[00:00:07]
[Call to Order & Introductions]
BOARD TO ORDER I AM YOUR CHAIR, COUNCIL MEMBER, JIMMY FLANAGAN.UH, WE'VE GOT A QUORUM READY TO GO.
WE'VE GOT A GREAT AGENDA TODAY.
UM, SOMETHING THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE HAS BEEN WORKING ON, UH, TO REALLY GIVE US A BETTER VIEW OF WHAT BUDGET FUTURES LOOK LIKE.
AND, AND I WILL SAY AT LEAST FROM THE CITY SIDE, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A LOT OF PREDICTIONS BEING MADE BACK IN APRIL AND NOT ALL OF THEM CAME TRUE, WHICH IS KIND OF A GOOD NEWS SITUATION IN A WORLD OF BAD NEWS.
SO, UM, I'M EXCITED TO HEAR HOW EVERYONE ELSE'S BUDGETS ARE DOING.
AND OBVIOUSLY HALF OF US ARE THE BUDGETS AND HALF OF US BENEFIT FROM THOSE BUDGETS IN TERMS OF THE CAMP BOARD.
SO IT'LL BE A REALLY FASCINATING CONVERSATION TODAY.
UH, DO WE HAVE ANY CITIZENS COMMUNICATION? NOPE.
ALRIGHT THEN, UH, LET'S MOVE ON.
YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED THE MEETING MINUTES.
UM, AND AS I ALWAYS, OH, I ALMOST FORGOT TO SAY AS PER USUAL, UM, UH, KEEP YOURSELF ON MUTE.
IF YOU'RE NOT, UH, SPEAKING, THERE IS A RAISED HAND, A RAISE HAND FEATURE.
UM, THAT'LL LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK.
UM, AND THEN, UH, IF YOU FORGET TO MUTE YOURSELF, I WILL MUTE YOU ON MY OWN.
PLEASE DON'T TAKE IT PERSONALLY.
UH, IT JUST HELPS KEEP THE AUDIO GOING.
[Consider approval of Minutes for August 14th, 2010 CAN Board meeting. (Action Item)]
HAVE ALL RECEIVED THE MINUTES.UH, IS THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE ROLL? DID YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO ADD? YEAH, SORRY.
I USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE, UM, THE, UH, THEATER BABE, REAL CLOSE ATTENTION OVER THERE.
UM, BUT UM, I WOUND UP THAT THE ORIGINAL MINUTES THAT WENT OUT, LIKE ON TUESDAY, THEY WERE SLIGHTLY REVISED.
SO, SO IN THE MOST RECENT COMMUNICATION THIS MORNING THAT WAS ALREADY INCORPORATING SOME REVISIONS THAT NORRIS SUGGESTED.
SO JUST FYI THERE, THERE'S A SLIGHT REVISION TO THAT.
I JUST WANTED TO PUT THAT ON, BUT I PUT THAT ON THE RECORD THAT WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE VOTING ON THIS REVISED VERSION AND NOT THE INITIAL VERSION.
I THINK I SAW A MOTION BY ONE AND A SECOND BY NORA.
ANY FURTHER COMMENTS? SO SHE, SORRY, THERE'S JUST A SLIGHT TYPE OF THE BUILDING THAT WE'RE OPENING IS ONE, ONE NINE ONE NAVASOTA AND I JUST WANTED EVERYONE TO KNOW THAT.
ALL RIGHT, WE'LL GET THAT CORRECTED.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS ON THE MINUTES, RIGHT THEN IF THERE IS NO OBJECTION, THEN THOSE MINUTES ARE APPROVED.
[Community Council Update]
OUR COMMUNITY COUNCIL, UPDATE THIS COMSTOCK.IT'S NICE TO SEE YOUR FACES AGAIN.
UM, THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL TOPIC AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR WAS ANNOUNCED AS COMMUNITY HEALTH AND THAT'S FOCUSING ON THE MENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVE FROM THE BROADEST SENSE.
CERTAINLY THE PANDEMIC CAUSED A SHIFT IN THE DIRECTION OF THE PRESENTATIONS TO THE STRESSES CAUSED BY THE LACK OF FOOD SERVICES OR FEAR OF INFECTION.
WE HAVE HAD MANY PRESENTATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY SERVING INSTITUTIONS WHO RECEIVED FUNDING OR REPRESENTED SPECIAL POPULATIONS IN OUR COMMUNITY, SUCH AS INCARCERATED AND ELDERLY CARE.
THE REPORT FOR 2020, AND WHICH WILL ALSO INCLUDE 2019 WILL BE DELIVERED BY DECEMBER OR JANUARY OF 2021.
WE ARE PLANNING FOR 2021 IN BOTH NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER AND WORKING TO CREATE A FRAMEWORK THAT CAN BE USED BY FUTURE COUNCILS TO MAKE THE DECISION PROCESS A BIT EASIER WITH SO MUCH TO SHOOT CHOOSE FROM.
WE NEED A PROCESS TO SELECT THE MOST IMPERATIVE CONCERNS, WHERE I WILL PROVIDE A GREAT INFOGRAPHIC WITH QUESTIONS TO GUIDE OUR CONSIDERATION, BUT TIED TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION OF HEALTH IMPACTS, PREVENTATIVE BEHAVIORS, PROTECTIONS, AND RESOURCES FOR WORKERS, ECONOMIC RELIEF IMPACT ON PUBLIC EDUCATION AND OTHER WOULD BE HELD IN SAFETY AND ECONOMICS.
WE WERE LOOKING FOR INNOVATIVE APPROACHES.
THAT WAS ANOTHER, THE LAST, UM, PRESENTATIONS WE MADE.
AND WE ACTUALLY HAD, UH, RUBEN COME TO FROM, UM, CRT, THE COMMUNITY RESILIENCY TRUST COME AND DESCRIBE THE INNOVATIVE APPROACH.
HE TOOK US FROM THE BEGINNING TO WHERE THEY ARE TODAY, AND THEY'RE STILL FIGURING IT OUT WITH A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T KNOW EACH OTHER BEFORE COMING TOGETHER TO CREATE INCLUSION AND SHARING OF EXPERTISE FOR THE BETTERMENT OF THE COMMUNITY.
A MAJOR PROJECT THAT THEY'RE WORKING ON RIGHT NOW IS THE LATIN X SUBCOMMITTEE RESEARCH INITIATIVE, WHICH I AM A PART OF.
AND THE RACHEL SEARCH IS UNDERWAY.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO PROVIDING THE RESULTS OF THAT.
THERE'S BOTH A 15 OR 20 MINUTE DEMOGRAPHIC AND GENERAL SURVEY.
AND THEN THERE'S 45 MINUTE IN DEPTH INTERVIEWS THAT WILL PROVIDE A LOT OF VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION FOR US TO
[00:05:01]
LOOK AT.UH, I'M ALSO REITERATING AT THIS TIME THAT WE ARE RECRUITING MEMBERS FOR THE COMMUNITY COUNCIL AND THERE IS INFORMATION AND LINKS TO NOMINATE NEW CANNES COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEMBERS.
AND THOSE WILL BE SENT TO YOU SHORTLY.
WE ASK YOU TO RECOMMEND SOMEONE THAT YOU THINK IS APPROPRIATE IN YOUR ORGANIZATION OR SOMEONE THAT, YOU KNOW, ONCE PEOPLE ARE NOMINATED, WE WILL TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEM, SPEAK WITH THEM AND DETERMINE THEIR INTEREST AND FIT.
CURRENTLY, WE HAVE 16 MEMBERS, SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR ANOTHER, UM, 12 OF 14 AND WE'RE SEEKING MORE DIVERSITY.
IF WE CONTINUE WITH VIDEO CONFERENCE APPROACH, IT SHOULD BE EASIER TO FIND PEOPLE WHO CAN PARTICIPATE BECAUSE IT REQUIRES NO TRAVEL OR PARKING OR THINGS OF THAT NATURE.
AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE THREE AFRICAN-AMERICAN, FIVE HISPANIC, EIGHT WHITE.
SOME OF YOU HAVE INDICATED A WILLINGNESS TO HELP US FIND INDIVIDUALS WHO CAN REPRESENT ASIAN MIDDLE EASTERN AND OTHERS IN OUR COMMUNITY.
WE REALLY ARE LOOKING FOR DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION OF DIFFERENT IDEAS, DIFFERENT OPINIONS, AND WE REALLY WANT TO BE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE COMMUNITY.
AT THIS TIME, ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS ARE REPRESENTED WITH THE EXCEPTION OF DISTRICT THREE, BUT ALL COMMISSIONER'S COURT PRECINCTS ARE REPRESENTED.
WE'RE LOOKING FOR DEMONSTRATED LEADERSHIP AND INVOLVEMENT IN WORK FOR COMMUNITY ADVANCEMENT.
PRIOR EXPERIENCE WITH THE CAN OR COMMUNITY COUNCIL IS NOT REQUIRED.
PEOPLE WITH DIRECT EXPERIENCE WITH SOCIAL SERVICES ARE OF PARTICULAR INTEREST TO US.
WE HOPE TO HAVE NEW MEMBERS IDENTIFIED AND INVITED BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.
SO SHE, YOU SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR THE NOMINATION LINK, WHICH WILL COME LATER THIS EARLY NEXT WEEK, NANCY HUNTER, ANY ADDITIONS TO THAT, THOSE COMMENTS, I THINK YOU SUMMED IT UP.
AND SHE IS OUR NEW CHAIR STARTING IN JANUARY, SO THANK YOU, NANCY, FOR EVERYTHING YOU'VE DONE THIS YEAR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS COUNSEL? ALRIGHTY.
[Executive Director’s Report: Updates on Information & Engagement Efforts]
WE CAN MOVE ON TO OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.WELL, GOOD AFTERNOON EVERYONE.
AND I'M I'M HAILING FROM SOUTH TEXAS.
AND SO THIS FORMAT ALLOWS IS THOSE, UH, THOSE SITES THINGS THAT, YOU KNOW, I DO.
UM, MY, MY MOM, UH, HAD A, HAD A MEDICAL ISSUE, SO SHE'D BEEN IN THE HOSPITAL AND, UM, AND SHE'S DOING MUCH BETTER.
BUT, UH, THE, THE CARE FOR HER, THERE WAS A, AN ISSUE IF THE, THE CARE FOR HER THIS WEEKEND.
SO I'M KIND OF FILLING IN THE GAPS IN CARE JUST AS WE TRY TO DO AS, AS, AS A CAN, RIGHT.
SO, UM, BUT, UM, THE DOCTORS, YOU KNOW, PRETTY MUCH, YOU KNOW, CALLED IT CAUSE WE KEEP THANKING THE DOCTORS FOR, YOU KNOW, WHAT THEY DID FOR HER.
AND THEY KEEP SAYING, WELL, THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE THAT HAPPENED HERE.
SO IT WASN'T, THAT'S WHAT WE DO.
YOU KNOW, SHE, SHE HAD A, SHE HAD A MILD STROKE AND NOW SHE'S PROJECTED TO HAVE A FULL RECOVERY, A HUNDRED PERCENT, WHICH DOESN'T HARDLY EVER HAPPEN.
SO THE DOCTORS ARE LIKE THIS, SOMETHING ELSE INTERVENE HERE.
UH, SO DON'T, DON'T DISCOUNT THE POWER OF PRAYER, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN THESE TIMES, THAT'S DEFINITELY, UM, SOMETHING THAT WE'VE EXPERIENCED FIRSTHAND HERE.
SO SHE'S DOING GREAT AND I'M ABLE TO FUNCTION ON HER OWN AND PRETTY SOON SHE WON'T NEED ANY OF US TO HELP HER OUT.
BUT, UM, BUT THAT'S WHY I'M HERE.
AND I'M ACTUALLY IN MY NIECE'S ROOM, WHICH, UH, UM, IS ACTUALLY THE ROOM I GREW UP IN.
UH, IT'S THE SAME HOUSE, UH, AND IT'S ACTUALLY THE ROOM MY MOM GREW UP IN.
SO IT'S KIND OF A VERY, VERY STRANGE SORT OF A THING TO THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH KIND OF, OF OUR FAMILY HISTORY KIND OF, KIND OF PASSED THROUGH THIS ONE ROOM.
AND THE REASON I HAVE A FAKE BACKGROUND IT'S BECAUSE A THERE'S A PURPLE WALL AND THERE'S NAIL POLISH EVERYWHERE.
AND THERE'S K-POP POSTERS, WHICH, UH, I GUESS I COULD SHARE IT, BUT I'M JUST SHARING THIS, UH, CAN BACKGROUND INSTEAD.
UM, SO ANYWAYS, JUST, UH, JUST TO SAY THAT, YOU KNOW, IT'S, IT'S GREAT, AT LEAST IN THIS PLATFORM THAT YOU CAN STILL KIND OF BE FLEXIBLE ABOUT PARTICIPATING IN THESE SORTS OF THINGS, EVEN WHEN LIFE KIND OF INTERVENES AND MAKES YOU TAKE SOME TURNS.
UM, SO THANKS FOR LETTING ME, LET ME SHARE THAT.
UH, I DO HAVE A SHORT PRESENTATION CAUSE I KNOW WE HAVE VERY QUALITY PRESENTERS TODAY AND THANKS.
I SEE THAT THEY'RE, UH, MOST OF THEM ARE ON ALREADY.
SO THANKS FOR KIND OF GETTING ON EARLY AND LISTENING INTO THE CONVERSATION.
I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT, UH, FROM OUR ASIA AND CHAMBER PARTNERS, WE DO HAVE A, A NEW PERSON ON THE CALL.
I DIDN'T SEE ANYBODY ELSE NEW, BUT, UH, FUNG FUNG IS, UH, GOING TO BE THE NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.
SO WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THE APPOINTMENT AND MARINA IS GOING TO BE,
[00:10:01]
UM, ONBOARD STILL WITH THE TRANSITION THROUGH THE END OF THE YEAR, IS THAT RIGHT? MEDINA, BUT WE DO WANT TO WELCOME HOUSTON.SO, UM, FOLKS MAY NOT RECOGNIZE THE NAME OF THE FACE, AND I KNOW YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE ALL THE NAMES AND THE FACES, BUT IF WE TRIED TO HAVE ALL THE 26 KEN PARTNERS INTRODUCE THEMSELVES, WE'D BE OUT, WE'D BE AT A TIME.
UH, AND THEN ONE OTHER KIND OF JUST A POINT THAT I WOULD MAKE UP, I THINK RICH SIEGEL FROM THE LGBT CHAMBERS SAID HE WASN'T ABLE TO JOIN US.
SO HE WANTED TO SHARE A COUPLE OF MEETINGS.
SO I'M GOING TO PUT ONE IN THE CHAT RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN, AND THEN AFTER MY PRESENTATION, I'LL, UM, I'LL ADD THE OTHER MEETING.
I THINK THIS ONE'S A CANDIDATE FORUM NOTICE AND THEN THE OTHER ONE IS, UH, A HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMITTEE NOTICE.
SO I MENTIONED TO HIM, I COULD SHARE THOSE DETAILS.
SO LOOK IN THE CHAT, IF YOU WANT, YOU KNOW, MORE DETAILS ABOUT WHEN THOSE EVENTS ARE HAPPENING, BUT, UH, I'LL DO A QUICK POWERPOINT SO WE CAN GET TO OUR DISCUSSION, BUT I WANTED TO KIND OF LET YOU KNOW WHERE WE ARE WITH A FEW PROJECTS THAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
JUST SO YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT GOING TO GO ON FOREVER.
SO, UM, SO IT'S OUR SEPTEMBER MEETING.
IT'S SEPTEMBER GIVEN WHERE WE WERE TO, LIKE, IF YOU FEEL, FEELS LIKE IT'S MARCH AND WE'RE STILL DEALING WITH WHAT HAPPENED IN MARCH, UH, CAUSE WE ARE STILL DEALING WITH IT, BUT IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE IT'S SEPTEMBER ALREADY.
UM, AND YOU MAY, UM, YOU KNOW, ONE OF OUR, UM, ANNUAL THINGS THAT WE DO IS A, THAT DASHBOARD KIND OF RELEASE, UH, ANNUAL.
AND THAT USUALLY HAPPENS IN LATE MAY OR EARLY JUNE.
AND SO OBVIOUSLY WE WERE JUST, JUST KIND OF AT THE VERY BEGINNING OF THIS CRISIS, UH, BOTH HEALTH AND ECONOMIC AND WE KIND OF PUSHED THAT BACK, UM, UNTIL THE TIME SEEMED RIGHT.
AND, UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT AT THE TIME WE'LL EVER SEE.
CAUSE, UH, OF WHERE, WHERE WE'RE AT STILL, BUT, UH, WE WE'LL BE RELEASING THE DASHBOARD DATA, UM, AS SEPTEMBER 23RD.
AND UM, IF YOU GO TO THAT LINK WITH THE DOCUMENTS FOR THIS MEETING, YOU'LL BE ABLE TO KIND OF CLICK THAT ON THERE.
AND MAYBE JALINA, IF YOU CAN SHARE THAT, UH, IN THE CHAT, RIGHT.
SO YOU CAN REGISTER FOR THE EVENT.
UM, I'LL PROBABLY SEND A MEETING INVITATION AS WELL, SO JUST RESPOND TO ONE OR THE OTHER.
BUT THE 2020 CANNED DASHBOARD IS, UM, THE ANNUAL DASHBOARD WHERE WE TAKE INFORMATION FROM ALL THESE DIFFERENT SOURCES AND TO TRY TO SEE OVERALL, HOW ARE WE DOING IN TERMS OF OVERALL WELLBEING? AND MOST OF HIS DAD IS GOING TO BE FROM 2018.
SO IN TERMS OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF THINGS, RIGHT, IT'S NOT GOING TO BE THE MOST USEFUL EXCEPT TO COMPARE SORT OF WET AREAS, HAD CHALLENGES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND WET AREAS ARE HAVING CHALLENGES NOW, RIGHT? IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC, THERE IS A LOT, ACTUALLY YOU CAN LEARN BY KIND OF DOING THAT KIND OF ANALYSIS.
SO WE'LL TRY TO BE DOING, WE'LL TRY TO DO SOME OF THAT ANALYSIS IN THE DASHBOARD RELEASE AND THEN, BUT WE'RE ALSO LAUNCHING THE WEEKEND ATX THAT I'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT FOR MONTHS AND MONTHS.
UM, BUT THIS IS ONE THAT ACTUALLY HAS SOME MORE CURRENT DATA IN TERMS OF HEALTH, IN TERMS OF UNEMPLOYMENT, UH, IN TERMS OF OTHER DATA THAT RELATES MORE TO OUR CURRENT CHALLENGES.
SO WE THOUGHT IT WAS, IT'D BE, IT'D BE GREAT TO MAYBE JUXTAPOSE IT TO, TO SHOW HOW, AGAIN, WE'RE TRYING TO CREATE A RESOURCE THAT'S MORE TIMELY AND MORE RELEVANT KIND OF RIGHT NOW.
UM, I'M NOT GONNA KIND OF RUN THROUGH THE WEBSITE, BUT I KIND OF SHARED IT LAST TIME WHEN IT WAS GOING TO LOOK LIKE, BUT WE HAVE A SORT OF A GET INFORMED, GET HELP AND GET ENGAGED FORMAT TO IT.
SO THEY GET INFORMED PART WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE HAVE THE DATA ON SORT OF WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE CRISIS.
YOU KNOW, WE HAVE INFORMATION ABOUT SOME OF THE CITY ECONOMIC RELIEF PROGRAMS AND WE HOPE TO INCLUDE, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF ECONOMIC RELIEF INFORMATION FROM OTHER PROGRAMS AND SORT OF HOW THEY'RE BEING DEPLOYED, UH, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY GEOGRAPHICALLY, THEY GET HELP IS MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW CAN YOU GET HELP RIGHT NOW WITH, UH, WITH THE ISSUES THAT ARE IMPORTANT RIGHT NOW, LIKE COVID, UM, HELP HEALTHCARE OR HEALTH INSURANCE ACCESS, UNEMPLOYMENT ACCESS, UM, WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH COST OF TWO AND ONE WITH COST OF THREE, ONE, ONE, UH, AND THEN THERE'S A GET ENGAGED.
YOU KNOW, IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED, YOU WANT TO HELP, YOU KNOW, WHAT ARE WAYS FOR US TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW.
BUT I THINK THE IMPORTANT, ONE OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS I KEEP SAYING IS, CAUSE THIS, THIS KIND OF, WE HAD THREE, THREE PROJECTS MORPHED INTO ONE.
SO THIS KIND OF BECAME A, LET'S GET INFORMED AROUND THE PANDEMIC AND LET'S GET ENGAGED.
AND WE ALSO HAD THIS LANGUAGE ACCESS, UM, PROJECT GOING IN TERMS OF HOW FOLKS CAN GET HELP AND HOW CAN WE, HOW CAN WE COMMUNICATE WITH LINK LINGUISTICALLY ISOLATED COMMUNITIES?
[00:15:01]
THEY CAN HAVE BETTER ACCESS GENERALLY.BUT ALSO RIGHT IN THE TIME OF COVID, IT'S EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.
SO YOU'LL NOTE THAT APPEAR, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE ENGLISH AND SPANISH, CAUSE WE'VE BEEN KIND OF TROUBLESHOOTING THE SITE IN THOSE TWO LANGUAGES.
BUT ONCE WE HAVE THIS SITE FINALIZED, YOU KNOW, WE'VE ALREADY IDENTIFIED FOUR ADDITIONAL LANGUAGES THAT WE'RE GOING TO USE, YOU KNOW, WHERE WE'RE GOING TO TRANSLATE ALL THIS INFORMATION.
AND YEAH, I THINK IT'S CHINESE VIETNAMESE, ARABIC AND BURMESE, BUT WE WORK WITH, UM, YOU KNOW, I ACT WITH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY, THE PARTNERS TO SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT WOULD IT BE MOST USEFUL, RIGHT.
IN TERMS OF US PROVIDING THIS INFORMATION AND THEN YEAH.
AGAIN, AS WE, AS WE KIND OF DEVELOPED THE TOOL WE'LL, UH, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WE'LL HAVE TO, UM, THINK ABOUT ENGAGING, RIGHT? IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT PUTTING INFORMATION OUT THERE, BUT IF PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT IT YEAH.
YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT GOOD IS IT THAT THIS INFORMATION IS OUT THERE? UM, SO I THINK THAT, UM, SO AGAIN, SO YOU'LL SEE, EXPAND FROM JUST ENGLISH AND SPANISH AND THERE'S TWO OTHER LANGUAGES, UH, WHY DON'T, I WON'T SAY QUICKLY, BUT YOU KNOW, METHODICALLY RIGHT THERE, JUST TO MAKE SURE WE'RE DOING THIS, UH, UH, EFFECTIVELY AND ALSO, YOU KNOW, DO WE THINK THIS CAN BE ALSO A PLATFORM WHEN, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT CRISIS COMES? YOU KNOW, CAUSE EVERY TIME THERE'S A CRISIS, WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT, HOW DO WE SET UP THIS NONPROFIT INFRASTRUCTURE TO BETTER RESPOND RIGHT TO WHAT'S HAPPENING? SO THIS CAN BE A PLATFORM WHERE UNDER GET INFORMED AND WE CAN INFORM PEOPLE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH A PARTICULAR CRISIS UNDER GET HELP.
WE CAN INFORM PEOPLE, HOW CAN WE GET HELP RIGHT NOW, GIVEN THE CRISIS AT HAND, SAME THING WITH THE GET ENGAGED, RIGHT? SO WHEN THERE ISN'T A CRISIS THAT'S EMINENT OR THAT'S AND FOLDING, WE CAN USE THAT AS AN ENGAGEMENT IN A WAY TO ENGAGE AROUND THE DEBT AND NOT JUST PRESENT THAT UP.
BUT I THINK TIME OF CRISIS, WE CAN ALREADY HAVE A TOOL TO SAY, OKAY, LET'S PLOP INFORMATION.
THAT'S USEFUL HERE IN MANY DIFFERENT LANGUAGES, RIGHT.
TOO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS UNITY'S AND, UM, AND KIND OF, WE CAN JUST HAVE THAT CRISIS RESPONSE INFRASTRUCTURE GOING FORWARD.
SO I KNOW THERE'S A LOT THERE, BUT LIKE I SAID, WE COMBINED THREE DIFFERENT PROJECTS INTO ONE.
AND THAT WAY WE DON'T HAVE THREE DIFFERENT WEBSITES, WE ACTUALLY HAVE ONE WEBSITE WHERE INTEGRATES ALL OF THESE ELEMENTS.
SO, AND LET'S SEE WHAT THIS IS.
SO A COUPLE MORE THINGS WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND I KNOW, UH, UM, RELATED TO LANGUAGE ACCESS IN A ONE IS THAT OUR LANGUAGE ACCESS TEAM HAS BEEN DEVELOPED HELPING THESE COMMUNITY IN MODULES, RIGHT.
FOR CON FOR ENGAGING WITH, UM, COMMUNITIES, RIGHT, WHO SPEAK OTHER LANGUAGES WILL LINGUISTICALLY ISOLATED OR WHO JUST, YOU KNOW, HAVE A DIFFERENT NATIVE, UM, LANGUAGE THAT THEY SPEAK.
AND SO THERE'S A MODULE THAT WE'VE CREATED AND WE'RE KIND OF TROUBLESHOOTING THEM RIGHT NOW WITH A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT GROUPS IN THE COMMUNITY TO GIVE US FEEDBACK.
BUT IT'S A, THERE'S A KNOW YOUR RIGHTS COMP MODULE.
THERE'S A HEALTH AND FOOD MODULE, HOW TO ACCESS HEALTH AND FOOD ASSISTANCE, HOW TO STAY SAFE, HOW TO MANAGE YOUR MONEY, HOW TO NAVIGATE THE EDUCATION SYSTEM.
SO, UM, SO WE'RE KIND OF PRETTY CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS, BUT WE'RE NOT GONNA, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TRANSLATE THESE UNTIL WE KNOW THAT THEY'RE, THEY'RE VETTED RIGHT.
WITH, WITH SOME OF THESE COMMUNITIES WHERE WE'RE HOPING TO ENGAGE WITH THE INFORMATION.
SO THAT'S KINDA MORE TOOLS AND RESOURCES TO ENGAGE AROUND THE KIND OF RACE, RACE EQUITY FRONT.
UM, THERE'S A COUPLE OF TOOLS THAT WE'VE TALKED ABOUT THAT ARE, THAT ARE GETTING CLOSE TO ALSO BEING ALMOST DONE.
UM, AND I KNOW A COUPLE OF OUR PARTNERS HAD ASKED TO KIND OF PROVIDE FEEDBACK BEFORE THESE WERE DONE.
AND SO WE DO HAVE A COUPLE OF FEEDBACK OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE ONE VOICE EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE, WHICH IS THE BOTTOM ONE THERE ON THE SLIDE.
WE'RE CREATING A SERIES OF DISCUSSION TOPICS TO HAVE COURAGEOUS CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE.
THIS IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF A RESPONSE TO FOLKS REQUESTS FOR WAYS TO PRACTICE THE BEYOND DIVERSITY TOOLS, RIGHT, OR USING THE BEYOND DIVERSITY TOOLS AFTER YOU'VE DONE THE TRAINING, RIGHT? WHAT'S THE NEXT STEP I CAN, WE USE THOSE TOOLS AND HAVING CONVERSATIONS.
SO THIS WOULD BE A SERIES OF TOPICS, RIGHT.
THAT CAN BE FACILITATED TO PRACTICE USING THOSE TOOLS.
AND SO SEPTEMBER 25TH, WITH THE ONE VOICE, A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE ONE VOICE EQUITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE IS GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THAT.
IF YOU WANT TO JOIN US HAPPY TO SEND YOU THAT INFORMATION.
AND IN TERMS OF THE RACE EQUITY COLLECTIVE, WE ANNOUNCED, UH, LAST TIME, UM, WE ARE CREATING A RACE EQUITY ASSET MAP, RIGHT.
JUST TO KIND OF MAP OUT SORT OF WHAT ARE THE NEEDS IN THAT COMMUNITY.
UM, WHERE ARE THEIR RESOURCES, WHERE ARE THERE RESOURCES LACKING? AND, UM, AND IT LOOKS LIKE AT THE TOBER EQUITY ACTION TEAM OF THE CITY'S EQUITY OFFICE, WE'LL BE PRESENTING A DRAFT VERSION OF THAT.
UM, SO I KNOW, AGAIN, AGAIN, SEVERAL FOLKS HAD ASKED TO BE INCLUDED IN THE FEEDBACK PROCESS, YOU KNOW, FOR THESE TOOLS.
SO, UH, WE'RE FINALLY AT A POINT RIGHT, WHERE WE CAN PRESENT SOMETHING THAT WE, WE THINK AT LEAST
[00:20:01]
IS READY FOR PRESENTATION, BUT THAT ISN'T FINAL.AND THEN YOU CAN STILL KIND OF PROVIDE INPUT.
UM, SO THAT'S IT, THAT'S WHAT WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON.
THERE'S SOME THINGS THAT ARE JUST ABOUT TO STOP THERE, CAUSE I'M NOT DONE A LOT OF TALKING.
UM, BUT, UM, BUT A LOT OF GREAT THINGS, A LOT OF GREAT THINGS ARE HAPPENING AND WE THANK EVERYONE WHO'S, UM, HELPED WITH IT AND FOR YOUR PATIENTS IN GETTING THESE LAUNCHED.
BUT WE DO THINK THESE ARE TOOLS THAT CAN HELP OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PARTNERS GOING FORWARD.
UH, AND HAPPY AGAIN, TO HAVE ONE ON ONE CONVERSATIONS.
IF YOU HEARD SOMETHING YOU WANTED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE A MEETING WHERE WE HAVE TO SCHEDULE 10 DIFFERENT PEOPLE.
JUST REACH OUT TO US AND HAPPY TO HAVE A ONE ON ONE CONVERSATION WITH ANYONE ON ANY OF THESE TOPICS.
SO I'LL OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS.
I KNOW WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME, BUT UNLESS THEY CHANGES, WANTS TO MOVE LONGER, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF MINUTES ACCORDING TO THE AGENDA.
IF FOLKS DO HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR WHAT REBEL PRESENTED, BUT I THINK GENERALLY IT'S GOOD STUFF HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WELL, UM, I THINK WE CAN MOVE RIGHT
[CAN Partner Budget Highlights from 2020-21 Adopted Budget & Preview of Key Drivers for 2021-22 Budget Process]
INTO OUR, OUR, UM, THE MEAT OF OUR MEETING TODAY TALKING TO, UM, YOU KNOW, TALKING ABOUT THESE, THESE NEW BUDGET REALITIES THAT WE HAVE, UM, WHO IS, I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL START WITH TRAVIS COUNTY AND THEN WE'LL HAVE OUR TWO, WE'LL HAVE THE TWO CITIES GO AUSTIN AND PFLUGERVILLE.UM, WHO IS, WHO IS SPEAKING HERE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY? JESSICA? GOOD AFTERNOON.
HOW IS EVERYONE? UM, MY NAME IS JESSICA RIO.
I'M THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE FOR TRAVIS COUNTY.
AND BEFORE I GET STARTED, I JUST WANT TO DO A QUICK SOUND CHECK IF I DON'T USE ZOOM FOR WORK THAT MUCH, I JUST WANNA MAKE SURE EVERYBODY CAN HEAR ME PRETTY CLEARLY.
I DON'T HAVE TO CALL IN OR ANYTHING.
SO I AM GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN AND I'M GOING TO DO A FAIRLY SHORT PRESENTATION AND THEN I'LL LEAVE HOPEFULLY A LITTLE BIT OF TIME AT THE END IF THERE ARE QUESTIONS.
SO LET'S SEE IF I DO THIS SUCCESSFULLY, I GET TO BE THE GUINEA PIG AND GO FIRST.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND GET STARTED.
IF I CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO MOVE THESE AROUND.
I AM GOING TO STOP SHARING AND I'M GOING TO TRY TO SHARE FROM MY POWERPOINT, CAUSE THAT DID NOT MOVE LOOKS GOOD FOR US ONE MORE TIME.
NOW, IF I DO START FROM HERE, LET'S SEE IF THAT WORKS.
SO TODAY, UM, I'M BRIEFLY GOING TO GO OVER JUST WHERE WE'RE AT WITH MAINLY CARE'S FUNDING IS WHAT I'M GOING TO TALK ABOUT, UM, WITH REGARDS TO HOW WE'VE, UM, OR, OR THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING IN REGARDS TO COVID-19.
UM, I'M ALSO GOING TO GO THROUGH OUR
WE ARE PAST THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET.
WE ACTUALLY WILL BE FILING OUR PROPOSED BUDGET ON, I BELIEVE THE 25TH OF SEPTEMBER AND BUDGET WILL BE ADOPTED ON THE 29TH OF SEPTEMBER.
UM, BUT THERE HAVE NOT BEEN TOO MANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES OTHER THAN ONE THAT I'LL NOTE IN THE PRESENTATION PAST THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET.
AND THEN WE'LL TALK A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT FISCAL CHALLENGES THAT WE FORESEE GOING INTO THE FUTURE.
SO THIS FIRST SLIDE JUST PROVIDES YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE CARES ACT, CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND ALLOCATION THAT TRAVIS COUNTY RECEIVED.
UH, WE DID RECEIVE 61.1 MILLION.
UH, WE ARE VERY GRATEFUL FOR THE 61 MILLION WE WOULD HAVE LIKED, UM, MORE.
UM, HOWEVER I THINK THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS DONE GOOD WORK AND ALLOCATING THESE FUNDS TO BENEFIT THE COMMUNITY AND ALSO ENSURING THAT WE HAVE A SAFE WORKPLACE AND THAT WE ARE ABLE TO HAVE, UH, APPROPRIATE WORK FROM HOME EQUIPMENT AS WELL.
UH, WE ALSO HAVE A COUNTY RESPONSE ALLOCATION, UH, IN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN THAT, UH, WE'RE WORKING THROUGH SOME INNER LOCALS RIGHT NOW TO GET THAT, UM, PUT TO ASSIST THERE AS WELL.
NOW, GOING ON TO THE BUDGET, UH, MUCH AS WAS DISCUSSED EARLIER, WE ALSO HAD PREDICTIONS IN APRIL THAT HAVE CONTINUED TO GET BETTER OVER TIME.
WE WERE, UM, VERY MUCH IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD BACK IN APRIL AND FALL, ESPECIALLY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE MAINLY HAVE PROPERTY TAXES AND PROPERTY TAXES ARE A BLESSING IN THE SENSE THAT THEY WERE VERY STABLE REVENUE SOURCE.
UH, AND WE HAD ALREADY HAD PROPERTY TAXES IN THIS LAST YEAR.
AND SO MOST PEOPLE HAD ALREADY PAID THEIR TAXES AND WE HAD THAT IN THE BANK, SO TO SPEAK.
[00:25:01]
UM, OUR OTHER REVENUES DROPPED PRETTY DRAMATICALLY AND PRETTY SIGNIFICANTLY.SO BACK IN APRIL, UH, WE HAD TO GO TO THE COMMISSIONER OF SPORT AND SAY, YOU KNOW, WE REALIZED THAT YOU HAVE GIVEN US SOME GUIDELINES GOING FORWARD FOR THIS BUDGET PROCESS, BUT WE NOW NEED TO REVISIT ALL OF THE ASSUMPTIONS THAT WENT INTO THOSE GUIDELINES.
UM, AND, UH, ALSO IN, IN TRYING TO ENSURE THAT WE COULD MAINTAIN OUR WORKFORCE, WE DID IMPLEMENT A HIRING FREEZE AT THAT TIME TO REALLY DEAL WITH THE UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WERE GOING ON.
UM, AS TIME PROGRESSED, THINGS GOT A LITTLE BIT BETTER.
AND, UM, NEVERTHELESS THOUGH WE'VE WORKED WITH DEPARTMENTS AND WE HAVE OVER 50 INDEPENDENTLY ELECTED OFFICIALS.
WE HAVE APPOINTED OFFICIALS, WE WORKED VERY DILIGENTLY AND THEY WERE, THEY WERE VERY MUCH TEAM PLAYERS.
UM, AND WE RECOMMENDED OVER $8 MILLION IN REDUCTIONS.
UM, A LOT OF THOSE REDUCTIONS ALSO WERE WITH PERSONNEL, BUT THE 50.25 FTE THAT ARE NOTED HERE.
UH, MANY OF THOSE WERE IN THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE.
WE HAVE A MUCH LOWER AVERAGE DAILY POPULATION THAN WE'VE HAD IN PREVIOUS YEARS.
UH, AND THIS IS ON TOP OF REDUCTIONS THAT WE MADE LAST YEAR AS WELL IN THAT AREA.
AND THEN, UM, AFTER THAT, WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS WITHIN THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET THAT MAINTAINED OUR CURRENT SERVICE LEVELS AND REALLY WAS A TRULY FINANCIALLY SOUND PRELIMINARY BUDGET THAT WE PRESENTED TO COMMISSIONER'S COURT ON AUGUST 18TH.
AND THEN THAT THEY WORKED WITH DURING MARKUP ON SEPTEMBER 3RD.
WE DID NOT HAVE VEGETARIANS THOUGH THIS YEAR.
AND SO IT WAS A DIFFERENT BUDGET PROCESS THAN IN THE PAST.
UH, AND THE ONLY SIGNIFICANT THING THAT I SAID, YOU KNOW, I WOULD NOTE THAT CHANGED AFTER PRELIMINARY BUDGET IS THE ALLOCATION OF MODEST 2%, UM, IN, IN COMPENSATION ACROSS THE BOARD, UH, TO BE IN LINE WITH, UM, OTHER GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES.
I'M SORRY, I CAN'T SEE EVERYBODY, BUT IF YOU'RE GOING TO KEEP GOING.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST A SNAPSHOT OF AGAIN, THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET.
SO THESE NUMBERS HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE PUBLICATION OF THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET, BUT, UM, THIS IS A SNAPSHOT OF A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE PRELIMINARY BUDGET AND THE
WHAT I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT HERE ARE JUST TWO THINGS.
ONE IS THAT BEGINNING FUND BALANCE YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THAT BEGINNING FUND BALANCE WENT UP SIGNIFICANTLY AND THAT IS BY DESIGN.
SO BACK IN APRIL AND MAY, WHEN WE WERE UPDATING THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, WE SAID, DEAR COURT, WE NEED TO, WE, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY HAVE A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY OUT THERE RIGHT NOW, AND WE NEED TO SET ASIDE $35 MILLION IN, UM, FUNDING THAT WE WERE GOING TO DO PATCH FOR CAPITAL IT'S OUR CASH FOR CAPITAL PROGRAM.
AND INSTEAD WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT CONSIDER THAT FINANCING THOSE PROJECTS, BUT THAT ALLOWED US TO DO IS TWO THINGS.
ONE WE BORROWED AT THE LOWEST RATES WE'VE EVER SEEN, UM, ON, ON PAPER RECORDS THAT WE WERE ABLE TO FIND.
AND TWO, WE WERE ABLE TO CARRY THAT $35 MILLION INTO NEXT YEAR TO HELP US WITH ANY TYPE OF, UH, UNCERTAINTY STILL THAT COME WITH PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS NEXT YEAR.
UM, SO THAT WAS ONE THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT HERE.
AND THEN THE OTHER THING I WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT IS THAT YOU CAN SEE THAT THE OVERALL BUDGET DID GO UP BY 5.9%.
HOWEVER, IF YOU LOOK AT ONLY ONGOING REVENUE, IT WENT UP BY 0.4%.
AND THAT IS REALLY, REALLY, UM, I THINK TRAVIS GATLIN, OUR BUDGET DIRECTOR LOOKED FOR THE LAST 20 TO 30 YEARS AND HAD NOT SEEN A, AN INCREASE SO MODEST OR SO SMALL HERE IS A SLIDE ON OUR TAX RATES.
UH, THIS TAX RATE WILL BE ADOPTED ACTUALLY, UH, ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15TH, WE HAD A PUBLIC HEARING ON, ON IT ON THE EIGHTH.
UM, WE ARE AT 3.6% ABOVE WHAT USED TO BE CALLED THE EFFECTIVE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS RATE NOW IS THE NO NEW REVENUE RATE MAINTENANCE AND OPERATIONS PORTION.
AND, UH, THE IMPACT WHILE IT IS APPROXIMATELY 40, I WANT TO SAY 46, $47.
UM, ONE THING THAT IS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR THAT I SAID THAT WE LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT AND MAKE SURE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND IS THAT PROPERTIES, MANY OF THE RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES WERE NOT REAPPRAISED.
AND WHEN WE REACHED OUT TO T CAD, I BELIEVE IT WAS 63% OF PROPERTIES DID NOT SEE A CHANGE IN THEIR ASSESSED VALUE.
AND SO WITHOUT THAT CHANGE IN THE ASSESSED VALUE THAT INCREASE FROM YEAR TO YEAR IS MUCH LESS FOR THE TRAVIS COUNTY'S PORTION OF THE TAX BILL, PREFERABLY 22 AND BEYOND.
AND THIS WAS THE FIRST YEAR OF TWO THAT HAS BEEN OUR, OUR, UM, LARGEST CONCERN.
AND LAST YEAR, UH, GOING INTO THIS BUDGET PROCESS, THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT, UH, DID A VERY BRAVE THING AND WENT TO 8%
[00:30:01]
ABOUT WHAT WAS THEN THE EFFECTIVE RATE, AND THAT ALLOWED US TO HAVE A BETTER RESPONSE TO THE COVID SITUATION THAN WE WOULD HAVE OTHERWISE.UM, BUT AS YOU KNOW, SPQ, UH, LIMITS THAT FLEXIBILITY AND GOING FORWARD, UH, THAT LIMIT IS 3.5% THIS YEAR, AS I MENTIONED, WE'RE AT 3.6, AND I SHOULD SAY THAT WE ARE, UH, CALCULATING IT AS A SPECIAL TAXING IN IT BECAUSE OF THE DISASTER.
UM, THE OTHER THING THAT, UH, I WOULD SAY GOING FORWARD, NOT, YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE UNCERTAINTY OF, OF THE CURRENT PANDEMIC AND THERE'S THE UNCERTAINTY OF SB TOO, BUT WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF WHAT I CALL BAKED IN COST DRIVERS FOR MANDATED SERVICES AND ALSO COMMITMENTS THAT THE COMMISSIONER'S COURT HAS MADE PROGRAMMATICALLY.
AND I THINK THAT THE MOST RECOGNIZABLE ONE IS THE SETTING UP OF A PUBLIC DEFENDER'S OFFICE, UM, OVER THE NEXT FEW YEARS, WHICH IS AN ENORMOUS TASK.
AND, UM, IT, IT CERTAINLY HAS REQUIRED SOME FINANCIAL PLANNING ON OUR PART TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT IS SET UP SUCCESSFULLY IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS.
UM, AND SO REALLY WHAT WE'RE TELLING DEPARTMENTS IS, YOU KNOW, WE REALLY NEED TO BE LOOKING AT IT, UH, IN THE CONTEXT OF A THREE TO FIVE YEAR PLANNING HORIZON.
YOU KNOW, WE ALWAYS DID LOOK AHEAD FOR SURE, BUT I THINK IT'S, WE'RE UNDER A LOT MORE PRESSURE NOW TO NOT ONLY LOOK AT THE NEXT FISCAL YEAR, BUT TWO TO THREE YEARS OUT.
AND THAT CONCLUDES THE PRESENTATION.
I SAID IT WOULD BE SHORT AND SWEET, AND I AM HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS FOR JESSICA ABOUT TRAVIS COUNTY'S PRESENTATION THE BEST.
EVERYBODY WE'RE GONNA, WE'RE GONNA KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
THAT WAS REALLY GOOD INFORMATION HERE FROM TRAVIS COUNTY.
UH, LET'S GO AHEAD AND, UH, HAVE
I CAN SEE THAT NOW I CAN SEE IT JUST BARELY.
I I'M LIVING IN A PORTION OF THE CITY THAT HAS NO INTERNET TODAY.
MY ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOOD IS, IS, IS OUT.
SO, UM, I'M LOOKING AT MY PHONE, BUT COUNCIL MEMBER, I SEE YOU HAVE THE PRESENTATION UP, SO I WILL JUST, UM, MOVE RIGHT AHEAD.
I'M GOING TO COVER THE SAME AREAS.
JESSICA DID TALK ABOUT THE CITY'S COVID-19 SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
UM, I'LL TOUCH ON OUR FYI 21 BUDGET THAT OUR COUNCIL RECENTLY APPROVED AND THEN JUST CLOSE OUT, UM, LOOKING AT SOME OF OUR LONGER TERM OF OUR LONGER TERM CHALLENGES THAT WE SEE.
UM, I THINK WE'D GO AHEAD AND SKIP AHEAD.
TWO SLIDES, COUNCIL MEMBER, UM, AND ON SLIDE THREE, YOU CAN SEE WHAT THAT COVID-19 SPENDING FRAMEWORK FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN LOOKS LIKE.
UM, OUR COUNCIL APPROVED THIS EARLIER IN FISCAL YEAR 2020, UM, A SPENDING FRAMEWORK THAT, UM, ENCOMPASSES A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT FUNDING SOURCES TOTALLY IN $330.3 MILLION.
MOST OF THIS FUNDING COMING FROM, UM, UM, THE CARES ACT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, THE BIGGEST PIECE OF THAT BEING THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, UM, SIMILAR TO TRAVIS COUNTY, AUSTIN WAS ONE OF THE JURISDICTIONS THAT'S LARGE ENOUGH TO HAVE RECEIVED A DIRECT ALLOCATION, UM, OF THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND.
IN OUR CASE, IT WAS $170.8 MILLION.
UM, WE DO OWN AND OPERATE THE AUSTIN BRIDGE FROM INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, AND THERE WAS A DEDICATED PIECE OF THE CARES ACT TO SUPPORT AIRPORTS.
UM, IN OUR CASE THAT WAS 58.7 MILLION.
ALL OF THAT MONEY HAS TO STAY WITHIN THE BORDERS OF THE AIRPORT AND CAN BE USED FOR THE OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR AIRPORT.
UM, WE ARE ANTICIPATING PROJECTING CURRENTLY THAT OUR REIMBURSEMENT FOR FEMA WILL BE, UM, AT $55 MILLION.
THAT'S A NUMBER THAT'S STILL IN FLUX, BUT THAT'S OUR CURRENT ESTIMATE.
UM, OTHER SOURCES OF FEDERAL FUNDS, $7 MILLION OF, UH, INCREASED ALLOCATION FROM HUD, UM, PRIMARILY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, BLOCK GRANTS AND EMERGENCY SOLUTION GRANTS, AND THEN $13.8 MILLION FROM A VARIETY OF OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS.
UM, OUR RESERVE LEVELS AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS CRISIS WERE $25 MILLION ABOVE WHAT OUR COUNCIL APPROVED POLICY LEVEL IS.
AND SO THE CITY COUNCIL ENDORSED USING THAT EXCESS RESERVE AS PART OF OUR SPENDING FRAMEWORK.
AND IT'S A REAL IMPORTANT SOURCE OF FUNDING WHILE IT'S, UM, SMALL COMPARED TO THE OVERALL SPENDING, UH, FUNDING WHERE YOU RECEIVE IT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT BECAUSE THAT FUNDING IS VERY FLEXIBLE AND ALLOWS US TO ADDRESS SOME AREAS OF NEED THAT MIGHT NOT BE ELIGIBLE USING FEDERAL FUNDS.
AGAIN, THE 58.7 FOR THE AIRPORT HAS TO STAY WITH THE AIRPORT.
I'M GOING TO TOUCH JUST A LITTLE BIT, JUST HAVE A FEW SLIDES TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE REMAINING 270 PLUS MILLION DOLLARS OF THE SPENDING FRAMEWORK WAS ALLOCATED, WENT TO THREE AREAS ON SLIDE
[00:35:01]
FOUR, YOU CAN SEE $105.5 MILLION.UM, OF THE FRAMEWORK WENT TO WHAT WE CARE CATEGORIZED AS EMERGENCY RESPONSE.
THIS IS OUR, UH, DIRECT EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE
UM, A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THIS MONEY IS RELATED TO THE ALLOWABLE USE IN THE CORONAVIRUS RELIEF FUND, UM, FOR PAYROLL EXPENSES OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND PUBLIC HEALTH STAFF THAT HAVE BEEN DEDICATED TO COVID-19.
UM, THE NEXT LARGEST PORTION WAS FOR ECONOMIC SUPPORT.
UM, THIS WAS ECONOMIC SUPPORT, DIRECT FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO INDIVIDUALS, BUT ALSO FOOD ASSISTANCE, RENTAL ASSISTANCE, UTILITY BILL ASSISTANCE.
UM, AND THEN A NUMBER OF, UM, PROGRAMS DESIGNED TO SUPPORT, UM, BUSINESSES, THE NOT FOR NONPROFIT SECTOR, UM, OUR CREATIVE SECTOR, UH, CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, UM, AND THEN FUNDING FOR, UH, WORKFORCE WORKERS DEVELOPMENT, AND ALSO TO HELP, UH, WITH WORKER AND CUSTOMER SAFETY.
SO A LOT OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE BEING LAUNCHED RELATED TO PROVIDING ECONOMIC SUPPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY AND BUSINESSES.
AND THEN THE FINAL AREA OF OUR SPENDING FRAMEWORK HAD TO DO WITH ADDRESSING THE MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH NEEDS WAS OF COURSE OUR EXTENSIVE, UM, THIS HAS TO DO WITH PROTECTING OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, OUR, UM, UH, PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS, UH, UM, NURSING HOMES, UM, ALSO TESTING AND CONTACT TRACING OUR EPIDEMIOLOGY RESPONSE, UM, PROVIDING SHELTERS AND QUARANTINE FACILITIES, UM, AS WELL AS MEDICAL AND PROTECTIVE SUPPLIES.
UM, NOT ONLY TO OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, BUT ALSO, UM, UM, TO COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
SO THAT'S, THAT'S KIND OF OUR BIG PICTURE OF THE FUNDING THAT WE HAVE AVAILABLE FOR ADDRESSING THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY AND, UM, HOW THE FUNDING'S BEING IMPLEMENTED.
I'M GOING TO THEN JUST QUICKLY GO INTO OUR FYI 20, 21 BUDGET, WHICH THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVED IN AUGUST.
WE ADVANCED OUR BUDGET TIMELINE BY ONE MONTH THIS YEAR, TYPICALLY, UM, LIKE IN TRAVIS COUNTY, TYPICALLY THE AUSTIN WOULD APPROVE ITS BUDGET IN SEPTEMBER, UM, BUT IN ANTICIPATION OR IN RESPONSE REALLY TO THE, UM, NEW TAX CAPS, UM, PUT IN PLACE BY THE STATE LEGISLATURE LAST YEAR, UM, WE ELECTED TO MOVE OUR BUDGET PROCESS AHEAD BY ONE MONTH SO THAT WE COULD GET OUR BUDGET ADOPTED IN AUGUST.
AND IF THERE WAS A NEED OR DESIRE TO DO A TAX RATE ELECTION, WE STILL HAD THE, UH, THE, UH, THE TIME TO MEET THE NECESSARY STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS RELATED TO CALLING IT A TAX RATE ELECTION.
UH, YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE IN FRONT OF YOU, THE BUDGET, THE COUNCIL APPROVED IS 4.2 BILLION.
UM, ROUGHLY 25% OF THAT, UM, IS TO OUR GENERAL FUND OPERATING BUDGET.
I'LL TALK MORE ABOUT THAT ON THE, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT AN IMPORTANT THING TO KEEP IN MIND WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN IS 75% OF OUR BUDGET COMES FROM VARIOUS ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS WITH AUSTIN ENERGY AND AUSTIN WATER, OUR ENERGY AND WATER UTILITY, UM, BEING THE TWO BIGGEST ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS.
BUT AS I MENTIONED EARLIER IN THIS PRESENTATION, WE ALSO RUN THE AIRPORT, UM, AND THEN A VARIETY OF OTHER ENTERPRISE OPERATIONS.
BUT OF COURSE THE BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN ENTERPRISE OPERATION AND THE GENERAL FUND IS THAT THE ENTER IT'S OPERATIONS, UM, ASSESS A FEE OR A, OR A RATE, UM, IS ASSESSED TO RECOVER THE COST OF PROVIDING THE SERVICES TO THEIR CUSTOMERS.
WHEREAS THE GENERAL FUND IS PREDOMINANTLY THROUGH TAX REVENUE.
UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I'LL DIVE A LITTLE BIT FURTHER INTO THAT, UH, GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
AS I MENTIONED, IT'S 25% OF OUR OVERALL BUDGET, OR ABOUT $1.1 BILLION.
THE LARGEST PORTION OF THE FUNDING GOES TO FUND OUR THREE PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS, UH, THAT'S POLICE FIRE, AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES.
OF COURSE, THIS YEAR, THERE WAS A LOT OF DISCUSSION ABOUT THE POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.
AND SO YOU'LL SEE IN THIS GENERAL FUND ALLOCATION, TWO NEW FUNDS THAT THE CITY COUNCIL ESTABLISHED, UM, THE ONE CALLED A DECOUPLE FUND AND ONE CALLED A RE-IMAGINED SAFETY FUND.
SO THAT 11% COMBINED OF THE GENERAL FUND BUDGET.
UM, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE BUDGET FOR THE CURRENT YEAR AND IN PREVIOUS YEARS, THAT WAS PART OF THE GENERAL FUND, OR I'M SORRY, PART OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, UM, IN THE FISCAL YEAR 21, UH, BUDGET, THE COUNCIL CARVED THE FUNDING FOR THOSE TWO FUNDS, UM, UM, INTO, INTO SEPARATE BUCKETS.
AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT FROM NEXT SLIDE.
I'M GOING TO GO OVER ALL OF THIS ON THE NEXT SLIDE, BUT, UM, A LOT HAS BEEN TALKED ABOUT, UH, THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY ASPECT OF THE CITY OF AUSTIN FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET.
UM, I PUT THIS IN HERE FOR, UM,
[00:40:01]
YOUR INFORMATION.SO IF YOU GET ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT ACTUALLY, UM, UH, OCCURRED WITHIN THE BUD PACK, CLEAR INFORMATION.
AND SO WE BREAK IT INTO THESE FOUR COLUMNS, UM, THERE WAS 31 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS OF IMMEDIATE REDUCTIONS THAT WERE MADE TO THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT'S BUDGET.
AND YOU CAN SEE THE VARIETY OF LINE ITEMS THAT WERE REDUCED, UM, THAT MONEY THOUGH, WASN'T CUT TO, UM, TO LOWER THE BUDGET.
WHAT IT WAS DONE IS WE REDIRECTED, UH, REALLOCATED, THOSE FUNDS TO OTHER INVESTMENTS IN COMMUNITY SAFETY.
SO YOU'LL SEE THAT AT 31 AND A HALF MILLION DOLLARS WAS USED TO ENHANCE OUR EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT AND PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENTS, UM, FOR COVID-19 RELATED RESOURCES PROVIDED ADDITIONAL FUNDING FOR FAMILY VIOLENCE, SHELTER, UH, VICTIM SERVICES, UM, MENTAL HEALTH, FIRST RESPONSE.
AND SO, UM, THE FIRST ASPECT OF THE RE-IMAGINING WAS TO, UH, MAKE A VARIETY OF REDUCTIONS TO THE POLICE DEPARTMENT BUDGET PREDOMINANTLY, UM, REDUCING VACANT POSITIONS, UM, IS WHERE THE BULK OF THE SAVINGS CAME FROM, BUT THERE WAS A NUMBER OF OTHER AREAS, BUT MOST OF IT CAME FROM REDUCING, UH, THE, UM, THE NUMBER OF VACANCIES CURRENTLY IN THE DEPARTMENT, AND THEN REALLOCATING THOSE RESOURCES TO, UM, OTHER AREAS OF, UM, OF PUBLIC SAFETY THROUGHOUT THE CITY.
UM, THEN AS I MENTIONED, THERE'S TWO NEW FUNDS THAT WERE CREATED AND THIS, UH, TOOK FUNDING FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AND JUST SIMPLY TRANSFERRED IT TO A DECOUPLE FUND AND A RE-IMAGINED SAFETY FUND, UM, WHICH IS WHERE THE, THE FUNDING WILL REMAIN WHILE THESE VARIOUS PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES ARE REVIEWED FURTHER BY A, UH, A TASK FORCE BY A WORKING GROUP TO DETERMINE IF THERE'S ALTERNATIVES, WHAT ALTERNATIVES TO THESE TYPES OF SERVICES MIGHT EXIST, THAT WOULD, UM, THAT WOULD BETTER ADDRESS THE NEED OR ARE THERE PERHAPS OTHER AREAS OR OTHER ORGANIZATIONAL UNITS OF THE CITY THAT THESE UNITS SHOULD BE TRANSFERRED TO? UM, SO THAT'S KIND OF A SUMMARY OF WHAT OCCURRED WITH THE RE-IMAGINING OF OUR PUBLIC SAFETY BUDGET.
UM, ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I JUST SHOW WHAT THE, UH, THE TAX IN RATE IMPACT LOOKS LIKE.
UM, AS I MENTIONED, WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ENTERPRISE DEPARTMENTS.
UH, THE GENERAL FUND IS PREDOMINANTLY FUNDED THROUGH PROPERTY TAXES.
UM, AND YOU CAN SEE THE BOTTOM LINE OF THIS SLIDE IS THAT OVERALL, UM, WE ARE FORECASTING A $39 AND 62 CENTS, OR ROUGHLY A 1% INCREASE IN A COMBINED TAX AND THE TAX AND UTILITY BILL, UH, FOR A TYPICAL AUSTIN NIGHT.
I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE, UM, A PERSPECTIVE 8.75 PENNY INCREASE FROM THE NOVEMBER TAX RATE ELECTION ON PROJECT CONNECT THAT WOULD INCREASE THESE NUMBERS IF THE VOTERS APPROVE THE PROJECT CONNECT.
SO I THINK WE CAN ADVANCE TWO MORE SLIDES COUNCIL MEMBER AND JUST KIND OF GET TO LOOKING AHEAD.
UM, AS JESSICA MENTIONED, AUSTIN IS FACING THE SAME THREE AND A HALF PERCENT PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAP.
UM, FOR US PROPERTY TAXES ARE ABOUT 50% OF OUR TOTAL REVENUE.
UM, SO HAVING THAT IMPORTANT REVENUE SOURCE CAPPED AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, UM, CREATES A LARGE FINANCIAL CHALLENGE FOR US.
UM, TYPICALLY OUR GROWTH AND COST DRIVERS, UM, JUST KIND OF BASIC COST DRIVERS, SUCH AS WAGES AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS.
UM, CONTRACTUAL INCREASES A RISING COST OF FUEL AND OTHER COMMODITIES THAT WE USE.
UM, THOSE THINGS TYPICALLY EXCEED THREE AND A HALF PERCENT.
SO WHEN MORE THAN HALF OF YOUR REVENUE IS CAPPED AT THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, AND YOUR EXPENDITURES ARE GROWING MORE THAN THREE AND A HALF PERCENT BALANCING YOUR BUDGET BECOMES A REAL CHALLENGE.
UH, ECONOMIC AND BUDGETARY UNCERTAINTY CAUSED BY COVID-19 OF COURSE IS A, UH, IS A HUGE UNKNOWN AND A CONCERN.
UM, IN TERMS OF THE ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY SALES TAXES ARE 23% OF OUR GENERAL FUND REVENUE AND HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO WHAT'S OCCURRING IN THE, IN THE BROADER ECONOMY.
UM, WE HAVE SEEN NOW FOUR CONSECUTIVE MONTHS OF, OF SUBSTANTIAL SALES TAX REDUCTION AS COMPARED TO THE PRIOR YEAR.
WE'RE PROJECTING THAT WE'LL CONTINUE, UM, FOR THE NEXT SEVERAL MONTHS.
UM, AND, AND, AND REALLY HOW LONG THAT LASTS IS, UM, DEPENDENT UPON THE, THE TRAJECTORY AND THE DIRECTION THAT, UH, COVID-19 TAKES.
UM, THE CRO TO VIRUS RELIEF FUND IS A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF HOW WE'RE RESPONDING TO THIS CRISIS.
AND THOSE FUNDS EXPIRE DECEMBER 30TH, 2020, AND THERE'S NO GUARANTEES AT THIS POINT THAT ADDITIONAL FEDERAL RELIEF FUNDS WILL BE COMING FORWARD.
AND, UH, FINALLY, UH, THE CITY IS GRAPPLING WITH, UM, MANAGING OUR GROWING PENSION AND POST-EMPLOYMENT BENEFIT LIABILITIES.
THAT'S SOMETHING THAT, UH, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON AND WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE, UH, CHANGES IN THE UPCOMING
[00:45:01]
LEGISLATURE, UM, TO THOSE SYSTEMS TO PUT THEM ON A STRONGER FINANCIAL FOOTING.SO I CHARACTERIZE THOSE AS BEING OUR, OUR BIGGEST, UH, FINANCIAL CHALLENGES.
UM, THAT'S ALL I, I ASKED THIS PRESENTATION TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLANNIGAN AT THE END OF IT.
THERE'S AN APPENDIX THAT SHOWS SOME ADDITIONAL BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS BY, UM, BY THE SIX STRATEGIC OUTCOMES THAT COMPRISE OUR STRATEGIC PLAN.
UM, AND SO IF THIS IS THE MADE AVAILABLE TO THE OTHER, UH, THE OTHER BOARD MEMBERS, YOU WOULD HAVE THAT JUST FOR, JUST FOR CONTEXT AND A LOT MORE INFORMATION TO GET HERE AT THE WEBSITE LISTED ON A SLIDE.
THANK YOU, ED, AS USUAL, VERY COMPREHENSIVE AND INFORMATIVE.
UM, THERE'S A LOT IN THAT, UH, THE CITY HAS BEEN DOING A LOT OF THINGS.
AND, UM, SO IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THAT, I MIGHT BE ANSWERING THEM MYSELF, BUT, OR EVERYONE'S LIKE SUPER COOL AND CHILL WITH EVERYTHING THE CITY CITY'S DOING, WHICH WOULD BE AWESOME.
I'LL BE SURE TO TELL MY CONSTITUENTS, EVERYONE WAS COOL WITH IT, BUT, UH, LET'S MOVE ON THEN.
UM, TREY, YOU'RE GOING TO WALK US THROUGH SOME, SOME OF THE BUDGET FOR PFLUGERVILLE.
THIS COUNCIL MEMBER I'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT.
I'M ON A BRAND NEW DEVICE CAUSE I HAD EQUIPMENT FAILURE THIS MORNING.
SO THAT'S ASSURANCE REASSURING.
AND I THINK YOU HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF YOU NOW.
UH, MY NAME'S
UM, UM, MUCH LIKE THE CITY OF AUSTIN EXPRESSED.
WE HAVE ADVANCED OUR BUDGET ADOPTION SCHEDULE A MONTH, UM, IN RESPONSE TO, UM, AND STRATEGICALLY TO BE MINDFUL OF SBT, UH, UH, SCHEDULING CONSTRAINTS ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.
SO, UM, THIS MIGHT BE A LITTLE BIT MORE BORING OF A PRESENTATION CAUSE OUR NUMBERS ARE JUST SO MUCH SMALLER ON SCALE, BUT, BUT WE'LL, WE REMIND YOU THAT, UM, WHILE WE'RE NOW AT $6.6 BILLION PROPERTY VALUE COMMUNITY, THAT'S ROUGHLY DOUBLED IN THE LAST 10 YEARS.
UM, SO WE'RE NOT THAT BIG, BUT WE'VE COME A LONG WAY IN A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.
WE CAN SEE THAT, UH, UH, WE RECEIVE APPRAISALS FROM TRAVIS AND WHIM, UH, WILLIAMSON COUNTIES AND FOR 21 TOTAL APPRAISE VALUES FOR THE CITY CAME IN AND APPROXIMATE 6.6 BILLION.
AS I MENTIONED, THE NEW NEW REVENUE RATE HAS BEEN CALCULATED AT 49 45 AND THE BITTER APPROVED RATE AT 49 98, THE FYI AT 21 TAX RATE IS 48.63.
UM, LAST YEAR'S RATE WAS 49, 76, AND THIS WILL RESULT IN APPROXIMATELY $540,000, LESS THAN REVENUES FROM OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN RECEIVED UNDER THE MENU.
SO WHEN LOOKING AT HOW THE
THIS GRAPH DEPICTS THE AVERAGE HOME VALUE AND TAX RATE OVER A 10 YEAR PERIOD.
AS YOU CAN SEE FROM THIS CHART, THE APPRAISALS HAVE INCREASED OVER TIME, UM, AND HAS ALLOWED THE COUNCIL TO MANAGE ITS TAX RATE AND DECREASE IT OVER THE CORRESPONDING PERIOD OF TIME.
UM, OUR, OUR TAXPAYERS AND OUR RESIDENTS ARE ALWAYS VERY COGNIZANT OF HOW THE TAX RATE APPLIES TO THEM AND THEIR SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES.
OUR AVERAGE PFLUGERVILLE HOME VALUE IS $258,000.
SO FOR FOUR 21, THE AVERAGE FRUITVILLE HOME CAN EXPECT TO PAY A PRICE $1,255 IN CITY TAXES, WHICH IS A REDUCTION OF APPROXIMATELY $29 COMPARED TO THE CITY TAXES PAID ON THE AVERAGE HOME.
THE PREVIOUS YEAR, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE COMBINED TAX RATE FOR OUR RESIDENTS, THE CITY COMPRISES APPROXIMATELY 21% OF THE TOTAL TAX RATE.
A TRAVIS COUNTY HEALTHCARE DISTRICT NI IS TO MAKE UP FOUR AND 5% RESPECTIVELY AND THE COUNTY OR TRAVIS COUNTY IS APPROXIMATELY 13% OVERALL ISD, UM, UH, IS APPROXIMATELY 57% OF RESIDENTS.
UH, OVERALL TAX RATE, DESCRIPTIVE PICKS THE OVERALL COMBINED TAX RATE AS IT COMPARES TO OUR PEERS, UM, EXCLUSIVE OF AUSTIN IN THAT PEER SET.
UM, AS YOU CAN SEE THE CITY FALLS IN THE MIDDLE OF OUR PEER GROUP,
[00:50:02]
MAYBE THAT THERE TO ABSORB FOR JUST A MOMENT.SO, UM, WE WENT INTO SALES TAX, UH, EARLY THIS YEAR FRANTICALLY, UM, EXPECTING THE WORST AND HOPING FOR THE BEST AND WE'VE EXPERIENCED BOTH, BUT FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST SALES TAX COLLECTIONS WERE APPROXIMATELY 34% GREATER THAN AUGUST OF 2019.
UM, SALES TAX COLLECTIONS CONTINUE TO BE DRIVEN BY CONSTRUCTION AND RETAIL AND OUR OBSERVATION WHILE LOOKING AT OUR PEER GROUP AND THE AUSTIN ROUND.
AND I'D SAY MOST OF THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES SHOW SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST FALL OF GRAMMAR.
I CAN AUSTIN SHOW PERCENT CHANGE OF 0.1, 1.6% AND 0.9% RESPECTIVELY, UH, AS OF AUGUST THE
SO IT'S CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ARE AT ONE TIME AND THERE IS UNCERTAINTY SURROUNDING THE ECONOMY AND FEDERAL POLICY ON STIMULUS PLANS.
THEREFORE 21 SALES TAX SALES TAXES ARE BUDGETED TO BE 6% LESS THAN THE
UM, PROJECTIONS AS OF AUGUST ARE OUR, UM, SHOWN ON THE FAR RIGHT HAND SIDE AND WE'VE ABSORBED THEM FOR DOTS BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE THE ACTUAL WELLS IN, UM, BUT WE'VE BEEN VERY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED BY HOW ROBUST OUR SALES TAX COLLECTIONS HAVE BEEN, UH, THIS FISCAL YEAR.
SO AS FAR AS SOME HIGHLIGHTS GO, UM,
UM, LIMITING, UH, REQUESTS WOULD BE POSITIONS FOR THOSE THAT SUPPORT MULTIPLE CITY DEPARTMENTS, UM, IN THEIR ROLES PROPOSED A MARKET ADJUSTMENT AND MOVE TO A STEP BASED COMPENSATION PROGRAM FOR SWORN STAFF AND THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO BRING THEM TO A COMPETITIVE WAGE COMPARED TO OUR PEER GROUP AND TO PROVIDE SALARY ASSURANCE TO, TO CURRENT STAFF AND FUTURE RECRUITS AVERAGE INCREASE WAS A PRICE 27.7% AFTER OCTOBER 1ST, RIGHT, MERIT INCREASES AT 3% FOR NON-SWORN STAFF.
WE'RE ALSO INCLUDED MINIMAL NEW PROJECTS WERE BUDGETED FOR
A NUMBER OF CAPITAL PROJECTS ARE ALSO INCLUDED IN
UM, THIS WILL BE THE FIRST YEAR IN WHICH A CENTRALIZED MASTER FEE SCHEDULE.
ISN'T A BUDGET DOCUMENT AND WE ACTUALLY FOLLOWED AUSTIN'S LEAD AND HOW THEY DO THAT.
WELL, IN THE LAST FIVE MONTHS, FINANCE AND BUDGET COMMITTEE HAS REVIEWED AND RECOMMENDED A FEW CHANGES AND ADDITIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT SERVICES, THE LIBRARY OF REVIEWS, PLEASE, SWAN PERMITS, PARKS, AND RECREATION, RECREATION RECYCLED SOON, GOING FORWARD, WE'LL BE INCORPORATING THESE REVIEWS INTO OUR BUDGET PROCESS, WHICH YOU, AND THEN, UH, AS FAR AS ANTICIPATED CHALLENGES AND I, I DON'T HAVE A SLIDE ABOUT COVID IN THE, UH, CARES ACT, BUT, UM, OUR FUNDS ARE REMANDED TO US THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY, NOT DIRECTLY TO THE CT.
AND WE'VE RECEIVED A TOTAL OF 3.5, $3 MILLION, UH, TO ALLAY SOME OF THE COSTS WE'VE INCURRED FOR RELATED TO COVID, BUT GOING FORWARD INTO, AS WE MOVE INTO NEXT YEAR, YOU KNOW, ESSENTIALLY THE DAY AFTER YOU ADOPT THE BUDGET, YOU KNOW, GOING FORWARD WHERE WE'RE ALL STILL CONCERNED ABOUT ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY, NOT UNLIKE AUSTIN AND TRAVIS COUNTY EXPRESSED AS WELL AS THE OVERALL IMPACT OF LEGISLATIVE CHANGES AS WE GO INTO ANOTHER LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN JANUARY.
AND I THINK THE TRUE IMPACTS OF SVT WERE REALLY TO BE REALIZED OVER TIME FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.
UM, AND THEN, UM, I HAVE A RELATIVELY, UM, OUR, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR ORGANIZATION AS A, AS A CITY CONTINUES TO GROW AND DIVERSIFY AND THE SERVICES AND THE FUNCTIONS THAT WE PROVIDE ON BEHALF OF OUR RESIDENTS.
UM, AND, AND GETTING, GETTING THAT BIG PICTURE, UH, UNDERSTANDING AND COMMUNICATING INTERNALLY, AND THEN COMMUNICATE KATIE, CAN YOU, EXCUSE ME, COMMUNICATING IT EFFECTIVELY AMONG OUR CONSTITUENTS.
UH, SO THEY HAVE UNDERSTANDING AND CONSENT TO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS GOING TO BE PARAMOUNT.
SO THAT'S ESSENTIALLY ALL I HAVE.
THE CARES ACT MONEY THAT FLOWED TO PFLUGERVILLE THROUGH THE COUNTY
[00:55:01]
WAS THAT LIMITED TO SHORING UP COUNTY CITY EXPENSES.IT WAS YES, UH, YOU KNOW, WITH THE COVID CORRELATION, BUT YEAH.
CITY EXPENSES THERE WHEN WE WEREN'T CERTAIN, BECAUSE WE, UM, IN OUR CONTEXT, DIDN'T INCUR THE EXPENSES THAT AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY DID WITH, UM, BEING THE REGIONAL CENTERS WITH HEALTHCARE AND ALL THAT.
UM, WE DIDN'T HAVE THOSE DIRECT COSTS.
NOT ONLY THAT IS OUR FIRE PROTECTION.
EMS IS THROUGH TRAVIS COUNTY STT.
AND SO BASED ON ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN INVOLVED WITH CARE, ZACH CAN PROBABLY ATTEST THAT THE GUIDANCE AT ALL LEVELS RELATED TO CARES ACT HAS BEEN FLUID.
UM, UM, AND SO HIS CAUSED IS TO PRESENT ONE SCENARIO AFTER ANOTHER SCENARIO AFTER ANOTHER SCENARIO.
AND ONE OF THE SCENARIOS AT ONE TIME WHEN WE WEREN'T SURE THAT WE COULD CONFIDENTLY, UM, ALLOCATE THOSE COSTS TO ISSUES THAT WERE IN THE CITY OF HOOTERVILLE, WE EXPRESSED TO YOUR REGIONAL PARTNERS, THE FIRE DEPARTMENT SCHOOL DISTRICT OF WILLINGNESS TO SHARE THAT AND RETAIN IT IN THE COMMUNITY AS OPPOSED TO LETTING IT GO BACK.
AND, UM, BUT THEN THE GUIDANCE CHANGED AND WERE ABLE TO RECOUP SOME OF THOSE THINGS.
AND SO WE'RE STILL, UM, ADDRESSING THAT TOO, BUT TO A MUCH LESSER EXTENT BASED ON CURRENT GUIDANCE, IF YOU WILL, NORA, OH, THANK YOU.
I WAS JUST CURIOUS ABOUT SALES TAX AND I THINK THIS MAY BE TRUE FOR OTHER CITIES AS WELL, BUT CAN YOU TELL, IS IT DESEGREGATED IN A WAY THAT YOU CAN TELL WHAT SORTS OF EXPENSES ARE GENERATING THAT SALES TAX? SURE.
WELL, WE, WE, WE PAY FOR A SERVICE THAT HELPS US HEAR BEHIND THE WALL OF WHAT THE SALES TAX REVENUE PICTURE LOOKS LIKE.
AND THAT'S, WE CAN TELL IT'S A LOT OF, ONE TIME COSTS WITH CONSTRUCTION.
UH, WE HAVE A SMALL WAREHOUSE ON PECAN STREET, UM, BUILDING BUILT FOR AMAZON.
THAT'S CONTRIBUTING A LOT TO THAT.
UM, BUT ONE OF THE THINGS I THINK THAT'S IN CONTRAST FOR THE SUBURBS ACROSS THE STATE AND HERE IN AUSTIN IS THAT WE'RE NOT AS RELIANT ON TOURISM OR NOT AS RELYING ON HOTEL BED NIGHTS AND, UH, INVENTIONS AND LIVE MUSIC AND ALL THOSE SORTS OF THINGS THAT ARE REALLY SUFFERING RIGHT NOW.
AND THEN EVERYBODY'S WORKING FROM HOME.
AND SO THEY'RE ALSO NOT GOING, YOU KNOW, IF THEY WORKED IN DOWNTOWN OR IN OTHER COMMUNITIES, THEY'RE NOT LAUNCHING, THEY'RE HAVING A DRINK AFTER WORK OR DOING ALL THOSE THINGS THAT THEY NORMALLY DO.
AND SO, UM, BUT ONLY VETERAN COMMUNITIES ARE DOING OKAY.
UM, BUT WE ARE, YOU KNOW, THE AUSTIN REGION, AS YOU KNOW, IT CONTINUES TO GROW AND WE CONTINUE TO BUILD RESIDENTIAL UNITS AND ALL THAT JUST FOSTERS GROWTH, EVEN A SPINNING CONTRACTS, PRISTINE GROWTH THAT LEADS TO MORE SPENDING ROLE.
AND NOW THE PRESENTERS, I MEAN, I THINK ONE OF THE, I GUESS IT WAS MENTIONED A COUPLE OF TIMES ABOUT SORT OF THE LEGISLATIVE, I THINK SOME KIND OF LEGISLATIVE, UM, UH, STRATEGY RIGHT.
AND I KNOW WE'VE ALREADY SEEN A FEW WAYS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO BE DEFENSIVE AROUND WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN RIGHT IN THE SESSION.
BUT, UM, I THINK IN THE PAST CAN HAS SORT OF CONVENED, UM, SORT OF LEGISLATIVE PRIORITY MEETINGS AHEAD OF A SESSION.
AND SO, AND MAYBE THIS IS MORE OF APPROPRIATE AFTER WE HEAR ALSO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT PRESENTATIONS TO SEE, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL? CAUSE WE DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TRACK, YOU KNOW, AS MUCH AS MANY BILLS AS MAYBE THE CITY AND COUNTY INTER-GOVERNMENTAL STAFF DO.
BUT IF WE CAN FOCUS IN, ON THINGS THAT, UM, HAVE THIS KIND OF GLOBAL IMPACT, RIGHT? WHETHER IT BE REVENUE SOURCES OR WHATNOT, UH, BUT JUST NEED RIGHT.
THAT OUR PARTNERS, UM, ARE EXPERIENCING OR COMMUNITIES EXPERIENCING, WHICH MEANS OUR PARTNERS MUST RESPOND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, AS WE THINK ABOUT WHAT THE PRIORITIES FOR NEXT YEAR MIGHT BE.
BUT I DO WANT TO MENTION THAT CAUSE I DID KIND OF NOTICE THAT IT WAS MENTIONED AND I'M SURE, BUT I SUSPECT IT MIGHT BE MENTIONED RIGHT.
IN OUR UPCOMING PRESENTATIONS, BUT I WANTED TO JUST MENTION THAT AS A ROLE IN THE PAST, IT CAN, IT'S PLAYED, BUT NOT, NOT EVERY SINGLE SESSION, BUT WHEN IT SEEMS KIND OF APPROPRIATE FOR DOING THAT.
UM, THINK ABOUT HOW, HOW WE MIGHT PROVIDE INSIGHT TO THE PARTNERS THAT ARE DEVELOPING THEIR OWN LEGISLATIVE AGENDAS INDEPENDENTLY AND AREAS WHERE WE MAY FIND COLLABORATION THAT MAYBE WE HADN'T DONE BEFORE IN THE CITY IS WE'RE ADOPTING OUR, AT LEAST OUR KIND OF OUR TRAP AGENDA, I THINK MAYBE NEXT WEEK, I THINK I SAW IT ON THE COUNCIL AGENDA.
UM, BUT IT OBVIOUSLY EVOLVES AND, AND, YOU KNOW, AS, AS EVERYTHING
[01:00:01]
IS FLUID, UH, FRANKLY, UM, TREND, THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD IS, UM, YOU KNOW, CAUSE YOU MENTIONED IT ABOUT THE CARES THAT GUIDANCE AND, UH, WE CERTAINLY WERE FEELING THE SAME CHALLENGE.UM, AND, AND, UH, JESSICA, IF YOU WANT TO WEIGH IN ON THIS TOO, OR, OR PUSH ON CIVILIAN, UH, YOU KNOW, WE PUT WHAT THE CITY PUT IN SOME GENERAL FUND DOLLARS TO HELP KIND OF CLOSE THE GAPS THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAD CREATED IN THOSE SUPPORT SYSTEMS. UM, DID, DID Y'ALL HAVE A SIMILAR CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE COUNTY AND, AND MAYBE COMMISSIONER, IF THERE WERE ADDITIONAL LIMITATIONS ON COUNTIES THAT MAYBE DIDN'T APPLY TO CITIES TRYING TO UNMUTE MYSELF? UM, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD A COUPLE OF RELATIVELY LARGE FIGHTS WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.
UH, ONE WAS THE WAY THAT THEY, UH, THAT THEY MANAGE THEIR OWN CARE IS ACT DOLLARS.
AND THE FACT THAT THEY ASKED THE COUNTY TO FUND SMALL CITIES OUT OF THEIR ALLOCATION INSTEAD OF, INSTEAD OF MUCH LARGER ALLOCATION, UH, FROM, UH, FROM THE, UM, THAT WAS GIVEN TO THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, BASICALLY WE HAVE, I HAVE, I HAVE, UH, WE HAVE MADE SURE THAT WE'VE WORKED THROUGH ARE, ARE QUITE CAPABLE PBO OFFICE TO SET OUR STRATEGY, BUT YOU KNOW, WE, WE UNDERSTAND THAT EVERYTHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN.
THIS, THIS, UH, LEGISLATIVE SESSION IS GOING TO BE A FIGHT.
AND THE BEST THING THAT WE CAN DO IS GET NINE NEW DEMOCRATS IN THE HOUSE, UH, SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A VOICE THERE BECAUSE WE, ALTHOUGH WE HAVE A SOLID DELEGATION, UM, THE, THE FOLKS THAT SIT IN THE IVORY TOWER, UH, DON'T SEE THE WORLD THE WAY THAT WE DO.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, WHAT WE'VE, WHAT WE'VE TRIED TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE, UH, WORKED WITH OUR COMMUNITY PARTNERS, HAVE WORKED WITH OUR COMMUNITY FOLKS TO IDENTIFY OUR PRIORITIES AND DO EVERYTHING THAT WE CAN TO BE SUPPORTIVE.
AND, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, UM, WE DON'T EXPECT A WHOLE LOT OF HELP FROM THE CAPITOL BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T GOTTEN MUCH IN A LONG TIME AND I'M TRYING, I'M TRYING TO BE GENEROUS AND, AND, AND, AND KIND HERE.
THIS IS AS FAR AS I CAN GO, JIMMY.
YEAH, WE ALL DO THE, I WISH THEY DON'T FENCE.
I'D NEVER DOES THE SOGGY DANCE.
WHY ARE WE ALWAYS SO CONSERVATIVE, CALM? I JUST WANTED TO ADD IT'S OKAY.
COMMISSIONER AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
THE OTHER THING WE, WE DID PUT A LOT OF RESOURCES THIS YEAR INTO HHS AND BASIC NEEDS.
AND I THINK OUR PRELIMINARY BUDGET ACTUALLY INCREASED 2.4 MILLION.
I WAS TRYING TO FIND THE BASE PART OF THAT.
SHERRY MIGHT BE ON THE CALL AND MIGHT KNOW IT OFF THE TOP OF HER HEAD.
UM, BUT WE CERTAINLY WERE SUPPORTING OUR, UM, ALREADY INTERNAL STRUCTURE.
UM, OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS, WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN IN DISCUSSIONS WITH HHS AND HOW TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT BUDGET IS AS APPROPRIATE AS POSSIBLE.
AND WE ALSO HAD AN EMERGENCY RESERVE THIS YEAR THAT WE'VE PRETTY MUCH BLOWN THROUGH, UH, THAT WE ARE NOW TRYING TO GET REIMBURSEMENT FROM FEMA REIMBURSEMENT FROM CARES.
AND THAT EMERGENCY RESERVE FOR NEXT YEAR WAS INCREASED TO 17 MILLION IN ANTICIPATION.
THAT COVID-19 IS NOT GOING TO END MAGICALLY ON DECEMBER 30 AND COUNCIL MEMBER.
THIS IS SHERRY AND JESSICA CALL MY NAME.
BUT, UM, BUT YEAH, UH, JESSICA, I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT.
IT'S 2.2 TO 2.4, BUT I THINK JESSICA SHARES MY CONCERN, UM, NOT SO MUCH ABOUT WHAT WE HAVE TODAY, BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN ALL OF THESE FUNDING SOURCES START FALLING AWAY.
AND SO IN MY BUSINESS, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT'S, THAT'S WHEN IT REALLY GETS SERIOUS OR AS THE KIDS SAY, YOU KNOW, IT'S ABOUT TO GET REAL.
DO THE KIDS STILL SAY THAT SHERRY? I FEEL LIKE IF WE'RE SAYING IT, THE KIDS DON'T SAY IT ANYMORE.
HEY, YOU KNOW WHAT? MY CHILDREN ARE ALWAYS TELLING ME THAT I'M SIX TO NINE MONTHS BEHIND ON EVERYTHING.
WELL, THEY'RE SAYING IT, BUT THEY'RE MOCKING US WHEN THAT'S WHAT IT DOES, BUT WE HAVE, I MUST SAY THAT, UH, OUR, OUR, OUR PBO, UH, OFFICE AND, AND OUR HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE OFFICES, UH, HAVE, HAVE DONE A LOT OF SIGNIFICANT THINGS WITH OUR PRIMARY TARGET BEING OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS.
UH, WE, WE HAVE, UH, REACHED OUT ON NOT ONLY TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, BUT TO NONPROFITS IN OUR AREA TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS, OUR ELDERLY AND OUR KIDS WHO, WHO, UM, WHO EXPECT TO GET TWO MEALS A DAY FROM SCHOOL, HAVE THOSE MEALS AVAILABLE FOR THEM.
UH, WE HAVE ALSO WORKED WITH, WITH THE, UH, WITH AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH DEPARTMENT
[01:05:01]
AND WITH THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN PLACES LIKE PFLUGERVILLE AND MANOR, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE TESTING FACILITIES OPEN AS WELL.SO A LOT OF OUR FOCUS HAS BEEN VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, I THINK THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS A GOOD JOB IN IDENTIFYING THEIR NEEDS.
WE'RE JUST TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MAKING INVESTMENTS THAT CAN BE SUSTAINABLE OVER TIME.
SO WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE.
I THINK WE'VE DONE A GOOD JOB OF REACHING OUT TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS, REACHING OUT TO OUR CITIES AND SEEING WHERE WE CAN WORK TOGETHER AND, AND, AND, AND BUILD A LONGER TERM STRATEGY.
I THINK ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING AND IMPORTANT AREAS MOVING FORWARD FOR THE CITIES AND THE COUNTIES IS TO REALLY, I THINK WE'RE ALL COMING TO A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE CHANGES IN ANNEXATION LAW.
CAUSE IT USED TO BE THAT AS GROWTH WOULD OCCUR, BOTH THE CITY AND THE COUNTY WOULD BE ABLE TO COLLECT REVENUES THAT WOULD COVER ALL THE VARIOUS COSTS THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN NOW.
SO NOW YOU HAVE GROWTH AND IT'S ONLY FUNDING THE STUFF THE COUNTY DOES.
WELL, THESE PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING CITY AMENITIES.
AND SO THAT IS A, THAT'S A REAL CHALLENGE.
AND I DON'T, I DON'T THINK ANY OF US HAVE AN ANSWER YET.
AND I HAD A CONVERSATION WITH ONE PERSON TODAY WHO, WHO DOES SOME OF THOSE TYPES OF, UH, YOU KNOW, DEVELOPMENTS ON THE EDGE.
AND THEY WERE LIKE, AH, SOMEDAY THAT ANNOTATION LEVEL CHANGE, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT.
LIKE THEY GOT MORE FAITH IN THE TEXAS SENATE THAN I DO.
SO I, I DON'T EXPECT NOR DO I PLAN FOR THE LEGISLATURE TO DO THE RIGHT THING.
UM, BUT UH, THAT LEVEL OF COORDINATION, I THINK, IS SOMETHING THAT WE COULD BE TALKING ABOUT AT THE CANNON BOARD, ESPECIALLY AS RELATES TO OUR FOCUS AREAS, UH, AND HEALTH BEING PROBABLY THE PRIMARY ONE.
I MEAN, IT WAS A LOT OF FOLKS THAT DON'T EVEN SOMETIMES I'M NOT EVEN SURE I UNDERSTAND THAT COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH AND TRAVIS COUNTY AND, AND THE OTHER SURROUNDING CITIES AND, AND REALLY, REALLY TAKING THAT INNOVATION TO THE NEXT STAGE.
I AGREE THAT IT WON'T CHANGE UNLESS SEVEN VOTES IN THE SENATE CHANGE.
I, I, YEAH, WE, WE CHANGED THE ONES WE CHANGED IN CENTRAL TEXAS.
SO WE GOT TO CALL OUR FRIENDS AND OTHER PARTS OF THE STATE TO MAKE, TO MAKE THAT HAPPEN.
UM, ANY, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, UH, FOR OUR CITIZEN COUNTIES IN TERMS OF BUDGET IMPLICATIONS, KAITLIN, I SEE YOUR HAND IS UP.
I JUST WANTED TO ADD THE COURT.
CAN, I WILL BE APPROVING OUR LEGISLATIVE AGENDA IN OCTOBER, SO I'D BE HAPPY TO SHARE THAT IS APPROVED.
I THINK CITY OF AUSTIN IS FINALIZING ITS AGENDA AS WELL.
AND, AND JESSICA FOR JOINING US ON THE STAFF SIDE, UM, LET'S MOVE ON TO OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
[CAN Partner Budget Highlights from 2020-21 Adopted Budget & Preview of Key Drivers for 2021-22 Budget Process]
AND FIRST UP IS DR.I SEE THEM LOGGED IN, ARE THEY GIVE ME A YES.
AND THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME TO SPEAK WITH YOU THIS AFTERNOON.
MY CFO IS ACTUALLY GOING TO JOIN AS WELL AS WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR SOME UPDATES AROUND THE BUDGET IMPACT AND BUDGET WORK THAT WE'RE DOING HERE AND MAYNOR ISD.
SO SHE'LL BE JOINING IN HERE WITH US SHORTLY, BUT I DID WANT TO PERHAPS PROVIDE THE GROUP SOME UPDATES AROUND A PARTICULAR PROJECT THAT WE HAVE ACTUALLY INSTITUTED OR IMPLEMENTED HERE.
AND MAYNOR ISD FROM COBIT AND TO SUPPORT OUR FIRST RESPONDERS FOR A PROJECT THAT WE HAVE DONE.
SO WE HAVE QUITE A FEW FIRST RESPONDERS IN OUR DISTRICT WHO, WHEN WE HAD MADE THE DECISION THAT SCHOOLS WOULD OPEN VIRTUALLY, AND WE STARTED SCHOOL, UM, AUGUST 17TH AND WE STARTED VIRTUALLY FOR FOUR WEEKS AND THEN OUR BOARD APPROVED THE AUTHORIZED FOR US TO HAVE A SECOND FOUR WEEK OF, UM, VIRTUAL LEARNING.
SO THAT TAKES US THROUGH OCTOBER 9TH, OCTOBER 9TH IS A FALL BREAK FOR US.
SO WE WILL ACTUALLY BE STARTING BACK ON OCTOBER 19TH, UM, AFTER THE FALL BREAK.
BUT SOMETHING THAT WE SAW AS A NEED WAS THE SUPPORTS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS, BECAUSE FIRST RESPONDERS STILL HAD TO ATTEND TO, TO THEIR DUTIES.
AND VIRTUAL WAS NOT WORKING VERY WELL WITH THEM.
SO WE HAD DECIDED TO OPEN UP A FIRST RESPONDER SITE, BUT ALL ABOUT WHERE FIRST RESPONDERS, CHILDREN, THEY WOULD ACTUALLY BRING THEIR CHILDREN TO THE FIRST RESPONDERS SITE.
AND WE WOULD PROVIDE EDUCATIONAL RECREATIONAL SERVICES AND SUPPORTS
[01:10:01]
ALSO RESPECTING THE SAFETY PROTOCOLS THAT WE HAVE BEEN PLACED WHILE WE ACTUALLY PROVIDED THEM THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE IN THEIR AND THEIR DUTIES.AND SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN GOING ON SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE SCHOOL YEAR FOR US AND IT'S CONTINUING IT AND IT WILL CONTINUE FOR US THROUGH OCTOBER UNTIL WE ACTUALLY START BACK WITH, WITH BRICK AND MORTAR.
SO I WANTED TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE WERE ABLE TO ACTUALLY PUT THAT INFORMATION OUT THERE AND TO SHOWCASE AND SHARE THAT INFORMATION WITH YOU.
AND IT'S ACTUALLY BEEN GOING PRETTY WELL.
WHAT DOES, UM, I'M GONNA CHECK AND SEE IF MY CFO IS HERE WITH US AND SHE IS MS. GILL DART.
MELINDA GILT DART IS HERE WITH US.
AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'M GONNA SHARE MY SCREEN.
SO I'M GOING TO ACTUALLY TURN IT OVER TO MS. GILL DART SO THAT SHE COULD TAKE US THROUGH, UM, THE INFORMATION THAT WAS AROUND WHAT HAVE BEEN SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS AND OUR BUDGET BASED OFF OF THE ACADEMIC YEAR, THE YEAR THAT WE ARE, WE ARE IN RIGHT NOW, AND THEN WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POTENTIAL CHALLENGES THAT WE ARE FORESEEN WITH REGARDS TO BUDGET? AND I KNOW WE HAVE A TIMEFRAME HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE OTHER DISTRICTS THAT ARE JOINING, SO PLAN TO STAY WITHIN THAT TIMEFRAME, MS. GILL DARK.
SO FOR THE 2021 BUDGET PROCESS, THE DISTRICT TO A VERY CONSERVATIVE APPROACH.
SO WE PRETTY MUCH KEPT THE BUDGET AT A FLAT RATE OVER THE PREVIOUS YEAR'S BUDGET, BUT ALSO TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THAT WE HAVE TO CONSIDER ADDITIONAL ACADEMIC INITIATIVES STILL PUTTING OUR STUDENTS FIRST WHILE ALSO HAVING INITIAL SALARY INCREASE DISCUSSIONS, HEALTH INSURANCE DISCUSSIONS.
WE ALREADY RECOGNIZE THAT WE NEEDED SIX, AT LEAST 16 MORE FULL TIME, SECONDARY TEACHERS, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DEALING WITH THE PROBLEM THAT EVERYONE ELSE WAS DEALING WITH.
AND IT'S STILL DEALING WITH ALL THOSE UNKNOWN FACTORS WHEN IT COMES TO COVID-19.
SPENCER STATED, WE WENT FORWARD WITH A NUMBER OF INITIATIVES TO ENSURE THAT WE COULD SAFELY, UM, GO THROUGH A RETURN TO LEARNING PROCESS, RETURN TO WORK PROCESS.
UH, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL GIVE THAT HIGH QUALITY EDUCATION, EVEN IF IT'S NOT A BRICK AND MORTAR EDUCATION FOR OUR STUDENTS AT THIS POINT IN TIME, BUT THAT WE WOULD THEN DOWN THE ROAD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A BUDGET AMENDMENT PROCESS.
SO COMPILING THESE ADDITIONAL AND, AND, UM, UM, UN PREVIOUSLY UNPROCESSED BUDGET REQUESTS THAT WE KNOW ARE COMING THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE THE REQUEST FOR A COVID-19 EXPENDITURES AND, AND OTHER REQUESTS THAT WE DID NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT BEFORE WE WOULD UTILIZE THE BUDGET AMENDMENT PROCESS WITH OUR BOARD TO ENSURE THAT WE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE MOST TIMELY FINANCIAL INFORMATION AND THAT WE CAN UTILIZE OUR RESOURCES IS FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE.
IT IS POSSIBLE GO TO THE NEXT AID.
SO THOSE ACADEMIC INITIATIVES THAT WE DID INCLUDE IN THE 2021 BUDGET, EVEN THOUGH WE KEPT OUR COSTS FLAT FROM THE PRIOR YEAR, NEW BREAKTHROUGH PROGRAMS, NEW TECHNOLOGY, READING PROGRAMS, WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STILL EMBARKED ON ACADEMIC INITIATIVES FOR OUR STUDENTS.
WE DID A COUNT FOR AND INITIATE SALARY ADJUSTMENTS THAT WE ARE STILL REVIEWING AT THIS POINT IN TIME, THOUGH.
UM, WE HAD TO ACCOUNT FOR A BASIC INSURANCE INCREASE AND ALSO ANY ADDITIONAL STEP CHANGES.
SO WE ARE HOPING ACTUALLY FINALIZE THOSE THIS FALL.
UM, AND THEN THOSE 16 SECONDARY POSITIONS, WE DID ACTUALLY INCORPORATE THEM WITHIN OUR EXISTING BUDGET.
AND THEN NUMBER OF ITEMS THAT, AGAIN, WE WILL REVIEW THIS FALL WITH OUR BOARD TO ENSURE THAT AS WE MAY HAVE HAD SOME SAVINGS IN SOME AREAS THAT WE CAN SPREAD THOSE SAVINGS ACROSS TO OTHER AREAS THAT MAY HAVE ADDITIONAL AND, UH, EXPENDITURES THAT THEY DID NOT ACCOUNT FOR PREVIOUSLY TO THE NEXT ONE.
THAT'S, THAT'S ALWAYS SOMETHING THAT IS ON THE MIND OF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
UM, YOU KNOW, AGAIN, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE UTILIZE REVENUES, UM,
[01:15:01]
TO THEIR FULLEST CAPACITY, UTILIZE THEM AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE EXISTING REVENUES, BUT RECOGNIZING THAT COVID-19, IT'S GOING TO TRICKLE DOWN TO US.IT ALREADY HAS AN, AND IT'S GOING TO HIT US EVEN HARDER IN THE FUTURE.
SO AS WE LOOK FORWARD TO OUR NEXT YEAR'S BUDGET, WE HAVE TO THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH DO WE WANT TO SET ASIDE OVER RESERVE FOR ADDITIONAL COSTS THAT WE MAY NOT GET REIMBURSED FOR? UM, DO WE WANT TO DIP INTO FUND BALANCE? WILL WE, WILL WE HAVE A CHOICE IN THAT? AND IF SO, HOW MUCH ARE WE GOING TO ANTICIPATE HAVING TO GO INTO OUR FUND BALANCE TO ENSURE THAT WE HAVE KEPT ALL OF OUR STUDENTS SAFE, ALL OF OUR TEACHERS SAFE AND ALSO PROMOTING AS MUCH AS A NORMAL EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT AS WE POSSIBLY CAN.
SO THAT BRINGS US TO THE END OF OUR PRESENTATION THERE.
I DON'T KNOW IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS OR IF WE HAVE PERHAPS HOLDING UP WITH THE QUESTIONS UNTIL THE, THE END AND I'LL STOP SHARING HERE SO I CAN BRING EVERYONE BACK UP ON THE SCREEN.
OTHER REALLY QUICK QUESTIONS FOR MAYNARD SEAT.
UM, IT MIGHT BE GOOD TO GO THROUGH ALL THREE OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
SO I THINK THE QUESTIONS MIGHT BE SIMILAR ACROSS THE DISTRICTS.
UM, I'M NOT SEEING ANY SPECIFIC QUESTIONS FOR ME TO RIGHT NOW, SO LET'S GO AHEAD AND MOVE ON.
UM, SO WE'LL HAVE A DELL VALLEY GO AROUND NOW, JENNIFER.
I'M JENNIFER HANNAH CFO FOR DELL VALLEY.
I'M, I'M ACTUALLY NEW TO THE DISTRICT.
I STARTED IN JANUARY, UH, GOT SETTLED AND THEN COVERT HITS.
SO IT HAS BEEN AN INTERESTING START TO MY, MY TIME HERE.
WE DID NOT PREPARE A PRESENTATION.
WE JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU KIND OF A HIGH, HIGH LEVEL OVERVIEW OF, OF WHERE, UH, WHERE WE ARE WITH THIS YEAR'S BUDGET AND WHAT WE'VE BEEN EXPERIENCING WITH OUR COVID, UM, EXPENDITURES FOR OUR COVID RESPONSE.
SO, UM, WHAT WE HAVE TRIED TO DO TO BE PROACTIVE AND THINK THROUGH ALL THE EXPENDITURES THAT WE ARE, UM, THAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING, WE DID PASS A BALANCED BUDGET FOR 2021.
SO WE PASSED, WE PASSED A BALANCED BUDGET, BUT IT WAS A VERY TIGHT BUDGET AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO DO A SALARY INCREASE.
INSTEAD WE DID A ONE TIME SALARY
SO WE, WE ARE GIVING OUR, OUR STAFF AND OUR TEACHERS A RAISE THIS YEAR, BUT IT'S A ONETIME RAISE AT THIS POINT, UNLESS THE BOARD DECIDES THAT WE CAN CONTINUE THAT.
SO THAT WAS, THAT WAS SOMETHING THAT WE DECIDED, UM, WE, WE PUT TOGETHER A FINANCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
UH, THIS WAS EVEN, UM, PRE COVID AND THEN ON, INTO COVID, WE WERE ABLE TO PUT SOME, UM, CONTINGENCY FUNDS TOGETHER FOR OUR RESPONSE TO KOBE.
UM, AND WE HAVE, I HAVE APPLIED FOR GRANT FUNDING FROM THE CORONA RELIEF.
UM, THE SR FUNDS, AS I THINK EVERYONE HAS, HAS LEARNED, THOSE WERE NOT ADDITIONAL FUNDS TO THE DISTRICT, THOSE REPLACED FUNDS FROM OUR ADA FROM TEA.
SO, UM, WE, WE ARE STILL FACING A VERY TIGHT BUDGET WITH, WITH ALL OUR EXPENDITURES, UM, HAVING TO DO WITH COVID.
ONE THING THAT WE WERE ABLE TO LEVERAGE WAS THAT WE PASSED A BOND IN 2019, WHICH HAD A TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT.
UM, AND SO WE WERE VERY FORTUNATE IN THE TIMING OF THAT.
WE WERE ABLE TO ROLL OUT OUR ONE-TO-ONE INITIATIVE MORE QUICKLY THAN WE THAN WE EXPECTED, BUT IT ACTUALLY WORKED PRETTY WELL.
UM, SO THAT WE WERE ACTUALLY ABLE, WE'RE VERY FORTUNATE WITH THAT.
SO AS FAR AS DEVICES, WE'RE ABLE TO GET CHROMEBOOKS AND OTHER DEVICES OUT TO OUR STUDENTS.
UM, WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TO BE A CHALLENGE IS CONNECTIVITY.
AND, UM, EVEN THOUGH WE HAVE DONE HOTSPOTS FOR, FOR MANY OF OUR STUDENTS, UM, WE HAVE ACTUALLY BEEN ABLE TO, UH, IMPROVE ON SOME OF THE CHALLENGES WE HAD BECAUSE WE'VE USED SOME DIFFERENT, WE'VE LEARNED THAT DIFFERENT VENDORS WORK BETTER IN DIFFERENT AREAS, BUT DEL VALLEY IS A QUITE RURAL AREA.
AND, AND WE ARE INFRASTRUCTURE IS, IS FRANKLY, UM, IT'S, IT'S NOT VERY STRONG.
SO WE DO, WE, WE ARE CHALLENGED WITH CONNECTIVITY.
THAT'S ONE OF OUR MAJOR CHALLENGES.
BUT, UM, THROUGH OUR EXPERIENCE IN THE SPRING, WE WERE ABLE TO, TO, UH, IMPROVE THAT WE ARE NOT EXPERIENCING THOSE ISSUES.
UM, WE STARTED SCHOOL AUGUST 17TH AND, UM,
[01:20:01]
WE HAVEN'T EXPERIENCED AS MANY OF THOSE, THOSE CONNECTIVITY ISSUES THIS YEAR, THIS SCHOOL, AS WE DID BACK IN THE SPRING.SO, UM, WE HAVE BEEN PROVIDING A FOOD SERVICE.
UH, IT'S BEEN A VERY, UM, EXPANDED SERVICE.
WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS SINCE MARCH, SINCE THE CLOSURE AND THROUGH THE SUMMER AND STARTED AGAIN IN AUGUST.
UM, NOW WE ARE, ARE WE'RE DELIVERING MEALS ON, ON BUS ROUTES.
AND THEN WE ARE ALSO, WE HAVE CURBSIDE PICKUP FOR PARENTS.
SO THAT HAS BEEN, UM, WE'RE REALLY TRYING TO EXPAND THAT AND TO REACH OUR STUDENTS.
UM, ONE THING THAT THAT HAS HELPED WITH THE BUS ROUTES IS THAT WE'RE ALSO ABLE TO DROP OFF, UM, CURRICULUM PACKETS, OR IF, UH, THAT SOMEBODY NEEDS SOME TECHNICAL HELP WITH THEIR CHROMEBOOK.
SO IT'S BEEN A WAY FOR US TO ALSO HELP, UM, ON THE CURRICULUM SIDE AND, AND SERVE THE MEALS.
SO THAT THAT'S BEEN A GOOD, UM, THAT'S BEEN A GOOD PROCESS FOR US.
AND SO WE ARE PREPARING TO GO BACK FACE TO FACE.
UM, ON OCTOBER 13TH, OUR STUDENTS WILL COME BACK, NOT A HUNDRED PERCENT.
UM, IT'LL BE, UH, PROBABLY CLOSER TO 50% BETWEEN 25 AND 50%.
AND WE'RE, WE ARE PREPARING NOW, UM, AS ALL SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE, UH, OUR FOCUSES OF COURSE, ON THE, ON THE SAFETY AND, UH, RESPONSE SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF ARE SAFE WHEN THEY RETURN.
SO WE ARE INCURRING, UM, SOME PRETTY LARGE EXPENDITURES RELATED TO ENSURING THAT OUR STUDENTS AND OUR STAFF ARE SAFE, INCLUDING FLEXI GLASS, UH, DIVIDERS.
UM, WE HAVE, UH, NO TOUCH THERMOMETERS AND S AND SCANNERS.
UM, WE HAVE OF COURSE CLEANING AND SANITIZING ADDITIONAL, UH, PRODUCTS.
AND WE HAVE ALSO HAVE, HAVE, UM, PURCHASED MASKS SO THAT IF OUR STUDENTS ARRIVE AT SCHOOL AND DON'T HAVE A MASK, WE'RE ABLE TO, TO BE SURE THAT THEY CAN ATTEND SCHOOL, UM, AND WE'LL HAVE A MASK TO PROVIDE TO THEM.
SO THAT PRETTY MUCH WRAPS UP WHAT I HAD TO SHARE.
AND SO I THINK WE'LL, WE'LL GO ON TO OUR NEXT PRESENTATION.
AND THEN IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'D BE HAPPY TO HAPPY TO TALK ABOUT THEM.
LET'S GO ON AND, UH, HAVE OUR AISD, UH, GIVE US THE RENT SIDE AND THEN WE'LL, WE'LL HAVE A, KIND OF A BIGGER DISCUSSION ABOUT SCHOOL DISTRICT ISSUES.
I'M THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF FINANCIAL SERVICES FOR AUSTIN INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT.
UM, WE ARE, I'M HERE REPRESENTING THE DISTRICT UNDER OUR NEW ADMINISTRATION.
UM, WE HAVE A NEW SUPERINTENDENT, DR.
WE ALSO HAVE A NEW CHIEF BUSINESS OFFICER, LARRY THROMB, UM, THE PREVIOUS WORD DR.
SO, UM, YOU ARE, YOU'RE HEARING FROM ME TODAY.
UM, BUT I DO HAVE SOME INFORMATION TO SHARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS THEN, UM, SOME OF HOW COVID HAS IMPACTED OUR BUDGETS.
UM, WE, I DO HAVE, I JUST HAVE ONE, UM, KIND OF SLIDE TO SHARE US, BUT I'LL GET TO THAT.
UM, AFTER I SHARE SOME OF THE HIGHLIGHTS, BUT OUR, OUR COBIT SPENDING STARTED IN MARCH, UM, AROUND MEAL DELIVERY, DEEP CLEANING, UM, PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT TIME AND A HALF PAY.
AND THEN OUR LARGEST HAS BEEN OUR TECHNOLOGY.
UM, IT'S OUR LARGEST COST SO FAR, BUT IT'S CERTAINLY SOME OF OUR BIGGEST HIGHLIGHTS.
UH, WHEN YOU'RE IN A COMPLETE A HUNDRED PERCENT VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT, YOU HAVE A, YOU KNOW, BASICALLY A COMPLETE RELIANCE ON TECHNOLOGY.
SO WE WE'VE REALLY FOCUSED ON PROVIDING ONE-TO-ONE HARDWARE.
WE PURCHASED OVER 24,000 IPADS FOR PRE K TO SECOND GRADE.
UM, WE PURCHASED ADDITIONAL CHROMEBOOKS FOR OUR THIRD THROUGH SEVENTH GRADERS, AND THEN WE HAD THROUGH A PREVIOUS BOND, A LOT OF CHROMEBOOKS FOR, UH, OUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS.
UM, WE'VE DEPLOYED THROUGH CURBSIDE OVER 60,000 COMPUTERS, UM, TO THOSE FAMILIES THAT NEEDED.
AND THOSE HAVE BEEN PRIORITIZED THROUGH OUR EMERGING BILINGUAL STUDENTS, OUR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS AND OUR ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED STUDENTS.
WE'VE ALSO PURCHASED, UM, NEARLY 25,000 HOTSPOTS AND THEN ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE.
UM, WE'VE EXPANDED OUR BLEND COURSE AND THEN SEESAW, WHICH WAS AN ADDITIONAL SOFTWARE FOR OUR PRE K THROUGH THROUGH SECOND GRADERS.
SO WE'RE REALLY, YOU KNOW, UH, PUSHING FOR THAT ENVIRONMENT.
BUT AS WE KNOW, THESE ARE COSTS THAT, YOU KNOW, BECOME OUTDATED QUICKLY.
THE REPLACEMENT COSTS FOR ONE-TO-ONE, UM, IS GOING TO COME BACK TO GET US IN JUST THREE TO FIVE YEARS AS THOSE CHROMEBOOKS AND IPADS DON'T HAVE MUCH OF A SHELF LIFE.
SO PLANNING FOR THAT IS KIND OF ALREADY STARTING, BUT, UM, WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED FOOD SERVICE AND MEALS.
WE'VE SERVED, UH, OVER ONE AND A HALF MILLION MEALS SINCE MARCH 13TH, WHICH
[01:25:01]
DOES SOUND LIKE A LOT, BUT IT'S ABOUT A 10TH OF WHAT WE'D NORMALLY WOULD SERVE OUT.TYPICALLY WE SERVE AROUND 75,000 MEALS A DAY.
AND SO THE LACK OF MEALS AND SERVING FEWER HAS IMPACTED OUR FEDERAL FUNDING AND OUR FOOD SERVICE, OUR CHILD NUTRITION FUND.
UM, WE HAVE HAD TO DIP INTO OUR, OUR RESERVES AND WE'VE BASICALLY DEPLETED THOSE.
SO WE'LL HAVE TO SUPPLEMENT THOSE WITH OUR GENERAL FUND.
UM, BUT WE ARE PROUD OF, OF SERVING OUR, OUR MEALS.
AND WE'VE ALSO PARTNERED, UM, WITH THE CITY OF AUSTIN TO CREATE CAREGIVER MEALS THAT PROVIDE ADDITIONAL FOOD FOR RESOURCES FOR, UH, NOT JUST THE STUDENTS, BUT THE ENTIRE FAMILY AT SOME OF OUR CURBSIDE, UM, SITES.
BUT, UH, THIS CERTAINLY DOES POSE CHALLENGES GOING FORWARD.
WE'RE A DISTRICT THAT, UM, IS, EXCUSE ME, UH, SUFFERING FROM, YOU KNOW, D DECREASING ENROLLMENT.
WE'RE ABOUT A 1% DECREASE YEAR OVER YEAR, WHICH THAT'S HOW WE GET OUR FUNDING IS BASED ON OUR, OUR AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE.
AND SO LESS FUN, LESS STUDENTS MEANS LESS FUNDING.
UM, BUT ALSO BEING PROPERTY WEALTHY.
WE SEND ADDITIONAL STATE DOLLARS BACK TO THE STATE OF OUR LOCAL TAX COLLECTIONS.
THIS IS OUR RECAPTURE PAYMENT.
UM, JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO, WE SENT $618 MILLION TO THE STATE.
SO THAT CONTINUES TO GROW YEAR OVER YEAR.
SO WITH THE DECREASING ENROLLMENT INCREASING RECAPTURE PAYMENT, UM, AND THEN THE ADDITIONAL COVID EXPENDITURES ARE FUND BALANCES DECREASING.
UM, WE'VE, YOU KNOW, BENEFITED FROM CONSERVATIVE BUDGETING IN THE PAST.
AND ALL OF OUR BASICALLY COBIT EXPENDITURES HAVE COME FROM RESERVES AND FUND BALANCE, BUT IT'S, IT WON'T BE SUSTAINABLE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE UNCERTAIN LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS AND WHAT COULD COME IF THERE ARE ANY REDUCTIONS TO, TO THE FOUNDATION SCHOOL PROGRAM.
UH, WE ARE A JULY ONE FISCAL YEAR, AND SO WE JUST ADOPTED A BUDGET.
UM, WE HAD A LOT OF WHAT WE HOPE TO BE ONE TIME COST AROUND COVID AND, AND, UH, BUT WE ADOPTED A $48 MILLION DEFICIT, SO WE'RE NOT BUDGET BALANCED, BUT WE WERE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME GOOD THINGS.
AND WE HAD, UH, WE PROVIDED A 2% SALARY INCREASE ACROSS THE BOARD.
UM, WE, WE PROVIDED SOME ONETIME INCENTIVES FOR OUR HOURLY CLASSIFIED STAFF THAT WILL REMAIN WITH THE DISTRICT, UH, THROUGH THE END OF THIS CALENDAR YEAR.
SO KIND OF A RETENTION PACKAGE THERE.
AND THEN WE ALSO PROVIDED SOME ADDITIONAL STIPENDS TO ATTRACT, UM, SOME OF THE AREAS WHERE WE'VE HAD A LOT OF VACANCIES AND THOSE ARE OUR BILINGUAL TEACHERS AND OUR SPECIAL ED TEACHERS.
SO WHAT WE HOPE, UM, IS NOT A $48 MILLION, UM, DRAW EACH YEAR.
WE, WE DID, UH, WE WILL, WE'LL ANTICIPATE DRAWING QUITE A BIT FROM OUR FUND BALANCE.
UM, I'M GOING TO, IF I CAN TRY TO SHARE JUST ONE SLIDE AROUND HOW COVID.
SO IF SOMEONE CAN JUST GIVE ME A THUMBS UP, IF YOU CAN SEE MY SCREEN.
UH, SO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, WE'VE IDENTIFIED A FEW DIFFERENT FUNDS THAT HAVE BECOME AVAILABLE AS REIMBURSEMENTS.
UM, WE HAVE FEMA, WE HAVE THE CORONA VIRUS RELIEF FUND CARES ACT, AND THEN, UH, THE GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY EDUCATION REALLY FUND.
UM, AND I'LL JUST KIND OF START FROM THE BOTTOM UP HERE.
THE GOVERNOR'S EMERGENCY RELIEF FUND HAS, UH, NO FUNDING FORTHCOMING, AND THIS IS GOING TO BE A DISBURSEMENT OF PPE.
SO WE RE RECEIVED MASKS AND THERMOMETERS, UH, WHICH IS GREAT.
I THINK WE WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO RECEIVE SOME, UH, SOME DOLLARS INSTEAD OF THE PPE CAUSE WE HAVE PURCHASED OUR OWN AS WELL.
AND THEN, UM, AS PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED, UH, GOING UP THE SLIDE, THE CARES ACT, THIS IS A GRANT TO BASICALLY OFFSET THE LOSS IN STATE FUNDING FOR THE FISCAL YEAR THAT JUST ENDED.
SO JUST THOSE TWO REIMBURSEMENT PACKAGES IS NOT GOING TO YIELD US ANY NEW DOLLARS.
UM, AND THEN THE TOP TWO CORONA VIRUS RELIEF FUND AND OUR FEMA IT'S 75% OF ELIGIBLE EXPENSES.
AND, UH, IT'S BASICALLY UNBUDGETED ITEMS OR THINGS THAT WERE USED FOR PPE CLEANING AND SANITIZING, UM, HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.
AND ON THE RIGHT, THAT KIND OF TOP PINK SQUARE, WE SPENT TODAY ALMOST $25 MILLION FOR COVID ON DISTANCE LEARNING TRANSLATION, UH, CLEANING MEAL DELIVERY.
AND WE ANTICIPATE RIGHT NOW TO GET BACK ABOUT A 10TH OF THAT, IT JUST OVER $2 MILLION.
SO, UM, IT IS HITTING OUR FUND BALANCE AND IT WILL BE TOUGH GOING FORWARD, BUT, UM, THAT'S KIND OF THE ENVIRONMENT WE'RE IN TRYING TO PROVIDE THE REMOTE LEARNING AND THE DISTANCE LEARNING, UH, TO OUR STUDENTS AND TO, YOU KNOW, 80,000 STUDENTS.
I CAN, UM, I CAN MUTE MYSELF, BUT I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS, UM,
[01:30:01]
FOR, YOU KNOW, AUSTIN OR THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN GENERAL.AND, UM, SCHOOL DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES AND, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, I NEGLECTED TO, TO, TO WELCOME DR.
SPENCER TO THE THUNDERDOME, UH, BEING A NEW SUPERINTENDENT IN OUR REGION, UH, WELCOME, UH, UH, CONGRATULATIONS AND CONDOLENCES.
UM, SO ARE THERE OTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICTS? UM, SO MUCH INFORMATION IN THERE AND, YOU KNOW, I TRY TO BE THE EXPERT ON CITIES AND THEN LIKE THE ONE THING I DON'T SPEND TIME UNDERSTANDING OF SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
AND SO THE COMPLICATED, UH, SYSTEMS Y'ALL HAVE TO GO THROUGH AND THE RELIANCE ON THE STATE TO HAVE YOUR BACK IS PRETTY, PRETTY CHALLENGING.
I MEAN, ANY QUESTIONS FOR OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMBERS IN THEIR BUDGET PRESENTATIONS, THIS IS LEAH WITH WORKFORCE SOLUTIONS.
I'M WAITING FOR MY REPLACEMENT LAPTOP.
SPEAKING OF TECHNOLOGY THERE'S ONE'S ON ITS LAST LEG.
I WAS CURIOUS HOW MANY STUDENTS MAINER IS SERVING WITH THEIR FIRST RESPONDERS SITE.
CURRENTLY WE HAVE APPROXIMATELY 25 ABOUT SCHOLARS THAT WE'RE SERVING THROUGH THE FIRST RESPONDERS PROGRAM.
ARE YOU SAYING THAT YOU WILL TAKE FOLKS FROM PFLUGERVILLE TOO? IS THAT WHAT I HEARD? ANDRE? NO.
SORRY, STAIR IN ALL SERIOUSNESS, I MEAN, I ENGAGE, YOU GOT A LOT OF CREDIT WITH THAT.
I THINK IT'S A PHENOMENAL PROGRAM.
UM, WE'RE TRYING TO WORK WITH SEVERAL CHURCHES, UM, BOTH IN FOOD WORLD AND HONESTLY, IN THE EAST SIDE, GREAT AMOUNT OF SCIENCE AND OTHER PLACES, BECAUSE YOU KNOW, FOR ME, FOR EXAMPLE, I HAVE THREE KIDS, I HAVE THREE KIDS, I HAVE THREE, THREE DAUGHTERS AND MY MIDDLE ONE GOT TO GO BACK AND THEN A 25% THRESHOLD.
BUT MY YOUNGEST ONE, SHE DIDN'T, IT'S BASED ON WHOEVER SIGNED UP WITH THAT AS WELL.
SO FOR THE FORESEEABLE FUTURE, SHE'S AT HOME WITH US, BUT IF WE WEREN'T ABLE TO DO THAT AND ABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THAT, WHAT DO YOU DO AS A PARENT? I MEAN, LITERALLY WHAT YOU DO AS A PARENT AND FOR YOU GUYS TO GO OUT THERE AND SET THE STANDARD FOR THAT, THAT'S REMARKABLE.
AND IF THERE'S ANYTHING IN THIS TIME AND EFFORT, LET'S BE BLUNT.
OUR FIRST RESPONDERS NEED ALL THE SUPPORT THEY CAN GET.
AND SO THE ABILITY TO SUPPLY THAT, IT'S AWESOME.
THANKS FOR SENDING THAT FOR THE REGION.
I DO WANT TO SORT OF COMMEND OUR, OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT PARTNERS JUST FOR THE WAY THEY STEPPED UP WITH THE FOOD ACCESS AND ADDRESSING THE FOOD ACCESS ISSUE AND THE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS ISSUE.
YOU GOT TO TWO VERY DIFFICULT COMPONENTS OF THAT.
YOU'VE GOT THE DEVICES AND THEN YOU'VE GOT THE CONNECTIVITY ISSUE.
AND I KNOW PROBABLY THAT KIND OF ACTIVITY ISSUE.
WELL, BOTH OF THOSE ISSUES DON'T GO AWAY.
BUT, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY WE HAVE A LOT MORE DEVICES DEPLOYED, BUT I KNOW THAT THE KIND OF ACTIVITY ISSUE MAY IS SOMETHING WHERE MAYBE WORKING WITH SCHOOLS AND MUNICIPALITIES MAYBE COULD DO THAT KIND OF COORDINATION, YOU KNOW, COULD HELP.
AND SO CERTAINLY ANY, ANY, ANY COMMENTS ABOUT THAT.
AND THEN, UM, AND THEN ALSO, UM, MAYBE HEARING FROM THE OTHER DISTRICTS ABOUT KIND OF REIMBURSEMENT FOR ALL THESE COVID RELATED EXPENSES.
CAUSE I WAS HOPING THEN THE NEWS WOULD BE THAT THERE WAS MORE THAN 10% OF THE COST REIMBURSED, BUT UH, THAT'S UM, THAT'S NOT VERY GENEROUS AT ALL.
BUT, UH, BUT I, I DO REALIZE THAT Y'ALL HAVE DONE A LOT AND WE REALLY APPRECIATE IT AND WANT TO SEE JUST KIND OF WHAT, WHERE THOSE GAPS ARE AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO END UP, I THINK, UM, GOING INTO THIS, NOT THIS, THIS SCHOOL YEAR, BUT ALSO THE FOLLOWING YEAR, THANK YOU FOR THAT.
UM, AND I CAN START OFF WITH THE CONNECTIVITY.
I'M NOT CERTAIN THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO GIVE ANY DIFFERENT INFORMATION AROUND THE REIMBURSABLE.
SO, UH, THE ADDITIONAL FINANCES THAT WILL COME AROUND REIMBURSABLES, BUT FOR CONNECTIVITY'S SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE DONE IN MAYNOR ISD IS WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT ABSOLUTELY 100% OF OUR SCHOLARS SAID ACCESS TO THE TECHNOLOGY DEVICE AS WELL AS TO THE INTERNET.
SO WE HAVE BEEN WORKING EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT THAT IS THE REALITY.
AND WE'RE VERY PLEASED TO SAY THAT ALL BUT FIVE OF OUR SCHOLARS IN OUR DISTRICT HAVE ACCESS TO A TECHNOLOGY DEVICE, AS WELL AS THE INTERNET SERVICES AND, AND THEIR HOME VIA THE HOTSPOTS THAT WE HAVE PROVIDED TO THEM.
AND FOR THE FIVE WHO DO NOT, WE ARE BRINGING THOSE SPOTS BACK TO OUR CAMPUSES SO THEY CAN HAVE ACCESS TO INTERNET AS WELL.
[01:35:01]
ALSO WORKING WITH SOME LOCAL COMPANIES SO THAT WE CAN BEGIN TO EXPAND OUR BANDWIDTH TO ENSURE THAT ACROSS THE ENTIRE DISTRICT, REGARDLESS AS TO WHERE ANY OF OUR SCHOLARS LIVE, THAT THEY HAVE ACCESS TO THE INTERNET.SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ANTICIPATE WE WILL HAVE COMPLETED, UM, WITHIN A YEAR THAT'S OUR, OUR AGGRESSIVE GOALS TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S A REALITY, BUT WE BELIEVE THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
SPENCER, JUST TO, UM, JUST TO ADD ONTO WHAT YOU SAID, UM, WE RECENTLY ISSUED A BOND ALSO, WHICH HAD A HUGE TECHNOLOGY COMPONENT AND THANK GOD WE DID RIGHT BEFORE COVID HEAD.
AND SO WE WERE ABLE TO VERY QUICKLY REACT AND, UM, AND GET EACH OF OUR STUDENTS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE FIVE STUDENTS, UM, YOU KNOW, ACCESS TO HARDWARE AND TO MY FIVE AND, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY TOOLS THAT THEY NEEDED TO, UM, TO HAVE THE VIRTUAL LEARNING.
SO WITHOUT THAT, YOU KNOW, THOSE BOND PROCEEDS, UNFORTUNATELY WE WOULD HAVE HAD A LOT MORE DRAMATIC HIT TO OUR FUND BALANCE THEN THAN WE DO NOW.
UM, CURRENTLY WE JUST ORDERED ABOUT 12,000, UM, OR FACE MASKS AND SHIELDS DESHIELDS FOR, UH, UH, EMPLOYEES RETURNING TO WORK.
SO WE ARE REALLY, EVEN THOUGH AS A SMALLER DISTRICT, WE ARE REALLY SEEING THAT, UH, THOSE DIRECT IMPACTS TO OUR OPERATING BUDGETS, BUT IT'S, IT'S WHAT WE HAVE TO DO.
AND SO WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT ALL OF THOSE GOING FORWARD, JUST, YOU KNOW, AND THEN TRY TO HAVE THAT MAGIC EIGHT BALL.
HOW LONG DO WE THINK THIS IS REALLY GOING TO EXTEND OUT? SO, YOU KNOW, EVERYBODY'S, YOU KNOW, PLAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT GAME WHERE WE'RE TRYING TO SEE, UM, YOU KNOW, JUST HOW FAR OUT WE NEED TO START PLANNING FOR THESE THINGS, BUT WE'RE, WE'RE THINKING ABOUT AT LEAST SIX TO 18 MONTHS AHEAD, AS FAR AS HAVING TO ENDURE THESE ADDITIONAL EXPENDITURES AND NOT TO REALLY BANK ON GETTING THE REIMBURSEMENT THAT WE WOULD LIKE IT AS AUSTIN ALLUDED TO, YOU KNOW, JUST 10% THAT'S, THAT'S NOT GOING TO CUT IT.
YOU KNOW, JIMMY, YOU ASKED THE QUESTION TO TREY AND RO FOLLOWED UP WITH THEM ONLY JUST TOUCHED ON IT, ABOUT WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO IN PFLUGERVILLE.
AT SOME POINT, WHEN WE DIDN'T THINK THAT WE WERE GOING TO BE ABLE TO PAY FOR ALL OF OUR OVERTIME, FOR OUR FIRST RESPONDERS, WE WERE GOING TO GIVE $800,000 TO THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, JUST FOR REMOTE LEARNING, YOU KNOW, TRY TO COVER REIMBURSE COSTS BECAUSE JUST LIKE YOU SAID, THOSE CURE X FUNDS, THOSE, UM, LIMITS STRINGS.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO CALL.
I'M TRYING TO BE NICE AND PC ON HERE.
YOU KNOW, I DON'T KNOW IF THEY REALLY REFLECT THE REALITY OF THE SITUATION.
I SEE JEFF LAUGHING IN THE CORNER OVER THERE WITH THAT, CAUSE HE KNOWS ALL TOO WELL ABOUT THAT.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHO WE NEED TO TALK TO, BUT WE NEED TO BE MORE PRAGMATIC AND REALISTIC ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON HERE WITH THAT IN THE BURDEN.
THAT'S REALLY HAPPENING TO OUR SCHOOLS REGARDING WHAT THEY'RE DOING REGARDING REMOTE LEARNING AND EVERYTHING ELSE.
AND HONESTLY, IF THE SCHOOLS AREN'T TAKEN CARE OF, THE PARENTS ARE GOING TO BE TAKEN CARE OF IN TURN, OUR ECONOMY IS NOT GONNA BE TAKEN CARE OF.
AND I DON'T KNOW WHO WE NEED TO TALK TO.
I THINK IT'S VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND, BUT ALSO LIVE IN A VAN DOWN BY THE RIVER.
WELL, I, I WAS, UH, UH, GIVEN A PRESENTATION BY, UH, BY SOME ECONOMISTS EARLIER THIS WEEK, TALKING ABOUT WHAT RECOVERY MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND THE SCARIEST, I MEAN KIND OF THE GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS FOR AUSTIN IS, YOU KNOW, LIKE IN PRIOR RECESSIONS, WE HAVEN'T BEEN HIT AS HARD AS OTHER REGIONS.
WE HAVE A MORE STABLE ECONOMY THAN, THAN A LOT OF FOLKS, A LOT OF OTHER, UM, NSA'S DO, BUT OUR RECOVERY IS GOING TO FURTHER EXACERBATE OUR INCOME INEQUALITY AND, AND WHAT THIS, THIS PERSON DESCRIBED IT AS A K SHAPED RECOVERY WHERE THE PEOPLE AT THE TOP ARE GONNA DO GREAT.
AND THE PEOPLE AT THE BOTTOM ARE GOING TO DO WORSE.
AND I MEAN, THERE'S NOT MAYBE A BETTER GROUP THAN, THAN THE CANNED BOARD WHO UNDERSTANDS THAT REALLY DIFFICULT CHALLENGE WHEN THE STATE TAKES AWAY ALL, ALMOST ALL OF THE TOOLS AT OUR DISPOSAL TO COURSE CORRECT ACACIA SHAPED RECOVERY, THERE JUST ISN'T ENOUGH VALUE CAPTURE.
WE CAN DO FAIRLY IN, IN THAT TYPE OF RECOVERY.
AND, YOU KNOW, COMMISSIONER, TREVELYAN TALKED ABOUT ELECTING A FEW MORE FOLKS TO HELP US SOLVE THAT PROBLEM.
AND THAT'S JUST TO START, BUT YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO TALK IN REAL TERMS ABOUT THE WAY THAT OUR FAMILIES ARE IMPACTED.
I MEAN, IT IS A TRAGEDY THAT THE LEGISLATURE DID NOT ACCEPT $10 BILLION OF OUR OWN TAX DOLLARS FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FOR THE LAST FIVE YEARS TO ADDRESS THE NEED THE MEDICAL NEEDS AND THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF THE FAMILIES THAT ARE SUFFERING THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC.
AND IF WE DON'T SIT TOGETHER AND WORK TOGETHER AND BUILD THAT
[01:40:01]
CASE AND EITHER MAKE THEM GO FOR THOSE DOLLARS OR SEND THEM BACK HOME, THAT'S ON US.IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE BE GIVEN THE RESOURCES THAT ARE NECESSARY TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND IF WE CAN'T, WE NEED TO POINT OUT WHO'S DOING IT.
AND, AND UH, YOU KNOW, IT, IT BREAKS MY HEART TO SEE THE NUMBER OF, OF FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN THAT ARE VULNERABLE AND NOT BEING SERVED FOR HERE BECAUSE SOME KNUCKLEHEAD WANTS TO FLEX AND THE PINK HOUSE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME.
AND, AND, AND WE'RE NOT GONNA, WE'RE NOT GONNA LAY DOWN AND TAKE IT.
SO, UH, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I HOPE YOU WILL JOIN ME AS WE GO TO THE CAPITOL AND EXPRESS WHAT IT IS OUR COMMUNITIES NEED, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT CHILDREN AND WE'RE TALKING ABOUT ELDERLY FOLKS, AND THIS IS NOT OKAY SINCE YOU BROUGHT UP MEDICAID EXPANSION CREDIT TO REPRESENTATIVE BUCY, WHO IS MY FRIEND UP INTO WILCO AREA.
AND AS A FRESHMEN LED ON THAT EFFORT AND GOT JUST A FEW VOTES AWAY FROM PUTTING THAT TO THE VOTERS IN TEXAS, UH, ONE OF THE REASONS WHY HE WAS GIVEN FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR IN THE HOUSE CAUCUS, UM, BUT, BUT COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN IS, IS A HUNDRED PERCENT, RIGHT.
AND YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALL ON THIS GROUP.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT IS THAT WE'RE, WE'RE TRYING TO DO THE BEST WE CAN WITH THE SITUATION WE'RE IN.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN CONVINCE LEGISLATORS TO IMPROVE, IT'S, IT'S, IT'S A MUCH LONGER TAIL SOLUTION THAN THE MORE IMMEDIATE PRESSING NEEDS OF OUR FAMILIES IN THIS REGION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I'M REALLY THANKFUL FOR, FOR THE CITIES AND THE COUNTY AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS FOR BRINGING YOUR PRESENTATIONS TODAY, WE'VE GOT ABOUT 10, 15 MINUTES LEFT.
UM, IF ANYBODY HAS ANY FINAL QUESTIONS FOR FOLKS OR, UH, ON ANY OF THE STUFF THAT YOU'VE SEEN PRESENTED TODAY, OR IF, IF THERE'S SOMETHING ELSE YOU WANT TO ADD, WE DIDN'T ASK OUR CHAMBERS OR, UH, ANY OF OUR, UM, HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS, ANYONE ELSE TO PRESENT TODAY, WE FOCUSED ON THE GOVERNMENT JURISDICTIONS RELATED TO TAX REVENUES, BUT IF ANYBODY ELSE WANTED TO CHIME IN AND I SEE WHERE YOUR EVER HAND UP TOO REAL QUICK, I MEAN, I KIND OF GAVE A SHOUT OUT TO OUR DISTRICT PARTNERS, BUT I DO WANT TO SHOUT OUT TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, YOU KNOW, AND OUR, AND OUR HEALTH PROVIDERS, UM, FOR THEIR RESPONSE TO UNDERSTAND BACK TO THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY, BECAUSE YOU REMEMBER IN JUNE, YOU KNOW, THE NUMBERS WERE JUST UNBELIEVABLE, RIGHT? IN TERMS OF HOW THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY WAS BEING AFFECTED.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, I'VE BEEN INVOLVED WITH KIND OF COLLABORATION, ONE COLLABORATIONS THAT I CAN NAME OFF AROUND THE COVID RESPONSE.
AND ONE OF THEM IS SORT OF THE LATINO KIND OF RESPONSE TO THE LATINO IMPACT.
AND SO I DO WANT TO, WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE.
IT'S STILL A LITTLE DISPROPORTIONATE, BUT WE'RE IN A MUCH BETTER PLACE FOR THE HISPANIC COMMUNITY.
AND WE WERE BACK IN EARLY JUNE.
AND, AND I KNOW IT'S NOT A PERFECT RESPONSE IN ANY WAY, BUT I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT WHATEVER APH AND CENTRAL HEALTH AND COMMUNITY CARE DID SEEM TO AT LEAST HELP ADDRESS THAT ONE LITTLE ONE PIECE OF THE, OF THE, OF THE CHALLENGE, BECAUSE, UM, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONCERN, RIGHT.
YOU KNOW, AND THERE SHOULD BE FOR HOW SPECIFIC GROUPS ARE BEING AFFECTED, YOU KNOW, PARTICULARLY, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITIES OF COLOR.
BUT I DO WANT TO KIND OF NOTE THAT AT LEAST WE SAW VERY GOOD IN RESPONSE AND YOU KNOW, THERE'S A LOT OF TENSION THERE, RIGHT.
BETWEEN COMMUNITY AND OFFICIALS, BUT, UH, I THINK JUST THE IMPACT, THE CHANGE IN THE IMPACT OF THE IMPROVEMENT, I THINK IS DEFINITELY NOTED AND APPRECIATED.
PATRICIA, DID YOU WANT TO ADD SOMETHING? CAN YOU HEAR ME? YOU'RE REALLY QUIET.
SOMEONE WHO IS ALSO FAMOUSLY QUIET, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? YES.
UM, SO, UH, I WANTED TO SAY, BECAUSE I HAD THIS THOUGHT AND, UH, AS I STATED EARLIER, A FEW MEETINGS AGO, I WAS LIKE, WELL, YOU KNOW, I'M THE PAST CHAIR.
I CAN SAY A WHOLE LOT MORE THAN MOST PEOPLE CAN AT THIS POINT.
AND ONE OF THE THINGS THAT IT'S BEEN REALLY CONCERNING TO ME AND IT RUBS AT ME WHEN PEOPLE ARE LIKE, OH, I CAN'T WAIT FOR US TO GET BACK TO NORMAL.
AND I'M BEING REALLY VOCAL ABOUT THE POINT THAT NORMAN WAS NOT SO GREAT GOING BACK IS NOT NECESSARILY A GOOD THING.
AND IF, IF WE REALLY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE DON'T LEAVE BEHIND THE FOLKS WHO ARE ALREADY LEFT BEHIND THAT, WE HAVE TO ACTUALLY DOUBLE DOWN TO MAKE SURE THAT IT'S NOT WORSE THAN WHAT, WHERE WE WERE BEFORE THIS PANDEMIC IT.
AND THAT'S GONNA TAKE A WHOLE LOT OF EFFORT AND THINGS THAT I, YOU KNOW, I KNOW THAT PEOPLE, UM, ARE FEELING WEARY AND
[01:45:01]
TIRED, BUT THIS IS, THIS IS A MARATHON.AND, UM, AND WE'VE GOT TO DEFINITELY BE VERY SUPPORTIVE OF EACH OTHER.
AND FOR THOSE THAT CAN SPEAK UP AND SPEAK OUT TO DO SO, AND TO BE SUPPORTIVE BEHIND THE SCENES OF WHATEVER WAY, BECAUSE THIS IS A MARATHON GOING BACK TO NORMAL.
FIRST OF ALL, LIKE THAT'S A NON RAISE FOR ME AND IT'S A NONSTARTER.
UM, AND THE WORST THING WE CAN DO HAVE IS FOR IT TO HAVE HIGHER LEVELS OF INEQUITY, WHERE WE COME OUT OF THIS, WHEN WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO LEVEL SET IN SOME WAYS, YOU KNOW, EVEN IF WE CAN'T, YOU KNOW, BOOST THINGS.
BUT THE LAST THING WHEN WE, WE NEED TO DO IS GO FURTHER BACKWARDS WORK.
WE'RE REALLY AT A CRUCIAL TIME IN OUR HISTORY AND IN OUR COMMUNITIES.
AND IF WE DON'T DO THE RIGHT THINGS, AND I KNOW I'M PREACHING TO THE CHOIR WITH THIS GROUP, BUT IF WE DON'T DO THE RIGHT THINGS, NOW WE ARE DOING NOT JUST THE FOLKS AND THE KIDS RIGHT NOW, A DISSERVICE, BUT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.
SO THAT'S MY 2 CENTS FOR TODAY, WELL SAID, PATRICIA.
UM, AND I THINK TO, TO, TO OTHER POINTS, AND AS COMMISSIONER WILLIAMS HAS SAID MULTIPLE TIMES, YOU KNOW, THE, IN THE SHORT TERM, WE'VE GOT SOME ELECTIONS COMING UP IN NOVEMBER THAT ARE REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY IMPORTANT.
AND THEY'RE IMPORTANT REALLY UP, UP AND DOWN THE BALLOT, OBVIOUSLY AT THE TOP OF THE BALLOT, WE DON'T HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THAT.
WE ALL KNOW WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S GOOD AND BAD THERE IT'S CLEARER, BUT YOU GOT ALL THESE NONPARTISAN RACES, CITY, CITY COUNCIL RACES, NOT JUST AUSTIN, NOT JUST ME ON THE BALLOT.
YOU GOT WEIRD ONES THAT USED TO BE IN MAY THAT ARE NOW IN NOVEMBER, CEDAR PARK AND ROUND ROCK ON THAT LIST.
I GOT SCHOOL BOARD RACES, NOT JUST AISD, I DON'T, I DON'T LIVE IN DEL VALLEY OR SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOUR SCHOOL BOARD RACES ARE HAPPENING, BUT THEY ARE IN ROCK AND LEANDER ISD.
YOU HAVE A SIDE OF MY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT SOME, SOME REALLY CRITICAL STUFF.
AND, UH, SEVERAL STATE HOUSE MEMBERS WHO ARE FRESHMEN COMING ON, HOPEFULLY YEAH.
SOPHOMORE SEASON THAT, UH, ARE, ARE REALLY IMPORTANT TO MAINTAIN, YOU KNOW, UH, REPRESENTATIVE BUCY AND GOODWIN.
AND TALARICO ARE THE ONES KIND OF ON MY, OR THE WORLD THAT FIT THAT, BUT ALSO ERRANDS WIENER KIND OF IN THE, IN THE HAYES COUNTY AREA.
THESE ARE FOLKS THAT I'VE BEEN GOOD ALLIES SAW THE WORK THAT WE DO.
I THINK, UM, SO EARLY VOTING IS JUST FOUR WEEKS AWAY, FOUR WEEKS EARLY VOTE.
UM, AND I JUST GOT AN EMAIL FROM WILLIAMSON COUNTY.
THEY'RE STILL LOOKING FOR EARLY VOTING SITES.
I DON'T KNOW IF TRAVIS COUNTY IS ALSO STILL LOOKING COMMISSIONER TREVELYAN.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY INSIGHT ON THAT, BECAUSE I KNOW THERE WAS A LOT OF CONVERSATION FROM, FROM DANA'S OFFICE, LOOKING FOR ME OR SITES, WE'RE GOING TO DO SEVERAL THINGS.
UH, WE'VE GOT, UH, WE'VE GOT FIVE SUPER SITES AND, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE THEIR BALLOTS MAILED TO THEM, TO, UH, DROP THEM OFF AND HAVE THEM SCANNED IN.
SO WE, WE SPENT A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYBODY WHO WANTS TO PARTICIPATE WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO SAFELY.
UH, SO, UH, WE, UH, WE ARE, UH, WE'RE GOING TO WORK, UH, TO PUSH OUT, UM, THE, THE, UM, THE VOTING BALLOTS TO ALL OF THOSE OVER 65, BUT WE'VE ALSO BEEN ENCOURAGING THOSE WHO HAVE DISABILITIES OF ANY SORT, UH, TO ASK FOR THEM EARLY.
AND, AND, UM, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE ARE AFRAID ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH, WITH THE MAIL SERVICE NOW.
SO WE'LL HAVE AT LEAST THREE SITES THAT THEY CAN DRIVE THEIR BALLOTS TO AND GET THEM CHECKED AND GET THEM SCANNED IN TO KNOW THAT THEY WILL PARTICIPATE.
SO, UH, WE WILL, UH, WE'LL DO A GOOD JOB OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION.
SO YOU SHOULD BE HEARING A PRODUCER SEWN ON CHANNEL 17 AND ALSO WITH, UH, WITH OUR MINORITY MEDIA, THE THINGS THAT ARE HAPPENING AND, AND, UM, AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY GETS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATE.
UM, AND I WOULD SAY ONE OF THE THINGS, YOU KNOW, I'M ON THE, ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL MYSELF, AND ONE QUESTION THAT KEEPS COMING UP IN ALL THESE QUESTIONNAIRES I HAVE TO DO IS ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESS.
AND I HAVE BRAGGED MORE ABOUT CAN IN THE LAST THREE WEEKS THAN I HAVE IN THE LAST THREE YEARS.
SO I'M REALLY GLAD THAT WE'VE BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT OF, OF A TOPIC THAT I AM EVEN SURPRISED AT SOME OF THE GROUPS THAT HAVE BEEN ASKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESS AND ARE PRIORITIZING SO KUDOS ROLE TO YOU AND YOUR TEAM AND TO PATRICIA AND, AND THE, AND THE, THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS THAT HAVE LED ON THAT ISSUE FOR MUCH LONGER BEFORE I WAS THE CHAIR, NORA.
I JUST WANTED TO REMIND EVERYBODY TO REMIND EVERYBODY, YOU KNOW, ABOUT THE CENSUS.
CAUSE THAT'S THE OTHER THING THAT RIGHT NOW, WE
[01:50:01]
ALL HAVE TO, YOU KNOW, I WAS SURPRISED THE OTHER DAY I WAS TALKING TO A GROUP OF PEOPLE AND I SAID, I CANNOT BELIEVE THAT THERE ARE SOME PEOPLE THAT I KNOW THAT HAVEN'T FILLED OUT THE CENSUS.AND ONE OF THEM WAS BRAVE ENOUGH TO HOLD UP HER HAND AND SAY, I HAVEN'T DONE IT YET.
AND I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, I WOULD HAVE NEVER EXPECTED THAT FROM YOU.
SO IT WAS A LESSON, ASK EVERYBODY, HAVE YOU DONE IT YET? AND, AND THEN REACH OUT MORE AS FAR AS YOU CAN.
I THINK, I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT WRAP UP, UM, YOU KNOW, THE NEXT TWO MONTHS, AND I'M NOT SURE IF ANYBODY KNOWS THE UPDATED CENSUS DEADLINE, I THINK IT WAS MOVED AS IT MIGHT BE THIS MONTH.
ISN'T IT? IT IS BEING CHALLENGED, BUT YEAH.
AND SO DUN LAWLER FROM OUR, UH, FROM OUR OFFICE IS DOING A GOOD JOB AND HAS RESOURCES, UH, TO BE HELPFUL.
WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, UH, WITH, WITH ALL OF OUR ETHNIC COMMUNITIES TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE HAS ACCESS, BUT LAWLER, UH, WILL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE RESOURCES DIRECTLY AS WELL.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE, UH, TO, UH, TO CALL A GENERAL NUMBER, OR IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTY JUST CALL MY OFFICE AND WE'LL CONNECT YOU.
AND, YOU KNOW, ALONG THOSE LINES, I WANT TO GIVE CREDIT TO CAUSE WAVES AND COUNTY HAS BEEN ON THE FOREFRONT TOO, AS WELL.
YOU KNOW, TRYING TO WORK WITH THAT REGARDING THE CENSUS CASE THAT THE SERVICES AND JIMMY'S NECK OF THE WOODS THAT, YOU KNOW, CAN BE MADE AVAILABLE FOR FOLKS WHO ARE IN THAT PART OF THE REGION, WHO NEEDED THAT.
I THINK THAT ALL THE LOCAL ENTITIES UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THE CENSUS IS AND WE'RE GETTING PUSHBACK FROM OTHER PLACES.
AND YEAH, AND I WOULD JUST ADD TO NORRIS COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE CENSUS WORKERS ARE KNOCKING ON DOORS.
AND SO IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO, TO BE, UH, FORTHRIGHT WITH OUR PEOPLE AND OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR NETWORKS, THAT IT'S, IT'S HARD RIGHT NOW, BUT WE MUST OPEN THE DOOR.
WELL, YOU KNOW, THAT, THAT'S ONE REASON THAT WE HAVE BEEN ASKING, UH, FOR ASKING COMMUNITIES TO REACH OUT, TO, UH, TO THE PARTS OF THEIR COMMUNITY THAT WILL TRUST THEM, BUT WILL NOT TRUST EVERYBODY.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THERE THERE'S, THERE'S BEEN A WHOLE LOT GOING ON.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH A, A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD WITH ICE.
WE'VE GONE THROUGH A VERY DIFFICULT PERIOD OF WHAT WE HAVE TRIED TO DO IS WORK WITH ETHNIC COMMUNITIES, GIVE THEM THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED, BECAUSE SOMETIMES IT HELPS, UH, WHEN, WHEN THERE AREN'T LANGUAGE BARRIERS, WHEN THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT I KNOW FROM CHURCH, WHEN THEY'RE PEOPLE THAT I KNOW FROM WORK.
SO WHAT I WOULD JUST, I WOULD JUST REPEAT THE LAST PRESIDENT THAT I RESPECTED.
AND WHEN HE SAYS, UH, YOU KNOW, NO MATTER WHAT WE'VE DONE THUS FAR IS NOT ENOUGH.
WE HAVE TO REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS AND, AND SEND THE OWN BALLOON HOME.
DID HE SAY THAT? AND I SAID,
I THINK I, I, WOULDN'T BEYOND HIS QUOTE.
AND YOU KNOW, WE ARE HITTING THREE O'CLOCK.
I THINK WE'VE GOT OUR, OUR ART TODAY'S LAID OUT CENSUS THIS MONTH, PUSH IT OUT TO YOUR CHANNELS, DO A NEW RENEWED PUSH FOR CENSUS, AND THEN GETTING EVERYBODY TO VOTE EARLY IN OCTOBER, IF THERE ARE ANY OBJECTIONS OR ANY OTHER QUESTIONS.
THANKS EVERYBODY FOR BEING PART OF OUR MEETING TODAY.
AND THANKS FOR ALL OF OUR JURISDICTIONS FOR YOUR PRESENTATIONS IS TOO