* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.
          [00:00:02]
          ARE WE LIVE? YES, WE 
          [District 10 Budget Virtual Town Hall]
ARE. 
          OKAY. 
          GOOD EVENING. 
          I'M COUNCIL MEMBER, ALISON ULCER. 
          AND I HAVE THE HONOR OF REPRESENTING DISTRICT 10 ON THE AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL. 
          UM, THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING HERE AT THE DISTRICT TOWN, VIRTUAL BUDGET TOWN HALL. 
          UM, I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR INPUT ON THE BUDGET AND GIVEN THE CHALLENGING TIMES THAT WE WERE IN. 
          I ALSO WANT TO ADD THAT I APPRECIATE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH YOU, AND I REALLY HONESTLY HOPE THAT SOON WE CAN MEET IN PERSON. 
          UM, LAST TIME WE MET WAS BACK IN MARCH IN PERSON AND I MISS SEEING ALL OF YOUR SMILING FACES JOINING US THIS EVENING IS DEPUTY CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER ADVANTA, ENO WHO LEADS THE BUDGET EFFORT FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN. 
          HE WILL PROVIDE AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THE BUDGET PROCESS WORKS AND HOW YOU CAN ENGAGE IT. 
          WE'LL ALSO REVIEW THE IMPACTS THAT COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS HAD ON CITY FINANCES AND THE CITY'S RESPONSE. 
          I'M ALSO GOING TO BE JOINED BY TWO OF MY STAFFERS, THE NAKED ICHI, WHO WILL BE MODERATING THE Q AND A AND APRIL BROWN. 
          WHO'S FACILITATING THIS EVENT. 
          THANK YOU TO BOTH OF YOU AND THANK YOU AS WELL TO STAFF AND THE BUDGET OFFICE AND CTM FOR MAKING TONIGHT'S VIRTUAL TOWN HALL HAPPEN AFTER ITS PRESENTATION, WE'LL GET INTO THE Q AND A PORTION OF THE EVENING WHERE YOU'LL BE ABLE TO ASK QUESTIONS THROUGH THE Q AND A FUNCTION OF WEBEX. 
          WHILE WE WON'T BE ABLE TO ANSWER EVERY QUESTION WE ARE COLLECTING AND RECORDING YOUR QUESTIONS AND FEEDBACK, AND WE WILL DO OUR BEST TO FOLLOW UP FOR ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH MY OFFICE. 
          MY STAFF MEMBERS WILL BE HOLDING VIRTUAL OFFICE HOURS ON FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH AT 10:00 AM. 
          THAT'S FRIDAY, JUNE 12TH AT 10:00 AM. 
          REGISTRATION INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE LATER THIS WEEK THROUGH MY NEWSLETTER AND VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. 
          IF WE CAN HAVE THE CENSUS SLIDE UP, PLEASE, UM, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I'D LIKE TO TAKE A FEW SHORT MINUTES, UM, TO SPEAK ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE 2020 CENSUS. 
          AND I REALLY WANT TO REMIND EVERYONE HERE TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY AND TO ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY ACROSS THE CITY TO IT IS IMPERATIVE FOR OUR AUSTIN RESIDENTS TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS AND ACCURATE COUNT IS GOING TO ENSURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY WILL RECEIVE PROPER REPRESENTATION AND PROPORTIONAL FUNDING FOR MANY SERVICES. 
          FOR EXAMPLE, FOR OUR SCHOOLS, FOR HEALTH CARE AND TRANSPORTATION, I WANT TO APPLAUD THE COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEES THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY THAT CONTINUE TO WORK HARD AND ENSURE THAT THE CENSUS COUNTS ALL RESIDENTS. 
          THIS IS REALLY DIFFICULT WORK IN THE MIDST OF COVID-19, BUT THESE COMMITTEES HAVE STEPPED UP TO THE CHALLENGE. 
          ONE GREAT EXAMPLE IS THE AUSTIN ASIAN COMPLETE COUNT COMMITTEE, WHICH IS IMPLEMENT IS, UM, LED BY SOME 10 CONSTITUENTS. 
          THEY'VE IMPLEMENTED VIRTUAL STRATEGIES EARLY IN THE PROCESS THAT ARE ENSURING HIGHER RESPONSE RATES. 
          DESPITE COVID-19 SPECIFICALLY, THE COMMITTEE PROVIDED GRANT FUNDING TO NUMEROUS COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS TO STRENGTHEN OUTREACH EFFORTS. 
          AS MANY ORGANIZATIONS SWITCHED TO PERFORM VIRTUAL OUTREACH, THIS CONCERTED EFFORT YIELDED A 62.6% SELF RESPONSE RATE, WHICH IS THE HIGHEST COMMUNITY RESPONSE RATE AMONG THE COMMITTEES. 
          OUR LATEST RESPONSE DATA IN OUR COMMUNITY SHOWS THAT WE ARE ONLY AT A 59% RESPONSE RATE CITYWIDE. 
          UM, WE CONTINUE TO WORK AS A COMMUNITY TO ENSURE A HUNDRED PERCENT SELF RESPONSE RATE. 
          EVERYONE DESERVES ACCURATE REPRESENTATION. 
          I BELIEVE THIS OKAY. 
          ONE OF OUR CORE TENANTS AND WE ALSO DESERVE TO HAVE THE FUNDING FOR SOCIAL SERVICES THAT OUR COMMUNITY NEEDS. 
          SO IT'S REALLY IMPERATIVE THAT EVERYONE IS COUNTED. 
          I WANT TO CONCLUDE BY I'M SUGGESTING THAT YOU PLEASE ACCESS THE CENSUS@TWENTYTWENTYCENSUS.GOV. 
          YOU CAN DO IT ALSO BY MAIL AND BY PHONE AT (844) 330-2020. 
          IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS OR WANT ASSISTANCE FILLING OUT THE CENSUS, YOU CAN VISIT BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY, CALL TWO ONE, ONE, OR GO TO ATX CENSUS 20 TWENTY.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION IT'S SIMPLE AND EASY, AND WILL ONLY TAKE YOU A FEW MINUTES. 
          IF YOU'VE LOST YOUR POSTCARD, ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS PROVIDE YOUR ADDRESS WHEN YOU FILL IT OUT. 
          I HOPE EVERYONE CAN TAKE A MINUTE THIS EVENING, IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY TO FILL OUT THE CENSUS, I'M GOING TO HAND OVER THE PRESENTATION TO MR. VAN ENO. 
          AND I WANT TO THANK YOU, MR.  FOR SPENDING YOUR EVENING WITH US, HAPPY TO DO IT, AND THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME AND WELCOME EVERYBODY TO, UM, TO OUR BUDGET DISCUSSION. 
          UM, I HAVE A LITTLE BIT LONGER SLIDE DECK THAN NORMAL. 
          UM, I'M GOING TO TRY TO GO THROUGH IT QUICKLY THOUGH, BECAUSE, UM, 
          [00:05:01]
WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME FOR YOUR QUESTIONS AND FOR A DISCUSSION, BUT THERE IS A LOT GOING ON IN THE CITY'S BUDGET. 
          UM, WE ALREADY HAD SOME CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US DUE TO THE LOWER REVENUE CAP THAT HAD BEEN IMPOSED BY THE STATE. 
          UM, COVID-19 IS, UM, IMPACTING OUR ECONOMY OBVIOUSLY SIGNIFICANTLY, AND IT HAS CONSEQUENCES FOR MANY DIFFERENT CITY REVENUE SOURCES. 
          UM, AND THEN THERE'S A LOT OF FEDERAL FUNDING THAT'S FLOWING INTO THE AREA TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE. 
          AND SO I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT AND A SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT COUNCIL IS CURRENTLY, UM, DISCUSSING FOR THOSE FEDERAL FUNDS. 
          SO LET ME JUMP RIGHT INTO IT AND SHARE MY SCREEN. 
          SO YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SEE WHAT I'M SPEAKING TO. 
          IT IS NOW A BED. 
          ALL RIGHT. 
          WE'RE UP GARY? YES. 
          OH, I'M SEEING YOUR PRESENTER VIEW THOUGH, AND NOT THE FULL SLIDE. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          IS IT SHARING IT? WELL, IT SAYS IT'S STARTING TO SHARE IT. 
          HASN'T COME UP YET. 
          THERE WE GO. 
          THANKS. 
          ALRIGHT. 
          SORRY ABOUT THE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES, EVERYONE. 
          UM, SO I ALWAYS LIKE TO START OFF OFF WITH JUST THE BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BUDGET. 
          UM, IT'S A LARGE ORGANIZATION, NOT ONLY THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH IS THE FUND THAT PAYS FOR MOST OF THE SERVICES. 
          PEOPLE THINK ABOUT WHEN THEY THINK OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, UM, POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES AND PARKS AND LIBRARY. 
          THAT'S WHAT WE CALL THE GENERAL FUND. 
          THAT'S THAT YELLOWISH PIECE ON THIS PIE CHART? UM, 24% OF OUR BUDGET. 
          UM, BUT WE ALSO RUN A LOT OF ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS. 
          UM, UH, AUSTIN ENERGY IS A CITY OWNED ELECTRIC UTILITY. 
          AUSTIN WATER IS A CITY OWNED AND OPERATED, UM, WATER UTILITY. 
          UM, AND THEN WE HAVE A NUMBER OF OTHER OPERATIONS. 
          WE JUST, UH, COLLECTIVELY PUT THEM ALL INTO THAT BLUE PIECE. 
          CAUSE IF WE PUT THEM ALL ON THIS SLIDE, IT GETS A LITTLE CROWDED. 
          BUT I DID NOTE AT THE BOTTOM. 
          UM, THE REMAINDER OF OUR BUDGET IS, UH, COMPRISED OF THE AIRPORT. 
          AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IS A CITY OPERATED FACILITY. 
          UM, PUBLIC WORKS AND TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENTS, CONVENTION CENTER, UM, AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY, THE FOLKS THAT COME AND PICK UP YOUR TRASH AND RECYCLE DEVELOPMENT SERVICES. 
          THESE ARE ALL ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS OUTSIDE OF THE GENERAL FUND. 
          AND THOSE OPERATIONS, THESE ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS ARE SUPPORTED BY FEES THAT THEY CHARGED, UM, AS OPPOSED TO TAX DOLLARS. 
          THAT'S THE FUNDAMENTAL DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UM, YOUR GENERAL FUND SERVICES AND YOUR ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS IS THE SOURCE OF REVENUES AND THE LIMITATIONS AND THE USE OF THOSE REVENUES. 
          UM, OVER ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THIS GRAPH, WE TALK ABOUT OUR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET ACROSS THE ORGANIZATION. 
          UM, AGAIN, THAT CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT BUDGET SIMILAR TO THE OPERATING BUDGET IS DOMINATED BY OUR LARGE ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS, NAMELY AUSTIN ENERGY, THE AIRPORT IN AUSTIN WATER, YOU CAN SEE ON THIS FIFTH BAR DOWN VOTER APPROVED BONDS, UM, THAT'S ABOUT $200 MILLION A YEAR OF EXPENDITURES DO, UM, FOR VARIOUS TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS, UH, PARKS PROJECTS, UH, THE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY WAS A VOTER APPROVED BOND PROGRAM. 
          SO USUALLY AROUND, UM, 15 TO 20% OF OUR TOTAL CAPITAL PROGRAM COMES THROUGH THOSE, UH, VOTER APPROVED BOND, UM, PROPOSITIONS. 
          I DO WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME ON THE NEXT SLIDE, SPEAKING MORE ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND. 
          UM, NOT HIM, NOT SURE WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SLIDE THERE, BUT I'LL DO THE BEST I CAN WITH IT. 
          I APOLOGIZE FOR THAT, FOR THAT. 
          THAT'S NOT HOW IT LOOKS ON, UM, AND THE PRESENTATION, BUT FOR SOME REASON WITH THE SCREEN SHARING IS COMING UP VERY GARBLED. 
          BUT, UM, THE MAIN POINT OF THIS SLIDE AT ONE POINT $1 BILLION GENERAL FUND, UM, ABOUT 65% OF THAT GENERAL FUND IS ALLOCATED TO POLICE, FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, COLLECTIVELY, COLLECTIVELY PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES. 
          THESE OTHER PIECES OF THE PIE THAT YOU CAN'T REALLY SEE, UH, ANYMORE OUR PARKS AND RECREATION, UM, LIBRARIES, 
          [00:10:02]
UH, NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING OVER ON THE RIGHT, IF YOU COULD SEE IT, THAT ONE POINT $1 BILLION IS FUNDED PREDOMINANTLY THROUGH PROPERTY TAXES AND SALES TAXES. 
          PROPERTY TAXES ARE ABOUT 48% OF THE CITY GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES AND SALES TAXES ARE RIGHT AT ABOUT 23%. 
          SO COMBINED ABOUT 71% OF OUR REVENUES THAT PAY FOR THESE SERVICES COME THROUGH, UH, YOUR TAX DOLLARS. 
          OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET WAS STRAINED EVEN PRIOR TO COVID-19. 
          WE WERE PROJECTING LONGER TERM. 
          WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SOME FINANCIAL CHALLENGES DUE TO THE CAP PLACED ON REVENUE, PROPERTY TAX, REVENUE GROWTH BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE. 
          THEY LOWERED THE CAP LAST SESSION FROM 8% TO THREE AND A HALF PERCENT. 
          UM, WE WERE PROJECTING THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO BALANCE OUR BUDGET IN FISCAL YEAR 21 AS A RESULT OF ACTIONS THAT, UH, THE COUNCIL TOOK IN FISCAL YEAR 21 TO BUILD SOME CAPACITY INTO OUR FY 20 BUDGET. 
          UM, THAT'S THAT LIGHT GREEN PIECE AT THE TOP OF THAT, OF THE FIRST BAR REFLECT $15 MILLION, UM, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL IS ABLE TO ALLOCATE TO ONE TIME PURPOSES AND , WHICH HELPED US BALANCE OUR BUDGET. 
          UM, LOOKING AHEAD TO FYI 21. 
          UM, BUT WE DID HAVE CHALLENGES LOOKING AHEAD. 
          WE ARE NOT FORECASTING THAT THE REVENUE GROWTH, UM, AVAILABLE TO THE CITY WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO KEEP UP WITH OUR GROWTH AND EXPENDITURES. 
          UM, AND BY FISCAL YEAR 24, WE HAD BEEN PROJECTED IN GAPS OF SLIGHTLY OVER $27 MILLION. 
          AND AGAIN, THIS WAS PRIOR TO, UM, COVID-19 OR ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES CREATED BY THE PANDEMIC. 
          UM, YOU CAN TAKE A LOOK ON THIS SLIDE. 
          I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL THESE NUMBERS FOR THE SAKE OF TIME, BUT THESE ARE OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES. 
          UM, WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, FOCUSING IN ON THE SLOWER RESOLUTION NUMBERS. 
          UM, WE KNOW EXACTLY WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN YET. 
          THERE'S A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY, OBVIOUSLY. 
          UM, THERE'S A TWO MONTH LAG ON SALES TAX COLLECTIONS. 
          UM, AND SO THE FIRST PAYMENT WE GET THE FIRST DAY IS SALES TAX DATA. 
          WE'RE GOING TO GET FROM THE STATE THAT IS REALLY GOING TO BE INDICATIVE OF, OF HOW BAD THE, UH, UH, DROP IN SALES TAXES WILL BE RESULTING FROM THE ECONOMIC SHUTDOWN. 
          UM, WE'LL GET THAT DATA IN, IN JUNE, UM, WEDNESDAY OF NEXT WEEK, WE SHOULD GET THAT DATA. 
          UM, BUT RIGHT NOW WE ARE PROJECTING ACROSS THE GENERAL FUND IN FISCAL YEAR 28, 57 POINT $6 MILLION DROP IN REVENUES. 
          UM, LOOKING AHEAD TO FISCAL YEAR 21. 
          UM, ALTHOUGH WE ANTICIPATE BY THAT TIME, WE WILL BE COMING OUT, UM, UM, OF THE, OF THE, OF THE SHUTDOWN. 
          UM, THE GATHERING OF RESTRICTIONS WILL START TO BE, UM, EASE, BUT NONETHELESS WE'RE PROJECTING $22 MILLION SHORTFALL IN REVENUES, UM, COMPARED TO WHAT WE HAD BEEN PROJECTING PRIOR TO COVID-19, UM, THE IMPACTS ARE NOT ONLY ON THE GENERAL FUND THOUGH, A HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES THAT HELP PAY FOR THE CONVENTION CENTER AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION PROGRAMS AND CULTURAL ARTS PROGRAMS, UM, ALSO PROVIDES FUNDING TO OUR MUSIC FUND. 
          UH, WE ARE PROJECTING A LITTLE BIT OVER $36 MILLION DROP IN OUR HOTEL OCCUPANCY TAXES. 
          THIS YEAR, THE HOTEL INDUSTRY IS BEING HIT, ESPECIALLY HARD BY COVID-19. 
          UM, AS IS THE AIRPORT $68 MILLION DROP IN AIRPORT. 
          REVENUE IS PROJECTED FOR THIS YEAR. 
          UM, AND THEN PARKING FEES ARE ALSO DOWN SUBSTANTIALLY IN TOTAL, UH, FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, WHICH IS THE, UM, THE FISCAL YEAR THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN THE CITY IS ESTIMATING, UM, UM, DROPS IN REVENUES OF NEARLY $170 MILLION ARE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN $170 MILLION. 
          UM, ON THE, ON A POSITIVE NOTE THOUGH, THAT THE CITY DID ENTER THIS CRISIS IN A VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION. 
          AND THERE WAS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON THESE SLIDES. 
          I WON'T READ THEM ALL TO YOU, BUT JUST KNOW THAT COMING INTO THIS, UH, WE HAD VERY STRONG RESERVE LEVELS. 
          UM, WE HAVE A STRONG RESERVE POLICY AND WE WERE ACTUALLY ABOVE WHAT THAT POLICY LEVEL CALLS FOR. 
          SO THAT WILL HELP US, UM, GET THROUGH THIS TIME OF, OF LOWER REVENUES. 
          WE ALSO TAKE A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH TO, UM, OUR BUDGET. 
          SO THE BUDGET THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPTED FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, UM, UH, MADE CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES OF SALES TAX. 
          AND AS A RESULT OF THAT, UM, LEADING INTO COVID-19, WE WERE ACTUALLY A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN $10 MILLION AHEAD OF PACE, UM, IN OUR SALES TAX COLLECTIONS AGAIN, THAT'S BECAUSE WE TOOK A CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATE AND FISCAL YEAR 20 NOW, UH, COVID-19 IS HIT AND WE'RE CLEARLY GOING TO SEE SOME MAJOR REDUCTIONS IN THE MONTHS AHEAD, BUT THE FACT THAT WE WERE AHEAD OF THE PACE, UH, GOING INTO THE CRISIS, UM, IS GOING TO HELP US OUT. 
          AND WE ALSO HAVE A VERY DIVERSE REVENUE MIX. 
          UM, YOU HEARD ME SAY EARLIER THAT 23% OF OUR GENERAL REVENUES COME FROM, UH, SALES TAXES, BUT ABOUT 70% OF OUR, WE ARE NOT PROJECTING ARE GOING TO BE IMPACTED, UM, BY COVID-19. 
          UM, SO IT'S A GOOD POSITION TO BE IN WHERE, UH, WE'RE NOT OVERLY RELIANT 
          [00:15:01]
ON A SINGLE REVENUE SOURCE. 
          AND EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE CHALLENGES AHEAD OF US ARE MITIGATED BY THAT REVENUE DIVERSITY. 
          UM, WE HAVE VERY STRONG LIQUIDITY, UM, SINCE, UH, KIND OF, UH, SIMPLY WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT OUR ABILITY TO, UH, PAY OUR EMPLOYEES AND TO CONTINUE OPERATIONS PAY VENDORS THAT WE OWE MONEY TO, UH, UH, WE ARE NOT PROJECTING ANY, UM, UM, AND ABILITIES TO MEET THOSE COMMITMENTS AS A RESULT OF, UM, LOWER REVENUES. 
          AND THAT'S LARGELY DRIVEN BY THOSE RESERVE LEVELS AS WELL, BUT YOU MAY BE HEARING FROM SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS THAT AREN'T IN THAT SAME POSITION, UM, WHERE THEY'RE GOING TO BE ISSUING SOME TYPE OF DEBT INSTRUMENT, A TAX ANTICIPATION NOTE, OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE IN ORDER FOR THEM TO HAVE THE LIQUIDITY THAT THEY NEED TO FUND THEIR OPERATIONS DURING THIS, UM, UM, ECONOMIC, CHALLENGING TIME. 
          AND AS A RESULT OF ALL THOSE THINGS, WE ARE THE ONLY, UM, LARGE TEXAS CITY THAT IS AAA RATED BY ALL THREE MAJOR CREDIT RATINGS. 
          THERE ARE OTHERS THAT HAVE AAA RATINGS FROM ONE OR TWO, BUT, UH, AUSTIN IS THE ONLY TEXAS CITY. 
          UM, THAT'S AAA RATED BY ALL THREE AGENCIES. 
          UM, WE'RE DOING A LOT TO CLOSE THAT SHORTFALL. 
          UM, AS SOON AS, UH, WE, WE MOVED FORWARD WITH THE, UM, UM, STAY HOME, STAY SAFE ORDER. 
          THE CITY MANAGER CAME OUT WITH A HIRING FREEZE ON ALL NONESSENTIAL EMPLOYEES. 
          UM, THERE'S CURRENTLY MORE THAN 600 POSITIONS ACROSS THE CITY THAT ARE SUBJECT TO THAT HIRING FREEZE. 
          UH, THE CITY MANAGER ALSO DIRECTED DEPARTMENTS TO START SCALING BACK THEIR EXPENDITURES ON ANY DISCRETIONARY BUDGETARY LINE ITEMS. UM, A VARIETY OF OTHER EFFORTS HAD ALREADY BEEN UNDERWAY, UH, EFFORTS TO IMPROVE OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY AND, UM, TO HELP CUT COSTS WHEREVER WE COULD, UH, WORK TO REVIEW OUR HOMELESS SERVICES, SOCIAL SERVICE CONTRACTS, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE GETTING THE GREATEST BANG FOR THE BUCK FROM THOSE CONTRACTS WORK TO ALIGN, UH, CITY PROGRAMS TO COUNCIL'S STRATEGIC DIRECTION. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO LOOKING AT OTHER SOURCES OF GENERAL FUND REVENUE. 
          UM, THESE BOTTOM FOUR THINGS HAD ALREADY BEEN IN PROGRESS AS A RESULT OF THE REVENUE CAPS THAT HAD BEEN IMPOSED ON CITIES. 
          UM, AND SO THEY'RE GOING TO, UM, THESE EFFORTS WILL HELP US GET THROUGH THIS CURRENT CRISIS AS WELL. 
          OTHER THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT TO CLOSE THE SHORTFALL, UM, THAT FORECAST I SHOWED YOU THE FORECAST EARLIER ON IT. 
          I SAID, WE WERE BALANCING NFI 21, AND THEN COVID-19 HIT. 
          BUT ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO DO IS WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO REVISIT THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WE BUILT THAT FORECAST UPON. 
          SO THE FORECAST ASSUMES IT MAKES ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE LEVEL OF EMPLOYEE WAGE INCREASES. 
          IT MAKES ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE NUMBER OF STAFF THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO ADD THROUGHOUT THE CITY, WHETHER THEY BE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS. 
          UH, WE HAD INCREASING THE NUMBER OF FIRE STATIONS AND THE FORECAST, UM, ALL OF THESE THINGS AND OTHERS ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BE REVISITED AS WE, UM, REASSESS OUR FINANCIAL SITUATION, OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO US, UH, THE PROPERTY TAX CAP. 
          I MENTIONED EARLIER THAT THAT HAD BEEN LOWERED AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT BEGINNING IN FYI 21. 
          UM, BUT THE NEW LAW DID PROVIDE AN EXCEPTION DURING PERIODS OF DISASTER DECLARATIONS. 
          THE GOVERNOR HAS DECLARED THE STATE OF TEXAS ALL COUNTIES IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, TEXAS, UM, DISASTER AREAS. 
          AND SO FOR THE NEXT TWO FISCAL YEARS, AT LEAST, UM, THE CITY COUNCIL, THIS CITY HAS THE AUTHORITY TO GO UP TO AN 8% TAX INCREASE. 
          UM, THERE HAS BEEN NO DECISION ABOUT THAT YET, BUT THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT'LL BE LOOKED AT AS WE'RE TRYING TO KEEP OUR BUDGET SITUATION AND BALANCE AND TRYING TO CONTINUE TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY THAT ARE NEEDED. 
          UM, GENERAL FUND RESERVES. 
          I, UH, WE HAVE VERY STRONG RESERVE POLICIES. 
          WE CAME INTO THIS CRISIS ABOUT $26 MILLION AHEAD OF WHAT OUR RESERVE POLICIES CALL FOR. 
          UM, AND SO THAT ADDITIONAL FUNDING IN OUR RESERVES IS, IS AVAILABLE TO HELP US GET THROUGH THIS PERIOD. 
          UM, AND THEN FINALLY THERE'S A WHOLE VARIETY OF FEDERAL FUNDS THAT, UM, THE CITY HAS RECEIVED OR IS ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE FROM THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, AS WELL AS THE CARES ACT. 
          UM, AND THAT'S WHAT I WANTED TO TRANSITION TO HERE FOR A FEW SOFT SLIDES IS JUST TO TALK ABOUT THE DIFFERENT SOURCES OF FEDERAL FUNDING. 
          SO FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ACT OR FEMA, UM, YOU'RE PROBABLY FAMILIAR WITH THE TERM FEMA YOU'LL HEAR IT WHENEVER THERE'S A DIFFERENT TYPES OF DISASTERS, OFTEN WEATHER RELATED DISASTERS, WHETHER THEY BE FLOODS OR HURRICANES OR TORNADOES, UM, UM, FEMALE COME IN AND PROVIDE EMERGENCY RELIEF TO CITIES. 
          UM, THE WAY THAT WORKS IS THE, UH, FEDERAL GOVERNMENT WILL PICK UP 75% OF THE COST. 
          LOCAL GOVERNMENTS DO NEED TO COVER 25% OF THE COST THOUGH. 
          UM, AND IT'S REALLY FOR, UM, THINGS THAT ARE NEEDED FOR EXPENSES THAT ARE INCURRED IN DIRECT RESPONSE, UM, TO THE EMERGENCY. 
          SO, 
          [00:20:01]
YOU KNOW, THINK ABOUT OUR EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER, UM, PROVIDING, UH, IN THE CASE OF THIS CURRENT DISASTER, PROVIDING MEDICAL, MEDICALLY NECESSARY TESTING AND DIAGNOSIS. 
          THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT ARE OVER AND ABOVE THE TYPICAL EXPENDITURES. 
          THE CITY WOULD BE INCURRING, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF BUSINESS THINGS THAT WE'RE SPECIFICALLY DOING RELATED TO THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 
          UM, THERE IS A VARIETY OF FUNDING THAT CAME TO THE CITY THROUGH THE CARES ACT. 
          I WON'T GO THROUGH THESE IN A LOT OF DETAIL, BUT I DID WANT TO, UM, LET'S TALK ABOUT THE FIRST TWO, THE CORONA VIRUS RELIEF FUND, UM, THAT'S THE LARGEST PORTION, 170 POINT $8 MILLION. 
          UM, AND THAT REALLY WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE CARES ACT FOR TWO PURPOSES. 
          ONE TO MEET THE MEDICAL REPUBLIC, HEALTH NEEDS RESULTING FROM THE EMERGENCY AND TO, TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES, UM, THAT WERE, HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY, UM, UM, THE COVID-19 BUSINESS CLOSURES AND IMPACT THAT'S HAVING ON UNEMPLOYMENT. 
          SO IN PARTICULAR, THAT SECOND PART, THE ECONOMIC SUPPORT SUPPORT PART IS SOMETHING THAT WOULD NOT BE ALLOWABLE UNDER FEMA. 
          UM, BUT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS PROVIDED FUNDING THROUGH THE CARES ACT THROUGH THE CORONAVIRUS, REALLY FUN, UM, TO PROVIDE PROGRAMS SUCH AS RENTAL ASSISTANCE, FOOD ASSISTANCE, AND OTHER TYPES OF ECONOMIC SUPPORT. 
          UM, YOU SAW EARLIER THAT OUR AIRPORT IS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED. 
          UM, THE OPERATIONS THERE ARE, UM, DOWN BY A FACTOR OF, OF, UM, NEARLY A HUNDRED, UM, AND THEY, THEY USED TO GET 30 TO 40,000 PEOPLE A DAY THROUGH THE AIRPORT. 
          UM, THEY'RE CURRENTLY GETTING ABOUT 500 A DAY THROUGH THE AIRPORT, SO TREMENDOUS IMPACT OUT AT THE AIRPORT THAT 58 POINT $7 MILLION THOUGH IS ONLY FOR SUPPORTING THE AIRPORT. 
          UM, ALL OF THAT MONEY HAS TO BE USED RELATED TO THE OPERATIONS OF THE AIRPORT. 
          AND SO I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THOSE TWO. 
          I WON'T GO THROUGH ALL THE REST, BUT THERE'S OTHER GRANTS AT THE CITY'S ALSO RECEIVED THROUGH THE CARES ACT GRANTS THAT WE NORMALLY RECEIVE ON AN ANNUAL BASIS, BUT THESE ARE ADDITIONAL AMOUNTS, UM, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT CALLED CDBG, UM, OUR HOMELESS EMERGENCY SOLUTIONS GRANT. 
          WE RECEIVED SOME ADDITIONAL FUNDING, A COMMUNITY SERVICES BLOCK GRANT, AN ADDITIONAL ONE POINT $5 MILLION, WHICH WE USE TO RUN OUR HEALTH CENTERS IN THE CITY. 
          UH, WE RECEIVED A, UH, JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION GRANT TO PROVIDE LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL, UM, WITH PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, UM, AND, AND A NUMBER OF OTHER SMALLER GRANTS. 
          I WON'T GO INTO ALL OF THEM. 
          UM, IN ADDITION TO AUSTIN, UH, OTHER LOCAL AGENCIES HAVE RECEIVED FUNDING THROUGH THE CARES ACT, TRAVIS COUNTY, WILLIAMSON COUNTY, UM, UM, RECEIVED DOLLARS, BUT ALSO CAPITAL METRO CENTRAL HEALTH, UM, AND THE PEOPLE'S CLINIC ALL RECEIVED FUNDING THROUGH THE CARE EXACT, UM, TO PROVIDE SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          I JUST GOING TO WRAP UP HERE WITH A FEW SLIDES ABOUT, UM, WHAT STAFF HAS PROPOSED TO THE CITY COUNCIL IS A SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THOSE FEDERAL DOLLARS TO ADDRESS THE NEEDS RESULTING FROM COVID-19. 
          UM, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS DISCUSSED, UM, THIS, THIS FRAMEWORK AT SEVERAL WORK SESSIONS NOW, AND IT IS ON THEIR AGENDA TOMORROW, UM, TO TAKE ACTION ON THE, ON THE FRAMEWORK, OUR PRINCIPLES AND DEVELOPING THE FRAMEWORK, OR TO PUT MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH RESPONSE AS OUR TOP PRIORITY TO STOP THE SPREAD OF THIS DISEASE, UM, TO KEEP PEOPLE SAFE, TO KEEP THEM OUT OF THE HOSPITAL AND, UM, TO KEEP THEM ALIVE. 
          UM, UH, WE HAVE AN ECONOMIC SUPPORT PANEL THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING CLOSELY WITH. 
          UM, AND EVEN THAT PANEL, UM, YOU KNOW, OBVIOUSLY THEY WERE INTENDED TO BE FOCUSED ON THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY ASPECT OF COVID-19, BUT EVEN THAT PANEL HAS SAID THE FIRST, UM, ORDER OF BUSINESS FOR THESE FEDERAL DOLLARS NEEDS TO BE ON THE MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS. 
          AT THE BEST THING WE CAN DO FOR OUR, UM, FOR OUR ECONOMY IS TO GET THE DISEASE UNDER CONTROL AND TO GET BUSINESSES REOPENED SAFELY. 
          SO THAT'S WHERE WE PUT OUR, UM, UM, EMPHASIS. 
          UM, SECOND IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT PROGRAMS LEAD WITH RACIAL EQUITY, UM, THE DATA IS, UM, IS THIS COMING IN AND IT'S CLEAR THAT OUR LATIN ACTS AND AFRICAN AMERICAN POPULATIONS ARE EXPERIENCING DISPROPORTIONATE HEALTH IMPACTS FROM THE COVID-19, UM, VIRUS AND OUR ASIAN AMERICAN, UM, UH, COMMUNITY ARE EXPERIENCING DISPROPORTIONATE IMPACTS ON THEIR BUSINESSES. 
          SO, UM, UH, WE NEED TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT DATA AND WE NEED TO CAREFULLY DEVELOP OUR PROGRAMS, UM, TO ENSURE THAT, UM, WE'RE GETTING EQUITABLE OUTCOMES. 
          UM, THIRD WAS TO ENSURE THAT WE PRESERVE THE CITY'S LONGTERM FISCAL HEALTH. 
          UM, CLEARLY OUR REVENUES HAVE BEEN SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTED BY THIS. 
          UM, IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE KEEP OUR, UM, HEALTH FISCAL HEALTH, UM, INTACT, UM, AND THAT WE ARE STRIVING TO MAINTAIN OUR 12% RESERVE LEVEL, 
          [00:25:01]
WHICH IS A POLICY LEVEL. 
          IT'S AN IMPORTANT FACTOR IN MAINTAINING THE AAA CREDIT RATING THAT I SPOKE TO. 
          UM, AND THAT'S ONE OF THE THINGS WE'RE TRYING TO FOCUS ON AS WE NAVIGATE THROUGH, UM, THESE ECONOMIC DIFFICULTIES. 
          UM, AND THEN FINALLY WE, UM, CONTINUE TO DISTRESS THAT THE FRAMEWORK, WHATEVER FRAMEWORK IS PUT FORWARD HAS TO BE ADAPTABLE. 
          WE HAVE TO ALLOW IT TO CHANGE, UM, UM, TO DIFF UH, AS CONDITIONS CHANGE. 
          UM, IT SEEMS LIKE EVERY DAY WE'RE GETTING NEW INFORMATION ABOUT, UM, THE VIRUS AND WHAT WE NEED TO BE DOING TO, UM, BEST ADDRESS THE MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS. 
          UM, AND SO, UM, WE ARE PUTTING FORTH A FRAMEWORK THAT, UM, IS FLEXIBLE, KIND OF AT A, AT A HIGH LEVEL. 
          UM, I EXCLUDED THE AIRPORT GRANT FROM THIS FUNDING, BUT THIS IS OUR ESTIMATE OF ALL THE CARES ACT FUNDING, A GENERAL FUND DOLLARS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO, UH, UM, TO USE THAT $25 MILLION OF RESERVES. 
          I SPOKE TO, UM, THE CARERS THAT FUNDING AND TOLD US ABOUT 271 POINT $6 MILLION. 
          AND THIS IS KIND OF A BIG PICTURE, WHAT THE FRAMEWORK LOOKS LIKE 62 POINT $9 MILLION TO ADDRESS MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS 103 POINT $2 MILLION TO PROVIDE ECONOMIC SUPPORT AND 105 POINT $5 MILLION RELATED TO OUR DIRECT EMERGENCY RESPONSE. 
          UM, I HAVE A COUPLE SLIDES, UH, ONE SLIDE ON EACH OF THOSE AREAS JUST TO SPEAK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WHAT DO WE MEAN? UM, THAT'S OUR EMERGENCY OPERATION CENTER. 
          OUR FIRST RESPONDERS ARE, UH, FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE OFFICERS AND, UM, EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES PERSONNEL THAT ARE PROVIDING, UM, UM, SUPPORT THROUGH THE PANT THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC. 
          UM, ALSO A LOT OF OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT COSTS AS WELL AS OPERATIONAL AND PROGRAMMATIC, UM, ADJUSTMENTS THAT HAVE BEEN NECESSARY. 
          UM, IF YOU LOOK AT HOW SOME OF OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE OPERATING, THEY'VE HAD TO CHANGE THEIR OPERATIONS A LOT, UM, IN ORDER TO OPERATE SAFELY IN A COVID-19 WORLD. 
          AND SO ALL OF THOSE EXPENSES EXPENDITURES ARE THINGS THAT WOULD BE RECOVERING THROUGH THIS EMERGENCY RESPONSE BUCKET, UM, IN REGARDS TO MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS. 
          UM, WE'RE SPEAKING TO THE PROTECTION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS FOR AS ONE OF THE MOST CONCERNING AREAS ARE SENIORS LIVING IN NURSING HOMES. 
          UM, THERE'S BEEN HUGE IMPACTS IN THOSE AREAS. 
          AND SO WE HAVE FUNDING, UM, IN THIS PART OF THE BUDGET TO ADDRESS THOSE NEEDS, UM, AS WELL AS TESTING, UM, PROVIDING SHELTERS AND QUARANTINING FACILITIES TO INDIVIDUALS WHO, UM, NEED THOSE FACILITIES, UM, EDUCATION OUTREACH, UM, AND THEN ALSO WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF FUNDING SET ASIDE FOR CONTINGENCIES, OTHER THINGS THAT, UM, WE MIGHT NEED, SHOULD THERE BE A RESURGENCE OF CASES, UH, OR CHANGING COURSE, UM, FOR THE DISEASE. 
          UM, WE'VE, WE'VE SET ASIDE A PORTION OF FUNDING FOR JUST THOSE TYPES OF CONTINGENCIES. 
          AND THEN FINALLY THE AREA OF ECONOMIC SUPPORT, 103 POINTS, $2 MILLION. 
          UM, IT'S PROVIDING, UM, SMALL BUSINESS ASSISTANCE, UH, DIRECT CASH SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS, UM, SUPPORT FOR OUR CREATIVE SECTORS, UM, CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, UM, FOOD ASSISTANCE, RENTAL ASSISTANCE AS A SIGNIFICANT PORTION OF THE FUNDING, UM, AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT. 
          SO THESE ARE THE TYPES OF PROGRAMS WE'RE FUNDING THROUGH ECONOMIC SUPPORT. 
          UM, AND THEN MY LAST SLIDE IS JUST THE BUDGET PROCESS. 
          UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING AT THIS SINCE JANUARY, UM, UM, BACK IN JANUARY OR FEBRUARY, SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE PARTICIPATED IN ONE OF THE ONE OR MORE OF THE NINE BUDGET FORUMS THAT WERE HOSTED BY OUR NINE EQUITY COMMISSIONS AND THOSE COMMISSIONS HAVE NOW, UM, SUBMITTED RECOMMENDATIONS PATIENTS ON THE BUDGET THAT ARE CURRENTLY UNDER REVIEW AND BEING CONSIDERED BY DEPARTMENTS, UH, ON JULY 13TH, THE CITY MANAGER, OR PRESENT THE PROPOSED BUDGET TO CITY COUNCIL. 
          THAT'S FOLLOWED BY, UH, TWO PUBLIC HEARINGS IN JULY. 
          UM, AND THEN BUDGET ADOPTION AND TAX RATE ADOPTION OCCURS ON AUGUST 12TH. 
          SO THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. 
          I'LL LEAVE THIS ONE UP HERE FOR A LITTLE BIT, THIS PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE AT OUR SPEAK UP AUSTIN SITE. 
          UM, YOU CAN ALSO TAKE THE ONLINE SURVEY THROUGH THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN SITE. 
          UM, AND, UH, THERE'S OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET. 
          UM, AS WE GET MORE INFORMATION ON COUNCIL MEMBER, TOWN HALL MEETINGS, WE POST THE DATES AND, UM, UM, I WAS GOING TO SAY LOCATIONS, BUT WE POST THE DATE HAS STATES AND THE INFORMATION YOU NEED IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE VIRTUALLY IN THOSE MEETINGS, ALL THAT SPEAK UP, AUSTIN, THANK YOU, MR. VAN NINO FOR OUTLINING THE PROCESS, THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK AND THE CHOICES THAT ARE BEFORE US. 
          UM, I WANT TO FLAG THE LAST THING THAT HE MENTIONED, WHICH IS THAT THE PROCESS IS HAPPENING A MONTH EARLIER THIS YEAR. 
          AND SO OUR HEARINGS ARE GOING TO BE IN JULY. 
          UM, AND THAT'S THE FUNCTION OF, UM, THE TAX RATE, UM, RULES AT THIS STATE, EVEN IF THEY DON'T APPLY THIS YEAR. 
          UM, WE HAVE STILL SHIFTED OUR BUDGET PROCESS. 
          [00:30:01]
UM, AS YOU'RE HEARING THE CITIES EXPERIENCING REVENUE SHORTAGES THAT WILL IMPACT THEIR BUDGET. 
          UM, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE A COMPLICATED BUDGET, UM, TO MOVE FORWARD. 
          UM, I DO WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT THOUGH, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT I KNOW THAT OUR COMMUNITY IS ALSO NAVIGATING FINANCIAL DIFFICULTIES AS A RESULT OF THIS PANDEMIC. 
          UM, AND AS I'VE MENTIONED, WE'VE COMMITTED FUNDS TO COVID-19 RELIEF AND WE CONTINUE TO DO THAT WORK. 
          MOST OF THAT FUNDING IS FEDERAL FUNDING THAT WE HAVE BEEN FORTUNATE, UM, TO RECEIVE DIRECTLY. 
          UM, TOMORROW AT OUR COUNCIL MEETING, WE'LL DISCUSS, UM, SORT OF THE GENERAL FRAMEWORK, UM, FOR THAT FUNDING GETTING THROUGH THIS CRISIS IS GOING TO REQUIRE US TO ALL COME TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER AS A COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY NEEDS AND ADDRESS THEM DIRECTLY. 
          BEFORE WE TAKE QUESTIONS, I WANTED TO SPEAK BRIEFLY ABOUT HOW I APPROACHED THE BUDGET PROCESS AND WHAT I HOPE TO HEAR IN THIS TOWN HALL DISCUSSION. 
          UM, AND AGAIN, I WISH WE COULD DO IT IN PERSON, BUT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE THE BEST OF THE MECHANISMS THAT WE HAVE AT THE MOMENT TO KEEP EVERYONE SAFE. 
          SO AS THE CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE, I WORK WITH MY COLLEAGUES AND CITY STAFF TO ENSURE AUSTIN IS ON FIRM FINANCIAL FOOTING. 
          LUCKILY AUSTIN HAS STUCK TO AN ESTABLISHED SOUND FINANCIAL POLICIES AND MADE WISE INVESTMENTS THAT BETTER POSITION OUR CITY TO HANDLE THE IMMEDIATE AND LONGTERM IMPACTS OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. 
          UM, MR. NINO OUTLINED A FEW OF THOSE SINCE ENTERING OFFICE. 
          I'VE BEEN AN ADVOCATE FOR FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY WHERE WE CHOOSE TO INVEST NOW IS GOING TO HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COMING YEARS AND DECADES. 
          UM, IT PREVIOUSLY ADVOCATED FOR AND SECURED INVESTMENTS RELATED TO OVERDUE MAINTENANCE OF OUR CITY FACILITIES, SCHOOLS, AND PARKS, WILD FIRE MITIGATION EFFORTS AND PLANNING, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION, VICTIM SERVICES, SEX CRIMES, UNIT STAFFING, FIRE STATIONS, INFORMATION, SECURITY, HARPS, AND PRESERVES, AND STREAMLINING OF OUR PERMITTING PROCESS. 
          JUST TO NAME A FEW OF THE INVESTMENTS THAT I HAVE CHAMPIONED, UM, THE CURRENT PANDEMIC AND SUBSEQUENT ECONOMIC CRISIS HAS HEIGHTENED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DECISIONS THAT ARE BEFORE THE COUNCIL THIS YEAR. 
          AND THAT'S REALLY WHERE YOU COME IN. 
          THE BUDGET IS AN OUTLINE OF OUR PRIORITIES AS A CITY AND A COMMUNITY ENGAGING IN THE CITY BUDGET PROCESS IS CRITICAL IS THIS IS HOW COUNCIL DETERMINES FUNDING FOR PUBLIC SAFETY, PUBLIC HEALTH, AND MORE, THIS TOWN HALL IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO SHARE WITH ME WHAT YOU WANT TO SEE IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET. 
          I AM HERE TO LISTEN TO YOUR QUESTIONS AND YOUR FEEDBACK, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING YOUR THOUGHTS. 
          UM, AS ANOTHER REMINDER, PLEASE PUT YOUR QUESTIONS INTO THE Q AND A FUNCTION AT, AND I WILL TRY TO GET TO AS MANY QUESTIONS AS WE CAN, BUT KNOW THAT WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ANSWER THEM ALL. 
          AND AS I MENTIONED AT THE BEGINNING, WE'LL BE HOLDING SOME OFFICE HOURS WITH MY STAFF, UM, FOR YOU ON THE 12TH, AND WE'LL BE GETTING THAT INFORMATION OUT. 
          AND YOU'RE ALWAYS WELCOME TO EMAIL US AT DISTRICT 10 AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV. 
          AND OF COURSE THEY'RE THE HEARINGS, UM, IN JULY AS WELL. 
          THANK YOU. 
          OKAY. 
          HI, GOOD EVENING, EVERYBODY. 
          I AM GOING TO GET EACH HEAD COUNSELOR ALTARS POLICY AID FOR BUDGET. 
          I'LL BE READING OFF SOME OF YOUR QUESTIONS AS THEY COME IN. 
          UM, WE'LL START WITH THE FIRST ONE. 
          SO YOU SPOKE TO THIS A LITTLE BIT EARLIER, BUT COULD YOU SPEAK TO HOW MUCH THE BUDGET WILL BE CHANGED OR REDUCED TO RESPOND TO THE CHANGE IN CONDITIONS? WE'VE BEEN SO SAD. 
          SORRY, MY UN-MUTED. 
          YES, YOU ARE. 
          OKAY. 
          SORRY ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, SO WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING THROUGH THAT. 
          I MEAN, THAT IS THE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR QUESTION, OR WHAT ACTIONS ARE WE GOING TO TAKE IN ORDER TO GET OUR, UM, BUDGET BACK INTO ALIGNMENT? UM, FOR FISCAL YEAR 21, UM, WE ARE PRESENTING OUR, UM, BUDGET TO THE UN NOT PRESENTING, BUT, UM, WE'RE STARTING OUR CONVERSATIONS WITH THE BUDGET, WITH THE CITY MANAGER AND HIS EXECUTIVE TEAM NEXT WEEK. 
          UM, WE HAVE BEEN WORKING CURRENTLY WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS THROUGH THEIR BUDGET SUBMITTALS AND WORKING WITH THEM TO KEEP THEIR BUDGETS AND BALANCED. 
          UM, BUT YOU KNOW, I HAD, I DON'T WANT TO BRING THE SLIDE BACK UP. 
          I COULD, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE THINGS WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE THINGS LIKE, UM, EMPLOYEE WAGES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE IN A, WE'RE A PERSONNEL DRIVEN ORGANIZATION. 
          AND SO, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR BIGGEST COST DRIVERS EVERY YEAR IS, IS ADJUSTMENTS TO EMPLOYEE PAY INCREASES. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SOMETHING WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO LOOK INTO DIFFERENT POSITIONS THAT MAY HAVE BEEN ADDED TO THE BUDGET. 
          WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO TAKE A LOOK INTO. 
          UM, SO, YOU KNOW, AND THERE WAS NOT A REAL GOOD ANSWER. 
          WE'RE STILL LOOKING IN THAT, INTO THAT. 
          UM, BUT, UH, WHEN WE PRESENT THE BUDGET TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON JULY 13TH, 
          [00:35:02]
UM, WE WILL HAVE A BALANCED BUDGET. 
          UM, A LOT OF IT, UH, A BIG PART OF THE EQUATION TOO, IS THE EXTENT THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO USE FEDERAL FUNDS TO OFFSET EXPENSES AT THE CITY'S INCURRING, UM, AS A RESULT OF COVID-19. 
          AND SO WE'RE STILL WORKING THROUGH THOSE DETAILS, UM, AS WELL. 
          OUR, OUR HOPE IS TO BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN CRITICAL SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          UM, WE ARE NOT CURRENTLY LOOKING TO FURLOUGH EMPLOYEES LIKE YOU'VE SEEN IN SOME OTHER JURISDICTIONS. 
          I THINK A LARGE PART OF THAT HAS TO DO WITH THE FINANCIAL HEALTH THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN WAS IN, AS WE ENTERED INTO THIS CRISIS. 
          UM, WE WERE IN A BETTER POSITION. 
          SO WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO AVOID, UH, UM, SOME OF THOSE MORE DRASTIC ACTIONS, UM, AT THIS TIME, AT LEAST. 
          THANK YOU, AD. 
          UM, NEXT QUESTION IS FROM OUR COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR, WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT 10 TO MAKE SURE THAT YOUR BUDGET CONCERNS ALIGNED WITH THOSE OF THE COMMUNITY? THANK YOU. 
          WELL, UM, ALL YEAR WE, CAN YOU HEAR ME ALL YEAR. 
          UM, WE ENGAGE WITH CONSTITUENTS ON VARIOUS ISSUES AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO THEM. 
          IT'S NOT SOMETHING WE DO JUST AT THIS POINT IN TIME. 
          UM, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE HAVING THIS TOWN HALL TO HELP PEOPLE GET MORE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY CAN PROVIDE FEEDBACK. 
          UM, THAT'S BASED IN WHERE WE'RE STARTING FROM IN THIS COMPLICATED ENVIRONMENT, WE ARE HAVING THE, UM, THE BUDGET OFFICE HOURS. 
          UM, WE HAVE THE PUBLIC HEARINGS IN JULY AND, UM, WE WILL HAVE MORE OFFICE HOURS IN JULY, UM, WITH MY OFFICE STAFF AND LIKE WE MEET AND WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT THE VIRTUAL WORLD, UM, LOOKS LIKE. 
          UM, AND FOLKS ARE ALWAYS WELCOME TO REACH OUT AND TALK TO, UM, MY STAFF ON PARTICULAR POLICY AREAS THAT THEY CARE ABOUT AND THEY WANT TO ADVANCE, UM, FUNDING ON, OKAY, WE'RE GONNA SHIFT OVER TO APD CAUSE WE'VE GOTTEN A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS AROUND THE SAME TOPIC. 
          A FEW FOLKS HAVE ASKED AN AD MAY BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THIS, HOW THE FUNDING IS DISTRIBUTED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT. 
          UM, AND THEN A COUPLE OF FOLKS HAVE EXPRESSED OR INQUIRED ABOUT, UM, WHETHER THOSE FUNDS ARE PLANNING TO BE DISTRICT REDISTRICTED TO OTHER PURPOSES AND HOW THE CITY IS THINKING ABOUT THAT. 
          UM, SO SINCE I STILL HAVE SHARING ABILITIES AND I SAW THAT QUESTION COME IN, UM, WHAT I WANTED TO DO IS JUST TAKE A SECOND AND SHOW EVERYBODY ON THE CALL WHERE YOU CAN KIND OF GET INFORMATION ON THOSE TYPES OF QUESTIONS YOURSELF. 
          SO THIS IS WHAT WE CALL OPEN BUDGET. 
          TX, YOU CAN GET TO THIS SITE OFF OF THE, UH, THE WEBSITE AT THE END OF MY PRESENTATION THROUGH THE SPEAK UP AUSTIN. 
          UM, OR YOU CAN JUST SEARCH FOR OPEN BUDGET ATX AND YOU'LL FIND THIS PAGE EASY ENOUGH, BUT MMM, WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE OPERATING BUDGET AND, AND, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS PART OF OUR GENERAL FUND. 
          AND SO YOU CAN CLICK ON THE GENERAL FUND AND YOU CAN SEE HOW THE GENERAL FUND MONEY IS ALLOCATED. 
          UM, SINCE THE INTEREST WAS IN POLICE, YOU CAN GO DOWN AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S QUITE A, QUITE A NUMBER OF LAYERS TO GO, BUT YOU CAN REALLY DRILL DOWN IN A GREAT AMOUNT OF DETAIL TO SEE HOW THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET OR ANY DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET IS ALLOCATED BETWEEN DIFFERENT SERVICES. 
          UM, NEIGHBORHOOD BASED POLICING IS ESSENTIALLY PATROL. 
          THAT'S THE BIGGEST PORTION OF THEIR BUDGET. 
          UM, AND THEN THESE BARS WILL SHOW YOU WHAT THE BUDGET IS FOR THAT PROGRAM. 
          UM, AND THEN THE DARKER COLORED BAR WILL SHOW YOU WHAT'S BEEN EXPENDED TODAY. 
          SO YOU CAN GET A SENSE OF THE DEPARTMENTS, UM, ON TRACK OR, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW THEY'RE PROJECTING AGAINST THEIR ACTUAL BUDGET. 
          SO I ALWAYS TRY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE AND TO HAVE THOSE QUESTIONS TO GET OUT, TO OPEN BUDGET ATX AND, UM, THIS IS A, A LIVE TOOL. 
          SO AS EXPENDITURES COME IN, YOU CAN TRACK HOW THE EXPENDITURES COMPARE TO THE BUDGET. 
          THERE'S SOME OTHER, UH, GRAPHING TOOLS. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, YOU COULD TAKE A LOOK AT IT THIS WAY AND SEE THAT, YOU KNOW, ABOUT HALF OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET GOES TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD POLICING FUNCTION. 
          UM, AND THEN ALSO OF INTEREST IS TO SEE HOW IT'S BEEN CHANGING, UM, OVER TIME, NOT ONLY FOR THE TOTAL DEPARTMENT BUDGET, BUT IF YOU'RE INTERESTED IN SEEING, UM, YOU KNOW, HOW DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET HAS BEEN CHANGING OVER TIME, UH, THIS GIVES YOU ALL OF THAT INFORMATION. 
          SO WE HAVE, UH, SIX YEARS OF DATA IN THE SYSTEM CURRENTLY. 
          UM, SO I DON'T KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF WOULD BE MY SUGGESTION. 
          UM, I THINK THAT THE SHORT ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, THEN IT WOULD BE RIGHT HERE ON THIS SCREEN. 
          HOW IS THE, UH, POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET ALLOCATED IT'S ABOUT HALF THE NEIGHBORHOOD BASED POLICING, UM, VARIOUS TRANSFERS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS, UH, OPERATIONAL SUPPORT INVESTIGATIONS, PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS. 
          OKAY. 
          AND IS THERE ANOTHER BUTTON YOU CAN DO THAT SHOWS PERSONNEL? 
          [00:40:02]
SO IF YOU, IF YOU WERE TO KEEP DRILLING DOWN, LIKE IF YOU'RE ENTERING, YOU KNOW, THIS TAKES YOU INTO PATROL AND HOW THE, YOU KNOW, AND THEN GO INTO PATROL, YOU WILL GET DOWN TO THAT LEVEL OF PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. 
          SO THERE'S YOUR PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES THERE FOR THIS ACTIVITY? UM, YEAH. 
          ANOTHER QUESTION, NINA. 
          HI. 
          YES. 
          UM, SO THIS ONE'S GOING BACK TO A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WRONG GEAR APPROACH. 
          IF BUSINESSES ARE CLOSED AND THAT IS PRODUCING FEWER OR LOWER REVENUE, PUT SOME OF THOSE SHORTFALLS AFFECT THEIR ABILITY TO PAY PROPERTY TAXES ON TIME AND IMPACT CITY REVENUES, EITHER LATER THIS YEAR OR EARLIER NEXT, UM, IT SURELY COULD, UM, UM, IT WON'T IMPACT US FOR FISCAL YEAR 20. 
          SO WHEN I SAID EARLIER THAT 70% OF OUR REVENUES THIS YEAR WON'T BE IMPACT IMPACTED. 
          UM, AND THAT'S BECAUSE TAXES FOR FISCAL YEAR 20, UM, HAVE ALREADY BEEN PAID ALMOST ALL OF THOSE TAX COLLECTIONS COME IN IN, UH, DECEMBER AND JANUARY. 
          NOW, AS WE LOOK AHEAD AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT BUSINESSES THAT, UM, ARE STRUGGLING TO PAY THEIR RENTS OR, UM, HOMEOWNERS THAT HAVE ARE OUT OF A JOB AND ARE STRUGGLING TO MAKE THEIR MORTGAGE PAYMENTS. 
          UM, I DO THINK YOU COULD SEE AN IMPACT, UM, IN TAX COLLECTIONS FOR NEXT YEAR. 
          AND THAT IS PART OF OUR, OF OUR MODELING AND THE ASSUMPTIONS WE'RE MAKING IS THAT WE COULD SEE A LOWER COLLECTION RATE. 
          UM, I DID WANT TO ADD FOR THOSE WHO ARE TRYING TO NAVIGATE ALL THESE THINGS, WE'LL INCLUDE A LINK TO OPEN BUDGET ACX AND OUR NEW NEWSLETTER, AS WELL AS HOPEFULLY A LINK TO THE, TO THE SLIDE DECK. 
          UM, SO THAT YOU'LL BE ABLE TO HAVE THAT, UM, READILY ACCESSIBLE AS YOU'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THINGS, TO PROVIDE US YOUR FEEDBACK. 
          UM, SO TO CLARIFY, ON THE 40% OF THE GENERAL FUND REVENUE FOR THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, WE'VE GOT A QUESTION ASKING IF YOU CAN GO OVER THE REASONING BEHIND THAT AMOUNT. 
          OKAY. 
          UM, SO THAT AMOUNT IS ACTUALLY BEEN COMING DOWN OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS. 
          UM, I KNOW THE NUMBERS BETTER FOR PUBLIC SAFETY AS A WHOLE, BUT, UM, WHEN TEN ONE COUNCIL CAME IN ABOUT 70% OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET WAS ALLOCATED TO POLICE, FIRE AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES. 
          UM, OUR NEW COUNCIL, UM, SET THE PRIORITY THAT THEY WANTED TO SEE PUBLIC SAFETY AS A PORTION OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET, UM, COME DOWN SO THAT THERE WAS MORE MONEY AVAILABLE FOR, UH, PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES, HOUSING SERVICES, PARKS, AND LIBRARIES. 
          AND SO WE HAD SEEN THAT OCCUR. 
          I WE'RE CURRENTLY NOW AT ABOUT 65% OF OUR TOTAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET, UM, GOES TO THOSE SERVICE AREAS. 
          UM, IF YOU LOOK ACROSS THE COUNTRY, UH, ANY, ANY, UM, CITY YOU FIND YOU'RE GONNA FIND THAT PUBLIC SAFETY IS THE LARGEST PORTION OF YOUR GENERAL FUND COST. 
          THESE ARE JUST EXPENSIVE SERVICE AREAS. 
          UH, WE HAVE 48 FIREHOUSES THROUGHOUT THE CITY. 
          UM, SOME OF THOSE FIREHOUSES ARE STAFFED WITH MULTIPLE PEOPLE. 
          UM, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS CERTAIN STAFFING RATIOS IN ORDER TO RUN A 24 HOUR, SEVEN DAY A WEEK OPERATION. 
          UM, AND SO THEY ARE EXPENSIVE OPERATIONS. 
          UM, YOU GO TO ANY CITY AND IT'S GOING TO BE, UM, THE MAJORITY OF YOUR GENERAL FUND BUDGETS GOING TO BE PUBLIC SAFETY. 
          UM, UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT PERCENTAGE HAS BEEN COMING DOWN BY DESIGN BY COUNCIL, UM, DIRECTION OVER THE LAST SEVERAL FISCAL SEVERAL FISCAL YEARS. 
          AND ON A RELATED NOTE, BECAUSE WE'VE GOT SOME QUESTIONS ABOUT FOLKS TRYING TO NAVIGATE THE BUDGET SURVEY AND HOW THEY CAN, UM, SORRY, MY DOG IS RIGHT NEXT TO ME, HOW THEY CAN, UH, UBER THEIR PREFERENCES ON HOW MUCH MONEY IS SPENT IN WHICH CATEGORY, UM, SOMEONE NOTED THAT THEY CAN ONLY TOGGLE THE APD, UM, BUDGET BY ABOUT 5% AND WAS WONDERING ABOUT THE REASON FOR THAT. 
          AND THEN JUST BROADLY, WE GOT A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT, UM, WHAT IT MEANS WHEN THEY MOVE MONEY AROUND THERE AND WHAT THOSE PERCENTAGES WILL ACTUALLY DO IN PRACTICE. 
          SURE. 
          UM, SO THERE WAS TWO ASPECTS, UM, UM, TO THE SURVEY. 
          AND LET ME FIRST SAY THAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING. 
          WE WERE APPROACHED BY A GROUP OUT OF STANFORD WHO WAS INTERESTED IN COLLABORATING WITH THE CITY ON THIS SURVEY, UM, PART AS A RESEARCH PROJECT FOR STANFORD AND PART OF PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL ON THIS YEAR'S BUDGET. 
          UM, SO THIS WAS DEVELOPED IN 
          [00:45:01]
COLLABORATION WITH THE STANFORD TEAM. 
          UM, THE FIRST PART OF THE SURVEY IS TO LOOK AT REVENUES. 
          THIS WAS ALL DEVELOPED, NOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH COVID-19. 
          THIS WAS ALL DEVELOPED, UM, IN LIGHT OF THE STATE LEGISLATURE, LOWERING THE TAX CAP FROM 8% TO THREE AND A HALF PERCENT. 
          AND THE FACT THAT WE KNEW WE WERE GOING TO HAVE BUDGETARY CHALLENGES, UM, AHEAD. 
          AND SO THE FIRST PART OF THE QUESTION WAS REALLY JUST TAKE A LOOK AT REVENUES AND TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND PEOPLE'S PREFERENCES FOR, UM, PAYING FEES TO SUPPORT CERTAIN SERVICES. 
          UM, UM, AND IN LIGHT OF THE LIMITATIONS THAT WE NOW HAD ON TAX DOLLARS. 
          THE SECOND PART OF THE EXERCISE THAT I THINK THE, UM, PERSON IS ASKING ABOUT HAS TO DO WITH, UM, WHAT DO WE DO WITH THE AMOUNT OF REVENUE WE HAVE? HOW DO WE ALLOCATE IT TO A DIFFERENT CITY SERVICES? UM, AND FOR THAT PART OF THE EXERCISE, WE DID, UH, LIMITED TO THE CURRENT BUDGET, RIGHT? THE CURRENT BUDGET THAT COUNCIL ALREADY APPROVED IS ONE POINT $1 BILLION. 
          AND THE QUESTION WAS SIMPLY IF YOU WERE ABLE TO ALLOCATE THAT MONEY DIFFERENTLY, HOW WOULD YOU ALLOCATE IT, UH, UH, DIFFERENTLY? WE HAD A LOT OF CONVERSATIONS WITH THE, WITH THE STANFORD PEOPLE, UM, ABOUT WHETHER WE SHOULD PUT LIMITS ON HOW MUCH DIFFERENT SERVICE AREAS ARE INCREASED OR DECREASED. 
          ULTIMATELY, UM, I THINK 5% SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT IS WHERE WE LANDED. 
          UM, THERE ARE CERTAIN SERVICE AREAS LIKE, YOU KNOW, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHERE THERE'S LIMITS ABOUT HOW MUCH WE CAN INCREASE OR DECREASE THEIR BUDGET DUE TO PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN REGARDS TO HOW THEY STAFF THERE'S A CERTAIN, UM, LEGAL OR MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS WE MIGHT HAVE TO MEET. 
          SO, UM, WE DID ULTIMATELY DECIDE TO PUT SOME PARAMETERS ON THE EXERCISE CAUSE WE THOUGHT IT WOULD GIVE US, UM, UM, MORE REALISTIC RESULTS. 
          UM, IN OTHER WORDS, WE COULD HAVE ALLOWED A DEPARTMENT TO BE COMPLETELY ZEROED OUT. 
          UM, BUT THEN THAT MIGHT'VE GIVEN US DATA THAT, THAT, THAT WASN'T FEASIBLE BECAUSE OF OTHER RESTRICTIONS ON, UM, ON, ON SERVICES THAT COULD BE MANDATED OR THAT ARE REQUIRED. 
          THANK YOU. 
          AND COULD YOU ALSO FOR, UM, THOSE WATCHING SAY WHEN THE BUDGET SURVEY OR ONE END AND THEN TWO, WHEN RESULTS, UM, BEING PUBLICLY AVAILABLE AND WHERE FOLKS MIGHT FIND IT, I'M SURE THAT THE SURVEY, IF YOU, UM, UM, SEARCH, UH, ARE GOOD TO SPEAK, AUSTIN, IS IT A.GOV SPEAK OF AUSTIN.GOV, SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG. 
          I APOLOGIZE, WWW.SPEAKUPAUSTIN.ORG. 
          YOU'LL FIND A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT YOU CAN SPEAK UP ON. 
          ONE L ONE OF THEM IS THE FYI 20, 21 BUDGET, AND YOU CAN GET TO THE SURVEY EASILY THERE, AGAIN, THAT SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG. 
          WE ARE PLANNING TO ALLOW THE SURVEY TO RUN THROUGH THE END OF JUNE SO THAT THE STANFORD GROUP HAS TIME TO COMPILE THE RESULTS. 
          AND THEN WE WOULD BE PUTTING THE RESULTS OUT, UM, AROUND THE SAME TIME THAT OUR BUDGET IS RELEASED ON JULY 3RD COUNT PROPOSED BUDGETS RELEASED ON JULY 13TH AND THE RESULTS WILL BE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE SAME SPEAK-UP AUSTIN.ORG. 
          THANK YOU. 
          UM, LET'S GO TO, WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE OF COLOR ARE DIFFERENTIALLY IMPACTED BY THIS GLOBAL PANDEMIC. 
          HOW WILL AUSTIN DISTRIBUTE FUNDS IN A WAY THAT ACKNOWLEDGES THIS REALITY? UM, SO THAT HAS BEEN THAT THAT'S ALL PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE'VE BEEN HAVING ABOUT, UM, UM, HOW DO WE GET MORE EQUITY INTO OUR BUDGET? AND YOU'VE SEEN A LOT OF ACTION IN THAT AREA IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS WITH, UH, THE CREATION OF THE EQUITY OFFICE, UH, WITH THE ADOPTION BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF A NEW STRATEGIC PLAN THAT EXPLICITLY ACKNOWLEDGES EQUITY AS WELL. 
          ONE OF THE FOUNDATIONS OF THAT STRATEGIC PLAN, UM, WITH A SHIFT IN FUNDING PRIORITIES AWAY FROM PUBLIC SAFETY AND MORE HEAVILY TOWARDS, UM, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, SOCIAL SERVICES, UM, AND HOUSING PROGRAMS. UM, I THINK YOU CAN SEE IT THROUGH, UM, THE BOND PROGRAMS THAT HAVE BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD AND APPROVED BY THE VOTERS IN PARTICULAR, THE 2018 BOND, WHICH INCLUDED A, A TRULY UNPRECEDENTED $250 MILLION PROPOSITION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING THAT WAS APPROVED BY THE VOTERS AND AS IS CURRENTLY BEING IMPLEMENTED. 
          SO I THINK YOU SEE IT IN A LOT OF WAYS. 
          UM, I THINK YOU SEE IT WHEN YOU, UM, LOOK AT THE APPROACH WE'RE TAKING TO THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY AND PUTTING DATA AT THE FOREFRONT AND RESPONDING TO WHAT THAT DATA TELLS US, UH, WHICH THEN INFLUENCES, UM, OUR HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND OUR HOUSING DEPARTMENT AND OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT IN REGARDS TO THAT, UM, HOW THEY DEVELOP PROGRAMS AND HOW THEY TARGET THOSE PROGRAMS TO ADDRESS THE INEQUITIES THAT EXIST. 
          [00:50:02]
WE GOT A FEW QUESTIONS ALONG THIS LINE OF THINKING, HOW WILL THE BUDGET OFFICE AS WELL AS CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, FOCUS ON MAKING SPECIFIC REDUCTIONS AND EXPENDITURES AND HOW WILL THAT, UM, PROCESS BE ITERATIVE ITERATIVE. 
          SO AT THIS STAGE, IN OUR BUDGET PROCESS, WE HAVE NOT ASKED OUR DEPARTMENTS TO, UM, CUT PROGRAMS. WE HAVE TOLD THEM WE'VE DIRECTED THEM, THAT WE'RE GOING TO PUT A HIRING FREEZE IN PLACE. 
          AGAIN, THE, UH, BULK OF THE CITY'S BUDGET IS FOR PERSONNEL EXPENSES EXPENDITURES. 
          WE'RE A SERVICE ORGANIZATION, ROUGHLY 85% OF OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET GOES TO PAY PEOPLE. 
          SO THE QUICKEST THING WE CAN DO TO SAVE COSTS IS TO REIGN IN PERSONNEL EXPENDITURES. 
          AND SO THAT'S WHY WE TOOK THE APPROACH OF IMPLEMENTING A HIRING FREEZE. 
          THAT'S WHY IN SOME CITIES YOU'VE SEEN THEM DOING SOLOS AGAIN. 
          UM, OUR CITY MANAGEMENT TEAM HAS, UM, HAS SAID THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO FOR LOW EMPLOYEES. 
          THEY DON'T WANT TO ADD TO THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES OF THIS, UM, OF THIS CRISIS. 
          SO WE'RE NOT FOR ALLOWING EMPLOYEES IN AUSTIN, BUT WE ARE, UM, AVOIDING, UM, HIRING NEW EMPLOYEES, AT LEAST UNTIL WE GET A BETTER SENSE OF WHERE WE ARE ECONOMICALLY IN THIS CRISIS. 
          BUT IN TERMS OF ACTUALLY LOOKING AT PROGRAM REDUCTIONS TO PARKS OR LIBRARIES OR OTHER AREAS, UM, THAT'S CURRENTLY NOT OUR FOCUS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, THINGS GET WORSE. 
          I, RIGHT NOW, UM, I TALKED ABOUT ON THAT SALES TAX SLIDE, I TALKED ABOUT, UM, A RAPID RECOVERY AND A SLOWER RECOVERY SCENARIO. 
          UM, WE CONTINUE TO PLAN FOR THAT SLOWER RECOVERY SCENARIO, EVEN THOUGH WE ACTUALLY ARE ON THE RAPID RECOVERY TIMELINE. 
          UM, OUR RAPID RECOVERY ASSUMPTIONS ASSUME THAT WE WOULD BE, UM, UM, THE BUSINESS GATHERING RESTRICTIONS WOULD STAY IN PLACE UNTIL, UNTIL MAY 1ST, AT WHICH TIME THEY WOULD SLOWLY BE LIFTED, UM, OVER THE COURSE OF ONE OR TWO MONTHS. 
          AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE TIMELINE THAT WE ARE TRACKING ON. 
          BUT LIKE I SAID, WE, WE CONTINUE TO PLAN BASED UPON THE SLOWER RECOVERY NUMBERS, BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ANY DATA YET. 
          WE DON'T KNOW HOW SO SALES TAX NUMBERS ARE GOING TO, UM, LOOK. 
          AND SO AS SOON AS WE START TO GET MORE DATA IN, WE WILL ADJUST. 
          AND THAT DATA ACTUALLY ENDS UP BEING EVEN WORSE THAN OUR SLOWER RECOVERY ASSUMPTIONS. 
          AND WE MAY HAVE TO TAKE DEEPER ACTIONS, BUT RIGHT NOW, UM, WE FEEL WE HAVE THE, UH, THE, THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE FINANCIAL STRENGTH TO EVEN, TO GET THROUGH THIS, EVEN ON THAT SLOW RECOVERY TIMELINE WITHOUT HAVING TO IMPACT, UM, SERVICES TO THE COMMUNITY. 
          UH, UM, AND AGAIN, WE'LL HAVE TO REASSESS IF, IF THINGS TAKE A TURN FOR THE WORST, MAYBE THIS ONE IS FOR COUNCIL AND THEIR ALTAR. 
          ARE YOU CONSIDERING A LONG TERM TELECOMMUTING OPTIONS FOR STAFF TO REDUCE OPERATING COSTS, FOR EXAMPLE, SPACE RENTAL, THANK YOU. 
          UM, ACTUALLY, UM, SPONSORED A RESOLUTION THAT WAS, UM, ON THE AUSTIN CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS AND CREATING THAT, WHICH I TALKED ABOUT IN THE NEWSLETTER A FEW WEEKS AGO, BUT WITHIN THAT, UM, WE CALLED ON THE CITY MANAGER TO EXAMINE OUR TELECOMMUTING POLICIES, TO SEE WHAT LESSONS WE COULD LEARN FROM THE PANDEMIC WITH AN EYE TOWARD THINKING, UM, THESE TYPES OF SAVINGS THAT YOU'RE MENTIONING. 
          UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT I, UM, HAD CHAMPIONS WORK THAT WE WERE DOING TO MAKE SURE THAT WE WERE MOVING FROM OWNING TO, FROM LEASING TO OWNING OUR FACILITIES. 
          UM, WELL, AN INCREASE IN TELECOMMUTING HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR HOW MUCH, UM, OFFICE SPACE WE NEED AS A CITY. 
          AND, UM, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT EACH DEPARTMENT AND EVALUATING WHAT'S AN APPROPRIATE STRATEGY, UM, FOR EACH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS AND RELOOKING AT THE OFFICE PLANNING PROCESS, BECAUSE THERE ARE POTENTIALLY, UM, BIG SAVINGS TO BE, TO BE HAD THERE. 
          SO THANK YOU FOR THAT GREAT QUESTION. 
          I WANTED TO JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING TOO, TO WHAT ED SAID. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, NORMALLY WE DO A BUDGET PROCESS AND FOR THE MOST PART, WE STAY WITHIN, YOU KNOW, WE ADOPT THE BUDGET AND THEN WE SEE THAT FOR THE FISCAL YEAR. 
          UM, BUT WE HAVE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY, UM, GOING INTO THIS BUDGET AND, UM, OUR STAFF ARE REALLY GOOD AT MONITORING ALL OF THE DATA, UM, THAT WOULD HELP US TO SEE A PROBLEM BEFORE WE GOT TOO DEEP INTO IT. 
          AND WE MAY HAVE TO MAKE ADJUSTMENTS MID YEAR. 
          UM, IF IT'S WARRANTED, IF, IF OUR FORECASTS ARE OFF, THAT'S TRUE EVERY YEAR, WE JUST HAPPEN TO HAVE A LOT MORE, UM, UNCERTAINTY GOING INTO THIS THIS YEAR. 
          THANK YOU. 
          IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE COMING UP ON OUR LAST BIT OF TIME. 
          UM, A COUPLE OF FOLKS WERE ASKING FOR A LITTLE MORE CLARITY ON THE PARAMETERS YOU MENTIONED FOR THE 5%, 
          [00:55:01]
BUT I'D ALSO WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW WHERE TO FIND FURTHER BUDGET INFORMATIONS ABOUT, UM, WHERE THEY WILL FIND LAST YEAR'S BUDGET AS WELL AS THIS YEAR IS WHEN IT IS RELEASED. 
          UM, SO YOU CAN, YOU CAN REALLY GET TO EVERYTHING. 
          I'M GOING TO BRING IT BACK UP ON THE SCREEN REAL QUICK. 
          SINCE WE'RE GETTING A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT WHERE TO GET MORE INFO, YOU CAN JUST, FROM THIS WEBSITE, YOU CAN GET TO, UM, A VARIETY OF INFORMATION, SO YOU CAN GET TO THE SURVEY. 
          UM, YOU CAN SEE, UM, ADDITIONAL COUNCIL MEMBER, TOWN HALL MEETINGS. 
          IT WILL BE SCHEDULED. 
          UM, THERE'S A LINK AT THIS WEBSITE TO SOMETHING CALLED AUSTIN FINANCE ONLINE AT AUSTIN FINANCE ONLINE, YOU CAN GET, UM, THE CURRENT YEAR'S BUDGET, THE PROPOSED BUDGET WILL BE PASSED, UH, WILL BE PRESENTED THERE. 
          UM, THERE'S ALSO LINKS TO THAT OPEN BUDGET ETX, UM, THAT YOU CAN GET TO OFF SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG. 
          AND WHEN WE, UM, FOLLOW UP, I DON'T KNOW IF IT WE'LL HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION IN THE NEXT NEWSLETTER, BUT, UM, WE DO TRY TO PROVIDE LINKS TO THE BUDGET AND LINKS TO INFORMATION OF, OF WHERE TO NAVIGATE THINGS, UM, IN OUR NEWSLETTER, IF YOU'RE NOT RECEIVING OUR NEWSLETTER, I'M ASSUMING YOU HAVE, CAUSE YOU'RE, YOU'RE ON THIS CALL, BUT, UM, IF, IF YOU'RE NOT, YOU CAN EMAIL US. 
          YOU CAN EMAIL US AT DISTRICT 10 AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV, AND WE CAN GET YOU ON THAT DISTRIBUTION LIST AND WE'LL BE, YOU KNOW, DISTRIBUTING OUT INFORMATION, UM, THAT WAY, UM, WHEN YOU'RE PROVIDING FEEDBACK, I WANT TO ADD, UM, YOU'RE NOT RESTRICTED ONLY TO SENDING FEEDBACK TO ME. 
          I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALSO REACH OUT TO MY COLLEAGUES, UM, AND THE MAYOR AND THE CITY MANAGER. 
          UM, AND, YOU KNOW, I PARTICULARLY WANT TO WELCOME, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR THOUGHTS AND IDEAS ON THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, WE ABSOLUTELY MUST KEEP, UM, WHAT WE MUST CUT. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE ARE LOTS OF DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE BUDGET, UM, EVERY YEAR, UM, IT IS AN EXPRESSION OF OUR VALUES AND OUR PRIORITIES. 
          UM, IT IS ALSO A PRETTY PATH DEPENDENT DOCUMENT IN THAT WE HAVE CERTAIN COMMITMENTS THAT, UM, WE HAVE TO, TO MEET THOSE THAT THE WIGGLE ROOM, UM, IS NOT ALWAYS THERE. 
          WE'VE SPOKEN MOSTLY ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND. 
          UM, AND I'M SORRY I'VE GOT FOR RACING AND TURNED IT OFF HERE. 
          UM, WE'VE TALKED IN MOST TALK MOSTLY ABOUT THE GENERAL FUND, BUT WE DO ALSO HAVE, UM, ENTERPRISE FUNDS LIKE THE AIRPORT AND WATER AND, UM, AUSTIN ENERGY. 
          AND, UM, OVERALL WE HAVE A, FOR MORE THAN A $4 BILLION BUDGET THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT. 
          UM, WE'VE ALSO NOT TALKED ABOUT OUR CAPITAL PROJECTS. 
          UM, SO THERE ARE ALSO OPPORTUNITIES TO TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE'RE SPENDING THERE, UM, AS WELL, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MORE QUESTIONS THAT WE HAVE. 
          I THINK WE CAN TAKE A FEW MORE MINUTES IF THERE ARE OKAY, MORE QUESTIONS. 
          UM, WE HAVE A COUPLE OF MORE QUESTIONS. 
          MOST OF THE ONES THAT HAVE COME IN, UM, IN THE PAST COUPLE OF MINUTES HAVE GENERALLY ASKED YOU, TAKE IT TO A POINT WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE CUTS. 
          HOW ARE WE GOING TO PRIORITIZE WHICH CATEGORIES GOT REDUCED? UM, IF IT COMES TO THE POINT WHERE WE HAVE TO MAKE THOSE TOUGH CHOICES, AND IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK BROADLY TO WHAT YOUR PRIORITIES ARE IN TERMS OF ADDRESSING WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING FOR TO PUSH TO SAVE, UM, AND THEN JUST HOW YOU'RE GOING TO APPROACH HOW YOU'RE VIEWING THIS BUDGET AND THIS DIFFICULT CLIMATE. 
          UM, THAT WAS A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN THERE. 
          UM, YOU KNOW, I'M, I'M VIEWING THIS AS A DOCUMENT WHERE WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE MAKING INVESTMENTS IN THINGS THAT HAVE LONG RUN, UM, RETURNS. 
          UM, I'M LOOKING, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE BOTH THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK, SO WE HAVE THIS INFLUX OF FEDERAL FUNDS, UM, THAT REALLY WHAT WE'RE FOCUSING ON THE IMMEDIATE AID. 
          UM, AND THEN I'M LOOKING AS I DO WITH EVERY BUDGET ON WHERE MY PRIORITIES ARE FOR, UM, WHAT I THINK WE NEED TO BE INVESTING IN. 
          SO, YOU KNOW, LAST YEAR, ONE OF MY BIG FOCUSES IS WILDFIRE MITIGATION, AND IT WILL BE, AGAIN, THAT'S A RISK THAT WE HAVE IN OUR CITY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE PANDEMIC, IT COULD BRING US TO OUR KNEES. 
          AND SO, UM, THAT'S AN AREA THAT I WOULD BE, UM, ADVOCATING FOR MORE, UM, BENDING. 
          UM, AND YOU KNOW, WE'VE BEEN AS LIKE COUNCIL, UM, LOOKING AT PUBLIC SAFETY 
          [01:00:01]
IN DIFFERENT WAYS. 
          UM, AND SOMETIMES WE'RE MAKING, CHOOSING TO MAKE ADDITIONAL INVESTMENTS AS WE ARE, UM, WITH OUR FIRE STATIONS. 
          UM, AND SOMETIMES WE'RE LOOKING TO, UM, REDUCE EXPENDITURES AS WE DID WHEN WE ADOPTED A POLICE CONTRACT THAT, UH, REDUCED THE COST OF THAT BY OVER $40 MILLION. 
          UM, WE HAVE A LOT OF CHOICES THAT ARE GOING TO BE BEFORE US AND, UM, BETWEEN NOW AND JULY, WHEN WE GET THE PROPOSED BUDGET, UM, THERE'S GOING TO BE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF THE UNCERTAINTY OVER OUR REVENUES, ET CETERA. 
          UM, AND WHICH PATH THAT WE'RE ON THAT WILL GIVE US GREATER CLARITY ON HOW WE SHOULD PLAN. 
          UM, BUT THAT AT THIS STAGE, I'M STILL HEARING FROM CONSTITUENTS AND STILL HEARING FROM FOLKS ACROSS THE CITY. 
          UM, WE HAVE A VERY, VERY FLUID ENVIRONMENT AND LOTS OF THINGS THAT WE'RE JUGGLING. 
          UM, AND I LIKED TO DO MY HOMEWORK AND, AND TAKE MY TIME AND TRYING TO WAIT AT AND PROVIDE SPACE, UM, TO LISTEN TO PEOPLE. 
          UM, TOMORROW WE'RE HAVING, UM, A, UH, COUNCIL MEETING AND THERE'LL BE DISCUSSION ABOUT THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK, UM, WHICH YOU CAN TUNE INTO, AND THEN STARTING AT THREE O'CLOCK, WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, HEARING, UM, TESTIMONY AND GETTING A BRIEFING RELATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY AND RECENT EVENTS. 
          UM, AND THERE MAY BE SOME BUDGET CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPEN IN, IN THAT CONTEXT AS WELL. 
          SO I WANNA, UM, I THINK WE'RE GONNA WRAP IT UP HERE, UNLESS THERE ARE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE NEITHER QUESTIONS. 
          I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY MORE THE QUESTION. 
          SO I BELIEVE THAT'S ALL THE TIME WE HAVE TONIGHT. 
          I WANT TO THANK MR. VAN FOR HIS TIME AND THE BUDGET STAFF AND EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS POSSIBLE. 
          AND THANK YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR JOINING US. 
          I LOOK FORWARD NOW THAT YOU HAVE SOME OF THIS KIND OF BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT THE BUDGET AND HOW IT'S LOOKING, UM, THAT YOU CAN BEGIN TO LOOK AT IT FROM AN INFORMED LENS AND YOU CAN SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS AND YOUR IDEAS. 
          UM, WITH ME, THE BUDGET PROCESS IS A DEEP ONE REQUIRES, UM, SOME CAREFUL REVIEW. 
          AND I WELCOME YOU ON THIS JOURNEY WITH ME, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO GETTING YOUR FEEDBACK. 
          SO THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT. 
          UM, I HOPE EVERYONE STAYS SAFE AND HEALTHY. 
          THANK YOU. 
          GOOD TO SEE YOU. 
          .
* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.