[00:00:02]
THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING AGAIN.
DO WE HAVE ANY OTHER COUNCIL MEMBERS JOINING US THIS MORNING? SO AS A MEMBER, DO YOU WANT TO TRY AGAIN?
I'M GOING TO GO AHEAD AND UM, STARTED THEN WHILE WE WAIT FOR OUR COUNCIL MEMBER CIOBO TO CALL IN.
I THINK THE OTHER, THE INITIAL STUFF IS HOUSE, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE CATHY IS STILL HERE.
SHE WAS JUST GOING TO BE USING THE AUDIO FROM HER PHONE.
BUT I THINK SHE WANTS TO MUTE HER.
UM, WELL GOOD MORNING EVERYONE.
I'M CHAIR OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE LIKE THE CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER AT NINE 33.
I ASKED THIS MORNING OF OUR COMMITTEE MEMBERS IT TO SEE EVERYONE.
[Item 1]
OUR FIRST ITEM OF BUSINESS IS TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE AND FROM APRIL 15TH I HAVE A MOTION, I'LL MOVE TO PROOF.COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MOVES TO APPROVE, SECONDED BY, SECONDED BY MAYOR ADLER.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, RAISE YOUR HAND.
IT IS UNANIMOUS ON THE DIOCESE ASSUMING THAT COUNCIL MEMBER CIOBO, UM, IS VOTING AYE AS WELL.
[Item 2]
THE SECOND ITEM OF THAT PASSES THEN, UM, THE SECOND ITEM OF BUSINESS IS OUR FISCAL YEAR 2019 SINGLE AUDIT REPORT BY DELOITTE AND TOUCHE.UM, THE CITY'S EXTERNAL AUDITOR.
UM, THIS IS FOR, UM, THE SPECIFIC GRANT THAT WE GET.
UM, JUST NOT THE SAME THING AS THE AUDIT THAT WE SAW AT OUR LAST MEETING.
UM, SO I'M GOING TO INVITE, UM, THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE OR ELAINE HART, WHOEVER'S HERE TO SPEAK TO US ON ITEM.
I'M DIANA THOMAS, THE CITY CONTROLLER.
I'M HERE WITH BLINK ROGERS AND SARAH TOUCHE, THE CITY'S EXTERNAL AUDITOR TO PRESENT THE RESULTS OF THE FISCAL YEAR 2019 SINGLE AUDIT.
I'D LIKE TO BEGIN BY SAYING THANK YOU TO DELOITTE, TO THE CITY STAFF AND THE CONTROLLER'S OFFICE AS WELL AS THOSE DEPARTMENTS WHOSE GRANTS WERE AUDITED FOR THIS REPORT AND TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT OF THE CITY'S GOAL OF X AND EXCELLENCE IN ALL ASPECTS OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT.
THE SINGLE AUDIT WAS ISSUED ON MAY 8TH, 2020 ABOUT SEVEN WEEKS IN ADVANCE OF THE DUE DATE OF JUNE 30TH AND AT THIS POINT I WILL TURN THE PRESENTATION OVER TO BLAKE ROGERS AND REIGN SAMMER FROM DELOITTE FOLLOWING THEIR PRESENTATION.
I'LL PROVIDE A BRIEF RESPONSE FROM CITY MANAGEMENT TO THE FINDING AND RAVI, TRUE LINE DIRECTOR OF NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.
AND I ARE HERE TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE WITH REGARD TO THE SINGLE AUDIT AND THE CITY'S ACTION PLAN RELATED TO THE FINDINGS.
AND GOOD MORNING TO THE MEMBERS OF THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE.
UM, I'VE MET A FEW OF YOU IN THE PAST.
I'M A PARTNER WITH DELOITTE AND A SISTER IN SAMARA ON THE AUDIT SERVICES THAT WE PROVIDE TO THE CITY OF AUSTIN.
UM, YOU MAY RECALL THAT REAM HAD PRESENTED THE RESULTS OF OUR AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS DURING YOUR PREVIOUS MEETING IN APRIL.
SO THE PURPOSE OF OUR COMMUNICATION TODAY IS TO INFORM YOU OF THE RESULTS OF THREE DIFFERENT COMPLIANCE AUDITS FOR FISCAL YEAR 19, WHICH WE COMPLETED AND ISSUED OUR REPORTS ON ON MAY 8TH, 2020.
UM, WE'LL HAVE THREE DIFFERENT, UH, AUDIT ITEMS HERE.
WE'LL HAVE THE SINGLE AUDIT FOR FEDERAL PROGRAMS, THE SINGLE AUDIT FOR STATE PROGRAMS AND THE PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGE AUDIT.
ON THE SECOND PAGE OF OUR PRESENTATION, UH, TITLED SINGLE AUDIT REPORT, FEDERAL AND STATE PROGRAMS, YOU'LL SEE THE RESULTS OF OUR COMPLIANCE AUDITS OF THE CITY, STATE, AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS.
THE CITY IS REQUIRED TO HAVE AN ANNUAL AUDIT,
[00:05:01]
UM, BECAUSE IT EXPENDS GREATER THAN 750,000 IN FEDERAL AWARDS AND THIS FOR FISCAL YEAR 19.AND SIMILARLY, THE STATE OF TEXAS REQUIRES THE CITY TO HAVE AN ANNUAL COMPLIANCE AUDIT BECAUSE IT EXTENDED GREATER THAN $750,000 IN STATE AWARDS AS WELL IN BOTH CASES AND OUR REPORTS, UH, WE ISSUED UNMODIFIED OPINIONS.
THAT'S CLEAN OPINIONS, THAT'S THE ONE YOU WANT.
UM, ON MAY 8TH, 2020 ON THE NEXT PIECE OF OUR PRESENTATION, UM, WITH THE GREEN HEADING FEDERAL PROGRAMS, YOU'LL SEE THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEDERAL AWARDS THAT THE CITY EXTENDED IN FISCAL YEAR 19 OF JUST NORTH OF $59 MILLION.
AND IN ADDITION, BELOW THAT FIGURE INFORMATION, YOU'LL SEE THE THREE FEDERAL PROGRAMS THAT WE WERE REQUIRED TO AUDIT THIS YEAR, UM, AND THE AMOUNTS OF EXPENDITURES OF THOSE THREE FEDERAL PROGRAMS. ON THE NEXT PAGE, UM, FOR OUR STATE PROGRAMS, YOU'LL SEE THE TOTAL AMOUNT THAT THE CITY EXPENDED FOR FISCAL YEAR 19, WHICH IS 3.8 MILLION ROUGHLY.
AND THE TWO DIFFERENT PROGRAMS THAT WE WERE REQUIRED TO AUDIT FOR THE STATE A SINGLE AUDIT AS WELL.
BOTH OF THESE REPORTS ON THE NEXT PAGE TITLED FINDINGS AND QUESTION COSTS RELATED TO FEDERAL AND STATE AWARDS.
WE ONLY HAD ONE FINDING THIS YEAR FOR FISCAL YEAR 19 THAT WE CONSIDERED TO BE NONCOMPLIANT WITH THE GRANT REQUIREMENTS AND A SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY IN CONTROLS.
AND SIGNIFICANT DEFICIENCY IS A TERM THAT'S DEFINED ON THE VERY LAST PAGE OF OUR PRESENTATION.
BUT SUFFICE IT TO SAY THAT IT'S LESS SIGNIFICANT THAN A MATERIAL WEAKNESS, BUT ENOUGH THAT WE BOUGHT AT MEREDITH THE ATTENTION OF OF THIS BODY, THIS FINDING RELATED TO THE AMOUNTS APPROVED FOR A HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE.
SPECIFICALLY THE AMOUNT THAT APPROVED THAT WAS APPROVED APPEARED TO EXCEED THE GRANT REQUIREMENTS MAXIMUM PER UNIT SUBSIDY ALLOWED BY APPROXIMATELY $29,130.
SO THAT IS THE ONE FINDING THAT WE HAD THERE LISTED AND THE DETAILS OF THAT FINDING CAN BE FOUND IN OUR ISSUED REPORT AS WELL AS MANAGEMENT'S RESPONSE TO THAT FINDING.
LASTLY, FOR OUR PRESENTATION ON THE NEXT PAGE, UH, FOR PASSENGER FACILITY CHARGES, UH, WE ALSO COMPLETED OUR COMPLIANCE AUDIT OF THE CITY'S PASSENGER FACILITY RETURNING CHARGES AS REQUIRED AS REQUIRED BY THE FAA.
THE CITY COLLECTS THE PASSENGER FACILITY, CHARGES A RATE APPROVED BY THE FAA AND THAT AMOUNT MUST BE USED FOR ALLOWABLE PURPOSES.
THE FAA REQUIRES THAT WE DO A COMPLIANCE AUDIT AROUND THAT.
FOR THIS REPORT WE HAD AN UNMODIFIED CLEAN OPINION AND HAD NO FINDINGS FOR FISCAL YEAR 19 SO WITH THAT I WILL CONCLUDE OUR PORTION OF THE PRESENTATION ASKED FOR ANY QUESTIONS FROM THE AUDIT AND FINANCE COMMITTEE BEFORE HANDING IT BACK TO DIANA AND HER TEAM.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? THANK YOU.
I DON'T THINK WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME.
I BELIEVE WE JUST NEED, DO WE NEED TO VOTE OR JUST HEAR THE, OKAY.
AND THEN WE JUST NEED TO HEAR YOUR RESPONSE.
SO IF YOU COULD ADVANCE THE SLIDE NOW IT'S GOT AN IMAGE OF THE COVER FOR THE SINGLE AUDIT REPORT ON THE FRONT AND THEN MOVING TO SLIDE SLIDE 11 THIS IS THE FINDING THAT BLAKE MENTIONED WITH REGARD TO THE $29,130 WITH REGARD TO THE MAXIMUM PER UNIT SUBSIDY.
AND THEN IF YOU MOVE TO THE SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE THE CITY'S RESPONSE, UM, IN HCD STAFF WILL ENSURE THAT THEIR PROPOSED SUBSIDY PER UNIT DOES NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT, UM, REQUIRED UNDER THE FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION.
UM, THEY'VE ALREADY PUT IN, IN PLACE A PROCESS FOR VERIFYING THAT THIS AMOUNT IS ACCURATELY, UH, CALCULATED AND UTILIZED GOING FORWARD.
AND AT THIS POINT, IF THERE ARE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, WITH REGARD TO THE SINGLE AUDIT ITSELF, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER.
AND THEN WITH REGARD TO THIS FINDING, ROSIE WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER.
DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE CONTROLLER OR MS TULA.
SO I BELIEVE WE JUST NEED TO HEAR THIS.
WE DON'T HAVE TO MAKE ANY MOTIONS, UM, THAT CORRECT MISS.
WELL, THANK YOU, UM, TO YOU AND MR. ROGERS FOR BEING HERE WITH US THIS MORNING.
UH, WE WILL NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM
[Item 3]
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THREE, WHICH IS OUR COMMUNITY POLICING AUDIT.UM, AND BEFORE WE DO, I JUST WANT TO NOTE THAT WE HAVE, UM, SEVERAL DIFFERENT MECHANISMS THAT WE HAVE PUT IN MOTION TO TAKE A CLOSER LOOK.
UM, THE COMMUNITY POLICING OFFICE AUDIT IS JUST SORT OF, IT'S JUST ONE PIECE OF THAT.
WE HAVE OUR ONGOING EVALUATION OF THE SEXUAL ASSAULT RESPONSE SYSTEM, WHICH WE'RE HOPEFUL TO HAVE A UPDATE, UM, SHORTLY.
UM, AND WE HAVE THE, UM, AUDIT SET IN MOTION BY THE DECEMBER RESOLUTION, UM, THE EXTERNAL AUDIT AS WELL AS THE REVIEW OF THE TRAINING PROCESS.
UM, TODAY'S AUDIT IS FOCUSING ON, UM, THE COMMUNITY POLICING AND WAS PART OF A PROCESS THAT WAS SET IN MOTION MANY MONTHS AGO.
UM, WHEN WE SET THE AUDIT PLAN, UM, BACK WITH THE LAST, UM, FISCAL YEARS SETTING OF THE AUDIT PLAN.
I WILL LET YOU GET STARTED PLEASE.
SO, UM, FOR THIS AUDIT, UM, MARIA STROCK WAS THE AUDITOR IN CHARGE AND ANDREW KEEGAN WAS THE AUDIT MANAGER, UM, GAME QUESTIONS FOR HIM AS WELL.
AND I BELIEVE I ALSO SAW, UM, AVAILABLE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS AFTERWARDS, RIGHT? YES, THANK YOU COREY.
I'M JUST WAITING FOR A MOMENT FOR THE SLIDES TO COME UP.
GOOD MORNING COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
AND I WAS THE AUDITOR IN CHARGE FOR THIS PROJECT.
THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS AUDIT WAS TO DETERMINE IF THE AUSTIN POLICE DEPARTMENTS COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS SINCE 2016 HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE.
COMMUNITY POLICING INVOLVES POLICE DEPARTMENTS, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY TO IDENTIFY AND SOLVE PUBLIC SAFETY ISSUES AND TO MAKE COMMUNITIES SAFER.
WHILE THE CONCEPT OF COMMUNITY POLICING HAS EXISTED IN AUSTIN FOR MANY YEARS, THIS AUDIT FOCUSED ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF APDS EFFORTS SINCE 2016 WE HAVE THREE FINDINGS.
OUR FIRST FINDING WAS THAT APD HAS TAKEN STEPS TO IMPROVE ITS COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS SINCE 2016 AND HAS SEEN SOME POSITIVE EFFECTS, BUT MORE TIME IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE IF THEY PDS EFFORTS HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE.
IN 2016 APD HIRED THE MATRIX CONSULTING GROUP TO ASSESS ITS COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS.
AS A RESULT OF THIS REVIEW MATRIX GAVE APD OVER 60 RECOMMENDATIONS.
SINCE THEN, APD HAS IMPLEMENTED MANY OF THEM.
FOR EXAMPLE, APD REVISED ITS MISSION STATEMENT TO BE MORE ALIGNED WITH COMMUNITY POLICING.
APD ALSO DEVELOPED A COMMUNITY POLICING POLICY AND ADDED COMMUNITY POLICING PRINCIPLES TO ITS TRAINING PROGRAMS AND JOB DESCRIPTIONS.
APD ALSO STARTED SEVERAL NEW COMMUNITY POLICING PROGRAMS TO HELP OFFICERS IDENTIFY AND ADDRESS COMMUNITY CONCERNS WHEN WE REVIEWED HOW THESE EFFORTS HAVE AFFECTED APD, HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THEM, WITH THE COMMUNITY, THOUGH YOU FOUND MIXED RESULTS.
ONE WAY WE TRIED TO UNDERSTAND HOW THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME WAS BY REPLICATING TWO SURVEYS MATRIX CONDUCTED AS PART OF THEIR WORK IN 2016 ONE SURVEY WAS FOR APD EMPLOYEES AND THE OTHER WAS FOR AUSTIN COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
WE COMPARED THE RESULTS OF THE 2016 SURVEYS TO THE RESULTS OF OUR SURVEYS IN 2019 TO TRY TO DETERMINE HOW PERCEPTIONS HAD CHANGED.
OUR APD EMPLOYEE SURVEY WAS SENT OUT TO ALL APD EMPLOYEES.
IN FALL 2019 WE RECEIVED A RESPONSE RATE OF ABOUT 17% AND THE MAKEUP OF THE POPULATION WHO RESPONDED TO OUR SURVEY WAS SIMILAR TO THE POPULATION WHO RESPONDED IN 2016 WHEN WE COMPARE RESULTS BETWEEN THE TWO YEARS, WE FOUND RESULTS FOR SOME QUESTIONS WENT UP, SOME WENT DOWN, AND SOME STAYED AT THE SAME.
THE RESULTS OF THE SURVEY I INCLUDED IN OUR REPORT, BUT AS AN EXAMPLE, MORE RESPONDENTS IN 2019 AGREED.
APD DOES A GOOD JOB PLANNING SERVICES TO THE BUT FEWER RESPONDENTS AGREED THAT APD HAS THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY.
[00:15:01]
THE AUSTIN COMMUNITY AND FALL 2019 SURVEY WAS AVAILABLE IN ENGLISH, SPANISH AND VIETNAMESE TO INCREASE OUR REACH.WE SENT THE SURVEY OUT TO THE CITIES COMMUNITY REGISTRY GENERATED PRESS COVERAGE AND ALSO UTILIZED VERY SOCIAL VARIOUS SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS.
ANY RESPONDENTS TO OUR SURVEY SURVEY SELF IDENTIFIED AS WHITE WHILE OTHER POPULATIONS WERE UNDERREPRESENTED COMPARED TO THEIR POPULATION IN AUSTIN.
UNFORTUNATELY, MATRIX DID NOT ASK FOR DEMOGRAPHICS AND THE 2016 SURVEY SO WE WERE NOT ABLE TO CONFIRM WHETHER THE MAKEUP OF THE POPULATION WHO RESPONDED IN 2019 WAS SIMILAR TO THAT IN 2016 DESPITE THIS LIMITATION, WE COMPARED THE RESULTS OF OUR COMMUNITY SURVEYS TO THE RESULTS OF THE 2016 SURVEY AND ALSO FOUND MIXED RESULTS.
FOR EXAMPLE, RESPONDENTS IN 2019 RATED THEIR INDIVIDUAL EXPERIENCES WITH ABD STAFF HIGHER, BUT THEY ALSO RATED PROFESSIONALISM OF APD OFFICERS.
WE ALSO FOUND MIXED RESULTS WHEN WE REVIEWED APDS PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
WELL, CRIME RATES GENERALLY DECREASED BETWEEN 2016 AND 2018 RESIDENTS.
SATISFACTION WITH POLICE SERVICES ALSO DECREASED.
THIS DECREASE IN RESIDENT SATISFACTION MAY INDICATE APD CONTINUES TO FACE CHALLENGES.
BUILDING A POSITIVE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY.
COMMUNITY POLICING INVOLVES ISSUES OF CULTURE, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE BOTH WITHIN APD AND BETWEEN APD AND THE PUBLIC.
RECENT ISSUES INCLUDING A RECENT RACISM INVESTIGATION SUGGESTS ARE DEEPLY ROOTED CHALLENGES THAT APD MUST FACE TO CREATE A DEPARTMENT WIDE CULTURE THAT IS FAIR, IMPARTIAL, AND PROCEDURALLY JUST WHICH APD STATES THAT IS AIMING FOR AND IT'S COMMUNITY POLICING POLICY.
WELL, APDS COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS SINCE 2016 DO APPEAR TO HAVE HELPED ESTABLISH A FOUNDATION TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY POLICING GOALS IN ORDER FOR THE DEPARTMENT TO PRODUCE THE CHANGE THAT THEY AND THE COMMUNITY WANTS.
APD MUST FIRST ADDRESS THESE ISSUES.
OUR SECOND FINDING WAS THAT APD IS ABILITY TO IMPROVE COMMUNITY POLICING.
OUTCOMES MAY BE LIMITED BECAUSE OF ISSUES WITH THE WAY IT MEASURES PERFORMANCE.
THERE ARE SEVERAL WAYS WE IDENTIFIED APD COULD IMPROVE THE WAY IT MEASURES RESULTS.
FIRST, APD COULD IMPROVE HOW IT USES DATA FOR MAKING DECISIONS AND IMPROVING ITS EFFORTS.
APD DOES COLLECT DATA ON SEVERAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES RELATED TO COMMUNITY POLICING, INCLUDING MEASURES ON PERCEPTIONS OF SAFETY AND THE COMMUNITY AND COMMUNITY TRUST IN THE POLICE, BUT APD DOES NOT HAVE AN ESTABLISHED PROCESS FOR USING THE DATA TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE ITS COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS.
A MORE ESTABLISHED PROCESS COULD HELP APD AND MAKE DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS SUCH AS HOW TO BEST ALLOCATE RESOURCES.
APD ALSO DOES NOT HAVE MEASURES TO ASSESS THE CHANGES THEY HAVE MADE TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY POLICING.
FOR EXAMPLE, APD MAY CHANGE AS TO HOW THEY TRAIN CADETS IN RESPONSE TO THE MATRIX RECOMMENDATIONS, BUT DOES NOT HAVE MEASURES TO DETERMINE IF THESE CHANGES HAVE ACHIEVED DESIRED RESULTS.
ADDITIONALLY, APD NEEDS A BETTER PROCESS FOR DOCUMENTING SUCCESSFUL AND UNSUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES.
WHILE SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES MAY BE SHARED INFORMALLY ACROSS THE DEPARTMENT, ASSIST THEM TO DOCUMENT WHAT IS WORKING AND WHAT IS NOT, BUT HELP APD LEADERS LEARN FROM PREVIOUS EXPERIENCES AND PRIORITIZE IMPACTFUL PRACTICES MOVING FORWARD.
APD COULD ALSO MAKE ITS PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT PROCESS MORE TRANSPARENT.
FOR EXAMPLE, THERE WAS NOT A SINGLE PLACE FOR THE PUBLIC TO VIEW DATA ON APDS COMMUNITY POLICING MEASURES AND EFFORTS.
OUR THIRD FINDING WAS THAT WHILE APD HAS REPORTED AN INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF TIME OFFICERS HAVE TO ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY, IT APPEARS OFFICERS MAY NOT BE ABLE TO USE THIS TIME FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES ARE IMPORTANT FOR COMMUNITY POLICING AND INCLUDE ACTIVITIES SUCH AS PARTICIPATING IN COMMUNITY EVENTS, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH LOCAL BUSINESS OWNERS, AND INCREASING PRESENCE AND VISIBILITY IN NEIGHBORHOODS.
IN 2016 MATRIX RECOMMENDED APD INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF TIME OFFICERS HAVE FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TO AT LEAST 35% NEXT SLIDE PLEASE.
THE TIME OFFICERS HAVE AVAILABLE FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT IS THE TIME WHEN THEY ARE NOT RESPONDING TO CALLS.
APD CALLS THIS TIME UNCOMMITTED TIME, TIME OFFICERS ARE RESPONDING TO CALLS IS CONSIDERED COMMITTED AND THE TIME OFFICERS ARE NOT RESPONDING TO CALLS IS CONSIDERED UNCOMMITTED.
ABD REPORTED AN INCREASE IN UNCOMMITTED TIME CITYWIDE FROM 22% IN 2016 TO 27% IN 2018 DURING THIS AVAILABLE UNCOMMITTED TIME, OFFICERS MAY BE ABLE TO DO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
[00:20:02]
HOWEVER WE FOUND THE UNCOMMITTED TIME DOES NOT ACCURATELY REPRESENT THE TIME OFFICERS CAN SPEND ON COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR TWO MAIN REASONS.FIRST, UNCOMMITTED TIME IS NOT GENERALLY AVAILABLE AS A SINGLE BLOCK OF TIME DURING AN OFFICER'S SHIFT.
INSTEAD, IT IS BROKEN UP INTO SMALL BLOCKS OF TIME BETWEEN CALLS.
SINCE OFFICERS APPEAR TO BE GOING FROM ONE CALL TO ANOTHER, THE BLOCKS OF TIME BETWEEN CALLS CAN BE VERY SHORT, SOMETIMES LESS THAN FIVE MINUTES, AND IT IS NOT LIKELY USABLE FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
SECOND, OFFICERS HAVE MANY RESPONSIBILITIES TO COMPLETE DURING THEIR UNCOMMITTED TIME.
OFFICERS ARE EXPECTED TO CHECK EMAIL, WRITE REPORTS, AND BE POLICY UPDATES IN ADDITION TO OTHER AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, SO IT'S NOT LIKELY THAT AS MUCH TIME LEFT FOR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT DURING THEIR UNCOMMITTED TIME BECAUSE OF FEES ISSUES WITH THIS MEASURE, IT WAS UNCLEAR IF OFFICERS HAD MORE ENGAGEMENT TIME AVAILABLE IN 2019 THAN THEY DID IN 2016 MANY PATROL OFFICERS WHO RESPONDED TO OUR SURVEY OF APD EMPLOYEES INDICATED THEY DO NOT HAVE ADEQUATE TIME TO ENGAGE WITH RESIDENTS BECAUSE OF HIGH CALL VOLUME AND ISSUES WITH STAFFING.
APD MANAGERS HAVE SIMILAR THINGS DURING INTERVIEWS TO INCREASE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TIME.
APD IS WORKING TO ADD STAFF AND MANAGEMENT SAID THEY HAVE DIRECTED PATROL OFFICERS TO SPEND A FEW EXTRA MINUTES ON CALLS TO ENGAGE WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS.
THESE STEPS MAYBE HELPFUL, BUT THEY DO NOT GUARANTEE THAT OFFICERS WILL HAVE MORE TIME TO PRACTICALLY ENGAGE WITH THE COMMUNITY OUTSIDE OF RESPONDING TO CALLS.
WE ISSUED TWO RECOMMENDATIONS BASED ON THESE FINDINGS.
APD AGREED WITH OUR RECOMMENDATION.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR PRESENTATION AND WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE ANY QUESTIONS.
UM, IF THE COMMITTEE DOESN'T OBJECT, I MIGHT WRITE APD RESPOND BEFORE WE MOVE INTO Q.
WHO IS HERE FROM APU? I'M MARIN COUNCIL MEMBERS.
THIS IS A CHIEF GAY YOU'RE DOING.
I ALSO HAVE ON THE LINE WITH ME, UH, LIEUTENANT, UH, GASLIN WHO IS OUR COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT COORDINATOR WHO HAS, WHO IS TAKING THE LEAD IN THIS PARTICULAR PROJECT.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT THE AUDIT HAS SHOWN THAT APD HAS, UH, MADE GREAT STRIDES IN SETTING A GREAT FOUNDATION FOR, UH, OUR COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS.
UH, UH, WE'LL ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS, BUT I DO, UH, WE CONCUR WITH THE AUDIT.
WE HAVE AGREED WITH THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS AND DO BELIEVE THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES, UH, SPECIFICALLY WITH PERFORMANCE MEASURES.
WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT WITHIN THE NEXT, UH, MONTH TO SIX WEEKS, UH, WE HOPE TO HAVE A CHIEF DATA OFFICER HIRED WITH OUR DEPARTMENT, UH, WHICH WILL ALLOW US TO HAVE A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT THAT CAN REALLY HELP US TO DIVE INTO OUR DATA AND PRESENTED AND COME UP WITH THE EFFECTIVE PERFORMANCE MEASURES THAT WE CAN DEVELOP THE NECESSARY STRATEGIES.
DO FOLKS HAVE QUESTIONS FOR THE AUDITOR OR FOR CHIEF FAY? THERE WAS A, THERE WAS A COUNCIL THAT PASSED AND LISTED CERTAIN, UH, UH, UH, MEASUREMENT CRITERIA AND I THINK IT WAS MENTIONED IN THE AUDIT.
UM, SOME OF THEM WERE BEING USED.
I THINK CHEETAH WOULD BE HELPFUL IF, IF YOU COULD JUST GO BACK TO THAT RESOLUTION AND JUST INDICATE WHICH ONES ARE BEING USED AND WHICH ONES YOU DON'T THINK ARE ABLE TO BE USED.
SO THAT I CAN ANSWER THAT QUESTION FOR A CONSTITUENT.
UH, W WE COULD DEFINITELY GO THROUGH AND PROVIDE YOU A DOCUMENT AND PROVIDE YOU THAT INFORMATION.
IS THAT OKAY TO GET BACK WITH YOU ON THAT? ABSOLUTELY.
IT WOULD JUST BE GOING THROUGH THE RESOLUTION.
SAY WE'RE, WE'RE KEEPING TRACK OF THIS ONE OR THIS ONE.
AND I DO BELIEVE THAT MOST OF THOSE WE ARE, BUT I WILL PROVIDE YOU A WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.
MAYOR, DO YOU KNOW WHICH RESOLUTION OR WHAT RELATIVE TIME PERIOD? I DON'T HAVE THE NUMBER.
IT WAS MENTIONED IN THE AUDIT.
UM, OR DO YOU HAVE THAT THE 2018 ONE? IT WAS THE ONE REGARDING THE STAFFING RESOLUTION.
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I SEE IT IN THE AUDIT.COUNCIL MOMETOBO COUNCIL MEMBER TOBO DID YOU WANT TO SEE YES, I'M SORRY.
UM, TO ASK THE MAYOR TO CLARIFY.
WAS AT THE 2016 MATRIX STUDY OR WAS IT THE LATEST RESOLUTION? IT WAS A RESOLUTION THAT LISTED, UM, UM, MEASUREMENT CRITERIA, UH, TO, TO ASSESS WHETHER OR NOT COMMUNITY POLICING WAS IN FACT HAVING THE DESIRED RESULT TO MEASURE, UH, OUTCOMES AS OPPOSED TO OUTPUTS.
UH, WHICH I THINK GOES TO SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT THE AUDIT HAS AS RAISED, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GETTING DATA THAT ACTUALLY ADDRESSES WHETHER OR NOT COMMUNITY POLICING IS RESULTING IN CHANGES IN PARTICULAR PERFORMANCE OR METRICS THAT WE'RE CONCERNED ABOUT.
I BELIEVE FIVE OF THE AUDIT, THE 2018 COUNCIL RESOLUTION.
I WAS THE ONE THAT, UM, I BELIEVE I WAS A COSPONSOR OF THAT HAD TO DO WITH THE STAFFING PLAN.
I WAS JUST TRYING TO RETURN UP AND BEEN THE SOURCE OF COUNCIL ACTION SEVERAL TIMES, UM, YOU KNOW, OVER THE PAST DECADE.
I JUST WANTED TO UNDERSTAND WHETHER IT WAS THE MORE RECENT EFFORT OR THE EARLIER ONE THAT LED TO THE MATRIX REPORT.
DID YOU HAVE OTHER QUESTIONS? I'M SORRY.
I, I, I DO, BUT I'LL LET, UM, I WAS, I REALLY JUST HAD THAT FOLLOW UP QUESTION FOR THE MAYOR, SO I'LL WAIT MY TURN ON THE OTHER.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL AND THEN COME TO MY BEST AGAIN.
I WAS CURIOUS ON THE UNCOMMITTED TIME BECAUSE THAT'S THE DOWNTIME BETWEEN CALLS AND IT'S HARD TO GET A COHERENT BLOCK OF TIME IN ORDER TO ACCOMPLISH ANYTHING REALLY BIG ALONG THE LINES OF COMMUNITY POLICING HAS, UM, OBSTACLES.
HAS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERED ACTUALLY PUTTING TOGETHER THE UNCOMMITTED TIME INTO A LARGER BLOCK TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE, UM, FOR THE WORK ON THE STREET AND THE COMMUNITY? BASICALLY, HAVE YOU LOOKED AT ATTACK ISSUE AND A LOT OF MY LACK OF AMOUNT OF TIME THAT YOU HAVE FOR IT AND FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE? YES MA'AM.
IT WAS MENTIONED BEFORE, IS THAT, AND I AGREED THE BLOCKS OF TIME MAY BE SMALL.
SOME OF THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE WITH COMMUNITY POLICING IS THAT AS IT WAS STATED IN THE REPORT, WE DO EXPECT FOR OUR OFFICERS TO, UM, BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH EVERY CONTACT.
SO IT IS HARD TO, UH, BUT WE'RE TRYING TO MEASURE IS THAT IN A 30 MINUTE CALL OF A BURGLARY TO A RESIDENT, UH, OUR EXPECTATION IS DURING THAT CALL IS THAT OFFICER WILL ASK ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS, ASK IF THERE ARE ADDITIONAL ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN THE AREA IN ORDER TO BUILD THOSE ADDITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND FIND OUT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION BEYOND JUST WHAT THEY WERE CALLED.
SO THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ROLL INTO EVERY PARTICULAR CALL.
UH, BUT AS MENTIONED BEFORE IN BETWEEN THE CALLS AND ACTUALLY STOPPING, UH, TALKING TO ADDITIONAL BUSINESS OWNERS, THAT'S WHERE WE HAVE, UH, DUE TO THE, UH, NOT ONLY THE STAFFING LEVELS BUT DUE TO, UH, I KNOW YOU ARE AWARE THAT WE HAVE A HIGH VACANCY RATE CURRENTLY AND IT LIMITS OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO FEEL THAT BLOCK A LITTLE BIT, BUT WE DEFINITELY ARE LOOKING FOR WAYS TO BE MORE INTENTIONAL ABOUT HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE TIME THAT WE DO HAVE.
I GUESS WHAT I'D SAY IS THAT IT SEEMS LIKE THE ADDITIONAL EXTENDED TIME TALKING TO, UM, A RESIDENT ON A CALL, IT SEEMS LIKE THAT WOULD BE MORE RELATED TO THE CALL AND NOT IN MY MIND WHAT I, WHAT I THINK OF AS COMMUNITY POLICING, COMMUNITY POLICING FOR ME IS ACTUALLY BEING IN THE COMMUNITY, WALKING AROUND, TALKING WITH FOLKS WHEN YOU'RE NOT ON A SPECIFIC CALL OUT THAT YOU ACTUALLY ARE THERE IN ORDER TO HAVE THOSE CONVERSATIONS, BUT THEY PLAY BASKETBALL WITH THE BASKETBALL COURT, THAT SORT OF THING, WHICH IS WHY I'M A MORE EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME AND ACTUALLY
[00:30:01]
SPECIFICALLY AS FINDING THAT TIME IN A DAY, WHICH SEEMS TO REACH THAT KIND OF IMPACT THAT I THINK ALL OF US WANT.BUT IF YOUR DEFINITION OF COMMUNITY POLICING IS ASKING ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OF SOMEONE AT A CALL OUT, THEN I THINK WE HAVE DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF COMMUNITY POLICING, WHICH COULD BE WHY THOSE OF US IN, UH, CIVILIANS WHO LONG SUPPORTED COMMUNITY POLICING CONTINUE TO BE, UM, UH, UH, DISAPPOINTED, I GUESS, OR, OR CURIOUS AS TO WHY WE DON'T HAVE A HIGHER RATE OF COMMUNITY POLICING.
UM, UM, SO IT SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAVE A DIFFERENT DEFINITION.
I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT I'M CLEAR IS THAT, UH, COMMUNITY POLICING IS ALL ENCOMPASSING FROM WHEN YOU'RE ON A CALL AND WHEN YOU'RE NOT ON A CALL.
WE BELIEVE THAT COMMUNITY POLICING SHOULD BE INTERWOVEN INTO AN OFFICER'S ACTIVITY DAILY.
UH, BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE COMMUNITY CAN BE PLAYING BASKETBALL.
AS YOU MENTIONED, DOING COFFEE WITH A COP.
I MEAN OTHER ACTIVITIES, UH, STOPPING THE TALKING TO RESIDENTS.
BUT WE ALSO EXPECT FOR OUR OFFICERS TO IMPLORE THAT SAME LEVEL OF CHAIR, UH, WHEN THEY'RE ON THEIR CALLS.
WE KNOW THAT, UH, WHEN YOU'RE BURGLARIZED IS THAT WE KNOW THAT THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE TOPIC, BUT TAKING A COUPLE EXTRA SENTENCES OR A COUPLE MINUTES TO ASK THEM HOW THEY'RE DOING AND, AND, AND SHOW THE EMPATHY AND THE CARE, I THINK THAT'S BUILDING THAT RELATIONSHIP.
SO WHEN YOU DO SEE THAT INDIVIDUAL THAT IS WALKING DOWN THE STREET THAT YOU TOOK A CALL FROM DOWN A WEEK AGO, THAT IT GIVES YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO SAY HELLO TO STOP AND FEEL THOSE RELATIONSHIPS ON A CONTINUED BASIS.
SO WE JUST, I JUST WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT COMMUNITY POLICING IS INTERWOVEN IN EVERYTHING WE DO AND BUT ACTIVITIES ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT AND THAT IS WHY WE, I WOULDN'T MATRIX CAME IN, THEY SAID THAT COMMUNITY POLICING TO BE EFFECTIVE AND THAT'S TO INCLUDE THAT THE ACTIVITIES THAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AN OFFICER REALLY NEEDS 35 TO 45% OF THEIR TIME TO DEVOTE.
AND RIGHT NOW EVEN THOUGH WE'RE AT A 28%, IS THAT THE OFFICER'S TIME IS, WE'RE RUNNING FROM CALL TO CALL AND THAT IS TWO FOLD.
ONE BEING THE RATE AND ALSO IS THAT CURRENTLY WE'RE NOT AT THE STAFFING LEVELS THAT WAS RECOMMENDED BY MATRIX, BUT THROUGH THE SUPPORT OF COUNCIL, Y'ALL HAVE GIVEN US A PLAN, A FOUR YEAR STRATEGY TO GET TO THAT PARTICULAR LEVEL THAT WE'RE HOPEFULLY WE'LL BE AT LEAST BE AT THE LOWEST LEVEL OF THAT 35%.
I'LL LET THE QUESTION GO, BUT I'LL JUST POINT TO THE BOTTOM PARAGRAPH ON PAGE ONE WHERE IT HIGHLIGHTS WHERE IT SAYS, UM, THAT IF, UH, ONE POSSIBLE REASON WHY COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORTS HAVE BEEN MIXED.
UM, IS THAT THE COMMUNITY EFFORTS TO ADDRESS ISSUES OF CULTURE, TRUST AND CONFIDENCE WITHIN APD AND BETWEEN APD AND THE PUBLIC DEEPLY ROOTED CHALLENGES? UH, THE FACE IN THE DEPARTMENT, MY CULTURE TO BE FAIR, IMPARTIAL AND PROCEDURALLY JUST, AND I THINK, I THINK IF WE SPEND MORE TIME WITH FOLKS IN THEIR COMMUNITY, IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD, ON THE STREET, WHEN IT IS NOT NECESSARILY ATTACHED TO A CALL OUT, THEN THOSE RELATIONSHIPS WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO BE SOLIDIFIED.
AND THEN ALSO IF THERE IS SOME, UM, PREDICTABILITY AND SOME TENURE OF THE DIFFERENT OFFICERS WHO ARE ASSIGNED TO THE DIFFERENT SECTORS, I KNOW THAT THEY GET MOVED AROUND A LOT.
DISTRICT REPS, I'VE PROBABLY HAD A DOZEN OR MORE IN THE NEARLY SIX YEARS THAT I'VE BEEN A DISTRICT SEVEN COUNCIL MEMBER AND IT'S HARD TO KEEP TRACK OF WHO IT IS AND IT'S REALLY HARD TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WHEN THE, WHEN THE PERSONNEL KEEP CHANGING.
SO IF THERE WERE A WAY FOR YOU OFF THE BOOK TO ACTUALLY HAVE THAT BABY ASSIGNMENT MORE THAN I THINK COFFEE WITH A COP FOR EXAMPLE, OR COOKIES WITH A COP AND THAT SORT OF THING IS GOOD, BUT YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY, IT'S STILL NOT GETTING TO THAT DEPTH OF KNOWLEDGE.
AND THEN IF THERE COULD BE MORE PREDICTABILITY ABOUT THE FIXES THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO SEE ON THE BEACH, THAT WOULD BE, I THINK THAT WOULD GO SOME WAY TO INCREASING THE CONFIDENCE AND THE TRUST AND THE FORCE, WHICH IS REALLY WHAT WE NEED IN ORDER TO ADDRESS SOME OF THE DEEP SEATED CONCERNS THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS RAISED ABOUT, UM, FAIRNESS AND, UM, DIFFERENCES IN CULTURE.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE OUR EFFORTS TO, UH, TO
[00:35:01]
BUILD THOSE RELATIONSHIPS AND ACTUALLY GET OUT THERE OUTSIDE OF CALLS AND THAT IS OUR EXPECTATION, SO THANK YOU.IT WOULD TAKE A COURSE HAVING BIGGER CHUNKS OF TIME AND NOT JUST THE INTERSTICE BETWEEN CALL-OUT THAT, UH, THANKS.
UM, I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE TO DIG INTO ON THIS COMMUNITY POLICING QUESTION IN HOW WE DEFINE IT AND TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WHAT COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT LOOKS LIKE THROUGH A FORMAL ORGANIZED PROGRAM LIKE THE DRS VERSUS OUR EXPECTATIONS ON THE ENTIRETY OF THE FORCE.
UM, AND I DON'T, I DON'T PRETEND TO BE AN EXPERT IN POLICING SO I DON'T HAVE ANSWERS.
BUT I THINK IT'S AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION TO TEE UP IN.
IF NOT THIS VENUE WE'LL FIND ANOTHER VENUE TO SAY IS DO ARK, ARE OUR COMMUNITY POLICING GOALS ACCOMPLISHED BECAUSE OF GENERAL APD ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PUBLIC? MEANING IF YOU HAD TWICE AS MANY DRS, YOU COULD ACTUALLY COVER MORE EVENTS AND YOU COULD DO MORE THINGS.
AND, AND IT'S ABOUT DEVELOPING TRUST IN THE BADGE GENERALLY OR IS COMMUNITY POLICING ABOUT EACH INDIVIDUAL OFFICER'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE PART OF THE CITY THEY'RE RESPONSIBLE FOR? WHICH THEN TO ME, AS I BRINGS UP A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE, THE AREA IN WHICH AN INDIVIDUAL OFFICER IS TASKED TO PROTECT OR PATROL OR WHATEVER.
AND IS IT EVEN REASONABLE TO EXPECT EACH INDIVIDUAL OFFICER TO DEVELOP A LEVEL OF TRUST WITH THE COMMUNITY? I MEAN, WE'RE NOT ASSIGNING OFFICERS TO ONE STREET, RIGHT? THESE, THESE REGIONS ARE FAIRLY LARGE AND IT'S, IT'S KIND OF A BIG ASK TO SAY EVERY OFFICER NEEDS TO GO PLAY BASKETBALL WITH, WITH KIDS.
LIKE IT JUST, I MEAN THAT, THAT CAN BE A FINE COMPONENT, BUT I FEEL LIKE THE QUESTIONS ARE BIGGER AND MORE INSTITUTIONAL AND NOT NECESSARILY TO BE ANSWERED TODAY, BUT I THINK THERE'S A LOT MORE TO DIG INTO THAT.
AND TO THE MAYOR'S POINT, WE WANT TO, WE WANT TO HAVE METRICS BASED ON OUTCOMES, BUT WE DON'T EVEN HAVE METRICS BASED ON ACTIVITIES.
WE HAVE UNCOMMITTED TIME, BUT WE HAVEN'T BROKEN DOWN, I'M COMMITTED TIME OR DO WE HAVE THE TOOLS TO TRACK ON COMMITTED TIME? THERE'S JUST A LOT OF DENSITY IN THIS CONVERSATION.
AND I DON'T WANT TO BE IN A PLACE WHERE I'M USING ANECDOTAL EXPERIENCE TO DRIVE MY DECISIONS AS A POLICYMAKER.
UH, BUT I DON'T WANT TO IGNORE, YOU KNOW, I'VE, I'VE CALMED, I'VE DONE THE WRITE OUTS, I'VE SEEN HOW LONG IT TOOK AN OFFICER TO, TO BE DISTRACTED FROM RESPONDING TO CALLS IN ORDER TO WRITE UP REPORTS.
I SAW HOW LONG IT TOOK AN OFFICER JUST SITTING IN CENTRAL BOOKING.
SO, SO THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT PLAY IN TERMS OF HOW MUCH TIME OFFICERS HAVE AND, AND I THINK, YOU KNOW, WE, WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS ABOUT EFFICIENCY STUDY ON, ON OTHER PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS.
IT'S NOT THAT LEVEL OF SCRUTINY THAT I'M INTERESTED IN ON APD, BUT THERE'S SOMETHING TO JUST THE EXPERIENCE I HAD AN A RIDE ALONG TO SAY, WOW, THIS IS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF ALLOCATING TIME AND MUCH MORE COMPLICATED IN TERMS OF TRACKING IT.
WE ALL WANT TO HAVE A MEASURE OF COMMUNITY POLICING, BUT WE ALSO ALL HAVE VERY DIFFERENT DEFINITIONS OF IT.
SO I DON'T HAVE A QUESTION FOR YOU CHIEF KAY.
I JUST LAY OUT MY THOUGHTS GENERALLY ON WHERE WE ARE, BUT I, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT MORE WORK TO BE DONE HERE.
DID YOU WANT ME TO COME BACK TO YOU BEFORE I ASK THE QUESTION? I'M SURE YOU'RE SAYING CAUSE I DO HAVE SOME QUESTIONS.
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? AM I ECHOING OR NOW? YES.
YOU HAVE YOUR COMPUTER AND YOUR PHONE ON AT THE SAME TIME.
HOW ABOUT HOW'S THIS? BETTER? BETTER.
UM, I HAD A PHONE NEEDED BUT THERE'S COMPUTER WAS STILL ECHOING.
UM, SO I HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
I GUESS THE FIRST IS FOR THE AUDITOR.
UM, COULD YOU PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FACTORED IN THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES INTO THE MEASUREMENT OF COMMUNITY POLICING? BECAUSE YOU KNOW, IN OUR AREA, UM, SOMETIMES OUR, I'VE SUDDENLY FORGOTTEN THE NAME OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT YOU'VE REFERRED TO THROUGHOUT.
THERE'S A DISCUSSION IN THE AUDIT.
THERE'S A DISCUSSION IN THE AUDIT ABOUT HOW SOME OF THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS ARE WELL ATTENDED IN OTHER AREAS OR AT OTHER TIMES THEY MAY NOT BE.
YOU KNOW, AND I, I THINK IT REALLY VARIES IN THE DISTRICTS THAT COVER MY COUNCIL DISTRICT.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, YOU KNOW, MY CONSTITUENTS, UM, AND MY OFFICE IS IN WHERE WE'RE PROBABLY ONCE EVERY OTHER WEEK, UM, DIRECTING SOMEBODY
[00:40:01]
TO BE IN TOUCH WITH THEIR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE.SO WHILE PEOPLE MAY NOT NECESSARILY GO TO A COMMUNITY MEETING, ONE OF THE ORGANIZED, UM, DISTRICT-WIDE POLICE DISTRICT WIDE MEETINGS, THEY MAY BE IN TOUCH WITH THEIR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE VIA EMAIL OR VIA PHONE TO TALK ABOUT SECURITY ISSUES OR OTHER KINDS OF, UM, CONCERNS.
SO MY QUESTION IS FOR THE AUDITOR, HOW THAT FACTORED INTO YOUR CONSIDERATION OF COMMUNITY POLICING TIME.
UM, SO IN LOOKING AT THE MEASUREMENT OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TIME, OUR UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE TIME THAT DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES SPEND IN THE COMMUNITY IS INCLUDED IN THAT, BUT THAT THERE HAVE BEEN SOME CHALLENGES WITH TRACKING THAT TIME.
SO I THINK APD COULD SPEAK MORE SPECIFICALLY TO HOW THAT TIME IS INCLUDED IN THAT MEASURE THAT THEY HAVE CURRENTLY.
I THINK THAT WOULD BE IMPORTANT.
SO SHE'S GAVE, YOU WOULD ADDRESS THAT TOO.
AND YOU KNOW, THERE ARE OBVIOUSLY TIMES WHERE, WHERE APD, I ATTEND, UM, ROLE MODEL DAYS AT DIFFERENT ELEMENTARY AND THERE'S ALWAYS A VERY STRONG, UM, ATTENDANCE FROM THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
AND SO THOSE CLEARLY I WOULD ASSUME ARE BEING FACTORED INTO COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COMMUNITY POLICING TIME.
BUT HOW, YOU KNOW, WHEN, WHEN DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES ARE ANSWERING PHONE CALLS OR ANSWERING EMAILS, HOW DOES THAT GET FACTORED INTO THAT EQUATION? THE CURRENT MEASUREMENT AS THE AUDITOR HAS POINTED OUT IS, IS, UH, DEFINITELY NEEDS TO BE MORE ROBUST.
UM, THE COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT TIME SPECIFICALLY THE WAY WE CURRENTLY MEASURE IT, IT IS FROM A PATROL ASPECT.
UH, TO BE HONEST, PROBABLY A HUNDRED PERCENT OF A DRD TIME IS REALLY COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT.
THAT IS WHAT THEY'RE THERE FOR.
SO IT, UH, IT IS NOT SPECIFICALLY CAPTURED IN A WAY THAT WE WOULD LIKE IT TO BE CAPTURED, UH, TO BE REFLECTIVE OF, OF OUR TIME THAT WITH THE ARTS.
SO IT IS AN ANSWER TO SAY THAT IS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WE NEED TO HAVE BETTER METRICS.
YEAH, I THINK THAT'S REALLY CRITICAL BECAUSE A LOT OF THE COMMUNITY POLICING WORK, I, I AGREE AND APPRECIATE YOUR APPROACH THAT EVERY INTERACTION WITH A POLICE OFFICER IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO EMBED AND INTEGRATE THOSE COMMUNITY POLICING PERSPECTIVE.
UM, BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, WE ALSO DO NEED TO RECOGNIZE THE VERY SPECIFIC DESIGNATED OFFICERS WITHIN THE POLICE DEPARTMENT WHO ARE, ARE DOING COMMUNITY POLICING 100% OF THEIR TIME.
JUST TO UNDERSCORE THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE CONTACT MY CONSTITUENTS HAVE WITH POLICE IS THROUGH, IS THROUGH, UM, IN TERMS OF COMMUNITY POLICING MEASURES IS THROUGH THOSE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT'S THE LAST QUESTION FOR THE MOMENT.
I APPRECIATE BOTH THE AUDIT AND THE, WELL, NO, I DO HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION FOR YOU.
CHIEF DAY, JUST TO PICK UP ON A POINT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER POOL WAS, WAS REFERENCING, HAVE YOU EVER CONSIDERED OR HAS THE POLICE DEPARTMENT EVER CONSIDERED HAVING A SYSTEM WHERE SAY THE FIRST HOUR OR THE LAST HOUR OF AN OFFICER'S SHIFT WAS SPENT NOT, NOT RESPONDING TO THE CALL? I MEAN, I TOO HAVE DONE FIVE ROUNDS AND WALK AROUND AND I MEAN, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE JUST MOVING FROM ONE CALL TO ONE CALL TO ONE CALL VERY, VERY QUICKLY.
AND SO HAS IT EVER BEEN DISCUSSED TO HAVE THAT BE A SCHEDULING, YOU KNOW, BILL THEN TO THE SCHEDULE WHERE THEY'RE, THEY ARE NOT RESPONDING TO CALLS FOR AN HOUR AT THE BEGINNING OR THE END OF THE SHIFT OR SOME OTHER PERIOD OF THEIR SHIFT AND JUST AVAILABLE TO DO THOSE UNCOMMITTED TIME TO DO THAT ON COMMITTED TIME.
AND BY THE WAY, LET ME JUST SAY TO THE AUDITOR, THAT WAS REALLY INTERESTING.
WE'VE TALKED ABOUT UNPERMITTED TIME FREQUENTLY, UM, IN THE TIME I'VE BEEN ON COUNCIL, BUT NEVER QUITE IN THE WAY THAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED IT THAT I CAN RECALL, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT THE TOTAL BLOCK OF UNCOMMITTED TIME DOESN'T HELP US UNDERSTAND HOW THAT, HOW THAT MAY BE STAGGERED THROUGHOUT A SHIFT AND, AND YOU KNOW, NOT AS USABLE OBVIOUSLY AS ONE BLOCK OF TIME.
SO THANKS TO THE AUDITOR AND CHIEF, IF YOU COULD ADD AND YES, SURE.
WE, WE HAVE LOOKED, UH, DIFFERENT WAYS TO DO THAT.
I BELIEVE THAT YOU MIGHT BE FAMILIAR WITH OPERATION BLUE WAVE, WHICH IS EXACTLY HOW YOU'RE DESCRIBING IT.
WE HAD OUR EVENING SHIFTS THAT WOULD TAKE ABOUT A HOUR AND A HALF, TWO HOUR BLOCK AT THE BEGINNING OF THEIR SHIFTS WHEN UH, UH, AND GO OUT IN PARTICULAR AREAS THAT THEY ARE HAVING CERTAIN CHALLENGES WITH TO SPECIFICALLY, UH, WALK THE NEIGHBORHOODS AND TALK TO THE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND GATHER
[00:45:01]
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.UH, WE DID DO THAT FOR A FEW PERIODS.
I DO KNOW THAT, UH, THERE WERE SOME POSITIVE IMPACTS TO THAT AS WELL AS SOME POTENTIAL NEGATIVES.
WE HAVE BEEN WORKING TO ENHANCE THAT PARTICULAR, UH, PROGRAM, UH, WORKING WITH THE OFFICE OF POLICE OVERSIGHT IN THE EQUITY OFFICE, UH, DUE TO THE COVEN.
WE'VE SORT OF, THAT SORT OF HAS PUT A STOP ON THAT PARTICULAR PROGRAM, BUT THAT IS SOMETHING JUST LIKE YOU DESCRIBED AS SOMETHING THAT WE DO BELIEVE THAT WE, WE DID RECEIVE SOME VERY POSITIVE, UH, IMPACTS OF THAT PARTICULAR, UH, UH, PROGRAM.
I'M SURE THAT YOU HAVE DESCRIBED THAT TO US IN THE PAST, BUT WHERE COULD I LEARN MORE ABOUT OPERATION BLUE WAVE? I SEE IT REFERENCED IN THE AUDIT, BUT UNLESS I'M MISSING IT, THE SALADA I'M NOT SEEING A DESCRIPTION OF IT, I'D BE GLAD TO SEND IT TO.
UH, UH, THE, THE UH, THE COMMITTEE, UH, WE DO HAVE A RIDE ON IT.
UH, IT WILL BE IN DRAFT FORM BECAUSE WE WERE STILL WORKING, UH, ON, ON REFINING IT WITH THE INPUT FROM THE EQUITY OFFICE, THE UH, AN OPO.
WELL THANK YOU CHIEF K, DOES IT ADDRESS SOME OF WHAT YOU'VE DESCRIBED, WHAT YOU SUMMARIZE, YOU SAID THERE WERE SOME BENEFITS TO IT AND SOME CHALLENGES.
DOES THE REPORT GO INTO IT? SOME OF THOSE ARE, IT DOES NOT, BUT I'D BE GLAD TO, UH, TO ADD THAT INTO THE CORRESPONDENCE WHEN I SEND IT.
UM, FIRST, YOU KNOW, THE AUDIT PRETTY MUCH SAYS THAT THE DATA THAT WE'RE USING ISN'T WORKING.
UM, SO I WANT TO HAVE YOU EXPLAIN A LITTLE BIT MORE, CAUSE I THINK THERE WAS MORE IN YOUR ANSWER THAN WHAT WE HEARD, UM, IN THE AUDIT.
CAUSE THERE'S A WAY TO READ IT AS SIMPLY SAYING, UM, YOU KNOW, SO DO THIS DATA ANALYSIS AND NOW YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THREE MONTHS TO DO DATA ANALYSIS TO SAY WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW, WHICH IS THAT THE CODES ARE BROKEN.
BUT I HEARD YOUR RESPONSE SEEM A LITTLE BIT MEATIER IN TERMS OF WHAT YOU WERE DOING.
AND I'D LIKE TO HEAR MORE ABOUT WHAT YOU'RE ACTUALLY GOING TO DO TO GET US TO A BETTER PLACE BY AUGUST.
UM, AND HOW WE'RE USING THE DATA AND HOW WE CAN USE THE DATA MOVING FORWARD.
WELL, ONE IS THAT, UH, AS WE HAVE SEEN THROUGH MANY OF OUR REPORTS, UH, USE THE RACIAL PROFILING REPORT IS AN EXAMPLE.
BUT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE HAVE HAVE PUSHED OUT FOR MANY YEARS.
AND IT WASN'T UNTIL THE INNOVATIONS OFFICE AND THE EQUITY OFFICE AND OPO ACTUALLY DID A HIGHER LEVEL OF ANALYSIS, WHICH POINTED TO THAT WE NEEDED TO DO A DEEPER ANALYSIS.
UH, WE HAVE A VERY LIMITED STAFF IN OUR RESEARCH AND PLANNING.
SO WE WE'RE HOPING TO BRING A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT ON BOARD, WHICH IS THE CHIEF DATA OFFICER THAT, UH, IS AN EXPERT IN NOT ONLY THE DATA, BUT HOW CAN WE INTERPRET AND, AND ARE WE COLLECTING THE RIGHT DATA TO GIVE US THE RIGHT OUTCOMES.
SO, UH, HISTORICALLY WE'VE POOLED OF THE DATA OF WE NEED TO SPECIFICALLY UNDERSTAND THAT AND FIND OUT, UH, WHAT DO WE NEED TO CAPTURE IN ORDER TO PROVIDE US WITH BETTER OUTCOMES AND STRATEGIES.
SO, NO, THAT'S NOT A GREAT ANSWER, BUT WE'RE HOPING TO BRING SOMEONE IN THAT HAS A, A DIFFERENT LENS.
UH, WE'RE ALSO WORKING MORE AND MORE WITH THE EQUITY OFFICE AND OPO THAT PROVIDES US A DIFFERENT LENS THAN JUST A POLICE LENS WHO WE ARE LOOKING AT REDUCING CRIME AND WHAT THIS CRIME LOOKED LIKE.
BUT WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO, UH, DIVE INTO OUR DATA TO, ARE WE BETTER GOING TO MEASURE COMMUNITY POLICING? HOW ARE WE BETTER GOING TO ADDRESS DISPROPORTIONALITIES THAT WE HAVE? BUT TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO, ONE, COLLECT THE RIGHT DATA AND WE HAVE TO THEN ANALYZE THAT DATA TO COME UP WITH THE RIGHT STRATEGIES.
SO, UH, UH, THAT WAS THE SORT OF ANSWER THAT, AND THEN I PUSHED, WE'RE HOPING THAT, UH, WITH HELP FROM OUTSIDE OF OUR AGENCY AND HIRING THE RIGHT PERSON THAT WILL BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH BETTER MEASUREMENT.
UM, SO I HOPE THAT THAT YOU WILL, YOU WILL MOVE
[00:50:01]
ON THAT UM, LIKE COUNCIL MEMBER POOL IN TOBO.I AM INTERESTED IN KIND OF SEEING IF WE CAN GET BLOCKS OF TIME FOR COMMUNITY POLICING.
UM, I DID WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THE POINT THAT COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO WAS RAISING ABOUT THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
UM, AND TO SUGGEST THAT THERE ARE SOME REAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR STRENGTHENING THAT, UM, UTILIZING OUR COUNCIL OFFICES.
SO I FIND THAT, YOU KNOW, OUR DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVE IS EXTREMELY RESPONSIVE WHEN WE REACH OUT AND WE WANT THEM TO BE PART OF SOMETHING THAT WE ARE DOING.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T WORK THE OTHER WAY.
UM, WHEN THEY ARE TRYING TO DO AN EVENT, WHETHER IT'S A COFFEE OR WHETHER IT'S, UM, YOU KNOW, AN ENGAGEMENT MEETING, UM, AND WE ACTUALLY HAVE CONNECTIONS OUT IN THE COMMUNITY TO GET PEOPLE TO SHOW UP.
UM, AND WE'VE TRIED ON A COUPLE OCCASIONS TO TRY TO SPIN THAT AROUND AND, AND, AND OFFER OURSELVES AS PARTNERS.
UM, BUT I IMAGINE THAT THAT IS SOMETHING THAT ACROSS THE CITY WITH ALL 11 OF US THAT, UM, WE COULD BE ENGAGED MORE TO HELP JUMPSTART AND MOVE THAT ENGAGEMENT, UM, TO BE AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL BECAUSE WE'RE ALL DOING DIFFERENT TYPES OF ENGAGEMENT.
UM, AND, AND AGAIN, WHEN WE INVITE, OR THE NEIGHBORS INVITE, THE DISTRICT REPS THAT I'M WORKING WITH ARE ALWAYS VERY RESPONSIVE, BUT WE MIGHT FIND OUT THE DAY BEFORE THAT THERE'S AN PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT MEETING GOING ON, WHICH WE CAN'T HELP ADVERTISE OR WE CAN'T DO ANYTHING.
AND SO I THINK THERE'S SOME REALLY, UM, LOW HANGING FRUIT THERE THAT COULD, UM, COULD BE FOSTERED THERE, UM, TO MAKE US MORE PARTNERS, UM, IN THIS PROCESS.
AND THAT MAY WORK DIFFERENTLY IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE CITY, BUT I THINK IT COULD, UM, STRONGLY, UM, IMPROVE THINGS.
UM, THE OTHER AREA THAT I WANTED TO ASK ABOUT WAS HOW DO DIRECTED PATROLS PLAY INTO COMMUNITY
THEY'RE MORE, IS OUR COMMITTED TIME BECAUSE THOSE ARE SPECIFIC DIRECTIONS THAT WE ARE GIVING THAT PARTICULAR OFFICER, UH, TO DO, WHETHER IT BE ONE TIME, A SHIFT OR SEVERAL, UM, IN, IN, IN HEARING WHAT A COUNCIL MEMBER TOPO SAID, THERE MIGHT BE OPPORTUNITIES FOR US TO DO SOME TYPE OF DIRECTIVE PATROL SPECIFIC TO MEDIA ENGAGEMENT, UH, AND TO CAPTURE IT, UH, THESE ACTIVITIES AND GIVE A BIGGER BLOCK OF TIME.
UH, WE'LL, WE'LL DEFINITELY HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT.
SO I WAS ASKING THIS FROM A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THOUGH, BECAUSE I HAVE FOLKS TOO ARE ASKING, WORKING WITH US OR WE'RE REQUESTING DIRECTED PATROLS OR DISTRICT REPS ARE REQUESTING DIRECT PATROLS, BUT THEN NO ONE'S EVER SHOWING UP.
AND THAT IS ERODING THE TRUST THAT THE COMMUNITY HAS EMPLOYEES BECAUSE THEY'RE BEING TOLD THAT THE DIRECT PATROLS ARE GOING TO SHOW UP AND THEN THEY NEVER SHOW UP.
AND THE ISSUE THAT'S BEING, THAT THEY'RE TRYING TO GET ADDRESSED DOESN'T GET RESOLVED.
UM, BUT IT IS CREATING TENSIONS BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THEIR TRUST IN POLICE.
AND WHAT WE'VE FOUND IS THAT THERE'S NO MECHANISM FOR TRACKING THOSE DIRECT PATROL REQUESTS.
THERE'S NO MECHANISMS TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S ACCOUNTABILITY THAT THEY GET DONE, EVEN IF SOMEONE HAS GONE AND REACHED OUT TO THEIR, THEIR REP AND ASKED FOR IT TO HAPPEN.
UM, AND THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING A LOT, UM, IN MY DISTRICT AND UM, IT IS, IS IT'S ERODING THE RELATIONSHIPS THAT ARE THERE WHERE SOMEBODY, HIS REACTION WAS THAT THE POLICE COULD BE HELPFUL, UM, FOR A PARTICULAR CHALLENGE.
UM, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S SOME INCREASED PROPERTY CRIME OR THERE'S THEY'RE SPEEDING OR WHATEVER IT IS, UM, THOSE PATROLS ARE NEVER SHOWING UP AND THEN WE HAVE NO WAY TO TRACK THEM.
SO I THINK AS PART OF THIS DATA PROCESS, UM, I THINK WE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THAT LEVEL OF ACCOUNTABILITY AS WELL.
UM, BECAUSE, UM, FOR SOME PARTS OF TOWN THAT DIRECT PATROL IS THE REACTION THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO SEE THAT THE POLICE ARE ACTUALLY SHOWING UP.
UM, WHEN THERE'S AN ISSUE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT THERE VERY OFTEN.
SO THE ANSWER, IF WE DO HAVE A ROBUST TRACKING MECHANISM FOR DIRECTED PATROLS, THEY'RE ALL PLACED INTO A DATABASE AND THOSE ARE TRACKED AND THE OFFICERS ARE REQUIRED TO DOCUMENT WHEN THEY DO THE DIRECTED PATROLS.
UH, UH, LIEUTENANT GASLIN IS ON THE LINE AS WELL AND SHE IS, UH, SHE OVERSEES ALL THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES.
UH, SHE COULD PROBABLY GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INSIGHT INTO
[00:55:02]
HOW THAT IS TRACKED AND THEN WHAT ARE THE REQUIREMENTS, UH, THAT ARE, THAT ARE PUT ON THE INDIVIDUAL AREAS IN THE OFFICERS.UH, LIEUTENANT GHASSAN, DID YOU WANT IT? DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO ADD TO THAT? JUST TO CONCURRENT YOU SAID THAT THERE IS A TRACKING SYSTEM AND I'D HAVE TO CHECK WITH ALL THE DRC HOW THEY'RE TRACKING.
CAUSE I KNOW THE ADMIN WAS, THEY HAD TO FILL OUT THE RIGHT TO PATROL WHAT TIME THEY WENT, WHAT THEY OBSERVED MAY TURN IT IN AND WE KEEP TRACK OF IT.
BUT I CAN FOLLOW UP WITH THE ADMINS AND THE DR SERGEANTS TO FIND OUT EXACTLY AND MAKE SURE THE PROCESS IS CONSISTENT CITYWIDE AND STANDARDIZED.
SO, UM, I DON'T THINK THAT THERE'S THE LOOP BEING CLOSED WHERE IF YOU REQUEST THE PATROL IT'S ACTUALLY HAPPENING.
SO SOMEBODY MIGHT HAVE TO WRITE DOWN IF THEY DID THE PATROL, BUT THERE'S A PIECE OF IT THAT'S NOT HAPPENING.
UM, AND MAYBE WE CAN FOLLOW UP SPECIFICALLY WITH, UM, MY OFFICE TO ADDRESS THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE EXPERIENCING BECAUSE WE'VE HAD SEVERAL OF, OF THESE SITUATIONS AND, AND UM, AND I THINK IT'S ADDRESSABLE, BUT FOR THE COMMUNITY POLICING ISSUES IN, IN, IN MY DISTRICT THAT THAT IS, IS A SYMPTOM OF, OF, OF NOT, NOT WORKING, UM, AS THEY MIGHT.
AND SO MAYBE WE CAN ADDRESS THAT, BUT WHAT OUR IMPRESSION WAS THAT THERE WAS DEFINITELY, UM, YOU KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM MAY EXIST BUT IT'S NOT UTILIZED, UM, TO TRACK IT AND WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO PROVIDE YOU SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION.
UM, CAUSE WE'RE HEARING REGULARLY FROM CONSTITUENTS THAT THOSE PATROLS ARE NOT SHOWING UP.
WELL IF YOU SEND, HAVE YOUR OFFICE, SEND ME THE INFORMATION, I CAN TRACK IT DOWN TO SEE EXACTLY.
CAUSE IF IT'S A SPECIFIC TIME IT'S BASICALLY BETWEEN TWO AND 4:00 PM, THE OFFICER WILL GO OUT THE OPPORTUNITY TWO AND 4:00 PM.
SO, UM, BUT YES, SEND ME THE INFORMATION, I CAN LOOK INTO IT.
UM, AND THEN, UM, YOU KNOW, I JUST DO WANT TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE CHALLENGE THAT WE FACED, UM, WITH THINKING ABOUT THE NUMBERS OF OFFICERS AND THE ABILITY TO SPEND THE TIME ON COMMUNITY POLICING.
UM, IF WE GO BACK TO THE STAFFING PLAN THAT WE HAVE, UM, WE KNEW THERE WERE, THERE WERE A COUPLE OF PARTICULAR ISSUES THAT WE WANTED TO ADDRESS WITH THE STAFFING PLAN.
ONE WAS, YOU KNOW, INCREASING RESOURCES FOR THE SEX CRIMES UNIT.
ANOTHER WAS THIS COMMUNITY, UM, POLICING.
UM, AND I KNOW THAT WE HAVEN'T FINISHED OUT THE PLAN YET, BUT, UM, CAN YOU HELP ME UNDERSTAND HOW THE ADDITIONAL OFFICERS HAVE BEEN DEPLOYED? UM, YOU KNOW, EITHER WITH, IN THE DISTRICT PROGRAM OR WITHIN, UM, THE COMMUNITY POLICING EFFORT.
SO WE HAVE A STAFFING METHODOLOGY WHERE WE LOOK AT ARE THERE ARE SEVERAL METRICS IN THERE TO WHERE WE'VE LOOKED AT WHERE THE OFFICER'S ARE NEEDED CITYWIDE, UH, THAT, UH, BASED ON CALL LOAD RESPONSE TIMES AND A FEW OTHER METRICS.
SO THAT IS HOW THE OFFICERS, UH, WHEN THEY COME IN TO YOU PROVIDE US NEW OFFICERS, WE PLUG THAT INTO OUR METHODOLOGY AND THEN THOSE OFFICERS GET PUSHED OUT, UH, IN THE CITY.
AND WE'RE IN REFERENCE TO THE 30 OFFICERS THAT WE CAME UP WITH A PLAN.
FIVE OF THOSE, UH, HAVE BEEN DETECTIVES AND WE HAVE, UH, WE, WE PLACED THEM WHERE THE GREATEST NEED IS.
UH, UH, CURRENTLY IT HAS BEEN SEX CRIMES WHERE WE'VE PUT SEVERAL OF THOSE NEW DETECTIVES, UH, IN PRIMES TO A POST DRIVE RESPONSE IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA.
DOES ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY OTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME?
DO I HAVE A SECOND? I CAN'T SEE ANY OTHER COUPLE OF NUMBERS RIGHT NOW.
UM, AND BEFORE WE VOTE, I JUST WANT TO SAY I APPRECIATE THE WORK OF THE AUDITOR'S OFFICE ON THIS AND I KNOW JUST WANT TO MAKE IT REALLY CLEAR.
THIS IS ONE OF MANY DIFFERENT WAYS, UM, THAT COUNCIL IS WORKING WITH APD, UM, TO, TO IMPROVE AND BE MORE RESPONSIVE TO, TO OUR COMMUNITY WAS FOCUSED ON A PARTICULAR ASPECT, UM, THAT WE WANTED TO, UM, LOOK INTO ALL OF THESE DIFFERENT PIECES THOUGH, FIT TOGETHER.
UM, AND HOPEFULLY MOVING ON ALL OF THESE FRONTS, WE WILL BE ABLE TO MOVE IN A, IN A, IN A DIRECTION, YOU KNOW, MOVING FORWARD.
UM, AS WE THINK ABOUT THE BUDGET, UM, YOU KNOW, WE OBVIOUSLY DON'T KNOW YET WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO BE ABLE TO INCREASE STAFFING FOR APD GIVEN THE COVEN, UM, IMPLICATIONS.
UM, BUT IF WE DO, I THINK THAT, UM, THIS AUDIT DOES SUGGEST THAT WE SHOULD, UM, THINK ABOUT PRIORITIZING ADDITIONAL DISTRICT REPS,
[01:00:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, AS PART PART OF THAT DISCUSSION.UM, SO I GUESS WE'LL TAKE A VOTE ALL THOSE IN FAVOR AND I CAN'T SEE PEOPLE SO
THANK YOU CHIEF GAY FOR JOINING US THIS MORNING AND THAT
[Item 4]
WILL BRING US TO ITEM FOUR, WHICH IS THE REVISED AUDIT PLAN AUDITOR.UM, WOULD YOU LIKE TO WALK US THROUGH THIS PLEASE? THANK YOU.
WHERE ARE YOU STUCK? STUDY AUDITOR.
UM, I, SO THE PROVIDER'S GOT A PLAN.
I THINK THE EASIEST WAY TO WALK THROUGH IT ALL SHOULD HAVE THAT DOCUMENT.
UM, IT WAS IN BACKUP AS WELL AS WELL AS IN AN EMAIL.
UM, THERE'S REALLY BASICALLY TWO REASONS THAT WE ARE PROPOSING REVISIONS TO PLAN AND ONE OF THEM WILL NOT COME AS A SURPRISE TO ANYBODY.
UM, CORONA VIRUS HAS, UM, IMPACTED AUDIT SHOPS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IN TERMS OF, UM, THE WORK THAT WE'RE DOING.
TRYING TO, UM, DO THE MOST VALUABLE WORK FOCUSED ON THE HIGHEST RISK AREAS FACING THE CITY, UM, BUT ALSO, UM, AFFECTS OUR ABILITY TO GO ONSITE OR HAVE IN PERSON INTERVIEWS.
UM, AND SO TO THE EXTENT WE NEEDED TO PULL PAPER DOCUMENTS OR WE WERE LOOKING AT A TOPIC THAT MAYBE ISN'T AS RELEVANT NOW AS IT WAS BEFORE, UM, WE'RE PROPOSING SOME ADJUSTMENTS.
AND THEN THE SECOND THING, UM, NOT SPECIFIC TO THE FRONT OF IRIS, KIND OF RELATED THOUGH, IS THAT, UM, WE HAVE THREE SENIOR AUDIT VACANCIES.
UM, SO SENIOR AUDITORS, UM, HAVE LEFT TWO OF THEM FOR OTHER CITY DEPARTMENTS, CONGRATULATIONS TO THOSE DEPARTMENTS.
UM, ONE OF THEM FOR ANOTHER CITY ON, AT SHOP, UM, FURTHER AWAY.
BUT BECAUSE OF THOSE VACANCIES AND WITH THE HIRING FREEZE, UM, WE REALLY DON'T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH A LITTLE PLAN THAT WE INITIALLY LAID OUT.
UM, SO THE, THE SECTIONS IN THE AUDIT PLAN, I THINK THAT THE FIRST SECTION OR THE, IN THE REVISED PLAN, THE FIRST SECTION IS REALLY JUST THINGS THAT WE'VE ALREADY COMPLETED OR WILL BE COMPLETED SOON.
TODAY'S COMMUNITY POLICING WHAT IT DOES ON THAT LIST.
UM, THE SECOND SECTION IS THINGS THAT ARE ALREADY UNDERWAY.
UM, SO, UM, REALLY ONE OF THE LARGEST PROJECTS WE HAVE THAT'S UNDERWAY AS OUR REDISTRICTING EFFORTS.
UM, THOSE ARE THE, UM, CLARIFY CHARTER EVERY 10 YEARS THAT OUR OFFICE LEAD AN EFFORT TO RECRUIT COMMISSIONERS WHO WILL, UM, ADJUST COUNCIL BOUNDARIES.
SO, UM, COMING TO IN THERE, UM, AND THAT HAS VERY SPECIFIC TIMELINES THAT HAPPEN BASICALLY IN THIS FALL.
UM, AND I THINK ACTUALLY WE'RE DOING A BRIEFING WITH Y'ALL AT A COUNCIL WORK SESSION.
I DON'T REMEMBER THE DATE AT THIS POINT, BUT UM, SO THAT ONE'S COMING.
UM, THE OTHER WORK THAT'S UNDERWAY, YOU CAN SEE THAT LIST OF THERE.
UM, THE, ON THE, ON THE BACK PAGE, THERE ARE THINGS THAT WE PLAN TO BE STARTING SOON, SO DEFINITELY BEFORE THE END OF THE FISCAL YEAR.
AND THEN WE'VE ADDED A RISK ASSESSMENT.
SO RISK ASSESSMENT IS REALLY JUST AN AUDITOR'S WAY SAYING, UM, LET'S FIGURE OUT IF THERE ARE NEW AUDIT TOPICS EMERGING BECAUSE OF THE CREDIT VIRUS OR BECAUSE OF THE CITY'S RESPONSE, UM, TO CORONAVIRUS.
ARE THERE THINGS THAT WE NEED TO BE LOOKING AT THAT, YOU KNOW, WHETHER THAT'S, UM, FUNDING THAT THE CITY HAS, HAS AUTHORIZED GRANT REQUIREMENTS, UM, CYBERSECURITY RISKS.
THERE'S ALL SORTS OF THINGS THAT MAY COME UP THERE.
WE'RE NOT SPECIFICALLY IDENTIFYING THOSE, BUT WE DO WANT TO DO SOME WORK TO IDENTIFY THOSE FOR OUR NEXT PLAN.
AND THEN, UM, THE LAST SECTION IS THE THINGS THAT WE ARE HOLDING OFF ON.
UM, SO ONE OF THE AUDITS AND STARTING FROM THE BOTTOM, BUT, UM, PARKING MANAGEMENT IS AN AUDIT WHERE, UH, PARKING AND PARKING REVENUE AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS RELATED TO FRACKING AND CHANGED DRASTICALLY.
UM, NOT SURPRISINGLY, BUT OR LAST FEW MONTHS.
UM, THE POLICE DATA AUDIT, THAT IS ONE WHERE, UM, AS YOU HEARD FROM CHIEF GEYER EARLIER, UH, THEY HAVE ACTUALLY HIRED SOMEBODY AND THEY'RE STARTING TO DO SOME WORK IN THAT AREA.
SO I WANTED TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE TIME TO GET YOUR FEET UNDER THEM, UM, BEFORE WE DO THAT AUDIT.
AND THEN THE LAST ONE IS THE FIRE AND EMS RESOURCE ALLOCATION.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE BASICALLY HOLDING ON THAT AND THAT IS BECAUSE, UM, CITY MANAGEMENT HAS AN, I FORGOT WHAT IT WAS CALLED, AN RFQ S A REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS STATEMENT.
IT WAS POSTED IN APRIL AND I THINK IT CLOSES IN THE NEXT WEEK.
UM, TRYING TO IDENTIFY CONSULTANT WHO WOULD LOOK AT RESPONSE TIME, RESOURCE UTILIZATION, UM, FACILITY LOCATIONS, ALL SORTS OF THINGS KIND OF TIED TO THE TOPIC THAT WE HAD ON OUR AUDIT.
SO THOSE ARE THE UPDATES AT THIS POINT AND WHERE I'M CERTAINLY OPEN TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
ALEX, ANY QUESTIONS?
AND UM, IN PARTICULAR I'M, I'M HAPPY TO SEE THE CONTINUED, UM,
[01:05:01]
UH, FROM THE CITY ON, UH, UNDERSTANDING HOW WE'VE RESPONDED TO THE VIRUS DURING THAT RISK ASSESSMENT.AND, UM, I THINK THAT THAT WILL HELP US AT UNDERSCORES OUR NEED FOR RESILIENCE IN THE COMMUNITY AND AT THE CITY.
AND I THINK THAT THAT'LL GO A LONG WAY TO HELPING US BE PREPARED FOR ANOTHER SPIKE, A DIFFERENT KIND OF VIRUS, SOME OTHER MAJOR DISLOCATING EVENT THAT WE DON'T HAVE ANY CONTROL OVER.
UM, BUT WE'LL BE ABLE TO RESPOND EVEN BETTER.
I THINK WE'VE RESPONDED REALLY BRILLIANTLY, UM, TO COURBET 19, UM, UNFORTUNATE THAT WE HAD TO, UH, BUT IT WILL ALSO BUILD IN OUR ABILITIES TO RESPOND EVEN MORE JOINTLY, UM, TO FUTURE, UM, DISLOCATION.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THAT.
AND FOR THE WORK EVERYBODY'S DOING, UM, IN THAT REGARD AND GIVE HIM A MS. STOKES.
DID YOU NEED US TO, UM, EXCEPT THIS OR JUST WANTED TO REPORT IT TO US OR WHAT WOULD YOU BE MOST COMFORTABLE WITH? I THINK ACCEPTANCE WOULD BE GREAT, BUT THE WAY THAT THE CODE READS FOR REVISION, IT'S NOT REALLY REQUIRED.
UM, BUT, BUT CERTAINLY I ALWAYS LIKE FOR YOU GUYS TO BE OKAY WITH THE PLAN THAT WE'RE LAYING OUT.
I'M HAPPY TO MAKE SOME MOTION UNLESS SOMEBODY ELSE WANTS TO.
SO COUNCIL MEMBER POOL MAKES A MOTION TO ACCEPT.
DO WE HAVE A SECOND TO ACCEPT THE REVISED AUDIT PLAN FROM COUNCIL MEMBER PLAN.
AGAIN, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR HAD A MESS ON THE DIET.
IF STOKES, UM, FOR THAT UPDATE.
UM, WE HA I'M GOING TO SKIP TO, I THINK IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO GO TO ITEM SIX NEXT BEFORE WE DO MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE AND THEN WE'LL DO THAT PRESENTATION RIGHT BEFORE WE BREAK FOR EXECUTIVE SESSION.
[Item 6]
MOVE TO ITEM SIX, WHICH IS THE FINANCIAL POLICIES UPDATE.UM, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT, UM, IF WE ARE AGREEABLE TO THESE FINANCIAL POLICY UPDATES THAT UM, THE MOTION WOULD BE TO RECOMMEND INCLUDING DAILIES IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET.
UM, SO MR VINO, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH US ON ITEM SIX.
AND I'M GOING TO SHARE MY SCREEN REALLY QUICKLY.
I SENT THESE MATERIALS OUT EARLY THIS MORNING TO YOU VIA EMAIL SO YOU MAY HAVE THEM THERE AS WELL.
UM, AND I HAVE A PRESENTATION HERE.
I DON'T THINK YOU'RE ON THE RIGHT CALL TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THE SCREEN.
YOU WERE ONLY ON A PHONE LINK.
I HAVE A, I HAVE, I HAVE A PRESENTATION.
IT'S CALLED PROPOSED CHANGES TO FINANCIAL POLICIES.
IS THAT IT? UM, SO I'LL HAVE ANOTHER ONE THAT SAYS FINANCIAL POLICIES IN ALL CAPS.
UM, THERE SHOULD BE ONE OF THOSE BIASES.
YES, THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONE I BELIEVE.
I'LL PUT IT UP, BUT THEY WON'T BE ABLE TO SEE IT.
UM, IT WAS, UH,
IF WE COULD JUST MOVE RIGHT OFF TO THE SECOND SLIDE.
WE ONLY HAVE TWO FINANCIAL POLICIES FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION THIS MORNING.
UM, UH, COUNCIL MEMBERS, UH, THE FIRST IS A ITEM RELATED TO CHANGES IN STATE LAW THAT MOVED THE PROPERTY TAX REVENUE CAP, UM, FROM 8% DOWN TO THREE AND A HALF PERCENT.
OUR CURRENT POLICY STATES THAT, UM, OUR AD VALOREM PASS RATE CELLS GENERALLY NOT EXCEED 8%.
UM, WE COULD HAVE CHANGED THAT TO JUST SAY NOW SHE'LL GENERALLY NOT EXCEED 3.5%, BUT THE NEW STATE LAW, UM, AS WE ARE EXPERIENCING THIS YEAR, IT DOES INCLUDE PROVISIONS TO ALLOW THE AVALON TAX RATE TO GO BACK TO 8% DURING PERIODS OF A DISASTER DECLARATION.
SO THE RECOMMENDED LANGUAGE THAT WE HAVE IN ORDER TO THINK THAT BACKED UP WITH STATE LAWS TO SAY THAT OUR AD VALOREM TAX RATE, SO GENERALLY NOT EXCEED THE VOTER APPROVAL RATE AS DEFINED IN STATE LAW.
THAT WAY IF IT'S THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, GREAT.
IF THERE'S A DISASTER DECLARATION AND IT MOVES TO 8%, UM, WE'RE STILL COVERED.
SO THAT WOULD BE OUR FIRST RECOMMENDED, UM, CHANGE.
IF WE COULD MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE.
UM, AND THIS HAS TO DO WITH OUR RESERVE POLICIES AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE STARTED DISCUSSING WELL BEFORE THE ECONOMIC CRISIS WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW WITH THE RESULTS OF COBIT 19.
THIS WAS A POLICY CHANGE THAT, UM, WE STARTED DISCUSSING EVEN IN ANTICIPATION OF THE STATE LOWERING THE REVENUE CAP TO
[01:10:01]
3.5%.UM, KNOWING THAT WITH THE PROPERTY TAX CAP OF ONLY THREE AND A HALF PERCENT, WE WOULD BE MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE AS A CITY TO ECONOMIC FLUCTUATIONS THAT IMPACT OUR SALES TAX REVENUES.
UM, SO WE STARTED HAVING CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR CITY TREASURY OFFICE WITH OUR UM, CFL, ELAINE HEART.
UM, WE ALSO BROUGHT IN OUR FINANCIAL ADVISORS PFM TO START TALKING ABOUT HOW WE COULD MAKE THE POLICIES MORE ROBUST.
UM, IN SHORT, THE POLICY WE'RE PROPOSING WILL OVERTIME RESULTS IN FULL GENERAL RESERVES INCREASING FROM THE CURRENT 4% LEVEL THAT WE'VE BEEN MAINTAINING, UM, TO 14% OF OPERATING EXPENDITURES.
THE WAY WE WOULD RECOMMEND GETTING THERE WOULD BE TO INCREASE OUR EMERGENCY RESERVE FROM 6% TO 8%.
UM, AND THAT'S THE RESERVE THAT WE HAVE TAPPED INTO FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
WE'VE TAPPED INTO IT THIS YEAR RELATED WORK OPENED 19 RESPONSE AND I'D REALLY HAVE YOU LOOK AT THAT RESERVE AS BEING THE FUNDING WE HAVE IN RESERVES TO SERVE AS A BRIDGE FROM THE TIME WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE IT TO THE TIME WE CAN TAP INTO A FEMA REIMBURSEMENTS, WHICH IS CURRENTLY USING THE EMERGENCY RESERVE FOR THE SECOND RESERVE WE HAVE THEN IS FOR BUDGET STABILIZATION.
WE CURRENTLY HAVE BEEN KEEPING THAT AT UH, RIGHT AROUND 6%.
UM, SO 6% EMERGENCY RESERVE AND 6% AND THE STABILIZATION RESERVE.
AND THEN IT'S PART OF OUR ANNUAL BUDGET PROCESS.
WE, UM, IT'S ALL ABOVE THE 12% TOTAL.
UM, THE FUN ONE TIME ITEMS WOULD ESSENTIALLY HAVE THE SAME PROCESS, BUT THAT ADDITIONAL 6% WOULD BE OVER AND ABOVE THE 8% EMERGENCY RESERVE.
UM, AND DURING PERIODS WHEN THE STABILIZATION RESERVE OF LESS THAN 6%, WE WOULD WANT TO LIMIT THAT TO ONLY USES FOR ECONOMIC STABILITY.
SO IF WE WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF AN ECONOMIC DOWNTURN AND WE START SALES TAXES DROPPING, WE'D BE ABLE TO TAP INTO OUR STABILITY RESERVE, UM, UM, IN ORDER TO HELP KEEP OUR BUDGET BALANCED.
UM, BUT THEN DURING PERIODS WHEN OUR STABILIZATION RESERVES ARE GREATER THAN 6%, IN OTHER WORDS, OUR TOTAL RESERVES WERE GREATER THAN 14%.
UM, WE WOULD BE BACK IN THE SITUATION OF LOOKING TO THAT FUND WITH ONE TIME PRIORITIES, UM, OR CAPITAL ITEMS. UM, SO IN SHORT, UM, ESSENTIALLY PROPOSING TO INCREASE OUR RESERVES UP TO 14%, UM, I WILL SAY WE'RE NOT GOING TO GET THERE IN FISCAL YEAR 21 AND THAT'S OKAY.
THE POLICY DOESN'T REQUIRE US TO BE AT 14%.
UH, IT SIMPLY, UM, PAINTED THE LIMITS OF WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE RESERVE WHEN WE'RE BELOW 14%.
AND AGAIN, OVER TIME AS OUR ECONOMY RECOVERY, THEN OUR BUDGET SITUATION GETS BACK A LITTLE BIT.
THE NORMAL, UM, WE WOULD EXPECT TO SEE THAT REVERB GROW, UM, FROM ITS CURRENT LEVELS, UPWARDS OF 14% TO JUST GIVE US THAT ADDITIONAL ECONOMICS ABILITY, UM, DURING TOUGH ECONOMIC TIMES AND GIVE US MORE IN OUR EMERGENCY RESERVES IF WE EVER SEE ANOTHER DISASTER LIKE WE'RE EXPERIENCING NOW.
SO THAT'S WHAT WE WOULD PROPOSE AS COUNCIL MEMBER ALTAR.
UM, MENTIONED, WE WOULD SEE, UH, UM, THE COMMITTEE TO RECOMMEND INCLUDING THESE POLICY CHANGES IN THE FISCAL YEAR 21 BUDGET FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE FULL COUNCIL AS PART OF OUR BUDGET ADOPTION PROCESS.
AND IF WE CAN MOVE ON TO THE LAST SLIDE, THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU TODAY.
UM, COLLEAGUES, ANY QUESTIONS FOR MR VAN NINO OR COMMENTS?
UM, SO MR VINO, I JUST, I JUST WANT TO, UM, AND YOU MAY BE SPEAKING ABOUT THIS AT A, AT ANOTHER COUNCIL MEETING.
I'VE BEEN INSTRUCTED AS WE HAVE BEEN NAVIGATING COVEN HOW IMPORTANT OUR FINANCIAL POLICIES HAVE BEEN FOR PUTTING US IN A, UM, RELATIVELY STRONG, UM, POSITION TO NAVIGATE THIS CRISIS.
AND, AND I JUST WANTED TO, UM, INVITE YOU TO SPEAK REALLY BRIEFLY TO THAT BECAUSE I THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT WE DO OUR BEST TO MAINTAIN ADHERENCE TO OUR POLICIES AND TAKE STEPS SUCH AS THIS THAT FURTHER STRENGTHEN THEM.
AND, AND I APPRECIATE YOU REMINDING ME OF THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE TALK ABOUT BACK ON APRIL 7TH, WHEN I MADE MY FIRST BUDGET PRESENTATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL, UM, UM, ABOUT WHAT WAS HAPPENING TO OUR BUDGET THAT WE WERE PROJECTING TO SEE, UM, HAPPENING TO SALES TAXES AND MAKE THE BEVERAGE TAXES ENTERPRISE REVENUES.
UM, AND WE TALKED ABOUT THEM THAT, UM, WE ENTERED THE CRISIS IN
[01:15:01]
A VERY STRONG FINANCIAL, UM, VERY STRONG FINANCIAL POSITION AND TO A LARGE EXTENT DUE TO THE ROBUST FINANCIAL POLICIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED AND HAD BEEN APPROVED BY COUNCIL OVER THE YEARS.UM, SO FOR EXAMPLE, ONE OF THE POLICIES SAYS THAT WE NEED TO MAINTAIN A GENERAL FUND RESERVE OF 12%, UM, 6% FOR EMERGENCIES AND 6% FOR BUDGET SAVING RELATIONS.
AND NOT ONLY HAD WE ADHERE TO THAT POLICY, BUT WE WERE ACTUALLY EXCEEDING THAT POLICY LEVEL BY $25 MILLION.
SO, YOU KNOW, WE ENTERED THE COBIT 19 PRICES WITH NEARLY $150 MILLION IN OUR GENERAL FUND RESERVES.
THAT HAS GIVEN US ALL THE LIQUIDITY WE NEED TO MANAGE THROUGH THIS.
WE'RE INCURRING SIGNIFICANT ADDITIONAL SENTENCE THROUGHS RIGHT NOW RELATED TO OPEN 19.
UM, AND WE'RE NOT EXPERIENCING ANY LIQUIDITY ISSUES.
UM, YOU KNOW, TO A LARGE EXTENT DUE TO THE POLICIES, OTHER CITIES AREN'T AS FORTUNATE.
THEY'RE HAVING TO ISSUE TACTIC DISSIPATION NOTES AND TAKE OTHER ACTIONS, UM, AND OVER TO, YOU KNOW, MEET PAYWALL ON BASIC UNDERSTANDINGS OF THE CITY.
AND, YOU KNOW, THAT'S JUST ONE EXAMPLE OF HOW OUR POLICIES, UM, REALLY SERVE AS WELL.
UM, I WILL SAY TO THAT THAT THERE ARE A LARGE PART OF OUR AAA BOND RATING BY ALL THREE CREDIT AGENCIES, WHICH IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US.
WE'RE THE ONLY LARGE TEXAS CITY THAT'S STILL MAINTAINED THE AAA RATING BY ALL THREE AGENCIES.
THERE ARE A SMALL HANDFUL OF, OF THEIR LARGE CITIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT, UM, THAT, THAT ARE IN THAT RAREFIED AIR.
UM, BUT THAT'S HOW WE MAINTAIN THE LOWEST POSSIBLE INTEREST RATES.
WHEN WE DO THINGS LIKE, UM, BOND ISSUANCES AND WE HAVE TO PAY INTEREST ON THOSE BONDS OVER TIME.
THAT SIMPLY CREDIT RATING IS CRITICAL TO US.
IT'S GOING TO BUILD TO OUR TAXPAYERS TO KEEP OUR INTEREST RATES DOWN.
UM, AND IT IS A BIG PART OF MAINTAINING THAT RATING IS NOT ONLY THE STRONG POLICIES WE HAVE IN PLACE, BUT IT'S COUNTABLE DISCIPLINE AND ADHERENCE TO THOSE POLICIES.
YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S UM, YOU KNOW, IMPORTANT THAT SOME OF OUR CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATES OF OUR REVENUE HAVE ALSO HELPED US, UM, TO WEATHER THIS SO THEIR REVENUE DROPPED FROM OUR FORECASTED BUDGET AND WHERE WE, WHERE WE ARE NOT AS GREAT AS THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE BE BECAUSE WE HAD STRONGER MONTHS, UM, AND BUDGETED BUDGETED FOR.
SO, UM, I JUST THINK IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE GOOD PLACE WE ARE AT, UM, RELATIVELY SPEAKING, UM, AND, AND ACKNOWLEDGED THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR AAA RATING FOR THE FISCAL SOUNDNESS OF THE CITY.
I WILL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UM, MOTION ON THIS ITEM.
HOW'S MY BIRTH PLAN AGAIN? AND THE MOTION IS HAVE NUMBER, POOL SECONDS AND THE EMOTION WILL BE, UM, AS MR VINNIE NOTE SAID TO INCLUDE THESE POLICIES, RECOMMEND INCLUDING THESE POLICIES IN THE PROPOSED BUDGET FOR THE FULL COUNCIL TO CONSIDER AS PART OF THE BUDGET PROCESS.
IT'S A FULL DYESS COUNCIL MEMBER OR MAYOR ADLER HAD TO STEP OFF, UM, FOR A LITTLE BIT.
UM, SO HE WAS NOT SEEN VOTING ON THIS ITEM.
SO WE WERE IN OUR MEETING, YOU TOOK A VOTE FOR THE AGENDA ITEMS AND I DON'T THINK YOU SAW MY HAND UP AND I KNOW YOU, UM, I COUNTED FOR ME VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE AND I JUST WANTED TO VERIFY THAT.
YES, I WAS VOTING IN THE AFFIRMATIVE.
I THINK SOMEBODY ELSE VERIFIED THAT THEY HAD SEEN YOU.
SO I WANT TO QUICKLY TALK ABOUT, UM, ITEM EIGHT, WHICH IS FUTURE ITEMS, AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE PRESENTATION QUICKLY AND MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND THEN WE WILL COME BACK AS NEEDED.
UM, I WILL DEFINITELY COME BACK AND WE MAY NEED THREE OF US TO BE THERE IF WE DECIDE TO TAKE ANY SORT OF MOTION THAT REQUIRES A VOTE, WHICH WILL DEPEND ON OUR DISCUSSION.
[Item 8]
FOR ITEM EIGHT FUTURE ITEMS, UM, I JUST WANT TO FLAG THAT WE'RE GOING TO HAVE A REALLY IMPORTANT DISCUSSION ON THE THIRD ABOUT THE WORK THAT'S BEEN UNDERWAY TO IMPROVE THE POSITION OF OUR PENSIONS.UM, AND THAT'S ALL THAT MUCH MORE IMPORTANT IN LIGHT OF THE IMPACT ON THE MARKET FROM CODE.
UM, AND THAT WILL BE A DEVOTED CONVERSATION TO DO THAT.
UM, AND THEN THE, UM, MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE INTERVIEWS, UM, WE NEED TO SCHEDULE A DATE AND WE'LL NEED TO FIGURE OUT, UM, WHETHER THAT NEEDS TO BE BEFORE THE 11TH SO THAT THOSE APPOINTMENTS CAN BE MADE AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND NOT HAVE TO
[01:20:01]
WAIT.UM, THE ADDITIONAL, THE ADDITIONAL SIX WEEKS, UM, THAT WILL DEPEND IN PART ON HOW PEOPLE WE DECIDE TO INTERVIEW WHEN WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT THIS POINT IN TIME.
[Item 5 (Part 1 of 2)]
WILL CALL UP ITEM FIVE, WHICH HAS MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE.DO YOU WANT TO GET US STARTED ON THAT?
I HAVE A BIT OF A DELAY ON MY SCREEN AS WELL.
SO WE WENT THROUGH THIS PROCESS, UH, JUST LAST YEAR.
SO A LOT OF THIS, UM, MAYBE REPEATED INFORMATION, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH IT AND I WILL UM, BE BRIEF AND YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS AS WE COME UP.
UH, I CAN'T SEE THE PRESENTATION, SO I'M JUST GOING TO START WITH SLIDE ONE.
UM, UH, FOR THE RECRUITMENT AND APPOINTMENT PROCESS OF THE MCS COMMISSIONER STEPHANIE HALL IS AVAILABLE TO ANSWER SOME OF THE PROCESS QUESTIONS WHILE WE KIND OF GO THROUGH THE PRESENTATION ITSELF.
SO THAT THE, OKAY, SO MY TV, CAN I CONTINUE? IT SAYS WE'RE IN EXECUTIVE SESSION RIGHT NOW.
DO I NEED TO CALL IN ON THE OTHER LINE? I THINK THE, THE STREAM JUST DIDN'T CATCH UP WITH US.
I THINK THEY'VE SWITCHED OVER NOW.
YEAH, WE ACTUALLY HAVE TO GET HER OUT OF THIS CALL INTO ANOTHER ONE.
THEY'RE JUST PRESENT THE STUFF THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE OPEN, OPEN SESSION RIGHT NOW.
SO TODAY WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE BACKGROUND OF THE MTS, THE ROLES OF THE COMMISSION REVIEW THE CURRENT MEMBERS AND TERMS AND THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS.
THE NEXT SLIDE ON BACKGROUND IS THAT THE MCS COMMISSION, THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION WAS ESTABLISHED IN NOVEMBER, 2012 FOLLOWING A VOTER APPROVAL THAT'S IN THE CITY CHARTER AND IT CREATED FIVE COMMISSION MEMBERS.
IT WAS ESTABLISHED AS A TWO ONE CITY BOARD, WHICH DOES FINANCE COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE APPLICATION AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENTS AND IT EXCLUDES CURRENT CITY EMPLOYEES FROM BEING APPOINTED.
THE NEXT SLIDE ON THE ROLL IS THE COMMISSION HERE.
THE APPEALS, THEY MAKE THE FINAL FINAL BINDING DECISIONS ON CASES OF DISCHARGES, DENIAL OF PROMOTION AND DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS, WHICH INCLUDES SUSPENSIONS AND FROM, UH, PROBATION, UH, EMPLOYEES CAN APPEAL THOSE DECISIONS UP TO THE COMMISSION.
THEY HAVE TWO MEETINGS PER MONTH.
THEY GENERALLY LAST AN ENTIRE DAY.
SPECIAL CALLED MEETINGS, MAY BE SCHEDULED TO ACCOMMODATE THE NEEDS TO HAVE EMPLOYEE APPEALS HEARD.
UH, THEY ALSO REVIEW PROPOSED RULES AND POTENTIAL RULE CHANGES FROM THE HR DIRECTOR AND RECOMMEND RULES THE COUNCIL FOR ITS ADOPTION.
THE NEXT SLIDE ON MEMBERS IN TERM, UH, WE HAVE ONE VACANCY.
UH, A COMMISSIONER RESIGNED, UM, THIS PAST YEAR.
UH, SO WE HAVE TWO CURRENT APPOINTMENTS.
PAMELA LANCASTER IS THE CURRENT CHAIR.
UM, SHE'S IN A HOLDOVER POSITION RIGHT NOW AND SHE, UH, IS SEEKING REAPPOINTMENT, UH, BUT HER, HER, UH, POSITION ON THE COMMISSION IS UP FOR REAPPOINTMENT OR TO BE FILLED BY ANOTHER PARTY.
AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE THAT ONE VACANCY AND YOU CAN SEE ON THIS CHART WHERE THEY, OTHER COMMISSIONER WHEN THEIR TERMS EXPIRE AND WHEN THEY WERE, UH, APPOINTED.
SO THE NEXT STEP IS THE APPOINTMENT PROCESS.
I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO DISCUSS THIS SLIDE OR IF YOU JUST WOULD LIKE ME TO CONTINUE.
SO THE PROCESS IS THE AUDIT FINANCE COMMITTEE REVIEWS THE APPLICATIONS.
THE CITY CLERK GETS THOSE, DETERMINES WHO'S ELIGIBLE AND MEETS ALL THE CRITERIA, SENDS IT TO YOU.
THE REVIEW CAN INCLUDE INTERVIEWS OR WRITTEN APPLICATIONS ONLY.
SO, UM, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO SEE ALL THE APPLICATIONS AND EXECUTIVE SESSION, UH, AND WE'LL DISCUSS THAT IN A MINUTE.
APPOINTMENTS ARE SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL BY A MAJORITY VOTE OF COUNCIL AND THE COUNCIL SHOULD DESIGNATE THE COMMISSION CHAIR ANNUALLY AT THE TIME.
NEW COMMISSIONERS ARE APPOINTED.
SO YOU KNOW, THAT IS AN ITEM THAT WILL COME UP WITH COUNCIL AS WE MOVE FORWARD IN THIS PROCESS.
SO THE NEXT STEP, UM, AS WE GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION, WE CAN REVIEW APPLICANTS AND SELECT CANDIDATES FOR EITHER APPOINTMENT OR INTERVIEW.
UH, WAS IF WE MOVED FORWARD WITH INTERVIEWS, THE CITY CLERK WILL CONTACT THE APPLICANT TO SCHEDULE THE INTERVIEWS.
UM, AS A COUNCILMAN, WE'LL ALSO DISCUSS, WE'LL PROBABLY GENERALLY, THIS IS DONE VIA A SPECIAL CALLED MEETING WHEN WHEN EVERYBODY CAN MEET TO HAVE THOSE INTERVIEWS, AUDIT AND FINANCE INTERVIEWS OF CANDIDATES MAKES THE APPOINTMENT RECOMMENDATION TO THE FULL COUNCIL.
THEN COUNCIL APPOINTS THE COMMISSIONER AS WELL AS THE CHAIR.
[01:25:01]
ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE PROCESS OR THE ROLE OF THE COMMISSION BEFORE WE HEAD INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AND REVIEW THE APPLICATIONS? THAT'S MEMORABLE.COULD YOU PUT THE SLIDE BACK UP ON THE COMMISSIONERS SOUND THEIR TERM PART OF THE BACKUP FOR NOODLE? UM, I BELIEVE THIS WAS PART OF THE BACKUP.
UH, IF NOT, WE CAN, WE CAN YOU ALL COPIES THE PRESENTATION IS IN THE BACKUP.
UM, SO IF THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS FOR OUR SPEAKER, UM, WE'RE GONNA GO INTO CLOSE SESSION AND DEPENDING ON WHAT WE DECIDE, EITHER I'LL JUST COME OUT OR WE'LL NEED AT LEAST THREE OF US TO COME OUT TO VOTE.
UM, WITH DOING THIS THROUGH THE WEBEX.
UM, YOU SHOULD HAVE RECEIVED, YOU MAY NOT HAVE RECEIVED IT UNTIL THIS MORNING.
ANOTHER LINK TO GO INTO, UM, EXECUTIVE SESSION JUST FROM LOGISTICS STANDPOINT.
[Executive Session]
SO THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO CLOSED SESSION TO TAKE UP ONE ITEM PURSUANT TO SECTIONS FIVE FIVE ONE.ZERO SEVEN FOR THE GOVERNMENT CODE.THE COMMITTEE WILL DISCUSS PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEM SEVEN, THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.
UM, INTERVIEW AND DISCUSS IDENTIFIED APPLICANTS.
UM, I THINK WE'RE JUST GOING TO BE DISCUSSING, UM, BUT IS THERE ANY OBJECTION TO GO INTO AN EXECUTIVE SESSION ON THE ITEMS ANNOUNCED HEARING NON THE COMMITTEE WILL NOW GO INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION.
I WILL SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS QUICKLY SO THAT WE CAN MOVE THROUGH THIS MATERIAL.
WE ARE BACK AT AUDIT AND FINANCE.
WE ARE OUT OF CLOSED SESSION AND CLOSED.
WE TOOK UP AND DISCUSSED PERSONNEL MATTERS RELATED TO ITEMS SEVEN.
UM, WE ARE GOING TO RETURN TO ITEM FIVE ABOUT THE APPOINTMENT
[Item 5 (Part 2 of 2)]
OF MEMBERS, THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION.UM, AND, UM, WHAT WE AS A COMMITTEE HAVE DECIDED WE'D LIKE TO DO AS OUR MOTION IS TO REAPPOINT PAMELA LANCASTER TO THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL SERVICE AND TO SET INTERVIEWS FOR A DATE TO BE DECIDED WITH THE FOLLOWING INTERVIEWEES.
UH, CBE DOULA, UH, CAITLIN BROWN, ERICA KANE AND DANIEL VIGO.
UM, AND IF STAFF CAN FINALIZE A DATE FOR THOSE INTERVIEWS, PREFERABLY SO THAT WE COULD TRY TO MAKE THE APPOINTMENT BEFORE THE JUNE 11TH, UM, COUNCIL MEETING SO THAT WE ADDRESS THE VACANCY SOONER RATHER THAN LATER, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
UM, AND UM, VICE-CHAIR POOL IS GOING TO WORK ON THE OTHER LOGISTICS FOR THAT MEETING.
SO IF I CAN HAVE A MOTION FROM THE COMMITTEE WITHOUT EFFECT, THE MEMBER POOL MAKES THEM MOTION IS SECONDED BY COUNCIL MEMBER FLANAGAN.
UNANIMOUS ON THE DAYAS WITH MAYOR MAYOR ADLER OFF.
UM, AND WENT THAT AT 1137 AND I WILL ADJOURN THIS COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR BEING HERE THIS MORNING.
NOW BOYS DOING STAR YOU AROUND, LIVING AROUND ON A ROOT.
I'VE SAID ARE YOU SAW A ROOM?