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[District 7 Budget Virtual Town Hall on July 20, 2020.]
EVERYBODY FOR COMING OUT TO OUR DISTRICT SEVEN VIRTUAL BUDGET TOWN HALL THIS EVENING.UM, LIKE I SAID EARLIER, FOR THOSE THAT ARE JUST TUNING IN, THESE ARE NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WE WILL LIKE, BUT THIS IS WHAT WE'RE DEALT WITH AT THIS TIME.
AND SO WE APPRECIATE YOU TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR EVENING.
UM, I KNOW IT'S DINNER TIME AND THE KIDS ARE PROBABLY RESTLESS TOO, BUT WE APPRECIATE YOU ALL JOINING US AND BEING PART OF THIS DISCUSSION.
AND I WILL GO AHEAD AND PASS IT OFF TO MY BOSS, COUNSEL OF THE LESLIE FOOL.
YOU'RE A DISTRICT COUNCIL MEMBER.
HEY TO ED AND EVERYBODY WHO HAS JOINED US VIRTUALLY THANKS TO YOU ALL FOR PARTICIPATING TODAY.
SPECIAL, THANKS TO OUR BUDGET OFFICER
ED IS HERE TODAY TO GO THROUGH THE CITY.
MANAGER'S PROPOSED FISCAL 21 BUDGET AFTER HIS PRESENTATION, WE'LL HAVE A Q AND A SESSION AS KAYLA MENTIONED.
SO PLEASE WRITE YOUR QUESTIONS IN THE CHAT SECTION.
SHE GIVES SOME INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DO THAT, BUT DO YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS, UM, LET US KNOW, AND THOSE SHOULD BE ON THE RIGHT MARGIN OF YOUR SCREEN.
UM, BEFORE WE GET STARTED, I WANTED TO TAKE A MOMENT TO URGE YOU TO TALK ABOUT THE CENSUS.
I WANT TO URGE YOU TO FILL OUT YOUR CENSUS FORM IF YOU HAVE NOT ALREADY DONE.
SO I'D ALSO LIKE TO ASK YOU TO REACH OUT TO YOUR NEIGHBORS, TO URGE THEM TO DO SO AS WELL.
EVERY DISTRICT HAS SOME HARD TO REACH AREAS.
WE HAVE A LARGE SHARE IN DISTRICT SEVEN.
THE CENSUS, AS YOU KNOW, IS CRITICAL TO OUR COMMUNITY.
RECEIVING FEDERAL DOLLARS THAT ARE INVESTED BACK INTO OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
ALSO KEEPS OUR DEMOCRACY HEALTHY WITH FAIR AND JUST REPRESENTATION.
SO MUCH OF THAT IS DUE TO SIMPLY BEING COUNTED.
THAT'S ALL IT IS IT'S SIMPLY BEING ENCOUNTERED.
SO PLEASE HELP US GET THE WORD OUT.
THE NEW DEADLINE IS OCTOBER 31, WHICH IS ALSO HALLOWEEN, UH, BECAUSE OF COVID-19.
SO THERE'S STILL SOME TIME TO DO YOUR CENSUS RESPONSE.
AND THEN LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BUDGET PRIORITIES.
I WANT TO TALK BROADLY ABOUT SOME BUDGET NEEDS THAT I'M FOCUSING ON THIS YEAR.
I WILL CERTAINLY BE LISTENING CLOSELY TO YOUR CONCERNS HERE TODAY.
SO THERE IS ROOM FOR ADJUSTMENT.
IN FACT, THAT IS WHAT THIS SESSION IS ALL ABOUT THIS LISTENING SESSION, BUT I THOUGHT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED TO KNOW IN SOME OF THE TOPICS THAT I'VE BEEN FOCUSED ON SO FAR, ONE OF THE TOPICS THAT IS OF MOST CONCERN TO DISTRICT SEVEN CONSTITUENTS, ALONG WITH MANY OTHER DISTRICTS ACROSS THE CITY IS THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND THE NEED TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY.
THIS TOPIC IS SURE TO COME UP LATER IN OUR Q AND A SESSION.
SO I WILL SAVE MY DETAILED COMMENTS FOR THAT TIME.
BUT JUST BRIEFLY, IN TERMS OF THE 18TH APD BUDGET, I'M FOCUSED ON DIVERSION PROGRAMS, MEANING I'M FOCUSED ON OPPORTUNITIES TO MOVE NON-CRIMINAL CALLS TO SOCIAL SERVICE, TRAINED PROFESSIONALS AND ORGANIZATIONS, AND ARE POTENTIALLY OUTSOURCING OR MOVING SOME ADMINISTRATIVE TRAINING AND OTHER SERVICES TO OUTSIDE ENTITIES OR OTHER DEPARTMENTS.
AN EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE TO PUBLIC HEALTH OR TO OUR CODE DEPARTMENT.
AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO FOCUS ON ALLOCATING MORE OF APDS RESOURCES TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AS FAR AS POLICING COMMUNITY POLICING PROGRAMS, THAT IS THAT FOSTER BETTER RELATIONS BETWEEN OFFICERS AND NEIGHBORS, PARTICULARLY IN OUR BLACK AND BROWN COMMUNITIES WHERE WE NEED TO REMEDY LONGSTANDING DISPARITIES.
I'M ALSO GOING TO BE LEADING ON SEVERAL OTHER ITEMS AND I'LL GIVE YOU JUST A REALLY QUICK LIST.
AND HERE I WOULD ASK YOU ALL TO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THESE ITEMS AND THE OTHER ITEMS AS WELL.
AND WHETHER YOU SUPPORT THEM, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK.
UM, YEAH, YOU CAN PUT THIS ALL UP IN THE CHAT OR YOU CAN EMAIL TO US AT
SO A COUPLE OTHER, UM, UH, ITEMS THAT I'LL BE LEADING ON MORE AMBULANCES FOR OUR EMS DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE BETTER EMERGENCY SERVICE FOR OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, INCREASED CHILDCARE AT THE CITIZEN AT THE CITY'S RECREATION CENTERS.
LAST YEAR, I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN GAINING MORE FUNDING FOR THE CITY'S OUT OF SCHOOL PROGRAMS. I'LL BE WORKING TO BUILD ON THAT SUCCESS TO OFFER RELIEF FOR PARENTS WHO ARE STRUGGLING, PARTICULARLY WITH DELAYED IN-PERSON PUBLIC SCHOOL INSTRUCTION BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC.
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I'M ALSO LOOKING TO ENSURE THAT DEFERRED MAINTENANCE ON OUR REC CENTERS IS ADDRESSED.I'M LOOKING FOR MORE FUNDING YET.
AGAIN, EVERY YEAR I LOOK FOR MORE FUNDING FOR MAINTENANCE OF OUR WELL-FED PARKS AND TRAILS AND POTENTIALLY FUNDING, MORE PARK RANGERS.
EVERY YEAR WE LOOK TO INCREASE THE PARKS BUDGET AND EVERY YEAR WE ARE SUCCESSFUL IN DOING THAT THIS YEAR IS NO DIFFERENT WITH REGARD TO THE PARK RANGERS, ESPECIALLY NOW WITH THE INCREASED USE OF OUR OUTDOOR PUBLIC SPACES.
AGAIN, BECAUSE OF THE PANDEMIC, WE NEED TO HAVE INCREASED PARK RANGER ACTIVITY IN OUR PARKS TO KEEP THEM SAFE.
WE NEED TO PUT OUR RESOURCES WHERE THEY'RE MOST NEEDED AS THE CRISIS CONTINUED.
AND THEN LAST I'LL JUST MENTION, UH, WE HAVE A VERY SUCCESSFUL WORKFORCE FIRST PROGRAM, AND I'LL BE LOOKING FOR MORE FUNDING FOR THAT PROGRAM.
IT SERVES TO GIVE THOSE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS EMPLOYMENT WHILE ALSO PERFORMING HOMELESS CAMP CLEANUP ON OUR CITY TRAILS AND IN OUR PARKS LAST YEAR, I WAS SUCCESSFUL IN MAKING THIS PROGRAM PERMANENT.
AND SO THIS YEAR I'LL BE LOOKING AT INCREASING THE FUNDING TO INCREASE THE CREWS FOR ADDITIONAL WORK.
SO THAT'S, UM, THAT'S KIND OF A, A GLOBAL LOOK AT WHERE MY TEAM AND I ARE WITH REGARD TO THE FISCAL 21 BUDGET.
AND SO NOW I'D LIKE TO HAND IT OVER TO OUR BUDGET OFFICER AND IT MAKES SENSE.
THANK YOU, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND, UM, WELCOME TO THE TOWN HALL MEETING EVERYBODY.
IT'S TYPICAL TURNOUT FOR
SO ALWAYS APPRECIATE COMING OUT TO DISTRICT SEVEN.
AND THERE'S ALWAYS A GOOD TURNOUT TO, TO TALK ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET, GARY.
I AM, I'M NOT SHOWING THAT I HAVE THE ABILITY TO SHARE MY SCREEN.
SO I'M GOING TO TAKE YOU QUICKLY THROUGH, UM, UM, A HIGH LEVEL PICTURE OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S BUDGET.
UM, CLEARLY THERE'S A LOT MORE INFORMATION THAT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE.
UM, WE HAVE BOTH THE COMPLETE BUDGET DOCUMENT ONLINE, AND THEN WE HAVE SOME SHORTER VERSIONS, UM, UH, HANDOUTS, BROCHURES THAT GIVE YOU A HIGH LEVEL PICTURE OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THE CITY BUDGET.
UM, HOW IT'S IMPACTING YOUR POCKET BOOKS.
WE CALL IT A TAXPAYER IMPACT STATEMENT.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, A SPECIFIC BROCHURE, UM, JUST RELATED TO THE EFFORTS UNDERWAY TO REIMAGINE, UH, THE POLICING FUNCTION IN PUBLIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN.
UM, ALONG THE WAY, I'M GOING TO SPEAK SOME ABOUT, UM, THE CITY'S FINANCIAL POSITION, OBVIOUSLY BEING IMPACTED A LOT BY COVID-19 AND THE ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES OF THE PANDEMIC.
UM, THE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT HAVE BEEN MADE AVAILABLE TO US AND WHAT WE'RE DOING TO HELP NAVIGATE, UM, BOTH THE PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS, BUT ALSO THE ECONOMIC CRISIS THAT PEOPLE ARE, ARE FEELING.
UM, AND, AND THEN WE WILL, UH, TOUCH SOME ON THE PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET.
THERE'S LOTS OF THINGS WE COULD TALK ABOUT.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE AT THE END OF THIS, BUT I THINK THOSE ARE THE BURNING ISSUES, THE, THE HOT TOPICS IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET CYCLE.
SO, FIRST OF ALL, LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PANDEMIC.
I MEAN, BACK BACK IN, UM, FEBRUARY, WE WERE JUST TRUCKING ALONG AND KIND OF DOING OUR REGULAR BUDGET PLANNING AND PREPARING AND FINANCIAL FORECASTING AND THE BIGGEST, UM, THE BIGGEST ISSUE WE HAD TO DEAL WITH WAS THE NEW REVENUE CAP IMPOSED BY THE LEGISLATURE, LOWERING OUR REVENUE GROWTH FROM 8% ANNUALLY TO 3.5% ANNUALLY.
THEN IN THEN IN MARCH, WE REALLY STARTED TO SEE THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE GLOBAL PANDEMIC HERE LOCALLY THAT STAY HOME, STATE STAY SAFE, ORDER CAME OUT, UH, BUSINESSES WERE LARGELY CLOSED THROUGHOUT, UM, APRIL AS A RESULT OF THAT.
AND, YOU KNOW, WITH CONSEQUENCES, NOT ONLY FOR OUR SALES TAXES, BUT ALSO OUR HOTEL TAXES AND IN OUR AIRPORT.
UM, AND FORTUNATELY THE CITY HAS VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POLICIES.
UM, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS BEEN VERY FISCALLY PROVEN OVER THE YEARS AND WE ENTERED THIS CRISIS, UM, IN VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION.
SO WE ALREADY HAVE IN OUR GENERAL FUND, WHICH HAS OUR TAX, UM, OUR TAX REVENUE FUND THAT PAYS FOR POLICE AND CHOIR AND PARKS AND LIBRARIES, UM, THAT FUND ALONE HAD A RESERVE POLICY OF 12%.
AND WHEN WE CAME INTO THIS CRISIS, WE WERE MORE THAN $25 MILLION IN EXCESS OF THAT POLICY.
AND THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT HAVING THAT FLEXIBILITY TO SPEND MONEY OUT OF OUR RESERVES IN RESPONSE TO
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THE CRISIS AND TO MANAGE OUR, UM, TO MANAGE OUR BUDGET AROUND THE REDUCTIONS IN SALES TAX, REALLY CRITICAL ASPECT OF THAT IS, IS HAVING THESE STRONG RESERVES.BUT, YOU KNOW, OTHER AREAS THAT I MENTIONED THAT ARE ALSO BEING HEAVILY IMPACTED ARE THE CONVENTION CENTER AND AIRPORT, AND THEY BOTH HAVE THEIR OWN ENTERPRISE FUND STRUCTURES AND THEIR OWN RESERVE LEVELS THAT, UM, IS GOING TO HELP THEM NAVIGATE THROUGH THESE, THESE DIFFICULT TIMES FOR THE HOTEL INDUSTRY.
AND THAT'S HAVING AN IMPACT ON THE CONVENTION CENTER.
AND OF COURSE TRAVEL IS WAY DOWN.
AIR TRAFFIC IS WAY DOWN AT THE AIRPORT.
UM, BUT AGAIN, HAVING THOSE STRONG RESERVES FROM THE GET GO PUTS US IN A GREAT POSITION TO GET THROUGH, UM, WHAT WILL BE A TEMPORARY, YOU KNOW, LET'S SEE ME TO BE A LONG TIME, BUT IT'S GOING TO BE A TEMPORARY DISRUPTION CAUSED BY, BY THE CORONAVIRUS.
UM, WE ALSO TAKE VERY CONSERVATIVE BUDGETING PRACTICES.
SO WHAT DO I MEAN BY THAT? WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR REVENUES, WHAT I MEAN IS THAT WE, WE TRY TO BE CONSERVATIVE IN OUR PROJECTIONS.
WE DON'T WANT TO END UP PROJECTING OUR REVENUES HIGH AND THEN COMING IN SHORT OF THAT, BECAUSE THAT MEANS WE HAVE BUDGETARY COMMITMENTS THAT WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO AFFORD.
SO WE ALWAYS TRY TO BE CONSERVATIVE ON OUR REVENUE GROWTH PROJECTIONS.
AND JUST THROUGH THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF THE YEAR, WE WERE TRACKING TO BE MORE THAN $10 MILLION AHEAD ON OUR SALES TAX PROJECTIONS.
OF COURSE, THAT'S NOT WHERE WE ARE NOW BECAUSE OF THOSE ECONOMIC DISRUPTIONS THAT I TALKED ABOUT, BUT THE FACT THAT WE WERE ABLE TO START THE PRICES AND SUCH A STRONG, STRONG POSITION ON OUR SALES TAXES MEANS THAT EVEN HERE THROUGH MAY, UM, OUR SALES TAX ENDS, OUR, OUR SALES TAX COLLECTIONS THROUGH MAY ARE STILL AHEAD OF WHERE THEY WERE IN FISCAL YEAR 2019.
SO OUR 2020 SALES TAX COLLECTIONS, WE'RE STILL AHEAD OF PACE COMPARED TO, UM, MAY THROUGH MAY OF 2019.
NOW WE'RE NOT GOING TO END THAT WAY.
WE, WE KNOW THAT, UH, JUNE AND JULY AND AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER ARE GOING TO BE CONTINUATION OF, UM, SALES TAX REDUCTIONS FROM THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, BUT, BUT AGAIN, YOU KNOW, IT COULD BE MUCH WORSE HAD OUR COUNCIL NOT ENDORSED SUCH A CONSERVATIVE POSITION ON SALES TAXES.
WE ALSO, WHEN WE PUT OUR BUDGET TOGETHER EXPENDITURE SIDE, WHAT I MEAN BY BEING CONSERVATIVE IS, IS WE DON'T PUSH OFF A LOT OF EXPENSES.
YOU KNOW, ONE OF THE BUDGET TRICKS YOU CAN EASILY PLAY IS TO SAY, HEY, WE NEED TO FIT MORE THINGS INTO THIS BUDGET.
SO HOW ABOUT IF WE JUST, UM, INSTEAD OF HAVING TO MAKE A CHOICE BETWEEN PROGRAM A AND PROGRAM B LET'S PUT ON BOTH IN THE BUDGET, BUT ONLY FUND THEM FOR SIX MONTHS, RIGHT? CAUSE THEN THEY FIT, BUT THEN YOU END UP WITH THAT BALLOON PAYMENT IN THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR WHEN YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL OF IT.
SO WE DON'T DO THAT IN OUR BUDGETING PRACTICES.
UM, AND THAT'S GOING TO HELP US A LOT AS WELL.
I DON'T WANT TO BELABOR THAT THE POINT, BUT IT IS IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION IS THAT WE HAVE A VERY DIVERSE REVENUE MIX MORE THAN 70% OF OUR REVENUES IN THE GENERAL FUND ARE NOT GOING TO BE IMPACTED BY COVID-19.
UM, THEY'RE JUST NOT DRIVEN BY ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS.
NOW SALES TAXES IS ONE OF OUR LARGER GENERAL FUND REVENUE SOURCES, 23%.
UM, IT IS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY IMPACTED, BUT, UM, A LOT OF OUR OTHER GENERAL FUNDS SOURCES ARE, ARE NOT BEING AFFECTED.
SO TO THE EXTENT, YOU KNOW, UM, SOME CITIES I'M SEEING ALREADY, THEY'RE HAVING TO ISSUE TAX ANTICIPATION NOTES AND TAKE OTHER ACTIONS JUST IN ORDER TO BE ABLE TO MEET PAYROLL.
BUT THAT IS NOT AT ALL THE SITUATION THAT THAT AUSTIN IS IN.
UM, WE HAVE VERY STRONG, UM, RESERVE LEVELS AND VERY STRONG INVESTMENT POOL THAT GIVES US THE LIQUIDITY.
YOU NEED TO MEET OUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS, NOT ONLY OVER THE LAST SEVERAL MONTHS, BUT, YOU KNOW, UM, UM, WELL INTO THE FUTURE.
UM, AND YOU KNOW, AS A RESULT OF THAT, ALL THAT, THAT'S WHY WE ARE THE ONLY LARGE TEXAS CITY WITH A AAA CREDIT RATING FROM ALL THREE CREDIT AGENCIES, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND I, YOU KNOW, KINDA MIGHT SOUND LIKE BUDGET SPEAK OR GOBBLEDYGOOK TO SOME PEOPLE.
BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT THAT TRANSLATES INTO IS WHAT WE GO OUT TO THE MARKET TO ISSUE BONDS, WHETHER IT BE BONDS FOR ROADS OR OUR NEW LIBRARY OR A NEW FIRE STATION, WE GET THE LOWEST POSSIBLE INTEREST RATE WE CAN ON THOSE BOND BECAUSE OF THAT OUTSTANDING CREDIT RATING, WHICH RESULTS IN THE LOWEST POSSIBLE TAX BILLS, UM, TO OUR TAXPAYERS.
SO, UM, UH COVID-19 AND THE CITY'S RESPONSE TO IT HAD BEEN EXTREMELY EXTENSIVE.
UM, WE PUT TOGETHER A SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, IN TOTAL IT WAS $330 MILLION, INCLUDING $58 MILLION, UM, FOR AIRPORT IMPROVEMENTS.
NOW THAT 58 MILLION CAN ONLY BE USED AT THE AIRPORT, BUT THE OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING, UM, HAD MORE BROAD APPLICATIONS.
AND SO THE BIGGEST PIECE WAS THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, WHICH WAS PART OF THE FEDERAL CARES ACT.
THE CITY'S ALLOCATION OF THOSE FUNDS WERE 170 POINT $8 MILLION.
UM, WE ARE ESTIMATING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS CRISIS, SO THERE'S, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH EXACTLY WHAT WE THINK OUR, UM, FEMA REIMBURSEMENT WILL BE, BUT THAT'S THE FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY WE'RE ESTIMATING THAT REIMBURSEMENT TO COME IN AT ABOUT $55 MILLION,
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THAT GENERAL FUND RESERVE.I TALKED TO, UH, TALK ABOUT REAL IMPORTANT SOURCE OF REVENUE FOR US, UM, TO ADDRESS THE CRISIS AT 25 MILLION.
AND THEN WE HAVE $7 MILLION COMING FROM, UM, OUR HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, FEDERAL AGENCY THAT PROVIDES, UM, VARIOUS BLOCK GRANTS FOR, UM, HOUSING PROGRAMS AND PROGRAMS TO SERVE OUR HOMELESS POPULATION.
SO WHAT ARE WE DOING AT THAT $330 MILLION? I MENTIONED THE 58.7 MILLION HAS TO STAY WITHIN THE AIRPORT BOUNDARIES.
IT'S THERE TO HELP KEEP THE AIRPORTS SUSTAINABLE.
UM, DURING, UH, DURING THIS PERIOD OF VERY LOW PASSENGER TRAFFIC, UM, THE REMAINDER OF THE FUNDS ARE ALLOCATED BETWEEN THREE AREAS.
EMERGENCY RESPONSES IS, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, THE, THE CITIES, UM, THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S DIRECT RESPONSE TO THE EMERGENCY.
UM, AND THEN TWO OTHER BIG BUCKETS WHERE, UM, MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS AND ECONOMIC SUPPORT.
SO THESE ARE DOLLARS, UM, TO THE COMMUNITY TO MEET THEIR MEDICAL NEEDS.
THIS INCLUDES TESTING AND PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT, UM, THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AND THEN ECONOMIC SUPPORT WAS FOR BOTH INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES, UM, ARTS ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, UM, THINGS LIKE RENTAL ASSIST.
WE WOULD ASSERT A STANCE MMM, MMM, MMM.
OR ALL PART OF ECONOMIC SUPPORT.
SO THAT'S WHERE WE ARE WITH COVID.
IT'S NOT SO MUCH THE 2021 ISSUE BECAUSE WE'RE, YOU KNOW, WE'RE STILL IN FISCAL YEAR 2020, THESE FEDERAL DOLLARS HAVE ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED TO THE CITY.
OUR COUNCIL'S ALREADY APPROVED THIS SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
THE MONEY'S BEEN APPROPRIATED.
AND, UM, AND WE'RE IN THE PROCESS OF IMPLEMENTING THESE PROGRAMS OR THE COMMUNITY, BUT, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY DIRECTLY RELATED TO 2021 BECAUSE OF THAT FACTOR, BUT IT IS NONETHELESS, UM, UH, A VERY IMPORTANT OVERALL BUDGETARY CONSIDERATION.
BUT LET ME FOCUS NOW, JUST ON OUR FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET, UH, THE BUDGET THAT THE CITY MANAGER DELIVERED TO THE COUNCIL LAST MONDAY, UM, HAD AN ALL FUNDS BUDGET OF FOUR POINT $2 BILLION.
UM, UM, THAT'S A REFLECTION OF ESSENTIALLY THE ANNUAL COST OF RUNNING THE DAY TO DAY OPERATIONS OF THE CITY.
UM, THAT'S THE AUSTIN ENERGY OR ELECTRIC UTILITY, THE WATER UTILITY, UM, THE GENERAL PHONE, WHICH I MENTIONED, UM, PAID FOR POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREFIGHTERS AND PARKS AND LIBRARIES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND THEN A WHOLE BUNCH OF OTHER FUNDS, THE AIRPORT CONVENTION CENTER, UH, TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND YOU CAN SEE IT ALL, ALL THE THINGS LISTED OVER THERE ON THE RIGHT COMPRISE THE REST OF THE, OF THE CITY'S BUDGET, ROUGHLY 69% OF OUR TOTAL BUDGET THOUGH GOES TO THOSE TWO BIG UTILITIES, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER.
AND THE GENERAL FUND, THE FUND IS ONLY ABOUT 25% OF OUR BUDGET, BUT I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE AND THEN ENDS UP BEING 75%, IF NOT MORE OF THE DISCUSSIONS, BECAUSE THAT'S THE, THAT'S THE TAX DOLLARS THAT YOU PAY AS, UH, THROUGH PROPERTY TAXES AND SALES TAXES.
UH, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS A LOT OF DISCRETION ON HOW THOSE DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED, UM, MUCH MORE SO THAN FOR, YOU KNOW, LIKE THE AIRPORT WHERE THE REVENUES CREATED BY THE AIRPORT HAVE TO UNDER FEDERAL LAW, STAY WITHIN THE AIRPORT BOUNDARIES, UM, LOCAL PROPERTY TAXES DON'T WORK QUITE THAT WAY.
AND THERE'S JUST A LOT MORE FLEXIBILITY IN HOW THOSE DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED.
SO HERE'S THAT GENERAL FUND, 25% OF THE ALL BUDGET OR ABOUT ONE POINT $1 BILLION.
AND YOU CAN SEE THAT IN AUSTIN, LIKE IN MOST, UM, THE BULK OF THOSE DOLLARS ARE ALLOCATED TO PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES, POLICE, FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES, UM, REPRESENT THE MAJORITY A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN 65, 66% OF THE TOTAL GENERAL FUND BUDGET, A 9% ALLOCATED DEPARTS 8% OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, A LITTLE MORE THAN 5% TO, UH, THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THEN 10% FOR EVERYTHING ELSE, INCLUDING, UM, ON VARIOUS TRANSFERS AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS TO THE RIGHT IS HOW WE PAY FOR ALL THAT PROPERTY TAXES ARE THE LARGEST SOURCE OF GENERAL FUND REVENUES.
AND, UM, JUST A TICK OVER 50%, I ALREADY MENTIONED SALES TAXES ARE RIGHT AROUND 23%.
THOSE TWO BIG UTILITIES THAT, UM, THAT WE OWN AND OPERATE AS A CITY, AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER, UM, BOTH PAY WITH ESSENTIALLY IT COULD BE EQUATED TO, UM, A RETURN ON EQUITY.
YOU KNOW, A LOT OF UTILITIES ARE PRIVATELY OWNED AND THEIR SHAREHOLDERS EXPECT A PROFIT.
AND, YOU KNOW, THE, THE UTILITY RATES, YOU PAY RESULTS IN A PROFIT THAT ENDS UP IN THE SHAREHOLDER'S POCKETS WITH A MUNICIPALITY RUN UTILITY THAT PROFIT, UM, ENDS UP AS A TRANSFER TO THE GENERAL FUND, WHICH ALLOWS US TO FUND OTHER SERVICES FOR THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND HELPS KEEP OUR TAX RATE LOAN.
ALL OTHER REVENUES COME OUT TO BE, UH, 12.3 OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, WHERE DO WE, HOW DO WE PAY FOR THIS? AND HOW DOES THIS ALL IMPACT, UH, TYPICAL TAX AND RATE PAYERS POCKET BOOK IS SHOWN
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ON THIS NEXT SLIDE.THIS IS WHERE WE LAY OUT THE VARIOUS ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS ON THE LEFT THAT, UM, CHARGE A RATE FOR THEIR SERVICES.
THESE ARE THINGS THAT, UM, UM, YOU WILL ENROLL FOR AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND ALSO THE PROPERTY TAX BILL THAT I WAS JUST TALKING ABOUT, UM, OVER ON THE FAR, RIGHT, IS HOW WE DEFINE A TYPICAL CUSTOMER.
AND I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE, THERE REALLY IS NO NOTE.
THERE'S NO NOBODY IN THE CITY THAT EXACTLY LOOKS LIKE TYPICAL CUSTOMER.
BUT WHAT WE DO IS WE WORK WITH OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS TO COME UP WITH THE, THE AVERAGE OR MEDIAN USER.
SO IN AUSTIN ENERGY, THEY TELL US THAT THE MEDIAN RESIDENTIAL CUSTOMER USES ON AVERAGE 860 KILOWATTS OF ENERGY PER MONTH.
WE USE THAT FIGURE THEN TO DRIVE OUT A, A YEARLY RATE AND COMPARE IT TO THE PRIOR YEAR.
UM, SO YOU CAN SEE ON THIS LINE ITEM, AUSTIN ENERGY IS ACTUALLY PROJECTING A, UM, A $41 PER YEAR REDUCTION FOR THAT TYPICAL RATE PAYER.
AND THAT HAS TO DO WITH SOME DISCOUNTS THAT HAD BEEN PROVIDED, UM, TO CERTAIN CUSTOMERS, UM, IN THE FACE OF COVID-19 AND THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF THAT THEY PUT IN PLACE A DISCOUNT PROGRAM, AND THAT PROGRAM IS GOING TO CONTINUE ON INTO FISCAL YEAR 21 RESULTING IN THIS, UM, THIS REDUCTION FOR THE TYPICAL CUSTOMER.
UM, MOST OF OUR ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS ARE PROJECTING NO RATE INCREASE.
THAT'S TRUE OF AUSTIN WATER, A CLEAN COMMUNITY FEE, THE DRAINAGE UTILITY FEE, AND AUSTIN RESOURCE RECOVERY.
YOU CAN SEE A $31 AND 20 CENT INCREASE FOR A TYPICAL CUSTOMER HERE THAT TYPICAL CUSTOMER IS DEFINED AS THE PERSON THAT HAS THE 64 GALLON CART SIZE.
THAT'S THE KIND OF THE MEDIUM SIZED HEART.
UM, ROUGHLY 60% OF OUR AUSTIN ENERGY CUSTOMERS USE THAT SIZE CART.
AND THAT CART SIZE IS PROJECTED TO GO UP BY $31 NEXT YEAR.
THAT'S BEING DRIVEN BY A NEW PROGRAM THAT WAS IMPLEMENTED OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS.
THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED A CURBSIDE ORGANICS COLLECTION PROGRAM.
WE KNEW THAT THAT PROGRAM CAME WITH ROUGHLY A 45 TO $50 ANNUAL INCREASE IN FEES.
IT'S ONLY $31 HERE BECAUSE THE DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED TO SPREAD THAT INCREASE OUT OVER TWO YEARS TO EASE THE, UH, THE COST BURDEN OF THAT.
UM, IN REGARDS TO THE PROPERTY TAXES.
WELL, THE BUDGET HAS BEEN PROPOSED WITH A THREE AND A HALF PERCENT TAX RATE INCREASE.
AND WHEN YOU APPLY THAT NEW TAX RATE TO THE MEDIAN VALUED HOME OF $362,000, YOU GET TO A $19 AND 73 CENT INCREASE IN THAT MEDIAN VALUE TAX BILL.
AND SO THE NET RESULT OF ALL THAT, UH, LONG STORY SHORT, UM, ROUGHLY A $12 PER YEAR, A LITTLE BIT MORE THAN A $1 PER MONTH IMPACT FOR, UM, WHAT WE TRACK IS OUR TYPICAL RESIDENTIAL RATE THERE.
I ALWAYS LIKE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE OVERLAPPING TAX BILL.
SO, UM, YOU'LL SEE THERE FOR AUSTIN, THAT ORANGE PIECE OF THE BAR, UM, THAT'S THE SAME $1,409 AT A TYPICAL AUSTIN HOMEOWNER, A MEDIAN ON THE OWNER OF A MEDIAN VALUE TO HOME PAYS.
BUT OF COURSE, THAT'S ONLY ONE OF THE TAXING ENTITIES WHEN YOU OWN PROPERTY AND YOU PAY TAXES ON THOSE PROPERTIES, YOU ALSO PAY TAXES TO, UM, ONE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS, UM, AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT SERVES ABOUT 75% OF AUSTIN'S RESIDENTS.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE USE HERE FOR THIS COMPARISON.
UM, BUT THEN TRAVIS COUNTY, AUSTIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE, THE CENTRAL HEALTH DISTRICT ALL HAVE THEIR OWN TAX RATES.
AND WE JUST LIKE TO TRACK THAT HERE SO WE CAN SHOW THE TOTAL, UM, UM, TAX BILL IMPLICATIONS TO A TYPICAL HOMEOWNER AND, AND HOW THE BILL IS ALLOCATED THE DIFFERENT PATTING ENTITY ENTITIES.
WHEN WE GET FURTHER INTO THE PROCESS, WE'LL ADD AN FYI 21 COLUMN HERE TO SEE HOW IT'S CHANGING COLLECTIVELY, BUT WE JUST DON'T HAVE THE DATA FROM ANY OF THE JURISDICTIONS YET, BECAUSE WE DON'T EVEN HAVE A CERTIFIED TAX ROLL YET.
WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT EARLY IN THE PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE CALCULATIONS.
BUT I DO WANT TO SPEND A LITTLE BIT OF TIME NOW TALKING ABOUT THE EFFORT THAT I'M SURE A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE HEARD ABOUT TO REIMAGINE PUBLIC SAFETY, TO TAKE A LOOK AT, UM, HOW WE'RE DELIVERING PUBLIC SAFETY IN THE COMMUNITY, UM, AND CHANGES THAT WE MADE, UM, VERY LATE IN THE PROCESS TO THE PROPOSED BUDGET BASED UPON, UM, INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY AND RESOLUTIONS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
UM, AND I JUST WANT TO START OFF WITH A SLIDE THAT SHOWS THIS WHOLE IDEA OF CHANGING OUR THINKING TO PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT'S SOMETHING THAT EVERY, SINCE WE SWITCHED TO A TEN ONE CITY COUNCIL, WE'VE BEEN HEARING THAT WE WANT TO SEE A CHANGE IN EMPHASIS IN THE CITY'S BUDGETING PRIORITIES.
WE WANT TO SEE A SHIFT FROM THE PORTION OF THE BUDGET THAT'S ALLOCATED TO TRADITIONAL PUBLIC SAFETY SERVICES, TO ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF PROVIDING PUBLIC SAFETY, UM, SUCH AS OUR PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT AND ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR OUR MENTAL HEALTH RESPONSE.
[00:25:01]
SLIDE IS SHOWING IS THAT SINCE 2014, UM, 2014 IS THE SOLID COLOR BARS.AND 2020 IS THESE CHECKERED COLOR BARS.
THAT'S A, THAT'S A TYPO THERE, BUT THE NUMBERS I KNOW ARE ALL CORRECT.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN ACTUALLY A 5% SHIFT FROM POLICE REPRESENTING 44% OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, SIX YEARS AGO TO YOUR SEVEN YEARS AGO TO TODAY IT BEING 39% OF THE TOTAL BUDGET, WHICH IS A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL SHIFT.
YOU REMEMBER EARLIER THAT I TALKED ABOUT OUR GENERAL FUND BEING A ONE POINT $1 BILLION BUDGET.
SO A 5% SWING ACTUALLY EQUATES TO ABOUT $55 MILLION.
UM, DIFFERENCE HAD THE, UM, HAD THE 44% LEVEL STAYED FROM 2014.
YOU CAN ALSO SEE THAT IN STAFFING LEVELS, UM, WHERE FROM 2012 THROUGH IT'S ABOUT 2015 OR 2016, WE FOLLOWED IN AUSTIN, A TWO OFFICERS PER THOUSAND MODELS.
SO AS THE POPULATION GREW, WE AUTOMATICALLY ADDED MORE OFFICERS, UM, WITH THE TRANSITION TO TEN ONE, AND WE MOVED AWAY FROM THAT APPROACH.
UM, AND WE'RE LOOKING MORE FOR AN EVIDENCE BASED APPROACH TO INCREASING THE NUMBER OF OFFICER POSITIONS.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE DRAMATIC SHIFT THAT'S OCCURRED.
UM, FROM 2012 TO 2016, WE ACTUALLY AVERAGED AN ANNUAL INCREASE OF 45 OFFICERS PER YEAR.
AND YOU CONTINUE TO SEE AN INCREASE OF OFFICERS FROM 2016 TO 2020, I'LL BE AT, AT A SLOWER PACE.
AND THEN NOW I'M WITH
UM, YOU ACTUALLY SEE A NET REDUCTION, UM, TODAY VERSUS WHERE WE WERE IN 2016.
UM, UM, UM, JUST A COUPLE OF POSITIONS OF ABOUT SEVEN POSITIONS OVER THAT TIME PERIOD.
SO THERE HAS BEEN A BIG SHIFT.
UM, LET ME TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT, UM, WHAT WE DID IN THIS YEAR'S BUDGET BASED UPON COUNCIL'S RESOLUTION.
SO ON JUNE 11TH, COUNCIL PASSED TWO RESOLUTIONS GIVING US, UH, UM, UH, QUITE A BIT OF DIRECTION ABOUT HOW TO, THEY WANTED TO SEE OUR POLICE BUDGET RESHAPED.
UM, THAT DIRECTION INCLUDED A, UM, UM, A CALL TO REMOVE THE 30 POSITIONS THAT HAD BEEN ADDED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET AS PART OF THEIR FIVE-YEAR STAFFING PLAN.
SO EVERY YEAR WE PUT OUT A BASE BUDGET FORECAST AND IN THAT BASE BUDGET FORECAST, WE INCLUDE THINGS LIKE WAGE INCREASES AND HEALTH INSURANCE INCREASES.
UM, AND IN SOMETIMES WE INCLUDE NEW POSITIONS.
IN THIS CASE, WE HAD INCLUDED 30 POSITIONS IN DEPARTMENTS BASED BUDGET BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE POLICE STAFFING PLAN, UM, HAD CALLED FOR.
UM, AND SO THE RESOLUTION SAID, WE WANT TO PUT THAT STAFFING PLAN ON HOLD, REMOVE THOSE 30 POSITIONS FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENTS BASE BUDGET.
UM, AND THEN GO FURTHER THAN THAT, AND ALSO DO AN ANALYSIS OF THE CURRENT VACANCY LEVELS.
THE DEPARTMENT CURRENTLY HAS ABOUT 170 BACON SOREN POSITIONS.
YOU WANT AN ANALYSIS OF THOSE CURRENT VACANCY LEVELS, TAKE A LOOK AT THE TIMING AND GRADUATION RATES OF YOUR CADET CLASSES AND COME BACK WITH A NUMBER OF POSITIONS THAT WON'T BE ABLE TO BE FILLED IN FISCAL YEAR 2021, AND THEN REMOVE THOSE FROM THE BUDGET.
UM, WE ESTIMATE THAT THERE'S 70 VACANT POSITIONS THAT ARE CURRENTLY IN THE BUDGET THAT, UM, GIVEN THE CURRENT TIMING OF THE CADET CLASSES CAN'T READ IS GOING TO BE, BE FILLED IN FYI 2021.
UM, PART OF THAT, 70 IS DETERMINED BY THE DIRECTION FROM COUNCIL TO DELAY THE JULY, 2020 CADET CLASS.
UM, AND WE'RE ALSO PROPOSING TO DELAY THE SCHEDULED REPLACEMENT OF DUTY WEAPONS THAT HAD BEEN SCHEDULED TO GET STARTED THIS YEAR.
AND WE'RE PUSHING THAT BACK FOR AT LEAST A YEAR, BUT THAT REDUCED THE BUDGET BY $400,000.
SO THE SUM TOTAL OF ALL, THAT WAS A REDUCTION IN THE DEPARTMENT'S BASE BUDGET OF 11 POINT $3 MILLION.
UM, AND THEN WE WENT TO LOOK TOWARDS HOW DO WE REALLOCATE THAT 11 POINT $3 MILLION IN A WAY THAT REFLECTS COUNCIL'S PRIORITIES AND THE DIRECTION OF THEIR RESOLUTION.
AND THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE, A ADDITIONAL $3 MILLION TO ENHANCE THE WORK OF OUR OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT AND EQUITY OFFICE, UM, TO REWRITE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S GENERAL ORDERS, UM, AND ALSO TO CONDUCT AN IMPLEMENT, UM, AUDIT FINDINGS AND TO DO NEW OUGHT, TO DO NEW AUDITS.
UM, THERE WAS TWO POINT $7 MILLION PUT INTO THE BUDGET THAT IS BEING SPLIT BETWEEN THE DOWNTOWN COMMUNITY COURT AND OUR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT TO FULLY IMPLEMENT THE MEADOWS REPORT ON MENTAL HEALTH.
FIRST RESPONSE, THAT FUNDING BEING USED TO BRING ON SEVEN ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY HEALTH PARAMEDICS AND INCREASE OUR CONTRACT WITH AUSTIN, TRAVIS COUNTY INTEGRAL CARE FOR, UM, EMERGENCY, UM, MENTAL HEALTH CRISES, TWO POINT $3 MILLION OF THAT 11.3 MILLION, THAT 11.3 MILLION THAT CAME FROM REDUCING POSITIONS AND BELAYING THE DUTY WEAPONS 3.3 MILLION OF THAT IS BEING REALLOCATED BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT
[00:30:01]
TO REPLACE THEIR 15 YEAR OLD AND ANTIQUATED, VERY LIMITED RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM.ONE OF THE CALLS ME PER REPEATEDLY IS FOR BETTER ACCESS, BETTER COMMUNITY ACCESS TO RECORDS TO IMPROVE TRANSPARENCY.
AND SO WE THINK REPLACING THAT A RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THAT.
UM, ONE POINT $1 MILLION TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT, SO THEY CAN IMPROVE THEIR MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, IMMIGRANT LEGAL SERVICES, UM, AS THE PROGRAMS, UM, WE INCREASED THE TRANSFER TO THE HOUSING TRUST FUND.
UM, OUR BUDGET ALREADY HAD PLANNED ON TRANSFERRING SIX POINT $3 MILLION TO THE HOUSING TRUST FUND TO PROVIDE AFFORDABLE HOUSING TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THIS INCREASES THAT BY A MILLION DOLLARS TO A TOTAL OF 7.7 MILLION, THE RESOLUTION SPECIFICALLY CALLED FOR SOME ENHANCED TRAINING OF OUR POLICE OFFICERS.
UM, SO WE'VE PUT $900,000 REALLOCATED, $900,000 OF THOSE SAVINGS BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, FOR TRAUMA INFORMED RESPONSE TRAINING, ADDITIONAL TRAINING ON RACIAL AND CULTURAL SENSITIVITY, AND ALSO TRAINING ON THE USE OF NALOXONE, UM, WHICH IS, UH, A SUBSTANCE THAT CAN BE USED DURING A DRUG OVERDOSE TO SAVE LIVES.
UM, AND THEN FINALLY, $300,000 TO SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NEW CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE, WHICH WILL HAVE A TOTAL OF, UM, 13 POSITIONS WHEN THE OFFICE IS STOOD UP.
UM, WE'RE TAKING POSITIONS FROM THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT AND, UM, FROM ONE OR TWO OTHER DEPARTMENTS, WE'RE PUTTING THEM ALL TOGETHER INTO A CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICE.
UM, AND THEN SUPPORTING THAT WITH A NEW CIVIL RIGHTS OFFICER, UM, THAT WILL LEAD UP THIS NEW UNIT.
SO THE RESOLUTION CALLED FOR US TO DO A LOT OF THINGS BEYOND WHAT I JUST OUTLINED.
UM, THESE WERE THE THINGS THAT WE COULD DO AND THE ROUGHLY A LITTLE BIT LESS THAN TWO WEEKS, 10 DAYS TO TWO WEEKS THAT WE HAD TO RESHAPE THE BUDGET, UM, PURSUANT TO THOSE JUNE 11TH RESOLUTIONS.
UM, BUT IT CALLED FOR DOING MORE.
AND SO THE CITY MANAGER, UH, THE DEPUTY CITY MANAGER WHO'S HEADING UP THIS EFFORT HAS LAID OUT A SERIES OF NEXT STEPS AND HAS IDENTIFIED SOME PRELIMINARY PROGRAMS, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL COMMUNITY DISCUSSION AND TO ANALYZE FOR POTENTIALLY, UM, UM, MOVING OUT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, LOOKING TO SEE IF THESE PROGRAMS, UM, MAKE THE MOST SENSE TO BE DONE BY THE, UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND AGAIN, POTENTIALLY MOVING THOSE INTO OTHER AREAS OF THE CITY'S BUDGET OR EVEN TO, UM, UM, OUTSIDE AGENCIES TO PERFORM THE SERVICES.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE'S BEEN A LOT OF DISCUSSION ALREADY ABOUT THE FORENSICS LAB, AND THAT MIGHT BE A FUNCTION THAT'S BETTER DONE BY A NON-CITY AGENCY.
AND SO WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT OPTIONS AT OPTIONS FOR THAT.
SO THERE'S A LOT OF WORK TO DO.
THE CITY MANAGER IS COMMITTED AS WE GO THROUGH THIS PROCESS WITH THE COMMUNITY TO COME BACK DURING THE YEAR WHEN BUDGET AMENDMENTS, UM, AS NEEDED TO CONTINUE TO IMPLEMENT, UM, UH, ADDITIONAL CHANGES TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UM, SO JUST FINALLY THE REMAINING STEPS IN THIS BUDGET ADOPTION PROCESS, UM, TO GET US TO AN APPROVED BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 2021, UM, YOU CAN SEE ON JULY 23RD AND JULY 30TH, WE WILL HAVE TWO BUDGET INPUT MEETINGS IS THESE ARE TWO OPPORTUNITIES, THERE'S OTHERS, BUT THESE ARE TWO OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE COMMUNITY TO COME AND SPEAK TO COUNCIL.
I WAS GOING TO SAY DIRECTLY TO COUNCIL, BUT AT LEAST VIRTUALLY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO COUNCIL AND PROVIDE ADDITIONAL INPUT, UM, ON THE BUDGET AND WHAT YOUR PREFERENCES AND PRIORITIES ARE.
UM, FOLLOWING THOSE TWO BUDGET INPUT MEETINGS, COUNCIL WILL THEN HAVE BUDGET WORK SESSIONS, ONE ON SEVEN, JULY, 28TH AND ONE ON AUGUST 4TH.
AND THESE ARE JUST LIKE, THEY SOUND, THEIR WORK SESSIONS ARE A TIME FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO ROLL UP THEIR SLEEVES AND TO ENGAGE IN THESE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT CHANGES THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE TO THE CITY.
MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET PRIOR TO SEEING IT COME BACK TO THEM ON AUGUST 12TH FOR ADOPTION ON AUGUST 12TH, THERE WILL BE A FINAL ROUND OF BUDGET AND TAX RATE HEARINGS.
UM, AND THEN FOLLOWING THOSE HEARINGS AND CITY COUNCIL TAKE UP THE ARDUOUS TASK OF, UM, ADOPTING A PROPOSED BUDGET FOR NEXT FISCAL YEAR.
UM, THAT'S EVERYTHING I HAVE FOR YOU.
I'LL JUST LEAVE THIS SLIDE UP HERE FOR A LITTLE BIT.
UM, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN GET ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET, THOSE HANDOUTS I TALKED ABOUT, UM, AND YOU KNOW, THIS PRESENTATION IS OUT THERE.
UM, SO IT'S A GOOD SITE FOR PEOPLE THAT WANT TO FOLLOW ALONG WITH THE BUDGET PROCESS.
KEEP UP WITH WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHO ARE INTERESTED IN PARTICIPATING.
YOU CAN GO TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG AND GET YOURSELF OVER TO THE BUDGET 20, 21 PORTION OF THAT WEBPAGE.
SO WITH THAT, I'LL TURN IT BACK TO YOU COUNCIL MEMBER AND SEE IF THERE'S ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME ABOUT THE CITY'S BUDGET.
[00:35:01]
WERE LOOKING AT QUESTIONS.DO WE HAVE, CAN I TOSS THAT RIGHT? UM, SO JUST LETTING EVERYBODY KNOW I'M GOING TO BE LOOKING, I HAVE MY QUESTIONS OVER HERE ON THIS CRANE AND THEN LOOKING TO YOU ALL.
SO THAT'S GOING TO BE STARTING REALLY QUICKLY, SOME QUESTIONS THAT WE'RE GETTING FROM PEOPLE AND, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER.
I THINK THIS FIRST ONE HERE IS DIRECTED TO YOU.
UM, QUESTION IS, WILL YOU COMMIT TO A $100 MILLION REDUCTION IN THE AP BUDGET FOR 2021, IF YOU WILL NOT OR CANNOT WHAT FACTORS AND CONSIDERATIONS PREVENT YOU FROM THAT COMMITMENTS.
AND THANK YOU EVERYBODY FOR THAT QUESTION.
I WANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT MANY OF YOU ARE ASKING THE SAME QUESTION AND, AND OTHERS LIKE IT ABOUT THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
I WANT TO THANK EVERYBODY WHO'S PARTICIPATING TODAY AND EVERYBODY WHO'S TAKEN THE TIME TO ENGAGE WITH ME RECENTLY WITH THIS SPECIFIC CONCERN IN MIND, WE KNOW THAT IT IS TOP OF MIND, AND IT IS TOP OF MIND FOR ME AND MY STAFF, THE ENTIRE DISTRICT 17, WE WERE BEING ASKED WITH QUESTIONS AND OTHERS LIKE IT TO ADDRESS LONGSTANDING DISPARITIES AND TO MAKE FUNDAMENTAL CHANGES IN POLICING AS OUR COMMUNITIES ENVISION IT, WHICH IS WHY YOUR INPUT IS SO IMPORTANT.
UM, SO, UM, I THINK THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY GOING FORWARD THROUGH ADDITIONAL ENGAGEMENT OPPORTUNITIES, CITYWIDE, AND IN DISTRICT SEVEN, UH, WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S PROPOSED BUDGET THAT ED HAS JUST TALKED TO US ABOUT.
IT'S JUST A STARTING POINT FOR THE CONVERSATION.
AND THIS IS PLANNED AS PART OF A CITYWIDE COMMUNITY PROCESS.
AS ED HAS LAID OUT FOR YOU ALL TODAY TO MORE FULLY RE-IMAGINED PUBLIC SAFETY FOR THAT, WE CAN HAVE THIS CONVERSATION OVER THE COMING WEEKS.
I'M ALSO EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THAT I WILL BE HOSTING OUR OWN DISTRICT SEVEN FORUM ON THIS RE-IMAGINING IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DISTRICT ONE OFFICE, SO THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DIG DEEPLY INTO THE CHANGES THAT YOU ALL WOULD LIKE TO SEE.
IT'LL ENABLE THE SHARING OF PERSPECTIVES AND EXPERIENCES ACROSS A VARIETY OF COMMUNITIES.
AS WE EXPLORE THE RE-IMAGINING, I ANTICIPATE THAT THE CHANGES TO WHAT IS PROPOSED IN THIS BUDGET WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE WHOLE COUNCIL.
I LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING THOSE DISCUSSIONS WITH MY COLLEAGUES, AND I ALSO ANTICIPATE THAT OUR RESIDENTS THROUGH THESE MULTIPLE ENGAGEMENT EVENTS AND ALL OF THE TOUCH POINTS THAT I'VE MENTIONED WILL HELP TO DEFINE EVEN MORE CHANGE THAT MAY REQUIRE A MIDYEAR BUDGET AMENDMENT.
AND MR. BENITO HAS ALREADY LAID THAT OUT.
THAT IS, THAT IS INTENDED BY THOSE OF US ON THE DYES.
AND WE RECOGNIZE THE THOUGHTFUL INPUT THAT WE NEED TO GATHER FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
PEOPLE WHO ARE MOST VITALLY CONCERNED WITH PUBLIC SAFETY IN THIS COMMUNITY.
YOU HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO REACH OUT TO MY OFFICE AND MY COLLEAGUES ON THE DIOCESE, AND WE ARE ALL TAKING BACK THAT INFORMATION IN, AND WE WILL BE ASSESSING IT AND MAKING REALLY IMPORTANT DECISIONS WITH THE VERY PUBLIC PROCESS AND THE INPUT FROM THE COMMUNITY, UM, OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, AND FRANKLY, PROBABLY FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR UP UNTIL A MAJOR BUDGET AMENDMENT.
SO THERE'S TIME FOR THOUGHTFUL CONVERSATION AND WE WILL MAKE CHANGES THAT WILL BE SUSTAINED.
THE OF THIS COMMUNITY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING.
THE CHANGES THAT WE MAKE, WE NEED TO HAVE THE PATIENTS TO MAKE THE CHANGES TO DO IT THOUGHTFULLY AND COMPREHENSIVELY AND DOING THAT.
I KNOW WE WILL HAVE A LONGTERM SUCCESS FOR THE CHANGES THAT WE ALL KNOW IS NECESSARY FOR THE VARIOUS SYSTEMS IN OUR CITY.
UM, SO I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND JUST SHIFT RIGHT INTO THE SECOND QUESTION HERE AND A COUNCIL MEMBER.
I ALSO THINK THIS IS DIRECTED FOR YOU.
I'M SEEING HERE HAS REASSIGNING APD PARK POLICE TO PARK PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT PARK RANGERS BEING CONSIDERED A BADGE OR GUIDE IS NOT NEEDED TO PATROL THE PARKS.
AND I AM LOOKING THAT AS A POTENTIAL MOVE.
I MENTIONED THAT IN MY OPENING REMARKS, I AGREE THAT WE SHOULD BE LOOKING AT SHIFTING SOME OF THESE DUTIES FROM THE PARK POLICE TO THE PARK RANGERS.
THAT'S PART OF MY FOCUS IN THIS BUDGET.
I'M PURSUING, I'M PURSUING THAT IDEA.
I HOPE THAT MY COLLEAGUES ON THE DIET SHARE THIS CONCERN AND THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WEIGHING IN HERE, IF YOU ARE WEIGHING IN AT THE OTHER DISTRICT TOWN HALLS VIRTUALLY, YOU MIGHT ALSO PRESS THAT POINT AS WELL, SO THAT WE CAN, UM, HAVE, UH, UNANIMITY AND A UNIFIED, UM, SUPPORT FOR THESE SHIFTS FROM PARK POLICE TO PARK RANGERS.
[00:40:01]
NEXT QUESTION.AND SO BOTH ED AND COUNCIL MEMBER, I THINK THIS QUESTION IS DIRECTED FOR THE, BOTH OF YOU.
HOW WOULD THIS BUDGET ADDRESS INSTITUTIONALIZED RACISM THAT EXISTS IN ALL OF OUR WORK, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE POLICE? WELL, AS I'VE MENTIONED PUBLICLY ON A NUMBER OF OCCASIONS, UH, YOU KNOW, THE TWO PUBLIC MEETINGS THAT WE HAD IN JUNE ON THE FOURTH AND THE 11TH, I AM COMMITTED TO ROOTING OUT THE SYSTEMIC RACISM IN OUR CITY SYSTEMS. WE KNOW IT IS EMBEDDED IN EVERY DEPARTMENT AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE THE COMMITMENT OF THE WHOLE COUNCIL AND THE CITY MANAGEMENT TO DO, TO DO THAT WORK.
WE NEED TO REVIEW THIS UPCOMING BUDGET.
TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE NOT ONLY PERPETUATING SYSTEMIC RACISM, BUT THEY, WE ARE ACTIVELY UNDOING THE RACISM AND I'M COMMITTED.
UM, I'D LIKE TO GET A CHANCE TO ADDRESS THE QUESTION AS WELL.
I ALMOST MADE IT THROUGH THE DAY WITHOUT DOING THAT.
WHAT I STARTED TO SAY WAS, YOU KNOW, I WOULD ADDRESS IT BY LOOKING AT THE RELATIVELY SHORT HISTORY THAT WE HAD SWITCHED TO A 10 ROLLED ONE DISTRICT BASED COUNCIL.
AND I CAN TELL YOU FROM SOMEBODY WHO'S BEEN AT THE CITY FOR 10 YEARS, THE SHIFT HAS BEEN FAIRLY DRAMATIC IN REGARDS TO THE PRIORITIES, THE SHIFT IN PRIORITIES, IN REGARDS TO HOW WE ALLOCATE OUR GENERAL FUND BUDGET, UM, UM, FROM HOW IT HAD BEEN, WHERE AS MUCH AS 44% OF THE CITY'S BUDGET HAD GONE TO POLICE TO NOW 39% WITH THEY, YOU CAN GO BACK AND LOOK AT THE, UM, RESOLUTIONS THAT HAVE COUNCIL HAS PASSED DIRECTING STAFF OVER AND OVER TIME TO INCREASE THE INVESTMENTS IN OUR HOMELESS POPULATION TO INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN, UM, UM, HEALTH SERVICES.
AND WE'VE DONE THAT AND YOU'VE SEEN THE SHIFT OVER TIME.
ANOTHER REAL, REAL IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT CAME FROM OUR TEN ONE COUNCIL WAS THE CREATION OF THE EQUITY OFFICE, WHICH HAS HAD STAFF ADDED TO IT EVERY YEAR, IF NOT, ALMOST EVERY YEAR, INCLUDING THE CURRENT BUDGET BEFORE YOU, UM, PART OF THE REALLOCATION PROCESS OF TAKING MONEY AWAY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT THIS YEAR AND ADDING IT WAS TO ADD IT TO THE EQUITY OFFICE.
AND SO YOU WILL SEE, I THINK ONE OF THE FIRST BUDGET MOMENTS YOU'LL SEE COULD BE AS SOON AS AUGUST 12TH, WHEN STAFF COMES BACK TO COUNCIL, UM, WITH SOME AMENDMENTS TO OFFER TO OUR PROPOSED BUDGET.
I THINK ONE OF THOSE AMENDMENTS BY THAT TIME, WE'VE SET A PLACEHOLDER ASIDE IN THE BUDGET.
BUT BY THAT TIME, I THINK WE'LL HAVE A STAFFING PLAN FOR THE EQUITY OFFICE AND WE'LL BE ABLE TO LAY OUT SOME OF THE ADDITIONS WE'RE MAKING TO THE EQUITY OFFICE.
UM, THERE WAS JUST A CALL EARLIER TODAY WITH DEPARTMENT DIRECTORS AND THE HUMAN RESOURCES DIRECTOR ABOUT A NEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES, UM, THAT WILL BE COMING FORWARD FOR, UM, UNCONSCIOUS BIAS AND UNDOING RACISM TRAINING, WHICH HAS BEEN IN THE CITY FOR, FOR MANY YEARS NOW, BUT ADDITIONAL FUNDING AND, UH, A REEMPHASIZED EFFORT, UH, TO GET PEOPLE THROUGH THOSE TRAININGS.
SO THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS UNDER WORK.
I THINK WE'RE GOING TO BUILD ON THOSE PAST SUCCESSES AND I, AND I'M DEFINITELY EXCITED, YOU KNOW, WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, AND IT'S GOING TO TAKE TIME TO REALLY SHIFT THE CULTURE OF THE ORGANIZATION, BUT THAT SHIFT IS WELL UNDERWAY.
MOVING ON TO OUR NEXT QUESTION, AND I THINK THIS IS DIRECTED FOR YOU HERE.
SO WHERE DID THE HAZARD PAY FOR CITY EMPLOYEES GET ALLOCATED AND HOW WAS IT DETERMINED? SO THE HAZARD PAY IS NOT REALLY A, IT'S NOT A FISCAL YEAR 2021 ISSUE FOR PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW WHO AT CITY INSIDERS.
THE CITY MANAGER RECENTLY HAS ANNOUNCED A PROGRAM TO PROVIDE, UM, HAZARDOUS DUTY PAY TO, UM, UM, CIVILIAN EMPLOYEES WHO DON'T NORMALLY DO LIKE AN EMERGENCY RESPONSE ROLE.
SO, SO PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN REQUIRED TO COME INTO THE OFFICE TO WORK DURING THESE HAZARDOUS TIMES OR PEOPLE THAT ARE ENGAGING WITH THE COMMUNITY, THEY CAN GET UP TO A THOUSAND DOLLAR HAZARD PAY FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, HAVING BEEN IN THOSE SITUATIONS, UH, UM, DURING, DURING THE, UH, CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE, UM, THAT FUNDING IS IN THE DEPARTMENT BUDGETS ALREADY.
SO WE DID NOT AMEND THE BUDGET.
WE'RE NOT PUTTING MONEY IN THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
IT'S PART OF THE DEPARTMENTS MANAGING THEIR CURRENT YEAR BUDGETS TO, UM, TO PAY THAT HAZARD PAY OUT.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, AS PART OF EVERY YEAR, AS PART OF DEVELOPING THE BUDGET FOR THE NEXT YEAR, WE HAVE TO DO AN ANALYSIS OF HOW OUR YEAR END IS LOOKING AND WHAT KIND OF, UM, UM, BUDGET WE HAVE AND THEN FUNDING WE HAVE AVAILABLE TO IMPLEMENT ADDITIONAL, UM, UH, PROGRAMS. AND SO THIS WAS ONE
[00:45:01]
OF THE PROGRAMS THAT WE WORK WITH OUR DEPARTMENTS TO ANALYZE COST OUT, FIND A WAY TO PAY FOR FROM THEIR EXISTING BUDGETS.THE COUNCIL HAD ALREADY APPROVED FOR FISCAL YEAR 20.
AND THEN MOVE INTO OUR NEXT QUESTION.
UM, SO I THINK THIS ONE IS A DRESS TO BOTH ED AND THE COUNCIL MEMBER.
WELL, THERE'LL BE OPPORTUNITIES AFTER CITY COUNCIL VOTES ON THE BUDGET IN MID AUGUST TO AMEND THE AP D APD BUDGET FURTHER.
UM, IN FACT, I THINK THAT THAT IS EXPECTED AND PLANNED.
I MIGHT TOSS THE MIC OVER TO ED TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF DESCRIPTION ABOUT WHAT A MAJOR BUDGET AMENDMENT PROCESS LOOKS LIKE, LIKE WHO INITIATES THE PROCESS, GIVE US A LITTLE BIT OF A PROFILE IF YOU COULD.
WELL, I MEAN, THERE'S, THERE'S TWO WAYS FOR A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO BE INITIATED.
EITHER STAFF JUST BRINGING SOMETHING FORWARD FOR ANY MULTITUDE OF REASONS.
WE MIGHT, WE MIGHT GET A NOTICE THAT, UM, SOME AGENCY IS, WE JUST, WE'VE JUST BEEN AWARDED A NEW GRANT.
AND SO WE'LL HAVE TO COME TO COUNCIL MID YEAR AND STAFF WILL SAY, HEY, COUNCIL, WE GOT AWARDED THIS NEW GRANT FROM THIS FEDERAL OR STATE AGENCY, AND WE'RE SEEKING YOUR APPROVAL TO ACCEPT THE GRANT AND TO APPROPRIATE THE FUNDS SO THAT WE CAN THEN GO AND SPEND IT.
STAFF DOES NOT HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO JUST TAKE GRANT FUNDS OR OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDS COMING INTO THE CITY COFFERS AND SPEND THEM UNLESS COUNCIL APPROVES THE APPROPRIATIONS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
UM, UM, ACTUALLY ON JULY 30TH, YOU'RE GOING TO SEE A BUDGET AMENDMENT IN THE FIRE DEPARTMENT TO SHIFT FUNDS FROM ONE LINE ITEM OF THE CITY'S BUDGET, UM, INTO THE FIRE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.
SO, UM, BUDGET MIDYEAR BUDGET AMENDMENTS ARE, UM, ARE NOT REAL COMMON, BUT THEY DO OCCUR.
THEY CAN ALSO COME FROM THE CITY COUNCIL THROUGH THE ITEMS FROM COUNCIL POT PROCESS WHERE THE COUNCIL COULD ACTUALLY DIRECT A BUDGET AMENDMENT TO HAPPEN MID YEAR.
SO WE WOULD ENVISION THESE LARGELY COMING THROUGH STAFF.
UM, I, I PUT THAT SLIDE UP THERE THAT TALKED ABOUT THE COMMUNITY PROCESS.
THAT CITY MANAGEMENT IS STARTING TO BRING COMMUNITY MEMBERS TOGETHER AND TALK ABOUT HOW WE WANT TO, UM, AS A COMMUNITY RE-IMAGINED PUBLIC SAFETY.
AND THEN AS THOSE CONVERSATIONS REACH THE FINISH LINE AND WE HAD DECISIONS MADE ABOUT CHANGES WE WANNA MAKE TO POLICE OPERATIONS.
WE'LL BRING FORWARD TO A RESOLUTION TO COUNCIL.
IT'S AN ORDINANCE TO COUNCIL, TO THE BUDGET TO TAKE MONEY AWAY FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND PUT IT INTO SOME OTHER AREA IN THE BUDGET.
AND SO I'M GOING TO ASK ABOUT ONE OR TWO MORE QUESTIONS HERE.
SO ONCE YOU GET INTO THE POST TIME THAT WE HAVE, UH, THIS NEXT QUESTION, DOES THE CURRENT PROPOSED BUDGET DECREASE APDS FUNDING BY 11.3 MILLION OR 150,000? CAN YOU EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO AMOUNTS? UM, I CAN'T EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE.
UM, WE'RE GOING TO ACTUALLY PUT TOGETHER A BUDGET QUESTION FOR COUNCIL TO TRY TO CLARIFY THAT.
AND YOU HAVE TO THINK ABOUT IT THAT THERE'S TWO THINGS HAPPENING IN THE BUDGET.
THERE'S THINGS THAT ARE GOING UP AS WE PUT TOGETHER THE BUDGET, THERE ARE COSTS THAT ARE INCREASING.
UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, UM, BY, BY CONTRACT OR POLICE OFFICERS ARE, UM, HAVE A 2% WAGE INCREASE COMING UP IN FISCAL YEAR 21.
SO WE ADD THAT MONEY TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
OUR CIVILIANS ARE ALSO GETTING A 2% WAGE INCREASE.
SO WE ADD THAT MONEY, UM, TO THE BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
UM, COUNCIL HAD PASSED A RESOLUTION THAT LED TO A POLICE STAFFING PLAN.
THEY CALL FOR 30 ADDITIONAL OFFICERS.
SO WE HAD PUT THOSE 30 ADDITIONAL OFFICERS INTO THE FISCAL YEAR, 21 BASED BUDGET.
SO, UM, IN TOTAL, THOSE COST INCREASES THAT WERE ADDED TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, TOTAL 7.9 MILLION.
UM, NOW FROM THERE, UM, THE CITY COUNCIL THEN PASSED A RESOLUTION SAYING WE DON'T, WE DON'T WANT THAT BASE BUDGET.
WE WANT YOU TO MAKE A BUNCH OF CHANGES TO IT, THOSE 30 POSITIONS THAT WE WERE GOING TO ADD, WE DON'T WANT YOU TO ADD THEM, UH, THE POSITIONS THAT ARE VACANT AND FUNDED IN THIS BUDGET THAT YOU CAN'T FILL.
SO THAT'S AT 11.3 MILLION WAS THEN CUT OFF OF THAT.
SO WE ADDED 7.9 FOR WAGE INCREASES FOR THOSE 30 NEW OFFICERS COUNCIL THEN SAID, WELL, WE WANT YOU TO CUT THAT.
SO WE CUT 11.3 MILLION, AND THEN, UM, YOU MAY REMEMBER SOME OF THOSE ITEMS CALLED FOR US TO THEN CALL FOR US, BUT SOME OF THOSE ITEMS, UM, RESULTED IN INCREASES BACK TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
SO THAT RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND THAT ADDITIONAL TRAINING, THOSE ARE THINGS THAT ARE BEING PAID FOR OUT OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
SO IT WAS KIND OF LIKE THE BUDGET WENT UP FOR WAGES.
IT WAS CUT BY 11.3 MILLION AND THEN SOME OF THAT FUNDING WAS PUT BACK FOR THE RECORD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND TRAINING THE NET OF ALL THAT UPS
[00:50:01]
AND DOWNS COMES OUT TO THE, UM, UH, ROUGHLY $200,000.I THINK THAT'S THE ACTUAL BOTTOM LINE CHANGE FROM FISCAL YEAR 20 BUDGET, WHICH IS THE FISCAL YEAR WE'RE IN AND THE FISCAL YEAR 21 PROPOSED BUDGET.
SO I THINK WE JUST HAVE ONE MORE LAST QUICK QUESTION, AND THEN WE'RE GOING JUST SO WE CAN CLOSE HERE AT SEVEN, ANSWER THE SMELTS IF WE QUICK QUESTION, AND THEN YOU ALL TWO OF YOU CAN GIVE YOUR CLOSING REMARKS AND I'LL, UM, PROVIDE MORE INFORMATION ON HOW PEOPLE COULD SUBMIT FURTHER QUESTIONS.
SO THIS LAST QUESTION IS JUST GENERALLY WHERE AND HOW CAN WE VIEW MORE DETAILED APD BUDGET INFORMATION? WELL, UM, UH, REMEMBER THAT SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG, CAUSE IT'S JUST A CONVENIENT PLACE TO GET TO OTHER OTHER THINGS, BUT YOU GOT TO SPEAK UP AUSTIN.ORG, UM, GET YOURSELF TO THE BUDGET PAGE.
THERE'S DIFFERENT PAGES THERE, BUT YOU GET TO THE BUDGET PAGE.
UM, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU WANT TO TRY TO FIND IS, UM, UM, OPEN BUDGET ATX AND FROM THERE NOT ONLY FOR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, BUT YOU CAN DRILL DOWN ALL THE WAY TO LIKE LINE ITEM, UM, INFORMATION ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
UM, THERE'S ALSO THE PROPOSED BUDGET DOCUMENT, UM, LIKE A, A THOUSAND PAGES OF, OF, OF NUMBERS NARRATIVE RELATED TO OUR BUDGET PROPOSAL FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
YOU'LL FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION IN THERE ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET, BUT IF YOU REALLY WANT TO GET GRANULAR WITH IT, UH, YOU NEED TO GET THE OPEN BUDGET, ATM X IT'S A REALLY EASY TO USE TOOL.
IT WORKS FALLING OFF YOUR PHONE, BY THE WAY, TOO.
IT'S EASY TO JUST DRILL DOWN INTO A SPECIFIC DEPARTMENT BUDGET.
UM, AND THEN YOU CAN ALSO JUST DOWNLOAD THE DATA.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD CLASS, YOU CAN WORK WITH LINE ITEM DATA INTO A SPREADSHEET OR DATABASE, UM, AND TO ANALYZE IT IF YOU WANT TO.
SO WITH THAT, WE ARE GOING TO COME TO A CLOSE HERE.
UM, ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU ALL MAY HAVE GOING FORWARD OR THAT SHE STILL WANT ANSWERED, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL EITHER THE BUDGET OFFICE AT BUDGET QA AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV, OR EITHER IT'S MORE DISTRICTS THAT ARE RELATED QUESTION, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO EMAIL OUR OFFICE AND YOU CAN EMAIL DIRECTLY TO OUR CHIEF OF STAFF WILL BE SOME FRIENDS MADE THAT'S L O U S I ALWAYS SPELL YOUR NAME.
LOUISA L O U I S A DOT BRINGS ME B R I N S M A D E.
AND THAT'S AT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV.
AND PLEASE JUST KNOW THAT WITH THESE EMAILS, UM, WE'LL PROBABLY GO TO BE RECEIVING A LOT OF THEM.
SO PLEASE, UM, I ASK THAT YOU ARE JUST RESPECTFUL AND PATIENT AND ALLOWING YOUR VISA AT THE TIME TO RESPOND TO YOU ALL.
UM, BUT I DO JUST WANT TO SAY OFF OF BEHALF OF BOTH ED AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
THANK YOU ALL FOR JOINING US AGAIN TONIGHT.
UM, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME HERE AND YOU CAN SEE THIS SLIDE HERE, VISIT AUSTIN, TEXAS.GOV/BUDGET TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BUDGET PROCESS, BUDGET DOCUMENTS, UM, AND FEEL FREE TO EMAIL US AT OUR OFFICE AT OUR GENERAL EMAIL AS WELL AS DISTRICT SEVEN.
AND SO ED AND COUNCIL MEMBER, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO SAY YOUR CLOSING REMARKS.
UM, WELL I WAS ACTUALLY JUST GOING TO RESPOND INTO THE CHAT TO THE, TO THE, UM, TO THE PERSON WHO JUST SAID, THANKS.
SO WOULD JUST SAY YOU'RE WELCOME.
UM, AND, AND, UM, I ENJOY DOING THIS.
I ALWAYS ENJOY COMING OUT TO, GOSH, I WISH I COULD ACTUALLY COME OUT TO DISTRICT SEVEN AND SEE YOU ALL IN PERSON, BUT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO JUST DO THIS VIRTUAL THING FOR, FOR A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT, UM, REALLY DO APPRECIATE, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE TAKING TIME TO COME AND JOIN IN ON A CONVERSATION, UM, TO ASK YOUR QUESTIONS.
AND I WOULD JUST ENCOURAGE YOU TO STAY ENGAGED.
WE KNOW THERE IS A LOT OF COMMUNITY INTEREST, UM, ON THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, UM, MAKE SURE TO ATTEND IF YOU CAN, ONE OF THOSE BUDGET INPUT SESSIONS AND, YOU KNOW, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL ABOUT YOUR BUDGET PRIORITIES FOR FISCAL YEAR 21.
SO AGAIN, JUST THANK YOU FOR COMING REALLY APPRECIATE IT.
UM, AND I ENJOYED THE CONVERSATION, ED, THANK YOU SO MUCH TO YOU AND TO YOUR FABULOUS BUDGET AND FINANCE STAFF, THANKS TO MY TEAM LERISSA AND KAYLA AND HEIDI AND SUZIE.
AND THANK YOU MOST, ESPECIALLY TO EVERYBODY WHO DIALED IN OR IS SITTING IN FRONT OF A SCREEN SOMEWHERE LISTENING AND WATCHING YOUR VOICES MATTER.
THIS IS REALLY THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK THAT THE CITY COUNCIL AND THE STAFF DOES.
THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK THAT WE DO ALL YEAR SETTING THE BUDGET AND HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS IS JUST REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
IT IS ACTUALLY ALSO FORTUNATELY PART OF MY FAVORITE.
THIS IS REALLY MY FAVORITE PART OF THE YEAR WHEN WE MAKE THE, HAVE THESE CONVERSATIONS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY AT THE GRASSROOTS LEVEL, LISTEN AND TRANSLATE YOUR CONCERNS AND YOUR WISHES INTO A REAL BUDGET.
[00:55:01]
UM, THAT'LL TAKE US THROUGH THE NEXT YEAR.SO VERY MUCH FOR BEING ONLINE WITH US TONIGHT.
AND PLEASE BE SAFE, STAY SAFE, WHERE YOUR MASK, IF YOU'RE OUTSIDE, PLEASE STAY HAPPY AND STAY HOME.