
          BUT WE HAVE ALREADY SPENT A LOT OF TIME TODAY OF THE TIME ALLOTTED ON CONGRATULATING OURSELVES ON GOOD WORK THAT HAS COME BEFORE WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE PROBLEMS, THE VERY REAL PROBLEMS THAT JEOPARDIZE LIFE AND SAFETY FOR OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT HAVE PERSISTED. 
          AND THAT'S ACTUALLY WHAT I WAS HOPING THAT THIS PRESENTATION IN THIS IFC WOULD MOVE US TOWARDS. 
          UM, AND IT IS AN AREA IN WHICH I HAD FEARED THAT THERE WAS INADEQUATE STRATEGIC FOCUS BY OUR CITY, AND SO FAR TODAY THAT THOSE FEARS HAVE BEEN PROVEN, WELL-FOUNDED, FOUNDED. 
          SO, UM, I SPEAK WITH DISAPPOINTMENT. 
          I WILL HAVE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. 
          UM, I'LL SAY THAT WHEN I BROUGHT THIS RESOLUTION, DIRECTING THE CITY MANAGER TO DEVELOP A STRATEGIC PLAN FOR CONSOLIDATING 9 1 1 AND EMERGENCY DISPATCH, I DID SO WITH THE COMMITMENT TO CONTINUE IMPROVING OUR 9 1 1 RESPONSE TIMES AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ACROSS THE CITY, BUT ESPECIALLY IN OUTLYING AREAS THAT CROSS MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS AND AGENCIES. 
          THIS SITUATION, OF COURSE, AFFECTS MY DISTRICT, WHICH IS ENTIRELY OUTSIDE OF THE AUSTIN CORPS. 
          SO I'VE SEEN MANY, MANY REAL WORLD EXAMPLES OF THE IMPACT ON THE LIFE AND SAFETY OF OUR RESIDENTS CONTINUING TO IMPROVE THE WAY WE HANDLE 9 1 1 CALLS AND EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS WILL IMPROVE COORDINATION SO THAT OUR EMERGENCY WORKERS CAN PROVIDE SERVICES MORE SAFELY AND EFFICIENTLY. 
          AND SO THAT THE EXPERIENCES OF OUR RESIDENTS, BUSINESS OWNERS, AND EMPLOYEES IMPROVES ON WHAT IS ALREADY ONE OF THE WORST DAYS OF THEIR LIVES, UH, DEVELOPED THIS IFC IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR FORMER ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY WITH DELIBERATE TIMING THAT WOULD ALLOW DEVELOPMENT OF A THOUGHTFUL STRATEGIC PLAN AND COST ESTIMATES FOR THAT PLAN SO THAT WE COULD HAVE A MEANINGFUL COST BENEFIT ANALYSIS BEFORE THIS YEAR'S BUDGET SEASON BEGAN. 
          I ALSO BROUGHT THE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT IOC TO ENSURE THAT SIGNIFICANT LONGSTANDING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ISSUES DID NOT CONTINUE TO FALL BETWEEN THE CRACKS. 
          AND THAT WE HAVE THE INFORMATION NECESSARY TO BUDGET APPROPRIATELY TO ENSURE IMPROVEMENTS IN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION IN PARTS OF OUR CITY WHERE SIGNIFICANT ISSUES PERSIST. 
          WE CAN'T ADVOCATE FOR FUNDING OR ENSURE ADEQUATE FUNDING WHEN WE DON'T KNOW WHAT IT WILL TAKE. 
          WE ARE SIX MONTHS PAST THE DEADLINE FOR THE STRATEGIC PLAN AND COST ESTIMATES. 
          WE WOEFULLY DO NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION THAT WE NEED, AND WE STILL DON'T. 
          AND IT IS, IT IS QUITE CONCERNING THAT WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A ROADMAP TO GETTING THERE OUT OF THIS PRESENTATION, THESE PRESENTATIONS THAT ARE SIX MONTHS AFTER THE DEADLINE. 
          UM, I WILL, SO, I I, WITH THAT, I'LL ASK, YOU KNOW, I APPRECI I APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATIONS, I APPRECIATE THE LEVEL SETTING. 
          I'M GRATEFUL TO YOU FOR PUTTING THEM TOGETHER, BUT I, I, I HAVE TO ASK, WHERE'S THE INFORMATION THAT WE REQUESTED IN THIS RESOLUTION? UM, THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INTEGRATING THE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTIONS INTO A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT BY THE END OF THIS FISCAL YEAR, INCLUDING A TECHNICAL AND OPERATIONAL FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT, COST ANALYSIS AND IMPLEMENTATION TIME IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE. 
          AND IN THE ABSENCE OF SUCH A PLAN, WHICH IS CLEARLY ABSENT A ROADMAP TO GETTING TO THE PLAN, UM, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ANYONE'S ANSWERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY AVAILABLE THAT MIGHT ADDRESS THAT. 
          I WILL QUALIFY THIS BY SAYING, I KNOW THAT NO SINGLE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY CAN ACTUALLY ANSWER THAT QUESTION. 
          IT REQUIRES INTERDEPARTMENTAL COORDINATION, AN AREA IN WHICH OUR CITY HAS BEEN WEAK FOR A LONG TIME. 
          IT IS THE REASON THAT I BROUGHT THIS FORWARD TO ENABLE THIS TYPE OF STRATEGIC INTERDEPARTMENTAL FOCUS 
          [01:10:01]
ON A LONGSTANDING ISSUE. 
          SO, UM, DOES ANYONE HAVE ANYTHING TO NOTE ABOUT WHEN WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO RECEIVE SOME OF THIS INFORMATION? UM, COUNSEL, UM, A CM BATISTA, UM, ABSOLUTELY UNDERSTAND THE, YOUR POSITION AND FRUSTRATION OVER THE STATUS OF, OF THE IMPLEMENTATION EFFORT. 
          UM, BUT IT, IT JUST, UM, IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT WHILE A CONTRACTOR WAS SECURED AND THE PROCESSES IN PLACE, WHAT THAT PROCESS IS YIELDING IS THE COMPLEXITIES THAT WERE DESCRIBED, UM, THROUGHOUT THE PRESENTATION, AND ESPECIALLY TOWARDS THE END IN THAT THERE ARE CONSIDERATIONS TO BE THOUGHT THROUGH WITH RESPECT TO, UM, THE INTEROPERABILITY, THE EMERGENCY READINESS, UM, THE FACT THAT 9 1 1 IS THE MAIN ENTRY POINT FOR ALL EMERGENCY SERVICES FOR OUR RESIDENTS. 
          UM, AND SO THE WORK DOES CONTINUE. 
          UH, WE HAVE A CONTRACTOR THAT HAS BEEN, UM, SECURED, HE'S BEEN WORK, THEY HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THIS, UH, SINCE LAST YEAR. 
          BUT IT IS THE COMPLEXITY OF, OF THE TOTALITY OF THE WORK THAT I THINK HAS, UM, CAUSED THIS DELAY. 
          NOW, ALL THAT SAID, IT'S MY RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE THIS FORWARD AND, AND FIND A PATH, UH, WHICH IS WHAT I'LL DO ONCE I HAVE MORE INFORMATION FROM THE CONTRACTOR AND WHAT LIES AHEAD. 
          AND FOR THAT, THE NEXT STEPS OF THAT, UM, I'LL FIND WHAT, FIND OUT WHAT THOSE ARE AND I WILL SEND THEM TO, TO EVERYONE ON THE COUNCIL. 
          REMIND ME THE NAME OF THE CONTRACTOR YOU'RE REFERRING TO? UM, MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, WHILE I APPRECIATE THE CHALLENGE OF THE POSITION THAT YOU FIND YOURSELF IN RIGHT NOW, UM, I ALSO NEED TO KNOW WHERE, WHERE, WHERE I VIEW US AS BEING AT AS A CITY ON, ON THESE FACTORS. 
          SO WE AS A CITY ARE IN THE MIDST OF A, ABOVE THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC SAFETY CENTRALIZATION PROJECT THAT THE CITY MANAGER HAS LAID OUT BEGINS WITH IT AND COMMUNICATION CENTRALIZATION, FIRST AREAS OF PRIORITY WITHIN IT. 
          THE ONE WE HAD AN A A ONE, IT A TS PRESENTATION LAST WEEK, A-P-D-A-F-D AND EMS WERE IDENTIFIED AS PHASE ONE DEPARTMENTS TO BEGIN INTEGRATION OF IT, UM, PERSONNEL AND WORK WE ALREADY HAVE AS IT RELATES TO A PD, THE BARRY DUNN CONSULTING REPORT THAT LAYS OUT A ROADMAP FOR TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS, DATA IMPROVEMENTS AS IT RELATES TO A PDA ROADMAP THAT I COMMEND CHIEF DAVIS ON BEGINNING TO IMPLEMENT. 
          I ALSO FULLY RECOGNIZE SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT, AND HAVING ACKNOWLEDGED PREVIOUSLY AND DO, AGAIN, SOME OF THE BENEFITS THAT OUR LEADERSHIP HAS BROUGHT IN TERMS OF RESPONSE AND VISIBILITY. 
          UM, AND, AND WE HAVE A UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTED IFC REQUESTING THAT WE DEVELOP A PLAN SPECIFICALLY FOR EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
          SO WE'VE GOT ALL OF THE STRATEGIC PLANNING THAT TELLS US IT AND COMMS NEED TO BE CENTRALIZED. 
          I MEAN, THAT'S NOT ME SAYING THAT THAT'S THE CITY MANAGER. 
          WE HAVE HAD DETAILED AND SPECIFIC PRESENTATIONS AROUND THE CENTRALIZATION OF IT, UH, THAT TELL US THAT THERE ARE GREAT BENEFITS TO DOING THAT. 
          AND IT IS A TOP PRIORITY, INCLUDING THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES. 
          SO NOT AT THE LEVEL OF OUR, OF OUR CHIEFS, OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES, AND NOT FOR YOU TO ALREADY HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS TO BECAUSE YOU ARE A RECENT ARRIVAL. 
          BUT THE LAST YEAR OR TWO OF STRATEGIC WORK AND PLANNING THAT OUR CITY HAS DONE HAVE POINTED TO EXACTLY THESE TYPES OF ISSUES. 
          AND WHEN I BROUGHT FORWARD THE JOINT EMERGENCY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT, IFC, IT IS AMAZING THE NUMBER OF ISSUES HIGHLIGHTED BY BARRY DUNN THAT COULD BE ADDRESSED THROUGH THIS PROPOSAL. 
          AND SO, WHAT, WHAT I WOULD ASK AS YOU GO FORWARD AFTER THIS MEETING IS THAT A DISCUSSION COMMENCES WITH SENIOR LEADERSHIP OF THE CITY ABOUT HOW THE VERY REAL NEEDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THESE ASPECTS OF TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATIONS WILL BE ADDRESSED AS IT RELATES TO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
          BECAUSE SOMEHOW, SOMEHOW FOR MY DISTRICT AND FOR MANY PARTS OF OUR CITY AND MANY COMMUNI COMMUNITIES WITHIN OUR CITY, CERTAIN ASPECTS HAVE FALLEN THROUGH THE CRACKS FOREVER. 
          AND EVEN WITH THIS LEVEL OF STRATEGIC MOBILIZATION AROUND THESE ISSUES IN THIS CITY, EVEN WITH A UNANIMOUSLY 
          [01:15:01]
PASSED IFC THAT HAD A DEADLINE SIX MONTHS AGO, WE FIND OURSELVES NOW AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY. 
          IT IS COMPLEX, BUT IT IS NOT THAT COMPLEX. 
          AND, UM, I I AM NOT CURRENTLY CLEAR ON WHAT IT WILL TAKE TO ELEVATE THIS ASPECT OF OUR COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY WORK TO BE ADDRESSED AS A PRIORITY. 
          BECAUSE EVERYTHING WE HEAR SUGGESTS THAT IT SHOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN. 
          AND THAT'S A QUESTION THAT I DON'T NECESSARILY NEED AN ANSWER TO, BUT I THINK IT WOULD BE IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND GOING OUT OF THIS, THIS MEETING. 
          UM, I'M GONNA TURN TO, I AM NOT GOING TO DO VERY MANY, UM, DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. 
          I, THE BASELINE INFORMATION THAT YOU PROVIDED HERE IS USEFUL. 
          UM, I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS. 
          I WILL TRY TO LIMIT THEM TO ONE PER DEPARTMENT AND THEN I'LL PASS, BECAUSE I KNOW I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE HERE WITH QUESTIONS AND, AND INPUT. 
          UM, BEGINNING WITH EMSI, I MUST NOTE THE IRONY, THE SLIDE ON PAGE 41 OF THIS PRESENTATION, ENSURING AMBULANCE AVAILABILITY. 
          THIS IS A, THIS IS A, A TOPIC ABOUT THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED MANY TIMES OVER THE LAST YEAR AND A HALF SINCE I'VE BEEN IN OFFICE. 
          AND I MUST NOTE  THE GRAY IRONY THAT THERE ARE NO AMBULANCES AVAILABLE IN DISTRICT SIX I, IT'S, THAT IS WHERE THERE'S AN EMPTY SPOT IN THE NORTH NORTHWEST AUSTIN MM-HMM . 
          BECAUSE WILLIAMSON COUNTY, WE HEAD INTO ROUND ROCK, WE HEAD INTO CEDAR PARK. 
          SO I'M GONNA NOTE THAT. 
          AND THEN I'M GONNA, I'M GONNA ASK A QUESTION BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, WITH ALL THE DATA THAT WAS PRESENTED TODAY WITH, WITH EMS RESPONSE, WE KNOW, I MEAN, TELL ME IF I'M WRONG ON THIS. 
          CARDIAC EVENTS ARE THE TYPE OF EVENT WHERE EVERY SECOND COUNTS, EVERY MINUTE COUNTS. 
          IF WE WANT TO MOVE FOR A MOMENT, BIG PICTURE OUTSIDE OF THE VERY SPECIFIC 9 1 1 RESPONSE DATA THAT WE'RE SEEING. 
          HAVE YOU EXAMINED THE SURVIVAL RATES OF CARDIAC EVENTS IN OUR CITY BY DISTRICT OVER THE, SAY LAST COUPLE OF YEARS? I DON'T HAVE IT BY DISTRICT RIGHT NOW. 
          I JUST RECENTLY RECEIVED THE, UM, SYSTEM-WIDE RESULTS FOR 2025, UH, WHICH I CAN'T SPEAK TO YOUR SPECIFIC DISTRICT, BUT WE WERE HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL AVERAGE AND HIGHER THAN THE TEXAS AVERAGE. 
          UM, IT'S A TOPIC THAT I'VE BEEN REQUEST THAT I'VE REQUESTED PREVIOUSLY FOR PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE. 
          AND IT IS A TOPIC THAT I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE CURRENT INFORMATION ON BY DISTRICT. 
          THE DATA THAT I HAVE SEEN SUGGESTS THAT MY DISTRICT SHALL WE STAY SIGNIFICANTLY UNDERPERFORMANCE. 
          AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO LOOK AT THAT. 
          AND I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO BRING THESE FUNCTIONS UNDER SINGLE MANAGEMENT SO THAT WE CAN MOVE TOWARDS BEING ABLE TO PULL AND USE DATA MORE EFFECTIVELY ACROSS THE VARIOUS PARTS OF OUR CITY AND JURISDICTIONS. 
          AND, AND THAT'S ONE EXAMPLE. 
          YOU KNOW, UM, I'M NOT, I DON'T WANNA ASK FOR A LOT OF MANUALLY PREPARED DATA THAT IS VERY INEFFICIENT. 
          THAT IS NOT MY GOAL. 
          MY GOAL IS THAT WE CAN MOVE TOWARDS DATA-DRIVEN PUBLIC SAFETY AND AS IT RELATES TO EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS. 
          UM, THAT'S MY ONLY QUESTION FOR EMS. I WILL TURN TO POLICE. 
          SO I'M LOOKING AT PAGE 10, UH, WHERE YOU TALKED ABOUT THE, IT DESCRIBES THE THREE SECOND TRANSFER TIME AND TRANSFERRING CALLS BETWEEN A PD AND WILLIAMSON COUNTY. 
          AND, AND YOU NOTED, I, IF I UNDERSTOOD CORRECTLY, WHEN YOU WERE DESCRIBING, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT THE DATA AND SPEED OF TRANSFER FROM A PD TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY. 
          DO YOU HAVE RELIABLE DATA ON WHAT IS GOING ON WHEN CALLS ARE INITIALLY RECEIVED BY WILLIAMSON COUNTY DISPATCH AND THEY NEED TO BE TRANSFERRED TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN? I DO NOT. 
          UH, BUT I CAN REACH OUT TO WILLIAMSON COUNTY TO SEE IF I CAN GET THAT FOR YOU, MA'AM. 
          AND THIS IS ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT I KNOW EACH OF THE CHIEF, WELL, I DON'T KNOW IF CHIEF, DEFINITELY CHIEF LUCAS AND CHIEF BAKER HAVE HEARD ABOUT FROM ME ON THIS, UM, OVER TIME. 
          BUT A BIG PART OF MY CONCERN ON THE DA ON THE DATA AROUND 9 1 1 RESPONSE IS ARE WE ACTUALLY MEASURING FROM THE TIME THAT OUR, THE CALLER PLACES THE CALL AND IT WAS PICKED UP? OR ARE WE MEASURING AT THE POINT THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN BECOMES AWARE OF IT? BECAUSE MANY OF THE ANECDOTAL ISSUES THAT I'VE HEARD DO RELATE TO CHALLENGES AT THAT CALL TAKER STAGE BEFORE IT REACHES THE 
          [01:20:01]
CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          AND I'M TALKING LONG DELAYS, FIVE, 10 MINUTES SOMETIMES, YOU KNOW, 15. 
          BUT THOSE WERE OLDER, SO I DON'T RELY ON THEM AS MUCH. 
          UM, THE ABILITY TO EVEN HAVE THAT DATA, THIS IS EXACTLY THE KIND OF THING THAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. 
          UM, AS WELL AS, AND I WON'T, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME I SEE JAMES TONER BACK THERE. 
          I VERY MUCH APPRECIATED THE CONVERSATIONS AROUND TECHNOLOGY AND HOW THAT RELATES TO THESE ISSUES. 
          THAT DOESN'T EVEN GET INTO THE AREAS IN WHICH METADATA IS STRIPPED AND THEREFORE WE AREN'T ACTUALLY TRANSFERRING CALLS WITH THE INFORMATION THAT'S NEEDED TO RESPOND APPROPRIATELY. 
          UM, I KNOW THIS MIGHT FEEL A LITTLE BIT IN THE WEEDS, BUT THAT'S WHAT IT'S TAKEN. 
          THAT'S WHAT IT'S TAKEN FOR ME TO GET TO THE POINT OF EVEN BRINGING THE RESOLUTION. 
          UM, YOU KNOW WHAT, I'M GONNA SKIP YOU CHIEF BAKER 'CAUSE IT'S THE SAME TYPE OF SITUATION OF HOW ARE WE WORKING. 
          I'M JUST, I'M JUST GONNA STOP SO THAT WE CAN HAVE TIME FOR MY COLLEAGUES TO ANSWER QUESTIONS, ASK QUESTIONS, AND THEN I'LL RETURN IF I HAVE ANYTHING AT THE END. 
          THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU. 
          VICE CHAIR, UH, COLLEAGUES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? ALSO, I'D LIKE TO POINT IF WE CAN, UM, TRY TO END AT ABOUT 10 30 'CAUSE WE STILL HAVE ANOTHER PRESENTATION. 
          OKAY. 
          MAYBE I WON'T COME BACK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DUCH. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, I'LL TRY AND RUN THROUGH THESE REALLY QUICKLY, BUT FIRST THANK YOU FOR THE UPDATES HERE. 
          WHAT'S THAT? IT IS, IT SAYS, THERE WE GO. 
          HOW ABOUT NOW? OKAY. 
          UH, SO FIRST THANK YOU FOR THIS PRESENTATION. 
          I'LL TRY AND RUN THROUGH THESE QUICKLY TO MAKE SURE THAT MY COLLEAGUE, COUNCILOR SIEGEL HAS TIME TO ASK HIS QUESTIONS. 
          UH, I WANNA START AT THE BEGINNING WITH THE A PD PRESENTATION AND JUST GO BACK TO, UM, CHIEF JONES, YOUR COMMENT ABOUT, UH, DISTRICT 10 AND THE BUMP THAT YOU ARE SEEING IN 2026. 
          ANY, UM, ANY SOLUTIONS YOU ALL HAVE IMPLEMENTED TO RESPOND TO THAT BUMP THAT YOU CAN SHARE? I WOULD NEED TO REACH OUT WITH OUR PATROL, UM, CHIEF TO TALK WITH HIM ABOUT THAT. 
          BUT I DO KNOW THAT WE DID KNOW THAT WE NOTED THAT, UM, INCREASE AND IT WASN'T, IT WASN'T SIGNIFICANT, BUT IT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WANT TO PAY ATTENTION. 
          YEAH, IT WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT I SAW TOO IN, ACROSS ALL THE DISTRICTS AND ACROSS ALL THE YEARS. 
          SO YES. 
          YES. 
          AND, UM, SO, AND IT IS A SLIGHT, YOU KNOW, INCREASE THERE AND WE'RE, WE'RE MONITORING IT. 
          UH, BUT IT, WELL, WE DO NEED TO. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL LET'S LOOP IN COMMANDER SMITH AND FIGURE OUT WHAT MIGHT BE GOING ON THERE. 
          YES SIR. 
          I WILL GET COMMANDER ALEXANDER. 
          UH, OKAY. 
          NEXT. 
          ANOTHER QUESTION I HAD WAS, UM, JUST HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CALLS THAT ARE ELIGIBLE FOR DEFLECTION FOR C3 AND THE ONES THAT THEN DO THEY GET VALIDATED AFTERWARDS FOR BEING DEFLECTED OR HOW DOES THAT WORK? SO I WILL CALL UP MY LIEUTENANT TO HELP WITH THAT. 
          'CAUSE THAT IS A LITTLE MORE IN THE WEEDS THEN FOR ME. 
          UH, LIEUTENANT CONA CAN SPEAK TO OUR C3 DEFLECTION. 
          GOOD MORNING. 
          SO, UH, THE, THE TERM DEFLECTION ACTUALLY MEANS, UM, ONCE WE ASSESS WHETHER OR NOT THE CALL IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE CLINICIANS TO TAKE OVER, THAT THEY TAKE THE CALL AND THEY'RE, THEY'RE ABLE TO DIVERT POLICE RESPONSE. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE 86% AND THEN THIS YEAR TO DATE 90%, UM, THE HIGH SUCCESS RATE THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THOSE CALLS. 
          UH, SO THAT'S WHAT DEFLECTION ACTUALLY MEANS. 
          IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. 
          UH, I'M NOT SURE I GOT THAT. 
          SO WHEN THE CALL COMES IN, IT'S, UH, YOU'RE, YOU'RE MAKING A DETERMINATION THAT IT'S ELIGIBLE FOR SORT OF DIVERTING INTO THIS DIFFERENT QUEUE, RIGHT? CORRECT. 
          UH, AND THEN THERE'S ANOTHER CHECK THAT'S HAPPENING AFTERWARDS, AFTER THE CALL IS COMPLETED THAT'S CONFIRMING THAT THAT WAS THE CORRECT, UH, THAT WAS THE APPROPRIATE DIVERSION. 
          IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE GETTING THOSE TWO DATA POINTS? NOT NECESSARILY, NO. 
          SO, OKAY. 
          THERE COULD BE TIMES WHEN POLICE ARE RESPONDING, BUT THE CLINICIAN IS ALSO STAYING ON THE PHONE. 
          AND SO THERE'S A DEESCALATION PROCESS THAT'S HAPPENING, WHICH IS A BIG PART OF OUR SUCCESS RATE ON THESE CALLS, SO THAT EVEN IF POLICE DO NEED TO RESPOND, FOR INSTANCE, THERE'S A WEAPON INVOLVED OR SOMETHING OF THAT NATURE THAT THE PERSON IN CRISIS IS, IS STILL GETTING THAT ASSISTANCE FROM A LICENSED CLINICIAN DURING THAT CALL. 
          AND SO SOME OF THOSE, UH, SOME OF THOSE DATA POINTS ARE NOT, UH, VERY SPECIFIC. 
          THE DEFLECTION ONE IN PARTICULAR IS WHEN POLICE DO NOT NEED TO BE, UH, THE PRIMARY PERSON RESPONDING. 
          OKAY. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          YES, SIR. 
          UH, CHIEF BAKER, I JUST GOT A QUESTION FOR YOU REGARDING SOME OF THE DATA AND YOUR PRESENTATION. 
          THIS WAS AROUND, UM, LEMME FIND IT HERE. 
          THIS WAS THE GOAL OF ANSWERING CALLS WITHIN 10 SECONDS AND THERE WAS, WHILE, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE HOVERING AT THAT 95% RIGHT NOW, AND THE LAST QUARTER REPORTED SORT OF A, A VERY SLIGHT 
          [01:25:01]
DECLINE OVER TIME SINCE 2020 FROM 98% TO 95%. 
          AND I'M WONDERING AT THE SAME TIME YOU'VE GOT THIS INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME. 
          IS THAT YOUR INTERPRETATION OF WHAT'S GOING ON, THAT THE INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME IS KIND OF PUSHING DOWN YOUR RESPONSE TIMES? OR IS THERE SOME OTHER FACTOR AT WORK THAT'S LEADING TO THAT CONCLUSION? CAN WE GO TO THAT SLIDE PLEASE? I CAN LOOK AT THE INFORMATION ACCURATELY. 
          IT'S SLIDES 20 AND 21. 
          SO THE GOAL AGAIN IS 95% OF THE CALL IN TEN SECOND IN 2021 AND 2022, WE HAD SEVERE WINTER EVENTS. 
          AND BECAUSE ALL THE CALL VOLUME COMING IN DURING THE WINTER EVENTS, UH, THE SYSTEM, UH, RECEIVED MORE CALLS THAN I WOULD SAY USUAL OR NORMAL. 
          AND SO, UH, WE WERE STILL ABLE TO RESPOND. 
          BUT AS YOU SEE IN 2021, QUARTER TWO, UH, THE, THE, THE CALL PERCENTAGE DROPPED DOWN TO 83%. 
          I'M NOT WORRIED ABOUT THAT QUARTER. 
          I'M WORRIED ABOUT JUST THE TOTAL TREND IN THAT BLUE LINE DECREASING BY 3% OVER A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS, SIX YEARS RELATIVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, WHICH TALKS ABOUT THE INCREASED NUMBER OF CALL VOLUME. 
          AND I'M JUST CURIOUS IF AD'S INTERPRETATION OF THAT IS THAT THOSE ARE CONNECTED OR IF THERE'S A DIFFERENT REASON WHY OVER TIME WE CAN EXPECT THE RESPONSE TIME TO KEEP SORT OF SLIPPING. 
          THE RESPONSE TIME MAY CONTINUE TO SLIP BECAUSE THE CITY IS REALLY OUTGROWN THE PACE OF PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          THE CALL VOLUME HAS INCREASED. 
          AS YOU SEE OVER THE PRESENTATION HERE. 
          SINCE YEAR, FISCAL YEAR 20 TO 25, THE CALL VOLUME HAS CONTINUED TO INCREASE. 
          AS YOU WOULD NOTE, IN FISCAL YEAR 20, THE CALL VOLUME WAS ABOUT 70% OF THE CALL, I MEAN 70,000 CALLS. 
          NOW WE UP TO NEARLY THE 94,000 CALL AND I PREDICT MY PERDITION OF ASSUMPTION THIS YEAR WE MAY GET TO 95 OR 96,000. 
          SO EACH YEAR AS THE CITY GROW AND ACTIVITY GROW AND WE'VE CONTINUE TO BE AN INTERNATIONAL CITY, UH, MORE CALL VOLUMES WILL COME IN WITH, HAVE A DELAY, UH, CASCADE IMPACT ON HOW WE DISPATCH. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT ANSWER. 
          LAST QUESTION IS FOR CHIEF LUCAS, UM, ON HIS PRESENTATION, I WAS JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND, UH, WHAT HAPPENED IN 20 20, 20 21, THERE WAS, IT LOOKS LIKE A PERMANENT BUMP IN THE, I THINK THIS IS SLIDE 43, A PERMANENT BUMP IN THE TIME FOR CALL PROCESSING BY 30 TO 40 SECONDS. 
          ANYTHING YOU CAN REMEMBER ABOUT THAT WINDOW THAT WOULD'VE CAUSED THAT BUMP TO INCREASE AND NEVER REALLY COME BACK FROM THAT? YEAH, THAT'S, SO THAT WAS WHEN WE MADE THE DECISION TO TRANSFER MORE CALLS TO THE COLLABORATIVE CARE LINE, UH, IN AN EFFORT TO, SO RECOGNIZING, AS YOU CAN SEE IN THIS SLIDE HERE, THERE WAS AN INCREASE IN THE CALL PROCESSING TIME. 
          BUT OVER THOSE PAST FEW YEARS, WHAT WE'VE DONE IS, IS WE INCREASE THE UTILIZATION OF THE C FOUR LINE, WE REFINE THOSE PROCESSES, UM, AND WE TRY TO IDENTIFY, UM, AGAIN, GOING BACK TO THAT CONTROLLER TYPE SITUATION OF RATHER THAN JUST SENDING AMBULANCES AND ENDING UP WITH A MAP LIKE YOU SAW ON THE SLIDE PRIOR TO THIS, WHERE YOU'RE JUST AS A CALL COMES IN, YOU SEND IT AS A CALL COMES IN, AND THEN YOU END UP WITH AN AMBULANCE DESERT BY TAKING THE ADDITIONAL 30 SECONDS. 
          WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO WORK ON BRINGING DOWN THE FIELD RESPONSE SIDE, WHICH IS MAXIMIZE AVAILABILITY AND THEREFORE THE, THE DRIVE TIME. 
          SO THAT GOES BACK TO THAT BROADER, UM, SLIDE THAT I HAD WITH THE, WITH THE ARROW. 
          UM, IF, IF MADAM IF WE COULD TAKE A LOOK AT THAT, LIKE SLIDE 35. 
          YEAH, I THINK YOU ONE, SO WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT ANALYZING RESPONSE TIMES AND WE'RE LOOKING AT HOW IT IS THAT WE STRUCTURALLY CAN DO BETTER AT RESPONSE TIMES, WE DON'T WANNA FOCUS IN ON ONE SPECIFIC CORE AREA. 
          WE WANNA LOOK AT IT AS A BROADER RESPONSE TIME, WHICH IS WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO TO IMPROVE OVERALL RESPONSE TIMES TO HIGH ACUITY EMERGENCIES. 
          ONE COMPONENT BEING CALL PROCESSING ONE PO COMPONENT BEING FIELD RESPONSE. 
          AND THEN WITHIN THOSE, YOU KNOW, ONE COMPONENT BEING ADDRESSING, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW IT IS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE WE CAN BEGIN TRIAGE. 
          ONE COMPONENT BEING THE TRIAGE PIECE. 
          HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DISPATCH A CALL? AND THEN YOU FLIP TO THE FIELD SIDE OF HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE SOMEONE TO RESPOND, TO LEAVE THE STATION TO GO EN ROUTE, WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO THAT? AND THEN HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DRIVE THERE? AND SO THOSE ARE ALL OF THE DIFFERENT PIECES THAT WE LOOK AT. 
          AND SO WE'RE TRYING TO USE DIFFERENT STRATEGIES TO LOOK AT THE OVERALL RESPONSE TIME AND, AND MAKE IT MAKE A CHANGE IN THAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT WAS A CALCULATED TRADE OFF YOU GUYS HAD PLANNED. 
          AND SORRY, I TOOK US TO 10 30. 
          I'LL, I'LL, I'VE GOT SOME OTHER QUESTIONS, BUT I'LL REACH OUT TO Y'ALL, UH, INDEPENDENTLY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL, WE GOT 30 SECONDS , JUST, JUST KIDDING. 
          THANKS J I'LL BE AS BRIEF AS POSSIBLE AND THANKS Y'ALL TO THE, ALL THE CHIEFS AND, UH, UH, ROXY AND A CM THANKS FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS. 
          UM, I'LL KIND OF JUST CUT TO THE CHASE WITH 
          [01:30:01]
SOME OF MY QUESTIONS. 
          UM, ON SLIDE 16, UM, THERE'S AN AREA FOR IMPROVEMENT, UH, TO PROMOTE NATIONAL INTERAGENCY COOPERATION AND DATA SHARING FOR CALL CENTER MANAGEMENT TO IMPLEMENT BEST PRACTICES. 
          UM, I DON'T KNOW IF Y'ALL HAVE THIS NOW, BUT LIKE WHAT ARE THE BEST PRACTICES AND HOW ARE WE FALLING SHORT? AND IF THAT'S SOMETHING TO ADDRESS IN A MEMO LATER OR SOME OTHER WAY, LET ME KNOW. 
          UM, IT MIGHT BE BEST ADDRESSED, SORRY, IT MIGHT BE BEST ADDRESSED IN A MEMO, BUT I ALSO THINK THAT THE, UH, STUDY THAT'S BEING DONE NOW WILL HELP ESTABLISH SOME OF THOSE THINGS FOR US SO THAT WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY ADVANCING AND DOING BETTER. 
          AND I, I DO LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING THAT AS WELL. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU. 
          UH, ASSISTANT CHIEF AND THAT'S THE, UH, THE STUDY REFERENCED BY A CM FROM THE CONSULTANT? CORRECT. 
          ALRIGHT, THANK YOU. 
          UM, SLIDES 14 AND 15 USE TWO DIFFERENT TERMS AND MY TEAM'S JUST ASKING ME TO CLARIFY, UH, WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ELIGIBLE FOR DEFLECTION AND MET CRITERIA FOR DEFLECTION ON 14 AND 15? SO ELIGIBLE FOR, FOR DEFLECTION WOULD BE, UM, A CALL THAT THE PERSON THAT'S CALLING IN INDICATES THERE MAY BE A MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT TO THE CALL. 
          UM, SO WE WOULD ASK, THE CALL TAKER WOULD ASK A SERIES OF QUALIFYING QUESTIONS, UM, IN RESPONSE TO THAT. 
          SO THE PERSON MAY SAY THERE, THERE COULD BE A MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT TO THIS CALL AND THEN THE CALL TAKER WILL ASK ABOUT WEAPONS, ABOUT THINGS OF THAT NATURE. 
          SO DO WE NEED A POLICE RESPONSE, DO WE NOT? CAN IT BE A CO RESPONSE? UH, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          SO THAT'S WHAT THE ELIGIBILITY, UH, MEANS FOR THAT. 
          AND THEN THE ONES THAT, THAT MEET THE CRITERIA FOR DEFLECTION, THOSE ARE THE ONES THAT, THAT CAN GO TO THE CLINICIANS AND THEY CAN WORK THE CALL FROM THERE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO IT'S KINDA LIKE THE BROADER CATEGORIES ELIGIBLE, BUT THEN ONCE YOU VERIFY YOU'VE MET THE CRITERIA. 
          CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          YES SIR. 
          UM, NEXT QUESTION IS FOR I GUESS MS. STEVENS, UM, YOU KINDA SHARED OUT, SHARED SOME OF THE COMPLEXITIES OF OUR VARIOUS COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS. 
          UM, BUT THE RESOLUTION, AS I UNDERSTAND IT ONLY CONTEMPLATES TAKING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS OUT OF A PD AND NOT THE DISPATCHERS. 
          UH, DO YOU HAVE ANY FLAGS REGARDING TAKING THE CALL TAKERS OUT, UM, WITH REGARD TO JUST A PD? UH, WELL I THINK THE OVERALL RESOLUTION OF COUNCIL MEMBER LANE THAT, YOU KNOW, I SUPPORTED WAS YOU HAD TO CREATE THIS INDEPENDENT, YOU KNOW, UH, EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER. 
          UM, AND IT WOULD ONLY RELATE TO THE CALL TAKERS, NOT THE DISPATCHERS. 
          SO, UH, FOR INSTANCE, IN EMS AND FIRE, UH, THE CALL TAKERS ARE SWORN AND, UM, FOR FIRE, FIRE COMMUNICATIONS IS JUST GENERAL AND THAT IT WOULD INCLUDE THE CALL, TAKE ANY PART OF THE DISPATCH IS SWORN AT THIS POINT PURSUANT TO THE LAW. 
          AND AS REFLECTED AND STATED IN, AS RECOGNIZED IN THE AGREEMENT AS WE TRANSITIONED TO THE NEW AMENDED 1 43 THAT SAYS FIRE COMMUNICATIONS HAS TO BE A SWORN POSITION AS FAR AS EMS, UH, ANYBODY WHO IS QUALIFIED AS A PARAMEDIC, EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN, ALL THOSE THINGS THAT ARE OUTLINED ARE SWORN POSITIONS THROUGH THE COLLECT THROUGH THE MEET AND CONFER AGREEMENT WITH EMS, THERE IS A SPECIFIC COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION, WHICH INCLUDES CALL TAKERS AND THEY'RE INCLUDED ON THE PAY SCALE. 
          SO THOSE EMS AND FIRE ARE ALL SWORN EITHER BY VIRTUE OF THE STATUTE, UH, AND IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE AGREEMENTS AND HOW THEY'RE SET OUT. 
          SO THERE'S, IN EMS, THERE'S AN ENTIRE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION. 
          WHEN YOU APPLY, YOU ACTUALLY CHOOSE WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA APPLY TO A FIELD POSITION OR A COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION. 
          SORRY TO INTERRUPT 'CAUSE THE CHAIR'S ONLY GIVING ME A FEW MORE SECONDS. 
          UM, SURE. 
          104 CALL TAKERS AN A PD THAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. 
          AND THEN FROM THERE IT GOES TO DISPATCH, WHICH ARE MORE OF THESE SWORN FOLKS. 
          SO IF WE JUST TAKE THE 104 CALL TAKERS OUT, THAT DOESN'T IMPLICATE THE COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT FOR JUST FROM A PD WELL THAT'S WHO THE CALL TAKERS ARE, RIGHT? UH, THERE ARE, YEAH, AN A PD ARE THERE CALL TAKERS IN EMSA AS YOU DESCRIBED? THEY'RE SWORN. 
          OKAY. 
          BUT THEY, YES, IF WE'RE JUST TALKING ABOUT AP D THEY COME NEXT. 
          RIGHT? YOU START WITH THE CALL TAKER, THEN IT GOES TO THE DISPATCH. 
          RIGHT? RIGHT. 
          IF YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT A PD AND THE CALL TAKERS THAT ARE CURRENTLY CIVILIAN, THAT DOES NOT IMPACT THE STATUTORY ISSUE OR THE CONTRACTUAL ISSUE FOR A PD ALONE. 
          OKAY. 
          SO AS FAR AS YOU UNDERSTAND RESOLUTION AS IT'S STRUCTURED WOULD NOT REQUIRE RENEGOTIATION OF COLLECTING PARDONING AGREEMENTS, UH, CURRENTLY IF, IF IT'S ALREADY FILLED WITH A CIVILIAN? THAT IS CORRECT. 
          OKAY. 
          THANK YOU VERY MUCH. 
          UM, CAN I GET TWO MORE CHAIR? IS THAT OKAY? UM, SO WANTED TO GO TO THE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS AND I GUESS I'LL DIRECT THIS TO A CM AND THEN, UM, YOU COULD KIND OF DELEGATE THE QUESTION. 
          SO OUR OFFICE, WE'VE RECEIVED DATA, PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUEST DATA THAT SHOWS THAT 33,000 CALLS A YEAR ARE FLAGGED AS MENTAL HEALTH CALLS AND 
          [01:35:01]
THAT A LARGE MAJORITY OF THESE MULTIPLE POLICE UNITS DO RESPOND, BUT IT DOESN'T RESULT IN REPORTS OR CHARGES. 
          AND SO THESE SEEM LIKE CALLS THAT ARE GOOD CANDIDATES FOR DIVERSION. 
          AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE DATA WE HAVE ON 14 AND 15 IS A MUCH LOWER PERCENTAGE OF CALLS ACTUALLY GET DEFLECTED. 
          UM, I WANNA SEE IF YOU HAVE ANY KIND OF RESPONSE TO THAT AND WHETHER THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR, FOR REFORM, THERE PROBABLY IS. 
          I WOULD, I WOULD PROBABLY BELIEVE THAT THERE IS, BUT IN ORDER TO GET BETTER INFORMATION ABOUT HOW WE'RE DOING IT HERE, I WOULD PROBABLY DEFER TO A PD AND THE LIEUTENANT. 
          YES, I THINK THERE, WE WOULD LOVE TO SEE THOSE NUMBERS AND HOW THAT DATA IS COMING. 
          SO I THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO TALK ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, 'CAUSE AS YOU KNOW, DATA, YOU CHANGE ONE LITTLE COMPONENT AND IT CAN CHANGE ALL THE INFORMATION. 
          SO JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IN A LINE. 
          UH, BUT YES, I AM INTERESTED TO SEE WHAT WHAT YOUR TEAM IS, UM, IS SHOWING SO THAT WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE THERE MIGHT BE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR SOME IMPROVEMENT IN THERE FOR US. 
          WONDERFUL, THANK YOU. 
          AND I GUESS, UM, WITH MY COUPLE LAST SECONDS HERE, A CMI MEAN, IF YOU COULD JUST, UM, SHARE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT TIMELINE HERE. 
          UM, I I'M GONNA SHARE COUNCIL MEMBER LANE'S CONCERNS THAT, UM, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WE REALLY PUT A LOT OF ATTENTION TO DURING THE LAST BUDGET CYCLE AND THE NEXT BUDGET CYCLE IS JUST ABOUT UPON US. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, AND I WASN'T TOTALLY CLEAR IN THE RESOLUTION IF THE STUDY AND THE STRATEGIC PLAN ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS OR NOT, BUT DO YOU, CAN YOU GIVE US A MORE SPECIFIC TIMELINE ON DELIVERABLES AND WHETHER, UM, WE CAN GET IT'S, IT'S A FOUR STEP PROCESS FOR THE CONTRACTOR AND RIGHT NOW THEY FIND THEMSELVES FROM THE INITIAL DATA GATHER GATHERING PHASE ONTO THE ANALYSIS OF WHAT THEY HAVE, AND THEN FROM THERE THEY'LL GO ON TO, UM, THE NEXT STAGES, WHICH INCLUDES INTERVIEWS AND DIGGING INTO THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED HERE THROUGH THEIR DISCOVERY. 
          UM, AND, BUT FOR A TIMELINE, UH, I'M GONNA HAVE TO REACH BACK TO YOU, ALL OF YOU AND, AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT THAT IS. 
          AND DO YOU, DO YOU KNOW, A CM IF THERE'S A BUDGETARY CONCERN BECAUSE, UM, WHEN WE DID GET THE, UH, YOU KNOW, FIVE YEAR FINANCIAL FOR FORECAST, OUR RESOLUTION WAS LISTED AS AN UNFUNDED ITEM. 
          AND SO THAT MAY BE WONDER IS THERE LIKE A BUDGET REASON WHY THIS ISN'T MOVING FORWARD? I THINK BUDGET IS, UH, ONE OF THOSE CONSIDERATIONS THAT'LL COME INTO PLAY BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY YOU'D BE CREATING A NEW DEPARTMENT WITH A DIRECTOR, HUMAN RESOURCES, PROCUREMENT, ALL THE ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF THAT IT REQUIRES FOR IT TO OPERATE. 
          UM, BUT UM, THAT'S LIKE, I THINK JUST ONE OF THE STANDALONE ISSUES THAT IS A PART OF A WHOLE SET OF THINGS THAT THEY'RE EVALUATING, BUT NOT THE SINGULAR ONE. 
          BUT I GUESS, YOU KNOW, THIS WILL BE YOUR FIRST BUDGET WITH US, BUT YOU KNOW, BASICALLY IT STARTS IN JUNE. 
          SO DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET ALL THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, YOU KNOW, READY BY THE, SORRY, BEGINS IN JULY. 
          SO DO YOU THINK WE CAN GET ALL THIS READY BY THE END OF JUNE SO WE CAN ACTUALLY TAKE ACTION IN OUR NEXT BUDGET CYCLE? I'M GONNA HAVE TO TALK TO THE CONSULTANT AND SEE IF THAT'S POSSIBLE. 
          I I'M NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT SURE AT THIS POINT. 
          OKAY, THANK YOU CHAIR. 
          UH, VICE CHAIR, THANK YOU. 
          BEFORE I CLOSE, I'LL JUST ADD OUT ONTO THAT, THAT THIS IFC WAS BROUGHT DURING OUR LAST BUDGET PROCESS BECAUSE THERE WAS INADEQUATE INFORMATION TO HAVE THIS BUDGETARY DISCUSSION. 
          THAT'S WHY IT'S SUCH A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN THAT WE ARE NOW HEADING INTO THE NEXT ONE. 
          AND IT'S STILL INADEQUATE INFORMATION ON SOMETHING THAT I, I WOULD THINK SHOULD BE A REALLY HIGH PRIORITY. 
          I MEAN, THE MA THE MAJORITY OF THE CITY'S BUDGET GOES TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE NINE ONE ONE CALL IS THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS OF ASKING FOR HELP. 
          UM, IF THERE ARE ISSUES THERE THAT GO UNRESOLVED, WHAT WHAT ARE WE, WHAT ARE WE DOING? YOU KNOW, , UM, THAT'S NOT WHAT I INTENDED TO START WITH. 
          UH, I MEAN, TO END WITH, I, AS EACH OF YOU KNOW, WHO'VE BEEN HERE LONGER, I NEVER HESITATE TO CHAMPION PROGRAMS AND IMPROVEMENTS THAT I SEE IN EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES. 
          I AM ALWAYS WILLING TO SAY WHAT I REALLY THINK RIGHT OUT IN PUBLIC TO GO TO THE MAP FOR FUNDING THAT IS NEEDED. 
          AND THE GOAL HERE IS TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE, THAT I HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADVOCATE FOR WHAT I AM AND FOR FUNDING IN AN AREA THAT I KNOW THAT CONS MY CONSTITUENTS ARE HAVING REAL CHALLENGES WITH. 
          I MEAN, I HEAR STORIES OF PEOPLE ON THE PHONE TRYING TO GET SOMEONE WITH 9 1 1, TRY TO GET IT CONNECTED TO THE RIGHT PART WHILE THEY SEE A LAW ENFORCEMENT VEHICLE GO BY AND THEY'RE WAVING THEIR ARMS TRYING TO GET THEM TO STOP. 
          AND SO THE PROSPECT OF CONTINUING TO GO THROUGH THE PROCESS OF INDIVIDUAL MEETINGS WITH EACH OF YOUR AGENCIES AND THEN MEETING WITH WILLIAMSON COUNTY'S DISPATCH CENTER AND 
          [01:40:01]
THEN MEETING WITH THE CFO AND THEN MEETING WITH THE HEAD OF IT OF IT AND THEN MEETING WITH  AND THEN THE ELS NOT EVEN GET STARTED ON THE ESDS TO GET NOWHERE. 
          I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT. 
          LIKE WE NEED TO COME TOGETHER AS A CITY AND ALSO WE KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO WORK ACROSS DEPARTMENTS. 
          AND THE SILOED NATURE OF WHAT WE'RE SEEING RIGHT NOW IS JUST ONE MORE EXAMPLE OF THAT. 
          SO I APPRECIATE YOUR HOPEFULLY NEW NEWCOMER ENERGY IN OUR CITY. 
          I HOPE THAT YOU CAN HELP US NAVIGATE THIS. 
          IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE GET TO THE POINT OF HAVING SOME SORT OF A PLAN AND COSTS OR AT LEAST A ROADMAP TO IT , YOU KNOW, SO THANK YOU FOR HEARING ME OUT. 
          THANK YOU FOR ALL THE TIME. 
          THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THIS ON THE AGENDA. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          APPRECIATE YOU, UH, COLLEAGUES NOW WILL TAKE UP ITEM NUMBER 
          [2. Council Member José Velásquez, and Council Member Krista Laine Briefing on parks safety and multi-department response to calls for service at parks [Lisa Davis, Chief of Police - Austin Police; Jesus Aguirre, Director - Austin Parks and Recreation].]
TWO. 
          IT'S A BRIEFING ON PARK SAFETY AND MULTI-DEPARTMENT RESPONSE TO CALLS FOR SERVICE AT PARKS. 
          UH, I WAS TOLD WE HAD, UH, CHIEF DAVIS AND DIRECTOR AGUIRE. 
          I, GOOD MORNING. 
          UM, MY NAME'S JODY JI SERVE AS THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION, AND I HAVE SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES HERE THAT WILL PRESENT, UM, ABOUT PARK SAFETY. 
          AND I'LL TURN IT OVER TO AMANDA ROSS, WHO SERVES AS THE, UM, DIVISION MANAGER OF NATURAL RESOURCES. 
          AMANDA, THANK YOU. 
          UM, WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ASSISTANT CHIEF CHANCELLOR WITH US TODAY. 
          I'LL, I'LL KICK US OFF AND TRANSITION IT OVER TO OUR COLLEAGUES WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND, MAKE SURE I CAN, UM, WE'RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT PARKS TODAY. 
          AND JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT, WE HAVE OVER 350 PARK SPACES WITHIN OUR CITY. 
          UM, WE, THAT INCLUDES PLAYGROUNDS, FACILITIES, UM, A VARIETY OF VENUES, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, MORE THAN 260 MILES OF TRAILS THROUGHOUT OUR PARK SYSTEM. 
          WE ALSO HAVE, UM, ALMOST 21,000 ACRES THROUGHOUT THE CITY AS WELL. 
          AND THAT IS NOT ONLY MOWED PARKLAND, BUT THAT IS NATURAL VEGETATED SPACES. 
          IT IS GREEN BELTS, PRESERVES, JUST A VARIETY OF SPACES WITHIN OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          AND TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT AS WELL FOR HISTORY, UM, WANTED TO TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR PARK RANGERS AND OUR POLICE AND KIND OF THE HISTORY OF THIS, UM, OF THESE UNITS. 
          THE FIRST PARK, UM, RANGERS WERE ACTUALLY ESTABLISHED IN 1968. 
          UM, THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT 17 YEARS WE HAD ABOUT 10 THAT WERE EVENTUALLY HIRED. 
          THESE WERE ALL COMMISSIONED POLICE OFFICERS AND THEY WERE ALL WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, IN 1985, THEY WERE ACTUALLY RENAMED THE PARK POLICE AND DID HAVE SOME EXPANDED DUTIES AND DID BECOME OFFICIAL, UH, FEDERAL PARK RANGER. 
          UM, UNDER THAT CERTIFICATION, THEY CONTINUED TO BE COMMISSIONED PEACE OFFICERS AND CONTINUED TO BE WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT, UM, WITH CENTRALIZATION WITHIN, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          IN 2008, THE PARK POLICE WERE TRANSITIONED OVER TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AT THAT POINT IN TIME. 
          UM, IN 2008, ALSO DURING THIS TIMEFRAME, THE CURRENT PARK RANGERS WERE ESTABLISHED AND THESE BECAME KIND OF THE AMBASSADORS AND THEY WERE WITHIN THE AUSTIN PARKS AND RECREATION UNIT WITH THE IDEA THAT THEY WERE GOING TO BE KIND OF THE FORWARD FACING PUBLIC SIDE WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR PARK POLICE WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, IN 2021, UM, THE PARK POLICE UNIT WITHIN A PD, UM, WAS TRANSITIONED TO THE GENERAL PO UH, GENERAL POLICE PATROL. 
          UM, AND WE CONTINUE TO PARTNER WITH OUR PARK POLICE OR WITH OUR POLICE UNITS, UM, SPECIFICALLY THROUGH OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, SO PARK RANGERS AND THEIR ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES AND WHAT THEY ARE TODAY. 
          SO THESE ARE VISIBLE PRESENCE IN OUR PARKS. 
          THEY ARE OUT THERE TALKING TO PEOPLE. 
          THEY ARE PROVIDING SIMPLE, YOU KNOW, GENERAL DIRECTIONAL INFORMATION. 
          THEY'RE PROVIDING INFORMATION ABOUT RESPONSIBLE RECREATION, A LOT OF DOG OFF LEASH CONTACTS, A LOT OF, UM, ALCOHOL, GLASS, SMOKING, SOME GENERAL PUBLIC INFORMATION, SOME LOWER LEVEL INFORMATION AS WELL AS THEY ARE ABLE TO BE RESPONSIVE. 
          [01:45:01]
SO IF THERE IS A SPECIFIC NEED, THEY CAN, UM, IDENTIFY THOSE NEEDS IN THAT AREA AND BE, UM, DO FOCUSED EFFORTS IN THAT AREA AS WELL. 
          AND THEY REALLY ARE KIND OF HIGH IMPACT, RIGHT? SO THIS MEANS IF WE ARE CONTINUING TO SEE A CONCERN IN A CERTAIN AREA, THEY CAN FOCUS THOSE EFFORTS IN THAT AREA AND REALLY FOCUS ON THAT MESSAGING ASSOCIATED WITH THE RESPONSIBLE RECREATION. 
          SPECIFICALLY, WE HAVE 23 PARK RANGERS AND THEY WORK EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK. 
          UM, THEY ARE ORGANIZED SO THAT WE HAVE A BACK HALF, WHICH IS A WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. 
          UM, AND THAT IS, UM, THE MAJORITY OF OUR STAFF WORK THAT TIMEFRAME. 
          JUST WE FIND THAT FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS IN OUR PARK SYSTEM ARE TYPICALLY THE BUSIEST. 
          UM, THEY ALSO WORK IN A ZONE SYSTEM, SO THEY ARE ASSIGNED A ZONE, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH DAY OR ACTUALLY THE BEGINNING OF EACH WEEK. 
          AND THEN WITHIN THAT ZONE WE'VE IDENTIFIED KNOWN HOTSPOTS AS WELL AS DIRECTED PATROLS. 
          AND SO WITHIN THAT ZONE SYSTEM, THOSE KNOWN HOTSPOTS OR AREAS THAT THEY'RE REQUIRED TO VISIT DAILY, AS WELL AS ANY DIRECTIVE PATROLS, IF WE'VE GOTTEN A COMPLAINT FOR A DOG OFF LEASH CONCERN IN AN AREA THAT IS AN AREA THAT THEY WILL VISIT AS WELL. 
          SO THAT'S HOW KIND OF WE OPERATE ON A DAILY BASIS WITHIN OUR PARK RANGER UNIT. 
          UM, ALSO WITHIN OUR PARK RANGER UNIT IS, UM, WE ARE VERY DATA DRIVEN. 
          UM, AND THIS INVOLVES A LOT OF DATA COLLECTION. 
          SO EVERY SINGLE INTERACTION THAT A PARK RANGER HAS WITH THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS EVERY VISIT TO A PARK IS LOGGED USING GIS. 
          AND SO OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE ABLE TO THEN LOOK AT THAT DATA AND MAKE ADJUSTMENTS SO THAT OUR HOTSPOTS AND OUR ZONES ARE, ARE APPROPRIATE THAT WE CAN, IF WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE SAME CONCERNS IN THE SAME AREAS. 
          ARE THERE OTHER THINGS THAT WE COULD DO IN THAT AREA? IS IT ADDITIONAL TABLING WITH BARK RANGER PROGRAMMING, WHICH IS, UM, A COMMUNICATION EFFORT FOCUSED ON DOGS OFF LEASH, UM, WHERE WE ARE TRYING TO DO ADDITIONAL EFFORTS IN THOSE AREAS. 
          IS IT VOLUNTEER EFFORTS FOR CLEANUP? WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT WE CAN DO IN THOSE AREAS? UM, THIS IS JUST A SNIPPET OF DATA. 
          UM, A PROPERTY TYPE CALL OR A PROPERTY TYPE CONTACT COULD BE A VISIT TO A PARK. 
          SO THAT'S WHY YOU'LL SEE THAT'S KIND OF OUR LARGEST, UM, VISITOR ACTIVITY. 
          UM, INCLUDES DOGS OFF LEASH. 
          UM, THE PROPERTY ONE ACTUALLY ALSO INCLUDES THE DOG OFF LEASH, BUT IN, UM, AREAS WHERE THEY'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE, FOR INSTANCE, IN OUR NATURE PRESERVES DOGS ARE NOT ALLOWED. 
          AND THEN THAT JUST ON THE BOTTOM THERE, THAT JUST SHOWS YOU THAT, UM, ZILKER PARK IS OUR AREA OF HIGHEST, UM, CONTACT. 
          AND I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT THESE ARE THE INTERACTIONS ARE PARK RANGERS ARE HAVING, ARE KIND OF BASIC QUALITY OF LIFE, UM, INTERACTIONS. 
          USUALLY THEY'RE NOT HIGH LEVEL HUGE LEVELS OF ENFORCEMENT. 
          THEY REALLY ARE TRYING TO MAKE THE PARKS MORE WELCOMING AND SAFE FOR THOSE THAT ARE IN THEM. 
          UM, SO THE LARGEST THAT YOU'LL SEE OFTENTIMES FOR, UM, CONCERNS ARE DOG OFF LEASH CONCERNS. 
          AND SO THIS IS A, A HEAT MAP OF SOME OF THOSE DOG OFF LEASH CONCERNS. 
          YOU'LL SEE KIND OF THAT CENTRAL CORE, UM, BARTON CREEK GREEN BELT SHOWS UP AS WELL. 
          UM, YOU, YOU START TO SEE EMMA LONG AND COMMONS FORD ALSO KIND OF OUT NORTH AND WEST. 
          UM, AND THEN YOU'LL ALSO SEE ROY G YOU'LL SEE THOSE KINDS OF AREAS AS WELL. 
          AND THEN, UM, SOME DOVE SPRINGS KIND OF IN THE SOUTH AND EAST, SO YOU'LL SEE SOME OF THOSE HOTSPOTS. 
          UM, SOUTH AUSTIN RECREATION CENTER ALSO SHOWS UP ON THIS MAP AS THERE ARE JUST KIND OF CONSISTENT CONCERNS THAT WE DO SEE THROUGH THE PARK RANGER CONTACT INFORMATION. 
          AND WHILE DOGS OFF LEASH MIGHT SEEM LIKE A REALLY SIMPLE THING, UM, TO, UM, A PARENT WHO'S GOT THEIR KID OUT THERE WHO'S JUST TRYING TO ENJOY A SOCCER FIELD, IT IT CAN BE A VERY MUCH A SAFETY CONCERN FOR THEM. 
          UM, WE'VE HAD INCIDENTS WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, DOG BITES ON INDIVIDUALS AND AGAIN, OUR GOAL IS TO BE A WELCOMING SPACE. 
          UM, AND FOR CLARIFICATION, DOGS ARE REQUIRED TO BE ON LEASH UNLESS IT IS AN, UH, DESIGNATED OFF LEASH AREA WITHIN OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, WE BASICALLY HAVE, UM, AN AGREEMENT THAT BASICALLY DISCUSSES HOW WE WILL MEET, UM, AND, AND SHARE INFORMATION. 
          UM, SO WE HAVE A, A SHARED MOU WITH THEM AS WELL. 
          UM, AND A PD DOES OVERSEE PUBLIC SAFETY AS IT RELATES TO ALL ILLEGAL ACTIVITY WITHIN THE CITY. 
          UM, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH THEM ON TAKE LOCK HIDE MESSAGING. 
          UM, BURGLARY VEHICLES IS ONE OF PROBABLY THE LARGER, UM, PROPERTY CRIMES WE SEE CONSISTENTLY WITHIN OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT AND TAKE, TAKE LOCK HIDE MESSAGING CAN REALLY HELP, UM, IN THAT COMMUNICATION PIECE TO LET PEOPLE KNOW SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO, UM, AND EMPOWER THEM. 
          UM, SO HOPEFULLY REDUCE ANY NEGATIVE IMPACTS TO THEM AS WELL. 
          WE ALSO PARTNERED ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PROPERTY CRIME AND TAKE LOCK 
          [01:50:01]
HIDE MESSAGING, UM, ON SECURITY CAMERAS. 
          IN THE PAST WHEN WE DID HAVE BURGLARY VEHICLES, UM, AND THAT ALLOWED FOR INFORMATION, UM, BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THAT ACTUALLY LED TO SOME SUBSTANTIAL ARREST AND INVESTIGATION EFFORTS, UM, WHICH, UM, WERE SUCCESSFUL, UM, IN PROSECUTION AS WELL. 
          UM, WE ALSO ARE PILOTING THIS YEAR, UM, IN COLLABORATION WITH OUR, UM, OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, A PILOT, UM, THAT IS REALLY FOCUSING ON, UM, ADDITIONAL PATROLS TO THE AREA AND JOINT EFFORTS IN THOSE PATROLS, UM, BETWEEN OUR PARK RANGERS AND OUR, OUR POLICE. 
          AND WHAT THEY'VE DONE REALLY, UM, THAT IS A LITTLE INNOVATIVE THIS YEAR, WHICH WE'RE EXCITED ABOUT, IS IT'S NOT ONLY TAKING 9 1 1 3 1 1 AND AND DATA ASSOCIATED WITH CRIME IN THE AREA, BUT IT'S ALSO WORKING TO INTEGRATE THE PARK RANGER DATA. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE PARK SPECIFICALLY WHERE WE'RE SEEING THOSE CONCERNS TO HELP INFORM SOME OF THOSE, UM, PATROLS THAT ARE OCCURRING IN THOSE AREAS AS WELL. 
          AND WE'VE JUST KIND OF KICKED THAT OFF, UM, THIS YEAR. 
          OH, THE TITLE DIDN'T COME THROUGH ON THAT ONE, BUT THAT'S OKAY. 
          , UM, UH, THE PARK RANGER OR THE PARKS AND RECREATION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY ISN'T ACTUALLY, WE'RE MISSING A COUPLE THINGS THERE. 
          LEMME NOT SURE WHY THAT DIDN'T COME THROUGH. 
          UM, BUT, UH, FOR PUBLIC SAFETY SUPPORT, IT'S NOT ONLY, UM, WHAT OUR PARK RANGERS DO AND OUR POLICE, BUT THERE'S RESPONSIBILITIES AND ROLES WITHIN THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          THAT FIRST ONE THERE IS ACTUALLY, UM, SUPPOSED TO BE SIGNAGE AND TALKING ABOUT INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO THE IDEA THAT THE PARKS DEPARTMENT CAN, UM, HELP SUPPORT PUBLIC SAFETY AND PROVIDE A MORE SAFE, WELCOMING SPACE THROUGH SIGNAGE, UM, YOU KNOW, LIMESTONE BLOCKS AND JUST DIRECTING PEOPLE TO THE RIGHT PLACE, KEEPING PEOPLE OUT OF PLACES AND PROVIDING THAT. 
          AND THAT IS REALLY A ROLE FOR THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT TO, UM, FULLY, FULLY OWN AND, AND DO, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING THAT KIND OF ESSENTIAL INITIAL SPACE. 
          UM, ALSO IN PARTNERSHIP IS FOCUSED PROGRAMMING AND AREAS OF CONCERNS, AND I MENTIONED THAT BEFORE, IF WE CONTINUE TO SEE THE SAME CONCERN, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POP-UP PROGRAMMING? HOW CAN WE ACTIVATE THAT SPACE WITH PROGRAMMING? AND AGAIN, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IS WITHIN THE PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT'S PURVIEW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE DOING ALSO WITH OUR, UM, POLICE UNIT IS JOINT EFFORTS WHEN WE CAN, UM, AS WELL AS LOOKING AT JOINT EFFORTS WITH CODE SO THAT WE CAN PROVIDE KIND OF A MORE HOLISTIC RESPONSE THROUGH OUR, UM, THROUGH OUR EFFORTS WITHIN, UM, THE CITY. 
          UM, LASTLY IS ON THE RIGHT HAND SIDE HERE IS JUST TALKING ABOUT VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. 
          OUR PARK RANGERS ARE NON-COMMISSIONED. 
          THEY'RE NOT COMMISSIONED. 
          AND SO REALLY THEIR BIGGEST TOOL IS EDUCATION AND INFORMATION AND JUST MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE AWARE AND UNDERSTAND, UM, THE IMPORTANCE OF IT USING, UM, THE AUTHORITY OF THE RESOURCE, WHICH IS EXPLAINING WHY IT'S IMPORTANT AND KIND OF TALKING ABOUT THE, THE OVERALL BENEFIT OF THAT RESOURCE AND THE IMPACT OF ANY OF THOSE, UM, EFFORTS AND HOW WE CAN TRY AND KEEP THAT RESOURCE, UM, PROTECTED FOR ALL. 
          ALSO, UM, OUR PARK RANGERS CAN WRITE PARKING TICKETS AND THEY ALSO ISSUE WARNING VIOLATIONS. 
          AND SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE DO WHEN WE REALIZE IT'S A HIGHER LEVEL NEED. 
          AND THIS HELPS US IN OUR COMMUNICATION WITH OUR, UM, OUR PARTNERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CODE. 
          FOR INSTANCE, WE'LL DO WARNING VIOLATIONS FOR REPEAT OFFENDERS. 
          UM, PARTICULARLY ASSOCIATED WITH ILLEGAL VENDING IS ONE WE'LL OFTEN SEE SO THAT WE CAN KEEP TRACK OF THIS. 
          THIS ALSO HELPS WITH ANY CRIMINAL TRESPASS NOTICES THAT ARE PROVIDED. 
          OFTENTIMES, UM, CERTAIN PARTS OF THE CRIMINAL TRESPASS NOTICES, UM, THREE WARNINGS NEED TO BE PROVIDED AND PROVIDING KIND OF AN OFFICIAL WRITTEN WARNING, UM, HELPS SUPPORT THAT PROCESS AS WELL. 
          AND LASTLY IS, UM, A PARK SAFETY AUDIT THAT WAS COMPLETE LAST SUMMER. 
          AND SO I WANNA GO INTO THAT SAFETY AUDIT JUST A LITTLE BIT AND GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON IT. 
          SO THE SAFETY AUDIT WAS COMPLETE LAST SUMMER. 
          WE, UM, WORKED WITH THE PARKS FOUNDATION TO PROVIDE, UM, TO HAVE AN EXTERNAL ENTITY COME IN AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO US. 
          UM, JUST SOME FINDINGS THAT THEY HAD WAS THAT THE MAJORITY OF CRIME 80% WAS ACTUALLY FOCUSED ON PROPERTY CRIME IN OUR PARKS DEPARTMENT OR IN OUR PARKS SYSTEM. 
          IN ADDITION, UM, PET AND ALCOHOL VIOLATIONS WERE THE MOST FREQUENT RULE VIOLATIONS, AND AGAIN, THAT'S PARKER RANGER DATA THAT'S, UM, SHARING THAT. 
          AND THEY ALSO FOUND THAT THERE WAS A PHYSICAL SECURITY GAP, THAT THERE'S LIGHTING BLIND SPOTS AND THAT THESE CREATED VULNERABILITIES WITHIN THE SYSTEM. 
          AND SOME OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THEY HAD FOR THAT WERE TO, UM, GET A CENTRALIZED SAFETY, UM, CENTRALIZED SAFETY UNIT AND TO STANDARDIZE SAFETY AND SECURITY, UH, PROTOCOLS THROUGHOUT THE PARK SYSTEM. 
          THEY ALSO, UM, WORKED ON SOME ACT OR SUGGESTED ACT ACTIVATION, INCLUDING SOME ADDITIONAL PARTNERSHIP WITH OUR, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          AND LASTLY, SOME INFRASTRUCTURE. 
          SO IMPLEMENTING, UH, CRIME 
          [01:55:01]
PREVENTION THROUGH ENVIRONMENTAL DI DESIGN SPECIFICALLY AND WORKING TO GET THOSE CONSISTENTLY IMPLEMENTED THROUGHOUT. 
          UM, AND THIS IS JUST SOME OF THE DATA AND JUST TO, TO NOTE THAT, UM, FOR THOSE PARK RULES VIOLATIONS, WHICH IS PARK RANGER CONTACT INFORMATION, UM, THAT'S WHERE YOU SEE YOUR PET VIOLATION SHOWING UP. 
          AND SO WITH THAT SECURITY AUDIT, UM, WE'RE WORKING CURRENTLY RIGHT NOW ON THAT YEAR ONE, WHICH IS OUR GOAL IS TO ESTABLISH OUR GOVERNANCE AND THAT IS REALLY WORKING TO GET THAT CENTRALIZED UNIT TOGETHER. 
          WE'RE WORKING WITH OUR HUMAN RESOURCES, UM, UNIT TO WORK ON HIRING AND, AND GETTING THAT SECURITY MANAGER ESTABLISHED. 
          AND ONCE WE'VE DONE THAT AND KIND OF ESTABLISHED THAT, LAID THAT GROUNDWORK, OUR GOAL THEN IS TO TRANSITION TO OPERATIONS AND REALLY START TO, UM, FOCUS ON THOSE DESIGN STANDARDS, WORK ON GETTING SOME ADDITIONAL DEESCALATION TRAINING FOR ALL STAFF THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT AND ALSO WORKING ON FACILITY ACCESS CONTROLS AND RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE ALSO IN THE REPORT. 
          UM, AND WITH THAT, I WILL TURN THIS OVER TO, UM, OUR PARTNERS AT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. 
          THANK YOU, AMANDA. 
          I HOPE IF I TURN THAT ON. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING THIS TO COME AND PRESENT ON PUBLIC SAFETY AND PARKS THIS MORNING. 
          AMANDA, THANK YOU FOR KIND OF SPEARHEADING THIS PRESENTATION. 
          BEFORE I JUMP INTO SOME OF THE DATA AND TALKING ABOUT OUR IMPROVING COMMUNICATIONS AND INCREASING INTERAGENCY RESPONSE, I'D LIKE TO THANK ASHLEY AVANT, JOHN MICHAEL DE SILVA, HANNA VASQUEZ, DR. CHRISTIAN FRITZ AND JOEL VARGAS, UM, FROM OUR GROUP THAT HELPED PUT TOGETHER THIS INFORMATION, I WILL GIVE A HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW AND THEN WE'LL TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE WAYS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR PRESENCE IN PARKS AND IMPROVE OUR PARTNERSHIP AND COMMUNICATION WITH THE PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          SO AS YOU CAN SEE, OUR CALLS INCREASED FROM 2024 TO 2025. 
          UH, POLICE REPORTS, HOWEVER, DECREASED IN THAT SAME AMOUNT OF TIME, WHICH TELLS ME THAT THESE ARE LOWER LEVEL QUALITY OF LIFE TYPE ISSUES INSTEAD OF ACTUAL CRIMINAL ISSUES THAT ARE INCREASING. 
          ARREST HAS INCREASED. 
          SO YOU DO HAVE A, A SLIGHT INCREASE THERE AND THAT IS PRIMARILY DUE TO REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK. 
          AND YOU'LL SEE THAT IN A SLIDE HERE IN A MINUTE OF THE ARRESTS THAT ARE MADE THERE. 
          AND THEN YOU CAN SEE AS WELL AS MOST OF THE CITY, OUR RESPONSE TIMES TO PARKS HAS DECREASED SUBSTANTIALLY BY NEARLY 20%, UH, FROM 2024 TO 2025. 
          THIS CHART LOOKS A LITTLE SCARY THERE. 
          YOU'RE GONNA SEE A MASSIVE BUMP IN OCTOBER FOR WHAT IS ZIL CAR PARK PRIMARILY, AND THAT'S DUE TO ACL COMING IN. 
          ACL HIRES OVER A HUNDRED OFFICERS TO WORK THE FESTIVAL. 
          AND SO WHEN THAT HAPPENS, OUR PROPERTY CRIME CHANGES FROM, UH, BOVS TYPICALLY TO, UH, THEFT OF PERSON, WHICH IS CELL PHONE PICKPOCKETING. 
          AND SO WITH THOSE OFFICERS ON SCENE, THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY SEEING MORE, THEY'RE SELF INITIATING MORE, BUT THEY'RE ALSO THERE TO RESPOND TO THOSE THINGS. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHAT THAT BUMP IS THAT YOU SEE IN OCTOBER. 
          THESE ARE OUR TOP 20 PARKS WITH ARREST. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE AT THE TOP, REPUBLIC SQUARE HAS GONE UP, UH, 108% FROM 2024 TO 2025. 
          THAT IS ONE OF THE PRIMARY LOCATIONS THAT THE DOWNTOWN AREA GETS COMPLAINTS ABOUT. 
          IT IS OBVIOUSLY CENTRAL. 
          THERE'S A LOT GOING ON THERE. 
          THE TOP THREE ARRESTS THAT WE GET IN THAT AREA ARE FOR WARRANTS FOR POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE AND FOR PUBLIC INTOXICATION. 
          OUR CALLS FOR SERVICE, AS YOU'LL SEE THOUGH, WE DON'T GET, UH, REPUBLIC SQUARE PARK DOESN'T EVEN BREAK THE TOP 20. 
          SO ZILKER IS OUR TOP AREA FOR CALLS FOR SERVICE. 
          IT HAS GONE UP SLIGHTLY OVER THE LAST YEAR. 
          AND THEN THE TYPES OF CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT WE GET THESE AT THESE LOCATIONS, AS YOU'LL SEE, OUR TOP TYPE IS ONSITE INCIDENT, WHICH MEANS THAT AN OFFICER WAS EITHER FLAGGED DOWN OR TOOK A SELF-INITIATED, UM, RESPONSE TO SOMETHING THAT THEY OBSERVED. 
          THAT IS FAR AND AWAY OUR TOP CALL. 
          THE SECOND ONE IS, UH, DISORDERLY CONDUCT OR A CITY OF ALL, OR A CITY ORDINANCE VIOLATION, MOST LIKELY DEALING WITH NOISE. 
          WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN THE NOISE THAT'S COMING OUT OF THESE REPORTS. 
          TAKEN. 
          ZILKER IS AGAIN, THE, THE TOP. 
          AND THEN WE HAVE, UH, MOUNT BONNELL. 
          UM, MAINLY THOSE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OCTOBER, ARE GONNA BE ARY VEHICLE REPORTS. 
          SO WHAT WE'RE DOING TO KIND OF IMPROVE OUR PRESENCE IN THE PARKS, WITH SIXTH STREET BEING OPENED UP TO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC DURING THE WEEKENDS, WE'VE TRANSITIONED OUR MOUNTED UNIT TO BE ABLE TO DO SOME DIFFERENT THINGS, AND WE'RE USING THEM TO COMBAT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING IN PARKS. 
          THE MAJORITY OF ISSUES, AGAIN, ARE QUALITY OF LIFE, LIFE ISSUES. 
          AND SO WITH MOUNTED BEING ABLE TO BE PRESENT THERE AND BE VISIBLE, YOU CAN SEE A MOUNTED UNIT FROM A LOT FURTHER AWAY THAN YOU CAN SEE ANYONE ELSE. 
          UM, AND THEY'RE MAKING CONTACT WITH PEOPLE. 
          UH, THEY'RE MAKING CONTACT WITH OUR PARK RANGERS AND THE PARK STAFF TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE COLLABORATING, COMMUNICATING. 
          [02:00:01]
UM, SINCE THEY'VE BEEN OUT THERE, WE'VE, UH, HIT ALL OF THESE PARKS AND WE'VE ONLY BEEN DOING THIS FOR ABOUT EIGHT WEEKS NOW. 
          SO, UM, BUT SINCE THEY'VE BEEN OUT THERE, THEY'VE HIT ALL OF THESE PARKS AND WE'RE USING THE CRIME DATA THAT WE'RE COLLECTING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE HITTING THE PARKS THAT WE NEED TO. 
          UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, YOU'LL RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, MOUNT BONNELL IS NOT ON THIS LIST, HOWEVER, IF YOU'RE NOT THE MAN FROM SNOWY RIVER, YOU'RE PROBABLY NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO HIT THAT ONE ON HORSEBACK. 
          SO , UM, CAN YOU GET A SPECIALIZED TEAM UP THERE TO MAYBE REPLACE THEM? I'M SENDING COMMANDER SMITH UP THERE TO BEAUTIFUL TO LIVE UP THERE. 
          SO, UM, BUT I'M, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH, I'M THINKING, I'M THINKING YOU CAN TAKE THE COUNCIL MEMBER OUT THERE WITH Y'ALL ON HORSEBACK. 
          ABSOLUTELY. 
          WE'LL LET HIM LEAD THE WAY, SIR. 
          UM, I'M READY. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING WITH, UH, THE MOUNTED UNIT. 
          THEY'VE DONE A PHENOMENAL JOB. 
          THEY'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF GREAT PUBLICITY, UH, HUNDREDS OF CONTACTS, UH, EVERY TIME THEY HIT SOMEWHERE LIKE ZILKER PARK, UH, WHERE THERE'S A LOT OF PEOPLE OUT THERE. 
          AND SO IN ADDITION TO WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING, UM, TO HELP INCREASE OUR COMMUNICATION WITH THE PARKS UNIT IS WE SET OUR DAVID SECTOR SUPERVISORS, WHICH DAVID SECTOR IS WHAT'S RESPONSIBLE FOR ZOCAR PARK, UH, IN COORDINATION WITH, UH, MEMBERS OF THE PARKS TEAM TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY START COMMUNICATING, HOW DO WE BUILD THIS OUT BETTER? YOU'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO PUT THEM ON RADIOS. 
          UM, THERE ARE A LOT OF RULES AROUND COMPLIANCE FOR THAT, UH, OR AT LEAST ON THE RADIOS THAT WE'RE ON. 
          AND SO WITH THAT, HOW DO WE IMPROVE OUR COORDINATION? SO WE'VE HAD THE SUPERVISORS START MEETING TOGETHER, LOOKING AT CREATING TEAMS CHANNELS, LOOKING AT PROVIDING CELL PHONE NUMBERS SO THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE PARK RANGERS AND THE SUPERVISORS THERE CAN DIRECTLY REACH OUT TO PATROL AND HAVE CONTACT. 
          AND SO I THINK CONTACT ON THE EARLIER END VERSUS JUST WHEN AN EMERGENCY HAPPENS IS THE CRITICAL PART. 
          SO MAKING SURE THAT WE KNOW WHERE THEY'RE SEEING ISSUES SO THAT WE CAN RESPOND AND ADJUST OUR RESPONSES APPROPRIATELY. 
          SO, UM, WE'RE STILL GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS. 
          WE HAVE ANOTHER MEETING, I BELIEVE, COMING UP IN A WEEK OR SO, UH, TO DISCUSS WHAT THOSE SUPERVISORS, UH, FROM BOTH POLICE AND PARKS HAVE COME UP WITH TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE IMPROVE COMMUNICATION AND MAKE SURE WE'RE RESPONDING APPROPRIATELY AND HAVING A, A BETTER INTERAGENCY UM, RESPONSE. 
          AND SO WITH THAT, UH, THERE'S A FUN SLIDE ON DATA MYTHOLOGY IF Y'ALL WANT IT. 
          UH, AND THEN WE CAN TAKE QUESTIONS. 
          THANK Y'ALL. 
          AND THANK YOU SO MUCH. 
          THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE. 
          ALSO, I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT, I'VE ACTUALLY SEEN THE MATTER PATROLS, UH, TWO SEPARATE TIMES IN MY DISTRICT, UH, ON THE HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL ON FESTIVAL BEACH, AND THEN, UH, ON, UH, THE SOUTH, IN THE SOUTH SHORE DISTRICT OR RIVERSIDE. 
          UH, I HAD A COUPLE OF, UH, QUESTIONS ON SLIDE NUMBER 11. 
          UH, WHAT ARE THE JOB EXPECTATIONS OF THE SECURITY MANAGER AND WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR BRINGING THAT PERSON ON? UM, SO THE GOAL IS REALLY TO CENTRALIZE THROUGHOUT THE DEPARTMENT, RIGHT? SO FOCUS ON INFRASTRUCTURE, GET SOME OF THOSE CONSISTENCIES WITH WHAT OUR, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE GOALS ARE FOR SECURITY ACCESS CONTROLS, MAKING SURE THAT VEGETATION HAS STANDARDS, THINGS LIKE THAT. 
          SO THAT'S ONE PART OF IT. 
          ANOTHER PART OF IT IS TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STAFF ARE TRAINED APPROPRIATELY AND HAVE THAT AS WELL. 
          AND THEN LASTLY, UM, OUR PARK RANGERS WILL ALSO BE PART OF THAT SECURITY UNIT AS WELL, AS WELL AS, UM, WE HAVE SOME TEMPORARY FUNDING OR TEMPORARY FUNDING THAT IS FOR TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES SO THAT WE COULD HIRE SOME ADDITIONAL SECURITY GUARDS, AND SO THAT, THAT UNIT WILL BE IN CHARGE OF THAT. 
          UM, AND OUR CURRENT STATUS IS WORK, CONTINUING TO WORK WITH OUR HUMAN RESOURCES UNITS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE MEETING EVERYTHING WE NEED TO, TO BE ABLE TO, UH, TRANSITION AND HIRE. 
          OKAY. 
          AND HOW, HOW WILL THAT POSITION BE FUNDED? UM, IT'S A RECLASSIFICATION CURRENTLY WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT, WITHIN THE CITY OF AUSTIN PARKS DEPARTMENT. 
          OKAY. 
          I HAVE, UH, ONE MORE QUESTION, UH, ON FROM SLIDES 13 TO 18, WHAT ARE THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIMES TO 3 1 1 AND 9 1 1 PARK RELATED CALLS? SO THAT AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME, THAT SHOWS UP AT THE BOTTOM OF SLIDE 13 HERE, THAT'S OUR AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME FOR ALL CALLS PRIORITY ZERO THROUGH PRIORITY THREE. 
          UM, IF YOU COMPARE THAT TO SAY, UH, CITYWIDE, UM, OUR PRIORITY TWO RESPONSE TIME CITYWIDE CURRENTLY ARE 35 MINUTES. 
          SO IT'S DRASTICALLY UNDER IT. 
          AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THE CALL DATA I PROVIDED EARLIER. 
          MOST OF THESE CALLS ARE NOT EMERGENCY CALLS. 
          THEY'RE PROBABLY CLOSER TO PRIORITY THREE RESPONSE TIMES. 
          HOWEVER, THAT, UM, PRIORITY RESPONSE THREE RESPONSE TIME FOR THE CITY IS OVER AN HOUR. 
          SO YOU CAN SEE THAT IT IS REMARKABLY BETTER. 
          THANK YOU. 
          COLLEAGUES. 
          COUNCIL MEMBER DICHEN, UH, THANK YOU. 
          I'VE GOT A, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS AND THE UPDATES. 
          UM, I'VE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS THAT I WANTED TO RUN BY Y'ALL. 
          ONE IS, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU FLAG THE HOTSPOTS ON THAT SLIDE, WHICH INCLUDE A COUPLE OF PARKS THAT I KNOW THAT WE'VE HAD SOME CHALLENGES WITH, INCLUDING EMMA LONG AND, UH, MOUNT BONNE AND BULL CREEK. 
          UM, AND YET FOR 
          [02:05:01]
WHATEVER REASON, I'M NOT SEEING THOSE REALLY REFLECTED ON ANY OF THE POLICE REPORTING. 
          UM, THEY DON'T SHOW UP ON CALLS FOR SERVICE, THEY DON'T SHOW UP AS ARRESTS, UH, BUT THEY START TO SHOW UP AS REPORTS TAKEN. 
          CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHAT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THOSE CATEGORIES ARE AND WHY THEY'RE SHOWING UP AS REPORT WITH REPORTS, BUT NOT ON ANYTHING ELSE? SURE. 
          SO TALKING ABOUT, WE'LL TAKE HIM ALONG, FOR EXAMPLE. 
          THE MAJORITY OF THOSE RIGHT NOW ARE NOISE COMPLAINTS THEY'VE TAKEN TO DOING SOME RAVES, AS YOU KNOW, OUT IN THAT AREA. 
          AND SO THAT'S NOT GONNA TYPICALLY GO GONNA BE AN ARREST. 
          SO TYPICALLY THAT'S GOING TO BE A SITUATION WHERE AN OFFICER GOES OUT THERE, UH, GATHERS COMPLIANCE THROUGH EITHER A WARNING OR A CITATION. 
          UH, USUALLY WE ARE ABLE TO SHUT THAT DOWN FROM THAT, UM, PERSPECTIVE. 
          UM, IN ADDITION, AS YOU KNOW, IT TAKES A LONG TIME TO GET OUT TO ONG PARK, AND SO SOMETIMES WHEN THE OFFICERS GET OUT THERE, THE PEOPLE ARE GONE. 
          AND SO WHAT THAT'S GONNA TRANSLATE TO IS THERE'S NO ARREST HERE, BUT THE OFFICER WILL GO OUT THERE AND WRITE A REPORT OVER WHAT THE INCIDENT WAS SO THAT WE CAN DOCUMENT THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON AND WE'VE TAKEN A STANCE ON WRITING MORE REPORTS THAN LESS IN THESE SITUATIONS, SO THAT WE'LL HAVE MORE INFORMATION GOING FORWARD, EVEN WHEN IT MAY NOT BE TYPICALLY SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD TAKE A RIGHT A REPORT ON. 
          THAT WAY WE CAN GATHER AS MUCH INFORMATION AS POSSIBLE. 
          SO HOW ARE WE DEFINING CALLS OF SERVICE IN THIS CONTEXT? SO ON THE CALLS FOR SERVICE THAT THEY PULLED, THEY PULLED ALL OF THE DATA THAT WE RESPOND TO, AND THAT INCLUDES WHEN AN OFFICER'S ON SCENE AND GETS FLAGGED DOWN. 
          SO YOUR CALLS FOR SERVICE ARE GOING TO BE ANYTHING THAT COMES INTO 3 1 1 9 1 1. 
          AND IT'S GOING TO INCLUDE WHEN AN OFFICER SAYS, HEY, I'M BEING FLAGGED DOWN OUT HERE. 
          OKAY. 
          UH, SO I'M JUST CONFUSED HOW, WALK ME THROUGH HOW THOSE ARE NOT GETTING CAPTURED IN CALLS FOR SERVICE. 
          WHICH ONES AREN'T GETTING CAPTURED? THE ONES THAT, YOU KNOW, LIKE AS I SAID, LOOKING AT THAT LIST, UH, FOR THE TOP 20 PARKS WITH CALLS FOR SERVICE, I'M NOT SEEING ANY OF THOSE PARKS LISTED THERE THAT I JUST MENTIONED. 
          I'D HAVE TO GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE DATA AND FIGURE OUT, I'LL FOLLOW UP WITH YOU AND FIGURE WHY THEY'RE NOT IN THERE. 
          I'LL TRY AND FIGURE THAT OUT. 
          THAT WOULD BE A, THAT'D BE A HELPFUL MYSTERY FOR US TO SOLVE BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO ADVISE PER SERGEANT DOZER AND OTHER PEOPLE WE'VE MET WITHOUT THERE TO, AND ALSO FOR NOW, WELL OVER A YEAR OF ADVICE FROM CRIME ANALYSTS TO ALWAYS REPORT THINGS. 
          AND SO I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT TO THE EXTENT THAT THIS WOULDN'T BE REFLECTED IN THE DATA, GIVEN THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY ADVISING CONSTITUENTS WHEN THERE ARE THOSE RAVES OR NOBODY'S COMPLAINTS OR ISSUES IN THE PARK THAT I GET REPORTED. 
          I WILL SAY THAT IT WILL NOT INCLUDE WHEN SOMEONE REACHES OUT TO COMMANDER SMITH, UH, INDIVIDUALLY THROUGH EMAIL OR PHONE. 
          RIGHT. 
          WHICH WE, UH, FORTUNATELY HE'S A POPULAR PERSON. 
          A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE HIS PHONE NUMBER AND THEY DO REACH OUT TO HIM DIRECTLY, AND WE DO TAKE A LOT OF CALLS THAT WAY. 
          UM, YOU'RE NOT GONNA NECESSARILY SEE IT THROUGH THAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          BUT THAT SHOULD BE A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER, I WOULD ASSUME. 
          SO THE ADVICE THAT WE'VE TAKEN, WE CAN PROVIDED IS TO ADVISE PEOPLE TO CALL 9 1 1. 
          CORRECT. 
          UNDER SIMILAR CIRCUMSTANCES. 
          OKAY. 
          WELL, I'LL FOLLOW UP SEPARATELY AND, AND TRY AND GET THAT INFORMATION, UH, FROM Y'ALL. 
          UM, YOU GUYS MENTIONED THAT YOU'RE WORKING ON TRYING TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PATROL AND RANGERS AND A PD AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE HAS TALKED ABOUT THE INNER AGENCY CHALLENGES THAT, THAT WE ARE FAMILIAR WITH. 
          UM, PART OF PART OF WHAT I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT IS KNOWING THAT WE MADE THESE CHANGES EVEN BACK IN 2020 WITH HOW WE'RE WORKING OUT, UH, HOW WE'RE WORKING OUT RESPONSIBILITY OF PARKS AND THEN WHAT A PD, UH, WHAT A PD PREVIOUS PARK RANGERS A PD PEOPLE SERVING, MAYBE NOW THEY'RE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, WHAT THEY'RE DOING. 
          I GOTTA ASK, HOW COME IT'S, HOW COME WE'RE IN 2026 AND WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE COORDINATE WHO'S, IS THIS A QUESTION OF WHO'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SECURITY OF THE PARKS? IS THAT PART OF THE ISSUE THAT WE'RE TRYING TO STILL ESTABLISH? OR HOW CAN, WE'RE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT STILL HOW TO CONNECT THE TWO MAIN GROUPS, EVEN THOUGH Y'ALL HAVE BEEN HAVING DIFFERENT, UH, AND YOU WALKED THROUGH 50 YEARS OF HISTORY, UM, WHO'S RESPONSIBLE IN DIFFERENT WAYS EVEN AS THAT RESPONSIBILITY IS TRANSFERRED AT DIFFERENT TIMES TO DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS OR MEMBERS? FROM OUR SIDE, I CAN'T SPEAK TO THE HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE OF IT. 
          OF COURSE, I'VE, I'VE BEEN OVER THIS FOR ABOUT A YEAR NOW. 
          UM, WHAT I CAN SAY IS IT WAS RECENTLY BROUGHT TO OUR ATTENTION AS WE'VE BEEN GOING THROUGH THIS, I'VE BEEN MEETING WITH COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS ABOUT ZILKER PARK AND ISSUES LIKE THAT. 
          AND THAT'S WHERE IT GOT BROUGHT UP, UH, ALONG WITH THIS PRESENTATION IS, HEY, WE NEED TO LOOK AT THIS AND ADDRESS IT. 
          AND SO FROM MY SIDE, THAT'S WHERE I STAND WITH, HEY, THERE ARE SOME LAPSES. 
          HOW DO WE BETTER COMMUNICATE THIS? OKAY, WELL I'M ENCOURAGE YOU GUYS ARE WORKING ON IT. 
          I'M JUST PUZZLED BY HOW WE GOT TO 2026 AND 
          [02:10:01]
GIVEN ALL THESE CHANGES, WE'RE STILL TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE GET PEOPLE THE RIGHT PHONE NUMBERS SO THAT WE CAN COORDINATE ON WHAT SEEMED LIKE IMPORTANT ISSUES, AT LEAST FOR CONSTITUENTS. 
          I'M CURIOUS CONSIDERING THE DIFFICULTIES WITH, WITH, UH, JUST STAFFING IN GENERAL BETWEEN POLICE, BETWEEN PARKS, BETWEEN THE RANGERS, BETWEEN JUST DRS ET CETERA. 
          AND ALSO THE HIGH, YOU KNOW, YOU HIGHLIGHTED CHALLENGES WITH, WITH LEASH AND LEASH ENFORCEMENT AND WE JUST HAD AN INCIDENT, AS Y'ALL KNOW, IN DISTRICT 10 THE OTHER DAY THAT WAS REGARDING LEASH ENFORCEMENT THAT TURNED FATAL. 
          UM, I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THE HIGH NUMBER OF COMPLAINTS FOR OFF LEASH DOGS AND PARKS, UM, COULD INDICATE A HIGH DEMAND POTENTIALLY TO CHANGE HOW WE'RE APPROACHING WHETHER WE SHOULD HAVE DOGS ON OR OFF LEASH IN THOSE PARKS. 
          JUST TO MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND, SO THE QUESTION IS, SHOULD WE THEN LOOK TO, UM, ADD MORE OFF LEASH AREAS OR, UM, JUST A, BASED ON THE INSTANCE YOU'RE SEEING IN THE PREVALENCE OF THAT, DOES THAT, YOU KNOW, DOES THAT SPUR ANY DISCUSSION ON YOUR END FOR, DO WE HAVE THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF PARK SPACE THAT SHOULD BE DESIGNATED ASH LEASH TO ACCOMMODATE WHAT SEEMS TO BE A DEMAND FOR IT? YEAH, UH, DEFINITELY OUR PLANNING UNIT HAS LOOKED INTO THAT. 
          RIGHT. 
          AND SO, UM, I'LL BE HONEST, THAT DOG OFF LEACH AREAS ARE JUST AS CONTROVERSIAL, RIGHT? JUST AS MANY PEOPLE WANT IT OFF. 
          YOU MENTIONED THE OFF THE BITES. 
          YEAH. 
          AS, AS DON'T, UM, AND, AND ULTIMATELY IT'S ALSO, IT IS A, A FUNDING SITUATION, RIGHT? TO CREATE AN OFF-LEASH DOG AREA DOES REQUIRE ADDITIONAL ESTABLISHMENT, UM, FUNDING TO GET THAT AS WELL AS MAINTENANCE COST ASSOCIATED WITH IT AS WELL. 
          UM, I WOULD, UM, I WOULD THINK THAT, UM, WHAT WE'RE SEEING ALSO IS THE, UH, IT WOULD ALMOST BE THAT WE WOULD NEED ONE IN EVERY SINGLE PARK, UM, TO POTENTIALLY, UM, HAVE PEOPLE FEEL LIKE THEY COULD, THEY HAVE WHAT THEY NEED. 
          AND SO, UM, WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S SOME IN EACH, EACH KIND OF ZONE OF THE CITY, RIGHT? SO THAT IT'S WALKABLE SPACE FOR PEOPLE, UM, WITHIN OUR PLANNING UNIT TRYING TO WORK THOSE OUT. 
          UM, BUT ULTIMATELY, UM, WE'RE, THERE'S ALSO NEEDS TO BE A RESPECT OF IF AN AREA IS AN OFF LE UH, ON LEASH AREA THAT DOGS SHOULD BE ON LEASH AS WELL, THAT, UM, WE STRUGGLE WITH THAT KIND OF CULTURAL NORM THAT, UM, WE TRY TO IMPROVE THROUGH EDUCATION AND THE IMPACT OF AN OFF LEASH DOG THAT I THINK SOMETIMES PEOPLE JUST, AGAIN, I DON'T THINK THERE'S, I DON'T THINK THERE'S BAD DOGS. 
          I THINK THERE'S JUST SOMETIMES, UM, THERE'S OWNERSHIP RESPONSIBILITY THAT'S NEEDED THERE, UM, TO UNDERSTAND THAT AN OFF LEASH DOG CAN BE NEGATIVE, BE A NEGATIVE IMPACT TO SOMEBODY ELSE. 
          GOT IT. 
          YEAH. 
          I'M NOT SURE I HAVE A DOG IN THIS HUNT, BUT I'M GLAD THAT YOU GUYS ARE AT LEAST THINKING ABOUT THAT. 
          I KNOW WE'RE SHORT ON TIME, SO, SO VERY LAST QUESTION IS JUST COLLECTIVELY, AS YOU GUYS ARE COORDINATING MORE, WHAT DO YOU THINK THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY, UH, WILL BE OR COULD BE AS A FORCE MULTIPLIER TO USE THE SORT OF POLICE TERMINOLOGY AROUND ADDRESSING SOME OF THE PERSISTENT ISSUES, PARTICULARLY SOME OF THE REMOTE PARKS THAT WE'VE GOT THAT MIGHT BE HARDER TO STAFF OR HAVE PEOPLE I CAN UNDERSTAND RANGERS SPENDING MORE TIME AT ZILKER, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT LARGE PARKS, UH, ON THE PERIPHERY OF THE CITY, AND I'M STRUGGLING TO FIGURE OUT BETWEEN USING DRS OR USING OTHER RESOURCES, HOW WE COULD REALLY GET HELP THERE WITHOUT TRYING TO THINK ABOUT OTHER TOOLS. 
          CERTAINLY A DRONE RESPONSE WOULD BE HELPFUL IN THESE SITUATIONS. 
          WHEN YOU LOOK AT SOMETHING LIKE EMMA LONG PARK, I'VE BEEN OUT THERE AS A PATROL OFFICER LOOKING FOR LOST HIKERS AS THE SUN GOES DOWN. 
          UM, THAT TAKES A VERY LONG TIME. 
          YOU CAN GET A HELICOPTER OUT THERE. 
          UM, AND OF COURSE WE, WE, UH, RELY ON THEM A TON FOR THAT, RIGHT? BUT HAVING THAT FIRST RESPONSE, NOT ONLY FOR THERE, BUT FOR ZILKER PARK, UM, THERE'S A LOT OF AREA TO COVER AND IT'S NOT NECESSARILY EASY TO GO, OH, IT'S AT THE CORNER OF THIS INTERSECTION, IT'S BY THIS OAK TREE OVER HERE, UM, WHICH DOESN'T ALWAYS NARROW IT DOWN. 
          AND SO I THINK BEING ABLE TO COVER SO MUCH GROUND FROM A DRONE RESPONSE WOULD BE INCREDIBLY HELPFUL. 
          UM, LIMITING THAT TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT HERE, UM, TO, TO TRY AND FIND, UH, BUT THAT WOULD BE SUPER HELPFUL. 
          IT'S ALSO HELPFUL FOR PINPOINTING AN OFFICER THAT'S BEEN IN THE WOODS AS WELL. 
          SO, UM, TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, THE, THE AXON, UH, PROGRAM, THEIR SKYDIO DRONES CONNECT WITH OUR RADIOS AND CAN SEND A DRONE OVER THE OFFICER. 
          SO IF THE OFFICER GETS LOCKED, LOST IN THE WOODS FROM SEARCHING FOR SOMEONE, UM, WHICH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, WE, UH, WE OCCASIONALLY, UH, UH, GET LOST. 
          UH, AND SO THAT DRONE CAN FIND THE OFFICER VERY QUICKLY BASED ON THE RADIO CONNECTION AND BE ABLE TO PINPOINT AND HELP THEM OUT AS WELL. 
          SO CERTAINLY DRONES WOULD HELP FOR IT. 
          UH, CERTAINLY WHEN THERE'S NOT ENOUGH OFFICERS TO DISPATCH TO LOCATIONS AS WELL. 
          UM, WHEN THE ER SHOOTING THAT OCCURRED BACK, I BELIEVE IN, UH, MARCH, OR NOT MARCH, 
          [02:15:01]
I'M SORRY, UH, IN THE FALL HAPPENED, UM, YOU KNOW, DRONE COVERAGE, WE DID E EVENTUALLY GET DRONES OUT THERE. 
          UM, BUT IT TOOK A WHILE BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE A DEDICATED DRONE PROGRAM FOR THAT TYPE, THAT SEARCH WOULD'VE BEEN, UM, MUCH QUICKER AND EASIER BASED ON THAT. 
          GOT IT. 
          ANY OTHER TECHNOLOGY EITHER FROM APRS PERSPECTIVE OR FROM, UH, APDS? UM, WE DO HAVE, WE'VE, WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SECURITY CAMERAS AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE TRUST ACT RIGHT NOW MM-HMM . 
          AND WE DO EXPECT TO BRING THAT BACK TO YOU ALL. 
          UM, FOR INSTANCE, M ALONG, RIGHT? SO WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WE'VE OFFERED OVERTIME TO OUR PARK RANGERS SO THEY CAN BASICALLY GET EYES ON THE GROUND, WHAT'S GOING ON, RIGHT? LIKE IS IT THE BOATS THAT ARE WITH THE LOUD MUSIC? IS IT PEOPLE, ARE THEY SHOWING UP AT CERTAIN TIMES? AND CAMERAS COULD DO THAT AS WELL, RIGHT? LIKE THEY CAN HELP HELP, UM, COMMUNICATE WITH A PD, WE, WE ARE SEEING IT BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR EVERY SATURDAY. 
          MM-HMM . 
          COULD WE HAVE ADDITIONAL PATROLS? AND SO THAT WOULD REALLY HELP, UM, DEFINE HOW THOSE LIMITED RESOURCES COULD BE APPLIED TO CERTAIN SITUATIONS AND SO THAT IT PROVIDES THAT, UM, THAT POTENTIAL FOR THAT AS WELL. 
          GOT IT. 
          OKAY. 
          I'LL LOOK FORWARD WHEN YOU GUYS CAN BRING THOSE PROPOSALS BACK. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND INCLUDING DRONES. 
          THANK YOU CHAIR, VICE CHAIR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          I'LL TRY TO LIMIT THIS TO FIVE MINUTES. 
          UH, FIRST OF ALL, I REALLY ENJOYED THE INTERDEPARTMENTAL COLLABORATION THAT'S EVIDENT IN THIS PRESENTATION AND ALSO THE, UM, DISCUSSION AROUND PLACE-BASED AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN PREVENTION. 
          UM, I, I HAVE A, A COUPLE QUESTIONS THAT I'LL START WITH THE PARK SIDE OF THIS. 
          UM, AS I'M LOOKING THROUGH THE SLIDES, YOU KNOW, WE SEE THE PARK RANGER DATA COLLECTION SLIDE ON PAGE SIX THAT SHOWS OVER 40%, UH, PROPERTY, PROPERTY CRIMES AT PLAY HERE WE'VE GOT ON PAGE 10, THE A PR SECURITY AUDIT STRATEGY AND ROADMAP. 
          UM, PROPERTY CRIME BEING 80% OF SAY, I'M SORRY, IN RELATION TO PROPERTY CRIME, 80% OF REPORTED INCIDENTS ARE LARCENY ARE MOTOR VEHICLE THEFTS. 
          UM, WE NOTE SOME OF THE PHYSICAL SECURITY GAPS AND OVERLAPPING A LITTLE BIT WITH MY COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN, WHEN WE LOOK AT PAGE SLIDE 18, TOP 20 PARK LOCATIONS WITH REPORTS TAKEN, BULL CREEK DISTRICT PARK AND ST. 
          EDWARD'S GREEN BELT POP OUT AT ME BECAUSE WHEN WE HAD THE PARKS GRAMMAR PRESENTATION, WE ALSO HAD DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE AMOUNT OF PROPERTY CRIME THAT WAS OCCURRING AT THOSE PARKS. 
          UM, THE EXTENT TO WHICH THOSE CAMERAS WERE EFFECTIVE EVEN AFTER THEY WERE MOVED AWAY, UM, AT ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS. 
          UM, AND SO WHEN I LOOK AT THE DEPLOYMENT AND THE PRIORITIZATION OF THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE RANGERS, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT, I KNOW LIKE ON PAGE SIX, UM, I DON'T KNOW, PAGE SIX, OKAY, I'LL LEAVE THAT OUT. 
          UM, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT, YOU KNOW, PARK RANGERS ADDRESSING RULES VIOLATIONS, BUT MAYBE NOT CRIME BECAUSE THAT'S A POLICE FUNCTION, NONETHELESS, VISIBILITY AND PREVENTION ARE HALLMARKS OF WHAT THIS CITY WANTS TO IMPLEMENT. 
          AND SO PARK RANGERS SEEM LIKE A REALLY VITAL, UH, ASPECT, UH, WAY OF ACCOMPLISHING THAT. 
          AND SO I'M WONDERING, LIKE, I CAN'T POINT TO A SPECIFIC SLIDE RIGHT NOW, BUT I'M WONDERING, IT DOESN'T SEEM LIKE THE DEPLOYMENT OF THE PARK RANGERS IS NECESSARILY GOING TO THESE HIGH PROPERTY CRIME AREAS, EVEN AS WE SEE THE REPORTS SHOWING THAT THERE'S REALLY SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY THERE. 
          AND SO CAN YOU TALK WITH ME A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE PRIORITIZATION IN THAT RESPECT? SURE. 
          SO, UM, PROPERTY CRIME IS DEFINITELY, UM, AND JUST FOR CLARIFICATION, WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT PARK RANGER DATA, THAT PROPERTY, UM, DEFINITION INCLUDES A VISIT TO A PARK, RIGHT? SO JUST FOR CLARIFICATION ON THAT, AND SO THAT'S JUST OUR CATEGORY FOR IT. 
          AND SO ANYTHING THAT IS CONSIDERED A HOTSPOT WOULD BE ONE OF THOSE AREAS THAT HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A BURGLARY VEHICLE IN PARTICULAR CRIME AREA JUST BASED ON THE DATA THAT WE GET FROM POLICE REPORTING AS WELL AS WHAT WE SEE ON THE GROUND, RIGHT? IT'S PRETTY OBVIOUS THE GLASS ON THE GROUND. 
          UM, AND SO THOSE ACTUALLY ARE IN THE, IN THE ZONE SYSTEM, THOSE ARE AREAS THAT HAVE TO BE VISITED, RIGHT? SO SOMETHING THAT'S BEEN DEFINED AS A HOTSPOT BECAUSE OF THAT DATA, UM, IS AN AREA THAT HAS TO BE VISITED. 
          UM, WHAT WE DO SEE THOUGH, TOO, IN ADDITION TO THAT IS ARY VEHICLE IS A, IS A HUGE NEED, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A VARIETY OF OTHER NEEDS, RIGHT? AND LIMITED RESOURCES. 
          AND SO WE TRY AND ALSO, UM, PLACE THE RANGERS WHERE THEY WILL BE THE MOST VISIBLE TO THE MOST PEOPLE TOO. 
          AND SO THAT'S ALSO PART OF IT AS WELL. 
          IT'S THIS BALANCE OF WHERE IS PROPERTY CRIME OCCURRING, RIGHT? WHICH TO SOME EXTENT IS NOT NECESSARILY SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS CONSISTENTLY, BUT IT, IT'S A SPURT, RIGHT? 
          [02:20:01]
AND SO LIKE YOU COULD HAVE A RANGER THERE ALL DAY AND NOT HAVE A PROBLEM NECESSARILY. 
          UM, BUT WHEN WE HAVE RANGERS, WE TRY AND ALSO HAVE THEM IN AREAS WHERE WE HAVE THE MOST NUMBER OF PEOPLE, WHICH ULTIMATELY IS THAT HIKE AND BIKE TRAIL AND ZILKER AS WELL. 
          SO IT'S THAT BALANCE OF HOW DO WE HAVE THEM IN, IN HIGH VISIBILITY SPACES, RIGHT? WHERE THERE'S THE MOST AMOUNT OF PEOPLE AND BY THEIR PRESENCE THEY CAN REDUCE AND CALM ANY CONCERNS AS WELL AS HOW DO WE HAVE THEM WORKING IN A ZONE SYSTEM SO THAT AREAS THAT HAVE DATA THAT SHOW THAT THERE'S HIGH NEED BECAUSE OF BURGLARY VEHICLE, THAT THERE'S SPACES ARE BEING AT LEAST VISITED THROUGH, THROUGH DAILY, UM, PRESENCE AT THE PARK RANGERS AS WELL. 
          SO WE'RE BALANCING THOSE, UM, WITH 23 STAFF THAT OPERATE SEVEN DAYS A WEEK. 
          AND I, AND I'LL COME BACK TO THAT STAFFING IN IN ONE OF MY NEXT QUESTIONS. 
          UM, IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE IF HAVING THEM BE HIGH VISIBILITY AS ONE OF THE CRITERIA AND YET IN AREAS WHERE IT'S POSSIBLE FOR, YOU KNOW, WHERE THESE TYPES OF CRIMES CAN OCCUR, WHERE THERE ISN'T A LOT OF VISIBILITY AROUND IT, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT GENERATES A HOTSPOT. 
          AND SO IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S UNDOING IT. 
          UM, I WILL NOTE THAT SOME OF THE MAP THAT MAPS AND EXHIBITS IN HERE DIDN'T EITHER, DIDN'T INCLUDE MY DISTRICT OR DIDN'T INCLUDE THAT STRETCH OF OLD BY SPLIT SPRINGS ROAD WHERE THAT HOTSPOT IS. 
          AND, AND ALSO, SO IT MADE IT HARD FOR ME TO EVALUATE LIKE, HAS THIS BEEN INCLUDED OR NOT? AND SO I WOULD LOVE TO RECEIVE SOME UPDATED MAPS AS FOLLOW UP. 
          UM, AND, AND SO MY, IS THERE, I, I GUESS YOU MENTIONED THAT YOU OFFER OVERTIME TO PARK RANGERS AND I KNOW THAT AS A CITY WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANNA BE PLAYING OVERTIME IF WE DON'T NEED TO. 
          UM, AND WE VALUE CRIME PREVENTION AND WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE ANY PARK CAMERAS OR OTHER TECHNOLOGY TYPE OF SOLUTIONS THAT WE CAN RELY ON. 
          SO, UM, IS GROWTH OF THE PARK RANGER PROGRAM SOMETHING THAT YOU WANT? WOULD YOU WANT MORE FTES? UM, AGAIN, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, LIKE WE'RE HEADING INTO A BUDGET SEASON, THIS SEEMS VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. 
          AND IT ALSO SEEMS, YOU KNOW, IF I THINK ABOUT THE WI THE PRESERVE AND UM, THAT STRETCH OF OLD SPICEWOOD SPRINGS ROAD, IT'S NOT JUST, UH, A HOTSPOT FOR PROPERTY CRIME THAT HAS GROWN VERY SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE LAST THREE TO FIVE YEARS. 
          IT'S ALSO CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL FEATURES. 
          IT'S ALSO A LOCATION THAT DOESN'T HAVE BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE BATHROOMS. UM, AND SO IN FACT, ALL, YOU KNOW, THE VARIOUS FACTORS ALL POINT TOWARDS EXACTLY THE TYPE OF SETTING WHERE YOU WOULD WANT SOMEONE LIKE A PARK RANGER TO BE ABLE TO SPEND SOME TIME. 
          NOW, DO YOU WANT THEM TO HAVE AN IMPACT? OF COURSE. 
          AND MAYBE THEY SHOULD BE ON A BIKE AS THEY'RE GOING THROUGH THE GREEN BELTS THERE. 
          AND THAT WAY THE MORE PEOPLE ARE SEEING, BUT THESE ARE, YOU KNOW, IT'S A HEAVILY UTILIZED PARK WITH A LOT OF INDICATORS THAT SUGGEST THAT MORE PRESENCE COULD BE WARRANTED. 
          SO ARE YOU LOOKING TO INCREASE THIS OR ARE YOU YEAH. 
          HAVE ANOTHER THOUGHT. 
          AND SO OUR SECURITY AUDIT DOES MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH, UM, JUST STAFFING IN GENERAL. 
          AND ULTIMATELY WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO IS KIND OF ESTABLISH THAT SECURITY TEAM AND REALLY SET SOME, UM, FOUNDATIONS IN OUR DEPARTMENT OF SAFETY AND SECURITY THROUGHOUT, RIGHT? SO NOT ONLY THE INFRASTRUCTURE PIECE, BUT ALSO THE STAFFING PIECE, AND THEN ALSO JUST COORDINATION OF THAT, RIGHT? AND SO THAT'S KIND OF WHERE WE'RE STARTING AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE PUTTING OUR, OUR EFFORTS INTO, UM, AT THIS POINT IN TIME ULTIMATELY, UM, THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT'LL KIND OF COME FORTH THROUGH THAT, UM, AFTER WE KIND OF GET THAT ESTABLISHMENT SET UP. 
          UM, YEAH, BUT ST. 
          ED'S IS A GREAT SPACE. 
          IT IS ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR PLACES TO TAKE YOUR CHILDREN WHEN THERE'S WATER ANYWHERE BECAUSE IT IS, THERE'S A GREAT WATERFALL THERE AND IT'S SUPER FAMILY FRIENDLY AND JUST, JUST A PLACE WHERE YOU DON'T FEEL LIKE YOU'RE IN A CITY AS WELL. 
          AND SO THERE'S JUST REALLY THOSE PARK SPACES ARE SO IMPORTANT TO INDIVIDUALS. 
          AND ALSO WE HAVE 21,000 ACRES, RIGHT? SO WE HAVE TO BE SMART WITH WHAT RESOURCES WE HAVE. 
          WE HAVE TO USE TECHNOLOGY WHERE WE CAN, UM, SO THAT WE CAN MORE APPROPRIATELY ADDRESS THINGS AND BE SMARTER WITH OUR LIMITED RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE AS WELL. 
          OKAY. 
          AND I APPRECIATE THAT AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH HERE. 
          UM, AND I KNOW THAT I'M SHORT ON TIME, SO I WILL ALSO NOTE THAT I SHARE COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN QUESTION ABOUT HOW WE HAVE A TOP 20 PARK LOCATIONS WITH REPORTS TAKEN THAT THESE COUPLE OF PARKS DON'T EVEN SHOW UP ON CALL FOR SERVICE. 
          AND YET THE EXPLANATION THAT YOU SHARED SO FAR SUGGESTS THAT YOU WOULD HAVE A CALL FOR SERVICE AS WELL AS A REPORT TAKEN. 
          SO WHEN THAT INFORMATION BECOMES AVAILABLE, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU CAN REALLY FIGURE IT OUT. 
          BUT I AM VERY INTERESTED IN THAT AS WELL. 
          [02:25:01]
YES, MA'AM. 
          UM, OVERALL, I REALLY, I REALLY APPRECIATED THIS REPORT, UM, WHEN IT IS, WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE READY TO BRING FORWARD, UM, SOMETHING RELATING TO PARKED CAMERAS, I AM EAGERLY AWAITING THAT INFORMATION AS WELL. 
          BECAUSE THE REALITY IS THAT YES, WE CANNOT, WE DO NOT HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HAVE PARK RANGERS AT ALL OF THE PARKS, BUT WE NEED TO COME UP WITH SOME SOLUTION FOR SOME OF THESE PARKS AS OPPOSED TO AT EVERY STEP ALONG THE WAY, OH, THAT WON'T WORK. 
          AND ALSO NO BATHROOMS BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A PRESENCE THERE. 
          AND, YOU KNOW, IT JUST REALLY MULTIPLIES AND, UM, SAN EDWARDS PARK, IT'S NOT SAFE TO WALK TO. 
          SO EVEN THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE CLOSEST TO IT, AND AGAIN, THAT'S INADEQUATE INFRASTRUCTURE, CAN'T WALK TO IT. 
          THEY HAVE TO DRIVE THERE. 
          OKAY, WELL, HERE WE ARE WITH ALL THE VEHICLES LEFT AND, AND NO SOLUTION WHATSOEVER. 
          AND THAT'S ALREADY GONE ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME. 
          SO THANK YOU. 
          THANK YOU ALL FOR THE PRESENTATION. 
          UH, COLLEAGUES, THERE IS NO FURTHER BUSINESS TO COME BEFORE THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE OF THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, WITHOUT OBJECTION. 
          THIS MEETING IS ADJOURNED AT 11:26 AM THANK YOU EVERYONE.
* 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.