[00:00:06]
[CALL TO ORDER]
ALISON ALTER AND A MAYOR PRO TEM AND I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.IT IS 9:34 AM ON FEBRUARY 23RD, AND WE'RE GOING TO CONVENE THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
WE'RE JOINED VIRTUALLY BY COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO AND ON THE DAYAS WE HAVE COUNCIL MEMBER COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, AND COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
I WANT TO WELCOME COUNCIL MEMBER OF ONE DOES FOR HER FIRST OFFICIAL MEETING AS A MEMBER OF THE COMMITTEE.
AND THANK THE MAYOR FOR SERVING ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO, UM, A GREAT YEAR WITH THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO START TODAY, UM, WITH, UM, PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND THEN WE WILL DO, UH, THE MINUTES AND WE WILL DO THE FOLLOW-UP AUDITS, UM, THE BOARD AND COMMISSION ITEMS AND THEN THE BRIEFING.
SO, UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE HAVE ONE SPEAKER ON THE LINE, UM, STEVE JACOBS ITEM TO WHEN YOUR ITEMS. OKAY.
IF YOU'RE ONLINE, YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES CHAIR.
I WAS INFORMED OF THEIR NUMBER AND I DO NOT SEE THE NUMBER THAT WAS, I WAS INFORMED OF ON THE LINE SET A NOTE THERE ON, BUT I WILL UNMUTE ALL THE NUMBERS I HAVE AND WE'LL SEE WHAT WE HAVE, BUT I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ON RIGHT NOW.
THIS IS THE AAV TICKET CITY HALL.
IS THERE STEPHEN JACOBS ON THE SHARE? I DON'T THINK THEY'RE ON RIGHT NOW.
DO YOU KNOW? OKAY, WELL, UH, WE'LL CHECK BACK IN THEN.
UM, I WILL TEXT HIM AND SEE WHAT'S GOING ON.
[1. Approve the minutes of the January 19, 2022 Audit and Finance Committee meeting.]
AND SEE IF WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES NEEDED BY A COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS ON THE DYESS.SO WE ARE GOING TO FIRST TAKE UP THE FOLLOWUP AUDITS, UM, AND WE WILL, UM, START WITH THE, HOLD ON.
DID WE, SORRY, MY NOTES GET OUT OF ORDER HERE.
UH, DOUBLE-SIDED NOT OUT OF ORDER.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO TODAY, WE HAVEN'T DONE IT A LITTLE WHILE.
SO I WANT TO TAKE A MOMENT TO PAUSE, TO, TO EXPLAIN OR IF THAT'S WHAT MS. STOKES IS GOING TO DO.
UM, SO WE ARE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT A SERIES OF FOLLOW-UP PROJECTS AND WE'LL TAKE EACH IN TURN SO WE CAN HAVE WHATEVER CONVERSATION WE WANT TO HAVE.
UM, BUT I WANT TO EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF THESE FOLLOW-UP PROJECTS.
AUDITS ARE NOT A VALUE IF THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE NOT IMPLEMENTED.
AND SO THIS KIND OF FOLLOWUP WORK IS ONE MECHANISM.
WE HAVE TO REVISIT TOPICS THAT WERE AUDITED A FEW YEARS AGO AND MAKE SURE THAT THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE ON TRACK SO THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO RESET.
IF WE NEED TO, THESE ARE DONE PERIODICALLY AT THE INITIATIVE OF THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE, OR THEY CAN ALSO BE BY THE INITIATIVE OF A COUNCIL REQUEST TO THE AUDITOR TO TAKE A LOOK UP AT THESE PARTICULAR PROJECTS, THE THREE THAT WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT, TAKE PARTICULAR ISSUE AREAS.
SOME OF THEM HAVE, UM, RESULTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MORE THAN ONE AUDIT, AS YOU'LL HAVE NOTICED OVER TIME, WE DO TAKE UP TOPICS SOMETIMES IN SERIES.
LIKE WE'VE DONE A LOT OF STUFF ON HOMELESSNESS.
WE'VE DONE A LOT OF STUFF ON CYBERSECURITY ON POLICE ISSUES, ET CETERA.
UM, AND SO THAT'S THE CASE, I THINK FOR THE, THE TRAFFIC ONE IN THIS PARTICULAR CASE, UM, WE WILL START
[2. Workforce Development Follow-up Project.]
WITH ITEM NUMBER TWO.AND LET ME JUST, UM, I WILL CHECK WHEN WE'RE DONE WITH THE PRESENTATION FOR MR. JACOB'S ONLINE, CAUSE THIS IS AN ITEM HE WANTED TO SPEAK TO.
UM, BUT I WILL LET, UM, MS. STOKES GET US STARTED.
THAT WAS A AMAZING INTRODUCTION.
[00:05:02]
UM, I APPRECIATE THAT.AND WE HAVE A NAO SHARMA WAS THE MANAGER OF THIS AUDIT.
HE'S GOING TO BE DOING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
THIS IS FOLLOWING UP ON WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE HAD, I THINK IN 2017, BUT MIKE, SAM WILL TELL YOU MORE.
MY NAME IS MIKE SIM AND I WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS PROJECT.
AND THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO FOLLOW UP ON THE RECOMMENDATIONS WE MADE TO THE CITY MANAGER, THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AND AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IN OUR 2017 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT ON NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
SO WE ISSUED, UH, THREE FINDINGS IN THE 2017.
UH, WE FOUND THE CITY DID NOT HAVE A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN, NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DATA TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND TO NOT PRIORITIZE CONTRACTS, TO MEET CITY GOALS OR THE NEEDS OF LOCAL EMPLOYERS TO ADDRESS THESE FINDINGS.
WE ISSUED ONE RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY MANAGER OR RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER, OVERSEEING COURSE DEVELOPMENT, AND ONE RECOMMENDATION TO AUSTIN, PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO THROUGH OUR WORK ON THIS FOLLOWUP PROJECT, WE DETERMINED THAT THE CITY HAS IMPLEMENTED SIX RECOMMENDATIONS FOR MEANINGFUL RECOMMENDATIONS.
EXCUSE ME, IS THERE SOMETHING WE CAN DO ABOUT THE CONNECTION BECAUSE OUR SPEAKER IS FADING IN AND OUT.
I UNDERSTAND I NOTICED IT TOO.
AND, UM, YES, MA'AM SIR, IF YOU WANT TO GO AHEAD WITH YOUR PRESENTATION AND WORK ON WHAT'S CAUSING THE STUTTER AND WHATNOT.
UM, SO JUST AS I WAS SAYING, UM, CITY MANAGEMENT IMPLEMENTED, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION TO NAME A LEAD DEPARTMENT BY NAMING THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT AS THE CITYWIDE LEAD AND TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES WITH DATA QUALITY.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED THAT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH ENHANCE THEIR CONTRACT MONITORING PROCESS, AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH IMPLEMENTED THIS RECOMMENDATION BY CREATING A TOOL THAT TRACKS AND DEFINES PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND BY TRAINING CONTRACTORS ON HOW TO USE THIS TOOL.
AND THEY ALSO USE BACKUP DOCUMENTATION IN COMBINATION WITH THIS TOOL TO VERIFY THE ACCURACY OF REPORTING PROGRAM OUTCOMES.
SO FOUR REMAINING RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE SIMILARLY TO AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH, WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE AUSTIN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT ENHANCE THEIR MONITORING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE.
WHILE THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT HAS TAKEN STEPS, LET'S NOT MEET CITY STANDARDS.
WE ISSUED THREE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY MANAGER.
HE'S INVOLVED CREATING CITY-WIDE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT GOALS, ENSURING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS, TRAIN INDIVIDUALS IN HIGH DEMAND AREAS AND CREATING PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT ACCURATELY MEASURE PROGRAM IMPACTS THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT TOOK SOME STEPS TO ADDRESS THESE RECOMMENDATIONS AFTER THE AUDIT AND IN 21, THEY BEGAN DRAFTING THREE-YEAR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY.
THE STRATEGY INCLUDES STEPS THAT WILL ADDRESS THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND, UM, WE ALSO HAD ONE ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IN THIS PRODUCT.
SO IN THE 2017 AUDIT, WE NOTED SOME ISSUES WITH THE INFORMATION CONTRACTOR HAS PROVIDED THE CITY AND THEIR PERFORMANCE.
FOR EXAMPLE, CONTRACTORS WERE REPORTING INFORMATION ON PEOPLE THEY'VE SERVED OUTSIDE OF TRAVIS COUNTY.
THERE WAS ALSO INCOMPLETE INFORMATION ON OUTCOMES, SUCH AS WEATHER, AND NOW WE'RE REALLY LOSING I'M IN AND OUT.
I THINK IT'S SOMETHING I'M THERE AND I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING ON THIS END, BUT I DO APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.
COULD WE MAYBE JUST GO TO SORT OF LIKE THE FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND THEN MOVE TO THE NEXT ONE, BECAUSE THIS IS BEING LESS THAN EFFICIENT FOR EVERYBODY AUDITOR, RIGHT.
I THINK WE CAN WRAP UP HERE THEN.
[00:10:01]
IS OUR ADDITIONAL OBSERVATION IS THAT THIS ISSUE STILL HASN'T BEEN ADDRESSED, UH, DEPARTMENTS NOTED THAT THIS IS BECAUSE CONTRACTORS REQUIRE ADDITIONAL FUNDING.UM, AND YOU CAN HEAD TO THE NEXT SLIDE THAT SHOULD WRAP UP THE PRESENTATION.
IF Y'ALL CAN HEAR ME, I CAN TAKE ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE OTHERWISE.
WE GOT TO LOVE TECHNOLOGY SOMETIMES AND SOMETIMES WE DON'T LIKE IT SO MUCH.
UM, SO IS THERE ANYONE FROM ANY OF THE DEPARTMENTS THAT WANTED TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? IT LOOKS LIKE SOME OLIVIA'S ON SYNOVIA.
CAN YOU HEAR US VERSUS DONNA? NEVER.
DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THE AUDIT? A FOLLOW-UP WE CONCUR AND WE ARE MAKING SIGNIFICANT PROGRESS TOWARDS, UH, UM, ADDRESSING THE FINDINGS.
I WANTED TO AT THE RISK OF HAVING ANOTHER TECHNICAL ISSUE, UM, MAYBE WE SEE IF MR. JACOBS IS ON THE LINE AND IF YOU COULD TELL ME HOW HE UNMUTES TO MAKE SURE THAT HE'S UN-MUTED CAUSE I THINK HE WAS ON THE LINE BEFORE.
HI, THIS IS STEVE JACOBS, SOMEBODY ON THE LINE.
IT'S A LITTLE DISTRACTING TO WATCH THE VIDEO AS WELL SINCE HE WAS A 10 OR 15 SECOND LAG.
SO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO AND YOU HAVE THREE MINUTES TO PROVIDE YOUR, YOUR COMMUNICATIONS.
SO, AND I PROVIDED A, UH, EXHIBIT, UH, FOR MS. GARDETTO COULDN'T WE SHOW IT IT'S A PHOTOGRAPH OF THE FINAL GRADUATE FROM OUR 2014, UH, COHORT OF NURSING STUDENTS THAT WAS MENTIONED IN THE AUDIT REPORT.
UH, UH, MY, MY COMMENTS, THEY DEAL NOT WITH THE CENTRAL THRUST OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND THE UP, BUT WITH A FOOTNOTE, BUT AN IMPORTANT FOOTNOTE TO THE REPORT, WHICH WAS, UH, ZEROING IN, ON THE, UH, SPECIFIC EXPENDITURE OF SOME FEDERAL FUNDS TO SUPPORT A SPECIAL GROUP OF STUDENTS, UH, IN THE NURSING PROGRAM AT ACC WHO OTHERWISE WOULD NOT HAVE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO GO INTO NURSING.
UM, IT WAS EXPENSIVE BECAUSE CAPITAL IDEA HAD THE CONTRACT FOR THE FULL COST OF THE NURSING PROGRAM.
THERE WAS NO, NO CONTRIBUTION BY ACC, NO SUBSIDY.
UM, THIS IS, UH, , UH, HE IS ONE OF 18, UH, STUDENTS IN THAT GROUP WHO OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE HAD TO HAVE DROPPED OUT THE FUNDING, ENABLED US TO HIRE TWO INSTRUCTORS AT ACC AND TO PROCEED WITH THEIR EDUCATION.
NUMBER ONE, IT WAS A HUNDRED PERCENT GRADUATION ALL GRADUATED TO, AS YOU CAN SEE A BLONDE SIGNIFICANTLY DIVERSE DIVERSIFIES THE WORKFORCE AS DID THE COHORT AS A WHOLE, BOTH IN TERMS OF HIM BEING A GUY AND, UH, BEING BLACK.
UM, THE COHORT WAS MAJORITY OF COLOR, UH, INCLUDED, UH, UH, FOLKS FROM ALL ETHNIC RACIAL BACKGROUNDS.
UM, THERE WASN'T EVALUATION THIRD-PARTY BY AN ECONOMIST TO, UH, WEIGH THE COST BENEFITS, WHICH WAS NOT COVERED BY THE AUDIT, UH, WHICH FOUND BECAUSE OF THE INCREASE IN EARNINGS OF THESE FOLKS, AS WELL AS THE PERMANENT EXPANSION OF THE ACC PROGRAM IN 800 AND 950% RETURN ON INVESTMENT TO THE CITIES, UH, DOLLARS.
THIS IS SIGNIFICANT BECAUSE WE WOULD LIKE TO ASK THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORT IN BEING ABLE TO DO THIS AGAIN, BUT THROUGH ACC, UM, BY REQUEST THAT, UH, FOR A RESOLUTION OR OTHER EXPRESSION OF THE COUNCILS, UH, UM, INTEREST IN SEEING THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DOUBLE THE NURSING PROGRAM, IT'S A MUCH MORE COST-EFFECTIVE MEANS THAN WHAT WE NORMALLY HAVE, WOULD HAVE TO DO.
UH, RECENTLY YOU APPROVED A FUNDING FROM THE ARPA.
THAT'LL ENABLE US TO TRANSFER 30 STUDENTS, UH, TO CONTINUE THEIR STUDIES.
WE WOULD HAVE LIKED THEM TO HAVE CONTINUED AT ACC, BUT ACC WAS NOT IN A POSITION TO EXPAND.
[00:15:01]
WITH CONCORDIA TO COMPLETE THEIR EDUCATION.SO I WILL STOP THERE AND SEE WHAT QUESTIONS YOU HAVE.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HEARD, I THINK IT WAS THE, NOT THE LAST MEETING, BUT THE PRIOR MEETING WHEN WE PASSED THE ARPA, UM, I DID ASK STAFF IF WE COULD BE WORKING WITH ACC TO HAVE THAT EXPANDED.
UM, MY OFFICE CAN WORK WITH, UM, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TO DETERMINE WHETHER A RESOLUTION IS NECESSARY TO FOLLOW THAT UP OR WHAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE, UM, FOR THE CITY TO, UM, ENCOURAGE ACC TO DOUBLE THE NURSING PROGRAM.
I THINK IT FITS VERY MUCH WITH THE WORKFORCE PROGRAM.
UM, BUT I THINK WE NEED TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR STAFF, UM, TO FIGURE OUT WHAT'S NEEDED.
AND, AND IF WE DON'T NEED A RESOLUTION TO ENCOURAGE THAT BEYOND THE DIRECTION THAT'S ALREADY BEEN GIVEN, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE B BE APPROPRIATE.
UM, BUT WE CAN CERTAINLY DO THAT.
AND THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO, MR. JACOBS, UM, ON THIS FOLLOWUP, I WANT TO, UM, UM, JUST COMMENT THAT, YOU KNOW, THE PANDEMIC HAS REALLY HIGHLIGHTED HOW IMPORTANT A THRIVING AND SUPPORTED WORKFORCE IS TO THE OVERALL HEALTH OF OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR ECONOMY AND SOME OF THE, UM, WORKFORCE AREAS AND SKILLS THAT WE HAVE TARGETED.
UM, WE WOULD HAVE BEEN WELL-SERVED IF WE HAD HAD MORE PEOPLE WHO WERE ABLE TO CARRY OUT THOSE PROFESSIONS, PARTICULARLY THE HEALTH WORK, UM, THAT WE HAVE TARGETED.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT THE CITY CAN AND SHOULD TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN DEVELOPING OUR WORKFORCE.
AND I'M PLEASED TO SEE STAFF MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
UM, I DO WANT TO NOTE THAT THE AUSTIN METRO AREA COMMUNITY WORKFORCE PLAN, UM, IS FROM 2017 AND IT HAD A GOAL OF HELPING 10,000 ECONOMICALLY DISADVANTAGED INDIVIDUALS, SECURE MIDDLE SKILL JOBS BY 2021.
UM, NOW IN 2022, WE ARE OPERATING IN A SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT WITH THE IMPACTS OF COVID-19 AND A RAPIDLY EVOLVING ECONOMY.
UM, I BELIEVE IT MAY BE TIME FOR US TO REVISIT THAT PLAN, OUR GOALS AND OUR STRATEGIES.
UM, AND, AND IT WOULD BE USEFUL TO GET MORE OF AN UPDATE FROM EDD ABOUT THE TIMING OF WHEN YOUR WORKFORCE STRATEGY WILL BE IN PLACE.
SO WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT NEXT STEPS WE MAY NEED TO TAKE.
SO I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WANT TO SPEAK BRIEFLY TO THAT.
UM, AND THEN COUNCIL MEMBER, TOVO HAD HER HAND UP AND I WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE COUNCIL MEMBER HEPPER MADISON WHO'S JOINED US AS WELL.
YES, WE ARE IN THE MIDST OF, UH, DEVELOPING THE THREE-YEAR STRATEGY AND WE HOPE TO HAVE THAT, UH, FINALIZED, UM, BY THE Q4 OF THIS YEAR AND MY OWN MUTE.
DO YOU HEAR ME? UM, YEAH, NO, WE HEARD YOU.
I WAS JUST, UM, I MAY WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THAT, BUT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOPA, GO AHEAD.
THE MOMENTS PASS, BUT I JUST WANTED TO EXPRESS MY SUPPORT FOR WHAT MR. JACOBS ENCOURAGED AND WOULD LOOK FORWARD TO HEARING THE RESULTS, SHARE OF YOUR CONVERSATIONS WITH EDD.
I, I AGREE THAT IT WOULD BE GREAT TO SEE AACC EXPAND THE NURSING PROGRAM AND TO THE EXTENT THAT THE CITY NEEDS TO EXPRESS ENTHUSIASM FOR THAT.
I AM, I AM ON BOARD WITH DOING THAT.
SO JUST LET ME KNOW HOW I CAN ASSIST.
AND I BELIEVE COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA, YOU WERE INVOLVED IN THE 2017 PLAN LAUNCH AS WELL, AND WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS, COUNCILMEMBER FLAT DESK.
I GUESS MY QUESTION IS FOR EDD AND JUST TRYING TO GET A BETTER SENSE OF THE DELAY IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE FIRST PRESENTED IN 2017.
I SEE THAT IN THE BACKUP THAT, UM, THE 2017 WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AUDIT ISSUED SIX RECOMMENDATIONS WITH IMPLEMENTATION DUE DATES OF MAY OF 2018.
UM, SO IF YOU COULD ELABORATE AS TO, UM, THE DELAY IN IMPLEMENTING ALL OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS, ANY, UM, OBSTACLES OR CHALLENGES THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF.
AND THEN OF COURSE, CERTAINLY, UM, IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO NOW THAT WE'RE IN 2022, UM, AMIDST THE PANDEMIC, UM, ANY, ANY, YOU KNOW, UM, INSIGHT THERE THAT WE SHOULD BE AWARE OF, OF, OF THE PANDEMIC AND HOW, UM, WE SHOULD ANTICIPATE ANY EFFECTS ON THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
YES, WE, UH, WE'RE IN TRANSITION OF OUR TEAM,
[00:20:01]
WE HAD SOME TRANSITION WITHIN OUR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT STAFF THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THESE CONTRACTS.AND NOW THAT WE ARE PERMANENTLY STAFFED, WE, AGAIN, HOST PENDANT AS WAS MENTIONED EARLIER, THINGS HAVE CHANGED.
THAT'S WHY WE'RE DOING A RELOOK AND A THREE YEAR STRATEGY, UH, TO ADDRESS THOSE DEFINITE, UM, NEEDS AROUND HEALTH CARE.
AND SO BY Q4 OF THIS YEAR, WE WILL HAVE A FINALIZED PLAN AND COME BACK, UM, THE, A MEMO OF HOW WE WILL BE ADDRESSING, UH, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
HOW CAN WE, CAUSE I, YOU KNOW, CERTAINLY I KNOW IN, IN THE, IN THIS TYPE OF WORK WITH CITY GOVERNANCE, THERE IS CERTAINLY ALWAYS TRANSITIONS HAPPENING, TAKING PLACE.
WE AS A CITY, WE'RE COMBATING, UM, THE ISSUE OF HOW MANY VACANCIES THAT WE HAVE ACROSS NOT ONLY OUR PUBLIC SAFETY SECTOR, BUT ACROSS MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS.
I MEAN, IT IS AFFECTING THE CITY OF AUSTIN AS AN INSTITUTION.
SO HOW WILL WE BUILD OUT A PLAN THAT TAKES, UH, THAT FACTORS IN THAT THERE MIGHT BE, THERE WILL LIKELY BE, UM, TRANSITIONS HAPPENING EVERY FEW YEARS WITH STAFF, UM, YOU KNOW, MOVING ON TO, UM, JOBS THAT MAY OFFER A MORE COMPETITIVE PAY OR, UM, YOU KNOW, KNOWING THAT WE ARE AN AFFORDABILITY CRISIS IN THAT IT MIGHT BE CHALLENGING TO HAVE STAFF, UH, BE ABLE TO LIVE IN AUSTIN AND WORK IN AUSTIN.
AND SO, UM, I GUESS MY QUESTION IS, WHAT TYPE IS IT A WAY ARE Y'ALL CONSIDERING AS YOU DO THIS Q4 UPDATE, UM, A PLAN THAT, THAT FACTORS IN THOSE EBBS AND FLOWS, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT REDUNDANCIES DO WE HAVE, UM, IN PLACE SO THAT WE CAN ENSURE THAT NOT ONLY THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CARRIED OUT, BUT THAT OUR STRATEGY IS COHESIVE, UM, REGARDLESS OF WHO, UM, IS IN OR OUT ON, UM, ON OUR, ON OUR TEAM.
YES, WE'RE DEFINITELY ADDRESSING THAT, UH, AREA, BUT ALSO DURING THE LAST TWO YEARS, STAFF DID A GREAT JOB OF CROSS, UH, COLLABORATION ON THE NEW PROGRAMS WE HAD TO ADDRESS AROUND COVID AND THE ARPA FUNDING.
RIGHT NOW, WE ARE DEFINITELY WORKING ON CROSS TRAINING, UH, DEVELOPING STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES, AND I'VE CHALLENGED MY HR COORDINATOR TO FILL OUR POSITIONS, AT LEAST AS MANY AS WE CAN BY, UH, AUGUST OF THIS YEAR.
SO WE NOW HAVE BASICALLY WRAPPED, UM, ARPA AND COBIT WITHIN OUR WORK PLAN.
AND SO ONCE WE ARE FULLY STAFFED, WE EXPECT TO, AGAIN, MOVE FORWARD ON ADDRESSING ALL THE WORKFORCE CONCERNS, BUT DEFINITELY CROSS TRAINING, UM, AS WELL AS STANDARD SOP.
I KNOW THAT THIS IS A CONVERSATION THAT MANY OF US ARE, ARE WORKING THROUGH AND HAVE BEEN BUBBLING UP IN THE MEETINGS THAT WE'VE BEEN HAVING.
BUT I DO THINK IT IS IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, MUCH TO THE EFFECT THAT WE HAD A STAFFING PLAN THAT COUNCIL SUPPORTED LAST WEEK LED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, UM, STAFFING PLAN AND OUR, UH, ON EMS, FIRE AND POLICE.
I THINK WE, AS A COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE A BROADER CONVERSATION ABOUT THE VACANCIES THAT WE'RE SEEING ACROSS THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH DIRECTOR FOR YOUR COMMENTS.
I THINK I'M, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE WORKFORCE PLAN, CERTAINLY IT'S AN ISSUE FOR THE LEADERSHIP OF THAT PLAN THAT, THAT WE SHOULD PREPARE FOR.
UM, BUT IS USUALLY THIS PLAN IS USUALLY CONCEIVED OF AS OUTSIDE OF THE CITY.
UM, JUST, I THINK YOU, UM, UNDERSTOOD THAT IN WITH YOUR QUESTIONS.
I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY FOR FOLKS WHO ARE, WHO ARE WATCHING SINCE WE'RE HAVING ONGOING CONVERSATIONS THAT ARE NOT, W W WE'RE CONTINUING CONVERSATIONS WE'VE HAD THAT OTHER PEOPLE MAY OR MAY NOT BE ENGAGED IN, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON, DID YOU HAVE A QUESTION? I KNOW YOU'VE BEEN WORKING ON WORKFORCE ISSUES.
I DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE A QUIP, IN FACT, UH, I APPRECIATE COUNCIL MEMBER FOR, UH, FOR RAISING SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT I OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE HAD, BUT THANK YOU.
UM, DO WE NEED TO ACCEPT THESE OR TAKE ANY ACTION ON THESE? NO.
UM, SO WE WILL NOW MOVE TO THANK YOU STAFF FOR, FOR JOINING US AND LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS AND WOULD APPRECIATE ANY EFFORTS TO SPEED THAT PROCESS UP.
I DO BELIEVE THAT IT WAS, UH, INDICATED IN THE FOLLOWUP THAT IT'D BE MUCH SOONER AND WOULD MUCH PREFER A FASTER TIME, A TIMEFRAME ON THAT.
[3. Street Cuts Follow-up Project.]
NOW MOVE TO THE STREET, CUTS UP[00:25:01]
PROJECT.UM, FRANCO MANAGE THIS PROJECT AND HENRY KATOOMBA WAS THE LEAD AUDITOR ON THIS AUGUST GOING TO DO THE PRESENTATION.
GOOD MORNING, WAITING FOR THE SLIDES TO APPEAR WELL, WHAT CAN I JUST TEST IF WE CAN HEAR YOU, I GUESS.
SO, UH, THIS IS ANOTHER AUDIT IN THE SERIES OF THE FOLLOW-UPS THAT WE WERE DOING THIS YEAR.
CAN YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE? UM, FOR THE AUDIT OF THE UTILITY STREET CUTS THAT WAS ORIGINALLY CONDUCTED INTO SALT 2017, UH, THE ORIGINAL, UM, REASON FOR THE AUDIT WAS THAT THOSE STAKEHOLDERS HAD SO MANY CONCERNS WITH, UH, TEMPORARY, UH, TEMPORARY PATCHES AND THE PERMANENT PATCHES, THE BACKLOG, AND THE QUALITY OF THEM PATCHES GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE.
WE HAD TWO FINDINGS IN THE SOD IT'S, UH, ONE WAS ABOUT, UM, UM, LARGE BACKLOG FOR THE PERMANENT PATCHES AND THE OTHER ONE WAS THE INSUFFICIENT DATA FOR THE, UH, UH, MANAGING OF ALL THE PATCHES.
AND WE ISSUED FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE, AND ALL GOOD NEWS HERE, ALL FOUR OF US WERE IMPLEMENTED.
ONE WAS TO AUSTIN WATER, AND I'LL GO IN A LITTLE BIT MORE DETAIL ON THE NEXT SLIDE.
SO FOR THE RECOMMENDATION TO PUBLIC WORKS ON ELIMINATING THE BACKLOG, UH, INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL RESOURCES WERE USED, AND THE BACKLOG WENT DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY FROM ABOUT 3000 TO UNDER A THOUSAND, UH, CORPORATES, UM, NEGATIVELY IMPACTED THE TREND A LITTLE BIT, BUT THE, UM, PROCESS AROUND IT WAS MUCH IMPROVED.
THE NEXT RECOMMENDATION WAS ABOUT POLICIES AND PROCEDURES, WHICH WERE ALSO UPDATED BY THE DEPARTMENT AND PUT IN PLACE SOME OF THE MONTHLY TARGETS WERE ESTABLISHED.
AND SO IT WAS LIKE A GIS TOOL.
AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE PUBLIC WORKS AND AUSTIN WATER DATABASES WAS ALSO ESTABLISHED TO HELP MANAGE THE PROCESS.
AND, UH, NEXT SLIDE, UH, LAST RECOMMENDATION FOR PUBLIC WORKS WAS ABOUT COST EFFECTIVENESS BASED ON THE BETTER DATA, UH, THAT WAS ESTABLISHED WITH THE JS TOOL AND THE CONNECTION OF THE SYSTEM.
SO NOW WE HAVE AN, UM, FINANCIAL REVIEW AND THIS RECOMMENDATION IS CONSIDERED IMPLEMENTED AS WELL.
UM, ONE RECOMMENDATION TO AUSTIN WATER WAS ABOUT THE TEMPORARY PATCHES AND THE AUSTIN WATER IS NOW USING ADDITIONAL QUALITY CONTROL AND QUALITY ASSURANCE PROCESSES.
AND THE QUALITY HAS BEEN IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY TO WHERE WE CAN SAY THAT ALL RECOMMENDATIONS ARE IMPLEMENTED AND THAT COMPLETES MY PRESENTATION.
UM, I SEE MR. MENDOZA IS IN THE ROOM.
DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS BRIEFLY? GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS, RICHARD MENDOZA, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR.
UM, I JUST WANT TO SHARE WITH YOU A APPRECIATION TO THE AUSTIN WATER DEPARTMENT.
OUR STAFF WERE ABLE TO WORK AND COORDINATE, UH, A LOT CLOSER THAN WE HAD IN THE PAST AND, UM, AND SHARED OUR SENSE OF URGENCY TO GET THIS CRITICAL COMPONENT OF OUR SHARP COMING IN, IN OUR STREETS, UM, UH, SALT.
AND I WANT TO THANK THE AUDIT DEPARTMENT FINANCE DEPARTMENT AS WELL.
OUR GOAL GOING FORWARD IS TO MAINTAIN NO MORE THAN 90 DAY BACKLOG.
SO KEEP THAT BACKLOG DOWN, UM, UNDER ABOUT UNDER 800, ACTUALLY WE'RE JUST A LITTLE BIT OVER 800.
WE TICKED UP DUE TO COVID, UH, BUT THAT'S OUR PLAN GOING FORWARD.
AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO CONTINUING THIS LEVEL OF SERVICE FOR THE COMMUNITY AND MR. MENDOZA, WHEN WILL THAT 800, I'M SORRY.
WHEN WILL THE REMAINING BACKLOG BE RESOLVED? SO WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE A BACKLOG COUNCIL MEMBER.
UM, WE GENERATE AROUND 200 AND 300 EACH MONTH, UH, EITHER FOR NEW UTILITY TAPS OR FOR, UH, EMERGENCY REPAIRS.
[00:30:01]
IN OUR PLAN IS TO MAINTAIN THAT BACKLOG LESS THAN 90 DAYS, UH, THAT WAS RECOMMENDED IN THE ORIGINAL REPORT.UH, WE'VE GOT RESOURCES IN PLACE.
UH, WE'VE AUGMENTED SOME OF OUR CREWS AUGMENTED SOME OF OUR CONTRACT, UH, CAPACITY.
SO WE'RE CONFIDENT THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAINTAIN THAT LEVEL OF SERVICE AND NOT LET THE BACKLOG, UH, GROW OUT OF CONTROL AGAIN.
YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE RECOMMENDATIONS.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? GREAT.
[6. Traffic Safety Follow-Up Audit.]
ITEM IS THE TRAFFIC SAFETY FOLLOW-UP AUDIT.THAT IS ITEM SIX, AND THIS BRINGS TOGETHER I THINK, THREE DIFFERENT AUDITS.
AND, UM, KATE MURDOCH IS ON THE LINE.
UH, SHE WILL BE MAKING THE PRESENTATION TODAY.
PATRICK JOHNSON WAS THE MANAGER HE'S HERE IN THE ROOM.
UM, SO I THINK IT'S COMING UP NOW AND KATE, THE FLOOR IS YOURS.
GOOD MORNING, COUNCIL MEMBERS.
MY NAME IS KATE MURDOCH AND I'LL BE PRESENTING THE RESULTS OF THIS SPECIAL REPORT TO FOLLOW UP ON RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE ISSUED IN THREE AUDITS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SAFETY.
WE LOOKED AT THE STATUS OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE TRANSPORTATION EFFECTIVENESS, TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND TRAFFIC SAFETY DESIGN AND EDUCATION AUDITS SPANNING FROM 2016 TO 2019.
WE CONDUCTED THESE AUDITS TO RESPOND TO CONCERNS ABOUT AUSTIN'S GROWING TRANSPORTATION, CHALLENGES AND CONCERNS ABOUT TRAFFIC SAFETY AND THE RISE OF SEVERE AND FATAL CRASHES.
NEXT SLIDE, WE FOUND SEVEN OF THE EIGHT RECOMMENDATIONS WE ISSUED HAD BEEN IMPLEMENTED, AND ONE RECOMMENDATION IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE DUE TO A CHANGE IN STATE LAW.
NEXT SLIDE, WE ISSUED THREE RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE TRANSPORTATION EFFECTIVENESS AUDIT THE FIRST TO ADDRESS ISSUES WITH TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM PLANNING.
WE RECOMMENDED THE CITY AND THE AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DEVELOP BETTER WAYS TO COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS.
AND THIS HAS BEEN IMPLEMENTED IN SEVERAL WAYS.
FOR EXAMPLE, THE CITY COLLABORATED WITH THE REGIONAL PARTNERS IN DEVELOPING THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
THIS 20 YEAR PLAN INCLUDES INDICATORS FOR MONITORING COORDINATION AND COLLABORATION TO ENSURE THEIR ONGOING PRIORITY.
WE ALSO RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT WORK WITH PARTNERS TO CLOSE RESOURCE GAPS, VOTERS APPROVED MOBILITY BONDS IN 20 16, 20 18 AND 2020 AMOUNTING TO ABOUT 1.3 BILLION IN FUNDING FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND TRAFFIC SAFETY PROJECTS AND THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN.
AND THE CREATION OF THE CORRIDOR PROGRAM OFFICE WILL HELP TO GUIDE THE USE OF THESE FUNDS.
THE THIRD RECOMMENDATION IN THIS AUDIT WAS RELATED TO TRAFFIC SAFETY.
WE FOUND THE CITY HAD NOT FULLY UTILIZED CRASH INFORMATION TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY AND DID NOT SEE COORDINATED EFFORTS TO EXPAND CRASH DATA ANALYSIS IN ORDER TO BETTER TARGET ENGINEERING ENFORCEMENT AND EDUCATION EFFORTS.
THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT HAS WORKED WITH THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND MUNICIPAL COURT TO IMPROVE CRASH DATA.
ONE EXAMPLE OF THIS IS HOW THE DEPARTMENTS WORK TOGETHER TO CHANGE THE WAY THAT INJURY CRASHES RESULTING FROM A DRIVER'S FAILURE TO YIELD ARE DOCUMENTED.
THIS INITIATIVE IS ONGOING AND BOTH DEPARTMENTS CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER TO ENSURE POLICE OFFICERS RECEIVE THE NECESSARY TRAINING IN THIS AREA.
NEXT SLIDE IN THE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AUDIT, WE MADE A RECOMMENDATION RELATED TO THE CITY'S USE OF RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
IN 2019, A TEXAS BILL WAS PASSED, WHICH BANNED LOCAL AUTHORITIES FROM USING RED LIGHT CAMERAS.
SO THIS RECOMMENDATION IS NO LONGER APPLICABLE.
WE HAD THREE FINDINGS AND FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE TRAFFIC SAFETY DESIGN AND EDUCATION AUDIT.
WE RECOMMENDED THAT THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES BE CONSIDERED WHEN MAKING TRAFFIC SAFETY IMPROVEMENT DECISIONS.
THE DEPARTMENT CREATED A COST SCALE, WHICH ENABLES STAFF TO MORE EASILY COMPARE THE SEVERITY OF CRASHES AT LOCATIONS ACROSS THE CITY.
AND THEY ARE ABLE TO BETTER PRIORITIZE PROJECTS BASED ON THIS INFORMATION.
THEY ALSO RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT WORK WITH PARTNERS, SUCH AS THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT TO IMPROVE THE COLLECTION AND QUALITY OF DATA.
IN ADDITION TO CHANGING THE WAY FAILURE TO YIELD WITH BODILY INJURY CRASHES ARE DOCUMENTED.
THE DEPARTMENT IS WORKING WITH A CONSULTANT TO GATHER DATA ON THE VOLUME OF PEDESTRIAN AND BICYCLE TRAFFIC TO BETTER DETERMINE WHAT TYPES OF SAFETY AND TROOP IMPROVEMENTS ARE NEEDED AND WHERE ALSO THE DEPARTMENT'S CRASH DATABASE IS NOW UPDATED DAILY AND SEVERE AND FATAL INJURY CRASHES ARE EACH CHECKED BY STAFF TO ENSURE THE CRASH IS ACCURATELY IDENTIFIED AND LOCATED TO BETTER DOCUMENT TRAFFIC, SAFETY IMPROVEMENT DECISIONS.
THE DEPARTMENT DEVELOPED A PRIORITIZATION PROCESS TO GUIDE HOW 2018 VISION ZERO BOND FUNDS ARE SPENT.
THIS PROCESS WILL HELP STAFF TO DETERMINE WHEN, WHERE, AND WHAT
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TYPE OF TRAFFIC SAFETY TREATMENTS TO INSTALL PROMISINGLY.THE DEPARTMENT'S DATA SHOWS THAT LOCATIONS RECEIVING SAFETY AND TREATMENTS HAVE SEEN A REDUCTION IN CRASHES.
FINALLY, WE RECOMMENDED THE DEPARTMENT EXPAND EDUCATION EFFORTS TO BETTER TARGET, DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS THAT MOST OFTEN RESULT IN CRASHES.
THEY CREATED THE VISION ZERO COMMUNICATIONS PLAN WITH TAILORED MESSAGING TO SPECIFIC SPECIFICALLY ADDRESS THE MOST DANGEROUS BEHAVIORS FATAL FOR, UM, THE FATAL FOR DRIVING BEHAVIORS THAT THEY ADDRESSED ARE SPEEDING, DISTRACTED, DRIVING IMPAIRED DRIVING AND FAILURE TO YIELD.
THESE MESSAGES ARE PROMOTED ACROSS MULTIPLE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AND THE DEPARTMENT USES VARIOUS METRICS TO GAUGE HOW WELL THEY ARE REACHING RESIDENTS NEXT, PLEASE.
DESPITE THE CITY'S MANY EFFORTS AND SUCCESSES TO IMPROVE TRAFFIC SAFETY IN AUSTIN, TRAFFIC FATALITIES INCREASED BY 26% IN 2021.
WHILE THERE ARE MANY FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS TREND IN AUSTIN AND NATIONWIDE DATA COLLECTED BY THE CITY'S VISION.
ZERO PROGRAM SHOWS THAT SPEEDING IS A PRIMARY CONTRIBUTING FACTOR.
IN ONE QUARTER OF FATAL TRAFFIC CRASHES MANAGEMENT FROM BOTH THE TRANSPORTATION AND POLICE DEPARTMENTS SAID THE CITY IS FALLING SHORT ON ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS.
THIS WAS ATTRIBUTED PRIMARILY TO STAFFING CONSTRAINTS.
OUR ANALYSIS IS SHOWN ON THIS SLIDE FOUND THE NUMBER OF SPEEDING CITATIONS ISSUED IN AUSTIN EACH YEAR HAS FALLEN SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE 2018.
THIS IS ONE OF MANY FACTORS FOR THE CITY TO CONSIDER AND HOW TO BEST ADDRESS TRAFFIC SAFETY CONCERNS MOVING FORWARD.
IN ADDITION, THE VISION ZERO PROGRAMS, EQUITY ANALYSIS, SAFE FOR ALL SUGGESTS SYSTEMIC CHANGES ARE NEEDED TO ENSURE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IS EQUITABLE.
THIS CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND WE WELCOME YOUR QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, MR. SPILLER, DID YOU WANT TO ADDRESS THE FOLLOW-UP AND SHARING AND, UM, COMMITTEE MEMBERS? THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS.
NO, UH, YOU KNOW, I LOOK AT THIS AUDIT AS, AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE HAD FRESH EYES ON OUR PROGRAM, AND I THINK IT WAS SUCCESSFUL IN POINTING OUT AREAS WHERE, UH, WE NEEDED TO STRENGTHEN OUR CAPABILITIES CLEARLY, UH, OUR, UH, SPEEDING AND, UH, OTHER PERSONAL BEHAVIORS THAT LEAD TO FATALITIES AND CRASHES ARE A CONCERN.
AND WE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH OUR PARTNERS WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
UH, YOU MAY ALSO KNOW THAT WE ARE, UH, TALKING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY TO EXPAND THE POOL OF REGISTERED OFFICERS THAT WE CAN DRAW ON TO DO, UH, QUALIFIED TRAFFIC, UH, ENFORCEMENT, YOU KNOW, THE BEHAVIORS THAT THAT ARE MOST OF NEED OF ENFORCEMENT, UH, ARE NOT JUST MUNICIPAL ISSUES, THEY'RE STATEWIDE AND STATE LAWS AS WELL AS A COUNTY ORDINANCES.
AND SO, UH, WE THINK IN INCREASED, UM, FOCUS ON, UH, ON TARGETED ENFORCEMENT WHERE DATA SHOWS THAT WE KNOW THAT PEOPLE ARE SPEEDING, UH, CAN RESULT IN BETTER OUTCOMES ALL AROUND.
SO THANK YOU, MR. SPELLER, UH, COMES FROM ARTICLE IT.
AND I ALSO HAVE STAFF, I BELIEVE WATCHING THAT MAY BE ABLE TO ANSWER THE HARD TECHNICAL QUESTIONS, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
AND I KNOW THAT, UM, WE ALL ARE, UM, NOT HAPPY ABOUT THE INCREASE IN, UH, INJURIES AND DEATHS FROM TRAFFIC, BUT ALSO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE FOLKS OUT THERE WHO ARE DRIVING, WHO PROBABLY AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION AT THE LEVEL THAT THEY REALLY SHOULD.
SO I WAS WONDERING WHAT, UM, IN THE CATEGORY OF HOW THE CITY CAN HELP REMIND PEOPLE THAT SPEED KILLS.
UM, DO WE HAVE ENOUGH OF THOSE SPEED DETECTION, UM, UH, THAT SPEED DETECTION EQUIPMENT THAT WE PUT OUT, LIKE ON NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS THAT PEOPLE CAN SEE HOW FAST THEY'RE GOING.
AND IT'S USUALLY RIGHT NEXT TO THE, THE SPEED LIMIT SIGN THAT SAYS 30 MILES AN HOUR OR WHATEVER, AND THEN YOU CAN TRACK HOW FAST YOU'RE GOING SO THAT YOU CAN BE SPECIFICALLY REMINDED TO SLOW DOWN.
UM, I KNOW THEY'RE EXPENSIVE, BUT I, I'M JUST SORT OF WONDERING, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO STEP UP THEIR PRESENCE AROUND THE CITY? WOULD THAT BE HELPFUL? MAYBE? SURE.
WHO'S JUST JOINED US RESPOND TO THAT, BUT YES, WE ARE DEPLOYING THOSE AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER LOUIS LEFT TRANSPORTATION SAFETY OFFICER WITH AUSTIN TRANSPORTATION.
WE DO USE THOSE DYNAMIC SPEED DISPLAY DEVICES DSDS ON A REGULAR BASIS.
WE'VE TYPICALLY USE THOSE ON MORE COLLECTOR RESIDENTIAL STREETS JUST RECENTLY, WE'VE INSTALLED 14 OF THOSE DEVICES AT HIGH PRIORITY VISION, ZERO LOCATIONS, PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN SEVERE CRASHES OCCUR REPETITIVELY.
AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS IS UNDERSTAND THE IMPACT
[00:40:01]
OF THOSE TYPES OF DEVICES ON DRIVER BEHAVIOR.SEE WHAT THE SPEEDS ARE CONSISTENTLY, AND IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE COMING DOWN CONSISTENTLY, TYPICALLY THOSE DEVICES ARE VERY EFFECTIVE UPFRONT.
AND THEN WE SEE THAT KIND OF EFFECTIVENESS LEVEL OFF, BUT THEY CONTINUE TO BE EFFECTIVE WITH THE HIGHEST END SPEEDERS, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WE'RE AFTER.
SO IF WE CAN GET THE MAJORITY OF THOSE EGREGIOUS SPEEDERS TO COME DOWN CLOSER TO THOSE POSTED SPEED LIMITS, WE'LL SEE THAT THAT EFFECTIVENESS WILL PLAY OUT IN CRASH DATA OVER TIME.
SO WE JUST INSTALLED THOSE A FEW WEEKS AGO AND WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF THOSE OVER THE NEXT SIX TO 12 MONTHS, AND HOPEFULLY GET SOME MORE OF THOSE ON THE GROUND.
THANKS MR. LEFT, WILL YOU BE MOVING THEM AROUND THE CITY, THOSE 14 SPEED DETECTORS, OR WILL THEY STAY STATIONARY OR HOW, HOW DO YOU DEPLOY THOSE? THERE'LL BE IN PLACE FOR A PERIOD OF AT LEAST SIX MONTHS WHILE WE EVALUATE THE DATA THAT COMES OUT OF THOSE, WE'LL HAVE CONTINUED CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR COLLEAGUES OVER AT APD TO SEE IF WE NEED REAL DEDICATED TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IN THOSE AREAS.
WE'LL MONITOR THE CRASHES AT THOSE LOCATIONS AND SEE IF THEY CONTINUE TO BE PROBLEMATIC AT THAT POINT.
WE'LL DETERMINE WHETHER THAT, UH, THEY'VE SERVED THEIR PURPOSE OF THAT LOCATION.
WE CAN ROTATE THOSE TO OTHER LOCATIONS.
WE ALSO DID JUST GO THROUGH A COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCESS TO SEE IF WE CAN INCREASE THE PROCUREMENT OF THOSE DEVICES AND ADD MORE TO THE OVERALL FLEET.
SO WE'LL BE MONITORING THAT AND HOPEFULLY REPORTING BACK IN THE NEXT SIX TO 12 MONTHS, THE LAST ISSUE THAT I WANTED JUST TO KIND OF TOSS OUT THERE TO YOU, DIRECTOR SPILLER, AND JUST TO KIND OF EXPLORE, UM, PART OF THE CONVERSATION WE HAD A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO WITH THE RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY WAS TO TRY TO SHIFT OUR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AWAY.
OFFICERS WITH WHO ARE ARMED TO THOSE WHO ARE NOT.
AND I RECOGNIZE THAT THERE ARE INHERENT, UM, UH, SAFETY CONCERNS FOR WHOEVER THOSE ENFORCEMENT, UH, PEOPLE MAY BE.
BUT HAVE WE GOTTEN ANY FURTHER DOWN THE ROAD OF THINKING IN TERMS OF HAVING MORE OF A, UH, NON-UNIFORM NON-SWORN OFFICER, UM, CADRAY AVAILABLE TO HELP WITH, UM, TICKETING OR ENFORCEMENT SO THAT, UM, WE COULD MAYBE INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR A POLICE OFFICER TO HELP US, AND WE HAVE A STAFFING ISSUE THERE, WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO LOOK MORE, UH, CIVILIAN NON-SWORN, UM, SUPPORT FOR THAT INFANT, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER, UH, LET ME GIVE A BRIEF ANSWER AND THEN I'LL TURN IT OVER TO OUR APD AND, AND TO LOUIS, UH, AS REPRESENTATIVES, UH, WE ARE LOOKING AT ACTIVITIES WHERE WE CAN SHIFT, UM, EFFORT OFF OF ABD, NOT NECESSARILY SPEEDING, CAUSE WE THINK THAT'S STILL REQUIRES, UH, AN OFFICER TO RESPOND BECAUSE OF THE SAFETY RELATED ISSUES THERE.
UH, BUT CERTAINLY IN TERMS OF ABANDONED VEHICLES AND, AND SOME OF THE MORE MUNDANE ACTIVITIES, PERHAPS IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT, IF WE CAN TAKE THOSE OFF OF, OFF THE PLATE OF SWORN OFFICERS, THEN THAT OPENS UP SPACE WITHIN THEIR DAY.
UH, AS I SAID TO DO SOME OF THESE OTHERS, WOULD YOU ALL LIKE TO SPEAK TO ANY OF THAT? AND I WONDERED IF THERE MIGHT BE SOME STATUTORY REQUIREMENTS THAT YOU HAVE TO BE A SWORN OFFICER IN ORDER TO CARRY OUT CERTAIN RESPONSIBILITIES.
YES MA'AM AND THAT EXACTLY IS THE ISSUE, BUT THAT'S OPENED UP A DISCUSSION OF, WELL, WHAT CAN WE TAKE OFF EXCELLENT.
LEGITIMATELY OFF THE PLATE AND I GUESS MR. LEF WAS GOING TO, OR MR. DALE.
AND I SEE ASSISTANT CHIEF MASON IS ON AS WELL WITH APD AND, UH, WE ARE LIMITED IN A LOT OF WAYS BY STATE LAW.
UH, THERE ARE A LOT OF PLACES THAT WE'VE SEEN BE VERY EFFECTIVE IN THEIR TRAFFIC SAFETY EFFORTS USING AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT, PARTICULARLY AROUND SPEED.
AND SO WE, WE DON'T HAVE THAT ABILITY AND UNDER CURRENT STATE LAW, THAT WOULD BE PART OF SOME LEGISLATIVE AGENDA ACTIONS THAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN.
UH, THE OTHER PIECES, I THINK THE STATE LAW IS PRETTY CLEAR THAT MOVING VIOLATIONS LIKE SPEEDING WOULD BE DONE BY A SWORN POLICE OFFICER.
SO WE'VE GOT SOME CHALLENGES WITH OUR CURRENT STATE LAW, BUT I'LL, I'LL HAND IT OVER TO ASSISTANT CHIEF MASON.
HE CAN SPEAK MORE DEPTH ON THAT.
EVERYBODY'S ABSOLUTELY CORRECT.
AND THE FACT THAT WE'D HAVE TO DEAL WITH STATE LAW OFFERS TO BE ABLE TO CHANGE THAT, TO BE A BILL, TO PUT IT INTO A CIVILIAN TYPE OF FORMAT.
UM, BUT WE HAVE WORKED WITH, WITH, UH, EVERYBODY, UH, WITH, WITH LOUIS AS WELL, AS WELL AS TRANSPORTATION, AS WELL AS, UH, CODE TO SEE WHAT, WHAT, WHAT COULD BE DONE, UH, FOR LIKE ABANDONED VEHICLES AND STUFF LIKE THAT, THAT DOESN'T NECESSARILY REQUIRE A UNIFORM OFFICER TO BUILD TO COME OUT.
SO WE ARE LOOKING AT THINGS LIKE THAT SO FAR.
UM, WE'RE, WE'RE JUST LOOKING AT THE PROGRAMS THAT WE'RE ABLE TO DO AND MOVE THOSE FORWARD.
SO THAT'S PART OF THE WHOLE, UH, RE-IMAGINING THING.
AND IF I COULD JUST ADD ONE OTHER THING, COUNTS MEMBER POOL, I JUST DISCOVERED SOMETHING COOL IN MY CAR.
MY CAR HAS AN IN VEHICLE GPS MAPPING SYSTEM, AND YOU CAN ACTUALLY TURN ON A, UH, A FUNCTION THAT TELLS YOU WHEN YOU'RE FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT.
AND I ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO DO THAT.
IT HAS MADE ME MUCH MORE AWARE, UH, YOU KNOW, MANY PEOPLE DON'T SPEED PURPOSELY, BUT, UH, JUST KEEPING UP WITH TRAFFIC AND HAVING THAT EXTRA REMINDER THAT UPS YOUR FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT, UH, IS VERY EFFECTIVE IN MAKING ME AWARE OF WHAT THE SPEED LIMITS ARE.
SO I WOULD ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO PUT ONE OF THEIR OWN, UH, SPEED NANNIES IN THE CAR.
[00:45:01]
THAT'S WHAT I CALL MY SPEED REMINDER, UH, IS SOMEBODY THAT COMES ON WHEN I HIT FIVE MILES OVER THE SPEED LIMIT.SO I ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO USE THE TOOLS.
IN FACT, IT SHOWS THE LITTLE S SPEED AND IT TURNS IT RED WHEN YOU'VE GONE A LITTLE BIT OVER AND, AND YEAH, IT IS REALLY HELPFUL TO HAVE THAT THERE.
AND IT ALSO PUTS THE RESPONSIBILITY ON THE INDIVIDUAL SO THAT WE ALL LEARN BETTER HABITS, WHICH I THINK IS REALLY AN IMPORTANT ASPECT OF THIS RATHER THAN ENFORCING EVERYBODY TO PROPER BEHAVIOR.
IT REALLY IS MUCH, UM, MORE SUSTAINABLE IF WE ALL TAKE.
AND THAT REALLY IS OUR GOAL IS TO EDUCATE AND HAVE PEOPLE WILLINGLY DRIVE.
THE CORRECT SPEEDS ARE SAFE SPEEDS, RIGHT? NOT TO NECESSARILY GIVE TICKETS.
THAT'S NOT THE INTENT IT'S TO EDUCATE AND GET PEOPLE AGREE WILLINGLY, DO THE RIGHT THING.
UM, ON THAT NOTE, MR. SPELLER, I THINK YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY UPDATE THE SPEED LIMITS THAT WE CHANGED, WHERE WE REDUCED THEM.
THOSE ARE NOT, THOSE ARE NOT UPLOADED INTO GIS.
SO FOR MANY PEOPLE IT'S TELLING THEM FIVE MINUTE, FIVE MILES MORE THAN THEY CAN DO.
UM, SO IT'D BE GREAT IF I DON'T KNOW THAT PROCESS, BUT I THINK THAT'S ON THE BACKEND.
SOMETHING YOU GUYS CAN WORK, UM, WORK WITH, UM, GIS OR WHOEVER YOU NEED TO WORK WITH ON THAT, BECAUSE I'VE NOTICED THAT IN MY CAR THAT IT'S NOT MATCHING, IT DOES TAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR THEM TO UPDATE.
AND SOME OF THE OLDER SYSTEMS WHERE YOU STILL HAVE TO GO INTO THE DEALERSHIP TO UPDATE YOUR SYSTEM.
AND THANK YOU, DIRECTOR SPILLER AND YOUR TEAM FOR THIS IMPORTANT WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING.
YOU HAD MENTIONED A LITTLE EARLIER WORKING WITH TRAVIS COUNTY ABOUT INCREASING THE CITY OF AUSTIN'S ABILITY TO HAVE MORE OFFICERS AVAILABLE FOR TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
AND I KNOW THAT I'M AWARE OF THAT PROGRAM BECAUSE YOUR TEAM BRIEFED ME AND I I'M GUESSING MY COLLEAGUES ARE AS WELL, BUT COULD YOU MAYBE TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT? SO THE PUBLIC'S AWARE OF WHAT MIGHT BE COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE.
UM, SO WE USE, UH, TRANSPORTATION DOLLARS, UH, TO PAY POLICE OFFICERS OVER TIME TO HELP ENFORCE CRITICAL TRAFFIC LAWS LATE AT NIGHT WHEN OUR FATALITIES ARE THE HIGHEST.
UH, AND THEY ARE TYPICALLY LOOKING FOR RED LIGHT RUNNING, UH, DRUNK DRIVING AND SPEEDING.
AND THOSE ARE THE THREE, UM, MOST SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITIES THAT, THAT LEAD TO SERIOUS CRASHES AND FATALITIES.
UH, AND SO WE'VE DONE THAT FOR SEVERAL YEARS, UH, BUT AS, UM, UH, THE STAFFING SHORTAGES HAVE HIT ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS, WE'VE BEEN UNABLE TO FILL MANY OF THOSE CRITICAL ENFORCEMENT TIME PERIODS THAT WE NEED.
AND SO, UH, WE'VE UM, PREVIOUSLY ONLY USED AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENT, STAFFS WARRANT OFFICERS THAT, THAT SIGN UP FOR THOSE OVER TIME, UM, OPPORTUNITIES LATE AT NIGHT.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO IS EXPAND THIS TO, UH, PARTNER WITH THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT WHO HAS JURISDICTION THROUGHOUT TRAVIS COUNTY, UH, AND THEN THE PRIEST AND THE CONSTABLES POTENTIALLY WHO COULD ALSO DO, UM, ENFORCEMENT.
NOW WHEN WE, WE PARTNER WITH THE SHERIFF, HOPEFULLY, AND WITH, UH, CONSTABLE, THEY CAN ONLY ENFORCE STATE LAWS, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT CITY OF AUSTIN OFFICERS, BUT IN FACT, THE BEHAVIORS WE'RE TRYING TO, UM, UH, IMPROVE ON OUR STATE REGULATED LAWS, NOT JUST MUNICIPAL ISSUES.
THANK YOU FOR THAT CLARIFICATION THERE AND EXPANDING UPON THAT PROGRAM.
COULD YOU MAYBE TALK ABOUT WHEN THAT TIMELINE, WHEN SOMETHING LIKE THAT MIGHT COME BEFORE COUNCIL OR WHEN WE CAN EXPECT IT, UM, LOUIS, DO YOU WANT TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON TIMING? SURE.
AS YOU MENTIONED, COUNCIL MEMBER, WE ARE BRIEFING ALL THE COUNCIL.
WE'VE SET UP ALL THE MEETINGS AND HOPEFULLY IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS, WE'LL HAVE COMPLETED EVERYBODY'S OFFICES FOR THE BRIEFINGS.
UH, OUR NEXT STEPS WOULD BE TO REACH BACK OUT TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY STAFF WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH, AND APD HAS BEEN HELPING TO SET UP SOME OF THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH BOTH THE SHERIFF'S OFFICE AND CONSTABLES, AND WE'VE HAD ONGOING ON AND OFF CONVERSATIONS FOR A WHILE NOW TO SEE WHAT A PROGRAM LIKE THIS LIKE THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE.
SO OUR NEXT STEP IS TO FINISH THOSE COUNCIL BRIEFINGS AND MAKE SURE WE'VE GOTTEN ALL THE FEEDBACK AND INPUT, GO BACK TO THE TRAVIS COUNTY STAFF, WORKING WITH THEIR, UM, BOTH THEIR PEACE OFFICERS AND THEIR BUDGET AND PLANNING FOLKS, AND THEN START TO CRAFT WHAT AN OUTLINE OF WHAT THAT AGREEMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND MAKE SURE THAT THEIR POLICY BOARD IS BRIEFED AS WELL.
AND THEN START TO COME BACK TO CITY COUNCIL AND MAYBE THROUGH A MOBILITY COMMITTEE OR THROUGH, UM, A COUNCIL BRIEFING IN ANOTHER SETTING TO BE ABLE TO DISCUSS WHAT THAT LOCAL AGREEMENT MIGHT LOOK LIKE AND WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH THAT.
BECAUSE AS DIRECTOR SPILLER SAID, WE'VE GOT A CRITICAL NEED, PARTICULARLY IN THE OVERNIGHT PERIOD ON THE WEEKENDS RELATED TO SPEEDING AND IMPAIRMENT ON THE ROADWAYS, TRYING TO FIND A WAY TO ADDRESS THAT LACK OF PROACTIVE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT THAT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW.
SO, UH, APD HAS BEEN, UH, BRAINSTORMING WITH US AND FACILITATING THOSE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR TRAVIS COUNTY PARTNERS.
AND HOPEFULLY WE'LL SEE SOMETHING COME FORWARD IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS, RIGHT.
AND I DON'T WANT TO LEAVE ANYONE WITH THE IMPRESSION THAT TRAFFIC LAWS ARE NOT BEING ENFORCED NOW.
THEY ARE IN FACT, AND, AND, UH, BOTH THE SHERIFF
[00:50:01]
AND, AND, UH, THE CONSTABLE, I SEE THEM OCCASIONALLY OUT ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, GIVING TICKETS AS I DO, APD GIVES TICKETS, UH, AND THEN ALSO DPS, UH, I'VE SEEN THEM ON THE BIGGER STATE ROADS.UM, WE'VE ALSO REACHED OUT TO THEM AND ASK THEM FOR EQUAL HELP.
UH, ALL THOSE AGENCIES HAVE THE SAME CHALLENGE AS I THINK THE CITY OF AUSTIN DOES IN TERMS OF STAFFING AND PRIORITIZING WHERE, UM, THOSE RESOURCES GO.
UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO AND COUNCIL MEMBER FONTAS.
I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT THE POTENTIAL ILA AS WELL.
UM, AS I UNDERSTAND DIRECTOR SPILLER, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL PATROLS THAT ARE, THAT ARE REALLY PART OF THE VISION ZERO EFFORT AND WERE BEING FUNDED THROUGH, THROUGH THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT.
MA'AM WHAT WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING IS PAYING THE OVERTIME COSTS FOR THOSE.
BUT THESE WERE, THESE WERE SORT OF, THESE ARE ADDITIONAL TO THE REGULAR, UM, TO THE REGULAR COURSE THAT WE HAVE OUT ON THE STREETS.
THERE, THERE STAFF FROM, IN THOSE DEPARTMENTS WORKING OVERTIME DURING SHIFTS, WHERE WE HAVE DATA THAT SHOWS THAT THERE'S A REAL NEED IN THE INABILITY TO STAFF NORMALLY.
WELL, I THINK THE IDEA OF HAVING, UH, OF WORKING WITH THE TRAVIS COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT IS A REALLY GOOD ONE.
I KNOW MY OFFICE HAS BEEN BRIEFED AND WE EXPRESSED OUR SUPPORT FOR THAT PROGRAM.
AND I WOULD, I, I APPRECIATE, UM, MR. LEFT, THE, THE SCHEDULE YOU OUTLINED FOR DECISION-MAKING, BUT MY GUESS IS THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE, THERE WILL BE CERTAINLY QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVE.
I KNOW IN OUR BRIEFING, UM, SOME OF THOSE QUESTIONS AROSE AND YOU HAD GOOD RESPONSES TO WHAT KIND OF TRAINING AND PROTOCOLS THEY WOULD USE.
UM, BUT I WOULD REALLY SUGGEST DIRECTOR'S FILLER THAT YOU CONSIDER SPEEDING UP THE TIMETABLE ON, ON THIS, AND POTENTIALLY EVEN GOING TO COUNCIL, ASKING CITY MANAGER TO HAVE A WORK SESSION BRIEFING ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL SO THAT WE CAN, WE CAN ALL LEARN, YOU KNOW, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO HAVEN'T YET HAD A BRIEFING CAN HEAR ABOUT IT.
AND PERHAPS POTENTIALLY WE CAN FAST-TRACK THIS.
I, I THINK IT SEEMS LIKE A VERY, IT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT SAYING IT FILLS A NEED AND, YOU KNOW, IF THERE IS A STEP WE, WE CAN TAKE SOONER, UM, TO KEEP OUR STREETS SAFER.
WELL, I WOULD SAY LET'S, LET'S ESCALATE THE TIMETABLE ON THAT.
IS THAT SOMETHING YOU WOULD NEED COUNCIL ACTION TO, TO KIND OF ALTER THAT TIME TIMEFRAME ON? OR IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU, THAT YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO THE MANAGER? UM, IF MY COLLEAGUES AGREE, IF YOU CAN TAKE BACK TO THE MANAGER AND ASK, ASK ABOUT WHETHER WE CAN PROCEED ON A, ON A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.
I DON'T KNOW THAT WE NEED COUNCIL ACTION TO ENCOURAGE US JUST HEARING THE ENCOURAGEMENT FROM YOU.
AND I SEE SEVERAL OTHER HEADS SHAKING.
UM, UH, WE'LL TAKE THAT AS ENCOURAGEMENT TO GO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN I DID ALSO JUST WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT AND THE VISION ZERO STAFF, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WORK THAT THEY DID RECENTLY TO, TO ENCOURAGE SAFER DRIVING THROUGH ARTISTIC EXPRESSION.
UM, IN DISTRICT NINE, WE NOW HAVE TWO MURALS THAT ARE PART OF THE VISION ZERO, THE VISION ZERO PLAN.
THERE'S ALSO A MURAL AND COUNCIL MEMBER AND THREE HIS DISTRICT.
AND THERE WAS A REALLY NICE LITTLE VIDEO THAT YOU ALL JUST RELEASED LAST WEEK, TYING THESE TOGETHER AND TALKING ABOUT JUST WHAT YOU HIGHLIGHTED HERE, HOW WE ALL CAN BE, UH, THINKING ABOUT WAYS TO BE SAFER ON THE STREETS.
BUT I THINK THE MURALS ARE REALLY A GOOD WAY TO ADD A DIFFERENT, A DIFFERENT KIND OF VENUE IN A DIFFERENT KIND OF WAY TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE, TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY ALSO FOR MAKING SURE THAT THEY'RE NOT DISTRACTED, THEY'RE NOT ON THEIR PHONE TEXTING OR NOT DOING OTHER THINGS THAT, THAT MAKE THE STREETS SAFER FOR THAT MAKE THE STREETS UNSAFE, UM, FOR EVERYBODY AROUND THEM.
OKAY, ERIC, AND THANK YOU FOR MENTIONING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA REALLY APPRECIATE THAT BECAUSE THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANT PEOPLE TO DO IS TALK ABOUT SAFETY AND TALK ABOUT SPEEDING AND TALK ABOUT, WOW, WE REALLY DO NEED TO STOP AT STOP SIGNS AND THINGS LIKE THAT BECAUSE IF PEOPLE ARE TALKING AND THAT'S TOP OF MIND, THANK YOU FOR FLAGGING THAT I'D LOVE.
IF SOMEONE CAN SEND ME A LINK, I'D LOVE TO TAKE A LOOK AT THAT VIDEO.
UM, AND WE'D LOVE TO TALK ABOUT GETTING A MURAL IN, IN SOUTH AUSTIN AND HELP BRING THAT MESSAGE TO OUR SOUTH AUSTINITES.
UM, ALSO, YOU KNOW, I GUESS MY COMMENTS, I HAVEN'T HAD MY BRIEFING YET.
I KNOW IT'S SCHEDULED FOR LATER THIS WEEK.
YOU KNOW, WHAT I WOULD BE CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE ABOUT IS EXACTLY, UM, WHAT, UM, WHAT THE STATE LAW SAYS AND LIKE WHAT THE PARAMETERS ARE FOR WHAT PEACE OFFICERS ARE NEEDED TO DO WHEN IT COMES TO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
UM, ALSO A LIST OF WHAT ARE THOSE TYPES OF ACTIVITIES THAT WE WOULD HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, THAT WE COULD POTENTIALLY BRING OTHERS TO HELP ASSIST WITH.
YOU MENTIONED VEHICLE ABATEMENTS, UM, AS ONE, BUT WE'D LIKE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT ELSE, UM, COULD BE THAT WE SHOULD BE RECONSIDERING, UM, IN THE SPIRIT OF RE-IMAGINING.
[00:55:01]
TO THANK YOU DIRECTOR SPILLER FOR, UH, FOR CONFIRMING THAT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT IS HAPPENING.YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT THE COMMUNITY UNDERSTANDS THAT THAT IS TAKING PLACE.
UM, AND THAT THIS CONVERSATION THAT WE'RE HAVING IS FOR, UM, FOR ADDITIONAL SERVICES THAT, THAT THE CITY OF AUSTIN HAS ALWAYS CONDUCTED.
IT'S JUST THAT MATTER OF THE STAFFING SHORTAGES OF WHAT WE'RE HAVING TO FIGURE OUT HERE.
UM, AND, UM, AND THE LAST THING FOR THE BRIEFING THAT I HAVE LATER THIS WEEK, IF WE CAN ALSO HAVE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW OTHER CITIES HANDLE TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT AND PERHAPS THERE'S SOME INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES OUT THERE THAT WE CAN PULL FROM, UM, ANY TYPES OF MODELS, UM, THAT WE CAN LOOK AT FROM OTHER CITIES OR OTHER COUNTRIES I WOULD BE INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT.
UM, AND, AND SO THAT'S PROBABLY A BETTER HANDLE THAN A ONE-ON-ONE.
AND SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE AVAILABLE TO PROVIDE INFORMATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT OUR VISION ZERO DEPARTMENT DOES, OR DIVISION DOES VERY WELL IS COORDINATE WITH OTHER CITIES AND, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED GOOD IDEA, NO MATTER WHERE IT COMES FROM, WE ARE MORE THAN HAPPY TO BORROW AND REUSE.
SO WE DON'T HAVE TO, WE DON'T HAVE TO HAVE THE CREDIT FOR GOOD IDEAS.
AND I JUST WANTED TO BUILD ON WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, ROB TO A CUSTOMER, GREAT QUESTIONS.
WE'LL BE PREPARED FOR THOSE, WITH THE BRIEFING, BUT JUST FOR THE SAKE OF THIS DISCUSSION, YOU KNOW, WE, WE CERTAINLY ARE LOOKING AT RESEARCH THAT UNDERSTANDS WHERE, HOW ENFORCEMENT HAS DONE TO BE MOST EFFECTIVE.
UH, THERE'S A GREAT STUDY OUT OF A CERTAIN CITY BECAUSE NORTH CAROLINA THAT SHOWED THAT YOU CAN ACTUALLY HAVE A REALLY POSITIVE IMPACT ON SOME OF THOSE OTHER GOALS THAT WE'VE GOT FROM IN THE SPIRIT OF RE-IMAGINING PUBLIC SAFETY TO REDUCE THOSE RACIAL DISPARITIES AND TRAFFIC STOPS BY FOCUSING ON THE BEHAVIORS THAT ARE GOING TO CREATE SAFER STREETS FOR EVERYBODY.
SO THAT'S WHY WE CONTINUE TO TALK ABOUT SPEEDING AND IMPAIRMENT ON OUR FREEWAYS ON OUR MAJOR ARTERIALS.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL SEE A DIFFERENCE IN THE OUTCOMES, I THINK ACROSS THE BOARD AND A LOT OF OUR POLICY GOALS, IF WE CAN REALLY FOCUS ON THOSE BEHAVIORS AND MAKE THE STREETS SAFER FOR EVERYBODY.
SO WE'LL CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION JUST WANTED TO POINT THAT OUT AS WELL.
COUNCIL MEMBER, HARPER, MADISON.
AND IF WE CAN BE QUICK, WE'VE GOT TO KEEP MOVING ON.
I APPRECIATE YOU RECOGNIZING ME.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY QUICKLY, YOU KNOW, AS WE'RE HAVING THESE CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR LEGISLATIVE LIAISON, UM, YOU GUYS ARE PROBABLY HAVING MEETINGS AS WELL.
I JUST HAD ONE RECENTLY, UH, JUST THINKING THROUGH, UM, TO COUNCIL MEMBER FLINT, THAT'S HIS POINT ABOUT WHAT IS IT EXACTLY THAT WE SHOULD BE ASKING TO GET DONE AT THE LEGISLATIVE LEVEL? I'D REALLY APPRECIATE HAVING THAT INFORMATION.
SO I'LL ALSO LOOK FORWARD TO MY BRIEFING AND I'M WONDER IF THIS IS AN ITEM WE SHOULD BRING FORWARD, UM, WITH THE COMMITTEE THAT I CHAIR THE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE.
UM, SO I LOOK FORWARD TO, UH, TO FOLLOWING UP MR. LIFT, THANK YOU.
UM, I WANT TO COME BACK TO TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, BUT I FIRST WANT TO, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DO THESE FOLLOW-UP AUDITS AND, YOU KNOW, THE HOPE IS THAT THE WORK OF THE AUDIT TEAM IS HELPFUL IN HELPING US IMPROVE AND THAT IT'S A PARTNERSHIP WITH THE COMMITTEES.
AND SO I REALLY WANT TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE GOOD WORK THAT WAS DONE AS A RESULT OF THESE INVESTIGATIONS AND, AND, AND THE COMMUNICATION AND THE CONVERSATIONS THAT HAPPENED RELATED TO THAT.
UM, SO, YOU KNOW, YOU DEVELOPED WAYS TO BETTER COMMUNICATE AND COORDINATE WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL PARTNERS, UM, BY CREATING THE AUSTIN STRATEGIC MOBILITY PLAN, WHICH I THINK IS A REALLY, REALLY WELL DONE DOCUMENT THAT HAS A LOT OF CLARITY AND REALLY IS, UM, HELPING TO GUIDE OUR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENTS OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS.
UM, YOU LAUNCHED THE DATA AND PERFORMANCE HUB, THE MOBILITY MANAGEMENT CENTER, AND CREATED THE PROJECT CONNECT OFFICE.
UM, YOU'VE ALSO OPTIMIZED THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL TIMING, AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, ALL OF THOSE ARE DEVELOPMENTS THAT COME FROM THESE CONVERSATIONS AND, UM, SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT HAVE BEEN SURFACED AS WELL, OBVIOUSLY OF THE PLANNING AND THE, AND THE HARD WORK OF YOUR DEPARTMENT.
SO I WANT TO, TO ACKNOWLEDGE THAT, UM, COME TO MY RIPPLE MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE REIMAGINE THIS AREA? UM, A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO, I LAUNCHED THE MOBILITY OFFICER'S PROJECT.
UM, CAN YOU SPEAK A LITTLE BIT TO WHERE THAT IS AT, AT THIS POINT, BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT WE ARE TRYING TO TAKE SOME OF THE TASKS OFF OF OUR OFFICERS THAT CAN BE UNDERTAKEN, UH, BY OTHER FOLKS AND WE'RE ABLE TO PAY FOR IT WITH PARK.
AND SO, UH, THANK YOU, MADAM CHAIR, WHEN I ALLUDED TO THAT, THAT, UH, UH, IN RESPONSE TO COUNSELOR, POOL'S QUESTION ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHERE, WHERE ARE WE IN TERMS OF HAVING NON-SWORN OFFICERS DO SOME OF THESE ACTIVITIES? I THINK THAT'S REALLY WHERE THE CONVERSATION HAS EXPANDED IS AS WE ADD, OR AS WE MOVE TOWARDS MOBILITY OFFICERS, WHICH WE'RE WORKING THROUGH THE PROCESS TO ACTUALLY CREATE THE POSITIONS, DEFINE THEM THROUGH, UH, WHAT'S REQUIRED AND SO FORTH, UM, IS TO CONTINUE TO WORK WITH APD AND OTHER ENFORCEMENT TO FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN TAKE OFF LEGITIMATELY OFF
[01:00:01]
THE PLATE THAT GETS BACK TO, UM, UH, BETTER OUTCOMES.I THINK, UH, UH, COUNSELOR HARPER, MADISON MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHERE DO WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO WORK? I THINK ONE OF THE AREAS OF INTEREST IS HOW DO WE INCREASE THE USE OF THESE NEW MOBILITY OFFICERS OR NON-SWORN OFFICERS IN TERMS OF MANAGING SPECIAL EVENTS, MANAGING BARRICADES AND STUFF TO FREE UP OFFICERS DURING THOSE SIGNIFICANT TIMES WHEN OFTEN OVERTIME IS REQUIRED AT THOSE OFFICERS SORT OF EATING INTO THEIR CAPACITY TO DO OTHER THINGS.
AND SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT.
UH, YOU KNOW, UM, IT IS A STEEP CLIMB TO WORK ON THAT, UH, ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S SO MANY HURDLES WE'VE GOT TO UNDO AND FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AROUND WHETHER THEY BE STATE LAW OR, UH, JUST STAFFING AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES.
SO WE CONTINUE TO WORK ON THAT AND WE APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT ON THAT.
UH, I CAN GET YOU MORE DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT WHERE WE ARE ON THAT, UM, SEPARATELY FROM THIS, IS THERE ANYTHING LEWIS, DO YOU OR JIM THAT'S REALLY THROUGH OUR PARKING DIVISION? AND SO THAT'S REALLY WHERE I'LL NEED TO BRING THEM BACK TO YOU.
I, I WOULD APPRECIATE AN UPDATE, BUT I AM EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF BEING ABLE TO TAKE SOME OF THOSE THINGS OFF THE PLATE.
AND I WANT TO TALK ABOUT TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
SO I HAD ORIGINALLY BEEN THE ONE TO REQUEST THE 2018 AUDIT ON TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT.
WHEN I FIRST CAME TO OFFICE, I NOTICED A HUGE DROP IN TRAFFIC ENFORCEMENT, UM, RELATIVE TO 2017, WHICH IS NOT ON THE CHART.
UM, AND IN TRYING TO UNDERSTAND AND LOOK BACK AT THIS, WE DID A LITTLE MORE DIGGING AND WE DISCOVERED THAT ACTUALLY 2017 WAS A SPIKE.
AND IF YOU GO BACK TO 2015, WE HAVE MORE ENFORCEMENT NOW THAN WE HAD IN 2015.
AND SO I THINK THAT WE, I, I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO DIG INTO THOSE NUMBERS WITH YOUR OFFICE AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT'S HAPPENING.
I KNOW THERE WAS A PERIOD IN TIME IN THERE WHEN WE HAD DEDICATED FUNDING, I THINK FROM THE STATE THAT WAS ONLY PAID FOR ENFORCEMENT.
SO APD COULDN'T SPEND THE MONEY ON ANYTHING ELSE.
IT HAD TO BE DONE ON ENFORCEMENT.
UM, BUT THERE'S SOME STUFF HIDDEN IN THAT DATA ABOUT WHAT, UM, IS KEEPING US FROM BEING ABLE TO DO THE ENFORCEMENT OR WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE LEVEL THAT IS MISLEADING LOOKING AT? YOU KNOW, I DIDN'T KNOW, IN 2017 THAT I SHOULD'VE LOOKED BACK TO 2016 AND 2015, AND NOW LOOKING AT THIS, I'M LIKE, WELL, WE MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE HAD A BUBBLE IN THERE AND WHAT IS THE RIGHT LEVEL OF ENFORCEMENT? UM, I AM IN FAVOR OF ENFORCEMENT AND I KNOW THEY'RE SPEEDING ISSUES, BUT IF WE'RE TRYING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IS KEEPING US FROM DOING THE ENFORCEMENT, UM, THERE IS A BIGGER, MORE COMPLICATED STORY THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT WE, UM, HAVE REALLY GOTTEN A HANDLE ON.
AND SO I WOULD LIKE TO ASK FOR YOUR STAFF TO TAKE A LOOK BACK AT THAT COUPLE YEARS BEFORE THAT AND HELP ME UNDERSTAND WHY WE SEE THE SPIKE AND WHAT'S CHANGING IT IS TOO EASY TO BLAME CERTAIN STAFFING ISSUES.
I THINK THERE ARE CHOICES THAT ARE BEING MADE AS WELL THAT HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH STAFFING.
UM, AND THERE ARE CHALLENGES THERE, UM, THAT IF WE WANT TO STEP UP ENFORCEMENT AND WE WANT TO DO IT AND FOCUS WAYS THAT ARE ALSO EQUITABLE THAT WE NEED TO BE, WE NEED TO BE REALLY LOOKING AT.
UM, SO WE CAN CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION UNLESS YOU HAVE ANYTHING YOU WANT.
NO, I WAS GOING TO OFFER THE APD, IF THERE'S ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD TO THAT, BUT CERTAINLY COUNCIL MEMBER, I HEAR YOU, AND THAT WE WILL WORK WITH OUR, UH, PARTNERS AT APD TO, TO TRY TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THAT.
THANK YOU, MR. CHIEF MASON, DID YOU WANT THE SAME THING OR NO? THAT'S IT.
WE'LL WORK WITH THEM TO GET THE INFORMATION FOR YOU.
UM, IF THERE ARE NO MORE QUESTIONS, THANK YOU MR. SPELLER FOR BEING HERE.
OBVIOUSLY WE'RE ALL VERY INTERESTED IN, IN ADDRESSING, UM, THESE MOBILITY ISSUES.
UM, THE, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO VOTE ON ANY OF THESE.
[4. Proposed bylaw amendments for the Joint Sustainability Committee.]
ITEM WILL BE THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY, UM, BYLAW CHANGES THE CLERK'S OFFICE.IT'S GOING TO PRESENT GOOD MORNING, STEPHANIE HALL WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.
I'M HERE TO PRESENT SOME PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS FROM THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
THIS IS IN RESPONSE TO A RESOLUTION THAT WAS PASSED LAST SEPTEMBER.
THEY ARE UPDATING THE MEMBERSHIP.
SO I'LL GO JUST QUICKLY GO OVER THE PIECES THAT, THAT THEY'RE EDITING, EDITING ARTICLE TO PURPOSE AND DUTIES AND EDIT TO INCLUDE THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
STAFF RECOMMENDS EDIT ARTICLE THREE MEMBERSHIP.
THIS IS AN EDIT TO INCREASE THE MEMBERSHIP FROM 13 TO 18.
THIS IS PART OF THE RESOLUTION AND TO ADD
[01:05:01]
A COUPLE OF, TO INCREASE THE MEMBER, SPEND TO EXPAND MEMBERSHIP REPRESENTATION IN RESPONSE TO THAT RESOLUTION.SO THERE'S A COUPLE OF EDITS TO IMPROVE RACIAL DIVERSITY AND IDENTIFICATION THAT THE MAYOR WILL NOMINATE FIVE INDIVIDUALS TO SERVE ON THE JOINT COMMITTEE.
AND THAT COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER THE RACIAL COMPOSITION OF THE JOINT COMMITTEE.
WHEN MAKING NEW APPOINTMENTS, STAFF RECOMMENDS ADDITIONAL EDITS TO ARTICLE SEVEN MEETINGS DE EDIT THE MEETING FREQUENCY, THE BOARD SHALL MEET MONTHLY.
THE COMMITTEE HAD BEEN MEETING MONTHLY.
I THINK THIS IS JUST TO CODIFY THAT, TO SOLIDIFY THAT IN THEIR BYLAWS STAFF RECOMMENDS AN ADDITIONAL EDIT TO MEETINGS AS WELL.
BUT IN F THIS IS TO EDIT THE NUMBER REQUIRED TO ATTAIN QUORUM BECAUSE WE'RE INCREASING THE NUMBER OF COURSE, 18, THE CORM NUMBER INCREASES TO 10.
THIS IS A STAFF RECOMMENDATION AS WELL.
AND THEN THERE WAS A COUPLE OTHER EDITS MADE TO THE, TO THE BYLAWS THAT STAFF DOES NOT RECOMMEND ARTICLE SEVEN AS WELL IN MEETINGS, THERE IS AN EDIT TO THE WORDING REQUIREMENTS NEEDED FOR ACTION BASED ON ATTENDANCE.
THIS IS TO KIND OF REPHRASE THAT THEY'RE A LITTLE BIT AND THEIR PROPOSED AMENDMENT IS TO A BOARD ACTION AS ADOPTED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF TWO THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS ACTUALLY PRESENT AS STANDARD PRACTICE.
WE DON'T RECOMMEND ANY CHANGES TO THE STANDARD BYLAW TEMPLATE.
SO STAFF DOES NOT RECOMMEND THIS.
THE PROPOSED AMENDMENT DOESN'T ALIGN WITH THE STANDARD BYLAWS AND IS A LITTLE BIT OUT OF STEP WITH CITY CODE.
OUR RECOMMENDATION WOULD BE TO MAINTAIN WHAT THE CURRENT TEMPLATE SAYS AND JUST UPDATE THE NUMBERS TO REFLECT THE INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP.
THE SAME AS THE CASE WITH ARTICLE EIGHT COMMITTEES, THEY HAVE PROPOSED EDITING OF THE WORDS.
THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE MAY HAVE MAY HAVE COMMITTEES.
THIS ADJUSTMENT JUST ISN'T NECESSARY AT THIS TIME.
THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD PROPOSE IF THEY ARE WANTING TO ADD COMMITTEES.
SO WE JUST DON'T RECOMMEND THAT CHANGE EDIT ARTICLE EIGHT, WORKING GROUPS, THEY ARE PROPOSING TO EDIT, TO READ STAFF SUPPORT IS NOT GUARANTEED FOR WORKING GROUPS.
WE DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS BECAUSE THE PR, BECAUSE THE STANDARD TEMPLATE SAYS THAT STAFFING, THAT STAFF IS NOT PROVIDED FOR WORKING GROUPS.
AND THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS OUTLINED IN CITY CODE.
SO WE JUST DON'T RECOMMEND THAT AND RECOMMEND THAT WE MAINTAIN WHAT ALREADY IS SAID.
THAT IS THE, ALL THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS THAT WE HAVE.
THERE MAY BE THE STAFF LIAISON AND THE CHAIR FROM THE LINE AS WELL.
DID YOU WANT TO WAIT FOR THE CHAIR TO SPEAK OR YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR STEPHANIE.
THANKS FOR BEING HERE TODAY ON THE REQUIREMENT, THE SHELL LANGUAGE ON THE MONTHLY MEETINGS, UM, IS THAT STANDARD ACROSS, UM, ALL OF THE ORDINANCES FOR DIFFERENT COMMITTEES? OR IS IT MORE LIKE, SHALL HAVE AT LEAST 12 MEETINGS AND YOU KNOW, WHAT DO WE DO IF, IF, IF THEY DON'T HAVE MONTHLY MEETINGS AND THEN THEY'RE IN VIOLATION OF THIS, RIGHT? THAT IS A GOOD QUESTION.
MOST OF THEM SAY SHALL MEET MONTHLY, OR THERE'S A FEW THAT SAY SHALL MEET QUARTERLY.
I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT THEY HAD IN PRIOR.
SO THIS IS A TYPICAL LANGUAGE ACROSS THE BOARD.
BUT WE ALL ACKNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNIZE THAT SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T MEET.
AND THEY DO HAVE, THEY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SOME SPECIAL CALLED SESSIONS IF NEEDED.
THEY'RE ALLOWED TO HAVE ONE, ONE A QUARTER.
AND THEN WE JUST ASK LIAISONS TO KEEP IN TOUCH WITH US IF THIS IS, IF THIS BECOMES A PATTERN.
BUT FOR ONE NON MONTHLY MEETING THERE TYPICALLY ISN'T AN ISSUE.
THAT'S ALL I HAD A QUESTION ABOUT.
UM, DID MS. WHITE, WAS SHE ONLINE? HELLO? YES, I'M HERE.
DID YOU WANT TO SPEAK TO THIS ITEM? YES.
I'M THE CHAIR OF THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
AND, UM, UH, WE DO APPRECIATE YOU TAKING UP THESE CHANGES.
UM, AS YOU'LL REMEMBER THE ADDITION OF ADDITIONAL MEMBERS, UH, TO THE JOINT SERVICE SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IS SOMETHING THAT WAS, UH, DISCUSSED AND INCLUDED IN THE RESOLUTION THAT YOU CARRIED MAYOR PRO TEM FOR THE, UH, ADOPTION OF THE AUSTIN CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
SO THAT IS DEFINITELY IMPORTANT TO THE WORK OF IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN.
UM, I DO JUST WANT TO CALL, UH, ATTENTION TO THAT ITEM AND, UH, SOME, SOME POSSIBLE, UM, UH, DIFFICULTY THAT IT COULD PROVIDE, UH, THAT WE DISCUSSED, UM, AS A COMMITTEE, NAMELY THAT, UM, ADDING ADDITIONAL SEATS, BUT NOT HAVING THEM FILLED WOULD MAKE A HARDSHIP IN TERMS OF US, UH, MAKING QUORUM AND THEREFORE BEING ABLE TO MEET.
SO WE ARE JUST REQUESTING THAT, UM, HOPEFULLY, UM,
[01:10:01]
THE COUNCIL AND MAYOR CAN WORK TOGETHER IN ORDER FOR THE, UM, INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP, UH, AND ACTUAL APPOINTEES TO FILL THOSE SLOTS BE PUT FORWARD, UH, HOPEFULLY AT THE SAME MEETINGS SO THAT WE DON'T RUN UP AGAINST THAT CHALLENGE.UM, AND I, I DID ALSO JUST WANT TO SPEAK TO A COUPLE OF THE ITEMS THAT ARE, UH, NOT BEING RECOMMENDED BY STAFF.
UM, I THINK THAT THE ONE REALLY THAT IS, UM, MAYBE MOST WORTHY OF CONVERSATION IS THE ONE ABOUT HOW MANY VOTES IT TAKES TO PASS AN ITEM.
I'M LOOKING AT OUR CURRENT BYLAWS, AND THIS IS WHY WE ARE SUGGESTING A CHANGE AS OUR CURRENT BYLAWS DON'T APPEAR TO CONFORM TO THE STANDARD FOR OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS EITHER.
SO, UM, WE DID NOT KNOW IF THERE WAS ONLY ONE STANDARD THAT WE SHOULD BE, UM, YOU KNOW, RECOMMENDING THAT WE MOVE TOWARDS SINCE, SINCE OURS ARE, ARE ALREADY A BIT ODD.
AND JUST TO READ IT, IT SAYS IF ONLY A QUORUM IS PRESENT, THIS IS THE CURRENT BYLAWS FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE.
IT SAYS IF ONLY A QUORUM IS PRESENT AT A MEETING, A BOARD ACTION, THAT'S ADOPTED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF TWO THIRDS OF THE QUORUM.
14 MEMBER BOARD EQUALS SIX VOTES.
IF MORE THAN A QUORUM IS PRESENT AT A MEETING BOARD ACTION MUST BE ADOPTED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE A QUORUM.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHY OURS ARE DIFFERENT FROM, FROM OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
UM, THE OTHER COMMISSIONS THAT I HAVE, UH, THAT I SERVE ON, THEY JUST REQUIRE A VOTE OF THE QUORUM IN ORDER TO PASS.
UM, SO WE WERE JUST TRYING TO MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT SIMPLER BECAUSE OUR BYLAWS ODDLY, UM, SEEMED TO STATE THAT THE THRESHOLD FOR PASSING SOMETHING DEPENDS ON HOW MANY PEOPLE ACTUALLY SHOW UP TO A MEETING.
SO, UM, I THINK IT WOULD BE PREFERABLE TO US, UH, TO SIMPLIFY THAT AND JUST HAVE ONE THRESHOLD IF THAT'S, UH, THE, THE BEST WAY TO GO IS TO MAKE THAT THE SAME AS, AS OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, UH, WHICH JUST STATES THAT IT'S A QUORUM.
UH, YOU KNOW, I THINK, I THINK FOLKS, UH, WOULD BE FINE WITH THAT AND I'D BE HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
THANK YOU, COUNCILMAN APPRENTICE IS YOUR HAND UP, OR YOU JUST TOLD ME THAT THE LEVEL, THANKS FOR THOSE, THOSE COMMENTS MS. WHITE.
AND I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THE THRESHOLD SHOULD TRACK WITH THE THRESHOLD THAT WE HAVE ON QUORUM AND MEMBERS PRESENT THAT MAKE A QUORUM.
AND THEN A MAJORITY OF THOSE PRESENT WOULD BE SUFFICIENT TO PASS, UM, UH, UH, TO TAKE ANY ACTION.
I KNOW TODAY WE ARE NOT ACTUALLY MAKING CHANGES OR ADOPTING THIS.
WE'RE GOING TO BE, UM, TALKING ABOUT IT AND THEN RECOMMENDING FOR THE FULL COUNCIL.
BUT I THINK THAT THAT'S, THAT'S A, UM, I THINK THAT WOULD BE USEFUL IF WE COULD GET SOME CHANGED LANGUAGE FROM STAFF TO TRACK WITH HOW THE QUORUM AND THE ACTION, UH, FOR THE VOTE FORMATIVE VOTE IS HANDLED IN OTHER, IN OTHER INSTANCES, SO THAT THIS IS NOT HANDLED DIFFERENTLY THAN OTHERS, UNLESS THERE WAS SOME REASON WHY WE DID THAT.
I COULD PERHAPS CLARIFY JUST A LITTLE BIT BY SHARING THE REASON THIS IS DIFFERENT.
AND THERE ARE A FEW BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS THAT DO FALL IN THIS AS WELL IS THE NUMBER OF MEMBERSHIP.
SO THERE IS A SPECIFIED SPECIFICITY IN CITY CODE THAT WHEN THERE ARE MORE THAN 14 MEMBERS, THINGS START TO CHANGE AND IT'S A LITTLE BIT NUANCED AND IT IS VERY CONFUSING.
SO BEFORE WE DID BRING THIS, WE'D RUN THIS BY LEGAL, BUT IT DOES CHANGE WHEN THE MEMBERSHIP IS HIGHER.
AND IF A QUORUM IS ACTUALLY PRESENT, THEN IT ALLOWS THE TWO THIRDS.
BUT THE MOMENT THAT YOU EXCEED QUORUM, IT REVERTS BACK TO NEEDING A QUORUM, TO HAVE AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE.
AND IT IS A LITTLE BIT TRICKY AND WE'VE HAD THIS ISSUE AS WELL WITH A COUPLE OTHER BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS, BUT IT IS NOT SOLELY TO THIS COMMITTEE.
THERE ARE A FEW OTHER THAT HAVE THIS, THAT HAVE HIGHER MEMBERSHIP.
SO I THINK I NEED TO SIT WITH THAT FOR A LITTLE BIT AND TRY TO WORK OUT THE MATH AND THE IMPLICATIONS AND THE IMPACTS, WHICH I THINK PROBABLY THE FOLKS ON THE COMMITTEE OR HAVE BEEN WRESTLING WITH.
AND, AND I DON'T YET KNOW WHAT AGENDA THIS WILL BE ON FOR THE COUNCIL.
I DON'T EITHER, HOPEFULLY AS SOON AS WE CAN GET IT ON, THOUGH.
BUT WE'LL HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF TIME WITH THAT.
AND I CAN, I THOUGHT I HAD THE CODE WITH THE ACTUAL CITY CODE WITH ME THAT ADDRESSES THIS.
I ONLY HAVE WHAT THE TEMPLATES HAVE, AND THAT HAS KIND OF ABSORBED THAT IN THERE.
AND THIS IS THE TEMPLATE SPECIFICALLY FOR BOARDS OR COMMISSIONS THAT HAVE ATTENDANCE OVER 14.
AND WHAT IT SHOULD BE IF IT'S OVER 14.
SO THIS IS WHAT THE RECOMMENDATION IS FOR THE TEMPLATE IN THE BYLAWS.
I DON'T HAVE THE ACTUAL CODE RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME AT THE MOMENT, BUT I CAN DEFINITELY PULL THAT.
[01:15:01]
IS PRESENT AT A MEETING, A BOARD OP WILL ACTION IS ADOPTED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF TWO THIRDS OF THE MEMBERS ACTUALLY PRESENT.AND THEN IT BREAKS DOWN 18 MEMBER BOARD.
THE QUORUM WOULD BE 10, TWO THIRDS WOULD BE SEVEN IF MORE THAN A QUORUM IS PRESENT.
AND THAT'S WHERE IT GETS TRICKY.
IF MORE THAN A QUORUM IS PRESENT AT A MEETING, A BOARD ACTION MUST BE ADOPTED BY AN AFFIRMATIVE VOTE OF THE NUMBER OF MEMBERS NECESSARY TO PROVIDE A QUORUM AS IF THE FULL MEMBERSHIP WAS PRESENT IN THIS CASE 18.
AND THEN IT WOULD BE 10, WHICH IS THEIR QUORUM, WHICH IS SO REALLY THAT PRODUCTION TO SEVEN ONLY APPLIES IF ONLY A QUORUM IS INTENDANCE.
AND IT DOES ONLY APPLY TO A HANDFUL OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.
MAYBE WE'RE NOT THE ONLY ONES, BUT I THINK ESPECIALLY, UM, WITH THE VIRTUAL MEETINGS, THIS BECOMES REALLY DIFFICULT BECAUSE SOMEBODY DROPS OFF THE LINE AND WE STILL HAVE A QUORUM, BUT WE JUST DON'T MAYBE REALIZE THAT WE NOW HAVE CROSSED SOME THRESHOLD.
IT JUST BECOMES, UH, A BIT TRICKY TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE COUNTING THE VOTES CORRECTLY.
UM, SO, UH, YOU KNOW, IT OBVIOUSLY IT'S KNOW Y'ALL'S DECISION TO MAKE, BUT, UM, IT IS OUR REQUEST THAT WE COULD JUST HAVE, UH, ONE THRESHOLD TO, TO STICK WITH SO THAT IT COULD BE, BE A BIT EASIER.
THIS IS, THIS IS CAROLINE WEBSTER WITH THE LAW DEPARTMENT.
AND I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU ALL KNOW THE SECTION THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IN CITY CODE IS 2, 1 6 C.
AND WE DO READ THAT AS BEING BASICALLY IF EXACTLY A QUORUM IS PRESENT, NOT A QUORUM OR MORE, AND THEN YOU GET THESE OTHER OPTIONS.
WELL, THAT'S SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT THAN, THAN WHAT I'M HEARING IN THIS LANGUAGE.
WELL, I THINK THAT'S TESTING LANGUAGE, NOT THE OTHER.
I THINK WE NEED TO GO BACK AND, AND WORK ON THAT A LITTLE BIT AND MAYBE WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT BEFORE IT COMES TO COUNCIL.
AND THEN I HAD ONE MORE QUESTION IF I MAY.
GOING BACK TO ARTICLE THREE ON MEMBERSHIP, THE ADDITIONAL FIVE MEMBERS, UM, ARE THEY ALL BEING NOMINATED BY THE MAYOR? ARE THEY CO WHERE ARE THEY COMING FROM? IT SAYS HERE THE NEW LANGUAGE AND THE MAYOR WILL NOMINATE FIVE INDIVIDUALS.
SO THESE, IN ADDITION, ANYWAY, WHO'S, WHO'S MAKING THOSE APPOINTMENTS.
AM I READING THIS PROPERLY? THAT'S THREE, A BOARD COMPOSITION.
THAT'S WHAT WE UNDERSTAND HAS BEEN OUTLINED THAT THOSE ADDITIONAL FIVE MEMBER WILL BE APPOINTED BY THE MAYOR.
AND I WAS JUST CURIOUS, AND MAYBE MS. WHITE CAN GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO WHY WE WOULD BE ASSIGNING THAT TO THE MAYOR AND MAYBE NOT ONE OF THE COUNCIL COMMITTEES THAT WORKS ON ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC PUBLIC HEALTH FOR, I JUST, WHY, WHY THE SELECTION OF THE MAYOR? YEAH.
UH, WE, UH, DEFINITELY HAD SOME CONVERSATION ABOUT THAT.
UM, AND I DON'T THINK THAT IT WAS OUR FIRST CHOICE NECESSARILY TO HAVE ONE INDIVIDUAL, UM, MAKING, MAKING ALL OF THE APPOINTMENTS, BUT WE ENDED UP MAKING THAT RECOMMENDATION BECAUSE WE JUST COULDN'T COME UP WITH ANOTHER BETTER OPTION.
UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK IF THERE WAS A COUNCIL COMMITTEE THAT WAS FOCUSED ON THE CLIMATE PLAN, THEN THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN THE OBVIOUS CHOICE.
BUT, UM, SINCE THAT DOESN'T EXIST, TO OUR KNOWLEDGE, WE FELT LIKE THE MAYOR WAS, WAS KIND OF THE DEFAULT CHOICE.
AND WE WERE TOLD THAT THAT, THAT HAS SOMETIMES BEEN HOW IT WORKS, IF THERE ARE APPOINTMENTS TO BE MADE, BUT THERE'S NOT ENOUGH FOR EACH COUNCIL MEMBER TO MAKE AN APPOINTMENT.
UM, BUT I THINK, YOU KNOW, THE, THE COMMISSION, YOU KNOW, I THINK ALL OF US WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO SOMEHOW SPREAD THAT RESPONSIBILITY AROUND A BIT MORE.
UM, BUT WE WERE WORKING UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVEN IF THE MAYOR WERE TO SELECT THOSE NAMES, THAT THEY WOULD STILL NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE FULL COUNCIL.
SO IN A WAY EVERYBODY WOULD HAVE A, UM, A SAY IN THAT, OKAY, OKAY.
WELL, WHAT I THINK WE NEED TO DO HERE, BECAUSE, UM, IF IT SAYS THAT THE MAYOR MAKES THOSE NOMINATIONS, IT REALLY JUST, UM, ACCRUES TO THE COUNCIL TO APPROVE THEM.
AND, AND YOU FIND OUT WHO THEY ARE ON THE DAY THAT THE APPROVAL IS GOING TO BE MADE.
SO THERE REALLY IS NO PARTICIPATION THAT'S, UM, UH, UH, SUBSTANTIVE IN THAT SETTING.
AND, AND I SPEAK FROM SOME EXPERIENCE ON THAT FROM BEING ON THE STICE FOR A FEW YEARS.
SO IN THIS INSTANCE, I'D, I'D LIKE TO CONFER
[01:20:01]
WITH THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMITTEE AND MAYBE, UM, MY COLLEAGUES ON THIS COMMITTEE, THIS COULD BE SOMETHING THAT THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WOULD TAKE ON WITH RE UH, GIVEN OUR ROLE IN OVERSIGHT OF THE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS.WE DO THINGS LIKE INTERVIEW AND RECOMMEND FOR APPOINTMENT, UM, OUR MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSIONERS.
AND THAT IS A PROCESS THAT'S, UH, PRETTY FORMALIZED AND DOES END UP WITH, UH, THE COUNCIL MEMBERS HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO LOOK AT THE PACKETS OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE NOMINATED AND, UM, AND RECOMMENDED.
UM, BUT THAT ALSO MAY NOT BE THE MOST EXPEDITIOUS WAY TO APPROACH THIS.
SO I THINK I'D LIKE TO FLAG THIS AS AN ITEM TO GIVE SOME MORE THOUGHT.
AND, UM, AND THEN I SEE THAT MY COLLEAGUE COUNCIL MEMBER TOVA HAS RAISED HER HAND.
SO SHE MAY HAVE SOME THOUGHTS ON THIS, TOO.
I APPRECIATE YOU RAISING THIS ISSUE.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE, WE DID HAVE A COMMITTEE THAT WAS A LITTLE BIT THAT WAS TIED CLOSELY TO THIS ISSUE IN THE PAST, UM, AND, AND NO LONGER HAVE THAT COUNCIL COMMITTEE, BUT I, I APPRECIATE, UM, YOUR FLAGGING THIS ISSUE.
AND I WOULD LIKE TO SUGGEST THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE, YOU KNOW, I THINK MANY OF THE ISSUES THAT THIS SUSTAINABLE, THAT THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE IS DEALING WITH, UM, DOES FALL WITHIN THE REALM OF PUBLIC HEALTH.
SO, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT ENDS UP BEING THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE OR AUDIT AND FINANCE, UM, I DO, I LIKE THE APPROACH OF HAVING A COUNCIL COMMITTEE, UH, ARRIVE AT THOSE NOMINATIONS VERSUS JUST, UM, ASSIGNING IT TO ONE, ONE MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL.
I WOULD ALSO BE SUPPORTIVE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMITTEE WOULD ALSO STILL LIKE US TO CONSIDER AN ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE COMMITTEE AS WELL.
UM, BUT WE CAN CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION ON THAT.
I KNOW WE JUST GOT A MEMO BACK ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CLIMATE EQUITY PLAN.
UH, ONE THING I DID WANT TO SHARE IS THAT BECAUSE RIGHT NOW, AS IT'S WRITTEN THE MAYOR, OR AS IT'S PROPOSED, THE MAYOR WOULD BE APPOINTING AND WE ALL KNOW HOW LONG IT COULD TAKE TO APPOINT FIVE ADDITIONAL NEW MEMBERS UNDERSTANDING THE URGENCY OF THIS TOPIC AND OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS THAT WE'RE IN.
UH, I AM SUPPORTIVE OF WHAT THE JOINT SEASONABILITY COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATIONS ARE TO HAVE, UM, THAT NUMBER AS, UH, AS, AS A NECESSARY NUMBER FOR QUORUM AND FOR AFFIRMATIVE VOTE.
SO I JUST WANTED TO SHARE MY SUPPORT FOR THE JOINT SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEES, RECOMMENDATIONS, COUNCIL NUMBER KELLY.
I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I, TO ECHO WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, I THINK THAT'S A REALLY GREAT WAY TO GO ABOUT DOING THIS.
IT IS TOUGH TO GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE RIGHT PLACES, BUT I THINK THAT IT SHOULD BE PART OF THE COMMITTEE HERE THAT TAKES CARE OF THAT.
SO, WHAT I WOULD SUGGEST IS THAT PERHAPS WE DON'T TAKE ACTION TODAY, UM, IN TERMS OF OUR COMMITTEE, WE FIGURE OUT WE NEED TO WORK ON MAYBE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AS VICE-CHAIR, YOU CAN WORK WITH THE CLERK, UM, TO PROVIDE US A COUPLE OF OPTIONS FOR THE VOTING PIECE THAT YOU CAN CIRCULATE WITH US BEFORE OUR NEXT MEETING.
IN THE MEANTIME, SINCE WE HAVE THE CHAIR OF PUBLIC HEALTH, UM, PERHAPS THEY CAN BEGIN A PROCESS.
I DON'T THINK THERE'S A QUESTION ABOUT APPOINTING THESE PEOPLE.
SO WE COULD BEGIN THE PROCESS OF, UM, SEEKING FOLKS WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN SOME WAY, IF THAT WOULD FEEL COMFORTABLE TO COUNCIL MEMBER TOVO, UM, WITH AN EYE OF BEING CLOSER TO THE POINT OF BEING ABLE TO DO BOTH THINGS AT ONCE, PERHAPS, UM, IN APRIL OR MAY, WE ALSO COULD PASS IT, WE COULD ALSO PASS IT AND THE MEETING AFTER OUR MARCH, UM, MEETING AND HAVE IT NOT GO INTO EFFECT, UM, DEPENDING ON WHAT'S DECIDED ON THE VOTE PIECE, UM, FOR ANOTHER MONTH TO GIVE US THE TIME, UM, FOR THOSE STEPS TO BE TAKEN CHAIR, I DO JUST HAVE ONE MORE THING TO ADD IF THAT'S OKAY.
I DID OCCUR TO ME THAT THE BOARDS THAT ARE A BIT LARGER, THERE IS A SECTION CITY CODE 2, 1, 4 THAT DOES DIRECT THE MAYOR TO APPOINT ANY ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIPS.
SO I THINK THAT IS ALSO PROBABLY WHY THIS WAS PUT IN THERE.
AND IT WAS PROBABLY RECOMMENDED TO THEM THAT THEY PUT THAT IN THERE.
JUST SOMETHING TO BE AWARE OF, THAT THERE IS THAT REFERENCE IN CITY CODE THAT MAYOR APPOINTS ANY ADDITIONAL MEMBERSHIPS.
OH, AND CAROLINE MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO TAG ONTO THAT.
UM, THE ONLY THING I'M JUST GONNA POINT OUT, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A POINT AND NOMINATE.
UM, THE BYLAWS HAVE USED THE WORD NOMINATE AND CITY CODE ALSO USES THE WORD NOMINATE.
AND AS STEPHANIE JUST MENTIONED IN 2, 1, 4, IT SAYS THAT THE MAYOR, UH, WHEN THERE'S A BOARD OF MORE THAN 11 MEMBERS, THAT THE TWO, ONE BOARD THAT'S COVERED BY CHAPTER TWO, ONE, BUT THE MAYOR, UH, NOMINATES THE ADDITIONAL MEMBERS, BUT THE MEMBERSHIP IS APPROVED BY
[01:25:01]
THE ENTIRE COUNCIL.UH, NOW I WILL MENTION THERE'S NOTHING IN THERE THAT LIMITS HOW THE MAYOR GETS THOSE NOMINEES.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S NOTHING THAT SAYS HE CAN'T RECEIVE SOME ADVICE OR INPUT FROM ANOTHER ENTITY.
SO JUST TO POINT THAT OUT, KEVIN MARPOL, LET ME, DO YOU NEED TO, IT'S GOING TO WRAP THIS UP BY SAYING I'LL WORK ON IT AND STEPHANIE, YOU AND I AM I, MY TEAM WILL.
AND, UH, KEB, I'D APPRECIATE YOUR INPUT AS WELL, AND WE'LL GET THIS, UH, ROUNDED OUT AND, AND FIGURED OUT, UM, QUICKLY.
THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US, MS. WHITE, IS THERE SOMEBODY BEFORE WE DO THE TOURISM COMMISSION, IS THERE SOMEBODY STILL ON THE LINE FOR PUBLIC COMMUNICATION THAT WE DIDN'T GET BEFORE MR. TIM GREEN? YEAH.
THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN FOR HEARING ME TODAY, FOX SCIENTIFIC IS A CONTRACTOR FOR THE CITY OF AUSTIN, AND, UM, I HOPE I'M IN THE RIGHT PLACE TO, UH, TH THE KIND OF VOICE, MY CONCERN, UH, WHERE THE CONTRACTOR ON GA TWO ONE, UH, IT HAS SIX ZEROS IN A THREE CONTRACT, UM, IT'S FOR LABORATORY SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT, AND SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, I THINK THE, UH, FORENSICS DEPARTMENT.
SO ANYWAYS, THERE WERE 96, UH, PART NUMBERS ON, ON THIS CONTRACT, AND THERE'S AN ESTIMATED, UH, ESTIMATED, UH, ALLOCATION ON THIS $76,000.
I'M JUST WONDERING IF THE INDIVIDUAL WHO'S HERE TO SPEAK MIGHT, MIGHT ACTUALLY BE IN THE WRONG MEETING AND THE, YEAH, I'M WONDERING IF IT IS POTENTIALLY AN ITEM COMING UP ON OUR 3, 3 22 AGENDA.
AND SIR, I WOULDN'T ORDINARILY INTERRUPT YOU, BUT I JUST WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE DON'T, WE DON'T INADVERTENTLY, UM, VIOLATE THE NO SOLICITATION ORDINANCE.
UH, DON'T BELIEVE THIS SOLICITATION.
IT SAYS THAT THIS IS THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO RAISE AN ISSUE ABOUT AN EXISTING CONTRACT AND HOW IT WAS BEING IMPLEMENTED.
AS OPPOSED TO SOMETHING ON THE OTHER AGENDA.
THIS THING HAS A, UH, ESTIMATED ALLOCATION OF $476,000 TO DATE.
THERE'S ONLY BEEN 11,000 USED WITH US.
WE HAVE A FOYER REQUEST IT'S ONLY PARTIALLY RESPONSIVE, UH, AND IT STILL BEGS TO ANSWER.
WHAT'S BEEN SPENT ON THE REST OF THIS ALLOCATION ON THIS CONTRACT WHERE THE CONTRACTOR, AND IT WAS GROSSLY OVERSTATED IN THE FORMAL BID PROCESS.
AND I'M NOT REALLY SURE WHO TO TALK TO, TO GET SOME ANSWERS ON THIS, BUT THIS IS NOT REALLY FAIR TO THE CITY.
AND IT'S NOT REALLY FAIR TO THE CONTRACTORS, UH, THAT HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS.
SO I WANT TO MAKE, UH, UH, THE COUNCIL AWARE THAT THIS IS, THIS IS ODD AND IT MAY BE WORTH, UH, WORTH LOOKING INTO, BUT THERE'S A MASSIVE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE ACTUAL SPEND AND THE ALLOCATION ON THIS PARTICULAR CONTRACT.
AND WHERE DID THE ORIGINAL SUPPLY LIST COME FROM ON THIS CONTRACT? SO THERE'S SEVERAL THINGS THAT ARE REALLY, REALLY SUSPICIOUS THAT PROMPTED ME TO BRING THIS UP TO THIS LEVEL.
AND I KNOW I WOULD LEAVE IT IN YOUR HANDS WITH, YOU KNOW, A FINAL QUESTION AND, YOU KNOW, SHOULD THE UNUSED ALLOCATION OF THIS CONTRACT GO TO, IS IT GOING TO SOMETHING ELSE, OR CAN YOU GUYS RECOUP THAT MONEY AND REFOCUS ON SOMETHING THAT'S PRODUCTIVE FOR THE CITY? I REALLY DON'T HAVE A HUGE COMPLAINT, BUT IT'S JUST EXTREMELY ODD TO HAVE THIS BIG OF A DISPARITY ON THE CONTRACT WHERE WARREN AND $76,000 IS ALLOCATED.
AND WE'RE REALLY NOT USING THAT.
OR AT LEAST WE'RE NOT GETTING ANSWERS ON WHERE THAT'S GETTING USED.
SO THAT THAT'S REALLY ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
IF ANYBODY HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL ANSWER IT.
IF NOT, I'LL DROP OFF THE PHONE, PLEASE STAY ON FOR A SECOND.
I JUST WANT HIM TO APOLOGIZE FOR INTERRUPTING YOU.
I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU WERE NOT, UM, AGAIN, GOING TO STAND IN, IN POTENTIAL VIOLATION OF A NO SOLICITATION CONTRACT FOR A CONTRACT THAT'S FORTHCOMING.
I KNOW, UM, BASED ON YOUR CONVERSATION HERE TODAY, I'M REMEMBERING THAT YOU SENT, I THINK YOU SENT ALL OF US ON EMAIL MAYBE LAST WEEK ABOUT THIS ISSUE.
AND I DON'T KNOW THAT WE HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, BUT I WOULD ASK, UM, IF WE DO, I WOULD ASK THE CITY MANAGER JUST TO SEND OUT A RESPONSE THAT ADDRESSES THE, PROVIDE SOME ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT, THAT YOU RAISED IN YOUR EMAIL LAST WEEK AND HERE TODAY, AGAIN, ABOUT WHY THE DISPARITY BETWEEN THE CONTRACT, THE APPROVED CONTRACT AMOUNT AND THE ALLOCATION, UH, AND WHAT WAS ACTUALLY SPENT.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT, UM, NEXT STEP.
UM, THANK YOU, MR. GREEN FOR JOINING US.
AND AGAIN, I APOLOGIZE FOR HAVING MADE YOU WAIT SO LONG WAS NOT AWARE YOU WERE STILL ON THE LINE.
THANK YOU, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HAVE A GOOD DAY.
[5. The status of the Tourism Commission due to the failure of the Tourism Commission to convene for a period of over six months.]
WE'RE GOING TO TAKE UP REALLY QUICKLY IS THE TOURISM COMMISSION.[01:30:06]
HI, STEPHANIE HALL WITH THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE.AGAIN, THIS ONE IS A FIRST FOR ME, BUT WE ARE HERE TO DISCUSS A TOURISM COMMISSION AND THEIR FAILURE TO CONVENE FOR A PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS.
THIS IS A REQUIREMENT THAT IS IN CITY CODE 2, 1 45.
I COULD READ THAT IF YOU WANT, OR I'LL JUST SKIP IT.
BUT AT THE TIME WE SENT THE NOTICE TO THE COMMITTEE ON JANUARY 11TH, THE TOURISM COMMISSION HAD NOT MET SINCE MAY 10TH, 2021.
IT'S MY UNDERSTANDING THAT THEY DID ACTUALLY MEET LAST WEEK.
I APOLOGIZE, BUT UNFORTUNATELY DO NOT HAVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING OF WHY THE COMMISSION FAILED TO MEET.
SO I WOULD HAVE TO DEFER TO STAFF DEPARTMENT ON THAT, BUT TH THERE LIAISE ON MY BEYOND THE LINE AND PERHAPS THE CHAIR, BUT WE WILL CERTAINLY WORK WITH STAFF TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN.
AND I'M HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS.
YEAH, I, I WOULD JUST POINT OUT WE'VE BEEN WRESTLING WITH THE PANDEMIC.
PEOPLE HAVE DIFFICULTY IN COMING TO MEETINGS, UM, EVEN WHEN THEY ARE, UH, ONLINE, UM, I'M GRATEFUL TO KNOW THAT ATTEMPTS TO HAVE THE MEETINGS HAVE FINALLY BEEN SUCCESSFUL.
I DO KNOW THAT THERE WERE ATTEMPTS TO HAVE MEETINGS LAST YEAR.
AND SO I WOULD SAY THAT WE DO NOT CURRENTLY HAVE AN ISSUE IN FRONT OF US ANYMORE.
I AM GRATEFUL TO THE, THE, UM, CITY CLERK'S OFFICE ALERTED US TO WHAT WAS HAPPENING, UM, AND THAT THE TOURISM COMMISSION MEMBERS WERE ABLE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACHIEVE THE QUORUM AND GET BACK ON TRACK TO HAVING THEIR MEETINGS BECAUSE IT'S AN IMPORTANT WORK IT'S IMPORTANT WORK THAT THEY DO.
SO I WOULD, UM, JUST, UH, CLOSE BY SAYING THAT, THAT THANKS FOR THE ALERTS.
AND I THINK EVERYBODY IS, IS WELL AWARE OF WHAT WAS GOING ON AND WHAT THEY NEEDED TO DO, AND THEY'RE BACK ON TRACK.
AND I HOPE THAT THAT CONTINUES AND WE'LL BE KEEPING A CLOSE EYE OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THAT DOES.
SO MS. WEBSTER, NOW THAT THEY'RE MEETING, DO WE NEED TO TAKE ACTION TODAY BY THE CODE? BECAUSE THE CODE DOES REQUIRE A CERTAIN ACTION OF NOTIFICATION, WHICH IS WHY WE WERE NOTIFIED, ET CETERA.
I MEAN, SO THE, THE CODE, UNFORTUNATELY, DOESN'T GO INTO A LOT OF DETAIL.
IT, IT TRIGGERS THE NOTICE FROM THE CLERK'S OFFICE.
ONCE THAT THRESHOLD HAS BEEN MET, WHERE THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO MEET HER, HAVEN'T CONVENED A MEETING FOR THAT SIX MONTH TIME PERIOD.
AND IT REALLY DOESN'T KIND OF GO INTO WHAT HAPPENS IF, WHAT IF THEY START TO MEET AGAIN.
UM, AS FAR AS, AS FAR AS WE'RE CONCERNED, YOU ALL REALLY CAN MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATION YOU WANT.
MAKE THEM RE I WOULD, I WOULD SUGGEST THAT YOU STILL MAKE A RECOMMENDATION BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE CODE REQUIRES.
UH, BUT YOUR RECOMMENDATION CERTAINLY COULD BE FOR EXAMPLE, UM, RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL THAT SAYS THAT THEY CONTINUE ON A TRIAL BASIS FOR THE NEXT SIX MONTHS OR THAT YOUR RECOMMENDATION JUST BE THAT THEY CONTINUE.
AND YOU KNOW, THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO ADD ANY, UH, CONDITIONS TO THAT.
I MEAN, ANY RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU WANT TO MAKE, UM, YOU CAN MAKE ESSENTIALLY, I WOULD RECOMMEND THAT YOU MOVE FORWARD AND DO MAKE A RECOMMENDATION JUST BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE CODE SAYS IS REQUIRED.
UM, MS. MCGEE IS THE CHAIRS OR ANYTHING YOU WANTED US, I'M ASSUMING THAT WE'RE GOING TO MAKE SOME KIND OF MOTION TO CONTINUE, BUT IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT TO ADD AT THIS POINT SINCE YOU SPENT THE TIME TO JOIN US THIS MORNING? YES.
UM, IT HAS BEEN AN EXTREMELY DIFFICULT YEAR FOR MANY OF THE COMMISSIONERS.
MANY OF US ARE VERY CLOSE TO, UM, THE INDUSTRIES THAT MAKE UP THE TOURISM INDUSTRY, WHICH HAS TAKEN A REALLY HARD HIT DURING THIS PANDEMIC.
UM, I THINK MANY OF US HAVE BEEN DEALING WITH, UM, SHIFTING SANDS, YOU KNOW, FEELING INSTABILITY AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE WOULD THINK WE WERE IN ONE SPOT AND THEN A NEW WAVE WOULD COME OF INFECTIONS AND THAT WOULD CHANGE THINGS AGAIN AND SO ON AND SO FORTH.
LOOKING BACK AT OUR RECORDS, WE ALSO HAD A LOT OF INSTANCES WHERE OUR PREVIOUS CHAIR CANCELED MEETINGS FOR, EXCUSE ME, A LACK OF AGENDA.
THERE WAS A LOT OF, UM, CHANGING BACK AND FORTH ABOUT HOW WE WERE TO HAVE MEETINGS.
WE KIND OF WENT FROM A VERY STABLE, REGULAR MEETING TIME TO, ARE WE HAVING VIRTUAL? ARE WE HAVING HYBRID? WHAT ARE THE RULES? UM, WHAT IS THE NEW TIME JUST TRYING TO SET NEW MEETING TIMES AND THOSE TIMES SHIFTING, UM, THAT WAS JUST HAS BEEN VERY PROBLEMATIC FOR US.
UM, AND WE ACTUALLY DID TRY TO MEET IN JANUARY FOR EXAMPLE.
UM, AND, UH, AND THEN WHEN WE ARRIVED, YOU KNOW, UNDER ONE SET OF RULES, IT WAS COMMUNICATED WHEN WE ARRIVED THAT WE HADN'T MET THE, THE RULES CORRECTLY.
SO THERE HAS BEEN ATTEMPTS TO MEET, BUT
[01:35:01]
WE SEEM TO HAVE FALLEN FOUL OF, UM, CHANGES IN RULES.UM, SO I THINK THERE'S BEEN A LITTLE MISCOMMUNICATION HERE AND THERE.
UM, BUT IN OUR MEETING THAT WE HAD THAT WE SUCCESSFULLY HAD THIS MONTH, UM, THERE DEFINITELY SEEMS TO BE RENEWED VIGOR, UM, ON THE COMMISSION, WE'VE GOT A COUPLE OF VACANCIES THAT NEED TO BE FILLED.
UM, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, THAT'S SORT OF INDICATIVE OF EVERYBODY FINDING WAYS TO NOW ADJUST.
UM, I THINK IF WE CAN STICK SIDE TO STICK WITH A REGULAR MEETING TIME, IT WILL HELP.
UM, CAUSE PEOPLE COULDN'T PUT THAT IN ADVANCE WITH THEIR CALENDARS.
WE DID DIFF POSTPONE SETTING, UM, AGENDA, UM, SORRY.
WE DID POSTPONE MEETINGS, SETTING, MEETING DATES FOR THE REST OF THIS YEAR.
CAUSE WE WANTED TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED, UM, WHAT YOUR RECOMMENDATIONS WERE OR WHAT THE RESULT OF THIS MEETING, THIS MEETING WOULD BE, UM, SORT OF ON THE FATE OF THE COMMISSION.
BUT I THINK THERE IS INTEREST AND WE FEEL THERE ARE THINGS TO BE, TO BE DONE.
AND IN TERMS OF FAILING TO MEET, UM, FOR A QUORUM, I THINK IF WE CAN GO AHEAD AND SET OUR MEETING DATES FOR US A YEAR, THAT SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THAT PROBLEM.
AND, UH, IN FAR AS FAR AS CANCELING MEETINGS, FOR LACK OF AN AGENDA, WE CAME UP WITH SOME AGENDA ITEMS, INCLUDING THE STANDING AGENDA ITEMS. ONE OF THOSE BEING THAT EACH MEETING, WE, UM, MAKE SURE THAT WE'VE LOOKED AT ESTABLISHED WHERE OUR AGENDA ITEMS ARE MOVING FORWARD SO THAT THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM.
SO I'M HOPING THAT, UM, THINGS WILL IMPROVE IF WE'RE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, UM, TO CONTINUE AS A COMMISSION.
THANK YOU, MS. MCGEE, UH, COUNCIL MEMBER KELLY.
UH, THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THAT REPORT, MS. MCGEE.
UM, I JUST WANT TO REITERATE HAVING SERVED ON A COMMISSION BEFORE OR A COMMITTEE, A COMMISSION, EXCUSE ME, BEFORE I WAS ELECTED SEVERAL YEARS AGO.
UM, IT DOES TAKE A LOT OF COMMITMENT AND I AM VERY THANKFUL FOR THE VOLUNTEERS WHO DO THAT IN THE CITY ON BEHALF OF US AS COUNCIL MEMBERS.
I THINK IT'S SUPER IMPORTANT THAT WE CONTINUE THESE COMMITTEES SO THAT THE WORK CAN BE DONE AND UNDERSTANDING THAT YOU HAVE A PLAN TO MOVE FORWARD, POSITIVELY TO MAINTAIN.
AND I AGREE WITH COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, WE SHOULD KEEP IT GOING.
UM, SO I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO CONTINUE AND I WOULD, UM, ALSO LIKE TO ADD THAT I THINK THAT THERE IS A NEED TO IMPROVE THE STAFF SUPPORT TO THIS COMMISSION.
UM, SO IF, UM, I THINK THERE'S A NEED FOR THE STAFF LIAISON TO BE WORKING CLOSELY AND TO BE, UM, WORKING WITH THE CHAIR, UM, TO PREVENT AGENDA PROBLEMS AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS COMMISSION IS COVERING GROUND, UM, THAT WILL BE USEFUL TO COUNCIL AS WE ADDRESS TOURISM ISSUES, COUNCIL MEMBER POOL.
I'D MAKE, UH, THE RECOMMENDATION ALONG THE LINES OF HOW YOU JUST STATED THAT, UM, CHAIR ALTER AND, UH, TO CONTINUE THE COMMISSION.
I AM HAPPY TO KNOW THAT THEY'RE WORKING OUT OF A SCHEDULE FOR THE ONGOING YEAR.
AND SO, UM, WE, THIS IS A VOTE OF SUPPORT FOR Y'ALL BECAUSE WE DO APPRECIATE THE WORK YOU'RE DOING.
IT IS REALLY IMPORTANT WORK, ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW.
I MEAN, IT'S ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT, BUT I THINK THE PANDEMIC HAS REALLY POINTED UP THE NECESSITY FOR US TO KIND OF MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN KEEP ALL OF THE GEARS TURNING.
AND THAT INCLUDES IN OUR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AREAS AND OUR MUSIC VENUES AND OUR TOURISTS THAT ARE COMING TO TOWN.
UM, MS. MCGEE FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP ON THE TOURISM COMMISSION AND, UM, UH, AND WE HOPE YOU WILL CONTINUE THE WORK THAT YOU DO.
SO WE HAVE A MOTION ON THE FLOOR, UM, TO CONTINUE THE WORK OF THE COMMISSION AND PROVIDE STAFF SUPPORT, UM, MADE BY COUNCIL MEMBER POOL, SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER, KELLY, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, UNANIMOUS ON THE DIAS.
I THINK WE STILL HAVE TIME TO DO THE CIP BRIEFING.
WE MAY GO OVER JUST A TAD AND WE MAY NEED TO CONTINUE THAT CONVERSATION, BUT I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO MOVE FORWARD ON THAT.
[7. Briefing on Public Improvement Bonds for the Capital Improvement Program.]
UP ITEMS SEVEN, THE BRIEFING ON PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT, BONDS FOR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT.THANK YOU, MR. MCGEE, AND THANK YOU, MS. WEBSTER ON THAT AND MS. HALL SO THE NEXT ITEM IS A BRIEFING ON THE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS FOR THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
[01:40:01]
JOINED BY OUR, UM, BUDGET OFFICER MS. CARRIE LANG, WHO IS NOW OUR PERMANENT BUDGET OFFICER.SHE WAS PREVIOUSLY INTERIM CONGRATULATIONS.
UM, MS. LANG, UM, WE ARE GOING WE'RE, WE'RE BRINGING THIS UP AT MY REQUEST.
I THINK WE, WE NEED TO PAY MORE INTENTION IN THIS COMMITTEE TO THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM.
AND THIS IS KIND OF AN INITIAL INTRODUCTION, UM, TO THAT PROCESS.
UM, WE'VE ALSO HAD FLOATED THE IDEA OF A BOND, UM, AND I THINK WE NEED TO GET, UM, GROUNDED IN, IN OUR BONDING PROCESS AND THE FACTORS THAT GO INTO MAKING CERTAIN CHOICES.
UM, MS. LANG, ARE YOU THERE? YES.
UH, COMMITTEE IS, I AM CARRIE LANG THE BUDGET OFFICER FOR THE FINANCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT.
AND THANK YOU, MAYOR PRO TEM ALTAR.
I AM HAPPY TO BE IN THIS POSITION NOW PERMANENTLY.
UM, AND AS HE SAID, WE WILL BE TALKING ABOUT OUR PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS, OUR CIP PROGRAM.
SO WE WANT TO START OUT WITH LOOKING AT WHAT THE COMMUNITY HAS BEEN PRESENTED WITH OVER, UM, THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS AND THE HISTORY OF OUR BOND PACK IS FOR ELECTION YEAR BY YEAR AND THE SIZE OF THOSE PACKAGES, AS YOU WILL SEE, SINCE 1998, THERE HAVE BEEN 10 ELECTIONS FOR BONDS, SIX OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IN THE PAST 10 YEARS, THE GREEN BARS ON THE SLIDE REPRESENT COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGES WITH MULTIPLE PROPOSITIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE INFRASTRUCTURE TYPES.
THE BLUE BARS REPRESENT SINGLE INFRASTRUCTURES EXCEPT FOR THE 2000, UH, GONE PRO PACKAGE.
THAT INCLUDES BOTH TRANSPORTATION AND OPEN SPACE.
AND THEN THE HASH BARS ON THIS SLIDE AND INDICATE THOSE, UM, FAILED PROPOSITIONS THAT THE VOTERS DID NOT APPROVE.
THESE ELECTIONS HAVE LARGE LEASES HAVE BEEN LARGELY SUCCESSFUL WITH ONLY TWO PROPOSITIONS FAILING DURING THIS TIME, WHICH INCLUDED THE 2012 BOND PROPOSITION FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND THE 2014 ELECTION FOR URBAN RAIL, THE 2013 BOND WASN'T AFFORDABLE HOUSING BOND.
THIS GRAPH ALSO SHOWS HOW OVER TIME THE CITY HAS SPACED OUT OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLANS OVER ABOUT A SIX YEAR PERIOD IN 1998, THE IMPLEMENTATION HAD WAS DELAYED BECAUSE OF THE.COM BUST AND ECONOMIC DOWNTURN.
UM, WE HAD QUITE A FEW PROJECTS WITH SIGNIFICANT ON YUM IMPACT.
SO WE HAD TO WAIT UNTIL THOSE, THOSE PACKAGES COULD BE AFFORDABLE.
AND THAT'S WHY YOU SEE THAT LARGE GAP BETWEEN THE 1998 PACKAGE AND THE 2006 PACKAGE.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE VOTING HISTORY ON THESE PUBLIC INFORMA BOTHER, TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THEIR APPROVAL RATING FOR EACH PROPOSITION.
UM, THIS SHOWS WHAT PROPOSITIONS WERE REPRESENTED IN 2006, THE TOTAL PACKAGE WAS $567.4 MILLION.
SIX CATEGORIES WERE REPRESENTED TRANSPORTATION DRAINAGE AND OPEN SPACE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING PARKS, LIBRARIES, MUSEUMS, AND CULTURAL FACILITIES AND PUBLIC SAFETY.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THIS PACKAGE CHARACTERIZE THE ANIMAL SHELTER AS A PART OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY PROPOSITION.
UM, INSTEAD OF THE HEALTHY HUMAN SERVICES ARENA.
THIS IS ALSO THE BOND PROGRAM THAT, UH, PROVIDED US THE NEW CENTRAL LIBRARY, THE ZACHARY SCOTT THEATER, UM, THE MAC AND THE AARC TO NAME A FEW OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THAT PROPOSITION.
THE 2010, UM, WAS A $90 MILLION PACKAGE FOR TRANSPORTATION.
AND, UM, THE PORTION OF THIS FUNDED, THE BOARDWALK TRAIL FOR LADY BIRD LAKE CORNELL TOWN LAKE IN TWENTY TWELVE, EIGHTY THREE HUNDRED AND SIX $0.6 MILLION COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE, INCLUDING ALL THE CATEGORIES, UM, WAS PRESENTED TO THE VOTERS AND THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING, UM, PROPOSITION DIDN'T FAIL DURING THAT TIME.
BUT IT WAS OFFERED AGAIN IN 2013 AND PASSED WITH $65 MILLION AS NOTED THE 2014 URBAN RAIL, UM, PACKAGE FAILED AS NOTED IN THE EARLIER SLIDE.
UM, AND THEN THE, UM, 2 20 16, $720 MILLION MOBILITY PROJECT INCLUDED REGIONAL MOBILITY PROJECTS, CORRIDORS AND LOCAL MOBILITY PROJECTS.
2018 WAS A COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE.
AS YOU CAN SEE ALL OF THOSE, UM, PACKAGES AND PROPOSITIONS PASSED.
AND THEN IN 2020 BE INCLUDED THE $460 MILLION FOR TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO AS WE LOOK AT THE, UH, AGGREGATE AUTHORIZATION BY CATEGORY, THIS IS JUST A LOOK
[01:45:01]
AT HOW THE COMMUNITY HAS VOTED TO INVEST IN THE CITY'S INFRASTRUCTURE.WE HAVE INCLUDED THE HISTORY BACK TO 2006 BECAUSE WE ARE MAKING INVESTMENTS WITH AT LEAST 20 YEAR LIFESPANS WITH THESE DOLLARS.
SO THE PROJECTS ARE STILL RELEVANT TODAY.
HERE, WE HAVE GROUPED THAT APPROVED PROPOSITIONS INTO SEVEN CATEGORIES, WHICH ARE IN ALIGNMENT WITH HOW IT POSITION PROPOSITIONS WERE APPROVED.
TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY CONTINUES TO BE THE LARGEST PORTION OF OUR INVESTMENTS AT 54% FALL ABOUT A, FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING AT 12%.
AND THEN AS YOU CAN SEE ON THE SLIDE, YOU KNOW, HEALTH AND, AND, UH, LIBRARIES AND PARKS MAKE UP THE, THE REMAINDER OF THIS, UM, THE, THESE INVESTMENTS WE CAN SEE HERE THAT THE INCLUSION OF TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PACKAGE COMBINED WITH THREE STANDALONE HEALTH HEAVILY WEIGHTED ON THAT INVESTMENT FOR TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY.
THIS IS JUST A DEEPER DIVE IN THE FINANCIAL STATUS OF THESE PROGRAMS BY CATEGORY.
AGAIN, UM, WE SEE THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS MOVING ALONG WITH SPENDING AND HAS THE SMALLEST PERCENTAGE OF FUNDS IN THE BALANCES, HEALTH, AND HEALTH, PUBLIC SAFETY AND LIBRARY.
UM, MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL ARTS ARE PRIMARILY ASSOCIATED WITH THE 2018 COMPREHENSIVE BOND HEALTH REMAINING HEALTH REMAINING BALANCE IS, UM, IS FOR, IS DEDICATED FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD HEALTH SERVICES CENTER IN DOVE SPRINGS.
AND THAT PROJECT IS PROGRESSING.
PUBLIC SAFETY IS UNDER, UM, FOR THE 2018 BONDS WAS PRIMARILY FOR AMD AND EMS, AND IT IS FOR RENOVATIONS OF A VARIETY OF EXISTENCE STATIONS.
THE LIBRARY, MUSEUMS AND CULTURAL FACILITIES INCLUDE THE DIRTY ART CENTER, THE MAC ASIAN-AMERICAN RESOURCE CARVING MUSEUM AND FAULK, AND ALL OF THOSE PROJECTS ARE PROGRESSING DRAINAGE AND PARKS CONTINUE TO HAVE ABOUT A MILLION DOLLAR BALANCES.
UM, THE DRAINAGE, THE DRAINAGE, UH, INVESTMENTS ARE MORE LONGER-TERM PROJECTS, BUT THOSE ARE PROGRESSING AS WELL.
AND THEN MOBILITY AND TRANSPORTATION, AS YOU CAN SEE, THEY HAVE THE LARGEST BALANCE, BUT THEY HAVE HAD THE LARGEST INVESTMENTS OVER TIME.
AND SO IT'S JUST A MATTER OF GETTING THOSE, UM, THOSE INVESTMENTS MOVE FORWARD, ESPECIALLY WITH THE MOST RECENT INVESTMENT IN 2020 OR $460 MILLION.
SO THIS SLIDE REALLY FOCUSES ON THE BALANCE BASED ON THE ELECTION YEAR.
UM, WHEN YOU LOOK AT OUR 2010 AND 2013, UM, BOND PACKAGES, THOSE ARE COMPLETED, THOSE ARE ALL CONSIDERED COMPLETED.
UM, WE CONSIDERED THE 2006 COMPLETED.
HOWEVER, THERE IS A REMAINING BALANCE OF A MAGNITUDE OF THOSE DOLLARS HAVE BEEN SPENT, BUT THE REMAINING BALANCE IS PRIMARILY FOR THE MEXICO TAPE PROJECT.
AND THAT PROJECT FROM THE TWO, 2006 PACKAGE IS BEING PARTNERED WITH THE 2018 FUNDS TO, UM, CONTINUE THE INVESTMENT IN MEXICO PARTE IN 2012, UM, THAT HAS REMAINED IN SPENDING BECAUSE OF THE COMPLEXITY THAT WE'RE SEEING WITH SOME OF THE TRANSPORTATION AND PARKS PROJECTS.
UM, THE 2012 BOND INCLUDES QUARTER PROGRAM.
AND THAT QUARTER PROGRAM FOR 2012 IS ALSO BEING PARTNERED WITH A 2 20 16 MOBILITY BOND.
THE 2012 FOX PROJECTS ARE ACTIVELY SPENDING AND UNDER CONSTRUCTION, THEY DO INCLUDE THINGS LIKE ZILKER MAINTENANCE BARN, BARTON SPRINGS, BATH HOUSE.
THERE ARE SOME COMPLEX, UM, SOME COMPLEX PARTNERING WITH THE DARI ART CENTER, AND THEN SOME OF THE OTHER REMAINING FUNDS ARE RELATED TO PALM PARK.
SO THE FOCUS ON MOST OF OUR SPENDING NOW OF COURSE, WILL BE ON THE ACADEMIC CURRENT BOND PROJECTS, WHICH IS 2016 THROUGH 2020.
AND WE ARE SEEING THAT A LOT OF SPENDING IS YET TO OCCUR.
THERE ARE, THERE ARE SOME KEY PROJECTS THAT ARE MAKING GOOD PROGRESS, INCLUDING THE NORTH MEMORIAL BURNET, UM, AND THE EAST 51ST STREET IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THIS IS JUST A DIFFERENT LOOK AT THE SAME DATA FROM THE PREVIOUS SLIDE, AND IT PROVIDES MORE INFORMATION ON, UM, WHEN WE STARTED THE CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, UM, AS THE STATE LAW WAS AMENDED TO PREVENT GOVERNMENT ENTITIES FROM ISSUING NON-VOTER APPROVED DEBT FOR ITEMS THAT WERE REJECTED BY THE VOTERS.
WE STARTED DOING A CONTRACT WITH THE VOTERS, UM, TO SPEND SPECIFY WHAT ITEMS WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THESE PACKAGES AND, UM, TO GIVE A TIMEFRAME FOR WHEN WE ANTICIPATE THESE PROJECTS TO BE COMPLETE.
NEXT TIME, PLEASE, THIS SLIDE REALLY TALKS ABOUT THE PROPERTY TAX RATE AND HOW THE DEBT SERVICE IMPACTS THE
[01:50:01]
PROPERTY TAX RATE.UM, THAT SERVICE TAX RATE IS SET ANNUALLY AT, AT THE LEVEL OF NECESSARY, NECESSARY TO FUND PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST PAYMENTS ON DEBT.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, HB 1869, UM, THAT PASSED LAST YEAR REALLY MADE SOME AMENDMENTS TO HOW WE CAN, UM, LOOK AT NON-VOTER APPROVED DEBT.
AND SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR DEBT SERVICE, SOME OF THEM SOME ARE WHEN WE LOOK AT DEBT, WE LOOK AT HOW, UM, THAT COULD IMPACT WHETHER IT IS ON THE DEBT SERVICE SIDE OR THE ONM SIDE.
BUT WE LOOKED AT OUR TOTAL GENERAL OBLIGATION DEBT THAT DOES INCLUDE BOTH VOTER APPROVED AND NON-VOTER APPROVED.
SO THIS IS JUST GIVING YOU AN OPPOSITE OF WHERE WE ARE IN FISCAL YEAR 22 WITH OUR GUEST SERVICE COMPARE FOR OUR FULL TAX RATE.
AND THEN THIS IS LOOKING AT THE HISTORY OF OUR DEBT SERVICE RATE.
AS YOU CAN SEE, THE DEBT SERVICE RATE IN 2012 WAS, UM, IS LISTED HERE AND IT JUST SHOWS HOW THE DEBT SERVICE RATE FLUCTUATES BASED ON THE ISSUANCE OF THE DEBT THAT IS, UM, THAT THAT HAS BEEN AUTHORIZED AND OBLIGATED.
WE LOOK FORWARD WHEN WE LOOK AT FISCAL YEAR 22, YOU DO SEE THE 0.1, 1 3 0, AND THEN THE ANTICIPATED INCREASE INTO OUR PROJECTED FISCAL YEAR 25.
THAT'S BASED ON THE PROJECTIONS OF THE ISSUANCE OF DEBT FOR THE ACTIVE, UM, BONDS THAT ARE IN PLACE FROM 20 16, 20 18 AND 2020, AS WE LOOK AT HOW THOSE ON PHONES AND THE SPENDING ON BOTH IN THE FEW, FEW YEARS.
SO I WANTED TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT OUR COMPREHENSIVE BOND PROCESS SO THAT YOU ALL CAN HAVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF OUR CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT WE'VE DONE IN THE PAST, WITHOUT BOND PROCESS.
UM, THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WE LOOK AT TO IDENTIFY A PRIORITIZE PROJECTS, AND IT'S TYPICALLY STARTED WITH, UM, AN ACTION FROM, FROM COUNCIL.
UM, WE HAVE GONE, YOU KNOW, A YEAR LONG PROCESS TO MAKE SURE THAT, UH, WE GO THROUGH EACH OF THESE PHASES.
WHEN WE LOOK AT THE INITIATION, IT DOES SHOW THAT WE ARE IDENTIFYING NEEDS.
UM, THE COUNCIL CREATES A COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TASK FORCE AND, AND CREATES THE GOALS FOR THE PROJECT.
AND WE GO THROUGH A, UH, UH, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS WHERE WE CREATE SO THAT WHERE SUBCOMMITTEES ARE CREATED, WE PROVIDE PUBLIC INPUT AND FINAL RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL.
AND THEN THE FINAL ACTION IS THE SETTING OF THE ELECTION THAT COUNCIL DOES WITH A RESOLUTION, UM, AND, AND DIRECTION ON, UM, WHAT THE NEXT STEPS WILL BE AS FAR AS SETTING THE ELECTION DATE AND CONDUCT WITH THE ELECTION, AS WELL AS IDENTIFYING EXACTLY WHAT WOULD BE INCLUDED IN THAT, IN THAT ELECTION.
SO WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR CIP FROM, UH, FINANCIAL POLICIES RELATED TO BONDS, WE ARE, UM, WITHIN OUR, OUR CURRENT FINANCIAL POLICIES AND THE POLICY DOES STATE THAT WE, UM, SHOULD LOOK AT AUTHORIZING OR ISSUING MORE AS WHEN IT'S, WHEN IT'S, UM, THE CURRENT INVENTORY AUTHORIZED OR UNINSURED BONDS BEING REMAINED TO BE SOLD.
AND AN ESTIMATE TWO YEARS OF AUTHORIZED UNISSUED BOSCH REMAIN BEFORE AN ELECTION WILL BE HELD.
THE TOTAL DOLLAR AMOUNT OF VOLUME ELECTION PROPOSITIONS RECOMMENDED TO VOTERS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE CITY'S ESTIMATED ABILITY TO ISSUE SAID BONDS WITHIN A NORMAL SIX YEAR PERIOD.
SO THOSE ARE THE TWO FINANCIAL POLICIES RELATED TO BONDS.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE $1.7 MILLION AND AUTHORIZED, BUT UNISSUED PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT BONDS.
AND THEN THE LAST SLIDE, PLEASE, THIS IS JUST A COUPLE OF RESOURCES THAT, UM, COUNCIL AND THE COMMUNITY, THE COMMUNITY HAS ACCESS TO, TO KIND OF HELP KEEP UP WITH WHERE WE ARE WITH OUR BOND PROJECTS.
THE CAPITAL PROJECT IS FLOOR IS AN INTERACTIVE TOOL THAT GIVES THEM DETAILS ABOUT PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS FUNDED THROUGH THE CITY OF AUSTIN CAPITAL BUDGET AND INCLUDES THE GEOGRAPHY, EXCUSE ME, THE GEOGRAPHICAL VIEW OF, OF CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.
OPEN BUDGET CAPITAL IS AN EXTENSION OF THE OPERATING OPEN BUDGET.
WHEN YOU CAN GET PROJECT LEVEL FINANCIAL INFORMATION ON THE ACTUAL PROJECTS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
AND I'M HAPPY TO HAVE ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS OR CONTINUE THE DISCUSSION.
UM, IF YOU CAN PLEASE CLARIFY, ACCORDING TO OUR POLICY, UM, WHEN YOU WOULD BE RECOMMENDING THAT WE TAKE UP A BOND, A COMPREHENSIVE BOND.
SO, UM, WE, WE START LOOKING AT WHEN, UM, THE NEXT POTENTIAL BOMB
[01:55:01]
WHEN WE HAVE TWO YEARS REMAINING OF, OF AN ISSUE, UH, AN ISSUE DOLLARS, UM, FOR THE BOND PACKAGE AND, UM, BASED ON WHAT WE ANTICIPATE WITH SPENDING, UM, THERE, THERE IS, UM, A SPENDING PLAN THAT PUSHES US OUT THROUGH FISCAL YEAR 26.UM, AND SO WITH, WITH THAT SPENDING PLAN, WE SHOULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR A, UM, NEW BOND PACKAGE IN FISCAL YEAR 24.
OF COURSE, COUNCIL HAS THE AUTHORITY AND, UM, TO, TO INDICATE IF THEY WANT A BOND PACKAGE PRIOR TO THAT TIMEFRAME.
AND, UM, JUST TO, TO CLARIFY FOR FOLKS, UM, WHEN WE DID PROJECT CONNECT, THAT WAS A TAX RATE ELECTION.
SO IT WAS NOT A BONDED, UM, PROGRAM.
SO IT'S NOT APPEARING ON THIS LIST.
ALTHOUGH THERE WAS A VOTER REFERENDUM, IT WAS A TAX RATE ELECTION, AND THAT REPRESENTS A CONSIDERABLE INVESTMENT THAT WE'RE MAKING, UM, INTO, UM, TRANSPORTATION.
WE ALSO HAVE A LOT OF CAPITAL SPENDING THAT COMES FROM, UM, REVENUE, BONDS THAT ARE USED FOR OUR AIRPORT AND FOR WATER AND AUSTIN ENERGY.
UM, SO THERE'S A WHOLE LOT OF OTHER CAPITAL SPENDING, AND I THINK WATERSHED AND PUBLIC WORKS HAVE OTHER SOURCES AS WELL, WHERE, WHERE THERE'S CAPITAL SPENDING HAPPENING.
AND WE WILL TRY AND GO THROUGH SOME OF THOSE OTHER PIECES OF THE, OF THE CAPITAL, UM, PROCESS AS WELL.
UM, DO YOU FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS, COUNCILMEMBER FUNDUS? OKAY.
THIS INFORMATION IS SUPER INFORMATIVE.
I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS PRESENTATION AND THE FACT THAT IT'S ON THE AGENDA.
SO WHEN YOU SAY FISCAL YEAR 2024, DOES THAT MEAN AN ELECTION IN 2023 WOULD BE THE EARLIEST OR WOULD THAT MEAN, UM, WE'D BE LOOKING AT NO EARLIER THAN, UH, NOVEMBER 20, 24 FOR YOUR RECOMMENDATION? I KNOW THAT COUNCIL COULD DECIDE DIFFERENTLY.
UM, I BELIEVE THAT WE WILL BE LOOKING AT NOVEMBER OF 2024, BUT LET ME, UM, LET ME DOUBLE CHECK THAT FOR ONE.
UM, AND WHAT WE WOULD DO REALLY IS, YOU KNOW, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE SPENDING PLAN YEAR OVER YEAR.
UM, AND AS WE GET CLOSER TO THIS TO, UH, A MORE DETAILED ANALYSIS OF WHERE WE ARE, WE'RE SPENDING IN THE CURRENT BARS, THEN WE'LL COME BACK AND SAY, OKAY, THESE ARE THE RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THE UPDATED SPENDING PLANS THAT THE STAFF IS ACTUALLY WORKING ON RIGHT NOW.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE TIMELINE AND I KNOW, UM, IN THE PAST WE HAVE PULLED TOGETHER A CITIZENS, UM, BOND ADVISORY COMMISSION TO KIND OF GO THROUGH SIFT THROUGH ALL THE PROPOSALS AND MAKE SOME RECOMMENDATIONS THAT THEN COUNCIL ACTS UPON.
AND WE WOULD LIKELY NEED TO, IF WE WERE TO TAKE THAT, WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THAT.
BUT IF WE WERE TO CHOOSE TO DO THAT, WE WOULD GO DOWN THAT ROAD ABOUT A YEAR IN ADVANCE OF, UM, WHEN IT BE IN THE YEAR BEFORE THE YEAR, WHEN THE BONDS WOULD BE ON, ON THE, UH, BALLOT.
SO THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD PROBABLY BE THINKING ABOUT, UM, WHICH ROUTE WE WANT TO TAKE.
THE, OF COURSE, THE BENEFIT HAVING THE COMMUNITY INVOLVED IN SELECTING IN REVIEW, IN HEARING THE PROJECTS, REVIEWING THEM AND MAKING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL IS THAT IT GETS THE WORD OUT AND THE EDUCATION OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY A LOT SOONER THAN IT MIGHT OTHERWISE.
SO WE KIND OF HAVE A BUILT-IN, UM, GROUP OF AMBASSADORS HELPING US WITH, WITH, UM, DISCUSSING THE PROS AND CONS OF DIFFERENT SPENDING AND ON PROJECTS AND THE AMOUNTS OF MONEY.
SO I JUST TOSSED THAT OUT THERE FOR US TO JUST KIND OF BE THINKING ABOUT, OKAY, SO MS. LANE, CAN YOU ALSO, UM, YOU SAID IT WAS TWO YEARS OUT NOW, WE'VE GOT A REAL HEAVY INVESTMENT IN TRANSPORTATION, AND THERE'S SOME, THERE'S SOME CATEGORIES OF SPENDING WHERE THEY HAVE SPENT MORE THAN OTHERS.
CAN YOU, IF YOU DON'T HAVE IT NOW YOU CAN FOLLOW UP WITH IT, BUT CAN YOU GIVE US A SENSE OF THE TIMING WHEN THOSE WILL BE TWO YEARS OUT? BECAUSE THEY MAY BE DIFFERENT SAY FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING OR FOR PARKS THAN IT IS FOR TRANSPORTATION? UM, LET ME FOLLOW UP AND GET YOU SOMETHING OFFICIAL.
I DON'T HAVE THAT RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME.
I, I GUESS I CAN GENERALLY SAY THAT I KNOW THAT AFFORDABLE HOUSING HAS BEEN, UM, THEY HAVE THIS BEEN GIVEN THEIR, THEIR 2018 BOND PACKAGE.
[02:00:01]
OF AN ENDING OF A BALANCE RIGHT NOW THAN THE OTHERS.UM, BUT LET ME GET TO SOME MORE OFFICIAL INFORMATION AND I'LL GET THAT BACK OUT TO THE COMMITTEE THAT SIR, IF I LOOK AT THE DEBT SERVICE, UM, SLIDE, UM, AM I RIGHT THAT ANY ADDITIONAL BONDS AT THIS POINT IN TIME WOULD REQUIRE A TAX RATE INCREASE FROM WHAT WE KNOW AT THIS POINT, ANY ADDITIONAL BONDS WOULD, WOULD DEFINITELY REQUIRE A TAX RATE INCREASE.
UM, AND IT IS WHEN THE BONDS ARE ISSUED, WE'LL DETERMINE WHEN THAT INCREASE HAPPENS, RIGHT? AND WE HAVE A NUMBER OF, OF THE BOND ISSUANCES BECAUSE OF THE PLANNING REQUIRED FOR, UH, PARTICULARLY FOR TRANSPORTATION, BUT ALSO FOR SOME OF THE INVESTMENTS IN OUR CULTURAL CENTERS THAT TAKE AWHILE TO PLAN.
ONCE YOU HAVE CONFIRMED FUNDING, THAT IS MUCH OF THAT IS HAPPENING IN 25, UM, WITH, WITH, UH, AT LEAST RELATIVE TO THIS CHART AND THE, AND THE LEVELS ON THIS CHART, IT LOOKS LIKE A LARGE INCREASE, BUT I'M NOT, I'M NOT SURE IF THE, IF THE Y AXIS IS, IS SKEWING THAT, OR IF IT IS A BIG INCREASE, LIKE HOW MUCH IS THE INCREASE FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 TO FISCAL YEAR 25, LIKE AN EXTRA PENNIES.
SO ON, ON SLIDE NUMBER NINE, I BELIEVE THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE, YOU'RE LOOKING AT.
SO, UM, I'LL GET YOU THE EXACT AMOUNT OF THAT INCREASE, BUT WE DO ARE ANTICIPATING AS THOSE BONDS ARE ISSUED OVER THESE TIMEFRAMES, WE WILL SEE AN INCREASE, UM, PROJECTION IN FISCAL YEAR 25.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF VARIABLES AND FACTORS THAT GO INTO THAT.
SO THESE PROJECTIONS DEFINITELY COULD CHANGE, BUT WHAT WE KNOW IS THAT WE HAVE A NUMBER OF THESE DOLLARS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN ISSUED YET.
AND SO ONCE WE START SEEING THOSE INSTRUMENTS, WE'LL SEE AN INCREASE IN, IN THAT RATE.
I THINK IT WOULD BE GREAT TO GET THAT CLARIFICATION, UM, COUNCIL MEMBER TOBA.
AND JUST TO CLARIFY, MS. LANG, UM, WHEN YOU SAY THAT YOU'LL GET US THAT ADDITIONAL DATA, WILL YOU PROVIDE IT TO THE ENTIRE COUNCIL? I MEAN, THE ENTIRE PROCESS, THE ENTIRE COUNCIL, BUT CERTAINLY IN THE ENTIRE COMMITTEE.
UM, AND IF YOU ARE PROVIDING IT TO THE WHOLE COUNCIL WOULD PROBABLY BE GOOD TO GIVE THEM THE PRESENTATION AND MAYBE A LINK TO THE VIDEO AS WELL.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UM, SO MS. LANG, WE WILL WORK WITH YOU AND, AND THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT, UM, SO THAT WE CAN TAKE UP OTHER PIECES OF THE CAPITAL PROCESS.
UM, I, I, I, I THINK WE DO NEED TO RETURN TO SOME ADDITIONAL REPORTING ON THE CAPITAL PROCESS AND WANT TO WORK WITH YOU ON HOW BEST TO DO THAT.
I HAVE SOME GREAT PEOPLE IN THE BACKGROUND, UM, AND THEY JUST EXPLAINED IT WILL BE 1.67 PENNIES FROM FISCAL YEAR 22 TO FISCAL YEAR 25 INCREASE.
THAT IS THE PROJECTED ROTATE GRADE DEBT RATE.
CAN YOU SAY THAT ONE MORE TIME PLEASE? 1.6, SEVEN PENNIES, BUT WE'LL GET YOU ALL THE, AND THEN WHAT THAT TRANSLATES FOR THE AVERAGE ON ONE OR TWO WOULD BE, WOULD BE GREAT.
[8. Identify items to be discussed at future meetings.]
UM, SO I THINK THAT'S OUR LAST ITEM BEYOND FUTURE MEETING ITEMS. UM, I DON'T KNOW IF WE HAVE ANY TO TALK ABOUT RIGHT NOW.UM, AND WE WILL, IN A FUTURE MEETING HAVE TO DETERMINE, UM, HOW WE WANT TO HANDLE OUR, UM, SUMMER MEETINGS OF JUNE AND JULY.
UM, SO IF COMMITTEE MEMBERS WANT TO TALK TO ME ABOUT THAT, WE CAN KIND OF GET OUR PREFERENCES AND MAKE SOME DECISIONS ON THAT.
WELL, WITH THAT, I WILL ADJOURN THIS COMMITTEE MEETING AT 1138.
UM, THANK YOU VERY MUCH, EVERYONE.
GOSH, AND THEN ESCAPE PATCH, WELDING, SHUT THE DOOR FOR THE REST AVERSE THEY SAW THROUGH THE CITY.