Sep 22, 2026 City Council Work Session

GOOD MORNING, MR. MAYOR, COUNSEL AND MR. CITY MANAGER.

MY NAME'S LOUIS GRANGER.

I AS WELL, I'M A WIFE'S LONG OFF TONIGHT, CURRENTLY RESIDING IN DISTRICT NINE.

UH, I'M SPEAKING IN OPPOSITION TO THE PROPOSED CREATION OF A STANDALONE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT.

THE RECENT REPORT FROM MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS RECOMMENDS ENHANCING EXISTING ALREADY SIGN IMPROVEMENTS WITH FASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES IN ALL 10 DISTRICTS.

UM, I BELIEVE MOST AUSTINITES THAT HAVE A LEGITIMATE CONCERN FOR 9 1 1 RESPONSE TIMES IN THIS CITY WERE CONFUSED AND FRANKLY BAFFLED BY THE CITY'S COUNCIL'S VOTE IN AUGUST.

PRIOR TO RECEIVING THE RESULTS OF THE VERY REPORT, IT WAS REQUESTED THAT VOTE, UH, AND THE RESULT, UH, WAS AT BEST A HASTY DECISION AND IT WORKS TOTALLY IRRESPONSIBLE.

UH, WE HAVE SEEN THE RESULTS AND CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE WITH THE PREVIOUS MARION COUNCIL'S ANTI FIRST RESPONDER AGENDA AND HOW IT HAS NOW INARGUABLY, UH, CAN BE VIEWED AS MISGUIDED AND DAMAGING.

PLEASE DON'T MAKE THE SAME CASE.

PLEASE RECONSIDER.

OKAY, I'M GONNA MOVE TO IN-PERSON SPEAKERS FOR B ONE STACY SCHMIDT, JENNIFER STEVENS, ROGER BOOR, BORG CORBY, GASTRO AND GRACE ENTERS MS. SCHMIDT.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

I'M STACY SCHMIDT WITH OPPORTUNITY AUSTIN.

I'M HERE THIS MORNING TO ASK YOU ALL NOT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH CREATING A STANDALONE 9 1 1 DEPARTMENT AND AUGUST, MANY OF OR SEVERAL OF YOU VOTED TO MOVE FORWARD ON SEPARATING NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING FROM THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT DESPITE THE CONCERNS THAT WERE BROUGHT FORWARD FROM OUR EMERGENCY LEADERS AND STAFF AND THE CITY MANAGER.

NOW THAT THE FINDINGS ARE IN, IN FRONT OF YOU AND YOU HAVE THE REPORT, I BELIEVE THAT SUPPORT, THAT REPORT SUPPORTS A DIFFERENT PATH.

HERE'S WHAT I UNDERSTAND TO BE TRUE.

EVERY COUNCIL DISTRICT IS SEEING FASTER 9 1 1 RESPONSE TIMES THAN INTO 2024, ACROSS, ACROSS BOTH HIGH PRIORITY AND LOW PRIORITY CALLS.

AUSTIN, AUSTIN IS ALREADY IN CREA, CREATED A MENTAL HEALTH LINE INTO 9 1 1.

AND SINCE THAT WAS ADDED, THERE HAS BEEN 35,000 CALLS THAT HAVE BEEN DIRECTLY ROOTED TO INTEGRAL CARE.

THE CITY'S CONSULTANTS HAVE RECOMMENDED STRENGTHENING THE CURRENT SYSTEM AT AN ESTIMATED $1.7 MILLION, RATHER THAN STANDING UP A NEW DEPARTMENT, A 2.5 MILLION, THAT ITSELF WOULD NOT IMPROVE RESPONSE TIMES.

AUSTIN HAS MADE REAL MEASURABLE PROGRESS ON 9 1 1 THROUGH STEADY INVESTMENT AND OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENT.

MANY OF THOSE THINGS YOU ALL WERE A PART OF MAKING HAPPEN.

I RESPECTFULLY ASKED THE COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE POSITION THAT WAS TAKEN IN AUGUST AND DIRECT THE STAFF TO MOVE FORWARD UNDER THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE CONSULTANT TO STRENGTHEN THE SYSTEM WE ALREADY HAVE IN PLACE WITH CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP QUALITY ASSURANCE TECHNOLOGY AND CONTINUED TRAINING THAT IS THE PATH THAT BUILDS ON THE PROGRESS WITHOUT COST DISRUPTION AND UNCERTAINTY OF CREATING A NEW APARTMENT FROM SCRATCH.

AN UNTESTED NEW DEPARTMENT ISN'T THE REFORM AUSTIN NEEDS.

THANK YOU MR. BOAL.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

UH, MY NAME IS ROGER BORGELT.

I'M A LIFELONG AUSTINITE AND A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10 WITH AN OFFICE IN DISTRICT EIGHT.

UH, I, UH, I'M ALSO HERE, UH, TO ASK THE COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE DECISION THAT WAS TAKEN, UH, IN AUGUST REGARDING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL SITTER.

UH, I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE GONNA GET A BRIEFING IN JUST A FEW MINUTES FROM MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS THAT HAVE NOW RELEASED THEIR FINAL REPORT, MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS WAS TASKED WITH REVIEWING THE 9 1 1 OPERATIONS AND THEIR FINAL RECOMMENDATION IS TO RETAIN CIVILIAN NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING WITHIN A PD WHILE ADDING DEDICATED CIVILIAN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS, LEADERSHIP, TARGETED TECHNOLOGY AND IMPROVEMENTS, AND A DEDICATED QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM.

THIS COUNCIL ALLOCATED IN AUGUST 1.4 MILLION IN THE FY 26 27 BUDGET TO CREATE A STANDALONE OFFICE OF JOINT COMMUNICATIONS BEFORE RECEIVING THE FINAL CONSULTANT REPORT.

AUSTIN HAS SPENT THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS REBUILDING PUBLIC SAFETY CAPACITY AND RESTORING CONFIDENCE IN CORE CITY SERVICES.

UNDOING THAT MOMENTUM FOR

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THIS ENHANCEMENT APPROACH IS ESTIMATED AT 1.7 MILLION, WHILE THE STANDALONE DEPARTMENT APPROACH IS ESTIMATED AS 2.5 MILLION, THE STANDALONE APPROACH WOULD NOT WOULD, IT WOULD ADD NEW LEADERSHIP AND OVERHEAD WITHOUT INHERENTLY IMPROVING RESPONSE TIMES OR CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT YOU'LL SEE YOUR OWN CONSULTANT HAS FOUND.

AS THE CITY HAS CONTINUED TO NAVIGATE TOUGH BUDGETS OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS, WE DON'T THINK IT'S THE TIME TO, AND I DON'T THINK IT'S THE TIME TO STAND UP AN ENTIRELY NEW DEPARTMENT WITH ITS OWN ONGOING LEADERSHIP.

SO I'M ASKING THE COUNCIL TO RECONSIDER THE AUGUST DECISION THAT VOTE WAS MADE BEFORE YOU HAD THIS REPORT AND NOW THAT THE REPORT IS OUT, THE COUNCIL SHOULD FOLLOW ITS OWN CONSULTANTS' RECOMMENDATIONS MA'AM? GOOD MORNING, MAYOR CITY COUNCIL.

I'M JENNIFER STEVENS.

I AM ALSO HERE TO ASK FOR YOU TO RESPECTFULLY RECONSIDER THE DECISION MADE IN AUGUST.

I'M A MOM AND A SMALL BUSINESS OWNER IN THE COMMUNITY AND I'M ALSO A VOLUNTEER SERVING AS PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF THE CENTRAL TEXAS PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSION.

WHEN SOMEONE CALLS 9 1 1, THEY ARE LIKELY FACING ONE OF THE MOST MOMENTS OF THEIR LIVES, MAYBE A HEART ATTACK, A FIRE, AN ASSAULT, A CHOKING BABY.

WE SHOULD TREAT ANY CHANGE TO THE FIRST POINT OF EMERGENCY CONTACT WITH EXTRAORDINARY CARE.

THE SHOOTING AT BUFORD'S REALLY BROUGHT THIS HOME FOR ME.

SOME OF MY EMPLOYEES WERE THERE, SOME OF MY CHILDREN'S BEST FRIENDS WERE THERE.

POLICE OFFICERS AND MEDICS REACHED THE SCENE IN ONE MINUTE AFTER THE FIRST NINE ONE ONE CALL ABSOLUTELY EXTRAORDINARY AND NO DOUBT SAVING SO MANY LIVES IN AN EMERGENCY SECONDS MATTER.

AUSTIN IS CURRENTLY ANSWERING MORE THAN 97% OF 9 1 1 CALLS WITHIN 15 SECONDS EXCEEDING THE NATIONAL BENCHMARK.

OUR CALL TAKERS HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH MENTAL HEALTH CLINICIANS SINCE 2020 TO CONNECT APPROPRIATE CALLERS WITH SPECIALIZED CARE, THE CITY COMMISSION AND EXPERT REVIEW, AND I'M GLAD YOU DID.

IT'S RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CLEAR.

KEEP THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER WITHIN A-P-P-D-A-P-D WHILE IMPROVING THE LEADERSHIP TECHNOLOGY QUALITY ASSURANCE AND CALL PROCESSING.

AND THOSE ARE IMPROVEMENTS WE SHOULD MAKE.

MOVING THE CALL TAKING INTO A SEPARATE DEPARTMENT DOES NOT BY ITSELF MAKE AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE FASTER.

THE EXPERTS WOULD SAY THAT IT DOES ADD COST COMPLEXITY AND TRANSITION RISK WHEN LIVES DEPEND ON FAST COORDINATED RESPONSE.

THAT RISK IS SIMPLY NOT WORTH TAKING.

I URGE YOU TO ACT ON THE REPORTS RECOMMENDATIONS AND THOSE OF THE CITY MANAGER, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AND OUR CHIEFS.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.

MY NAME IS CORBY STRO AND I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10.

I'M HERE THIS MORNING TO ASK YOU TO PLEASE KEEP AUSTIN'S NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER WITHIN THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

EVERY SINGLE COUNCIL DISTRICT, ALL 10 OF THEM ARE SEEN FASTER.

9 1 1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES NOW THAN IN 2024 ACROSS BOTH HIGH PRIORITY AND LOW PRIORITY CALLS.

AUSTIN, AS YOU HEARD THIS MORNING, AUSTIN HAS ALREADY ADDED A MENTAL HEALTH LINE INTO 9 1 1 SINCE IT WAS ADDED.

MORE THAN 35,000 CALLS HAVE BEEN ROUTED DIRECTLY TO OUR MENTAL HEALTH PARTNER, INTEGRAL CARE, GETTING PEOPLE IN CRISIS THE RIGHT KIND OF HELP WITHOUT NEEDING A NEW NEW DEPARTMENT TO DO IT.

THIS PROGRESS HAPPENED THROUGH STEADY INVESTMENTS IN OUR SYSTEM.

WE ALREADY HAVE NOT BY TEARING DOWN ANYTHING, TEARING ANYTHING APART OR STARTING OVER, THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE STOP THERE.

WE SHOULD KEEP ASKING WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE WITH OUR CURRENT STRUCTURE.

MORE CAPACITY, MORE TRAINING, DEEPER PARTNERSHIP WITH INTEGRAL CARE TO MAKE SURE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS ARE PRIORITIZED AND ROUTED WELL.

AUSTIN NINE ONE AUSTIN'S 9 1 1 SYSTEM IS A CRITICAL PART OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY INFRASTRUCTURE.

THE MEN AND WOMEN ANSWERING EMERGENCY CALLS ARE THE FIRST LINK TO THE CHAIN OF RESPONSE AND THEIR ABILITY TO QUICKLY COMMUNICATE WITH LAW ENFORCEMENT.

FIRE AND TRAVIS COUNTY EMS CAN DIRECTLY AFFECT OUTCOMES IN AN EMERGENCY.

PUBLIC SAFETY PROFESSIONALS, INCLUDING A PD LEADERSHIP, HAVE RAISED SERIOUS CONCERNS ABOUT REMOVING 9 1 1 OPERATIONS FROM A PD.

THEIR EXPERTISE AND FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE SHOULD CARRY SIGNIFICANT WEIGHT IN THIS DECISION.

BEFORE MAKING SUCH A CONSEQUENTIAL CHANGE, THE CITY SHOULD FULLY CONSIDER THE OPERATIONAL IMPACTS AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE PROFESSIONAL RESPONSES FOR RESPONDING WHEN AUSTIN RESIDENTS NEED HELP.

MY NAME IS GRACE ERS.

I'M WITH THE CENTRAL TEXAS PUBLIC SAFETY

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COMMISSION.

I'M HERE TO ENCOURAGE COUNSEL TO RECONSIDER MOVING FORWARD WITH THE JOINT OFFICE OF COMMUNICATION AND KEEP THE EXISTING 9 1 1 SYSTEM.

WE AUSTIN'S 9 1 1 SYSTEM IS MAKING PROGRESS.

WE HAVE FASTER EMERGENCY RESPONSE TIMES THIS YEAR THAN IN THE YEAR PREVIOUS, ACROSS BOTH HIGH PRIORITY AND LOWER PRIORITY CALLS.

WE'VE ALSO MADE MEANINGFUL STRIDES AND MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

AUSTIN'S INTEGRATED HAS ALREADY INTEGRATED A MENTAL HEALTH LINE INTO 9 1 1 AND SINCE ITS IMPLEMENTATION, MORE THAN 35,000 CALLS HAVE BEEN ROUTED DIRECTLY TO INTEGRAL CARE CONNECTING PEOPLE IN CRISIS WITH THE HELP THEY NEED.

THAT PROGRESS HAPPENED THROUGH INVESTMENT AND COLLABORATION WITH OUR, WITHIN OUR EXISTING SYSTEM, NOT BY CREATING AN ENTIRELY NEW DEPARTMENT.

WE SHOULD CONTINUE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO STRENGTHEN THE SYSTEM, BUILD ON WHAT'S WORKING, ADDRESS WHAT STILL NEEDS IMPROVEMENT, AND MAKE INVESTMENTS IN A SYSTEM THAT IS ALREADY DELIVERING RESULTS.

I ENCOURAGE YOU TO REVIEW THE REPORT BY THE CONSULTANT AND RECONSIDER YOUR DECISION.

I THINK WE HAVE BRIDGET TOBIN BACK ON THE LINE.

BRIDGET, ARE YOU THERE? HELLO? UH, YES.

THIS IS BRIDGET TOBIN.

I'M AN AUSTIN SOCIAL WORKER.

UM, AS MANY OF YOU KNOW, THERE WERE FIVE OVERDOSES AT A BAR DOWNTOWN LAST WEEK.

UM, LIVES WERE SAVED WITH NARCAN AND IT WAS DISTRIBUTED THE NEXT DAY BY A PD TO BUSINESSES.

UM, THE AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION TOLD ME IN ON THEIR OWN POST THAT IT IS NOT THEIR RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP PREVENT OVERDOSES.

THEY SAID YOU WOULD HAVE TO TALK TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY ABOUT THAT BECAUSE WE ARREST FOR POSSESSION AND CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES AND THE DA DOES NOT PROSECUTE THEM.

UM, I FOUND THIS TO BE AN EXTREMELY UNPROFESSIONAL WAY OF ANSWERING MY QUESTION, WHICH WAS, WHAT IS APDS PLAN TO PREVENT THESE KINDS OF OVERDOSE EVENTS? UM, THEY DECIDED TO BLAME THE DA'S OFFICE, WHICH IS NOT ONLY OVERLY POLITICIZING A REALLY SERIOUS QUESTION, BUT IT ALSO INDICATES A CULTURE OF DISRESPECT TOWARDS PREVENTION WORK AND TOWARDS THE OTHER AGENCY THAT A PD WORKS WITH SUCH AS EMS AND SOCIAL WORKERS, PEOPLE WHO COLLABORATE WITH A PD WITHIN 9 1 1.

IT SPEAKS TO A DISCONNECT TO WHAT PUBLIC SAFETY GOALS ARE WORKING TOWARDS ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

WHAT IS THE CITY'S ALIGNED GOAL? POLICING IS MEANT TO BE PREVENTATIVE ARREST AND PROSECUTIONS DO NOT PREVENT OVERDOSES, NOR DO THEY PREVENT CRIME.

THEIR RESPONSES.

OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEM ALSO CAN BE USED AS A LAST RESORT AND AS A FIRST LINE OF DEFENSE, WE CAN PREVENT DRUG RELATED RELATED CRIME AND OVERDOSES.

WE CAN PREVENT VIOLENT CRIME.

UH, WE CAN ALSO PREVENT TRAGIC MENTAL HEALTH EPISODES IN OUR CITY.

UM, UH, IF A YOUNG PERSON OR ANYONE IN IN CRISIS CALLS AND IS OF THE SOUND ENOUGH MIND TO CALL 9 1 1, THEY SHOULD BE MET ON THE OTHER END OF THE LINE BY SOMEONE WHO'S READY TO CATEGORIZE THEIR CALL TO GET THEM THE HELP THEY NEED BEFORE POLICE ARE NEEDED FOR A MUCH HIGHER LEVEL OF CRISIS RESPONSE.

IF WE MOVE 9 1 1, WE CAN DO THIS MORE EFFECTIVELY.

THE OUTCOME? ARE WE NOT SENDING POLICE IN TIME? THAT IS WHAT WE ASKED.

MOVING BACK TO IN PERSON.

I HAVE JENNIFER PALERMO.

JENNIFER, ARE YOU HERE? YES.

IS HOLLY SAVISTON HERE? OKAY, THEN YOU'LL HAVE FOUR MINUTES.

JEN MARGOLES.

KATHY MITCHELL.

MS. MITCHELL, ARE YOU HERE? YES.

AND WHAT ABOUT ROBIN SCHNEIDER? OKAY, THEN YOU ALSO HAVE FOUR MINUTES.

AND SHELBY EVANS, PLEASE COME ON DOWN.

IF I, IF YOUR NAME'S BEING CALLED, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

MS. LERMA POLICE, YOU HAVE FOUR MINUTES.

ALL RIGHT.

GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS JENNIFER PALERMO.

I'M FROM DISTRICT NINE.

HEY ZOE .

AND UH, TODAY I'M ALSO SPEAKING NOT ONLY ON MY OWN BEHALF, BUT FOR MARY ELIZABETH FROM A JC WHO IS TOO ILL TO BE HERE.

UM, AND ALSO SOMEONE LITERALLY SAID, YOU'RE SO GOOD, I'M GOING TO DONATE TIME.

SO THAT PERSON TOO.

LOOK, I AM VERY TIRED.

I AM VERY SICK.

I FEEL LIKE SOMEONE HIT ME WITH A CAR, WHICH IS SOMETHING I ACTUALLY KNOW WHAT THAT FEELS LIKE.

BUT I STILL DRAG MYSELF OUT HERE TODAY BECAUSE I JUST HEARD, I'M SORRY, I'M TRYING NOT TO BE TOO OFFENSIVE, BUT I JUST HEARD A BUNCH OF RIDICULOUSNESS COMING OUT PEOPLE'S MOUTHS.

LOOK, WE ALL WANTED TO MOVE THE JEC TO BE INDEPENDENT.

ONE CONJOINED CALL CENTER, NOT BECAUSE OF RESPONSE TIMES.

LET ME BE VERY CLEAR.

WE ALL KNOW YOU'RE FAST.

OH MY GOSH, WE'VE HEARD IT SO MANY TIMES.

YOU HAVE QUICK RESPONSE TIMES AND EVERY DISTRICT EXCEPT FOR DISTRICT LANES APPARENTLY.

SO, YES, WE KNOW THAT IS NOT THE POINT.

THAT WAS NOT THE QUESTION.

THE QUESTION THAT WE ASKED AS THE PUBLIC AS DIFFERENT GROUPS AND TO MISSION CRITICAL SPECIFICALLY IS ABOUT THE OUTCOMES.

HOW ARE CALLS BEING ROUTED? ARE THEY GETTING ROUTED CORRECTLY? ARE WE SENDING POLICE WHEN THEY DON'T NEED TO BE THERE? AND WHEN THEY MIGHT ACTUALLY COMPLICATE

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AND FURTHERMORE, THE SECOND HALF TO THAT COMPONENT IS WE ASKED ABOUT PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF THE OUTCOMES AND OF JEC POLICE, ET CETERA IN GENERAL, WHICH IS A QUESTION THAT THEY DIDN'T EVEN ADDRESS.

THEY DIDN'T EVEN TALK TO THE PUBLIC.

I AM AT THE POINT WHERE I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD ASK FOR MISSION CRITICAL FOR LIKE A REFUND.

BASICALLY LET'S SAVE SOME CITY MONEY THERE.

'CAUSE THEY DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION.

NOW TO BE FAIR, THAT WAS A LITTLE TOO MEAN.

I'M SORRY I'M TIRED.

THEY DIDN'T HAVE THE DATA, WHICH HONESTLY LIKE WE SHOULD BE COLLECTING THAT DATA.

WHY AREN'T WE COLLECTING THAT DATA? WHY AREN'T WE TALKING ABOUT IT? WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT RESPONSE TIMES PEOPLE.

WE ARE TALKING ABOUT OUTCOMES AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION.

WE NEED THAT DATA DOING THE INDEPENDENT JAC LIKE WE ALREADY PLANNED, WE ALREADY APPROVED.

EVERYBODY UP HERE IS IN AGREEMENT.

MOST OF THE PUBLIC, EXCEPT FOR A COUPLE PEOPLE TODAY ARE IN AGREEMENT ABOUT IT.

THAT IS A GREAT WAY TO GET THAT DATA.

WHY DON'T WE DO THAT? GO AHEAD WITH THE PLAN THAT WE ALREADY HAVE AND OTHER PEOPLE ARE GONNA PRESENT TO YOU.

RESEARCH AND DATA THAT YOU'VE ALREADY HEARD THAT ALREADY SUPPORT HOW JAC WILL IMPROVE THE OUTCOMES, WHICH IS THE THINGS THAT WE KEEP TALKING ABOUT AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION OF 9 1 1.

BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S THE OTHER HALF OF IT.

YOU WANNA GET DATA, WE CAN GET IT FROM THE JC THAT WE ALREADY PLANNED ON.

WE DON'T NEED TO KEEP IT SO THAT WE CAN KEEP THE RESPONSE TIMES WE HAVE.

I'M SURE WE'LL HAVE THE SAME RESPONSE TIMES WITH THE NEW JEC.

NOW LET ME GET TO THE OTHER HALF OF IT.

I CAME HERE BY BUS TODAY AND ON THE WAY I DIDN'T SEE THE WHOLE ENCOUNTER, BUT A MAN WAS LITERALLY CROSSING AN INTERSECTION ON ONE OF THOSE LIME SCOOTERS OR A BIRD SCOOTER OR SOMETHING.

HE JUMPED OFF A, I ASSUME A PD OR AN ICE OFFICER, I AM NOT SURE, CHASED HIM DOWN ON A MOTORCYCLE, JUMPED OFF THE MOTORCYCLE AND JUMPED ON HIM LIKE A GREAT PANTHER.

OKAY, NOW I DON'T KNOW THE STORY, I DON'T WANNA JUDGE TOO HARD, BUT I LITERALLY STOOD UP ON THE BUS AND PRAYED OUT LOUD.

AND YOU KNOW, FORGIVE ME, I AM AN ATHEIST.

I'M A SECULAR BUDDHIST.

I DON'T BELIEVE IN GOD, BUT I STILL SAID IT OUT LOUD.

PLEASE DON'T SHOOT THAT MAN IN THE BACK.

AND YOU KNOW, PART OF THE REASON WHY I SAID THAT, WHY THAT WAS MY FIRST RESPONSE, I ALMOST JUMPED OFF THE BUS.

'CAUSE I GOT MY STETHOSCOPE WITH ME TODAY.

BUT EMS WAS ALREADY THERE.

I HAD TO COME TALK TO Y'ALL.

I'M LIKE, ALL RIGHT, GUNSHOTS NOT FIRED.

IT'S FINE, I GUESS.

BUT PART OF THAT RESPONSE IS BECAUSE YOU KNEW YOU WERE, COULD HEAR HIS NAME, WILBUR GARCES PEREZ GOT SHOT IN THE BACK OVER THE WEEKEND AND THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD BETTER OUTCOMES TO CALLS.

RIGHT NOW WE HAVE ICE RUNNING LOOSE.

THAT WAS AN A PD THAT WAS ICE.

AND MAYBE IF WE HAD A JOINT RESPONSE, SOMETHING LIKE THIS WOULDN'T HAPPEN.

PLEASE MA'AM.

HELLO COUNSEL.

MY NAME'S SHELBY FROM HANDS OFF CENTRAL TEXAS.

ONCE AGAIN, WE ARE BACK DEMANDING ACCOUNTABILITY FROM THE CITY DURING THE BUDGET HEARINGS.

THE COMMUNITY WAS CLEAR.

MOVE 9 1 1.

DISPATCH OUT OF A PD POLICE ARE NOT AN APPROPRIATE CATCHALL FOR MENTAL HEALTH, MEDICAL, AND ECONOMIC EMERGENCIES USING VIOLENCE.

AND THE THREAT OF VIOLENCE AS A RESPONSE LEADS TO OUTCOMES LIKE THE LOSS OF ANTHONY WILLIAMS, A, A NEEDLESS DEATH OF A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD HIS WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HIM.

HIS WHOLE LIFE IS GONE.

I FEEL LIKE WE AS A COMMUNITY AND AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE TRAPPED IN A REPETITIVE NIGHTMARISH GROUNDHOGS DAY WHERE OVER AND OVER A PD DEMANDS RESOURCES FOR ACTIVITIES THAT DETRACT FROM PUBLIC SAFETY, MONEY FOR AI, CAMERAS THAT COLLECT PRIVATE DATA VULNERABLE TO MISUSE AND ABUSE MONEY FOR PERSONNEL WHO ARE CONTINUOUSLY DIVERTED TO SUPPORT ICE KIDNAPPING, ABUSING AND SHOOTING OUR NEIGHBORS MONEY FOR PEPPER SPRAYING GEAR USED TO BEAT BACK PEOPLE USING THEIR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO DECRY THE TYRANNY WE ARE WITNESSING IN OUR STREETS LIKE THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF GILBERT RAPHAEL GAR PEREZ ON SUNDAY.

IT SEEMS TO ME THAT A PD HAS PLENTY ON THEIR PLATE AND HAS INCREASING STRAIN ON COMMUNITY TRUST.

WHY NOT ALLEVIATE THE BURDEN OF ROUTING PUBLIC CALLS FOR SERVICE BY FOLLOWING THROUGH ON WHAT WE'VE ASKED FOR AN INDEPENDENT JOINT COMMUNICATION CENTER THAT CAN ENSURE THE RIGHT PEOPLE SHOW UP TO THE SCENE WITHOUT BIAS FOR ANY SPECIFIC AGENCY.

DISPATCHING CALLS IS THE CRITICAL FIRST STEP TO ADDRESSING EMERGENCIES.

LET'S ENSURE IT'S DONE RIGHT BY SPECIALISTS WHO ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO THAT JOB ALONE.

YOU HAVE IN FRONT OF YOU.

THANK YOU MS. MITCHELL.

HELLO MEMBERS.

UH, I AM NOT GOING THANK YOU TO THE PREVIOUS TESTIMONY.

UH, WE NEED YOU TO SAY YOUR NAME FOR THE RECORD.

OH, MY NAME IS KATHY MITCHELL AND I AM IN D ONE.

PLEASE BE CAREFUL WITH THIS REPORT THAT

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AND I WOULD JUST NOTE IT'S LIMITED VALUE.

YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT THE CITY MANAGER DOES NOT WANT TO DO THIS.

THE CITY MANAGER APPARENTLY HIRED AN ORGANIZATION TO DO NOTHING MORE THAN INTERVIEW THE CITY MANAGER AND HIS LEADERSHIP STAFF AND FIND OUT WHY THEY DON'T WANT TO DO THIS.

THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT BROUGHT US TO THIS PLACE.

SO I WISH TO REMIND YOU OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS, AND IT'S BEEN ABOUT A DECADE, THE COMMUNITY HAS BROUGHT TO YOU A NUMBER OF ACTUAL RESEARCH BASED ANALYSIS THAT LED US TO THIS POINT.

AMONG THE FIRST WAS THE NINE ONE ONE CALL DATA ANALYSIS, WHICH DEMONSTRATED THAT NOT ONLY DID POLICE NOT ARREST OR FIND CRIME IN MOST OF THE CALLS THAT THEY RESPOND TO, BUT THAT THEY APPEAR TO BE BASICALLY THE DEFAULT RESPONSE.

AND THAT LIMITED EFFORT HAD BEEN PUT INTO FIGURING OUT WHETHER THERE WAS A BETTER RESPONSE THAT WE COULD BE GIVING THE PUBLIC.

THE COMMUNITY ALSO HAS PROVIDED YOU OVER THE PAST DECADE WITH WHAT I WOULD CALL A DEEP REVIEW OF NEVER EVENTS.

THIS IS A ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS THAT IS DEVELOPED FROM THE FINER DETAILS OF INDIVIDUAL EVENTS WHERE THE OUTCOMES WERE SO TERRIBLE THAT WE ALL AGREE THAT SHOULD NEVER HAPPEN AGAIN.

AMONG THOSE NEVER EVENTS WERE SEVERAL INCIDENTS OF PEOPLE BEING SHOT TO DEATH DURING A MENTAL ILLNESS.

AND I CONTINUOUSLY REMIND YOU AND ASK THAT YOU RETURN TO THE STORY OF BRICK MONROE BECAUSE THAT STORY WAS CRITICAL TO THE CONVERSATION THAT BROUGHT US TO THE PLACE WHERE WE FINALLY AT LEAST ASKED PEOPLE IF A MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE WAS THE CORRECT RESPONSE WITH WHAT THEY'D REALLY THOUGHT WAS NEEDED WHEN THEY CALLED 9 1 1.

AND YOU HAVE HEARD TODAY MANY WITNESSES EXPLAINING THAT WE HAVE ROUTED 35,000 CALLS TO INTEGRAL CARE, BUT HOW MANY PEOPLE ASKED FOR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES? IT IS A FAR, FAR LARGER NUMBER.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES HAS BEEN THE DRAG ON IMPROVING OUTCOMES FROM 9 1 1 CALLS AS REQUESTED BY PREVIOUS PEOPLE.

YES, IT IS IMPORTANT TO GET THERE QUICKLY.

IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO PROVIDE THE RIGHT SERVICE.

FINALLY, WHAT GOT US TO THIS POINT WAS A DETAILED REVIEW OF HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF COMPLAINTS FILED BY RESIDENTS WHO WERE NOT HAPPY WITH THEIR NINE ONE ONE CALL OUTCOME.

THESE KIND OF STUDIES WERE BROUGHT TO YOU BY THIS COMMUNITY, BY THE ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE TESTIFIED IN FAVOR OF THIS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE IT TOOK US 10 YEARS TO GET TO THIS POINT.

THIS ISN'T SOMETHING THAT JUST CAME UP.

THE FACT THAT A PD CONTINUES TO RESIST THE KIND OF SYSTEMIC REVIEW OF OUTCOMES THAT WE HAVE DEMANDED IS WHY IT NEEDS TO BE MOVED SOMEWHERE ELSE IF WE ARE NOT ABLE TO ACHIEVE BETTER OUTCOMES THAN WHAT ARE WE DOING? THANK YOU, MS. MITCHELL.

SAVANNAH LEE, R AS BEN SBY, PETER HUNT, RYAN POPPY.

GOOD MORNING Y'ALL.

MY NAME IS SAVANNAH LEE.

I'M A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT ONE AND I'M HERE WITH EQUITY ACTION.

LAST WEEK I WAS EXCITED TO GET MY EYES ON THE REPORT PROVIDED BY MISSION CRITICAL.

AFTER NINE MONTHS OF WAITING, I HOPE TO SEE A DEEP FOCUS, NOT JUST ON 9 1 1 RESPONSE TIMES, BUT ON HOW AN INDEPENDENT 9 1 1 COULD SHAPE HOW ACCURATELY WE WE RESPOND TO EMERGENCY CALLS IN TERMS OF WHO WE SEND.

I WAS DISAPPOINTED TO FIND THAT IN THE A HUNDRED PAGE REPORT THAT WAS DISCUSSED VERY LITTLE.

ESTABLISHING A JEC WAS NEVER ONLY ABOUT IMPROVING INTERNAL OPERATIONS AND RESPONSE TIMES, THOUGH THAT'S PIECE A PIECE OF THE PUZZLE.

IT WAS ABOUT ENSURING THAT WHEN PEOPLE CALL 9 1 1, THEY GET THE CORRECT EMERGENCY RESPONDER.

AS MENTIONED MOMENTS AGO BY OUR NEW FRIENDS, THE REPORT UNDERLINES 35,000 CALLS ROUTED TO MENTAL HEALTH.

BUT HERE'S WHAT'S MISSING.

HOW MANY CALLS WERE MADE FROM FOLKS WHO WANTED MENTAL HEALTH CARE BUT WERE MET WITH POLICE INSTEAD? A FATALITY RATE IS HIGH, AS AUSTIN HAS SEEN FOR MENTAL HEALTH

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CALLS IS UNACCEPTABLE AND IT SHOULD BE OUR COMPLETE FOCUS THAT AUSTINITES DON'T JUST HAVE FAITH THAT THEY'LL BE RESPONDED TO IN A TIMELY MANNER, BUT THAT WHEN HELP ARRIVES, IT'S THE RIGHT PEOPLE AT THE DOOR.

I THINK THIS LACK CAN PARTIALLY BE EXPLAINED BY WHAT STAKEHOLDERS WERE ENGAGED IN THIS PROCESS.

AS THE REPORT OUTLINED, THOSE ENGAGED WERE COMMUNICATIONS PERSONNEL, OPERATIONAL MANAGERS, EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP, TECHNOLOGY STAFF, PUBLIC SAFETY REPRESENTATIVES, ELECTED OFFICIALS AND REGIONAL PARTNERS.

AS A SOCIAL WORKER, I CAN TELL YOU THAT ANY CLINICAL ASSESSMENT PROFESSOR I'VE EVER HAD WOULD BALK AT THAT LIST.

CAN YOU IMAGINE A COMPANY DOING A CONSUMER SATISFACTION STUDY AND NOT TALKING TO ANY CONSUMERS? , WHY DID WE NOT ENGAGE THE PEOPLE THAT USE THIS SERVICE? THE STAKEHOLDERS THAT MATTER MOST RIGHT NOW ARE THE IMMIGRANTS WHO WERE SCARED TO CALL 9 1 1.

THE FOLKS IN THE CITY WHO NEED MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT AND ARE MOST MEDICALLY VULNERABLE NEIGHBORS, THEIR STORIES AND PERSPECTIVES SHOULD BE INCLUDED.

ANYTHING LESS IS DETACHED FROM THE PURPOSE OF THIS SERVICE.

I WAS HOWEVER HEARTENED TO SEE THAT THE REPORT UNDERLINES THE NEED FOR CIVILIAN OVERSIGHT.

WHILE I BELIEVE THAT ONE CIVILIAN EMPLOYEE IS NOT ENOUGH, I'M GLAD WE'RE DISCUSSING WHY IT MATTERS.

HUNDREDS OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS THIS SUMMER CAME BECAUSE WE KNOW WHAT AN INDEPENDENT 9 1 1 WILL KEEP US SAFER.

I HOPE AS WE MOVE FORWARD THAT COUNCIL COUNCIL REMEMBERS THEIR PRIORITIES.

UH, JUST REAL QUICK, CAN I, UH, CHANGE MY POSITION ON THIS TO NEUTRAL, UH, R AS ? THANK YOU.

HI, R AS DISTRICT NINE COUNCIL, I AM TIRED OF A CITY MANAGER WHO IS SUBVERTING THE WILL OF THE PUBLIC.

I'M TIRED OF IT.

WE HAD COUNCIL MEMBERS ON THIS DAIS HERE, NOTABLY COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL AND COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, WHO WERE ATTACKED BY THE AUSTIN POLICE ASSOCIATION FOR THEIR ORIGINAL VOTE.

AND THESE ARE THE PEOPLE THAT ARE SUPPOSED TO BE TRUSTED TO CONTINUE TO HOLD 9 1 1 UNDER THEIR PURVIEW.

I SAY THIS BECAUSE WHEN YOU LOOK AT WHAT 9 1 1 SERVICES ARE, IT'S NOT JUST COPS AND IT SHOULDN'T BE JUST COPS.

THE COPS ARE P****D THAT THEY'RE GETTING LESS MONEY BECAUSE OF OUR EFFORTS AS A COMMUNITY TO STAND UP AND SAY THAT THIS SHOULDN'T HAPPEN.

BUT WHAT STARTED THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION? WE HAVE A BUDGET ISSUE HERE IN AUSTIN, AND GUESS WHAT HAPPENS WITH A BUDGET ISSUE? WE NEED TO CUT THE FAT.

AND WHERE DID WE SEE THAT? FAT SOCIAL SERVICES, NOT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, WHICH BALLOONS THEIR BUDGET EVERY YEAR AND DRAINS FROM OUR SOCIAL SERVICES EVERY TIME THIS DISCUSSION COMES UP.

BUT NO, WE NEED TO HIRE CONSULTANTS TO, UH, MAKE THIS STUDY THAT DON'T AT ALL EXPLORE ANY OF THE ACTUAL THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING.

I WANT TO DRAW ATTENTION TO, TO WILBER PEREZ ONCE AGAIN, BECAUSE IF WE WANT TO TALK ABOUT COMMUNICATION, HOW WE'RE SUPPOSED TO TRUST THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, OUR CHIEF OF POLICE STOOD AT A DAAS SAYING THAT SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT WAS HAPPENING THERE.

THERE WERE COPS AT PRESENT WHEN THEY CUT OFF WILBUR'S SHIRT TO SHOW THE BULLET WOUND IN THE BACK OF HIS NECK.

I WANT TO THANK YOU, MAYOR, FOR BEING THERE FOR KATIE GOLDFINCH TO HELP GET HER INFORMATION AND IN THE DOORS.

BUT WHO WAS STOPPING HER FROM THOSE DOORS? A PD IT'S NOT TRUE, AND I DON'T AT ALL HAVE ANY QUALMS WITH THE OVERALL CARE THAT NEEDS TO COME WITH THIS BECAUSE IF A PD ISN'T TO BE TRUSTED, THEN WE NEED TO TAKE THAT ASSESSMENT AND WE NEED TO MAKE 9 1 1 INDEPENDENT.

MR. TY, BEFORE YOU BEGIN, I'M GONNA BE CLEAR, IT WAS NOT A PD SECURITY.

IT, IT WAS, IT WAS A DIFFERENT POLICE DEPARTMENT AND IT WAS NOT A PD.

SO WE NEED TO BE VERY CAREFUL.

I KNOW WE'RE ALL ANGRY, WE ALL FEEL A LOT OF PAIN ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED ON SUNDAY.

BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ADDS TO THE PAIN, THAT ADDS TO THE FEAR AND ADDS TO THE ANGER IS WHEN THINGS GET SPUN UP THAT AREN'T ACCURATE.

AND I'M TELLING YOU, IT WAS NOT A PD, YOU CAN BE ANGRY WITH A PD, YOU CAN NOT LIKE A PD, BUT ACTUALLY WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY WAS A PD TWO ON-DUTY POLICE OFFICERS AND ONE OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER SAW SOMETHING HAPPENING.

THEY'RE THE ONES THAT RESPONDED AND WERE THE FIRST RESPONDERS AND BEGAN PROVIDING THE MEDICAL CARE THAT THIS PERSON NEEDED.

SO I APPRECIATE YOUR CLARITY ON THAT.

BUT ALSO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OTHER THINGS LIKE BEAUFORT AND OTHERWISE, WHERE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW COPS WERE THERE FOR THE FIRST SECOND, I'M NOT GONNA ARGUE WITH YOU, AND THAT'S ONE REASON I DON'T ENGAGE IS 'CAUSE I DON'T WANT HAVE THESE KIND OF DEBATES.

I'M NOT WELL, YOU I UNDERSTAND, BUT I'M CLARIFIED RIGHT NOW.

YEAH, I'VE CLARIFIED.

SO LET ME CLARIFY.

AND NOW THE CLARIFICATION'S DONE.

A PD IS NOT WHO WAS TELLING THEM.

AND THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS I WENT DOWN THERE IS BECAUSE I WAS WORRIED THAT WAS THE ACCUSATION.

OH, I UNDERSTAND.

IT'S ICE AND A LOT OF THEIR OPERATIONS THAT ARE CAUSING THIS.

THANK YOU MA'AM.

THE RESEARCH THAT I WAS LOOKING AT IS WHEN IN DOUBT, SEND COPS OUT.

GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.

MY NAME IS RYAN POPPY AND I'M HERE ON BEHALF OF CWA LOCAL 61 54 AND THE UNITED WORKERS OF INTEGRAL CARE.

OUR MEMBERS ARE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WHO WORK EVERY DAY WITH PEOPLE EXPERIENCING

[00:35:02]

A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.

WE SUPPORTED COUNCIL'S DECISION TO MOVE TOWARDS A INDEPENDENT 9 1 1 COMMUNICATION SYSTEM.

FOR A SIMPLE REASON.

THE FRONT DOOR OF AUSTIN'S EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM SHOULD BE NEUTRAL TODAY, NINE WOMEN CALL TAKING EXISTS WITHIN THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT.

OUR CONCERN IS INSTITUTIONAL BIAS.

A PD ITSELF TRAINS ITS PERSONNEL TO RECOGNIZE THAT IMPLICIT INSTITUTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL BIAS EXIST AND CAN AFFECT DECISION MAKING.

THAT LINE ACTUALLY, ACTUALLY WAS TAKEN VERBATIM FROM APDS OWN TRAINING MANUAL.

DECADES OF RESEARCH SHOW IMPLICIT BIAS EXIST IN POLICING OTHER INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING A PD.

BIAS DOES NOT REQUIRE BAD INTENTIONS.

IT CAN INFLUENCE HOW SITUATIONS ARE PERCEIVED INTERPRETED, AND ULTIMATELY HOW INSTITUTIONS RESPOND.

THAT'S PARTICULARLY IMPORTANT DURING A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CRISIS.

SOMEONE WHO IS SUICIDAL EXPERIENCING PSYCHOSIS OR BEHAVING ERRATICALLY IS EXPERIENCING AN EMERGENCY BUT NOT NECESSARILY A LAW ENFORCEMENT EMERGENCY.

AND INDEPENDENT NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER CREATES A NEUTRAL GATEWAY WHERE THE FIRST QUESTION IS WHAT DOES THIS PERSON NEED? SOMETIMES THAT'S POLICE, SOMETIMES THAT'S FIRE OR EMS. AND SOMETIMES THAT'S A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL.

WE UNDERSTAND THE FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT IDENTIFIES OPERATIONAL CHALLENGES, BUT DIFFICULT IS NOT THE SAME AS IMPOSSIBLE.

AND OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY IS NOT THE ONLY MEASURE OF SUCCESS.

HOW QUICKLY WE ANSWER THE PHONE MATTERS, BUT SO DOES WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

DOES THE RIGHT RESPONDER ARRIVE? DO WE AVOID AN UNN UNNECESSARY ARREST OR HOSPITALIZATION? THANK YOU, SIR.

THANK YOU MR. SOBE LO BEN SOTHEBY, RESIDENT OF DISTRICT FOUR.

UM, I JUST WANTED TO REMIND YOU HOW MANY PEOPLE CAME TO SPEAK IN FAVOR OF THIS WHEN YOUR ORIGINAL VOTE WAS TAKEN.

THERE WERE SOME PEOPLE FROM SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS TODAY WHO HAVE COME TO TELL YOU SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

BUT I CAN TELL YOU FROM MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IN, IN MY COMMUNITY THAT THERE'S VERY LOW CONFIDENCE WHEN THEY CALL, IF THEY CALL 9 1 1, THAT AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE WILL SHOW UP.

I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I'VE HEARD PEOPLE IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH SAY, DON'T CALL NINE ONE ONE.

DON'T CALL 9 1 1.

THEY SEND POLICE FOR MEDICAL EMERGENCIES FOR THINGS THAT DON'T NEED AN ARMED RESPONSE.

I HEAR THIS IN MY COMMUNITY.

THIS IS A REALITY.

BUT I ALSO WANNA SAY THAT I APPRECIATE THAT PEOPLE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT THE AMOUNT OF, UH, TASKS, TASKS TO A PD.

I THINK THAT MOVING THIS TO AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT WOULD ACTUALLY TAKE SOMETHING OFF THEIR PLATE AND LET THEM IN INSTITUTIONALLY FOCUS ON THE MORE NARROW ROLES THAT THEY'VE BEEN ASSIGNED.

THIS WOULD ALSO BENEFIT THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD WORK THERE.

A STANDALONE ORGANIZATION WOULD PROVIDE MEANINGFUL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ADVANTAGE BY CREATING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CAREER PROGRESSION THAT EXTENDS FROM ENTRY LEVEL POSITIONS THROUGH THE COMMUNICATION SPECIFIC EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP.

RIGHT NOW, THEY ARE CAPPED.

ANYONE THINKING ABOUT STARTING A CAREER AT 9 1 1 CURRENTLY RECOGNIZES THEY'RE CAPPED BECAUSE THEIR LEADERSHIP EXISTS IN A, IN A CHAIN, IN A LADDER THAT IS DISTINCT FROM THEIR OWN.

I HIGHLY RESPECT THE WORK THAT IS DONE THERE.

WHEN SOMEONE DOES CALL, THEY NEED TO HAVE FAST RESPONSE TIMES.

THE EMERGENCY, UH, RESPONSE TIMES HAVE IMPROVED, BUT THEY NEED TO HAVE THE CONFIDENCE THAT THE RIGHT RESPONSE WILL COME.

THANK YOU, SIR.

THE LAST FEW FOR B ONE, HANS MAVERICK, REBECCA WEBER.

LUKE KLEIN, I'LL JUST GET STARTED.

HI, COUNSEL, PLEASE.

MY NAME IS PETER HUNT, VOLUNTEER WITH AUSTIN JUSTICE COALITION.

UH, YOU'VE HEARD A LOT OF PEOPLE EMPHASIZE THAT THIS MATTER OF, UH, JOINT COMMUNICATION, JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT IS NOT JUST ABOUT RESPONSE TIMES.

IT'S ABOUT ENSURING THAT THE RIGHT PEOPLE ARE RESPONDING QUICKLY.

AND I WANTED TO ELABORATE ON THAT A LITTLE BIT MORE AND TALK ABOUT HOW INSTITUTIONALLY THIS CHANGE WOULD BE RELEVANT TO THAT.

UM, ONE THING THAT PLENTY OF RESEARCH ON 9 1 1 ADMINISTRATIVE STRUCTURES IS ESTABLISHED IS THAT THE PLACE WHERE CALL TAKERS ARE SITUATED MATTERS.

UM, AND I I WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PROPER MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE AND, UH, PROPER PEOPLE BEING SENT OUT, THAT IS NOT AN ADMONISHMENT OF ANY OF THE CALL TAKERS OR ANYONE ELSE IN THESE DEPARTMENTS.

UM, IT'S A MATTER OF SYSTEMIC AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS THAT ENCOURAGE CERTAIN DEFAULTS.

UH, ONE PHRASE THAT RECURRED FREQUENTLY IN

[00:40:01]

THIS IS A MINDSET THAT PERVADES MUCH MORE IN 9 1 1 EMERGENCY RESPONSE UNITS THAT ARE SITUATED WITHIN POLICE DEPARTMENTS AS OPPOSED TO OUTSIDE OF THEM, WHETHER THAT'S IN A FIRE DEPARTMENT OR INDEPENDENTLY AS WE WOULD HAVE HERE.

I ALSO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT MUNDANE FAILURES OF APPROPRIATE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE LOOK LIKE.

WE KNOW ABOUT THE SERIOUS ONES IN WHICH SOMEONE WHO NEEDS MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE GETS POLICE AND THE POLICE SHOOT THAT PERSON.

WE'VE SEEN IT RECENTLY, BUT THIS HAPPENS IN QUIETER WAYS THAT DON'T MAKE THE NEWS AS WELL.

UM, FOR EXAMPLE, I KNOW ABOUT A CASE IN WHICH SOMEONE WHO, UH, WAS A SUICIDE RISK CALLED 9 1 1 AND THE ONLY PERSON WHO WAS DISPATCHED THERE WAS A POLICE OFFICER.

NOW, THE POLICE OFFICER RESPONDED AS WELL AS YOU WOULD HOPE A NORMAL PERSON IN THAT SITUATION WOULD.

THEY WERE CONSIDERATE, THEY WERE CAREFUL WITH THE INDIVIDUAL.

BUT THE ULTIMATE OUTCOME OF THAT INTERACTION IS THAT THIS PERSON WAS PUT IN THE BACK OF A POLICE CRUISER AS THE ONLY MEAN OF MEANS OF TRANSIT AVAILABLE TO THEM.

AND THERE WAS NO MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL WHO ARRIVED ON THE SCENE.

THIS DOESN'T MAKE THE NEWS, BUT IT'S EXACTLY THE KIND OF THING THAT NEEDS TO BE SYSTEMICALLY ADDRESSED AND THAT A FULL INDEPENDENT JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT WOULD CONTRIBUTE TO DOING.

I LIVE AND WORK IN DISTRICT NINE.

THANK YOU, ZOE.

I'M A LOCAL CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY AND I'M ON THE BOARD OF EQUITY ACTION.

I'M HERE TODAY WEARING BOTH MY HATS.

I WANT TO RELAY AN ADO SOME ANECDOTAL EVIDENCE FROM MY CIVIL RIGHTS WORK THAT SUPPORTS EQUITY ACTIONS POSITION ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF A 9 1 1 CENTER THAT IS NOT RUN BY POLICE.

LOTS OF PEOPLE HAVE TALKED TO YOU ABOUT HOW WE'LL BE SAFER UNDER THIS MODEL.

I AGREE WITH THAT, BUT TODAY I WANNA SUGGEST TO YOU THAT SUPPORT FOR THE JOINT COMMUNICATIONS CENTER IS GOOD FROM A RISK MANAGEMENT AND A LIABILITY PERSPECTIVE.

I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT I AM A PRACTICING ATTORNEY.

UM, I REPRESENT TWO HIGH PROFILE CURRENT PLAINTIFFS AGAINST THE CITY, MS. BRENDA RAMOS AND FORMER AUSTIN POLICE OFFICER SAMANTHA LID KEY IN HER EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION CASE.

I JUST WANNA REITERATE THAT BECAUSE I HAD A WEIRD INTERACTION WITH ONE OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTERS LAST WEEK.

SHE SAID THAT I COULD, UH, BE INTERVIEWED ONLY IF I WAS AN ACTUAL OFFICIAL ATTORNEY ON A CASE THAT I HAD, UH, SETTLED AGAINST THE COUNTY FOR SIGNIFICANT MONEY AN A DA CLAIM AGAINST THE JAIL.

UH, SO I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR THAT I SPEAK ABOUT THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNED DIRECTLY REPRESENTING PEOPLE.

UM, ALL RIGHT, HERE'S MY ANECDOTE.

LAST SUMMER, A CONCERN CITIZEN CALLED 9 1 1 ON A SUNDAY MORNING AROUND 9:00 AM HE ASKED FOR AN AMBULANCE FOR A MAN ASLEEP IN HIS CAR IN A DRIVEWAY.

TURNS OUT THE SLEEPING MAN WAS A DEAF UBER DRIVER WHO'D BEEN RIDE SHARING ALL NIGHT.

HE WAS EXHAUSTED AND HE FELL ASLEEP IN A DRIVEWAY WAITING FOR A CUSTOMER.

HE WAS NOT IN ANY WAY UNDER THE INFLUENCE.

HE WAS TIRED AND DEAF, LEMME CUT TO THE CHASE, AND AMBULANCE WAS NOT DISPATCHED DESPITE THE CONCERNED CITIZEN ASKING FOR AN AMBULANCE.

INSTEAD, ABOUT 25 MINUTES LATER AFTER EMS WAS REQUESTED, WE HAVE AUSTIN POLICE OFFICER LUIS CAMACHO, ARRESTING A DEAF MAN FOR DUI WITHOUT ANY A SL INTERPRETATION.

I WOULD ASK YOU TO PLEASE REMEMBER THIS ANECDOTE ABOUT WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A MEDICAL CALL THAT COULD HAVE BEEN RESOLVED QUICKLY, PAINLESSLY, AND CHEAPLY FOR THIS CITY WHEN YOU WERE ASKED TO REVIEW THIS MAN'S CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS. AND THAT'S COMING BEFORE YOU VERY SOON.

UNFORTUNATE INCIDENTS ARE BOUND TO HAPPEN.

YES, SIR.

GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS HANS MAVERICK.

UH, UM, I AM A, A RESIDENT OF DISTRICT 10 AND A POLICY AND RESEARCH ORGANIZER WITH GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP.

I'M HERE TO ASK THE COUNCIL TO STAY THE COURSE IN DEVELOPING A C CIVILIAN OFFICE OF JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION.

THE COMMUNITY IS DEEPLY CONCERNED ABOUT SEVERAL RECENT INCIDENTS AT THE INTERSECTION OF AUSTIN'S NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER AND POLICE VIOLENCE AGAINST MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES.

A FEW MONTHS AGO, A PD COLLABORATED WITH ICE IN DETAINING A SINGLE MOTHER AND HER FIVE-YEAR-OLD US CITIZEN DAUGHTER.

AND MORE RECENTLY, THEY WERE INVOLVED IN THE SHOOTING DEATH OF A AN, OF AN UNARMED BLACK TEENAGER, WHICH AD'S CHIEF LISA DAVIS UNHELPFULLY LABELED AS SUICIDE BY POLICE.

THESE RECENT INCIDENTS ONLY ADDED TO THE COMMUNITY'S JUSTIFIED MISTRUST AND CONTEMPT OF LAW ENFORCEMENT'S RESPONSE TO EMERGENCY CALLS, PARTICULARLY THAT THOSE THAT INVOLVE EITHER IMMIGRATION STATUS OR MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES, THE OFFICE OF JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION WILL HELP ADDRESS THE CONCERNS THAT FOLKS HAVE RAISED ABOUT THE HANDLING OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS INVOLVING EITHER UNDOCUMENTED FOLKS OR FOLKS, FOLKS WITH MENTAL HEALTH STRUGGLES.

THE ISSUE IS NOT JUST THE SPEED OF RESPONSES, BUT ALSO THE ACCURACY OF THE RESPONSE AND THE SAFETY OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY.

THE RECENT MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS REPORT DID NOT ADDRESS THOSE CONCERNS.

I WONDER HOW ANTHONY L. WILLIAMS FAMILY FEELS ABOUT THE SPEED OF APDS 9 1 1 RESPONSE.

BUT WE WANT, AS A CITY THAT IS RESPONSIVE AND, UH, TO THE FULL RANGE OF EMERGENCY SITUATIONS THAT COMMUNITY MEMBERS FACE, NOT EVERY SITUATION CALLS FOR, UH, ARMED LAW ENFORCEMENT RESPONSE.

AND WHEN LAW ENFORCEMENT SEEKS TO BECOME A ONE STOP SHOP,

[00:45:01]

THIS CAUSES COMMUNITY MEMBERS PARTICULARLY MARGINALIZED FOLKS TO LOSE FAITH NOT ONLY IN LAW ENFORCEMENT, BUT IN GOVERNMENT INSTITUTIONS AS A WHOLE.

INSTEAD, WE WANT AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM THAT IS KNOWLEDGEABLE ABOUT AND RESPONDS APPROPRIATELY TO EVERY TYPE OF EMERGENCY SITUATION.

PLEASE MOVE FORWARD WITH DEVELOPING THE OFFICE OF JOINT EMERGENCY.

THAT WAS ALL SPEAKERS FOR B ONE, SO I'M GONNA MOVE TO B TWO HANNAH DAPHNE AND ANDREA ABEL.

GOOD MORNING.

GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MAYOR.

MY NAME IS ANDREA ABEL.

I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FARM SHARE AUSTIN.

I'M ALSO A MEMBER OF THE AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD POLICY BOARD.

TODAY I AM WEARING MY FARM SHARE AUSTIN HAT HERE.

I JUST WANTED TO MAKE THREE BRIEF POINTS ON THE SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACT BRIEFING.

THE FIRST IS THAT I'M REALLY HEARTENED THAT THERE WILL BE A NEW PROCESS FOR DETERMINING THE SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACT.

SO THANK YOU.

UM, SECOND IS MY HOPE THAT THE PROCESS IS AS TRANSPARENT AS POSSIBLE AND INCLUDES MEANINGFUL INPUT FROM THE CITY'S SOCIAL SERVICE AGENCIES, UH, AND THE, THE, I MEAN THE NONPROFIT AND CONTRACT PROVIDERS.

I ALSO ASK THAT THE COUNCIL ENSURE THAT THE PROCESS INCLUDE OTHER A PH CONTRACTS THAT MAY NOT BE DEFINED AS A SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACT, BUT SERVE THAT SAME, UH, PURPOSE AND PERFORM THOSE SAME FUNCTIONS.

I'LL ALL SPEAKERS HAVE BEEN CALLED.

NOW GO TO THE BRIEFING ON ITEM B ONE, FOLLOWED BY ITEM B TWO.

UH, MEMBERS, WE WILL

[B1. Briefing on the Joint Emergency Call Center Feasibility Assessment for the City of Austin. [Bonnie Maney, Vice President - Emergency Communications Center Operations and David Jones, Co-Founder and Senior Vice President, Strategic Accounts - Mission Critical Partners].]

UH, BEFORE WE BEGIN, I WANNA RECOGNIZE THE CITY MANAGER.

AND AS THE TEAM IS COMING UP, UH, TODAY, YOU WILL HEAR A PRESENTATION ON THE JOINT EMERGENCY CALL CENTER FEASIBILITY ASSESSMENT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

UH, BONNIE, UH, MANEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER OPERATIONS, AND DAVID JONES, CO-FOUNDER AND SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT STRATEGIC ACCOUNTS WITH MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS WILL PROVIDING HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF THE RESULTS FROM THE ASSESSMENT MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS CONDUCTED AS DIRECTED BY RESOLUTION 2020 5 0 8 1 3 18.

DETAILS OF THE RESULTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CALL CENTER FEASIBILITY STUDY, UH, WHICH THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL RECEIVED A COPY OF LAST WEEK.

THE REPORT PROVIDES A DETAILED STUDY ON WHETHER MOVING THE CIVILIANS, UH, THE CITY'S CIVILIAN NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING OUT OF AUSTIN POLICE WOULD AFFECT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND WHETHER THAT CHANGE WOULD ACTUALLY IMPROVE OUTCOMES.

I WILL NOW TURN IT OVER TO IVANNI, UH, WITH MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS TO BEGIN THE PRESENTATION.

AWESOME.

UM, APPRECIATE BEING HERE, MAYOR COUNCIL, UM, AND THE GUESTS AS WELL.

UM, AS YOU SAID, MY NAME IS BONNIE MANIE.

I AM WITH MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS.

DID YOU DO THAT MICRO? YEAH.

IS THAT BETTER? I ASKED FOR THAT.

I WOULD NEED TO TURN MINE ON.

WOULD YOU? YEAH.

MAKE SURE THE MICROPHONE'S NEAR YOUR, IS THAT BETTER? THAT'S A LOT BETTER.

THE METHODS THAT WE USE, BUT IT IS BASICALLY A FOUR, YOU KNOW, PHASED APPROACH.

OKAY, WONDERFUL.

THE MAYOR PRO.

TIM'S GETTING OLD AND HE CAN'T HEAR THAT.

ALL RIGHT.

SO JUST REALLY QUICK AN AGENDA.

UH, WE JUST WANNA DO SOME REALLY QUICK INTRODUCTIONS, UH, PROJECT OVERVIEW, DISCUSS THE DRIVERS, THE EVALUATION AND THE ALTERNATIVES THAT GOT US TO OUR POINT.

WE WANTED.

THEN DIVE INTO THE NEXT, THE FEASIBILITY OF ACTUALLY ESTABLISHING A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER, WHAT SOME OF THOSE DEFINITIONS ARE.

UM, AND THEN GOING INTO A COMPARATIVE EVALUATION AGAIN, THEN OUR RECOMMENDATIONS, TALK BRIEFLY ABOUT A STRATEGIC ROADMAP, AND THEN HAPPILY WE'LL TAKE ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE GO BACK.

SO, QUICK INTRODUCTION.

WHO IS MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS? WE ARE A NATIONWIDE PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC SECTOR CONSULTING FIRM.

WE WERE FORMED IN 2009.

WE'RE COMPRISED OF ABOUT 225 SUBJECT MATTER EXPERTS ON OUR CONSULTING DIVISION SIDE.

ABOUT TWO THIRDS OF US HAVE EITHER PRACTITIONER EXPERIENCE, WHETHER THAT'S IN THE PSAP OR THE 9 1 1 CENTER IN THE FIELD AS ROLES AS ELECTED OFFICIALS.

AND OF COURSE, VERY IMPORTANTLY AS COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND ACTIVE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITIES THAT BOTH RECEIVE AND, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE TO REQUEST EMERGENCY SERVICES FROM TIME TO TIME, UNFORTUNATELY.

SO AS FAR AS REALLY QUICK PROJECT OVERVIEW, WE DO HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL FRAMEWORK WHEN WE ADDRESS COMPLEX ISSUES SUCH AS THIS.

THERE ARE A LOT OF, UH, POINTS OF DATA GATHERING WHO WE'RE TALKING TO

[00:50:01]

ULTIMATELY COM CULMINATING IN A, UH, YOU KNOW, A FINAL STUDY OF, OF SOME FORM, IN THIS CASE, THE FEASIBILITY OF A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER, AND THEN A STRATEGIC ROADMAP OF WHAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE BASED ON OUR RECOMMENDATION.

I WOULD MENTION THAT THE TEAM THAT ACTUALLY IS WORKING ON THIS REPORT, I WOULD SAY COLLECTIVELY HAS ABOUT 150 YEARS OF PRACTICAL PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, EXPERIENCE.

SO JUST A QUICK REALLY BRIEF, YOU KNOW, TO GET TO THE RECOMMENDATION AND KINDA SUMMARIZE FOR EVERYBODY RIGHT OFF THE BAT.

UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY WE DID LOOK AT THREE OPTIONS.

UH, WE HAVE SINCE THAT INITIAL BRIEFING, TWEAKED SOME OF THESE OPTIONS A LITTLE BIT.

OPTION A BEING, MAINTAIN THE CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT, UH, WITH THE TARGETED MODERNIZATION EFFORTS.

OPTION B, LOOKING AT MAINTAINING THE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE WITH NO CHANGE.

AND THEN OPTION C, YOU'LL NOTICE HERE IT SAYS ESTABLISH A STANDALONE PSAP OR INDEPENDENT APARTMENT.

IT DOES NOT USE THE WORD JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER.

SO WE FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, THE CURRENT PLACEMENT DOES HAVE THIS STABILITY.

UM, IT IS A LOW RISK, BUT IT DOESN'T FULLY ADDRESS IDENTIFIED GAPS.

AND THERE ARE GAPS.

THERE ARE GAPS AS WELL, NOT JUST IN, YOU KNOW, UH, POLICE FIRE EMS RESPONSE, BUT THERE ARE GAPS IN WHAT WE HEAR TODAY HERE IS ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.

WE REFER THAT TO ALTERNATE RESPONSE.

WE ACTUALLY BROADEN THAT TERM.

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT BEHAVIORAL AND MENTAL HEALTH.

WHAT OTHER OPTIONS ARE THERE AND CROSS THE ENTIRE CONTINUUM OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS AND AUSTINITES NEEDS CAN BE SERVED IN A WAY THAT IS NOT A TRADITIONAL POLICE FIRE OR EMS RESPONSE.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF VARIETIES OF THAT.

UM, WE FIND THAT A STANDALONE PSAP DOES CARRY THE HIGHEST COST RISK WITH LIMITED OPERATIONAL BENEFIT IN ITS CURRENT DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC CONFIGURATION.

UH, THE GREATEST OPPORTUNITIES, AND WE'VE HEARD THIS SEVERAL TIMES ALREADY TODAY, COME FROM GOVERNANCE, QUALITY ASSURANCE, ANALYTICS, TECHNOLOGY AND AND SO ON, AND REALLY DON'T REQUIRE ORGANIZATIONAL SEPARATION.

THE TARGETED IMPROVEMENTS UNDER A PD OVERSIGHT DO PROVIDE STRONGEST PATH TO MEASURABLE SYSTEM-WIDE OUTCOMES.

AGAIN, THOSE IMPROVEMENTS, THOSE ENHANCEMENTS THOUGH BEING LED BY, UH, A CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP THAT WOULD REPORT DIRECTLY TO THE CHIEF OF POLICE.

AND THEN AT THE SAME TIME, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT MODERNIZING THE SYSTEM, ESPECIALLY IN THE WORLD OF MENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

THIS IS, YOU KNOW, A NEWER STILL NOVICE, UM, FOURTH ARM OF PUBLIC SAFETY, IF YOU WILL, AND IT HAS A LONG WAY TO GO.

AND THERE ARE A LOT OF OPPORTUNITIES TO INCREASE THOSE CALLS THAT ARE GOING TO SOME SORT OF ALTERNATIVE, BUT THAT DOES NOT REQUIRE A STRUCTURAL CHANGE OR REPOSITIONING OF WHO AND, YOU KNOW, ANSWERS 9 1 1 CALLS.

SO DRIVERS FOR CHANGE WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE DRIVERS FOR CHANGE, YES, WE INTERVIEWED, UM, MANY OF YOU ON, ON THE DAIS, UM, HAD OPPORTUNITIES TO TALK WITH ALL OF YOU.

WE TALKED TO CHIEFS OF STAFF, WE TALKED TO YOUR POLICY ADVISORS OR WE TALKED TO SOME OF YOU DIRECTLY AS THE REPRESENTATIVES OF YOUR CONSTITUENTS TO FIND OUT WHAT THE DRIVERS ARE BEHIND THIS.

WE ALSO DID, YES, ELECTED LEADERSHIP.

WE TALKED TO OPERATIONAL STAFF AND WE ALSO THEN SAT ON THE OPERATIONS FLOOR IN CTECH IN YOUR CURRENT 9 1 1 CENTER, YOUR CURRENT PSAP.

AND WE FOUND THERE'S ABOUT SEVEN CATEGORIES THAT WERE DRIVING THIS.

AND SO YOUR RESPONSE TIMES AND SERVICE OUTCOMES, CLEARLY ONE OF THEM, UM, PRIMARILY ABOUT HOW LONG IT TAKES.

WE HEARD SEVERAL ANECDOTAL EXAMPLES.

WE'VE HEARD SEVERAL, YOU KNOW, REAL SITUATIONS.

UM, CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND ACCESS, ABSOLUTELY.

SERVICES PERCEPTIONS.

IT IS TRADITIONALLY THOUGHT IF IT'S YOU'RE CALLING 9 1 1, YOU'RE CALLING THE POLICE.

WE CAN TELL YOU THERE ARE OVER 5,000 9 1 1 CENTERS IN THE COUNTRY.

AND WE HAVE FOUND THAT THEY CAN BE MANAGED BY FIRE, BY EMS, BY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT.

SOME OF THE WHOLE CENTERS ARE INDEPENDENT AND SOME OF THEM ARE STILL, UH, YOU KNOW, UNDER LAW ENFORCEMENT.

UM, A LOT OF THAT AGAIN THOUGH, IS IT'S JUST A LONG STANDING, YOU KNOW, PERCEPTION.

I CAN TELL YOU FROM BEING UNDER THE HEADSET FOR 20 YEARS MYSELF, I WISH I WOULD'VE

[00:55:01]

HAD OTHER, UH, TYPES OF RESOURCES TO SEND AT THE TIME.

UM, AND THAT I KNOW TODAY, HAVING WORKED WITH CITIES LIKE CITY OF, UH, COLUMBUS, OHIO, UH, CITY OF PORTLAND, OREGON, HAVING RODE ALONG WITH THE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FOLKS IN ALBUQUERQUE AND IN COLUMBUS AND IN THESE OTHER PLACES, THAT THERE IS THAT PERCEPTION AND IT IS A PERCEPTION THAT NEEDS TO CHANGE.

BUT THOSE FOLKS UNDER THE HEADSET, THEY ARE REALLY TRYING TO DO THE BEST THAT THEY CAN WITH THE, WITH THE RESOURCES THAT THEY HAVE.

AND THE CITY HAS A LOT OF RESOURCES AND THAT BRINGS TO THE EVOLVING RESPONSE MODELS.

CITY OF AUSTIN DOES NOT GET THE CREDIT THAT IT DESERVES WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT THEY'RE ALREADY DOING FOR MENTAL HEALTH.

YOU HAVE A CALL CENTER WITHIN YOUR PSAP.

VERY FEW PLACES ARE DOING THAT.

CITY OF COLUMBUS HAS ONE, DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA HAS ONE, BUT YOU ALL ARE NOT, YOU ARE NOT, UM, REFERRED TO LIKE WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT ALBUQUERQUE AND PHOENIX AND, AND IN DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA.

AND THAT'S UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE YOU'RE ACTUALLY EVEN INCLUDING THE REFERENCES IN YOUR NINE ONE ONE CALL GREETING.

NOW, WE TALK ABOUT MAYBE MODIFYING THAT GREETING IN THE ORDER OF IT, BUT YOU'RE ASKING STRAIGHT UP POLICE, FIRE, EMS OR MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES.

THAT OPPORTUNITY EXISTS THERE IMMEDIATELY IN THE CITY OF COLUMBUS.

THEY DON'T OFFER THAT IN THEIR GREETING, BUT THEY OFFER IT ON THEIR 10 DIGIT LINE.

IF YOU PRESS OPTION TWO, YOU COULD TALK TO THEIR, THEY CALL IT THE RIGHT RESPONSE UNIT.

SO YOU'RE DOING SO MANY REALLY GOOD THINGS, BUT DOES THAT MEAN YOU CAN DO MORE? ABSOLUTELY.

WE NEED TO GET MORE CALLS OVER THERE.

BUT AGAIN, OUR CHARGE AND OUR ASK WAS, SHOULD WE HAVE AN INDEPENDENT 9 1 1 CENTER? THAT'S WHAT WE WERE ASKED ABOUT.

WE CAN HAVE A WHOLE OTHER CONVERSATION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE IMPROVE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN? AND WE WOULD REALLY WELCOME TO DO THAT.

BUT THOSE EVOLVING RESPONSE MODELS, THEY'RE, YOU GUYS ARE DOING SO MUCH MORE THAN YOU'RE GETTING CREDIT FOR.

AND I MEAN THAT NATIONALLY, UH, MATERIAL, SIGNIFICANT ORGANIZATIONAL RESULTS, YOU GUYS HAVE MENTIONED ABOUT HOW WE HAVE, UM, SINCE 2000, YOU'RE, THE STAFFING WAS TERRIBLE.

THE, UM, THE CALL ANSWER TIMES WERE REALLY POOR AND THOSE HAVE IMPROVED.

AND SO WE REALLY THAT, AND AGAIN, NATIONALLY, YOU'RE DOING SO MUCH BETTER.

WHEN WE TOLD THE CHIEF OF POLICE THAT YOU'RE WITHIN THE TOP 5% IN THE COUNTRY, WE MEAN THAT ESPECIALLY ON STAFFING, ON TRAINING, ON RETENTION, 50% TRAINING, COMPLETION RATES AROUND THE COUNTRY ARE THE NORM.

STAFFING 60% MAYBE OF THEIR STAFFING LEVELS.

AND NOT ONLY ARE THEY UNDERSTAFFED, BUT THEY'RE SHORT STAFFED.

THESE ARE THINGS THAT YOU NEED TO BUILD ON AND YOU NEED TO DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO MAINTAIN THEM WHILE YOU'RE IMPROVING IN THESE OTHER AREAS.

GOVERNANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY.

EVERYBODY WANTS MORE TRANSPARENCY, MORE ACCOUNTABILITY, WITHOUT A DOUBT BEING ALIGNED ON ALL OF THAT.

TECHNOLOGY DATA AND PERFORMANCE VISIBILITY.

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THE WORLD OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS WITH THE ADVENT OF A AI, UM, TRANSLATION, TRANSCRIPTION SERVICES THAT ARE ABLE TO LISTEN FOR KEYWORDS TO HELP BETTER ROUTE CALLS.

AND YOU HAVE THAT ABILITY AND THE INTEREST WITH YOUR, WITH YOUR TECHNOLOGY HERE, THAT YOU CAN DO SOME REALLY GREAT THINGS.

AND WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE, SOME OF THE CONSTRAINTS ON THAT.

BUT THAT WAS ANOTHER AREA AND A HUNDRED PERCENT WE NEED TO, UM, LOOK AT THIS PERFORMANCE VISIBILITY AND BE ABLE TO GET THE ACTUAL, UM, TIMELINE ON AN ACTUAL LIFE SITE OR THE LIFE OF A CALL FROM BEGINNING TO END.

SO THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES THERE.

AND THEN THE ORGANIZATIONAL PERCEPTION AND POLITICAL CONTEXT, ABSOLUTELY SENSITIVE AREAS.

THERE'S A LOT OF AREAS THAT CAN BE IMPROVED ON THAT WILL REALLY BRING ABOUT SOME REALLY GOOD REFORM IN, YOU KNOW, THE WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE CYCLE OF CALLS AND HOW THEY'RE HANDLED.

BUT MOVING THE 9 1 1 INTO AN INDEPENDENT DOESN'T NECESSARILY, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO DO THAT TO MAKE THOSE THINGS HAPPEN.

AND SO THE ORGANIZATIONAL PERCEPTION AND AND POLITICAL CONTENT WAS ANOTHER DRIVER.

AND THAT WAS KIND OF ACROSS EVERYTHING.

NOW DID EVERYBODY AGREE? ABSOLUTELY NOT , NOT EVERYBODY AGREED.

SO THEN WE WERE LOOKING AT WHERE DID THE OPERATIONAL STAKEHOLDERS ALIGN THE POLICY STAKEHOLDERS, THE COMMUNITY WORKFORCE CONSIDERATIONS.

'CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE, WE HEAR ALL OF THE, THE, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THE CONCERNS AND THEN WHERE DID THEY ALIGN? WHERE DID THEY DIVERGE? AND THEN THE EMERGENT STRATEGIC THEMES.

AND I KNOW I DON'T WANNA TAKE A LOT OF TIME 'CAUSE I KNOW YOU GUYS ARE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF QUESTIONS.

UH, IF YOU LOOK UP IN THE TOP RIGHT, WE DID PUT THE SECTION NUMBERS IN HERE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE REPORT.

OPERATIONAL STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT REALLY WAS AROUND MAKING

[01:00:01]

SURE, PRESERVING WHAT IS GOING RIGHT RIGHT NOW WHILE MAKING IMPROVEMENTS.

POLY LEE STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT REALLY PRIMARILY RESOLVED, REVOLVED AROUND THE TRANSPARENCY AND THE GOVERNANCE, UH, AND THE ACCOUNTABILITY COMMUNITY AND WORKFORCE CONSIDERATIONS.

YOU ALREADY HEARD ME TALK ABOUT THE GREAT STRIDES THAT THE, THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN STAFFING, RETENTION, TRAINING.

UM, AND WHERE THESE ALIGNED THOUGH WERE REALLY IN A WAY NOT, NOT, NOT FIXING OR NOT, NOT BREAKING ANYTHING MORE , YOU KNOW, AND, AND REALLY BEING ABLE TO MOVE IN AN AREA, YOU KNOW, COLLECTIVELY TO, TO MAKE THINGS BETTER.

EVERYBODY HAS THE BEST OF INTENTIONS, RIGHT? AND THEN, UM, WHERE THEY DIVERGE THOUGH, WHERE'S ABOUT, REALLY ABOUT HOW TO GET THERE.

AND THAT IS ABOUT WHETHER WE HAVE AN INDEPENDENT, YOU KNOW, 9 1 1 CENTER OR, YOU KNOW, DO WE CONTINUE DOWN THE PATH AND, AND WORK WITH WITH WHAT WE HAVE? AND THEN REALLY THE EMERGING STRATEGIC THEME AT THE END OF THE DAY WAS, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE MOVE FORWARD IMPROVING EMERGENCY OUTCOMES, YOU KNOW, FOR THE CONSTITUENTS, FOR AUSTINITES, COLLECTIVELY.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE SUCH A SIMPLE THING, BUT BETWEEN THE DRIVERS, BETWEEN THEN THE, UM, YOU KNOW, THE, THE ALIGNMENT AND THE STRATEGIC THEMES.

WE LOOKED AT THIS FROM A PERSPECTIVE OF 12 EVALUATION BASED CRITERIA, UH, BASED ON STANDARDS, BEST PRACTICES, OUR COLLECTIVE INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE.

UM, AND WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RESPONSE TIMES, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PLACES THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE SOME IMPROVEMENTS, THERE ARE SEVEN DATA POINTS THAT ACTUALLY CAN BE IMPROVED UPON WITHIN THE CITY.

AND MAKING SURE THAT WE CAN GET THE DATA AT THESE POINTS SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THE WHOLE LIFE, UH, CYCLE OF A CALL FOR SERVICE.

AND THEN REALLY HONE IN, REALLY HONE IN ON WHERE IN THE SYSTEM, WHETHER IT BE FIRE, EMS, MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES, UH, TELEPHONE REPORTING, ONLINE REPORTING, WHAT ACTUALLY CAN IMPACT EACH OF THESE AREAS.

AND THESE, AGAIN, ARE BASED ON NATIONAL STANDARDS AND BEST PRACTICES.

AND THIS AT THE END HELPED US, UM, COME UP WITH A DECISION EVIDENCE MATRIX.

UM, AND ACTUALLY WHAT I WANNA POINT OUT IS THIS TOP PIECE HERE, BECAUSE THIS IS A MICRO LOOK AT WHAT THE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS ECOSYSTEM LOOKS LIKE NOW.

IT'S VERY LINEAR.

THE LEFT YOU HAVE, UM, THE COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, CALLING IN EMERGENCIES, HOWEVER THEY DO THAT THESE DAYS.

YOU CAN TEXT, YOU CAN CALL, YOU KNOW YOUR SMART DEVICES.

WE'LL CALL FOR YOU.

SO THAT'S ON THE LEFT.

AND THEN YOU HAVE YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR NINE ONE CENTER.

I, I VISIT THIS AS CTECH, UM, THE PSAP PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT OFF TO THE RIGHT.

THEN YOU HAVE THE CARING HANDS, WHICH IS YOUR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, YOUR MENTAL HEALTH, ALL OF THAT.

UH, POLICE, FIRE, EMS, AND HOW THOSE CALLS GET ROUTED TO THERE.

AND THEN YET THEN YOU HAVE ALL THE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES, EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT, UTILITIES, ALL OF THOSE THAT HAVE TO BE COORDINATED ON ANY TYPE OF EVENT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ACROSS THIS LIFECYCLE.

BUT IT'S NOT AS SIMPLE HERE BECAUSE YOU, THE WAY THAT YOU HAVE THIS DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC SET UP IN YOUR PSAP IN THAT PUBLIC SAFETY ANSWERING POINT, UM, IMPROVES SITUATIONAL AWARENESS.

BUT IT ALSO DOES CAUSE SOME CHALLENGES.

OH, THERE WE GO.

ALRIGHT.

SO WITH THAT, THAT'S KIND OF HOW WE GOT THERE.

EVERYTHING WE LOOKED AT.

BUT THE PRIMARY QUESTION WE WERE ASKED WAS, IS IT FEASIBLE TO ESTABLISH A CHECK? AND HOW COULD WE GO ABOUT THAT? AND THAT'S BASED ON THE RESOLUTION LANGUAGE.

A FULLY UNIFIED JOINT EMERGENCY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER.

IT'S, IT'S A MOUTHFUL, UM, ENVISIONED BY THE RESOLUTION ACTUALLY CANNOT BE IMPLEMENTED UNDER CURRENT LEGISLATIVE AND CONTRACTUAL CONDITIONS.

AND PEOPLE MAY GO, OH, WHOA, THAT DOESN'T, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY CAN'T WE DO THAT? WELL, THESE CONSTRAINTS, UM, PREVENT THE TRANSFER OF EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS FUNCTIONS AS THEY WERE CONTEMPLATED INTO A SINGLE DEPARTMENT.

AND THAT'S WHAT A J IS.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT A JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER WITHIN THE, THE DEFINITIONS OF, UM, OF OUR PROFESSION, IT MEANS THAT YOU HAVE EVERYBODY UNDER ONE ROOF, UNDER ONE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE HANDLING ALL THE CALLS FOR SERVICE.

NOW, THERE'S SOME KEY TERMS THAT ARE IN THE RESOLUTION THAT HAVE

[01:05:01]

PROBABLY, IT SOUNDS LIKE THEY'VE CON CREATED SOME CONFUSION AND THEY'VE BEEN OPEN TO INTERPRETATION, AND WE'VE HEARD THEM QUITE A FEW TIMES.

BUT MOVING ONLY THE CIVILIAN NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS FROM A PD, UM, WOULD CREATE A REG REORGANIZATION, BUT NOT A UNIFIED CHECK IN.

THE RESOLUTION MENTIONS NORTH TEXAS ECC OR WHAT WE CALL N TECH, WHO ACTUALLY JUST LAST WEEK CELEBRATED THEIR 10TH ANNIVERSARY AS A, UM, AS AN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER.

SO WHY CAN'T THE CITY OF AUSTIN BE LIKE N TECH? WELL, N TECH IS ACTUALLY WHAT WE REFER TO AS A CONSOLIDATION, ALSO AS A CHECK.

THEY ARE UNDER ONE ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE.

THEY ARE CIVILIAN END TO END, MEANING THAT THE NINE ONE ONE CALL COMES IN, THEY HANDLE ALL THE, THE QUESTIONING AND PROTOCOLS FOR POLICE, FIRE AND EMS. I DON'T BELIEVE THAT THEY DO MENTAL HEALTH.

AND THEN THEY PUT THOSE CALL TAKERS, PUT THAT CALL INTO THE COMPUTER AID DISPATCH, AND IT GOES TO A SET OF CIVILIAN DISPATCHERS THAT ARE GONNA DISPATCH THOSE RESOURCES.

THAT IS NOT WHAT YOU HAVE HERE.

YOU HAVE THE NINE ONE ONE CALL COMING IN TO A CIVILIAN CALL TAKER, WHO BY THE WAY, THEY ACTUALLY ONLY HANDLE 9 1 1 CALLS.

YOU ALL HAVE MOVED OUT YOUR 10 DIGIT CALLS, YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE LINES THAT WOULD TYPICALLY ACUTELY COME INTO POLICE FIRE EMS. YOU HAVE MOVED THEM OUT TO 3 1 1, WHICH ALLOWS THOSE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS TO FOCUS STRICTLY ON THE EMERGENCIES AT HAND THAT COME IN.

WE DON'T SEE THAT VERY OFTEN.

WE'LL EITHER SEE THEY'RE STILL TAKING THEIR 10 DIGIT CALLS AND THE 9 1 1 CALLS, OR THEY'RE TAKING ALL OF THAT AND 3 1 1.

SO THAT IS A, A GREAT THING.

AGAIN, I DON'T THINK YOU, THAT IT MAYBE REALIZED HOW MUCH YOU GUYS WERE ALREADY DEFER DIVERSIFYING AND ALLOWING 9 1 1 TO FOCUS ON NINE ONE ONE.

SO THAT CALL COMES IN, THEY QUESTION, THEY TRY TO GET POLICE FIRE EMS OR MENTAL HEALTH LOCATION VERIFICATION.

AND THEN AS SOON AS THEY SAY, WELL, I NEED FIRE, THEY, THEY TRANSFER TO FIRE OR TO EMS, THEN ON THAT END, SPECIFICALLY FOR FIRE AND EMS, THEY HAVE SWORN UNIFORMED CALL TAKERS, THEN QUESTIONING, TAKING IN ALL OF THOSE APPROPRIATE QUESTIONS.

THEY, AND THEN THEY SEND IT TO THEIR DISPATCHERS AND THEY DISPATCH.

THE ONLY TIME THAT THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKER CONTINUES TO QUESTION IS IF IT IS, THEY SAY THAT THEY NEED LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THEN THEY FINISH THAT CALL AND THEY SEND IT IN THE COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH SYSTEM TO THE POLICE.

SO WHAT YOU HAVE HERE IS A VERY EFFECTIVE ACTUALLY, WHICH, WHICH WE LOOK AT IT AND WE GO, HMM.

LIKE FOR US TO RECOMMEND NOT KIND OF PULLING IT, UH, TO HAVE IT ALL OUT AS AN INDEPENDENT CIVILIAN.

THAT'S A LOT OF TIMES WHAT OUR RECOMMENDATIONS ARE.

'CAUSE WE SEE THE VALUE IN CIVILIAN WE DO AND SPECIALIZATION OF PEOPLE THAT ARE FOCUSED ON 9 1 1 ON PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS ON THE WHOLE ECOSYSTEM OF IT.

WHEN IT WORKS TOGETHER HERE, YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE A VERY EFFECTIVE MESH NETWORK THAT WORKS.

AND SO TO BE YOU, IT WOULD TAKE A LOT FOR YOU TO BE AN INTECH.

THERE'D BE STUFF AT THE STATE LEVEL, THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE WITH YOUR DISTRICT, ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS TO BE ABLE TO CONTRACTS, YOU KNOW, AGREEMENTS WITH THE COUNTY AND THE CITY.

UH, COULD YOU GET THERE? POSSIBLY, BUT IT WOULD PROBABLY BE 10 YEARS OR SO.

SO THE N TECH REFERENCE, ALBEIT I UNDERSTAND WHERE, WHERE YOU WANNA GO WITH THAT IN YOUR CURRENT ENVIRONMENT.

YOU HAVE A CO-LOCATION, NOT A TRUE JACK.

SO IF YOU, WE, THAT'S WHY WE KEEP, WE KEEP REFERRING TO IT AS A 9 1 1 CENTER.

SO THE AVAILABLE MODEL WITH THE CALL TAKING, SEPARATING POLICE CALL, TAKING, DISRUPTING THE CITY'S, YOU KNOW, THIS INTEGRATED, UH, MESH NETWORK AND ADDING THAT, UH, COORDINATION COMPLEXITY.

UH, WE DON'T TAKE THAT LIGHTLY IN MAKING THAT, THAT RECOMMENDATION.

BUT ESSENTIALLY BECAUSE FIRE AND EMS HAVE THEIR OWN CALL TAKERS AND DISPATCHERS, BY SEPARATING 9 1 1 FROM THAT, THEN YOU REALLY, YOU ARE ALSO DID THEN DISCONNECTING POLICE OFFICERS FROM THAT SAME, YOU KNOW, CALL TAKER DISPATCHER RELATIONSHIP.

SO THAT, THAT IS A, A CHALLENGE THERE.

SO AS WE SAY IN THIS LAST BULLET HERE, REALLY BY, BY BOOING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS FROM A PD, IT'S NOT GONNA CREATE AN END TEXTILE MODEL.

WE DIDN'T FIND ANY MEASURABLY IMPROVED OPERATIONS THAT FROM DOING JUST THAT.

YOU KNOW, YOU SAW WE DID ALL THE OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS.

SO IT WOULD BE MORE KIND OF SYMBOLICALLY

[01:10:01]

REPOSITIONING RATHER THAN SUBSTANTIAL OF REFORM, WHICH I THINK IN HEARING TODAY ESPECIALLY TOO, UM, WHAT IS REALLY BEING ASKED FOR, WHICH IS MORE AROUND BETTER ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

OOPS.

ROLLING.

ALRIGHT, SO QUICK COST.

I KNOW ED IS HERE TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING, YOU KNOW, ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ULTIMATELY ABOUT THE COST.

THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, WITH THE COUNCIL MEETING AND THE BUDGET MEETING PREVIOUSLY HERE.

THIS IS ABOUT THE OPTION C, THE STANDALONE PSAP, UM, IN THAT 11.8 TO $12.2 MILLION RANGE SET UP COSTS, ONGOING COSTS.

THE OTHER IS THE TARGETED SYSTEMIZATION OR SYSTEM MODERNIZATION COST HEARD IT MENTIONED BE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THIS PROFESSIONAL CIVILIAN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP, WE COULD SEE HERE AS WELL TO HAVE A, ANOTHER, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER LEVEL OF LEADERSHIP IN, IN THERE AS WELL.

AND THEN NOT, IT WASN'T IN THE PURVIEW OF THE STUDY TO INCLUDE PULLING A PD DISPATCH UNDER THAT LEADERSHIP, BUT, YOU KNOW, TO HAVE THAT WHOLE STRUCTURE CALL TAKING AND DISPATCHING UNDER, YOU KNOW, CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP IS A POSSIBILITY TO BE CONSIDERED AS WELL.

BUT YES, ARE THERE, YOU KNOW, A, A PRETTY GOOD DELTA IN THE COST? YES, THERE ARE.

UM, BUT AGAIN, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE ARE LOOKING AT OUTCOMES.

THESE ARE SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT THE REPORT, BUT IN SECTION 5.2, THESE ARE ALL THE GOVERNANCE OPERATIONAL TECHNOLOGY MODERNIZATION RECOMMENDATIONS.

THOSE THAT ARE IN ITALICS, THOSE ARE ONES THAT ARE, UM, DO HAVE A COST TO THEM.

OTHERS ARE PRIMARILY, UM, CAN BE DONE WITH UNDER THE EXISTING ADMINISTRATION AND ORGANIZATION.

I'LL BE HAP HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY OF YOU KNOW, ANY MORE DETAILS ABOUT ANY OF THESE.

SOME OF THESE ALSO ARE WITHIN DIRECT PURVIEW OF, UM, OF THE ORGANIZATION TODAY.

OTHERS WOULD REQUIRE DISCUSSIONS WITH WHAT THEY CALL CAP COG, WHICH ACTUALLY OWNS THE NINE ONE ONE SYSTEM AND CALL HANDLING EQUIPMENT AND STUFF LIKE THAT.

UM, OPPORTUNITY THERE TO OPEN UP THOSE DISCUSSIONS.

AND THEN THIS BROUGHT US TO OUR COMPARATIVE EVALUATION SCALE.

THESE ARE THE SAME FIVE BULLETS, JUST KIND OF BRINGING THEM BACK AROUND TO KIND OF BOOK END HERE.

BUT WE LOOKED AT AN EVALUATION SCALE, UM, FOR EACH OF THE THREE OPTIONS FROM STRONG ADVANTAGE DOWN THROUGH DISADVANTAGE.

AND WHERE THAT LED US WAS TO THIS TABLE, I APOLOGIZE IF IT'S AN EYE CHART, BUT IF YOU LOOK AT THE REPORT ITSELF, IT DOES PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT AND NARRATIVE IN EACH OF THESE BOXES.

THESE ARE ALSO NOT IN THE SAME ORDER AS IN THE REPORT AS FAR AS YOUR EVALUATION CRITERIA, BUT OPTION A, WHICH IS MAINTAINING AGAIN, THE CURRENT ORGANIZATIONAL PLACEMENT WITH TARGETED MODERNIZATION EFFORTS.

YOU CAN SEE OF THE 12, UM, THAT, WHAT SIX OF THEM I'M COUNTING NOW.

YEAH, SIX OF THEM ARE STRONG ADVANTAGE, THREE OF THEM ADVANTAGEOUS, UM, AND THEN A COUPLE OF MIXED.

AND THEN AS YOU MOVE OVER TO THE RIGHT, UM, THAT'S, WE'RE JUST NOT FINDING THAT THE STRONG IN OR ADVANTAGE IS THERE WITH ACTUALLY SOME DISADVANTAGE AND MIXED IN THERE AS WELL.

AND THEN JUST THE LAST, I BELIEVE TWO SLIDES HERE, THE STRATEGIC ROADMAP, YOU WILL SEE IN THE REPORT, UM, THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR THE MODERNIZATION EFFORTS.

WE COULD SEE, YOU KNOW, SIGNIFICANT CHANGE WITHIN 12 TO 18 MONTHS.

OPTION B IS CURRENT.

AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'RE NOT REALLY RECOMMENDING YOU STAY STATUS QUO.

OPTION C COULD TAKE THREE TO FOUR YEARS.

AND IF YOU REALLY MOVED, TRY TO MOVE TOWARD A TRUE JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION CENTER.

UH, SIGNIFICANT HURDLES, I WOULDN'T SAY IT'S IMPOSSIBLE, BUT IT WOULD TAKE SIGNIFICANT WORK.

UM, YOU'RE LOOKING PROBABLY EIGHT TO 10 YEARS, UH, ACROSS THE WHOLE STRATEGIC ROADMAP.

YOU KNOW, YOU NEED WHICHEVER OPTION THAT YOU CHOOSE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH.

AND MCP WILL BE YOUR, BY YOUR SIDE TO HELP YOU MOVE FORWARD WITH WHATEVER OPTION YOU CHOOSE BECAUSE WE WANNA SEE THAT YOU ARE SUCCESSFUL.

UM, UH, YOU KNOW, JUST STANDARD PROJECT MANAGEMENT, RISK MANAGEMENT, CHANGE MANAGEMENT IS GOING TO BE A HUGE PIECE OF THAT.

OF COURSE, ENGAGING ALL STAKEHOLDERS AND PERFORMANCE MONITORING, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THE OBJECTIVES AND THE GOALS THAT YOU HAVE SET IN PLACE, UM, ARE ACTUALLY WHAT WILL BE BEING ACHIEVED.

AND SO BASICALLY FINAL SUMMARY, UH, YOU KNOW, THE MESSAGE IS STILL THE SAME THAT IF, YOU KNOW,

[01:15:01]

JUST BY MOVING THE CALL TAKERS WON'T CREATE A CHECK AS ENVISIONED.

UH, THOUGH IT IS, YOU KNOW, UM, A RESPECTABLE, YOU KNOW, DESIRE TO HAVE A JACK AND WE'VE SEEN THEM BE SUCCESSFUL AROUND THE COUNTRY AS WELL.

BUT YOU HAVE A VERY STRONG EFFECTIVE, UM, CO-LOCATION MODEL RIGHT NOW WITH DISCIPLINE SPECIALIZATION.

AND THEN, UH, BASICALLY HIGHLIGHTING THAT THAT IS, YOU KNOW, HOW WE SEE YOU STRENGTHENING IN IT THROUGH THE RECOMMENDED MODERNIZATION OPTIONS.

WITH THAT, I WILL STOP AND ENTERTAIN ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.

UM, I'M GONNA START WITH, UH, A FEW OPENING COMMENTS AND THEN MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS.

UM, I WANNA START TODAY BY THANKING EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.

UM, I'M GRATEFUL TO BE ABLE TO READ IT AND THANK YOU TO MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS FOR BEING HERE TO PRESENT THE FINDINGS TO US AND TO THE PUBLIC.

I FOUND A LOT IN THIS REPORT THAT WAS EXTREMELY USEFUL TO BE ABLE TO READ THROUGH AND I APPRECIATE YOUR PRESENTATION AS WELL.

UM, AND I WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THE SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS AS WELL THAT HAVE HAPPENED IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF THIS CONSULTANT AND THIS WORK THAT WE ARE CONSIDERING TODAY.

WHETHER THAT IS THE IMPROVEMENTS THAT LED TO FASTER CALL ANSWERING, UM, OR THE CAD INTEGRATION THAT'S CURRENT AND ONGOING, THESE ARE NOTABLE IMPORTANT AND ABSOLUTELY SHOULD NOT BE RISKED AS WE MOVE FORWARD.

UM, I WOULD ALSO STATE THAT SIMPLY GETTING TO THE POINT OF ANSWERING THE CALL QUICKLY DOES NOT GET US ALL THE WAY TO DISPATCH MUCH LESS ALL THE WAY TO, UH, ARRIVAL ON SCENE.

AND THERE IS ANOTHER LINK IN THAT CHAIN, WHICH IS CALL TAKING.

AND I APPRECIATE YOUR RECOMMENDATION AS I UNDERSTAND IT, TO MOVE CALL TAKING UNDER CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP TO MAKE SOME QUITE NOTABLE AND SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS, UM, INCLUDING, UM, HIRING A, AN EXECUTIVE LEADER, THAT CIVILIAN LEADER, AND THEN ALSO STANDING UP OF A QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT CONSISTING OF FOUR FTES, A MANAGER, AND THREE PEOPLE WORKING FOR THAT AS I'VE SEEN IT.

UM, AND I WOULD APPRECIATE, I'LL GIVE THIS OPENING AND THEN ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE TWEAKED, PLEASE FEEL FREE.

UM, THE, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT WITH FOUR FTES THAT IS FOCUSED SPECIFICALLY ON THIS LENGTH OF THE CHAIN, THE CALL TAKING, UM, IN READING YOUR REPORT, I ALSO NOTE THAT THE ZERO TO SIX MONTHS TIMEFRAME IS WHERE YOU ENVISION THAT WE WOULD BE TO THE POINT OF HAVING THAT EXECUTIVE LEADER, THOSE FIRST FIVE FTS, THE EXECUTIVE LEADER AND THE QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT ONBOARD AND HAVING ESTABLISHED BASELINE MEASURES FOR HOW WE ARE GOING TO EVALUATE CALL TAKING PERFORMANCE.

AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, WE DON'T CURRENTLY HAVE THIS CAPACITY NOW TO EVALUATE ON A ROBUST WAY THAT LEADS TOWARDS, UM, DATA-DRIVEN GOAL SETTING AROUND CULT CALL TAKING.

IS THAT CORRECT? THERE ARE DEFINITELY DATA POINTS THAT ARE MISSING THAT SHOULD BE FOCUSED ON HOW, HOW DO WE COLLECT THOSE DATA POINTS AND START TRACKING THEM SO THAT WE'RE MOVING THE ENTIRE ORGANIZATION AND THAT CALL TAKING PIECE MM-HMM .

IN, IN A PROPER DIRECTION, WHICH ALREADY HAS STARTED, BUT THERE ARE STILL PLACES THAT THAT CAN BE IMPROVED ON.

UM, SURE.

BECAUSE I MEAN, ADDING FIVE FTES, FOUR OF WHICH ARE DEDICATED TO QUALITY ASSURANCE, SUGGESTS THAT IT'S NOT A SMALL OR AN INSIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF MISSING DATA POINTS.

IS THAT TRUE? I MEAN, THIS LOOKS LIKE A SIGNIFICANT ADDITION TO ME AND I WELCOME IT.

I AM VERY PLEASED TO SEE THIS RECOMMENDATION.

I WILL LET Y'ALL DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSION ABOUT WHETHER THAT IS A, A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE, BUT I CERTAINLY FOUND IN YOUR REPORT A NUMBER OF VERY MEANINGFUL CHANGES THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, LET ME ASK YOU AN ANOTHER QUESTION.

UM, SO IN READING THE REPORT, I REALLY APPRECIATED THE DETAILED PHASING, UM, THAT WE SAW.

AND SO I'LL ASK YOU THE ZERO TO SIX MONTHS, THAT'S THE ACCURATE TIMEFRAME FOR GETTING TO THE POINT OF THE QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT AND THE BASELINE DATA IN OUR KEY MEASURES.

I THINK IN OUR EXPERIENCE THAT IS INACCURATE IF YOU KNOW THAT WE PUT IT IN THE REPORT.

JUST WANNA CLEAR, VERIFY, UNDERSTANDING, YOU KNOW MM-HMM .

UM, AND SO IN THAT SIX TO 12 MONTHS, WE LOOK AT THE STEP OF THEN MOVING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS INTO THE CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP'S, UM, REPORTING LINE.

AND THAT REPORTING LINE AS YOU RECOMMEND REPORTS TO CHIEF DAVIS, OUR AUSTIN POLICE CHIEF.

TO READ YOUR REASONING ON ALL OF THAT.

UM, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE BEING ABLE

[01:20:01]

UM, I WANNA TAKE A MOMENT TO JUST LEVEL SET BASED ON OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSION.

UM, I'LL SPEAK FOR MYSELF, I'LL ALLOW MY COLLEAGUES TO SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

OF COURSE.

UM, I WANNA SAY THAT I SUPPORT POLICE DISPATCH REMAINING IN AUSTIN PUBLIC POLICE DEPARTMENT.

I DID DURING BUDGET AS WELL.

I, WE HAVE BEEN DISCUSSING WHERE, UM, NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS SPECIFICALLY WOULD RESIDE.

I SUPPORT THAT.

AND YOUR REPORT CERTAINLY GIVES MORE REASON TO SEE IT.

UM, BECAUSE THIS BRINGS US TO A, AN ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE IN WHICH ALL THREE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES HAVE THEIR DOMAIN SPECIFIC DISPATCH.

BUT WE HAVE BEGUN A RESTRUCTURING OF HOW THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING APPARATUS EXISTS AND HOW QUALITY ASSURANCE IS MAINTAINED.

SO, UM, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT IT'S CLEAR BECAUSE I, I DID, UM, I, I KNOW, AND IN FACT, I'M GONNA HAVE A QUESTION FOR AUSTIN FIRE AND AUSTIN EMS IF THEY'RE IN THE ROOM.

YOU KNOW, UM, IN OUR PRIOR DISCUSSION OF THIS, YOU KNOW, WE HAD SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT SUPPORT VERSUS LACK OF SUPPORT FOR SOME OF THE RECOMMENDED CHANGES FOR OUR CHIEFS.

AND, UM, I HAD THE PRIVILEGE OF HAVING SOME MEETINGS SINCE THEN WITH AUSTIN FIRE AND AUSTIN A MS. THANK YOU FOR THAT TIME.

UM, SO FIRST I GO TO CHIEF LUCRE.

UM, DO YOU HAVE CONCERN, DO YOU SUPPORT, NOT SUPPORT, LIKE, JUST PLEASE DESCRIBE YOUR TAKE ON, UM, THE IMPACT TO YOUR OWN AGENCY OF MOVING NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS UNDER THE A CM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY VERSUS RETAINING UNDER A PD IN THE, THE CURRENT, OR I SHOULD SAY IN THE, IN THE PROPOSAL, UM, BOTH FROM MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS AS WELL AS WHAT YOU'RE DISCUSSING.

UH, YOU KNOW, ULTIMATELY THE EMS OPERATION WOULD NOT BE IMPACTED, UM, BY, BY EITHER OF THOSE PROPOSALS.

SO NO, NO ADDITIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE BURDEN.

UM, AND NO CAUSE FOR CONCERN THERE.

AND, AND I I LOVE THE SAME QUESTION ANSWERED BY FIRE.

NO, ABSOLUTELY.

AND I THINK THAT THE, THE QA AND QI REVIEW THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE WITH THE CHANGE IN LEADERSHIP PROVIDES, UH, GUIDANCE BASED ON REAL OUTCOMES AND SOME OBJECTIVITY AND, AND, UH, SOME FOLLOW THROUGH THAT, YOU KNOW, NOW WILL BE REQUIRED.

I APPRECIATE THAT.

UM, AND I DID ALSO HAVE, UM, MEETING SCHEDULED WITH CHIEF DAVIS TO DISCUSS, UM, AND UNFORTUNATELY, AS WE ALL KNOW, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT CONSIDERATIONS THAT NEEDED TO TAKE PRECEDENCE.

UM, AND I, I, I WELCOME THE OPPORTUNITY TO DISCUSS THAT IN THE FUTURE.

UM, I'LL REITERATE THAT ONE OF MY CONCERNS AND WHY I BROUGHT THIS FORWARD IS BECAUSE I, I DO BELIEVE THAT WE WOULD BENEFIT FROM CIVILIAN, UM, NON-SWORN LEADERSHIP AS YOU HAVE RECOMMENDED, JUST SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE THERE IS SO MUCH URGENT MATTERS, UM, ON, YOU KNOW, THAT ARE THE RESPONSIBLE OF THE, OF A PD AND THEY CANNOT CATCH IT ALL AS WE SEE, ESPECIALLY AT THE, AT THE STAFFING LEVELS RELATIVE TO WHAT WE'RE ASKING OF THEM.

UM, SO I WANTED TO LEVEL SET THERE AND THEN, OKAY, SO NEXT QUESTION THAT I HAVE FOR MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS, UM, THIS APPEARS TO ME LIKE YOU'VE GIVEN US A QUITE DETAILED 12 MONTH ACTION PLAN THAT GETS US TO THE STEP OF, LIKE I SAID, RESTRUCTURING NINE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS AND THEY REPORT TO CHIEF DAVIS.

AND YOU GAVE US GREAT SOLID REASONS WHY THAT SHOULD BE A STEP.

UM, IS IT, WAS IT WITHIN YOUR SCOPE TO LOOK BEYOND 12 MONTHS? I MEAN, BECAUSE I SAW MANY PLACES IN THE REPORT WHERE, YOU KNOW, SUGGESTED THAT WE, WE TAKE THESE STEPS, WE BEGIN TO USE THAT DATA TO MONITOR PROGRESS AND CONSIDER, FOR EXAMPLE, IN THE FUTURE WHETHER WE WOULD MOVE POLICE DISPATCH OR NOT.

UM, WOULD YOU SAY THAT YOU HAD A 12 MONTH HORIZON FOR YOUR SCOPE? I DON'T THINK WE WERE LIMITED ON THE HORIZON.

WE BASED IT ON, UH, WHAT WE THOUGHT WAS OUR, UM, OUR BEST RECOMMENDATION MM-HMM .

AND LAID THAT STRATEGY FORWARD.

THERE ARE ALSO COMMENTS IN THERE IN THE REPORT THAT DON'T LIMIT THIS FROM BEING AN ADDITIONAL DISCUSSION LATER ON MM-HMM .

GONE UNDER CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP AND ARE REPORTING TO CHIEF DAVIS AND HAVE THE QUALITY ASSURANCE MM-HMM .

UH, IN ADDITION TO THE A PD DISPATCH PORTION MM-HMM .

SO REALLY LOOKING BEYOND IS, YOU KNOW, REALLY UP TO YOU WHERE YOU WANNA TAKE IT, ESPECIALLY AROUND THE, THE CONVERSATION OF ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

AND THAT'S AN EXCELLENT POINT.

IT'S NOT SO MUCH TIED TO THE NUMBER OF MONTHS AS TO THE GATES OF READ THE READINESS GATES E EXACTLY.

SO, SO WE NEED TO MOVE THROUGH THESE READINESS GATES RIGHT IN, IN THE ORDER THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT.

AND WHERE THOSE, THAT READINESS STOPS IN THIS REPORT IS AT THE POINT WHEN NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS HAVE

[01:25:01]

AND ADDITIONAL TOOLS AND MODERNIZATION OF THE TECHNOLOGY AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS THAT THEY'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO NEED, THEY'RE GONNA NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO WHAT WE'VE LAID OUT.

AND THEN YOU ALSO SAID DURING YOUR PRESENTATION THAT, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS DONE SOME IMPORTANT AND VALUABLE WORK MM-HMM .

IN TERMS OF SETTING INTENTION TOWARDS ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, DIVERSIFICATION OF RESPONSE, SPECIALIZATION OF RESPONSE MM-HMM .

AND THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO IMPLEMENT THAT AND ROUTE THE CALLS AND MAKE THAT WORKFLOW WORK MM-HMM .

UM, IS A VALUABLE CONVERSATION TO HAVE, BUT NOT THE SUBJECT OF OUR CONVERSATION TODAY.

IT WOULD REQUIRE ADDITIONAL, MORE ROBUST DEVELOPMENT, UM, CORRECT PERSPECTIVE.

AND SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

UM, AND SO WHAT I WILL SAY, COLLEAGUES FROM MY PERSPECTIVE IS THAT IN BRINGING THIS, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE ALSO SEEN THE WORK THAT HAS PRECEDED ME ON ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

AND I KNOW WE ALL VALUE IT, PARTICULARLY CONSIDERING THE STAFFING LEVELS THAT A PD IS CURRENTLY AT RELATIVE WHAT THEY TO WHAT THEY RECOMMEND TO US.

AND SO I BELIEVE THAT THE MOMENT AT WHICH TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT MAKES SENSE TO HAVE CALL TAKERS, CIVILIAN CALL TAKERS BE PERPETUALLY UNDER A PD VERSUS GOING THROUGH AN INTERMEDIATE STEP AND THEN MOVING THAT REPORT LINE TO OUR A CM FOR PUBLIC SAFETY IS NOT WITHIN THE SCOPE OF WHAT YOU HAVE DEVELOPED FOR US TODAY.

AND IT IS A SIGNIFICANT CONCERN FOR MY COLLEAGUES AND I, AND I WILL SAY THAT EVEN FROM THE DISCUSSIONS AND WHILE I DIDN'T HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MEET WITH CHIEF DAVIS IN THE LEAD UP TO THIS SPECIFIC MEETING, I POST THIS RECEIVING THIS REPORT WE HAVE MET MANY TIMES BEFORE AS WELL WITH THE ACMS FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.

AND, AND I'VE DONE RIDE-ALONGS AND, YOU KNOW, TALKED WITH FRONTLINE PEOPLE TO THE GREATEST EXTENT THAT I CAN.

AND, AND I DO HEAR THAT AT THE POINT THAT DISPATCH, YOU KNOW, PUTS THE CALL OUT THERE FOR THE OFFICERS, THEY'VE GOT THEIR LIST OF CALLS AND THE OFFICERS, UM, THEY ARE STILL RECEIVING CALLS IN THAT, IN THAT LIST THAT ARE THINGS LIKE SOMEONE HAS A WALLET THAT NEEDS TO BE TURNED IN MM-HMM .

AND SO, AND THAT THE NOISE OF ALL OF THESE CALLS WHEN THEY DON'T HAVE THE STAFFING LEVELS TO ADDRESS EVERY SINGLE PRIORITY LEVEL, ALL THE WAY DOWN TO ZERO OR X OR NOT ZERO X, OR, OR INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT TO HOW WE RECEIVE OUR DATA AND ALSO HOW THINGS GET HANDLED.

AND SO MY PERSPECTIVE, MY TAKEAWAY, SO I'VE LEVEL SET ON, UM, A PD DISPATCH REMAINING WHERE IT IS.

UM, BUT I ALSO BELIEVE THAT WE WOULD BE, FROM WHAT I'VE SEEN SO FAR, AND I DO HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS SET ONTO THIS, BUT I'M LAYING THIS OUT BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF THE CONVERSATIONS WE HAD BEFORE, IS THAT OUR MOST EFFECTIVE PLAN WOULD BE TO MOVE THROUGH THESE STEPS IN, IN THE ORDER LAID OUT FOR US WITH THE SPECIFICITY LAID OUT THAT THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE RECEIVES QUARTERLY REPORTS ON THE PROGRESS THROUGH THESE STEPS BASED ON DATE, NOT BASED ON HITTING A READINESS GATE, BUT WHERE ARE WE AS OF THE DATE? AND THEN ONCE WE HAVE BASELINE DATA AND WE HAVE A QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT, AND SO WE HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ACTUALLY TRACK, UM, MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN WE HAVE BEFORE, THAT WOULD BE A MORE APPROPRIATE MOMENT AT WHICH TO CONSIDER WHETHER THAT REPORTING LINE ULTIMATELY SHOULD STAY WITH CHIEF DAVIS OR SHOULD GO TO, UM, A CM BATISTA.

AND WHAT I DO SEE A GREAT VALUE IN IT RESIDING WITH CHIEF DAVIS, UH, FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

UM, BUT AS WE HAVE HEARD A NUMBER OF TIMES THAT NO ONE WANTS A FOREGONE CONCLUSION, WE'RE NOT REALLY USING THE TAXPAYERS FUNDS, UH, EFFECTIVELY NOR EFFECTIVELY PROBLEM SOLVING BY HAVING A FOREGONE CONCLUSION.

IT IS NOT A FOREGONE CONCLUSION TO ME AT THIS POINT THAT I WOULD NOT ULTIMATELY WANT THAT MOVE TO BE THE NEXT STEP.

UM, AND SO I, I PUT THAT OUT THERE AND, UM, I, I HAVE A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS THAT ARE DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE PRESENTATION, BUT I WANNA STOP THERE BECAUSE I KNOW THAT I'VE ALREADY TAKEN A FAIR AMOUNT OF TIME AND I WANNA HEAR FROM MY COLLEAGUES AND THEN I WOULD HOPE TO BE CALLED, CALLED ON AGAIN FOR DETAILED QUESTIONS AS YOU, AS USUAL.

WE'LL DO THAT.

COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL.

HAS MADE GREAT GAINS IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, BUT OUR EXPERIENCE NATIONALLY IS THAT WHEN YOU CAN HAVE, UH, STAFF THAT WHOSE, WHOSE CAREERS ARE DEDICATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS AND KNOW THE TECHNOLOGY AND THE OPERATIONS, UM, IT GENERALLY DOES SERVE THE PROFESSION BETTER.

UM, AND THANKS Y'ALL SO MUCH FOR THIS, UH, REPORT FOR YOUR WORK ON IT AND FOR THE THOROUGH AND THOUGHTFUL PRESENTATION.

UH, IT WAS INTERESTING FOR ME TO HEAR THAT AN INDEPENDENT CIVILIAN DEPARTMENT IS SOMETHING YOU WOULD OFTEN RECOMMEND, BUT THAT THERE ARE VERY SPECIALIZED CONSIDERATIONS HERE IN AUSTIN, TEXAS THAT MAKE IT MORE COMPLICATED THAN OTHER JURISDICTIONS.

UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE CENTRAL CONCLUSIONS OF THIS REPORT IS THAT YOU, WE NEED TO INTRODUCE PROFESSIONAL CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP IN ORDER TO CORRECT, IDENTIFIED, UH, GAPS IN OUR 9 1 1 SYSTEM.

IS THAT RIGHT? I WOULDN'T SAY THAT IT'S THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN IDENTIFY THOSE GAPS.

UH, YOUR CURRENT LEADERSHIP

[01:30:01]

WITH THAT SAID, THERE'S NO GUARANTEE SURE.

TO SAY YOU CAN'T ENSURE SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY.

OR GUARANTEE.

THAT'S WHEN, UH, WITH COUNCILWOMAN LANE'S COMMENTS ABOUT THE DECISION GATES SETTING ARBITRARY DATES.

THAT'S RIGHT.

SO COULD YOU JUST MAYBE SHARE WHY IT'S A BEST PRACTICE TO HAVE CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP OVER 9 1 1? WELL, IN, IN PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS IN GENERAL, SO PLEASE DON'T TAKE THAT TO MEAN CIVILIAN OF JUST 9 1 1.

SURE.

AGAIN, THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, THERE'S OVER 5,000 PEACE APPS.

GREAT MAJORITY OF THEM ARE CIVILIAN FROM END TO END.

AGAIN, THE WAY THAT IT IS RUN HERE WITH THE SPECIALIZED DISCIPLINE, HAVING SPECIALIZED CALL TAKERS FOR FIRE, SPECIAL ED CALL TAKERS FOR EMS THAT IS POPULAR, BUT NOT NECESSARILY THE NORM.

AND SO THAT DOES ADD THE COMPLEXITY.

SO WHEN WE SAY CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP, TAKE THAT AS THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSION, AND AGAIN, IT'S BECAUSE IT'S CAREER.

UM, LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICE ARE TRAINED TO, YOU KNOW, IN, IN LAW, IN LEGAL, IN, IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, FIRE, YOU KNOW, THE ADAGE OF, YOU KNOW, PUT THE WET STUFF ON THE, THE RED STUFF AND SUCH.

SO LEMME JUST INTERRUPT BRIEFLY 'CAUSE THE MAYOR ONLY LIKES IT FOR US TO TALK AT 10 MINUTES AT A TIME.

SO, SORRY, I JUST WANTED TO ASK IF CONCISE, YOU'RE PUTTING IT ON THE MAYOR, BUT EVERYBODY EVERYBODY, EVERYBODY KINDA LIKES TO GET TO TALK AND IF ONE OR TWO DO ALL THE TALK, I, I JUST, I DO.

THANK YOU MAYOR , SEVERAL QUESTIONS.

IF YOU GO, JUST TRY TO JUST GIVE US THE TOP LINE ANSWER.

YOU DON'T.

I MEAN, YOU'VE ALREADY GIVEN US A TON OF CONTEXT.

WE'VE GOT YOUR DETAILED REPORT HERE.

YOU GOT IT.

WE'VE GOT YOUR BEAUTIFUL PRESENTATION.

UM, BUT ANYWAY, SO I WAS JUST TRYING TO START WITH KIND OF A HIGH LEVEL ONE THERE, BUT LET'S GET INTO MENTAL HEALTH.

YOU KNOW, I WAS ONE OF THE CO-SPONSORS OF YES, THE 2025 RESOLUTION.

I SPONSORED THIS BUDGET AMENDMENT, UM, TO FUND CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP OF 9 1 1 A COUPLE MONTHS AGO.

AND TO SPEAK FOR MY OFFICE.

AND ALSO A LOT OF THE ADVOCATES WE WORK WITH, THE TOP PRIORITY FOR ESTABLISHING CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP 9 1 1 IS, AND TO EXPLORE AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT IS EMERGENCY RESPONSE FOR MENTAL HEALTH CRISES.

'CAUSE 'CAUSE WE ACKNOWLEDGE ALL OF THESE WONDERFUL IMPROVEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE, UH, ACROSS THE PUBLIC SAFETY RESPONSE, UH, IN RECENT YEARS.

AND SO WE RECENTLY HAD, UH, UH, A REPORT DONE BY CITY EXPERTS AND ADDITIONAL CONSULTANTS, A HUMAN RIGHTS IMPACT REVIEW REPORT MM-HMM .

AND THE FIRST KEY RISK THEY IDENTIFIED FOR ALL OF PUBLIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN IS OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

AND THE REPORT SAYS, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS TO AUSTIN 9 1 1 INCREASED 269% MM-HMM .

OVER 10 YEARS BETWEEN 2014 AND 2024.

AND THE AVERAGE RESPONSE TIME ROSE 180% TO OVER 53 MINUTES.

AND YOUR REPORTS SAYS MENTAL HEALTH ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE AND COMMUNITY-BASED SERVICES OR RECURRING TOPICS IN YOUR STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.

AND SO I WANTED TO ASK, HAVE, HAVE YOU ANALYZED THE REASONS FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE TIMES IN AUSTIN INCREASING SO MUCH OVER THE LAST DECADE? WHEN OKAY.

TO CLARIFY, WHEN YOU SAY MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE TIMES, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT FROM THE POINT OF CALL ENTRY TO HAVING A MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE OR SOME SORT OF MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDER.

I MEAN, I'M NOT SURE IF YOU'VE READ THE HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT, BUT THIS IS THE ASSERTION THAT MENTAL HEALTH CALLS INCREASED 269% AND AVERAGE RESPONSE TIMES ROSE 180% TO OVER 53 MINUTES.

AND SO I'M ASKING IF YOU'VE ANALYZED THE REASONS WHY THOSE TIMES HAVE INCREASED.

NO, WE DID NOT ANALYZE THOSE REASONS.

EXPERIENCE IN OTHER CITIES THAT WE'VE WORKED WITH, SPECIFICALLY WITH MENTAL HEALTH, UH, THE INCREASE IN CALL VOLUME IS TYPICALLY 'CAUSE MORE PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF IT AND CITIES ARE PROVIDING MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO HAVE THAT CONNECTION LIKE YOU ASK IT RIGHT.

IN YOUR NINE ONE ONE CALL GRADING.

BUT WE CAN STOP THERE BECAUSE I JUST WANNA FOCUS ON 'CAUSE YOU HAVEN'T ANALYZED IT YET FOR AUSTIN.

SO, AND MY UNDERSTANDING IS, YOU KNOW, A PD RESPONDS TO TENS OF THOUSANDS OF MENTAL HEALTH CALLS EVERY YEAR, UH, WHICH DON'T RESULT IN CHARGES.

UM, AND MANY SAY SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR DIVERSION, BUT DIVERSION OCCURS RELATIVELY INFREQUENTLY.

CARE, AND THEY AGREE THAT THEY ARE NOT GETTING THE CALLS THAT THEY FEEL THAT THEY SHOULD.

AND SO I GUESS IN LINE WITH THE PRIOR QUESTION, SO, SO FAR MISSION CRITICAL HAS NOT ANALYZED THE PERCENTAGE OF ELIGIBLE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS THAT WERE DIVERTED TO ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE AND THE REASONS WHY THOSE CALLS ARE NOT DIVERTED.

YOU HAVE NOT DONE THAT ANALYSIS.

IS THAT FAIR? WE HAVE NOT DONE THAT ANALYSIS.

WE HAVE TALKED TO YOUR, YOUR, UH, PROGRAM STAFF AT INTEGRAL

[01:35:01]

THERE IS A CHECKBOX ON THE NINE ONE ONE, YOU KNOW, CALL TAKE SCREEN TO INDICATE A POSSIBLE MENTAL HEALTH SITUATION.

UH, BUT OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THEY'RE NOT GETTING AS MANY CALLS DIRECTLY OVER TO INTEGRAL CARE.

BUT THAT'S LIKE A, AN AREA OF STUDY THAT WE NEED TO GET INTO.

THAT TO GET ALL THE DETAILS THAT'S MORE ANECDOTAL AT THIS POINT.

AND THEN THERE'S A KIND OF A QUESTION IN, IN THE REPORT, I THINK PAGE 37 ABOUT CALL CLASSIFICATION ACCURACY.

AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER LANE GOT TO THIS, THAT WE'RE KIND OF MISSING DATA.

UM, YES.

AND IS IT FAIR TO SAY THAT THE DATA'S NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM RIGHT NOW? CORRECT.

AND THEN ANOTHER ISSUE, I THINK PAGE 36, YOU LOOKED AT, UM, TIME TO TRANSFER AND WE LEARNED THAT, UM, IN SOME OF, UH, MY OFFICE'S MEETINGS WITH 9 1 1 STAFF, INCLUDING, UH, FIRE AND EMS, UM, THEY DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO INFORMATION ABOUT WHEN A CALL WAS PLACED.

AND SO THEY CAN ONLY MEASURE RESPONSE TIMES FROM WHEN THEY RECEIVED THE CALL TO WHEN THEY ARRIVE ON SCENE.

UM, SO THOSE TIMES ARE EXCELLENT, BUT THEY CAN'T MEASURE FROM WHEN A CALL IS RECEIVED.

UM, AND THEN ON PAGE 36 OF YOUR REPORT, IT STATES WE SHOULD BE AIMING TO HAVE 90% OF CALLS PROCESSED AND TRANSFERRED WITHIN 30 SECONDS.

DO YOU KNOW THE PERCENTAGE OF CALLS THAT MEET THAT BENCHMARK? I'D HAVE TO LOOK BACK AT THE REPORT.

THAT'S FAIR.

I I DON'T THINK IT'S IN THE REPORT.

UM, THERE'S ALSO, UH, A STATEMENT, MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS ESTIMATES A RANGE OF 41 SECONDS TO 86 SECONDS PER CALL.

THAT RESULTS IN ADDITIONAL CALL PROCESSING TIME.

DUE TO WORKFLOWS INVOLVING TRANSFERS, THIS SITES, UM, TO A, A PUBLICATION CALLED PRE-HOSPITAL EMERGENCY CARE.

UM, YOU CAN GET TO THAT BACK TO US LATER, BUT MM-HMM .

WE WOULD LOVE TO HAVE THE DATA INFORMATION BEHIND THIS CALCULATION.

UM, WE, LIKE THE REPORT DOESN'T HAVE THE CITATION TO THE SPECIFIC ARTICLE, IT'S JUST TO A PERIODICAL IN GENERAL MM-HMM .

UM, AND THERE'S NOT REALLY A, A SENSE OF YEAH.

THE DETAILS BEHIND THAT ASSERTION IN THE REPORT.

UM, SO IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND GETTING THAT BACK TO US LATER.

SURE.

UM, I'M, I'M GONNA KIND OF WRAP UP MY QUESTIONS NOW AND JUST SHARE WITH MY COLLEAGUES THAT, UM, I THINK AS A BODY WE SHOULD CELEBRATE THIS REPORT AND THE PRESENTATION.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THE CITY WOULD'VE RECEIVED, BUT FOR COUNCIL INTERVENTION IN THE 2025 BUDGET CYCLE AND, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER LANE'S LEADERSHIP ON THAT RESOLUTION.

SO THERE'S A LOT OF ENHANCEMENTS THAT ARE RECOMMENDED.

QUALITY CONTROL UNITS, TECHNOLOGICAL MODERNIZATION, REDUCING UNNECESSARY TRANSFERS AND DUPLICATE QUESTIONING, AND THESE ENHANCEMENTS THAT YOU'VE IDENTIFIED SHOULD SAVE LIVES.

AND SO I THINK THIS IS, UH, A SIGN OF SUCCESS THAT WE'VE GOT THIS REPORT AND WE'VE GOT THIS WORK TO DO AHEAD OF US.

UM, THE IMPROVEMENTS TO 9 1 1 IDENTIFIED BY THIS REPORT ARE BECAUSE COUNCIL DIDN'T JUST TRUST THAT THE CURRENT STRUCTURE WOULD YIELD IMPROVEMENTS, WE, WE INTERVENED.

RIGHT? AND I THINK THE CALL FOR A TRUE CIVILIAN LEADER OF 9 1 1 IS SOMETHING THAT ALL OF US SEEM TO AGREE ON, AND WITH THE MAIN QUESTION BEING WHERE THAT PERSON SHOULD LIVE IN AN ORGANIZATIONAL CHART.

AND SO GIVEN OUR AGREEMENT ON SO MANY KEY POINTS, I THINK WE HAVE A GREAT BASIS TO MOVE FORWARD TO HIRE A CIVILIAN LEADER AND TO EMPOWER THAT INDIVIDUAL TO HIRE SUPPORT STAFF SO WE CAN GET TO WORK ON THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND SOME THINGS WEREN'T EXPLORED, RIGHT? WE DON'T HAVE ALL OF THIS ANALYSIS OF MENTAL HEALTH AND DIVERSION.

UH, WE DON'T HAVE THE CUSTOMER SERVICE DATA, THE SURVEYOR ANALYSIS.

WE DON'T HAVE CLASSIFICATION ACCURACY OR PROTOCOLS, UH, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT TO EXPLORE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

UM, WE DON'T, THERE'S ALSO ISSUES OF, UH, CAREER PATH AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT FOR NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS.

UM, SO THESE ARE TOPICS WE WANNA EXPLORE FURTHER.

AND I'LL JUST SAY AS, UH, MY COLLEAGUES HAVE HEARD ME SAY ON OTHER TOPICS, I DON'T NECESSARILY THINK THE ANSWER IS TO HIRE MORE CONSULTANTS.

UM, I THINK WE SHOULD STICK WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION OF HIRING A TRUE CIVILIAN PROFESSIONAL LEADER.

SOMEONE WHO IS AN EXPERT AT 9 1 1 BEST PRACTICES, HAS A VISION FOR HOW TO MAKE OUR 9 1 1 THE BEST IT CAN BE GIVEN THE CONTEXT WE'RE IN.

AND, YOU KNOW, IN PARTICULAR, UM, WE WANT TO CONTINUE MY, FOR MY OFFICE, AND I THINK THIS IS FOR ALL OF US HERE, WE WANT TO IMPROVE 9 1 1 RESPONSE.

AND SO WE'VE ESTABLISHED THIS LITTLE OFFICE, WE'VE ALLOCATED DOLLARS TO IT.

I THINK WE SHOULD PROCEED WITH THAT DIRECTION.

THAT DOESN'T MEAN WE ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT DEPARTMENT.

IT DOESN'T MEAN WE MOVE ANYONE OUT OF A PD.

UH, BUT WE SHOULD USE THE DOLLARS TO HIRE BUDGETED STAFF AND, AND KEEP EXPLORING THESE QUESTIONS BECAUSE OUR GOAL ULTIMATELY IS TO SAVE LIVES AND DISPATCH RESOURCES MORE QUICKLY AND DISPATCH THE APPROPRIATE RESOURCE FOR EACH EMERGENCY.

AND BY PROVIDING ALL OF THE PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT AND RESOURCES OUR CALL, OUR CALL TAKERS NEED.

AND I HOPE WE ALL AGREE IN THAT DIRECTION.

COUNCIL MEMBER MAYOR PROTI.

PUBLISHED, UH, MAY 1ST, UH, 2026.

UH, I, I APPRECIATE, UH, THE, THE COMMENT AND, AND I WANNA START OFF, UH, OFF, WE HAVE COME A LONG WAY IN OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

UM, AND I'M GONNA READ A FEW, UH, QUOTES FROM A REPORT THAT I HAD, A MENTAL HEALTH RESOLUTION BACK IN, UH, 2025.

UH, THE REPORT WAS

[01:40:01]

AND I THINK IT, IT, IT IS, UH, IT, IT SPEAKS TO A LOT OF THE ISSUES THAT COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT.

IT FOCUSED ON OUR, OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

BUT I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT IN 20 18, 20 19, WE HAD, UH, MEADOWS MENTAL HEALTH POLICY INSTITUTE REPORT, UH, THAT REALLY KIND OF STARTED THIS ENTIRE, WE DID NOT HAVE A MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE SYSTEM 10 YEARS AGO, UH, NOT A FORMAL ONE.

AND THERE WERE A BUNCH OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN THAT DOCUMENT.

AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT THAT, YOU NOW 8-YEAR-OLD DOCUMENT, AND YOU LOOK AT WHERE WE ARE TODAY, IT'S REALLY A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS STORY OF STANDING UP AN ENTIRE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE SYSTEM, UH, IN A RELATIVELY SHORT AMOUNT OF TIME.

AND BECOMING, I THINK, A NATIONAL LEADER IN TERMS OF, UH, THE DIVERSION AWAY FROM POLICE, UH, TOWARD MENTAL HEALTH.

UH, IT, IT, IT'S, IT'S BEEN JUST A HUGE SUCCESS STORY.

UH, AND AGAIN, I, WE, WE CAN ALWAYS GET BETTER, AND I COMPLETELY AGREE THAT WE'VE GOTTA CONTINUE TO STRIVE TO GET BETTER, BUT I'VE GOT TO PAUSE AND ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB ON, UH, OUR MENTAL HEALTH A RESPONSE CASELOAD.

AND I'M JUST GONNA READ A HANDFUL OF THESE.

AND AGAIN, THIS IS A, A, A MEMO, UH, MAY 1ST, 2026 THAT ENTITLED STAFF RESPONSE TO RESOLUTION.

YOU KNOW, THE NUMBER REGARDING MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

UM, AND THERE WERE KEY FINDINGS.

AND, AND THIS IS ANOTHER ONE I'M NOT SURE ABOUT THE NUMBERS IN, IN THAT REPORT, BUT, UH, AGAIN, BETWEEN 2022 AND 2024, APPROXIMATELY 11% OF ALL 9 1 1 CALLS WERE INITIALLY IDENTIFIED AS INVOLVING A MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT.

FEWER THAN 1% OF CALLS NOT INITIALLY CLASSIFIED THIS WAY, WERE LATER DETERMINED TO HAVE A BEHAVIORAL, UH, HEALTH ELEMENT.

AGAIN, I THINK THAT SAYS WE'RE DOING A PRETTY GOOD JOB, UH, ON THE FRONT END OF, UH, IDENTIFYING AND SAYING, THIS IS A MENTAL HEALTH CALL AND GETTING IT TO THE APPROPRIATE PLACE.

ARE WE PERFECT? NO, THEY, THEY WE'RE MISSING SOME, BUT, UH, THE VAST MAJORITY, UH, 90%, UH, OR SO OF THE CALLS THAT WE'RE RECEIVING, OVER 90% ARE BEING ROUTED APPROPRIATELY.

UM, AGAIN, KEY FINDING OF THE CALLS IDENTIFIED AS MENTAL HEALTH RELATED AND REFERRED TO, UH, C3 ARE THE, THE, UH, CRISIS CALL CENTER OR THE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.

86% WERE RESOLVED WITHOUT REQUIRING LAW ENFORCEMENT INVOLVEMENT.

UH, AGAIN, JUST A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS, UH, ON THE, ON OUR CURRENT SYSTEM OF MAKING SURE THAT THE RESPONSE THAT WE'RE GIVING IS, UH, APPROPRIATE AND NOT INVOLVING LAW ENFORCEMENT WHEN WE DON'T HAVE TO INVOLVE LAW ENFORCEMENT.

ANOTHER KEY FINDING IN CASES WHERE OTT RESPONDED EITHER ALONE OR WITH EMS, OVER 85% DID NOT RESULT IN ARREST OR TRANSPORT TO AN EMERGENCY ROOM, WE'RE DIVERTING PEOPLE AWAY FROM AN EMERGENCY ROOM, WHICH IS ANOTHER, I THINK, VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, UH, PUBLIC, UH, GOAL.

AND THEN FINALLY, THE C3 WAS ELIGIBLE, BUT UNAVAILABLE TO RESPOND TO JUST OVER 1% OF MENTAL HEALTH RELATED INCIDENTS DUE TO STAFFING LIMITATIONS.

THIS PERCENTAGE HAS DECLINED ANNUALLY INDICATING IMPROVED CLINICIAN AVAILABILITY.

SO AGAIN, WE ARE RESPONDING TO VIRTUALLY EVERY CALL THAT IS ROUTED TOWARD, WE'RE CATCHING THE VAST MAJORITY OF, OF CALLS THAT ARE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.

UH, WE ARE DISPATCHING THE APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO THE VAST MAJORITY OF CALLS THAT ARE MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.

AND THE OTT, UH, AND, UH, UH, INTEGRAL CARE, THE PERSONNEL WERE NOT AVAILABLE ONLY IN 1% WHERE, AND WHERE WHEN WE IDENTIFIED AS A MENTAL HEALTH CALL AND WE DISPATCH IT OVER TO, UH, C3, 1% OF THE TIME, THEY'RE NOT AVAILABLE.

AND I WOULD ALSO NOTE THAT THIS REPORT, UH, WAS DONE BEFORE WE WENT TO 24 7 ON OUR, UH, OTT RESPONSE.

SO, UH, VERY LIKELY OUR RESPONSES HAVE GOTTEN BETTER.

SO I JUST WANTED TO LAY THAT OUT BECAUSE, AND AGAIN, I, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE DISCUSSION.

I THINK THERE ARE IMPROVEMENTS.

I, I, I, I THINK THE, I REALLY APPRECIATE THE REPORT.

I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF IMPROVEMENTS TO MAKE, BUT WE ARE, WE HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL MENTAL HEALTH DIVERSION PROGRAM RIGHT NOW IN THE NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER.

UH, AND I, I, I WANT TO IMPROVE ON THAT, BUT I JUST WANT TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS AND CAREFUL THAT WE'RE NOT, UH, LOSING OR WE'RE NOT, UH, PUTTING AT RISK ANY OF THE SUBSTANTIAL GAINS THAT WE HAVE MADE HERE IN, UH, THE LAST, UH, UH, DECADE OR SO.

SO, UH, LIKE I SAID, I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.

UH, I REALLY, AND I'LL POST IT TO THE MESSAGE BOARD, UH, LATER, JUST WITH A LINK TO THE, TO THE REPORT.

UH, I THINK IT'S A REALLY GOOD REPORT.

I THINK IT GOES TO THE HEART OF SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT ARE KIND OF BEYOND THE SCOPE OF YOUR, UH, SPECIFIC A REPORT, BUT THAT, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL DISCUSSED.

BEN, WHAT ARE WE DOING? HOW ARE WE DOING ON MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE? THAT WAS A BIG QUESTION OF MINE.

UM, WE ASKED FOR THE REPORT, WE GOT IT BACK.

AND, AND LARGELY I'D SAY WE'RE DOING A, A, A PRETTY GOOD JOB.

UM, I JUST

[01:45:01]

WANTED TO PUT THAT OUT THERE.

'CAUSE YOU KNOW, IF, IF, IF, YOU KNOW, WE DON'T PAT OURSELVES ON THE BACK, NO ONE ELSE GONNA PASS ON THE BACK.

AND, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S, IT'S A BIG VICTORY FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

IT'S A BIG VICTORY FOR THE PEOPLE OF AUSTIN.

AND WE'RE GETTING BETTER OUTCOMES BECAUSE WE'RE RECOGNIZING AND SENDING APPROPRIATE MENTAL HEALTH RESPONDERS TO, UH, THOSE CALLS.

UM, ONE QUESTION SWORN DISPATCH VERSUS CIVILIAN DISPATCH.

UH, I KNOW HERE WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, OUR DISPATCH, AND PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, THEY ARE FIREFIGHTERS.

THEY ARE, UH, MEDICS, THEY ARE A PD.

IN OTHER WORDS, A PD IS TALKING TO A PD IN THE FIELD.

YOU KNOW, EMS IS TALKING TO EMS IN THE FIELD.

THAT'S HOW WE HAVE STRUCTURED OUR, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UH, TEAM.

UH, INTUITIVELY I DON'T REALLY HAVE A PROBLEM WITH THAT.

UH, PROS AND CONS VERSUS A SWORN DISPATCH MODEL VERSUS A CIVILIAN DISPATCH MODEL.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? AT THE END OF THE DAY, IT IS ALL ABOUT TRAINING, EXPERIENCE, EFFICIENCIES AND OUTCOMES.

AND WE'VE SEEN IT BE SUCCESSFUL IN, IN BOTH ENVIRONMENTS.

COST PER CALL GENERALLY MORE EXPENSIVE IF YOU'RE USING UNIFORM PERSONNEL.

THERE IS ALSO, WITHOUT BEING SPEAK FOR FIRE AND EMS, BUT I THINK A LEVEL OF COMFORT WHEN THEY FEEL LIKE THEY'RE TALKING TO THEIR OWN AND A LEVEL OF EXPERIENCE SEEING THINGS GO POORLY IN BOTH, RIGHT.

NOTHING'S GUARANTEED.

UM, EVERYBODY GOES IN WITH GOOD INTENTIONS.

SO IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT COSTS, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UH, OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT JUST, YOU KNOW, COMFORT OF COMMUNICATIONS, THE IMPORTANT THING IS WHAT ARE THE OUTCOMES? UH, I I, I APPRECIATE THAT.

AND, AND ONE OF THE, MY LAST QUESTION TOWARD THAT, UH, AND I I'LL ASK THIS.

I, I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL HAVE AN ANSWER IMMEDIATELY, BUT, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, ON SOME OF THE INSPECTION, UH, UH, DUTIES, AND I'M THINKING ABOUT THE, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT IN PARTICULAR, UH, THERE, THEREBY STATE LAW, BASICALLY KIND OF GIVEN AUTHORITY OVER A VERY KIND OF SPECIFIC, AND, AND, UH, WE WOULD HAVE TO, UH, THROUGH COLLECTIVE BARGAINING, UH, ESSENTIALLY THEY WOULD HAVE TO AGREE TO SAY, OKAY, WE CAN LET CIVILIANS DO THAT.

I, IS THAT THE CONTEXT THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT? AGAIN, I KNOW THAT, THAT, THAT MAY BE BEYOND, UH, THE, THE SCOPE OF, OF, OF THIS DISCUSSION.

BUT IN OTHER WORDS, WOULD, WOULD THIS HAVE TO BE SOMETHING THAT WAS A BARGAIN FOR, UH, WITH OUR, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES AND OR CHANGED AT THE STATE LEGISLATURE IN TERMS OF, AGAIN, IF WE DID WANT TO GO TO A FULL CIVILIAN MODEL, THAT IS OUR UNDERSTANDING.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR.

PRO TEM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

I'M GONNA PICK UP ON THAT THREAD TO, TO UNDERSTAND, I KNOW RIGHT NOW THE CONTRACT HAS THE REQUIREMENT OF SWORN DISPATCH, BUT AS YOU TALKED ABOUT, OTHER COMMUNITIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS DO USE CIVILIAN DISPATCH.

SO IT WOULD BE THAT WE NEED TO, WE'D HAVE TO MOVE AWAY FROM OUR CURRENT CONTRACT ENVIRONMENT.

IT'S NOT THAT STATE LAW PREVENTS A CIVILIAN FROM, LET'S SAY, DISPATCHING A FIREFIGHTER.

WISH I WOULD'VE HAD THE RESOURCES AND THE TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE NOW TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS, UH, TO CALL TRIAGE BETTER AND TO HAVE THOSE BETTER OUTCOMES.

AND I'M CURIOUS, YOU, YOU'VE DONE THIS WORK NOT JUST IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, BUT ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

TO WHAT DEGREE WOULD, JUST IN YOUR KIND OF PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT, WHEN YOU HAVE THAT TYPE OF SEGREGATION WHERE A CALL MIGHT, YOU KNOW, CALLER MIGHT SAY, THIS IS A POLICE CALL, AND SO IT GOES TO SOMEONE WHO IS VERY MUCH FOR US IN THAT REALM OF POLICING, HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK WE GET INTO KIND OF THE, THE HAMMER AND NAIL SITUATION, RIGHT? WHEN, WHEN YOU'RE A HAMMER, ALL YOU SEE ARE NAILS? AND SO DO WE, IS THERE ANY CONCERN THAT SOMEONE WHO IS, IS KIND OF MORE ISOLATED IN THEIR RESPONSE FRAMEWORK, THAT THEY ARE NOT GONNA SAY, WELL, NO, THIS IS ACTUALLY A MENTAL HEALTH CALL, OR THIS IS ACTUALLY AN EMS CALL, UH, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE IN KIND OF THEIR LANE.

I'LL SPEAK FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF HAVING BEEN IN THAT SEAT.

YOU WANNA GET THE RIGHT RESOURCE TO THE RIGHT LOCATION AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE.

AND AS I THINK I STATED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE DAY, I

[01:50:01]

AND YOU HERE IN AUSTIN HAVE A LOT OF THOSE THINGS IN PLACE.

UM, I'M VERY CONFIDENT THAT THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS THAT ARE SITTING IN THERE THAT ACTUALLY CAN FOCUS SIMPLY ON 9 1 1 EVERY CALL, UM, ARE DOING THE BEST THAT THEY CAN WITH THE TOOLS THAT THEY HAVE, AND WOULD LOVE TO HAVE MORE TOOLS TO TRIAGE THOSE CALLS BETTER TO GET AWAY FROM TRADITIONAL RESPONSE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE TO SERVE THE CALLER IN THE BEST WAY.

I HAVE A COUPLE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FROM YOUR PRESENTATION.

ON, UH, THE, THE COST COMPARISON SLIDES, THOSE ARE SLIDES NINE AND 10.

THE OPTION C, WHICH IS THE, THE STANDALONE OPTION, THERE ARE TWO LINES, ONE FOR PERSONNEL WAGES, ONE FOR BENEFITS.

DOES THAT INCLUDE THE PERSONNEL OF THE CALL TAKERS THEMSELVES? SO AS IF THE CALL TAKERS WERE MOVED FROM A PD TO THIS STANDALONE THAT, OH, IT LOOKS LIKE ABOUT $11.2 MILLION WORTH OF WAGES AND BENEFITS, WOULD THAT BE THE CALL TAKERS PLUS ANY OF THESE NEW HIRES FOR QUALITY ASSURANCE OR LEADERSHIP? YES, IT DOES.

AND I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE WE HAD AN APPLES TO APPLES COMPARISON, BECAUSE THEN IN OPTION A, IT TALKS ABOUT THE COST FOR HIRING THESE NEW INDIVIDUALS LIKE THE NEW CIVILIAN PERSON, BUT IT DOESN'T LUMP IN THE COST OF THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKERS, THAT OPTION C DOES LUMP IN.

SO WHEN WE'RE COMPARING SAYING THAT IT'S $12 MILLION VERSUS LESS THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS, IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM LIKE A FAIR COMPARISON BECAUSE IN ONE YOU'RE COUNTING THE CALL TAKERS AND IN ONE YOU'RE NOT YEAH.

UNDER.

UNDERSTOOD.

I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I'M NOT READING THAT INCORRECTLY.

UM, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE CIVILIAN LEADER, LET'S JUST SAY THROUGH OPTION A, THAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION IS FOR THAT INDIVIDUAL TO REPORT TO CHIEF DAVIS.

IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.

IS THAT STANDARD PRACTICE WHEN YOU HAVE SEEN THIS IN OTHER COMMUNITIES? I KNOW IN SOME YOU THAT INDIVIDUAL REPORTS OUTSIDE OF A PD OR THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CITY MANAGEMENT.

CAN YOU TALK ABOUT WHY YOU RECOMMENDED THIS REPORTING STRUCTURE GIVEN THE CONSTRAINTS GIVEN A LOT OF TIMES POLITICAL WILL AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE NEEDLE IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION, UM, WITHOUT DISRUPTING ALL OF THE GOOD THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON HERE, UM, WE FELT THAT THIS WAS THE MOST DIRECT WAY TO AFFECT THE CHANGES.

AND WHEN WE DO LOOK AT SWORN AND CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP AND THOSE HIERARCHIES, THE CLOSER WE CAN GET TO THE, TO THE CHIEF TO WHEN, SO THE REPORT TALKS ABOUT NEUTRALITY.

WE DON'T TALK ABOUT NEUTRALITY FROM A BIAS PERSPECTIVE.

WE'RE TALKING ABOUT NEUTRALITY BEING EQUAL TO OTHER COMMAND LEVEL, YOU KNOW, ROLES.

SO GETTING THAT TO, YOU KNOW, AS CLOSE TO THE CHIEF AS POSSIBLE.

I'M TRYING TO DISTILL DOWN IN MY MIND IF WE HAVE THIS, IF EXISTING STRUCTURE MM-HMM .

RIGHT NOW THAT THAT REPORTS TO THE CHIEF AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU THINK COULD BE GOING BETTER AND, AND THAT'S NOT ISOLATED A PD RIGHT? EVERY DEPARTMENT CAN DO SOMETHING BETTER MM-HMM .

BUT IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU THINK COULD BE IMPROVED UPON WITH THIS INDIVIDUAL.

I'M, I DON'T KNOW.

I, I FEEL LIKE I'M MISSING SOMETHING IN HOW THAT INDIVIDUAL IS GOING TO BE EMPOWERED TO MAKE THE CHANGE IF THAT CURRENT STRUCTURE IS NOT ACHIEVING THOSE OUTCOMES.

SO I'LL TRY AND BE CONCISE.

ONE OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN THE PROFESSION WHEN IT'S UNDER UNIFORMED SERVICES IS ROTATION LEADERSHIP.

A LOT OF TIMES, COMMANDERS LIEUTENANTS, THEY THROUGH POLICY, THEY NEED TO ROTATE OR THEY ROTATE THROUGH.

AND ONE OF THE PLACES THEY ROTATE THROUGH ROUTINELY IS COMMUNICATIONS.

WHEN YOU'RE TRYING TO PLAN A STRATEGIC PATH FOR COMMUNICATIONS, HAVING THAT ROTATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND THAT DIRECTION IS VERY OR LACKING THE DIRECTION IS VERY DIFFICULT.

IT'S NOT TO SAY THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN VERY GOOD LEADERSHIP HERE.

AGAIN, WE KNOW OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS IT'S REALLY BEEN ROTATING OR

[01:55:01]

ADVANCING.

THE CURRENT COMMAND JUST GOT ROTATED OUT, RIGHT? AND SO YOU LOSE EDUCATIONAL AND KNOWLEDGE IN THAT THEY'RE CONSTANTLY RETRAINING THE NEXT PERSON TO GET THAT EXPERTISE.

AND SO THAT, AGAIN, ONE OF THE REASONS LOOKING AT THE CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP, THAT PERSON THEN BECOMES VERY ARTICULATE IN UNDERSTANDING THEIR NEEDS, HOW TO ARTICULATE THE SPECIFIC NEEDS OF PUBLIC SAFETY COMMUNICATIONS, AND THEN CAN, DOESN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH LAYERS TO MAKE THEIR CASE FOR THEIR BUDGETS, FOR THEIR NEEDS.

AND IN DOING SO, YOU'RE, YOU'RE, YOU'RE REDUCING THE LAYERS OF BUREAUCRACY.

YOU'RE ALSO REDUCING THE LAYERS OF, IF YOU WILL SAY, COMPETITION WITH FINITE RESOURCES.

YEP.

DID YOU DO ANY OF THE WORK ON THE CINCINNATI CHANGE OUT OF A PD? ARE YOU, DID YOU PERSONALLY DO ANY OF THAT WORK OR SINCE CITY OF CINCINNATI MM-HMM .

NO.

WE, MCP HAS WORKED WITH THE CITY OF CINCINNATI, SPECIFICALLY AN OPERATIONAL ASSESSMENT BACK IN AN AFTER ACTION REPORT ON THE KYLE PLUSH UNFORTUNATE INCIDENT.

I, I WAS JUST CURIOUS IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH, I'M CURIOUS IF THERE ARE PLUSES AND MINUSES KIND OF EXPERIENTIALLY WHAT WENT WELL OUT OF THAT TRANSITION, WHAT WENT POORLY OUTTA THAT TRANSITION AS WE ARE ANALYZING HOW WE WANT TO STRUCTURE THIS, WHETHER IT'S WITHIN A PD OR NOT, RIGHT.

IF THERE ARE THINGS, LESSONS LEARNED FROM THAT EXPERIENCE THAT WE SHOULD, YOU KNOW, LOOK OUT FOR.

UH, WE HAVE CONTACTED CITY OF CINCINNATI.

WE ROUTINELY WORK WITH HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO AS WELL HAVE FOR WILL DEFINITELY, UH, DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM REACHING OUT.

UH, WELL APPRECIATE THE CONVERSATION AND, UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, HER SUGGESTION OF KIND OF THROUGH THE, THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE GETTING CERTAIN REPORTS AT, AT VARIOUS TIMES JUST TO UNDERSTAND HOW THIS IS GOING SO WE CAN MAKE AN EDUCATED AND INFORMED DECISION ABOUT THIS STRUCTURE, UH, I THINK MAKES A LOT OF SENSE.

SO APPRECIATE THAT SUGGESTION AND I'M FINISHED.

MAY I OFFER A POINT OF CLARIFICATION TO A QUESTION THAT CAME UP EARLIER? UM, IT IS TRUE THAT WE DO HAVE, UM, SOME REQUIREMENTS IN OUR MEET AND CONFER AND COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENTS RELATED TO CIVILIAN VERSUS SWORN IN CERTAIN FUNCTIONS.

BUT AS IT RELATES TO, UM, STATE LAW, IT IS MAY, IT IS REQUIRED THAT FIRE PERSONNEL BE SWORN PERSONNEL CURRENTLY IN OUR CALL CENTER, THE NINE ONE ONE OPERATORS FOR POLICE ARE CIVILIAN IN, IN ADDITION TO THE CALL TAKERS.

SO I JUST WANTED TO OFFER THAT CLARIFICATION FOR THE COUNCIL.

GOOD.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

BUT SO FAR, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW NOT ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE SPOKEN, IS THAT THERE'S STILL A DESIRE FOR SOME CIVILIAN, UM, COMPONENTS TO THE STRUCTURE, BUT KEEP THE STRUCTURE WHERE IT IS AND THEN WE COME BACK AND WE REPORT.

UM, IT'S STRANGE 'CAUSE EVERYTHING I FEEL LIKE I'VE HEARD THIS MORNING SEEMS TO BE HINGING ON THE MCP RECOMMENDATION, SPECIFICALLY AROUND THE PROFESSIONAL CIVILIAN EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS LEADERSHIP POSITION, WHICH IS IDENTIFY LIKE, FROM WHAT I'VE READ AND IDENTIFY POSITION THAT REPORTS TO THE CHIEF, AT LEAST IN YOUR IMPLEMENTATION OF IT, UH, AND HELPS WITH STRATEGY AND TRAINING AND, UH, QUALITY ASSURANCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND PROBABLY A BUNCH OF STUFF I'M NOT EVEN THINKING OF RIGHT NOW.

UH, AND SO I GUESS NOW THERE'S JUST A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION ABOUT WHAT THAT POSITION MEANS OR HOW TO IMPLEMENT IT, UH, AND, AND WHO THAT PERSON SHOULD BE REPORTING TO AND WHAT THE TIMELINE OF THAT IMPLEMENTATION SHOULD BE.

I MEAN, THAT'S KIND OF THE CONVERSATION I'M, I THINK I'M HEARING THIS MORNING.

AND SO MY FIRST QUESTION IS ACTUALLY FOR EITHER THE MANAGER OR, OR FOR JOHN FORTUNATE IF HE'S STILL HERE.

'CAUSE I, I'M CONFUSED.

I WANNA UNDERSTAND BASED ON THE CURRENT COUNSEL DIRECTION, WHAT IS THE PLAN FOR IMPLEMENTING THIS POSITION AS WE CURRENTLY UNDERSTAND IT? SO THANK YOU COUNCIL MEMBER FOR THE QUESTION.

JOHN FORTUNE, DEPUTY CITY MANAGER.

UM, WE, WE OBVIOUSLY HAVE PUT THINGS ON HOLD UNTIL WE GOT TO THIS POINT TODAY.

AND SO, QUITE FRANKLY, THE CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, THE FACT THAT WE WANTED TO PROVIDE THE CONSULTANTS AN OPPORTUNITY TO FINISH THE REPORT AND PRESENT IT, UM, WAS ALL INFORMATION THAT WE HOPE, YOU KNOW, BEYOND TODAY WOULD INFORM US ON OUR NEXT STEPS.

SO QUITE FRANKLY, WE WERE TAKING THE STEPS NECESSARILY ANTICIPATING THE, THE MOVING TOWARD A CIVILIAN, UM, LEADERSHIP AND ALL THE OTHER COMPONENTS TO THAT WITH THE HOPE THAT AFTER TODAY WE WOULD HAVE THE CLARITY THAT WE WOULD NEED TO MOVE FORWARD.

SO I GUESS MY NEXT QUESTION IS, WHEN ARE WE GONNA GET THE CLARITY ON HOW TO MOVE FORWARD THERE? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? WELL, I THINK THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING WITH THE COUNCIL RIGHT NOW IS, IS, IS VERY HELPFUL IN TERMS OF UNDERSTANDING EXPECTATIONS.

[02:00:01]

UM, I THINK THAT IS, UM, WHAT I'M HEARING FROM AT LEAST THE SPEAKERS THAT HAVE SPOKEN SO FAR.

UH, IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MAY BE MORE TO COME THAN IN THIS CONVERSATION EVEN TODAY ABOUT THE DIRECTION YOU ALL ARE, UH, ARE BEING GIVEN ABOUT HOW TO IMPLEMENT THIS PARTICULAR ROLE SINCE IT SOUNDS LIKE THE VAST MAJORITY OF OUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN, SETTING ASIDE ALL THE OTHER RECOMMENDATION, THE OTHER A HUNDRED PAGES OF, OF WHAT YOU PUT TOGETHER.

AND BY THE WAY, THANK YOU FOR THAT REPORT.

UH, I KNOW WE'VE HEARD FROM, UM, AND I APPRECIATE IN PARTICULAR MAYOR PRETEND BAIL'S COMMENTS ON THAT.

I THINK HE KIND OF DEFINES HOW I'M SEEING THIS ALSO, WHICH IS WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD, WE OBSERVE THIS SORT OF TENSION BETWEEN TWO GROUPS OF ADVOCATES, BOTH AT TIMES I THINK WANTING TO REPRESENT THE COMMUNITY IN DIFFERENT WAYS, WHICH IS ONE, HOW TO MAKE PROGRESS ON THE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE THAT YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, BUT ALSO HOW DO WE NOT SACRIFICE PROGRESS THAT WE'VE ALREADY MADE OVER THE LAST FOUR OR FIVE YEARS, WHICH I THINK HAS BEEN FAIRLY SUBSTANTIAL.

AND SO A BIG CHALLENGE I'M RUNNING INTO IS UNDERSTANDING WHERE THE DATA IS ON THAT ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE DIRECTION.

UH, AND I APPRECIATE ADVOCATES SENDING ME DATA ON APPROACHES THAT ARE BEING IMPLEMENTED IN SOME OTHER CITIES, BUT I DON'T, I I HAVE YET TO SEE ANY KIND OF REALLY RIGOROUS ANALYSIS ON THE OUTCOMES OR EVEN EQUAL COMPARISON OF THESE APPROACHES.

AND MOST OF WHAT I'VE BEEN SENT IS A COUPLE YEARS OLD AND DOESN'T REALLY HAVE THE OUTCOME LEVEL DATA THAT I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH MAKING A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN HOW WE'RE APPROACHING THIS ISSUE.

UH, AND THAT INCLUDES FROM LOOKING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO TRANSFORMED 9 0 1, THE STANFORD CENTER FOR RACIAL JUSTICE IN OAKLAND, SAN FRANCISCO STUFF FROM BERKELEY SIDE AND, AND BERKELEY.

I'M ALSO NOT SEEING THAT INFORMATION IN THE MCP REPORT EITHER.

SO, UH, LIKE GIVEN THIS TENSION AND GIVEN THIS CONCERN ABOUT JEOPARDIZING PROGRESS VERSUS HOW DO WE MAKE PROGRESS IN THIS SPACE, UH, WHAT CAN WE EXPECT OR DO YOU HAVE SOME THOUGHTS THAT YOU CAN SHARE WITH US ON HOW WE CAN MAKE A MORE INFORMED DECISION ABOUT HOW TO IMPROVE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE? WHAT SORT OF DATA DO WE NEED TO BE COLLECTING? IS THIS WHAT THE CIVILIAN POSITION IS INTENDED TO IMPART TO, OR HELP ME WALK THROUGH HOW WE CAN BE BACK HERE POTENTIALLY IN A MATTER OF WEEKS OR MONTHS OR HOWEVER LONG TO MAKE A MORE INFORMED DECISION ABOUT THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE? SO AS I MENTIONED, WHEN WE LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE, IT IS BEYOND THE MENTAL HEALTH COMPONENT.

IT IS ANY ALTERNATIVE THAT IS AVAILABLE IN THE CITY TO BE ABLE TO BETTER SERVE AN INDIVIDUAL'S NEED.

SO AGAIN, TELEPHONE REPORTING, WHICH WE DO HIGHLIGHT, THERE'S SOME CHALLENGES WITH THE REPORTING WORKFLOW BETWEEN 9 1 1 AND 3 1 1 AND TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN MAKE THAT BETTER.

BUT YOUR QUESTION OF HOW DO WE MAKE MORE YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE GET THAT DATA FROM? WHAT SHOULD WE BE COLLECTING AND, AND HOW DO YOU MAKE MORE INFORMED DECISIONS? IT REALLY IS, OUR CHARGE HERE WAS REALLY NOT LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

I REALIZE THAT.

TO HELP DETERMINE, UM, WHAT OTHER ALTERNATIVES ARE OUT THERE AND, AND DO BETTER.

SO IF YOU REALLY WANNA DIVE INTO THAT, THEN IT IS LOOKING AT WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY ACROSS YOUR ECOSYSTEM.

AGAIN, LOOKING AT ALL THE ALTERNATIVES YOU HAVE, WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN THEIR PORTFOLIO, WHAT ELSE COULD THEY BE TAKING ON THEIR PORTFOLIO THAT PERHAPS POLICE FIRE OR EMS. AND BOTH OF THOSE ARE INCLUDED IN THAT AS WELL, THAT THEY COULD BE DOING, UH, THAT OTHERS COULD BE DOING THAT DON'T REALLY NEED TO FALL TO THOSE TRADITIONAL ENTITIES.

AND SO BROADENING THE, THE PURVIEW OF WHAT ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MEANS, FINDING WHO'S HANDLING THAT TODAY.

AND IF THERE'S NO, NOBODY ALTERNATIVE BESIDES POLICE, FIRE, EMS DETERMINE WHAT THAT ALTERNATIVE COULD LOOK LIKE, WHETHER THAT'S ANOTHER A, A CITY RUN UNIT OR A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, WHATEVER THAT THAT COULD LOOK LIKE.

UM, AND THEN YOU JUST, YOU MAINTAIN A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUAL IMPROVEMENT.

NOW THE QUESTION OF IS THIS SOMETHING THAT A CIVILIAN 9 1 1 LEADER WOULD, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE PART OF THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES? I THINK IT'S PART OF EVERYBODY'S RESPONSIBILITY.

YOU KNOW, EVERY RESPONSE ORGANIZATION, UM, ALL OF YOU AS REPRESENTATIVES IN THE COMMUNITIES THEMSELVES

[02:05:01]

I MEAN, IF I CAN JUMP IN, IT SOUNDS WHAT I'M, OR PARAPHRASE, PERHAPS WHAT I'M HEARING YOU SAY IS WE WOULD NEED TO ISSUE SPECIFIC DIRECTIVE TO GO DO AN IN-DEPTH DIVE INTO SPECIFICALLY TERM RESPONSE TO EITHER THE MANAGEMENT OR IN COMBINATION TO MCP, SO THAT WE CAN GET THAT KIND OF EITHER THAT OR WORK WITH STAFF TO MAKE SURE WE'RE COLLECTING BETTER DATA TO INFORM AN ANALYSIS THAT YOU ALL COULD LEAD COUNCIL MEMBER.

IF I COULD INTERJECT, UM, THE COUNCIL HAS ALREADY GIVEN US THAT DIRECTION.

WE UNDERSTAND VERY, VERY WELL THAT THE DIRECTOR FROM THIS COUNCIL IS TO LOOK FOR ALTERNATIVES, WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN RESPOND TO CALLS.

UM, WHETHER THAT'S THROUGH, UM, AN ONLINE CALL SYSTEM, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH MOBILE CRISIS, UM, PARAMEDICS, WHETHER IT'S THROUGH OUR MCO PROGRAM, NO WRONG DOOR, ALL THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE DOING, WE FULLY UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S A COUNCIL'S, UM, UM, DIRECTION FOR US.

IN FACT, THERE'S BEEN PREVIOUS ACTION BY THIS COUNCIL DIRECTING THOSE TYPE OF ALTERNATIVE, UM, FOR STAFF TO EVALUATE THOSE ALTERNATIVES.

SO I, I WOULD BE CAUTIOUS AS A MANAGER TO PUT THAT BURDEN ON ONE CIVILIAN PERSON IN A CALL CENTER.

I THINK THAT THAT, THAT, THAT IS AN ECOSYSTEM OF RESPONSE.

IT'S MUCH BROADER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL WITHIN A CALL CENTER TO BE ABLE TO BE, UM, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE MAGNITUDE OF THAT.

AND SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DATA AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UM, SUCCESS, I THINK IT'S, UH, IT'S THE CHALLENGE QUITE OFTEN IS WE HAVE SO MANY PROGRAMS IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT'S FOCUSED ON THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES, IS BRINGING ALL THAT DATA TOGETHER IN A DIGESTIBLE WAY IN WHICH WE CAN ACTUALLY DEMONSTRATE THE TYPES OF SUCCESS WE'RE SEEING.

AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WILL CONTINUALLY BE STRIVING TO DO.

SO I JUST WANTED TO ADD THAT CONTEXT.

UM, I, I BELIEVE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP WILL PROVIDE SOME CONSISTENCY AS, AS, AS THE CONSULTANTS HAVE, HAVE SAID.

I'VE ALSO EXPERIENCED THAT IN FORMER CITIES WHERE THAT CIVILIAN COMPONENT DOES PROVIDE A LEVEL OF CONSISTENCY IN TERMS OF JUST OPERATIONS AND, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE PERSONNEL WITHIN THE, IN THE, IN THE OPERATIONS.

BUT, UM, BEYOND THAT, I, I THINK IT'S A SCOPE TOO BIG TO PUT ON ONE PERSON TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

ALRIGHT, THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

AND I WOULD JUST THEN WANNA FOLLOW UP AND FIND OUT KIND OF WHAT THE TIMELINE THEN IS FOR HOW YOU ALL OR HOW STAFF IS THINKING ABOUT HOW TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PULLING THAT DATA TOGETHER OR HOW WE'RE GONNA ORGANIZE GETTING THAT RESPONSE.

I THINK JUST BROADLY, I'M GONNA SAY LIKE, I SUPPORT THE MCP RECOMMENDATIONS.

I WANNA BE ABLE TO DEFEND THEM TO RESIDENTS.

THERE ARE SOME PLACES WHERE, AND I THINK YOU ALREADY IDENTIFIED WHERE EITHER BECAUSE OF THE REPORT SCOPE, UH, WE MAY NOT, I MAY NOT HAVE THE INFORMATION.

I, I MIGHT NEED TO BE ABLE TO DEFEND OR RESPOND IN A WAY THAT I'D LIKE TO, I DON'T KNOW IF TODAY IS EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME TO GET THAT, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO FOLLOW UP WITH YOU INDEPENDENTLY AND SEE IF WE CAN HELP ME GET SOME OF THAT CLARITY.

UH, I THINK YOU'VE HEARD SOME THINGS FROM MY COLLEAGUES ABOUT COST OF CERTAIN THINGS.

UH, I'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT PEER CITIES THAT YOU LOOKED AT.

SO IF THAT'S THE BEST WAY TO APPROACH THIS.

UM, THEN I'M HAPPY TO DO THAT INSTEAD OF ASK HIM IN THE DAIS.

COUNCIL MEMBER.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

THERE ARE AI SUPPORTED QUALITY ASSURANCE TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN ASSIST IN, I MEAN, BEING ABLE TO QA, YOU KNOW, 90% OF YOUR CALLS RATHER THAN THE, THE MANUAL, YOU KNOW, SYSTEM THAT THEY'RE PRETTY MUCH IS TODAY IN MOST PLACES.

I'VE APPRECIATED ALL THE QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AS WE WORK THROUGH THIS.

IT IS QUITE A, A BEEFY REPORT TO KIND OF GET THROUGH AND, AND TO BE ABLE TO TRIAGE WHAT EXACTLY IT IS THAT IS A DECISION AHEAD OF US.

UM, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S TWO CONVERSATIONS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME AND ONE IS ABOUT HOW DO WE ASSIGN DISPATCH CALLS TO WHICH ENTITY, WHAT'S THE REPORTING STRUCTURE FOR WHOEVER'S LEADING THE NINE ONE ONE CALL TAKING CENTER? AND ANOTHER SEEMS VERY, UM, VERY MUCH TIED TO THE ACTUAL TECHNOLOGY.

I KNOW THAT COUNCIL MEMBER LANE DURING THE BUDGETARY PROCESS HAD BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE OF, YOU KNOW, IF WE HAVE AUSTIN RESIDENTS THAT ARE IN WILLIAMSON COUNTY, OR IN MY CASE HAYES COUNTY AND THEY'RE CALLING 9 1 1, THEY MIGHT BE GETTING SENT TO THE WRONG CENTER.

SO I WANTED TO START WITH THAT CONVERSATION AND WHAT YOUR REPORT MIGHT TELL US ABOUT THOSE TECHNOLOGIES.

I KNOW THAT IT MENTIONS THERE'S SOME TECHNOLOGY IMPROVEMENTS OR, YOU KNOW, BETTER SOFTWARE OR DIFFERENT WAYS OF COLLECTING DATA THAT COULD HELP WITH THESE ISSUES.

BUT CAN YOU TELL ME A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT YOU LEARNED THROUGH YOUR CONVERSATIONS ABOUT SOME IMPROVEMENTS WE CAN MAKE THERE? CERTAINLY.

THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.

I THINK THE QUESTION REGARDING WHAT HAS BEEN BEING DONE FOR HELPING, YOU KNOW, ROUTE CALLS, YOU KNOW, WITH COUNCILWOMAN LANE'S, YOU KNOW, IS, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGE THAT SHE'S HAVING UP THERE.

I THINK THAT QUESTION I WOULD PROBABLY GIVE TO DR.

STONER SO THAT, YOU KNOW, HE CAN REAL TIME TELL YOU WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAS BEEN DONE AND WHERE THAT IS HEADED, WHICH I UNDERSTAND IS, IS HEADING IN A POSITIVE DIRECTION.

UH, OTHER TECHNOLOGIES.

SO THERE, EVEN WITH THE QUALITY ASSURANCE UNIT,

[02:10:01]

SO TECHNOLOGY CAN HELP THERE.

THERE'S A, A, A SECONDARY BENEFIT TO THAT BECAUSE THOSE SYSTEMS ALSO THEN HELP WITH DETECTING, UH, POSSIBLE MENTAL HEALTH OF THE CALL TAKERS THEMSELVES.

HOW MANY CRITICAL CALLS HAVE THEY TAKEN? THEY CAN FLAG CALLS, IT CAN GIVE THEM FEEDBACK IN, I WON'T SAY REAL TIME, BUT WITHIN AN HOUR OR TWO OF, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY'VE BEEN DOING, WHERE THEIR DEFICIENCIES LIE.

OTHER TECHNOLOGIES TO BE SUPPORTING CALL TRIAGE, THESE ARE TECHNOLOGIES THAT AREN'T NECESSARILY, YOU KNOW, UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN.

THEY'RE PART OF CAP COG, WHICH IS THE FOLKS THAT OWN THE NINE ONE ONE CALL HANDLING EQUIPMENT.

UM, THERE ARE AI SUPPORTED TECHNOLOGIES THAT CAN HELP PICK OUT THOSE KEY WORDS THAT CAN HELP THEN BETTER ROUTE THOSE CALLS.

THAT'S A CONVERSATION FOR THEM TO BE ABLE TO TURN ON THAT FUNCTION AND WHAT THOSE COSTS COULD BE, YOU KNOW, TO THE CITY.

UM, ANOTHER PIECE OF TECHNOLOGY RIGHT NOW, THERE IS NOT THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER A NINE ONE ONE CALL 2 3 1 1, RIGHT? YOU CALL, YOUR BIKE'S BEEN STOLEN A WEEK AGO, IT COULD BE THROUGH THE TELEPHONE REPORTING UNIT AND, BUT YOU'RE TOLD TO HANG UP AND CALL 3 1 1 AGAIN.

THAT PIECE TO DO THAT IS ACTUALLY THROUGH CAP COG.

UM, AND THEN IN REVERSE, IF SOMEBODY CALLS 3 1 1 BECAUSE OF THEIR END HANDLING THE 10 DIGIT LINES AND THEY DO HAVE AN EMERGENCY, THERE'S NO WAY TO TRANSFER THAT CALL INTO A DEDICATED LINE IN THE 9 1 1 CENTER.

SO THOSE TYPES OF THINGS IN OF ITSELF CAN, CAN HELP WITH THOSE EFFICIENCIES.

THANK YOU FOR THAT EXPLANATION.

AND I'M ALSO CURIOUS ABOUT ANY SORT OF SOFTWARE UPDATES AND WHETHER IT MATTERS WHO'S OPERATING IT.

ARE THERE ANY CIRCUMSTANCES UNDER WHICH THEY WOULD SAY THIS NEEDS TO BE A POLICE OFFICER THAT HANDLES THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION, OR A SWORN PERSONNEL AS OPPOSED TO CIVILIAN AS FAR AS HANDLING SENSITIVE DATA AND MAKING SURE THAT THAT INFORMATION IS NOT, UM, AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC? YES.

THAT WOULD BE WHAT WE CALL CJ, CRIMINAL JUSTICE INFORMATION SYSTEM INFORMATION, CRIMINAL HISTORIES, EVEN RUNNING OF YOUR, YOU KNOW, EVEN TAGS AND, YOU KNOW, LICENSE PLATES, THOSE TYPE OF THINGS.

AND SO THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT, THOSE CALL TAKERS, RIGHT? BECAUSE THEY'RE ENTERING THAT INFORMATION, THEY CAN HAVE, THEY DO HAVE TO HAVE ACCESS TO THAT INFORMATION TO THEN BE ABLE TO INFORM, YOU KNOW, THE PE THE POLICE DISPATCHERS AS WELL.

AND THERE ARE SOME LICENSURE REQUIREMENTS AT THE STATE LEVEL ESPECIALLY, UM, YOU KNOW, WITH REGARDS TO THAT.

SO YOU WOULD HAVE TO MAINTAIN, YOU KNOW, UM, HIRING CRITERIA, THOSE TYPES OF THINGS SO THAT THEY CAN MAINTAIN ACCESS.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

'CAUSE I'M TRYING TO THINK THROUGH, YOU KNOW, WHETHER WE END UP WITH A, A CIVILIAN INDIVIDUAL THAT IS MANAGING THE CALL CENTER.

WOULD THEY HAVE TO GO THROUGH OTHER EXTENSIVE TRAINING OR WOULD THIS BE SOMEONE THAT WE SAY WE HAVE TO HIRE SOMEONE WITH A SPECIFIC, UM, LIKE T COLE CERTIFICATION FOR INSTANCE, TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THE INFORMATION THAT NEEDS TO BE TRIAGED? YEAH, YOU WOULD DEFINITELY WANNA MAKE SURE THAT EVERYTHING ALIGNED WITH, WITH, WITH PEOPLE.

UM, YOU'VE ACTUALLY ARE VERY, YOU KNOW, FORTUNATE HERE BECAUSE YOU HAVE SOME VERY EXPERIENCED, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP ALREADY WITHIN THE, WITHIN CTECH, WITHIN 9 1 1 THAT COULD STEP UP INTO THESE LEADERSHIP ROLES.

I THINK THAT BETWEEN THE TOP THREE, UH, THAT YOU HAVE RIGHT NOW ARE, YOU KNOW, 30 YEARS, YOU KNOW, COMBINED, UH, TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT.

TO SERVE IN THOSE CALL TAKER AND DISPATCHER ROLES.

YOU DO HAVE A, A CAREER PIPELINE LIKE THAT AVAILABLE TO YOU AS WELL.

SO THEORETICALLY, EVEN A CIVILIAN, YOU KNOW, LEADERSHIP, WHETHER THEY'RE IN THE ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER'S PURVIEW OR WITH A PD COULD END UP BEING SOMEONE WHO'S ALREADY A DISPATCHER AND JUST LEVELING UP YEP.

TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT WORK.

AND IT'S JUST WHO THEY REPORT TO THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY BE THE, THE DECIDING FACTOR.

IS RISK IN HAVING A SETBACK IF WE'RE TRYING TO COMPLETELY RESTRUCTURE A, A DEPARTMENT THAT IS GENERALLY ALREADY FUNCTIONING WELL, EVEN IF THERE'S ABSOLUTELY IMPROVEMENTS ON, YOU KNOW, WHO IS SHOWING UP TO THE CALLS AND HOW FAST CAN WE GET MENTAL HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS INTO THOSE SITUATIONS.

INTERESTING.

UM, I I WILL JUST CONCLUDE BY SAYING I REALLY, REALLY APPRECIATE THE REPORT AND ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN IT.

THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT TO DIGEST.

UM, IT DOES SEEM TO ME LIKE IT LEANS MORE TOWARD, THERE ARE OPERATIONAL IMPROVEMENTS THAT CAN BE MADE, UM, THAT TRYING TO RESET AND RESTART A WHOLE NEW PROGRAM MAY NOT IN AND OF ITSELF SOLVE THE ISSUES THAT ARE AHEAD OF US TO SOLVE.

AND SO THAT'S WHERE I'M WORRIED THAT THERE

[02:15:01]

UM, I, I DEFINITELY SEE SOME ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT TO MAKE SURE THOSE ARE BEING HANDLED APPROPRIATELY.

UM, I'M JUST WORRIED THAT WE MAY END UP INADVERTENTLY SETTING OURSELVES BACK AND HAVING SOME OF THOSE CALLS TAKE EVEN LONGER TO RESPOND TO IF WE ARE TRYING TO REINVENT THE WHEEL, UH, WITHIN A PROGRAM THAT GENERALLY DOES FUNCTION WELL.

AND IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT OF THE STATS THAT MY COLLEAGUES HAVE, HAVE DUG UP ARE POINTING TO, YOU KNOW, A FAIRLY SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM WITH, WITH SOME TWEAKS THAT DO NEED TO BE MADE.

COUNCIL MEMBER ELLIS.

UM, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO COUNCIL MEMBER LANE.

I'M SORRY, DID YOU SAY YOU WERE RETURNING TO ME? YES.

OKAY, GREAT.

UM, I'M GONNA JUMP AROUND A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE SO MUCH GROUND HAS BEEN COVERED OF MY REMAINING QUESTIONS AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT AND I, I FEEL LIKE THIS HAS BEEN A REALLY PRODUCTIVE, UM, DISCUSSION IN TERMS OF BRINGING CLARITY TO SOME OF THE CONFUSION THAT I THINK UNFORTUNATELY HAS PREVAILED BEFORE NOW.

UM, AND I CERTAINLY RECOGNIZE THE ROLE OF OUR CONSULTANTS IN BRING AND OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM IN BRINGING THAT CLARITY.

UM, SO I WANTED TO START WITH JUST KIND OF PICKING UP WHERE WE LEFT OFF.

UM, APPRECIATED VERY MUCH YOUR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE STEPS THAT AUSTIN HAS TAKEN TOWARDS DIVERSIFICATION OF RESPONSE.

AND, UM, I I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T ALSO THOUGH TOUCH ON YOUR DESCRIPTION OF A PRIMARY BENEFIT OF A STANDALONE JOIN JOINT EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT BEING SYMBOLIC, REPOSITIONING.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE HEARD I THINK A LOT ABOUT THIS AT THIS POINT, AND SO I'M GONNA SKIP SOME OF MY QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS AND SIMPLY SAY THAT I AM NOT LOOKING FOR SIM SYMBOLISM ALONE.

I, WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR IS MOVING FROM INITIAL STEPS, GOOD INTENTIONS TO MATURE IMPLEMENTATION AND MATURE IMPLEMENTATION FOR US AS A CITY HAS ALWAYS INCLUDED.

AND I WILL SAY SPEAKING FOR MYSELF AND, BUT MANY OF MY COLLEAGUES, MOST ALL, UH, HAS INCLUDED MATURE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR INTERNAL RESPONSE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE INITIATIVES.

AND SO, UH, SO I JUST, I TAKE ISSUE WITH THE, THE CONSIDERATION, I MEAN, THE DESCRIPTION OF IT AS BEING PURELY SYMBOLICAL, THOUGH CERTAINLY NOW THAT WE HAVE UNCOVERED THAT OUR CONSULTANT SCOPE DIFFERED FROM, YOU KNOW, WAS SHORTER THAN THE SCOPE THAT WAS LAID OUT IN THE IFC, WHICH DID INCLUDE CONSIDERATION OF HOW ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE LAY OUT.

I CAN SEE HOW YOU MAY HAVE INITIALLY SAID SOMETHING LIKE THAT, BUT, UM, AND JUST FOR MY OWN INFORMA FOR OUR INFORMATION, WHEN YOU WERE PREPARING THIS REPORT, TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU SPEAK WITH 3 1 1 LEADERSHIP? WHAT HELP WITH THAT? I'M, I'M GONNA HAVE TO SAY I'M, I PERSONALLY DID NOT, SO I WOULD HAVE TO LOOK BACK AT OUR NOTES AND SEE WHO, WHO ON OUR TEAM SPOKE WITH THEM.

SO TO AT LEAST WE COULD SAY NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ENOUGH THAT IT BUBBLED UP TO THE LEVEL THAT YOU MADE USE OF THOSE INTERACTIONS IN YOUR PREPARATION FOR OUR BRIEFING TODAY, WE USED THE INFORMATION IN THE REPORT, WHICH IS HOW WE FOUND ABOUT THE INEFFICIENCIES AND THE ROUTING AND THAT, BUT AGAIN, THAT WAS ACTUALLY PULLED BACK THE, TAKING A DEEP DIVE OF THE 3 1 1 9 1 1 COMBINATION FROM OUR SCOPE.

BUT ACTUALLY IN THE REPORT IT SAYS FREQUENTLY THAT THERE IS THE CAPACITY TO TRANSFER BETWEEN 3 1 1 AND 9 1 1, WHICH IS PART OF WHAT MADE ME ASK ABOUT THAT, A TRANSFER NOT AS IN LIKE THE SAME WAY THAT CALLS ARE TRANSFERRED TO FIRE AND EMS, THEY ARE TOLD TO HANG UP AND CALL 3 1 1, RIGHT? YES, ABSOLUTELY.

THAT IS OUR EXPERIENCE AND SOURCE OF FRUSTRATION.

I AGREE, .

UM, OKAY.

AND THEN WHEN YOU WERE LOOKING AT THE CALL CENTER, WHICH ALREADY DOES ASK ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE AND YOU WERE EVALUATING SO THAT THE REPORT COULD BE, UH, WRITTEN, UM, TO WHAT EXTENT DID YOU SPEAK WITH INTEGRAL CARE ABOUT THEIR PERSPECTIVES ON EFFECTIVENESS OF THEM? YEAH, WE, WE SAT AND WE TALKED WITH INTEGRAL CARE, UM, PROGRAM MANAGER THERE.

BE INTEGRATED INTO AUSTIN 9 1 1 ECOSYSTEM.

UM, SHE VISITED US OVER AT CTEC, SHOWED US THE, THE AREA AND YOU KNOW, WE TALKED ABOUT THAT.

WE ACTUALLY HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK WITH HER, UH, MORE EXTENSIVELY, UM, ACTUALLY AT A, A CONFERENCE THAT WE WERE AT PRIOR TO MEETING HERE.

SO WE'VE HAD ADDITIONAL CONVERSATION.

AND UM, I KNOW YOU NOTED IN THE REPORT THAT IT IS, UH, THE, THE WAY IN WHICH WILCO OR OR HAYES COUNTY, I MEAN HAYES COUNTY WASN'T MENTIONED IN THIS, BUT THE WAY IN WHICH WILCO WOULD

[02:20:01]

AND ALSO I I GOT THE IMPRESSION, UM, GETTING A MORE, UM, ROBUST LOOK AT THE DATA AS IT RELATES TO THE EXPERIENCE OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY STAKEHOLDERS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED SEPARATELY FROM THE ASPECTS THAT ARE THE FOCUS OF THIS REPORT HERE.

DID I UNDERSTAND THAT CORRECTLY? I THINK THE CONCERN WITH ROUTING OF CALLS MM-HMM .

AND THE TECHNOLOGY THAT CAN BE IMPLEMENTED TO ASSIST WITH THAT MM-HMM .

ADDRESS THAT PART OF IT AS FAR AS CHALLENGES WITH RESPONSE TIMES AND CALL RECEIPT WHEN AS YOU EXPERIENCED YOURSELF, YOU CALLED 9 1 1, YOU GOT TRANSFERRED AND THEN WAS LIKE, WELL, IF YOU WOULD'VE CALLED 9 1 1, BUT YOU DID MM-HMM .

AND SO I THINK THE STEPS THAT ARE BEING TAKEN AND WE HAD THOSE DISCUSSIONS, HOW ARE THOSE ADDRESSED? OKAY.

SO THEN, UM, TO WHAT EX I MEAN THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION IN THE REPORT ABOUT NOT HAVING AN END TO END, UH, LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS WITH A CALL.

YEP.

UM, AND I UNDERSTOOD THAT TO MEAN WE HAVE THE INFORMATION WHEN IT HITS, FOR EXAMPLE MM-HMM .

FIRE DISPATCH, AND THEN WE CAN ADD OUR CALL TAKERS AMOUNT OF TIME TO TRANSFER MM-HMM .

YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A SIMILAR AMOUNT OF DATA ON THE AMOUNT OF TIME THAT IT TAKES TO GET FROM WILLIAMSON COUNTY'S CALL TAKERS TO OKAY.

SO WE DON'T HAVE THAT COMPLETE CHAIN AND THAT COMPLETE RESPONSE TIME.

NO.

AND THAT, THAT WOULD, AND THERE, AND THEREFORE THAT WOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE, THAT THAT WOULD NOT BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE.

THAT WOULD BE ADDRESSED IN THE FUTURE AS OPPOSED TO HAVING A CLEAR LOOK AT THE DATA CURRENTLY.

YOU'D HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU, YOU, YOU SPECIFICALLY WAS THAT THAT DATA EXISTED.

AND SO I THAT COULD BE AVAILABLE.

SO I ASKED THAT QUESTION BECAUSE, UM, MORE THAN 60% OF MY DISTRICT EXPERIENCES THAT SITUATION.

AND SO, UM, FOR US, IT'S, IT'S NOT A HYPOTHETICAL AND IT IS ALSO NOT SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T WANT ADDITIONAL DELAY ON ADDRESSING.

UM, 25 YEARS AGO WHEN WE WERE ANNEXED, UM, MANY PARTS OF MY DISTRICT WERE ANNEXED.

THE CALLS WERE GOING TO THE RIGHT, THEY WERE GONNA WILLIAMSON COUNTY, AND 25 YEARS LATER THEY STILL ARE.

AND WE STILL DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW LONG THAT IS IMPACTING BEFORE OUR FIREFIGHTERS SHOW UP TO A FIRE THAT'S GOING SIGNIFICANTLY.

AND SO I KNOW THE CHALLENGES AND I THINK THAT MY COLLEAGUES WILL BE VERY HAPPY TO HEAR THAT.

I, UM, I VERY MUCH APPRECIATE SEEING THE OR SEQUENCE OF STEPS THAT YOU'VE LAID OUT AND SEE THE IMPORTANCE OF GOING IN THAT ORDER.

UM, AND I ALSO RECOGNIZE, AND YOU TELL ME IF THIS FITS, UM, THAT THIS SEQUENCE WAS LAID OUT SO THAT WE COULD BEGIN TO TAKE STEPS IMMEDIATELY THAT WILL BE FELT ON THE GROUND EVERYWHERE WITHOUT UNDOING OUR PROGRESS.

AND THEN WE'LL ADD ON, WE'LL GET TO THE POINT THAT WE HAVE DATA, ASAP ON THE EXPERIENCE, THE CALL RESPONSE TIME THAT'S BEING EXPERIENCED BY THE CALLER.

SO, UM, I JUST, I I, I AM VERY GLAD TO HAVE, HAVE A ROBUST SET OF STEPS AND SO I, I REALLY WANNA ACKNOWLEDGE THAT.

AND I'M SORRY THAT THAT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT WAS LONGER THAN Y'ALL PROBABLY WANT, BUT, UM, IT IS VERY IMPORTANT.

UM, OKAY.

SO I HAVE A QUESTION FOR, I GUESS, UM, JOHN FORTUNE, UM, OR I DON'T KNOW WHO, BUT FOR CITY STAFF, UM, ONE OF THE FIRST STEPS THAT'S LAID OUT IS, UH, POINTING AN INTERIM LEAD.

WHO WILL THE INTERIM LEAD BE FOR THIS FIRST PHASE ZERO TO THREE MONTHS? 'CAUSE I KNOW I'VE TALKED TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT, LIKE THERE'S CHIEF DAVIS WHO'S OVER AT RIGHT NOW.

THERE'S YOU, THERE'S A C BATISTA, THERE'S SOME INTERACTION WITH SSO.

IT'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT, WHEN YOU, WHEN YOU WERE, AND, AND I MAY BE MISSING SOMETHING IN THE DETAIL.

WHEN YOU SAY AN INTERIM LEAD, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND THAT? LIKE AN INTERIM CIVILIAN LEAD? 'CAUSE IT HAS LEADERSHIP RIGHT NOW.

WE HAVE, WE HAVE, WE HAVE.

I'LL ALLOW OUR CONSULTANT TO DESCRIBE WHAT THEY MEAN BY THAT.

'CAUSE I PULLED IT FROM THE REPORT.

SO THIS IS ACTUALLY DESIGNATING AN INTERIM IMPLEMENTATION LEAD MM-HMM .

SO SOMEBODY TO ASSIST WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PUTTING THE WHOLE KIND OF PROJECT, YOU KNOW, TOGETHER, HOW ARE WE GONNA MOVE FORWARD AND THEN WORKING ON DEFINING THAT PROFESSIONAL THAT THAT'LL BE AC AND BATISTA WHO WILL BE HANDLING THE OVERALL STEPS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE IMPLEMENTATION, RECOGNIZING THAT THE DAY-TO-DAY, UM, LEADERSHIP HAS NOT CHANGED UNTIL WE GET TO THOSE NEXT STEPS.

OR FOR ANYONE ELSE, BUT WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE STEP THAT NEEDS TO BE TAKEN TO BEGIN THAT SCOPE OF WORK, LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE OPTIONS AND HOW THAT, WHAT IMPLICATIONS THAT HAS FOR THOSE ORGANIZATION OF OUR NINE ONE ONE CALL CENTER? WOULD THAT BE A CON A SECOND CONSULTANT REPORT, UM, AND WE BRING IN THESE EXPERTS? OR WOULD THAT BE, WE'VE NOW HIRED AN EXPERT IN A QUALITY ASSURANCE TEAM AND WE ARE RELYING ON THIS IN, IN INDEPENDENT CAPACITY.

MANY WILL BE GLAD TO HEAR THAT.

I WON'T BE HAVING AS MANY MEETINGS.

I'LL GO STRAIGHT TO YOU BATISTA AS THE IMPLEMENTATION LEAD WITH THE MORE DETAILED QUESTIONS.

SO I APPRECIATE THAT, UM, DIRECTION.

AND, UM, I ALSO AM WONDERING, AND YOU KNOW, COUNCIL MEMBER DUCHENNE, I BELIEVE OTHERS MAY HAVE ALSO BEEN ASKING QUESTIONS ALONG THIS LINE, WHAT DO YOU VIEW AS THE, AND I'M NOT SURE IF THIS IS FOR THE CONSULTANT OR

[02:25:01]

SO, SO WHAT I WOULD TO MAKE, WHAT I WOULD, THAT, WHAT I WOULD, THE WAY I WOULD ANSWER THAT QUESTION IS THIS, WE HAVE AN AMAZING, UM, TALENTED LEADERSHIP IN OUR POLICE FIRE AND EMS DEPARTMENTS.

AND, UM, THEY SPEAK AND ARE RECOGNIZED NATIONALLY ON THE STAGE AS LEADERS, UM, BEING IN ONE OF THE TOP CITIES IN THE COUNTRY.

AND THEY HAVE WONDERFUL IDEAS, AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO RELY ON THEM FOR THEIR LEADERSHIP AND GUIDANCE ON HOW WE CAN PROVIDE DIFFERENT TYPES OF RESPONSE TO, UM, CALLS.

AGAIN, AS I WAS REFERRING TO MY RESPONSE TO COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN EARLIER, I DON'T BELIEVE IT'S INCUMBENT UPON ONE INDIVIDUAL WITHIN THE CALL CENTER TO, TO NECESSARILY DETERMINE THE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE MODELS FOR OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES.

AND SO I THINK THERE'S A LEVEL OF COORDINATION THAT HAS TO OCCUR.

I THINK THERE'S A LEVEL OF, OF IMPLEMENTATION THAT CAN BE STRENGTHENED BY THAT, BUT IT'S NOT INCUMBENT UPON ONE PERSON TO DIRECT ALL THE PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES ON HOW THEY CAN PROVIDE THOSE ALTERNATIVE RESPONSE.

THAT'S NOT REALLY WHAT I'M ASKING THOUGH.

WELL, MAYBE THEN I MISUNDERSTOOD YOUR QUESTION.

I'M SORRY.

SO IF WE LOOK AT OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE THAT IS INDEPENDENT OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCIES WE HAVE, AND A WAY THAT WE HANDLE IT RIGHT NOW, UM, IF WE LOOK AT 3 1 1 THAT'S INDEPENDENT OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY AGENCY, WE DON'T HAVE AN INTERNAL LEADERSHIP POSITION THAT ADDRESSES THE TYPES OF ISSUES THAT OUR CONSULTANT HAS BROUGHT TO THE FORE.

AND SO IF WE AREN'T, IF WE DON'T NOW, AND WE AREN'T GOING TOO SOON, IT MAKES, IT FEELS LIKE PERHAPS ANOTHER CONSULTANT REPORT ON THAT TOPIC.

I, I THINK WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND COUNCIL MEMBER IS THAT WE GET THE CIVILIAN LEADERSHIP IN PLACE, AND THEN WE DO THE ASSESSMENT THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED AND CONTEMPLATED HERE BEFORE WE TAKE THE NEXT STEP OF SAYING WE NEED ANOTHER CONSULTANT.

I, I WOULD LEAN ON THE LEVEL OF COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, UNITS AND TEAMS AND THE LEADERSHIP THERE TO WORK WITH SOMEBODY INDEPENDENTLY OR NOT TO DEVELOP THOSE TYPES OF STRATEGIES.

AND I, I WILL SAY, JUST RECOGNIZING WHERE WE ARE IN THE CITY OF AUSTIN, WE'RE, WE'RE QUITE FRANKLY, LEADERS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND THE TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES THAT WE HAVE, PEOPLE ARE LOOKING HERE ALL THE TIME AND COMING HERE AND TALKING TO US.

AND SO I THINK WHAT, WHAT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IS A SYNERGY FROM THAT AND THE CONTINUING BUILDING UPON THAT TO GET EVEN BETTER.

GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYBODY.

SO, UM, AND I, UH, THANK YOU AND I, I, I SUPPORT THAT APPROACH AND I CAN WRAP UP MY QUESTIONING RIGHT THERE.

SO, UM, IT SOUNDS LIKE WE WANT TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THE ACTIONS LAID OUT IN APPROXIMATELY THE FIRST ZERO TO NINE MONTHS, PAYING ATTENTION TO THESE READINESS GATES, GETTING QUARTERLY REPORTS ON PROGRESS BASED ON MONTHS TIME, NOT READINESS GATES, UM, TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.

AND, UM, WHEN WE HAVE MOVED THROUGH THE STEPS THAT ARE LAID OUT IN THIS REPORT, WE USE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHETHER THAT IS AN ADDITIONAL SHIFT IN THE REPORTING LINE.

AND SO, UM, IF THAT IS IN FACT THE COURSE THAT IS TAKEN, I ALSO WANNA JUST EXPRESS MY GRATITUDE TO MY COLLEAGUES FOR TAKING THAT RISK DURING BUDGET TO APPROVE THE ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES NECESSARY TO TAKE EITHER PATH.

I WOULD PERSONALLY HOPE THAT WE WOULD CONTINUE TO EXPLORE FEASIBILITY KNOWING THAT THAT DECISION HAS NOT YET BEEN MADE, AND THAT WE HAVE ALREADY CLEARED THE HURDLE LAID OUT IN THE REPORT OF FUNDING, AND THAT FUNDING'S AVAILABLE.

WHEN WE GET TO THE POINT OF THAT DECISION, THEN THE DETERMINATION CAN BE MADE OF HOW IT'S ALLOCATED.

SO, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MEMBERS.

THOSE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE THAT HAVE INDICATED THEY WANNA SPEAK ON THIS ITEM.

UM, SO WHAT MY RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE IS, UNLESS THERE'S AN OBJECTION, WE TAKE A RECESS, UH, UNTIL 1245 AND THEN COME BACK AT 1245 AND TAKE UP ITEM B TWO.

ALL RIGHT.

WITHOUT OBJECTION.

UH, THE CITY COUNCIL OF AUSTIN, TEXAS IS IN RECESS UNTIL 1245.

IT IS 1214.

IT'S 1245 AND I'LL CALL BACK TO ORDER THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL FOR THIS WORK SESSION.

UM, MEMBERS, HANG ON ONE SECOND.

BEFORE I DO THAT, THE MANAGER WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING, SO HANG ON ONE SEC.

THERE HE IS.

UM,

[02:30:01]

WE'RE BACK IN ORDER AND,

[B2. Briefing on the social services strategy update. [Daniel Culotta, Assistant Director and Kerri Lang, Director - Austin Budget and Organizational Excellence].]

AND, UH, WE'RE GONNA TAKE UP ITEM B TWO AND I WANNA RECOGNIZE THE MANAGER.

APOLOGIZE, I GOT STARTED.

THAT'S OKAY, MAYOR.

THE SOCIAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO AND ASSESSED THEIR FUNDING LEVEL CONTRACT STRUCTURE, PERFORMANCE AND COMPLIANCE LEVEL OF NEED AND IMPACTS AS WELL AS PARTNERSHIPS.

UH, TODAY'S STAFF'S PRESENTATION ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES, SOCIAL SERVICES STRATEGY UPDATE.

UH, YOU'LL RECEIVE, UH, THAT FROM DANIEL KATA, THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, AND CARRIE LANE, THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET AND ORGANIZATION ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE DEPARTMENT.

THEY'LL PROVIDE YOU A BRIEF UPDATE ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES STRATEGY AND PORTFOLIO PLANNING FOR FISCAL YEAR 2028.

I'LL TURN IT OVER TO DANIEL.

THANK YOU, MR. MANAGER.

GOOD AFTERNOON, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, DANIEL COLLADO, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR AUSTIN BUDGET AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE.

WE ARE TODAY TO GIVE YOU, UH, UPDATE ON THE SOCIAL SERVICES RESET.

UH, QUICK AGENDA, WE'LL GO THROUGH SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

UH, WE'LL GO THROUGH TWO SECTIONS, UM, OF MAIN CONTENT ON AGREEMENT EVALUATIONS AND THE OTHER ON THE BROADER STRATEGIC RESET.

AND THEN GO OVER TIMELINE AND NEXT STEPS.

UH, SOCIAL SERVICES BACKGROUND OF HOW WE GOT HERE TODAY.

UH, ENTERING THE FY 27 BUDGET PROCESS, UH, WE WERE FACING A BUDGET SHORTFALL.

AND INITIALLY THE BUDGET PLAN, WHICH WAS ANNOUNCED IN 2025, UH, ANTICIPATED A $16.8 MILLION REDUCTION IN SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.

IN FEBRUARY, 2026, WE PRESENTED A PROPOSED EVALUATION APPROACH TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE.

UM, THERE WAS ALSO A CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION, UM, ADOPTED THAT MONTH, CALLING FOR A RUBRIC TO GUIDE THE FUNDING DECISIONS MARCH THROUGH JULY.

UH, WE HAD SEVERAL ENGAGEMENTS WITH VENDORS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS, STAFF AND COUNCIL AROUND SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACTS.

UM, AND THE, THE TOPIC OF THE REDUCTIONS MAY, 2026, WE UPDATED THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE WITH THE RUBRIC AND FRAMEWORK OF HOW WE WERE EVALUATING, UM, THOSE FUNDING DECISIONS FOR THE FY 27 BUDGET IN JULY, THE FY 27 BUDGET, UH, THE PROPOSED BUDGET INCLUDED AN $8 MILLION REDUCTION, UM, AN ONGOING FUNDING AS WELL AS A PLANNED 8.8 MILLION REDUCTION FOR FY 28 AND AN AUGUST, 2026.

AND THE ADOPTED BUDGET FOR FY 27 COUNCIL RESTORE 4.7 MILLION, WHICH, UH, ALONG WITH SOME OTHER BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS, MAINTAINED SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING AT CURRENT LEVELS.

AND THAT'S WHERE WE ARE TODAY.

THERE'S ALSO BEEN THREE RESOLUTIONS, UH, THAT HAVE BEEN SHAPING, GUIDING, GUIDING THIS WORK.

UH, THE FIRST I MENTIONED BEFORE CALLED FOR A RUBRIC TO EVALUATE THE SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING DECISIONS.

UM, THE SECOND CALLED FOR, UH, WHICH WAS PASSED IN AUGUST, CALLED FOR AN EVALUATION, A DEEPER EVALUATION OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS, UM, THAT ARE GOING INTO FY 27 TO NEED ASSESS THE NEED FOR CHANGES IN REDUCTIONS, UH, AND ANOTHER PAST IN AUGUST CALLED FOR A BROADER EVALUATION AND RESET OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES, UM, ECOSYSTEM MORE AT LARGE.

UM, AS A REMINDER, THIS IS THE RUBRIC THAT WE, UH, USE AND CONTINUE TO BASE, UM, OUR WORK OFF OF, OF HOW WE ASSESS BOTH INDIVIDUAL SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACTS, UM, AS WELL AS THE, THE FOCUS AREAS.

UM, IT'S BASED ON COMMUNITY NEED, THE NEEDS TRAJECTORY, THE CITY'S ROLE, UM, THE EFFICIENCY OF THE, OF THE CONTRACTS AND INVESTMENTS, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY DIRECTION.

UM, AND AGAIN, THAT IS, THAT HELPS US, UM, TO, TO SHAPE, UH, OUR PRIORITIES WHEN IT COMES TO THE FOCUS AREAS.

WHAT YOU SEE HERE IS A CURRENT BREAKDOWN OF THE FUNDING.

SO THIS IS WITH THE ADOPTED BUDGET, UM, FOR SOCIAL SERVICES.

WE'VE ORGANIZED IT BY DEPARTMENTS SINCE THAT'S HOW THE BUDGET IS BROKEN DOWN, UM, AND HAVE THE ISSUE AREAS THAT THOSE DEPARTMENTS HAVE, UH, CONTRACTS AND PROGRAMS IN ON THE RIGHT.

UM, THE, THE FUNDING COLUMNS IN THE MIDDLE, UH, THE CITY GRANTS THAT YOU SEE, THAT'S THE DOES THE MAIN AGREEMENTS THAT WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, UM, IN THE EVALUATION OPERATIONS, UM, ARE SOME OF THOSE THINGS LIKE SHELTER OPERATIONS, UM, AND, UH, OTHER, OTHER OPERATIONS THAT AREN'T AS DISCRETIONARY, LET'S SAY AS THE, THE GRANTS AND CONTRACTS.

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF ITEMS MOVED INTO ONE-TIME FUNDING IN THE FY 27, UM, BUDGET.

AND THEN YOU SEE THE TOTALS THERE, WHICH IS, UH, A TOTAL OF ALL THREE OF THOSE COLUMNS.

EXCUSE ME.

NOW I'M GONNA MOVE TO, UM, SO THAT WAS ALL BACKGROUND INFORMATION.

NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE TO, UH, THE AGREEMENT EVALUATIONS.

THIS WAS, THESE ARE TIED TO THAT SECOND RESOLUTION THAT I MENTIONED.

UM, THAT RESOLUTION CALLED FOR AN EVALUATION OF ALL SOCIAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY BE AFFECTED BY REDUCTIONS IN FY 27.

UM, STAFF FROM EIGHT DEPARTMENTS REVIEWED 133 AGREEMENTS, UH, THAT WERE ACROSS

[02:35:01]

AND THEY, UH, STAFF MADE A RECOMMENDATION OF WHETHER THOSE AGREEMENTS SHOULD BE MAINTAINED, MODIFIED OR REDUCED.

UM, GOING INTO AND THROUGH FY 27, UH, AS A RESULT OF THAT EVALUATION, THERE WERE, UH, 106, UH, MAINTAIN RECOMMENDATIONS, UH, 27 MODIFY RECOMMENDATIONS.

AND IN THIS CASE, MODIFY MEANS RECOMMENDING CHANGING THE STRUCTURE, UM, OF THE AGREEMENT, UH, OVER THE NEXT, YOU KNOW, 12 MONTHS GOING THROUGH FY 27, UM, AND, AND NO CALLS FOR, UH, REDUCTIONS, UM, IN, IN THE AGREEMENTS.

AND THAT WAS A TOTAL OF ABOUT 48.1 OR $48.2 MILLION ASSESSED.

THERE WERE 26 AGREEMENTS IN THAT EVALUATION.

SO IT'S ABOUT 20% OF 'EM THAT HAD COMPLIANCE CONSIDERATIONS OR CONCERNS CALLED OUT IN THE EVALUATION FORMS. I WILL NOTE THAT Y'ALL WILL BE, UH, SEEING THE EVALUATION FORMS, UM, IN A, IN A MEMO THAT SHOULD BE OUT, UM, LATER THIS WEEK OR NEXT.

UM, BUT THOSE COMPLIANCE ISSUES, UH, I WANT TO NOTE WEREN'T JUST RELATED TO PERFORMANCE METRICS.

UM, THERE'S, THERE'S A RANGE OF THINGS THAT COULD HAVE, UM, LED TO THAT TYPE OF FLAG, UH, SUCH AS INVOICING FOR UNALLOWABLE ITEMS, UM, LATER INCOMPLETE DELIVERABLES, AND IN SOME CASES, MEETING THOSE CONTRACTUAL METRICS, UM, AND IN INDIVIDUAL, OR SORRY, INFORMATION ON THE INDIVIDUAL ISSUES.

UM, AND THOSE AGREEMENTS, UM, CAN BE PROVIDED.

HERE'S A BREAKDOWN OF, UM, THOSE COMPLIANCE ISSUES ACROSS DEPARTMENTS.

UM, FROM THE CURRENT, UH, AGREEMENTS THAT WERE EVALUATED, WE DID WANT TO GO A BIT MORE INTO, UM, THE CURRENT COMPLIANCE PROCESSES.

EACH DEPARTMENT THAT HAS SOCIAL SERVICES, GRANTS OR CONTRACTS HAS A, UM, COMPLIANCE AND PERFORMANCE PROCESS IN PLACE TO ADDRESS CHALLENGES, UM, FROM COMPLIANCE THAT DO ARISE.

UH, THOSE ARE, THOSE PROCESSES WHILE DIFFERING SLIGHTLY BETWEEN EACH DEPARTMENT ARE BURPING OUT INTO THREE MAIN STEPS.

ONE IS ONGOING MONITORING, THAT'S REPORTING FISCAL OVERSIGHT AND COORDINATION BETWEEN CITY STAFF, UM, AND THE VENDOR.

SOME EXAMPLES, UM, ARE, YOU KNOW, MEETINGS BETWEEN STAFF AND PROVIDERS.

UM, A PH HAS A CONTRACTS COMPLIANCE UNIT THAT RUNS, UM, ANNUAL MONITORING.

UM, HSO HAS QUARTERLY MONITORING PROCESSES, UM, BASICALLY TO, TO KEEP TABS ON WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THESE AGREEMENTS BEFORE PAYMENT, UM, OF AN INVOICE, UH, INVOICES ARE VERIFIED.

UM, IT CONFIRMS THAT THE COSTS WERE ALLOWABLE AND THE SERVICES WERE DELIVERED WHEN A COMPLIANCE ISSUE IS IDENTIFIED, UM, AS IS IN THE CASE.

UM, WITH THOSE, UH, ONES THAT WE SAW FLAGGED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, THE DEPARTMENT FOLLOWS THE CORRECTIVE ACTION PROCESS, UH, THAT INCLUDES CLEAR EXPECTATIONS FOR RECTIFYING, UM, THE, THE COMPLIANCE CHALLENGE, UH, MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENT TARGETS AND DEFINED TIMELINES.

TYPICALLY, THEY HAVE 30 TO 90 DAYS, UM, TO RECTIFY THE ISSUE.

UH, AND REMEDIES IF THOSE ISSUES ARE, ARE NOT, UM, ADDRESSED, CAN INCLUDE STOP PAYMENT NOTICES OR STOP PAYMENT STATUS, UM, OFFICIAL CURE NOTICES AND TERMINATING THE CONTRACT.

UM, AND THOSE, THOSE ARE ALWAYS, UM, ONGOING, UH, PROCESSES THE DEPARTMENTS HOLD.

NOW MOVING TO THE BROADER STRATEGIC RESET, UH, THE, UH, THE OTHER RESOLUTION FROM AUGUST CALLED FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, UM, STRATEGIC EVALUATION THAT INCLUDED NEED ASSESSMENT, UM, COLLABORATION, CITY ROLE EVALUATION, UM, CONSIDERATION OF DIFFERENT FUNDING MODELS AND POLICY OPTIONS, UM, PERFORMANCE REPORTING AND IN ACCOUNTABILITY IMPROVEMENT, UM, ACROSS THE SOCIAL SERVICES ECOSYSTEM.

UH, WE'RE ADDRESSING THAT WITH A WORKING GROUP THAT'S LED BY THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND INCLUDES ALL DEPARTMENTS WITH SOCIAL SERVICES FUNDING.

UM, THERE WE HAVE FOCUSED EFFORTS AND WORKING GROUPS, UM, ON THE ISSUE AREA DEFINITION, UM, INCLUDING THE LEVEL OF NEED, UM, THE GAPS IN THE CITY ROLE, THE INTERVENTION STRATEGY AND SERVICE PORTFOLIOS THAT WOULD INFORM THAT STRATEGY BASED ON NATIONAL BEST PRACTICES, UM, BEST PRACTICES, UM, FROM EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH, UH, STAKEHOLDER AND PARTNER ENGAGEMENT, THE CONTRACTING GRANT STRUCTURES, PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND REPORTING THAT WE'LL USE IN THE INDIVIDUAL, UM, AGREEMENTS, UH, THAT ARE UNDER THOSE PORTFOLIOS, AS WELL AS GOVERNANCE AND COLLABORATION BOTH WITHIN AND ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS.

UM, IN THE REGION.

THE EVALUATION THAT I JUST WENT OVER OF THE INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENTS

[02:40:01]

AS WELL AS THE STRATEGY DETERMINATIONS, UM, WILL ALL BE, UM, COMPLETED, UH, TARGET DATE DECEMBER, 2026, SO BY THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.

AND ALL OF THAT INFORMATION WILL BE USED TO INFORM ANY AGREEMENT MODIFICATIONS OR SOLICITATIONS, UM, THAT WE PLAN TO DO TO TAKE EFFECT IN FI 28.

SO WHEN WE THINK OF THE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS THAT COME WITH THIS, UH, OVERALL RESET, WE, WE'VE GOT THREE MAIN AREAS, UM, THAT WE'LL BE LOOKING, UM, TO, UH, FOR GUIDANCE ON, UM, AS WELL AS DISCUSSION WITH YOU ALL ON.

UH, THE FIRST IS ISSUE AREA PRIORITIZATION.

UM, THAT'S AS WE DEFINE THE LEVEL OF, OF NEED, UM, EVEN THE DEFINITIONS OF THE ISSUES AREAS AND THE SERVICES PORTFOLIOS, WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING, UM, WITH COUNCIL AND COMMUNITY INPUT, OF COURSE, UH, THE ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORKS THAT ESSENTIALLY MEANS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, UM, FROM A PERFORMANCE STANDPOINT WHEN WE, UM, SOLICIT A RES SOLICITOR MODIFY MOST OR ALL OF THE AGREEMENTS ACROSS THE ISSUE AREAS, UM, AS WELL AS THE INDIVIDUAL AGREEMENTS THEMSELVES.

UM, THAT WILL OF COURSE BE PRESENTING TO YOU THROUGH THE COUNCIL PROCESSES, UM, THAT WILL AIM TO TAKE EFFECT SOME IN FY 27, MOST STARTING IN FY 28.

FROM TIMELINE TO NEXT STEPS, UH, THE TIMELINE WE'RE, WE'RE HERE IN SEPTEMBER, UH, COMPLETING THE EV AGREEMENT EVALUATION AND VENDORS HAVE ALL BEEN NOTIFIED, UH, AND WE'RE PROCEEDING WITH THAT WORK AGAIN, AROUND ISSUE AREA DEFINITION, THE SERVICES AND PARTNERSHIPS STRATEGY, THE STRUCTURES AND FUNDING LEVEL DETERMINATIONS AND OPTIONS, UH, AS WELL AS CONTINUING, UM, AND, AND ESTABLISHING ENGAGEMENT WITH A, A WIDE VARIETY OF STAKEHOLDERS AND PARTNERS.

UM, AS WE ENTER THE NEW CALENDAR YEAR IN 2027, WE'LL MOVE INTO THE PROCESS OF SOLICITING, UM, NEW CONTRACTS AND GRANTS, UH, OR, OR MODIFYING ANY EXISTING AGREEMENTS BASED ON THE RESULTS OF THE, THE EVALUATION AND STRATEGY WORK THAT WE DO OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

UH, THE BUDGET ENGAGEMENT PROCESS, OF COURSE, WILL BE, UM, TAKING PLACE DURING THAT TIME AS WELL, ALL LEADING UP TO, UM, A RESET, A NEW SET OF, UM, SOCIAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO AND AGREEMENTS, UM, COMING ONLINE STARTING OCTOBER, 2027.

UM, SPECIAL NOTE HERE ON ENGAGEMENT AND PARTNERSHIPS.

THESE ARE GONNA BE CRUCIAL AS WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE LOOKING AT SOCIAL SERVICES AS AN ECOSYSTEM, UM, BOTH WITHIN THE CITY, BUT ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY AND PARTNERS.

UH, RESOLUTION, UM, UH, A 12, UH, OH 14 CALLS FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH, UM, SEVERAL COMMITTEES INCLUDING PUBLIC HEALTH, PUBLIC SAFETY, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AND HOUSING COMMITTEES TO REVIEW, UM, SPECIFIC ISSUE AREAS.

AND WE ARE SCHEDULING TIMES WITH THOSE COMMITTEES NOW, UM, TO DO THAT THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR.

UM, WE WILL BE COLLABORATING AS WE DID, UM, OVER THE PAST YEAR WITH VENDORS ON OPTIONS FOR CONTACT STRUCTURE AND PERFORMANCE FRAMEWORKS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT THAT WORKS FOR OUR VENDOR COMMUNITIES AS WELL AS US.

UM, WE WILL HAVE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT WITH RESIDENTS AND AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS THAT RELY ON THESE SERVICES THE MOST, UM, AS WELL AS CITY LEADERSHIP AND STAFF COLLABORATING WITH OUR COUNTERPARTS FROM REGIONAL GOVERNMENT PARTNERS, UM, TO DEFINE ROLES AND FOCUS AREAS ACROSS THE SYSTEM.

SO WE'RE MAKING SURE THAT THE SYSTEM FUNCTIONS, UM, AS A WHOLE AND SERVES, UH, INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE REGION.

A REVIEW OF THE NEXT STEPS.

RIGHT NOW WE'RE WORKING TO COMPLETE THE ISSUE AREA DEFINITION, UH, WHICH INCLUDES GAPS IN SERVICES ANALYSIS, UM, WORK ON PARTNERSHIPS, FUNDING POTENTIALS AND AGREEMENT STRUCTURE DETERMINATIONS.

UM, THAT'LL ALL BRING US INTO, UM, THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR.

WE'RE GOING TO DETERMINE, UM, AND CONFIRM THE ACCOUNTABILITY AND GOVERNANCE CHANGES FOR THE PORTFOLIO AND AGREEMENTS, UM, WITH OUR, IN OUR OWN ORGANIZATION TO MAKE SURE WE'RE MANAGING, UM, THESE AGREEMENTS AND THE OPERATIONS, UM, AS BEST WE CAN WITHIN OUR OWN ORGANIZATION.

WE'LL CONTINUE ENGAGEMENT WITH VENDORS, STAFF, COMMUNITY, AND LEADERSHIP.

AND THIS IS ALL IN PREPARATION FOR THOSE PROCUREMENT PROCESSES AND ANY AGREEMENT MODIFICATIONS THAT WILL START IN EARLY 2027 TO BEGIN, UM, AND GO INTO EFFECT AT THE BEGINNING OF FISCAL YEAR 28, WHICH IS OCTOBER 1ST, 2027.

SO WITH THAT, UH, I APPRECIATE THE TIME AND HAPPY TO, TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS IN THE DISCUSSION.

GREAT, THANK YOU FOR THE PRESENTATION.

COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES, THANK YOU FOR THIS INFORMATION.

IT IS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL.

I JUST HAVE A FEW TECHNICAL QUESTIONS AND THEN I'LL END WITH A FEW OVERALL QUESTIONS.

UM, THE 133 AGREEMENTS THAT YOU HAVE HERE FOR SOCIAL SERVICES, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT STRUCK OUT TO ME AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, THERE WERE A FEW

[02:45:01]

CONTRACTS THAT WERE OUTSIDE OF SOCIAL SERVICES, BUT STILL WITHIN THE REALM OF THE DEFINITION.

FOR EXAMPLE, THE FARM SHARE CONTRACT, WHICH WAS HOUSED UNDER A'S AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, CON CONVEN HEALTHY FOOD CONVENIENCE STORE RETAIL INITIATIVE.

UM, DOES THAT, HOW DO WE ACCOUNT FOR THOSE OTHER CONTRACTS? THE EVALUATION OF THE 133 WERE ON THE AGREEMENTS THAT WERE PART OF THE FY 27 BUDGET PROCESS.

SO I BELIEVE, IF I CAN REMEMBER CORRECTLY, FARM SHARE HAD ONE THAT WAS IN THAT PROCESS AND ONE THAT WAS ALSO OUTSIDE.

SO THE ONE THAT WAS IN WAS EVALUATED, THE ONE THAT WAS OUTSIDE WAS NOT AS PART OF THAT SPECIFIC EVALUATION.

HOWEVER, AS WE GO THROUGH THIS MORE, UH, BROADER STRATEGIC RESET PROCESS, WE'LL BE LOOKING AT ALL OF THOSE ISSUE AREAS, UM, I WOULD SAY AS A WHOLE, AND WE'LL CAPTURE ANY AND ALL AGREEMENTS THAT ARE EXISTING AND DETERMINE THE NEED, UM, FOR, AGAIN, THE EXISTING AND ANY NEW AGREEMENTS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE FULFILLING THOSE SERVICES, UM, AS THE LEVEL OF NEED AND, AND COMMUNITY NEEDS.

AND IF I COULD CLARIFY A LITTLE BIT, UM, IN REGARDS TO THE, I THINK IT WAS THE FARM SHARE, THE, THE CONVENIENCE STORE HEALTHY FOOD, UM, INITIATIVE, IT BEGAN AS AN OPERATING CONTRACT.

SO IT WAS NOT, INITIALLY, THE PROGRAM WAS NOT INITIALLY A SOCIAL SERVICES PROGRAM, HOW IT WAS DEVELOPED, AND THAT'S WHY THAT THAT PARTICULAR CONTRACT WAS EVALUATED SEPARATELY FROM THE SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACTS THAT CONTRACT WAS LOOKED AT ALONG WITH, UM, THE OTHER OPERATING FUNCTIONS OF AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AS WE LOOKED AT THE 5%, UM, PRO REPRIORITIZATION PROCESS THAT WE GO THROUGH IN THE BUDGET EVERY YEAR.

AND THAT IS, THAT, THAT IS THE REDUCTION THAT RESULTED FROM THE 5% LOOK ACROSS ALL GENERAL FUND DEPARTMENTS.

GOTCHA.

AND CERTAINLY I APPRECIATE THAT IT WAS STILL 'CAUSE AS A SERVICE, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD, THEY'RE PROVIDING HEALTHY, FRESH FOOD TO PEOPLE WHO ARE ON SNAP AND IN, UH, DISADVANTAGED AREAS OF OUR CITY.

SO I WOULD WANNA MAINTAIN FUNDING THAT TYPE OF SERVICE WHEN WE DO THE REALLOCATION BETWEEN THE CATEGORIES.

AND SO I JUST HOPE THAT WE CAPTURE THOSE CONTRACTS THAT WERE CUT AS PART OF THE DEPARTMENTAL CUTS.

UM, AND I DID ASK FOR ONE VOICE COALITION TO SEND ME A LIST OF THE PROVIDERS WHO HAVE REC WHO HAVE BEEN CUT IN THE FY 27.

WE'LL BE SURE TO FORWARD THAT ALONG.

UM, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAVE IS WITH THE 133 AGREEMENTS, UM, AS PART OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE RESET, WILL ALL OF THEM BE RES SOLICITED OR JUST THE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS MODIFIED? WE'RE ANTICIPATING THAT MOST AGREEMENTS WILL BE RESCINDED TO BEGIN AN FY 28.

AND I SAY MOST BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOME THAT, UM, RECEIVE MODIFICATIONS.

UM, THERE MAY BE SOME THAT, THAT ARE MORE OPERATIONAL IN NATURE, UM, THAT, THAT MAY NOT BE PART OF THAT, BUT WE DO ANTICIPATE THAT THE MAJORITY OF, UM, THE AGREEMENTS AS PART OF THIS GENERAL RESET WILL BE PART OF A RESUSCITATION PROCESS.

UM, ACROSS THE WHOLE ISSUE AREA SO THAT Y'ALL CAN MAKE THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS AND DECISIONS.

THAT MAKES SENSE.

ON THE POLICY CONSIDERATIONS SLIDE, YOU KNOW, YOU LAY OUT THE, THE NEED FOR US TO HAVE FURTHER CONVERSATIONS ON DEFINING THE PRIORITY ISSUES, YOU KNOW, AND THOSE ARE THE COLLEAGUES, THOSE ARE THE CATEGORIES THAT, UM, WE'VE DISCUSSED, YOU KNOW, WHAT AMOUNT SHOULD WE BE FUNDING ON BASIC NEEDS VERSUS HOMELESSNESS VERSUS, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, BEHAVIORAL HEALTH.

UM, AND YOU KNOW, FOR ME IT'S ALWAYS HAS BEEN TO MAINTAIN OUR CURRENT FUNDING LEVEL AS IT RELATES TO SOCIAL SERVICES OVERALL, BUT TO RE RECATEGORIZE OR, OR FUND DIFFERENTLY THE LEVELS BASED ON THE INFORMATION THAT STAFF GATHERS.

BECAUSE NOW WE KNOW, FOR EXAMPLE, UM, YOU KNOW, CENTRAL HEALTH HAS MADE A VERY SIGNIFICANT INCREASED INVESTMENT IN MENTAL HEALTH AND WE APPRECIATE THAT.

UH, BUT WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE FOR OUR CITY AND WHERE WE FUND WHEN IT COMES TO SOCIAL SERVICES? HOW DOES THAT PROCESS PLAY OUT IN THE COMING MONTHS? YOU KNOW, YOU MENTIONED COMING TO THE COMMITTEES, BUT WOULD YOU PREFER THAT THE COMMITTEES ISSUE RECOMMENDATIONS ON EITHER THOSE CATEGORIES, SPENDING LEVELS OR DEFINING THE ISSUE AREA? WHAT DOES THAT LOOK LIKE? SO WE, WHAT OUR PLAN IS TO BRING THAT INFORMATION.

SO ESSENTIALLY, I THINK AS YOU KNOW, THIS PACKAGE OF INFORMATION ACROSS FOR EACH, UM, ISSUE AREA, SO YOU KNOW, LEVEL OF NEED, WHAT THE PARTNERS ARE DOING, CURRENT FUNDING, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT AN IDEAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO WOULD BE, AS WELL AS SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, UM, BOTH TO THE COMMITTEES, UM, AND POTENTIALLY WE'RE STILL WORKING OUT IF WE NEED TO, UM, SPEAK ACROSS THE COMMITTEES TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL, SO WE MAKE SURE WE GET THAT COVERAGE ACROSS THE FOCUS AREAS, UM, WE CAN DO THAT.

BUT THE POINT BEING IS YES, BRINGING THAT INFORMATION TO, UM, A SUBSET OR ALL OF THE, THE COUNCIL IN THOSE DIFFERENT CASES AND MAKING SURE THAT WE HAVE ALL THAT INFORMATION,

[02:50:01]

SO WE SHOULD EXPECT AT LEAST A BASELINE RECOMMENDATION IN OUR COMMITTEES FOR US TO HAVE YES.

UM, OUR POLICY DISCUSSION.

VERY GOOD.

AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I DO WANNA ADD, WHEN WE BRING THOSE AREAS TO EACH OF THE COMMITTEES, WE WILL STILL BE DISCUSSING THE FRAMEWORK HOLISTICALLY SO THAT EVEN THOUGH THE COMMITTEES ARE FOCUSED POTENTIALLY LIKE ON PUBLIC HEALTH, THEY'LL SEE SOME OF THE RESULTS FOR OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.

AND SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE IT'S A HOLISTIC CONVERSATION EVEN AS WE GO TO EACH COMMITTEE.

AND THEN PRO PROBABLY WE WILL COME BACK TO THE FULL COUNCIL, UM, IN EARLY 2027, PROBABLY JANUARY TO HAVE A OVERALL CONVERSATION WITH THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.

VERY GOOD.

AND ONE LAST QUESTION.

THE, WE SHOULD ANTICIPATE A MEMO THAT'LL EXPLAIN FURTHER THE 27 AGREEMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN DESIGNATED AS MODIFIED.

WE'LL BE, WE'LL HAVE A MEMO, UM, WITH MORE DETAILS AS WELL AS THE EVALUATION FORMS. OKAY.

COUNCIL MEMBER LANE, FOLLOWED BY COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.

UM, ON THE ACCOUNTABILITY FRAMEWORK, AS STAFF DEVELOP THE PAY FOR PERFORMANCE MEASURES, EXCUSE ME, SWALLOW, HOW WILL THEY BE DESIGNED TO MAKE SURE PROVIDERS ARE STILL INCENTIVIZED TO SERVE OUR MOST VULNERABLE AND HARDEST TO HELP CLIENTS? WE HAVE A WORKING GROUP, UH, THAT'S COMING TOGETHER NOW THAT'S GONNA LOOK ACROSS DIFFERENT POTENTIAL, UH, AGREEMENT STRUCTURES.

I SAY AGREEMENTS BECAUSE SOME WILL BE CONTRACTS, SOME WILL BE GRANTS.

SO LUMPING THOSE TOGETHER, UH, AGREEMENT STRUCTURES, UM, TO MAKE SURE WE'LL ORDER TO, TO PRESENT OPTIONS FOR AND MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE CHOOSING, UM, A TYPE OF AGREEMENT STRUCTURE THAT DOES EXACTLY WHAT YOU SAY.

THERE WILL LIKELY BE SOME, UH, SOME DIFFERENT TYPES OF AGREEMENTS DEPENDING ON THE OUTCOMES WE SEEK, BUT WE DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT PERFORMANCE IS TIED TO OUTCOMES.

UM, SO THAT OBVIOUSLY GOES BEYOND JUST THE WORDS WRITTEN DOWN IN AGREEMENT AND MAKING SURE WE HAVE THE MONITORING, UM, AND REPORTING, UM, STRUCTURES AND EVEN MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE DESCRIBING THE SERVICES, UM, IN A WAY THAT MAKES SURE IS DRIVING TOWARDS THE OUTCOMES WE SEE.

SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, THAT'S EXACTLY THE, THE, THE CHARGE THAT THAT WORKING GROUP'S BEEN GIVEN, UM, THAT WE WANT TO MAKE SURE AND SEE IS A PRETTY FOUNDATIONAL PART OF THIS RESET IS, IS HOW WE STRUCTURE THOSE AGREEMENTS, UM, AND HOW THEY FUNCTION AFTER THEY'RE SIGNED.

UH, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, I WANTED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND YOUR SLIDE ABOUT WHICH CONTRACTS WE'RE MAINTAINING, WHICH WE'RE MODIFYING AND REDUCING THE FACT THAT WE'RE NOT REDUCING ANY, I I FULLY BELIEVE IN THESE SERVICES.

I HAVE, YOU KNOW, SET UP HERE TIME AND TIME AGAIN AND SAID THAT THEY ARE CRITICAL PART OF WHAT A CITY DOES.

MY CONCERN IS WE'VE HAD AN AUDIT REPORT THAT SAMPLED A NUMBER OF THESE CONTRACTS.

WE'VE HAD YOUR OFFICE GIVE US A LENGTHY MEMO, TALKING ABOUT THESE CONTRACTS.

YOU EVEN IDENTIFIED IN THIS PRESENTATION SOME CONTRACTS THAT HAVE SOME KIND OF FLAG, WHETHER THAT'S A PERFORMANCE FLAG OR OTHERWISE, AND WE'RE NOT REDUCING OR ELIMINATING ANY OF THESE CONTRACTS.

I THINK IT HURTS THE CREDIBILITY OF THE CITY.

IT HURTS THE CREDIBILITY OF SOME OF THESE ORGANIZATIONS BECAUSE EVERYONE'S GONNA ASSUME NOTHING'S CHANGED.

AND SO THERE'S THIS LANDSCAPE THAT ALL THESE NONPROFITS ARE SOMEHOW NOT PERFORMING AND WE HAVEN'T SIFTED OUT WHO THE HIGH PERFORMERS ARE OR EVEN JUST THE ADEQUATE PERFORMERS ARE AND WHO IS NOT MEETING THE MARK.

AND SO I'M, I'M JUST REALLY CONCERNED COMING INTO OUR MEETING ON THURSDAY THAT WE HAVE 20 PLUS CONTRACTS, AND I HAVE NO CLUE WHICH OF THESE CONTRACTS HAVE MET ALL THEIR PERFORMANCE METRICS.

HAVEN'T.

UH, AND, AND YOU KNOW, THE, THE MAYOR'S RESOLUTION ON THIS, THE IDEA WAS TO FIGURE OUT WHO'S PERFORMING AND WHO'S NOT.

AND WE HAVE SOME DATA IN SOME PLACES SAYING THERE ARE PEOPLE NOT PERFORMING, BUT YET OUR FUNDING HASN'T CHANGED

[02:55:02]

TO THE VENDORS.

I MEAN, WE'VE DONE SOME MODIFICATIONS HERE, BUT THE, IN YOUR NOTES, THE MODIFICATIONS AREN'T NECESSARILY ALL TIED TO FUNDING.

IT COULD BE MODIFYING SOME OF THE CRITERIA WITHIN THE CONTRACT.

SO CAN YOU JUST HELP ME WORK THROUGH THAT? BECAUSE I WANT US TO BE DELIVERING THE OUTCOMES, I WANT US TO BE SPENDING THE DOLLARS SO THAT WE'RE GETTING THE RESULT, NOT JUST SPENDING THE DOLLARS.

AND THOSE ARE COMPLETELY VALID CONCERNS, COUNCIL MEMBER AS WE'RE MOVING INTO THIS FULL RESET AND FY 27, ESSENTIALLY WHAT WE DID WITH THAT EVALUATION WAS IDENTIFY THE AGREEMENTS, UM, AGAIN, THAT NEEDED TO BE MODIFIED.

SOME OF THOSE ARE, YOU KNOW, SAYING THAT THEY NEED TO BE MODIFIED BECAUSE PERFORMANCE LEVELS AREN'T BEING MET OR A LEVEL OF NEED CHANGED OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

A LOT OF THE AGREEMENTS THAT YOU'LL SEE ON THURSDAY ARE COMING, UM, FOR EXTENSION BECAUSE WE WANNA MAKE SURE THERE IS CONTINUITY OF SERVICES, UH, THROUGH THIS, UM, FISCAL YEAR AS WE GO THROUGH THIS BROADER RESET.

UH, SO WE HAVE A GOOD IDEA OF THE ONES THAT ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, COMPLIANCE OR PERFORMANCE ISSUES.

WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE THAT ENTIRE FUNDING LEVEL INTACT FOR THE PORTFOLIO, SOCIAL SERVICES PORTFOLIO AS A WHOLE.

SO AS WE DO THIS EVALUATION, UM, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT LEVEL OF INVESTMENT, WHERE IN THE ISSUE AREAS, WE CAN THEN MAKE THOSE AGREEMENT MODIFICATIONS RES SOLICIT FOR NEW VENDORS, UM, WHERE APPROPRIATE, UM, KIND OF WITH, WITH OUR FULL CAPACITY AND POTENTIAL INTACT AS WE GO INTO, UM, FY 28.

SO THE, IT IS, IT'S ESSENTIALLY SAYING WE'RE NOT MAKING ANY CHANGES AT THIS MOMENT, BUT ALL OF THOSE, UM, ANY, ANY AGREEMENT WITH A COMPLIANCE FLAG, UM, THAT WE NOTED IS CURRENTLY IN THE, UM, THE PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, UM, FOR THE, UH, DEPARTMENT, WHICHEVER DEPARTMENT IT, IT LIES IN ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE AS A RESULT OF THAT WILL STILL BE MADE.

UM, AND THAT ALSO THEN ALLOWS US, AGAIN, TO PROV GO THROUGH WITH THIS BROADER, UM, STRATEGIC RESET WITH THAT FULL FUNDING CAPACITY INTACT.

UM, AND I THINK YOU WILL SEE SOME CHANGES, UM, ON THAT LEVEL, UH, AS WE GO INTO FY 28.

I CAN UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IT FEELS LIKE Y'ALL TOOK THE MAYOR'S RESOLUTION, REVIEWED EVERYTHING AND SAID BASICALLY WE DON'T HAVE THE TIME OR WE DON'T WANNA HAVE A SERVICE INTERRUPTION.

AND SO EVEN IF WE HAVE SOME CONCERN, WE'RE GONNA FUND IT ANYWAYS AND THEN FIX IT IN FY 28.

AND I JUST, I'M, I'M TALKING TO PEOPLE EVERY DAY WHO ARE RIGHTFULLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE DOLLARS WE'RE SPENDING AND I DON'T, WHAT, WHAT IS MY ANSWER TO THEM WHEN I SAY, WHEN THEY SAY, HOW DO YOU KNOW THESE CONTRACTS ARE DELIVERING? YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT HAS CHANGED IN THE INFORMATION YOU'VE LEARNED? AND THE ANSWER IS, WELL, WE'RE FUNDING EVERYTHING JUST LIKE WE WERE.

I I, I UNDERSTAND THE JUSTIFICATION AND I'M, I'M, I'M NOT TRYING TO TO CALL YOU OUT HERE, I'M JUST, I'M REALLY, IT GIVES ME A LOT OF PAUSE THAT I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW THAT, I MEAN, BASED ON YOUR ANSWER, THERE MIGHT BE CONTRACTS ON THURSDAY THAT WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT, BUT WE'RE FUNDING BECAUSE WE DON'T WANNA INTERRUPT THE SERVICE, BUT WE MAY NOT BE GETTING THE OUTCOMES THAT WE WANT.

COUNCIL MEMBER, IF I CAN, UM, KIND OF SPEAK TO THAT.

I BELIEVE WHEN WE STARTED THIS PROCESS, UM, MONTHS AGO, THERE WERE SEVERAL CONTRACT AREAS OR SERVICE AREAS THAT WERE, UM, SUPPOSED TO START THEIR SOLICITATION AND WE, WE HALTED THAT, UM, BACK IN THE FALL OR IN THE SPRING IN ORDER TO COMPLETE THIS FIRST PHASE.

AND SO ONE OF THE MAIN CONCERNS IS, UM, IF WE DON'T MOVE FORWARD WITH THESE CONTRACTS AND THERE WILL BE A SPEC, A DEFINITE GAP IN THE SERVICES PROVIDED WHEN WE PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MEMO, UM, THAT SHOWS ALL OF THE, UH, THE REVIEWS AND ASSESSMENTS, IT WILL GIVE YOU THE DETAILS OF THE CONTRACT, THE ASSESSMENT AND, AND WHY, UM, THE STAFF RECOMMENDED THE WAY THAT THEY RECOMMEND IT.

IN REGARDS TO THE CONTRACTS THAT'S COMING FORWARD, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO NOTE, OR EVEN THE CONTRACTS THAT ARE BEING MONITORED ARE IN

[03:00:01]

A IMPROVEMENT PROCESS.

AS THOSE CONTRACTS GO THROUGH THAT IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, THERE WILL BE MODIFICATIONS MADE AND I, I, I THINK THAT STAFF IN THE TIMEFRAME THAT WE HAD, WE WERE TRYING TO BE DILIGENT IN OUR REVIEW AND ALSO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE REQUEST OF THE RESOLUTION.

UM, IT IS, IT IS BEEN A LITTLE BIT OVER A MONTH.

SO WE, WE ARE MOVING FAST, UM, AND WE ARE STILL TRYING TO MAKE SURE THE SERVICES ARE AVAILABLE.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S THE CHALLENGE THAT WE'RE HAVING.

BUT WE ARE, UM, WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT AS WE MOVE FORWARD, IF ANY OF THESE CONTRACTS THEY'RE IN THE IMPROVEMENT PROCESS, DO NOT, UM, MEET THE REQUIREMENTS, THEN THEY WILL BE MODIFIED, THEY WILL BE ADJUSTED AND THOSE DOLLARS WILL BE SHIFTED TO OTHER AGENCIES THAT CAN PROVIDE THE SERVICES THAT WERE INTENDED.

WELL MY REQUEST AHEAD OF THURSDAY IS IF THERE ARE ANY OF THE CONTRACTS ON OUR AGENDA THAT Y'ALL HAVE FLAGGED FOR PERFORMANCE REASONS, AND IT MAY NOT BE JUST WITHIN THIS ANALYSIS, BUT THAT WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT PREVIOUS PERFORMANCE, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THAT AHEAD OF THURSDAY.

YES SIR.

COUNCIL MEMBER UCHIN.

I REALLY JUST WANNA PICK UP, I THINK WHERE COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER LEFT OFF 'CAUSE I HAVE SOME CONFUSION AROUND WHAT'S BEEN DONE AND WHAT'S GONNA BE DIFFERENT GOING FORWARD WITH THIS CURRENT EVALUATION.

WHEN I LOOK BACK AT THE WORK THAT YOU ALL SHARE WITH US IN FEBRUARY OF THIS YEAR, WHICH WAS, I THOUGHT FAIRLY COMPREHENSIVE, A WHOLE PEER ANALYSIS ABOUT WHERE WE LAND ABOUT TO OTHER CITIES.

AND, UM, WHAT I KIND OF THOUGHT WAS THE STARTING POINT OF A CONVERSATION AROUND HOW ARE THESE CONTRACTS ARE FORMING? AND THEN I LOOK AT THE MEMO YOU ALL SENT OUT AT THE END OF JULY, WHICH HAD A DETAILED LIST OF CONTRACTS FOLLOWED BY, YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF, UM, DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE AND HOW MANY UNDUPLICATED CLIENTS WERE SERVED AND SO ON.

THAT WAS HELPING YOU MAKE SOME INFORMED DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT TO RECOMMEND TO COUNCIL, HOW IS WHAT WE'RE GOING TO EXPECT DIFFERENT THAN WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.

AND I'M SORRY IF I'M ASKING A SIMILAR QUESTION TO COUNCILOR ALTER, BUT I'M NOT SURE I I FULLY UNDERSTOOD THE RESPONSE, BUT IF IT IS SIMILAR TO WHAT HE, HE JUST ASKED, I THINK THE MAIN DIFFERENCE OF WHAT WE'RE MOVING INTO NOW IS WE ARE NOT NECESSARILY STARTING WITH AN ASSESSMENT OF, AND, AND I WILL QUALIFY THIS BY SAYING IN THE WORK THAT WE'RE ABOUT TO DO THROUGH THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR INTO THE SOLICITATIONS TO TAKE PLACE TO START AN FY 28, WE'RE NOT STARTING WITH THE AGREEMENTS WE HAVE AND SAYING WHAT SHOULD WE, YOU KNOW, CHANGE WITH THOSE.

WE ARE STARTING FROM A MORE, I WOULD SAY HOLISTIC AND STRATEGIC STANDPOINT TO SAY, YOU KNOW, WHAT SERVICE, WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF NEED IN THE COMMUNITY FOR THESE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERVICES? HOW ARE THESE ISSUES DEFINED? HOW CAN THE CITY BEST MEET THOSE NEEDS ALONG WITH OUR PARTNERS AND OTHER SERVICES? AND THEN SAYING, HOW CAN WE FUND TO GET THERE? A LOT OF THAT MAY BE THINGS THAT WE ALREADY FUND.

THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS THAT WE DON'T, UM, AND THERE MAY BE SOME THINGS THAT WE SHOULD STOP OR, OR REDUCE.

SO IT'S, IT'S LESS OF A LOOKING AT WHAT WE HAVE NOW AND, AND HOW CAN WE COME DOWN FROM THAT OR, OR ADJUST, UM, AND MORE WHAT DOES THE LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE, HOW CAN WE BEST ADDRESS THAT? AND THEN HOW CAN WE USE THE RESOURCES WE HAVE TO GET THERE.

SO I THINK IT'S, I THINK IT'S COMING AT THE, THE QUESTION FROM A DIFFERENT APPROACH.

UM, AND, AND I THINK WHILE WE MAY NOT, UM, LAND ON A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ANSWER, UM, THAT THAT'S JUST LIKE UNRECOGNIZABLE FROM WHAT WE DO NOW, I DO THINK IT WILL BE, UM, DIFFERENT, UM, AND A BIT MORE STRATEGICALLY INFORMED, UM, GOING INTO FY 28.

SO IF I TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THAT, I'M HEARING YOU SAY IT'S GONNA BE MORE STRATEGIC, IT'S GONNA BE LOOKING TO FIGURE OUT HOW DO WE SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT MAYBE IN A DIFFERENT WAY THAN WE ARE CURRENTLY NOW OR BASED ON THE CURRENT CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS.

SO IT'S NOT GONNA BE DIVING INTO INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS IN A WAY THAT THE PRIOR ANALYSIS FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR DID.

IT'S GONNA BE LOOKING AT, WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE A, UM, A FOOD ACCESS PROBLEM OR WE'RE TRYING TO SOLVE WHATEVER OTHER PROBLEMS, THOSE SOCIAL SERVICES PROBLEMS, AND ARE THESE CONTRACTS GETTING US THERE OR DO WE NEED TO REALLOCATE SOME FUNDING WITHIN THIS CONTRACT SPACE TO GET TO THE RESULT THAT WE WANT TO STRATEGICALLY IS THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S A GOOD CHARACTERIZATION.

THAT, LIKE WHAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION COULD WE EXPECT THAT WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN ALREADY ABOUT HOW THE CONTRACT'S PERFORMING, OTHER THAN THE CONTEXT OF HOW THEY FIT INTO THE LARGER PICTURE.

THAT'S CORRECT.

UH, SO THEN BASED ON

[03:05:01]

OUTSIDE OF THAT, WHAT INFORMATION ARE WE GETTING THAT WOULD BE NEW? IF I'M UNDERSTANDING YOUR QUESTION ABOUT THE EXISTING CONTRACTS, I THINK, UM, WE, YOU MAY RECEIVE SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, PERFORMANCE, ESPECIALLY ON THOSE THAT HAVE COMPLIANCE FLAGS.

UM, I THINK ANOTHER, ANOTHER ELEMENT OF WHAT YOU SAID, HOW THEY FIT INTO THAT, THE BROADER, UM, YOU KNOW, CHALLENGE SPACE OR SERVICE PORTFOLIO THAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO SUGGEST THOSE FOCUS AREAS WILL BE THE, THE PRIMARY NEW INFORMATION, UM, OR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION THAT YOU'LL SEE.

UM, AND I THINK WE'LL BE ABLE TO COMPARE HOW THEY FIT, HOW THEY'RE PERFORMING, YOU KNOW, TO WHAT LEVEL WE'RE FUNDING THESE, THESE TYPES OF SERVICES COMPARED TO THE LEVEL OF NEED COMPARED TO THE, THE CITY'S ROLE.

UM, AND JUST BE ABLE TO HAVE A, A, A LOT KIND OF RICHER AND FULLER CONVERSATION AROUND THAT, UM, WHOLE SPACE.

I MEAN, THE ONE THING THAT DEFINITELY SEEMS CLEAR AND BASED ON PRIOR QUESTIONS AND BASED ON EVEN HOW THE JULY 30TH MEMO IS CHARACTERIZED, UH, AND, AND THE THE AGREEMENT EVALUATION RESULTS THAT YOU SHARED IN THIS UPDATE IS ALL OF WHAT WE'RE GONNA BE PRIMARILY DOING IS REALLOCATING AS OPPOSED TO ANY OTHER CHANGES.

IS THAT CORRECT? OR RATHER, IF THERE ARE CHANGES TO BE MADE, THEY WILL BE OF THE REALLOCATION VARIETY.

I'LL SAY WE'RE, WE'RE STARTING WITH THE BASELINE OF TOTAL FUNDING THAT WAS SET IN FY 27 AS OUR, AS OUR BASELINE RESOURCE.

AND, AND YES, I WOULD SAY IF THERE ARE CHANGES, YOU COULD CONSIDER IT A REALLOCATION OF THAT ENTIRE, UM, FUNDING PACKAGE.

IF THAT ANSWERS YOUR QUESTION.

UH, IT DOES.

UH, THE, THE PERFORMANCE FLAGS, ARE THEY FROM THE PRIOR RESEARCH OR INVESTIGATION FROM THIS YEAR? OR IS THAT WHERE THOSE, THE ORIGIN OF THOSE PERFORMANCE FLAGS IS FROM? WE ASKED FOR THOSE SPECIFICALLY IN THIS MOST RECENT EVALUATION.

UM, THAT WAS DONE OVER THE LAST, UH, THREE WEEKS.

SO WHILE THEY WERE VERY LIKELY, YOU KNOW, INFORMED IN SOME CASES BY WHAT HAPPENED IN THE PAST, THEY ARE, I WOULD SAY, THE MOST UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION, UM, AND POTENTIALLY COULD HAVE BEEN UPDATED SINCE THE, THE SUMMER WHEN WE ASKED SOME OF THESE QUESTIONS.

LAST.

AND LAST QUESTION IS, IN TERMS OF UPDATING COUNSEL, I KNOW YOU'VE GOT A TIMELINE HERE.

IS THE INTENT TO PROVIDE, UH, QUARTERLY UPDATES ON THE PROGRESS OF THIS? IS THIS THE, THE INTENT TO PROVIDE A LARGE UPDATE AHEAD OF THE BUDGET PROCESS IS THE INTENT TO COME BEFORE THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE? HOW DO YOU SEE THE BEST WAY TO KEEP US APPRISED OF YOUR PROGRESS ON THIS? IT WILL BE ALL OF THE ABOVE.

SO WE'LL BE AT, UH, MANY OF THOSE DIFFERENT COMMITTEES TALKING ABOUT SPECIFIC FOCUS AREAS OR ISSUE AREAS.

IN ADDITION TO THE, TO THE OVERALL, I BELIEVE WE'LL BE GIVING QUARTERLY UPDATES.

UM, I'M NOT SURE IF THAT'LL JUST BE TO AUDIT AND FINANCE OR THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.

AND THEN I THINK THERE WILL BE A LOT OF ENGAGEMENT, UM, BOTH IN JANUARY AS DIRECTOR LANG MENTIONED, UM, AS WELL AS, UH, COMING UP AND THROUGH THE BUDGET PROCESS.

AS OPPOSED TO JUST WE HAVE CONTRACTS AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE TO PERPETUATE THOSE CONTRACTS.

THANKS COUNCIL MEMBER.

UM, I, I WANT TO, BASED UPON THIS DISCUSSION, WHAT I UNDERSTAND IS, IS HAPPENING HERE.

I WANNA MAKE A COUPLE OF COMMENTS AND, AND THOUGHT PROCESSES TO FOLLOW UP.

FIRST OF ALL, THE, THE, AS I UNDERSTAND THE GOAL HERE, AND, AND I THINK I DO UNDERSTAND THE GOAL, 'CAUSE I PLAYED A ROLE IN HELPING TRY TO ESTABLISH THE GOAL IS THAT WE'RE GOING TO LOOK FOR THE RIGHT, WE'RE GONNA LOOK FOR THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT, AND WE'RE GONNA TRY TO DETERMINE WHAT NEEDS TO BE INVESTED.

AND IF YOU RECALL AT THE END OF THE, THE BUDGET PROCESS, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, UH, PUT OUT THERE WAS THE CONCEPT THAT FOR RIGHT NOW, LET'S PROTECT THE INVESTMENT AS BEST WE CAN WITHOUT NECESSARILY BEING IN, IN, IN THE GAME, IF YOU WILL, THE, THE BUSINESS IF YOU WILL, OF TRYING TO PROTECT THE INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTS.

BECAUSE WE HAD NOT YET AS A, AS A GROUP, MADE DECISIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH WE WANTED TO INVEST IN CERTAIN THINGS.

AND SO THE, THE, I WANT US TO BE VERY CLEAR THAT WHAT THE RESOLUTION DID AND WHAT IT ASKED TO HAVE HAPPENED IS AN EVALUATION OF THE INVESTMENTS, WHAT WE NEED IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT, WHAT WE NEED IN TERMS OF DIFFERENT SERVICES

[03:10:01]

UM, BECAUSE TIME, IT MAY HAVE MOVED ON IN SOME WAY.

THERE MAY BE A DIFFERENCE IN, IN, IN WHAT THAT INVESTMENT.

SO, SO WHAT IS THE RIGHT INVESTMENT IS THE KEY QUESTION.

EVALUATING NEED, EVALUATING THINGS LIKE BEST PRACTICES, EVALUATING THINGS LIKE ARE THERE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING THAT NOW HAVE FILLED IN A GAP THAT WE WERE FILLING? I SAY BY, BY WE THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS FILLING AND NOW SOME OTHER ENTITY IS FILLING, UM, IN, IN A WAY THAT GETS US THERE.

AND OF COURSE PERFORMANCE BECOMES A KEY FACTOR BECAUSE IF WE'RE SPENDING A DOLLAR THAT'S GETTING 50 CENTS OR SOME OTHER AMOUNT, SOME LESSER AMOUNT OF VALUE, IS THERE A, IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE THAT WE OUGHT TO BE DOING? AND WHAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT WE'RE ALL SAYING HERE, I THINK WE'RE ALL HAVE, HAVE SOME CLARITY ABOUT THAT.

I THINK WE ALSO ALL GET THE TIME GUN THAT YOU'RE UNDER AND I THINK EVERYBODY HAS A LOT OF CONFIDENCE IN YOUR ABILITY TO TRY TO MANAGE THE TIME GUN, BUT ALSO THE REAL GOAL OF WHAT THIS EXERCISE IS.

SO I, WE HEAR YOU, OR AT LEAST I, I THINK I HEAR YOU AND I THINK EVERYBODY ELSE BASED UPON WHAT THE COMMENTS I'M GETTING, BUT PLEASE HEAR US.

AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT CONCERNS ME, PART OF THE REASON I'M BRINGING THAT UP IS THE IDEA THAT YOU INDICATED THAT THE BASELINE IS HOW MUCH WE'RE ALREADY SPENDING THAT GETS RIGHT TO, I THINK WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER WAS BRINGING UP THE RESOLUTION EVEN EXPRESSLY STATES THAT THAT MAY BE A, THAT THE AMOUNT WE'RE SPENDING MAY BE A FACTOR TO CONSIDER IN WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, BUT WE CAN'T LET THE TAIL WAG THE DOG.

IF WE'RE SPENDING MONEY, IF WE'RE SPENDING A HUNDRED DOLLARS ON SOMETHING THAT WE DON'T NEED TO BE SPENDING THAT A HUNDRED DOLLARS FOR WHATEVER REASON, THEN THAT'S A HUNDRED DOLLARS THAT CAN GO TO SOMETHING ELSE OR SAVE THE TAXPAYER DOLLARS, WORK ON THE AFFORDABILITY THAT WE DON'T WANT TO BE IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'RE SPENDING MONEY IN SUCH A WAY ON THINGS THAT WE'RE ACTUALLY MAKING A GREATER NEED FOR THOSE KINDS OF SERVICES BECAUSE WE'RE, WE'RE CREATING A PROBLEM WITH AFFORDABILITY.

SO WHILE THAT MAY BE A FACTOR, LET'S NOT LET IT WAG THE DOG.

THE OTHER PART ABOUT THAT IS, AND I KNOW THE COUNCIL JOINS ME IN THIS CONCERN, AND THAT IS THIS ALSO IS NOT A PRACTICE IN WHO IS THE BEST AT LOBBYING THE COUNCIL.

WE HAVE A WHOLE LOT OF CONTRACTS WITH A WHOLE LOT OF PROVIDERS AND A WHOLE LOT OF PEOPLE PUSHING THOSE CONTRACTS.

AND WE LOVE 'EM ALL.

BUT THE TRUTH IS THAT WE OUGHT TO BE MAKING OUR DECISIONS BASED UPON WHAT THE INVESTMENT NEEDS TO BE AND NOT SIMPLY WHO'S DONE THE BEST JOB OF, OF GETTING, OF, OF LOBBYING US.

AND, AND I DON'T SAY THAT IN A DISPARAGING WAY.

I SAY THAT WE NEED TO HAVE PROTECTIONS THAT MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS IN A CALCULATED, THOUGHTFUL WAY BASED UPON WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE INVESTMENT BY THE CITY.

SO THAT'S JUST MY 2 CENTS TO KIND OF CLARIFY.

WE DO GET THE, THE GUN YOU'RE UNDER AND WE'RE EVEN AS IT CAUSES SOME INSTINCTIVE REACTION ON MY PART AND OBVIOUSLY OTHERS, UH, I'M, I'M TAKING THAT SERIOUSLY, BUT BY THE SAME TOKEN, WE HAVE TO GET TO THE, THE, THE REAL BASELINE, WHICH IS WHAT IS OUR NEED COUNCIL MEMBER? OH, WE WE'RE BOTH EAGER TO SAY SOMETHING.

YES, I, I WILL SAY WE, WE FULLY HEAR YOU AND THE FULL COUNCIL MAYOR ON, UM, THE CHARGE THAT WE HAVE.

UM, I THINK ANECDOTALLY WE ALL KNOW THAT THE NEED WILL EXCEED THE RESOURCES.

WE SEE THAT ACROSS THE, THE CITY AND ACROSS OUR BUDGET, BUT WE WILL, UM, CONTINUE TO WORK WITH NOT JUST LOOKING AT WHAT WE'RE DOING AS A CITY, BUT WE ARE TYING OURSELVES TO OUR PARTNERS TO SEE WHAT FUNDING THAT THEY, UM, ARE ABLE TO BRING FORTH TO HELP WITH SOME OF THIS CONVERSATION AND TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE BEING COLLABORATIVE IN THAT REGARD.

SO IF THERE'S A PARTNER WHO IS FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH, THEN WHAT IS THE CITY'S RE RESPONSE TO AND HOW CAN WE, UM, BE PARALLEL TO THEM BUT NOT DUPLICATE THE EFFORTS THAT THEY'RE DOING? AND SO THAT IS SOME OF THE WORK THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE DOING IN THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.

UM, IT IS A TIGHT TIMELINE, BUT WE ARE, WE ARE, THAT'S ONE OF THE REASONS WHY WE ARE TRYING TO KEEP THE BASELINE BASED ON THE LEVEL OF FUNDING WE HAVE FOR FISCAL YEAR 27 AS WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THIS FULL RESET HAPPENS IN FISCAL YEAR 28.

YEAH, AND ALL I'LL SAY ABOUT THAT IS THE BASELINE ISN'T THE DETERMINANT.

YES, SIR.

YEAH, I, I WAS JUST GOING TO ECHO WHAT DIRECTOR LANG

[03:15:01]

SAID IN THAT WE ARE ASSUMING THE BASELINE IS A STARTING POINT, BUT AS THE RESOLUTION SAID, IF THERE IS ANY UH, SHIFT, UM, FROM THAT BASELINE, ESPECIALLY IF IT GOES BELOW, THAT WILL BE A OVERALL POLICY DECISION OF THE COUNCIL.

SO WE WILL BE BRINGING, UM, ANY RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD, UH, THAT TALK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDED INVESTMENT LEVELS FOR THE DIFFERENT ISSUE AREAS AS WELL AS, UM, THE THE OVERALL PORTFOLIO AS A WHOLE.

AND IF THAT, UM, IS DIFFERENT THAN THAT BASELINE THAT WE'RE STARTING WITH, THEN THAT'LL BE A POLICY DECISION OF THE COUNCIL.

AND I THINK I UNDERSTOOD EVERYTHING YOU JUST SAID, BUT LET ME SAY SOMETHING IN RESPONSE OR AT LEAST A COROLLARY TO THAT TO MAKE SURE THAT, THAT I AM, AND THAT IS, WE'RE RELYING ON Y'ALL IN ADDITION TO TELL US IF I GET, WE HAVE A BASELINE OF X NUMBER OF DOLLARS CURRENTLY BEING SPENT ON THE BROAD CATEGORY OF SOCIAL SERVICES, BUT IF THERE'S NOT THE NEED TO SPEND THAT MONEY ON SOME ASPECT OF THAT, THAT IS NOT JUST TO SAY, OKAY, WELL NOW WE CAN HAVE, WE, WE, WE WILL REPLENISH THAT BASELINE.

THERE, THERE, THE CREDIBILITY THAT COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER'S TALKING ABOUT, I THINK IS THAT THE PUBLIC HAS TO ASSUME THAT WE'RE NOT EVER JUST GOING TO TAKE THE POSITION THAT THERE'S, THERE'S NO BETTER WAY OF DOING SOMETHING OR THERE'S NO CHEAPER WAY OF DOING SOMETHING OR THERE'S NO, UH, UH, SAVINGS THAT WE MIGHT FIND.

I DON'T THINK THAT'S SO, SO WE KEEP USING THE WORD BASELINE AS THOUGH IT IS THE TAIL WAGON THE DOG, AND I DON'T WANT, I WANT US TO AVOID THAT.

I THINK WE DO ON A NORMAL BASIS.

YES, MAJOR.

SO THANK YOU.

AND I'M, I'M TRYING TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AS I THINK THE CONVERSATION BETWEEN, UH, USING THE WORD BASELINE, AT LEAST FROM AT LEAST MY VERY SHORT MEMORY OF THE BUDGET PROCESS, I THINK STAFF IS USING THAT NUMBER TO ESTABLISH, FOR EXAMPLE, AS WE STARTED THE PRESENTATION, WHAT OUR INITIAL RECOMMENDATIONS AND THOUGHTS WERE ON THE NECESSARY REDUCTIONS IN THE LEVEL OF SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING ALTOGETHER, I THINK AT LEAST THE WAY WE WALKED AWAY FROM THE BUDGET ADOPTION PROCESS, AND AT LEAST WHETHER IT WAS IFCS OR JUST THE COMMENTS WERE THAT THERE WAS A DESIRE FOR COUNCIL TO WHAT WAS APPROVED AS IT RELATES TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF SOCIAL SERVICE FUNDING TO HAVE THAT FUNDING BE AT THAT LEVEL.

THE DETERMINING FACTORS GOING INTO NEXT YEAR IS, WHAT I THOUGHT I HEARD WAS THAT WHETHER THAT NUMBER WAS $50 MILLION AND THAT'S WHAT WE STABILIZE THAT THE DIRECTION I THOUGHT I HEARD WAS THERE WAS A COUNCIL DESIRE TO NOT HAVE THAT DOLLAR AMOUNT FOR THE INVESTMENTS IN SOCIAL SERVICES REDUCED.

NOW THAT DIDN'T SPEAK TO THE AREAS OF SOCIAL SERVICE, WHICH I THOUGHT THIS RESET WAS ULTIMATELY GOING TO HAVE A ROLE IN HELPING DEFINE WHAT THOSE BUCKETS WERE SO THAT THERE MAY BE 20 MILLION THIS YEAR GOING INTO BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, WELL NEXT YEAR THAT MAY BE 25, AND THEN THIS OTHER AREA AROUND YOUTH OR FAMILIES IN SOME OTHER AREA OR BASIC NEEDS MIGHT BE $5 MILLION LESS OR WHATEVER THE NUMBER IS.

I THINK THAT IS WHERE AT LEAST WE BEGAN OUR THINKING ON, WE DON'T NEED TO SETTLE THAT TODAY.

THAT WILL BE SETTLED OVER THE MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS WITH THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMITTEES, BUT UH, TO THE POINT.

SO THAT'S, AT LEAST FROM A BASELINE PERSPECTIVE, I THINK THAT'S WHY WE KEEP USING THAT WORD.

NOT THAT IT WON'T GO UP AND DOWN.

IN FACT, IF COUNCIL WANTS TO REDUCE IT, THAT IS TOTALLY FINE WITH US.

IT FREES IT UP.

THE ONLY OTHER CONCERN OR QUESTION I HAVE, AND I WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE GETTING CLEAR GUIDANCE ON IS, YOU KNOW, WHEN IT COMES TO WHAT WE'RE YOU'RE GOING TO SEE OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL WEEKS, I THINK BACK TO THE TIGHT TIMELINE, I THINK, YOU KNOW, AND I'VE PRESSED ON THE TEAM TO COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER, AND YOUR POINT AROUND PERFORMANCE AND EXPECTATIONS AND PEOPLE'S CREDIBILITY IS ONE, HOW DO WE AVOID GAPS IN SERVICE? WHICH I THINK WOULD BECOME AN ISSUE.

AND YOU BEGIN TO HEAR THAT AS A COUNCIL, BUT TWO, FOR THOSE PARTICULAR CONTRACTS WHO MAY NOT BE MEETING THE EXPECTATIONS, SOME OF THAT COULD JUST BE BASED ON THEY CAN'T DETERMINE AND, OR THEY CAN'T, I GUESS IN SOME CASES THEY CAN'T PREDICT WHAT THE NEEDS ARE OUT THERE SPECIFICALLY.

SO THERE MAY BE LESS THINGS THAT THEY CAN DO FOR PEOPLE WITH OUR RESOURCES.

I THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE WORDS MODIFYING OUR CONTRACT, KEEPING IT IN ITS CURRENT STEAD, I THINK WE ARE LOOKING AT PERFORMANCE, AND I DON'T LIKE TO CALL IT DOUBLE SECRET PROBATION, BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF, OF, OF PERFORMANCE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES TO MAKE SURE PEOPLE CAN CURE THEIR DEFICIENCIES THAT

[03:20:01]

AND I THINK THAT IS PART OF WHAT DANIEL SAID AS IT RELATES TO, AS WE MOVE INTO A RESET WITH THE CURRENT CONTRACTS THAT WE MAY MODIFY THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BASICALLY NEED TO IMPROVE THEIR PERFORMANCE, WE'RE GONNA BE MONITORING THAT AND THAT WILL BE REFLECTED IN ANY FUTURE, UH, CONTRACTS THAT THEY COULD RECEIVE OR HOW COMPETITIVE THEY ARE IN THIS RESET.

BUT I JUST WANTED TO AT LEAST CLARIFY TO MAKE SURE I DIDN'T HEAR IT WRONG.

THE BASELINE ISSUE IS THAT NUMBER WE'RE GONNA MAKE A STAFF RECOMMENDATION, WHETHER IT'S ON THE BUCKETS AND THE FUNDING AREAS BASED ON THE DESIRED OUTCOMES WE HEAR FROM COUNCIL.

BUT IT IS NOT MY IMPRESSION I'M GOING TO BEGIN THE YEAR SAYING TO YOU, UH, UNLESS THERE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT I HAVE TO CONSIDER THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE REDUCING OR RECOMMENDING REDUCING SOCIAL SERVICES CONTRACTS THIS YEAR, UH, TO BALANCE THE BUDGET.

I THINK I HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR PERFORMANCE AND IS, IS AN ISSUE, BUT WE DO NEED TO CONTINUE TO INVEST AND WE DON'T WANT TO DO IT OFF THE BACKS OF THE SOCIAL SERVICE PROVIDERS.

AND I THOUGHT, AGAIN, IF THERE WAS ONE THING THAT CAME OUT OF THE PROCESS, IT WAS, THAT WAS CLEAR TO AT LEAST US.

AND SO WE'RE STARTING FROM THE PREMISE OF, TO TAKE YOUR WORDS IN SOME CASES, TO DO NO HARM AND TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN MAKE SURE WE GET THE BEST OUTCOMES, MAKING SURE THAT PEOPLE ARE PROVIDING THE SERVICES THAT WE EXPECT THEM TO PROVIDE AND THAT WE HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE AS WELL AS OURSELVES IN SOME CASES FOR HOW WE REVIEW AND DO THAT.

AND SO AGAIN, UH, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A LOT OF CONVERSATION WITH COUNCIL, BUT I I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE AT LEAST I WAS CLEAR, BASELINE TO US WAS REALLY, HEY, IF WE'RE SPENDING 50 MILLION A DAY, LET'S ASSUME WE'RE GONNA HAVE 50 MILLION NEXT YEAR AND WE'LL BEGIN THE DISCUSSION THERE.

AND IF COUNCIL WANTS TO ADJUST THAT NUMBER THEN BASED ON RUBRICS AND ALL OF OUR DISCUSSION, THEN WE'LL MOVE FROM THERE.

BUT AT LEAST I WANT TO AT LEAST SAY THAT.

'CAUSE I THINK MY STAFF WAS TRYING TO SAY THAT, AND MAYBE I SAID IT WRONG OR USED TOO MANY WORDS, BUT WELL, YOU ATE UP ALL MY TIME.

I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL WANTED ME TO DO THAT A FEW TIMES.

YEAH, YEAH, THAT'S RIGHT.

YOU AND YOU AND COUNCIL MEMBER SIEGEL ARE CAHOOTS ON THAT.

SO, UH, BUT HERE'S WHAT I WILL SAY.

UM, AND WHILE I, I I, I DISAGREE WITH VERY LITTLE OF WHAT YOU JUST SAID.

ONE OF MY MEMORIES OF THE ULTIMATE RESOLUTION THAT GOT PASSED IS THAT IT WAS AMENDED SO THAT THERE COULD BE A NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND WE WOULD HAVE A NEEDS ASSESSMENT, BUT WE WOULDN'T DETERMINE THAT ALL ALL OF OUR NEEDS ARE DEFINED BY HOW MUCH WE'RE CURRENTLY SPENDING.

WE MAY END UP SPENDING THAT, WE MAY END UP SPENDING MORE, BUT IN PART OF THE WAY WE TALK TO THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW WE FUND CERTAIN SERVICES IS WE WANT TO DO AN ANALYSIS OF OUR NEEDS.

AND THE, THE, IF, IF WE SAY, WELL, OUR NEEDS ARE DEFINED RIGHT NOW BY HOW MUCH WE SPEND, THEN I WORRY YOU DON'T GET A COMPLETE ASSESSMENT OF WHAT YOUR NEEDS ARE.

I'M NOT ADVERSE TO THAT BEING WHAT WE END UP SPENDING.

I'M JUST SAYING I THINK THE APPROPRIATE ANALYSIS OF NEEDS DOESN'T END WITH HERE'S HOW MUCH WE'RE WE, WE'RE ALREADY SPENDING THIS, SO WE MUST NEED ALL OF THAT.

THAT ALSO GETS INTO YOUR GOOD POINT THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE A MILLION DOLLARS BEING SPENT ON X, BUT NOW WE'VE DETERMINED YOU ONLY NEED TO HAVE A HALF A MILLION.

THAT HALF A MILLION COULD GO TO SOMETHING WE HAVE NEEDS FOR, SO YOU END UP STILL SPENDING A MILLION.

IT'S JUST THAT I DON'T WANT US, AND I WE WORKED TO NOT DO THIS, I THINK TO NOT SAY NEEDS ARE DEFINED BY HOWEVER MUCH YOU'RE SPENDING RIGHT NOW TODAY.

COUNCIL MEMBER FUENTES.

AND UH, MANAGER, I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS BECAUSE THAT IS HOW I TOOK OUR BUDGET CONVERSATION VERY ALIGNED TO WHAT YOU LAID OUT.

AND I THINK FOR ME IT COMES FROM THE UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS, MY COMMUNITY IN SOUTHEAST AUSTIN AND HOW GREAT THEY ARE ACROSS THOSE CATEGORIES.

SO I CERTAINLY, LOOKING AT OUR CITY, I KNOW THAT THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE FOR AUSTIN OVERALL WILL FAR OUT, UH, WELL FAR OUT EXCEED, UH, EXCEED OUR, UM, AMOUNT THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO INVEST.

AND SO THAT'S MY, THE LENS THAT IN WHICH I APPROACH THIS CONVERSATION IS KNOWING THAT THE INVESTMENT LEVEL THAT WE HAVE AS, AS A CITY, WILL NOT COME CLOSE TO MATCHING THE NEEDS THAT WE HAVE ACROSS ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.

AND SO AS WE CONSIDER HOW WE MOVE FORWARD, GIVEN OUR TIGHT BUDGET DYNAMICS, I DO SEE THE FUNDING LEVEL AS A BASELINE FOR OUR CONVERSATION.

'CAUSE I DON'T WANT US TO REDUCE OUR SPENDING WITHOUT UNDERSTANDING, UH, TO THE MAYOR'S POINT, THE NEEDS OVERALL AS IT RELATES TO DEFINING THE CATEGORIES OF HOW WE INVEST.

'CAUSE THAT IS WHERE I DO BELIEVE WE'LL HAVE SHIFTS IN HOW WE DO OUR SOCIAL SERVICE SPENDING.

BUT FOR ME IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO HAVE A BASELINE AMOUNT FOR OUR CITY MOVING FORWARD.

YOU MEMBERS.

I THINK THAT CONCLUDES, UNLESS YOU GUYS GOT SOMETHING ELSE.

YOU WANT SAY MANAGER.

ALRIGHT.

USED ALL MY WORDS.