Jan 20, 2021 Audit and Finance Committee

UM, THE FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS THE APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES.

SO GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS ALISON ALTER AND I'VE CHAIRED THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.

I'M JOINED THIS MORNING BY COUNCIL MEMBERS, TOBO AND POOLE WHO ARE ON THE COMMITTEE.

WE ARE ALSO JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR CONTEST.

UM, IT IS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20TH, AND IT IS 9:13 AM.

AND I'M GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.

[1. Approve the minutes of the Audit and Finance Committee Meeting of November 18, 2020.]

UM, SO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES.

COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MAKES THAT MOTION SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO UM, IS YOUR HAND THAT'S MEMBER YOU'RE IN FAVOR? YEP.

SO THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

ITEM OF BUSINESS IS OUR, UM, AUDIT ON THE CITY-WIDE PAGERS AUDIT AUDITOR.

SO THE NEXT

[2. Citywide Pagers Audit (City Auditor’s Office)]

WOULD YOU LIKE TO GET US STARTED PLEASE? CERTAINLY.

AND JUST TO MAKE SURE I HAVE, OH, YOU DID.

IT SEEMS LIKE I WAS MUTED.

I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT I HAD PATRICK JOHNSON.

I CAME RIGHT BACK ON THE CALL, PATRICK JOHNSON AND HE ANSWERED THE THOUGHT KATE MURDOCH WAS THE LEAD AND SHE'LL BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION TODAY, SO, OKAY.

THE FLOOR IS YOURS AND I CAN SEE YOU.

SO YOU MUST BE ON THE CALL.

DO WE NEED TO GET THE PRESENTATION UP? YES, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

IT KIND OF, THAT LOOKS LIKE A PAGER, BUT I THINK WE'RE GOOD.

RIGHT? AND I THINK IT'S GOOD.

IT'S A GOOD MORNING COUNCIL MEMBERS, AS COREY SAID, MY NAME IS KATE MURDOCH AND I WILL BE PRESENTING THE FINDINGS FOR THE CITYWIDE PAGERS AUDIT.

SINCE 1999, THE CITY HAS CONTRACTED WITH THE SAME VENDOR FOR PAGING SERVICES.

WE ARE NOW IN THE THIRD ITERATION OF THIS CONTRACT.

THIS CONTRACT HAS EVOLVED TO INCLUDE OTHER WIRELESS COMMUNICATION SERVICES.

SPOKES WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM, OR WMS IS COMPRISED OF THE PAGING NETWORK AND THE SMART WEB, WHICH ALLOWS USERS TO SEND MESSAGES VIA EMAIL.

THIS FOLKS, MARK PHONE APPLICATION, PAGER, OR TEXT THIS AUDIT FOCUSED ON THE PAGING NETWORK IN JUNE OF 2020, THE CITY HAD APPROXIMATELY 4,400 WMS ACCOUNTS AND ROUGHLY 1600 OF THESE ACCOUNTS HAD PAGING SERVICES.

AT THE BEGINNING OF 2020, 27 TO CITY DEPARTMENTS HAD ACCOUNTS FOR PAGING AND SMART WEB SERVICES.

PAGERS CONTINUE TO PROVIDE SOME BENEFITS THAT OTHER DEVICES SUCH AS SMART PHONES DO NOT IN SOME EMERGENCY SITUATIONS.

THEY ARE MORE RELIABLE THAN OTHER DEVICES ALLOW USERS TO SEND WIDESPREAD NOTIFICATIONS TO THOUSANDS OF OTHER USERS WITHOUT DELAYS, HAVE A LONG BATTERY LIFE AND COST THE CITY ON AVERAGE, LESS THAN $5 PER USER PER MONTH AS SHOWN IN THE TABLE ABOVE MOST CITY DEPARTMENTS WITH OVER A HUNDRED WMS USER ACCOUNTS CONDUCT, PUBLIC SAFETY OR UTILITY WORK.

WE HAVE ONE FINDING THE CITY HAS NOT EFFECTIVELY MANAGED PAGERS RESULTING IN UNNECESSARY SPENDING AND POSSIBLY IMPACTING THE CITY'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE IN AN EMERGENCY.

HE OFFICES.

SO HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT HCM, ALONG WITH THE COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT CTM HAVE OVERSIGHT OF THE CITY'S CONTRACT FOR THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM.

HOWEVER HOCM DOES NOT ACTIVELY MANAGE PEDRO USE AND CTM PROVIDES MINIMAL GUIDANCE TO DEPARTMENTS REGARDING MOBILE DEVICE MANAGEMENT.

WE FOUND 90 ACTIVE PAGER ACCOUNTS ACROSS 14 DEPARTMENTS FOR EMPLOYEES, NO LONGER WORKING FOR THE CITY.

THE ESTIMATED LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH THESE ACCOUNTS AS APPROXIMATELY $13,000.

IN ADDITION, WE ANALYZE PAGER USE REPORTS PROVIDED BY THE VENDOR.

IT APPEARED THAT OVER THE FIVE MONTH PERIOD WE LOOKED AT IN 2020, ALMOST 700 OR 42% OF THE ACCOUNTS RECEIVED AN AVERAGE OF ONE PAGE OR LESS PER MONTH DUE TO CURRENT DATA AND REPORTING LIMITATIONS OF THE VENDOR.

WE WERE NOT ABLE TO DETERMINE IF THESE ACCOUNTS HAD RECEIVED GROUP MESSAGES AND TO WHAT EXTENT THEY ARE IN USE.

HOWEVER, IF THE CITY WERE ABLE TO CLOSE THESE ACCOUNTS, IT WOULD SAVE APPROXIMATELY $37,000 PER YEAR.

WE SERVE EMPLOYEES WITH ACTIVE PAGER ACCOUNTS AND RECEIVED OVER 300 RESPONSES.

14% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY DO NOT HAVE A PAGER SUGGESTING THESE EMPLOYEES WERE UNAWARE.

THE CITY HAS AN ACTIVE ACCOUNT FOR THEM.

31% SAID THEIR PAGER WAS EITHER LOST OR NOT WORKING.

41% SAID THEY USE THEIR PAGER ONCE A MONTH OR LESS.

AND 66% SAID THEY COULD ACCOMPLISH THEIR WORK TASKS WITHOUT A PAGER.

HOWEVER, WE DID NOTE THAT 33% OF RESPONDENTS SAID THEY USE THEIR PAGERS ON A DAILY BASIS TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR WORK.

[00:05:01]

IN 2020 SEVERAL DEPARTMENTS REDUCED OR ELIMINATED THEIR PAY, THEIR USE OF PAGERS APD, THE LARGEST USER OF THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM REDUCED PAGER USE BY INSTALLING BESPOKE SMARTPHONE APPLICATION ON SWORN OFFICERS, CITY ISSUED CELL PHONES.

THESE USERS ARE STILL CONNECTED TO THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM, BUT THE DEPARTMENT WAS ABLE TO REDUCE COSTS BY APPROXIMATELY $11,000 PER MONTH ON AGING SERVICES.

OTHER DEPARTMENTS HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED PAGER USE SUCH AS AUSTIN AND WATER AND THE AUSTIN CODE AND LAW DEPARTMENTS ELIMINATED PAGERS COMPLETELY IN RESPONSE TO OUR AUDIT INQUIRY, THE DOWNTOWN AUSTIN COMMUNITY COMMUNITY COURT ELIMINATED THEIR PAGERS AND THE PURCHASING IN AUSTIN PUBLIC LIBRARY DEPARTMENT SUGGESTED THEY MIGHT BE ABLE TO ELIMINATE THEM AS WELL.

IT IS THAT UNCLEAR IF DEPARTMENTS ELIMINATING PAGERS WILL RESULT IN SAVINGS.

FOR EXAMPLE, IF DEPARTMENTS SWITCHED FROM PAGERS TO CITY ISSUED SMARTPHONES, THESE DEVICES COST SIGNIFICANTLY MORE PAGERS.

HOWEVER, SMARTPHONES ALSO PROVIDE GREATER FUNCTIONALITY THAT COULD RESULT IN OTHER EFFICIENCIES.

NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, BASED ON OUR INTERVIEWS, ONE REASON DEPARTMENTS ARE REDUCING OR ELIMINATING USE OF THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM IS THAT IT IS NOT MEETING THEIR COMMUNICATION NEEDS.

THIS WAS ALSO EXPRESSED BY SOME OF THE CITY'S REGIONAL PARTNERS.

THE CITY'S COMMUNICATION WITH REGIONAL PARTNERS APPEAR TO BE MOSTLY ONE WAY AND PARTNERING ORGANIZATIONS THAT THEY TYPICALLY DO NOT USE THE WMS TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE CITY.

THEY ALSO FOUND THREE LARGE CITY DEPARTMENTS HAVE CONTRACTS FOR COMMUNICATION PLATFORMS FROM OTHER VENDORS.

STAFF SAID THEY USE THESE OTHER SYSTEMS FOR INTERNAL EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION INCIDENT TRACKING AND CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS PLANNING, CITY STAFF ACKNOWLEDGED THAT THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM SERVICES HAVE NOT BEEN EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATED TO ALL DEPARTMENTS.

IN ADDITION HOCM DOES NOT PROACTIVELY PROVIDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION GUIDANCE TO DEPARTMENTS WHICH MAY HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO WHY DEPARTMENTS PURCHASED THEIR OWN SYSTEMS BECAUSE THE CITY LACKS A COORDINATED APPROACH TO BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND MASS COMMUNICATION NEEDS.

IT IS UNCLEAR IF THESE OTHER SYSTEMS AND ASSOCIATED COSTS ARE NECESSARY, OR IF THEY ARE DUPLICATIVE.

ANOTHER COMPONENT OF NOT EFFECTIVELY MANAGING PAGERS IS THE IMPACT ON THE CITY'S ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE WITH NECESSARY PEOPLE IN AN EMERGENCY.

FIRST, AS WE NOTED EARLIER, NOT ALL DEPARTMENTS ARE CONNECTED TO THE SYSTEM.

THIS COUPLED WITH THE FACT THAT MANY EXISTING USERS REPORT NOT KNOWING WHERE THEIR DEVICES OR IT NOT BEING OPERABLE MAY MEAN THE CITY CANNOT REACH NECESSARY.

EMPLOYEES.

SECOND PAGERS IN THE CITY ARE ONE WAY, WHICH MEANS THEY CAN RECEIVE MESSAGES, BUT CANNOT SEND THEM AS A RESULT.

EMPLOYEES WHO NEED TO RESPOND TO A PATRON MESSAGE WILL NEED ANOTHER DEVICE TO COMMUNICATE BACK.

IT MAY MAKE SENSE FOR A FEW CRITICAL STAFF TO HAVE TWO WAY PAGERS.

FINALLY, AS WE NOTED IN THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, BUT THE WIRELESS MESSAGING SYSTEM MAY NOT BE AS WIDELY USED BY REGIONAL PARTNERS AS CITY STAFF PERCEIVES WITHOUT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHO NEEDS TO RECEIVE MESSAGES AND HOW FREQUENTLY PEDRO MESSAGES ARE SENT AND RECEIVED.

IT'S DIFFICULT TO DETERMINE IF PAGERS ARE WORTH THE COST.

WE MADE TWO ADDITIONAL OBSERVATIONS.

THE FIRST ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IS ABOUT RECORDS.

RETENTION STAFF SAID THAT THE VENDOR WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR RETAINING ALL MESSAGES SENT THROUGH THE SYSTEM FOR TWO YEARS.

HOWEVER, THE VENDOR SAID THAT WHILE SMART WEB MESSAGES ARE RETAINED FOR TWO YEARS, THEY DO NOT RETAIN MESSAGES SENT THROUGH THE PAGING NETWORK.

MOVING FORWARD, FUTURE CONTRACT SHOULD SPECIFY SUCH REQUIREMENTS AND CLEARLY COMMUNICATE THE VENDOR'S RESPONSIBILITIES.

THE SECOND ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IS ABOUT ASSESSING THE NEED FOR MULTIPLE DEVICES BY ONE EMPLOYEE.

BASED ON OUR ANALYSIS, MANY CITY EMPLOYEES HAVE MORE THAN ONE MOBILE COMMUNICATION DEVICE, SUCH AS A RADIO CITY ISSUED CELL PHONE AND OR PAGER.

WHILE SOME DEPARTMENTS MAY NEED THIS REDUNDANCY TO ENSURE EMPLOYEE AND PUBLIC SAFETY.

DURING EMERGENCIES, THERE MAY BE ROOM FOR DEPARTMENTS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF DEVICES ISSUED TO STAFF.

WE MADE THREE RECOMMENDATIONS AND MANAGEMENT AGREED FIRST, THE OFFICE OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT DIRECTOR, AND THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER SHOULD WORK WITH CITY DEPARTMENTS AND THE VENDOR TO RECONCILE CURRENT AND NEEDED ACCOUNTS WITH THOSE BILLS TO THE CITY ELIMINATING ANY UNNECESSARY ACCOUNTS.

SECOND, THE HSE DIRECTOR SHOULD WORK WITH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE AND OTHERS TO ASSESS THE CITY'S EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION NEEDS AND DETERMINE HOW BEST TO MEET THEM IMPLEMENTING IDENTIFIED SOLUTIONS.

THERE, THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER SHOULD WORK WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO DEVELOP AND PROVIDE GUIDANCE THAT CLEARLY DEFINES EXPECTATIONS FOR MANAGING THE CITY'S COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS AND DEVICES.

THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION.

WE WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS.

THANK YOU, MS. MURDOCH, DO WE HAVE, UM, ANY STAFF FROM HCM OR CTM WHO WANT TO SPEAK

[00:10:01]

TO THE AUDIT? OKAY.

I BELIEVE WE HAVE STAFF FROM BOTH OF THOSE DEPARTMENTS ON THE CALL.

I DON'T KNOW.

UM, THEY'VE BEEN MOVED OVER OR IT CAN BE MOVED OVER.

I BELIEVE THAT'S WHERE ENGINE I'M LOOKING TO SEE WHO ELSE IS ON THE CALL, BUT, UM, ARE AVAILABLE IF THEY WANT TO SPEAK TO, IT LOOKS LIKE SCOTT IS COMING ON.

CAN YOU HEAR ME? GOOD MORNING.

MY NAME IS .

I'M THE DIRECTOR OF RESEARCH AND THE HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE.

UM, W W YOU KNOW, WE, WE AGREE WITH THE FINANCE AND THE AUDIT, UH, REPORT, AND WE ARE GOING TO BE WORKING WITH CTM TO LOOK AT, UH, WAYS THAT WE CAN CLEAN UP THE DATA AND MAKE SURE THAT ONLY THE APPROPRIATE, UH, PERSONNEL THAT WILL REQUIRE PAGER HAVE A PAGER AND MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF THE OTHER, UH, UH, PERSONNEL THAT ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED TO PAGER, THOSE ARE TURNED OFF AND, UH, THOSE ACCOUNTS ARE DISCONNECTED ACCORDINGLY.

DID ANYONE FROM CTM WANT TO SPEAK TO TAKE THIS SCOTT FROM CTM? SCOTT'S FROM ATCM ALSO.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANYONE FROM CTM ON WE'LL CALL.

UM, COLLEAGUES, DO YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ON THE AUDIT TO PERFORMANCE? YEAH.

AND JUST SAY THAT, I THINK THAT WE PROBABLY, WE SHOULD DO AWAY WITH THE PAGERS.

IT FEELS LIKE VERY 20TH CENTURY.

WE'VE MOVED BEYOND THAT.

UM, A COUPLE OF REASONS WHY, JUST THE NUMBER OF PE THE NUMBER OF DEVICES THAT PEOPLE HAVE, THE FACT THAT MOST OF THEM AREN'T USING IT, AND THE FACT THAT WE'RE SPENDING TIME TALKING ABOUT IT AT THIS POINT.

UM, I RECOGNIZE THAT, UH, PHONES TEND TO BE MORE EXPENSIVE OBVIOUSLY, BUT THEY ALSO ARE, ARE MULTIFUNCTIONAL.

AND, UM, AND A BIG PART OF IT IS THEY SAVE WHATEVER MESSAGES COME THROUGH.

IT MUST'VE BEEN A LITTLE BIT DISCONCERTING TO EVERYBODY TO FIND OUT THAT ONLY THE SMART MESSAGES WERE RETAINED BY THE VENDOR, ESPECIALLY IF PEOPLE WERE EXPECTING THAT ALL OF THE NOTICES NOTIFICATIONS THAT WOULD HAVE GONE THROUGH WOULD HAVE BEEN HELD IN SOME KIND OF RESERVE ARCHIVE BY THE VENDOR.

SO, UM, YEAH, I DON'T THINK WE NEED PAGERS.

WELL, I THINK THAT'S GOING TO BE ONE OF THE THINGS THAT HCM AND NCTM WILL, UM, FIGURE OUT AND, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME, I'M NOT ADVOCATING FOR PAGERS, BUT THERE, THERE WERE SOME THINGS THAT WERE CITED AS TO, TO WHY WE NEEDED THEM.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOFU, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? I DID.

I CLEARLY, I THINK THERE ARE, AS, AS THE AUDIT SHOWS, UM, SOME INDIVIDUALS IN SOME DEPARTMENTS AND SOME PLACES WHERE, UH, WE JUST DON'T NEED PAGERS.

AND SO WHAT, ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS GOING TO ASK IS THAT I'M NOT SURE WHICH IS THE APPROPRIATE DEPARTMENT TO REPORT BACK ON THIS, BUT I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN GETTING A REPORT BACK JUST IN A MEMO, UM, FROM OUR CITY MANAGEMENT ABOUT WHERE THOSE, WHERE THOSE PAGERS ARE ELIMINATED IN RESPONSE TO THIS MEMO AND WHERE THOSE SAVINGS ACCRUED AND IN WHICH DEPARTMENTS AS, AS, UM, THE AUDITOR POINTED OUT THERE MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE SAVINGS IN SOME OF THOSE CASES BECAUSE THEY MAY SWITCH FROM PAGERS TO OTHER DEVICES, BUT I'D LIKE, I'D LIKE JUST TO REPORT PACKS TO GET A SENSE OF, OF HOW THAT ALL SHAKES OUT OVER THE MONTHS AHEAD, AND WHETHER WE HAVE SOME SAVINGS THAT WE COULD CONSIDER USING FOR SOMETHING ELSE.

AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, JUST BROADLY SPEAKING, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT, UM, WE ARE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT THE AUDIT OFFICE DOES ON A REGULAR BASIS IS REPORT BACK TO US ON THE FOLLOW-UP, UM, FROM THE AUDIT.

AND THAT STATUS IS MY SOUND WEIRD, CAUSE YOU GUYS ARE LOOKING AT ME, BUT I GO FUNNY ON YOU.

AUDITS THAT WE ARE DOING, UM, LOOKING AT CTM TECHNOLOGY, PROCUREMENT RELATED ISSUES.

UM, WE'RE TRYING TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE IS COMING BACK, UM, WITH FOLLOW-UP REPORTS ON THEIR RECOMMENDATION SO THAT, UM, WE CAN DEFINITELY, UM, SEE WHAT HAPPENS ON A MORE REGULAR, MORE REGULAR BASIS.

UM, I DID HAVE A QUESTION THAT WAS FOR CTM.

UM, SO PERHAPS THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE CAN, UM, CONVEY THIS, IF THEY'RE NOT HONEST OR ANYONE ASSUMING THERE'S STILL NO ONE IN THE WINGS THERE, UM, YOU KNOW, THIS RECOMMENDATION IS VERY SPECIFIC TO PAGERS.

UM, HOWEVER, THERE ARE LIKELY LESSONS TO BE LEARNED FOR THE ROLE OF CTM AND KNOLOGY, UM, I THINK THAT'S, YOU KNOW, THIS IS ONE OF SEVERAL

[00:15:01]

UM, AND WE'VE TALKED A LOT IN THIS COMMITTEE ABOUT CYBERSECURITY, UM, MOSTLY IN EXECUTIVE SESSION.

AND, YOU KNOW, WE NOW HAVE THIS AUDIT ON THE PAGERS.

UM, I WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO HAVE CTM SPEAK TO US ABOUT HOW THEY CONCEIVE OF THEIR ROLE AND, AND PROVIDING INSIGHTS INTO HOW THEY'RE APPROACHING THEIR ROLE.

UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CLEARLY GAPS THAT ARE REVEALED WITH PAGERS, BUT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THIS SERIES OF AUDITS, UM, BECAUSE, UM, WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, PROCUREMENT QUESTIONS MORE BROADLY.

AND I KNOW WE HAVE A NEW LEADERSHIP IN CTM, UM, INTERIM LEADERSHIP AT THIS POINT, AND IT WOULD BE GOOD, I THINK FOR US TO HAVE A DEEPER CONVERSATION IN THIS COMMITTEE ABOUT HOW THEY'RE APPROACHING, UM, THESE ISSUES, EVEN AS THESE AUDITS, UM, ARE UNDERWAY.

SO, UM, AUDITOR, MAYBE WE CAN, UM, TALK ABOUT THE APPROPRIATE FORUM FOR THAT CONVERSATION.

UM, AND, AND CIRCLE BACK IN LIGHT OF WHAT AUDITS ARE COMING AND WHERE THEY ARE.

SO IT CAN BE MOST USEFUL FOR, FOR EVERYONE AND OBVIOUSLY, UH, INTERIM DIRECTOR OF CTM AND FIGURING OUT, UM, WHETHER THAT'S MORE APPROPRIATE TO DO BEFORE OR AFTER THE FINAL TRANSITION TO, UH, TO, UH, UH, PERMANENT DIRECTOR.

GREAT.

UM, SO I WILL, IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS COME TO MEMBER FRONT DESK, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE A QUESTION, BUT IF YOU HAVE ONE, I WANTED TO GIVE YOU THE OPPORTUNITY.

OKAY, GREAT.

SO IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, ACCEPT THE AUDIT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MAKES THAT MOTION COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO SECONDS, UM, HEARING NO OBJECTIONS.

UM, WE ACCEPT THE AUDIT.

DO I HAVE TO APPROVE IT OR CAN I JUST ACCEPT IT? OKAY, GREAT.

WONDERFUL.

UM, SO YOU MIGHT NOTICE, WE, UM, HAVE TRIED TO PUT AN AGENDA THAT WE CAN MOVE THROUGH QUICKLY THIS MORNING.

UM, WE KNOW THAT EVERYONE WANTS TO GET, TO BE ABLE TO WATCH INAUGURATION WHEN THAT STARTS.

UM, SO I'M JUST GOING TO KEEP US MOVING ALONG HERE.

[3. Bylaws changes for the Airport Advisory Commission (City Clerk’s Office)]

UM, ITEM NUMBER THREE, UM, IS THE CLERK'S OFFICE, UM, FOR BYLAWS CHANGES FOR THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION.

UM, I UNDERSTAND WE MAY ALSO HAVE SOMEONE FROM THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION ON THE LINE AS WELL.

CLERK ONE UP PRESENT THAT.

YES, CHAIR.

GOOD MORNING.

THIS IS STEPHANIE HALL WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.

I'M HERE TO PRESENT THE PROPOSED BYLAW CHANGES FROM THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION.

THEY HAVE TWO CHANGES IN THEIR BY-LAWS THE FIRST TO EDIT THE NAME OF THE COMMISSION.

THEY WOULD LIKE TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE COMMISSION TO THE AUSTIN AIRPORT ADVISORY BOARD.

THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT STAFF RECOMMENDS OUR BASIS FOR THAT IS THAT THERE'S NO REASON FOR THE CHANGE.

THERE'S NO STATUTORY CHANGE FROM A STATE AGENCY, NO CHANGE IN THE ROLES OR RESPONSIBILITIES OR THE AUTHORITY, ET CETERA.

THE NEXT THING THAT THE PROS CHANGE IS AN EDIT IS TO EDIT ARTICLE TWO, THE PURPOSE AND THE DUTIES THEY WOULD LIKE TO EDIT THE LANGUAGE TO RESTRUCTURE AND CLARIFY AND REFRESH, REFRESH THE TEXT.

UH, MOST OF IT HAS STAYED THE SAME.

THERE THERE'S NO REAL SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES, JUST KIND OF REORGANIZING AND CLARIFYING STAFF CONCURS WITH THOSE AMENDMENTS.

GREAT.

UM, THANK YOU.

I UNDERSTAND THAT MR. SEPULVEDA IS ON THE LINE AND WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, UM, ON BEHALF OF THE AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION, MR. SPOLETO, WOULD YOU LIKE TO YOU, UM, MR. SEPULVEDA, ARE YOU LIVE WITH US? HI, WE CAN'T HEAR YOU YET.

NOPE.

WE'RE NOT HEARING YOU RIGHT NOW.

I CAN HEAR YOU.

GOOD MORNING.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME AND COUNCIL MEMBERS.

TO CLARIFY THAT WE GET WHEN WE'RE, WHEN REFERENCE.

UH, WHEN IT TO CLARIFY, UM, BEFORE YOU GET STARTED, CAN YOU JUST STATE YOUR NAME AND YOUR AFFILIATION FOR THE RECORD PLEASE? YES, I'M EUGENE'S PAUL, BUT I'M THE CHAIR CHAIRPERSON IN THE AUSTIN ADVISORY AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION.

I WANTED TO CLARIFY, UM, THE STATEMENT FROM THE CITY CLERK, CITY DOCUMENTS REFER TO US AS A COMMISSION IN SOME DOCUMENTS AS A BOARD AND OTHER DOCUMENTS.

THE REASON WE ARE RECOMMENDING BOARD IS WE JUST DID, UH, WANTING

[00:20:01]

UM, BUT WE ALSO DID SOME REVIEW OF THE OTHER ADVISORY BODIES THAT WERE IN THE COUNTRY AND MOST ARE NAMED BOARDS.

THAT'S THE ONLY REASON WE CAME DOWN WITH THAT ONE VERSUS COMMISSION AND AS A CLERK REFERENCE THE MANDATE, WHICH ARTICULATES THE TASK THAT THE ADVISORY BOARD, UM, SIMPLY REFLECT WHAT WE ARE DOING TODAY, WHICH WAS PRETTY OUTDATED FROM THE BYLAWS PREVIOUSLY.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.

UM, CLERK'S OFFICE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THE CONCERNS THAT YOU HAVE OVER THE NAME CHANGE, OR I THINK I'LL HAVE, SO COUNCIL MEMBER ON THIS IS JEANETTE, UH, GOT ALL OF THE CITY CLERK.

SO, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVER MAY REMEMBER BACK, UM, IN THE PREVIOUS COUNCIL, THE BOARD AND COMMISSION TASK FORCE.

ONE OF THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS WAS TO STANDARDIZE THE NAMES, UM, TO COMMISSION WHENEVER POSSIBLE.

UM, SO I, SO SOME OF THE BOARDS, UM, AT THAT TIME WERE RENAMED TO COMMISSIONS.

I DON'T BELIEVE THIS ONE WAS, UM, IN ORDER TO DO THIS, IT WOULD REQUIRE A, UM, AMENDMENT TO THE CITY CODE, UM, BECAUSE THE NAMES ARE OFFICIALLY DOCUMENTED IN CHAPTER TWO ONE.

UM, SO IF THERE IS INCONSISTENCY WITH THE NAMES, UH, IN VARIOUS DOCUMENTS THAT SHOULD REFLECT WHAT IS IN THE CODE, UM, AND IT WOULD ALSO REQUIRE US TO MODIFY THE BOARD AND COMMISSION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, UM, AND THE WEBSITE.

AND SO SINCE THERE'S NO LEGAL REASON TO CHANGE THE NAME, WE DO NOT RECOMMEND GOING THROUGH THAT PROCESS.

UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TTO, DID YOU HAVE YOUR HAND UP? YEAH, I APPRECIATE IT.

THE CITY CLERK TALKING ABOUT, UM, THE RECOMMENDATION AGAINST THIS CHANGE, I GUESS I WOULD ASK MR. IF HE WOULD SPEAK TO BEYOND, BEYOND JUST, UM, THE FACT THAT OTHERS AIRPORT ENTITIES, UH, CITIZEN ENTITIES ARE, OR COMMUNITY ENTITIES ARE NAMED BOARDS.

DO YOU SEE A REAL DISTINCTION THERE IN TERMS OF THE TERMINOLOGY COUNCIL MEMBER TAVA? THAT'S REALLY THE ONLY PLACE WHERE I SEE THE DISTINCTION, YOU KNOW, WE, UM, OBVIOUSLY NOT IN 2020 BECAUSE OF COVID, BUT WE ATTEND, UM, GATHERINGS OF ADVISORY GROUPS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY FROM OTHER AIRPORTS AND IT PEOPLE WONDER, WELL, ARE, ARE YOU GUYS NOT PEERS? WE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIP.

IT'S NOT MEANINGFUL IN THE CITY.

UM, IT'S MEANINGFUL WHEN TRYING TO COLLABORATE WITH COMMUNITY COLLABORATE AND COMMUNICATE WITH PEERS OUTSIDE THE CITY SO THAT WE CAN BRING IN BEST PRACTICES AND OTHER OBSERVATIONS, BUT OBVIOUSLY IT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, IT WON'T STOP US FROM DOING OUR JOB.

ABSENT SOMETHING THAT IS MORE SPECIFIC, LIKE TO, UM, THE MEANING OF THE, OF THE BODY OR THE LEGAL, THE LEGAL STANDING OF THE BODY.

THAT'S HELPFUL.

ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY OTHER WHEN YOU, UM, I WASN'T AWARE THAT OUR COMMISSIONERS WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO, TO THOSE KINDS OF EVENTS.

THAT'S INTERESTING.

ARE YOU AWARE OF ANY OTHER, ANY OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE, UM, COMMISSIONED IN THE NAME OR IS IT ALL PRETTY STANDARDIZED AS BOARD? UM, I WOULD IMAGINE THAT THERE ARE, I DON'T RECALL.

I REMEMBER STANDING OUT AND IT'S TYPICALLY THE CHAIR AND THE VICE CHAIR THAT ARE INVITED TO ATTEND THESE EVENTS ONCE A YEAR.

UM, I DON'T RECALL SEEING ANOTHER BODY CALLED COMMISSION VERSUS BOARD, BUT THERE CERTAINLY COULD HAVE BEEN, I DON'T, I DON'T HAVE A REAL CONCERN ABOUT IT ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.

I MEAN, IF IT'S THE BOARD'S PREFERENCE, I'M, I'M INCLINED TO THINK ABOUT THAT, BUT I, I DO NOTICE JUST A QUICK GOOGLE SEARCH.

SAN FRANCISCO HAS AN AIRPORT COMMISSION, MARTHA'S VINEYARD, AIRPORT COMMISSION, LIVERMORE.

I DON'T KNOW WHERE LIVERMORE IS.

UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IF IT'S, IF IT'S SIGNIFICANT TO THE BOARD, I'M OPEN TO THAT, TO THAT CHANGE, BURLINGTON COUNCIL, MY PROPOSAL.

UM, IT'S INTERESTING.

UM, THE, UH, TO HAVE A DEBATE OVER THE TERMINOLOGY, UM, I'D BE INCLINED NOT TO MAKE THE CHANGE, UH, FOR A COUPLE OF REASONS.

WE MIGHT MISS ONE, UH, IT WILL COST MONEY, UM, AND IT DOES TEND TO REQUIRE US THEN TO, UM, FLOW THOSE CHANGES DOWN, NOT JUST IN THE CODE, BUT IN ALL OF OUR DOCUMENTS AND SO FORTH.

AND SO

[00:25:01]

UM, SIMPLY GOING TO A CONVENTION WITH A GROUP OF PEERS AND HAVING THEM QUESTION, WHETHER YOU ARE TRULY PEERS DOESN'T MEAN, UM, THAT THAT'S EASILY FOLKS ARE EASILY DISABUSED BY THAT, JUST BY THE VERY PRESENCE OF THE PAIN THERE I'M, I'M INTERESTED TOO, IN, IN HOW OFTEN THOSE CONFERENCES HAPPEN.

I WASN'T AWARE OF THE TRAVEL EITHER.

THAT'S, THAT'S INTERESTING.

UM, ONCE A YEAR, COUNCILMAN PURPLE IT, AS I TOLD YOU GUYS, IT'S NOT A, IT'S NOT A DO OR DIE.

IT EXISTS NAMED BOTH WAYS IN EXISTENCE, CITY DOCUMENTS.

WE THOUGHT IF THERE WAS GOING TO BE A RECONCILIATION TO ONE OR THE OTHER, AND IF IT WAS, YOU KNOW, 50 50, THEN WHY NOT RECONCILE THE TWO BOARD, BUT, UM, NOT, NOT, UM, STRONG ENOUGH TO UPSET ANYONE ABOUT THAT.

SO, UM, FIRST LET ME WELCOME, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.

WHO'S JOINED US, UM, AS WELL.

UM, SO WE HAVEN'T ASSIGNED OUR NEW COMMITTEES YET.

AND SO I THINK THEY'RE, THEY'RE SHOPPING AROUND TO SEE WHAT WE DO SO WELCOME.

GOOD MORNING.

UM, SO I THINK, UM, WHAT I, WHAT I, I HAVE, UM, A RESERVATION IN THAT HERE IN AUSTIN.

I THINK WE USE THE TERM BOARD FOR THE BOARD AND COMMISSIONS THAT ARE MORE SOVEREIGN.

UM, AND I THINK THAT THAT'S A DISTINCTION, UM, THAT'S WORTH KEEPING, YOU KNOW, WITHIN OUR OWN.

UM, YOU HERE IN AUSTIN FOR THE MOMENT? I WOULD SUGGEST, UM, NOT CHANGING THE NAME.

UM, BUT I'M OPEN THAT WHEN THIS COMES TO COUNCIL, I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S GOING TO COME THIS COUNCIL MEETING THAT'S COMING OR THE ONE AFTER, UM, IF WE CAN GET SOME DOCUMENTATION, UM, THAT FURTHER SUPPORTS THE NEED FOR IT.

UM, I WOULD STILL BE OPEN TO CONSIDER, UM, TO CONSIDER THAT, UM, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT I THINK MAYBE WE, WE CAN, UM, FORWARD IT WITHOUT THE RECOMMENDATION AND, AND ALLOW THAT TO CHANGE IF, IF WE HAVE SOME FURTHER DOCUMENTATION AND SUPPORT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO.

YEAH, I AGREE WITH THAT APPROACH NOW THAT I'M JUST, NOW THAT I'M ON PAGE TWO AND THREE OF, UM, MY GOOGLE SEARCH, I DO SEE JUST A LARGE NUMBER OF OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE COMMISSIONS.

AND I THINK FOR THE REASONS YOU SUGGEST THAT IN, IN THE, IN THE CITY LINGO, UH, I THINK THE WORK THAT THE AIRPORT COMMISSION DOES IS MORE SIMILAR TO THE OTHER COMMISSIONS RATHER THAN A BOARD AND A BOARD DOES IN SOME, IN SOME CONTEXTS SUGGEST THAT IT HAS, THAT IT HAS SOME AUTONOMY THAT THIS ONE DOES NOT.

AND SO I THINK IT IS MORE CONSISTENT WITH THE WORK THAT OUR CITY ENTITIES DO FOR IT TO BE A COMMISSION.

SO THAT'S, THAT'S WHERE I AM AT THE MOMENT, AND I SUPPORT YOUR DECISION OR YOUR RECOMMENDATION THAT WE MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT A RECOMMENDATION.

UM, BUT I AM PREPARED TO MAKE A MOTION TO SUPPORT THE OTHER CHANGES.

AND I WOULD JUST, YOU KNOW, I'M JUST THINKING OF THE PARKS BOARD, WHICH DOES HAVE SOME SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY, UM, AND THE BOARD OF ADJUSTMENTS, UM, AND I'M BLANKING ON ANY OTHER ONES THAT ARE CALLED BOARD.

UM, SOMEONE CAN CHIME IN AND CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG.

UM, SO, UM, OKAY, SO COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO, IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE YOUR, I, NOW THAT YOU JUST PUT YOUR FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH.

IT COMES UP, THAT CAN BE PART OF THE BACKUP OR THE PRESENTATION? WELL, I THINK AT THIS POINT IT WOULD GO FORWARD AS A COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION ONLY TO CHANGE THE, UM, OUR, TO PORTION OF IT.

SO COUNCIL MEMBER MAKES A, MAKES A MOTION TO ADVANCE THE BYLAW CHANGES.

UM, AND AGAIN, MR. SEPULVEDA, IF YOU HAVE FURTHER SUPPORT THAT YOU WANT TO BRING US, UM, WE CAN CERTAINLY CONSIDER, UM, THE NAME CHANGE AT COUNCIL.

WELL, IF NECESSARY.

UM, BUT I DO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, AS I MENTIONED IT WASN'T, UH, IT WASN'T THAT SIGNIFICANT TO US.

WE JUST WANTED TO RESOLVE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER.

SO THANKS.

SO THEN THE MOTION WILL BE TO ADVANCE THE BYLAWS AND THEN I WILL, UM, IF I MIGHT, BEFORE YOU GET IT SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, JUST ADD THE DIRECTION TO THE CLERK'S OFFICE TO SEE IF WE CAN CLEAN UP THE LANGUAGE OR COMMISSION ELSEWHERE, UM, AND MAYBE WORK WITH THE CHAIR, UM, TO FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT'S BEEN CONFUSING ELSEWHERE.

UM, SO THAT IT IS CONSISTENT AND ADDRESSES THAT CONCERN OF THE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.

YES, BUT I HAD SOMETHING TO ADD TO IT.

AND THAT IS TO ASK THE CITY CLERK OR THE AUDITOR OR BOTH TO GIVE US THE, THE DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN BOARD AND COMMISSION, BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S REALLY AT THE, AT THE ROOT OF, OF THE DECISION.

DID YOU WANT THAT TODAY OR WHEN

[00:30:01]

AND THE NAME CHANGE WOULD NOT MOVE FORWARD UNLESS WE DECIDED WE WANTED TO ALLOW IT TO MOVE FORWARD.

OH, WOW.

I'M SORRY.

I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND THAT.

I THOUGHT I THOUGHT WE WERE MOVING EVERYTHING FORWARD WITHOUT A RECOMMENDATION ON THE NAME.

ARE WE JUST MOVING FORWARD? THE CHANGE, THE OTHER CHANGE? WELL, IN IN FACT, IF WE MOVE IT FORWARD AND WE ONLY RECOMMENDATION IS THAT THE MOTION WAS THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.

UM, IT WAS EFFECTIVELY THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION, BUT I THINK IT WAS SIMPLY TO MOVE FORWARD.

THE BYLAW CHANGES AND NOT THE NAME CHANGE.

UM, I DON'T THINK THAT WE WOULD MOVE FORWARD THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION.

I THINK WE WOULD JUST MOVE FORWARD WHAT, WHAT WE TOOK FROM THE STAFF.

ALRIGHT.

IS HOW I INTERPRETED IT.

IF SOMEBODY WANTS TO DO IT DIFFERENTLY, WE CAN, BUT THAT'S HOW I INTERPRETED IT.

COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA WAS YOUR EMOTION THOUGH.

SO IF I MISINTERPRETED IT, PLEASE SPEAK UP.

THANKS FOR, THANKS FOR CLARIFYING.

I DIDN'T PICK UP.

THANKS.

SO THE MOTION ON THE TABLE IS TO MOVE FORWARD, UM, WITH THE AMENDMENTS TOO.

AND, UM, YOU KNOW, BEFORE WE VOTE, I'D JUST LIKE TO THANK CHAIR SOBOBA FOR HIS WORK ON THIS AND LEADING THE COMMISSION THROUGH, UM, THIS PROCESS.

UM, I THINK IT IS ALWAYS A GOOD PRACTICE FOR US TO BE RE-EXAMINING, UM, THE GOALS FOR OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.

UM, SO I WILL TAKE A VOTE ON THE MOTION FOR THOSE WHO ARE ON THE COMMITTEE, RAISE YOUR HAND IF YOU SUPPORT THE MOTION.

THAT IS UNANIMOUS.

AND IF THE COMMISSION VOTED TO NOMINATE A DIFFERENT CHAIR, WE CAN BRING THAT BACK TO YOU.

UM, SO, SO JUST, UM, FOR CLARITY FOR OUR NEW COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY THAT ALL, UH, BYLAW CHANGES TO OUR BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS COME THROUGH AUDIT AND FINANCE BEFORE THEY GO TO THE FULL COUNCIL.

SO PROBABLY NOT AT NEXT WEEK'S MEETING, BUT THE WEEK AFTER YOU'LL SEE, UM, THIS ITEM ON THE AGENDA, UM, AS SOMETHING FOR THE FULL COUNCIL AND AS A COMMITTEE, UM, WE CAN RECOMMEND MOVING FORWARD WITH ADOPTING THINGS OR NOT ADOPTING THINGS, OR JUST LET THE COUNCIL DECIDE.

UM, IN THIS CASE WE CHOSE TO GO WITH, UH, WITH THE BYLAW PIECE OF THAT, UM, THE AUDITS THEMSELVES, AS WE ACCEPT AND APPROVE THEM, DO NOT GO ON TO COUNCIL.

THEY ARE DISTRIBUTED, UM, OR THEY'RE ON THE AUDITOR'S WEBSITE FOR YOUR REVIEW.

[4. Discussion and possible action regarding appointments to the Municipal Civil Service Commission (Human Resources Department/City Clerk Office).]

[5. Discussion and possible action to appoint Municipal Civil Service Commission chair (Human Resource Department/City Clerk Office).]

UM, GREAT.

SO THEN, UM, THE LAST COUPLE ITEMS ARE, UM, RELATED TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE, UM, ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE.

I'M NOT SURE THAT WE WILL NEED AN EXECUTIVE SESSION.

UM, BUT IF, UM, HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT WOULD LIKE TO, UH, PRESENT ON MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.

UM, IT LOOKS LIKE WE MIGHT HAVE JUST BEEN JOINED BY COUNCIL MEMBER HARPER, MADISON, WELCOME.

UM, IS HUMAN RESOURCES MOVING OVER? HI, THIS IS MONICA ARVELLO ASSISTANT DIRECTOR WITH THE HUMAN RESOURCES DEPARTMENT.

I PROVIDE, UH, OVERSIGHT TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE DIVISION WITHIN HRD.

UM, I THOUGHT, UH, THE CLERK'S OFFICE WAS GOING TO TAKE LEAD ON THIS, BUT I CAN GIVE YOU A VERY QUICK KIND OF OVERVIEW OF WHERE WE'RE AT.

UM, AND THEY SAY WE'RE SUPPOSED TO, I DON'T KNOW.

I, YEAH, NO, ABSOLUTELY.

I W I WOULD SAY IN THAT, SO IF THEY WANTED TO BE LET IN AND THEY HAD SOMETHING ELSE TO ADD, THEY CAN ABSOLUTELY JUMP ON THIS, BUT I THINK THESE TWO ITEMS ARE RELATIVELY QUICK AND SIMPLE.

UM, SINCE WE JUST HAD A MEETING ON THE, UH, APPOINTMENTS RECENTLY, UH, ITEMS FOUR AND FIVE DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REGARDING THE APPOINTMENTS TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, UM, AND THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIR, IF YOU RECALL, WHEN WE MADE THE APPOINTMENTS LAST YEAR, UM, THE, THE CURRENT CHAIR LANCASTER WAS NOT ON THE DYESS AND THEY HAD VOTED TO, UH, NOMINATE A, ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE, THE VICE CHAIR TO BE CHAIR.

AND AT THE MO AT THAT TIME, WE THOUGHT THE CHAIR LANCASTER WAS GOING TO RESIGN, BUT SHE INSTEAD REQUESTED REAPPOINTMENTS.

UM, AND SO WHEN YOU HAD MADE THAT APPOINTMENT AT THE TIME YOU ELECTED TO RECOMMEND SHE REMAINED CHAIR,

[00:35:01]

SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE BRINGING BACK TO YOU TODAY IS THE COMMISSION HAS VOTED TO NOMINATE, UM, TERESA PEREZ WISELY AS THE CHAIR OF THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION AND VICE CHAIR, MELISSA ROGERS.

UM, AND SINCE THAT WASN'T MADE, WHEN WE MADE THE, UH, APPOINTMENTS LAST TIME, WE'D LIKE TO MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO YOU TODAY.

UH, WE ALSO WILL HAVE TO POST FOR AN OPEN, UH, WE'LL HAVE TO POST AGAIN FOR OPEN POSITIONS, AS ONE OF THE COMMISSIONERS HAS, UM, DETERMINED.

SHE WILL NOT SEEK REAPPOINTMENT IN MAY OF 2021.

THAT IS COMMISSIONER ERICA KANE, WHO IS APPOINTED IN JUNE OF 20.

UH, SHE IS NO LONGER, UM, SEEKING REAPPOINTMENTS AND WE ARE PUT ON NOTICE THAT THERE MAY BE UP TO THREE APPOINTMENTS, UM, TO BE MADE IN THE NEXT FEW MONTHS.

AND SO WE WILL BE POSTING AN OPEN CALL, UH, FOR UP TO THREE OF THOSE.

AND WE'LL BRING THOSE BACK, UM, SOMETIME BEFORE MAY IS WHEN TWO OF OUR TERMS EXPIRE.

YES.

QUESTIONABLE, UM, COUNSEL.

THANKS, MIKE.

SO REAL QUICK QUESTION WAS THE RECOMMENDATION ON THE NEW CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR, UH, SOMETHING THAT THE, UM, MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS THEMSELVES HAVE REQUESTED.

YES, THEY VOTED ON IT DURING A MEETING.

UM, THEY, THEY HAVE ALL DECIDED THAT, AND THAT'S HOW THE, THOSE APPOINTMENTS ARE GENERALLY KIND OF BROUGHT TO YOU, RIGHT.

HAD THE IDEA WHEN WE RECONFIRM PATRICIA THAT, UM, THEY WEREN'T YET READY TO CHOOSE SOMEBODY ELSE.

SO SHE WAS GOING TO CONTINUE ON FOR CONTINUITY SAKE, BUT THAT, THAT WAS AN OPEN QUESTION FOR THEM TO WORK OUT.

SO I'M GLAD TERESA PEREZ WISELY WILL BE A TERRIFIC, UH, CHAIR OF THAT BOARD.

UM, WE HAVE HAD REALLY GOOD LEADERSHIP ON THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.

I'M REALLY PLEASED WITH THE WORK THEY'RE DOING.

AND I, SORRY, I'M SORRY THAT WE WILL HAVE SOME VACANCIES, BUT THAT'S OPPORTUNITIES FOR MORE MEMBERS OF OUR COMMUNITY TO GET INVOLVED IN, UH, IN THIS WAY.

THAT WE CAN BENEFIT FROM THEIR EXPERIENCE AND UNDERSTAND BETTER WHAT THE COMMISSION MIGHT NEED.

SO, UM, MR. VELA, CAN YOU JUST SPEAK TO WHAT THE PROCESS WILL BE FOR, UM, A CALL FOR APPLICANTS? YES.

AND SO WE ANTICIPATE THAT WE WILL PUT, UH, UH, LISTEN OPEN CALL FOR APPLICANTS.

UH, GENERALLY WE GIVE ABOUT SIX WEEKS.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT JANUARY 25TH THROUGH MARCH 1ST TO KIND OF LEAVE THAT OPEN CALL.

UH, I WILL SAY, I THINK I'VE HAD, I'VE SEEN THIS ISSUE WITH OTHER COMMISSIONS AS WELL IS GETTING PEOPLE TO VOLUNTEER DURING THIS KIND OF UNCERTAIN TIME OF DOING EVERYTHING.

UM, VIA VIDEO HAS BEEN A LITTLE DIFFICULT.

SO HOPEFULLY WITHIN SIX WEEKS WE'LL GET A QUALITY GROUP OF APPLICANTS.

UM, WE ANTICIPATE THAT IN MARCH YOU, THIS COMMISSION, THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMISSION CAN SELECT CANDIDATES FOR INTERVIEW, AND WE CAN HOLD THOSE INTERVIEWS IN MARCH AT THE END OF MARCH, MAYBE THE BEGINNING OF APRIL.

UM, USUALLY IT'S ABOUT TWO WEEKS AFTER THE CLOSE OF THE APPLICATION, SO WE CAN REVIEW ALL THE APPLICANTS.

UH, WE ANTICIPATE BY THE END OF APRIL, THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMISSION CAN CONDUCT THOSE INTERVIEWS AND PRESENT THEIR RECOMMENDATION UP TO COUNCIL.

UM, AND TAKE THAT TO THE COUNCIL MEETING.

MAYBE AT THE BEGINNING OF MAY.

WHEN I LOOK AT THE TERMS, WE HAVE TWO COMMISSIONERS CURRENTLY, WHOSE TERM EXPIRES MAY 8TH, 2021.

SO WE'D LIKE THOSE APPOINTMENTS TO BE MADE BEFORE MAY, YOU KNOW, BEFORE MAY 8TH, ONE COMMISSIONER HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT SHE IS NOT MOVING FORWARD WITH A REAPPOINTMENT.

UM, AND, AND AS I SAID, WE MAY HAVE, UH, UP TO TWO MORE COMMISSIONERS WHO ARE, UH, EITHER RESIGNING OR NOT SEEKING REAPPOINTMENT.

UM, MR. VILLA, DO YOU DO KIND OF, I KNOW WE HAVEN'T HAD THIS VERY OFTEN FOR THIS COMMISSION, BUT DO WE DO, UM, AN EXIT INTERVIEW? SO THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT COMMISSION.

UM, THEN MOST OF OUR OTHER COMMISSIONS, IT DOES A LOT OF VERY IMPORTANT WORK FOR OUR EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE LEGAL CONSEQUENCE.

UM, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU DO ON A REGULAR BASIS? I DO.

I DON'T THINK WE HAVE, UM, EVER GONE KIND OF AN EXIT.

I KNOW THAT, UH, OUR COMMISSION STAFF WORKS REALLY CLOSELY WITH THE COMMISSIONERS AND KIND OF UNDERSTANDS THE NUANCES, UM, YOU KNOW, THROUGHOUT THE APPOINTMENTS.

I DON'T THINK THAT'S A BAD IDEA IF THERE'S SUGGESTIONS ON WHAT YOU THINK, WHAT INFORMATION YOU'D LIKE TO SOLICIT FROM THE COMMISSIONERS.

UH, WE WOULD BE OPEN TO HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS IN A KIND OF EXIT INTERVIEW FORMAT.

OKAY, WELL MAYBE THAT'S SOMETHING THAT YOUR OFFICE CAN WORK WITH MINE AND, OR, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AS THE VICE CHAIR.

UM, AND MAYBE WE CAN TRY AND AT LEAST HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH ONE OR MORE OF THEM BEFORE WE APPOINT, UM, OUR NEW APPOINTEES SO

[00:40:01]

THAT MAY BE, UM, USEFUL BIT OF INFORMATION THAT WE CAN DO IF WE CAN FIGURE OUT AN APPROPRIATE FORMAT, UM, FOR THAT.

AND IF ANYONE ELSE ON THE COMMITTEE WANTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THAT, THEY'RE, THEY'RE WELCOME TO, I WAS JUST THINKING THAT MAYBE MY CELL PHONE NUMBER POOL, THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE GOAL FOR US AS CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR.

UM, THANK YOU.

SO, UM, IN TERMS OF MOTIONS, UH, I UNDERSTAND THAT WE NEED A MOTION TO APPOINT THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR AS RECOMMENDED BY THE COMMISSION.

UM, AND THEN WE WOULD JUST BE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS THAT CORRECT? YES.

SORRY.

I WAS LOOKING AT, UH, COUNCILOR COLE WHO, UH, HAD HER HAND UP.

YES, WE, WE WERE MOVING FORWARD WITH JUST THE CHAIR, THE CHAIR, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION FOR THE CHAIR, I BELIEVE THE VICE CHAIR.

UM, IT'S SOMETHING THEY, THEY VOTED ON.

AND SO OUR RECOMMENDATION FOR COUNCIL ACTION WOULD BE TO APPOINT TERESA PEREZ WISELY AS A CHAIR OF THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE.

GOTCHA.

SO MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO HOPEFULLY.

YEP.