[00:00:05]
AND I'LL CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER.
I'M GONNA START WITH, UM, AND ACTUALLY I BELIEVE THERE WERE SOME COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO WANTED TO SAY A FEW WORDS, UH, BEFORE WE GET STARTED.
AND I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE THE COUNCIL FOR HARVARD MADISON.
UH, I, I WOULDN'T SAY FORGIVE MY PARENTS, BUT I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR.
I, UM, I SUSPECT A LOT OF US HAD A REALLY LONG AND VERY SLEEPLESS WEEKEND.
UM, I WOULD BE REMISS TO NOT START THIS MEETING BY SAYING THIS WEEKEND, THIS WEEKEND WE SAW THOUSANDS OF AUSTINITES TAKE TO THE STREETS AND WHAT WERE LARGELY PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS.
CAN EVERYONE PLEASE MUTE THERE? PLEASE CALL PLEASE MUTE.
SO I WAS SAYING, UM, THIS WEEKEND WE SAW THOUSANDS OF AUSTINITES TAKE TO THE STREETS AND, UH, AND WHAT WERE LARGELY PEACEFUL DEMONSTRATIONS, UM, AGAINST AN ABSOLUTELY BROKEN SYSTEM.
THERE IS A DEEP, DEEP AND JUSTIFIED RAGE ACROSS THIS COUNTRY.
AND HERE RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW IN OUR FAIR CITY AND OUT OF CONTROL, PANDEMIC HAS KILLED MORE THAN A HUNDRED THOUSAND AMERICANS.
AND WE HAVE THE KIND OF LEVELS OF UNEMPLOYMENT NATIONALLY THAT THIS COUNTRY HASN'T SEEN SINCE THE GREAT DEPRESSION, THE DEATHS OF PEOPLE LIKE GEORGE FLOYD, MY GRANDMA'S BRIANNA TAYLOR, CONTINUE TO HIGHLIGHT THE RACISM EMBEDDED IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
UM, I FELT LIKE WE REALLY JUST COULDN'T START THIS MEETING WITHOUT SAYING THAT THE AUSTINITES THIS WEEKEND WHO PROTESTED, THEY WERE AN ARE JUSTIFIABLY FURIOUS.
AND YOU KNOW, THIS ISN'T A QUOTE THAT YOU'RE NOT FAMILIAR WITH, BUT I'LL REPEAT IT.
T SAID IT, A RIOT IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE UNHEARD.
AND JUST TO BE CLEAR THIS WEEKEND, WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND, THAT WAS NOT A RIOT.
THAT WAS THE DEMAND TO BE HEARD OUR RESIDENTS.
THEY WANT US TO HEAR THEIR PAIN.
THEY WANT TO SEE YOU, THEIR OUTRAGE.
THEY WANT THIS LONG OVERDUE CHANGE TO SYSTEMS THAT PROTECT THE PRIVILEGE WHILE TRAUMATIZING BLACK GROUND AND OTHER MARGINALIZED PEOPLE.
I JUST WANTED TO TAKE THE MOMENT TO MAKE SURE TO SAY, WE CANNOT CONTINUE TO STICK OUR FINGERS IN OUR EARS AND JUST WAIT FOR THE NEXT ERUPTION OF ANGER.
I'M JOINED WITH MY COLLEAGUES.
AND WE'RE ASKING FOR A COUPLE OF VERY SPECIFIC THINGS THIS WORK WEEK THAT WE CAN BUILD UPON.
WE HAVE GOT TO, YOU KNOW, WE ARE OBLIGATED.
WE HAVE GOT TO START TO ROOT OUT THE RACISM IN OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT AND TO CREATE A TRULY JUST, AND TRULY EQUITABLE SYSTEM THAT ENSURES THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY, THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, NOT CERTAIN SEGMENTS OF OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MEANINGFUL CHANGE, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HOW TO MOVE FORWARD, EQUITABLY, ALL THE OPTIONS SHOULD BE ON THE TABLE.
AND I THINK THAT MEANS WE REALLY SHOULD LOOK AT ACCOUNTABILITY MEASURES.
UM, THE ACTION THAT WE TOOK BACK IN DECEMBER AND MOVING FORWARD WITH SHIFTING AND FRANKLY, FRANKLY, SHIFTING TRAINING POLICIES AND CROWD CONTROL TACTICS AND HOW WE EQUIP OUR OFFICERS, WHAT COMMUNITY POLICING ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE.
YOU CAN'T JUST TAKE THE WORD COMMUNITY AND PUT IT IN FRONT OF POLICING AND THINK WE HAVE SOMETHING THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS.
IT'S MORE THAN JUST WORDS OR THE WORDS DO MATTER.
WE HAVE GOT TO LOOK AT OUR BUDGETS AND I KNOW THAT I'M RESOUNDING THE SENTIMENT OF SO MANY OF OUR CONSTITUENTS.
WHEN I SAY THAT THE TIME FOR TALK IS ABSOLUTELY OVER.
AND I HOPE MY COLLEAGUES CAN HEAR ME WHEN I SAY, CAUSE I'M SAYING IT ALONGSIDE THEM, WE HEAR THEIR COLLECTIVE VOICE, BUT I WANT TO ADD MY VOICE TO THOSE SELECTIVE VOICES OF AGONY CALLING
[00:05:01]
FOR DEMANDING JUSTICE.AND MY HOPE IS THAT MY COLLEAGUES AND I WILL ANSWER THAT CALL.
WE GOT GUYS, WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO RESPOND.
AND MY HOPE IS THAT WE WILL AND DO THROWN AWAY THAT'S SUBSTANTIVE AND MEANINGFUL.
I DON'T WANT TO START THIS MEETING WITH GOOD MORNINGS.
AND HOW ARE YOU IS, AND I KICKED MY KID OUT, ASKING ME TO HELP HER WITH THE OATMEAL, BUT I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT.
I REALLY WANT TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE ARE SAYING THE WORDS WE ARE RECOGNIZING PEOPLE'S FRUSTRATION AND ANGER AND WHERE IT CAME FROM.
LET'S REVERSE ENGINEER THIS DAY.
WHAT'S, WHAT'S THE SOURCE OF IT.
AND SO I WOULD ASK FOR FORGIVENESS FOR SOUNDING ANGRY, BUT I DON'T NEED FORGIVENESS FOR SOUNDING ANGRY.
I AM ANGRY AND I AM HURT AND I AM SAD AND YOU SHOULD BE SO.
AND IF YOU'RE NOT, THEN I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU.
AND I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU LETTING ME START THE MEETING.
BUT MY HOPE IS THAT WE DON'T SPEND THE MORNING AND THE DAY SITTING HERE LIKE BUSINESS AS USUAL, LIKE NOTHING JUST HAPPENED ON THE STREETS OF HARDEST CITY THIS WEEKEND.
AND IT DIDN'T START WHEN GEORGE FORD, IT DIDN'T START WITH MY GRANDMAS.
I COULD NAME NAMES ALL DAY AND THAT'S A DAMN SHAME.
Y'ALL WE SHOULD ALL BE SAD AND MAD RIGHT NOW.
AND I'M EVEN HAVING A HARD TIME, JUST COMPOSING MYSELF TO REMAIN IN MY SEAT TO HAVE THIS MEETING TODAY.
I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I DIDN'T GO TO SLEEP UNTIL SIX 30.
I'VE BEEN IN KNOTS AND SLEEPLESS FOR DAYS ON END.
IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME.
PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE DAHLIA AND GREG AND PEO IT'S ABOUT POOR PEOPLE BECAUSE IT TURNS OUT NOT ALL FOUR PEOPLE LOOK LIKE ME OR DELI AND GREG AND PEO IT'S ABOUT PEOPLE EXISTING IN THE MARGINS.
AND WE HAVE GOT TO ACT IF WE DON'T DO ANYTHING ELSE WITH OUR TIME, WE HAVE GOT TO ACT IN ANY WAY THAT PEOPLE KNOW THAT WE SEE THEM AND WE HEAR THEM NOW LOUD AND CLEAR.
AND I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE TO BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT THAT.
AND YOU GUYS WILL HAVE TO FORGIVE ME IF I'M LARGER THAN YOU TODAY, BECAUSE I JUST AM STRUGGLING TO FIND THE STRENGTH.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, AND I HOPE YOU UNMUTE YOURSELF MORE AND SPEAK YOUR HEART MORE.
I, I, UH, I DON'T, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I CAN ADD ANYTHING TO DO WHAT YOU JUST SAID.
UM, AND KNOW THAT I KNOW I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MYSELF, BUT I FEEL LIKE I COULD SPEAK FOR THIS COUNCIL THAT WE ARE 100% SUPPORTIVE OF HOWEVER WE CAN HELP YOU.
UM, MAYOR, I THINK YOU'RE ABLE TO, UM, BE HEARD NOW, CAN YOU ALL HEAR ME, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, THANK YOU FOR WHAT YOU'VE SAID.
UM, AND, AND YOU'VE SAID IT SO WELL THAT, THAT I, I ECHO WHAT DELEA JUST SAID, THAT, THAT, UH, NONE OF US COULD SAY IT BETTER.
UM, I THINK IT'S, AND WE WANT TO SUPPORT YOUR WORK, BUT WE ALL TAKE UP THIS WORK, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US AS PART OF THE CITY GOVERNMENT TO NOT BE DEFENSIVE, BUT TO, TO HEAR WHAT IS HAPPENING TO RESPOND TO, TO OPEN OUR HEARTS, UM, AND TO CHANGE WITHIN EACH OF US AND TO CHANGE OUR PRIORITIES, UH, BECAUSE WE WORK ON THIS ALL THE TIME HERE, BUT IT'S SO CLEAR THAT WE HAVEN'T DONE ENOUGH.
AND WHAT YOU'RE SPEAKING TO IS THAT WE, UM, WE AREN'T EVEN CLOSE THE, THE, UH, MLK QUOTE THAT YOU MENTIONED IS THAT, UM, IS REALLY POWERFUL.
AND THE OTHER PART, THE NEXT PART OF THAT QUOTE, I THINK YOU JUST REPHRASED IT SO PERFECTLY IN YOUR OWN WORDS, WHICH IS THAT SOCIAL JUSTICE, UH, AND PROGRESS ARE THE ABSOLUTE GUARANTOR'S OF RIOT PREVENTION.
THAT IF WE ACTUALLY CARE, IF WE WANT TO DO SOMETHING, THEN WE CAN DO, WE CAN STEP UP AND DO SOMETHING AND REPEAT THE NAMES OF GEORGE FLOYD AND MIKE RAMOS AND DAVID JOSEPH.
AND, BUT THEN TAKE THOSE WORDS INTO, INTO ACTION AND TAKE THEM TO HEART.
UM, WHEN I RECOGNIZE IT, YOU KNOW, IN THIS JOB, YOU TRY TO BE GRACEFUL AND PROFESSIONAL, BUT I RECOGNIZE THAT I'M UPSET AND I'M HURT.
[00:10:01]
THAT AND EMBRACING THAT AND TURNING THAT INTO CHANGE IS IMPORTANT FOR EACH OF US TO DO AS YOU HAVE SHOWN.SO, SO POWERFULLY, UM, THIS MORNING, UM, I'M ALSO UPSET ABOUT, UM, HEARING FROM FOLKS THAT WERE OUT THERE PEACEFULLY, DEMONSTRATING THAT GOT HURT.
AND, UM, UH, AND I'M GLAD THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE ASKING THE HARD QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT ON THURSDAY, UM, MANAGER, I, I WAS IN TOUCH AND ASKING FOR US TO DO THINGS BEST WE COULD THIS WEEKEND.
AND I, I KNOW THAT IT'S A HARD AND CHALLENGING AND DYNAMIC SITUATION, BUT I'M UPSET ABOUT, ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO SOME FOLKS, UM, IN THE PROCESS OF EXERCISING THEIR RIGHTS.
AND WE CAN'T, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED AT THE PROTEST AND AS COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON SAID, WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT WHAT'S AT THE ROOT OF IT, WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AND, AND WE NEED TO, TO TAKE THAT RESPONSIBILITY ON A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, UM, FOR, FOR WHAT YOU'VE SAID, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, HOPPER, MADISON, UM, LIKE, LIKE TELL YOU AND GREG SAID, IT'S YOU, YOU HAVE SAID IT SO WELL, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT IT NOT JUST BE YOU ALL THAT SPEAK THIS, ISN'T GOING TO GET DONE.
IF, IF PEOPLE WHO LOOK LIKE ME, AREN'T FIGHTING THE FIGHT TO GET THIS DONE TOO.
I HAVE, IT HAS, IT HAS BEEN A TRUE HONOR STANDING ALONGSIDE THE THREE VIEW ON THE JUDICIAL COMMITTEE TO DO WHAT WORK WE COULD DO WITHIN THAT, THAT FRAMEWORK AND, AND OTHERS.
I AM READY TO DO BIGGER WORK, NOT BECAUSE OF THE PROTESTS, BECAUSE WE WERE ALREADY DOING WORK, BUT, BUT TO CONTEMPLATE THE TYPES OF CHANGES THAT MAYBE WE DIDN'T THINK WERE POSSIBLE BEFORE, BUT ARE NECESSARY.
NOW, THIS WEEKEND, I ALSO HAD SLEEPLESS NIGHTS, BUT I ALSO HAD CONVERSATIONS WITH FOLKS WHO HAD NOT TOLD ME THINGS THAT DEBT WAS IN THEIR EXPERIENCE BEFORE.
AND IT HAS CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE ON SOME OF THE HARD CHOICES BEFORE THIS COUNCIL.
AND BEFORE THE MANAGER, WE'VE GOT TO MAKE THOSE CHOICES AND YOU GOTTA MAKE THEM SOON.
AND IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ENOUGH FOR THIS COUNCIL TO SAY WHOSE JOB IT IS TO DO IT.
THE COMMUNITY EXPECTS US TO DO IT.
AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A LOT OF MEETINGS THIS WEEK AND NEXT WEEK.
AND NONE OF THEM WILL FEEL SATISFYING TO US OR TO THE COMMUNITY.
WHEN I, WHEN I PUT MY STATEMENT OUT OVER THE WEEKEND, I, I VERY INTENTIONALLY SAID THAT THESE SYSTEMS ARE NOT DESIGNED TO GO QUICKLY.
AND THE SYSTEMS THAT WE OPERATE IN FRUSTRATE US AS MUCH AS THEY FRUSTRATE THEIR COMMUNITY, AND WE'RE GOING TO PUSH HARDER THAN WE EVER HAVE.
AND WE HAVE PUSHED HARD AS A COUNCIL AND WE WILL PUSH HARDER.
I DON'T WANT TO SEE COUNSELOR HOPPER, MADISON HAVE TO DO THAT AGAIN.
I DON'T WANT TO SEE ANYONE IN THIS COMMUNITY HAVE TO DO WHAT WE SAW THIS WEEKEND AND FEEL THAT LEVEL OF FRUSTRATION.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE CAN AVOID IT, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY DO EVERYTHING IN OUR POWER, EVERYTHING, MAYBE EVEN BEYOND OUR POWER TO TRY TO SOLVE THIS.
AND I, AND, AND, AND MOST CRITICALLY, IT CAN'T JUST BE THE VOICES OF PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE YOU.
IT HAS TO BE ALSO THE VOICES OF PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME.
I HADN'T PREPARED ANY REMARKS FOR A MOMENT LIKE THIS, BUT I FEEL LIKE I CAN'T BE QUIET ABOUT IT.
I REALLY APPRECIATE MY COLLEAGUES STANDING UP AND SPEAKING IN THIS WAY, IF Y'ALL HAVE NEVER BEEN A PART OF A PEACEFUL PROTEST, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THAT YOU GO OUT AND DO IT.
YOU WILL, MAY I, THE STRENGTH OF OUR COMMUNITY TO COME TOGETHER AND SUPPORT EACH OTHER, FEEL THE ANGER THAT GETS PEOPLE OUT.
AND YOU ALSO FEEL THE LOVE THAT PEOPLE HAVE FOR ONE ANOTHER AND USE THEIR VOICE AND TAKE THEIR SPACE AND TO HOLD IT FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T FEEL SAFE ENOUGH TO DO IT ON THEIR OWN.
AND I'M PROBABLY, WE ALSO ONE OF THE FEW COUNCIL MEMBERS THAT KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE CHASED THROUGH THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN AUSTIN, BY THE POLICE.
AND THIS WAS YEARS AGO, AND SOMEONE LIKE ME HAS MORE PRIVILEGE IN THIS TOWN THAN SOME OF MY OTHER COMMUNITY MEMBERS, WHICH SHOULDN'T BE TRUE, BUT WE HAVE TO FACE THE HARD REALITY IT IS.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO COME TOGETHER AS ALLIES AND ATTAIN, KNOW THAT WE NEED TO DEMAND FOR THIS WORK TO BE DONE, BECAUSE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY
[00:15:01]
WHO ARE GOING OUT TO SPEAK AND HOLD HANDS WITH EACH OTHER.AND, AND TO SAY THAT THINGS NEED TO CHANGE.
AND YOU HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THE HOSPITAL RIGHT NOW FOR DOING THAT.
AND I'VE SEEN HOW QUICKLY IT CAN GO FROM A VERY, VERY PEACEFUL PROTEST TO CONFLICT.
WE HAVE SEEN OTHER COMMUNITIES WHERE THE POLICE STARTED MARCHING WITH THE PROTESTORS.
AND I LOVE SEEING THAT OUR OWN POLICE FORCE SWITCHED GEARS YESTERDAY AND TRIED TO MARCH WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE REALLY NEED TO START COMING TOGETHER AND TRYING TO DO THIS TOGETHER AND TO NOT SEE THIS AS WE ARE BUTTING HEADS.
AND WE REALLY NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO DO THAT.
AND WE AS LEADERS ABSOLUTELY NEED TO CALL FOR THAT SORT OF CHANGE.
I JUST WANT TO CONCLUDE, THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, THEN COUNCIL MARKS ARE, I THINK THE BUCK DOES STOP WITH US AS A COUNCIL.
WE'RE THE ONES THAT CONTROL THE LEVERS THAT ARE AT OUR OPERATIVE HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE ARE DIFFICULT CONVERSATIONS.
UH, AND I SUGGEST THAT THAT IS PROCESS RIGHT NOW BEGINS WITH, WITH, WITH PEOPLE THAT LOOK LIKE ME DOING A LOT MORE LISTENING.
AND ULTIMATELY, UH, AS WAS SAID, IT'S GONNA TAKE ALL OF US, ALL OF US ACTING.
I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT THIS IS AN IMPORTANT WATERSHED MOMENT, UH, AND A HUGE OPPORTUNITY IN OUR CITY.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT USING THIS TIME AND THIS VIRUS TO BE ABLE TO EXIT IT AS A BETTER PLACE.
AND WE NEED TO USE THIS MOMENT TO DO THE SAME THING.
I THINK WE HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY IN FRONT OF US.
WE'RE GOING TO GO AHEAD THEN AND BEGIN THIS MEETING MAYOR.
SOME OF THE REST OF US MIGHT WANT TO SAY SOMETHING.
I JUST WANT TO SAY TWO THINGS.
UM, I, UM, AS, UH, AS MAYOR PER TERM SAID, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, I AM SO IMPRESSED AND APPRECIATIVE OF YOUR WORDS.
UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF OUR MEETING, I CANNOT SAY IT ANY BETTER, BUT I WANT YOU TO KNOW, AND THE PUBLIC TO KNOW THAT IN MY HEART, I BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT YOU SAID, AND THAT I AM COMMITTING AND RECOMMITTING.
AND I CAN'T SAY IT STRONG ENOUGH, WE WILL DO BETTER AS A COUNCIL.
AND WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IN THE PAST WILL GET DONE.
AND WE WILL WORK WITH OUR, OUR CITY MANAGER, OUR POLICE OFFICERS, OUR POLICE CHIEF, AND WE WILL MAKE CHANGE.
AND I WANT TO SAY, THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS THIS MORNING, COLLEAGUES, ANYONE ELSE WANT TO SPEAK FAIR? THANK YOU.
I WANTED TO ADD MY, THANKS TO MY COLLEAGUES, ESPECIALLY TO COUNCIL MEMBER PEPPER, MADISON, FOR HER WORDS, AND TO UNDERSCORE AND SUPPORT THEM.
AND JUST WANTED TO, TO RECOMMIT, TO BEING HERE TOO, AS THE MAYOR SAID, TO LISTEN, UM, TO SUPPORT AND TO, TO RE RECOMMIT AND TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS AND MY EFFORTS, UM, TO THE HARD WORK OF DISMANTLING SYSTEMIC RACISM IN OUR CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
AND IN THIS CITY, I STAND ALONGSIDE MY COLLEAGUES IN THAT, IN THAT WORK.
AND IN THAT MOMENT, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, THANKS MAYOR.
AND I WANT TO JOIN, UM, IN THE THANKS TO COUNCIL MEMBER, HARBOR, MADISON FOR HER PASSION AND, UM, GENUINE EMOTION TO ALL MY COLLEAGUES FOR YOUR WORDS, LIKE MANY HERE IN AUSTIN, I SPENT THIS LAST WEEKEND CONSUMED BY THE PROTEST IN OUR DOWNTOWN AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY TOO.
THERE WAS OUTRAGE AND FRUSTRATION, AND IT UNFOLDED IN MANY CITIES LIKE AUSTIN ACROSS SEVERAL DAYS AND NIGHTS.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE BESIEGED ON THREE FRONTS BY A PRESIDENT WHO TRIES TO DBAS OUR NATION WITH DIVISIVE AND DEMEANING RHETORIC BY A PANDEMIC
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THAT IS WRENCHED AND DISRUPTED ALL OF US OVER SEVERAL MONTHS WITH NO SHORE RESOLUTION IN SIGHT.AND NOW ONCE AGAIN, BY THE VIOLENT AND SENSELESS DEATH OF A BLACK MAN POLICE HANDS, MY HEART HURTS ON THE EVENTS THAT WE'VE SEEN FROM THE DEATHS OF THESE MEN AND SO MANY OTHERS.
AND WE KNOW WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WHICH IS TO STOP THE KILLING.
I WANT TO GRASP THIS MOMENT, DO WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO EFFECT TRUE CRIMINAL JUSTICE AND POLICE REFORM.
THIS WEEKEND WAS A TEST OF OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT.
IT WAS ALSO A TEST TO THE INSTITUTIONS THAT UNDERLINE THAT UNDERLIE OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM OR HEALTH EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, AND POLITICAL SYSTEMS. MOST OF THESE WOULD COME UP FAILING.
I THINK WE HAVE TOOLS AT HAND.
WE TALKED RECENTLY ABOUT COMMUNITY POLICING AND THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
WE HAD AN AUDIT ON COMMUNITY POLICING, AND IT WAS CLEAR THAT THERE CONTINUES TO BE A DISCONNECT IN HOW COMMUNITY POLICING IS BEING CARRIED OUT BY OUR POLICE FOREST AND HOW MOST OF US DEFINE COMMUNITY POLICING.
THAT DISCONNECT REMAINS BETWEEN WHERE WE WANT TO BE WITH THAT PROGRAM AND WHERE OUR OFFICERS ACTUALLY ARE.
AND THAT LEAVES MANY COMMUNITIES FEELING THAT THEY ARE SIMPLY BEING RELEASED AND NOT PROTECTED.
IT'S TIME TO RECOGNIZE THAT DEEP RELATIONSHIPS THAT FOSTER TRUST ARE AT THE FOUNDATION OF REFORM.
WE NEED TO DECIDE WHAT KIND OF COMMUNITY WE WANT TO BE.
I THINK WE'VE HAD MANY CONVERSATIONS, MANY DISCUSSIONS.
WE NEED TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE, NOT ONLY ON COMMUNITY JUSTICE, BUT IN ALL OF OUR SYSTEMS THAT DETERMINE OUTCOMES FOR OUR FAMILIES AND INFLUENCED THEIR ABILITY TO THRIVE IN THIS CITY.
OUR CITY, WE MUST SHOW JUSTICE IS BEING SERVED IN AUSTIN, THAT OUR CITY IS FAIR AND EQUITABLE, PASSIONATE, EVEN HANDED, BUT WE ARE JUST, OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT NEEDS TO BE A PARTNER IN THIS JOURNEY.
AND I THINK THE POLICE CHASE YOUR MARCH WITH PROTESTERS THIS WEEKEND AND OTHER CITIES WHO STOOD UP BEFORE THE CROWDS AND NAMED ALL OF THOSE WHO HAD BEEN KILLED AT THE HANDS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT.
THAT WAS THE KIND OF COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY.
THIS CITY NEEDS FROM OUR DEPARTMENT NEED TO KNOW THAT THEY STAND WITH US.
SO NEVER AGAIN, ANOTHER MICHAEL MICHAEL RAMOS TRAGEDY, NEVER AGAIN, THE INJUSTICES DONE TO A MOD ARBERY AND BRIANNA TAYLOR, NEVER AGAIN, ANOTHER GEORGE FLOYD MURDER IN AUSTIN.
WE MUST HAVE ZERO TOLERANCE FOR KILLING AND INJUSTICE OF ANY KIND COUNCIL MEMBER ALTER.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON FOR OPENING THIS SESSION WITH A DOSE OF TRUTH THAT WE ALL NEED TO HEAR, UM, AND RECOGNIZE, AND THAT WE AS LEADERS HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY, UM, TO STATE, UM, RIGHT, RIGHT FROM THE BEGINNING.
UM, THIS WEEKEND PROTEST IS, AS WE ALL KNOW, OR NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE SEEN OUR COMMUNITY OUTRAGED BY POLICE BRUTALITY, UM, AND NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT, AND WHAT WILL FOLLOW IS NOT THE FIRST TIME THAT WE HAVE TRIED TO MAKE REFORM.
UM, I THINK THIS COUNCIL HAS TAKEN MANY STEPS, UM, BUT WE'RE NOT THERE YET.
UM, AND I THINK IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY ONLY OF OUR MEMBERS, UM, WHO ARE PEOPLE OF COLOR, BUT OF ALL OF US.
UM, AND AS IT'S BEEN STATED, THE CHANGE WILL COME WHEN WE ALL JOIN IN, IN MAKING THE CHANGE.
UM, WHAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING IN OUR COUNTRY IS NOT NEW.
UM, I HOPE THAT THE IMAGES AND, AND THE EXPERIENCES OVER THE LAST FEW WEEKS WILL INCREASE THE NUMBER OF VOICES THAT, UM, JOIN
[00:25:01]
US AND CREATE SPACES AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO, UM, MAKE OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR COUNTRY, UM, LIVE UP TO ITS IDEALS.ALEXANDER, WHAT ELSE? OKAY, LET'S GO AHEAD AND PROCEED.
UM, TODAY IS THE, UH, IT'S JUNE 2ND.
THIS IS THE COUNCIL WORK SESSIONS BEING HANDLED REMOTELY.
UM, I SEE ALL THE COUNCIL MEMBERS, I DON'T SEE COUNCIL MEMBER RENT THE RHEA, SEE WITH US.
WE'RE STILL TRYING TO GET HIM CONNECTED.
THE OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS ARE PRESENT.
WE'RE GOING TO HANDLE THE, UH, BRIEFING ON THE COCONUT MATTER FIRST, THEN WE'LL DO THE PULLED ITEMS. THEN WE'LL DO THE CENSUS, UH, BRIEFING.
UH, AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL DO THE EXECUTIVE SESSION AND EXECUTIVE SECOND SESSION TODAY.
UH, THERE'S JUST GOING TO BE THE, UH, THE ONE ITEM, UH, DEALING WITH THE, UH, AIRPORT OVER THERE.
[Item B1]
UH, WE'RE GOING TO BEGIN A MANAGER.I'M GOING TO YOU FOR THE COVID BRIEFING.
WE'RE GOING TO START TODAY'S BRIEFING FROM THE COBIT UPDATE WITH OUR DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH 70 ALL SAUL TURNOVERS.
GOOD MORNING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE AGAIN THIS MORNING.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE A SLIGHT CHANGE TO OUR, UM, FORMAT TODAY.
I'M GOING TO PROVIDE A BRIEF OVERVIEW AND THEN TRANSITION TO DR.
S SCOTT AFTER HE COMPLETES HIS PRESENTATION.
UM, HE IS GOING TO TRANSITION BACK TO ME TO FINISH THE BRIEFING.
SO THERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO SHARE INITIALLY, AND THEN I'LL TRANSITION OVER TO HIM.
AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF ARE MEETING WITH THE U S PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE TODAY, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES IN THE MIDDLE OF A THREE WEEK PROJECT THAT WILL VISIT SIX STATES TO RESEARCH WHAT THEY CAN DO TO SUPPORT THE LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS IN, UM, AT THE LOCAL LEVEL.
AND AT THE STATE LEVEL YESTERDAY, THEY WERE AT HARRIS COUNTY.
THEY'RE HERE WITH US TODAY AND TOMORROW THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, TO THE STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, THEY ARE FOCUSING ON IMPROVING THE DATA QUALITY AND, UM, FOR TIMELINESS AND ELECTRONIC LAB REPORTING, CASE REPORTING AND SURVEILLANCE.
AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO DEVELOP THIS REPORT AND THEY'RE GOING TO COMPLETE IT, AND IT'D BE, WILL BE FINALIZED BY THE MIDDLE OF JUNE.
THEY HAVE A VERY FAST TURNAROUND.
UM, AND SO WE MET WITH THEM THIS MORNING.
MY STAFF HAS CONTINUED TO MEET WITH THEM DOWN THE DEPARTMENT.
UM, ALSO HAS AN INITIAL PLAN TO HAVE 115 CASE INVESTIGATORS AND CONTACT TRACERS.
BY THE END OF JUNE, WE CURRENTLY HAVE 33 STAFF.
UM, EACH WEEK WE WILL BE BRINGING ONBOARDING, UM, STAFF, UM, TO GET US TO 115.
WE HAVE 11 BILINGUAL STAFF PERSONS.
SO AS WE SCALE UP, WE WILL CONTINUE TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF BILINGUAL STAFF PERSONS.
UM, OUR SOCIAL SERVICES BRANCH, UM, CONTINUES TO WORK IN OUR, WITH OUR PRIORITY POPULATION.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THE STAFF ARE WORKING ON IS TARGETED OUTREACH.
THEY ARE REVIEWING THE HOUSEHOLD, UM, LIVING IN CLOSE QUARTERS FROM CDC, CDC DEVELOPED THAT GUIDELINES AND OUR STAFF ARE REVIEWING THAT AND, UM, ARE LOOKING AT NEXT STEPS WITH THAT, WORKING WITH THE SENIORS TO ENSURE THAT SENIORS HAVE THE MOST TO DATE INFORMATION ON TESTING AND SERVICES AVAILABLE, THEY ARE WORKING WITH OUR, UM, FAITH BASED, UM, INSTITUTIONS TO ENSURE THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES THEY NEED.
AND, UM, SOME OF THEM ARE REQUESTING ON FACE COVERING AND GLOVES.
OUR STAFF ARE COORDINATING THROUGH ONE VOICE OF CENTRAL TEXAS, UH, TO ENSURE THAT, UM, NONPROFIT AGENCIES HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL NEEDS THAT THEY HAVE AS FAR AS FACE COVERINGS, UM, GLOVES, ET CETERA.
OUR HOMELESS, UM, TEAM IS COORDINATING WITH OUR EPIDEMIOLOGISTS TO REVIEW DATA ON CASES WITHIN THE HOMELESS POPULATION.
WE'RE WORKING WITH THE TRINITY CENTER TO ESTABLISH A NEW EVENING MEAL DISTRIBUTION SERVICE THROUGH REVELATIONS FOODS.
[00:30:01]
AND SO THAT SERVICE WILL BE IN THE, IN THE DOWNTOWN AREA.STAFF ARE WORKING WITH THE OUTREACH STAFF TO EXPAND OUR HYGIENE SAFETY AND COVID-19 EDUCATION EFFORTS FOR UNSHELTERED HOMELESS POPULATION AND WORKING WITH COMMUNITY CARE IS HEALTH CARE FOR THE HOMELESS ON ACTIVE SURVEILLANCE TESTING.
AND WE'RE CONTINUING TO PROVIDE SERVICES AT THE PROTECTIVE LODGES, WHICH INCLUDES, UM, SERVICE COORDINATION, UM, CASE MANAGEMENT, AS WELL AS BEHAVIORAL HEALTH, UM, SERVICES WE HAVE.
UM, OUR PARTNERS HAVE STARTED THE PROCESS TO, UM, TRANSITION, UM, INDIVIDUALS FROM THE PROTECTIVE LODGE INTO, UM, PERMANENT HOUSING WITH OUR CHILDCARE, UM, FACILITIES.
OUR STAFF HAVE BEEN WORKING WITH OUR CHILDCARE PROVIDERS DURING THIS TIME.
THEY HAVE PROVIDED ONE PAGE GUIDANCE FOR FAMILIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND HAVE POSTED IT ON THE WEBSITE.
THEY HAVE ALSO, UM, CONTINUED TO SEND OUT SUPPLEMENTAL GUIDANCE FOR SUMMER CAMP OPERATORS AS THEY ARE IDENTIFIED.
UM, DURING THIS TIME OUR STAFF HAS SENT OVER, UM, I'VE SENT THE GUIDELINES AND RESOURCES TO OVER 600 CHILDCARE PROVIDERS AND WE'RE PROVIDING, UM, RESPONDED TO NUMEROUS CALLS AND EMAILS FROM CHILDCARE PROVIDERS ENSURING THAT THERE'S SUMMER CAMP OPERATIONS AND REGULAR OPERATIONS, AND THEN PROVIDING THEM GUIDANCE THROUGH OUR NURSE LINE.
OUR STAFF HAVE HELD, UM, WEBINARS, UM, IN MARCH AND THEY'VE DONE, UM, UM, ONE IN ENGLISH AND ONE IN SPANISH, TWO 158 CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
WE HAVE, UM, PROVIDED HEALTH AND SAFETY SUPPLIES, UM, SUCH AS SANITIZER WIPES AND GLOVES, MASS THERMOMETERS, APRIL TOWELS, ET CETERA, UM, CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THOSE DELIVERIES TO THOSE CHILDCARE PROVIDERS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, OUR STAFF HAVE DONE, UM, SOME PSA AND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS AT THIS TIME.
I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO DR.
S SCOTT AND HE IS GOING TO PROVIDE THE, UM, THE REST OF THE UPDATE.
I WANT TO START BY APOLOGIZING FOR NOT SENDING YOU TO THIS SLIDE SET EARLIER.
OUR, OUR, OUR TEAM HAS BEEN WORKING THROUGH THE WEE HOURS OF THE MORNING, UH, TO ANALYZE THIS DATA.
IN FACT, THEY'RE STILL ANALYZING THE DATA, UH, BUT IT'S INFORMATION THAT I WANTED TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL TODAY BECAUSE IT'S IMPORTANT AND NOT SOMETHING WE WANT TO HOLD ON TO ANY LONGER.
UH, I'M GOING TO START ON THAT.
I'M ALSO GONNA APOLOGIZE CAUSE THERE'S A LOT OF SLIDES HERE, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT INFORMATION, UH, THAT I CONVEY TO, UH, TO YOU AND TO THE COMMUNITY.
UH, THIS OUTDATED SLIDE INCLUDES DATA THROUGH, UH, THE, THE 1ST OF JUNE.
AGAIN, THE RED LINES ARE THE TOTAL CASES.
UH, THE, THE SMALL BLUE LINES AT THE BOTTOM ARE NEW CASES AND THEY, UH, THE YELLOW LINE SHOWS THE, UH, SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF THE PERCENT INCREASE IN CASES, AS YOU CAN SEE, UH, WE'VE CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN THAT, THAT FLAT LINE WHEN IT COMES TO THAT SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF INCREASED CASES.
UH, RIGHT NOW THIS IS EQUATING TO A DOUBLING TIME OF ABOUT 38 DAYS.
UH, SO THAT HAS CONTINUED TO IMPROVE AND WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS GRAPH IS SHOWING YOU WHAT THE SMALL BLUE BARS ON THE OTHER GRAPH, WE'RE SHOWING A LITTLE MAGNIFIED.
SO THIS IS THE NEW CONFIRMED CASES BY DAY.
UH, YOU CAN SAY THE YELLOW LINE AGAIN IS A SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE OF THOSE NEW CHASES.
AND, UH, AND IT'S, SINCE THE, ABOUT THE 16TH OF MAY HAS BEEN TRENDING STEADILY UPWARD.
UH, BACK ON THE 16TH OF MAY, WE WERE ABOUT, UH, 45 CASES A DAY ON THAT SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE.
AND NOW WE'RE A LITTLE OVER 60.
UH, SO AGAIN, AS EXPECTED AS THE COMMUNITY STARTED TO OPEN UP, WE'RE SEEING NEW CASES, WHICH HAS TRAILED THAT POLICY CHANGE, UH, BY ABOUT TWO AND A HALF WEEKS.
UH, AGAIN, AT THIS STAGE, WE'RE STILL IN A GOOD SITUATION.
WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF HOSPITAL CAPACITY, BUT THIS IS ONE OF THE SUPPORTING INDICATORS THAT WE WILL BE WATCHING.
UH, THE PRIMARY INDICATOR, UH, AS WE NOTED LAST WEEK, UH, IN THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF OUR KEY INDICATORS DASHBOARD IS THIS NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY FIVE COUNTY MSA.
[00:35:01]
UH, AGAIN, UH, THE, THE BLUE IS THE NEW ADMISSIONS BY DAY.THE YELLOW WAS THE SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SENSE ABOUT THE 22ND 23RD OF MAY.
WE'VE HAD THAT SAME STEADY INCREASE IN HOSPITAL, UH, IN NEW ADMISSIONS TO THE HOSPITAL.
AGAIN, WE EXPECT THAT CHANGES A NEW CASES WILL BE REFLECTED IN CHANGES IN HOSPITALIZATIONS ABOUT A WEEK LATER.
AND THAT'S IN FACT WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE.
AGAIN, WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS TREND, UH, RIGHT NOW OUR HOSPITALS THAT HAS PLENTY OF CAPACITY TO CARE FOR PEOPLE.
UH, IN IN FACT, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S SOME CONCERN AMONGST OUR HOSPITALS, THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE THE LEG NECESSARY, EVALUATION AND TREATMENT, INCLUDING EMERGENCY TREATMENT DUE TO CONCERN THAT THERE MAY NOT BE CAPACITY, OR THERE MAY BE A DANGER OF EXPOSURE GOING TO THE ER TO THE HOSPITAL.
NOW THAT'S SIMPLY NOT TRUE AT THIS STAGE.
UH, PARTICULARLY RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE THAT CAPACITY FOR FOLKS TO SEEK TREATMENT, TO SEEK THEIR PRIMARY CARE, TO HAVE THEIR PHYSICALS, THEIR IMMUNIZATIONS, AND TO GO TO THE HOSPITAL AND THEY NEED TO, UH, SO THAT THEY CAN BE TRADED FOR, FOR COVID-19 OR ANY OTHER THING THAT, THAT, UH, IMPACTS THEM.
THIS IS A GRAPH OF OUR, UH, OUR DAILY HOSPITALIZATIONS IN BLUE, OUR ICU ADMISSIONS OF ORANGE AND THE, IN THE GRAY LINE, OUR VENTILATOR USAGE, UH, AGAIN, THE DOTTED LINES OF THE SEVEN DAY MOVING AVERAGE THAT WE CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THOSE.
THEY'VE BEEN RELATIVELY STEADY, UH, OVER, UH, THE PAST 20 WEEKS NOW.
AND AGAIN, THESE ARE METRICS WHICH ARE AVAILABLE ON THAT KEY INDICATORS DASHBOARD AT OUR AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV AUTHORITY SLASH COVID-19 WEBSITE.
THIS IS AN UPDATE OF OUR DEMOGRAPHICS ASSOCIATED WITH HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UH, UNFORTUNATELY ONCE AGAIN, WE SEE THAT, UH, INDIVIDUALS WHO IDENTIFY AS HISPANIC, UH, MAINTAIN THE, UH, ABOUT A 70% OF OUR NEW HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS.
SO AGAIN, THESE ARE NEW HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS FOR THE WEEK IDENTIFIED AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS SLIDE.
UH, THIS IS MORE THAN DOUBLE THE REPRESENTATION IN THE COMMUNITY AND IS OF SUBSTANTIAL CONCERN.
UH, AGAIN, UH, I'M GOING TO PROVIDE SOME FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT, UH, THE IMPACT OF RACE AND ETHNICITY ON, UH, COVID-19 CASES, UH, LATER THE SLIDESHOW, UH, AGAIN, AS STEPHANIE SAID, AND AS STEPHANIE WILL TALK ABOUT FURTHER AFTERWARD, UH, WE ARE CERTAINLY TARGETING THE LATIN X COMMUNITY IN PARTICULAR.
AND, UH, AND WE CONTINUED TO, UH, TO ADVOCATE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO BE TESTED, TO ISOLATE THEMSELVES IF, UH, IF, IF THEY BECOME ILL AND, UH, AND, AND, AND CERTAINLY TO SEEK OUT TREATMENT, IF THEY GET WORSE, UH, TO BE A HOSPITALIZATION TO PREVENT THE, UH, THE POTENTIAL FOR DEATH IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES.
THIS GRAPHIC IS SHOWING YOU THE WEEKLY CASE TOTALS, UH, WITH THE WEEK STORY, UH, ON THE DATE AT THE BOTTOM.
NOW YOU CAN SEE LAST WEEK, WHICH STARTED FOR A FIVE 25, WE HAD A RECORD NUMBER OF NEW CASES AT 425.
UH, SO A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OVER THE PREVIOUS WEEK.
AND CERTAINLY, AS I MENTIONED BEFORE, A DEPARTURE FROM, UH, FROM WHERE WE HAVE BEEN PREVIOUSLY, AGAIN, THIS IS NOT UNEXPECTED, UH, BUT, UH, CERTAINLY SOMETHING THAT WE WILL ALSO BE MONITORING TO ENSURE THAT THIS PLATEAUS OFTEN DOESN'T CONTINUE, UH, THE SUBSTANTIAL INCREMENTAL INCREASES, WHICH MAY INDICATE, UH, THAT WE'RE HEADING INTO A SURGE.
I DO WANT TO, UH, PROVIDE YOU SOME FEEDBACK ON OUR NURSING HOME TESTING INITIATIVES, UH, UH, WHICH, UH, FOLLOWED THE GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER FOR NURSING HOME TESTING.
UH, SO FOR THE PAST TWO WEEKS, WE'VE TESTED 33 FACILITIES IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
SIX OF THOSE FACILITIES WERE TESTED BY, UH, NURSING HOMES THEMSELVES USING THEIR OWN STAFF AND THEIR OWN TESTING KITS.
EIGHT FACILITIES WERE TESTED, UH, USING THEIR STAFF, BUT APH PROVIDING KITS IN 19 FACILITIES WERE TESTED USING CITY OF AUSTIN STAFF, AS WELL AS CITY OF AUSTIN TEST KITS.
IN TOTAL 4,128 TESTS WERE PERFORMED AT 24 FACILITIES, UH, WITH NO KNOWN COVID-19 CASES.
UH, SO THESE WERE COVID NAIVE SITES.
SO OF THOSE IN THE 24, WHERE THERE WERE NO KNOWN CASES OF COVID-19, UH, WE HAD 1,165 RESIDENTS TESTED OF THOSE TWO WERE POSITIVE, UH, WHICH GIVES US
[00:40:01]
A, A PERCENT POSITIVE OF 0.17%, UH, OF THE STAFF TEST AT 1,869 WERE POSITIVE 1,797 NEGATIVE, WHICH GIVES US A PRINCIP POSITIVE OF 0.5%.AGAIN, THESE PERCENTAGES POSITIVE OR ARE PRELIMINARY AS WE STILL HAVE 778 TESTS PENDING, UH, OUT OF THOSE TEST KITS, OUR TEAM CONTINUES TO FOLLOW UP ON THOSE RESULTS, UH, DUE TO THE LARGE QUANTITY OF TESTS BEING PERFORMED AT ONE TIME ACROSS THE STATE, UH, A SIGNIFICANT BACKLOG HAS DEVELOPED IN RELATION TO THOSE TESTS.
UH, SO WE ARE HOPEFUL THAT THE REMAIN OF THOSE TESTS WILL COME BACK THIS WEEK SO THAT WE CAN ISSUE A FINAL REPORT IN THE NEXT WEEK.
NOW THIS SLIDE IS AN UPDATE OF OUR, UH, NURSING HOME AND A LONGTERM CARE FACILITY CLUSTERS.
UH, AND YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM, WE ADDED AA AND BB, WHICH ARE TWO NEW FACILITIES, UH, WHICH WERE IDENTIFIED THROUGH THE TESTING.
I JUST MENTIONED, UH, IN TOTAL OF FOUR NEW FACILITIES, UH, WERE IDENTIFIED.
SOME ARE GONNA SHOW ON THIS REPORT, WHICH IS, UH, WHICH WAS COMPLETED FRIDAY, AND SOME WILL SHOW ON NEXT WEEK'S REPORT.
UH, YOU CAN SEE A TOTAL OF 27 NEW CASES IN THE FACILITIES WE'VE BEEN MONITORING, UH, TWO ADDITIONAL FACILITIES THIS WEEK WERE TAKEN OFF THE LIST BECAUSE THEY'VE HAD MORE THAN FOUR WEEKS OF, OF, UH, ZERO CHANGES, WHICH MEANS THEY'RE INACTIVE, UM, FACILITIES.
YOU SEE THE, UH, THE FACILITY LISTED AS OH IS IN GRAY, MEANING THAT IT'S GONE THREE WEEKS WITHOUT ANY NEW CASES.
AND NEXT WEEK, IF THERE ARE NO NEW CASES, IT WILL COME OFF AS WELL.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THIS MONITOR, THIS SITUATION, OUR NURSING HOME TASK FORCE, UH, CHAIRED BY DR.
GUL MULLEN HAS GENERATED A ONGOING, UH, TESTING, UH, GUIDANCE FOR OUR FACILITIES AND, UH, THAT GUIDANCE IS, HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED.
AND, UH, WE WILL CONTINUE TO MONITOR THOSE SITUATIONS AT OUR NURSING FACILITIES, PRIMARILY FOCUSING ON STAFF, BUT ALSO, UH, LOOKING TO DO ONGOING SURVEILLANCE, TESTING OF NURSING HOME RESIDENTS IN COOPERATION WITH THOSE FACILITIES.
NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, IN RELATION TO OUR, UH, OUR DRIVE THROUGH TESTING THROUGH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, UH, THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF THE LAST SEVEN DAYS OF TESTING.
SO IN THAT SEVEN, EIGHT TIME PERIOD, 1100 TESTS WERE PERFORMED.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS IN ADDITION TO TARGETED TESTING ALSO PERFORMED, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT WE HAVE RESULTS BACK ON A THOUSAND OF THOSE TESTS.
WE HAVE AN OVERALL POSITIVITY RATE OF 6.5, 8% THROUGH THE DRIVE THROUGH TESTING.
AND WHEN WE BREAK THAT DOWN, WHICH YOU CAN SEE AT THE BOTTOM, UH, BY RACE AND ETHNICITY, WE HAVE A POSITIVE RATE IN, UH, OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY OF 12.8% IN OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY OF 3.6%, UH, IN, IN OUR, UH, WHITE, UH, NON HISPANIC GROUP OF 4.3%.
AGAIN, YOU SEE THAT WE HAVE, UH, UH, ONE OUT OF 49, UH, IN OUR ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY POSITIVE AS WELL.
UH, SO AGAIN, THE, UM, THE, THE, THE RANKS, UH, ACROSS THE BOARD ARE RELATIVELY LOW WITH THE EXCEPTION OF OUR LATIN X COMMUNITY, UH, WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER, UH, ABOUT TWICE THE RATE OF, OF THE, UH, POSITIVE CASES THAT THE REST OF, OF THE COMMUNITY.
SO AGAIN, I SUBSTANTIAL AREA OF CONCERN, UH, FOR AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IN OUR HEALTHCARE COMMUNITY.
UH, SO TH THIS DATA SET, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT, I'M GOING TO HAVE TO GET A LITTLE TECHNICAL WITH YOU, UH, BECAUSE THERE ARE LOTS OF DETAILS, WHICH ARE VERY IMPORTANT IN THIS DATA SET.
UH, SO WHAT WE'VE, UH, ASKED THE TEAM TO DO HERE IS TO LOOK AT A DATA SET OR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD THE ONSET OF ILLNESS FOR COVID-19 BETWEEN MARCH AND THE END OF APRIL OF 2020.
WE THEN FOLLOW THOSE INDIVIDUALS FOR ADDITIONAL THREE WEEKS THROUGH MAY THE 21ST TO DETERMINE OUTCOMES ON THOSE INDIVIDUALS.
DID THEY RECOVER? WERE THEY HOSPITALIZED, OR DID THEY DIE DURING THAT TIME PERIOD? IN FACT, WE'RE STILL, UH, EVALUATING THOSE INDIVIDUALS WITH A FINAL ASSESSMENT, UH, HAVING BEEN PERFORMED YESTERDAY TO GET A FULL 30 DAY VIEW AFTER THE LAST CASE WAS, UM, UH, DEVELOP SYMPTOMS SO THAT WE CAN HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF THE COMPLETE PICTURE OF COVID-19, WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER PUBLICATIONS, INCLUDING NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, UH, PUBLICATIONS IS THAT OFTENTIMES YOU SEE A SNAPSHOT.
SO WHAT ARE THE METRICS LOOK LIKE TODAY FOR ALL THE CASES? WHAT'S THE CASE FATALITY RATE.
THIS FOLLOWS US INDIVIDUALS FOR EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME TO GET A
[00:45:01]
BETTER PICTURE OF THE TOTAL IMPACT ACROSS OUR COMMUNITY OF COVID-19.UH, TH THIS DATA IS PRELIMINARY AGAIN, WE'RE GOING TO DO A FINAL ASSESSMENT, UH, WHICH WAS PULLED YESTERDAY.
UH, WE HAVE NOT RUN STATISTICAL ANALYSIS ON THESE NUMBERS, AND THIS DATA HAS NOT BEEN PEER REVIEWED, WHICH WE INTEND TO DO AND SUBMIT FOR PEER REVIEW PUBLICATION.
UH, BUT THERE IS VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION HERE, AND WE DIDN'T WANT TO WAIT TO SHARE IT UNTIL IT CAN BE PUBLISHED IN A SCIENTIFIC JOURNAL.
SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING HERE IS, AGAIN, THAT SNAPSHOT OF MARCH TO APRIL 30TH, 2020.
SO THIS IS NIGHT INDIVIDUALS IDENTIFIED AS HAVING THE ONSET OF COVID-19 WITHIN THIS TIME PERIOD.
AGAIN, THAT MEANS THEY HAD ONSET OF SYMPTOMS, OR IN THE CASE OF ASYMPTOMATIC INDIVIDUALS, THEY WERE DIAGNOSED, UH, IN, IN THAT TWO MONTH PERIOD.
SO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING HERE IS A, IS AN AGE BREAKDOWN NOW BASED ON DECADE OF LIFE, UH, AND THE IMPACT, UH, BASED ON HOSPITALIZATION AND CASE FATALITY RATE ON THE FAR RIGHT COLUMN, YOU SEE THE, UH, THE TOTALS FOR THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT THAT'S A CASE FATALITY RATE IS 3.6%, UH, LOOKING TO THE LEFT OF THAT.
YOU CAN SEE THAT AS WE SUSPECTED THERE, AN AGE RELATED, UH, CORRELATION WITH INCREASES IN RISK OF DEATH ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 AGAIN, ON THE RIGHT COLUMN IN THE BLUE, YOU SAY THE HOSPITALIZATION RATES AT 16%.
AND ONCE AGAIN, FOR THE MOST PART, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THAT ZERO TO NINE AGE GROUP, THERE'S AN AGE RELATED INCREASE IN THE RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION, UH, PEAKING AT THE AGE OF 80 PLUS WITH 38.5% OF INDIVIDUALS IN THAT AGE GROUP REQUIRING HOSPITALIZATION AND 26.6% OF THEM, UH, WHO DIE.
SO THEN WHAT WE DID IS WE SEPARATED OUT INDIVIDUALS WHO RESIDE IN A NURSING HOME AND THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY TO GET A CLOSER LOOK AT WHAT HAPPENS AND WHAT THE STATISTICS ARE FOR THOSE WHO ARE IN THOSE FACILITIES VERSUS THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY.
THE REST OF THE COMMITTEE WILL ALSO INCLUDE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
UH, BUT THIS, THIS DATA ON THIS SLIDE IS PARTICULAR FOR THOSE RESIDING IN NURSING HOMES.
NOW, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE CASE FATALITY RATE IS DRAMATICALLY HIGHER FOR NURSING HOME RESIDENTS VERSUS THE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL, IT'S A 22.5% CASE FATALITY RATE.
SO OF PEOPLE WHO WERE DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19 IN A NURSING HOME SETTING, 22.5% OF THEM DIED AT 30.8% OF THE MORE HOSPITALIZED.
AND AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THE CASE FATALITY RATE, UH, INCREASES WITH AGE, UH, WITH 20.6% A CASE RETALIATE FOR 60 TO 69, 21.7 FOR 70 TO 79 AND 30% OR 80.
AND OVER, UH, YOU SEE THAT A ON THE LEFT SIDE AND THAT ZERO TO 49, THERE WAS A HANDFUL OF CASES IN THE ZERO 49 AGE GROUP OF INDIVIDUALS WHO RESIDED IN NURSING TOWNS, UH, OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO, UH, WERE DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19, UH, NONE OF THEM WERE HOSPITALIZED AND NONE OF THEM DIE.
SO AGAIN, UH, A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT, UH, BASED UPON AGE WHEN IT COMES TO COVID-19 AND CERTAINLY, UH, BASED UPON BEING A NURSING HOME RESIDENT.
SO THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU, UH, THE, THE COMMUNITY WHO IS NOT A NURSING HOME RESIDENT.
SO THIS IS EVERYBODY LIVING OUTSIDE OF A NURSING HOME THAT WAS DIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19, UH, BETWEEN MARCH AND APRIL OF 2020.
UH, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE, UH, CASE FATALITY RATE IS SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN WE LOOK AT THAT, THAT SNAPSHOT VIEW OF THE WHOLE COMMUNITY TOGETHER.
UH, THAT RISK IS 1.72% WITH A 14.6%, UH, RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION ACROSS ALL AGES, AGAIN, IN RELATION TO HOSPITALIZATION AND, UH, CASE FATALITY RATE.
THERE'S AN AGE RELATED PATTERN THAT WE SEE, UH, WITH THAT PEAKING AGAIN AT 61.5% OF THOSE OVER THE AGE OF 80, I'VE BEEN HOSPITALIZED IN 20.5% OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS DYING.
UM, NOW SOMETHING ELSE THAT I WANT TO MENTION IS THAT THIS IS THE CASE FATALITY RATE.
SO THOSE WHO ARE DIAGNOSED IN, UH, VERSUS THOSE WHO WERE HOSPITALIZED AND DIED, WE'RE FAIRLY CONFIDENT IN THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE CAPTURING THE VAST MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS HOSPITALIZED IN THE VAST MAJORITY OF INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE DIED FROM COVID-19
[00:50:01]
HAVING SAID THAT THERE'S STILL, UH, A SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER NUMBERS OF CASES, WHICH ARE LIKELY THAT GO UNDIAGNOSED WITH COVID-19.LAMAR MYERS TO GIVE US SOME ESTIMATES REGARDING, UH, HOW MANY ADDITIONAL CASES ARE LIKELY TO BE OUT THERE FOR EVERY CASE THAT THAT IS REPRESENTED HERE IN THE ANSWER IS SEVEN TO EIGHT FOLD.
SO I BRING THAT UP BECAUSE WHEN, THINK ABOUT THE ACTUAL INFECTION FATALITY RATE, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE, UH, WHO HAVE COVID-19 VERSUS THOSE WHO DIE IN THAT CASE FATALITY RATE IS PROBABLY MORE ALONG THE ORDER OF 0.2% ACROSS THE COMMUNITY.
AND AGAIN, THERE'S AN AGE RELATED, UH, PATTERN THAT WE SEE, WE WON'T KNOW THAT NUMBER FOR QUITE SOME TIME REGARDING THE ACTUAL CASE BURDEN THIS COMMUNITY.
AND WE'RE WORKING WITH UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TO DO A SERIAL PREVALENCE STUDY TO GET A BETTER IDEA.
UH, BUT IT'S UNLIKELY THAT THE, THE CASE FATALITY RATE IS GOING TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THIS, AND MORE THAN LIKELY WILL BE SUBSTANTIALLY LOWER THAN THIS.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THAT INFECTION, FATALITY RATE, NEXT SLIDE.
SO THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU, UH, THE AGE BASE BREAKDOWN ON HOSPITALIZATION RATES, DEPENDING ON WHERE PEOPLE LIVE.
UH, AGAIN, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, FOR THOSE WHO AGE 50 TO 59, IF THEY'RE LIVING IN A NURSING HOME, THE RISK IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER FOR HOSPITALIZATION THAN IT IS FOR NON NURSING HOME RESIDENTS.
UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT, UH, THE AGE 60, UH, HAS A SIMILAR PATTERN 60 TO 69, 70, 79 IS ABOUT THE SAME, NO MATTER WHERE YOU LIVE.
UH, AND WHEN WE GET INTO THE 80 PLUS AGE, UH, THE, THE CHANCE OF BEING HOSPITALIZED, IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN A NURSING HOME IS SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER.
UH, THIS IS LIKELY BECAUSE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE BOTH OVER THE AGE OF 80 AND IN A NURSING HOME, UH, HAVE SUBSTANTIAL SUBSTANTIALLY DIFFERENT UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS THAT IMPACT THIS.
AND IN FACT, ANECDOTALLY, A NUMBER OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS, UH, WERE ALREADY ON HOSPICE AT THE TIME THEY WERE, UH, INFECTED, SOME WERE MOVED TO HOSPICE QUICKLY AFTER THEY WERE INFECTED DUE TO A RAPID DECLINE IN CONDITION.
UM, BUT ON THE FAR RIGHT, YOU CAN SEE OBVIOUSLY THAT'S, UH, THOSE INDIVIDUALS WHO LIVE IN A NURSING HOME OR A MUCH HIGHER RISK OF, OF HOSPITALIZATION, UH, THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT LIVE IN A NURSING HOME.
UH, AGAIN, THIS IS A, THE SAME GRAPHIC SHOWING YOU CASE FATALITY RATES.
UM, AGAIN, UH, NURSING HOME CASE FATALITY RATES ARE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THOSE, UH, WHO DO NOT LIVE IN A NURSING HOME.
THIS JUST SHOWS YOU GRAPHICALLY A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT, BUT NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS SLIDE, OTHER THAN THE VISUAL.
SO THE TWO SLIDES I'M SHOWING YOU NOW IS BASED UPON THAT SAME DATA SET, UH, BREAKING IT DOWN BY DEMOGRAPHICS.
AND I WANT TO PROVIDE A BIT OF CAUTION HERE.
UM, AS WE SLICE INFORMATION FURTHER DOWN, WHAT THE DATA TELLS US IS MORE CHALLENGING IN OXFORD THAT MORE, UH, IN A COUPLE OF MORE SLIDES, BUT I WANT TO GIVE YOU THAT CAVEAT.
SO WHAT WE'RE SAYING HERE IS IN THE GRAY, THE, UH, THE, UH, PERCENTAGE OF, OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY POPULATION REPRESENTED BY EACH OF THESE, UH, RACE AND ETHNICITY GROUPS.
UH, THE ORANGE IS THE PERCENT OF HOSPITALIZED CASES THAT THOSE GROUPS REPRESENT IN THAT CUMULATIVE MARCH TO APRIL TIME PERIOD.
AND THE BLUE IS THE PERCENT OF CASES DIAGNOSED THAT THOSE GROUPS REPRESENT.
SO WHEN YOU SEE ASIAN AMERICANS, ASIAN AMERICANS REPRESENT 7.3% OF OUR COMMUNITY, UH, 3.3% OF CASES IDENTIFIED IN 2.5% OF, UH, OF THOSE WHO WERE HOSPITALIZED.
WE LOOK AT WHITE, NON HISPANIC, THAT'S 48.8% OF OUR COMMUNITY.
31.4% OF THE CASES IDENTIFIED IN 25% OF HOSPITALIZATIONS.
UH, THE OBVIOUS VARIATIONS HAVE BEEN WHEN WE MOVE INTO OUR HISPANIC AND AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITIES.
UH, SO AGAIN, UH, HISPANICS REPRESENT 33.9% BASED ON, UM, US CENSUS BUREAU DATA, BUT THEY REPRESENT 56.9% OF CASES AND 62.2% OF HOSPITALIZATIONS.
SO OVER-REPRESENTED SUBSTANTIALLY IN BOTH THE CASES AND IN THE HOSPITALIZATION, UH, PERCENTAGE THAT WHEN WE MOVED TO AFRICAN AMERICANS, UH, 8.9% OF THE TRAVIS COUNTY POPULATION,
[00:55:02]
UH, 8.4% OF CASES, AND 10.1% OF HOSPITALIZATIONS.AGAIN, WE SEE A SIMILAR PATTERN WHERE THE RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION IS, UH, SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE RATE OF CASES, UH, THAT THEY ARE EXPERIENCING.
THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU, UH, AGAIN, NON NURSING HOME CASES.
UH, THIS IS A 1,547 CASES, UH, 238 HOSPITALIZATIONS IN 30 DEATHS.
AND I BRING UP THOSE NUMBERS SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE 30 DEATHS, UH, IS, IS A RELATIVELY SMALL NUMBER TO DO AN ANALYSIS ON.
OKAY, BUT WHAT THIS IS SHOWING IS, UH, VERY CONCERNING TRENDS, UH, THAT, THAT, THAT, THAT NEED TO BE SHARED.
UM, SO AGAIN, THE ORANGE IS SHOWING CASE FATALITY RATE.
THE BLUE IS HOSPITALIZATION RATE.
UH, SO THIS IS FOUR CASES IDENTIFIED.
UH, SO ASIAN-AMERICANS HAD A 0% CASE FATALITY RATE AND 11.8% A HOSPITALIZATION RATE.
SO OF THE CASES DIAGNOSED IN EACH OF THESE ETHNIC GROUPS.
THIS IS THE PERCENT THAT DIED OR WERE HOSPITALIZED, UH, FOR WHITE NON-HISPANICS 12%, 12.4% RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION.
1.9% RATE OF DEATHS FOR HISPANIC POPULATION.
AND FOR OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, 18.5% WERE HOSPITALIZED IN 5.4% DIED.
UH, AGAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A, UH, THERE'S SOME STATISTICAL INFORMATION THAT, THAT I'M GOING TO SHARE ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT THE TRENDS THAT WE SEE HERE ARE VERY, VERY CONCERNING.
UH, THEY SUGGEST THAT OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATION IN PARTICULAR, UH, HAS A HIGHER RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION, AND I SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER RATE OF DEATHS, BUT I NEED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE STATISTICS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS, UH, WHICH, WHICH TEMPERS THE CONCLUSIONS WE CAN DRAW ON THIS INFORMATION OTHER THAN IDENTIFYING IT AS A, AS A CONCERNING TREND.
SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STATISTICS, WE OFTEN USE SOMETHING CALLED 95% COMPETENCE INTERVALS.
SO THIS IS BASED UPON THE, THE, THE SIZE OF, OF THE NUMBER OF, OF CASES THAT WE'RE COUNTING TO HELP US DETERMINE WHERE THEY WERE.
THERE'S A LIKELIHOOD THAT THE ACTUAL, UH, PERCENTAGE LIES.
SO IN THE CIRCUMSTANCE, WHY HISPANICS CASE FATALITY RATE OF 1.9%, 1.9% IS ONE POINT, BUT WHAT THE 95% CONSTANT INTERVAL IS SHOWING US IS THAT THERE'S A 95% CHANCE THAT THE ACTUAL CASE FATALITY RATE IS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 0.9 AND 3.5%.
THE NUMBERS ARE TOO SMALL TO HAVE IT NARROWER.
THIS STAGE FOR OUR HISPANIC POPULATION, UH, THEY CASE OF TOLERATED 1.6% HAS AT 95% COMMON SENSE, A FEDERAL A 0.9 TO 2.7 FOR OUR AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATION THAT COMES INTERVAL IS, IS VERY WIDE BECAUSE THE NUMBERS ARE VERY SMALL, UH, 2.2% TO 11.1%.
AND FOR OUR NURSE, OUR NON NURSING HOME OVERALL AT 1.7%, THAT CONSTANT A RULE IS 1.2 TO 2.5.
AGAIN, IT'S THAT NUMBER IS A COMMON INTERVAL.
IT'S MUCH NARROWER BECAUSE THE NUMBER OF CASES IN THAT GROUP IS MUCH LARGER.
UH, AGAIN, WHAT WE SEE HERE, UH, IN THOSE ALL FOUR OF THESE GROUPS IS THAT THEY ALL OVERLAP IN THEIR CONFIDENCE INTERVAL, WHICH MEANS STATISTICALLY, WE CAN'T TELL WHAT SCIENTIFIC CERTAINTY THAT THERE'S DIFFERENCES IN THE RATES OF DEATH IN THESE GROUPS.
HOWEVER, WE CANNOT WAIT ON SCIENTIFIC CERTAINTY BEFORE WE CHOOSE TO ACT.
WE HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE WE'VE IDENTIFIED THE TRENDS AND IT'S TIME FOR US TO TAKE ACTION TO ADDRESS THESE TRENDS.
UH, YOU KNOW, COVID-19, DOESN'T DISCRIMINATE IN TERMS OF WHO IT INFECTS.
IT'S GONNA AFFECT PEOPLE OF ALL COLORS, WHERE IT DOES DISCRIMINATE IS IN OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
IT DISCRIMINATES BASED ON POVERTY, IT DISCRIMINATES, WHICH IS REFLECTED ON OUR HOSPITALIZATION RATES THAT WE'VE SEEN AND OUR CASE FATALITY RATES THAT WE'VE SEEN.
AND WE HAVE TO CONTINUE TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES.
UH, AND I'M GOING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE DEEPLY ABOUT WHY THESE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR
[01:00:01]
ARE SEEING THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 DIFFERENTLY.UH, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP THIS IN MIND BECAUSE WE CAN'T JUST ADDRESS COVID-19 WITHOUT ADDRESSING THE LONGSTANDING DISPARITIES WHEN IT COMES TO ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE AND THE SOCIAL DETERMINANCE OF HEALTH THAT UNDERLIE ALL OF THESE NUMBERS THAT WE SEE.
IF WE ONLY FOCUS ON TESTING FOR COVID-19 AND ISOLATING FOR COVID-19, WE'RE NOT GOING TO SAVE MORE PEOPLE, OKAY.
WE'RE GOING TO SAVE MORE PEOPLE IF WE GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER, AND THAT IS PROVIDING PEOPLE WITH THE RESOURCES, THEY NEED TO FEED THEMSELVES NUTRITIOUS MEALS TO HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, TO HAVE ACCESS TO SHELTER, AND THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO DETERMINE THEIR HEALTH STATUS.
SO I'M GONNA SHOW YOU A FEW SLIDES ON SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION THAT OUR CHRONIC DISEASE TEAM HAVE DONE LOOKING AT THESE, UH, UH, UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS.
UH, THIS IS DIABETES PREVALENCE, UH, BY, UH, DEMOGRAPHIC FOR 2014 TO TWO, 2018.
AGAIN, THREE GROUPS THAT WE SEE LEAVING THE REST IN TERMS OF DIABETES, AFRICAN-AMERICANS LATIN X PEOPLE OVER THE AGE OF 65, UH, THE THREE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER RISK GROUPS THAT WE'VE IDENTIFIED WITH.
THIS SLIDE IS PREVALENCE OF, OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.
UH, AGAIN, UH, WE SEE THAT THAT WHILE WHITES AND AFRICAN-AMERICANS HAVE, UH, SIMILAR RATES OF, OF, UH, HEART DISEASE, UH, HISPANIC GROUPS ARE ALSO AFFECTED.
BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE UNDERLYING CONDITIONS WHICH ARE GOING TO CONTRIBUTE, UH, TO COMPLICATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19.
THIS SLIDE IS SHOWING YOU THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IN TRAVIS COUNTY.
AGAIN, WE SEE AFRICAN AMERICANS AND HISPANICS, UH, SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER THAN THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY IN TERMS OF OBESITY.
AGAIN, ANOTHER FACTOR WHICH HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS PROVIDING COMPLICATIONS FOR COVID-19 NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
UH, AND THIS IS HYPERTENSION, UH, AGAIN, UH, IN THIS, UH, SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THAT AFRICAN AMERICANS IN PARTICULAR, UH, HAVE SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER RISK OF HYPERTENSION, UH, COMPARED TO WHITES AND HISPANICS IN OUR COMMUNITY AS DO INDIVIDUALS OVER THE AGE OF 65.
AND AGAIN, HYPERTENSION HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS A COMPLICATING FACTOR ASSOCIATED WITH COVID-19 NEXT SLIDE.
UH, SO AGAIN, MAYOR AND COUNCIL, UM, W WE HAVE TO ADDRESS OUR UNDERLYING HEALTH ISSUES.
WE CANNOT JUST ADDRESS COVID-19 WITHOUT ADDRESSING THOSE THINGS, WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO HOSPITALIZATIONS AND DEATHS.
I THINK SOME WOULD SUGGEST THAT WE WAIT UNTIL LATER TO ADDRESS THOSE THINGS.
THAT'S A BIGGER ISSUE THAT WE HAVE TO PUSH OFF.
I DON'T THINK WE CAN PUSH IT OFF.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE NEED TO ADDRESS NOW IN A DISCUSSION WITH, UH, WITH DIRECTOR HAYDEN.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN START TO TACKLE NOW SO THAT WE CAN HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO IMPACT, UH, INDIVIDUALS AND COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
DURING THIS EPIDEMIC, HYPERTENSION IS EASY TO DIAGNOSE IT, VERY INEXPENSIVE, TO TREAT DIABETES EASY, TO DIAGNOSED, VERY INEXPENSIVE TRAIT.
THERE IS SOME LOW HANGING FRUIT THAT WE REALLY CAN ADDRESS IN THE SHORT TERM THAT MAY SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACT PEOPLE'S OUTCOMES, PARTICULARLY IN COMMUNITIES OF COLOR RELATED TO COVID-19.
AND WITH THAT, I'LL PASS IT BACK TO STEPHANIE.
ASCOT, AND REALLY, I CANNOT EMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE BECAUSE GOING INTO COBIT AND GOING INTO THIS COVID-19 RESPONSE, THE DEPARTMENT HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED, UM, A EQUITY, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH EQUITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DIVISION.
WE KNOW THAT 14.8% OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE UNINSURED.
WE ALSO KNOW THE 12% OF OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS LIVE IN POVERTY.
IF YOU OVERLAY THAT INFORMATION WITH HEALTH DISPARITIES, WITH POVERTY AND ALSO UNINSURED, AND THEN YOU PUT COBAIN ON TOP OF IT, THOSE ARE THE SAME ZIP CODES THAT HAVE THE MOST, UH, KOBE POSITIVE CASES.
SO FOR US, YOU MAY ASK, WE'VE PROVIDED ALL OF THIS DATA.
WE'VE GIVEN YOU ALL OF THIS INFORMATION.
[01:05:01]
THE PLAN OF ACTION? WE ARE, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING IN THIS SPACE FOR QUITE SOME TIME, AS YOU ALL KNOW.UM, INITIALLY WE SET UP THE SOCIAL SERVICES BRANCH.
SO WITHIN THAT SOCIAL SERVICES BRANCH, OUR STAFF HAS BEEN WORKING WITH NONPROFIT PARTNERS, UM, AS WELL AS OTHER LEADERS IN THE COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS THESE CONCERNS.
WE ARE GOING TO WORK WITH, UH, A PARTNER TO, UM, PROVIDE SOME TARGETED TESTING AND SPECIFIC ZIP CODES.
WE ARE INITIALLY STARTING IN SEVEN EIGHT SEVEN FOUR +1 787-444-5525 THREE.
WE ARE LOOKING AT, UM, SEVEN EIGHT SEVEN TWO FOUR AND SEVEN, EIGHT, SIX SIX.
AND SO, UM, BASICALLY LOOKING AT THAT MONTOPOLIS, UM, DOVE SPRINGS, RUBBER COLONY PARK, UM, AND PFLUGERVILLE TO START IN THOSE AREAS FIRST WITH OUR TARGETED TESTING.
CURRENTLY, WE'VE BEEN PROVIDING SOME LEVEL OF MOBILE TESTING, AS YOU ALL KNOW, WE'VE GONE TO NURSING HOMES AND WE HAVE GONE TO INDIVIDUAL HOMES.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO SCALE THAT UP.
UM, WE ARE DEVELOPING A MAP, UM, WE'RE CONSULTING WITH ONE VOICE CENTRAL TEXAS, AND SEVERAL OF OUR OTHER COMMUNITY PARTNERS.
UM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED, UM, MARIANNA AND CHAZ TO BE A POINT PERSON FOR US BETWEEN THE LATIN X POPULATION AND TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE HAVE THREE STAFF IN AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH THAT ARE CONTINUED TO WORK, UM, IN THAT SPACE, THEY'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED THOSE RELATIONSHIPS.
I HAVE A STAFF PERSON THAT IS, UM, HAVE ALREADY BEEN WORKING WITH THE LATIN X COMMUNITY.
UM, THAT'S ALREADY BEEN WORKING WITH THE ASIAN COMMUNITY AND I HAVE A, ANOTHER STAFF PERSON, UM, WORKING WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
ALL OF THESE STAFF SIT IN THAT HEALTH EQUITY DIVISION IN THAT QUALITY OF LIFE SPACE.
AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO CONTINUE TO HAVE THOSE MEETINGS AND COLLABORATE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, WE ARE, UM, WORKING ON OUR TESTING PLATFORM.
WE KNOW THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT FOR FOLKS THAT DON'T HAVE INTERNET ACCESS, UM, AND UNABLE TO GET ON THAT PLATFORM, WE'RE GOING TO PUT IN PLACE THE ABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS TO CALL IN IF THEY WANT TO GO THROUGH THAT SITE, AS OPPOSED TO A SITE THAT WE MAY BE SETTING UP MOBILY OR AT THEIR HOME, THEY'LL HAVE THE ABILITY TO WORK WITH OUR STAFF TO SCHEDULE, TO COME INTO THAT TESTING SITE.
UM, AND OUR STAFF WILL WE'LL WORK THROUGH ALL OF THAT TECHNOLOGY WITH THEM AND GET THEM SET UP AT OUR TESTING SITE.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, UM, OUR SOCIAL SERVICE BRANCH, UM, IS MOBILIZING BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES OR A UNIFIED APPROACH.
AND, UM, THEY'VE ALREADY STARTED THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND IT INCLUDES, UM, THE COUNTY AS WELL AS OUR, UM, OUR COMMUNITY CARE, AS WELL AS OUR NONPROFITS AND OUR GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS.
AS I SAID EARLIER, WE HAVE 33, UM, UM, CON CASES, INVESTIGATION AND CONTACT TRACING STAFF, 11 OF THEM ARE BILINGUAL.
AS WE SCALE UP, WE WILL CONTINUE TO ADD MORE BILINGUAL STAFF TO ENSURE, UM, THAT THEY ARE ABLE TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS AND CONDUCT THOSE INTERVIEWS.
UM, AS SOME OF YOU MAY KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT HAS DEVELOPED A, UM, A HEALTH EQUITY, UM, CURRICULUM.
WE ARE GOING TO ENSURE THAT THAT HEALTH EQUITY CURRICULUM, UM, IS LOOKING AT OUR, OUR TOOLS SO WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR INFORMATION IS CULTURALLY SENSITIVE AND OUR STAFF ARE, UM, ADHERENT TO THOSE, UM, EQUITY GUIDELINES.
LASTLY, UM, WE ARE GOING TO CONTINUE TO ENSURE THAT THE FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE OR, UM, BASIC NEEDS IS THERE.
UM, AND WE'RE GOING TO DISSEMINATE, UM, CLEANING SUPPLIES AND MASS.
SO INSTEAD OF IT JUST BEING A, UM, AN EFFORT WE'RE TESTING AS AVAILABLE, UM, WE WOULD LIKE TO OFFER SOME ADDITIONAL, UM, SERVICES LIKE PROVIDING SUPPLIES AND MASS, UM, AT THOSE TESTING SITES.
UM, THE OTHER THING I WOULD LIKE TO JUST PROVIDE JUST AN UPDATE ON THE RISE FUNDING AS YOU KNOW, THE DEPARTMENT PARTNERING WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE.
AND SO THE EQUITY OFFICE, UM, HAD 30 ORGANIZATIONS THAT, UM, RECEIVED THOSE, THE RISE FUNDING AND THE DEPARTMENT ITSELF CONTRACTED WITH 20 ORGANIZATIONS.
SO THAT'S A TOTAL OF 50 ORGANIZATIONS
[01:10:01]
THAT HAVE RECEIVED THAT $15 MILLION.SO AS OF TODAY WITH, UM, $4 MILLION BEING EXPENDED, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO SERVE OVER, UM, ALMOST 2000 PEOPLE AND OF THOSE 2000 PEOPLE OVER 60% OF THOSE FUNDS HAVE GONE TO THE LATIN X COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THEN, UM, ABOUT 30% HAVE GONE TO AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY.
SO WE ARE REALLY WORKING VERY HARD.
WE KNOW WE CAN'T DO THIS WORK ALONE.
WE WILL CONTINUE TO HAVE MEETINGS THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY WITH OUR PARTNERS AND, AND, AND WORK IN THIS SPACE.
WE KNOW WE HAVE A LONG WAY TO GO, BUT AS WE COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS, WE WILL GET THERE.
THANK YOU AGAIN FOR THE OPPORTUNITY.
THIS INCLUDE, THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS.
I JUST WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE DIRECTOR HAYDEN'S WORK AND CONTINUED COLLABORATION AND COORDINATION ACROSS OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY, UH, THAT YOU CONTINUE TO SUPPORT, UH, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU, MAYOR FOR A QUESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL.
AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THAT WE HAVE OUR CHIEF EQUITY OFFICER BRYAN OAKS ON THE CALL.
IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS FOR HIM, I THINK THE MAYOR HAS STEPPED OFF.
I JUST, I'M GOING TO THROW TWO REAL QUICK QUESTIONS AND I SEE HER KITCHEN WITH HER HAND UP NEXT, BUT THE STATISTICS THERE, NOT STATISTICS NUMBERS.
UM, AND OF COURSE, THANK YOU FOR ALL THE WORK THAT YOU WERE DOING AROUND THE CLOCK.
UM, YOU SAID THE SIX 40% FOR RISE BUTTONS WERE TO THE DIFFERENT, UM, LATIN X AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN THAT'S THAT'S OF THE 4 MILLION.
IS THAT RIGHT? THAT'S BASIC, IT'S UPON THE 4 MILLION THAT HAS BEEN OVER 2000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN OKAY.
AND THEN I'M SORRY IF I MISSED IT.
UM, I HAD TO STEP AWAY FOR A SECOND, BUT THERE WE'VE GOTTEN A LOT OF INFORMATION ON LIKE MY STAFF REACHED OUT AND THEN I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO CIRCLE BACK TO GET THE ANSWER A LOT OF INFORMATION ON NURSING HOMES.
UM, BUT THERE WASN'T A MEDIA ARTICLE ABOUT DAYCARES AND ABOUT, UH, CHILDCARE FACILITIES AND ABOUT POSSIBLE.
I CAN'T, I COULDN'T THINK OF THE RIGHT IT'S NOT OUTBREAK OR WHATEVER THE WORD IS POSSIBLY.
HAVEN'T BEEN, UH, CHILDCARE FACILITIES HAVE ANY NUMBERS ON THAT FOR, FOR AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY? YES.
RIGHT NOW, ACCORDING TO OUR COST REPORT, WE ARE PROVIDING A CLUSTER REPORT, UM, EVERY FRIDAY, UM, TO YOUR OFFICES AND FOR THE PERIOD OF MAY 14TH THROUGH THE 28TH, UM, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED ONE, UM, ONE SITE, UM, THAT IN A CLUSTER, AS, AS YOU MAY KNOW, IS THREE OR MORE FOLKS.
SO WE ARE AWARE OF ONE SITE THAT DOES HAVE A CLUSTER.
OUR STAFF HAVE, UM, HAVE ALREADY STARTED WORKING WITH THEM.
UM, AS YOU MAY RECALL EARLIER IN MY PRESENTATION, UM, WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING, UM, TO JUST, UH, JUST ACROSS THE SYSTEM TO SEVERAL, UH, CHILDCARE FACILITIES, BUT WE WILL PROVIDE, UM, A FACE COVERING CLEANING SUPPLIES.
WE PROVIDED THERMOMETERS TO THEM AS WELL.
AND WHAT TYPICALLY HAPPENS IS, IS THAT IF THEY'VE BEEN OPEN THIS ENTIRE TIME PROVIDING SERVICES TO, UM, TO ESSENTIAL WORKERS, THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, WE CAN ANTICIPATE THE, THAT MAY BE THE CASE, OUR, OUR, UH, CONTACT TRACING STAFF HAVE BEEN, UM, UM, INTERVIEWING THOSE THREE INDIVIDUALS AND DETERMINING THEIR CONTEXT AS WELL.
AND, AND, BUT WITH THE THREE YEAR MARK TO DEFINE CLUSTERS, DOES THAT MEAN FOR A CHILDCARE FACILITY? IT WOULD BE EITHER A CHILD OR ONE OF THE STAFF, IS THAT RIGHT? IT COULD BE EITHER, EITHER ONE.
AND I KNOW WE HAD A LONG DISCUSSION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THE PUBLIC KNOWING WHERE CERTAIN WE HAD IT MORE WITH RESPECT TO NURSING HOMES, TO THOSE SAME, UM, LAWS, OR I GUESS, PROTECTIONS, DEPENDING ON WHO YOUR LEADER WHO THINKS THAT'S A PROTECTION OR NOT, UM, APPLIED TO CHILDCARE FACILITIES.
IF THEY DO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, TOP CARE FACILITIES ARE LICENSED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS, SO IT DOES APPLY.
UM, AND THEN JUST A THANK YOU TO A DOCTOR S SCOTT FOR POINTING OUT THE SIGNIFICANT DISPARITIES AND, UM, AND THAT WE NEED TO DO WORK
[01:15:01]
NOW TO, TO ADDRESS THOSE.AND IT'S GREAT TO HEAR THE PLAN OF POSSIBLY BOOTS ON THE GROUND.
UM, GETTING PEOPLE TESTED AND IN ZIP CODES THAT ARE MAJORITY MINORITY COMMUNITIES.
MAYOR, DID YOU WANT TO TAKE THE THANK YOU MAYOR PER TIME? AND THERE, IF I CAN JUST PRIORITIZE QUESTIONS FOR DR.
UM, DOCTOR HAS KIND OF, I WANTED TO SAY, UM, THANK YOU FOR ALL THIS INFORMATION IN PARTICULAR, UM, WHERE YOU WERE HIGHLIGHTING, WHAT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, UH, THE UNDERLYING, UH, UNDERLYING CAUSES RELATED TO, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR MINORITY COMMUNITIES AND, UH, WHAT WE CALL THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH, POVERTY DIFFICULTIES WITH HOUSING JOBS AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT IMPACT PEOPLE'S HEALTH.
SO I JUST WANT TO, I KNOW THIS HAS BEEN, UM, AN AREA OF EXPERTISE AND AN AREA OF PASSION FOR YOU AS WELL AS FOR OUR DIRECTOR.
SO I WOULD JUST WANT TO ENCOURAGE BOTH OF YOU, UM, TO, TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TO BRING TO US IF YOU, IF DO, TO GO AHEAD AND IMPLEMENT, AND IF YOU NEED TO COME TO US TO BRING TO US, UH, PROGRAMS THAT WILL ACTUALLY HELP US, UH, INTO THE FUTURE TO GET AHEAD OF THIS CURVE.
SO, UM, I THINK THAT THE TARGETED TESTING IS, UM, IS AN EXCELLENT APPROACH, AND I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
UM, I'M ALSO LOOKING FOR, UM, WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN, UM, UH, WE CAN MOVE OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT, OUR EMS, OR OUR FOLKS, UM, IN OUR STAFFING TOWARDS REALLY TARGETING, UH, ADDRESSING THESE HEALTH DISPARITY ISSUES AND THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH.
SO I ENCOURAGE YOU TO, UM, PROCEED WITH, UH, NEW PROGRAMS TO BRING BACK TO US AS A, IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR PROGRAMS OR IF YOU NEED ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS REALLY CRITICAL, AND THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW WE CAN COME OUT OF THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS COVID CRISIS IN A WAY THAT WE ARE MORE RESILIENT AND BETTER OFF.
SO I WANTED TO THANK YOU FOR THAT.
I ASKED HIM TO JUMP OFF AND I'VE COME BACK ON.
SO THIS MAY BE WHAT YOU'VE COVERED, AND IT MAY BE WHAT ANNE JUST TALKED ABOUT, BUT I WANNA MAKE SURE, UM, UH, DR.
ASKPAT THAT YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO ADDRESS IT.
UH, I APPRECIATE THAT THAT, THAT STEPHANIE IS GOING TO BE BRINGING TO US A STRATEGIC PLAN ON HOW TO DEAL WITH THE, UM, UH, UH, OUTBREAK AND THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY.
UH, THAT'LL, THAT'LL ACTUALLY PUT IT INTO A PLAN SO WE CAN SEE THE DIFFERENT ELEMENTS OF HOW IT IS WE'RE ADDRESSING.
UH, BUT BEYOND THAT, UH, YOU HAD TALKED, UM, UH, TO ME BRIEFLY ABOUT USING THIS OPPORTUNITY TO, UM, UH, NOT ONLY TEST, UM, UH, SUSCEPTIBLE POPULATIONS, BUT TO ALSO SCREEN SUSCEPTIBLE POPULATIONS SO THAT WE CAN NOT ONLY DEAL WITH THE IMMEDIACY OF THIS MOMENT, BUT ALSO USE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO DO SCREENING FOR, UM, UH, UH, THE CONDITIONS THAT ARE MAKING PEOPLE SUSCEPTIBLE SO THAT PEOPLE CAN GET TREATMENT FOR THOSE THINGS SO THAT THEY ARE IN A BETTER POSITION IF THIS VIRUS COMES BACK AND SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, OR FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES.
AND, AND, AND THAT I THINK IS, IS SOMETHING THAT I'M REAL EXCITED TO HEAR YOU MENTION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT GOES TO ONE OF THOSE ELEMENTS OF USING THIS MOMENT AND THIS FUNDING AND THIS OPPORTUNITY TO ACTUALLY FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN OUR CITY.
CAN YOU ADDRESS THAT FOR JUST A MOMENT, UNLESS YOU ALREADY DID? YEAH.
NOW MAYOR, UH, YOU KNOW, WE'VE GOT A CONDITION COVID-19, WHICH IS, HAS PLACED A LARGE MAGNIFYING GLASS ON CONDITIONS, WHICH WE KNEW WERE OUT THERE WE'VE KNOWN FOR YEARS, FOR DECADES, UH, THAT THINGS DISPARITIES WERE THERE.
UH, AND, AND, AND I THINK THE SHAMEFUL THING IS THAT THE THINGS THAT I MENTIONED IN PARTICULAR, HYPERTENSION AND DIABETES, THEY ARE VERY EASY TO DIAGNOSE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF OUR MTS AND FIREFIGHTERS, EVERY SINGLE NURSE AND NURSE ASSISTANT AND MEDICAL ASSISTANT, EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM CAN DIAGNOSE BOTH THOSE THINGS AND THE COST OF TREATMENT FOR THOSE TWO THINGS IS EXTREMELY SMALL.
AND I'LL TELL YOU QUITE HONESTLY, MAYOR, YOU KNOW, I, I, I'M
[01:20:01]
AT AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN AT EMS PHYSICIAN AND WE SEE PEOPLE OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY, LATIN X COMMUNITY IN AUSTIN.BACK WHEN I WAS IN HOUSTON COMING TO THE ER, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, OR COMPLICATIONS OF THESE DISEASES.
AND SOMEHOW AS A SOCIETY, WE HAVE NOT MANAGED TO BE ABLE TO FIND A WAY TO PROVIDE BASIC HEALTHCARE FOR ALL PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE.
BUT WHAT WE WILL DO IS WE WILL PAY FOR THEIR EMERGENCY CARE.
INSTEAD IF WE HAD INVESTED THOSE RESOURCES UPFRONT IN PAID FOR THE SCREENING AND PAID FOR THE MEDICATION, EVERY TIME SOMEBODY COMES INTO MY ER, WITH THE COMPLICATION FROM HYPERTENSION, IT REMINDS ME THAT I COULD HAVE PAID FOR THEIR MEDICATION FOR THEIR ENTIRE LIFE RATHER THAN PAY FOR THAT ONE ER, VISIT.
AND WE'VE GOT TO, I THINK REALIGN OUR, OUR, OUR INVESTMENTS AS A COMMUNITY, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE INVESTMENT IN PREVENTION.
AND I THINK THAT THIS COVID-19 AS WE'RE CONTACTING THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO DON'T OTHERWISE HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE, THAT'S AN OPPORTUNITY THAT WE CAN'T PASS UP TO DO THESE SIMPLE SCREENS, TO CONNECT THEM TO RESOURCES, TO HELP SO THAT WE CAN NOT ONLY, UH, HELP, UH, IMPACT THE, THE COMPLICATIONS AND DEATH FROM COVID-19, BUT ALSO IMPACT THOSE INDIVIDUALS FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIFE.
I THINK IT'S LOW HANGING FRUIT, AND I THINK THAT STEPHANIE AND I CAN WORK ON A PLAN WITH OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS TO OPERATE OPERATIONALIZE THAT.
PLEASE TELL US HOW WE DO THAT.
PLEASE MAKE THAT PART OF THE STRATEGIC PLAN.
THAT PRO TIME I'M GOING TO GO BACK TO THIS.
I'M GOING TO TURN THE HOME TO YOU FOR A MOMENT.
UM, I JUST WANT TO THANK YOU DR.
I MEAN, I FEEL LIKE THERE WAS A LOT OF NODDING GOING ON ONLY BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, TRYING TO PUSH MORE MONEY INTO PUBLIC HEALTH FOR SOME TIME NOW.
UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE LAST SIX YEARS ON THIS COUNCIL WORKING ON A BUDGET AND WE HAVE WE'VE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IT.
AND AS WE CONTINUE TO HAVE THESE DISCUSSIONS ON, WE CAN'T GO BACK TO NORMAL, UM, THAT NEEDS TO INCLUDE BIG VISION, BIG IDEAS AND BIG VISIONS.
LIKE, DO WE OFFER A CITYWIDE HEALTHCARE PLAN? I MEAN, JUST AS YOU SAID, I CAN'T TELL YOU THE NUMBER OF TIMES I'VE SAID AS A FIREFIGHTER, WHEN YOU'RE SENDING A MILLION DOLLAR FIRE TRUCK TO SOMEBODY FOR AN EMERGENCY CALL THAT YOU, YOU HAVE MEMORIZED THEIR ADDRESS, YOU KNOW, THEIR NAME, WHEN THAT ADDRESS COMES ON THE TONE, AND IT'S TELLING YOU WHERE TO GO, YOU KNOW, IT'S MR. SO-AND-SO, IT'S WHERE YOU WANT TO SEE MR. SMITH BECAUSE OF THE NUMEROUS TIMES WE HAVE SENT OUR EMERGENCY EMS AND FIRE TO THOSE ADDRESSES AND WE COULD HAVE INVESTED THAT MONEY SO MUCH DIFFERENTLY.
SO, UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE CHOIR AND IN A LOT OF WAYS, BUT THANK YOU FOR THOSE, THOSE WORDS.
UH, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER MEDICINE, YOU PROBABLY NOTICED I WAS HIDING OUT IN THE CORNER, BUT DR.
UM, I W I WILL JUST, UM, YOU KNOW, I'LL ECHO YOUR SENTIMENT.
I MEAN, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT HERE.
SO WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT SYSTEMIC CHANGE, RIGHT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ALL THE SYSTEMS, IT'S NOT JUST ONE SYSTEM, ALL THE SYSTEMS FEED ONE ANOTHER.
AND SO I JUST DOCTOR HAS GOT, I'D LIKE TO SAY, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR PASSIONATE PRESENTATION OF THAT INFORMATION.
CAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.
AND I JUST REALLY APPRECIATE THAT YOU SAID IT IN A WAY THAT WAS SO CANDID.
UM, AND FRANK AND WE GET THE OPPORTUNITY.
I THINK OFTENTIMES ONE WHERE AS A MUNICIPALITY WE'RE RISK AVERSE, BUT THEN, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE'RE ALSO COST AVERSE, BUT IF WE'RE RECOGNIZING THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS WE ARE, YOU KNOW, I AIN'T EVEN THINK ABOUT HUMAN LIFE AND SUFFERING AND ILLNESS IN A WAY LIKE WE SPEND MONEY OR SAVE MONEY.
BUT THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER IS LIKE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MONEY, RIGHT? AND AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE INVESTMENT SHOULD BE IN THE LONGTERM GREATER GOOD AND AT WELLNESS OF PEOPLE.
AND I THINK YOU JUST VALIDATED WHAT EVERYBODY'S BEEN TRYING TO IMPLY, WHICH IS IF WE INVEST IN PEOPLE FOR THE LONGTERM GREATER GOOD AND THEIR HEALTH BEING A PART OF THAT COMPONENT, THAT WE SAVE MONEY.
AND SO THANK YOU FOR REALLY JUST POINTING OUT THE, WHAT FELT LIKE THE OBVIOUS, BUT, YOU KNOW, HAVING THE PROFESSIONALS SAY IT, UH, THE EXPERTS SAY IT IS DEFINITELY HELPFUL.
DID YOU RAISE YOUR HAND? I'M SORRY, COUNCIL MEMBER.
I ECHO EVERYONE'S COMMENTS AND I APPRECIATE YOU RAISING UP THE UNDERLYING HEALTH CONDITIONS.
SO MY, I WANT TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT SOMETHING DIFFERENT BECAUSE I THINK WE'VE HIGHLIGHTED THAT PART.
WELL, WHEN YOU PRESENTED TO US LAST TIME OR THE TIME BEFORE LAST, YOU MENTIONED THAT WE WERE TRACING MOST OF THESE CASES BACK TO THE FACT THAT THESE ARE THE FOLKS THAT ARE GOING
[01:25:01]
TO WORK, OR THESE ARE PEOPLE IN HOUSEHOLDS OF FOLKS THAT ARE GOING TO WORK.IS THAT STILL GENERALLY THE CASE? UH, THAT IS, THAT IS GENERALLY THE CASE.
UH, AGAIN, OUR, OUR, OUR TEAM IS ALSO WORKING ON, UM, IDENTIFYING PERCENTAGES OF COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION VERSUS HOUSEHOLD TRANSMISSION, UH, SO THAT AS THEY COMPLETE THAT DATA SET, MY HOPE IS, IS TO TALK MORE ABOUT HOW MUCH IS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE AND HOW MUCH INSIDE THE HOUSE AGAIN, COUNCIL MEMBER, IT'S, IT'S REALLY VERY IMPORTANT, PARTICULARLY IN, IN THOSE VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, UH, THAT WE CONTINUE TO ADVOCATE FOR INDIVIDUALS TO UTILIZE OUR ISOLATION FACILITY, TO REALLY BREAK THAT CYCLE OF TRANSMISSION WITHIN THE HOUSEHOLD.
UH, YOU KNOW, TALKING TO OUR, OUR INVESTIGATORS.
UH, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT ONCE THERE'S A CASE IN THE HOUSEHOLD SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN THE HOUSE, OR GETTING IT SOMEWHERE IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF 50% RISK, UH, IN THOSE CLOSE CONTACTS, UH, SO WE REALLY NEED TO WORK TOGETHER TO TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO BREAK DOWN SOME OF THE BARRIERS OR CONCERNS THAT FOLKS HAVE ABOUT UTILIZING THOSE FREE FACILITY, THAT FREE HOTEL ROOM, UH, TO, TO REALLY SEPARATE AND PROTECT THEIR FAMILIES.
UH, IT IS GOING TO BE CRITICALLY IMPORTANT FOR US, PARTICULARLY AS, AS WE SEE CASES INCREASE.
AND WE JUST GOT A MEMO FROM PUBLIC HEALTH ON SOME OF THE HIGH RISK WORKER STUFF, WHICH I APPRECIATE, BUT, UM, BUT IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL THAT YOU HAVE IS REALLY GOOD.
IT SEEMS TO ME THAT IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL TO KNOW WHAT PERCENTAGE OF FOLKS THAT ARE GOING BACK TO WORK.
EVEN IF THEY HAVE AN OLDER FAMILY MEMBER, DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE.
AND WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THOSE NUMBERS IN THE LATINO COMMUNITY, BUT IT REALLY USEFUL FOR ME TO KNOW HOW MANY OF THEM ARE COMING FROM PRIMARILY SPANISH SPEAKING HOUSEHOLDS, AS WE THINK ABOUT BOTH OUTREACH AND RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO PEOPLE OR THOSE NUMBERS WE'RE TRYING TO TRACK DOWN, ARE THOSE NUMBERS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE HELPFUL, BUT I'M INTERESTED IN YOUR, AND YOUR THOUGHTS ON THINGS LIKE WHAT ARE THESE CASES COMING FROM PEOPLE WITHOUT ACCESS TO UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE? SO THEY HAVE ALMOST NO OTHER OPTION.
IS THIS COMING FROM SPANISH? I MEAN, THOSE, I SUSPECT SOME OF THAT IS TRUE, BUT WE DON'T, I HAVEN'T SEEN HARD NUMBERS ON IT YET.
AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I CAN, I CAN SHARE SOME STATS WITH WHAT'S NEW IN COUNCIL REGARDING FUNDING SOURCES FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE HOSPITALIZED.
UH, LAST TIME I LOOKED AT THAT PERCENTAGE OF INDIVIDUALS WHO WERE HOSPITALIZED WITHOUT A PAYER SOURCES ABOUT 30%, UH, SO SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER, UH, THAN THEY, THE, THE RATE OF UNINSURED IN OUR COMMUNITY, WHICH TELLS US AGAIN, AS WE ANTICIPATED THAT THIS IS DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING THOSE WITHOUT, UH, UNDERLYING, UH, ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE.
UH, ONLY ON THE NOTE REGARDING THE LANGUAGE OF PREFERENCE, I HAVE ASKED, UH, THE EPIDEMIOLOGY TEAM TO ADD THAT TO THE, THE CASE INVESTIGATION SO THAT WE CAN START TRACKING, UH, LANGUAGE PREFERENCE.
UH, SO I'LL, I'LL GET AN UPDATE ON THAT AND LET YOU KNOW THE STATUS OF THAT.
UH, I AGREE IT IS IMPORTANT AND SOMETHING THAT'S NOT BEEN PART OF THE STATES OR CDCS, UH, DATA COLLECTION TOOL, BUT WE DO HAVE THE ABILITY TO ADD THAT THAT'D BE HELPFUL.
AND I DIDN'T, I KNOW I HAD HEARD THE HEALTH INSURANCE NUMBER, BUT I MET THE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE NUMBER BECAUSE THEN SOMEONE, IF SOMEBODY DOESN'T HAVE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, THEN THEY MAY NOT HAVE ANY OTHER FORM OF INCOME OTHER THAN GOING TO WORK, EVEN IF IT'S RECOMMENDED AGAINST.
SO I'D BE INTERESTED IN KNOWING IF WE'RE TRACKING OR GETTING SOME SENSE OF THAT AS WELL.
DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTIONS FOR DR.
ESKA CATHERINE, THE KITCHEN? I WANT TO THANK YOU.
THE, UH, INFORMATION YOU PROVIDED, UM, ABOUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IN THE NURSING HOMES AND JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE I HEARD SOMETHING CORRECTLY.
SO, UM, THE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES, I THINK THERE'S 75 OF THEM, OR SO, UH, IN THE AUSTIN AREA, THOSE STATS ARE NOT SEPARATED OUT AT THIS POINT.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
AND, UM, DID I, CAN I CONCLUDE FROM WHAT WE SAW THAT IF AN INDIVIDUAL OF A CERTAIN, YOU KNOW, AT CERTAIN AGES SAY A 75 YEAR OLD IS MORE LIKELY TO BE HOSPITALIZED FROM COLBERT, IF THEY'RE LIVING IN A NURSING HOME, AS OPPOSED TO LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY, IS THAT WHAT THIS DATA IS SHOWING US? THAT'S CORRECT.
THAT'S, THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING.
IT WAS TELLING ME, UM, DO WE HAVE SOMEWHERE KIND OF COMPARISON
[01:30:01]
IN TERMS OF DATA ABOUT, UM, ACTUALLY BEING DIAGNOSED WITH COVID AS OPPOSED TO HOSPITALIZED, WE MAY NOT HAVE THAT LEVEL OF DATA.CAN YOU CLARIFY THAT QUESTION ALSO, FOR EXAMPLE, I CAN SEE THE RISK ASSOCIATED WITH HOSPITALIZATION, OR I'M A SENIOR WHO'S LIVING IN THE COMMUNITY VERSUS LIVING IN A NURSING HOME, BUT I'M WONDERING IF THERE'S DATA ABOUT THE, JUST THE RISK OF BEING DIAGNOSED WITH COVID ARE COMING DOWN WITH COVID, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THEY END UP IN THE HOSPITAL BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY THAT'S DIAGNOSED WITH COVID.
SO I WAS JUST WONDERING IF YOU HAD THAT LEVEL OF DATA, A COUNSELOR, WE DON'T HAVE THAT DATA.
THAT'S, THAT'S AN ATTACK RATE.
AND, UH, YOU KNOW, THEY, THE SEROPREVALENCE STUDY THAT I REFERRED TO EARLIER WILL HELP US IDENTIFY BETTER.
YOU KNOW, WHAT THAT ATTACK RATE IS IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES.
I DID WANT TO MENTION A CORRECTION, UH, REGARDING RISK OF HOSPITALIZATION FOR A 75 YEAR OLD, LOOKING AT THE, AT THE GRAPH THAT COMPARES THE THREE IT'S VERY SIMILAR BETWEEN, UH, OVERALL NURSING HOME AND, UH, AND OUT OF NURSING HOME FOR THAT PARTICULAR AGE GROUP, IT'S THE OLDER ONES, RIGHT, RIGHT.
IT'S THE 80 PLUS WHERE WE SAW A DIFFERENCE.
IS THAT RIGHT? UH, I'LL HAVE TO LOOK BACK AT THE SLIDE THERE.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME VARIATIONS, UH, 80 PLUS ACTUALLY HAS A HIGHER RATE OF HOSPITALIZATION IN THE COMMUNITY VERSUS THE NURSING HOME.
AGAIN, THAT GOES BACK TO THE, THE LIKELIHOOD THAT INDIVIDUALS WERE MORE ILL TO BEGIN WITH AND PROBABLY SUCCUMBED QUICKER.
LAST QUESTION THEN, UM, I, I REALLY APPRECIATED THE, THE, UM, GUIDANCE THAT WAS, UH, DEVELOPED BY OUR NURSING HOME TASK FORCE WITH REGARD TO TESTING AND IN PARTICULAR, THE, UM, THE PROTOCOLS OR GUIDANCE I GUESS, IS A BETTER WORD AROUND, UH, RETESTING.
UM, AND THEN, SO, UM, I THINK I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS VERY, VERY THOUGHTFUL AND, UM, I LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, OUR COMMUNITY, UM, AND THE NURSING FACILITIES FOLLOWING THAT GUIDANCE.
UM, MY QUESTION HAS TO DO WITH THE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
UM, HAVE WE GOTTEN TO TESTING THEM YET? I KNOW THAT THERE ARE, UH, THAT THEY ARE SLATED TO BE TESTED, BUT HAVE WE DONE ANY TESTING IN THE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES YET? UH, I'LL HAVE TO GET WITH THE TEAM COUNCIL MEMBER.
I DON'T BELIEVE ANY WIDESPREAD TESTING.
UH, I WILL SAY THAT, UH, YOU KNOW, W WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW THE, THE, THE TESTING GUIDANCE THAT WE ISSUED A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO REGARDING NURSING HOMES, GIVEN THE DATA THAT WE HAVE.
AGAIN, WE HAVE A VERY SMALL PERCENT POSITIVE AMONGST RESIDENTS 0.17% SO FAR.
UH, SO WE'LL LIKELY NEED TO TWEAK THAT A BIT AND LOOK TO SURVEILLANCE TESTING.
THAT'S VAST UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS TO IDENTIFY, YOU KNOW, WHAT'S THAT NUMBER, WHAT'S THAT PERCENT OF INDIVIDUALS, UH, IN, IN COVID NAIVE FACILITIES THAT WE NEED TO DO AND MAINTAIN TO BE ABLE TO DETECT CASES SUBSTANTIALLY HIGHER WHEN WE TALK ABOUT STAFF, BUT EVEN THEN IT'S 0.5% SO FAR.
UH, AND AGAIN, AS WE CONSIDER HOW TO ADDRESS, UH, THE, THE ISSUES OF COVID-19 IN OUR COMMUNITY, UH, WE DO NEED TO FOCUS ON TWO MAJOR GROUPS, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR, OUR, OUR POOR AND OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR ELDERLY POPULATION.
AND IF I THINK THE DATA SHOWS US IF WE HAVE CREATIVE POLICY TWISTS CAN EFFECTIVELY ADDRESS THOSE TWO GROUPS, THE RISK FOR THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY IS MUCH, MUCH SMALLER THAN, THAN WHAT WE ONCE THOUGHT.
SO I THINK THIS IS A CALL FOR ACTION FOR US.
I THINK IT'S A CALL TO SAY, IF WE WANT TO KEEP THE ECONOMY OPEN AND OPEN IT FURTHER, THE TRADE OFF HAS TO BE, WE HAVE TO MAKE INVESTMENTS WHERE WE FAILED TO MAKE INVESTMENTS IN THE PAST, AND THAT'S IN THOSE COMMUNITIES OF RISK, THOSE, UH, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR AND, AND OUR ELDERLY POPULATION, SO THAT WE CAN PROTECT THEM BETTER.
I'LL FOLLOW UP OFFLINE WITH, UH, WITH YOU AND WITH STEPHANIE, UM, ON OUR, OUR, OUR PROGRESS ON THE TESTING IN THE NURSING AND THE ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES.
UM, I THINK THIS IS A QUESTION FOR MR. ESCADA AND IF IT ENDS UP BEING, UM, WITH, IN SOMETHING FOR DIRECTOR HAYDEN, THEN I CAN WAIT UNTIL MR. SCOTT HAS DONE.
UM, SO I REALLY APPRECIATE, UM, THE APPROACH THAT, UM, BOTH OF YOU ARE SUGGESTING, UM, WHICH INVITES US TO MAKE INVESTMENTS DURING THIS COVID
[01:35:01]
TIME THAT CREATE GREATER RESILIENCE, UM, FOR OUR COMMUNITY DOWN THE LINE.UM, I WANTED TO ASK IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THERE, THERE ARE PIECES OF THIS THAT, UM, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO DO MORE, AT LEAST, UM, IF WE HAD SUPPORT FROM THE STATE AND THE FEDERAL, UM, GOVERNMENT.
UM, SO FIRST I WANTED TO ENCOURAGE, UM, THE CITY MANAGER AND OUR INNER GOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS TO WORK WITH YOU TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS TYPE OF INFORMATION IS COMMUNICATED TO OUR STATE AND FEDERAL, UM, DELEGATIONS.
UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT, IT CREATES AN OPENING, A DIFFERENT WAY OF ARGUING FOR SOMETHING WE'VE BEEN ARGUING FOR FOR A LONG TIME, UM, THAT WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF COVID MAY ALLOW US, UM, TO TAKE CERTAIN STEPS, UM, AND ALSO IN THE CONTEXT WITHIN AN ELECTION CYCLE.
UM, BUT THEN SECONDLY, I, I WANTED TO JUST ASK, WHAT ARE THE, CAN YOU HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THOSE PIECES THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, REALLY UP TO THE, THE STATE, WHETHER IT'S THE MEDICARE OR, UM, YOU KNOW, PIECES WHERE, WHERE HAVING THOSE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE WOULD REALLY, UM, MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR US TO MAKE ADDITIONAL PROGRESS BEYOND WHAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO DO WITH OUR OWN RESOURCES? UH, I THINK I'LL START BY ANSWERING AND DIRECTOR HAYDEN MAY WANT TO, TO ADD IN, UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE'S A LOT THAT CAN BE DONE, UH, FROM THE STATE AND FEDERAL LEVEL TO, TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY ABOUT, ABOUT CREATING SOME, SOME BICE, PARTISAN SUPPORT OR THINGS, WHICH WE CAN ALL AGREE ON.
I THINK ACCESS TO PRIMARY CARE IS ONE OF THOSE THINGS.
IT IS INEXPENSIVE, AND IT'S AN INCREDIBLE INVESTMENT.
I THINK FURTHER INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC HEALTH AT THE STATE FEDERAL AND LOCAL LEVEL IS ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT IS A, A RELATIVELY SMALL DOLLAR INVESTMENT THAT HAS AN INCREDIBLE RETURN RIGHT NOW IN THE UNITED STATES, WE SPEND ABOUT 4 CENTS ON THE DOLLAR, UH, THE HEALTHCARE DOLLAR ON PUBLIC HEALTH.
UH, WE TRAILED MANY, MANY OTHER COUNTRIES, UH, IN TERMS OF OUR SUCCESS IN PUBLIC HEALTH.
AND A LOT OF THE REASON WHY, UH, WHY WE DO SO POORLY WHEN IT COMES TO COMPARISONS IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEMS IN OTHER COUNTRIES, IS HOW WE TREAT OUR COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
UH, IT'S ABOUT THE INEQUALITIES.
IT'S ABOUT THE DISPARITIES BETWEEN GROUPS.
AMERICA HAS INCREDIBLE HEALTH SYSTEMS. NOW WE HAVE INCREDIBLE HOSPITALS, WE DO INCREDIBLE RESEARCH, UH, BUT THAT DOESN'T EQUAL INCREDIBLE HEALTH CARE FOR THE COMMUNITY, UNLESS IT MEANS CARE FOR EVERYBODY.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK THAT, THAT TOGETHER, YOU KNOW, THIS COMMUNITY AND THIS STATE IN THIS COUNTRY, UH, NEED TO, TO AGREE ON WHAT IS REASONABLE AND WHAT WE CAN DO IN THE SHORT TERM TO ADDRESS THESE LONGSTANDING ISSUES.
AND I THINK UNIFORM ACCESS, UH, TO PRIMARY CARE SERVICES IS VERY LOW HANGING FRUIT, UH, THAT WE COULD ALL AGREE ON SERGEANT HAYDEN, DIRECTOR HAYDEN.
THE ONLY THING THAT I WOULD ADD IS THAT WE KNOW FROM OUR EXPERIENCE IN WORKING IN THIS SPACE, THAT, UM, IF, IF THERE ARE, IF THERE'S MORE FUNDING FOR PREVENTION EFFORTS, UM, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF CHRONIC DISEASE CAN BE PREVENTED.
UM, IF, IF FOLKS ARE PROVIDED THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE DIABETES EDUCATION CLASSES, UM, THAT THE DEPARTMENT TYPICALLY OFFERS, BUT WE ALSO HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS THAT OFFER THE SAME DIABETES EDUCATION CLASSES.
SO BEING ABLE TO, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THOSE UPSTREAM FACTORS THAT CAN REALLY PREVENT THE ONSET OF DISEASE IS REALLY IMPORTANT TOO.
SO THAT'S JUST THE ONLY OTHER THING I WOULD OFFER.
UM, AND THEN IN TERMS OF THE, THE PLAN, UM, YOU KNOW, I HOPE IT WILL ALSO, YOU KNOW, INCLUDE, UM, DOING A LITTLE BIT MORE OF THE WORK THAT WE'VE DONE TO HELP PEOPLE TO ACCESS, UM, THE HEALTHCARE OPTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE.
UM, AND, AND MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE CONNECTING FOLKS UP WITH THOSE RESOURCES THAT DO EXIST, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OBAMACARE THAT MAYBE PEOPLE AREN'T SIGNED
[01:40:01]
UP FOR AS WELL.COUNCIL MEMBER THREE, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA.
I WAS HAVING TROUBLE WITH MY COMPUTER EARLIER AND I COULDN'T SIGN ON, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE QUESTION.
I WAS, YOU KNOW, WE DO HAVE, I AM, MY DISTRICT HAS A LOT OF INDEPENDENT SENIOR LIVING HOUSING AND, UH, HOW DO Y'ALL TRACE WHEN SOMEONE BECOMES INFECTED AND THEY GO NOT TO OUR HOSPITALS, BUT TO A MINOR EMERGENCY HOSPITAL OR SOMETHING WAS THERE.
AND THERE, THERE ARE SYMPTOMS OF A VERY MILD, BUT THEY COME BACK.
HOW DO Y'ALL TRACE THOSE PEOPLE WHO THEY BEEN IN CONTACT WHERE IT'S BEEN INFECTED COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, REGARDLESS OF OF WHERE AN INDIVIDUAL IS, IS TESTED, UH, THOSE RESULTS ALL COME BACK TO AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH, WHICH IS REQUIRED, UH, UNDER, UNDER STATE CODE.
UM, SO IT IT'S A MATTER OF IF THEY'RE TESTED SOMEWHERE ELSE.
IT'S A MATTER OF RUSS GETTING THE INFORMATION AND, AND CALLING THAT INDIVIDUAL, UM, UH, YOU KNOW, THROUGH OUR, THROUGH OUR PUBLIC HEALTH TESTING SITE, THAT INFER THAT IS AUTOMATED TO SOME EXTENT.
SO, UH, THE INDIVIDUAL GETS NOTIFIED AND THAT CONTACT TRACING STARTS.
AND THAT CASE INVESTIGATION STARTS, UH, VIA EMAIL OR TEXT MESSAGE SAYING, PLEASE TELL US WHERE YOU'VE BEEN AND WHO YOU'VE HAD CONTACT WITH.
UH, BUT PRIMARILY, UH, IT'S PHONE CALLS TO PEOPLE IS ASKING QUESTIONS AND, AND, UH, DOING AN INVESTIGATION SO THAT WE CAN IDENTIFY WHERE THEY'VE BEEN, WHO THEY'VE CONTACTED SO THAT WE CAN CONTACT THOSE INDIVIDUALS AND, AND LET THEM KNOW THEY NEED TO BE TESTED.
YES, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SOMEBODY SAY INDEPENDENT LIVING FACILITIES, OR, YOU KNOW, I HAVE REBECCA BEN JOHNSON HERE AT MY DISTRICT AS A NEIGHBOR, AND THEY HAVE SOMEWHERE LIKE 280, 90 PEOPLE THEY'RE LIVING IN THAT IT'S A 16 STORY BUILDING AND ONE OF THEM GET INFECTED AND SHE, SOME OF THE PEOPLE ARE VERY SOCIAL AMONG EACH OTHER.
YOU KNOW, THEY ALWAYS USED TO HAVE A LITTLE BIRTHDAY PARTY ONCE A MONTH, EVERYBODY THERE, THEY HAD CAKES AND ALL THAT.
SO THEY, THEY DO GET AROUND AND TALK TO A LOT OF PEOPLE.
SO THAT'S WHAT I WAS JUST LIKE WANTING TO FIND OUT.
DO Y'ALL TRACK IT WHEN YOU GO AND ASK, ASK THESE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN AFFECTED YOU, DO YOU ASK THEM ALSO THAT HAVE THEY BEEN THROUGHOUT THE BUILDING AND WHO THEY, WHO THEY HAD CONTACT WITH YES.
OR THEY, THEY ASK, UH, INFORMATION SIMILAR TO, UH, YOU KNOW, A DETECTIVE, UH, YOU KNOW, WE CALL THEM DISEASE DETECTIVES BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY THE INFORMATION THEY COLLECT.
UH, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CONTINUE TO REMIND PEOPLE THROUGH OUR, OUR, UH, RISK STAGES ABOUT HOW TO DECREASE THEIR RISK OF TRANSMISSION, AND CERTAINLY INDIVIDUALS, UH, WHO ARE HIGHER RISK, INCLUDING INDIVIDUAL OVER THE AGE OF 65.
UH, WE STILL ENCOURAGE THEM TO AVOID SOCIAL INTERACTIONS, UH, IN IF, IF IT'S GOING TO BE AROUND OTHER PEOPLE TO MAINTAIN THAT SOCIAL DISTANCING, THAT MASKING, UM, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S CHALLENGING FOR US TO, TO COMPLETELY, UH, ELIMINATE THE SPREAD OF DISEASE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE GET GROUPS TOGETHER, PARTICULARLY GROUPS THAT ARE AT HIGH RISK, UH, IT CAN OFTEN BE A RECIPE FOR A SUBSTANTIAL IMPACT IN DEATH.
AND, UH, SO WE REMIND EVERYBODY TO, TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR THAT STAGING, TO GET THE UP TO DATE ADVICE ON, ON HOW THEY SHOULD PROCEED TO MANAGE THE RISK FOR THEMSELVES AND THEIR FAMILY.
AND I ALSO WANT TO THANK ALL THE NONPROFIT GROUPS AND ALL THE OTHER GROUPS THAT HAVE BOUGHT MASS AND HAVE BEEN DELIVERING TO ALL THESE, UH, ASSISTANT LIVE IN AN INDEPENDENT LIVING FACILITY.
YOU KNOW, I SAID, I HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE ALARM THAT I HAD.
I WAS ALWAYS CAREFUL THAT, YOU KNOW, WE COULDN'T GET THE, AT THE BEGINNING, NOBODY, EVERYBODY WAS SAYING, DON'T WEAR MASKS, DON'T WEAR MASK, YOU KNOW, AND IT'S LIKE, WE'RE TRYING TO SAVE YOU FROM THE EMERGENCY ROOMS WHERE, OR FIRST FRONTLINE PEOPLE.
SO, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT WAS VERY ALARMING TO ME.
SO, UH, UM, I'M VERY GLAD THAT, YOU KNOW, Y'ALL ARE STEPPING UP AND WORKING WITH ALL THE OTHER GROUPS ALSO, AND MY OFFER.
THIS IS ALSO DISTRIBUTING MASSES TO DIFFERENT NONPROFIT GROUPS, SO THEY CAN DISTRIBUTE TO YOURSELF AND TO PUTTING IN NONPROFIT AND CHILDCARE AND ASSISTED LIVING AND NURSING HOME AND INDEPENDENT LIVING FACILITY.
CAUSE, UH, UM, AS THE SENIOR, UM, I'M 70 YEARS OLD, SO I'M AT HIGH RISK.
[01:45:01]
REALLY TAKE CARE OF MYSELF.SO IT WAS VERY ALARMING AND YOU'RE RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, WE, THE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE, ARE NOT THE ONES THAT ARE SO FEW OF THEM THAT WE DON'T HAVE, UH, EXISTING, UH, ELEMENTS AND, AND, UH, UH, CONDITION EXISTED CONDITIONS.
SO, YOU KNOW, AND, BUT YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT WE SHOULD ISOLATE OURSELVES FROM THESE YOUNGER PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING OUT THERE AND YOU SEE THEM OUT THERE GETTING OUT THERE AND NOT PRACTICING THE KNEE TO SOCIAL DISTANCE AND WHERE IN MASS.
SO, AND MOST LIKELY THERE IS GOING TO BE LIKE A FLU TO THEM, TO THEM.
AND THERE ARE PEOPLE IN OUR AGE AND OUR STAGE, AND YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT.
ONE OF THE PEOPLE THAT THOUGHT MINUTIA WITH A CHAMPION OF BREAKFAST, YOU KNOW, AND I HAD TO GIVE THAT UP, YOU KNOW, CAUSE YOU KNOW, IT WASN'T, AND IT WAS REALLY AFFECTING MY HELL, BUT THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, HOW WE GREW UP AND WE'RE SENIORS NOW AND IT'S REALLY, WE'RE PAYING THE PRICE RIGHT NOW.
SO THANK YOU FOR DOING ALL THAT.
SO HE ENDED UP BEING, SHE WAS SAYING THAT WE REALLY NEED TO DO IS TO KEEP PEOPLE LIKE THAT AWAY FROM OTHER PEOPLE THAT ARE INFECTED UNTIL WE FIND HIM FINALLY GET A BACK SEAT FOR THAT.
SO I WANT TO THANK YOU ON THAT.
UM, JUST A COUPLE COMMENTS ON OUR END REQUESTS, REALLY DIRECTOR HAYDEN, YOU HAD MENTIONED.
UM, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANT TO SAY, I REALLY JUST WANT TO EXPRESS MY APPRECIATION.
UM, YOUR DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN SO BUSY RESPONDING TO, TO THE CURRENT CRISIS, KATHY.
REALLY? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? OKAY, THANKS.
SO PUT MY HAND ON THE KEYBOARD.
I'M NOT SURE WHERE YOU LOST ME, BUT I WAS JUST EXPRESSING MY APPRECIATION TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND TO DIRECTOR HAYDEN'S LEADERSHIP FOR RESPONDING SO WELL TO THE, TO THE CURRENT CRISIS, BUT ALSO LOOKING AT WAYS TO REALLY, UM, ENHANCE, ENHANCE THE KIND OF PREVENTATIVE CARE THAT, THAT THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAS ADVOCATED FOR, UM, FOR SO LONG AND AS MAYOR PRO TEM GARZA SAID, IT, IT, IT HAS LONG BEEN THE CASE THAT WE NEEDED TO BETTER FUND THOSE PROGRAMS. AND SO I THINK PUBLIC HEALTH AGAIN HAS LONG ADVOCATED AND HAS IMPLEMENTED SOME VERY, SOME VERY IMPORTANT PROGRAMS WITH REGARD TO PREVENTATIVE CARE AND, AND WE HAVE FAILED AS A CITY TO FUND THEM SUFFICIENTLY.
UM, I REALLY, I THINK THE PLAN THAT YOU LAID OUT IN TERMS OF, YOU KNOW, FROM APPOINTING STAFF LIAISONS TO IDENTIFYING PARTICULARS OF CODES IS REALLY SOUND AND AGAIN, UM, I JUST WANT TO APPLAUD YOU FOR TAKING THAT KIND OF DELIBERATIVE APPROACH AT A TIME WHERE I KNOW YOU'RE REALLY JUST MAXED OUT.
UM, I, I WONDER WHAT THE NEXT STEP IS IN TERMS OF PROVIDING THAT INFORMATION TO THE PUBLIC IS, IS THEIR INTENT TO, TO MAKE SOME OF THOSE DETAILS.
I DON'T BELIEVE THAT WAS IN OUR PRESENTATION.
I JUST WONDERED IF, IF, UH, WE WOULD GET SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT WHICH ZIP CODES I DIDN'T CAPTURE ALL THOSE ZIP CODES THAT, THAT THE MOBILE TESTING WOULD BE AVAILABLE IN SOME OF THE OTHER DETAILED INFORMATION.
AND SO WE'D REQUEST THAT, THAT AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME THAT THAT'D BE PROVIDED, UM, REALLY TO THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS THE COUNCIL.
UM, CAN'T REMEMBER TOBO WE ARE DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE THAT INFORMATION PUBLIC.
UM, MAYOR ADLER MENTIONED, UH, UH, A DRAFT PLAN THAT, UM, WE'RE, WE'RE PUTTING TOGETHER.
UM, WE ARE ALSO, UM, WORKING ON A, A FORUM THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE ON THE 13TH OF JUNE.
AND, UM, WE WILL BE PROVIDING, UH, EACH OF YOUR OFFICES WITH A FLYER FOR THAT INFORMATION.
AND, UM, AND THAT FORUM IS, UM, IS BASICALLY TO TALK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT RIGHT NOW AND TO, UM, AND TO REVIEW THAT, THAT DRAFT PLAN WITH THE PUBLIC, BUT GET FEEDBACK FROM THEM AS WELL.
UM, WE WANT TO BE VERY DELIBERATE DURING THIS TIME TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET AS MUCH FEEDBACK FROM THE PUBLIC AS WE CAN, UH, BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO TAKE ALL OF US AS I, AS I ALWAYS SAY, IT TAKES ALL OF US TO SHOW UP AND ALL OF US TO DO OUR PART, WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY.
AND SO, UM, WE WILL BE PROVIDING, UM, ALL OF THAT INFORMATION TO YOU ALL AS WELL, BUT THAT IT IS MORE TO COME.
[01:50:01]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AT TODAY'S PRESENTATION FROM, FROM DR.S GOV FROM YOUR DOCTOR S SCOTT, THANK YOU.
THERE'S A LOT OF MATERIAL IN THERE TO GO THROUGH AND I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE ANY IMMEDIATE QUESTIONS.
YOU'VE ANSWERED A LOT OF THEM TODAY, BUT IT OCCURS TO ME THAT IT WOULD BE REALLY USEFUL CITY MANAGER TO HAVE TO HAVE THOSE REALLY DETAILED PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ALL IN ONE PLACE.
AND SO I'M NOT SURE, OBVIOUSLY THEY'RE, THEY'RE ATTACHED TO OUR COUNCIL MEETING WORK SESSIONS, BUT IF THERE'S A WAY TO PULL TOGETHER THOSE PRESENTATIONS, SO THAT MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC CAN REALLY SEE THE WEEK TO WEEK, UM, INFORMATION AS IT DEVELOPED.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE REALLY VALUABLE.
AND AGAIN, I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THE RIGHT PLACE IS THE COVID-19 SITE, WHICH IS REALLY ABOUT SENDING PEOPLE TO RESOURCES THEY NEED IMMEDIATELY.
AND THIS IS MORE A BROADER INFO, AND I WOULD JUST OFFER THAT SUGGESTION.
AND THEN, UM, LASTLY, I WANTED TO MENTION SOMETHING THAT REFERS BACK TO A COMMENT MAYOR PRO TEM GARZA MADE ABOUT THE IDEA OF HAVING A CITYWIDE HEALTHCARE PLAN.
BACK IN EARLY FEBRUARY, I MET A CONSTITUENT IN MY DISTRICT, CONTACTED US TO TELL US ABOUT A PLAN THAT LOVE IT HAD JUST INITIATED WHERE IT WAS LED BY THEIR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE.
AND IT, IT, IN ESSENCE, UM, AS I UNDERSTAND IT ALLOWED SMALL BUSINESSES TO BECOME PART OF THE CITY'S HEALTHCARE HEALTH INSURANCE PLAN.
AND IT'S A REALLY INTERESTING MODEL BECAUSE IT HAD COME THROUGH THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THROUGH, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW TO TIE TO THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY.
WE DID FORWARD THAT IN MY OFFICE, ON TO OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, AS WELL AS OUR HR DEPARTMENT WITH REQUEST THAT, THAT THEY, UM, LET US KNOW IF THEY HAD HEARD ANY, YOU KNOW, IF THEY HAD ANY INFORMATION OR HAD ANY IDEAS ABOUT THAT.
SO, UM, I'M REALLY EAGER TO, TO CONTINUE TO EXPLORE THAT IDEA AND JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT IN THIS FORUM, I KNOW, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, KITCHEN, YOU HAVE A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THAT AS WELL, AND MAY KNOW OF SOME OTHER CITIES WHERE THAT'S BEEN THE CASE, BUT I'M VERY EAGER TO SEE, UH, TO, TO GET SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THAT AS A WAY OF, OF REALLY ADDRESSING ONE OF THE MANY, UM, HEALTH EQUITY ISSUES THAT CAME UP TODAY ABOUT THE LEVEL OF, OF ON THIS PARTICULAR ONE, ABOUT THE LEVEL OF UNINSURED INDIVIDUALS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UM, I THINK IT'S A GREAT IDEA.
THE HEALTHCARE PLAN TO EXPLORE, IT MIGHT BE AN APPROPRIATE PLACE TO ASK CAN TO HELP LEAD SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS.
THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN AT WORK SINCE THEIR BOARD, WHICH I SHARED THIS YEAR, BUT IT'S A ONE YEAR GIG.
UM, THAT BOARD INCLUDES, UH, CENTRAL HEALTH AND, AND, UM, INTEGRAL CARE AND SETON AND SAINT DAVID'S.
AND IT HAS ALL THE PLAYERS AT THE TABLE.
YOU WOULD NEED TO MAKE THAT WORK.
UM, SO THAT MIGHT BE A WAY FOR, FOR US TO HELP MOVE POLICY FORWARD, BUT NOT LITERALLY MAKE EVERYTHING THE COUNCIL'S JOB WHEN WE WERE, WE'RE PRETTY STRAINED IN OUR BANDWIDTH AS IT IS.
SCOTT, THANK YOU FOR THE WAY YOU LAID ALL THAT OUT.
UM, I'M VERY, I'M, I'M JUST REALLY INSPIRED BY IT.
AND, AND ONE THING I ALSO THANKS FOR GETTING THE ADDITIONAL DASHBOARD OUT THAT TRACKS THE SEVEN DAY HOSPITALIZATIONS AVERAGE.
I KNOW I WAS GETTING A LOT OF INQUIRIES ABOUT IT IN THE PUBLIC ABOUT HOW WE WERE TRACKING THE PROGRESS ON THE STAGES.
AND SO TO HAVE THAT DASHBOARD UP IS REALLY HELPFUL, AND IT GIVES PEOPLE A SENSE OF CONTROL OVER WHERE THINGS ARE HEADED, EVEN THOUGH THE LINE IS, IS PRETTY FLAT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF STAGE THREE.
UM, BUT MANAGER I REALLY WANT, ALRIGHT, THERE'S DEFINITELY, I'M CERTAINLY HEARING AN, I AM IN AGREEMENT WITH MOVING FORWARD ON HOW TO EXPLORE THIS, THIS DEEP QUESTION ABOUT PUBLIC HEALTH OUTCOMES AND MMM, YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO HELP US CRAFT A PROCESS HERE.
AND I DON'T WANT TO WAIT FOR SOMEONE TO HAVE TO BRING A RESOLUTION FOR YOU TO DO IT.
SO, YOU KNOW, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE SOME WORK ON THAT OVER THE BREAK, EVEN IF IT'S JUST STAFF COMING BACK TO US IN AUGUST SAYING, ALRIGHT, HERE'S HOW WE'RE GOING TO MOVE FORWARD ON THIS STUFF BECAUSE, MMM, I THINK AS COUNSELOR, BARBARA, MADISON SAID, ALL OF THIS STUFF IS TIED TOGETHER AND WE NEED TO BE FINDING A WAY TO WORK ON ALL THIS STUFF AT THE SAME TIME WHEN IT'S STILL JUST 11 OF US ON THE COUNCIL, JUST REAL QUICKLY TO, TO, TO REITERATE, UH, UH, HOSPITALS, UH, ASKED US TO REINFORCE TWO MESSAGES.
UH, ONE OF THEM IS THE IMPORTANCE
[01:55:01]
OF THAT 10 DAY DAILY, AVERAGE OF 10, SO THAT PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY ARE TRACKING THAT AND POTENTIALLY MODIFYING BEHAVIOR, IS THAT NUMBER MOVES THAT IT'S REAL IMPORTANT TO KEEP SENDING EVERYBODY BACK TO THAT 10 DAY NUMBER.AND THE SECOND MESSAGE THEY'VE ASKED US TO, TO AMPLIFY IS THE ONE THAT, UH, DR.
S SCOTT MADE IN HIS PRESENTATION, WHICH IS PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE AVOIDING GOING TO THE HOSPITALS.
NOW, UH, THEIR CONCERN IS, IS THAT BY TALKING ABOUT HOSPITALIZATIONS, WE MIGHT BE STEERING PEOPLE AWAY.
UH, AND WE'RE NOW HAVING PEOPLE THAT ARE SHOWING UP AT THE HOSPITALS LATER THAN THEY WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE.
UM, AND WE NEED TO TELL PEOPLE THAT NOW MORE THAN EVER IS THE TIME FOR THEM TO BE GOING TO HOSPITALS, TO RECEIVE TREATMENTS THAT ARE APPROPRIATE FOR THEM, MAYOR PROTON, UM, JUST TO QUICKLY SPEAK TO WHAT THE MAYOR JUST SAID, THAT THAT IS A VERY, I WROTE AS A FIREFIGHTER.
THAT WAS A VERY CULTURAL THING IS YOU, UM, YOU WAIT LONGER.
I THINK OUR, OUR BROWN AND BLACK COMMUNITY WAITS LONGER EVEN BEFORE COVID, THEY WOULD WAIT LONGER BECAUSE OF CONCERNS WITH EITHER BILLS OR, OR, UM, EXPERIENCES THAT ARE, UM, UH, OUR BLACK MOTHERS HAVE IN MATERNAL SITUATIONS WHERE YOUR, YOUR, YOUR SHOUTS FOR HELP OR ARE NOT, ARE NOT LISTENED TO.
AND YOU GET, YOU GET TO A POINT WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE THIS HAS TO LOOK REALLY SERIOUS BEFORE I GO.
OTHERWISE I'M NOT GOING TO BE BELIEVED.
I JUST WANTED TO QUICKLY COMMENT ON THE, UM, THE HEALTH INSURANCE DISCUSSION THAT'S HAPPENING.
UM, IT'S A GREAT ONE AND AN IMPORTANT ONE.
WE ALSO HAVE A PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE, UH, COUNCIL COMMITTEE.
AND SO MAYBE, YOU KNOW, I DO NOT THINK AGAIN, THE CITY CAN SOLVE EVERYTHING, BUT I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ARE ABLE TO CONVENE IF IT'S CAN AND CENTRAL HEALTH AND THE COUNTY, MAYBE THERE'S A, UM, IT'S AN ITEM THAT CAN BE ON A PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE MEETING SOON, UM, TO, TO HAVE THAT DISCUSSION.
I'M GOING TO SEND AN EMAIL TO CONNECT YOU ALL TO JIM RODRIGUEZ.
HE'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TECH SALES CENTRAL TEXAS, WHICH IS AN EXISTING PROGRAM OF A NONPROFIT PROGRAM THAT PROVIDES A HEALTH INSURANCE HEALTH INSURANCE.
FIRST THROUGH SMALL BUSINESSES.
IT ALSO HAS A SUBSIDY ATTACHED TO IT.
SO FOR WORKERS BELOW A CERTAIN WAGE, THEY CAN GET THE COST OF ANY INSURANCE, UM, COVERED, UM, OR, UH, REDUCED.
UM, AND IT'S BEEN A PRO IT'S A PROGRAM THAT, UM, JIM IS AN EXPERT.
JIM RODRIGUEZ IS AN EXPERT IN THIS AREA, AND I'M SURE WE'D LOVE TO TALK WITH ALL, ALL OF YOU ABOUT MMM, HOW TO TAKE WHAT HE'S DONE AND MAKE IT BROADER TO FILL IN THE GAPS AND OR TO DO SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
UM, I KNOW WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, HE INDICATED THAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN BEING HELPFUL.
SO, UM, I I'M, I'M SPECIFICALLY MENTIONING TEX HEALTH CENTRAL TEXAS RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE IT IS AN EXISTING PROGRAM.
THERE'S A WEBSITE, SMALL BUSINESSES CAN GO TO THAT WEBSITE IF THEY NEED HELP, UM, FOR THEIR, UM, WITH THE COST OF INSURANCE, FOR THEIR WORKERS, FOR WORKERS BELOW A CERTAIN WAGE LEVEL.
SO I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO THAT.
THEN I THINK WE'RE SET A DIRECTOR HAYDEN AND DR.
SCOTT, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR, FOR JOINING US.
OH, THE MAYOR SUGGESTED THAT BEFORE WE GO TO THE NEXT TWO REPORTS THAT WE, UH, PULL UP THE, UM, UH, TWO, UH, PULLED ITEMS, I THINK, SO THAT WE'RE FRESH WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE, UH, THE BUDGET QUESTION AND ANTICIPATION THURSDAY.
SO I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND DO THAT.
UM, LET'S DO THAT ONE FIRST AND THEN THE PROPOSAL, THEN WE'LL COME BACK MAYOR RIGHT BEFORE WE GO INTO THAT.
I WANTED TO NOT, UM, I WANTED TO SAY MY, ALL OF MY QUESTIONS FOR DR.
SCOTT, BUT I WANTED TO SHARE ONE OTHER, UH, THOUGHTS ON THE COVERT TOPIC IF THAT'S OKAY.
UM, SO MANAGER, AND I DON'T KNOW IF DIRECTOR HAYDEN IS STILL ON, WE DID GET THE RESPONSE ON SOME OF THE HIGH RISK WORKER RESOLUTION THAT WE PASSED.
I JUST WANT TO LIFT UP FOR YOU AND FOR THE COUNSEL THAT I DON'T, I THINK THE INTENT OF THE MEMO IS TO HAVE ADDRESSED ONE PART OF IT, BUT THERE'S STILL ANOTHER PART THAT I THINK EVERYONE IS WORKING ON, WHICH IS,
[02:00:01]
UM, THE QUESTION OF WHAT, HOW DO WE HAVE SOME RESOURCE CENTER, A PLACE FOR PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE OR CAN'T GET PANDEMIC ASSISTANCE? WHAT DO THEY DO TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY DON'T VIOLATE THE MAYOR'S ORDER AND POTENTIALLY PUT THEMSELVES AT RISK OR AN OLDER HOUSEHOLD MEMBER AT RISK, THAT STUFF WASN'T ADDRESSED IN THE RESPONSE AND I, WHAT I ANTICIPATE OR EXPECT IS THAT THERE'LL BE A RESPONSE ON THAT PART TOO.I THINK OUR STAFFS ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO CONTINUE WORKING ON THAT, BUT I JUST WANTED TO RAISE THAT UP.
THAT SEEMS LIKE ONE PIECE, WHICH IS SOME OF THE OUTREACH AND THE LIKE, AND A STRATEGIC PLAN IS IN PLACE, BUT THERE'S THE OTHER PARTS THAT I JUST SEEMED STILL UNFINISHED.
UM, AND I KNOW SOME OF THAT IS PART OF THE BUDGET CONVERSATION WE'RE HAVING, BUT I JUST WANTED TO NOTE THAT SHIT, THAT THERE'S OBVIOUSLY AN ONGOING DISCUSSION.
WE WANT THEM TO GET AS MUCH INFORMATION TO YOU AS SOON AS WE COULD.
BUT AS YOU SAID, WE'LL HAVE AN UPDATED DISCUSSION.
WE'VE ALSO HAD A REGGAE, ONE OF THE NONPROFITS IT'S PART OF OUR ARRAY OF NONPROFITS, GETTING CARE'S FUNDING, UH, HAS, UH, OFFERED TO HELP CREATE A PILOT WHERE THE CITY WOULD DPH WOULD DO THESE TESTING, AND THEY WOULD HELP WORK TO PROVIDE PEOPLE, THE ISOLATION FACILITIES IF THEY HAD A POSITIVE TEST.
SO AS TO MAKE THAT AS LOW RISK AS POSSIBLE.
AND I, AND I HOPE AND URGE DRA, UH, OR APH TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT KIND OF PILOT SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY, UH, SEE IF THAT INCREASES THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT ARE COMFORTABLE WITH GETTING TESTED.
I JUST WANTED TO, UM, ADD, AND, AND JUST REMIND US THAT WHEN WE DID PASS THE RISE FUNDING, I INCLUDED AN AMENDMENT THAT GETS RIGHT AT THIS ISSUE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE'S FUNDS IN THERE OR WHATNOT, UM, WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY THAT'S ALREADY, UM, IN THAT RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS THE WRAPAROUND SERVICES, THAT FOLKS WHO ARE POSITIVE OR AT RISK, UM, ARE EXPERIENCING, UM, DUE TO COVID.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS BEFORE WE MOVE ON? ALRIGHT,
[Item 40]
THEN LET'S GO ON THEN TO THE CONVERSATION ABOUT THE PULL, THE ITEM, UH, THERE.MY CONCERN ABOUT THAT IS THAT ABOUT GOING TO, I MEAN, ONE OF THE PULLED ITEMS IS EXTENDING FRAMEWORK AND ONE OF OUR PRESENTATIONS FOR TODAY DIRECTLY RELATES TO ONE OF THE CATEGORIES OF SPENDING.
UM, AND THAT IS OUR COUNCIL PRESENTATION THAT'S SCHEDULED FOR TODAY ABOUT EVICTIONS, WHICH I THINK REALLY WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S THE WILL OF THE GROUP, WHAT ORDER WE TAKE THINGS IN.
AND I, I APPRECIATE AND HAVE LONG ADVOCATED FOR US TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PRIORITIZING THE COUNCIL PULLED ITEMS ON A TUESDAY SO THAT WE, WE CAN REALLY HAVE THAT TIME TO THINK BETWEEN TUESDAY AND THURSDAY.
AND TALK ABOUT TALK AMONG OUR COLLEAGUES ABOUT THOSE AGENDA ITEMS. BUT, BUT I DO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IF WE'RE DELAYING THE PRESENTATION ON EVICTIONS, THAT WE MAKE SURE WE TAKE IT UP TODAY, IT'S IT'S CRITICAL INFORMATION.
I FEEL LIKE WE'RE ARE REALLY COMING TO A, UH, A GOOD ASSESSMENT OF HOW MUCH MONEY WE NEED TO PUT INTO THAT RENTAL ASSISTANCE CATEGORY.
UM, I AGREE ON ONE HAND, I JUST, WE'RE NOT VOTING TODAY, SO IT'S, IT'S, IT, IT WILL JUST BE INFORMATION THAT WILL INFORM OUR DECISIONS AS WE, AS WE HEAD INTO A VOTE ON THURSDAY.
AND I, I DIDN'T SEEM TO BE ANY DISAGREEMENT FROM ANYBODY ON THE COUNCIL THAT WE NEEDED MORE, UH, MORE FUNDING FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
SO, UM, I GUESS IF THERE HAD BEEN SOME KIND OF DISAGREEMENT ON THE EXTENT TO WHICH WE NEED TO INVEST MORE IN RENTAL, I COULD SEE WHERE THAT DISCUSSION WITH GUIDANCE, BUT I DIDN'T SEE ANY DISAGREEMENT THAT THERE WAS A NEED FOR MORE RENTAL.
UM, UM, AND WE'RE NOT, AND AGAIN, WE'RE NOT, THAT'LL INFORM OUR DECISION AS WE MOVE INTO THURSDAY.
I, I PULLED THOSE SIMPLY BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW IF IT WAS GOING TO GET PULLED AND THEN IT JUST, IT WAS, I BELIEVE JUST, I MEAN, I KNOW SOME PEOPLE DON'T OFFICIALLY PULL BECAUSE THEY SEE SOMEBODY ELSE HAS, HAS PULLED IT.
UM, I JUST WANTED, I DON'T IS THERE, AND I'M SORRY, I HAVEN'T HAD A CHANCE WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON.
IS THERE ADDITIONAL, IS THERE A NEW FRAMEWORK SINCE OUR DISCUSSION, I GUESS THIS IS A CITY MANAGER QUESTION OR WHOEVER'S ON STAFF CANCER.
IS THERE A NEW FRAMEWORK IS FOLLOWING THE LAST DISCUSSION ON THIS AND THE, AND THE COO AND THE QUESTION OF INVESTING MORE IN INDIVIDUAL, UM, AID.
MAYOR PRO TEM, THERE IS NOT, WE ATTACHED WHAT WE PRESENTED LAST THURSDAY TO BACKUP ON THIS ITEM AND THAT'S WHAT'S FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION ON THURSDAY.
AND SO THEN I GUESS I JUST WANT IT TO
[02:05:01]
HAVE THE DISCUSSION OF HOW WE WILL PROCEED AND, UH, AND THEN I'M JUST, I WOULD DEFER TO COUNSEL OVER CASARA BECAUSE I DO KNOW HE HAS A, HE WILL BE OFF TO MAYBE GIVE SUGGESTIONS ON THAT SPECIFIC, UM, WHAT THOSE CHANGES MIGHT LOOK LIKE.UH, WOULD YOU RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THE BRIEFING ON THE VACANCY BEFORE WE CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION? OKAY.
LET'S GO AHEAD AND CONTINUE THIS CONVERSATION, THEN WE'LL GET TO THEM.
CAN I JUST POINT OUT THAT IN, UM, BACKUPS, UH, BENDING FRAMEWORK IS NOT LOADED FOR ITEM 40, JUST HAS THE DRAFT RESOLUTION.
S COUCH PRESENTATION POSTED, YOU KNOW, I KNOW IT CAME LATE, I CHECKED IT EARLIER AND COULDN'T FIND IT.
IF THAT'S NOT POSTED, I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT PRESENTATION POST LET'S CONTINUE ON IN THIS CONVERSATION, COUNSELOR.
I, AS I MENTIONED, UM, WHEN WE DISCUSSED THIS LAST TIME, UM, IS NOT FUN FOR ANYBODY TO TRY TO MOVE MONEY AROUND, BUT IF WE DO WANT TO GET MORE TO, UH, DIRECT INDIVIDUAL AID.
AND SO, UM, I'VE SENT OVER TO THE STAFF.
I DON'T THINK, I DUNNO IF THEY CAN SHARE ON SCREEN, UM, UM, UH, A PROPOSED REVISION, UM, THE PROPOSAL I HAVE HERE, I HAVEN'T EVEN POSTED IT TO THE MESSAGE BOARD BECAUSE I WANTED TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL, WHAT YOU THOUGHT BEFORE WE POSTED ANYTHING, BUT THIS WAS JUST MY ATTEMPT AT TRYING TO RECONFIGURE SOME OF THE NUMBERS
SO, UM, SO WHAT I, WHAT THIS WOULD DO IS IT WOULD INCREASE THE AMOUNT IN THE FINANCIAL AND OTHER DIRECT SUPPORT BY 12 MILLION THAT STILL RETAINS THE EXISTING 7.9 MILLION PROPOSED IN THAT SECTION, UH, THAT IS THE PUBLIC HEALTH PURPOSE FUNDS, BUT A $12 MILLION, UH, UH, INCREASE THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT FOLKS HAVE RAISED ABOUT DIRECT HELP TO INDIVIDUALS, UH, PRIORITIZING THOSE FOLKS THAT AREN'T GETTING HELP IN OTHER WAYS THAT, UH, IN ORDER TO DO THAT, UM, I HAVE, UM, ADDED, I HAVE PUT THE SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE AT, AND AGAIN, THIS IS ALL JUST, UM, MY BEST ATTEMPT.
I'M HAPPY TO HEAR WHAT FOLKS THINK I'VE PUT THE, THE CLEAR, UM, AT 16.5 MILLION.
SO IT'S AT 10, THIS WOULD INCREASE CLEAR, UM, AND SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE TO A 16.5 RATHER THAN 23.5.
SO IT STILL INCREASES THAT FUNDS, BUT NOT AS MUCH, UH, THIS HAS NONPROFITS ASSISTANCE, THAT'S AT A 6.35, UM, JUST TO BE, UM, SO THAT MEANS THAT THERE IS STILL AN INCREASE IN THAT SECTION, BUT NOT AS MUCH.
UM, I THINK THERE'S CURRENTLY 6 MILLION IN IT.
THE STAFF PROPOSES FOR IT TO GO TO SEVEN.
THIS WOULD HAVE IT GO TO 6.35.
UH, THE CREATIVE SECTOR ASSISTANCE IS, UM, UH, HERE AT 5 MILLION.
UH, CURRENTLY I THINK THERE IS ABOUT 4.5 MILLION IN IT.
UM, I'M SORRY, I'M HAVING TROUBLE SEEING WHAT'S CURRENTLY IN IT, BUT THE STAFF PROPOSES IT GO FROM, YOU KNOW, THREE OR FOUR UP TO 8.5.
THIS WOULD HAVE IT GO TO FIVE.
UM, AND THEN RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UH, I ADDED 150,000, UM, SMALL AMOUNTS FOR, UM, FOR EVICTION PROTECTION.
UH, BECAUSE I THINK IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE'RE ABOUT TO GET, IT SOUNDS LIKE THAT'S ONE AREA WHERE THERE NEEDS TO BE, UM, INCREASED HELP.
UM, AND SO, UH, UH, TINY AMOUNTS TO RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UM, IN ADDITION, WHICH WILL BRING THE RENTAL ASSISTANCE UP TO 23.95, UH, AND THEN THE LONGTERM, UH, COMMERCIAL LEASE PROGRAM, WHICH CURRENTLY DOESN'T EXIST.
IT'S A $0 MILLION RATHER THAN IT BEING $2 MILLION, JUST SETS IT AT ONE.
AND IF YOU GO TO THE, TO THE NEXT SLIDE ON THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'VE BEEN FOLKS IN THE COMMUNITY TALKING ABOUT GETTING TO, OH, SORRY.
[02:10:01]
I THINK I'VE GOT ONE MORE IMAGE POTENTIALLY.UM, AND, BUT ESSENTIALLY WE'VE BEEN HEARING FROM SOME COMMUNITY GROUPS ABOUT TRYING TO GET TO 70 MILLION IN, UM, IN COVID RESPONSE FROM THE CITY TO INDIVIDUALS.
AND THIS WOULD GET US TO THAT, UH, 70 MILLION UNDERSTANDING THAT THERE'S NOT A RIGHT NUMBER AND THE NEEDS ARE WAY, WAY GREATER.
UM, BUT TH THAT GETS US TO THAT ABOUT 70 MILLION POINTS IN INDIVIDUAL HEALTH THERE THAT IS, AND THAT DOESN'T COUNT THAT 70 MILLION DOESN'T COUNT THE 10 MILLION FROM TRAVIS COUNTY AND RENTAL ASSISTANCE.
SO, UH, THIS PUTS US AT 70 MILLION TOTAL, UM, NOT COUNTING THAT TAP POST THOSE NUMBERS, CORRECT.
I, YEAH, I'M VERY HAPPY TO POST THEM.
I JUST WANTED TO HEAR PEOPLE'S THOUGHTS SO THAT I WOULD ONLY HAVE TO POST ONE ANYBODY WANT TO, UH, CAN YOU, UH, MIRROR MY HAND UP? OKAY.
UM, CAN YOU GO BACK TO THOSE THREE SLIDES REAL FAST? LET ME TAKE A PICTURE OF IT, THE NEXT ONE, GREG, CAN I ASK, WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO UPLOAD THAT TO THE, UM, INTO OUR, I THINK THERE'S A WAY TO UPLOAD A DOCUMENT INTO OURS FEED, AND THEN WE CAN PULL IT UP FOR OURSELVES PRE OR POST TO THE MESSAGE BOARD THAT TOO, BUT I THINK WE CAN LINK IT TO THIS, UM, TRANSCRIPTS.
SO IT'S ALSO OFFICIALLY PART OF THIS CONVERSATION, OR MAYBE THAT'S A DIFFERENT PLATFORM.
YOU GET SOME IN YOUR OFFICE TO PERFECT, TO THE MESSAGE BOARD.
YOU PULL IT DOWN, I'M GOING TO RECOGNIZE AND TALK, THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS FORWARD COUNCIL MEMBER.
COSARA MY ONLY QUESTION IS, UM, I THINK, UM, LAST TIME WE TALKED ABOUT, THERE WAS 1 MILLION THEN FOR, IN A TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUND.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW OTHERS FEEL ABOUT THAT, BUT, BUT FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, I WAS THINKING THAT THAT, THAT, THAT COULD GO TOWARDS, UM, COULD, COULD GO TOWARDS ADDITIONAL RISE FUNDING.
I THINK THAT THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FUND, IF I'M REMEMBERING CORRECTLY, WAS SOMETHING THAT, THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO MAY HAVE IDENTIFIED.
I, I DON'T HAVE THE SPREADSHEET THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT IN FRONT OF ME, OR I'D TELL YOU WHERE IT WAS, BUT I DON'T KNOW IF YOU LOOKED AT THAT, BUT JUST WANTED TO SUGGEST YOU MIGHT WANT TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT.
WHAT IS THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE I'LL DEFER TO STAFF TO SPEAK TO THAT.
WE TALKED ABOUT IT A BIT LAST TIME.
I THINK SOMEONE ASKED ABOUT IT, BUT, UM, I DON'T, UH, I, I, I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME.
SO I'D HAVE TO ASK STAFF WHAT EXACTLY WHAT THAT IS VIA HOLT REV WITH ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WE WERE PROVIDING TO ALL OUR GRANTEES, WHETHER YOU ARE FOR PROFIT OR NONPROFIT, TO HELP ME DEVELOP A CONTENT, BE IN ADDITION, WE WOULD ALSO CONTRACT WITH SOME PROVIDERS THAT WOULD HELP REACH DEEPER INTO COMMUNITY, CONNECT OUR GRANT PROGRAMS, UH, TO SPECIFIC, UH, GROUPS SUCH AS WOMEN OWNED BUSINESS AND MINORITY OWNED BUSINESS.
AND THAT WAS A PROPOSAL FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.
COULD I ASK A QUICK QUESTION ABOUT THAT? UM, SO, UM, I I'M, I'M SORRY.
I WAS UNDERSTANDING THAT THE SECOND PART OF WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT REACHING INTO THE COMMUNITY, WHAT EXACTLY WAS THAT FOR? UH, DID I HEAR YOU CORRECTLY THAT THAT'D BE CONTRACTING WITH GROUPS OR DOES TELL ME THAT AGAIN? I'M SORRY.
WHAT WE'VE SEEN IN OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WE HAVE LAUNCHED IN ORDER TO, UM, UH, TO PROVIDE AN EQUITABLE PROCESS.
WE CONNECT WITH SERVICE PROVIDERS THAT HELP US REACH DEEPER INTO COMMUNITY.
SO WE, WE HAVEN'T HAD ABOUT SIX, UM, NONPROFIT GROUPS THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT CONTRACTING WITH SIMILAR TO WHAT WE DID ON THE MUSIC PROGRAM TO HELP THOSE ORGANIZATIONS WITH THE APPLICATION PROCESS, HELP THEM UNDERSTAND BECAUSE SOME HAVE NEVER, UH, IN ENGAGE WITH THE CITY OR APPREHENSIVE.
[02:15:01]
WE FEEL THAT THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO REACH THOSE BUSINESSES OR NONPROFITS THAT WE OTHERWISE NOT REACH.IT MAKES SENSE TO ME TO HAVE FUNDING PER OUTREACH, WHAT I WAS REACTING TO WITH REGARD TO TECHNICAL.
I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT WE NEED TO ADD DOLLARS TO WHAT WE ALREADY DO IN TERMS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR BUSINESSES.
SO THAT'S WHY I RAISED THE QUESTION FOR ME, GREG.
I APPRECIATE YOU DOING THIS BECAUSE IT'S GOING TO BE EASIER TO TALK TO SOMETHING.
IF WE HAVE SOMETHING IN FRONT OF US TO BE ABLE TO REACT TO, I'M NOT PREPARED TO GIVE YOU A REACTION TO IT NOW, YOU KNOW, JUST SEEING THE NUMBERS, BUT I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU DOING THIS AND BRINGING IT FORWARD.
I WOULD APPRECIATE YOU POSTING AND POSTING IT ON THE MESSAGE BOARD.
UM, I, I, I THINK THE NUMBERS THAT WE'RE LAYING OUT ARE, ARE, ARE GENERALLY BEST GUESSES.
AND SO THE NUMBERS THAT STOP PUT OUT OF THE NUMBERS THAT YOU'RE PUTTING OUT COMES FROM PSR.
I DON'T KNOW THAT I SEE A SUBSTANTIVE DIFFERENCE.
I'M HAPPY TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, SUBSTANTIVELY WITH WHAT, WHAT YOU'VE LAID OUT.
BUT I THINK FOR ME, THE BIGGER QUESTION IS HOW QUICKLY THE FUNDS CAN GET EXPENDED AND AT WHAT, WHAT THE SIGNPOST, WHERE WE'RE REEVALUATING PROGRESS.
SO IF WE'RE APPROVING THIS FRAMEWORK THIS WEEK, THEN I ASSUME MANAGER THAT STAFF IS ROLLING STUFF OUT DURING THE BREAK.
AND THEN WE COME BACK IN AUGUST, WE COME BACK IN LATE JULY, EARLY AUGUST, AND THEN WE'RE DOING A REVISITING AND HOW MUCH, THIS IS MY QUESTION TO YOU MANAGER, HOW MUCH OF THIS MONEY DO WE THINK STAFF IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO EXPAND IN THAT TIMEFRAME FOR US TO, TO REEVALUATE IN A ROLLING PROGRESS, BIG FRAMEWORK, GREAT.
SOME OF THESE DOLLARS ARE GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN A COUPLE OF MONTHS TO EXPECT.
AND I'LL GIVE A PARTIAL ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION.
YOU KNOW, I THINK THE EFFORT THAT WE'VE ALREADY PUT SO FAR TO GET MONEY OUT QUICKLY HAS BEEN, UH, EFFECTIVE.
AND SO I REALLY APPRECIATE THE STAFFS QUICK WORK TO GET MONEY IN THE HANDS OF INDIVIDUALS THAT NEED THAT ASSISTANCE, INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES THAT NEED ASSISTANCE.
UM, IN TERMS OF A PERCENTAGE OR DOLLAR AMOUNTS OF HOW MUCH OF THIS ALLOCATION THAT WE CAN GET OUT IN THE NEXT SIX WEEKS.
UM, I CAN GIVE YOU SOME ESTIMATES AND, AND MAYBE AFTER TALKING TO STAFF, BUT, UM, I HEAR YOUR POINT AND I THINK IT IS CRITICAL THAT WE HAVE THOSE REGULAR CHECKINS WITH COUNCIL.
AND SO WE'LL BE PROVIDING UPDATES AS WE LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR ABILITY TO GET THAT FUNDING OUT QUICKLY.
AND SO JUST TO PUT A PERIOD ON THE END OF THAT SENTENCE FOR ME, LIKE I'M, I'M COMFORTABLE APPROVING THAT ALMOST, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY THESE NUMBERS, BECAUSE I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BE CONTINUALLY REEVALUATING THEM AS A COUNCIL, AS DOLLARS ARE EXPENDED AND AS CONDITIONS CHANGE ON THE GROUND.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH ENERGY WE HAVE TO EXPEND TO DELIBERATE BETWEEN THE MILLION HERE AND A MILLION THERE.
AND I HATE SAYING IT THAT WAY, BUT THAT'S WHERE WE ARE.
UM, SO, SO I APPRECIATE, UM, THE NEED FOR MORE DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.
AND I, I HAD HOPED TO HEAR ABOUT THE EVICTION PIECE AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE RENTAL NEEDS BETTER.
UM, BUT I ALSO, YOU KNOW, IF WE'RE, IF WE'RE GOING TO CONTEMPLATE TAKING, UM, 7 MILLION FROM THE SMALL BUSINESSES AND THREE AND A HALF MILLION FROM THE CREATIVE SECTOR, UM, I WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM STAFF AS TO HOW THEY ARRIVED AT THEIR NUMBERS, BECAUSE I THINK THEY WENT THROUGH A WHOLE PROCESS, UM, INITIALLY TO ARRIVE AT THEIR NUMBERS.
AND I, AND I THINK THOSE NUMBERS WERE ALREADY PAIRED DOWN IN TERMS OF WHAT THEY THOUGHT THE NEED WAS.
UM, BUT I HAVEN'T HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR FROM THEM OVER THE RATIONALE FOR WHERE THEY SET, UM, THE NUMBERS, BECAUSE MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT WHEN, WHEN, WHEN THIS FRAMEWORK WAS PUT TOGETHER FOLLOWING, UM, OUR UNANIMOUS DESIRE ON COUNCIL, THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND EMERGENCY WAS PRIORITIZED.
AND THEN THERE WAS, UM, YOU KNOW, UM, A DISCUSSION ABOUT THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY PIECE AFTER THE FACT.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO INVITE, UM, EDD OR WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE PIECES TO HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHARE WITH US WHAT THEY THINK THE NEED IS AND WHAT THAT MONEY THEY HAD IMAGINED THAT MONEY WOULD GO FOR.
UM, AND THAT'S NOT TO SAY THERE'S NOT A NEED FOR MORE DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND, UM, WHAT, WHAT WE'RE WEIGHING HERE IN TERM TERMS OF, OF THE LOVERS.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
SO WE'LL KNOW THE WHOLE WRAP AGAIN WITH
[02:20:01]
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT.WE, UM, HAD EARLIER IN THE YEAR ISSUED A COMMUNITY SURVEY.
WE ALSO, UM, COUNCIL ACCRUED OUR ECONOMIC INJURY BRIDGE LONG PROGRAM.
SO WE HAVE SOME STATS THAT WE USE TO, UM, SET A BASELINE, UM, AND EVALUATED OUR ECONOMIC INJURY BRIDGE LOAN PROGRAM.
WE KNOW THAT WE RECEIVED OVER 1100 INQUIRIES TO DATE.
WE HAVE ACTUALLY PRESENTED A HUNDRED APPLICATIONS TO OUR LOAN REVIEW COMMITTEE.
AND HALF OF THOSE HAVE BEEN DENIED AS PART OF OUR BLOWN PROGRAM.
WHEN SHE ACCEPTED A LOAN, YOU WOULD EVEN HAVE TO RETAIN EMPLOYEES AT LEAST 12 MONTHS.
SO WE KNOW THAT THE DEBT, UM, RATIO AND SOME CREDIT, UH, WERE ISSUES IN TERMS OF APPROVAL TO THE LOAN.
IF YOU RECALL, WE FOLLOWED THE SBA GUIDELINES, BUT IN REVAMPING AND PROVIDING A GRANT, UH, IT WOULDN'T BE AS STRINGENT.
AND AGAIN, YOU WOULD BE OFFERED A COUNSELING AS PART OF THE PROCESS IN TERMS OF OUR CREATIVE FUND.
WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE OVER 17,000 CREATIVES IN THE AREA.
WE KNOW THAT THE CREATIVE ECONOMY TREMENDOUSLY, UM, CONTRIBUTES TO OUR ECONOMY, AND WE WILL NEED THAT INDUSTRY, UM, TO STILL BE VIBRANT AS TOURISTS COME BACK.
UM, AND FINALLY, ANOTHER AREA IS OUR CREATIVE SPACE, DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
TO DATE, WE HAVE RECEIVED OVER ONE POINT $9 MILLION IN REQUESTS, AND THAT PROGRAM WAS FUNDED UP TO A MILLION DOLLARS.
SO ALL OF THIS DATA WE USE TO KIND OF SET OUR TARGET BASE IN TERMS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, CLEAR AND ANCHOR.
I HOPE THIS PROVIDES SOME LEVEL OF DETAIL TO HELP WITH YOUR DECISION.
YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT MORE TO THE, UM, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PIECE, BECAUSE, UM, PART OF WHAT I HAD HEARD FROM, UM, THE DISCUSSIONS OF WHERE OUR BUSINESS WAS AND WHAT WAS GOING ON WITH THE LOAN APPLICATION PROCESS WAS THAT THERE WERE SOME TECHNICAL NEEDS FOR BUSINESSES, FOR THEM TO BE RESILIENT THAT WERE ABOVE AND BEYOND JUST FUNDING, UM, PIECES.
SO CAN, I KNOW YOU JUST MENTIONED A LITTLE BIT, BUT I WANTED TO ASK YOU TO ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THAT.
UM, WITH OUR AUSTIN ECONOMIC INJURY BRIDGE LOAN PROGRAM, WE ACTUALLY, UM, TRANSFERRED STAFF BECAUSE OUR LOANS DIVISION ONLY HAD TWO INDIVIDUALS.
AND SO WE ACTUALLY TRANSFERRED STAFF TO ACTUALLY BE WHAT WE CALL CASE MANAGERS, BECAUSE BUSINESSES JUST HAD, UM, QUESTIONS, NOT ONLY AROUND OUR PROGRAM, BUT AROUND THE FEDERAL PROGRAM.
SO WE FOUND THAT WE NEEDED TO PROVIDE, UH, ACTUALLY CASE MANAGEMENT JUST TO HELP ANSWER THIS SIMPLE QUESTION, WHERE DO I GO, HOW DO I DO THIS? HOW DO I FILL OUT THIS, UH, UH, LOAN PROGRAM OR THIS APPLICATION? SO AGAIN, NOT ONLY ON THAT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SIDE, BUT ENGAGING WITH OTHER NONPROFITS AGAIN IN THE COMMUNITY THAT CAN HELP US REACH THOSE BUSINESSES THAT TRADITIONALLY HAVEN'T COME TO THE CITY.
AND IF I COULD ADD TO THAT COUNSEL, VERONICA VERSA NOW, UM, CHIEF ECONOMIC RECOVERY OFFICER, UM, DISCUSSIONS WE HAD, AND WITH THAT LOAN PROGRAM AND WORKING WITH OUR METHOD, THEY SAW IN THEIR MEMBERSHIPS AND JUST THAT PROVIDING THAT, UH, FINANCIAL RESILIENCY AND HAVING INFORMATION THEY NEEDED, UH, TOGETHER MY MANNER TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NOT ONLY THE PROGRAM THAT WE WERE DEMONSTRATING, BUT OVERALL PROGRAMS AS WELL, UH, LED US TO BECOME AWARE OF THE HUGE NEED FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND JUST ACCESS TO THESE, THESE, UM, THESE PROGRAMS FOR OUR SMALL BUSINESS COMMUNITY, WHICH IS VITAL TO OUR ECONOMY.
UM, I'M GOING TO NEED TO HAVE TIME TO REVIEW THIS PROPOSAL.
THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT FORWARD.
UM, AS I UNDERSTAND, IT LOOKS JUST TRYING TO GET A GENERAL SENSE OF WHAT YOU'VE, WHAT THE, WHAT THE MAIN THING YOU'VE DONE HERE IS TO ADD 12 MILLION TO CREATE MORE DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE THROUGH RISE.
CAN YOU JUST BRIEFLY IDENTIFY, WHICH ARE THE CATEGORIES YOU HAVE REMOVED IT FROM? IS IT SMALL BUSINESS, NONPROFIT ASSISTANCE
[02:25:01]
AND CREATIVE ASSISTANCE? IS THAT WHERE THE REMOVALS HAVE HAPPENED AND THE, AND THE COMMERCIAL LEASES, BUT IN NO CASE, IS THERE A REDUCTION FROM, OF, OF ALLOCATED, BUT UNSPENT MONEY? IT'S ONLY A REDUCTION OF INCREASE.I GUESS I WOULD ASK AS WE, AS WE CONSIDER THIS, IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IF YOU COULD OUTLINE FOR US EXACTLY WHERE THE, EXACTLY WHERE THE REDUX, WHAT ARE THE PROPOSED REDUCTIONS AND IN WHICH LINE ITEMS. THAT'S WHAT I TRIED MY BEST TO SAY OUT LOUD IN THAT MOMENT, IF YOU, AS POSTED ON THE MESSAGE BOARD.
SO ALL YOU WOULD HAVE TO DO IS LOOK AT MY MESSAGE BOARD DOCUMENT, LOOK AT THE STAFF DOCUMENT, AND YOU WOULD SEE THE DIFFERENCE.
CASARA I HAVE IT PRINTED IN FRONT OF ME NOW.
I'M STILL, I'M LOOKING AT NUMBER TWO OF YOUR MOTION SHEET AND IT, WHAT I WAS TRYING TO GET YOU TO SUMMARIZE, WHICH YOU DID, BUT I NEED TO ASK YOU TO REPEAT IT.
IT SAYS ADDING 12 MILLION, I GOT THAT FUNDING FOR SMALL BUSINESS, THAT SORT OF DEDUCTION SETTING THE FUNDING FOR NONPROFIT IS A REDUCTION SETTING.
THE FUNDING FOR CREATIVE IS A REDUCTION SETTING.
THE FUNDING FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS AN INCREASE.
IT'S JUST A LITTLE HARD FROM YOUR MOTION SHEET WITHOUT FINDING IT TO THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE RECEIVED SEVERAL DAYS AGO.
AND IT'S HARD TO, IT'S HARD TO ON THE SPOT, UNDERSTAND WHAT OUR REDUCTIONS AND WHAT OUR ADDITIONS SO UNDERSTOOD.
AND THE, AND THE REASON WE WROTE IT LIKE THIS IS THAT IF WE DIDN'T WANT TO CONFUSE IT WITH REDUCING THE ACTUAL, BECAUSE SOME OF THIS MONEY HAS ALREADY BEEN SPENT AND SOME OF IT HAS ALREADY BEEN ALLOCATED.
SO WE DIDN'T WANT TO SOUND LIKE WE WERE ACTUALLY RE WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT THIS SPREADSHEET IS ACTUALLY SETTING A NEW, HIGHER LEVEL OF FUNDING.
AND SINCE WE DIDN'T HAVE AN EDITABLE VERSION OF THE SPREADSHEET THAT ED SENT, THIS WAS THE BEST VERSION WE COULD MAKE.
ARE THERE OTHER REDUCTIONS THAT YOU ARE PROPOSING OTHER THAN THE ONES I'VE OUTLINED TO SMALL BUSINESS, NONPROFIT, CREATIVE SECTOR COMMERCIAL, AND THE COMMERCIAL, THE LONGTERM LEASE COMMERCIAL STABILITY FUND, LAST BULLET, THERE'S ALSO A REDUCTION.
UM, SO I'LL JUST, AS I SAID, I'M GOING TO NEED TIME TO REVIEW THIS AND REALLY UNDERSTAND WHERE THOSE PLANNED REDUCTIONS ARE COMING FROM.
I GUESS I ALSO JUST WANT TO BACK UP TO THE CONVERSATION THAT WE HAD LAST WEEK OR AT OUR LAST MEETING.
AND THAT WAS ABOUT ADOPTING A BROAD FRAMEWORK.
UM, AS, AS I THINK MANY OF US SAID TOWARD THE END OF THAT DAY, THERE WAS SUPPORT FOR WHAT I THOUGHT WERE GOING TO BE, UM, AN ENDORSEMENT FROM COUNCIL OF THE BROAD FRAMEWORK.
SO IT CONCERNS ME A BIT THAT THAT WERE LINE ITEMING LOOKING AT LINE ITEMS FOR SOME OF THESE OTHER THINGS THAT AS COUNCIL MEMBER FLANAGAN SAID TODAY ARE IN SOME CASES JUST ESTIMATE.
SO, YOU KNOW, I'M COMFORTABLE WITH COMING TO AN AGREEMENT ABOUT A MINIMUM LINE ITEM FOR DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE FOR A MINIMUM LINE ITEM FOR RENTAL ASSISTANCE, FOR A COUPLE OF THOSE BUCKETS WHERE WE, WHERE WE FEEL THERE NEED TO BE INCREASES.
I'M REALLY LESS COMFORTABLE THOUGH, AS WE'RE S IT LOOKS LIKE THE PROPOSAL HERE WOULD GUIDE US TOWARD APPROVING THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK AND THE LINE ITEMS UNDERNEATH IT.
I MENTIONED THIS EXAMPLE LAST WEEK, AND I'LL MENTION IT AGAIN.
I THINK THE MONEY WE HAVE IN HERE TO SUPPORT CAREGIVER MEALS IS INSUFFICIENT.
IT INCLUDES JUST THE MONEY WE'VE ALREADY COMMITTED.
AND AT THIS POINT, WE KNOW THAT MAYNOR ISD HAS EXPRESSED AN INTEREST.
THERE IS NO MONEY IN THIS BUDGET FOR IT.
UM, THERE ARE DELL VALLEY DOES NOT HAVE THEIR MEAL PROGRAM UP AND RUNNING, AND I BELIEVE THAT ARE STILL WORKING ON, ON OUR SELECTION OF A VENDOR.
AND SO THOSE COSTS MAY COME IN MORE.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE, I GUESS I WOULD ASK OUR COUNCIL GENERALLY, WHAT IS THE VOTE THAT WE INTEND TO TAKE ON THURSDAY? IS IT NOW LOOKING TOWARD AFFIRMING THESE LINE ITEMS THAT ARE UNDER THE BROAD CATEGORIES? OR ARE WE, ARE WE GOING TO STICK WITH OUR ORIGINAL PLAN OF, OF APPROVING A BROADER, A BROADER CATEGORIES? AGAIN, I'M, I'M FINE.
IF THERE ARE SOME AREAS WHERE WE NEED TO DRILL DOWN, BUT I'M LESS COMFORTABLE DRILLING DOWN AND APPROVING AND APPROVING A FRAMEWORK THAT HAS ALL OF THOSE LINE ITEMS IN, IN EVERY CATEGORY.
UM, YEAH, I THINK COUNCILOR TOBA, THAT WAS, THERE WAS SOME DISAGREEMENT ON, UM, I FEEL LIKE THERE, WE DISCUSSED THAT WE ALL AGREED GENERALLY WITH THE BROAD FRAMEWORK, BUT THEN THERE WERE SOME OF US WHO WANT IT TO SEE A MORE CONCRETE INCREASE TO INDIVIDUAL, UM, AID.
[02:30:01]
WE'VE HEARD OVERWHELMINGLY FROM COMMUNITY MEMBERS, UM, THE NEED TO SEE THAT.SO I DON'T, I GUESS I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ANSWER IS, AND THAT'S WHY I THINK THIS IS AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION.
CAUSE I, I, UH, I, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I CAN RESPOND TO THE NUMEROUS REQUESTS FOR MORE RICE FUNDING BY SAYING, WELL, THIS IS JUST BROAD.
THIS IS, YOU KNOW, THINGS MIGHT CHANGE THERE.
I FEEL LIKE WE'VE BEEN ASKED TO SHOW A CONCRETE INCREASE TO INDIVIDUAL FUNDING.
AND SO THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE DIRECTION THAT I WOULD PREFER TO GO IN IS THAT THERE, THERE IS AN END.
WE HAD THIS FROM OUR LAST DISCUSSION.
THAT SEEMED TO BE ONE OF THE COMMENTS THAT COUNCIL MEMBER COSARA MADE WAS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE SOME TOUGH VOTES AND IT IS IT'LL IT'LL LAND WHERE IT LANDS.
BUT, UM, I AM, I AM DEFINITELY ON THE SIDE THAT I GENERALLY AGREE WITH THE FRAMEWORK, BUT I WANT TO SEE MORE CONCRETE, UM, INCREASES TO INDIVIDUAL AID, NOT JUST REORGANIZING BUCKETS TO MAKE IT KIND OF LOOK THAT WAY, BUT I KNOW, AND I WILL SAY, I REMEMBER WHEN WE FIRST HAD THIS DISCUSSION, I DID, I DID SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE NAMES OF THEM.
AND I REGRET SAYING THAT IT SHOULD BE MORE FUNDING, NOT JUST CHANGING THE NAMES OF THINGS.
THEY'RE HELPING ME BY TURNING ME OFF.
UM, WELL, I, I, I RESPECT THAT THERE MAY BE DIFFERENCES IN THINKING, IN TERMS OF WHAT WE END UP, UM, ADOPTING, UM, AND, AND COUNCIL MEMBER TOBA.
I LIKED THE WAY YOU PUT IT IS THAT WE MAY BE TALKING IN TERMS OF MINIMUM LEVELS.
I COULD SEE DOING THAT, BUT I DO WANT TO VOTE AT THIS LEVEL.
I AGREE WITH SOME AIRPORT, TIM, THAT IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO BE ABLE TO SAY TO THE COMMUNITY THAT THIS IS WHAT, THIS IS WHAT WE ARE TALKING ABOUT.
UM, UNDERSTANDING THAT, UM, OVER TIME WE'LL NEED, WE MAY NEED TO MAKE A, YOU KNOW, WE MAY NEED TO ADD MORE, A DIFFERENT, UM, TO DIFFERENT AREAS.
I THINK, UM, THAT'S MY, MY PLAN, AGAIN, HAS A POINT IN TERMS OF THE TIMING FOR WHEN THINGS NEED TO BE, WILL NEED TO BE EXPENDED.
SO, BUT, BUT I DO THINK IT'S, I DO THINK IN BEING RESPONSIVE TO THE COMMUNITY, THAT IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE VOTE AT THIS LEVEL AND I'D BE HAPPY TO THINK ABOUT IT IN TERMS OF, UH, MINIMUM LEVELS.
UM, AND ALSO IN TERMS OF ADJUSTMENT TO YOU TO, TO, UH, GET DATA ABOUT THE NEEDS.
SO, UM, SO I, SO THAT'S WHERE I'M COMING FROM.
LET ME READ TO SUMMARIZE MY COMMENTS BECAUSE I'M, I'M NOT SURE MAYOR PRO TEM GOES.
SO FROM YOUR RESPONSE THAT YOU UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS SAYING, THERE SEEM TO BE A COUPLE OF CATEGORIES WHERE PEOPLE WANTED TO SEE CHANGES.
THE DIRECT CASH ASSISTANCE UNDER RISE IS CLEARLY ONE OF THEM RENTAL ASSISTANCE IS ANOTHER.
WHAT I WAS SUGGESTING WOULD BE A HYBRID APPROACH OF HAVING THOSE GENERAL OF MAKING SOME DECISIONS ABOUT MINIMUM SPENDING ON THOSE COUPLE AREAS THAT HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AND POTENTIALLY LEAVING OTHER CATEGORIES MORE GENERAL, FOR EXAMPLE, AT ANYWAY, THAT'S THAT FROM YOUR RESPONSE, IT SOUNDED AS IF YOU DID NOT HEAR MY POINT ABOUT COMING TO AGREEMENT ON A LINE ITEM FOR THOSE COUPLE OF LINE ITEMS THAT ARE CLEARLY IMPORTANT TO MANY OF US TO SEE INCREASES IN MY CONCERN.
AND I WOULD NEED TO REALLY UNDERSTAND IF WE'RE GOING TO APPROVE A PLAN WITH THESE LINE ITEMS UNDERNEATH IT.
AND ALL OF THE OTHER MANY CATEGORIES IS THAT IN SOME AREAS THERE WILL NEED TO BE SHIFTS AND I'M NOT SURE WHAT THE NEXT STEP THEN WOULD BE FOR STAFF.
DO THEY HAVE TO COME BACK AND GET APPROVAL? WE'RE MAKING A FOR UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE OF SAY 10 MILLION.
WE KNOW THAT THERE WAS DIRECT ASSISTANCE THROUGH, PLUS ONE OF JUST UNDER A MILLION IN APRIL.
UM, CLEARLY WE'RE GOING TO NEED MORE THAN 10 MILLION LIKELY IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE SUPPORTING THAT EFFORT, IT'S NOT CLEAR TO ME WHETHER THE UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE IDENTIFIED IN HERE IS OUTSIDE OF THE RATE REDUCTION, WHICH AMOUNTS TO MORE THAN 10 MILLION WILL, WILL AMOUNT TO LIKELY MORE THAN 10 MILLION.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE NOT SPENT TIME TALKING ABOUT THE RATIONALE FOR EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE LINE ITEMS IN A WAY THAT I FEEL COMFORTABLE THAT THIS IS THE RIGHT AMOUNT FOR CHILDCARE SERVICE PROVIDER
[02:35:01]
ASSISTANCE AND OTHERS.SO I WAS SUGGESTING A HYBRID APPROACH WHERE WE MIGHT COME TO SOME AGREEMENT ON DIRECT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ON RENTAL ASSISTANCE ON SOME OTHER CATEGORIES.
UM, BUT STILL LEAVE PLENTY OF FLEXIBILITY FOR US TO CONTINUE TO HAVE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE REAL COSTS OF THOSE LINE ITEMS WITHIN THOSE BROADER CATEGORIES.
SOMEONE WANT TO SPEAK TO JIMMY JIMMY, GO AHEAD.
I WILL SAY JUST, JUST FROM MY PART, I AM PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH STAFF HAVING TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL ON, UM, BUDGET BUCKETS, AS LARGE AS THESE ARE.
IF WE WERE DELIBERATING BETWEEN STUFF WITHIN THE MANAGER'S AUTHORITY, THEN THAT WOULD BE ONE THING, BUT WE'RE NOT, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT BIG BUCKETS OF MONEY AND I AM PERFECTLY COMFORTABLE WITH THE PROCESS BEING STAFF TAKES THIS INITIAL FORAY DOES WHAT IT CAN IN SIX WEEKS COMES BACK FIRST OR SECOND MEETING IN JULY AND AUGUST TO REVISIT ANY OF THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE MAY HAVE, UH, MADE AND, AND ANY ADJUSTMENTS THAT NEED TO BE MADE MOVING INTO THE FALL.
IT MAY HAVE BEEN A MIND MISUNDERSTANDING OR, UM, YOU'RE ARTICULATING OF IT.
BUT, UM, I AGREE WITH, WITH THE, I STILL AGREE WITH THE GENERAL BUCKETS.
I DON'T EXPECT STAFF TO COME BACK AND ASK US, UM, OR ANY TINY LITTLE CHANGE.
I, I, MY PROBLEM IS, IS THE FRAMEWORK RIGHT NOW WE'VE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR DOES NOT INCLUDE ENOUGH FOR OTHER AREAS.
OTHER AREAS THAT YOU COUNCIL MEMBER TOGO HAVE POINTED OUT AS WELL, THAT MAY NOT BE INCLUDED IN WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER COSAR HAS, UM, OFFERED AS A FIRST STAB AT THIS.
SO I'M, I, I DON'T EXPECT JUST WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR.
I DON'T EXPECT STAFF TO HAVE TO COME BACK.
I JUST DO THINK WE NEED TO BE RESPONSIVE TO THE LARGER BUCKET OF FOOD ACCESS RENTAL INDIVIDUAL ASSISTANCE.
THE RICE SECTION OF PART OF IT, YOU KNOW, HARD TO HEAR YOU.
I'M SUPPORTIVE THE PROPOSAL HERE.
QUIT PRESUMING THAT NO RISE MONEY IS, UH, GIVES US A MOST FLEXIBLE ALL FUNDING.
YOU KNOW, THE CARE MONEY IS PRETTY MUCH DEDICATED TO, TO, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN DEDICATE TO CERTAIN NAILS, BUT THE RISE FUNDING WILL GIVE US A FLEXIBILITY TO MOVE MONEY AROUND BECAUSE THAT'S DARK MONEY THAT WE GOT REIMBURSED BACK, YOU KNOW, FROM, FROM THAT WE'RE REIMBURSING OURSELVES BACK.
SO I THINK THAT THAT'S A REALLY GOOD MOVE THAT IT GIVES US THAT FLEXIBILITY WHERE WE'RE NOT UNDER THE CARE PROGRAM, WHICH IS, UH, IT'S MORE RESTRICTED, YOU KNOW, SO I I'M GOING TO BE SUPPORTING THIS.
UM, YES, I CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THE FLEXIBILITY FOR STAFF BROAD OUTLINES, RECOGNIZING THE ITERATIVE PROCESS THAT WE'VE ENGAGED IN, UM, LOOK FORWARD TO, UM, PROGRESS COMING BACK AND REPORTS TO US.
AND THEN IF WE NEED TO SAY, WELL, WE NEED ADDITIONAL MONEY IN THIS AREA OR THIS MONEY HASN'T BEEN, UH, CLAIMED.
UM, AND IT'S EXCESS AND WE'LL PUT IT TO OUR ANOTHER ONE.
UM, I DID HAVE, SO I THINK GENERALLY SPEAKING, I LIKE THE APPROACH WE'RE MAKING.
I'M NOT SURE THAT THE, UM, CHANGES THE DEBRIS OFF.
I'LL LOOK AT THEM, SPEND SOME TIME WITH THEM AND ALSO LISTEN TO THE CONVERSATION ON EVICTIONS.
I WAS SPECIFICALLY CURIOUS TO, UH, JUST CHECK IN WITH, UM, GREG, WE'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT CHILDCARE AND ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE FOR FAMILIES WITH KIDS IN CHILDCARE.
DO YOU HAVE, UM, WHICH IS THE LINE ITEM OR WHICH IS THE GENERAL AREA WHERE WE HAVE CHILDCARE? UM, I THINK WE, WE DIDN'T CHANGE THE CHILDCARE SECTION, WHICH I THINK IS, I THINK THERE IS AN INCREASE, THE STAFF PROPOSED ON CHILDCARE AND WE LEFT THAT INCREASE THE SAME.
I KNOW WE NEED TO INCREASE IT.
I WILL GO BACK AND COMPARE THESE NUMBERS AS WELL WITH WHAT WE'VE GOT FROM STAFF.
SO I THINK WHEN WE, UM, DO THE ACCOUNTING, UM, I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT WE DID REDUCE THE RATES ON UTILITIES AND THAT'S SOMETHING LIKE 25 MILLION, JUST THE AUSTIN ENERGY
[02:40:01]
PIECE.SO I THINK IT'S LIKE 35 MILLION WITH AUSTIN WATER PIECE.
UM, SO JUST AS WE'RE TRYING TO ACCOUNT FOR HOW MUCH DIRECT ASSISTANCE WE'RE PROVIDING, UM, WE OUGHTA BE INCLUDING THAT.
UM, I I'M, I'M CONCERNED ABOUT, UM, ONCE WE SPEND THE MONEY, WHERE DOES THE NEW MONEY THAT WE SAY, WELL, WE MIGHT NEED THIS LATER COME FROM.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT I'M REALLY PROUD OF HOW WE'VE HANDLED THIS IS THAT WE HAVE TAKEN SOME STEPS AND SEEING HOW THEY WORKED AND WE'RE LEARNING FROM THOSE.
AND THEN WE'RE ITERATING AGAIN AND AGAIN.
AND, UM, I FEEL LIKE ALLOCATING ALL OF THE MONEY IN THIS ECONOMIC RECOVERY BUCKET, UM, MAY GO TOO FAR AND LIMIT OUR FLEXIBILITY.
UM, SO I WANNA, I WANNA THROW OUT THERE FOR CONSIDERATION AND I JUST THOUGHT OF IT NOW.
SO I HAVEN'T THOUGHT THROUGH ALL OF THE PIECES.
UM, BUT EVEN IF WE STARTED WITH, UM, WE'RE COUNCIL MEMBER TSR, UM, ADJUSTED, UM, WE COULD, UM, MAYBE NOT INCREASE THE DIRECT ASSISTANCE QUITE AS MUCH AND CREATE A CONTINGENCY BUCKET WITHIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY, WHICH COULD STILL IN THE FUTURE BE USED FOR DIRECT ASSISTANCE, UM, BUT IS NOT, UM, DEPLOYED, UM, AT THIS POINT.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT AMOUNT WOULD BE.
UM, SO I THROW THAT OUT AS ONE CHANGE TO CONSIDER ANOTHER WOULD BE.
UM, I WOULD LIKE TO SEE, UM, SOME OF THE DIRECT, ADDITIONAL DIRECT ASSISTANCE GO FOR WORKFORCE FOR WHATEVER PROGRAMS ECONOMIC DEPARTMENT, UM, AND OUR PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF THINK WOULD BE MOST WORTHWHILE.
UM, I, I THINK THAT, UM, I ALSO WANT TO ADD THAT I BELIEVE THAT THE PUBLIC HEALTH FUND IS ESSENTIALLY AN ADDITIONAL AMOUNT TO RISE.
IT'S NOT USABLE BY EVERYONE, UM, WHO HAS ACCESS TO RISE, BUT IT CAUGHT FALLS SQUARELY UNDER THAT.
UM, AND SO IT IS, YOU KNOW, ADDITIONAL DIRECT ASSISTANCE, WHETHER IT'S BEING ADMINISTERED FROM RISE OR NOT.
WE SHOULD RECOGNIZE THAT AS, AS COUNCIL MEMBER CAUSE OUR DAY, UM, AS ADDITIONAL, UM, DIRECT ASSISTANCE.
ASCOT THIS MORNING TALKED ABOUT, UH, INCREASING SCREENING ASSOCIATED WITH THE WORK THAT WAS HAPPENING WITH THE TESTING IN THE COMMUNITY AS A WAY TO, TO CHANGE IN A LONGTERM WAY, UM, HEALTH CONDITIONS.
CAN YOU CHECK AND SEE IF THERE'S A DOLLAR AMOUNT ASSOCIATED WITH US DOING THAT? UH, AND WHETHER IF WE WANTED TO SEE THAT HAPPENING, WHETHER THAT'S SOMETHING WE NEED TO PROVIDE WITHIN THIS FRAMEWORK, NOW YOU CAN CHECK ON THAT.
UM, FURTHER DISCUSSION ON THIS POLL ITEM BEFORE WE MOVE ON.
OKAY, HOLLY, I'M SORRY, COUNSELOR.
UM, SO IF WE ARE MOVING, IT'S NOT AN, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY CLEAR TO ME THEN SORT OF WHERE WE'VE LANDED IN TERMS OF AS A COUNCIL, WHETHER WE'RE APPROVING ALL OF THOSE LINE ITEMS WITHIN EACH CATEGORY.
SO IT WOULD BE HELPFUL TO HAVE CLARITY ON THE HAT.
UM, I DO WANT TO ASK IN THE EVENT THAT WE ARE, I DO NEED TO ASK QUESTIONS ABOUT SOME MORE SPECIFIC LINE ITEMS THEN.
UM, SO TO GO BACK TO ONE OF THOSE, IF WE COULD TALK WITH UTILITY WITH THE RIGHT STAFF ABOUT UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE AND WHAT EXACTLY THIS IS CAPTURING, IS IT CAPTURING OUR CLASS ONE COMMITMENT? IS IT CAPTURING SOME LEVEL OF THE RATE REDUCTION, WHICH WOULD BE BEYOND THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOBER? THIS IS ED VAN DINO, THE $10 MILLION COST FOR UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE IS JUST THE ADDITIONAL FUNDING PLUS ONE PROGRAM WE'LL WORK WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER TO SEE IF WE CAN GET A NUMBER OF QUOTES YOU THE RATE REDUCTION OR, YEAH, THEY GAVE US A NUMBER, UM, IN OUR MEETING YESTERDAY.
AND I THINK COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR JUST CITED.
IT I'VE FORGOTTEN THE EXACT AMOUNT.
SO I WON'T SAY IT, BUT IT WAS A, I THINK IT WAS ABOUT 35 MILLION FOR AEG AND 11 MILLION FOR WATER.
AND SO, UM, I THINK THAT'S USEFUL IN TERMS OF DOING THE KIND OF WRAP UP CHART THAT COUNCIL MEMBER, COZ SAR PUT FORWARD TO HELP OUR COMMUNITY UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LEVELS OF DIRECT ASSISTANCE ARE.
I'M REALLY TRYING TO MAKE SURE WITHIN THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT WE'VE ALLOCATED ENOUGH ASSISTANCE.
AND SO FROM WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THIS 10 MILLION THAT IS PROPOSED IN THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK AND I, AND COUNCIL MEMBER CASARA IS NOT PROPOSING CHANGING WOULD
[02:45:01]
BE 10 MILLION.AND IT WOULD BE NOT IN ADDITION TO, BUT ENCOMPASSING THE EXISTING EXPENDITURE OF JUST UNDER 900,000 AS I UNDERSTAND IT.
SO IT WOULD GIVE US ABOUT ANOTHER 9 MILLION FOR, FROM NOW, FOR, FROM NOW UNTIL THE END OF DECEMBER.
THAT'S MY, THAT'S MY READING OF THIS, KATHY, IF I MIGHT, I BELIEVE THAT THE MILLION DOLLAR WAS JUST THE AUSTIN ENERGY PIECE OF IT.
AND SO THE, THERE WAS, THERE'S ANOTHER NUMBER, THAT'S THE AUSTIN WATER AND THE 10 MILLION, I BELIEVE COVERS, I BELIEVE IT COVERS UTILITIES, BUT IT DOES NOT COVER THE RATE REDUCTION.
AND SO, YEAH, THAT'S A VERY GOOD POINT.
SO I GUESS THAT BRINGS ME BACK TO THAT KIND OF GENERAL, THAT GENERAL QUESTION, ARE WE APPROVING ON THURSDAY, $10 MILLION ALLOCATION TO LOCATION TOO UTILITY ASSISTANCE, OR IS THE GENERAL UNDERSTANDING THAT STAFF ARE GOING TO WORK WITH IT, TO WORK WITH THAT COUNCIL RESOLUTION AND COME BACK TO US? I MEAN, WOULD THEY NEED TO COME BACK IF THEY'RE PROPOSING TO SPEND ACTUALLY BY THE END OF THE YEAR 14 MILLION IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE, DO THEY MEAN UTILITY ASSISTANCE? DO THEY NEED TO COME BACK BASED ON WHAT WE DO ON THURSDAY? ARE THEY GOING TO NEED TO COME BACK AND GET US TO APPROVE AND INCREASE TO THAT LINE ITEM? THAT'S, THAT'S REALLY THE HEART OF THE QUESTION I JUST NEED TO ANSWER BECAUSE THEN I THINK WE DO NEED TO REALLY WELL UNDERSTAND EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THESE CATEGORIES, JUST A BIT BETTER.
I COULD TRY TO SPEAK TO THAT COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WHEN THE RESOLUTION, UM, TALKS ABOUT, UM, EXPANDING THESE FUNDS SUBSTANTIALLY AND THE CATEGORY AND ALLOTMENTS REFLECTING IN CITY MANAGER SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
AND SO I WOULD NOT EXPECT THE DOLLARS TO STRAY, UH, IN A LARGE WAY FROM THESE AMOUNTS THAT WE CONTINUE TO STRESS.
WHAT WE FEEL IS A REAL IMPORTANT NEED FOR FLEXIBILITY, NOT ONLY ACROSS DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES, BUT BETWEEN THOSE DIFFERENT CATEGORIES.
SO, YOU KNOW, AS WE GET INTO THE PROGRAMS, IF IT TURNS OUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A PRESSING NEED IN ONE OF THESE LINE ITEMS, AND MAYBE WE IDENTIFY LESS OF A NEED IN OTHER AREA, AND WE WOULD ASK FOR THAT FLEXIBILITY, WE ARE WORKING TO PUT TOGETHER A REPORTING MECHANISM.
SO COUNCIL WILL BE ABLE TO SEE HOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS FRAMEWORK IS OCCURRING.
UM, AND YOU'D BE ABLE TO SEE IF THERE WAS SMALL VARIATIONS AND IN THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK, I THINK IF WE WENT PAST THAT AND THERE WAS A NEED FOR A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE, THEN WE WOULD WANT TO COME BACK TO COUNCIL FOR FURTHER GUIDANCE OR WITH A RECOMMENDATION AND ASK FOR YOUR SUPPORT.
BUT WE'RE ASKING FOR SOME FLEXIBILITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, SUBSTANTIALLY WE WOULD, UM, ADHERE TO THE FRAMEWORK THAT COUNCIL WOULD APPROVE ON.
WELL, THAT'S VERY HELPFUL THEN, BECAUSE I ASSUME IF IT, IF THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE REALLY ENDED UP BEING 14 MILLION, WOULD YOU REGARD THAT ADDITIONAL FOUR AS STILL WITHIN THE GENERAL APPROVAL OF COUNCIL AND, AND NO NEED? THAT'S NOT, I WOULD ASSUME THAT THAT'S PROBABLY IN THE SCHEME OF THINGS NOT REGARDED AS A SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE.
I KNOW THAT'S A SUBJECTIVE TERM OR IN A BIT OF A WORM OF SUBJECTIVITY HERE, BUT, UM, I WOULD VIEW THAT AS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK WITH THAT, IF THAT IS THE GUIDANCE THAT HOLDS, THEN I THINK I FEEL COMFORTABLE WITH THE GENERAL LEVELS.
UM, IF THERE IS A CONSIDERATION MANAGER THAT AN INCREASE OF THAT SORT WOULD NOT, THEN I WOULD ASK YOUR STAFF TO LOOK REALLY CLOSELY AT TWO OF THOSE CATEGORIES, BOTH FOOD ASSISTANCE AND UTILITY ASSISTANCE, WHERE I THINK WE WILL SEE INCREASES BEYOND WHAT'S CONTEMPLATED IN THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
AND THERE MAY BE A FEW OTHERS AS WELL, BUT THOSE ARE TWO THAT IMMEDIATELY COME TO MIND AS PROBABLY INSUFFICIENT OR FOR THE KIND OF NEEDS THAT WE HAVE ALREADY EXPERIENCED AND THE EXPENDITURES WE'VE ALREADY MADE.
AND I THINK THIS BEARS REPEATING IN THAT MOST CATEGORIES WILL SEE A NEED THAT'S FAR GREATER THAN OUR ABILITY TO, UH, ADDRESS THAT NEED.
UH, BUT FINDING THAT BALANCE WILL BE IMPORTANT AND, AND THIS TYPE OF GUIDANCE AND DISCUSSION FROM COUNCIL IS CRITICAL AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
UM, I THINK WE'VE KIND OF TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.
MAYBE YOU CAN ADDRESS HIS SPENCER, BUT, UM, AND GETTING BACK TO THE BIGGER PICTURE, UM, OVER TIME, I'M WANTING TO, I'M WILLING TO HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT DATA IN A COMPREHENSIVE MORE COMPREHENSIVE WAY WE'LL BE ABLE TO, TO LOOK AT, TO SEE HOW
[02:50:01]
WE'RE DOING IN TERMS OF GETTING THE TARGET IN TERMS OF NEEDS.SO COUNCIL MEMBER FLANAGAN TALKED ABOUT, UM, YOU KNOW, IN X NUMBER OF WEEKS, UH, COMING BACK TO US AND KIND OF REPORTING ON WHERE WE ARE.
I AM, I'M WANTING TO HAVE SOME DATA THAT I CAN LOOK AT THAT GIVES ME SOME ADDITIONAL LEVEL OF DETAIL ABOUT OUR BEST ESTIMATES ON WHAT THE NEEDS ARE IN OUR COMMUNITY.
AND, UM, SO AT THE POINT THAT, UM, THAT YOU ALL ARE REPORTING BACK TO US, UM, I WOULD, I WANT TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
WE'VE BEEN HAVING THAT CONVERSATION TO SOME EXTENT, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, OUR STAFF HAS BEEN GETTING INFORMATION AS, UM, AS, UH, WAS REPORTED TO US EARLIER.
WE, WE KNOW SOME THINGS ALREADY ABOUT HAVING, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, NEEDING MORE DOLLARS IN, IN CERTAIN AREAS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, SO I APPRECIATE THAT THAT DATA GATHERING GATHERING HAS BEEN OCCURRING, BUT I, I WANT IT PUT IN A PACKAGE SO THAT WE CAN SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE AND I'D LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION.
AND I, AND I'M NOT UNEXPECTING THAT ON THURSDAY, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO HAVE THAT CONVERSATION, UM, AT THE POINT THAT YOU COME BACK AND, AND, AND REPORT TO US AND HELP US UNDERSTAND, UM, HOW OUR DOLLARS, HOW, HOW ALL THESE DOLLARS ARE BEING EXPENDED.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE TO YOU, A CITY MANAGER, WHAT I'M ASKING FOR IT DOES, AND JUST UNDERSTANDING THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE AS MUCH DATA AS WE HAVE AT THAT POINT IN TIME.
AND, YOU KNOW, THIS IS A VERY FLUID SITUATION, BUT BOTH FROM OUR PUBLIC HEALTH EXPERTS, FROM OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT EXPERTS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO PULL IN WHATEVER WE CAN TO HELP INFORM THOSE DECISIONS GOING FORWARD.
WE HAD A CONVERSATION WITH OUR, UM, WITH JOHN HAWKIN NEIL'S FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF OUR PREVIOUS MEETINGS, UH, WHERE I WAS ASKING, YOU KNOW, WHAT OUR ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE AND IN WHAT AREAS AND, AND WHAT ARE OUR ESTIMATES OF PEOPLE THAT ARE, THAT ARE NOT GETTING ACCESS, UH, YOU KNOW, TO UNEMPLOY ALL THOSE VARIOUS KINDS OF THINGS.
I THINK WE NEED TO DO OUR BEST IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT THE DATA IS OUT THERE, UM, AND USE OUR ECONOMIC ADVISORY, UM, FOLKS TO HELP WITH THAT.
I MEAN, WE HAVE SOME DATA OURSELVES IN TERMS OF EXPERIENCING HOW PEOPLE ARE ACCESSING THE HEALTH THAT WE'RE PROVIDING, BUT THERE'S ALSO BROADER DATA OUT IN THE COMMUNITY.
UM, SO I'D LIKE US TO, TO LOOK AT THAT DATA TOGETHER.
UNDERSTOOD MY ANSWER TO YOUR QUESTION, KATHY, ABOUT THE, THE PARTICULAR LINE ITEMS VERSUS THE BUCKETS.
I DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER TO THAT FOR ME YET.
UM, MY GOAL IS TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET IN LIGHT OF THE RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU MADE AS WELL.
SO I CAN SEE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE CONTINUING ON ANY FURTHER CONVERSATIONS.
I JUST WANT TO CIRCLE AROUND BACK TO THE COMMENT YOU MADE.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
AND I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE TO UNDERSCORE THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO MEET ALL OF THE NEED THAT WE KNOW IS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
UNFORTUNATELY, I GUESS I'M TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE, WHAT YOU WOULD, HOW TO SQUARE THAT WITH THE CONVERSATION WE HAD HAD IMMEDIATELY PREVIOUS TO IT.
WOULD YOU PREFER THEN THAT IF THERE ARE CATEGORIES SUCH AS THE TWO, I MENTIONED THAT WE KNOW WE WANT TO INVEST IN AND WE, MORE OF THE NAVY THAN IS CURRENTLY IN THE PROPOSED SPENDING FRAMEWORK, WOULD IT BE YOUR PREFERENCE THEN THAT WE PROVIDE THAT IN THE FORM OF AMENDMENTS FOR THURSDAY, OR WOULD YOU PREFER TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS CONTINUE BEYOND TODAY? UM, OR CONTINUE IN THE MONTHS AHEAD AND, AND BE MANAGED THROUGH ADDITIONAL IFCS? I THINK MY PREFERENCE IS TO MAINTAIN THAT FLEXIBILITY THAT STAFF HAS ASKING FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT SEPARATE OUT THE FOOD ASSISTANCE FROM THE UTILITY ASSISTANCE BECAUSE THEY ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF WAYS THAT WE WOULD BE APPROACHING THOSE CHALLENGES.
AND I WOULD REALLY WANT TO WORK WITH OUR UTILITIES TO LOOK AT BOTH WHAT THE NEED THAT THEY'RE RECEIVING AND HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO RESPOND TO THAT.
AND THEN HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO ADJUST QUICKLY TO BE ABLE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE THE RESOURCES THAT CAN CORRESPOND WITH THAT NEED.
AND SO I PUT THAT CONVERSATION AND HAVE THAT, UH, AS AN ONGOING DISCUSSION, BECAUSE I KNOW OUR UTILITIES WERE VERY QUICK, UH, RIGHT AFTER THIS PANDEMIC STRUCK, UH, TO BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH CREATIVE SOLUTIONS, TO FIND WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR INDIVIDUAL RATE PAYERS.
UM, SO THAT WILL BE SOMETHING DIFFERENT, BUT IF THERE'S A CHANGE TO THE FOOD ASSISTANCE, THAT
[02:55:01]
MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD CONTEMPLATE FOR THURSDAY.I'LL ASK OUR, OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR TO SEE IF HE WANTS TO WEIGH ON THAT AS WELL.
NO, I THINK THAT'S IT, THAT DIRECTOR THAT HE CAME UP WITH CITY MANAGER WOULD WORK.
I GUESS I, I, I'M NOT SURE WHETHER OUR SOCIAL SERVICE CABINET WILL BE MEETING OR NOT.
WE'VE HAD TO CANCEL THE LAST SEVERAL BECAUSE THEY'VE BEEN UP AGAINST WORK SESSIONS, BUT I WOULD ASK THEN MANAGER THAT YOU HAVE OUR, UM, SOCIAL SERVICE STAFF WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ON THE ISSUE OF FOOD ACCESS, UM, TO REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE NUMBERS AND UNDERSTAND WHETHER, YOU KNOW, AS I SEE IT, THE, THE CUSHION WITHIN THE FOOD ASSISTANCE CATEGORY IS JUST ABOUT A MILLION.
AND SO THAT WOULD NOT PROVIDE US WITH ADDITIONAL LUNCH, ADDITIONAL CAPACITY BETWEEN NOW AND THE END OF DECEMBER TO ASSIST ADDITIONAL ISD.
I KNOW MAYNOR ISD HAD THERE'S DIFFERING INFORMATION, BUT I THINK THEY HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDENT MEALS, UM, AND MAYBE HAD EXPRESSED INTEREST IN CAREGIVER MEALS.
UM, THIS IS ALSO THE LINE ITEM.
THAT'S PROVIDING FOOD FOR INDIVIDUALS EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, AS I UNDERSTAND THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
AND SO THAT 1 MILLION WOULD NOT GIVE US VERY MUCH MORE CAPACITY TO, TO MEET ALL OF THOSE REALLY CRITICAL NEEDS, UM, BETWEEN DECEMBER.
SO JUST IF YOU COULD, IF YOUR STAFF COULD ASSIST US IN REALLY UNDERSTANDING HOW MUCH OF THIS HAS BEEN COMMITTED, WHICH I THINK IS ALL, BUT 1 MILLION AND WHAT THOSE ADDITIONAL COSTS ARE.
JUST ONE LAST THING, UM, A CITY MANAGER, AND THEN GOING BACK AND TALKING ABOUT THE BROADER PICTURE.
UM, I, UH, YOU KNOW, I, ONE OF THE REASONS THAT I WANT TO UNDERSTAND AND HAVE AT LEAST SOME OF OUR BEST ASSESSMENT THAT WE CAN DO, UH, TO THE NEEDS IS BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND, I UNDERSTAND THAT, UH, THAT WE, THAT, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND THE, THE THINKING THAT WE CANNOT MEET ALL THE NEEDS, BUT IT'S HARD FOR ME PERSONALLY, TO JUST SAY THAT I DON'T FEEL COMFORTABLE JUST SAYING TO THE COMMUNITY, WELL, WE CAN'T MEET ALL THE NEEDS.
I WANT TO KNOW SPECIFICALLY, BECAUSE I WANT TO KNOW WHERE THE GAPS ARE SO THAT WE CAN THEN THINK AS CREATIVE, CREATIVELY AS POSSIBLE TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MOST EFFECTIVELY, UH, USING THE RESOURCES WE HAVE.
AND TO ME, I CAN'T SAY TO MY, TO THE COMMUNITY, WELL, I'M SORRY, WE JUST CAN'T MEET ALL NEEDS BECAUSE TO ME THAT'S NOT DEFINITIVE.
YOU KNOW, SO THAT'S, THAT'S ONE REASON I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DO THE BEST WE CAN IN UNDERSTANDING OUR NUMBERS
[Item 47]
THAT WAS AROUND THE POOL.DID YOU WANT A LONG CONVERSATION ON ITEM NUMBER 47? I PULLED IT PRIMARILY FOR QUESTIONS.
UM, UH, THERE WERE TWO ISSUES THAT CAME UP AFTER I HAD POSTED IT TO THE MESSAGE BOARD, WHICH WE NOW HAVE ANSWERS TO.
I HAVE TRISHA AND ERICA ON THE LINE FOR OTHER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS.
IT'S THE EXPEDITED TEMPORARY PERMITTING PROGRAM FOR RESTAURANTS AND SMALL BUSINESSES MAY OR MAY BE.
UM, WHAT I'LL DO WHILE PEOPLE ARE THINKING IF THEY HAVE ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, LET ME JUST QUICKLY TOUCH ON THE TWO SPECIFIC POINTS THAT CAME UP, UM, THAT, UH, THE DIOCESE MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT.
AND THEN I'LL JUST SEE WHAT ELSE ANYBODY WANTS TO TALK ABOUT.
AND THEN TRISHA AND ERICA CAN HANDLE THAT.
SO WE HAD HEARD FROM MEMBERS OF THE MAYOR'S COMMITTEE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, THEY HAD SOME CONCERNS ABOUT BUSINESSES, ENCROACHING TOO FAR ONTO THE SIDEWALK AND BLOCKING ACCESSIBILITY.
UM, BEING ABLE, OBVIOUSLY TO NAVIGATE OUR SIDEWALKS IS A RECURRING ISSUE FOR PEOPLE WHO RELY ON AIDS FOR THEIR MOBILITY.
AND, UH, THE CITY IS, UH, DEVOTED AND COMMITTED TO THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT.
SO I LET THE PARTICIPANTS, UH, UM, I LET THE MEMBERS OF THE, UH, MAYOR'S COMMITTEE KNOW THAT ANY PARTICIPANTS IN THE PROGRAM WOULD BE REQUIRED TO HAVE AN ADA COMPLIANCE PLAN.
AND THAT'S UNDER SECTION FOUR DASH 20 DASH 44 L, AND THIS IS JUST LIKE ALL SPECIAL EVENT PERMIT APPLICANTS WOULD DO.
UM, AND THEN THE SECOND ITEM THAT CAME UP, IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT MAYBE THERE WERE WAYS WE COULD WAIVE THE FEES, UH, BASED ON AUSTIN, UH,
[03:00:01]
SPECIAL EVENTS, THE ACE FEES THEY'RE GENERALLY FAIRLY LOW, BUT THEY ARE FEES.UH, SO I LOOKED AT POTENTIALLY WAIVING THEM BECAUSE THIS IS INTENDED TO BE AN ECONOMIC RECOVERY PROGRAM, BUT STAFF RESPONDED BACK.
I THINK IT WAS MR. VAN NINO AND BRI, UM, UH, UH, THANK YOU BOTH.
UH, THE PROGRAM IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR DIRECT REIMBURSEMENT THROUGH CARES.
I'M STILL, MY STAFF IS STILL IN DISCUSSION WITH, UM, OTHER STAFF ABOUT USING GRANT STRUCTURE TO EFFECTIVELY WAIVE THE FEES.
THERE MAY BE ANOTHER WAY WE CAN GET THERE.
UM, BUT ESSENTIALLY THAT WAS THE RESPONSE THAT I GOT ON THE CARES ACT.
SO, UM, I'LL MOVE ON TO QUESTIONS, BUT I REALLY WANT TO THANK TRISH LANK AND ERICA LOPEZ.
THEY'VE BEEN INCREDIBLY PERSISTENT AND INNOVATIVE AND WORKING ON THIS ORDINANCE AND DID A TREMENDOUS JOB.
AND I, I AM VERY, VERY GRATEFUL.
AND IF THERE AREN'T ANY QUESTIONS, THAT'S GREAT.
IF YOU DO ARISE BY THE FIRST DAY.
UM, YEAH, I, UH, THE DAY TO GET FOR THIS RESOLUTION, I THINK IT PROVIDES A GOOD OPTION.
UM, GIVEN THE FLEXIBILITY AND THE, UM, THAT THE GOVERNOR, I GUESS, UM, ORDERED IN OPENING BUSINESSES.
I WAS CURIOUS JUST FROM HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH 'EM ABOUT THE MAIN, CAUSE I THINK THIS IS A LAW QUESTION.
WHAT I HEARD WAS IF WE ALLOWED, UM, UH, BUSINESSES TO USE THEIR PARKING LOTS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, PATRONS TO SET UP TABLES AND TO, AND TO BE ABLE TO, UH, SOCIAL DISTANCE MORE, IF THEY CHOOSE TO ATTEND, IF THEY CHOOSE TO GO TO THESE BUSINESSES THAT THEY'RE LIKE SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR TABC PERMIT IS, IS BASED ON THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF THE, OF THEIR BUSINESS.
AND SO I WANT IT TO, JUST TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE IS, AND THEN I ALSO THOUGHT TIME TO RESEARCH IT.
I'M SORRY THAT THE GOVERNOR IN PART OF DECLARATIONS OPENING BUSINESSES MAY HAVE WAIVED SOME KIND OF RESTRICTIONS TO UBC, TO RESTRICTIONS BECAUSE OF WANTING TO ENCOURAGE SOCIAL DISTANCING IN THESE KINDS OF ESTABLISHMENTS.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'VE BEEN, IF YOU'VE BEEN CONFRONTED WITH THAT QUESTION, OR IT'S MORE A QUESTION OF, UM, WANTING TO MAKE SURE THAT EVEN IN A SITUATION WHERE WE'VE TOLD THEM, YOU CAN, YOU CAN PUT TABLES IN YOUR PARKING LOT, BUT THEN THEY COME BACK AND TELL US WE ACTUALLY DO THAT BECAUSE WE'RE ONLY ALLOWED TO SOLVE THE HALL WITHIN THIS FOOTPRINT.
UM, WELL, REAL QUICK, AND THEN WE'LL TURN IT OVER TO LA.
THIS IS FOR REALLY SHORT TERM, LIKE A WEEKEND EVENT, UM, THAT WOULD EXPAND OUT TO THE SIDEWALK OR, UH, TO SOME PARKING LOTS.
IT'S NOT THAT THE, THAT THESE, UH, EVENTS WOULD BE THERE PERMANENTLY FOR LIKE A 30 DAY PERIOD.
THE PERMITS FOR 30 DAYS, THE ACTUAL USE PERMIT WOULD BE FOR UP TO 48 HOURS.
UM, BUT TRICIA YOU ON THE LINE THERE AND CAN RAN.
IT IS A GOOD QUESTION ABOUT, UH, THE STATUS OF THE DISASTER AND THE T UH, DECLARATION AND THE TIBC REGULARLY.
I THINK SHE WAS PLANNING TO BE ON.
UM, PERSONALLY LIKE ASSISTANT CITY ATTORNEY, UM, MAYOR PRO TEM, UH, TABC DOES HAVE PREMISES IDENTIFIED IN PERMITS AND LICENSES AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
UM, AND SO THE LICENSEE HOLDER OR THE PERMIT HOLDER WILL HAVE ADDRESS THAT.
HAVING SAID THAT IF WE HAVE, WE ALLOW FOR TEMPORARY EVENTS IN PARKING LOTS TODAY, AND SO WHATEVER PROCESS THEY NEED TO FOLLOW FOR THAT, UM, LIKE, SO LET'S TAKE THIS KIND OF PILOT PROGRAM OFF THE TABLE AND JUST IF SOMEBODY WAS GOING TO HAVE, UM, ACTIVATE THEIR PARKING LOT INTO SOMETHING AND THEY WANTED TO HAVE ALCOHOL, THEN THEY'RE GOING TO HAVE TO FOLLOW IT UP THE PROCESSES FOR THAT.
UM, AND IF TABC DOESN'T ALLOW THEM TO USE THE PARKING LOT, THEN THEY WILL HAVE TO FOLLOW WHATEVER PROCEDURES TVC HAS TO GIVE THEM, UM, THE ABILITY TO USE THAT SPACE FOR ALCOHOL.
I DON'T KNOW IF THE BEAR'S BACK.
UM, AND I'M SORRY, MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD THAT.
SO THIS IS NOT FOR, THIS IS JUST IF FOR A SPECIAL EVENT, LIKE A RE A WEEKEND, VERY SPECIFIC.
[03:05:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT HER, THIS PANDEMIC MARIKO TAM I SPOKE ON THE 30 DAY THAT'S FOR STREET CLOSURES, THE USE OF PARKING SPOTS AND, UM, PORTIONS OF THE SIDEWALK IS INDEED FOR 30 DAYS.SO I GUESS I WOULD JUST ADD, MAYBE THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADD A, BE IT RESOLVED THAT OUR LEGISLATIVE STAFF WOULD REACH OUT IF THERE'S ANY CONFLICT BETWEEN, UH, AN ESTABLISHMENT BEING ABLE TO USE THEIR PARKING LOT BECAUSE OF THEIR TABC.
MAYBE THERE'S SOMETHING THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, WORK WITH THE STATE ON AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'VE LOOSENED TO SOME OF OUR RESTRICTIONS ON ALLOWING THEM TO USE PARKING LOTS AND SIDEWALKS.
CAN YOU JOIN US IN THIS EFFORT AND WAVE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IT'S WHATEVER RESTRICTIONS, UBC PLACES ON THEIR, UM, ON THEIR ABILITY TO USE THAT SPACE.
AND I THINK MY STAFF IS PROBABLY STRIDING DOWN, UM, THE GENERAL SENSE OF WHAT YOU'VE JUST NOW OFFERED AND WE HAPPY TO BRING SOMETHING TO AMANDA'S ON THURSDAY THAT THAT'S OKAY.
JIMMY, UM, THE, I, I'M FINE WITH THE UNDERLYING ITEM.
THERE'S ANOTHER ELEMENT THAT I DON'T THINK THE POSTING LANGUAGE ALLOWS US TO TALK ABOUT THAT I THINK WOULD ALSO HELP SMALL BUSINESSES AND IT MIGHT BE WITHIN THE POWER OF THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO LOOK AT.
UM, AND JUST A GENTLE REMINDER TO MY COLLEAGUES TO KEEP MEETING IF YOU'RE NOT SPEAKING, UM, ESPECIALLY IF YOU DON'T HAVE HEADPHONES BECAUSE THE FEEDBACK MAKES THE AUDIO CHOPPY.
UM, THE, THE ABILITY FOR THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT TO LOOK AT METER FEES, PARKING METERS, AND ADJUST THE FEES TO DEMAND.
SO IF WE HAVE A, AND I KNOW THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS BEEN THINKING ABOUT THAT FROM A TECHNOLOGY, THE ABILITY TO SAY, UM, WHILE IS REALLY LOW DEMAND, WHY ARE WE CHARGING PEOPLE A LOT FOR PARKING WHEN NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO USE THOSE SPACES? OR WHY ARE WE RUNNING PARKING TICKETS OUT TO FOLKS WHEN NO ONE'S TRYING TO GET TO THOSE SPACES? UM, THAT WOULD ALSO, I THINK HELPS SOME OF OUR SMALL BUSINESSES WHO RELY ON METERED PARKING FOR THEIR CUSTOMERS.
ANYBODY ELSE ON THIS ITEM? ALRIGHT, COLLEAGUES, IT IS 1220.
UM, YOU WANT TO, UH, I THINK WE BREAK, TAKE YOUR LUNCH BREAK AND BACK FROM THE LUNCH BREAK, HAVE THE, UH, UH, TWO REMAINING BRIEFINGS.
AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO CLOSE OUT OUR MEETING.
NOW YOU WANT TO COME BACK AT ONE 15? ISN'T IT PEOPLE AN HOUR.
UH, THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING RIGHT NOW WILL GO INTO RECESS HERE AT 1222.
I HAVE ONE 15, WE WILL RECONVENE, UM, FOR THE, UH, UH, CENSUS BRIEFING AND THEN THE, UH, UH, EVICTION BRIEFING IN THAT ORDER.
AND THEN WE'LL GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
SO, UH, IT IS A ONE 20 WE'RE RECONVENING, THE, UH, CITY COUNCIL MEETING HERE ON JUNE, UH, RECONVENING, THE CITY COUNCIL MEETING HERE ON JUNE 2ND.
UH, WE'RE ON 20, UH, WE HAVE A QUORUM, UH, PRESENT.
THERE'S STILL SOME FOLKS TO JOIN US.
UH, BUT LET'S GO AHEAD, MANAGER.
UH, DO YOU WANT TO TEE UP THE FIRST PRESENTATION?
[Item B2]
I THINK IT'S ON SENTENCE.UH, OUR FIRST PRESENTATION THIS AFTERNOON IS REGARDING THE 20 20TH CENSUS AND WE HAVE TARA OLSEN AND JONATHAN LAWLER TO WALK US THROUGH THAT PRESENTATION.
AND SO, UH, I THINK I'M GOING TO TURN IT OVER TO JONATHAN FIRST.
AND I ASSUME THAT ADY FOLKS WILL BE PUTTING UP A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT'S CORRECT.
THANK YOU, CITY MANAGER FOR THE INTRODUCTION.
ALTHOUGH IT WOULD BE A MISS IF I DIDN'T SAY THAT MY MOTHER DIDN'T NAME ME, JOHN, I'M NOT A THING, NOT A JONATHAN, BUT THANK YOU ANYWAYS.
I HAD A LOT OF TEACHERS GROWING UP.
WHO'D LOVE TO CALL ME JONATHAN, BUT, UH, MOVING ON HERE INTO THIS PRESENTATION, UH, THE PLAN WAS TO HAVE RYAN ROBINSON, OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER JOIN US.
WE'D LIKE TO GO IN AND GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, ACTUALLY THIS MAY BE INCORRECT POWERPOINT, BUT ORIGINALLY THIS WOULD'VE HAD BRIAN ROBERTS UP THERE AT THE TOP.
IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, WE'LL BE GOING OVER WITH YOU ALL HERE TODAY IS JUST REINTRODUCING THIS, THIS LOCAL EFFORT, AS WELL AS SOME OF THE UPDATES FROM OUR OUTREACH EFFORTS.
YOU'D LIKE TO GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
[03:10:05]
I APOLOGIZE.I'M VERY, VERY ACCUSTOMED TO HAVING CONTROL OF THE POWERPOINT DECK.
SO I'LL DO MY BEST TO MOVE AS FAST AS POSSIBLE.
UM, IF YOU'D LIKE TO GO IN AND CLICK THROUGH HERE, THESE BULLET POINTS, I ALWAYS LIKE TO START THINGS OFF BY SHOWING JUST THE SHEER AMOUNT OF FUNDING THAT IS IMPACTED BY THE CENSUS.
UH, BRUCE ALFOND, OUR COUNTY TAX ASSESSOR COLLECTOR, ALWAYS LIKES TO REMIND FOLKS THAT FOR EVERY INDIVIDUAL NOT COUNTED, UH, $1,500 IS LOST IN FEDERAL FUNDING.
LET'S GO ONTO THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT ALSO THE CENSUS.
IT'S NOT ONLY ABOUT DOLLARS, IT'S ABOUT REPRESENTATION.
AND SO WE'D LIKE TO CLICK THROUGH THE BULLET POINTS HERE.
ONE OF THE MAJOR IMPACTS THAT SINCE THIS HAS, IS ON THE APPORTIONMENT OF CONGRESSIONAL SEATS.
SO THE NEXT SLIDE YOU'LL SEE A MAP THERE WHAT'S AT STAKE IN TERMS FOR OUR STATE AND AROUND THE COUNTRY FOR ADDITIONAL CONGRESSIONAL SEATS.
THEY'RE NOT ADDING SEATS TO CONGRESS.
THEY'RE JUST SIMPLY MOVING AROUND, UH, HOW MANY EACH STATE HAS.
SO IF WE WERE TO CORRECTLY, GET OURSELVES COUNTED HERE IN TEXAS, IT'S EXPECTED THAT WE COULD GAIN MORE THAN THREE SEATS IN THE U S CONGRESS.
UM, ALSO JUST A SIMPLE REMINDER AS MANY OF THE COUNSELORS, WHAT ARE AWARE, BUT MAYBE NOT FOR THE PUBLIC IS THAT WE USE CENSUS DATA FROM SCHOOL BOARD, TRUSTEES, SEATS, CITY COUNCIL SEATS ON UP.
SO IT IMPACTS EVERY ELECTED OFFICIAL SEAT, UM, PRETTY MUCH, UH, THROUGHOUT LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AS WELL AS STATE GOVERNMENT AND FEDERAL X.
I PLEASE, THERE HAVE BEEN SOME SIGNIFICANT CHANGES TO THE TIMELINE FOR THIS PARTICULAR CENSUS COVID-19 HAS HAD A HUGE IMPACT ON THE ABILITY OF THE CENSUS BUREAU TO GO OUT AND GET FOLKS COUNTED IN PERSON.
A LOT OF TIMES FOLKS THINK OF THE CENSUS.
THEY THINK OF THE ENUMERATORS WHO GO DOOR TO DOOR.
UH, OF COURSE THAT WAS, THAT HAD TO BEEN, HAD TO BE CANCELED AS A RESULT OF COVID.
AND SO YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE HERE THAT THEY'VE ACTUALLY EXTENDED THE TOTAL TIMELINE FOR TAKING PART IN THE CENSUS.
ORIGINALLY IT WAS EXPECTED TO CLOSE IT BY JULY 31ST.
NOW AN ADDITIONAL THREE MONTHS HAVE BEEN TACKED ON TO THAT TIMELINE.
SO YOU HAVE UNTIL OCTOBER 31ST RESPOND ON YOUR OWN.
UH, ADDITIONALLY, THE NON-RESPONSE FOLLOWUP, UH, WHICH IS ACTUALLY WORTH FOLKS, GO OUT DOOR TO DOOR, THROUGH OTHER EVENTS TO GET FOLKS TO TAKE PART.
BUT THAT HAS ALSO BEEN EXTENDED FROM JULY 31ST TO OCTOBER 31ST BELIEVE THIS WEEK, UH, WHERE THE LOCAL CENSUS BUREAU OFFICES HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY REOPENED.
AND IT WILL TAKE THEM SOME TIME BEFORE THEY GET BACK TO THE CAPACITY THEY WERE ONCE AT TO TRY TO GET OUT AND KNOCK ON DOORS.
UH, IF WE'D LIKE, AND THEN THEY'RE AT THE BOTTOM, YOU'LL SEE SOME IMPACTS TO REDISTRICTING A VERY IMPORTANT ONE, WHICH IS FOR THE U S CONGRESS.
THERE IS STILL A BIT OF DEBATE AND CONVERSATION OCCURRING AT THE US CONGRESSIONAL LEVEL OVER WHETHER THIS EXTENDED TIMELINE WILL BE APPROVED.
THE BUREAU ACTUALLY NEEDS STATUTORY RELIEF BEFORE THIS BECOMES AN OFFICIAL TIMELINE, ALTHOUGH THE CENSUS BUREAU AND MANY OF THE PARTNERS WORKING AROUND IT ALREADY, IT AS SUCH.
SO I UNFORTUNATELY CANNOT GIVE YOU ALL ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT THIS IS THE NEW TIMELINE BECAUSE CONGRESS STILL NEEDS TO APPROVE IT.
A COUPLE OF SLIDES THAT OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER RYAN ROBINSON PUT TOGETHER, HE USUALLY JOINS ME ON THESE TYPE OF PRESENTATIONS.
UNFORTUNATELY, HE HAD SOME TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AND WAS NOT ABLE TO JOIN, BUT JUST BIG PICTURE.
THE STATE OF TEXAS IS NOT DOING GREAT AND OUR RESPONSE RATES, A LOT OF THE STATES FOR THE REASONS THAT WE'VE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT HERE EARLIER ON THE POWER POINT, PRESENTATION HAVE PUT SIGNIFICANT PUBLIC DOLLARS AND RAISED SIGNIFICANT PHILANTHROPIC DOLLARS TO TRY TO INCREASE TURNOUT IN THIS YEAR, SINCE THIS CAUSE SO MUCH IS AT STAKE.
UM, HOWEVER, AS OF MAY 31ST AROUND 55% OF EXPECTED, TEXAS RESIDENTS HAVE RESPONDED.
AS FAR AS ON THE COUNTY LEVEL HERE WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS, UM, YOU KNOW, CONSIDERING THAT WE AREN'T DOING AS WELL AS OTHER STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY, BUT JUST FOCUSED HERE WITHIN THE STATE OF TEXAS, WE ARE THE SECOND HIGHEST RESPONDING, A LARGE TEXAS COUNTY.
THE STATE OF TEXAS TARRANT COUNTY IS CURRENTLY ABOVE US, OUR NEIGHBORS TO THE NORTH OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY, SIMILAR TO A LOT OF OTHER SUBURBAN COUNTIES AROUND THE STATE ARE PERFORMING AT A HIGHER LEVEL THAN US, BUT WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM ON DIFFERENT STRATEGIES AND TRYING TO LEARN WHATEVER WE CAN FROM THEM.
BUT I AM PROUD TO SAY THAT WE ARE THE SECOND HIGHEST RESPONDING BIG COUNTY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
BUT THEN AS FAR AS THE CITY GOES, WE HAD BEEN THE HIGHEST, WE HAD BEEN THE LARGEST HIGH RESPONSE OR HIGHEST LARGE TEXAS CITY, HIGHEST RESPONDING, LARGE TEXAS CITY, UH, UP UNTIL ABOUT A WEEK AGO, UH, EL PASO HAS, HAS CAUGHT UP WITH US AND YOU'LL SEE THERE THAT THERE ARE ABOUT, UH, 59.6% RESPONSE RATE WORK, 59%.
UM, BUT OVER THE LAST MONTH OR SO WE HAVE EITHER BEEN THE TOP OR THE SECOND HIGHEST RESPONDING LARGE CITY IN THE STATE OF TEXAS.
AND LIKE I MENTIONED, SECOND HIGHEST IN THE COUNTY, BUT I REALLY WANT TO BOOK IN THAT WITH THE STATE OF TEXAS AS A WHOLE, AS SIMPLY NOT DOING THAT.
WELL, I THINK WE'RE 41ST AND RESPONSE RATES COMPARED TO OTHER OTHER STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY.
AND WE HAVE SO MUCH AT STAKE UNIQUELY HERE IN TEXAS.
[03:15:02]
AND WHAT I'M GOING TO BRIEFLY GO OVER HERE JUST AS FAR AS OUR ACTUAL CAMPAIGN STRATEGIES AND OUTREACH EFFORTS ARE, IS JUST A REMINDER OF WHAT OUR STRATEGIC PLAN IS, HOW WE'VE USED, THE BUDGET THAT WE WERE GIVEN AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO RAISE IN THE FORM OF GRANTS, HOW WE'VE SPENT IT.UH, WE HAVE AN EXCITING REGIONAL MEDIA GRANT.
I'LL DISCUSS HOW WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS.
OUR LIMITED REMAINING DOLLARS.
GIVEN THE TIMELINE HAS EXTENDED, AND THEN TRY TO GIVE YOU ALL A COUPLE OF HIGHLIGHTS INSTITUTIONALLY AND GRASSROOTS WISE.
SO AS YOU ALL KNOW, THIS, THIS PROGRAM WAS, IT WAS INAUGURATED LAST YEAR.
UH, I WAS BROUGHT ON SHORTLY AFTER, AROUND AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY GREAT WAS THAT AN INSTITUTIONAL EFFORT WAS ALREADY UNDERWAY IN THE FORM OF A COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE AT WHICH SOME OF Y'ALL SERVE ON, BUT SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY LACKING FROM THIS EFFORT WAS, WAS GRASSROOTS.
AND SO THAT HAS BEEN A LARGE FOCUS, UH, THIS PROGRAM HERE OVER THE LAST NINE MONTHS, I REALLY APPRECIATE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y'ALL AND YOUR OFFICE TEAMS, CAUSE Y'ALL HAVE BEEN A HUGE PART OF BUILDING THAT OUT AND I'LL GO INTO SOME OF THE SUCCESSES WITH THAT.
UH, BUT THEN ANOTHER PART OF THE STRATEGIC STRATEGIC PLAN FOR THIS EFFORT, UH, WAS OUR MEDIA OUTREACH.
SO I'LL GET INTO THE REGIONAL MEDIA GRAIN HERE AND IN JUST A MINUTE ABOUT HOW WE'RE ARE TACKLING THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
THIS IS A ROUGH BUDGET MIX OF, OF HOW WE'VE SPENT THE DOLLARS WE'VE BEEN GRANTED THUS FAR.
UH, RIGHT NOW OUR TOTAL BUDGET INCLUDES AROUND $460,000.
200,000 OF WHICH WAS FROM THE CITY OF AUSTIN, A MATCHING 200,000 FROM TRAVIS COUNTY AND THEN A $59,000 GRANT FROM THE CENTRAL TEXAS POOLED FUND.
WE'VE GONE AFTER ABOUT A HALF A DOZEN DIFFERENT GRANTS, BUT FRANKLY TRAVIS COUNTY IS JUST SIMPLY NOT AS HARD TO COUNT AS OTHER COUNTIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE OF TEXAS, SPECIFICALLY WESTERN TEXAS, AND THE VALLEY OF TEXAS AND OTHER PORTIONS OF URBAN COUNTIES AROUND THE STATE.
BUT WHAT YOU'LL SEE HERE IS A MAJORITY OF OUR DOLLARS HAVE GONE DIRECTLY TOWARDS COMMUNITY CANVASING, WHICH HAS LOOKED VERY DIFFERENT THAN WE INITIALLY EXPECTED IT TO BE.
WE ARE GEARING UP FOR A VERY LARGE GRASSROOTS DOOR TO DOOR CAMPAIGN, UH, WHICH WE HAD JUST LAUNCHED THE FIRST ONE A WEEK BEFORE COVID SHUT DOWN THE CITY.
UH, BUT IN THAT TIME, WHAT WE'VE INSTEAD SHIFTED OVER TO HIS PHONE BANKING, WHICH I'LL GET MORE INTO THE FOLKS WHO WERE ACTUALLY LEADING THOSE EFFORTS IN JUST A MOMENT, A FLYER DROPS SAFELY AT DIFFERENT EVENTS OR RESOURCE FACILITIES OR PROVIDING SUPPLIES TO FOLKS WHO WERE ALREADY OUT TALKING TO VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES, UM, TARGETED ADVERTISING.
SO WE WERE ABLE TO PARTNER WITH STATESMAN MEDIA, UH, WHO, YOU KNOW, THE STATESMAN WAS ALREADY A MEMBER OF OUR CCC AND THEY WERE ABLE TO WORK WITH US ON A REALLY GREAT DEAL PACKAGE THAT INCLUDED TARGETING SPECIFIC CENSUS TRACKS AS DIRECTED BY OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHER AND THE GRASSROOTS FOLKS WE HAD HELPING US OUT, UH, WITH COMMUNITY SPECIFIC ADVERTISING.
UH, WE RECEIVED THAT REGIONAL MEDIA GRANT.
I MENTIONED JUST A MOMENT AGO AND I'LL DIG INTO A LITTLE BIT MORE IN HERE JUST A SECOND.
UM, OUR DIGITAL OUTREACH HAS INCLUDED CREATING CONTENT LOCALLY FOR US.
UH, THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH WHAT THE CENSUS BUREAU HAS PRODUCED.
AND FRANKLY, WE TRIED TO LOCALIZE IT AND WE'VE TRIED TO TAKE WHAT WE HEARD FROM OUR GRASSROOTS GROUPS, WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT TALKING POINTS AND PUT THOSE INTO THE MATERIALS WHERE WE'RE SPREADING AROUND THE COMMUNITY.
AND THEN LASTLY, WE'VE HAD LESS THAN 10% OF OUR BUDGET GO TOWARDS DIFFERENT FINANCIAL SERVICES COSTS.
AND THEN ALSO WE BROUGHT ON A DIGITAL COORDINATOR AND THE TIME OF COBRA TO MAKE SURE WE HAD SOMEONE MANAGING ALL THOSE DIFFERENT PIECES, GIVEN HOW IMPORTANT IT HAD BECOME, UH, DURING THE COVID-19 OUTBREAK.
SO THIS IS THE REGIONAL MEDIA REFERENCE JUST A WHILE AGO.
THIS WAS SOMETHING REALLY EXCITING.
UH, THE CENTRAL TEXAS POOL FUND, WHICH WAS A GROUP FORMED BY THE SAINT DAVID'S FOUNDATION, OSCAR COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, AND THEN BEING ADMINISTERED BY THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER AUSTIN.
THEY CAME TOGETHER AND PUT ALMOST $400,000 IN TOTAL FUNDING AVAILABLE TO DIFFERENT GROUPS AROUND THE FIVE COUNTY REGION.
UH, WE ACTUALLY PARTNERED WITH NEIGHBORING COUNTIES ON GOING IN FOR THIS REGIONAL MEDIA GRANT.
THE THINKING BEHIND THIS WAS, IS THAT RATHER THAN DUPLICATING EFFORTS OR TRYING TO BUY COMPETING ADVERTISING SPACE.
AND THAT GIVEN THAT WE WERE ALREADY LIKELY GOING TO BE MAKING A LARGE MEDIA BUYER EFFORT, THAT WE TRY TO DO THAT IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THESE SMALLER COUNTIES WHO BENEFIT FROM IT NATURALLY, BUT THEN ALSO WOULD BE ABLE TO HELP INSTRUCT ITS MESSAGING.
AND SO WHAT WE ENDED UP LANDING ON IS THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY OF DOING THIS WAS FOCUSING ON OUR HISPANIC, LATINO POPULATION, ASIAN AMERICAN, AND BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATIONS HERE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, IN THE FIVE COUNTY REGION, UM, AND TRYING TO EQUITABLY DISTRIBUTE THOSE DOLLARS BASED UPON THEIR SHARE OF THE POPULATION.
AND SO WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE SPECIFICALLY FOR THE HISPANIC LATINO POPULATION IS THAT WE TOOK ABOUT 40,000 OF THAT $59,000 AND DID SOMETHING THAT HASN'T REALLY BEEN DONE BEFORE.
WE APPROACHED THE TWO DIFFERENT MEDIA CORPORATIONS THAT RUN ALL FOUR OF THE SPANISH SPEAKING RADIO STATIONS HERE IN THE CENTRAL TEXAS AREA.
AND WE'VE PUT THEM ON THE SAME TEAM AND WHAT THEY ARE DOING IS COORDINATING ON DIFFERENT UNIVERSAL SCRIPTS LANGUAGES.
THEY'RE HELPING SUPPORT OUR GRASSROOTS GROUPS THROUGH THIS COMMUNITY COME
[03:20:01]
THOMAS AUSTIN, I, BY TRYING TO PROMOTE EVENTS THAT THEY ARE PUTTING ON, AND WE'VE GOT SOME REALLY EXCITING EVENTS THAT WILL BE COMING UP IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, THAT HOPEFULLY ARE SUSTAINABLE AND INVOLVING THE GRASSROOTS AND THESE MEDIA PARTNERS, YOU'LL SEE THERE IN THE BOTTOM LEFT HAND CORNER OF THE SCREEN.SOME OF THE TRACKS, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT WE'RE TRYING TO TALK ABOUT ARE WHENEVER THEY'RE READING THROUGH THEIR SCRIPTS OR SPEAKING TO FOLKS LIVE ON THE AIR, TALKING ABOUT RELEVANT ISSUES IN THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS THAT CAN TRY TO HYPERLOCALIZED THIS AS BEST AS POSSIBLE.
AND THAT A 19,000 OF THAT $59,000 WILL THEN BE SPLIT BETWEEN ASIAN AMERICAN AND BLACK AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATION OF WHICH THE ASIAN AMERICAN GRASSROOTS EFFORT IS HELPING IDENTIFY DIFFERENT TRACKS, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TEST OUT DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND DIFFERENT AD ADVERTISING STRATEGIES IN THOSE TRACKS, AND THEN TRY TO MEASURE IF ANYTHING ACTUALLY HAPPENS IN TERMS OF RESPONSE RATES.
UM, SO THIS IS SOMETHING REALLY EXCITING TO JUST TO SHARE WITH FOLKS IS THAT WE'VE DEVELOPED A BIG SUITE OF DIFFERENT DIGITAL RESOURCES.
UNFORTUNATELY, LIKE I MENTIONED, AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS, THIS MIGHT BE A DIFFERENT POWERPOINT THAN WAS ORIGINALLY PREPARED.
UM, IT'S MISSING OUT SOME OF THE COOL DASHBOARDS AND MAPS THAT OUR DIGITAL TEAM HAS PRODUCED IN ADDITION TO THESE MATERIALS, BUT QUICKLY WHAT YOU'LL SEE HER ON THE SCREEN, THE BOTTOM LEFT IS THAT WHAT WE CALL OUR UNIVERSAL PUSH CARD, IT WAS DESIGNED WITH THE TALKING POINTS THAT OUR DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS SAID THAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT ONES TO TALK ABOUT THAT IT'S BILINGUAL IN BOTH ENGLISH AND SPANISH, UH, TENS OF THOUSANDS OF THESE HAVE BEEN DISTRIBUTED BY HAND AT DIFFERENT RESOURCE FACILITIES OR DROPPED OFF IN DIFFERENT RESOURCE BAGS AND PACKETS OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS, YOU'LL SEE THERE IN THE MIDDLE, A POSTER WHICH ACTUALLY HAS BEEN PREPARED AND SENT OVER TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WHERE THEY WILL NOW BE POSTING THOSE POSTERS AROUND TOWN.
AND THEN THE BOTTOM RIGHT HAND CORNER THERE, YOU'LL SEE TWO OF OUR AMAZING COMMUNITY LEADERS WHO ARE HOLDING UP A YARD SIGNS THAT WE'VE PRODUCED, AND WE'RE ACTUALLY GETTING SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE THAT ARE OUT STATIONED AROUND DIFFERENT AREAS IN HARD TO COUNT NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND SO THIS IS A REALLY INTERESTING NEW THING THAT WE'RE DOING AS A CAMPAIGN.
UH, GIVEN A LOT OF THE STUFF I'VE ALREADY DISCUSSED WITH Y'ALL, INCLUDING THAT EXTENDED TIMELINE, WHERE NOW WE'RE HAVING NOT, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY HERE WITH ADDITIONAL TIME, BUT ALSO IT'S A, IT'S A IT'S PROBLEMATIC IN TERMS OF TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO BUDGET THE REMAINING DOLLARS WE HAVE LEFT CAUSE WE HAD BUDGETED FOR A CERTAIN LENGTH OF TIME PAIN.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS FIGURE OUT WHAT HAS WORKED THUS FAR IN CERTAIN CENSUS TRACKS.
AND WHAT WE'RE REALLY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HERE LOCALLY IS, IS A DIGITAL TEAM THAT WAS FORMED WITH TALENT FROM BOTH THE CITY OF AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY, AND VOLUNTEERS FROM OPEN AUSTIN, AS WELL AS OUR COMMUNITY GROUPS.
UH, THEY CAME, THEY'VE COME TOGETHER AND FIGURED OUT DIFFERENT WAYS.
WE COULD TRACK DIFFERENT TACTICS WORKING AND WHETHER OR NOT THEY WERE SUCCESSFUL.
UH, AND BECAUSE OF THAT, WE'VE IDENTIFIED SOME VERY BASIC AND TRADITIONAL GRASSROOTS TACTICS THAT ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE SUCH AS PHONE BANKING THROUGH LISTS THAT WE ACQUIRE THROUGH DIFFERENT COMMUNITY GROUPS, TO RESIDENTS WITHIN SPECIFIC CENSUS TRACKS, MAIL TITLED FROM LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS OR COMMUNITY LEADERS TO THEIR, YOU KNOW, THEIR MAILBOXES.
AND THEN ALSO BEING OUT AT RESOURCE CENTERS, YOU KNOW, IN A SAFE CAPACITY, MAKING SURE THAT THERE'S LANGUAGE AND SIGNAGE AND OTHER THINGS OUT THERE TO REMIND FOLKS ABOUT THE CENSUS, UH, THE OTHER BENEFIT OF HAVING THIS DIGITAL TEAM AND THE ADVICE AND GUIDANCE FROM OUR CITY DEMOGRAPHERS THAT WE CAN NOW KIND OF FIGURE OUT WHICH SINCE HIS TRACKS ARE JUST NOT ROOTING, THEY'RE NOT TRENDING UP.
THEY'RE NOT HAVING A HIGHER RESPONSE RATE, EVEN WHEN WE'RE DOING THINGS GENERALLY ACROSS THE COUNTY.
AND THE MAP YOU SEE HERE ON YOUR SCREEN IS A TARGETED AREA WHERE THINGS ARE STICKY.
AND IT'S AN AREA THAT I'M SURE IT WILL BE FAMILIAR FOR.
ALL OF Y'ALL HERE ON COUNCIL IS THAT IT'S FACING A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT HURDLES AS A COMMUNITY.
I DO WANT TO GIVE A QUICK THANK YOU TO COUNCIL MEMBER CASARA AND HIS OFFICE FOR HELPING CONNECT US WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS WITHIN THIS, THIS NEIGHBORHOOD AREA.
THIS IS ROUGHLY NORTH LAMAR RUNDBERG.
AND WHAT OUR GOAL IS HERE IS TO TRY TO APPLY THESE MEASURE TACTICS, ONES THAT HAVE SHOWN THAT WITHIN A DAY TO THREE DAYS AFTER WE GO OUT BY WE, I MEAN, THESE GRASSROOTS GROUPS GO OUT AND DO CERTAIN THINGS.
THERE'S AN INCREASE IN THE RESPONSE RATE, WHICH WE CAN SEE LIVE DAY TO DAY.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO MEASURE THE IMPACT WE HAVE IN THIS, THIS, THIS AREA WE REFER TO AS OUR INTERSECTIONAL FOCUS AREA, BECAUSE YOU'VE GOT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT DIVERSE COMMUNITIES THAT ARE ALL HARD TO COUNT, AND WE'VE GOT A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT NONPROFITS THAT WILL BE ABLE TO ASSIST WITH IT, FRANKLY, THE ONLY THING STANDING IN OUR WAY FROM DOING EVEN MORE, WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE ADDITIONAL FOCUS AREAS.
AGAIN, IT'S JUST, OUR BUDGET HAS REACHED ITS LIMIT.
AND WE'RE HAVING TO TRY TO MEASURE THAT OUT AND TRY TO CREATE SOME CASE STUDIES, AT LEAST FOR FUTURE EFFORTS AS WELL.
THIS IS SOMETHING WE'RE DOING COUNTY WIDE.
SO AGAIN, WE'RE KIND OF FOCUSING IN VERY NARROW AND SPECIFIC AREA THAT WE CAN TRACK OUR EFFORTS, BUT THEN MAINTAIN A COUNTYWIDE APPROACH TO OUR EFFORTS IN THAT COUNTY WIDE APPROACH.
IT'S REALLY ENCAPSULATED IN THIS 30 DAY CHALLENGE.
WE HAD INTENDED TO HAVE A LARGE MEDIA RELEASE AND MORE ANNOUNCEMENTS ABOUT THIS 30 DAY CHALLENGE IN THE MONTH OF JUNE.
BUT OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WE WANT IT TO BE RESPECTFUL AND RESPONSIBLE WITH ALL THE EVENTS THAT HAVE GONE ON THIS PAST WEEKEND.
[03:25:01]
SO WE ARE TRYING TO BE MINDFUL OF THAT, BUT JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, WE HAVE PREPARED THIS MINI CAMPAIGN.THAT'S A 30 DAY STRATEGY WITH SOCIAL MEDIA ASSETS AND DIGITAL COLLATERAL ESTABLISHED WITH IT.
WE'VE GOT AN AMAZING INTERNAL TEAM AT THE CITY OF AUSTIN, HELPING OUT VOLUNTEERS ON OUR DIGITAL TEAM.
THIS IS SPECIFICALLY BEING LED BY ALICIA LANE, I'M IN THE PLANNING DEPARTMENT, BUT WHAT YOU'LL SEE THERE ON THE SIDE IS KIND OF OUR MAIN TALKING POINT FOR FOLKS.
AND THIS IS FOR MAYBE FOLKS WHO HAVE ALREADY TAKEN THE CENSUS FOR LOOKING TO HELP, WHICH IS, LOOK, IF WE CAN GET IN ONE MONTH 50,000 HOUSEHOLDS COUNTED, UH, THAT'S JUST, THAT'S NOT JUST 125,000 PEOPLE, UH, WHO NOW OR WHO'S, WHO WERE BEING COUNTED YOUR LOCALLY.
WE'RE SECURING IN FEDERAL FUNDING.
SO WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS UNDERSTAND THAT THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF IMPACTS THIS HAS LOCALLY.
AND YOU CAN CLICK THROUGH THE NEXT TWO SLIDES.
THESE ARE JUST EXAMPLES OF THE DIGITAL TOOLKIT, SOME OF THE STUFF WE'VE, WE'VE PUT TOGETHER, NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
BUT THIS IS THE EXCITING STUFF AND THIS STUFF, UNFORTUNATELY I HAVE TO I'LL HAVE TO SPEED THROUGH BECAUSE I KNOW I ONLY HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT OF TIME WITH Y'ALL, BUT BEFORE WE GET INTO THESE INDIGO IN INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS, I JUST HAVE TO, AGAIN, THANK THE AMAZING TEAM OF FOLKS.
WHO'VE COME TOGETHER TO MAKE THE CENSUS A PRIORITY FOR THEIR ORGANIZATIONS, THEIR COMMUNITIES.
AND I'VE REALLY HELPED TRANSLATE A LOT OF THIS TECHNICAL OR MERIT, GOVERNMENTAL STALE SOUNDING INFORMATION TO THINGS THAT ARE RELEVANT AND IMPORTANT FOR THESE COMMUNITIES, BECAUSE FRANKLY, A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT MAKE A PERSON OR A NEIGHBORHOOD OF HARD TO COUNT DON'T DISAPPEAR IN THE NINE YEARS BETWEEN THE EVERY 10 YEAR DECENNIAL CENSUS.
AND SO THEY'RE WORKING REALLY HARD TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S RELEVANT TO THEIR COMMUNITIES AND IS HONESTLY SUSTAINABLE BEYOND JUST THIS PARTICULAR CAMPAIGN.