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THANKS EVERYONE FOR YOUR PATIENCE.WE ARE, WE'RE STARTING A LITTLE LATE.
WE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES GETTING STARTED, SO WE APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE.
[District 5 Budget Virtual Town Hall on June 1, 2020.]
UM, AND WE'LL GO OVER WITH, UH, RESPONDING TO QUESTIONS.SO YOU ALL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO, HOPEFULLY ED WILL BE ABLE TO STAY WITH US FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
SO AGAIN, WE ARE, I'M VERY APPRECIATIVE OF EVERYONE TAKING THEIR TIME TO PARTICIPATE TODAY.
IT IS A VERY IMPORTANT AS WE START OUR BUDGET PROCESS THAT WE HEAR FROM YOU ALL ON WHAT YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT, WHAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN, IN HEARING ABOUT AND UNDERSTANDING ALL OF THIS WILL INFORM WILL HELP ME AS I CONSIDER THE BUDGET PROCESS, UM, IN JULY AND AUGUST, AND WILL HELP US AS A COUNCIL TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE RESPONDING TO Y'ALLS CONCERNS, UM, AND YOUR NEEDS.
SO WITH THAT SAID, AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE.
UH, IF YOU WANT TO TAKE IT FROM HERE, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME TODAY AND QUICK ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION.
I AM HERE AS LONG AS Y'ALL WANT TO STAY HERE.
SO NO WORRIES ON MY END ABOUT STAYING A LITTLE BIT LATER AND ANSWERING QUESTIONS I ALWAYS ENJOY.
UM, I, I WOULD ALMOST SAY I ALWAYS ENJOY COMING HERE AT THE DISTRICT FIVE.
IT'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES TO VISIT VERY ACTIVE GROUP OF CONSTITUENTS AND DISTRICT FIVE, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO IT VIRTUALLY TODAY.
SO I'LL MISS SEEING YOU IN PERSON.
UM, I DO HAVE A LONGER LONGEST PRESENTATION, UM, JUST CAUSE THERE'S A LOT GOING ON GOING ON, UM, IN REGARDS TO COVID-19 AND HOW IT'S IMPACTING OUR FINANCES AND, UM, THE FEDERAL REVENUES THAT ARE COMING INTO THE CITY THAT ARE GONNA HELP US GET THROUGH THIS CRISIS, BUT I WILL TRY TO GO THROUGH IT QUICKLY.
I DON'T WANT TO EAT UP TOO MUCH AT THE TIME.
DEFINITELY WANT TO HAVE A LOT OF COMMUNITY DIALOGUE AND QUESTIONS AND CONVERSATIONS.
SO LET ME JUST JUMP IN AND I'LL SEE HOW QUICKLY I CAN GO THROUGH THIS.
I THINK AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS, WE HAD A LINK TO WHERE YOU CAN GET THIS PRESENTATION ONLINE AND THERE'LL BE ANOTHER LINK PRESENTATION.
SO I'M NOT GOING TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
I'M JUST GOING TO TRY AND SHARE.
ALL RIGHT, CAN I GET SOMEBODY TO CONFIRM YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE POWERPOINT? AWESOME.
UM, I ALWAYS LIKE TO START OFF WITH A HIGH LEVEL 30,000 FOOT VIEW OF THE CITY'S ALL FUNDS BUDGET AND IT'S FOUR POINT $2 BILLION.
IT'S COMPRISED PRIMARILY OF THE, WHAT I CALL THE BIG THREE FUNDS, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN.
THE WATER ARE TWO MUNICIPALLY OWNED UTILITIES.
AND THEN THE GENERAL FUND, THE GENERAL FUND IS, IS, UM, IS OUR TAX REVENUES THAT GO TO PAY FOR, I KNOW THOSE STANDARD MUNICIPAL YOU THINK ABOUT WHEN YOU THINK THAT CITY, GOVERNMENT POLICE AND FIRE AND LIBRARIES AND PARKS AND REC CENTERS, UM, EVERYTHING ELSE IS REMAINING.
UM, 31% OF THE BUDGET GOES TO FUND THE AIRPORT AND THE CONVENTION CENTER, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, BOSTON RESOURCE RECOVERY THAT COMES AND PICKS UP YOUR TRASH AND RECYCLING.
IT'S A GENERALLY HIGH LEVEL, BUT THE BIG BUCKETS OF THE CITY'S BUDGET LOOKS LIKE, UM, THAT PIE CHART ON THE LEFT THAT FOUR POINT $2 BILLION IS WHAT WE CALL OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
THAT'S HOW WE PAID FOR THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OF THE CITY OVER ON THE RIGHT, THOSE, UM, THOSE BAR CHARTS, THAT COLUMN WRAP ON THE RIGHT THAT SHOWS OUR CAPITAL BUDGET.
SO IN ADDITION TO A FOUR POINT $2 BILLION OPERATING BUDGET, THE CITY ANNUALLY SPENDS ABOUT ONE POINT $2 BILLION ON CAPITAL PROGRAMS. AGAIN, DOMINATED BY THOSE LARGE ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN, THE WATER, BUT ALSO AVIATION.
IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN OUT TO THE AIRPORT LATELY, IT'S REALLY CRAZY THE AMOUNT OF CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION THAT'S GOING ON OUT AT THE AIRPORT, THE VOTER APPROVED BONDS, $200 MILLION.
THOSE ARE THE BOND PROGRAMS THAT GO TO THE ELECTORATE FROM TIME TO TIME.
UM, RECENTLY WE HAD A, UH, 2018 WAS OUR LAST VOTER APPROVED BOND, UM, INCLUDED FUNDING FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS IN PARTS OF LIBRARIES AS WELL.
UM, I ALWAYS WANT TO FOCUS A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE GENERAL FUND.
SO GENERAL FUNDS ABOUT 24% OF THAT TOTAL FOUR POINT $2 BILLION BUDGET, BUT IT'S REALLY WHERE A LOT OF THE CONVERSATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS, UM, END UP OCCURRING.
UM, THIS IS THE FUND WHERE THE COUNCIL HAS THE MOST DISCRETION OVER THE USE OF THE, OF THE FUNDING.
IT'S THE FUND THAT RECEIVES ITS REVENUE PRIMARILY THROUGH SALES TAXES AND PROPERTY TAXES.
YOU CAN SEE OVER ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE GRAPH SALES TAXES AND PROPERTY TAXES ARE JUST ABOUT 72% OF THE REVENUE
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THAT WE HAVE TO PAY FOR GENERAL FUND SERVICES AND A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT THAN ALL THOSE ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS.OUR CITY COUNCIL HAS A LOT OF DISCRETION IN REGARDS TO THE POLICY OBJECTIVES THEY WANT TO ACHIEVE, BUT THOSE TAX REVENUES, JUST A REAL QUICK COMMENT ON THAT.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE AIRPORT AND THE REVENUES THE AIRPORT GETS OR RECEIVES THROUGH AIRLINES AND CONCESSION AREAS AND RENTAL CAR FACILITIES, ALL OF THAT AIRPORT REVENUE HAS TO STAY WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF THE AIRPORT.
IT CAN'T BE USED FOR GENERAL GOVERNMENTAL SERVICES.
SO THERE'S VERY LITTLE DISCRETION THERE ON, IN REGARDS TO THAT ENTERPRISE OPERATION, BUT THE GENERAL FUND DOESN'T WORK LIKE THAT.
THE SALES TAX AND PROPERTY TAX DOLLARS.
THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY FOR HOW WE PRIORITIZE SIMILAR TO, UM, MOST CITIES.
UM, UM, PUBLIC SAFETY EXPENSES ARE THE LARGEST COMPONENT OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, HERE IN AUSTIN, REFLECTING ABOUT 65% OF THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND EXPENDITURES.
AND THAT IS DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FROM WHEN WE TRANSITIONED TO A TEN ONE FORM OF GOVERNMENT.
AND IT'S BEEN A RECURRING THEME OF OUR BUDGET PROCESS, UM, HAS BEEN BRINGING DOWN THE PORTION OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET THAT IS ALLOCATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES, SO THAT THERE'S MORE RESOURCES AVAILABLE FOR, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES, HOUSING SERVICES, PARKS, AND RECS AND LIBRARIANS.
YOU'VE ACTUALLY SEEN THAT PERCENTAGE OF THE PIE CHART COME DOWN FROM ABOUT 70% TO 65%, JUST OVER THE LAST FIVE FISCAL YEARS ON 5% MAY NOT SEEM LIKE A LOT, BUT 5% OF A BILLION DOLLAR BUDGET IS, UM, IS MORE THAN A $50 MILLION TRANSITION FROM PUBLIC SAFETY EXPENDITURES TO THE OTHER AREAS OF THE, OF THE BUDGET THAT ARE A HIGH PRIORITY FOR OUR, UM, THIS IS WHAT OUR FORECAST IS LOOK LIKE.
WE ALREADY KNEW THAT WE HAD SOME BUDGET CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US.
THESE CHALLENGES ARE CAUSED BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE IMPOSING A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE CAP IN THE LAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
UM, DUE TO ACTIONS THAT OUR COUNCIL TOOK IN FISCAL YEAR 21, OUR FISCAL YEAR 20 AND THE YEAR THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY IN, UM, WE WERE ABLE TO CARVE OUT $15 MILLION OF CAPACITY IN OUR
THAT'S GOT A LOT OF LIGHT GREEN COLOR PIECE AT THE TOP OF THIS BAR CHART.
UM, THAT ACTION BY THE COUNCIL ALLOWED US TO PROJECT A BALANCED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 21, BUT WE KNEW WE HAD SOME CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US BECAUSE OF THAT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT CAP.
AND THAT WAS ALL BEFORE COVID-19 HIT.
AND THEN ALL OF OUR WORLDS HAVE CHANGED, UM, WITH THE, UM, LOCKDOWN ECONOMIC LOCKDOWN THAT WE'VE SEEN THAT STAY HOME, STAY SAFE ORDER.
IT'S OBVIOUSLY HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR LOCAL ECONOMY, AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL AND GLOBAL ECONOMY.
LOTS OF READING ON THIS SLIDE.
UM, THIS IS WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY PROJECTING FOR OUR
WE ARE HONING IN ON THIS SLOWER RESOLUTION SCENARIO.
I WILL SAY THAT WE'RE CURRENTLY FOLLOWING THE PATH OF THE MORE RAPID RESOLUTION.
UM, WE STARTED SEEING BUSINESSES REOPENING ON MAY 1ST AND, UM, AND, UM, AND AT THAT TRANSITION TO, UM, MORE BUSINESSES OPENING AND MORE CAPACITY BEING ALLOWED IS UNDERWAY.
THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I JUST DESCRIBED IS THE RAPID RESOLUTION, BUT, UM, WE STILL DON'T HAVE A LOT OF DATA ON AS WE GOING TO RECEIVE ONE SALES TAX PAYMENT THAT MOST FOR THE MARCH SALES THAT SALES TAX PAYMENT WAS DOWN FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT, BUT WE REALLY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DATA YET TO FEEL CONFIDENT ABOUT START GETTING OUR HOPES UP AND THINKING THAT WE MIGHT BE ON THIS RAPID RESOLUTION REVENUES TONIGHT.
SO WE'RE CONTINUING TO DO OUR BUDGETARY PLANNING FOR THE CURRENT YEAR AND FOR
AND UNDER THAT SCENARIO, WE'RE FORECASTING ALMOST A $58 MILLION DROP IN REVENUES IN FISCAL YEAR 20 AND A $22 MILLION DROP, UM, RELATIVE TO WHAT WE HAD BEEN FORECASTING IN FISCAL YEAR 21.
SO CLEARLY SOME SIGNIFICANT BUDGETARY CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US IN THE GENERAL FUND.
UM, THOSE CHALLENGES DON'T STOP WITH THE GENERAL FUND.
YOU HEARD ME TALK ABOUT EARLIER ON ALL FUNDS, OUR ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS HOTEL TAXES ARE DOWN DRAMATICALLY.
UM, UM, YEAR TODAY WE'RE PROJECTING AT 36 POINT $7 MILLION DROP IN HOTEL TAXES WITH CONSEQUENCES FOR OUR CONVENTION CENTER OPERATION, BUT WE ALSO FUND HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND CULTURAL ARTS AND MUSIC PROGRAMS OUT OF THOSE HOTEL TAXES ON AIRPORT REVENUE, WE'RE PROJECTING A $68 MILLION DECLINE.
UM, THOSE ARE BOTH ABOUT A 30% DECLINE RELATIVE TO WHAT WE HAD BUDGETED FOR FISCAL YEAR 20.
YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT WE WERE ABOUT FIVE MONTHS INTO THE YEAR BEFORE COVID-19
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HITS.SO IT'S REALLY JUST A SEVEN MONTH IMPACT THAT WAS RESULTING IN REVENUE DECLINES.
THE STEEP, AS YOU'RE SEEING ON THIS SLIDE IN TOTAL, IN
I WON'T SPEND A LOT OF TIME ON THIS, ALL THOSE, A LOT OF WORDS ON THE SLIDE, BUT IT'S NEXT TWO SLIDES ARE JUST TO SAY, WE'RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE ENTERED THIS FINANCIAL CRISIS IN VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION.
WE HAVE VERY STRONG RESERVE POLICIES.
OUR COUNCIL HAS BEEN VERY DISCIPLINED ABOUT IT, HEARING THESE ARE POLICIES, AND THAT'S GOING TO HELP US A LOT ON NAVIGATE THROUGH THESE CHALLENGING FINANCIAL TIMES.
WE TAKE A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO BUDGETING.
AND WHAT I MEAN BY CONSERVATIVE IS, YOU KNOW, WE TRY TO UNDERESTIMATE HOW MUCH REVENUE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE DURING THE YEAR.
AND WHILE I WAS WANTING TO COME IN AHEAD OF OUR REVENUE ESTIMATES.
AND ON THE EXPENSE SIDE, WE TRY TO SLIGHTLY OVERESTIMATE THE AMOUNT OF, UH, EXPENDITURES WE THINK WE'RE GOING TO NEED.
AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS SLIDE, WHEN WE ENTERED INTO THE COVID-19 CRISIS, WE WERE MORE THAN $10 MILLION AHEAD OF WHERE WE HAD BUDGETED ON SALES TAX RATHER THAN.
SO THAT HELPS SOFTEN THE IMPACT OF WHAT WE'RE NOW EXPERIENCING ON THE LAST SUSAN, GOING TO BE SOME SERIOUS CHALLENGES, UM, RIGHT.
YOU'LL SEE SOME CITIES THAT ARE MUCH MORE DEPENDENT ON SALES TAX REVENUES OR OF ALL OUT SOURCES OF REVENUE.
SO THAT HELPS US OUT A LOT GREAT LIQUIDITY.
THAT SIMPLY MEANS THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE THE MONEY WE HAVE NOT GOING TO.
WE DO HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY OUR BILLS, TO MEET CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS, UM, EMPLOYEE WAGES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND WE'RE, WE ARE THE ONLY LARGE TEXAS CITY THAT IS TRIPLE A RATED BY ALL THREE CREDIT RATING AGENCIES, WHICH IS AS HIGH AS YOU CAN GET.
THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT, I'LL SAY BECAUSE THAT AAA CREDIT RATING, WHEN WE GO OUT TO THE MARKET TO ISSUE BONDS WITH THE CAPITAL PROGRAM, THAT ENSURES THAT WE GET THE LOWEST POSSIBLE INTEREST RATES, WE'LL SAY, IT'S OUR TAXPAYERS MONEY.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING? HOW ARE WE GOING TO CLOSE THIS BIG SHORT BALL? I TALKED ABOUT $170 MILLION DROP IN REVENUE, RIGHT? WE ENTERED IT IN A STRONG POSITION.
HOW DO WE MAKE SURE WE EXIT IN A STRONG POSITION? OUR CITY MANAGER WAS VERY QUICK, UM, WAY BACK IN MARCH, RIGHT AFTER, UM, WE, WE SAW THE NEED TO HAVE A STAY HOME, STAY SAFE ORDER YOU PUT IN PLACE A HIRING FREEZE.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE MORE THAN 600 POSITIONS ACROSS THE CITY THAT HAVE BEEN FROZEN.
UM, WE'VE ALSO ASKED OUR DEPARTMENTS TO REIGN IN ANY DISCRETIONARY BUDGET LINE ITEMS. UM, THINGS LIKE TRAVEL.
AND ONE'S OBVIOUSLY PRETTY EASY TO REIGN IN RIGHT NOW, BUT TRAINING AND EMPLOYEE AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS, THINGS THAT ARE NICE TO HAVE IN THAT, THAT THEY'RE IMPORTANT IN THE LONG RUN.
UM, BUT ANYTHING THAT WE CAN, UM, REMAIN IN RIGHT NOW TO SAVE MONEY AND WE'VE ASKED HER DEPARTMENT TO DO THAT, AND WE ALREADY HAD WANTS VARIOUS INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCIES, UM, TO LOOK AT A, A, UM, UM, MAKING SURE THAT OUR PROGRAMS ARE ALIGNED TO COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION, 20, 23.
AND WE HAD ALREADY WE'RE WELL UNDER WAY AT LOOKING AT ALTERNATIVE SOURCES, UM, OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE.
SO THESE INITIATIVES WILL ALL HELP CLOSE THAT BUDGETARY GAP.
UM, OTHER THINGS WE NEED TO LOOK AT IS, DO YOU REMEMBER THAT THAT SLIDE I SHOWED YOU WITH THE FIVE-YEAR FINANCIAL FORECAST? UM, THAT FORECAST IS PREDICATED ON A LOT OF ASSUMPTIONS, ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT EMPLOYEE WAGES AND, UM, ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT STAFFING ADDITIONS, LIKE POLICE OFFICERS AND THE OPENING OF NEW FIRE STATIONS, UH, FUNDING FOR OUR CAPITAL REPLENISHMENT ON, UM, THOSE ASSUMPTIONS ARE MADE, UH, BASED, BASED UPON CERTAIN REVENUE ASSUMPTIONS AND WHEN THE REVENUE ASSUMPTIONS CHANGE, THE EXPENDITURE ASSUMPTIONS NEED TO CHANGE AS WELL.
SO THAT'S, UM, UM, STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING ON REVISITING ALL OF THESE ASSUMPTIONS.
PART OF THE BUDGET THAT WE PROPOSE TO THE COUNCIL ON JULY 13TH WILL SURELY INCLUDE CHANGES TO SOME OF THESE ASSUMPTIONS.
QUITE FRANKLY, WE JUST CAN'T AFFORD IN OUR CURRENT FINANCIAL SITUATION, WE WILL JUST WON'T BE ABLE TO AFFORD, UM, ALL OF THE THINGS THAT WE HADN'T BEEN PLANNING ON DOING AND ARE GONNA HAVE TO SCALE SOME OF THOSE THINGS BACK, UM, OTHER OPTIONS FOR CLOSING THAT SHORTFALL FOR DEALING WITH THAT SHORT BALL.
UM, THE STATE LEGISLATURE, I MENTIONED EARLIER LOWERED THE CAP ON PROPERTY TAX REVENUES AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT BEGINNING OF
AND SO WITH THE GOVERNOR'S DECLARATION OF A DISASTER FOR COVID-19 THAT PROPERTY PASS TAX GAP WILL REMAIN AT 8% FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
UM, THERE'S NOT BEEN ANY DECISION MADE ABOUT THE LEVEL OF TAX INCREASE.
IT WILL BE NEEDED TO BALANCE OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET, UM, THAT AN OPTION THIS YEAR, AT LEAST TO, TO HAVE A, UM, AN INCREASE OF UP TO 8%.
UM, WE ALSO WANT TO REVISIT THE FEE WAIVERS THAT WE OFFER.
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GENERAL FUND RESERVES.WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THOSE A LITTLE BIT.
WE STARTED THIS PRICE IS MORE THAN $25 MILLION AHEAD OF OUR RESERVE POLICY ON, SO THAT'S GOING TO ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO FUND PROGRAMS WHILE WE'RE WAIT FOR THE ECONOMY TO RECOVER.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE RECEIVED A LOT OF FEDERAL FUNDING FROM FEMA AND THROUGH THE KAREN'S ACT.
I WANT TO TALK A LITTLE BIT, UM, THESE NEXT SLIDES, FEMA ESSENTIALLY IS THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY.
THEY PROVIDE DISASTER RELIEF FUNDING TO CITIES, COUNTIES, STATES, TYPICALLY DURING THINGS LIKE FLOODS AND HURRICANES AND AFTER TORNADOES, UM, BUT ALSO DURING PANDEMICS.
AND SO WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET REIMBURSED FOR A LOT OF THE EXPENSES WE'RE INCURRING RELATED TO THAT, UM, DISASTER THAT SHOULD THE CITY'S DISASTER RESPONSE THROUGH FEMA.
THERE IS NO CAP ON THE AMOUNT OF LIST REIMBURSEMENT, BUT THERE ARE LIMITATIONS ON WHAT TYPES OF EXPENSES ARE ELIGIBLE.
AND THERE IS A LOCAL SHARE OF 25%.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL ONLY COVER 75% OF HIS EXPENSES.
YOU MAY HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE CARE ZACK.
THIS WAS A TWO POINT $2 TRILLION, UH, ACT PASSED BY THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, UM, THAT PROVIDED A VARIETY OF FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS TO AID INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES.
DURING THIS TIME OF CRISIS, THEY ALSO INCLUDED ON DOLLARS FOR LOCAL JURISDICTIONS.
AND THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS THE BENEFICIARY OF SOME OF THAT, THE BIGGEST PIECE BEING THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND OF 170 POINT $8 MILLION.
BUT OUR AIRPORTS ALSO RECEIVED AID, UM, VARIOUS GRANTS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED THROUGH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT, WHERE YOU'RE RECEIVING ADDITIONAL ALLOCATION ON GRANT FOR OUR HOMELESS POPULATION, UH, COMMUNITY SERVICES, BLOCK GRANTS, AND HELP US PROVIDE EDUCATION AND HEALTH AND NUTRITION PROGRAMS TO, UM, INDIVIDUALS.
BYRNE JAG IS A JUSTICE GRANT, UM, THAT CAN BE USED FOR PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT AND OTHER LAW ENFORCEMENT RELATED GEAR.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE LIST GOES ON OF SMALLER GRANT LOANS.
NOT ONLY DID AUSTIN RECEIVE FUNDING, BUT TRAVIS COUNTY WILLIAMSON CARAMEL CAPITAL METRO CENTRAL HEALTH, AND THE PEOPLES NAME HALL RECEIVED DOLLARS THROUGH THE CARES ACT.
SO THERE IS A LOT OF FUNDING FLOWING INTO THE AREA.
IT'S NOT ENOUGH, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF DOLLARS FLOWING IN AREA PROVIDING AID DURING THIS TIME OF CRISIS.
I WANTED TO CLOSE OUT WITH A LITTLE BIT DISCUSSION ABOUT A SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
SO WHAT IS BEING PROPOSED FOR HOW WE ALLOCATE ALL THOSE DOLLARS TO MEET COMMUNITY NEEDS AND FIND THE RIGHT BALANCE BETWEEN AIDING BUSINESSES AND AIDING INDIVIDUALS ADDRESSING THE PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS AND THEN MEDICAL NEEDS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
AND SO STAFF HAS PREPARED UNDER COUNCIL DIRECTION AND PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT'S BEEN DISCUSSED IN WORK SESSION.
A COUPLE OF TIMES NOW WITH COUNCIL ON, THEY'RE GOING TO BE TALKING ABOUT IT MORE AT A WORK SESSION TOMORROW.
UM, AND I ANTICIPATE THERE'LL BE AN ACTION AT THE THURSDAY COUNCIL MEETING TO APPROVE, UM, A SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THESE FUNDS IN REGARDS TO OUR BROAD PRINCIPLES BEHIND THE FRAMEWORK.
UM, EVERYBODY SEEMED TO FEEL THAT THE MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE NEEDED TO BE OUR TOP PRIORITY WHILE THERE'S A LOT OF ECONOMIC NEED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY, OR EVEN OUR ECONOMIC LEADERSHIP PANEL HAS BEEN HELPING GUIDE CITY STAFF AND DEVELOPING OUR ECONOMIC RESPONSE.
I SAID, THE BEST THING WE CAN DO FOR THE ECONOMY IS TO, UM, STOP THE SPREAD OF THIS DISEASE TO SAFELY REOPEN THE ECONOMY, UM, TO REOPEN IT QUICKLY, BUT NOT TOO QUICKLY TO REOPEN IT SAFELY SO THAT WE DON'T END UP HAVING TO SHUT DOWN.
SO WE REALLY NEED TO PUT OUR FIRST PRIORITY ON MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, NEEDS EVEN FROM AN ECONOMIC SUPPORT THAT NEEDS TO BE THE TOP PRIORITY.
UM, UH, THERE IS A CRITICAL NEED TO LEAD WITH EQUITY AND ALL ASPECTS OF OUR SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
THE DATA ARE CLEAR THAT THE LATIN X AND AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATIONS ARE EXPERIENCING DISPROPORTIONATE HEALTH IMPACTS.
UM, AND DATA IS ALSO COMING IN THAT OUR ASIAN AMERICAN POPULATION THEY'RE EXPERIENCING IMPACTS TO THEIR BUSINESSES.
SO WE NEED TO TAKE THAT INTO ACCOUNT AS WE'RE DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING THESE PROGRAMS, UM, AND SPENDING THESE DOLLARS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PUTTING EQUITY FIRST.
UM, WE ALSO NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE PRESERVE THE CITY'S LONGTERM FISCAL HEALTH.
UM, THE COMMUNITY RELIES ON CITY PROGRAMS, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF AREAS.
AND SO WE'VE BEEN MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE DOING EVERYTHING WE CAN TO REIMBURSE THE COSTS THAT WE'RE INCURRING AS A CITY THROUGH THESE SPECIAL SOURCES OF FUNDS.
SO WE CAN STAY IN A GOOD FINANCIAL POSITION.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY THE FRAMEWORK MUST BE ADAPTABLE TO CHANGE.
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OUR SMARTEST SCIENTISTS KNOW EXACTLY THE DIRECTION OR THIS DISEASE IS GONNA GO.IT'S JUST GOING TO DAVID AND AARON SURGEONS, IF THERE'S GOING TO BE SOME NEW TREATMENT OPTIONS AVAILABLE.
SO, UM, IN ALL OF THIS, AND WE NEED TO BE ABLE TO SAY, INCLUDING SOME FLEXIBILITY AND FRAMEWORKS THAT WE CAN CHANGE TO, YOU CAN ADJUST TO CHANGING CIRCUMSTANCES, VERY BIG BUDGET OR VERY BIG BUCKET PICTURE.
THIS IS WHAT THE FRAMEWORK LOOKS LIKE.
A TOTAL OF 271.6 MILLION OF FEDERAL FUNDING.
JUST NOTE, WE DON'T INCLUDE THE AIRPORT GRANT HERE BECAUSE SIMILAR TO THE AIRPORT ENTERPRISE, I'VE TALKED ABOUT ALL THAT MONEY HAS TO STAY WITHIN THE AIRPORT GROUNDS.
THE 57.8 MILLION OF AIRPORT GRANT IS SPECIFICALLY TO HELP IT HURT COURT, STAY AFLOAT, CAN'T BE USED FOR ANYTHING ELSE, BUT THE OTHER TWO 71 POINT $6 MILLION I'M PROPOSING TO SPEND, AS WE SHOW ON THIS PIE CHART, 105 MILLION FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE, 103 MILLION FOR ECONOMIC SUPPORT AND 62.9 MILLION FOR MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS.
AND I'LL JUST MENTION THERE AGAIN.
AND DESPITE THAT BEING THE SMALLER, SMALLEST DOLLAR AMOUNT, UM, WE DID START WITH THAT.
AND THEN WE TAPPED OUR MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH PROFESSIONALS WITH GIVING US A, UH, UM, A PLAN THAT MET ALL OF THEIR PROJECTED PUBLIC HEALTH AND MEDICAL NEEDS OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT BLIND MONTH.
AND SO THAT WAS OUR STARTING POINT.
AND THEN WE GET A LOT OF DISCUSSIONS ABOUT WHAT THE REMAINING DONALD'S, HOW CAN WE MEET BOTH THE, UH, EMERGENCY RESPONSE NEEDS OF OUR DEPARTMENTS WHO ARE OUT THERE ON THE FRONT LINES.
I RESPONDING TO THIS EMERGENCY, UM, BUT ALSO PROVIDE ECONOMIC SUPPORT FOR OUR COMMUNITY, UM, UH, IN TERMS OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE, UH, YOU KNOW, IT'S, UH, ESSENTIALLY JUST THINK OF OUR FRONTLINE RESPONDERS, WHETHER MAYBE FIRE PERSONNEL OR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, STAFF, OUR EMERGENCY OPERATION STAFF, OR PUBLIC HEALTH EMPLOYEES.
WE HAVE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES OUT IN THE FIELD WORKING TO COMBAT THIS DISEASE.
UM, THAT'S WHAT EMERGENCY RESPONSE IS ABOUT, UM, FOR MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS.
I'LL JUST LEAVE THIS UP HERE FOR A LITTLE BIT AS I TALK, I WON'T READ THROUGH ALL OF THESE, BUT THIS IS ABOUT, UM, GETTING OUT THERE AND MAKING SURE WE'RE DOING THE PROPER TESTING ON PACK TRACING.
UM, MAKING SURE WE HAVE QUARANTINE FACILITIES FOR OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, PROTECTING OUR SENIORS WHO ARE IN NURSING HOMES.
THAT'S WHAT MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS IS ALL ABOUT.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY ECONOMIC SUPPORT IS ABOUT PROVIDING A LIFELINE TO OUR BUSINESSES AND OUR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR EMPLOYMENT DISRUPTED BY THIS CRISIS.
UM, FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, RENTAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE, UM, ALL SORTS OF PROGRAMS TO TRY TO SUPPORT OUR COMMUNITY THROUGH THIS DIFFICULT TIME.
I THINK THE LAST THING I HAVE FOR YOU THEN IS JUST OUR BUDGET TIMELINE.
WE'VE BEEN AT THIS SINCE JANUARY, SINCE, YOU KNOW, COVID WAS, YOU KNOW, JUST BARELY EVEN BEING TALKED ABOUT IT WAS ACTUALLY GOING ON IN JANUARY, BUT IT DIDN'T REALLY BECOME A, A HUGE ISSUE IN THE UNITED STATES UNTIL MARCH.
BUT WE'VE BEEN AT THIS SINCE JANUARY.
UM, WE HAVE A TOWN HALL MEETINGS THAT WAS SCHEDULED WITH VARIOUS COUNTS A LOT.
THIS IS, UM, YOU SEE DOWN IN THE KEY DATES THAT THE CITY MANAGER PRESENTING A BUDGET PROPOSAL TO COUNCIL ON JULY 13TH, WE'LL HAVE A COUPLE OF PUBLIC HEARINGS AND THEY'D CANCEL SLATED TO ABAP A BUDGET ON AUGUST 12TH.
THAT'S OUR, THAT'S OUR TIMELINE.
UM, AND THEN AGAIN, THIS IS, UH, A LINK.
JASON MENTIONED A SURVEY WE'D LOVE FOR YOU TO GO OUT, TO SPEAK UP OFTEN.ORG.
UH, TAKE OUR SURVEY WHERE YOU CAN PUT IN YOUR INPUT ON BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR THE CITY.
WE'VE ALREADY HAD OVER 7,000 RESPONSES TO THAT SURVEY.
SO WE'RE GETTING A GREAT RESPONSE THIS YEAR AND, UM, YOU CAN ALSO GET THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, I'LL FIND A PLACE IN RELATIONS AT ADDITIONAL TOWN HALL MEETINGS.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO HEAR ME GIVE THE SAME THREE CITATION AGAIN IN THE FUTURE.
SO THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU COUNCIL MEMBER.
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY, ARE WE GOING TO MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS THEN? WELL, THANK YOU, ED.
THIS IS, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS PRESENTATION.
I THINK THIS HELPED PEOPLE GET A GOOD, GOOD VIEW OF THE BUDGET AS WELL AS THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
SO I THINK WE CAN MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS AND, UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO ASK JASON TO, UM, PRESENT THOSE QUESTIONS TO ED NY AND GREAT.
WHILE WE WERE TALKING ABOUT KOBE AND SORT OF THE LATEST I'M GOING TO ASK A COUPLE OF COVID RELATED QUESTIONS, UM, AND I'LL ASK QUESTIONS CAUSE THEY'RE KIND OF RELATED.
UM, ONE IS I'M INTERESTED TO KNOW WHAT CHANGES WE MIGHT EXPECT GIVEN THE PANDEMIC.
IS IT POSSIBLE ANY USER FEES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE? AND THEN THE SECOND SORT OF QUESTION IS CAN
[00:25:01]
COA DELAY ANY PROJECTS SLATED FOR FUTURE, LIKE SOME OF THE CORRIDOR PROJECTS TO ADDRESS THE CURRENT COVID RELATED AND RECENT EVENT COSTS THAT WILL IMPACT THE BUDGET.FOR EXAMPLE, THIS LAST NAME, THE DESIGN FOR BIKE LANES COULD BE DELAYED.
SO ED, WOULD YOU LIKE TO ADDRESS THOSE? I COULD.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THERE'S NO THINGS WE'RE LOOKING TO INCREASE AS A RESULT OF FORBID 19, THERE HAS BEEN DISCUSSIONS IF THERE'S FEES, WHETHER THEY BE PERMITTING FEES OR POTENTIALLY MEDICAL RESPONSE FEES THAT ARE COVID RELATED, YOU KNOW, IS THERE THE ABILITY THAT WE LOWER THOSE FEES TO HELP THE COMMUNITY OUT DURING THIS TIME OF CRISIS? UM, THERE WERE SOME FEE INCREASES THAT, UM, THE CITY LOOKS INTO AS PART OF ITS ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS.
UM, LOOKING TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO VARIOUS FEES FOR SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO, YOU KNOW, TO KEEP THE FEES A LITTLE BIT IN LINE WITH THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SERVICE.
UM, IN REGARDS TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS, UM, YOU KNOW, HAD CITY CAPITAL PROJECTS IS, IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF BEING PART OF OUR ECONOMIC RECOVERY.
THEY PUT A LOT OF PEOPLE TO WORK.
UM, AND A LOT OF TIMES THEY'RE FUNDED THROUGH, UM, BOND PROGRAMS. SO ONCE THE VOTERS HAVE APPROVED THE BONDS, UM, THAT MONEY IS THERE FOR US TO DELIVER PROJECTS AND THERE REALLY WOULD BE NO LONGTERM SAVINGS TO US, THE LAND, THE IMPLEMENTATION, THE PROJECTS.
AND ACTUALLY TO SOME DEGREE YOU COULD ARGUE IF WE COULD ACCELERATE SOME OF THAT CAPITAL WORK.
UM, IT COULD BE A PART OF THE, THE ENGINE THAT HELPS GET OUR ECONOMY RESTART.
UM, I WILL SAY AT THE AIRPORT THOUGH, THEY, THAT GIVEN THEIR FINANCIAL CHALLENGES, UM, THEY HAVE A NUMBER OF PROJECTS THAT ARE UNDER AWAY AND NEED TO CONTINUE.
BUT I DO THINK THAT SOME OF THEIR PLANNED CAPITAL EXPANSIONS BEING SLOWED DOWN OR DELAYED AS A RESULT OF ALL IMPACTS WE'VE SEEN ON OUR SECTOR.
ANOTHER QUESTION IS HOW HAS THE CITY BUDGET IMPACTED BY SIGNIFICANT INCREASES IN UNEMPLOYMENT ECONOMIC STRAIN ON SAFETY RESOURCES? WELL, THAT EARLIER SLIDE I SHOWED YOU ON SALES TAXES, IT'S KIND OF ONE IN THE SAME QUESTION OF UNEMPLOYMENT.
IT'S ALMOST UNCANNY HOW CLOSELY SALES TAX AND RESOLVES TRACK WITH, UM, EMPLOYMENT LEVELS.
SO UNEMPLOYMENT IS GOING UP WHEN, UM, WHEN, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE GETTING HOT, UM, HIRED INTO JOBS, THEY TEND TO SPEND MONEY AND THAT SPENDING KNOW TRANSLATES INTO SALES TAX REVENUES WHEN EMPLOYMENT DROPS SPENDING DROPS AND THAT TRANSLATES INTO LOWER SALES TAX REVENUE.
SO THE BIG SPIKE WE'VE SEEN IN UNEMPLOYMENT IS ABSOLUTELY HAVING AN IMPACT ON OUR SALES TAX NUMBERS WAS A TWO MONTH LAG IN GETTING THOSE SALES TAX COLLECTIONS THOUGH.
AND, UM, IN MAY WE RECEIVED OUR SALES TAX PAYMENT FROM THE STATE THAT REFLECTS MARCH SALES, THAT PAYMENT WAS DOWN FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT.
WE'LL GET OUR PAYMENT IN JUNE, WHICH WILL REFLECT EQUAL SALES SOMETIME NEXT WEEK, WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, WE'LL GET THAT SALES TAX PAYMENT CERTAINLY EXPECT IT TO BE DOWN SUBSTANTIALLY MORE THAN FOUR AND A HALF PERCENT.
THAT'LL BE THE FIRST SALES TAX PAYMENT WE GET THAT REFLECTS A FULL BUNDLE OF THE UPSTATE HOME STATE SAVINGS ORDER.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT STATEWIDE, THE STATE NUMBER COMES OUT EARLIER THAN THE LOCAL NUMBERS.
STATEWIDE SALES TAX COLLECTIONS WERE DOWN 13 AND A HALF PERCENT LAST YEAR, UM, WHICH IS NOT NEARLY AS BAD AS I THOUGHT IT WAS GONNA BE QUITE HONESTLY, BUT IT IS THE LARGEST DROP IN, UM, YEAR OVER YEAR SALES TAX COLLECTIONS IN A DECADE.
LET'S SEE, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE MORE QUESTIONS AROUND RELIEF.
UH, I SEE NANCY ASKS ANY PLANS TO PROTECT VULNERABLE CITIZENS THAT LIVE IN THE COMMUNITY AND NOT IN NURSING HOMES, VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES.
WE DON'T LIVE IN NURSING HOMES.
AND THEN ANOTHER QUESTION SIMILAR OR RELATED IS, IS THERE A PLAN TO SUPPLEMENT AND ARE THERE ANY DETAILS TO THAT? SO, AND I CAN SPEAK TO MEN FOR A MINUTE TO THE OTHER PATIENTS.
AND, UM, SO, AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WE MIGHT WANT TO PULL DOWN THE, UH, PRESENTATION SO PEOPLE CAN SEE US BETTER AND LESS.
AND JASON, YOU CAN LET US KNOW IF THERE'S QUESTIONS THAT WE NEED TO PUT IT, PUT UP THE ROTATION TO ANSWER THE QUESTION ABOUT VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
SO, UM, WHAT, UH, WHAT THE COUNCIL DID IS ALSO PASSED A RESOLUTION RECENTLY
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TO, UH, FOCUS SOME ADDITIONAL ACTIONS ON VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.AND THOSE INCLUDE, UM, THOSE THAT ARE, UM, MAYBE, MAYBE AT RISK FOR, UM, WITH DIFFERENT CONDITIONS.
UM, AND SO IT'S MORE DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO GO BACK TO WORK BECAUSE IT PUTS THEM AT GREATER RISK.
SO WE IDENTIFIED THOSE KINDS OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, THOSE TYPES OF VULNERABLE POPULATION, UM, AS WELL AS, UM, UH, OTHER.
AND SO THE SLIDE THAT ED SHOWED YOU FIRMS HAVE THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT INCLUDES A BUCKET FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
UM, THAT INCLUDES, UM, TO, UH, PEOPLE LIVING IN, UM, UH, ASSISTED LIVING IN LONGTERM CARE OR NURSING HOMES.
IT ALSO INCLUDES OTHER FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE VULNERABLE.
AND THEN THE SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION THAT I ASKED IS, IS THERE A PLAN TO EXPAND THE RIGHTS DOLLARS? UM, I WILL SPEAK TO THAT ALSO.
UM, AND, UM, AS YOU CAN SEE, WHAT, UM, AND MADE AVAILABLE WAS THAT THERE ARE BUCKETS, THERE'S A BUCKET IT'S THAT LAST BUCKET, UH, THAT INCLUDES THE RISE FUNDS AS WELL AS OTHER FUNDS.
UH, THE COUNCIL HAD A CONVERSATION LAST WEEK.
I THINK IT WAS ABOUT THE NEED TO PUT SOME ADDITIONAL DOLLARS INTO DIRECT SERVICES FOR INDIVIDUALS, WHICH IS WHAT THE RISE FUND FOLKS, UH, FOCUSES ON.
AND SO MY EXPECTATION IS THAT THERE WILL BE A PROPOSAL, UH, TO PUT SOME ADDITIONAL DOLLARS INTO THAT.
I CAN'T SPEAK TO HOW MUCH AT THIS POINT, UH, WE MAY HAVE SOME CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THAT TOMORROW, BUT I AM EXPECTING TO SEE A PROPOSAL TO DO THAT.
WE HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS AROUND, UH, PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, I'M GOING TO READ THROUGH THEM, AND THEN I'LL, I'LL HAND OFF TO YOU AND PROBABLY I'LL START AT THE TOP.
WOULDN'T INVESTING MORE MONEY IN AFFORDABLE HOUSING MEASURES AND PUBLIC HEALTH DO MORE TO PROTECT AND SERVE OUR COMMUNITY, ALLOCATING SUCH A LARGE PORTION TO THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND CONSIDERING THE VIOLENT POLICE ACTIONS, OFTEN HUNDRED PROTESTORS THIS WEEKEND, DOES THE COUNCIL MEMBER SUPPORT DIVESTMENT FROM APDS BUDGET AND SOCIAL SERVICES SUCH AS HOUSING AND PUBLIC HEALTH PARKS AND LIBRARIES.
SO, UM, SO, SO YES, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS POINTED OUT.
THIS COUNCIL HAS BEEN WORKING AT OVER THE YEARS TO, TO REALLY STRIKE A BETTER BALANCE IN TERMS OF OUR INVESTMENTS, UH, IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, THAT, YOU KNOW, IF HE'S A BE INVESTMENTS IN PUBLIC AND, UM, IN POLICING.
SO AS HE MENTIONED, WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO SHIFT FROM 70% TO, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 65% OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
THE REASON FOR THAT IS I, UM, INHERENT IN THE QUESTION THAT WAS ASKED, UM, WHAT, WHAT FALLS INTO, UM, OUR POLICING SYSTEMS, OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEMS RIGHT NOW ARE THE RESULTS OF A LOT OF SOCIAL PROBLEMS, SOCIAL ISSUES THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB AS A COMMUNITY, UH, OR EVEN AS A NATION FOR THAT MATTER.
WE HAVEN'T DONE AS GOOD A JOB.
WE HAVEN'T DONE A GOOD JOB, UM, TO, TO PREVENT OR TO ADDRESS.
AND HOUSING IS A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT.
UM, AND SO TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, YES, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT TO, UH, CONTINUE WITH THE EFFORTS THAT THIS COUNCIL HAS MADE TO SHIFT OUR INVESTMENTS MORE TOWARDS PREVENTATIVE KINDS OF ACTIVITIES, WHICH INCLUDES HOUSING AS A, AS A MAJOR MAJOR PIECE OF THAT.
SO, UM, I THINK I GOT TO THE, WAS THERE ANOTHER ASPECT OF IT, JASON, THAT I DIDN'T ADDRESS? NO, BUT THERE'S A SIMILAR QUESTION.
AND SHE'S REFERRING TO THE PIE CHART THAT ED SHOWED EARLIER ABOUT THE POLICE BUDGET.
SHE SAYS, I NOTICED YOU SAY, I NOTICED THAT THE PIE CHART, UH, THAT 38.9 OF THE BUDGET GOES TO POLICE, WHICH IS A LITTLE UNDER HALF OF THE BUDGET CONSIDERING CURRENT EVENTS.
IS IT POSSIBLE TO SEE WHERE THAT FUNDING IS GOING SPECIFICALLY AND HOW MUCH IS GOING TO CIT SLASH DEESCALATION TRAINING? OKAY.
SO AN ALTERNATIVE TO YOU, WHERE CAN SHE SEE THE DETAIL, UM, BUDGET FOR THE POLICING? UM, SO IF YOU WERE TO, UM, SEARCH FOR, UM, OPEN BUDGET HEX, UM, YOU'LL, YOU'LL, YOU'LL FIND, UH, AN ONLINE TOOL THAT ESSENTIALLY SHOWS THAT FOUR POINT $2 BILLION, AND YOU CAN DRILL DOWN INTO A VERY GRANULAR DETAIL.
UM, IT'S NOT GOING TO GET YOU TO THE LEVEL OF SPECIFICALLY, HOW MUCH ARE
[00:35:01]
WE SPENDING ON DEESCALATION TRAINING? AND I DON'T HAVE THAT ANSWER OFF THE CUFF, BUT, UM, THAT'S ONE THAT I COULD CERTAINLY PASS ON TO MY STAFF OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.AND, AND, UM, I'D BE HAPPY TO GIVE BACK MAYBE THROUGH YOU, JASON, IF THERE'S A WAY FOR ME TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE PERSON, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO GET BACK WITH THE PORTION OF THE APD BUDGET THAT GOES TO THAT TYPE OF TRAINING.
I DO KNOW THEY DO THAT TRAINING.
AND SO, UM, WE WILL COMMIT TO WORK WITH ED TO GET THAT INFORMATION.
AND, UM, AND JASON, I HOPE YOU HAVE A PERSON WHO WILL SHARE WITH OTHER WELL, WE'LL SHARE IT MORE BROADLY THAN THAT, BUT WE'LL BE SURE AND, AND RESPOND TO THE PERSON WHO ASKED THAT QUESTION.
UM, THIS QUESTION IS PROBABLY FOR YOU, WHAT HAPPENS TO OLDER BOND MONEY THAT HAS NOT BEEN SPENT? SO, UM, TYPICALLY, UM, IF THERE'S, OR FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY WE DON'T, WHEN THE VOTERS APPROVED A BOND, IT'S NOT LIKE, SAY IT'S A, UH, WAS THE LAST ONE, 925 MILLION IMMEDIATELY ISSUE ALL THAT BONDS THAT IS BOND.
AND WE DON'T ISSUE IT ALL AT ONCE.
SO AS THE PROJECTS ARE OCCURRING, UM, WE WILL ISSUE THE BOND VERSUS OURSELVES FOR THE EXPENSES THAT HAVE INCURRED.
SO WE ISSUE THE BONDS OVER TIME, AS THE PROJECTS ARE BEING DELIVERED.
IF A PROJECT COMES IN UNDER, UM, UNDER THE PRICE TAG THAT IT WAS A $10 MILLION PROJECT AND IT WAS FINISHED FOR $9 MILLION, THEN WE HAVE A COUPLE OF CHOICES.
WE WOULD JUST SAY WE DON'T ISSUE THE BONDS, OR WE COULD REDIRECT THE BONDS TO ANOTHER PORTION OF THE PROPOSITION.
SO IF THAT WAS A PARKS PROJECT THAT CAME IN ONTO THE BUDGET AND WE CAN USE THE SAVINGS FOR ANOTHER ELIGIBLE PARKS PROJECT WITHIN THE PROPOSITION LANGUAGE.
SO THOSE ARE REALLY THE ONLY TWO THINGS WE CAN DO WITH BOND DOLLARS, UM, THAT ARE NOT EXPENDED.
NOW, IF FOR SOME REASON WE'VE ACTUALLY ISSUED THE BOND DOLLARS AND THEN SOMETHING HAPPENED WITH THE PROJECT WHERE IT DIDN'T MOVE FORWARD.
UM, THE ONLY OPTION WE REALLY HAVE IS TO THEN JUST PAY BACK THE BONDS.
WE TAKE THE MONEY THAT WE, UM, COLLECTED THROUGH THE BOND ISSUANCE, AND WE JUST PAY BACK THE BOND HOLDERS.
AND THAT SECOND ONE IS VERY UNCOMMON THAT THAT'S NOT BEEN AN, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S HAPPENED IN MY 10 YEARS WITH THE CITY, BUT THAT'S WHAT WOULD HAVE TO HAPPEN.
UM, A SOMEWHAT SIMILAR QUESTION.
UM, HOW OFTEN DO DEPARTMENT BUDGETS ARE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS REVIEWED AND AUDITED? HOW OFTEN DOES THAT HAPPEN? UM, WELL, THE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS ARE REVIEWED BY MY OFFICE, YOU KNOW, DURING THE BUDGET PROCESS EVERY YEAR DEPARTMENTS SUBMIT THEIR BUDGETS AND WE REVIEW THEM THOROUGHLY AND BET THE NUMBERS WE'RE TASKED WITH TRYING TO TAKE, UM, ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT NEEDS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S BALANCED AND PRESENT SOMETHING TO STRUCTURALLY SOUND AND BALANCED FIRST TO CITY MANAGEMENT, AND THEN ULTIMATELY TO CITY COUNCIL.
AND THEN THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE DO BUDGET MONITORING TO KEEP AN EYE ON THE BUDGET TO MAKE SURE THAT THE DOLLARS ARE BEING SPENT APPROPRIATELY, THE DEPARTMENTS AREN'T GOING OVER BUDGET, THEY ARE GOING OVER BUDGET TRYING TO ANALYZE WHAT'S HAPPENING AND BRINGING IT TO THE ATTENTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE AN INDEPENDENT AUDITORS OFFICE THAT ALSO WILL AUDIT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT, BUDGETS CONSISTENT WITH THEIR AUDIT PLAN.
AND SO THEY'RE NOT NECESSARILY LOOKING AT EVERY, EVERY ASPECT OF EVERY DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET EVERY YEAR, BUT THEY'RE HONING IN ON, UM, ON KEY AREAS ON WHETHER THAT BE IT EXPENDITURES.
FOR EXAMPLE, IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT THEY SAY THEY'RE GOING TO AUDIT THAT IN A GIVEN.
SO THOSE ARE THE TWO MAIN SOURCES OF MONITORING AND AUDIT.
AND FOR DEPARTMENT, WE HAD ALSO, UM, AS A COUNCIL, THAT DISCUSSIONS, WHEN WE ADOPTED THE STRATEGIC PLAN, UH, ABOUT PERIODICALLY GOING THROUGH A PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE ALLOWED IN OUR INVESTMENTS, UH, THROUGH OUR BUDGET WITH OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
AND, UM, AND SO WE HAD TALKED ABOUT DOING THAT ON A ROLLING BASIS.
I DON'T, I CAN'T RECALL THE EXACT SCHEDULE, BUT I KNOW THAT THAT MAY, UM, WE NEED TO CHANGE AS WE CONTINUE TO FOCUS ON RECOVERY.
JUST TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE, UH, ONE OF THE, ONE OF THE SLIDES THAT, UM, THAT ED POLL EARLIER SHOWED SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE WERE DOING TO LOOK AT OUR BUDGET AND INCLUDED ON THAT WAS, UM, OUR PROJECT TO LOOK AT OUR SPENDING RELATED TO HOMELESS SERVICES.
WE, UH, COMMITTED LAST YEAR, CITY MANAGER COMMITTED LAST YEAR.
[00:40:01]
SOME ANALYSIS OF OUR CONTRACTING OR A HOMELESS SERVICES PURPOSE, THERE WAS TO MAKE WAS AGAIN, TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR INVESTMENTS ARE FOCUSED ON THE RESULTS THAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR ALIGNED WITH OUR STRATEGIC PLAN, SO THAT WE WERE BEING MORE, UM, UH, DELIBERATIVE AND MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE ALMOST ALL ON THE SAME PAGE AND FOCUSING THE RESULTS THAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET TO.SO THAT ANALYSIS, UM, UH, IS WELL IT'S ONGOING.
WE SHOULD HAVE A REPORT SOON, I THINK, BUT THAT'S JUST AN EXAMPLE OF OUR, UH, THE EFFORTS OF THE CITY TO, UM, TO LOOK AT HOW WE'RE INVESTING, UM, AND MAKE SURE WE'RE ALIGNING OUR INVESTMENTS WITH, UM, WITH OUR STRATEGIC PRIORITIES.
AND THAT LEADS INTO A GOOD QUESTION FROM A, A RETURN CUSTOMER.
WHO'S SEEING A COUPLE OF YEARS WORTH OF YOUR PRESENTATIONS HERE.
SHE'S ASKING ABOUT, UM, LAST YEAR WE SAW A SORT OF QUALITY OF LIFE INITIATIVES, AS WELL AS OTHER OUTCOMES, STRATEGIC DIRECTION, PRIORITY OUTCOMES, BEING TRACKED.
ARE WE, ARE YOU STILL TRACKING IN THAT WAY? AND CAN WE SEE THAT INFO? UM, YES, WE STILL, UM, UM, I'M NOT SURE WHO THAT INDIVIDUAL WAS, BUT THEY MAY BE AWARE THAT WE HAD, UH, ANOTHER REAL EXTENSIVE PROCESS WITH OUR QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS.
I, I OFTEN KIND OF REFERRED TO IT MORE AS THE EQUITY COMMISSIONS CAUSE WE HAVE FOUR COMMISSIONS THAT ARE TECHNICALLY CALLED QUALITY OF LIFE COMMISSIONS, BUT THEN WE HAVE ANOTHER FIVE COMMISSIONS THAT ARE KEENLY FOCUSED ON EQUITY ISSUES.
THOSE NINE COMMISSIONS, UM, COLLECTIVELY COMPRISE THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE JOINT INCLUSION COMMISSION AND THEY EACH HOSTED A BUDGET FORUM EARLIER IN THE BUDGET CYCLE.
AND YOU MAY SEE ON THAT ONE SLIDE WHERE I SHOW THAT A BUNCH OF TIMELINE AND THE FACT THAT WE'VE BEEN ASKED THIS SINCE JANUARY ON IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY, WE HAD MANY SATURDAY MEETINGS WITH THE, UH, JOINT INCLUSION COMMITTEE WORKING GROUP, COMING UP WITH A PLAN TO DO THE COMMUNITY BUDGET FORUMS. WE PARTICIPATED.
I PARTICIPATED IN ALL NINE OF THOSE FORUMS AND, UM, WE'VE RECEIVED, UM, I THINK SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 60 OR 70 RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THOSE COMMISSIONS, WE RECEIVED RECOMMENDATIONS FROM OTHER COMMISSIONS AS WELL, BUT THE PREPONDERANCE OF THEM CAME FROM OUR EQUITY COMMISSIONS AND, AND, UM, WE TAKE ALL THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS VERY SERIOUSLY AND WE SUMMARIZE THEM.
WE PROVIDE THEM TO OUR DEPARTMENTS.
WE ASK OUR DEPARTMENTS TO PROVIDE RESPONSES TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN SOME CASES, UH, SOMETIMES IT MAY BE THAT WE ALREADY ARE DOING SOMETHING THAT'S A RECOMMENDATION.
AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT GETS HIGHLIGHTED IN OTHER CASES.
UM, UM, THE DEPARTMENT MAY BE ABLE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO THEIR PROGRAMMING TO ADDRESS THE RECOMMENDATION ABOUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING.
UM, BUT I WILL SAY, AND I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS SINCE THE BEGINNING OF OUR PROCESS THIS YEAR, THAT IN MANY CASES AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDING, THAT WAS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE UNDER A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE CAP.
AND THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES WE'RE SEEING FROM COVID-19 FUNDING NEW INITIATIVES, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A GREATER CHALLENGE THAN EVER.
BUT, UM, YEAH, NO, THE, THE, THE QUESTION, UM, IS, IS SPOT ON THE PERSON WHO ASKED IT IS CORRECT THAT WE HAD DONE A LOT OF LEARNING IN THE LAST SEVERAL BUDGET CYCLES TO ADDRESS EQUITY ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT AND WE'LL THIS BUDGET CYCLE AND CONTINUE TO REPORT OUT ON THAT.
AND WAS THAT THE SAME WITH THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES? WELL, IT'S A LITTLE DIFFERENT FOR THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES IN THE SENSE THAT WE'RE HEAVILY FOCUSING THAT INTERNALLY.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER KITCHEN MENTIONED ON THAT ONE SLIDE.
I TALKED ABOUT DOING AN EXTENSIVE PROGRAMMATIC REVIEW TO ENSURE THAT OUR BUDGET RESOURCES ARE ALIGNED TO COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION.
UM, THAT'S A, THAT'S AN INITIATIVE THAT WE STARTED WELL BEFORE.
COVID-19 AND IT'S STILL UNDERWAY.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY WE'RE ASKING IN THAT QUESTION IS IF THERE'S THINGS WE'RE SPENDING IN OUR BUDGET, IF THERE'S MONEY IN THIS BUDGET THAT DOESN'T ALIGN TO A, TO A STRATEGIC GOAL OR A STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE, OR THAT HELPS MOVE THE NEEDLE ON AN IMPORTANT STRATEGIC, UM, INDICATOR OF, UH, PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT.
UH, AGAIN, WE HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, WHY ARE WE PROVIDING THAT SERVICE? WHY ARE WE SPENDING THAT MONEY? AND THERE MAY BE SOME MANDATORY, UH, LEGISLATIVE REASON WHY WE HAVE TO INCUR THAT EXPENDITURE.
BUT, UM, WE REALLY ARE DOING A LOT OF WORK TO MAKE SURE THAT THE PRIORITIES THAT WE'VE HEARD FROM OUR COUNCIL AND, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN GO BACK INTO OUR BUDGET DOCUMENTS AND SEE THOSE TOP 10 STRATEGIC PRIORITIES FROM OUR COUNCIL.
THINGS LIKE HOMELESSNESS AND HOUSING AND HEALTH SERVICES AND, UM, THE, UH, FAIR ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE.
THESE ARE ALL PRIORITIES THAT THE COUNCIL HAS TOLD US ARE THEIR PRIORITIES.
UM, AND WE HAD PUT A LOT OF MONEY TOWARDS THOSE, UM, THOSE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES IN THE LAST SEVERAL
[00:45:01]
BUDGETS.IT'S GOING TO CONTINUE TO BE A FOCUS IN THIS BUDGET, ALTHOUGH IT'S GOING TO BE A MUCH TIGHTER BUDGET THAN WE'VE SEEN BEFORE.
UM, IT'S STILL THAT DOESN'T CHANGE THE PRIORITIES JUST BECAUSE THE RESOURCES ARE, ARE TIGHTER THAN THEY HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST.
COUNCILMEMBER KITCHEN BACK TO YOU.
I MISSED THE QUESTION EARLIER WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY AND THE POLICE BUDGET, UM, REMEMBER KITCHEN PLAN TO INCREASE POLICE ACCOUNTABILITY, ESPECIALLY COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
UH, SO, UH, FROM A, AND THANK YOU FOR ASKING THAT, THAT QUESTION.
I THINK, UM, ACCOUNTABILITY IS SOMETHING THAT IS A TOP PRIORITY FOR US.
AND, UM, I WOULD SAY THAT WE AS A COUNCIL, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US.
AND LET ME TELL YOU SORT OF AN OVERALL APPROACH THAT I TAKE AND THEN, UH, GIVE YOU SOME MORE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES.
SO FIRST I WOULD JUST SAY THAT, UM, THAT I THINK TO RECOMMIT AND TO ACCELERATE THE ACTION WE'VE TAKEN, UM, PREVIOUSLY OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS TO FOCUS ON ACCOUNTABILITY AND, UM, AND, UH, AND INCREASE THE, UH, UH, OR IMPROVE THE SERVICES THAT ARE PROVIDING TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND SO I THINK THAT WE NEED TO MOVE FASTER.
AND, UH, SO LET ME GIVE YOU SOME EXAMPLES.
SO FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE COMMITTED AND SAID FOR A WHILE NOW THAT WE NEEDED TO IMPROVE OUR TRAINING CURRICULUM, UH, WHICH IS, UH, IMPORTANT PRECURSOR FOR ACCOUNTABILITY, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR TRAINING IS ALIGNED WITH OUR GOALS TOWARDS DEESCALATION AND BESIDES, UM, YOU KNOW, PROPER RESPONSES.
UM, AND SO, UM, WE, AT THIS POINT THAT THE CITY MANAGER HAS COMMITTED TO, UH, NOT, NOT OPENING ANOTHER CADET CLASS UNTIL WE HAVE THAT UNTIL JULY.
AND FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE NOT START ANOTHER CADET CLASS UNTIL WE HAVE ACCOMPLISHED WHAT WE SAID.
WE WERE GOING TO ACCOMPLISH A NUMBER OF YEARS BACK FROM, UH, IMPROVEMENT, OUR TRAINING.
ANOTHER EXAMPLE THAT I WANT TO GIVE YOU THAT I THINK IS REALLY IMPORTANT, AND THIS IMPACTS OUR BUDGET TOO, IS OUR MENTAL HEALTH, UM, RESPONSE PROGRAM.
UH, WE HAVE TO BE MORE ACCOUNTABLE IN TERMS OF HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO MENTAL HEALTH, MENTAL HEALTH CALLS.
UM, AND WE FUNDED A PROGRAM RELATES TO IN INCLUDING CLINICIANS IN THE CALL CENTER, UH, WE ARE MORE APPROPRIATELY PERSON WITH THE RIGHT TRAINING TO ANSWER, TO RESPOND TO THOSE KINDS OF CALLS, TO ENSURE THAT WE GET THE RIGHT PERSON ON THE SCENE.
SO WE'VE DONE, WE'VE FUNDED THAT PROGRAM.
WE NEED TO ACCELERATE BRINGING THAT PROGRAM TO SCALE, AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE GOT THE FUNDING FOR IT.
SO THOSE ARE JUST UNCOMFORTABLE, IMPULSIVE IN TERMS OF ACCOUNTABLE ABILITY.
UM, I ALSO WANT TO SAY, UM, THAT, UM, I KNOW THERE HAVE BEEN, WELL, LET ME JUST SAY THIS.
I THINK IT HAS BEEN VERY DIFFICULT FOR ALL OF US, WHAT WE SAW THIS PAST WEEKEND.
AND, UM, I THINK IT IS IMPORTANT THAT AS A CITY, WE HAVE THE CONVERSATIONS AND WE UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED.
AND SO I'VE ASKED OUR CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO US ABOUT THE INCIDENTS THAT OCCURRED THIS PAST WEEKEND.
I EXPECT THAT AS A COUNCIL WE'LL HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS ON THURSDAY, I WAS VERY DISTURBED TO SEE THAT, UM, WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN AND WAS SUPPOSED TO BE, AND WAS NEEDED TO BE A PEACEFUL PROTEST WHERE PEOPLE COULD TALK ABOUT THEIR, THEIR, THEIR FEARS AND THEIR ANGER AND THEIR ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED.
UM, I WAS VERY DISTURBED TO SEE THAT TURN INTO, UH, TO SEE THAT CO-OPTED AND TURNED INTO SOME ACTIONS THAT, UM, THAT THOSE WHO ENGAGED IN, UM, ACTIONS THAT ARE SIMPLY UNACCEPTABLE, LIKE LOOTINGS AND FIRE AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS.
SO, UM, SO WITH ALL THAT SAID, I THINK THAT ACCOUNTABILITY TO CIRCLE BACK AROUND THE QUESTION, I THINK ACCOUNTABILITY IS IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY IN TERMS OF, UM, UH, LONGER-TERM REACHING THE GOALS AND ACCELERATING OUR, UM, ACCELERATING OUR ACTIONS TO ACHIEVE THE REFORMS THAT WE HAVE BEEN WORKING ON.
AND, UM, AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, UNDERSTANDING WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEKEND AND, UM, HOLDING EVERYONE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THOSE ACTIONS, UM, ALL THE WAY FROM THE INCIDENTS IN TERMS OF HOW, HOW SOME OF THE, UH, RESPONSE WAS, UH, IN
[00:50:01]
TERMS OF KEEPING ORDER, AS WELL AS THE ACTIONS THAT SOME PEOPLE TOOK, UH, THAT WERE, UM, FRANKLY ILLEGAL.UM, SO THAT'S A LONG ANSWER AND A LITTLE BIT BEYOND THE QUESTION, BUT I DO THINK IT'S IMPORTANT CONSIDERING WHAT EVERY WHAT'S ON EVERYONE'S MIND NOW TO SPEAK TO THAT A SLIGHTLY RELATED QUESTION.
THERE'S A QUESTION HOW WILL DAMAGE EXPERIENCE THIS WEEKEND BE PAID FOR? THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.
UM, I'M NOT CERTAIN ABOUT THAT.
AND SO, UH, WE WILL LOOK INTO THAT AND, UM, AND GET A RESPONSE.
UM, LET'S SEE, HERE'S A QUESTION, ED, DO YOU PLAN TO KEEP THE THREE AND A HALF PERCENT REVENUE CAP OR MOVE TO THE 8% AUTHORIZED? UM, SO I'M GOING TO HAVE TO BE A BIT VAGUE ON THAT BECAUSE THERE'S BEEN NO DECISION MADE YET.
UM, WE DON'T PRESENT THE PROPOSED BUDGET TO CITY COUNCIL UNTIL JULY 13.
UM, DEPARTMENTS SUBMITTED THEIR BUDGETS TO THE BUDGET OFFICE ABOUT TWO WEEKS AGO, AND WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING THROUGH ALL THOSE SUBMITTALS, UM, BEDDING NUMBERS FOLLOWING UP WITH THE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THAT SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
PART OF THAT SPENDING FRAMEWORK IS GOING TO BE TO HELP THIS CITY OFFSET THE SIGNIFICANT COST WE'RE INCURRING IN RESPONDING TO THIS, TO THIS CRISIS.
UM, AND SO UNTIL WE HAVE THE ANSWERS TO ALL OF THOSE THINGS, IT'S, IT'S TOO HARD FOR, YOU KNOW, IT'S TOO EARLY FOR ME TO SAY, THIS IS THE TAX RATE WE'RE GOING TO NEED, UM, IN ORDER TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET, BUT I WILL SAY THE BUDGET WILL BE BALANCED.
AND SO, UM, UNDER, UNDER, UM, STATE LAW, OUR BUDGET NEEDS TO BE BALANCED.
WE DON'T HAVE THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO RUN DEFICITS AND THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
WE HAVE TO HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET.
WE HAVE TO HAVE REVENUES COMING IN THAT, THAT, THAT NEED OUR BUDGETARY NEEDS FOR THE YEAR.
AND SO THAT'S, WE'RE GOING TO DO, UM, OBVIOUSLY THERE'S A LOT OF CONCERN ABOUT THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES THAT ARE BEING FELT BY THE COMMUNITY, UM, AS A RESULT OF COVID-19.
SO THERE'S GOING TO BE, UM, A SENSITIVITY TO TAX INCREASES.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I WISH I HAD A BETTER ANSWER FOR YOU THAT BETTER ANSWER WILL COME OUT IN ABOUT SIX WEEKS.
SO AFTER WE GET THROUGH OUR BUDGET PROCESS AND PRESENTED A PROPOSAL TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON JULY 13TH, UM, AND THEN, THEN FROM THERE, YOU KNOW, WHAT BUDGETS AND COUNCILS, AND IN REGARDS TO, IF THEY WANT TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS TO WHAT STAFF POSTS, AND THEN ADD A QUESTION, UM, AND I BELIEVE IT'S ABOUT YOUR EARLIER PIE CHART SLIDES.
THEY SAY, THIS IS NOT A QUESTION, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR ABOUT THE BUDGET BREAKDOWN FROM THE EARLIER QUESTIONS, IF IT WOULD BE SHARED PUBLICLY SOMEWHERE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
AND I THINK THAT'S IN REFERENCE TO THE, UH, 38.9% TO POLICE AND THE GENERAL REVENUE PIE CHART.
SO IS THAT INFO AVAILABLE PUBLICLY ED? SO, UM, IT IS, I THINK IT IS, IT DEPENDS, YOU KNOW, IT DEPENDS ON IF THERE'S LOOKING FOR SOMETHING SPECIFIC LIKE DEESCALATION TRAINING.
UM, THAT'S MORE OF A, YOU KNOW, SEND US THE QUESTION HAPPY TO GET YOU THAT RESPONSE.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN A LOT MORE DETAIL THAN 39% FOR PUBLIC SAFETY.
UM, AGAIN, I'D ASK YOU TO SEARCH OPEN BUDGET.
ATX, YOU'LL FIND YOURSELF AT A PACE THAT'S VERY EASY TO NAVIGATE.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BUDGET EXPERT TO USE IT, BUT YOU CAN DRILL DOWN ON THAT, UM, UM, POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET, UM, AND, AND GET DOWN INTO VERY FINE LEVELS OF DETAIL.
LIKE HOW MUCH MONEY ARE WE SPENDING IN THIS PARTICULAR POLICE UNIT ON TRAINING, OR HOW MUCH ARE WE SPENDING ON TRAVEL? UM, THAT LEVEL OF DETAIL IS ALL AVAILABLE ONLINE AND IT UPDATES, UM, THE DATA IS UPDATED, UM, MONTHLY SO THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY NOT ONLY TRACK WHAT THE BUDGET IS, BUT HOW OUR YEAR TO DATE EXPENDITURES TRACKING AGAINST THAT BUDGET.
SO AGAIN, OPEN BUDGET ATX, UM, I THINK WE'LL HAVE ALL THE DETAILS YOU NEED.
UM, BUT THEN YOU CAN ALSO GO TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BUDGET WEBSITE AND, UM, GET INTO OUR BUDGET DOCUMENT THAT WILL HAVE A LOT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET AS WELL.
WE HAVE A, UM, LET'S SEE, THERE WAS A QUESTION HERE ABOUT TESTING FOR COVID.
UM, AND THE QUESTION IS WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR TESTING? I HEARD TRAVIS COUNTY HAD A MORE, HAD MORE ROBUST TESTING OPTIONS.
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH WHO IS ELIGIBLE CONTEMPT, CONVINCE KOBE.
UM, I HADN'T HEARD ABOUT WHAT TRAVIS COUNTY'S PROTOCOLS ARE, UH, OR THAT THEY'RE MORE OPEN.
[00:55:01]
WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU IS GET THE EXACT PROTOCOLS, CAUSE I'M SURE YOU'RE INTERESTED IN WHO'S ELIGIBLE.I CAN TELL YOU THAT, UM, THERE ARE SPECIFIC PROTOCOLS FOR TESTING AND RETESTING, UM, IN, UH, NURSING FACILITIES AND LONGTERM CARE FACILITIES.
UM, AND THEN THERE ARE ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALSO THE PUBLIC TESTING.
THAT'S CURRENT PUBLIC TESTING IN THE SENSE THAT THERE'S A, UH, A ROUTE FOR PEOPLE TO REQUEST, TO BE TESTED, THAT WHERE THEY DON'T HAVE TO GO POSITION.
UM, BUT THERE'S STILL, THERE'S STILL, UM, EVEN IN THAT ROUTE, THERE ARE STILL SOME PROTOCOLS ABOUT WHO'S TESTED.
I CAN TELL YOU THAT THE, UH, EFFORT IS TO TEST MORE WIDELY THAN WE HAVE DONE IN THE PAST.
BUT THE SPECIFICS THAT YOU'RE ASKING FOR, WE'LL HAVE TO CHECK ON, WE CAN GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.
UM, THERE IS SOME, YOU, YOU, I THINK YOU PROBABLY ALREADY KNOW THAT THERE IS INFORMATION ON THE COVID-19, UH, WEBSITE, BUT, UM, BUT THAT DOESN'T GET DOWN TO THE LEVEL OF EXACTLY WHAT IS THE PROTOCOL, IF SOMEONE CALLS IN AND ASKED TO BE TESTED, SO WE'LL GET YOU THAT INFORMATION.
THE LAST SET OF QUESTIONS ARE MORE ABOUT, WELL THAT THERE'S ONE MORE COMMENT.
THE PRESIDENT SAYS CITY COUNCIL WITH WASTING TOO MUCH MONEY ON REWARDING AND ENABLING VAGRANTS FOR A TINY FRACTION OF THE MONEY BUDGETED.
THE COUNCIL COULD PARTNER WITH ORGANIZATIONS LIKE SALVATION, ARMY.
WHY YMCA, WHY WCA AND KERR, CARITAS, ET CETERA.
SO IT'S NOT REALLY A QUESTION, BUT THEY DID PUT THAT OUT THERE.
I WANTED TO SEE IF YOU WOULD ADDRESS IT.
I'D BE HAPPY TO, TO TALK IN MORE DETAIL WITH THE PERSON WHO ASKED THE QUESTION, BECAUSE I'M NOT SURE IF I'LL BE ABLE, IF I'M ANSWERING EXACTLY WHAT THE QUESTION IS.
UH, I'D LIKE TO UNDERSTAND BETTER, WHICH, WHICH FUNDING THEY'RE, UH, THEY'RE CONCERNED ABOUT.
UM, SO I'LL, I WILL ATTEMPT AN ANSWER AND IF IT DOESN'T, IF IT DOESN'T ADDRESS WHAT THE PERSON IS ASKING, UM, PLEASE REACH OUT TO US.
UM, SO I CAN TELL YOU THAT WE, WHAT WE DO DO A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT THINGS.
UH, WE DO WORK THROUGH THE NONPROFITS THAT YOU MENTIONED.
I THINK YOU MENTIONED SALVATION ARMY AND A COUPLE OF OTHER ONES.
UM, AND SO AS A, AS A COUNCIL, WE DO HAVE CONTRACTS WITH THOSE SOCIAL SERVICE GROUPS, AND WE ALSO, UM, ENCOURAGE, UM, THEIR EFFORTS TO REACH OUT TO THE PHILANTHROPIC COMMUNITY, UH, IN TERMS OF FUNDING.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE SALVATION ARMY WAS, I CAN'T REMEMBER EXACTLY WHAT IT, WHEN IT WAS LAST YEAR, WHERE THE COUNCIL DID PUT SOME FUNDING INTO, UH, FOR SALVATION ARMY TO HELP THEM WOMEN AND CHILDREN'S SHELTER.
UH, BUT THAT'S, BUT THAT WAS AN EXAMPLE OF USING SOME CITY DOLLARS TO, TO HELP, UH, TO HELP THEM GET STARTED WITH, OR HELP THEM OPEN THAT SHELTER AT THE SAME TIME THAT THEY WERE CONTINUING THEIR EFFORTS TO, UH, TO RAISE MONEY FOR THE PHILANTHROPIC.
SO THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A WAY IN WHICH WE'VE WORKED WITH.
UM, WE'VE WORKED WITH OUR LOCAL NONPROFITS TO, UH, TO SUPPORT THE WORK THEY'RE DOING IN GETTING FUNDING.
ALSO TRY TO OTHER THINGS I WOULD JUST SAY QUICKLY, WE ARE ALSO WORKING TO FOCUS OUR EFFORTS AROUND HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS, UH, TO FOCUS OUR FUNDING ON EFFECTIVE WAYS, UH, TO, UM, PROVIDE FOR ADDITIONAL ADDITIONAL SHELTER, WHICH THEN CONNECTS A PERSON TO LONGER TERM HOUSING, UH, WHICH IS, IS CRITICAL.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IT'S, I THINK IT'S ACTUALLY, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT THAT BACK TO OUR, THIS GOES BACK TO OUR ENTIRE FOCUS FOR OUR BUDGET AND OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UH, WE NEED TO BE SURE THAT WE'RE INVESTING IN THINGS THAT ARE EFFECTIVE, UM, AND THAT, UM, ARE TIED TO RESULTS AND ARE TIED TO RESULTS THAT ALIGN WITH OUR STRATEGIC STRATEGIC PRIORITIES AND, UM, AND THAT WE CAN SHOW RESULTS.
SO AS AN OVERARCHING MATTER, THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE FOCUSED ON WITH REGARD TO OUR ARE WORKING ON ISSUES RELATED TO HOMELESSNESS.
AND THAT IS TO GET REAL, VERY CLEAR AND VERY FOCUSED ON WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOMPLISH AND, UM, AND USE THE CITY DOLLARS IN A WAY THAT THAT CAN GET US TO THAT GOAL.
SO AGAIN, I'D BE HAPPY TO HAVE A LONG CONVERSATION TO MAKE SURE I'M ADDRESSING THE QUESTION.
[01:00:01]
UM, LET'S SEE, WE'VE GOT MOST OF THE QUESTIONS ANSWERED.I JUST WAS HOPING THERE MIGHT BE LIKE JUST THREE OR FOUR MINUTES FOR ME TO GIVE A SHAMELESS PLUG OF SOME OF THE TOOLS I'VE TALKED ABOUT.
CAUSE YOU KNOW, WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF INTEREST AND WHERE DO I GET MORE DETAILS? AND I THINK I COULD SHOW YOU THIS OAKLAND BUDGET ATX TOOL THAT REALLY DOES GIVE YOU THAT ALL THAT INFORMATION THAT FOLKS ARE ASKING FOR SOME OF THE QUESTIONS.
THAT'S WHAT I WAS GOING TO JUMP TO.
THEY WERE ASKING ABOUT THE BUDGET SURVEY, WHEN DID THAT CLOSE AND ALSO FOR BOTH ED AND, AND UM, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY? UM, I'M SORRY, I'VE LOST THE QUESTION, BUT IT WAS AROUND THE BEST WAY FOR THE COMMUNITY TO BE INVOLVED AND EXPRESS PRIORITIES AND VALUES.
SO ED, YOU GO FIRST IN TERMS OF THE, THE SHAMELESS PLUG OF THE TOOLS.
SO I'M GOING TO SHARE A SCREEN HERE REAL QUICK.
UM, THEY COME UP, YOU SEE OAKLAND BUDGET, ATX EVERYONE.
SO HERE'S OUR OPERATING BUDGET.
YOU CAN EITHER DRILL DOWN ON REVENUES FOR OPERATING, BUT I'M JUST GOING TO SHOW YOU, I CLICK ON REVENUES AND YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THE BIG AUSTIN ENERGY, THREE FUNDS THAT I TALKED TO YOU ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WELL, HERE'S THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE GOING TO BE INTERESTED IN.
YOU KNOW, IT BRINGS UP A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT POLICE.
SO YOU CAN START SEEING WHAT THAT POLICE MONEY IS USED FOR.
UM, YOU KNOW, AND THERE'S DIFFERENT LEVELS OF DETAIL.
UM, YOU KNOW, ONE THING YOU CAN DO OVER HERE ON THE RIGHT IS THIS IS A SNAPSHOT SHOWING YOU IN THE BIG GREEN BAR, THAT'S THE BUDGET AND THE DARKER GREEN BAR INSIDE HIS EXPENDITURES TO DATE.
SO YOU CAN SEE HOW WELL, HOW THEY'RE TRACKING, UM, ACTUAL EXPENDITURES TODAY VERSUS BUDGET.
IF YOU WANT TO SEE A PIE CHART VIEW, THIS HAS KIND OF WHAT THIS, UM, THE POLICE BUDGET UP AT THE TOP FOUR AND $34 MILLION, THE THINGS THEY SPEND IT ON.
YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING IT OVER TIME.
AND INSTEAD OF SEEING THE TOTAL, YOU COULD SAY, WELL, I WANT TO SEE SPECIFIC ASPECTS OF THE BUDGET OVER TIME.
AND YOU KNOW, UH, IT LOOKS LIKE THEIR SUPPORT SERVICES PIECE HAS GONE DOWN OVER TIME WHERE THEIR BREASTS HAVE KIND OF BEEN TRENDING UPWARDS.
UM, WE HAD A QUESTION ABOUT TRAINING, WHERE DO I GO TO FIND TRAINING, COME UP HERE TO THE LITTLE SEARCH, DO HICKEY AND PUT IN TRAINING AND SEE WHAT SHE GET.
I'M GOING TO TRY PULL ON THIS ONE.
NOW THIS GIVES YOU, THIS IS SHOWING YOU ALL THE TRAINING, ALL THE TRAINING IN THE CITY'S BUDGET, THAT'S IN THIS PARTICULAR UNIT, BUT I CAN DRILL ON THE GENERAL FUND.
AND THEN I CAN ACTUALLY, YOU KNOW, I CAN GET DOWN TO POLICE AND SEE THAT POLICE TRAINING BUDGET.
UM, YOU KNOW, THEY ARE EXCEEDING, THIS IS ONE THING YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE APARTMENTS DO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO EXCEED AND EXCEED INDIVIDUAL LINE ITEMS. WHAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO IS TO EXCEED THEIR OVERARCHING BUDGETS.
SO THIS GIVES YOU AN INDICATION OF WHAT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAVE BUDGETED FOR TRAINING AND WHAT CAN ACTUALLY SPEND.
SO THEY ARE OVERSPENDING ON THEIR TRAINING BUDGET, BUT AGAIN, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GET DOWN INTO SPECIFIC, WHEREAS THE DEESCALATION TRAINING, THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WOULD JUST HAVE TO ASK FOR.
THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION AND OPEN BUDGET ATX, UM, AND I WOULD REALLY ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO GO OUT THERE AND JUST CLICKING AROUND AND, AND SEE WHAT, SEE WHAT SHE CAN FIND.
THE OTHER THING THAT I DO REALLY QUICK IS THE OTHER ONE I TALKED ABOUT IS JUST TRY TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG, SPEAK UP THEN.ORG.
UM, ONCE YOU SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG, YOU'LL FIND A LOT OF THINGS YOU CAN SPEAK UP ON, BUT THE BUDGET PORTION IS RIGHT HERE AT THE TOP, CLICK ON THE BUDGET PORTION.
AND THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN TAKE THE CITY BUDGET SURVEY.
WE'VE GOT THIS LITTLE PROMO VIDEO WE DID THIS YEAR FOR THE CITY'S BUDGET PROCESS.
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN TAKE THE SURVEY.
IF WE DIDN'T GET TO YOUR QUESTION TODAY, OR DO YOU COME UP WITH A QUESTION THAT YOU HADN'T THOUGHT OF ON A BUDGET QFA AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV AND MYSELF AND MY STAFF WILL GET, GET YOU A RESPONSE TO YOUR, YOUR QUESTIONS.
THIS IS THE PRESENTATION THAT, UM, THAT I WENT THROUGH EARLIER.
UM, AND AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CITY TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WE'LL PUT THE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO PARTICIPATE OVER HERE.
UM, SO THOSE ARE THE TWO THINGS OPEN BUDGET, UM, OR SPEAK UP AUSTIN OR, AND, UM, OPEN BUDGET ATX RESOURCES, UM, PART OF OUR EFFORT TO BE AS TRANSPARENT AS WE CAN BE WITH OUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION.
AND IS THERE A SURVEY ALSO, YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THE SURVEY? YEAH.
THE IS RIGHT HERE TO TAKE OUR BUDGET SURVEY AND HMM, IT'S GOING TO, I'M NOT GOING TO DO IT BECAUSE IT MAKES YOU GO THROUGH THIS.
I AM NOT A ROBOT THING AND IT TAKES A LITTLE WHILE TO GO THROUGH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF THOSE TYPES OF
[01:05:01]
DEALS, BUT YOU PROVE THAT YOU'RE NOT A ROBOT AND THEN YOU CAN GO IN THERE AND TAKE THE CITY'S BUDGET, PRIORITIZATION SURVEY AND EXPRESS YOUR OPINIONS ABOUT HOW THE RESOURCES ARE CURRENT BEING CURRENTLY BEING ALLOCATED.AND IF YOU THINK WE'VE GOT THE RIGHT MIX OR DO YOU THINK IT SHOULD BE ALLOCATED DIFFERENTLY? DO YOU KNOW WHEN THAT CLOSES? UM, WE ARE PLANNING ON LEAVING THE SERVICE OPEN.
THINK I TALKED TO, UH, UH, MY STAFFER.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO KEEP IT OPEN UNTIL JULY 1ST.
UM, WE'RE WORKING WITH STANFORD, STANFORD UNIVERSITY REACHED OUT TO US AND IS HELPING US WITH THIS RESEARCH PROJECT.
UM, SO WE NEED TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO COMPILE THE RESULTS THAT WE'D WANT TO PRESENT THE RESULTS SURVEY TO COUNCIL ALONG WITH.
AND THEN I WOULD JUST ADD, UM, UH, SO, SO THANKS THIS, THIS IS, UH, REALLY APPRECIATE THE TRANSPARENCY AND ALL THE TOOLS THAT ARE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS.
UM, AND THEN I WOULD JUST ADD IF, IF, UM, IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS YOU HAVE, PEOPLE ARE WELCOME TO REACH OUT TO US.
AND THEN, UM, I AM, I AM VERY INTERESTED IN WANTING TO HEAR FROM, FROM ALL OF YOU ABOUT WHAT IDEAS ARE YOUR CONCERNS, YOUR QUESTIONS, WHAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE US DOING THE BUDGET.
WE ALSO HAVE AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS OF, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE OUR POSTED, UM, PUBLIC MEETINGS AND I'M NOT REMEMBERING THE DATES ON THOSE RIGHT NOW.
I'M SURE THERE ON THE WEBSITE, I THINK THEY'RE IN AUGUST.
CAN, UH, AND DO YOU REMEMBER THE TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS ARE IN THAT PRESENTATION? THEY'RE ON JULY 23RD AND JULY 30TH.
SO THAT'S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO PARTICIPATE AND I'M IN FRONT OF THE FULL WHOLE COUNCIL AND LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
THERE'S ANOTHER BUDGET QUESTION.
UM, IF WE HAVE TIME FOR ONE MORE, YES.
UM, WHAT WAS THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUNDING LAST YEAR VERSUS THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND HOW DO WE MOVE TOWARDS MORE BALANCED IN THESE EXTREME BUDGET DIFFERENCES? ARE YOU CONSIDERING A DECREASE IN THE APD BUDGET THIS YEAR? WELL, WE WILL.
AND DO YOU WANT TO SAY ANYTHING TO THAT AD OR SHOULD I RESPOND, JUST SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, CLEARLY THE NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING DEPARTMENT THAT HAS, I THINK AROUND 60 OR 70, UM, FULL TIME EMPLOYEES IS, IS SUBSTANTIALLY SMALLER THAN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET THAT HAS, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY 2000 AND EMPLOYEES, BUT, BUT I WILL ALSO SAY THAT JUST LOOKING AT THE OPERATING BUDGETS, NOT NECESSARILY THE FULL PICTURE IN REGARDS TO COMMUNITY OR COUNCIL PRIORITIES, UM, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY WAS, UM, AND INSIGHTFUL ENOUGH TO IMPROVE A $250 MILLION AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND.
UM, AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE ACTION OCCURS IN REGARDS TO HOUSING PROGRAMS IS THROUGH THE CAPITAL BUDGET AND DELIVERING ADDITIONAL AFFORDABLE HOUSING PROJECTS.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S A $250 MILLION BOND THAT'S BEEN FOR THAT, BUT YEAH, JUST LOOKING AT THE OPERATING BUDGET, IT'S NOT GOING TO EVEN BE CLOSE.
AND, AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AS A, YOU KNOW, AS A COUNCIL, OUR PRIORITY HAS BEEN IN MY PRIORITY ALSO TO LOOK AT HOW WE CAN, UM, HOW WE CAN MOVE TO BEING PROACTIVE AND PREVENTATIVE.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT TOO MUCH ENDS UP TOO MANY OF OUR, OUR PROBLEMS THAT WE HAVE IN OUR COMMUNITY END UP IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM, UH, WHICH IS JUST NOT EQUIPPED TO DEAL WITH.
SO, UH, SO WE, WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO LOOK AT PLACES WHERE WE CAN EMPHASIZE, UM, HOUSING, UH, HOW SOCIAL ISSUES LIKE HOUSING ISSUES, UM, AND CONTINUE TO LOOK AT THAT BALANCE IN OUR BUDGET, UM, WAYNE EXPENDITURES ON THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, UM, AND EXPENDITURES, UM, ON POLICING AND AGAIN, AND WHERE THOSE INTERSECT LIKE, UH, THE, UH, MENTIONED IT BEFORE ALREADY, BUT THE, THE MENTAL HEALTH PROJECT THAT, UM, WE HAVE NOW FUNDED IS AN INTERSECTION OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AND POLICING.
AND IT'S A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF A, OF A PLACE WHERE, YOU KNOW, IN THE PAST WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVE RELIED ON POLL ON, ON OUR POLICING STRUCTURE TO RESPOND IN A MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
WHEN THAT, JUST, THAT JUST DOESN'T, UM, MAKE SENSE IN TERMS OF HAVING THE RIGHT PERSON HANDLING THE MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS.
SO THE KINDS OF CHANGES THAT WE'VE, WE'RE MOVING TOWARDS WHERE,
[01:10:01]
WHICH, WHICH BRING THOSE TOGETHER, WHICH BRING TOGETHER THE RIGHT CLINICIAN IN THE SETTING OF THOSE NINE 11 CALLS IS WHAT WE NEED TO BE REALLY DRILLING DOWN TO AND DOING MORE AND MORE OF THAT, UH, WITH THAT SAID, UM, THE OTHER ISSUE THAT ED POINTED OUT EARLIER IS, YOU KNOW, WE COMMITTED, WE COMMITTED TO NEW OFFICERS, UH, EVERY YEAR, UNDERSTANDING THE NEED BECAUSE OF THE GROWTH IN OUR COMMUNITY AND THE GROWTH FOR THE NEED OF OFFICERS.THAT'S AN ASSUMPTION THAT WE WILL MOST DEFINITELY HAVE TO TALK ABOUT AGAIN THIS YEAR.
UM, WE HAVE, UM, ADDITIONAL CHALLENGES IN OUR BUDGET AND OUR BUDGET.
SO THE, THE SLIDING OF 30 ADDITIONAL OFFICERS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ABOUT, UM, IN LIGHT OF WHERE OUR BUDGET IS AT.
THERE'S ONE COMMENT HERE AND, UM, NOT SO MUCH, BUT A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, AGAIN, THE POLICE RESPONSE TO THIS WEEKEND, AND IT'S IN REFERENCE TO A WOMAN WHO WAS HIT WITH A BEANBAG, THE QUESTIONS I'LL JUST READ IT.
A POLICE OPEN FIRE WITH BEANBAGS AND A PREGNANT WOMAN WAS HIT TWICE, UH, AT THE PROTEST THIS WEEKEND.
THEY'RE SAYING THAT SHE LOST HER CHILD.
I HAD NOT HEARD OF THIS, BUT, UM, ANY COMMENTS ON WHY YOU THINK THIS HAPPENED? WELL, FIRST OFF, LET ME JUST SAY THIS.
UM, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT, WHAT HAPPENED THIS PAST WEEKEND.
AND SO I HAVE ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE INFORMATION FOR US, UM, WHAT EXACTLY HAS HAPPENED IN INCIDENTS.
AND THAT INCLUDES UNDERSTANDING FROM OUR EMS, WHAT HAPPENED? I CAN, I CAN TELL YOU AT THIS POINT, WE ARE NOT AWARE OF ANY FATALITIES AND THAT INCLUDES ANY FATALITIES FOR AN UNBORN CHILD.
SO, UM, BUT THAT, SO I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO, TO, UM, TO GET THE FACTS AND THE DATA ON WHAT HAS HAPPENED, WHAT HAPPENED IN TERMS OF INJURIES AND WHY, UM, WHAT HAPPENED IN TERMS OF BEANBAGS OR, YOU KNOW, ANY OF THOSE METHODS THAT WERE USED.
AND SO I HAVE ASKED THE CITY MANAGER TO MAKE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE, ASKED, ASKED FOR ACCOUNTING OF THAT, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE SCHEDULED FOR A COUNCIL CONVERSATION AND COUNCIL DISCUSSION, UM, ON THURSDAY.
SO, UM, SO THAT, THAT KIND OF ACCOUNTABILITY, UM, IS IMPORTANT.
UM, AS I'VE SAID BEFORE, UM, AS I SAID BEFORE, I AM DISTRESSED THAT WHAT, UH, WHAT NEEDED TO BE A PEACEFUL PROTEST, HALF OF PEOPLE WHO ARE HURTING AND ABLE TO EXPRESS THEMSELVES AND TALK ABOUT IT, UH, WAS CO-OPTED BY SOME WHO FELT, WHO TOOK THE OCCASION TO CALL IT, TO COMMIT ILLEGAL ACTS LIKE THE LOOTING AND THE FIRES, AND THOSE FOLKS WILL BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE ALSO.
SO, BUT I TAKE VERY SERIOUSLY.
SO THE SITUATION THAT THIS PERSON THAT YOU ALL ARE ASKING ABOUT, IF YOU CAN SHARE WHAT YOU KNOW ABOUT THAT SITUATION, WE WILL ASK SPECIFICALLY ABOUT IT.
WE ARE HEARING FROM THE COMMUNITY ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS THAT THEY SAW OR THAT THEY HEARD ABOUT, AND WE ARE TRACKING THOSE DOWN.
SO I INVITE YOU TO SHARE THAT, UM, SPECIFIC INFORMATION WITH US AND WE WILL CHECK INTO IT.
UM, AND THEN ALSO JUST TO REPEAT WHAT I SAID A MINUTE AGO, I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TOO, FOR US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENED.
AND I HAVE ASKED OUR CITY MANAGER TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION TO ALL OF US.
OH, THOSE ARE ALL THE QUESTIONS THAT WE'VE RECEIVED SO FAR.
AND WE ONLY HAVE A COUPLE OF MINUTES LEFT.
SO I THINK, DO YOU HAVE ANY CLOSING STATEMENTS OR FINAL THOUGHTS? ANYTHING YOU WANT TO SAY, ADD, JUST THANK YOU FOR ALL THE, I REALLY, I FEEL LIKE I HOPE NOBODY IS ON THIS LINE FROM ANOTHER DISTRICT BECAUSE TRULY, I THINK DISTRICT FIVE ALWAYS HAS THE MOST ENGAGED CITIZENS AND THE MOST INFORMED CITIZENS AND ASK THE BEST QUESTION.
SO I'LL TAKE THAT PLUG ON BEHALF OF THE FOLKS THAT ARE ON THE LINE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE FOLKS, UM, UH, LETTING US KNOW WHAT THEY THINK AND WHAT THEIR QUESTIONS ARE, AND WE'RE HERE TO LISTEN.
AND SO, UM, PLEASE CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO US.
AND WITH THAT, I GUESS WE'RE DID WE GET TO THE MILE, JASON? YES.
UH, YOU CAN REACH THE SURVEY AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV FORWARD SLASH BUDGET.
[01:15:01]
UM, AND LET'S SEE THE OTHER LINK THAT, UH, ED WAS TALKING ABOUT.THERE IS A DIRECT LINK TO THAT.
IF YOU GO TO BUDGET, NOT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV, UH, AND THAT THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE ONLINE THAT'S WHERE THE ONLINE ENGAGEMENT, ALL THE INFORMATION AND THE SURVEY FOR THE BUDGET FOR NEXT YEAR IS AVAILABLE.
UH, AS ALWAYS, IF YOU WANT TO REACH OUR OFFICE, YOU CAN CALL US AT (512) 978-2105, OR YOU CAN REACH US AT DISTRICT FIVE, AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
THANKS TO ALL THE STAFF THAT HELPED OUT COREY AND GREG AND TARA AND, UH, AND, UH, KATIE AS WELL.