Jul 29, 2026 Special Zero Waste Advisory Commission

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SAY THANK YOU FOR THE TIMELY, TIMELY, TIMELY ARRIVAL OF ALL YOU GUYS.

[CALL MEETING TO ORDER]

HAVING LOOKED OVER THE AGENDA, THERE'S A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT LITERALLY WE'RE GOING TO BE DEFERRED.

AND THAT WAS THOSE WERE DONE BECAUSE OF A FEW MISSTEPS ON OUR, OUR PART. BUT ITEM NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES FROM THE JUNE 8TH MEETING. WE'LL DEFER THAT UNTIL THE JULY GATHERING.

AND LET'S SEE ITEM NUMBER THREE.

WE DON'T HAVE A JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE, SO WE WILL END UP DEFERRING THAT UNTIL WE.

SO WE CAN CORRECT THAT.

I THINK IT'S THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO BE APPOINTING SOMEBODY TO.

SO TO MAKE A LONG STORY SHORT, THOSE TWO ITEMS ARE OFF.

HAVING SAID THAT, I DON'T THINK ANYBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.

IS THAT CORRECT? WE HAVE NOBODY SIGNED UP TO SPEAK.

WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS,

[2. Discussion and action regarding a recommendation on the FY27 Proposed and FY28 Planned Austin Resource Recovery Budget. ]

AND I THINK VICTORIA WAS GOING TO GIVE US A PRESENTATION REMOTELY.

IS THAT. YES. CAN YOU HEAR ME? YES WE CAN. THANK YOU.

VICTORIA. OKAY. GREAT.

GREAT. OKAY. SHOULD I GO AHEAD AND BEGIN? YES, PLEASE. THANK YOU.

ALL RIGHT. OKAY. PRESENTATION.

LOOKS LIKE IT'S UP. GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. MY NAME IS VICTORIA RIEGER AND I'M THE FINANCE DIVISION MANAGER FOR AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

AND AS JERRY MENTIONED, I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR 2027 AND THE PLANNED FISCAL YEAR BUDGET FOR 2028.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. ALL RIGHT.

SO THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING IS VERY SIMILAR TO PRIOR YEAR PRESENTATIONS, ALTHOUGH I REALIZE WE HAVE SEVERAL NEW COMMISSIONERS.

SO FEEL FREE TO STOP ME AT ANY TIME IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR WAIT UNTIL THE END.

EITHER WAY, IT'LL WORK. THE PRESENTATION THIS EVENING IS GOING TO BEGIN WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CURBSIDE COLLECTION SERVICES, INCLUDING OUR COST OF SERVICE, OUR CUSTOMER COUNT, AND OUR CART DISTRIBUTION.

WE'LL FOLLOW THAT WITH AN OVERVIEW OF OUR CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE.

AND FINALLY, FINALLY, WE'LL REVIEW THE DEPARTMENT'S PROPOSED BUDGET AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE DETAIL OF OUR FISCAL YEAR, PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 27 PROPOSED BUDGET AS AS PUT FORTH BY THE CITY MANAGER RECENTLY.

WE'LL ALSO LOOK AT OUR PROPOSED RATE CHANGES FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.

AND OUR PROPOSED FUND SUMMARY, TOP TEN EXPENSE CATEGORIES AND OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN OR CIP AS IT'S NORMALLY KNOWN.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT SLIDE.

THANK YOU. OKAY. SO STARTING WITH OUR CURBSIDE COLLECTION SERVICES THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS OUR TRASH CART CUSTOMERS.

SO ANY, ANYONE WITH A TRASH CART THOSE FEES ARE BILLED TO CUSTOMERS WHO RECEIVE OUR WEEKLY TRASH COLLECTION SERVICE.

IN TERMS OF THE MAKEUP OF OUR TRASH COLLECTION CUSTOMERS, RESIDENTIAL TRASH COLLECTION CARTS ACCOUNT FOR MAJORITY OF IT, 99% OR APPROXIMATELY 213,000.

OF OUR, OUR, OUR CURBSIDE RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION CARTS, WHILE 1% OF THOSE ARE COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

AND THEN THEY COUNT THE THE COUNTS THAT YOU SEE THERE ON THE SCREEN, THE 213,000 AND THE 3000 ARE AS AS OF MAY OF 2026.

SO FAIRLY RECENT NUMBERS FOR YOU THERE.

NEXT SLIDE. AND THIS SLIDE SHOWS HOW THOSE CARTS ARE DISTRIBUTED IN TERMS OF OUR DIFFERENT SIZES.

AS YOU MAY RECALL, IN PRIOR YEARS, OUR CART SIZES WERE BASED WERE KIND OF NAMED BASED ON THEIR GALLON SIZES.

WE SWITCHED OVER A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO TO REFER TO THEM AS SMALL, MEDIUM, LARGE AND EXTRA LARGE, EXTRA LARGE BEING THE 96 GALLON, THE LARGE BEING THE THE 64 GALLON CART.

AND THAT IS THE MOST COMMON KHAT OWNED BY OR NOT OWNED, BUT PAID FOR BY CUSTOMERS.

SO AS YOU CAN SEE, THE KHAT SIZE DISTRIBUTION CHANGES ARE PRETTY SMALL ON A YEAR OVER YEAR

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SO WE GENERALLY HAVE SEEN VERY LITTLE MOVEMENT TO SMALLER KHAT SIZES DESPITE THE RISING COSTS OF, OF OUR EXTRA LARGE KHAT.

YEAH, THAT'S JUST NOT SOMETHING THAT, THAT, THAT FOLKS ARE, ARE, ARE, ARE DOING IS MOVING TO A SMALLER CARTS.

THE BOTTOM TABLE IN GREEN REPRESENTS WHAT WE PREDICT THE KHAT DISTRIBUTION TO BE OVER THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST. AS YOU KNOW, THE CITY MANAGER PUTS PUBLISHES THE FIVE YEAR FORECAST. AND THIS IS WHAT WE ARE PREDICTING THOSE TRASH KHAT DISTRIBUTION SIZES TO BE.

NEXT SLIDE. ALL RIGHT.

SO OUR ANOTHER MAJOR REVENUE SOURCE FOR AR COMES FROM OUR BASE CUSTOMER FEE.

SO THIS FEE SUPPORTS OUR CURBSIDE COLLECTION SERVICES SUCH AS RECYCLING WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY COLLECTED EVERY OTHER WEEK.

COMPOST COLLECTION WHICH INCLUDES YARD TRIMMINGS AND ORGANICS COLLECTIONS.

THOSE ARE COLLECTED WEEKLY.

IT ALSO FUNDS OUR BRUSH AND BULK COLLECTION AND PROCESSING.

AND AS YOU KNOW, THAT'S AN ON DEMAND SERVICE AS WELL.

AS OUR HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE, WHICH IS COLLECTED UP TO THREE TIMES A YEAR THROUGH OUR NEW ON DEMAND SERVICE OFFERING, THE BASE FEE IS CHARGED TO ALL OUR CURBSIDE CUSTOMERS, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

SO AS THE RING INDICATES, THE NUMBER OF CURBSIDE COLLECTION RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS COMPRISES, AGAIN, 99% OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE, WHILE THE REMAINING 1% IS COMMERCIAL AND YOU CAN SEE THE CUSTOMER ACCOUNTS THERE ALSO AS OF MAY. NEXT SLIDE. OKAY.

THIS SLIDE SHOWS THE HISTORY OF OUR BASE CUSTOMERS.

THE BLUE CHART AT THE TOP SHOWS THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER COUNT INCREASING YEAR OVER YEAR BY AN AVERAGE OF ABOUT 1.5% PER YEAR SINCE 2021.

THE GREEN CHART AT THE BOTTOM SHOWS OUR PROJECTION ARE PROJECTED GROWTH IN OUR RESIDENTIAL BASE, CUSTOMER COUNT AND A SMALL DECLINE IN OUR COMMERCIAL BASE CUSTOMER COUNT. THE RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER GROWTH ASSUMPTIONS ARE BASED ON PROJECTIONS PROVIDED BY THE CITY DEMOGRAPHER'S OFFICE.

OKAY. NEXT SLIDE. ALL RIGHT.

THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS OUR COST OF SERVICE RESULTS FOR THE BASE CUSTOMER FEE AND THE TRASH COLLECTION FEE. AND THEY SUPPORT I'M SORRY, NOT THE NOT THE TRASH COLLECTION FEE.

THIS, THIS SLIDE JUST SHOWS THE BASE THE BASE FEE.

AND IT SUPPORTS THE SERVICES THAT ARE LISTED THERE ON THE SCREEN, RESIDENTIAL RECYCLING, COMPOSTING BRUSH, BULK AND PROCESSING AND THEN THE ON DEMAND HHW SO FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE NEW TO THE COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, WE PERFORM A COST OF SERVICE, A PRETTY COMPREHENSIVE COMPLEX COST OF SERVICE EVERY SINGLE YEAR DURING OUR BUDGET PROCESS.

AND WE TAKE ALL OF OUR EXPENSES OUR DIRECT EXPENSES, WHICH YOU CAN SEE THERE ON THE SCREEN.

WE ADD IN OUR INDIRECT EXPENSES.

SO THINGS SUCH AS ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS TO GET OUR TOTAL ANNUAL COST OF SERVICE.

AND WE DO THIS FOR EVERY EVERY SERVICE THAT WE PROVIDE.

THIS SLIDE IS JUST SHOWING YOU HOW WE DERIVED THE BASE FEE.

AND THEN WE DIVIDE THOSE COSTS BY THE, YOU KNOW, PROJECTED CUSTOMER COUNT.

AND SO THAT BLUE MIDDLE LINE, YOU CAN SEE THE BASE CURBSIDE COLLECTION, COST OF SERVICE, FAR RIGHT IS 2723.

AND THEN WE BACK OUT ANY OFFSETTING REVENUE OFFSETTING REVENUE FOR THINGS SUCH AS RECYCLING REVENUE, SERVICE INITIATION FEES, INTEREST INCOME TO GET TO OUR NET COST.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE THERE, THAT COST IS $25.28 A MONTH.

AND AS YOU'LL SEE IN A LATER SLIDE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE RATE CHANGES YOU'LL SEE THAT OUR PROPOSED BASE FEE IS SET AT 2490, WHICH IS LOWER THAN THE COST.

AND THAT WAS A DELIBERATE DECISION ON, ON THE PART OF THE DEPARTMENT TO UTILIZE OUR FUND BALANCE. AND WE'LL GO OVER THAT IN A LATER SLIDE WHEN I SHOW YOU THE FUND BALANCE.

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AND SO IN AN EFFORT TO MITIGATE RATE INCREASES, WE USE SOME OF THAT FUND BALANCE TO TO DO JUST THAT TO MITIGATE RATE INCREASES.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

ALL RIGHT. SO THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE IS ESTABLISHED BY ORDINANCE TO PROVIDE LITERAL NUISANCE, NUISANCE ABATEMENT, STREET CLEANING, HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL, AND THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE UNIVERSAL RECYCLING ORDINANCE.

THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE IS BILLED TO ALL RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS IN THE AIR OUR SERVICE AREA AND THIS INCLUDES APARTMENT COMPLEXES AND OTHER MULTIFAMILY UNITS. SO AS OF MAY, YOU CAN SEE THAT CUSTOMER COUNT.

THERE IS 462,000 RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND 25.

JUST OVER 25,000 COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

AND JUST KIND OF A SNEAK PEEK AT OUR CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE RATE INCREASE THAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WE'RE PROPOSING THAT RESIDENTIAL CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE PORTION OR THE RR PORTION INCREASING BY $0.20 A MONTH TO 565.

AND THEN THE COMMERCIAL PORTION OF THE CCF INCREASING BY $0.30 A MONTH TO 1315.

AND SO THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE, JUST SO YOU'RE AWARE, THE, THE NEWER COMMISSIONER COMMISSION MEMBERS ARE AWARE WE SHARE THAT FEE WITH CODE COMPLIANCE. THEY OBVIOUSLY CHARGE THEIR OWN FEE AND HAVE THEIR OWN COST OF SERVICE.

SO WHEN YOU HEAR THE CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE, AT LEAST IN R'S PRESENTATION, IT'S JUST RELATED TO OUR PORTION OF THAT, OF THAT FEE.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.

ALL RIGHT. SO HERE IS A SNAPSHOT OF OUR PROPOSED RATE CHANGES FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.

AND AGAIN WE FOCUS ON THE MAJOR RATE OF MAJOR FEES FOR RR COMPRISES OVER 93% OF OUR REVENUE. SO OBVIOUSLY WE HAVE MANY OTHER SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE AND FEES THAT WE CHARGE THAT ARE NOT LISTED HERE, BUT THIS AGAIN COMPRISES NOT OVER 93% OF OUR REVENUE. SO THERE'S OUR CHANGES BASE FEE WE'RE PROPOSING TO CHANGE OR TO INCREASE THAT BASE FEE BY $1.10 CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE BY $0.20.

AND OUR LARGE TRASH CART, WHICH AGAIN, IS A 64 GALLON MOST COMMONLY PAID FOR BY RESIDENTS OF AUSTIN INCREASING BY $0.60.

AND SO THE TOTAL BILL FOR A TYPICAL RATEPAYER WOULD INCREASE BY $1.90 PER MONTH.

ALL RIGHT. NEXT SLIDE.

ALL RIGHT. SO OUR PROPOSED FISCAL YEAR 27 REVENUE IS SET AT 152,000,104.6 MILLION OF THAT COMES FROM OUR RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS AND INCLUDES OUR BASE REVENUE AND OUR TRASH CART REVENUE, AND THAT REPRESENTS 69% OF OUR REVENUE.

4.6 MILLION. IT'S THE NEXT BIGGEST CATEGORY COMES FROM OUR COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS PAYING THE BASE IN CART FEES.

JUST OVER 3% OF OUR REVENUE STREAM, 35.8 COMES 35.8 MILLION COMES FROM OUR CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE. AND THAT'S PAID BY BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS.

AND THAT REPRESENTS 24% OF OUR REVENUE STREAM.

THE REMAINING 7 MILLION OF OUR REVENUE COMES FROM RECYCLING SALES AND OTHER FEES.

NEXT SLIDE. SO THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS OUR FUND SUMMARY.

JUST A SNAPSHOT AGAIN OF OUR FUND SUMMARY.

IT'S MUCH LONGER AND A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAILED.

BUT I WANTED TO GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY.

THIS LOTS OF NUMBERS ON THIS SCREEN, BUT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT JUST THE ONE.

OVER THE LAST TWO ON THE ON THE LEFT FOR 27 PROPOSED AND 28 PLANNED.

AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, LOOKING AT OUR, OUR FUND BALANCE, WHICH IS HIGHLIGHTED LAST BLUE LINE WHERE IT SAYS ENDING BALANCE.

SO ON THE LEFT HAND SIDE, YOU CAN SEE THAT ENDING BALANCE FOR 25 KIND

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SO WE DEFINITELY CAME IN A LITTLE BIT HIGHER.

SO THAT 18 MILLION IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT WE STARTED THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR WITH.

WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT, THAT AGAIN KIND OF UNDER SPENDING OUR BUDGET THIS YEAR. AND SO OUR FUND BALANCE ENDS UP AT 19 MILLION.

AND SO AGAIN, THE DECISION POINT FOR, FOR THE DEPARTMENT IN ORDER TO KIND OF MITIGATE RATE INCREASES AND EASE BURDEN ON THE TAXPAYERS, WE DECIDED TO USE MOST OF THAT, NOT MOST OF IT, BUT A GOOD PORTION OF THAT FUND BALANCE TO, TO TO KEEP RATES AS LOW AS POSSIBLE AND TO STAY WITHIN OUR, OUR OPERATING RESERVE REQUIREMENT.

SO THE, AT THE VERY BOTTOM, YOU CAN SEE THE DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVE.

BY FINANCIAL POLICY, WE'RE REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN A 30 DAY OPERATING RESERVE.

AND SO AS YOU CAN SEE IN THAT 27 PROPOSED COLUMN, WE'RE AT 37. WE'RE PROPOSING WHICH IS SLIGHTLY OVER THE 30 DAYS, OBVIOUSLY, BUT BY 28 WE'LL, WE'LL BE DOWN TO THE TO 31 SO MUCH CLOSER.

SO OBVIOUSLY WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN THE 50, 56, 46, 55 DAY CATEGORY WHICH ARE THE FIRST THREE COLUMNS.

AND SO YEAH, THAT'S, I LOOK AT OUR FUND BALANCE.

NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO OUR FTE COUNT FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WE DID NOT PROPOSE ANY NEW FTES TO BE ADDED TO OUR DEPARTMENT, ALTHOUGH WE ARE. GOING TO INCREASE OUR FTE COUNT BY ONE.

AND THAT WAS A TRANSFER FROM THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.

THAT POSITION IS GOING TO BE DEDICATED TO THE HOMELESS HOMELESSNESS GROUP.

AND WE'RE GOING TO UNDERTAKE OR ASSUME SOME OF THE DUTIES THAT WERE UNDER THE TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS REALM, MAINLY CLEANING UP ENCAMPMENTS UNDER UNDERPASSES. IN 28 WE'VE GOT FOUR POSITIONS PLANNED.

AND AT LEAST HALF OF THOSE I BELIEVE ARE KIND OF PART OF THE REASON THAT WE'RE ADDING THOSE POSITIONS IS DUE TO THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.

NEXT SLIDE. THIS, THIS SLIDE REPRESENTS OUR BUDGET AND REALLY THE TOP TEN EXPENSE CATEGORIES. THIS REALLY HASN'T CHANGED SUBSTANTIALLY FROM, FROM PRIOR YEARS. THIS IS KIND OF WHAT OUR BUDGET LOOKS LIKE YEAR OVER YEAR IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE KIND OF SPENDING OUR, OUR BUDGET.

YOU KNOW, THIS, THE ENTIRE CATEGORY LIST HERE REPRESENTS 85% OF OUR SPENDING.

AND AS YOU CAN SEE, THE LARGEST EXPENSE 43% OF OUR PROPOSED BUDGET IS ALLOCATED TO PERSONNEL, WHICH AGAIN, SUPPORTS THAT 534 FTE PROPOSED FOR FISCAL YEAR 27, WHICH INCLUDES WAGES, OVERTIME, INSURANCE, TAXES, ETC.. SECOND LARGEST CATEGORY IS RELATED TO OUR FLEET.

THAT'S NO SURPRISE THERE.

WE HAVE A HUGE FLEET, VERY EXPENSIVE FLEET.

AND SO MAINTAINING THAT 18.7 MILLION OR 12% OF OUR BUDGETED SPENDING CAPITAL SPENDING, WHICH IS THAT THIRD ONE TRANSFER TO RESOURCE RECOVERY CIP THAT REPRESENTS 8%, 13.3. AND THAT IS YOU KNOW, PRIMARILY TO PURCHASE REPLACEMENT VEHICLES IN OUR FLEET CITY WIDE ALLOCATION FOR SUPPORT SERVICES AND WHICH INCLUDES INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, REPRESENTS ABOUT 4% OF OUR BUDGET.

I THINK I SKIPPED ONE.

SKIPPED OVER ONE. THE TRANSFER TO GEO DEBT.

THAT'S GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT SERVICE.

AND THAT REPRESENTS 4%.

THAT'S, THAT'S IN TERMS OF PERCENTAGE OF OUR BUDGET THAT IS INCREASING DUE TO THE, DUE TO THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER.

WE DO HAVE SOME IN THE CURRENT FISCAL YEAR, SOME DEBT RELATED TO THE NORTHEAST SERVICE CENTER CONSTRUCTION. BUT WE'LL DEFINITELY BE SEEING THAT INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 27 AND FISCAL YEAR 28 FUEL, THE RECYCLING PROCESSING AND LANDFILL DISPOSAL

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IT'S ABOUT 2% OF OUR BUDGETED SPENDING AND OUR WE HAVE VARIOUS DUMPSTER CONTRACTS.

AND THAT REPRESENTS ABOUT 2% OF OUR SPENDING AS WELL.

SO AGAIN, THIS TOTAL SPENDING OF 132.6 REPRESENTS 85% OF OUR SPENDING 15%.

THE REMAINING 15% IS JUST KIND OF DEPARTMENT WIDE CONTRACTUAL AND COMMODITIES.

NEXT SLIDE. SO OUR FINAL SLIDE IS OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PLAN.

EVERY YEAR WE PUT FORTH A PLAN OF SPENDING IN OUR CAPITAL.

AND PRIMARILY THIS CONSISTS FOR OUR DEPARTMENT ANYWAY VEHICLE AND EQUIPMENT FUNDING. AND THAT REPRESENTS 12.7 MILLION.

AGAIN, IT'S PURCHASING REPLACEMENT VEHICLES.

AND THE NEXT CATEGORY OF SPENDING ARE BUILDING AND IMPROVEMENTS.

AND THERE'S ABOUT 200 000 ALLOCATED IN OUR BUDGET TO IMPROVE PARKING LOT AND LIGHTING ENHANCEMENTS AT OUR SERVICE CENTER ON TOD LANE.

AND THEN WE'VE GOT SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING AS WE DO PRETTY MUCH EVERY YEAR FOR CONTINUED CONTINUED MAINTENANCE COSTS RELATED TO OUR CLOSED LANDFILL.

AND WITH THAT, I WILL DEFINITELY TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL HAVE.

I'M JOINED ALSO BY SHERRY BOHLEN.

SHE'S OUR BUDGET MANAGER AND SHE KNOWS THIS STUFF LIKE THE BACK OF HER HAND.

SO I BETWEEN THE TWO OF US, HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE ABLE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE. THANK YOU, VICTORIA AND SHERRY.

COMMISSIONERS, ANY QUESTIONS? ANY THOUGHTS, JOHN? GO AHEAD.

YEAH. WELL THANK YOU VICTORIA.

GREAT PRESENTATION AS USUAL AND GREAT TO SEE THE HISTORICAL TRENDING AND WHERE WE'RE HEADED. ALWAYS APPRECIATE THAT YOU SHOWED WHAT A TYPICAL CUSTOMER WOULD PAY WITH THAT LARGE CART. ARE WE CONTINUING TO WORK? I KNOW OVER THE YEARS WE'VE TRIED TO.

I THINK NUDGE IS THE RIGHT WORD.

CUSTOMERS TOWARDS THE SMALLER CARTS THROUGH VARIED RATE INCREASES.

AND SINCE YOU DIDN'T SHARE EXACTLY WHERE WE PROPOSED THE RATE INCREASES TO BE ACROSS THE CART SIZES, I'M WONDERING IF WE FEEL LIKE, ARE WE CONTINUING TO TRY TO NUDGE PEOPLE SMALLER? AND IF SO, HOW EFFECTIVE DO WE HAVE ANY INFORMATION ABOUT HOW EFFECTIVE, I GUESS WHAT NUMBERS WE THINK WILL BE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN THE FACT THAT PEOPLE PRETTY MUCH AREN'T GIVING UP THEIR BIG CARDS.

YEAH. I MEAN, WE DEFINITELY, WE DEFINITELY ARE MAKING AN EFFORT TO STEER FOLKS TO THE, TO THE SMALLER CART SIZE.

WE JUST AREN'T SEEING THEM DO IT.

AND PART OF THAT EFFORT REALLY IS, YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, OUR EXTRA LARGE CART SIZE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE 96 GALLON THAT'S A PRETTY, PRETTY EXPENSIVE CART TO HAVE.

AND AS ONE OF OUR SLIDE SHOWS, YOU KNOW, THAT PEOPLE JUST AREN'T MOVING AWAY FROM THAT EXTRA LARGE CART.

IN TERMS OF WHAT THE DEPARTMENT.

WE DEFINITELY HAVE DATA BEHIND, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE HARD NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, WHO OWNS WHAT SIZE OF CART.

AND, AND WE CAN PROBABLY EVEN GET THE DATA BY DISTRICT AS WELL, IF THAT'S SOMETHING OF INTEREST, DON'T HAVE IT READILY AVAILABLE.

BUT YOU KNOW, I THINK OUR, OUR COMMUNICATIONS GROUP PROBABLY PLAYS, PLAYS A BIG PART IN TRYING TO GET THAT MESSAGE OUT.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS REALLY DONE A FULL FLEDGED CAMPAIGN OR PUSHED OUT MESSAGING RELATED TO THAT, BUT, YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF HOW WE SET OUR PRICES AT LEAST FOR THE EXTRA LARGE PART YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE THAT AS UNAPPEALING AND APPEALING.

THANK YOU. GOOD WORD, GOOD WORD.

SHARI BOLEN HERE BUDGET MANAGER FOR IRR.

AND REALLY TO BACK UP WHAT VICTORIA SAYING, JUST FOR THE INCREASE FOR OUR EXTRA LARGE CARTS, WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT EIGHT 8.7%, RIGHT,

[00:25:03]

SO IT'S ABOUT 3.7% HIGHER INCREASE THAN, YOU KNOW, ALL THE OTHER RATES. SO WE ARE DEFINITELY FOCUSING IN ON THAT TO TRY TO DISCOURAGE YOU KNOW, OUR CUSTOMERS USE A LARGER CARDS, RIGHT? TO REACH THAT ZERO WASTE GOAL.

HOPEFULLY THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

AND I THINK THANK YOU, SHERRY AND VICTORIA.

I THINK YOUR POINT IS RIGHT, THAT COMMUNICATION IS WE DON'T WANT THIS TO FEEL LIKE A STICK, RIGHT? THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE A CARROT, RIGHT? LIKE YOU, WE'VE GOT LOTS OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU TO RECYCLE AND COMPOST.

AND I THINK PEOPLE JUST AREN'T TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THAT.

AND MAYBE IT'S JUST NOT.

WE'RE NOT MAYBE WE JUST HAVEN'T MAYBE FOUND THE RIGHT WAY TO.

MAYBE IT IS COMMUNICATION.

I DON'T KNOW EXACTLY. I WONDER IF WE CAN, AS WE'VE DONE A FEW TIMES, LOOK AT WHAT OTHER SUCCESSFUL COMMUNITIES HAVE DONE TO PUSH THOSE NUMBERS TOWARDS THE TO PUSH PEOPLE TOWARDS THE SMALLER CARTS OVER TIME, BECAUSE WE'RE DOING SO MUCH THAT PEOPLE, I THINK, REALLY JUST DON'T REALIZE WHAT'S POSSIBLE.

THAT'S EASY FOR ME TO SAY, I GUESS, FROM BEHIND A COMPUTER SCREEN, BUT STILL. YEAH. GOOD MESSAGE.

THANK YOU. THERE'S ROOM ON THE TRUCK.

JOHN. REMEMBER THAT? SIGN ME UP.

YEAH, EXACTLY. I THINK RON ROMERO HAS A COMMENT TO MAKE STAFF.

GO AHEAD. GOOD EVENING. COMMISSIONERS RON ROMERO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH A R R AND JOHN.

YEAH. GOOD COMMENT. WE DO TARGETED CAMPAIGNS.

YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S OUR COMPOSTING ORGANICS PROGRAM, OUR RECYCLING PROGRAM, YOU SEE YEAR ROUND CAMPAIGNS THAT OUR PIO GROUP PUT TOGETHER YOU KNOW, TARGETING PARTICIPATION TARGETING CONTAMINATION. AND IN THAT MESSAGING, WE'RE ALWAYS PUSHING, HEY, AFTER YOU DO THIS, AFTER YOU START SEEING RESULTS, YOU MAY WANT TO RIGHTSIZE YOUR CARDS.

SO WE DO TIE THAT INTO OUR MESSAGING THAT PIO PUTS OUT IN OUR TARGETED CAMPAIGNS.

YOU KNOW, KEEP PUSHING THE NEEDLE, KEEP PUSHING, KEEP PUSHING. BUT WE DO TRY TO TIE THAT IN.

HEY, AFTER YOU SEE THESE RESULTS AND YOU DO THESE THINGS, YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK AT WHAT YOU'RE, WHAT YOU'RE DOING AT HOME AND RIGHTSIZE YOUR CART. WE'RE DEFINITELY PUSHING THAT MESSAGE.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. AND I'VE SEEN SOME OF THOSE COMMUNICATIONS.

SO THANK YOU RON. YOU KNOW, I CAN CHIME IN ALSO.

AND YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN VERY CONSISTENT OVER THE COURSE OF THE LAST DECADE IN INCREASING GRADUALLY THE LARGE CART COST AND MINIMIZING THE INCREASE ON THE SMALLER CONTAINERS. WE HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT AS FAR AS THAT IS CONCERNED.

AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR FOR, AGAIN, PUSHING THE NEEDLE.

AND HOPEFULLY SOME OF THESE GUYS WILL WILL MOVE OVER TO THE SMALLER CONTAINERS.

HAVING SAID THAT, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.

FIRST OF ALL, TRYING TO GET THIS MIC WORKING. OH I'M SORRY.

YEAH. THERE YOU GO. SO FOR THE PEOPLE ON THE SCREEN, I'M MIRIAM, THE NEW JOINER.

AND MAYBE THIS IS MORE OF AN UNDERSTANDING CONTENT RELATED QUESTION, BUT VICTORIA, THANKS FOR THE PRESENTATION.

ONE ITEM I WAS WONDERING ABOUT IS WHEN WE MOVED DOWN WITH THE RESERVE FROM CURRENTLY 55, 56 DAYS TO 30 DAYS CLOSER TO POLICY.

IF YOU COULD MAYBE SHINE A LIGHT ON THE REASONING FOR THESE 30 DAYS IN THE POLICY, AND IF THAT INDUCES ANY TYPE OF OPERATIONAL READINESS RISK, IF WE HAVE OVER THE NEXT TWO YEARS.

THANK YOU, MARY. SO THAT'S A GREAT QUESTION.

THANK YOU FOR THAT. 30 DAYS, I BELIEVE, IS THE INDUSTRY STANDARD.

DIFFERENT CITIES HAVE DIFFERENT DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVE.

BUT WE HAVE AT LEAST THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS MAINTAINED THAT 30 DAY RESERVE FOR QUITE SOME TIME. YOU KNOW, IN TERMS OF IT POSING AN OPERATIONAL RISK, I KNOW THERE HAS BEEN, YOU KNOW, DISCUSSION AND DESIRE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVES AT LEAST IN THE PAST TO PERHAPS, YOU KNOW, 45 DAYS OR SOMETHING IN BETWEEN.

BUT AGAIN, NOT INCREASING THE DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVE WOULD COME WITH A RATE INCREASE, A RATE IMPACT.

AND SO THE APPETITE FOR INCREASING THAT RESERVE REALLY HAS NOT BEEN THERE WITH CITY MANAGEMENT. BUT TO, TO YOUR QUESTION OR YOUR POINT ABOUT OPERATIONAL RISK YOU KNOW, BASED ON OUR LAST HUGE EVENT IN TERMS OF AN EMERGENCY, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT WAS MAURA THAT OR YURI.

[00:30:05]

THANK YOU. VICTORIA. YOU KNOW, LET ME, LET ME ALSO CHIME IN ON THIS.

I, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, HISTORICALLY SPEAKING, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN THE CITY LITERALLY PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

WE HAD A RESERVE FUND IN EXCESS OF 90 DAYS AT ONE POINT WITH WITH MR. RHODES AS THE DIRECTOR.

IT WAS A WONDERFUL RESERVE FUND.

WE AGAIN, HAD TRANSITIONED AWAY FROM A LOT OF REVENUE GENERATING OPPORTUNITIES BACK THEN.

WE GOT RID OF OUR LANDFILL.

WE GOT RID OF OUR SINGLE STREAM RECYCLING FACILITY, WHICH WERE REVENUE GENERATORS.

AND THEY ALLOWED US TO, TO BUILD UP A RESERVE FUND, WHICH MINIMIZED THE NEED TO INCREASE SOME OF OUR RATES.

FAST FORWARD TO TODAY.

I MEAN, WE'VE ALREADY STARTED THE CONVERSATION LAST YEAR ABOUT PERHAPS RE REVISITING THE CITY, AT LEAST OPENING PARTS OF THE FM 812 LANDFILL THAT WE, THAT WE OPERATED FOR DECADES.

AND AGAIN, IT WAS A WELL-RUN LANDFILL REVENUE GENERATING BROUGHT SOME RETURN TO THE INVESTORS, WHICH IS THE CITY RATEPAYERS, WHICH WE ACTUALLY NEED TO, TO LOOK AT AND PERHAPS REVISIT AGAIN.

YOU KNOW, I'M LOOKING AT THE ENDING BALANCE HERE, THAT 18 MILLION, WHICH I THINK VICTORIA, YOU MENTIONED, SOME OF THAT WENT TO MINIMIZE FUTURE RATE INCREASES.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.

SO AGAIN, THIS IS ME AND MY LITTLE PEA BRAIN HERE.

BUT IF SOME OF THAT WERE TO BE REINVESTED IN SOME OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'VE DISCUSSED, I MEAN, WE'VE GOT LITERALLY A NORTHEAST TRANSFER STATION THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT AT DEVELOPING THE TALK AND CHATTER THAT WE'VE HAD OF THE FM 812 FACILITY.

CAN, CAN THE CITY OF AUSTIN AT LEAST BEGIN THE PROCESSING OF THE COMMUNITY'S CONSTRUCTION AND DEMOLITION MATERIAL, WHICH AGAIN, WE, WE MANDATE THAT THAT MATERIAL BE RECYCLED AND REUSED.

CAN WE BECOME THE LEADERS IN THAT AS OPPOSED TO OUR SOME OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR GUYS? THESE ARE ALL CONVERSATIONS THAT I THINK WE'VE STARTED.

I MEAN, CAN WE INCREASE THAT CHATTER AND BECOME A LITTLE BIT MORE AGGRESSIVE IN, IN THOSE IN THOSE GOALS? BUT YEAH, THE BUDGET IS, IS I MEAN, YOU GUYS DID A GREAT JOB OF MINIMIZING THE IMPACT.

THANK YOU. I'M CONCERNED WITH THE OPERATING.

WHAT IS THE LACK OF OPERATING? IF WE HAVE ANOTHER CHALLENGING SITUATION AS WE DID LAST YEAR, HOW IS THAT GOING TO AFFECT US? IF IT WASN'T FOR THE FOR THE GENERAL FUND, WE WOULD HAVE PROBABLY BEEN IN, IN A DIFFICULT, DIFFICULT PLACE.

AND I DON'T KNOW, I THINK WE DID GET THE FEMA REIMBURSEMENT.

IS THAT CORRECT FOR THAT? THAT'S CORRECT. SO SO THAT DID THAT DID HELP, BUT NONETHELESS NOT TO HAVE CONTROL OVER YOUR.

YOUR FUTURE WHEN A DISASTER HITS IS IS FRIGHTENING TO ME.

AND I'D LIKE FOR US TO AGAIN, JUST TALK ABOUT SOME OF THESE OPPORTUNITIES THAT ARE THAT ARE IN FRONT OF US.

BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S MY $0.02 FOR RIGHT NOW.

COMMISSIONERS. ANY QUESTIONS? ANY THOUGHTS? CAITLIN. HEY, CAITLIN GRIFFITH THANKS FOR PUTTING THIS TOGETHER.

THIS REALLY GREAT. I JUST HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS.

JUST FOR ALSO LIKE MY OWN UNDERSTANDING.

ON SLIDE FOUR, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE TRASH CART SIZE IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE LARGE CARTS OR SORRY, THE EXTRA LARGE CARTS ARE INCREASING.

I WAS WONDERING WHAT LED YOU TO ANTICIPATE THE EXTRA LARGE CARTS DECREASING OVER THE NEXT FEW FISCAL YEARS? IS THAT YOUR HOPE FOR THEM DECREASING BECAUSE OF RATE INCREASES? YEAH, THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT.

YEAH, THAT'S WHY WE FORECAST WHAT WE, THE WAY WE DO.

[00:35:04]

YES. AND THEN ON SLIDE SEVEN FOR THE COLLECTION COST OF CURBSIDE THIS IS PROBABLY A SILLY QUESTION, BUT I SEE THAT THERE'S RECYCLING AND THERE'S COMPOST COLLECTION ON THAT, BUT I'M NOT SEEING JUST LIKE LANDFILL COLLECTION. IS THAT CALCULATED IN TERMS OF PART OF THE COST OF COLLECTION? SO THE LANDFILL COSTS ARE IN OUR TRASH CART FEES, WHICH ARE NOT REPRESENTED ON THAT PARTICULAR SLIDE.

SLIDE. SO YEAH, SO THE BASE FEE SUPPORTS THOSE SERVICES THAT ARE ON THAT SLIDE.

WHEREAS THE THE PAYMENTS FOR TRASH CART, THE TRASH CART REVENUE COVERS THE LANDFILL COSTS. THANK YOU. AND THEN MY LAST QUESTION IS ON SLIDE 11.

JUST LOOKING AT THE SNAPSHOT ARE ANY OF THESE YEARS ADJUSTED FOR INFLATION OR ARE LIKE THE 2425 BUDGET? ARE THOSE IN 24, 25 NUMBERS? WHILE THE 2627 PROPOSES IN $26.

SO THE 25 COLUMN, WHICH IS THE COLUMN ON THE LEFT, FAR LEFT, REPRESENTS ACTUAL COSTS FOR THAT YEAR.

THE 26 AMENDED WOULD REPRESENT REPRESENTS WHAT WE PROPOSED FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.

AND AND YES, THAT THERE ARE COST ESCALATIONS IN THAT IN THAT COLUMN, WHEN WE DEVELOP THE THE PROPOSED BUDGET, AS WE DO FOR FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 AND AND ALL OF THE OUT YEARS OR THE FORECAST, WE HAVE VARIOUS INFLATIONARY FACTORS OR SOMETIMES OUR CONTRACT INCREASES ARE KNOWN AT THE TIME.

AND WE'LL, WE'LL INCORPORATE THOSE AND THEN THE 26 ESTIMATE IS WHAT WE EXPECT HOW WE EXPECT TO END THE YEAR BASED ON, YOU KNOW, CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR DIFFERENT PROGRAM MANAGERS WHETHER SPENDING IS, YOU KNOW, UNDER TARGET OR OVER TARGET.

SO THAT'S KIND OF WHAT THAT COLUMN REPRESENTS.

AND THEN OF COURSE, THE LAST TWO COLUMNS IN THAT SLIDE REPRESENT WHAT WE HAVE PROPOSED AND PLANNED AGAIN. YOU KNOW, THERE ARE VARIOUS COST ESCALATION FACTORS, WHETHER IT BE 3%, 5% BASED ON WHATEVER CONTRACTS.

WHATEVER CONTRACT TERMS ARE ALLOWED.

WE'LL FACTOR ALL OF THOSE IN.

DOES THAT ANSWER YOUR QUESTION? I THINK SO.

OKAY. BUT YEAH, I THINK OTHERWISE THIS BUDGET LOOKS IT LOOKS REALLY TIGHT.

I MEAN, IT LOOKS LIKE COSTS ARE JUST THEY CONTINUE TO GROW LIKE 9 TO 12%.

AND I THINK CONSIDERING THAT AND CONSIDERING KIND OF THESE LOWER RATE INCREASES, I THINK YOU GUYS ARE DOING AN INCREDIBLE JOB.

AND I KNOW THAT IT IS, IT'S A BIT STRESSFUL TO HAVE FEWER DAYS OF OPERATING RESERVE, BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF THE FINANCIAL STRUGGLE, STRUGGLE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ACROSS AUSTIN ARE FEELING I THINK THAT THIS BUDGET LOOKS REALLY GOOD. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. CAITLIN. GUYS, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? SETH. SETH. GO AHEAD. YEAH.

MY NAME IS SETH WHALEN.

I'M FROM DISTRICT THREE.

THANKS FOR PRESENTING FOR US AND OVERALL LOOKING OVER THE BUDGET.

I DON'T KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF BIG NUMBERS AND I DON'T KNOW HOW IT ALL WORKS.

IT ALL LOOKS LIKE WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB.

FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ZERO WASTE.

TO ME, SINCE WE'RE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE TRASH CART SIZES, HAVING RECYCLING ONLY COME EVERY OTHER WEEK MAKES IT SEEM LIKE IT'S HALF AS IMPORTANT AS TRASH. BUT TO ME, IT'S, IT'S TWICE AS IMPORTANT.

AND I WONDER IF WE COULD GET MORE PEOPLE LIKE, ESPECIALLY WITH, YOU KNOW, WE WENT TO THE THE, THE TDS FACILITY AND THEY TALKED ABOUT THE MASSIVE INCREASE IN IN CARDBOARD.

AND CARDBOARD IS JUST TAKES UP A WHOLE LOT OF ROOM IN, IN A, IN A RECYCLING CART.

AND SO IF SOME OF THESE THINGS THAT ARE COMING DOWN THE LINE ARE MORE ARE TAKING UP MORE SPACE, THEY MIGHT BE ENDING UP IN THESE GIANT TRASH CANS BECAUSE PEOPLE JUST NEED

[00:40:05]

AND I KNOW THAT IT'S BEEN MENTIONED THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT I'M SURE WOULD BE A HUGE BUDGET INCREASE TO, TO HAVE THE RECYCLING COME EVERY WEEK, LIKE THE TRASH AND THE COMPOST.

BUT I JUST WONDER IF THERE'S A WAY THAT WE CAN REALLY MAKE.

JUST, YEAH, LIKE WE'RE SAYING WITH THE, WITH THE INCREASES IN THE LARGER TRASH CAN SIZES JUST DISSUADE PEOPLE FROM MAKING TRASH AND AND MAKING EVERYTHING END UP IN THE PROPER, THE PROPER PLACE.

BUT AND THEN HOPEFULLY THAT IT'S RECYCLABLE AND GETTING RECYCLED.

I DON'T KNOW THAT I HAD A QUESTION IN THERE.

YEAH. IT WAS MORE IN COMMON WITH A SLIGHT QUESTION ACTUALLY.

AND I THINK RON, THAT'S.

YEAH. GOOD EVENING, COMMISSIONERS.

RON ROMERO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

HEY, SETH. YEAH, I KIND OF SEE WHERE YOU'RE GOING WITH THIS.

THE DEPARTMENT DOES A COUPLE OF THINGS.

ONE, WE'VE DONE SOME COST ANALYSIS ON AT LOOKING AT WEEKLY RECYCLING COLLECTION.

AND RIGHT NOW THE TONNAGES ARE NOT THERE.

WE'VE ACTUALLY SEEN DECREASES IN SOME OF THE TONNAGES WHERE WE HAD A PEAK IN COVID WITH EVERYBODY BEING HOME AND ORDERING YOU KNOW, AMAZON HERE AND UPS THERE.

YOU KNOW, TONS OF CARDBOARD BACK THEN, BUT WE'VE SEEN A DECREASE IN, IN TONNAGES. AND A LOT OF THAT IS PACKAGING.

THINGS ARE DIFFERENT THINGS.

THINGS ARE COMING IN DIFFERENT.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS DEFINITELY TRIED TO DO IS CONTINUE TO ENCOURAGE RECYCLING. WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE, WE OFFER THE ADDITIONAL RECYCLING CART, YOU KNOW, FOR THOSE THAT ARE HITTING THE CAPACITY ALREADY FILLING THAT CART UP, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A WEEK OR WEEK AND A HALF INTO THE, UNTIL THEIR NEXT COLLECTION.

WE DO OFFER THAT FREE RECYCLING AND EXTRA RECYCLING CARD.

AGAIN, WITH OUR MESSAGING THAT PIO OUR PIO TEAM PUT OUT WE TALK ABOUT RIGHT SIZING, YOU KNOW, PUTTING THINGS IN THE RIGHT PLACE.

WE CONTINUE TO PUSH THAT MESSAGING ESPECIALLY ON CONTAMINATION, YOU KNOW, GET, GET THAT CONTAMINATION OUT OF YOUR RECYCLING.

IT GOES IN THE TRASH, GIVE YOU SOME EXTRA EXTRA CAPACITY.

BUT HEY, WE ALWAYS HAVE THAT EXTRA CARD IF YOU'D LIKE THAT.

SO WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT THOSE OPPORTUNITIES TO COMMUNICATE WITH OUR, WITH OUR CUSTOMERS. AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO DO THAT OUR MARKETING PLAN IN THE NEXT YEAR AND THE FOLLOWING YEAR AFTER THAT.

HAVE SOME REALLY GOOD TARGETING MESSAGING FOR OUR CUSTOMERS.

SO WE'LL CONTINUE TO TRY TO PUSH THAT.

THANK YOU RON. THANKS, RON.

I THINK SO. I THINK WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AT LEAST PARTLY, IS THAT THERE'S NOT YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S NOT ENOUGH RECYCLING TO MAKE IT WORTH GOING.

IT'S SOMEWHAT ABOUT THE COST OF IT.

BUT IT'S REALLY THAT LIKE YOU WOULD BE SENDING PEOPLE OUT TO PICK UP NOT VERY MUCH STUFF. CORRECT. THE, THE COST ANALYSIS THAT OUR FINANCE TEAM HAS DONE HERE IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS YOU KNOW, DOESN'T SUPPORT WEEKLY RECYCLING COLLECTION.

YOU KNOW, THE, THE OPERATIONAL COST WOULD BE QUITE HIGH.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. THANKS.

AND THE RECYCLING BIN BY DEFAULT IS THE 96 GALLON ONE AS WELL.

SO I'M NOT SURE ENTIRELY WHAT THE IMPACT OF THAT IS, BUT THAT'S MAYBE THAT'S PART OF THE REASON WHY IT'S LESS NECESSARY TO PICK UP QUITE AS OFTEN, BUT I'M NOT SURE.

YES. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS.

THANK YOU RON. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? QUESTIONS? I'VE GOT A I'M SORRY, RON, CAN I ASK YOU A COUPLE OF REALLY QUICKIES HERE? AND. VICTORIA.

ACTUALLY THE FIRST ONE, VICTORIA IS FOR YOU.

THE HOW ARE WE PROJECTING OUR FUTURE BASE, OUR FUTURE CUSTOMERS? I MEAN, WHEN I LOOK AROUND HERE, WE DRIVE HERE AND WE SEE ALL THESE HIGH RISES AND WE SEE LITERALLY THE CITY PRETTY MUCH LANDLOCKED NOW.

AND YET WE'RE STILL PROJECTING CONSIDERABLE GROWTH IN OUR SINGLE FAMILY OPERATIONS.

HOW ARE WE DOING THAT? I MEAN, WHAT WHAT ARE WE USING? WHAT BASIS? YEAH. GREAT QUESTION.

SO WE ARE SEEING AT LEAST HISTORICALLY A MINIMAL LEVEL OF GROWTH WHICH KIND OF CORRESPONDS TO WHAT THE CITY DEMOGRAPHERS ORG OFFICE PUTS OUT EVERY YEAR.

SO AVERAGING ABOUT A 1.5% INCREASE IN CUSTOMER GROWTH ON THE RESIDENTIAL SIDE.

SO, BUT TO YOUR QUESTION, YES, THERE, THERE IS GROWTH IN NON I GUESS

[00:45:05]

SO MORE, MORE GROWTH IN THE MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

SO WE ARE ACTUALLY EMBARKING ON THIS YEAR LOOKING AT, AT KIND OF OUR ASSUMPTIONS FOR CUSTOMER GROWTH BECAUSE WE ARE NOT SEEING AT LEAST WITHIN THE PAST YEAR THE LEVELS OF, OF INCREASE THAT WE HAD EXPECTED.

SO WE'RE GOING TO BE TAKING A LOOK AT THAT. BUT, YOU KNOW, LONG ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.

IT'S BASED ON THE CITY DEMOGRAPHERS POPULATION INCREASE.

SO WE CAN BLAME HIM. YEAH WE'LL WE'LL BLAME HER.

I'M TELLING YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU.

AND THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE, RON, IS FOR YOU.

AND THIS IS KIND OF ALONG THE LINES OF SETH'S QUESTION AND JOHN'S THOUGHTS HERE IN OUR INDUSTRY, THERE ARE SPLIT BODY TRUCKS, WHICH SOME COMPANIES OPERATE.

WE WERE CONSIDERED ONE OF THOSE SPLIT BODY TRUCKS.

AND WHAT A SPLIT BODY TRUCK DOES IS IT ALLOWS YOU TO PICK UP A COUPLE OF ITEMS AND PLACE THEM IN THE SAME VEHICLE.

FOR ONE, PERISHABLE WASTE COULD BE IN ONE SIDE.

ON THE OTHER SIDE COULD BE YOUR RECYCLABLE MATERIAL.

AND I WAS CURIOUS IF WE'VE EVER EXPLORED THAT OPTION.

YEAH, JERRY, WE IN THE PAST, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS LOOKING AT EQUIPMENT.

WE'VE GOT A REALLY STRONG, QUICK EQUIPMENT ACQUISITION TEAM THAT IS ALWAYS GETTING NEW EQUIPMENT DOWN HERE FOR US TO DEMO FOR US TO LOOK AT PUTTING ON THE ROUTE TO SEE WHAT IS MOST EFFICIENT FOR OUR COLLECTION SERVICE.

WE HAVE DEMOED AND SEEN SOME OF THOSE SPLIT BODIES.

BUT THEY JUST, THEY DIDN'T NECESSARILY MEET THE THE EFFICIENCY THAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR ON THE ROUTES. YOU KNOW, HAVING TO GO AND DUMPED AT TWO DIFFERENT LOCATIONS. YOU KNOW, THE COMMODITY ONE COMMODITY IS GOING HERE.

YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT TWO CONTRACTORS FOR RECYCLING.

SO WE'VE LOOKED AT IT AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO ALWAYS YOU KNOW, LOOK AT DIFFERENT THINGS AND DIFFERENT PIECES OF EQUIPMENT TO ADD TO THE FLEET, WHATEVER COULD, YOU KNOW, KEEP OUR RATES LOW AND KEEP US MOST EFFICIENT ON OUR ROUTES. BUT PRESENTLY WE HAVEN'T FOUND ANYTHING, ANY, ANY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT LIKE THAT, THAT THAT WOULD SATISFY SATISFY THE NEEDS OF OUR PROGRAMS. THANK YOU RON.

AND THE LAST QUESTION I HAVE LITERALLY I'M LOOKING AT THE.

WOW. OUR DOLLARS AND CENTS AVAILABLE FOR POTENTIAL PURCHASES OF VEHICLES.

AND VICTORIA, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

I THINK THAT'S WHAT IS THAT 13 MILLION IS WHAT WE'RE PROJECTING.

YES. FOR FISCAL YEAR 27.

CORRECT. 12.7 MILLION IN REPLACEMENT VEHICLES.

OKAY. SO I'M JUST AGAIN, IF WE'RE LOOKING AT SOMEDAY ELECTRIFYING THE FLEET, I MEAN, THAT IS PROBABLY NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TO EVEN CONSIDER A COUPLE OR FEW TRUCKS. AND AGAIN, HAVE WE LOOKED AT POTENTIALLY JOINING IN ON THE PROPOSED BOND PACKAGE THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME FUNDING FOR DEPARTMENTAL EFFICIENCIES, I.E. BEING THE. ELECTRIC VEHICLE ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACTUALLY.

AND. GO AHEAD. I'M SORRY.

YEAH. JERRY, WE WE PARTNER FLEET, OUR FLEET MOBILITY SERVICE DEPARTMENT IS USUALLY THE LEAD. BUT WE WORK WE COLLABORATE WITH THEM IN REGARDS TO IDEAS AND WHAT NEEDS WE HAVE IN REGARDS TO EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLE PURCHASES.

THEY, THAT DEPARTMENT IS VERY MUCH UP TO DATE ON AVAILABLE GRANTS AND AVAILABLE MONIES.

THEY REACH OUT TO NOT ONLY AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, BUT OTHER DEPARTMENTS WITH THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ABOUT POSSIBLE GRANTS OR APPLYING FOR POSSIBLE GRANTS. WE MEET WITH OUR FLEET DEPARTMENT MONTHLY SO THAT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A CONSTANT CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT'S AVAILABLE AND WHAT THE NEEDS OF R R ARE. SO WE DEFINITELY COLLABORATE WITH THEM, BUT THEY ARE.

FLEET MOBILITY SERVICES IS THE LEAD DEPARTMENT ON THAT.

THANK YOU RON. APPRECIATE THAT.

COMMISSIONERS. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS. ANY OTHER THOUGHTS HERE.

WE KNOW THAT. I'M SORRY CAITLIN GO AHEAD.

I JUST THOUGHT OF ONE LAST ONE. SORRY.

ALL RIGHT. IT LOOKS LIKE THE CITY IS GOING TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE DOGS HEAD TOURS.

AND FROM A PERSPECTIVE ON THE COMMISSION.

I HAVEN'T REALLY HEARD ANYTHING FROM RR ON THIS.

I WAS WONDERING IF ANY OF THOSE PROJECTED COSTS OR EXPANSION OF RESIDENCES OR ANYTHING

[00:50:07]

GOOD EVENING COMMISSIONERS. AMY SCHLEGEL AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.

SO NO NOTHING FOR DOGS HEAD JUST YET IN ANY OF THESE BUDGETS.

SO, VICTORIA, I DIDN'T MEAN TO CUT IN ON YOU.

OH, NO. YOU HAD IT SPOT ON.

NOTHING IN THE BUDGET. IT'S USUALLY WE HAVE TO HAVE KNOWN EITHER ANNEXATIONS OR DIS ANNEXATIONS. THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO PUT IT IN THE BUDGET.

SO SHORT ANSWER. NO. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. CAITLIN. THANK YOU. VICTORIA.

AMY. GOSH, MOVING ON HERE.

THIS IS A DISCUSSION ACTION ITEM.

AND NOW I'LL OPEN THIS UP FOR THE COMMISSION TO TAKE ACTION.

I THINK THEY'RE OBVIOUSLY LOOKING, AND I'M HOPING THAT WE WILL SUPPORT THE BUDGET AS WRITTEN AND LITERALLY GIVE THEM A A GOOD SEND OFF HERE.

BUT ANYWAY, I'LL OPEN UP THE FLOOR FOR ANY ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THE ACTUAL ITEM ITSELF. IT'S. DO I HEAR ANY? I THINK MELISSA'S MELISSA'S GOING TO OBJECT.

I'M PRETTY SURE. OKAY.

NO, NO. ANYBODY WANT TO MAKE A MOTION? WOULD IT BE LIKE A MOTION TO, LIKE, RECOMMEND THE BUDGET FOR CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE? CORRECT. OKAY.

I WOULD LIKE TO RESTATE THAT AND SAY, I WOULD RECOMMEND I MAKE A MOTION TO RECOMMEND CITY COUNCIL TO APPROVE THIS BUDGET.

CAITLIN. THANK YOU. DO I HEAR A SECOND ON THAT? I'LL SECOND. SECOND THAT.

WE'VE GOT A SECOND AND THIRD AND A 10TH, I THINK, BUT NONETHELESS. EXACTLY.

YES. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONERS SEEING THAT WE DO HAVE A MOTION.

WE HAVE A SECOND. ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND, PLEASE. UNANIMOUS. THANK YOU STAFF.

THANK YOU GUYS. THANK YOU.

MOVING ON. I GUESS OUR LAST ITEM IS AMY, YOUR STAFF BRIEFING.

[5. Staff briefing on the status of Austin Resource Recovery Operational and Administrative projects by Amy Slagle, Assistant Director of Austin Resource Recovery. ]

WE DO HAVE JUST A FEW ITEMS, A COUPLE ITEMS IN HERE TO COVER.

MOVE OUT AT STARTED LAST WEEKEND.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE FAMILIAR, IT'S A GREAT PROGRAM HELPING REHOME FURNITURE. KEEP IT OUT OF A LANDFILL.

SO THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE LAST WEEK AND IT CONTINUES THROUGH THIS FRIDAY.

THEY'VE GOT SEVERAL LOCATIONS AROUND TOWN.

I WAS ABLE TO TO SPEAK TO ONE OF THE PROGRAM MANAGERS FOR THAT EVENT.

AND THEY'VE ALREADY HAD FOR THEIR FREE FURNITURE MARKET, THEY WERE ABLE TO REHOME OVER 200 PIECES OF FURNITURE IN THAT FIRST FIRST FEW DAYS, WHICH IS GREAT. KEEPS IT, GETS THAT BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY AND REUSING THAT MATERIAL. SO THE FREE FURNITURE MARKET.

I ACTUALLY ENDED A LITTLE BIT EARLIER THIS WEEK AND SOMETHING THAT TO CONSIDER FOR NEXT YEAR FOR AWARENESS AROUND THAT IS WE ALWAYS NEED VOLUNTEERS TO HELP WITH THIS EVENT FOR MOVE OUT AT IT'S, IT'S A, IT'S A BIG LIFT, ALL THE DEPARTMENTS INVOLVED. AND SO IT'S SOMETHING TO CONSIDER IF YOU'RE PARTICIPATING IN NEXT YEAR.

IT'S A GREAT EVENT. IT'S GREAT TO SEE THE COMMUNITY COME OUT AND LOOK FOR WAYS TO, TO TAKE ITEMS THAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE READY TO DISCARD AND SEE HOW THEY CAN REUSE THEM AND REPURPOSE THEM INTO THEIR, INTO THEIR, INTO THEIR LIVES AND THEIR HOMES.

ON THAT POINT, APOLOGIES TO INTERRUPT, BUT I DON'T REMEMBER GETTING A NOTICE TO POTENTIALLY PARTICIPATE IN THAT AS A VOLUNTEER.

BUT IF YOU SEND IT OUT, THERE'S A REASONABLY GOOD CHANCE I BET SOME OF US WOULD BE WILLING TO, TO SHOW UP.

SOUNDS GOOD. WE WE CAN GET THE MAYBE GET THE COUNCIL MEMBER OR GET THE COMMISSION EMAILS ADDED TO THE DISTRIBUTION LIST.

SO I'LL CHECK WITH THE PROGRAMMER ON THAT.

SO YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU.

YEAH. THERE'S ALSO A TIMELINE OUTLINING THE BUDGET ADOPTION HERE OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS.

THERE ARE A COUPLE OF WORK SESSIONS NEXT WEEK, AND THEN ADOPTION IS SET FOR THE FOLLOWING WEEK, AUGUST 12TH THROUGH THE 14TH.

AND THEN THEY'LL ALSO HAVE THE TAX ADOPTION RATE AT THAT TIME AS WELL.

A COUPLE OF ITEMS THAT ARE GETTING READY TO PUBLISH OR I'M SORRY, THAT HAVE ALREADY PUBLISHED SOLICITATIONS MATERIAL RATE STUDY.

THAT'S OUR CAPTURE RATE STUDY.

WE'RE HOPING TO GET THAT AWARDED THIS SUMMER AND THEN HAVE THE CONTRACTOR ON, ON BOARD AND WORKING ON THE PROJECT BY THE, BY LATE, LATE FALL. AND THEN THE PROJECT DELIVERABLE WOULD BE DUE TOWARDS THE END OF NEXT FISCAL

[00:55:04]

AND THEN, THE FINAL ITEM IS JUST YOUR MONTHLY REPORTS.

THOSE ARE PROVIDE REALLY GOOD INSIGHT INTO THE DEPARTMENT.

AND IT GIVES YOU A GOOD SNAPSHOT OF OF OUR PROGRAMS EACH MONTH.

SO WITH THAT I'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU AMY. ANY THOUGHTS QUESTIONS, COMMISSIONERS.

SETH. AND THEN CAITLIN.

I THINK YOU HAD ONE. YES.

WHAT WHAT ABOUT THE TRASH CANS GETTING REFURBISHED OR WHAT IS THAT ITEM? SO THOSE ARE THE LITTER CANS THAT ARE IN THE RIGHTS OF WAY.

YOU MOSTLY SEE THEM HERE IN DOWNTOWN.

THEY, THEY GET BEAT UP AND THE PAINT STARTS TO PEEL.

AND SO WE REFURBISH THOSE EVERY SO OFTEN AS THEY NEED IT.

SO THAT'S A NEW CONTRACT TO HAVE THOSE ITEMS REFURBISHED AND RESTORED.

AND ARE THOSE TRASH AND RECYCLING? YES. IT'S FOR BOTH ITEMS. IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHICH ONE NEEDS THE SERVICE.

OKAY. YEAH. OKAY. THANKS, CAITLIN.

DID YOU HAVE A THOUGHT? ON MY END.

I JUST REALLY WANT TO COMMEND RR FOR MOVING OUT AT I'M A LITTLE BIT BIASED BECAUSE I WORK AT UT OFFICE OF SUSTAINABILITY.

AND SO MY, MY OFFICE IS REALLY IN THE TRENCHES WITH YOU GUYS ON THAT ONE.

BUT FOR THOSE THAT AREN'T AWARE IT'S MOVE OUT SEASON FOR WEST CAMPUS AND WITHOUT MOVE OUT ATX, ALL OF THIS STUFF WOULD END UP NOT ONLY IN LANDFILLS, BUT SURROUNDING NOT ONLY IN THE DUMPSTERS, BUT SURROUNDING THE DUMPSTERS AND MAKING THE DUMPSTERS LIKE HARD TO ACCESS.

AND IT'S ALL JUST LIKE THIS PERFECTLY USABLE STUFF THAT PARENTS BUY FOR THEIR KIDS BEFORE THEY GO TO SCHOOL, AND THEN THEY MOVE OUT THE NEXT YEAR.

SO REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS PROGRAM CONTINUING IN THE FUTURE.

I THINK IT'S REALLY GREAT.

BUT YEAH, THANKS FOR ALL YOUR HARD WORK ON THAT. THANK YOU.

WE APPRECIATE THAT TEAM DOES A GREAT JOB AND WE'RE EVEN WORKING ON WAYS TO GET SOME OF THAT FURNITURE FROM. MOVE OUT ATX INTO THE REUSE WAREHOUSE SO WE CAN HAVE FURNITURE READY AT OPENING. SEE, WE HAD OUR LITTLE SPOT OPEN.

WE COULD GIVE THAT AWAY.

COMING SOON. SELL IT. YES, YES.

COMING SOON. THANK YOU.

BUT GUYS, ANY OTHER THOUGHTS? QUESTIONS? AMY THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH STAFF.

THANK YOU GUYS AS USUAL FOR THE TIME AND THE WONDERFUL PRESENTATIONS.

[FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ]

WE CAN GET THAT. I MEAN, JUST A ROUGH DRAFT JUST TO SHOW US WHERE WE WERE AND WHERE WE COULD POSSIBLY END UP AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.

BUT ANYWAY, MY THOUGHTS.

ANYBODY ELSE? CAITLIN.

I'D REALLY LIKE TO KNOW MORE INFORMATION ABOUT R'S PERSPECTIVE AND THE DOG'S HEAD DEVELOPMENT. I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE TIMELINE IS LIKE FOR ANY OF THAT, BUT IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALL HAPPENING VERY QUICKLY.

AND SO JUST KIND OF HAVING AN UNDERSTANDING ABOUT HOW THAT WOULD IMPACT RR AND THE CITY WOULD BE REALLY GREAT INFORMATION TO HAVE.

THANK YOU. CAITLIN. COMMISSIONERS.

ANYTHING ELSE? HEARING NOTHING ELSE, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION FOR ADJOURNMENT.

DON'T BE SHY NOW. COME ON.

OH I MOTION TO ADJOURN.

IRIS. THANK YOU. 7:00 IS ALMOST HERE, SO.

YES. IRIS MOVES. DO I HEAR A SECOND? MIRIAM, WELCOME, BY THE WAY.

AND I'M SORRY. THIS IS MIRIAM, OUR NEW OUR NEW CRAZY PERSON WHO DECIDED TO JOIN US. BUT ANYWAY, WELCOME, AND THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

BUT ANYWAY, WE HAVE A MOTION.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.

AND LET'S THANK YOU GUYS.

THANK YOU.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.